City Is Bleeding Again

Keep the Momentum Going

2008-09-11T08:10:00.000-07:00

I know that there are a lot of people who are still very upset about the removal of Mr. Percy. This removal was unfair, and unfounded since Mr. Percy did a great job at City and really was looking forward to working with the Class of 09. I know that Dr. Alonso has already received a lot of emails, but I do not think it would hurt for those who have already written him to write again saying that their concerns have not been addressed (aalonso@bcps.k12.md.us). I heard that all student emails are being forwarded directly back to Mr. Dawson, so it might also be a good idea ask Alonso to read the email himself before forwarding it on.

Please use this as a chance to share any positive stories that you have about Mr. Percy. In fact, I would like to post these stories on the blog and facebook so if you do not mind then please send me a separate email (do not CC me please) and I will post them with your name removed, unless you tell me otherwise. I think it is important that everyone see what a great job Mr. Percy did.

No End In Sight

2008-09-08T20:40:00.000-07:00

So it’s been strangely quiet on the Mr. Percy front. I haven’t been able to get much out of anyone. All I know is that Mr. Dawson held a meeting last Tuesday for parents and some students. I heard that he read off of a printout for over an hour straight and went over some of the same tired lies, er, lines about Mr. Percy, even adding a few new ones about how Mr. Percy tried to hire his girlfriend or his girlfriend’s friend or something like that to work in the college advising office. My understanding is that Mr. Dawson just flat out made this one up because no one seems to know anything about it.

The one positive thing is that apparently Mr. Dawson did admit that he was the only one that wanted Mr. Percy gone and that everyone else on the hiring committee that he created for the college advising office actually did not even want to start the interview process. But Mr. Dawson insisted on it, and then ignored all the committee members' votes and fired Mr. Percy the day before school. This issue should NOT just go away. This not only hurt Mr. Percy, who I think is still looking for work, it also really hurt the Class of 09! Our school should not be run like this! At this point it really is up to us to do something, so please keep e-mailing Alonso (aalonso@bcps.k12.md.us) and/or Shaw (rshaw@bcps.k12.md.us). Tell them that Mr. Dawson hasn’t resolved this issue and is simply trying to ignore it.

Updates

2008-08-26T15:50:00.000-07:00

Please continue the emails and phone calls. PLEASE email and call Dr. Alonso (Superintendent)[W (410) 396-8803, Fax (410) 396-8898, email aalonso@bcps.k12.md.us] and Roger Shaw (Director of Secondary Schools) at (443) 984-2958 or rshaw@bcps.k12.md.us. Tell your friends. The students of City College, we deserve better than this.

And did you know you could facebook Dr. Alonso? Look him up!

A few updates:

We hear that Mr. Dawson is sending out form letters to concerned emails from students. We hope that means he's getting a bunch of them.

We heard that Mr. Dawson and Ms. Legg both voted against forming a group to look into the College Advising Office and Percy's firing at the last PTSA meeting. The final vote was 3-2 against, because another parent voted against it. If we were Dawson, I guess we wouldn't want anyone looking closer at that issue either, but it still sucks...

Anyhow, that's why we want to do this - Dawson continues to attempt to hide behind "I can do whatever I want and don't have to discuss it" language, and refuses to meet in a civilized manner with concerned parties. Boo.

Mr. Percy still would really like his job back. He is still helping out students who email him with questions.

At the same time, we need to remember not to treat the new women in the office badly! It's not their fault!

If you are willing to publish your email (with your name) to Mr. Dawson or Dr. Alonso on this site, forward it to concern4city@gmail.com and we'll start posting them. We are current students and don't want to get in trouble, so this is mostly for graduates who can talk about how Percy has helped them get into college.

PLEASE READ - Timeline of the events of the firing of Mr. Percy (from Mr. Percy)

2008-08-20T16:56:00.000-07:00

Mr. Percy emailed this, thinking it would be helpful. Mr. Dawson has been able to state his position publically, but not Mr. Percy. Since Mr. Dawson has been known to do underhanded things with his staffs for the last several years (links to the left!), and since he did this before with Mr. Smith, Mr. Daniels, and Mr. Morrow last summer, we tend to believe Mr. Percy's very detailed version of events. It is very long but worth a read. PLEASE email and call Dr. Alonso (Superintendent)[W (410) 396-8803, Fax (410) 396-8898, email aalonso@bcps.k12.md.us] and Roger Shaw (Director of Secondary Schools) at (443) 984-2958 or rshaw@bcps.k12.md.us.

Hopefully honesty and integrity wins out! The class of 09 needs our college advisor back!

Timeline of Events:

Late April: After being offered a similar job in Boston, MA, I approached Ms. Harcum about my desire to stay at City College. She asked me what was important to me and I stated that job security and perhaps the opportunity to pursue a Master’s degree were important to me. Ms. Harcum stated that with the new found opportunity for principal’s to control their budget that there was a possibility of making the Director of College Advising position a full-time position.

At first we moved forward with the process of creating a new position within the budget termed “Director of College Advising.” We were to move forward with the creation of the position and began following the proper steps set forth by the Baltimore City Public School System (BCPSS). Shortly thereafter, we were informed that the position did not need to be created and that the position would be termed an “Educational Associate.”

Mid-May: I was told that the Director of College Advising position would become a full-time benefited position under the terminology “Educational Associate.” Ms. Harcum informed me that it would be a 12 month position that would pay out (removed) per year.

Early June: The Educational Associate position was created within the Baltimore City Public School System with a Job description that I helped write. The position was created and posted on the BCPSS website. On June 5th, I went down to the BCPSS Human Resource (HR) Offices on North Avenue and submitted my Resume and Cover Letter for the position. I was told that the process would be a quick one as the window to apply was very short.

June 15th: My temporary contract expired. At this point I had been told that over the summer I would sign a full-time benefited contract as an "Educational Associate." The benefits of this position would be that it would be a full 12 months and that I would have the opportunity to work during the summer.

July 7th: I had not yet heard anything from Baltimore City College and so I had a meeting with Mr. Dawson in which he told me that he didn't want to purchase the "Educational Associate" position because of the fact that the BCPSS was reassigning employees that work at the Administrative Building into schools and if he purchased the position it would get filled by a random employee of the BCPSS and that I may not get hired. At this point I asked him when he thought the position would be purchased and he said that it might take 2-3 months. I stressed the importance of getting into the office as soon as possible so that I could begin to prepare for the upcoming school year. He said he thought I had been working all summer and I mentioned that I had been in the office periodically during the summer but had not been employed. We decided that the best course of action was to sign the temporary contact that I had signed the previous year for 10 months.

Mid-July: After signing a 10 month contract that would have had me starting on August 25th, I asked Mr. Grey if I could have my 10 month contract changed to a 12 month contract so that I could begin working earlier that August 25th. He said that he would try to do that. In terms of compensation for those two months, I suggested that we try to keep me at my current pay rate and extend it two more months; Mr. Grey agreed that I should be compensated over those two months. Mr. Grey said that he would speak to Mr. Dawson about it.

On July, 24th, I went to City to sign a new 12 month contract and found out that they had just used white out to change the dates and had added no extra compensation for the additional two months. I was concerned that just whiting out dates and times could cause problems. I asked to speak to Mr. Dawson and he told me that he wasn't going to give more money to me and that if I expected to be compensated in that way that it wasn't going to happen. He stated that he had already invested $100,000 into that office and he didn’t want to invest more. I stated that the office was worth that compensation. I said that if that was the case I would rather keep the 10 month contract because that personally and professionally I didn't feel that working for free for two months was a smart move. Mr. Dawson's response to that was that it was my decision as to what contract I wanted to sign. I thanked him and told him I would get the contract taken care of right away

Immediately after that I went to Ms. Legg to have a new contract typed up that would have me as a 10 month employee but that would have me starting on August 4th. My hope was to be in the office as soon as possible. The contract was filled out and signed by myself and Mr. Dawson and Ms. Legg informed me that she would take the contract down to the Administration Building on North Avenue that afternoon.

On Wednesday, July 30th, I called the Human Resources office at the BCPSS Administrative Building on North Avenue and stated that I was a temporary employee that had a contract submitted and was wondering if I could come down to fill out the appropriate paperwork to begin employment. I had done the exact same thing a year ago and felt that if they had my information I could perhaps begin working on August 4th as stated in my contract. The woman on the other line asked for my name, I stated it was Ethan Percy and she told me that yes I could come down to the Administrative Building and fill out my paperwork. She asked my availability, I stated I could come at that moment and she said how about tomorrow. I was going to be out of town so she told me to come down at 8:30 am on Monday, August 4th.

On Monday, August 4th at 8:30 am, I arrived at the HR department at the BCPSS Administrative Building and told them that I had been told to arrive at this time to fill out my paperwork. They asked for my name and stated that they had no record of me. They asked me if I had been called and I told them that I had called the previous week and that the woman had asked my name and told me that I could come down to fill out my paperwork. The man then told me to sit tight and that he would check to see where my paperwork was at. He came back and stated that the paperwork was most likely at the Area Office as it had to get approval there first before it came to the HR department. He took my cell phone number and told me he would call me when it arrived.

On August 4th, Ms. Harcum and I had begun interviewing candidates for the Assistant Director position that was open. We advertised in multiple venues including NACACnet.org and PCACAC.org (two websites dedicated to College Advising and Admissions professionals.) I had chosen not to advertise on Careerbuilder.com due to the high amount ($400) to post a job. At this point the HR Director of my girlfriend’s company offered to use their account on careerbuilder.com to search for resumes. I received approximately 15 resumes of which one I chose to pursue. We interviewed two candidates, one on Monday, August 4th and the other on Tuesday, August 5th.

On August 4th, I wrote an email to Mr. Dawson stating my frustration with the fact that it was August and neither the Director or Assistant Director were employed by the school as of yet. I stated that I had signed my contract but was wondering if he knew of a way to fast track it so I could begin my employment in the school. I also asked if there had been any head way on the current situation of the BCPSS and its hiring situation and if he could see the full time position happening around the 2-3 month timeline that he had given me earlier.

Both Ms. Harcum and I were very impressed with the second candidate and on Tuesday, August 5th, Ms. Harcum told me to check the candidates references and if they supported the candidate to offer her the position. In the past, Mr. Dawson had never been involved in the interview process to the best of my knowledge. When I interviewed in August 2006 and when we interviewed a candidate last year for the Assistant Director position, he was not involved.

On Wednesday, August 6th, I checked the candidate's references and planned on offering the position to the candidate on Thursday, August 7th. On Thursday I went to City College to continue working on the office, as I had done all summer, and called the candidate at approximately 2:30 pm to offer her the position. The candidate said that she was confused as Dale Halterman had just called her to schedule a meeting with Mr. Dawson. I told her I had no knowledge of that and apologized for that. Neither Mr. Dawson nor Ms. Halterman had contacted me prior to making that phone call to let me know they would be contacting the candidate.

On Monday, August 11th, both the candidate and I had meetings with Mr. Dawson that were scheduled at different times. The candidate's meeting was at 1:30. After the meeting, Ms. Halterman brought the candidate to the Office of College Advising so that I could show her the office and talk with her more about the position and what type of role I saw her playing in the office. In that meeting the candidate said that she had been offered the job by Mr. Dawson but would need a few days to think about it. I told her that was completely understandable and gave her my cell phone number in case she had any questions regarding the position.

At my meeting with Mr. Dawson and Ms. Halterman at 3:00pm on Monday, August 11th, Mr. Dawson first asked me about how I felt about the candidate. I stated that I thought she interviewed extremely well and that her references had great support for her. I felt that she was extremely bright and that she would bring a lot to the table. I felt that her experience working in both the Admission Office and the Dean of Student’s Office at her college would help her in the transition to working with the students of City College. Mr. Dawson stated that he did not like her because when he offered her the job she said she would have to think it over. Mr. Dawson then notified me that it was now protocol through the BCPSS that any position (full-time, temporary or contracted) needed to be put through an interview process and that the job needed to be posted. Even though he had just told me he offered the prospective candidate the Assistant Director’s job, he told me that position would also need to be interviewed for. I asked him what his plans were for the interviews and he said that prospective candidates were already dropping off their resumes. He explained that there would be a panel that would give 15 minute interviews where each candidate would be asked the same questions and a decision would be made based on a point scoring system. I then asked him what I was to do because at that point I had a signed contract from him stating I would be the Director of College Advising for the 08/09 school year at City College. He said that he had pulled that contract from being processed. At this point, for the first and only time, I told Mr. Dawson that I had been offered a job in Boston in the same capacity and that I had turned it down because I wanted to stay at City College and because I had began a multi-year plan that I wanted to carry out and because of the passion I had for the students and how much I enjoyed the faculty and administration. I also stated that I thought there was no better place to work in the country when dealing with type of students that I had the opportunity to work with over the past two years at City College. I stated that I had thought the position was moving toward a full-time position that would allow me to work for the school during the summer and that is why I hadn’t gotten a summer job and why I was confused as to how the process was moving forward. Mr. Dawson stated that he had given me an extra $5,000 in my salary for benefits and I then told Mr. Dawson that it wasn’t about the money or the benefits. I stated that I wasn’t doing this job only for monetary benefits. I did this job because of what it meant to me as a person and for the students of City College. I told him that the main reason for me wanting to become a full time employee was so that I could have job security. I wanted to not have to worry about the temporary contract and I wanted to be able to work year round to give the office that extra push that it needed throughout the summer. I also wanted to begin working on my master’s degree and to enter the Aspiring Leaders Program for Urban Education through Hopkins so that I could improve my ability to help the students of City College. He told me that it was not beneficial to him to hire to full time employees in that office as it would cost him upwards of $50,000 more dollars to have them full-time. I stated that I thought the office was worth that to the school. Mr. Dawson stated that teachers were far more important to the school than the office and that was another reason as to why we weren’t full-time. I stated that though I didn’t disagree with him, it was important that the office be full-time so that we could attract employees that would be interested in staying around longer than one year. I stated that I thought that the Office of College Advising did many things that were similar to that of a teacher and that we were helping the students in many of the same ways. Mr. Dawson stated that he had invested $150,000 into Hall Monitors for the 08/09 school year. I stated that the Office of College Advising wasn’t receiving that much monetary support from City College.

I stated that I thought that the Office of College Advising was more important to the students of City College than the hall monitors and Mr. Dawson stated that we were no more important than the hall monitors, I told him that I disagreed with him. I stated that continuity in terms of employees was important for the Office of College Advising and for the students. He stated that this was not important and that kids would get over not having the last person in the office and would learn to like the new employees. I stated that I disagreed with that. Mr. Dawson then stated that it would be easy for him to hire new employees for our office and that he could easily train them himself. I then stated that the office had made significant progress over the past 2 years and that it was headed in the right direction in terms of benefiting the students. At this point Mr. Dawson stated that Ms. Harcum (Assistant Principal) and I had failed at our job of hiring an assistant. I stated that both Ms. Harcum and I were very satisfied with our choice in the hiring of the Assistant Director and it was Mr. Dawson who didn’t like her. He continued to state that Ms. Harcum had failed because I should never be having this type of meeting with him. Because we were having this meeting that meant that someone below him had failed at their job. Mr. Dawson stated that he would speak with Ms. Harcum about this and that if he were to get rid of an Assistant Principal it would just mean that he had another $105,000 to play with in the budget. At this point I stated that he was saying that I had failed this summer by not hiring an Assistant Director though I had in fact not had a contract throughout the summer but had been working at City College almost every other day to ensure that the office would be able to move into the fall semester smoothly. Mr. Dawson reiterated that Ms. Harcum and I had failed at our jobs. At this point the meeting ended and I was told that interviews would be held Friday, August 15th, just 2 days before the school year started.

On, Friday, August 15th, I interview for the job of Director of College Advising at Baltimore City College High School. On the panel were Mr. Dawson, Ms. Halterman, Ms. Harcum, and Ms. Legg. In the interview I was asked a series of questions that ranged from how I came to City College to Letter of Recommendation writing to Professionalism and the Direction of the Office of College Advising. Mr. Dawson asked just one question at the end of my 10 minute interview and that was to explain why I felt I should be the candidate chosen to run the Office of College Advising for the 08/09 school year.

In this interview I stated that the professionalism in the office was very high. I stated that I felt students respected the office more than they did some of their classrooms. They did not use their music devices, phones (unless authorized by the office to call a college) and did not curse. They picked up after themselves and respected not only the office but their fellow classmates. As to the direction of the office; I said it was good but that it could and would improve. I stated that steps were made this year but there was more to be done. I stated that a 12 month position for the Director was vital as it allowed for planning to take place over the summer instead of in the fall when the students returned.

On, Monday, August 18th, I received a phone call at 9am asking that I meet Mr. Dawson in his office at 11am. I arrived at 11am and was seen at 12pm. In this meeting were both Mr. Dawson and Ms. Halterman. Mr. Dawson first stated that I was not the chosen candidate. He mad no mention of that fact that I wasn’t qualified for the position. He said that a woman had come in and blown him away with her experience and that if not for her I would have been the director. He said that he had yet to talk to any of the panel about his decision and he stated that he wanted to try to keep me as part of City College in some capacity because he liked me and my passion. I was never offered a position. He stated that he was just thinking off the top of his head but didn’t know what he was going to do or how it was going to get done. He then asked me what I was thinking. I said that I was crushed. That I couldn’t believe that I wasn’t the chosen candidate as I had been in the office for the past two years and formed hundreds of relationships with students and college representatives. That I had moved the office forward and that a person who is knowledgeable of the position and the school and who had had great success in the office should have been the chosen candidate. Mr. Dawson stated that he didn’t like my answers to the questions about the direction of the school because I had said I was satisfied. I stated that I had not said that and that I had said we had made progress but there was work to be done. Mr. Dawson stated he didn’t like that I was satisfied with the professionalism in the office and I stated that I still believed that the professionalism exhibited in the office was outstanding. He told me not to be crushed because I still may have the opportunity to work with these kids.

I stated that I was crushed because I had spent the last two years with these students and this entire summer (while not being compensated) working for the office, preparing the office for the 08/09 school year. I stated that I had been at meetings, exchanged emails, sent out transcripts, advised students, read essays, set up fall high school visits, planned programs for the school year and reorganized the room this summer. Mr. Dawson said that he didn’t think that was the case because I had mentioned in the last meeting that I wasn’t being paid this summer. I stated that regardless of that, I needed to ensure that the office was going to be ready by the fall and if that took working in the summer than that was what needed to happen. I stated that the most important people in this were the kids and that is why regardless of my status this summer I needed to be an active part of the office. I stated that I was upset because what I had started I was not going to be able to see through. I stated that up until the previous Monday, August 11th, that there was no indication that I wasn’t going to be the Director of that office and that this was entirely out of the blue and that was why I was crushed. Mr. Dawson told me to think about what I he had told me and in a couple of days he would call me.

At 3:42 pm on Monday, August 18th, I received a call from Mr. Dawson in which he stated that he was hoping to try to work with me to find someway for me to work at City College but that he had gotten some upsetting phone calls and emails and that my services would no longer be needed at City College and then asked for me to return my laptop.

The college advisor job isn't one to replace for no reason just before our senior year starts!!

2008-08-20T16:10:00.001-07:00

Other important details about Mr. Percy's firing:

There have been four college advisors at City since Mr. Dawson has come, just four years ago. The previous were Lucy Duke (2005-2006), Meredith Herrera (2006-2007), and Mr. Percy (2007-2008). Ms. Duke left because of Mr. Dawson: http://concern4city.blogspot.com/2006/06/college-advisors-quitting-because-of.html. Ms. Herrera reportedly left because of the lack of benefits and poor pay. Mr. Percy was willing to stick it out but wasn't allowed to.

Mr. Dawson feels so poorly about the college advisor position that he said Mr. Percy's job was less important than a hall monitor's. He said he could train any hall monitor in 2 weeks to do what he did.

Mr. Dawson told the PTSA that Mr. Percy demanded $75,000 and benefits for his salary. This is just false. Percy was willing to come back for what he worked for last year, he just wanted more and benefits as anyone would. It's just he-said, he-said at this point, but an INVESTIGATION needs to happen!!! Our college search is too IMPORTANT to leave to people with no college advising experience!!! Mr. Percy had interviewed almost everyone in our class already and knew us to write letters of recommendation! The college advisor job isn't one to replace for no reason jsut before our senior year starts!!

Most of what Mr. Dawson said to the PTSA meeting the other day was not true, according to other people involved. Mr. Dawson wouldn't have said those things in front of Mr. Percy because he knows he was lying! And why is Ms. Legg (who is not a teacher!) and Mr. Dawson (who is not a teacher!) allowed to vote in the Parents-Teachers Association meeting? There should be an investigation into this practice of Mr. Dawson! This is just like what happened last summer with Mr. Daniels, Mr. Smith, and Mr. Morrow! And what happened at Mr. Dawson's previous schools! Why is this allowed to keep happening? Please do something!

Mr. Percy was a great college advisor as we all know. He will be truly missed. Let's get him his job back!

Oh and we heard that the main office is telling people who call that Mr. Percy left because he wanted to, that he resigned. Not true! Mr. Percy would love to come back!

Dr. Alonso (Superintendent)
W (410) 396-8803
Fax (410) 396-8898
aalonso@bcps.k12.md.us

Roger Shaw (Director of Secondary Schools)
(443) 984 2958
rshaw@bcps.k12.md.us

aalonso@bcps.k12.md.us

Mr. Percy fired by Mr. Dawson - please help

2008-08-20T16:09:00.001-07:00

Hello fellow Class of 2009 members,

Some of you were nice enough to help me get as many names as possible on this list, and I appreciate all you have already done to help out Mr. Percy. For those of you who do not know the whole shady situation, here it is:

Last spring Mr. Percy was offered a position as a College Adviser at a school in the Boston area at a higher salary and with more job security (and health coverage) than in his current position at City. He did not want to leave (he genuinely cares City and about the people there) but was having trouble justifying staying until he was offered similar terms for his contract with City. Mr. Percy agreed to stay and all was well until this summer, when he came in to school to sign his new contract and begin preparing for the upcoming school year. Instead of the contract he had been promised, he was instead given a contract identical to the one he had been on last year. Mr. Percy was told several excuses including that this was for his own protection since a "North Avenue" person might be placed into a new permanent position, and that this was because there was not enough room in the budget to support his new position but that perhaps by November it would be possible to upgrade him to the position he had been promised. Mr. Percy agreed to work under this less than ideal arrangement, but did make a point to express his concern to Mr. Dawson. Mr. Dawson responded by telling Mr. Percy that he was opening his position to new applicants, that he could interview to keep his job on Friday, August 15th, and ultimately informing him on Monday, August 18th (the day before teachers were to report back to work) that someone else had been hired as director of the College Advising Office.

At this point, it seems that the best course of action will be for as many members of the City College community to contact Dr. Alonso to express support for Mr. Percy and concern that City will be diminished by his loss. The class of 2009 is going to be the most affected group. When combined the new hires in the College Advising Office do not have Mr. Percy's College Advising experience and they also do not have much time to set everything up for our interviews and applications. You can also help Mr. Percy and our class by expressing your support of Mr. Percy and your concern about the irrational decision Mr. Dawson made. The more positive information Dr. Alonso has regarding Mr. Percy, the greater the impact of this effort will be. Already Mr. Dawson is attempting to spin this dismissal by stating that Mr. Percy did not do a very good job as director, and by saying that Mr. Percy was holding the school hostage for more money and did not really want the job. These statements are not true! Please contact the following people. Then forward this to all other City students and alumni so that they can also get involved. Get your parents and teachers in on this if you can since this needs to be a community effort! Do not let Mr. Dawson chase away any more good people from City! This is a trend that we cannot allow to continue!

Contact: (Please contact both of these individuals as well as anyone else you think needs to know about this). Please e-mail and call because it is hard to know which method is more effective.

Dr. Alonso (Superintendent)
W (410) 396-8803
Fax (410) 396-8898
aalonso@bcps.k12.md.us

Roger Shaw (Director of Secondary Schools)
(443) 984 2958
rshaw@bcps.k12.md.us

Thank you in advance for your help.

City Forever.

Situation makes the front page of The Examiner

2007-07-12T15:04:00.000-07:00

Public Outcry Saves City College Teachers

After the trail of bad press that Dawson left behind in Florida, this shouldn't be surprising. Hopefully, it's the last of it.

We'll be here if needed.

The Aftermath and the Dawsonwatch

2007-07-10T20:01:00.000-07:00

The issue with the three teachers appears to be settled, and everyone should be proud that civil disobedience - emails and phone calls - was successful.

A few notes:

1. Marc Steiner read an e-mail regarding the issue on his show. It was on a show about crime in Baltimore, about how education is often overlooked in this city, and an example was the three teachers being reassigned or fired at City College. Steiner read the e-mail; nice job to whomever sent it in.

2. Dawson told people - including Gilbert Sandler - that the decision to move Daniels and Morrow, as well as to fire Smith was fully supported by department heads and senior staff. This is a lie. A poll of department heads and senior staff will reveal this.

4. The decision not to rally at North Avenue at the school board meeting was probably a good one, as the three teachers did in fact get their jobs back. However, this sort of move should still be examined to the fullest extent. Why would a principal move all three members of a union chapter committee? Why would he think this would be good for the school, especially with excellent teachers? Were the best interests of the school being considered?

5. Mr. Dawson's usual reaction to decisions to go to North Avenue is to dissuade it - "Oh, we're working on channels here, no need to go there" - and it's worrisome that this is what occurred with this particular incident. However, we were so happy that te jobs were given back that we didn't pursue it any more. However, it's worth remembering that Mr. Dawson doesn't want anything to blow up, so any incidents of bullying of teachers, of students, or of staff like this should be immediately reported to union members.

6. The Dawsonwatch: We had hoped that this was unneeded from now on, but Mr. Dawson has made it apparent that he is not to be trusted. He is someone who is willing to sacrifice student success when he has a political bone to pick with a teacher. We know what his M.O. is - intimidate and bully. If you feel bullied by Mr. Dawson, please e-mail concern4city@gmail.com and someone will report your incident.

This is a place to incidents of Dawson bullying at City College. Success here, and success later. The site is being run by City alum who care deeply about the school. We want to emphasize that this is a community blog, so please contribute. There is no one "city forever," but a group of people who care deeply about the school.

Victory

2007-07-10T11:08:00.000-07:00

Below is a copy of an e-mail from Mr. Patrick Daniels that was forwarded to me:

I just met with Mr. Dawson and he has assured me that he is sending an
email to Dr. Wortham rescinding his recommendation to transfer John
and me and reinstating Sedrick. Your hard work has paid off. Thank
you all for your support, those phone calls and emails worked. He is
requesting that we do not give City College a black eye by airing our
dispute in public at this point. He indicated that this could impact
the steps that need to be taken to fully correct this situation down
at North ave.

Nerissa, Jonah, Braeden and I look forward to another school year back
at the Castle on the Hill.
City Forever
Patrick

More updates from meeting last night

2007-07-10T06:53:00.000-07:00

So the meeting last night was apparently a success, though I heard a very disturbing story was told there. (edited)

In other news, here's a list of people at North Ave who you can e-mail to express your concern about the illegal firings:
Dr. Wortham dwortham@bcps.k12.md.us 410-396-8622
Gary Thrift gthrift@bcps.k12.md.us
Dr. Andres Alonso aalonso@bcps.k12.md.us 410-396-8804
Louise Jira ljira@bcps.k12.md.us

Also, be sure to be at the North Avenue Offices (North/Calvert) at 5:00pm today wearing your city colors in support of your teachers.

Another call to arms from a student...

2007-07-09T13:15:00.000-07:00

Our "astute and fearless" principal/dictator has illegally fired 3 teachers for their involvement in the Teachers Union

Mr. Daniels and Mr. Morrow have been Fired from City and reassigned to Mervo

Mr. Smith has been FIRED from the school system

Hey City we need to act

Below is a letter from Mr. Daniels:

On Friday I received a letter from the school board at North ave. that
I have been reassigned to Mervo. This is retaliation for being a
member of the Union Chapter Committee at City and fighting to improve
conditions at the school for students and faculty alike. Two other
members of the chapter committee were also retaliated against by Mr.
Dawson; John Morrow has been reassigned while Sedrick Smith (City
alum) has been fired (he did not have tenure). They are accusing us
of racially dividing the staff and increasing racial tension in the
school.
We are looking to go to the school board meeting at North Ave tomorrow
at 6:00pm and start to apply political pressure on Mr. Dawson. I will
update you as soon as I know something more.

Who to contact about the vindictive dismissal of union chapter members Patrick Daniels, John Morrow, and Sedrick Smith

2007-07-09T11:06:00.000-07:00

Please read through the next several postings as to the reason this website has been resurrected. Our principal, Timothy Dawson, has re-assigned or fired three bright young teachers, and, importantly, all three members of the union chapter team.

There is a school board meeting tomorrow night at 6pm at North AVenue and there will be a group of parents, students, and teachers there. More details forthcoming.

All BTU members please contact: Peggy Gladden
(pgladden@baltu.org), Marietta English (menglish@baltu.org), Loretta
Johnson (ljohnson@baltu.org) and ask them to take an interest in this
case.

Dr. Deborah Wortham is in charge of area high schools and signed off on the re-assignments and dismissal. Her e-mail of DWortham@bcps.k12.md.us. Gary Thrift (Head of Human Resource)'s is GThrift@bcps.k12.md.us.

The new CEO may not be aware of this situation as of yet his email
is aalonso@bcps.k12.md.us or at (410-396-8804). Please write him as well and maybe he will take an interest in this clear case of union busting.

Here is a list of school board members and their phone numbers can
anyone help to track down email for them as well.

School Board Members:
Brian D. Morris (chair) 410-752-1272

Kalman (Buzz) Hettleman 410-367-5439 khettleman@comcast.net

Anirban Basu 410-522-7243

Neil E. Duke 410-685-1120

Robert Heck 410-356-5600

Jerrelle Francois 410-843-8000

George M.VanHook, Sr. 410-767-8192

James W. Campbell 410-243-8688

Maxine Johnson Wood 410-516-6423

More reactions, this time from teacher

2007-07-09T11:04:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone,

I am sure you all are aware of the outrageous punitive actions taken by our principal against three of our colleagues, Sedrick Smith, John Morrow, and Patrick Daniels. I have been out of the loop a bit but when I heard about their dismissal from City I was shocked and dismayed by the knee-jerk retaliation against three of our fine teachers and significantly, three of our Union Chapter representatives.

I for one cannot accept this lying down. I am willing to meet, write, organize, or whatever, to help reverse this most egregious act taken by a person who is supposed to represent what is best about City College.

I append a letter from Dr. ________ who is responding to one of our staff members who wishes to remain anonymous. At the time ___ wrote this letter only Sedrick Smith had been informed of his non-renewal. For further clarification, the number to Dr. Alonso's office gets you right to his secretary, but she will direct you to call Dr. Wortham's office at 410-396-8622. I suggest you immediately call both numbers to include your voice in what should be a firestorm of protest. I also suggest you contact other teachers from City so they can assist in reversing this appalling action intended only to undercut any voice of dissent from the faculty.

I do not understand why these sorts of things always happen at our school and I wish they wouldn't. Our kids deserve a more stable and educationally sound environment.

Despite this latest turmoil, I hope all of you are having a wonderful summer.

(A City Teacher)

From: _________________________
To: xxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: city
Date: Mon, 9 Jul 2007 03:06:35 +0000
Hi XXXXX! As soon as Sedrick told me he'd been non-renewed, I talked with the union attorney, ... I have kept him informed, and also have talked with the ACLU, who are interested in at least following the case, and maybe taking it on if the union is unsuccessful.

There's no question that Mr. Dawson violated federal and state labor law which prohibits retaliation against employees for union activity.

The only questions, as always, are the sickening procedures: Do the employees have to go through a long grievance process before litigation begins? What options for delay do the school and system administration have? If administrators delay long enough and the teachers accept reassignment or just take other jobs to pay the bills, do they complicate or even lose their right to sue, etc.?

Because of these problems, I think a broad political approach is best. Parents and faculty must try to phone both City and the new CEO, Dr. Andres Alonso (410-396-8804) immediately in large numbers, simply saying that these teachers must be re-hired at City. The alumni association should do the same. I have already spoken with about a dozen students who should also phone the school and central office. And the lawyers should send formal letters threatening legal action.

I think about 100 calls will turn this around, if they are all made with in about a one week time frame. Please keep in touch. There will obviously be repercussions afterwards, but as you know, I think struggle is for the best!!

Thanks again for writing!

From a student, class of 2007

2007-07-09T10:55:00.000-07:00

Dawson has fired/reassigned City College's Baltimore Teachers Union (BTU) Representative and Committee.

Mr. Patrick Daniels who served 4 years in the English Department and Mr. John Morrow who served 5 years in the Social Studies and teaches the highest IB course availible in Social Studies have both been reassigned by Dawson to the Mervo.

Mr. Sedrick Smith, an alum of City College who served 2 years in the Social Studies Department, has been FIRED from the system.

The major problem with these teachers reassignment/firing is that they are among the best and brightest that the City College faculty has to offer, not to mention that they were fired for their roles in the BTU at City. This is ridiculous and something needs to be done about it...

We're working on it...

In case you missed it - here's Dawson's previous history of union busting: Dawson's history

Dawson's history of union busting

2007-07-09T10:52:00.001-07:00

A dire situation has forced the re-creation of City Forever?

While we are unsure of how to proceed on this end, we want to point out previous examples of Mr. Dawson's union-busting.

Check out this scary article:

Toxic Avenger:
Killian High teacher Charles Boldwyn says he's being railroaded for blowing the whistle on a paint scandal

Dawson has a history of busting unions and has gotten away with it.

He must not get away with it this time.

More coming...

A rundown of the 2006-2007 school year

2007-07-07T21:44:00.000-07:00

September: The school year starts out on a positive note, as the school has bonded togther over the vandalism of August 2006. This blog appears to be dead because no one had taken up the reins after the glass of 2006 graduated.

October: Football team winning a lot of games, mostly on the backs of players who probably shouldn't be at City. Lots of recruiting at neighborhood schools for good players, to the chagrin of other athletic programs in the city, as well as several faculty, who notice that many of the recruited athletes are not academically prepared or motivated for City. In addition, athletes are simply treated differently by administration.

November: Faculty notices that absolutely nothing is done about disciplinary referrals to the point where it is comical. Who is in charge of discipline at the school? No one knows.

December: In an effort to bring some respect back to City, the administration begins a decorum system, in which teachers can send a student down to the decorum room for using bad language, having electronics out, or violating the dress code. The program works very well for a few weeks, and then administration drops it without telling the faculty.

January: The fact that administration is never in the hallway is becoming more and more apparent. Faculty morale is low and getting lower. The halls are teeming with students all the time. Heaters break, interrupting the school day many times.

February: Mr. Dawson is gone for nearly the entire month, including a trip to the Super Bowl in Miami, as well as to several conferences. Hallways continue to erode.

March/April: Hallways continue to be terrible. Trash piles up everywhere. No soap in bathrooms. Several fires are started that force evacuation of the building. Some teachers get together to organize a Vote of No Confidence in the largely absent administration. Mr. Geppi catches wind of it and tells Dawson, who plans a faculty meeting (which he actually attends) in which faculty brings up issues in the school, from hallways to behavior to lack of follow through and organization.

May: For the most part, the administration starts to get visible in the hallways. It's clearly too little, too late, and too much in the morning and not enough in the afternoons, but the effort is nice to see.

June: Students who assault teachers with eggs and vandalize the school and the cars in the parking lot - and are caught - are STILL allowed not only to participate in Senior closing activities. They not only walk the stage, but they are allowed to SING during Senior farewell. What a mockery of the discipline system at City!

A Reaction to the Vandalizing of the Castle on the Hill

2006-08-15T14:34:00.000-07:00

Taken from the blog of a recent City College Graduate:
"As many of you know, I am a recent graduate of Baltimore City College. And, as many of you know, I despised several aspects of the school, such as the social hierarchy (even though I was an active part in it), the state of the computers (most were old as dirt, and the rest were new, although not all of them worked), the lack of security and the possibility that our principal, Timothy Dawson, cared more about the athletics than he did about making 100% graduation with 100% of the students that started the school year.
...All of that was, obviously, put on the backburner when I heard that City was vandalized over the weekend. The bitter irony in this was in full effect, as contractors were nearing the completion of their renovation. But, all of the animosity I felt melted away and my emotionless facade began to express feeling. First, it was shock, [which] soon became outrage at the ignorance that was displayed through the use of "large puddles and zig-zag splashes of paint" to cover the walls, or the destruction of windows, display cases, classrooms and equipment. I mean, as much as I hated City, I loved that cultured hell, as Claude McKay would put it. For four years, it was my second home, almost like an older brother to me, giving me shelter from (most of) the ignorance in the world, while not segregating me from it completely, therefore making me a more well-rounded young adult.
I thank God or whatever deity there is out there that these ignoramuses did not annihilate the Hall of Fame section of the school, which is, actually, incredibly odd. But, sometimes, I'd rather not ask questions and be thankful that, as Mr. Dawson (pictured below surveying the damage to one of the display cases) that

"There's a lot of damage but it's not daunting."

...City in the past, City in the present, City Forever!"

Another position and teacher gone

2006-06-22T12:11:00.000-07:00

Word on the street is that Ms. Smith, a 3-year foreign language teacher, has been laid off because of cuts to City College's faculty budget.

That's three faces - Mr. Jefferies (Social Studies), Ms. Giorgis (Foreign Language), and Ms. Smith (Foreign Language) - as part of the rumored eleven positions that are being eliminated.

Faculty positions are being cut by 15% and no one seems to be doing anything about it. Class size was already high this past year, with some classes up around 40. What will happen now? Why is no one doing anything about these layoffs, or about the position cuts?

Dame Wortham?! and 100% Graduation

2006-06-12T16:47:00.000-07:00

First off, let me say kudos to the class of 2006 for surviving the storm...just remember, the world, from this point out, gets even worse.
Now, back to the issue at hand. At our graduation on June 3rd, I saw a familiar face that I had seen on more than one time during the year, Dr. Deborah Wortham, Area Supervisor for the BCPSS. Now, while I understand that you must keep in contact with all principals in a job like hers, she was at City almost on a regular basis.
During the graduation, our class president, Ben Waldron, and our SGA president, Traeaunna Harris, approached the podium to give a special presentation. Little did we know that this "special" presentation was:
1) A Class of 2005 City College ring
2) An "honorary" City College diploma
3) An induction into the Order of the Knights as "Dame Wortham"

Being the inquisitive class that we are, people began to wonder where did they get enough money to give Dr. Wortham all of this, plus get another knight for the stage. I personally think that they used our dues money...that may just be an invalidated assumption, though. But, why exactly was Dr. Wortham given all of this. I mean no disrespect, but she didn't do too much of anything for City College in her short time there.

During her tenure at City, she, among other things, cancelled the Junior Class Trip, citing security issues, and then reinstating it about three days before the trip (Sound familiar?).
********************
If there's one thing that Dawson loved to reiterate, it was the fact that we had 100% in terms of graduation rate. First off, that's because, instead of working with at-risk students, he just put them most of them out at the beginning of the second semester...

I thank you all, and City Forever.

Layoffs

2006-06-11T21:23:00.000-07:00

Besides Isabelle Giorgis, the tremendous French teacher who has been at City for eight years, we are now losing social studies teacher Mr. William Jefferies. According to sources, he got the axe on Friday.

It's a sad state of affairs that 10% of City College's teaching positions are being eliminated and no one seems to know. Where is the outrage? Where is the media coverage? Where are the parents? Where is the organization to stop this from occurring?

Attrition will apparently cover up most of them, at least in terms of people losing their jobs without a choice. However, that didn't work for Ms. Giorgis or Mr. Jefferies. And it's not going to work for us students, who will have larger class sizes and fewer resources next year because of it.

This sucks.

Wrapping up the year - and we need volunteers

2006-06-08T18:42:00.000-07:00

This site started after several instances this year where it was clear that our principal needed some additional eyes on him. The decision was not made lightly. For the first part of the year, we thought he was great and were optimistic about what he would bring to City. Then, he disappeared; mostly, we just thought he was ineffective and invisible. However, later, the inappropriateness of his behavior and lack of professionalism - refusing to meet with crucial staff members about important matters, threatening jobs, jacking kids up, not responding to obvious problems at the school - made it clear that there was more of an issue than just visibility.

Perhaps Mr. Dawson can still be a great principal of this school. We're hopeful, and excited about some of the things we've heard. The MYP program should be great. The infusion of technology into the school seems a step in the positive direction. Harcum is gold. But the system needs a check that's obviously not in place right now. Dawson just can't get away with some of the things he's done, behavior that unfortunately seems typical of how he runs schools (see links to the left of his experience at previous schools).

Concern4City was never intended to be a bitchfest, although that's what it might seem to be. A forum, yes, but not a bitchfest. A place where people should feel free to speak openly without fear of retort. There is no hidden agenda - everything is clear and out in the open. We love this school and yearn for what it might be able to be with strong leadership. And this blog is not meant to undermine that leadership - only to strengthen it. Something needed to be done, and this is at least something.

Right now, we have a myspace profile and about 40 readers a day. We know that a printout of the website has been given to the principal, so he is aware of what is going on. Otherwise, there are no grand plans for the site, and never were any. We just wanted a check, and a forum. As any other issues arise, this site is available to share with other students, with teachers, and the press. Hopefully, there eventually will be no need for this site, and it can be deleted. But that time is not now. Just ask our college advisors (who resigned because of poor working conditions) or Sra. Giorgis (who was let go) or Ms. Covington.

Most of those behind concern4city have graduated, and we need others to help with the site. This will be the last post by this particular concern4city member. The site has started, and what is done with it now is up to current students. You will get help, believe me. Stories will be e-mailed to you to post. Many people are concerned. But we need someone to head up this site.

E-mail cityforever06@hotmail.com and if you pass our screening process, you'll get the ID, password, and e-mail address information. This will be the last post for a while, unless whomever takes it over feels the need to post again soon.

Have a good summer.

Resignation of college advisors - flier drop idea

2006-06-04T15:22:00.000-07:00

The resignation of both college advisors because of poor working conditions, most having to do with the current administration, will leave a huge void in the preparation of students for college. We must bring attention to it. A flier drop at the school seems appropriate.

If you care to help with this cause, put this simple statement on a flier, print it out, run some copies off, and put them on cars in the parking lot at City or mailboxes of teachers. Or, distribute to students in front of the building. We are hoping this is something that student members of this community blog will take part in.

The flier - and you can add variations to this, if you choose - should say:

Why are both college advisors at a college-preparatory high school resigning at the end of the year?

http://concern4city.blogspot.com

The rhetorical question and the address at the bottom should get people to visit the site. Let us know if you have thoughts or ideas about this. A movement to organize this flier drop before the end of school is needed.

College Advisors quitting because of Dawson

2006-06-02T17:27:00.000-07:00

From a student:

One of the unique things about City College is its college advising office. In fact, check out this article on the college advising office at City College in USA Today (from 1/11/06). Most public schools do not have a college advising office, but City does, which is a big part of our school's mission of getting kids to college and a big part of our 98% senior rate of college attendance.

Check out this excerpt:

But at Baltimore City College high school, which offers a high-powered curriculum and draws from throughout the city, first-generation students benefit from hands-on help. That is thanks to a counseling structure instituted by a previous principal who placed a high priority on college advising.

Because Duke and White's sole mission is college advising, that frees the rest of the six-person guidance staff to deal with other problems affecting the school's 1,350 students, virtually all of whom go on to college.

Duke and White advise up to 325 seniors. Next month, they will start meeting individually with about 340 juniors. But their advising actually starts in the freshman year. That is when the duo hold an evening meeting with first-year students and their parents to discuss college admission including testing, financial aid and other elements.

Students speak highly of the support and advice they receive. When senior Samuel Ball-Brau got an e-mail from Princeton University telling him that his application was incomplete because a letter of recommendation from a teacher was missing, White solved the problem. "She was like a rock," Ball-Brau says. "She knows that you might come in to see her a little crazy, but she can deal with it."

Senior Gerimi Belin says he can bring in an application essay for the advisers to critique and they get it back to him the next day. "They know what colleges want," he says.

City students contrast their experience with that of friends at other Baltimore schools. "Some of them say they don't even know the name of their adviser," senior Shamika Thompson says.

The situation at City is far from perfect. In addition to their heavy advising load, the women have virtually no support staff and lack an office budget. But, White says, "we feel that we are making a difference here."

However, word on the street is that the college advisors - Lucy Duke and Blair White - are leaving at the end of the year, almost all because of Dawson.

The backstory is that both of these well-trained and hard-working staff members were promised by Dr. Deborah Wortham (then interim principal, currently area high school officer) that the college advising office would have an administrative assistant next year to work with the colossol amount of paperwork in the office. When this didn't happen, Dawson (allegedly, and this is second hand) told Duke that she was easily replaceable, like a contractor, and has continually made their job hard. They get no budget (not even for postage or office supplies), and Dawson didn't even bother to take thirty seconds to walk through the College Fair - the office's big event in the spring. Of course, he's Mr. Invisible, so that's not a shock.

Hopefully we'll get someone as qualified as they were to run the office, which is perhaps the most important office in the school. After all, it's the school's mission to put kids in good colleges. However, the job requires a plethora of knowlege and contacts with college admissions offices around the country, and it's doubtful that anyone as qualified as they are can be found. Duke was trained under the former college advisor, David Gibson, but apparently there is no one training now for the job.

Our hopes, goals and rationale

2006-05-31T18:31:00.000-07:00

What we want: A thriving City College, a school that is a model around the country of what a large urban public high school can be. And not just in name only, like the Newsweek article, in which we were honored because of advanced classes. Instead, we want a school that is truly a great school for all students. We want a school that has a strong academic reputation and enviornment, and prepares all students for the best colleges in the country.

Do not mistake our dissent for dislike or hidden agendas. We are here because we love the school, and we feel it to be our right - and our responsibility - to speak up about the state of Baltimore City College. We just want City to be the best it can be. It's not even close right now, and in fact has degenerated markedly in the last two years - and the current administration has shown no indication that it has the skills, tenacity, or planning necessary to right its course.

Our goals:

1. To draw attention to the bullying culture that BCC teachers and students operate under.

2. To draw attention to the negligent and ineffective current administration.

3. To draw attention to and discover more information about administrative missteps and blunders.

4. To draw attention to the need for independent oversight of BCC, as both North Avenue and the current BCC Alumni group are preoccupied with other issues.

5. To draw attention to the dearth of BCC alumni participation.

6. ~~To draw attention to the need for a new school website for various reasons.~~

7. To draw attention to a growing lack of discipline among BCC students.

8. To draw attention to the seeming lack of power among class administrations and the SGA.

Rationale: With the growing heap of [at least] stories coming out of City, it's good enough cause to call for oversight of the school by an independent, stakeholder board with some teeth (and we'd still like to see more alumni participation, and if it means an organization other than the current Alumni Association being on the forefront, we're all for it). We think it's good for students who want to roam the halls and curse. We think it's good for a negligent administration that can't decide whether Senior Farewell should happen as planned (or was it even planned? That we have to ask that question shows how pathetic the situation is). We think it's just good all around. We think it can happen by having attention called to this environment and culture of fear.

Baltimore City College has been lauded nationally. Out of over 20,000+ public high schools, City is at the pinnacle. But yet, when we hear stories like the one about the student whose teacher-parent won't allow his sibling to attend, we have to take pause and say "why the heck is this?" A BCPSS teacher not wanting his or her child to attend City College? That's just not supposed to be said, let alone even contemplated. So, we want to know why. And we want others to know why. We want powerful alumni to know why. If necessary, we want the media to know why.

We will do whatever we can with this website to help City College thrive and be the school we know it can be.

(Special thanks to Anonymous City Alum for much of the mission statement above.

The mis-handling of senior farewell

2006-05-31T18:19:00.000-07:00

This is yet another embarassing stain on the 2005-2006 City College school year - the handling and mis-handling of Senior Farewell:

The Record of Senior Farewell 2006:

1) 4th Period Lunch, May 18, 2006:
Cancelled due to Senior Pranks (Note: by Dawson)

2) 7th Period, same day:
"Farewell is in jeopardy..." (Note: by Dawson)

3) May 22, 2006:
Farewell is on track

4) May 26, 2006, circa 2:30PM:
Farewell is cancelled due to faulty planning, etc. (Note: Via a phone message sent to all 300 seniors.)

5) "Sometime that weekend"
Farewell "may still happen"

6) Tuesday, May 30, around 9:30:
"Oh, it's cancelled. End of story."
-Dale Aberle, assistant principal

7) Tuesday, May 30, around 2:30PM:
Myspace bulletin is posted by students in 06, not to mention Joyner calls to inform students that the Farewell is back on, but by this point, most people just don't even care anymore.

8) June 1, 2006:
Farewell, Graduation Practice, and Senior Checkouts...all in one day? Isn't City College grand?

(Posted by a student. Let us know if you want a link/credit.)

Retiring

2006-05-30T17:21:00.000-07:00

From a current teacher:

"Thanks for setting this up. Good stuff so far. Next year will be the third year in a row without a real principal, and we're hurting for something like this. Thanks. I think if people know what's become of our school, they might do something.

Your stuff is good, but one interesting detail that I believe reflects the disconnectedness, disorganization, and ineffectiveness of the current administration. Teachers at the school have received two memos mentionining that two staff members would be retiring at the end of the school year, and to please donate $5 for the cause. Neither of the two memos had either person's name on it, which was strange - but I figured it was because they were planning a surprise party or something.

No such luck. When one of the retirees - a retiree who has spent years (probably two decades or so) at the school - asked for five minutes at the last department meeting to say goodbye to her colleagues, the response to her from administration was, 'Oh, okay. But you know you have to collect money from all your peers for your gift, right?'

What a slap in the face."

Cancellation of Senior Farewell

2006-05-30T12:21:00.000-07:00

From a student's blog, regarding the cancellation of Senior Farewell. It's the first time the traditional event has been cancelled in years:

"But, let's not leave our beloved principal out of the equation just yet. Because of the fact that a City student would have better luck finding a clean bathroom stall than finding Dawson on a regular school day, it was made almost impossible to even confront and consult with Dawson, therefore adding to the confusion about whether or not something was going to occur, or who was going to do what."

Speaking of invisibility, who didn't show up at Senior Prom?

Why?

2006-05-30T10:36:00.000-07:00

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.

Alumni Association Rant

2006-05-30T10:32:00.000-07:00

From an alum and former teacher:

First of all, I want to congratulate you on the establishment of this site. I think it’s a great idea, and hopefully it’s an opportunity to bring about some change. It probably wouldn’t be a bad idea to forward a link to the blog to policy makers, politicians, media folks, parents (if possible), alumni (if you can find them – more on that in a moment), etc. Rarely do people outside of a school get the opportunity to read about what is REALLY going on inside the school – they get the PR, they get the test scores, but they don’t really know what’s going on in there.

Anyway, as a graduate and former teacher at City, here’s a funny story for you. I’m sorry that I don’t have any great stories to share about Mr. Dawson or the current state of the school, but I left the school (as a teacher) before he came on board as principal. My story relates to the Baltimore City College Alumni Association, or lack thereof. Oh, I’m sure there is one, but how effective is it in keeping track of the school’s many graduates, keeping those graduates connected with the school, organizing events for alums and inviting them to participate and soliciting support and assistance from them? Well, maybe this story will serve as an example of how ineffective this group currently is.

About two years ago I moved out of state, about 2400 miles to be exact. I came back to visit Baltimore in the fall 0f 2005, intentionally on the weekend of the City-Poly game. Much to my chagrin, at the game I found out from some fellow alums from my graduating class that I had missed my 15-year reunion by one weekend. I brushed it off, thinking it must have been too hard for fellow alumni, or the alumni association, to locate me since I was out of state and everything.

But Poly’s alumni association sure didn’t have any problem finding me. That’s right, our rival school, which I NEVER attended (although I was originally signed up to go there but got transferred over to City prior to my freshman year) and I certainly never graduated from sent me a postcard a few months back addressed to ME at my current address 2400 FREAKING MILES AWAY FROM BALTIMORE requesting some biographical information from me for the BALTIMORE POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE’S alumni directory. There it was, my name, class of ’90, my address – I’m still trying to figure out how they found me way the hell out here in the Southwestern United States, especially with a name that is not especially unique – and a toll-free number to call so I could update my personal information in the BPI Alumni Directory. Well, guess what, boys and girls, I called them and gave them all the information that they asked for. I chose not to purchase a copy of the directory, but if you look me up in there you’ll find all the basic info on me, the proud Poly grad who cheered against Poly every Thanksgiving (or early November Saturday after we left the MSA and joined the MPSSA or whatever) for 18 straight years, from 1986 through 2003, when I moved away. And don’t forget 2005, the year I traveled 2400 miles to cheer City to victory on the gridiron, but missed my 15-year reunion because I didn’t know about it.

Hey, maybe I shouldn’t feel so bad. I missed my 10-year reunion as well, and I was even teaching at City at the time – you’d think somebody could’ve found me then to let me know. And to be fair, Poly has been sending me alumni information for years – somehow I ended up on their mailing list and I’ve been receiving mailings from them off and on ever since I graduated back in 1990. I even attended a BCC (NOT BPI) alumni association meeting back in 1999 to bring it to their attention that, while I had received many mailings from the BPI alumni association, I had never received a single mailing from the BCC alumni association, and have yet to this date. Baltimore, do we have a problem? Yes, we do.

And, since this is a forum, hey, maybe somebody can help me out, here. I found the BCC Alumni Association website at http://www.cityforevery.org, but there’s no place to join, there’s no link to any kind of directory, there’s no interactive aspect to the website at all – just a couple phone numbers (at least one is toll-free) to call and a P.O. Box to mail stuff to. And then Mr. Phillip Bass, the current president, has the nerve to say, " We look forward to seeing you at some alumni events soon and hope that you enjoy your trip through this web site. Please let us know if there is anything else that we can do to make the Association work for you." And the only event listed is the 2005 City-Poly game (I was there!) and there’s no really clear way to contact the Association to let them know how they can really work for us. (By the way, it looks like the Class of 1957, gearing up for their 50-year reunion next year, has a GREAT website – check it out at http://www.bcc57.org/index.htm)
And just for kicks, I tried to find the Poly Alumni Association website – no luck. But have no fear, fellow Engineers, you can just go to the school’s website at www.bpi.edu and you’ll feel more than welcome as an alum. There’s all kinds of news, reunion updates and links, a list of giving opportunities and even an online alumni directory. And guess what, boys and girls? Guess whose name is there for everyone to see? That’s right, and if my entry is approved, why don’t you head over to the site and check out the entry for Dr. Jason White, class of 1990?

Anyway, I’m all for being an active alum, at least as active as I can be from many miles away, but we need an organization that is set up to facilitate alumni participation. Right now, such an organization is just not in place. And maybe then, if the principal knew that the eyes of men and women of REAL power were on him, he’d be a little more careful in his words and actions. You know the Baltimore City Public School System isn’t going to provide the needed oversight – the folks at North Avenue can barely keep track of what’s going on at North Avenue. A real active alumni association could do a lot for the school. It might not solve all of the current problems, but at least it would be a start.

And I agree with Anon City Alum at anonalum.blogspot.com – we could at least start with a REAL website for the school. Come on, some alum out there has to have some website-designing experience – or at least know someone who has some. We’ve got to be able to do better than what we’ve got!

Well, that’s my two-cents worth. I was there when City hit the 150-year mark – hopefully it will make it to its Bicentennial. And I have no reason to remain anonymous. My name is (Dr.) Jason White, and feel free to email me at jwhitecityx@yahoo.com if you have any questions or concerns.

2006-05-26T18:29:00.000-07:00

From a teacher via e-mail:

I spoke with a graduating senior today - a great kid - who was finishing up an essay for his last class.

His little brother is an 8th grader. His mother is a teacher in another city school.

I asked him, "So, should we expect your little brother here next year?"

The look on his face was one of alarm, then disappointment.

"My mother," he says, "won't send him here.

"She says she's in the system, so she's heard things from faculty and staff about the direction of this school. And she said she walked in the front door one afternoon, and could just tell that the whole atmosphere had changed. The school is a different place now."

Another fire was started in the building today, so that's not a hard thing to argue with. This school needs a heavy hand and it's just not getting it.

2006-05-25T19:40:00.000-07:00

A current SGA member left this comment:

This is ridiculous use this energy to make improvements to the school on face. The idea that u waste energy complaining on a blog and not work to make improvements shows that there appears to be an agenda behind this. If you all truly cared for CITY you would be working with the SIT, PTSA, SGA, Dawson to make improvements. But you dont in my opinion so honestly what is your agenda?

First of all, thanks for visiting.

On the outset, we like what you have to say. However, we care a great deal about City. Believe us, we have worked with the rubber-stamped SIT, PTSA, and Dawson to make improvements. However, read through the posts below from all sorts of members of the City community. He has created an atmosphere of fear at the school. Threatening jobs, threatening suspensions, threatening expulsions... we have completely lost faith in him as a leader. It's really sad, because we had such high hopes for him, but he's totally let us down. City is an amazing school, but if the leader is jacking kids up in the hallway, or if kids don't care about getting to class, then there is a serious problem.

2006-05-25T12:58:00.000-07:00

City College is losing nine teaching positions next year.

Many classes already are stretched to 32+. This will only increase dramatically next year.

According to Dawson, it's because North Avenue has figured out that the teacher:student ratio should be 32:1. Most districts are 28:1, so one of the problems is right there. But North Avenue's policy did not change any this year. However, City's response to this news did change. City's response was basically, "Oh, you need us to eliminate nine positions? Go ahead. Take as many as you need." (This is hopefully not how it went down, but it's how it appears from the outside.)

There is no way that previous principals would have allowed for this to happen, because previous principals understood that City needed to maintain as much independence as possible from the incompetence at North Avenue.

Is there any doubt in anyone's mind that Joe Wilson would have fought this loss of nine teachers with every fiber of his being? Say what you want about the guy, he would have fought this tooth and nail.

This guy isn't doing it. Every piece of research states that students work better with more personalized instruction. North Avenue should know that. Absent that, though, the principal of City College should know that and do everything in his power to prevent loss of 10% of the teaching staff in his first year in office.

2006-05-24T12:51:00.000-07:00

Another site has been created to discuss the current state of City College:

http://anonalum.blogspot.com/.

Please visit. Lots of good stuff there.

2006-05-23T16:37:00.000-07:00

From an alum:

I wish I knew more about Scofield aside from the fact that he wasn't principal there that long. And the lady that came after him and before Dawson. Come to think of it, I wish I knew more about all of them. At least when Joe Wilson came to City, we got to know about his background like where he went to school and where he'd taught. Things you might want to know about the person set to run the school.

Actually, what I'd really like to know is were the students and teachers even involved in bringing Dawson or either of the other two to City? Does the School Improvement Team (SIT) even exist anymore? Or was that stamped out during some action to consolidate power?

Answer: A committee was formed with the SIT team, two teachers, alumni, and a student when Joe Wilson left. However, North Avenue hired the committee fourth choice (Scofield). That led many to believe that Scofield was just a patsy, who North Avenue never intended to be successful. He certainly never got the support that others had. Not that he was that great.

Back to alum: Anyway, I did a web search and found this:

http://www.miaminewtimes.com/Issues/1998-05-21/news/metro.html

Thanks, we'll add it to the links.

... I like the City Forever blog idea. If it really is on the level, then it should be gathering statements from students and teachers whenever crazy incidents take place. Eventually, they should be put into a report and presented to the school system. And if they don't want to make any changes, then they should be reported to the media.

Did you know that City was recently ranked as the #203 best high school in the country in a Washington Post/Newsweek poll of schools? The reporter has email. If the CF blog is on the level and what they wrote earlier today is true, then this is just the sort of news story that might get some attention drawn to all the mess at the school. That and send it to the Abell Foundation. Bob Embry has been an alumnus supporter of City (at least in the past) and he has considerable influence within Baltimore's power structure to get stuff done (assuming he'd be willing to help, that is).

http://www.thewbalchannel.com/education/2853447/detail.html

Back in the day, I think that the Alumni Association used to be able to be used as a resource for grievances. I think they used to give more money to the school. These days, I'm not so sure, either. Maybe one of these days, somebody else (or maybe me) will start a new alumni organization. Who knows? What I do know, though, is that even if the school is good enough to be ranked #203 in the nation, then if the principal wasn't out jacking folks up, it might be even better.

Note: Dawson seems to have the alumni in his back pocket, probably because of his emphasis on sports. However, it is unknown what other strengths, if any, he brings to the school. Discipline has been dismal this year and the building is very dirty. Events are run haphazardly and dissent is high.

I think the school needs an independent board, made up of student leaders, teachers, former teachers and administrators, other educational experts, and alumni (and alumnae) to oversee the running of the school.

Great idea.

2006-05-23T16:17:00.000-07:00

Anonymous commenters now allowed. That was an error in the setup.

Nothing new to report, except...

HSA testing has been a typically disasterous week. While the state does not really offer much leeway to the school into how and when it must be done, surely the school can do better than the following:

1. On Monday, students took the HSA from 8-12, then reported to their afternoon classes.

2. On Monday afternoon, an announcement was made during regular afternoon announcements - alongside such announcements as "Congratulations to the badminton girls", and without informing staff, teachers, or students - that the next day, students may just go home after they take their HSA. This was in direct contrast to everything that had been stated previously.

3. On Tuesday, there was no way for teachers to know which students took the HSA, so it was a free for all. Not good news when there are two more HSAs this week and the prep time was needed - not to mention the time before finals.

Of course, Mr. Invisible was nowhere to be found in any of the mess.

2006-05-21T12:31:00.000-07:00

Word on the street is that the principal "jacked up" a kid on the first floor in front of students and teachers on Friday, threatening him and leaping over the line of acceptable behavior. As one witness said, it was clear that he was not acting in the favor of the well-being of the school or the student in that instance.

These emotional, spur-of-the-moment reactions by the principal have become commonplace. He does not handle crisis well. In fact, he tends to make it worse and do things that you'd do out on the streets rather than as principal of an illustrious high school. One of my favorite examples occured during baseball season after practice. According to students there, long story short, our "beloved" principal challenged a player that had just had money stolen, and had fought to get it back, to a fight. Now, this is something that you would expect from another school with another ignorant principal, not City, but no one is exempt from the screwed up reality that is life with an incompetent administration.

This would be an amazing school with competent leadership. An amazing school.

2006-05-20T10:50:00.000-07:00

Would you like to write for City Forever? ? E-mail cityforever06@hotmail.com. We're looking for more stories and entries about things that are of concern at City.

Two websites of note:

An article detailing an incident between the principal and a teacher at his former school. Judging by the behavior exhibited by Dawson so far at City College, we believe every word of the teacher, Mr. Chalres Boldwyn.

An article about Dawson having students arrested for printing an anti-racist pamphlet. We've not seen any incidents of censorship yet by this guy, but it may not be far off.

2006-05-20T10:40:00.000-07:00

Since we last updated, the principal has made more threats about jobs of staff at City, but that's pretty much a regular thing so there is not much new to report. More surprisingly, he has been seen roaming the building. He was seen on the third floor for the first time in months, and likewise was on the second floor during senior prank day.

It's not surprising that senior prank day was so volatile this year. Students had gotten used to the fact that there is no discipline in the school over the last few months, and it erupted, unsurprisingly, on senior prank day. Mr. Invisible needs to be more visible for this sort of thing not to happen. Kids and teachers both know that he's rarely around and, when he is, he's holed up in his office.

What's become of the school in the last few months is pretty sad:

1. Loud, unruly, cursing groups in the hallways, particularly the back hallways on the 2nd and 3rd floor, several times throughout the day.

2. Students' use of the parking lot. Mr. Invisible's response? Teachers need to get to school on time. It doesn't matter that students are parking there at 7:15 or 7:30 am, or that they simply don't care that they're taking a student spot. S imple mirror hanging system would cure this. We'll see if it's corrected next year.

3. Poorly run assemblies.

4. The building is dirty, dirty, dirty.

5. Rumor has it that the school is faced with losing 9 teaching spots next year, and, while previous principals have fought North Avenue on this, it doesn't appear that Mr. Invisible is. Class size will increase dramatically next year.

6. A colosolly mismanaged fire in the building.

2006-05-08T17:56:00.000-07:00

This website has been created because so many students, teachers, and even administrators have stories about the principal that need to be told.

We love City College and are gravely worried that it is headed to dark days. As one City College blogger put it, "I prophesize that City College will be a zone school by 2008." And all signs point to the ~~conference room~~ fancy new principal's office for the blame.

Whether talking about his invisibility in the halls, his lack of participation in important events in the school, his lack of leadership on academic issues, or his bullying, we are interested in gathering together these stories in hopes that it might do some good.

We will start:

1. There is no way that the "election" results for school uniforms were not fixed. Finding even one student who is in support of uniforms is nearly impossible, and finding 51% is ridiculous.

2. Several teachers, staff members (one of whom was told by him, "You're just like a contractor, easily replaceable"), and even an administrator have had their job threatened. No one has actually lost it - except possibly the one administrator who has callen in sick since the first semester (we'd love to hear her story) - but the fact that this man is throwing around his weight in this manner shows what a poor leader he is.

3. His lack of presence in the building - both because he's out all the time and because, when he's in, he is shut up in his office - is astounding. Kids know it and act accordingly.

Please add your story in the comments. We'll go from there.

Purpose

2006-05-03T18:53:00.000-07:00

This blog has been created to serve as a gathering point for alumni, teachers, students, and staff who are concerned about the current state of Baltimore City College, led by Mr. Timothy Dawson.