Friday, March 20, 2009

Why we need our Districts back

Today I was trying to find certain information about my local school and kindergarten registration. If I give you more information I will just out myself. I am sure the people reading this who know all the phone calls I made today know who I am. Whatever.
I had to find a specific item, this item was not not on any DOE website, why should be help parents find information? Why alienate parents, I still don't get that.
Before if you had a question about registration all you did was call a well staffed district office and get an answer you had knowledge to make your decision and go in with your proof. We all know that knowledge is power, power to the parents, we can't have that. Oh wait isn't that the name of a website crap here I go off subject again.
So before when we had Districts with a Superintendent, in the District office there was always someone to help you. Meanwhile I had a simple mapping question. I went to the DOE site, the DOE brought me to the school portal. I could not find the answer there either. Clicked on parents nada, I am patient to a fault, it has to be the three sons thing, cleaning up the bathroom they use. Oops to much information. I decide to call the district in hope that the 3 people who work there could help me. Hell it could be more than 3 but truly I have not been up to the one room they have in the school, so I don't know.
You know the DOE does not have the answer to the mapping question for schools, and for goodness sake I know I am blonde and it does take me time to realize things, but crap there is no mapping answer, and elementary schools are now also open to all. Thanks Joel for m(f)ucking things up and screwing up our schools. Do your friends need another charter school tax break?

CDEC elections

One more reason the DOE is out of touch with what parents want.
So they decide that they are going to hold CDEC elections to be "equitable" to all parents. I have not received one back pack flyer to inform me that their was going to be CDEC elections or what a CDEC is, or as they changed it to CEC, another way to get the District out of the DOE. I mean we do all know there is no such thing as a district no matter what the hell Joel and Mike's propaganda on the subways tell us. Oops I am going off subject again. I was never told as a parent that I could go to PowertotheParents.org ( what power, are you kidding me power my arse) and register if I wanted to be on a CDEC. But what did I get a nice back pack flyer announcing that such and such a date will be the day that I can grill ummm I mean question the candidates who want to represent me. Represent me how? What is a CEC all those questions were not answered on the flyer. Who do you think will show up at these events. Ooh I know, I know, the candidates who were told be there or you forfeit your chance to serve on a committee that is powerless at best. Yeah that is great, why don't you just strong arm the few candidates that do want to serve?
On to the next part of this, say you did decide to run as a candidate, guess what the Powertothe Parents people kind of forget to let the candidates know they are a candidate. I know this because I did an informal survey. Not scientific or with big monies like the DOE throw around, it was not even a no bid contract. Just a I am a big mouthed, I want to know how the DOE screwed up again kind of person.
So I did this informal survey. I asked a few people who I know threw their so called hat in the ring. One person told me that they had to exchange a few emails back and forth with the group, and the other told me that their application was incomplete and had to be completly filled out so that they can apply.
I also asked a few parents this: Hey do you know that their is going to be a CDEC election soon? What is a CDEC was a few responses and then what election. Straw vote, Internet only, does not count, what do you mean does not count?
I saw the flyer but how do you become a candidate?
For a group and I mean the DOE who says the are transparent, they sure a full of crap.
Transparent to those in the know only.