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Tuesday, May 28, 2013

"Independence School District has lost sight of its greatest asset."

Another critical article or editorial in the Examiner?  There have been two such articles since January.

Independence Schools must maintain focus.

The article is written by Matt Beem who is also a regular featured columnist in the Examiner.  The money quote:  "I’ll tell you what I think’s going on. I think the Independence School District has lost sight of its greatest asset."

He is asking for any thoughts or comments about his article to be sent directly to him:
matt@hartsookcompanies.com.

We are confident that your replies will be kept confidential and treated with respect.

We agree with Mr. Beem.  Independence will never be the athletic powerhouse that some administrators are hoping.  Anyone who truly understands our community knows this.  There will always be stand-outs and exceptional teams.  But not the year after year after year dominance that a powerhouse would display.

Many administrators in the district come from small towns.  This is not a bad thing - but it is not experience directly related to Independence which is the 5th largest city in the State of Missouri.  The District is the core of this large, increasingly urban, district.  For many small towns, the sports teams are the center of pride and social life.  That is, never has been, and never will be Independence.

To demonstrate this, go back to the comments made by new Superintendent Herl.  "This is a large city connected to a large metropolitan area, but the town is very contained here. I grew up in a small town, as did my wife, so that is a nice feeling to have here.”  See April 10, 2013, Examiner Article.

10 comments:

  1. The smartest thing Dr. Herl could do is bring back Dr. Henry Russell for convocation - and not just the thing he does with the microphone when he calls people down front - but to announce he will be taking over the district to get things going the right way again. Dr. Herl can be the district athletic director.

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    1. What was Dr. Russell's job? He was very nice and a great communicator, but not sure what is job was. Give Dr. Herl a chance, I think he will be fine if the community will give him a fair opportunity to succeed.

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    2. He was an assistant to Dr. Hinson - maybe Deputy Superintendent? Yes - he should get a chance, and he is not Dr. Hinson, so hopefully the school board of education will ask a lot more questions instead of going along with whatever Herl wants to do (my perception). All I want is a courageous board who will represent our community and realize it is a superintendent's job to influence them (which is fine, but there better be some critical thinking going on by the board as well).

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  2. Ha! I forgot about Dr. Russell. He was in my building once (and I DO NOT work in the biggest, fanciest elementary where all the central office people send their kids if you know what I mean) and he said hi to me and used my name. He knew my name. I was not on any committees with him or any other regular setting, but he knew my name. He was different and very special.

    I don't think Dr. Herl could work long for Dr. Russell.

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  3. Dr. Russell would bring back focus on the right things. Can we start some sort of petition? How old is he anyway? Wait - isn't there some sort of rule about retired school district people only being able to work half time? Well, half-time Dr. Russell is worth more than ten Dr. Herls. Let's bring Russell back!!!!!!

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  4. Don't forget Dr. Russell does not live within district boundary lines, which makes him ineligible for employment these days. How did he sneak through this a few years ago? Dr. Hinson and the board hired him of course.

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  5. If Herl looked at our district realistically, he would realize the points in the editorial in the Examiner. He is blinded by the athletic experience he wants for his kid(s), and he is trying to build this for his/her/their sake. I guess that is an assumption on my part, but it seems to make a little sense. Other thoughts out there?

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  6. This district needs to decide what it is going to be known for. From an ROI standpoint, building strong programs to educate students in building trades and technology would have a much bigger impact on lives than trying to win at sports. We will have 10 million too few trade workers by 2020 and tech jobs continue to grow. It all comes down to priorities. If it's really about the kids shouldn't we be tipping the odds in their favor to succeed in life?

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    1. THAT is a great post and hits the "nail on the head" (sorry - couldn't resist). But it is a great point When are Herl and the board going to make headlines for academic programs? Why aren't they out there working hard for our kids' futures? Or at least telling us about how hard they are working. Lord knows the teachers are working hard every day.

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  7. There was a highly respected administrator who left the the district before Dr. Hinson was the active superintendent. He attended a meeting where Hinson allegedly stated his genocidal intentions. The same night of the first meeting with Hinson, he resigned from the district. He said he could not be the kind of person Hinson was asking them to be. He felt bad leaving and stated, "I feel like I'm sending my lambs out to slaughter." Within 3 years, there were only two teachers left on staff in that building. His prediction was correct.

    I still can not figure out the ulterior motives of this administration, but I do know one thing . . . it's not about the kids.

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