Why?

Zak Murray's comment on Anonalum's blog has prompted a self-reflection from those behind City Forever?. Why is this anonymous blog here? Why was it started? Why not just go to more conventional forums to bring about change?

The backstory: At the beginning of this school year, we were all behind the new administrative team. After the unrest of 2004-2005, we were happy to have Mr. Dawson in the Principal's office. We were happy, because it seemed like we would finally have some consistency and direction from that office.

However, as the year went one, we began to hear of several incidents that Mr. Dawson was directly involved in that seemed more in place out on the streets, or in a zone school. He was bullying and beliggerant to teachers and students. He treated some staff and teachers very badly, many who had served for years and years at the school. Some of these were rumors (rumors of him jacking up kids in the hallways, the rumor that he told a student he would beat him so far that blood would be spurting around his office, the rumor that he told a staff member that she was as replaceable as a contractor, the rumor that he tried to bait a kid into getting in a fight with him), and some of them were facts (Ms. Covington's dismissal, for example, or his lack of handling of the halls situation).

Collectively - and we are teachers, staff, and parents - we thought we were the only ones who had heard these rumors or felt this way. But in talking with the staff and students throughout the school year, we discovered that the man is a source of great contention. And, yes, we know that everyone isn't supposed to like people in the position of power. But the inappropriateness and lack of professionalism seemed rampant from many spots and people. And because of the several teachers and staff he has threatened to fire this year - plus some that he apparently already has - he is unapproachable.

Our positiion is that in his less than a year at City College, Mr. Dawson has demonstrated the following:

1. Unprofessionalism (job threats, jacking kids up)
2. Invisibility (rarely is he seen in the halls, students know he's not going to be around much and the halls show it)
3. Ineffectiveness (the same problems with the halls, lack of organization, and poor planning from previous years abound)
4. A "Yes Man" for North Avenue (one reason why going above Dawson's head won't work)

Do we want Mr. Dawson fired? No. We wish in the hiring stages that more time was spent looking at his background; a simple google search (see left) reveals the man has been a bully in his past schools. But now that he is here, we simply want a check on his power. If things he does will be published on the Internet, maybe he'll be less likely to jack kids up or threaten staff members' jobs. In addition, we hope to get the Baltimore City Public Schools in check; City has again recently been named one of the best schools in the nation, yet problems abound - many of them generated at the ivory towers at North Avenue.

And why don't we come forward with these concerns in more traditional ways? We have, and will continue to do so. Some of us are students, and we've done the best we can. Others of us fear for our jobs, so we do what we can on the surface and work other ways underneath. We love this school, but are deeply troubled by much of what has occurred this year.

City College isn't a great school. It makes the Top 200 in the Newsweek poll because it's a special school, and a lot of kids take advanced classes. But it's not a great school. Great schools have leaders who rule by fear and an iron fist. Great schools have tardy policies. Great schools have visible administration. Great schools have attendance monitors. Great schools have acceptable websites. However, City College is a good school, and could be a great school, so we're doing what we think is right to help get it there.

Please contribute stories and concerns to cityforever06@hotmail.com.