BISD SUPERINTENDENT WALTER JACKSON DISCUSSES CHANGES
The Brenham School District announced this week that High School Principal Steve Skrla is stepping down and will be will become the districts new Director of Counselors and PEIMS. KWHI sat down with School Superintendent Dr. Walter Jackson and discussed this change and other changes coming to the district.
What’s your Reaction?
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Everyone doesn’t see the picture clearly.I been employed with the school district many years.Do people not remember they did the same thing to the last high school principal years ago when the heat got to hot in the kitchen they moved him to central office and gave him a nice desk job where he still resides today making probably the same as when he left the high school.they took a principal from the junior high school and did the same for him.while they want people to retire and include their old jobs in the duties of people that are still employed by the district instead of filling those positions.the whole problem is not teachers , custodians,cafeteria workers ,maintenance workers they all go above and beyond its the ones running everything at the top.there is a lot of waste at central office and no accountability.I guess that the office workers there don’t punch time clocks because I witnessed myself them showing up to work at 8:10 and 8:15 . U can go inside and they are in their little huddles gossiping.p
I believe Dr. Jackson is doing an amazing job! What the community has to remember is it takes time to build an effective empire to meet everyone’s needs. He is off to a wonderful start. The issues I’ve read above are issues that are deep rooted on a campus,which those questions should ultimately be directed to the administration on that particular campus. Dr. Jackson entrust hired administrators to take care of issues such as paper, and discipline. Ask the administration on the campus of your concern! Now, issues related to curriculum are also being addressed at central office and on campuses. Recognize the vision that is being set for Brenham ISD by Dr. Jackson and you will see we are going places. He implemented to positions of “School Improvement Officers” and they are focusing on not only enhancing the curriculum but targeted interventions as well. Please also remember that education has two sides. Not ALL positions will involve interacting with students. Education has a business side as well that must be attended too. Instead of us, the community, complaining and criticizing please find an avenue that you can take to be a game changer and assist with these awesome and productive changes that are happening right now! Way to go Dr. Jackson, Brenham ISD school board, and other important people involved in making my child’s education a success!!
I can agree that it takes times for change I and actually have high hopes for Dr. Jackson, but some situations at our schools are starting to become desperate and we cannot wait for anyone to build and “empire”.
“Issues are being addressed at central office” but often times without any input from the very teachers who have to go out on the front lines with students and make a difference. What avenue do teachers have when those trusted administrators refuse to do things like purchase basic supplies for the classroom, ensure discipline is handled appropriately, and making sure that the curriculum they have actually works. The business side of education is great, but it is not and never should be the main focus. Kids learning in an orderly, safe, and well structured classrooms staffed with well paid teachers who can devote their full attention to students is what we need, but not what we have. The midpoint raise thing is another frustration point, when this was first introduced at this district no one ever bothered to tell teachers how it was calculated. There are many are districts that give actual percentage raises that are easy to understand and calculate. When there is no transparency in payroll, you can never have happy employees. I am glad you can cheer everyone on, but there is more happening here than you know.
For several decades now, the number of years that students partake of education mean less and less. Remember when 12 years was adequate for most, then 14, then 16, now 18 and beyond. A Masters is now equal to the old Bachelors degree. What has caused this trend? Some would argue that it takes more hours of education, because there is more to learn. Some say that after the first eight years students should focus on what subjects suit their individual aptitudes. This nation has many fine colleges and universities that should be producing more well educated students than ever, but sadly, our country, per capita, does not rank all that well in comparison to many. Decades ago, the number of school administrators needed to help manage the business of education, was SMALL. Tax dollars were used to build more schools, hire more teachers and provide all the tools needed to assist in the thorough education of students. Now,the administration staff has become a bloated, inefficient albatross around the neck of our education system. Every administrator has an assistant, both of them have secretaries, and it is a perfect example of ” how many people does it take to change that light bulb?” Only citizens and taxpayers can demand and VOTE wisely to reverse this growing glut. Encourage the “qualified and dedicated public service, fiscally conservative ” individuals we need on that ballot. They do not need to be a fourth generation of a local family, nor possess a doctorate, or a particular last name to be the fiscally conservative, hard working, sensible manager we need to turn our educational system around.
What Caused The Trend? Unfortunately and very unfortunately the higher college education system and society has changed how we are receiving the education. First, there are a lot of these, what I call, “Mail Order Diplomas.” And you ask yourself what is a Mail Order Diploma. A Mail Order Diploma is where an individual can simply park their butt behind a computer and never, or hardly ever, attend class, and receive a mail order diploma. The master-mail-order-diploma is more prominent after the bachelor degree is already received, and should not receive the same level of distinguished appreciation as an actual on-campus Master Degree or an on campus Bachelor Degree. Bottom line, if want someone with real experience, you must check out the diploma and see if there is a post mark on it. That way you will know if it is a diploma or a Degree. Second, too many college students go to school without working for a dime of their tuition and then play their own self pity violin when they have student loans to pay back. All I can say is get out and work. Working your way through college adds character and another Degree for yourself, called: Responsibility. So what if this is a degree you can’t hang up on the wall; hopefully, your real on campus degree is one that you carry in your heart and mind and is more just hanging on the wall too. Thirdly, If your lucky to get a few scholarships along the way. Congratulations. If you qualify for a grant or two and you actually graduate. Congratulations. Bottom-line: Distinguish how someone got their education. Then, hire the Workers, the Earners, and the on-campus Degrees. This is the leadership with real experience in society. This is what, we the TAXPAYERS deserve.
The problem isn’t at-home learning.
The problem is much older. It started with the first “work smarter, not harder” poster that went up in the counselor’s office. “Go to college so you can make more money” was the matra pushed on every kid in school because the guy in the suit is better than the guy with his name on his blue-collar shirt. 2-year Tech schools were portrayed as “backup plans” and “not for smart kids.” That’s how we ended up with a generation of over-educated, under-skilled people. Sociology/Psychology majors (both on-campus or online) make great bartenders.
You know where the jobs are? The trades, and STEM fields. You know where the majority of college and post-graduate degrees are? Liberal Arts, where you can teach others what you’ve learned, write about what you’ve learned, or hope for OTJ training from an employer who still buys into the notion that a college degree means you’re smart enough to be capable of learning.
This is getting off topic, but the issue is NOT distance learning. The issue is the perceptions created by our government (State and Federal) run public education system.
As an aside, put on your tin foil hat and join me… Who profits the most off of kids going to college? The ones who make and hold the loans. Who is that, in most cases? The Federal government. So, the same entity (DoE) who produces all the “go to college, make more money” flyers is cashing in on 20 years of interest on all those English Literature degrees.
You missed the picture. The point being made is those that work for an education make better leaders, than those that have it all given to them, or those that take the easy mail order diploma route. But then again, this lazy achiever society are not as comprehensive as the real College Degree Earners or the Technological Trade Professionals.
Sorry, but the Fed only mediates the student loan process — students actually make loan payments to private companies. Considering the numbers tossed around in Congress during the last midterm elections, the Fed (us) is losing money big time on this process, while the private companies are profiting (or they wouldn’t do it, right?).
Clergy:
Yes Dr. Jackson, competing is important as it adds value to the city and county! We must have district that is competitive as to attract the high quality, high valued families. It also allow families considering our district to be assured their child/children will be able to compete with higher educational acceptance.
“This is not a new position, this is just a newly titled position”
That is an answer that would do a politician proud. Lets dig a little deeper and ask who the PEIMS Coordinator that is retiring is and what did we pay them. Now what will Mr. Skrla earn to replace this person. I am certain there is going to be a large disparity between the two numbers. Answering questions by telling us that other districts our size have positions like this does not justify the need for similar positions in Brenham. Lets discuss work load and exactly what this and other newly created positions are actually going to be doing that make a real difference in helping students learn. You may be shocked to learn that many of these new positions have little or no student interaction. I would love to see a list of school personal with titles from 10 years ago versus one from this year. My bet is that the public would be shocked at the amount of people who are in newly created positions during that time.
I would love to hear Dr. Jackson explain why teachers are not being given even basic supplies like paper to teach! Lets answer why that is happening. Lets talk about the complete and total breakdown of discipline in our school system where teachers are given no support and are told they will be in trouble if they send kids to the office! I hear from both of my kids in two separate school how student are allowed to talk back, disrupt, and even cuss at teachers an nothing happens. Who is supporting our teachers. Let’s talk about a curriculum that is failing and causing frustration among tenured teachers who know this curriculum is failing. When if ever is our administration going to talk about what is really happening in our schools instead of what is happening at central office.
Well said