Well this is getting interesting, and I want to say that I agree that every district has a culture all its own.
We have 9 Board of Ed members, and when our suerintendent resigned, the only candiate who was considered and hired was the Assistant Superintendent. A parent petition was circulated and 1000 signatures obtained in just a couple of days, asking for the BOE to consider outside candidates, and not to limit the search to just the one. We were ignored, and the new superintendent was ushered in. We are in the slow process of electing and replacing BOE members, but change is slow. We are making headway. Our biggest problem here in our district has been a lack of accountability from the top, and a BOE that rubberstamps all that the superintendent wishes to do.
This culture is important to understand, because it filters into the school community. It seems as though few in my area will challenge a bad policy or complain about anything. The tone is set straight from the top, and parents seem content to have no voice. I have never seen anything like this, and have lived in several states.
So to have a PTO community fragmented in different homerooms works for this school. Parents can't unite and voice concerns if they are not together. Crazy, but a way of life here. It has worked for the school leaders for years.
i said SOMETIMES.
clearly every district is different in size, makeup, local politics and management style and openness and accessibility to public.
its just good to be aware that sometimes things arent as they appear, or as tehy seem to appear. thats all. just like in life.
your point exactly mirrors mine in one way, there IS lots that goes on in schhool admin that we parents dont know about. and not all of it, we should,either.
Beignets I am not sure that I agree with you on the super runs everything...truth is there are is alot of communication that goes on between board meetings. My husband is on the board, it is nothing for the super to call my house on a holiday or late at night when something goes down, so if he wasn't concerned by what the board thinks I am not sure he would be reporting in so much. Some districts it may be that seem that way at meetings but there is ALOT that happens between them...
"When you stop learning you stop growing."
one persons insight, fwiw:
the boe memebers, elected only every 4 yrs or so, are hard to remove, or it takes FOREVER and your kid may already be at the next school....
AND more importantly is to know the local politics,,,,go to board meetings....often, even tho it is true the BOE hires the supt, the BOE very often cowtails to the whims of the super, and its role reversal, the super calls all the shots.
just an observation, cuz the chain of command sometimes has some loose ladder steps and its good to be observant, and you have to go to boe meetings to get the feel of how things work in your district. its the comments that DONT make the meeting minutes, that are sometimes the most revealing of how things really work in the school admin. hierarchy
one step farther - the superintendant is hired by the Board of Education - who in turn is elected by the voters (i.e. the parents) take your difficulties to the highest level, along the chain of command. If you do not get satisfaction - then campaign against the Board members up for election (as individuals not your PTO)or even take a stab at getting elected to the Board. It would take time to change the culture in your district - but it can happen.
