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Monday, June 29, 2015

First Coast's unbelievable discipline numbers. Mind boggling!

The first numbers below are how Lee and First Coast high schools did on the recent end of the year Algebra and ELA tests the last two year. There are tons of numbers we could look at and the ELA numbers represent different tests but for now let’s just look at these.

Algebra I
Lee 27-17
First Coast 38-37

ELA
Lee 35-37
First Coast 41-40

Lee had a ten point increase in algebra and a two point decrease in their ELA scores* while First Coast had one point increases in both. None of the numbers are great though a ten point increase in anything is pretty good.

Here is the thing the principal at Lee, Dean Ledford who by all reports was liked by his staff was demoted to Mandarin Middle while the principal of First Coast, Alvin Brennan, Vitti has publicly said he wants to keep around for two more years.

When Vitti met with Lee’s staff I am told he said that Ledford wasn’t right for the job at Lee because he struggled with discipline (why throw the guy under the bus like that???). I find this really ironic because no school made the news more for problems with violence and discipline than First Coast did, though admittedly Lee made the headlines a few times too.

I don’t have access to the numbers at Lee but I do to the numbers at First Coast and I thought about saying they were miraculous but the truth is they are unbelievable.



2012-13
2013-14
2014-15
Class I Violations
2,813
1,997
501
Class II Violations
1,365
1,314
636
Class III Violations
146
142
136
Class IV Violations
3
0
1

2010-11
2011-12
2012-13
2013-14
2014-15
ATOSS
281
711
718
610
17
ISSP
1616
2781
2853
1664
460
OSSP
881
361
441
413
187
SRO Arrests
20
13
14
6
13
                                                                                                     
If you notice there were stupefying decreases in every category. Geeze Louise if Brennan is that miraculous with discipline then why wasn't he given a fat raise and promoted to oversee the county. Please take a look again.

Brennan does have a reputation as being a disciplinarian but maybe he wasn't promoted because not even the district believes these numbers. Duval has had a history of hiding discipline problems too, brow beating teachers into not writing referrals, or not processing the ones that they do.

It's my bet and please let me know if I am wrong Lee and First Coast teachers, was that Lee was doing things the right way while First Coast was either cooking the books or making is so teachers there were to afraid to write referrals. The bottom line though is the principal at Lee was demoted and the principal at First Coast was called one of the city's best.

If the numbers above despite the drop in the school grade, test scores, and the exodus of teachers are accurate maybe Brennan is one of the best. If the numbers are to be believed that is.

10 comments:

  1. I can tell you most referrals were not processed, some of which should have led to criminal charges and arrests.

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  2. Better chance at winning the lotto than getting a referral processed at FCHS. Id rather deal with the behavior than deal with one of the admins over there. There are some great admins at FCHS, but there is one that is especially bad and she has her hands in everything. She is so unbelievably rude and condescending, that you're left wondering: "Am I being pranked?" And the thing is, she not half as dynamic as she thinks she is. It is comical. is Dr. B really is not that bad. He has to, and will work on his people skills.

    God Bless one and all.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Two years from retirement sounds like a fine time to start working on "people skills."

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    2. Speaking from my experience as a sub. FCHS is the worst place in the county to spend a day. The place is completely out of control.

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  3. At Lee, there was no fear of retribution, only that of helplessness. Mr. Ledford works harder than any principal I have ever seen, but he follows the rules. If there is a Code of Conduct, he follows it to the letter. Because of the new Code's leniency, there was no point in writing a referral. I don't blame him; I blame Vitti for creating the above situations. He wants low discipline numbers, so he looks good. Brennan provides that for him.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Getting lower numbers for discipline referrals is very, very easy. I think Vitti and Brennan have that licked. What they do not have is a student body that is respectful, on time to class, attentive and interested in learning. Furthermore, there is no way of getting a truly disruptive student removed from the classroom. It is impossible to eliminate cell phone use--even making voice calls while the teacher is teaching.

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    2. There is a way to get a disruptive student removed. Appendix G in the contract is state law. Use it.

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  4. It will be interesting to see what happens over at Lee. From everything I have heard the new principal has very strong people skills and will be great for staff moral, but is not really known as a disciplinarian. Not sure what Vitti's goal is for Lee, but I hope the new guy is the right guy.

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  5. Chris, where did you get the fsa data from?

    ReplyDelete