New 5x5 schedule causes stir

Diane Lloyd is upset about the 5x5 schedule the Syracuse City School District implemented this year. She came to the Syracuse Board of Education meeting tonight to let commissioners know it.

         The 5x5 schedule extended the school day from four periods to five this year and got rid of afterschool help. Students take an elective, and have a free period to meet with teachers during the day, Lloyd’s son A.J, said.

A.J. Lloyd misses class at the end of the day to compete in golf matches for Corcoran High School, Diane Lloyd said.  A.J. needs 50 hours of physical activity. It's required for International Baccalaureate, an honors program he's in.

 “I’d hate to have a kid put in a position where he has to choose between a sport and a class.” Diane Lloyd said.

Ed O’Rourke, the Treasurer of the Syracuse Teacher’s Association, sees problems with the schedule too.

 “Now they have too much free time because additional staff wasn’t hired to teach additional class.”

Many teachers and students can’t meet because their schedules conflict, A.J. Lloyd said.

 “We’re allowing kids more electives and more support than they’ve ever had before” Superintendent Dan Lowengard told reporters after the meeting. Lowengard said changes would be made to accommodate people like A.J. Lloyd.

 “People don’t like change, change is tough. We need to give it time” Brian Nolan, the Syracuse director of High School, said.

            Even A.J. Lloyd says he sees positives.  “Mechanical engineering is what I’m looking to do right now, which is one of the reasons I like the 5-block.”

Board of Education Stands Behind Taser Use

Members of the Syracuse Board of Education say they will continue to support the recent actions of police officers in the city’s schools. This discussion Wednesday evening at the board’s monthly meeting came two weeks after two separate incidents involving the use of Tasers to break up fights at Syracuse high schools.

The police have been stationed at the Syracuse City Schools for years, but have only carried Tasers since the beginning of this school year. Police Chief Gary Miguel decided that the Tasers should be used in schools as an alternative to more physical weapons such as nightsticks or guns, Commissioner Cynthia Kirby said.

The officers in the schools are not under the jurisdiction of the school district, so the board doesn’t have the power to change the Taser policy, board Vice President Laurie Menkin said. The board had the choice between police officers with weapons including the Taser, or no officers at all, Kirby said. “I wish we didn’t have to have police officers armed with Tasers, but that’s the reality of this community.”

Superintendent Dan Lowengard said he believes that the strongest message from the incidents shouldn’t be about the Tasers but should instead be a message to the community that fighting is unacceptable. To help avoid future conflict, programs such as Say Yes to Education and a new district-wide curriculum that better deals with students’ social and emotional problems have been adopted, Lowengard said. “Kids need to be accountable for their behavior. We support not guns or Tasers or pepper spray; we support our police officers.”

Board of Education support Police in High School Taser Incidents

It wasn't on the agenda but Syracuse School Board members made a point of bringing up Tasers during their monthly meeting tonight. All five commissioners on hand and the superintendent said they back the police in recent incidents at two city high schools.

“It is our expectation that our students follow our student code of conduct and exhibit appropriate behavior in our buildings,” Board of Education President Kim Rohadfox-Ceaser said.

Rohadfox-Ceaser was responding to the use of a Taser by an officer during a fight at Fowler High School on September 28, 2009. The previous Taser incident happened at Corcoran High School.

The board stressed that it didn’t want its schools to be depicted as violent places where no learning occurs. Rohadfox-Ceaser assured the public that the safety of its staff and students is their number one priority and the presence of police officers in the schools is the best way to ensure that.

Though the presence of the officers has reduced the number of fights occurring on school grounds, the board is strongly pushing the message to its students that violence is not the answer.

Superintendent Daniel Lowengard said he has been talking to Syracuse high school students about the consequences of fighting and using the Say Yes to Education program to help motivate students to stay engaged in their education and start thinking about college.

“I think when kids see a future and are engaged in their learning on a day to day basis, then the fighting thing is really reduced,” Lowengard said.

Education Commissioners Support Police in Recent Taser Incidents

It wasn't on the agenda and nobody asked about it, but members of the Syracuse Board of Education made a point during Wednesday evening’s meeting of supporting the police in two recent Taser incidents in city high schools.

Police officers used Tasers on students twice during a 24-hour period in September.

On Sept. 28, a school resource officer used a Taser to break-up a fight between two students at Fowler High School. The next day, another officer discharged a Taser at a 16-year-old student who was being disruptive in class at Nottingham High School.

“Fighting will never be tolerated at our high schools,” Superintendant Daniel Lowengard said. “We support our police officers and their actions.”

Lowengard said officers in schools have specialized training when it comes to dealing with violent students.

“The way a police officer is equipped on the street corner should be the way an officer is equipped in Syracuse schools,” said Susan Fahey, President of Parents for Public Schools of Syracuse, after the meeting.

Fahey said the recent increase in school violence is a result of gang-related activities in Syracuse.

“Suburban schools are a reflection of the suburban community,” she said. “Urban schools are a reflection of the inner-city community. It's like night and day.”

Lowengard said he plans on visiting district high schools in the coming weeks to discuss alternatives to fighting with students. He spoke with concerned city residents during a public meeting Saturday at Fountain of Life Church on South Avenue.

School board supports tasers in schools

Syracuse school board members said Wednesday night they support police officers—including their decisions to use Tasers in recent school confrontations.

 “It’s a decision we made to have police officers in our schools, and one of those conditions is that they have the same weapons they have on the streets,” Vice President Laurie Menkin said. 

 Police used Tasers at city high schools twice in September.  The first time was during a fight between students at Fowler High School.  The following day, a police officer used a Taser on a student who hit him at Nottingham High School.  

Although Superintendent Dan Lowengard and President Kim Rohadfox-Ceaser have spoken to reporters about Tasers in schools, Rohadfox-Ceaser said last night’s board meeting was an opportunity for all board members to address the public.  “It’s important for us to say ‘we stand behind the police officers,’” she said. 

Some parents and civil liberties organizations are concerned police will begin to use Tasers more frequently with less caution, board member Cynthia Kirby said after the meeting.  That is not likely because the Tasers have cameras and board members can review the film, she said.

 “My initial reaction to Tasers in schools was negative,” Lowengard said.  “But now that they’ve been used and I’ve been able to see the video, I think they can actually make bad situations safer.”

 Parents for Public Schools President Susan Fahey said both the school board and the police department are handling the issue properly.  “Honestly, I would rather my son was Tasered than shot.”

Syracuse Schools Prepare for Swine Flu Vaccinations

October 15, 2009

The Syracuse City School District announced its plans to set up H1N1 influenza vaccination clinics for students at a Board of Education meeting Wednesday. The clinics will be held from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the district’s high schools when the vaccination becomes available around the first or second week of November, Superintendent Daniel G. Lowengard (right) said.

The district will provide transportation and security as well as permission slips for parents to sign ahead of time, Lowengard said. However, he does not expect there to be enough vaccinations for all students.

“If we say that actually all kids don’t have to have the vaccine then this is a good plan,” Lowengard said.

“As we report that the incidents aren’t that great, parents will say then 'why should we worry?' The danger with that is once the incidents are great, it’s too late to get the vaccine.”

One parent is concerned many students will not get the vaccine and thus become infected with swine flu, which would be detrimental to the education of their classmates.

“If only half the kids get it, and then half the kids are sick, part of your schooling is your interaction with your fellow classmates, so you only have half your class participating,” said Lt. Col. Bryan Ratliff, father of a first grade student at John T. Roberts School.

“There’s an impact on education there too, where kids aren’t in a comfortable environment because their friends are all sick.”

Democrats upset over Republican use of power

 

             Bill Kinne was going to go along, but he wasn't going to get along on this one. "I don't like the way we're doing business," Kinne, D-Syracuse, shouted across the County Legislature Chamber at Majority Leader Kathy Rapp, R- Liverpool.

The issue was approving six directors for the county's new Civic Development Corporation. The underlying issue was Republican control of the legislature through their 11-8 majority. The county executive and the legislature chair nominated the directors; all six are Republicans.

Rapp was taken aback by Kinne’s outburst, “I thought they knew what happened so I was surprised.”

            “They’re not political” Rapp said, when asked whether the board should be more balanced politically.

Sam Laguzza, D-Syracuse, sees things differently.  “For her to say it’s not political is asinine.”

               Laguzza stressed that Republicans ensured control over the board by appointing what he called “entrenched Republicans”

              The Republican majority would have passed the board with or without Democratic support. But the Democrats voted in favor of the proposition unanimously. It passed in the legislature 19-0.

               Kinne said it was not worth it to vote in opposition.   “If I felt I could send a clear decisive message, I would vote no in a heartbeat.” Kinne said.

               Kinne’s one vote could not send a message, the Democrat’s eight might, but it made no difference.

               But Laguzza said he understands where Republicans are coming from.  “If Democrats were in control, we’d probably do the same thing.” Laguzza said. “It’s the nature of the beast. “