When she tried to bring her concerns to then-Superintendent Josh Starr, the complaint says, she was reprimanded by her immediate superior
...The problems with the ELL [English Language Learners] program that Lawson brought to light were
possible overreporting of numbers of students eligible for the
federally-subsidized classes, and misallocation of program funds. Lawson
said the district's criteria for eligibility were often inaccurate, and
listed students with "Hispanic-sounding" last names and students from
countries where English was spoken, such as Jamaica.
Lawson, citing the inaccurate counts, refused to certify the school
district's compliance with state and federal ELL regulations.
When she tried to bring her concerns to then-Superintendent Josh Starr, the complaint says, she was reprimanded by her immediate superior, then-Assistant Superintendent Mara Siladi...
...The Department of Justice had already been looking into the Stamford Public Schools'
handling of the ELL program as early as November 2008, but parents were
not informed of it until 2013. The justice department found the
district was failing to provide adequate language instruction and using
unqualified or uncertified instructors, violating the federal Equal
Educational Opportunities Act, according to documents The Advocate
obtained at the time. The Department reached a settlement with the
district just under a year ago...
http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/local/article/Ex-Stamford-language-leader-sues-schools-claiming-6074003.php
There'll be a litigation
ReplyDeleteFor this abomination
To fix the situation
Of fund misallocation.
"found the district was failing to provide adequate language instruction and using unqualified or uncertified instructors"
ReplyDeleteNot surprised by this. On Starr's watch MCPS lowered its standards by hiring unqualified personnel without degrees to train teachers and principals. As noted by others, any questioning of these practices would cost the whistle blowers their careers. He surrounded himself with bullies who threatened anyone who dared question his choices.