Outrage and Protest

Two Sundays ago, the local newspaper published the following article in which a local public school board member attacked the public school system. Shocking, right? Read the article (if you can). I'll see you back at the end.

BLACKMAN-DUPAS BLASTS PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM

Sun, 10/09/2016 - 05:00

Board member says APSD has failed its students

GARLAND FORMAN

   Avoyelles Parish public schools have failed students and their parents and should be avoided by parents if at all possible, one School Board member posted on her Facebook.

  In a Sept. 24 post to “Avoyelles Parish public school parents,” Shelia Blackman-Dupas wrote that “with the exception of children attending Lafargue Elementary School, this system has done a disservice to both you and your child. Children in this system should be priorities, and not ‘warm bodies’ to fill seats for MFP funds.”

   Superintendent Blaine Dauzat called the board member’s comments “disappointing.”

  Blackman-Dupas’ online comments were not discussed at the board’s Oct. 4 meeting. However, she said after the meeting that she stands behind those comments -- which includes encouraging parents to send their children to charter schools and private schools, rather than nine of the 10 APSD schools.

   She noted that several board members “send their children or grandchildren to the charter school or to a private school. That speaks volumes. If we don’t think the school system is good enough for our children, then why is the system good enough for others?”

  Board member Chris LaCour’s two children attend Avoyelles Public Charter School in Mansura, as does Van Kojis’ three grandchildren. Board member Mike Lacombe’s grandchildren attend the parochial Sacred Heart School in Moreauville.

   Kojis said he has three grandchildren at APCS, “but I don’t tell my children where to send their children to school.”

   LaCour had no comment on the matter, but has mentioned in past board meeting discussions that his children attend the public charter school.

   Lacombe noted that his three children all attended St. Mary’s Catholic school in Cottonport until they entered high school. All three attended and graduated from Bunkie High.

  “I highly recommend, that if you see Red River (Charter) Academy recruiting in your community, sign your kids up,” Blackman-Dupas wrote in her Facebook post. “When Avoyelles Public Charter School accepts applications for new students, take some time to go and sign your child up. At a minimum, your child deserves an opportunity to receive a good, solid education.”

  The Mansura board member said most of the district’s schools have failed to provide a good, solid education and places the blame on the School Board for being more concerned with the student enrollment numbers than about the students.

   “Meanwhile, the kids are failing miserably,” Blackman-Dupas added.

   She said her children are grown, so she does not have to face that issue herself. However, she noted that she is raising a 1-year-old great-niece and “ I can assure you that if she were entering school today, I absolutely would not enroll her in this public school system.”

   In her message to parents, Blackman-Dupas said those who hope their children will obtain higher education should “seek alternative education for him/her as soon as possible, for it is highly unlikely they will be prepared in the Avoyelles Parish public school system.”

Section: 

NEWS

I've always sat back and let others fight these kinds of battles. I was a young teacher with a career ahead of me, something I did not want to endanger. Besides, there were always older, veteran teachers who were brave, who had fewer years of career left in them, who were certain to speak their minds. Today, though, I'm the veteran. It's my turn to speak up. It's my responsibility. That said, below is my response to the article--published in the same newspaper--because I could not sit back and let this person hurt the morale of our teachers. 

Dear Editor:

Though I cannot speak for all teachers, my 28 years of experience should allow me some leeway in sharing my personal concern, disappointment, and outrage over Mrs. Blackman-Dupas’ abusive words which you printed last Sunday.

I will begin by quoting the American School Board Journal (http://www.asbj.com/) in noting that school board members are asked to "bring sharp questions, innovative ideas, and fresh energy....to make a positive difference in the work of the board." Mrs. Dupas’ words were anything but fresh or positive.  Her negative spirit and her degrading opinions of Avoyelles Parish are disparaging. To say “most of the district’s schools have failed to provide a good, solid education” is to insult every teacher, parent, and child who ever attended or depended on our public schools.  

Mrs. Dupas has a right to her opinions just as all Americans have the right of free speech. Mrs. Dupas, however, promised to advocate for Avoyelles Parish public schools. To advocate is to champion or promote, which for a school board member should include supporting teachers, helping parents, and educating children. It includes telling the truth. It includes keeping her promises to those who voted for her.  To do so, she must attend school board meetings and committee meetings, speak to the people in her district and support their values, vote for the good of the whole parish, and encourage teachers in their vocations. Ask Mrs. Dupas how many school board meetings she has missed since her term began.  Ask her how often she supports the school board in their endeavors to improve all the schools. Ask her how her abhorrent opinions have helped anyone.

School board meetings are public record at www.avoyellespsb.com and answer the first question: Mrs. Dupas was absent on nine occasions from January 2014 until the present. Nine meetings: March 6, 2014; October 7, 2014; November 5, 2014; May 5, 2015; September 1, 2015 December 8, 2015; April 5, 2016; June 7, 2016; Sept 16, 2016.  She misses an average of three meetings every year—meetings that her constituents elected her to attend.

In regard to the last question, I will say that Mrs. Dupas helped absolutely no one by saying “this system has done a disservice to both you and your child.” When did an education become a “disservice”? She proceeded to highly recommend charter schools and private schools. Do private and charter schools accept and teach every child who lands on their doorsteps? They do not--this, Mrs. Dupas is the reason we have public schools. What will become of my students? Some of my students are the ones who cannot afford private schools. They are the ones a charter will turn away. They come here, Mrs. Dupas, to my school--one of the public schools that accepts every student, a school that our community loves, a school where many in my family graduated, one of the schools you serve.

Mrs. Dupas cannot possibly mean that the schools she represents are so low-grade that she would not recommend them to anyone. If that is the case, does it mean that Mrs. Dupas is not doing her job? She may have been elected by the people of District 5 but, once elected, she is an Avoyelles Parish public school board member and serves every person in the parish. It comes with great responsibility and, dare I say, pride. I question if re-electing her is the right thing to do since she refutes any responsibly for the schools in her district. She accepted those votes and she collects a paycheck, which means she has a responsibility to the people who voted for her, to the children in our schools, and to the teachers who accept and educate every child.  The fine people who voted for her have the expectation that she has promised to make things better. Promised. Meaning she is obligated to reform the school system by working with the people she represents. Perhaps she truly believes that it is her right to “stand behind those comments.” Perhaps she thinks she is doing some good by destroying teacher morale, insulting parents, laughing in the face of those who entrusted her with our children’s education. If so, she has proven once again that she does not care about the people of Avoyelles or the school system that she has sworn to champion.

Mary Marcotte

I signed my name, something that people who write these letters rarely do. The letters are published anyway, but I decided that bravery requires a signature.

Since the letter was published this past Sunday, I have heard from many teachers. Every one who wrote, called, texted or spoke to me in person said the same thing: "Thank you." That's all that I hoped for. So this week a protest is my finish.