Mr. Sye was not a terrible person, but he was not all that as a principal, I can assure you. Mostly, he seemed paralyzed by the scope of the school’s issues and lack of resources. He presented well at his interview and he could give a “fired up” speech but it was more style than substance.

The current principal rocks, btw, but she is a temp out of retirement, unfortunately. The new selection process is underway.

The key is getting some qualified applicants, that has been the problem in recent years — no competition for the job.

As far as the thread about the new administrator -

I would be very concerned about the data involving his character and behavior at San Joaquin County. If this material is substantially true it is a huge red flag for an unsuitable personality to be on the property. Having said that you are not looking for “Nice Guys” when you hire school disciplinarians. You might even want a hypervigilant ACOA type. They are not always fun personalities. They are their to get a job done, not to be anybody’s buddy.

Concerned Parent: As far as him suspending a student involved in horseplay that sent a fellow student to the hospital – get a grip woman! People (boys) involved in something like that really do need to take 3 days to think about their ways and what changes are required. Or maybe only 2 days. The point is that you have to back the exercise of reasonable discretion of your staff even if you disagree with it and would have made a different decision perhaps if you had that job at that time. Unless no reasonable administrator would have done the 3 day suspension it’s a closed case.

And you should train your kiddie to respect adult authority and not whine every time they are on the losing end of an administrative decision – otherwise they grow up behaving like an indulged brat. And negligence is to be punished – especially when it injures people. Boys need to learn that even more than girls. I have watched young people get prison terms for DUI crashes. No prior criminal history. What do you think happens to a 20 year old kid in state prison? Other times people lose eyes and hands and we hear the “didn’t MEAN it” BS. You should thank this man for working with your kid and helping him learn a lesson that you aren’t having to teach. That’s what school staff do all day.

I certainly did not mean to say that students should be the ones to make the decision. Heck, they haven’t even consulted teachers. But any security measure involves some diminution in personal liberty, and that needs to be balanced against the benefits to be derived from that new measure. The District really should get student input, because they might learn a thing or two. For example, two of my female students spontaneously responded to the fact that someone downtown will be monitoring school hallways as “creepy.” Unfortunately, the District has a long history of implementing decisions without consulting those directly affected, and as a result money and resources are often used suboptimally. You should see the graffiti magnet that the district created when they did reconstruction at my site last year.

I misspoke about this topic. Earlier I said, “students are absolutely not qualified to have an opinion on security cameras in school.” Of course, they have opinions – thinking about and discussing issues is part of learning to become an adult.

I meant to say that students are not qualified to make the decision on whether to have security cameras or not. That’s up to the administration and school board.

Nextset is right on this – students are absolutely not qualified to have an opinion on security cameras in school. This is something that needs to be dealt with at the schoolboard/administration/faculty/adult level.

There are definitely other school districts that use them…

Nextset is right on this – students are absolutely not qualified to have an opinion on security cameras in school. This is something that needs to be dealt with at the schoolboard/administration/faculty/adult level.

There are definitely other school districts that use them…

Three former Christa McAuliffe Middle School teachers have filed a lawsuit against the school’s former principal, Russom Mesfun, and Lodi Unified School District.

In the lawsuit, Tracey Singh, Sharon Verle and Kevin Duncan, all white and older than 40, accuse Mesfun, who is black, of “creating an atmosphere in which older employees, white employees, female employees and disabled employees” were discriminated and retaliated against and received unequal treatment.

The suit, filed in San Joaquin County Superior Court on Feb. 27 by San Francisco attorney Stephen Jaffe, says Mesfun favored minority and young, female employees. The teachers are seeking more than $25,000 each for damages and attorney’s fees.

The type of rough-housing displayed by your son and his friend are not appropriate for school hallways. I hope he used his suspension time to study.

Both students admitted it was an accident. Mr. Mesfun and the VP in charge said the same. Yet, our son was
suspended.

Montera is a school that needs someone with the drive of Mr. Mesfun, but also someone who does not have the morals to achieve the “ends by any means.”