Exclusive! Candid Interview With Terminated Principal
Principal Veda Usilton is a DC native and product of the City's public schools. She has a Master's degree from Howard University and a PHD in counseling from the University of Maryland.
For the past eleven years Usilton has been Principal at Garnet Patterson middle school in the Shaw neighborhood. Singers Pearl Bailey and Marvin Gaye and the District's first Delegate to Congress, Walter Fauntroy graduated from the school, located at 10th and U streets,in Northwest.
Usilton learned by letter this week that her tenure at Garnet-Patterson would end next month. She and at least 30 other Principals are being terminated by School Chancellor Michelle Rhee.
First off, I have to say Principal Usilton she didn't seek me out. She was reluctant to talk to me and felt there was nothing she wanted or needed to say; but I showed up at the school unannounced without my cameraman on Tuesday...and heard just enough to convince me I had to get on camera this woman and her struggles to educate over the years the poor and often troubled students at this inner city Middle school.
I promised to take no more than 30 minutes of her busy schedule. After getting the go ahead from school officials downtown. We sat down in the Principal's office on Wednesday to talk.
Said Usilton, "we knew something had to happen". She told me that she expected changes because under the federal "No Child Left Behind" law, DC School Chancellor Rhee is required to overhaul 27 schools that failed to improve reading and math scores over a five year period. Garnet Patterson is one of those schools.
Firing all the Principals was an option.
Principal Usilton says that while there has been sporadic improvement last year only seventeen percent of her students were proficient in MATH-- Only 20 percent met their READING goals.
She told me scores went down every year they changed the test. There was also a decline in test scores the year lots of veteran teachers chose to retire; also, until recently she never had the resources that are now being poured into the DC schools.
But the Principal in front of me wasn't about to blame Chancellor Rhee for anything.
On the contrary.
To view my entire interview with Principal Veda Usilton go to the link below.
Click here to see BJ interview with Principal.
posted by Bruce Johnson @ 10:00 PM
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7 Comments:
I praise this principal for her attitude that she wants her school and DCPS to be better. I have to agree with her statement that terminating the principals is a bit harsh. The supports a school receives such as a literacy (reading) and a math coach can make a big difference in a school. I know because I teach in Montgomery County Public Schools and these people help support the academic program in our school. The additional resources that we receive support students and teachers directly so that 17% proficient in reading and 20% in math NEVER happen.
How can you punish a principal if you keep changing the testing criteria and do not provide support? Are the schools failing or the people supporting the schools? This is an outrage and an embarrassment!
NCLB (No Child Left Behind) is a joke and I can't wait for the reform.
Last comment...did she say they were going to get art, music, and pe teachers this year? Are you telling me the students of Garnett-Patterson did not receive these classes this school year?
I viewed this video and nearly wept because this principal seemed so dedicated to the children and to her school without having benefit of the necessary things that are needed to operate a school. Now that some needed resources are going to become available, she will not be able to see any of it come to fruition.
She could be bitter but she is not, she is taking the high road and looking at this move as being good for the students.
My hat is off to her. I hope that she is able to get an administrative position very soon. 4myboyz was amazed that music, art and p.e. are not at Garnet Patterson. I think if it is checked, we will find that many DC schools do not have those subjects taught.
I don't know how she held back the tears. I wanted to cry for her! She and her colleagues deserve the chance to continue working at the school now that the resources are available to assist both the teachers and the students to improve academically. Also, she can not and should not take all of the blame for the past academic progress of the students at Garnett Paterson. The parents of these students have to be held accountable. I and my child are products of the DC school system. Its a whole new world since I was there, but when my daughter attended dc public schools I as a parent played a very important part in her education which can only make it a little easier on the teachers and principals.
It sounds to me like Ms. Rhee is trying to make an example of these principals and teachers or maybe trying to meet a "quota" of some sort. I do however think that if she is provididng additional resources to this school that it is a good thing but I would also believe that the students at this school probably dont want to see their principal and teachers leave which could lead to a lack of motivation and desire even with these resources. If anything they should have a probationary period to possibly acheive academic improvement and if they are not up to par within that time period (with the additional resources) then they should be dismissed! From watching this interview, I think that this pricipal truly cares about her students and colleagues and can possibly achieve great things!
Like the other comments I praise the pricipals response to a difficult situation. I have met her in person and know what a dedicated person she is.
As a former teacher and presently an Educational Specialist I find it extremely unreasonable of the Chancellor to terminate the principals who have worked hard with minimum resources. I challenge Chancellor Rhee to work under the circumstances they have. After reading past articles about her experience it is clear to me that she has not. Because of punitive actions like this and NCLB it will be hard to find the next generation of dedicated educators.
I am currently a teacher in Montgomery County public schools pursuing a master's degree in administration. I have only a small idea of the challenges that this principal had to face through the eleven years that she served at Garnett-Patterson. I must say that her outlook on her situation is one to admire and learn from. Her focus is on how this change will benefit the kids that have been suffering with inadequate resources for years. She sees how this can change the course of their educational lives. That is a noble stance. I personally think that when making the decisions for terination, the principals were not considered as individuals, but merely as numbers, which is often the case with how the higher-ups view the schools and the students. This is very unfortunate, because as she said, her and her collegues have years of experience under their belts which will be lost in this move. There should have been some way to keep them on as consultants, advisors or the like. With NCLB it seems that educating children is becoming even more of a thankless job. Even as I pursue my right to lead as a principal, I am very doubtful that I will actually want to take on that role in the future. All the joy in educating our kids is being replaced by data, meetings, practice tests and more of the same.
No Child Left Behind is a BIG joke and disappointment. It forces teachers to prepare students to take test...not to think for themselves or solve problems. Students areas frustrated as teachers. We are losing our young teachers because of NCLB. If NCLB isn't reformed soon, we may be saying, " NO TEACHER LEFT BEHIND."
Take a bow!! This principal and other teachers throughout the DC Public School System should take a bow. I am a product of DC Public School and am now a very successful professional with children of my own. I am striving hard to return to the city so that my children can attend school there. I come from a family of educators all of whom refused to abandon the DC Public Schools to take jobs teaching in other schools systems, charter schools and at the college level. These are teachers that are passionate about their vocations. They have been failed not by the school system, not by Chancellor Rhee, but by the parents who have left the responsibilty of raising their children to the teachers in the classroom. You won't find a more compassionate group of people than DC Public School teachers. They have to deal with children who spit, talk back, threaten and the like, but these are the same children who they feed, offer a listening ear or kleenex to and allow to take naps in class because of the issues going on in the home. When are we going to open our eyes and see the big picture. Firing principals and teachers is not going to give you higher test scores if the kids are coming to school daily with 4 hours of sleep.
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