A Time for Patience
The final score only will be known when families determine how they feel about what they have heard from the new administration, and when enrollment figures are toted up for the autumn term.
Frankly, the Middle School has basked in its glowing academic reputation since late in the 1990s and today it remains solidly positioned on the states prestigious Schools to Watch list.
An Erosion?
These days, though, the unsullied image is taking some hits.
It is not clear what proportion have merit.
One objective of last nights meeting was to separate bogus and fact.
Rumors of drugs on campus have made the rounds of the parent network, hardly unique to any public or private school in America, but nevertheless a concern in Culver City.
Is it enough, one mother asked, whether drug on campus are supposed to be less of a problem in Culver City than in Santa Monica or Beverly Hills?
A tough question. I dont know the answer.
Wrong Kind of Students
Persistent drug reports, coupled with ongoing fears about the complicated permit process allegedly providing a gateway for undesirable students, have muddied the once uncontestedly sunny picture of the Middle School.
Activist parents say that undesirable simply is a euphemism for non-white.
Meanwhile, the email circuit is in a state of relentless buzzing.
Inquiring families are on one end, the newly minted leadership in the District Office on the other.
Quest for Clarity
On the adjoining Culver City High School campus, quizzical parents sought clarification and reassurance that the Middle School at the southern end of Elenda Street is a safe destination, physically and academically, for their children.
You could hire more security personnel, one parent said after the meeting. But you dont want your children to feel they are going to jail every morning.
A Super Debut
On the other side of the podium, Dr. Myrna Cote, 3 months along as the Educator in Chief, countered the parental conundrums with offers of candor, accessibility and partnership.
Finely sculpted and low-key friendly, she presented as a charming, elegant, concerned hostess, a portrait that marks a sharp departure from her predecessor.
Making Judgments
Both curious and committed parents were studying the new Super, in a work environment, for the first time.
For some, the evening may not have yielded the lucidity of sitting down with a thick dictionary and culling unvarnished answers in a single gulp. Numerous others seemed satisfied.
The third question of the night centered on drugs.
Drug Busts
Ms. Cote read the inquiry:
I heard today about recent drug busts at the Middle School, not just for consuming but dealing drugs. What are your plans for addressing this problem?
After spring break the drug-sniffing dogs will be brought back to the Culver High campus, Ms. Cote said. This is to make sure we are monitoring any potential activity on the campus.
I am not aware of any drug busts at the Middle School.
The View from Inside
The principal of the Middle School said:
In my 4 years here, drugs are way down, along with all other types of disciplinary infractions. This has been the best year of my 4 years here, as far as student behavior is concerned.
We have a zero tolerance. We suspend. We dont ask questions, but of course we investigate. We have a very strong, progressive discipline policy.
I have never caught a student dealing drugs on campus in my whole 4 years here.
Before questions were invited, the newly degreed Dr. Jerry Kosch, principal of the Middle School, made a comprehensive power-point pitch intended to entice parents in a school-choosing mood to select his campus.
Permit Permission
Asst. Supt. Dr. Diane Fiello attempted to demystify the much-debated permit process.
She offered as detailed of an overview of the bureaucratic labyrinth of requirements and oversights as a sizable audience could absorb in a single sitting.
Intimately familiar with the data and the trends, statewide and locally, Ms. Fiello addressed worried faces in the crowd.
Shattering a Legend
It is a myth, she said, that permit kids are causing trouble on our campuses.
Portraying them generally as industrious and dedicated, she suggested that as a group they have to go through too dense of a process to throw away a desired opportunity.
One reason for parents are flagging the subject is that the number of permit students steadily has increased.
The Reason Why
The School Districts motivation is not a mystery. The state provides per-student funding the more students, the greater the revenue.
Presently, the School District is down 222 students from last year at this time. This equates to a loss of an estimated $725,000.
As enrollment has declined District-wide, the percentage of permit students has risen.
Lightness and Darkness
The permit tale has two sides.
Ms. Fiello offered data showing that permit students surpass resident students in numerous categories.
The downside, she added, is that if applicants survive the months-long entry process, we have to accept them. We cant discriminate because of bad grades or bad behavior (at previous schools).
A Super Summary
It was left for Ms. Cote to provide an overarching coda for the evening:
Sometimes it is hard for educators to understand, she said, that parents have choices now. You have a choice. You need to put your child in a school where you feel your child will get the best education.
Our job, as educators, is to provide the best education we can. We know you have the opportunity to go and shop. We are not used to selling our product the best we can.
One of my goals in Culver City is to change that so you know exactly what is going on in school so you can make an informed choice.
