New Brockton High School Principal

It does not surprise me that Sharon Wolder is out as Principal of BHS. Since Dr. Szachowicz retired, things have gone downhill, Sharon was a fine head of the red building but I do not think she had the same respect from students that Sue Szach commanded. What I do not understand are these new duties: "Wolder will now be responsible for oversight of special education, equity and civil rights, guidance, nursing and data services. She will also take on the role of administrator of diversity training for students and staff as well as cultural proficiency for the district." I understand they are funding her role by one admin who resigned and another who will shift to part-time.

Diversity training is a joke. First of all, it cannot possibly cover all of the differences that exist in society and it is designed to prevent a lawsuit, not change one's mind. Second, in order to train about diversity it is necessary to single out all of the minority categories and focus on them, which actually is illegal. The mere action of categorizing people (female, old, black, gay, whatever) is insulting and prejudiced. The bias one must show in supposedly teaching people how, err, not to be biased is an ironic waste of time. This will never change attitudes which is the key to acceptance. It actually solidifies them. Oh and by the way, she is being replaced by a white guy. How ironic!

How can she possibly also oversee guidance, civil rights, nursing, data and special education and do it well? What is cultural proficiency and is she familiar with all of them? I wonder why nobody in our city administration will comment on this ... oh that's right, it is an explosion waiting to happen.

IMO, she got the job as a result of Diversity.

Meanwhile, 132 teachers were let go, 45 from BHS. Throughout the system 90 Paras, 40 MTA's and on and on. School Committee has allegedly told Super Smith no recalls of any Admin positions over Certified Teachers. We will see. Not sure Smith is the right person for the job right now. Personal opinion.

Shuffling the Deck is not going to fix the money issues. Also creating positions and keeping admin costs high is not going to solve anything. Looks like gold type parachutes for loyal people.

I would rather see substantial cuts to admin and keep our teachers and support staff

This entire country has been a mixing pot forever and no one ever required diversity training.
Just another way to waste our money....training for something that is not necessary!

Agree, agree, and agree.

Wolder did not measure up so they gave her a newly-created position that makes no sense. It also appears they elevated her salary. To hire original #2 candidate without a search is also odd. Diversity is life. Take any two people who are not twins or clones and you will have diversity. No need to focus on it, don't waste money trying to teach it.

Does the BHS population increase, decrease, or stay the same? Between School Choice, residents moving from the City, people having fewer children, and those who drop out, it seems as if there should be fewer students each year. Perhaps I am wrong. Whilewe do not want to lose teachers, is there any other way around this besides larger classes? Do they evaluate a teacher's effectiveness or are pink slips purely based on seniority and contracts? I hate to put it this way, but my kids had an elementary teacher who was well past her prime and downright offensive to some of the students. New teachers are on a lower salary scale and often enthusiastic as they start their careers. Last-in-first out; not sure if this is always the right thing.

Kathy Smith does not impress me. What about evaluating year-round schooling with various tracks of students? Staggering vacations may allow for fewer facilities in use, savings elsewhere. I did not research this, but wonder if today's society requires something different. Maybe a long-term approach rather than the annual slashes in June? New contracts as people retire and are replaced?