thursday love 3/30/06

read below to see the shorties' response to the article in the baltimore sun.


could you just eat them up?

March 29, 2006

Dear Ms. Neufeld,
We, the fourth-grade class at New Song Academy, would like to thank you for writing the article about our school.

After we read your words, we sat in our morning circle and reflected:
Teyona scrunched up her face as she talked about how dirty her old school was.
Derrick remembered how he sat in the overcrowded classroom of his old school, not understanding his math, and wishing his teacher had the time to help him.
Kashai wondered aloud about equal education, “If we are to be treated like the other schools, then maybe we need to not come every day, not do our homework, and mess up our reputation so that we can get more money.”
What would we do without New Song?
Where would we go after school if we didn’t have basketball and violin?
Would we be in the streets?
Baltimore City says that they can’t give us extra funding because it wouldn’t be fair to other schools. Should we feel guilty about what we have worked so hard for? As one of our seventh graders pointed out in one morning assembly, “Why should we have to pay the consequences for being poor?”
A handful of students brought up the fact that one of the reasons their parents stay in Sandtown is so they can go to New Song. “If New Song closes, then my mom will probably move to the county.”
“I always thought the mayor wanted people to stay in the city.” I said out loud.
Then, we sat in silence, imagining “us” without each other.

We don’t know if we will continue, as a family, until we graduate from New Song. But we know that we will try our best to get there, together. Thank you for being part of that effort.

Respectfully,
Asaan Glover
Kashai Galloway
Demond Brown
Brooke Turner
Eric Miller
Daniel Whitehead
Antonio Sims
Tyron Edmonds
Daisha Faison
Tyrone DeShields
Teyona Griffith
Derrick Moore
Malika Brookes
Jaz’mon Churchill
Kathleen McCullough

click it!

check out the new song academy site on my link list (to the right).
this will help keep you updated on meetings, letters, and other stuff.
feel free to comment, write about calls you made or letters you wrote.

let your voice be heard!

and again,
thank you all.

peace.

hittin' the fan

i was told once, by a very wise professor, to
not be afraid to stir things up
when it comes to education and
advocating for children.
as i sat
with my finger hovering over
the "enter" key on my laptop
contemplating whether or not
to "send" the words below,
i thought of her.
i held my breath and
did it.

thank you, doug, for the ammunition.



email correspondence:

Dear Mr. Hettleman,

While New Song may have converted to a public school from private, the fact is that BCPSS accepted the model and has never fully funded what they accepted.

As for treating New Song differently than other schools, this is exactly the point, we want to be treated just the same as other schools. Actually, we want to be treated worse than one of the schools. That would be School for the Arts. How much do they get, exactly, per pupil? Is it true that they get one million dollars over the per student allocation? We have no idea how much over the standard per pupil schools like Poly, City or Western, let alone Roland Park, get .
Why is it when we are asked to be equal it’s equal to the lowest common denominator and not the schools that are doing well?

As for the “can’t find the money"... this argument doesn’t hold water when you look at the number of dollars wasted each year on over staffing North Avenue and failures like the Studio curriculum. ..or the number of very highly paid people from the Fund for Educational Excellence (where Bonnie used to work) who are now on the systems budget. If the system cannot find funding/support for success that what is left? Supporting and finding failure.

I appreciate you reading this response. You are the only person who has taken the time to respond to these concerns that weigh so heavily on my mind as I face the worried faces of the community of Sandtown each morning.

Thank you - Kathleen McCullough


In a message dated 3/27/06 6:25:31 AM, khettleman@comcast.net writes:


Thank you for your email. I appreciate the good work done by the New Song
> community, but the bottom line is that the school system does not have the
> funds to replace funding from private donors and foundations. If I recall
> correctly, New Song was strictly a private school until it turned to BCPSS
> for funding as a "New School." We certainly can't treat New Song differently
> than other schools.
>
> Moreover I believe that despite your good intentions, the New Song community
> is doing all the schools a disservice by placing the blame on BCPSS, rather
> than the inadequate funding that affects all schools.
>
> Thank you again for your interest.

----- Original Message -----
From: Vwsamiam@aol.com
To: khettleman@comcast.net
Sent: Sunday, March 26, 2006 9:14 PM
Subject: school in danger of closing

Dear Mr. Hettleman,

If BCPSS can not sustain success, then their only purpose is to sustain failure. Where is the hope for our children? Fund New Song Academy!

Thank you for your consideration,
Kathleen McCullough

we will be heard

click here to keep updated on what is going on with our school.

this will let you know what actions we are taking and how you can help.

thank you to everyone who has helped and has been heard.

furthermore, If anyone receives a reply from a BCPSS board member (like joy and i did), please consider using the following as a response.

We need $7,500. Our school has assumed much of the responsibility that the BCPSS central office typically assumes and yet, we receive no compensation for our efforts. We are asking that the 59% of the System's per pupil expenditure be allocated to New Song and that 41% be retained for Central Office purposes. Currently, we receive 41% and Central Office retains 59%. This is both a reasonable and feasible request. Certainly, BCPSS hopes that every school would be able to meet all the standards set forth in the Master Plan and therefore become eligible for a similar funding allocation. It would make your jobs far easier if you didn't have to do the work that schools should be capable of doing for themselves.

We are not "blaming" anyone. We are just stating the facts and advocating for the students

let 'em have it!

Dear Friends,

In an effort to put pressure on the mayor and the school board for adequate funding, we are asking that you send the following statement:

"If BCPSS can not sustain success, then their only purpose is to sustain failure. Where is the hope for our children? Fund New Song Academy!"

Please send to:

Mayor Martin O'Malley mayor@baltimorecity.gov
Anirban Basu abasu@sagepolicy.com
James W. Campbell jcamp@jhu.edu
Douglas R. Kington doug@kingtoncommercial.com
Kalman R. Hettleman khettleman@comcast.net
George M. VanHook, Sr gvanhook@dhr.state.md.us

Diane L. Bell fax number: 410.783.0526

also,
check out the article about out school in the baltimore sun.
read it.
get angry about it.
let your voice be heard for
all children
who are
left behind.

thursday love

i love my shorties.
nuff said.
and that is mainly what this blog is about.
but in honor of 'things i love thursdays,
i would like to say that one of the
things i LOVELOVELOVE,
is my shorties' writing.
the following is a short story (no pun intended)
written by one of my brilliant, sweet, babies.

I was born in 1996 at University Hospital. I live in the community of Sandtown.
Sandtown is a great place but if people would stop killing and selling drugs it would be a better place.
I have been going to [Sandtown Academy] all my life. I even went to the pre-school!
Almost everybody who lives in Sandtown knows each other. Every weekend, almost every kid in the neighborhood plays football, “Catch One, Catch All”, or they just walk around. When you put them together, most of the people in Sandtown make one, big, happy person. The rest of the people make a grumpy person.
When someone dies, that everyone knows, they all go to the funeral.
I can’t even look at the news because most of the bad things that go on, happen in Sandtown.
I have experienced the sadness of a lot of killing. What people are not understanding is that the people they kill are really their brothers and sisters. And the other thing that people don’t get is that the bad drugs they are selling are also killing, or hurting, people. I just wish there weren’t any drug dealers and gangs.
On March 26, 2005, my brother, Jordan, was born. I want the best for my brother. I want him to be able to go outside and play without getting shot or seeing gangsters or drug dealers. I want my brother to go to school and stay in school. I want him to live a good life.
My teacher always tells me that I am going to be the mayor one day. Maybe I will. And then, maybe I can make the change that is necessary.


note: watch out for this shortie. he will be our first african-american president, unless someone older takes the job first!

self-portrait tuesday 3/21/06: daily grind

it is my morning ritual.
grind.
pack.
twist.
and wait.

it is my morning treat.
breathing in the nutty perfume
of the steamed rice milk
and deep, rich espresso.
breathing deeply
visualizing the day ahead.

march challenge

the luck of the irish...

each day this week, ms. gwynn has served up
bacon, eggs, pop tarts, french toast, sausage, fruit, yogurt and bagels.

it is the last day of state testing
for the shorties.
the shorties have cried and cheered,
huffed and puffed.
they have sat through
two-hour sessions each day.
they have written,
and calculated.
chewing on their pencils,
they have pulled on their
knowledge of all
that they have learned.

it is the last day of state testing
for me.
i have cried and cheered.
i have sharpened pencils
and rubbed shoulders.
i have misted their tired
faces with cold water.
i have given out bagfuls of
butterscotch and lemon candy,
bubble gum and smarties.
i have explored with them and have
taught them all i could
in seven months.

we are all being graded.
they are being graded to pass.
i am being graded to ensure my future employment.

the state looks at these paper pictures
scribbled with knowledge and fear and fatigue
and get their numbers.
and these numbers are what they see.
unfortunaltely, for them,
they don't see the smiles or recieve the hugs.
they don't get to see the writing journals packed with outrageously creative stories and poems.
the models built to explain ten year-olds' theories are lost to their paper-only assessment.
lead levels don't matter.
lack of sleep due to noisy neighbors are not factored in.
getting hollered at before you walk to school has to be forgotten.

so here they sit. fueled up.
taking the last few hours of this morning
to give it all that they've got.

next week is going to be one long party.

self-portrait tuesday 3/14/06: seasons

it is almost as if, with each season,
we start with a clean slate.

i was inspired, by the recent lovely weather,
to show measurement in time
throughout seasons.

a spring field trip,
summer in the outerbanks,
pretending to be "ms. kataluna" for halloween,
and winter camping with friends.

being a teacher,
i still get excited
listening to the radio
for school closings after
a winter storm.
and i love walking the city streets
with the shorties,
looking for signs of new life in march.
the shorties and i sweat as we
walk the few blocks to
mr. benny's snowcone stand
on hot summer afternoons.
scooping out pumpkins,
writing scary stories,
and eating handfuls of candy corn
are the best part of autumn.

what is your favorite season?

thursday love 3/9/06

my man.
mr. paul.

patient beyond words.
thoughtful.
real.

i don't know what i did...
but i'm glad.

promises, promises

my cute little baby-bunny shortie comes to
me after school,
"ms. k, i am sad.
i am sad because everyone is
saying i like a boy that is
just a friend."

"i would hope that all boys are
only your friends" i want to say.

sigh.

"let's talk."

we sit.

"this is going to happen a lot.
starting now. and it will happen even
when you are a grownup."

"that is a long time, ms. k."

"well, until then, you have
to just smile."

"but i feel mad," she explained
to me-who-is-clearly-not-understanding.

"yes...but they are trying to make you mad.
if you smile, it will catch them off guard
and they won't know how to react!"

i wanted to tell her to
reveal who THEY like.
or say, "how can i like him when
i saw you writing his name all over
your notebook yesterday?"

but she will learn that game soon enough.
she will only be a fourth grader for
another five months...and then
the angelic baby-bunny shortie
will become a toughie-shortie.

when i bring it up in class,
they promise me that they
will never become an
attitude-filled middle schooler....
they will always take care of each other.

we pinkie-swear and lick the icing off of
baby-bunny shortie's birthday cupcakes.

self-portrait tuesday 3/7/06: true colors over time

i am a color fiend.
i am somewhat of a slacker
this week, too,
as i resorted to using
the different colors of
my hair over the last few years
to show the passing of time.

over the last ten years i have had
long, blonde-streaked hair,
long pitch-black hair,
long red hair,
short red hair with blonde streaks,
and navy-streaked, pulled back into twists.
i have had turquoise/blonde striped chunks,
a thick navy stripe,
and finally,
fuschia and blonde fusion.

maybe it is a sickness
connected to my
shoe obsession?
maybe i am trying to
hold onto my youth?
(and is THAT so wrong?)
maybe i am just
trying to be perceived
as more
kickass
than i really am?

whothehellknows.

i am thinking short and bleached for summer...

all thanks to sarah, who made me a believer in bleach.

i am grateful...

for time to reflect.

for friends who make that possible.

for the e-ticket to new mexico that i received this morning.

for support and encouragement.

for medical donations from strangers to cover what my insurance does not.

for the whatever-it-is that is inspiring my 11 year-old mentee to try to stay out of trouble.

for temranillo (a grape varietal that makes yummmmmmmmmy wine).

for the love and patience that my husband is full of. that fact that he puts up with me makes my draw drop sometimes.

for carribean-jerk chicken wings delivered to my house.

for joe-joe ginger sandwich-creme cookies from trader joes

for the shorties. always for the shorties. for their safety, well-being, and their unconditional adoration. it rocks my world.

for family.

for friends. (who are also family)

and love. love. love.

thursday love 3/2/06

i heart t-bone and michael.

they moved away from baltimore
seven years ago
now they live in
portland, oregon (far away!)
so it is a giant treat when
they come home to visit!
they spent almost a week
with us and we:
drank coffee
and talked all morning
and ate
and talked all afternoon
and drank wine
and were loud enough to make the neighbor bang on the wall
and talked late into the night
and ate
and went to a museum
and talked while we walked
and ate some more
and drank some more.

oh. and we laughed so
much that my sides are still bruised
and they left a week ago!

so i dedicate this thursday post-o-love
to those two cutie pah-tootie pies
that i miss way muchly.

self-portrait tuesday 2/28/06 accountability

nothing is working.

whenever i want something badly enough
i work my tail off until i achieve my goal.
only, this time, i am not
in charge.

every month
i have come to
expect the
same response:
"we are sorry.
the treatment didn't work.
call us on the first day
of your next cycle."

and i do.
and it fails.

if you had told me years ago,
during the 13 year span
that i was on the pill,
that i would be desperately
trying to
conceive,
i would have laughed
in your face.

now, as we are approaching
the second to the last
(and uninsured)
step of infertility treatments,
i am angry at myself that i waited so long.
i am pissed that my eggs are old.
i want to kick somebody's ass...but the only one
i can hold accountable, is me.