One more episode of the Alafia Gang is in the archives of history. For many, I would assume that the effort needed to address their individual needs may or may not have been met and life will go back to "normal" quickly.
Hopefully there will be a few who have the wisdom and insight to see that as long as they reside in Hillsborough County, or perhaps any public school system, that they need to be involved as much as possible with their child's school setting.
I finally read on one of today's newspaper links a few of the specific concerns that were part of the issue. While there are always different perspectives to the same event, the lack of bringing collaboration to these differences obviously led to bigger and greater problems.
As some have already commented on, the parents were chastised for their actions, even after they decided to not hammer a point when the asked for solution had been given to them. Frequent readers of my blogs may understand when I have written about the "war on parents" and the mantra of "first you blame the kid, then you blame the parent".
The war between the public and the public school system may be inevitable. I find it ironic that the same system that complains about broad brush attacks makes broad brush claims of competency within their ranks. Frequent readers of mine would recognize how I mock the arrogance of the system. For the system to believe that all discontents or malcontents do not have a legitimate reason is simply a head-in-the-sand defense.
Another point to remember is that the Alafia Alliance had what most communities or individuals do not have to deal with situations like this. From the lessons learned, time will tell if these types of situations are settled more quickly or will the system develop stronger methods to quell the discontented. Time will tell how much "public" there is in "public school system".
I don't think that it was coincidental that these two events happened at the same time:
News Travels Fast and
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I eagerly anticipate new leadership at Alafia and will do all that I can to make the new principal feel welcomed and supported.
That being said, the administration never fails to surprise me at their ability to manipulate situations to their own advantage.
I made the following post to April's blog:
April,
I was very disappointed in the course of events that took place at the Board meeting. Mr. Hegarty spent an inordinate amount of time making phone calls and speaking to parents directly, trying to silence their voices. When that did not work, you approached the parents with a similar plea. April, we respected you and abided by your wishes. After hearing Mrs. Elia speak, I realized I was duped once again, and felt all the more violated because I had allowed myself to be manipulated by what I thought was the last untainted individual on the school board. I now realize that there is not one of you that can be trusted. You took an oppressed group and further victimized them by facilitating Mrs. Elia's ability to speak her untruthful words unanswered. Mrs. Elia admitted to Mrs. Smith's countless faults at the parent meeting. She could not come up with ONE SINGLE QUALITY that made Mrs. Smith an appropriate candidate to lead Alafia. Yet she was allowed to take the posture that Mrs. Smith had been treated unfairly without rebuke. I know that numerous parents would have liked to point out the falsehoods in her statement, but they were robbed of that opportunity. You played a major role in that travesty by exploiting the trust that parents had in you.
I hope that you will print this letter and explain your actions.
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