Training

Middletown school officials to attend training
By Rick McCrabb

Staff Writer

MIDDLETOWN —
The Middletown City Schools District has agreed to pay $4,500 for its leadership team to attend six hours of professional development training led by a Middletown High School graduate.

Kendall C. Wright, owner of Entelechy Training and Development and past president of the National Speakers Association, will discuss leadership and motivation with the district’s department heads for two, three-hour sessions today and Feb. 23. The contract was approved by the board of education last week. The Rev. Greg Tyus, pastor of the church where Wright attends, abstained from voting.

OBSERVATION:

So the school board approved itself to spend 4500 bucks for this? Who is monitoring the spending and making the decision whether the event is worth the expenditure? Where are the checks and balances here?

The district’s administration team has come under fire recently from the Middletown Teachers’ Association for its lack of communication with union members.

QUESTION:

Is this a passification method to appease the teachers or are they really going to learn how to communicate? Does anyone think they will learn AND IMPLEMENT anything from this?

Board member DeAnna Shores thanked Superintendent Sam Ison for being “very responsive” for looking into ways to improve communication.

Board OKs project agreement

The board approved the project agreement with Lend Lease and Conger Construction to begin construction of the middle school and renovations to the high school, a $95 million project with $50 million coming from the state. Business Manager George Long said after the agreement was approved, money from the state will start to flow to the district.

Now, the “real work can begin,” Tyus said.

OBSERVATION:

No Mr. Tyus, the "real work" is and has always been to educate the kids, not build new buildings. I can see where your (and the district's) priorities are.

"Attendance drops on delay day

When comparing student attendance on the day the district was on a two-hour delay due to inclement weather to a day when there was no delay, Marcia Andrew, board president, said there was “a big difference.”

Two weeks ago, when the district was on a delay, district attendance was 80 percent. That percentage rose to 87 percent on Jan. 26 when Middletown wasn’t on a delay like several of the area school districts

OBSERVATION:

So the attendance on a typical day is only 7% higher than on a delay day and the typical attendance is around 87%? Kinda low isn't it? Thought attendance might be in the low to mid 90's for most districts.