Strong Similarities Between Gallaudet Protest and SMSD Protest
Both protests were held during the school hours.
The grievances of the students in both protests were ignored by the BoT and the administration.
The protests resulted in reaction to the excessive power of the Directors, disregarding the wishes of their stakeholders
The Gallaudet Protest resulted in objection of the appointment of JKF with the perception of flawed presidential search
The SMSD Protest arose in a response of the firing of its popular mathematic teacher, versatile in teaching mathematic skills and using ASL fluently.
During both protests, the parents of the students were outraged and were summarily rebuffed from the institutions and their BoTs
During both protests, the BoT left the discretion to the CEOs of the institutions to handle the conflicts.
The administrators and/or chairperson of BoT of both schools felt their institutions belonged to them than to the stakeholders.
In both schools there were excessive cronyism between the BoT and top administrators of the institutions.
During the protests, the meetings of BoTs of both schools were closed to its constituents.
A member of Gallaudet BoT, its chairperson, resigned just like the member of SMSD BoT did. However, the SMSD BoT member was convinced to rescind his resignation by the chairperson of BoT.
The protests persisted with no quick resolutions
The administrators of both schools inflicted harsh consequences on the students for protesting.
From Media:
Parents fault trustees’ chairman, demand removal
Parents are calling for the ouster of Joseph S. DePaolo as chairman of the St. Mary’s School for the Deaf’s board of trustees, claiming his closed-door policies hurt the school.
In a letter sent Monday to the board, parents said the trustees have become isolated from the larger school community under the leadership of DePaolo, whose policies, they said, are contrary to the school’s traditions of respect and collaboration.
“Because Joseph DePaolo has enacted policies which have eliminated the systems of checks and balances between students, staff, parents, school administration and the board of trustees, we ask the board of trustees to ask for the resignation of Mr. DePaolo as board [chairman],” the parents wrote.
The parents’ letter complained that the board was inaccessible. Board meetings are closed, and board policy prohibits staff from bringing problems directly to the trustees. The Buffalo News: Buffalo/Erie County: Parents fault trustees’ chairman, demand removalSt. Mary’s School for the Deaf board keeps its meetings closed
St. Mary’s School for the Deaf board keeps its meetings closed
Like any public school, St. Mary’s gets nearly all its money from taxpayers, in this case about $11.65 million annually.
But unlike public schools, St. Mary’s conducts all its business out of public view. Among actions the board has taken in recent years behind closed doors:
• Extending the superintendent’s contract, with an immediate 10 percent pay hike to $159,000 this year, as well as a car, lifetime health coverage and a six-month consultant stint upon retirement.
• Hiring the current superintendent’s son as a teacher. A previous superintendent’s wife and daughter had been hired to oversee the school’s video repository.
• Enacting a policy putting more authority in the hands of the board’s executive committee, while, at the same time, making it more difficult for employees to bring concerns to individual board members.
• Considering removal of two members — including a nun who had worked at the school for 44 years — from the board for talking to employees. The motion was on the agenda but never brought to a vote. The Buffalo News: City & Region: St. Mary’s School for the Deaf board keeps its meetings closed
Students Picket School for the Deaf
Students and staff at St. Mary’s School for the Deaf in Buffalo took to the streets on Wednesday, protesting the school’s closed door policy and the recent dismissal of a popular teacher.
Student and parents have little recourse because while the school is funded by public tax money, a private board of directors oversees the school and is not required to comply with the state’s Freedom of Information Law. Students Picket School for the Deaf | WKBW - TV Buffalo, New York | Local News
email contact: mishkazena@aol.com
Both protests were held during the school hours.
The grievances of the students in both protests were ignored by the BoT and the administration.
The protests resulted in reaction to the excessive power of the Directors, disregarding the wishes of their stakeholders
The Gallaudet Protest resulted in objection of the appointment of JKF with the perception of flawed presidential search
The SMSD Protest arose in a response of the firing of its popular mathematic teacher, versatile in teaching mathematic skills and using ASL fluently.
During both protests, the parents of the students were outraged and were summarily rebuffed from the institutions and their BoTs
During both protests, the BoT left the discretion to the CEOs of the institutions to handle the conflicts.
The administrators and/or chairperson of BoT of both schools felt their institutions belonged to them than to the stakeholders.
In both schools there were excessive cronyism between the BoT and top administrators of the institutions.
During the protests, the meetings of BoTs of both schools were closed to its constituents.
A member of Gallaudet BoT, its chairperson, resigned just like the member of SMSD BoT did. However, the SMSD BoT member was convinced to rescind his resignation by the chairperson of BoT.
The protests persisted with no quick resolutions
The administrators of both schools inflicted harsh consequences on the students for protesting.
From Media:
Parents fault trustees’ chairman, demand removal
Parents are calling for the ouster of Joseph S. DePaolo as chairman of the St. Mary’s School for the Deaf’s board of trustees, claiming his closed-door policies hurt the school.
In a letter sent Monday to the board, parents said the trustees have become isolated from the larger school community under the leadership of DePaolo, whose policies, they said, are contrary to the school’s traditions of respect and collaboration.
“Because Joseph DePaolo has enacted policies which have eliminated the systems of checks and balances between students, staff, parents, school administration and the board of trustees, we ask the board of trustees to ask for the resignation of Mr. DePaolo as board [chairman],” the parents wrote.
The parents’ letter complained that the board was inaccessible. Board meetings are closed, and board policy prohibits staff from bringing problems directly to the trustees. The Buffalo News: Buffalo/Erie County: Parents fault trustees’ chairman, demand removalSt. Mary’s School for the Deaf board keeps its meetings closed
St. Mary’s School for the Deaf board keeps its meetings closed
Like any public school, St. Mary’s gets nearly all its money from taxpayers, in this case about $11.65 million annually.
But unlike public schools, St. Mary’s conducts all its business out of public view. Among actions the board has taken in recent years behind closed doors:
• Extending the superintendent’s contract, with an immediate 10 percent pay hike to $159,000 this year, as well as a car, lifetime health coverage and a six-month consultant stint upon retirement.
• Hiring the current superintendent’s son as a teacher. A previous superintendent’s wife and daughter had been hired to oversee the school’s video repository.
• Enacting a policy putting more authority in the hands of the board’s executive committee, while, at the same time, making it more difficult for employees to bring concerns to individual board members.
• Considering removal of two members — including a nun who had worked at the school for 44 years — from the board for talking to employees. The motion was on the agenda but never brought to a vote. The Buffalo News: City & Region: St. Mary’s School for the Deaf board keeps its meetings closed
Students Picket School for the Deaf
Students and staff at St. Mary’s School for the Deaf in Buffalo took to the streets on Wednesday, protesting the school’s closed door policy and the recent dismissal of a popular teacher.
Student and parents have little recourse because while the school is funded by public tax money, a private board of directors oversees the school and is not required to comply with the state’s Freedom of Information Law. Students Picket School for the Deaf | WKBW - TV Buffalo, New York | Local News
email contact: mishkazena@aol.com
March 30th, 2008 at 10:10 pm
Thanks for covering the SMSD Protest! I feel compelled to tell you something similar to Gallaudet and SMSD is brewing in Arizona soon!