During the January 8 meeting of Kent County Board of Education, Board member Frank Rhodes expressed his desire for unrestricted access to schools by board members without adhering to the current policy of a two-day notice. Rhodes cited the need for immediate intervention if disruptions or issues arise.
“The superintendent runs the schools, but we are above the superintendent when it comes to managing and the people from Kent County that voted us in want us to really have checks and balances about what’s going on in the schools,” Rhodes said.
Dr. Karen Couch, superintendent of Kent County Public Schools, emphasized the importance of coordination with school leaders to avoid disruptions during crucial activities.
Rhodes recounted an incident at a middle school where he received a tip about disruptions, visited the school unannounced. Dr. Couch clarified that she was already addressing the situation, and Rhodes’ uncoordinated visit disrupted the school’s routine.
“The problem that I saw with you coming into the school, is the principal had no idea you were there, you came in and talk to the school resource officer who wasn’t even an employee of the school system. So, I think there has to be some checks and balances so that we can all work together as a team and build trust,” Dr. Couch said.
The debate continued with Rhodes arguing for board members’ authority to enter schools at will, asserting their responsibility to constituents. Fellow board member Francois Sullivan disagreed, stating individual board members lack authority over school administrators.
Joseph Goetz, president of the Board of Education, offered the last opinion saying, “I do not have an issue with the two day (policy). I would rather they focus on the educational side. We’re small enough to know that if there’s smoke, there’s probably a fire burning. And in my experience, every time I’ve smelled smoke or seen smoke, the fire is there, and it’s already being addressed in a one form or fashion.”
The issue was not put to a vote, leaving it open for further discussion in subsequent meetings.
Tracy Cameransi says
Respectfully, I disagree with Ms Francoise Sullivan and President Joe Getz. What type of disruption in education did the students suffer by having a BOE member in the building. What really happened is that Frank Rhodes saw with his own eyes the issues (fights,cursing) etc that happens in the halls of the school. Why does that bother the school district? Do they not want transparency? There had been issues with fighting in a regular basis in the middle school. The school says nothing to see hear folks, everything is fine. No, fighting in the halls where students are harming each other is not fine. How is the school handling those situations? Parents and BOE members as well as voters(taxpayers) have a right to know. We are in fact, paying your salaries.
Robbi Behr says
In my experience, the schools have always welcomed taking a meeting to address my concerns. I don’t think principals are opposed to having visitors who want to know more about how they are handling issues and what they need help addressing. I’m pretty sure they also don’t think that fighting in the halls is “fine.” If you spoke with any one of our hard-working principals, you would know that they are working hard to address issues and a lot of the “lack of transparency” you feel is a result of having over-full plates. As Mr. Goetz noted, most of the time there is an issue, the schools are aware and trying to address it. No, they aren’t perfect. Yes, they have a lot of tough issues to address. This does not mean they are pretending that nothing is wrong. In fact, I have heard again and again that these kids need more resources and more help than our current system is able to give.
However, I would argue that it IS incredibly disruptive to have someone show up at your workplace unannounced, especially when you are in the middle of putting out a million fires. Board members have access to finding out all of the things you are concerned with without popping in unannounced (as do the rest of us voters! Make an appointment with your principal! Ask them the questions! Maybe see if you can volunteer to help with the issues that concern you!).
If your concern is that you think that schools will somehow be able to get everyone to behave differently on the day you have an appointment, try getting any kid to eat their vegetables if they don’t want to. Kids fighting in the hallway don’t care if they’re doing it on the day Frank Rhodes visits or on the day he doesn’t.
Having done a lot of school visits myself (and ones that are welcome and people are excited about!) I know that having anyone in the school outside of the regular routine is disruptive, especially given the number of things teachers and staff have to get accomplished in any given day. It would be great if we could support our staff to help them do the best job possible instead of trying to surprise them hoping to “catch them out” doing something we disagree with.