So when we my family moved back to Iowa in 2010 and immediately began notice a mismanaged and deteriorating school system, I began airing my grievances to whomever would listen in my personal circle. Our experiences centered primarily around my teenager's experiences with the "Hail Mary Pass" that the Des Moines Public Schools (DMPS) threw when they hired a new principal for East High School. But the real straw that Broke the Heather Ryan Back was when I enrolled my middle daughter in Kindergarten in 2012. Below is the abridged version of my personal story and the public fight that ensued.
We enrolled Ireland in our neighborhood school, Stowe Elementary, around July 18, 2012 so she could begin Kindergarten classes after the Iowa State Fair ended in late August 2012. Imagine our surprise when administrators contacted me the following day to inform me that Ireland would not be allowed to attend classes at that school which was literally 0.75 miles (walking distance) up the street because our house had been "re-districted" by the DMPS School Board on July 17, 2012. Ireland was now slated to attend one of the worst schools in the entire state, three miles from our home. I was astounded when we were informed that my five year old was to board a bus each morning and afternoon so she could attend a school consisting of 700 deeply economically challenged students. Additionally, Ireland had already MISSED the first two weeks of school! Capital View Elementary scores SO POORLY on their standardized tests that they have become one of the only "year around" schools in the state. When we went to the "new" school (which used to be a small neighborhood school until the DMPS Board and Superintendent Witherspoon demolished it ten years ago and replaced it with a new, consolidated mega-structure in a bizarre, arm twisting scheme for a sales tax increase and a slew of non-bid contracts), I was aghast at the Prison feel of the institution. Literally. It looked and felt like a prison.
Long story kind-of short, we finally sucked it up and powered through several months of Ireland's Kindergerden year. Some of our issues with that particular school were that it is infested with head lice, which is apparently no longer considered an "illness" by DMPS, so students are not even sent home with instructions for treatment. There is no PTSA or similar group to encourage parental involvement. EVERY child receives free breakfast and lunch because the prevalence of poverty is so great - no state/federal qualification forms need to be filled out there - this "School in Need of Assistance" is just considered 100% free and reduced eligible. Finally, Ireland was 1 of almost 30 kids in her class - a huge class - but that was just one of the FOUR Kindergarten classes in this gigantic consolidated school. So when "Open Enrollment" season finally opened up, we faxed our application paperwork in on the very first day, then I mailed it. I wanted to make sure that it was received by DMPS! We were simply asking that our family be allowed to drive (or walk) Ireland to another neighborhood school that was more compatible with our family's needs. Since DMPS is an "Open Enrollment System", I didn't think we were asking too much.
This school board has been vexed with scandals, bad leadership, and a members who treat parents with disdain for years. But it wasn't until I personally started to experience their gross negligence that I really started to pay attention to the severe mismanagement of our schools by just a handful of self-proclaimed elitists. I continued to pay attention to their website and the news stories swirling around their latest scandals and lawsuits over the months that followed my family's encounter with the backwards system. The DMPS website stated that they would post information about the School Board Election "Mid 2013" and I was interested to see who I could throw my support behind once the process and candidates were announced. When I e-mailed the board on Sunday June 9, 2013 to ask when they would be updating the site with information about the election process (an election that was just 3 months away at that point), I received four separate e-mails back from board members and their hired mouthpiece. The responses ranged from unhelpful to insulting. It was absolutely unbelievable that the folks who are ultimately responsible for teaching our children would send correspondence filled with misspellings, misinformation and antagonism in response to my simple, three sentence inquiry. That's when I decided it was time for me to do my part to "Bounce the Board". I started a Facebook Page, created a Twitter account and gave interviews to the local media.
As stated above, this School Board has been plagued with drama, scandal and lawsuits for many, many years. The three members who seem to hold the rest of the board by the short hairs are Boesen, Caldwell-Johnson and Murphy and they are ALL up for re-election in September. Additionally, they are all the nitwits who shot back bizarre responses to my simple inquiry in early June. Surely, it's not too much to ask to replace (at least) three of the four current members who are seeking re-election, Right?
Well, easier said than done, I'm sure. This campaign will surely take more than just a Facebook presence and Twitter account. These members have a collective tenure of 30ish years on the School Board, tons of name recognition and most importantly, MONEY. But I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this movement gains momentum and the oodles of folks who have contacted me regarding their similarly poor experiences are proactive and aggressive in the effort to Bounce the Board in the September 10, 2013 elections. Des Moines deserves a school board that is more dedicated to student excellence than their own inflated egos.
So PLEASE, click these hyperlinks to join the Facebook Page and Twitter Account. Share this blog, share your story (comment on this blog or Facebook) and help spread the word! The only way this will be successful is if we have strong candidates willing to stand up for the students during this desperately important election and dedicated activists who help spread the word and get out to vote on the weird, obscure election date of Tuesday, September 10, 2013!
Please help me, Bounce the Board!
Until Next Time,
Heather Ryan
@LoudAndLiberal
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