City Brights: Dr. Jim Taylor : Public Education Gone (Absurdly) Wrong

City Brights: Dr. Jim Taylor : Public Education Gone (Absurdly) Wrong

Public Education Gone (Absurdly) Wrong

As I described in my recent Race to the Top? series, the need for significant reform of America's public school system is great (Part II), yet the institutional obstacles preventing reform seem even greater (Part III). The challenges of changing a system that is so deeply entrenched came to absurd light from a reader of my RTTT? series who shared with me her frustrations in trying to hold a principal accountable for what the parent believed was incompetence and negligence related to student safety at her children's school in the Bay Area. This parent has provided me with a series of emails documenting her and other parents' attempts to get the Superintendent of Schools to take action against this principal.
Let me begin with a disclaimer that all of my information is from one person and that it may not represent a complete or balanced picture of what happened. Nonetheless, the flagrant ridiculousness of the situation I will describe provides, at a minimum, a glaring illustration of the massive roadblocks, both substantial and laughable, that stand in the way of meaningful education reform. I have also kept all parties and schools anonymous to protect the innocent (and, unfortunately, also protect those who may be guilty). The issue in this case relates to the principal's handling of a series of incidences of bullying and assault by out-of-control students over the past several years. After frequent complaints about safety to her children's teachers and inadequate responses from the principal, the mother reported her concerns to the school district's superintendent.
Though the mother got plenty of lip service and crocodile-teared concern from the principal and district employees, the situation didn't turn absurdly comical (if it wasn't so sad) until an email arrived from the Assistant Superintendent in response to a letter signed by 10 parents asking that the principal be replaced or reassigned to another school because of his/her behavior.
Let's deconstruct the email to demonstrate the complete absence of logic, reason, or concern for

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