Thought of the Day

Someone we spoke to recently reminded us of how Mr. Bundy used to include a thought of the day for his students in his “daily brief” so, in honor of Mr. B we present our own Papapandapaw Thought of the Day:

“Setting an example is not the main means of influencing others; it is the only means.”

-Albert Einstein

Sayonara Martial Arts

It’s official. The Martial Arts Program – long a staple of physical education instruction at PAPA – is no more. It’s deader than a serving of Peking Duck.

Why?

No money in the budget, and the lack of a highly qualified instructor to teach the class. Mainly the fact that the program has never had a licensed teacher, and was running on borrowed luck that no one was ever seriously injured, and thus opening the school up to huge liability issues would be our guess. Classes need to have licensed instructors, and the Martial Arts class has never had a licensed teacher.

The programs demise was a topic of discussion during the April 20th GoverningCouncil Meeting, with parents and members of the council asking questions about the program being cut.

Longtime GC Member Roger Miller inquired if there were any other organized physical activities offered at PAPA besides the dance programs?

“No. I would have to lay-off someone else to pick up martial arts again,” Principal Tamara Henderson replied. “It was just a natural movement because of the highly qualified requirements.”

In other words, we didn’t have a qualified, licensed, teacher and she wasn’t going to continue to put the school at risk.

PAPA Parent asked about the school’s one time fencing program, “Do you see fencing returning to PAPA?”

“PAPA does not have a highly qualified teacher to teach fencing, or martial arts,” was Henderson’s answer.

No license to teach the program, no program. We applaud you for keeping the school in line Ms. Henderson. It’s about time some principal did what was required with regards to these programs. It is sad for the handful of students who benefited from these classes, and yet there is nothing wrong in the only physical education classes offered at a performing arts school being dance. If your attending a performing arts school you should be taking performing arts. If you want football, or martial arts, go to a regular old run of the mill high school.

What a Difference a Year Makes

A year ago Papapandapaw was born, and what a difference a year makes.

A year ago the school was embroiled in controversy, with a tyrannical principal who made her own rules up as she went along, or as her husband directed her.

We’ve gained a responsible administrator, and lost some teachers, some who loved the school and the kids and were awesome teachers, while others were self serving egotists who were unmerciful to students looking for excuses to berate their pupils.

There have been changes at the school, and some complaints, but nothing compared with where we were a year ago. We’ve come a long way.

We’ve been less involved this year, we’ve been giving some people space, and a time to adjust, but we’re near, but we hope we won’t ever go through what we all went through a year ago.

All-in-all a much better year is coming to a close. Well done everyone.

This is What Happens When Admin are Too Zealous

When Savana Redding was just 13 years old, she was strip-searched by school officials for allegedly possessing prescription-strength ibuprofen. This traumatizing search was based solely on the false and uncorroborated accusation of a classmate who was caught with similar pills.
 
Overzealous school officials violated Savana’s rights and called into question basic constitutional protections for all students in schools across America.
 
This morning, the United States’ Supreme Court heard arguments from ACLU attorney Adam Wolf in this powerful case.

Savana and her mother, April, recorded a short video with Graham Boyd, an attorney  at the ACLU who is working with them. Check out the video.

https://secure.aclu.org/site/SPageServer?pagename=Nat_SupportSavana_Video&s_src=email_042109&JServSessionIdr010=dpv1lvjab2.app23a

Lawton’s Rant Against PAPA Missing

It appears while former PAPA English Teacher Courtney Lawton is willing to rant and bash PAPA at her every opportunity, she isn’t willing to stick by her guns once it became general knowledge. The rant Ms. Lawton had posted on the Duke City Fix blog has been removed from the thread answering a new move-in’s request for info on the school.

What’s the matter “laguera”? Can’t stand up to your remarks? Can’t stand the heat from the spot light?

Settlement Reached in USERRA Case?

 There has been a settlement agreement reached in PAPA’s ongoing USERRA complaint.

Under the agreement:

PAPA must clear Mr. Bundy’s name, meaning all defamatory statements by former principal Katy Harvey placed in his personnel file, are to be sealed, and cannot be released.

The school has agreed to provide Bundy with a letter of recommendation

The school will also pay him the salary difference owed from the 2007-2008 school year, and a partial salary for time lost due to his unlawful dismissal in the 2008-2009 school year. It should be noted that Mr. Bundy did not ask for damages in his complaint, but only to be reinstated.

Mr. Bundy has agreed not to reapply for, nor to accept any offers of, employment at PAPA for five years, which is a standrard agreement in most employment settlement cases.

Scott Questions School on ILPs

Now that she’s left the GC, former Governing Council member Valerie Scott appears to have become a voice for change. According to the Governing Council’s December 15, 2008 minutes Scott, ”expressed concerns over the Individual Learning Plan (ILP). The PAPA Charter clearly outlines the ILP requirements – it is intended to help the students set goals. Scott feels that the ILP is not being implemented at PAPA and urges the council to take action to make sure that the requirements are being met as specified in the Charter.”

The PAPA Charter states, “Every student will complete a ILP or Next Step Plan”. However, none of our sources at the school could ever recall that this had been done. “I’ve worked for the school for a number of years and never taken part, or seen, an ILP for even a single student,” one source said.

Of course PAPA’s Charter also states, “Every student will participate in the culminating portfolio process”. Again, our sources have never witnessed any type of portfolios being demonstrated prior to a student graduating from the school. “Never seen it in all my years of working at PAPA,” a PAPA Staff member commented.

Regarding ILPs, PAPA’s Charter further states, “All seniors high students will have a post secondary component in their ILP/Next Step Plan. This service will be provided by either a School Counselor or the School Psychologist another qualified professional”.

“As the school no longer has ‘School Counselor’ since the unfortunate resigation of Dr. Susan Brower, it is difficult to see how this is to be accomplished, if it ever was,” one staff member commented.

It’s refeshing to see someone like Ms. Scott remembering her roots as a classroom teacher. You go girl!

Who Are PAPA’s Favorite Teachers?

The results are in, and PAPA’s Top Ten Favorite Teachers are:

Craig Stoebling = 22%, Sarah Mazzie = 11%, Ben Silva = 11%, Stephanie Dexter = 9%, Sherry Allen = 7%, Ed Torres = 7%, Evan Rosenberger = 5%, David Margolin = 4%, Naomi Montoya = 3%, Chris Koller = 3% and Su Hudson = 3%.

Scott Resigns from Governing Council

Longtime member of the school’s Governing Council, and “co-founder” of the school, Valerie Scott has resigned her position from the GC.

Although her exact reasons for resigning her post are not known, according to sources at PAPA, Ms. Scott resigned because she felt she wasn’t being treated very respectfully. 

Thank you Ms. Scott for all your hard work and dedicated service to the students of PAPA.

Former Teacher Blasts PAPA, Moriarty Public Schools, the Blog

Just when you thought things couldn’t get any weirder. While searching the web for a totally unrelated topic we blundered upon comments from a former PAPA teacher on a website called, “Duke City Fix”.

A new family had moved into the Albuquerque area with children who were interested in PAPA and they had asked about the school on the site. Guess who blasted the school? Former English Teacher Courtney Lawton, aka “laguera”.

How do we know it was Ms. Lawton?

She posted her picture.

Ms. Lawton’s comments are as follows:

“Hi. I used to teach there. I taught there for 4 years. The school is in the middle of a huge transition. The dance program is very, very strong. The theatre program is not that great, mostly because the school lacks a true theatre. They have a “black-box” type space available. The principal is a by-product of Moriarty Municipal Schools. The middle school math, English, science, and social studies teachers are great. The high school is a different story. The laboratory sciences are pathetic, the English department only has one good teacher for 9th and 11th grade (Sojourner Oya), the math teacher, David Margolin, is fantastic, and there is AP US History with Joanne Carter. The AP English program is losing its AP designation through College Board. The special-ed program is a train wreck.

“The school does not have permanent facilities. It rents space from BGK at the Pinetree Office Complex. There is no after-school program. It is also currently embroiled in a lawsuit brought by a teacher who was fired because he started a malicious blog about the past principal and because he was incompetent. The blog has since been altered significantly, but if you want a taste of what it was, I have print-outs. The teacher happened to be a “veteran” of the Iraq war, in addition to being a crappy teacher, and when he was fired, he sued the school under USERRA. He also, in the past, sued Bernalillo schools and they settled out of court. He has two allies on the staff at the school who think he’s a fantastic teacher. Yikes.

“Flee. Flee far away. APS is not terrible. Really. Unless you’re a screen mom, you have a wide variety of options within APS. PAPA is not that great.”

It’s A Raw Nerve Thing

 

Wow! Just when we thought no one cared any more, we’re told to check out the minutes from the December 15, 2008 Governing Council Meeting, and what do we find? Papapandapaw – described by one former PAPA teacher as being, “IRRELEVANT”. Is still very much a part of people’s discussions and concerns.

According to the GC’s official minutes of the December meeting, Governing Council President Tom Moore reportedly said that, ”The Governing Council does not endorse any part of the blog.” He further said that, “Governing Council members should not discuss school issues on the blog.”

We have to wonder, is that a suggestion, or an order?

PAPA Principal Tamara Henderson commented that PAPA Staff were repeatedly bringing the blog issue to her attention and that she would like to validate their concerns. She said – according to the minutes – that, “The teachers feel undermined by Governing Council members, teachers and parents who participate in the blog.”

Which teachers would that be we wonder?

Just goes to show why it is important to have an independent, or even a counter voice, in a world where people in power only tend to want to have theirs be the only voice heard.