Monroe Schools

"We could use some help with people not spreading false rumors (like the one about the gun incidents that never occurred). If you or anyone hears about something, please call the school or a board member to find out what really happened or is going on before you start talking about it as the truth"

If people call the school and or the board will they be told the truth ? Had the truth been told and been reported via the media in some way THERE WOULD BE NO FRIGGIN RUMORS !!! And it's a little late for damage control because Ms. Andrew admitted a threat was made at the school thus the call for extra security and a police presence per her posting on this very forum,but now all of a sudden it's a rumor ?!! Gees,now we know what is wrong with the schools.

Ms. Andrews--In reply to the libraries:

First of all, Middletown City Schools is NOT John XXIII.  That is like comparing apples to oranges.  Just because something works or worked there does not mean it will work at MCSD.

Middl

DAYTON — The number of tuition vouchers parents could use to move their children from chronically low-performing public schools to private schools would quadruple under Gov. John Kasich’s proposed budget.

The state is approaching the mandated 14,000 cap on vouchers, with 13,062 students already enrolled in the program this school year. The number of publicly funded vouchers would expand to 30,000 next year and 60,000 students by 2013 under the governor’s plan.

There are 110 students in Middletown City Schools who use private school vouchers to opt out of attending public schools designated as “academic watch” or “academic emergency” for two of the past three years. Of those 110 students, 61 are using the scholarship for the first year and 49 are considered renewals.

Four Butler County schools are designated for the EdChoice scholarship program, all of them in Middletown. Those schools are Amanda, Creekview and Rosa Parks elementary schools and Verity Middle School.

Five private schools in Butler County are registered to participate in the program. There are two such schools in Middletown — John XXIII, a Catholic elementary school serving preschool through eighth grade, and Middletown Christian Schools, a ministry of Grace Baptist Church serving preschool through high school.

State lawmakers have spent recent weeks hearing testimony on two separate bills that would expand the program in Ohio, including the governor’s budget proposal that would raise the number to 60,000 available vouchers by 2013.

House Bill 136, introduced in March, would create two new statewide voucher programs — one for K-12 students that would replace the EdChoice and Cleveland scholarship programs, and another for special education students.

“We’re not opposed to choice, but we do believe private schools should not be paid for with public money,” said Damon Asbury, director of legislative services for the Ohio School Boards Association in Columbus. “We believe the focus of the General Assembly’s attention should be on children in the public school system of Ohio,” Asbury said.

But Chad Aldis, executive director of School Choice Ohio, disagrees.

“The dollars we spend on education are to educate the kids,” he said. “Our position is the money should follow the child to where the parents believe they can get the best education.”

Staff Writer Eric Schwartzberg contributed to this report.

Vet, thanks for the suggestion, but we will not be turning the public schools into a military academy anytime soon. A couple reasons why what works for the military is not appropriate for MCSD:

Ms Andrew, thank you for the info; I have no interest in the properties other than curiousity about future plans by the School Board.  Unless, of course, you're willing to part with them for a dollar!!! lol

You bet, Ms. Andrew, you wouldn't want to make the Midd. schools into military academies which are role models for behavior/discipline/academics/character building, organization/ living by rules and following directions, now would you? All that discipline and rule following would be a bad thing for the Midd. students to learn, now wouldn't it? C'mon Ms. Andrew....you know as well as I do that most of your chronic and more serious discipline issues occur in the older student populations. Obviously you can't come down on a 3rd grader as hard as you would a junior or senior in high school. Gotta use logic here. The military methods would obviously be too harsh for the younger students, but would apply to the high school problem students in the 17 to 18 age range. They are, after all, closer to military eligibility age, aren't they? They're not angels to be protected and to be cottled are they?

2. Thank you for reminding me what the military was all about. Never knew what occured in the military. Guess you did with your extensive background going through basic and all.    Following orders quickly and without hestitation can occur on the job and in civilian life also, Ms. Andrew. Doesn't always have to be a "battle" scenario to get people to know the rules and to follow orders. The schools are teaching the children to learn a "base fundamental knowledge" and "how to reason and analyze". True.....they better also be telling them what to expect about proper behavior in the workplace and in society along with their parents. Can't just pour book knowledge into them. Gotta teach them the other side of the coin as to proper conduct to succeed in life also. Mold the total person, Ms. Andrew, mold the total person.

acclaro, if there was any school system that needed orderly structure, hard-nosed discipline and a crack down on behavior, it's the Middletown schools, IMO. Because of the sterotypical element that we got when council decided to open the floodgates to low income, Section 8, inundating this town and overwhelming the schools by literally dumping major behavioral issues on the schools, it is an even greater urgency that the schools do anything and everything within the current guidelines, to control the disruptors. The lack of control in the schools by the authorities has festered for too many years and we see the students reacting to the current rules as a joke. There is absolutely no intimidation in the current program whatsoever. In-school suspensions, expulsions, parent/student meetings and counseling.....all proven to be worthless and in-effective or the same behavior would not have continued. It should be somewhere between no nonsense/serious and hell. Instead,it's like candyland.

Time to get tough while listening to the parents of the troublemakers whine and cry about how their little angels are being treated. Too bad people. Time to start using the law hauling parents into court, slapping some wallet-hurting fines on the parents, jailing them and taking the kid down to jail for some "tough love" exercises. Time to get military on these people with no forgiveness. Time to start intimidating the problem children again and reverse the current "it's a joke, what do they think they can do to me" attitude. How did we get to the place where the children are intimidating the adults? What in the he-- happened?

Ms. Andrews I never pretended to be "knowledgeable" about public school libraries. All I did was visit an elementary school library in our school district and then make a call to the Ohio Department of Education when I found out that the current library managers were required to have an Aide Certificate from the State that includes a background check and be rated highly qualified by taking a state mandated test.

You "do not have to have a college degree" to check out a book. You DO have to be highly qualified AND under the supervision of a certified staff member (as is currently done in the school district) to interact with students in the library setting. So, the idea to have classroom teachers supervise their students in the library is already required along with the state requirements.

Makes me wonder if the board made this decision without knowing all the facts. I asked the principal in the school I visited what will happen if they cannot find volunteers who fit the criteria that is required by the State of Ohio (because you can be sure parents are going to ask if these volunteers have fulfilled ALL the requirements) and I was told by the principal, "if it doesn't work out then the libraries will be closed".

Which leads me to another question....Several years ago I remember there was an issue about volunteers in the buildings needing to pass a background check BEFORE they were allowed to tutor or help in any capacity that involved interacting with students in the school district. Why wasn't that followed thru? I asked a volunteer who was in the building I visited if they had to do that and they laughed and said no and that they were in the building quite frequently but that had never been mentioned.

Ground swat, thank you for your post.  I have to say that a number of people have told me I am crazy to post on this blog under my real name.  I just feel that most people do not know the depth and complexity of the issues the schools face, and that if they knew more they might understand better. I'm not expecting to convert people to my point of view.