Ou est le gare? (Gare: GAR; French for train station)
In 1982, Don and I took a back-packing trip to Europe. We ended up spending our first night sleeping in a doorway in Lille, France with about a dozen stranded travellers unable to find a room for the night before the railroads shut down.
We'd been tossed out onto the drizzly streets when the station closed, and we wandered in a pathetic little pack until we found a covered, recessed entranceway to pass the night.
At daylight, we needed to find our way back to the station, but we were lost. And very tired, hungry and damp. In abject misery and frustration, I stood on a corner and wailed, "Ou est le gare? Ou est le gare?"
Except I pronounced it wrong. I said "guerre," not "gare."
A lovely Frenchman in a nice top coat, hat and cane came up to me and calmly explained, "Mademoiselle, the war has ended, forty years ago. You can go home now!"
I had been pleading: Where's the WAR? Where's the WAR?
Well I'm here to tell you that the war is over, and fellow citizens, it's time to get back to education.
Let's all focus on making sure our students have the best system of public education, in any public school district in America. Or elsewhere.
Why not?
Isn't that why we moved here? To make smart kids smarter?
Most of us moved here to give our kids an "edge" in the marketplace for advanced education and employment. Bloomfield schools were never cheap. We all knew we would have to pay to get good schools. We pay premium local taxes to keep them good.
Over the past few years, we've had a sustained disagreement as to what our high school facility(s) should look like. One big? Two small? Here's the deal: The decision has been made. Let's roll with it.
Better: Let's get excited.
We are going to build a nice new high school at the Andover site. We are not going to have two high schools and whatever nostalgic or other advantages that might have. Let's get involved and make sure our high school is FANTASTIC.
I said "our." Yours, mine, ours. OUR high school.
Let's make sure graduates of the BHSD are in demand for college and career opportunities. It "takes a village" of smart, committed people to provide the foundation of a great public school district.
Let's shake off the "PTSD," or other bad feelings, of the past several years. Let's dig in and make this work.
5500 BHSD students are counting on us to show them we can do it.
Ken Jackson
12:32 pm on Friday, September 7, 2012
Ms Greenwell,
I thought the anecdote hilarious! That said, war metaphors can scare me more than sports metaphors -- particularly when it comes to public education. But, to take up your spirit of detente, let me first recommend the late Tony Judt's stunning book on Postwar Europe. Great reading for AP history students and others. Postwar Europe, and France, in particular didn't invoke a celebratory mood. Second, I tend to think there is still very much a "war" going on surrounding public education, one that will make our bond issue look rather tiny in comparison. Public education "reform" from Lansing will change what most of us knew and thought about public schools and those changes will start be felt over the next 6 to 10 years. I want a community and board ready for those changes.
Jenny Greenwell
9:20 am on Saturday, September 8, 2012
There's an honest "trick" to wooing taxpayers and legislators to support public education. I promise to explain that concept in an upcoming blog.
J Arch
1:19 pm on Friday, September 7, 2012
Jenny, I love the tone of this blog. This is truly the spirit that we can all rally around, regardless of where we've been before on the issues facing the District. Like you and Don, my wife and I move to Bloomfield specifically for the standard of public education that we wished for our 3 childrten. Twenty years later, we are proud to point to our oldest graduating this spring in 3 1/2 years from the college of her choice and our middle one enrolled at the college of her choice as a freshman this fall. Our youngest is a 9th grader at Lahser this year and in spite of the transition environment ahead, we are excited at the prospect of her being in the first class of the new Bloomfield Hills High School to graduate from the new high school building. Let's all work to make that happen and open a new chapter in education in Bloomfield Hills.
J. Wagner
Jenny Greenwell
9:25 am on Saturday, September 8, 2012
Congratulations to you and your family. I am happy to hear that all are doing well. I would like to ask you to let me know how your youngest feels about the "transition." Next year, she will have new experiences in a blended school population. She will be in a familiar setting, LHS, but many students will be uprooted from familiar surroundings. I can't help but worry about their well-being. I actually think it is kind of cool that BHSD will operate a 9th grade "academy" at Hickory Grove. We should track how that performs.
S Sera
7:24 pm on Saturday, September 8, 2012
Mrs. Greenwell,
Why do you persist in using the term "academy". As the community knows there is not going to be an academy. Many of the 9th grade students will be traveling up the road to Lahser to take classes as well as participating on sports teams and in clubs with the rest of the "Black Hawks". Referring to the "short-term" schooling of the 9th Graders in Hickory Grove as an "academy" is misleading.
In as much as the 9th graders being at Hickory Grove is a short-term situation what would be the point of tracking how it performs?
It appears that most of the students of this community are handling the coming changes much better than some of the adults. Perhaps the district needs to be focusing on those adults who will need support during this "new chapter".
I look forward to reading your response to Mr. Jackson's query of 9:37 am today.
Jenny Greenwell
4:06 pm on Friday, September 7, 2012
Thank you. I am glad you enjoyed my story and I am interested to study the legislative changes we might face and the actions that must take place to ensure that all of our students are able to meet challenges and do well. I am concerned about the transition phase. We should not be complacent. My parents considered moving to NJ when I was a junior in high school and I was DEVASTATED. We stayed put, but if my family had moved, I might have tried to arrange to stay back. I had "expectations" about my final terms of high school. Perhaps something very special can be done to reach out to our entire population of h.s. students. I like the sound of a "new chapter." Maybe we can write a whole new book!
Ken Jackson
9:37 am on Saturday, September 8, 2012
Ms. Greenwell,
On the "academy": last spring during the run up to the May 8 (VE Day as you no doubt know!) assorted members of 20/20 asserted again and again that a permanent 9th "Academy" was a more than appealing alternative to the unified single high school even though the administration -- quite emphatically -- kept saying this would be a forced lesser choice, something they would have to do to make ends meet. Now that it there is a 9th grade building for the transition I am curious to see how you view that kind of campaigning. To my mind it was utterly disingenuous as it misrepresented the facts to the community at large in order to further a political agenda. I am quite content that my daughter will take her 9th grade year at Hickory Grove and then move to the new high school. If you were on the board and knew -- in your heart -- that a group was promoting a fiction (say a 9th grade "Academy" that was an equal or better or alternative to a single unified high school) how would you respond?
Neal Charness
11:36 pm on Saturday, September 8, 2012
Chris: If you truly believe what you say about the academy/hoax being behind us you would have skipped making this post. Jenny may well care about the children but she has demonstrated a lack of willingness to work with others (outside the B2020 cadre) and has shown a disdain for a good section of the district. I'm not saying she shouldn't be part of the process or have input but that doesn't mean you give someone who did great damage to your house the keys to your house (putting her on the board). Caring about children (I have no reason to doubt that she does) does not qualify someone for board service when there are so many past issues. It will take time.
Jenny Greenwell
9:34 am on Sunday, September 9, 2012
Think about this: What if our new single high school is so wildly popular, that the 1650 capacity is not only reached, but surpassed? What if, in a few years, we enroll 1850 9th through 12th grade students? Should we pack them in? Or should we consider using a seperate academy as a "lifeboat" while facilities (capacity) issues are resolved?
(Did you know that in 1974, Lahser high had 1400 students? That's capacity!)
I don't have any difficulty imagining that the BHSD may well build enrollment over the next several years. These things are cyclical. One day, a 9th grade academy might serve our students and community well. How can that be considered a "hoax?"
I think student achievement in our various high school options should be tracked. We need to know how they are doing in the learning opportunities offered by the BHSD. That way, we can make adjustments to serve them better.
S Sera
7:44 pm on Sunday, September 9, 2012
Mrs. Greenwell,
The first part of your response seems to indicate a continued support for something that isn’t going to happen; a 9th grade Academy. Your pursuit of it based on a wonderful “what if” highlights the question of your commitment to letting go and moving on. Many of this community have thought about the “what if” of a large growth in our student population. Reality dictates dealing with the here and now and the foreseeable future. Unless there is a regional economic boom that you can pull out of your back pocket, the type of growth to our student population you are “what iff-ing” isn’t in the foreseeable future of this community.
The second part of your response generates questions. Do you not think that the state mandated MEAPs, SAT, ACT, and AP scores are a form of tracking? Are you suggesting that the schools should spend money on additional tracking instead of using that which is already paid for. If we wish to increase educational outcomes shouldn't the district be spending available funds on those things that will assist in our students educational growth every day not on more "tracking"?
Neal Charness
10:45 am on Sunday, September 9, 2012
It's true that enrollment could increase. We can't predict the future. The way the 9th grade "academy" was used by the NO people this spring was a hoax to get people to think it made sense to run two obsolete high schools far below capacity. With what the state is looking to do to compel districts to take all children if they have capacity even though districts may have higher taxes as we do would have been a disaster. That there could be a situation where we have more enrollment that we plan is possible--the way it was presented this spring was just wrong and is one of the reasons I'd be uncomfortable giving Jenny the "keys to the house" at this point.
Jenny Greenwell
2:13 pm on Sunday, September 9, 2012
I don't think I ever considered a 9th grade academy seriously, and don't recall using that argument. I do know that Howell has one and that Lake Orion is developing one, possibly in response to enrollment fluctuations. Perhaps there are other reasons? I don't know that it is an idea that produces better outcomes. I was a post WW2 Baby Boom kid and it seems like our schools were always modifying things to make room. They set up "temporary buildings" and quonset huts for us. I spent K and 1st in an "annex." Didn't bother me at the time. My teachers were nice and I learned to read, listen, follow directions, etc. They took us to the "big" school for library and auditorium events. BHSD has plenty of excess capacity to absorb population over-flow at this time. Won't be needing any pre-fabs or trailers, I expect. At this time, I believe that Pine Lake is vacant. There could be a creative use for a facility like that. I think it's best to keep an open mind about different pathways to learning.
Timothy
2:20 pm on Sunday, September 9, 2012
Jenny,
I hate to be brutally honest here, but it seems that you are merely jumping on the bandwagon, not leading the charge. There have been advocates in our community who were trying to get everyone excited for a great new high school. This was all while you were strongly advocating against it, because "It was a great big gym". It is all good that you now had a 100% reversal on your attitude and support the schools combining, but seriously, do not act like you are the fist to support this. Honestly, I would rather see the school board seat go to an incumbent because they have been supporting this from the start, not just to get votes, but because they truly believe in it.
Neal Charness
4:47 pm on Sunday, September 9, 2012
Jenny:The whole B2020 group such as Chris and John Roach were right there and you were advocating 2 small high schools even though that wasn't on the ballot. This disconnect with facts and matters at hand is another reason I don't believe you qualified to get "the keys" and serve on the board.
Neal Charness
6:08 pm on Sunday, September 9, 2012
left out "are" between "you" and "qualified" Sorry
Jenny Greenwell
5:37 pm on Sunday, September 9, 2012
I promise to write another blog on the "disconnect" that exists in our school district. There are already a couple of new ones in the queue...can't promise as to when they will be posted. A "disconnect" clearly exists...and solving that problem will take more space than this "comment" allows! Stay tuned, and please continue to follow my blog.
Thanks!
Neal Charness
10:33 pm on Sunday, September 9, 2012
Jenny: Before you post any more "new" Jenny blogs would you please reconcile the following blogs you've posted with the "new" Jenny. It seems you've taken a different tact when the goal is a seat on the board. My kids' behavior and words change quickly when they want something. Here are few of your older blogs, there are many more available but this is a good start:
8/8/2011 B20/20: Who and What are We (See Paragraphs 11 and 12 which directly contradict your statement you weren't in support of recalling all 7 trustees)
2/20/2012: May 8 Election is a Dirty Trick: Alleging the School District intentionally let our two small mainstream high school facilities to deteriorate.
4/18/2012: Two Schools of Thought...or a Great Big GYM (Claiming the board wanted to build a unified high school to have a 12 lane pool and a big gym with this denigrating statement about other districts: "Seriously, if you want a big GYM, there are plenty of nearby districts that don't have much else to offer. Houses are affordable in districts where sports are more important than math, science and what we generally consider to be 'school'."
2/17/2012: It's about Money, Manipulation and Wabeek. There's no mention in the body of the blog about Wabeek. Was this an attempt to pit one side of the district against the other?
It would be great if you could deal with these issues before trying to relaunch yourself as a candidate for the Board.
Ken Jackson
7:41 am on Monday, September 10, 2012
Ms. Greenwell,
My question was rather straightforward. You aren't really answering it in a straightforward way. The District told community members and parents the 9th grade building was, at best, a stopgap. That you and Mr. Roach (and apparently Mr. Fellin -- by the way, it would be great to hear from Ms. Greenwell first Mr. Fellin, one starts to suspect that she has to check in before responding to serious questions) "imagine" something different is not relevant at all. The District teaches -- not board members and certainly not Mr. Roach. In fact, to my mind, Mr. Roach actively distorted the issue to try to get votes. Would you do that as a board member and if not how do feel about someone who does or how would you respond to someone who does?