Comments on: More turmoil in the Skyline principal’s office

By: skyline teacher

skyline teacher — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 03:11:30 +0000

Mr. Sye has been on the job a few months. He has not improved the school, nor made it worse. He is still getting his feet wet.

There are just as many cutters in the halls as in year’s previous, Jose, your brother’s POV aside.

I’m not going to get into details, but this idea that there is consensus approval for Sye is silly. Right now, he’s just the latest guy trying to convince folks he’s the real deal.

[If you know Skyline, you'd know there's NEVER consensus on anything!]

What there is, however, is a feeling of desperation that we will ever have stable leadership. If Sye is out, we will have our fourth principal in as many years. Meanwhile, under state and federal mandates a “redesign” of the school is being rushed through.

Here’s a trivia question: Why is Skyline in that latter stages of the “Program Improvement” process and thus forced to redesign?

Trivia answer: We can’t get 90% of tenth graders to take the CAHSEE.

Surreal.

By: Oakland Teacher

Oakland Teacher — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 00:41:29 +0000

Unfortunately (for OUSD), Ms Hansen is happily back at Berkeley High, teaching science as she did for many, many years. While I certainly thought of her (wishfully) after reading the above, let’s wait to hear the full story on Mr. Sye before jumping to the gun. I believe the last thing Skyline needs is another change of leadership (barring there being real info, not rumor, that has not yet come out).

I would say that Skyline improved while Ms Hansen was there, but being principal at that school is a thankless job, and I am not surprised she left. She gave it 4 good years.

By: Jose, Former Student

Jose, Former Student — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 00:39:13 +0000

Caroline,

I was a student during Mrs. Hansen and Ms. Green’s time. The school was a first class joke from a student’s view. They had no structure and students did as we wanted to during those days. Ms. Green was always in her office working on her research for graduate school. Mrs Hansen was a little better about being seen in the school.

My bother said, “Mr. Sye makes sure students get to class, he stops in classes to check on us, and there is more structure. It is great for our school.”

One day, I was at the school with my mother to check out my brother. Mr. Sye asked my name and if I was going to college. I told him yes. He smiled at me and said, “Make the Skyline family proud.” He shoke my hand and hugged my mother.

Can you believe this was the first time a principal of the school had taking the time to talk with me? I think he is great. He is changing things at Skyline for the better for my bother and other students.

By: Caroline

Caroline — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 23:27:29 +0000

One weird thing is that Amy Hansen was — well, a very poor fit in the job she left Skyline to accept — principal of San Francisco’s Lowell High School in San Francisco, where she was technically “interim” and lasted only a year, to the relief of the Lowell community. (Sorry if she’s reading this, which I realize may well be the case.)

I was startled, when I was hearing all the complaints about her from my friends who are Lowell parents, to make friends with a Skyline parent and hear that she was respected and lamented at Skyline. This is some kind of lesson about giving a lot of thought to changing jobs.

Where is she now — maybe she could come back to Skyline if this guy doesn’t work out?