Letter to Dr. LaVonne Sheffield From Sara Bowers
Editor’s note: This writer sent a letter to District 205 Superintendent Dr. LaVonne Sheffield March 27, 2010. She chose to share it with our readers.
Dr. Sheffield:
I am writing in protest and in concern. I understand that my e-mail will have little or no weight on you or in your decision-making process; however, I have a voice that I would like to be heard.
My son Matthew is a first-grader at Jackson Elementary School. I am the PTO secretary and a very involved parent. I am very disheartened by your decision making in our district over the last week. I am even more upset that you have been less than transparent in all of your statements and in your administration since its inception. I feel that you have been less than honest, and when I hear you speak, I feel as if you are dancing in circles around the issues in an attempt to distract people from what is really going on. I don’t see you as the No. 1 advocate for our kids; I see you as having your top priority as federal and state funding and money. I don’t honestly see you as genuine or as caring. You have not come across as warm or inviting; you seem cold, condescending and standoffish. Both you and your administration’s presence have come in like a steam roller and a wrecking crew in District 205.
Our Principal Dave Molck called me on Thursday evening to let me know that he will no longer be our principal next year. In fact, that he will no longer be in the building next year at all. I cannot even tell you how devastating this is to me as well as to my son. When Matthew found out about it, he actually sobbed. What I don’t think you understand is that we are a family at Jackson! The staff, the parents, the students, we are all a family. You have managed to tear apart our family. I don’t know that any explanation that you could give me, test scores or whatever host of excuses that you have, would ever justify this decision.
Dave has been in our building for over 20 years. He knows every (and yes, I mean every) child by name. He is the leader of our children’s home away from home. Dave is the perfect combination of grace and authority rolled into one. Every child in that school loves Mr. Molck. My 4-year-old (who isn’t even in school yet) loves Mr. Molck. I am devastated that you have robbed my children of one of the greatest experiences that they could ever have by removing Dave and other staff from our school. I would understand if our school was in shambles, discipline issues on the rise, low staff morale, etc… but it’s not. Dave has done fantastic things in our building. We have an established PTO this year… the first year in several years, thanks to Dave. We have had two successful fund-raisers to raise money for our school because of Dave. Our kids are excited to learn because of the fantastic teaching staff and because of Dave. We have had events to draw in the parents and establish a greater family all because of Dave. I cannot imagine in my mind a justifiable reason to strong-arm someone out of a position that they love! I watched him last week look absolutely distraught, worn out and exhausted, and now I know why. I am sure that was the worst decision he has ever had to make in his professional career.
Do you understand the implications of what you have done? I don’t know that you do, and I am not sure if you ever will. The district is in shambles right now, and you have just heaped a ton of “crap” on top for us to dig out of. Years from now, when you are no longer here and the rest of us are still trying to dig out from the mess that you have created, I can still say that you have robbed my kids. You have robbed them from the best possible education they could have by the hasty decisions that you have made over the course of the last week. My son’s educational career will never be the same. You have removed cornerstones in his building by removing not only the principals but the non-tenured staff this last week. Those cornerstones are very important to me, my son, and all the other members of the Jackson School family. By the decisions you have made and pushed through the last week, you are not making RPS 205 the district of choice. You are forcing the hands of many parents to either move out of the district or to put their children in private education. You are not moving us forward, Dr., you are hitting the rewind button. We don’t need any more discord in our district, we need unity!
Respectfully, Dr. Sheffield, you are not uniting this district, you are dividing it and driving a wedge between the administration and the staff. You are making teachers, parents and other staff weary and very distrustful of this administration. Fear is no way to run anything, a family or a school district. You may get what you want for the moment, but eventually things begin to fall apart. Eventually, the truth comes out, and the only thing left standing in the midst of the rubble is our children. Our children, and that’s not OK with me. My child does not need to suffer because of the decisions made by your administration and the board of education. This is wrong, and I will talk until I can’t talk anymore to tell people that we cannot stand by and passively let our children’s bright future be snuffed out. As the district’s leader, I do respect your position, but I DO NOT agree with it, and I plan to move forward for our kids’ future.
Respectfully,
Sara Bowers
Next week: Read Sara Bowers’ Guest Column, “School District 205 in shambles under Dr. Sheffield.”
From the April 7-13, 2010 issue
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13 Comments
Thank you Ms Bowers for an excellent letter that could have been written by any number of parents at any and all of our schools in 205. You are right to point out that Sheffield doesn’t really care about the students or the schools. She has an agenda and come hell or high water she is going to push this social engineering project down the throats of all of us that live and work within the district. It would be interesting for either this newspaper or the RRS to do an in-depth story on the statistical impacts her cuts have made on each and every building in the district. How many people out there know that West Middle School is left with approximately 10 teachers because the rest have been RIF’d or surplused. Or that East High School lost about 1/3 of its staff. Do you really think the people of Rockford have been told that everyone of the middle and high assistant principals were also RIF’d and surplused? Everyone of them. Not because of job performance, not because of budgetary cuts, only because this is how SHE wanted it.
Take a look at all of the elementary buildings and see how each and everyone of them are being effected by these unnecessary terminations and surpluses. Do you think she looked at the new teachers in the district and even cared that these people had made the choice to teach in the Rockford district and what was their crime? They don’t resemble the students whom they teach. Please do not call this reverse discrimination – this is out-and-out discrimination on her part toward a certain sector of the teaching/administrative staff because of one criteria – the color of their skin. She should be looking for the most qualified people to work and teach in our schools and not base it on something that no one has control over.
This self important women has made it her goal to intimidate and belittle each and every one of her staff members. Make them so afraid for their jobs that they’ll just shut their mouths. You cross her and you are called down before the inquisition.
And what does our school board do? The people whom she works for…. absolutely nothing. She walks on water in their eyes and none of them outwardly challenge her agenda. Makes you want to ask why they are so afraid of her. She can’t fire them.
What a wonderful letter. It’s time for Dr. Sheffield to stop seeing the students, parents, and staff of RPS205 as anonymous widgits to move around at her will. Sure there are changes needed in certain areas, but in others, if it “ain’t” broke don’t fix it!
Reality is kicking in in RPS205’s HR department. People are NOT reapplying for their jobs. Of the two APs in my building, one has already been hired by a suburban school district. Now we get to start all over again with someone new who will have to learn how to handle the students. Great.
I meant people having their applications on file. The Communicator is supposed to be out tomorrow. People who applied for internal transfers have heard nothing.
Amen to the ‘letter to Dr. LaVonne Sheffield’!! This needed to be said for months. My daughter did her student teaching in Rockford. After having to live with the politics of Dr. Sheffield for that short period of time, she left Rockford and swore she would never teach or sub in the Rockford school district ever again! Everyone sees what is going on and it’s not for the kids.
April 13th Protest information
There will be a protest in front of the board office downtown to begin at 4:30 on April 13th-for the COMMUNITY to show their displeasure (about any and all things that you may dislike about the superintendent’s decisions) in the superintendent’s decisions and the way the board backs her. Fun, food, street theater, and lots of protesting planned. It’s time to get together people!!! We need as many people as possible at the April 13th protest. Family, friends, ANYONE who wants to show support is welcome. Please consider joining in.
Thank you for the well written and heartfelt letter to our school district’s equivalent to a village idiot.
You made a lot of interesting points and I do think you are entitled to compensation. You pay taxes to fund the education of your children. If you had an acceptable situation and the change disrupted or threatened your child’s future, then you should SUE the Superintendent. Not the district, we as a whole liked what we had accomplished. True there is still work to do, but destroying what was already accomplished is not the way to do that.
Ms. Bowers,
I commend you for writing this letter! I have written my own letters to Dr. Sheffield and the board with little to no response. I would be interested in seeing Dr. Sheffield’s response to your letter. I agree 100% with everything you have stated in your letter!
As a former RPS205 employee of 17 years, albeit not in the teaching sector, I also have seen many sups come and go. Sheffield definitely needs to be one that “goes” very quickly, but it won’t be soon enough…so much damage has been done, for families, teachers, tradespeople, etc., that it will echo in these halls for many years. The unfeeling, “I don’t care” attitude she displays, the “don’t you dare defy me” stance she takes, sends shivers up otherwise intelligent, mature adults. Why? Because our School Board in their cloud of fantasy, thinks she’s great. What happened to these people in their childhood to imagine such a thing? Good heavens…what will it take, an act of God to make them see what she has destroyed and is still destroying? She treats people with total disrespect, no matter their education, position, or the width of the smile on their face. God help us….Lavonne Sheffield is NOT a school superintendent, nor will she ever be. What’s wrong with you, Rockford????
Thank you all for the positive comments. I wrote the letter because I care about my kids future and the future of our district. As I expected Dr Sheffield has ignored my letter. To date she has not responded at all, which I am not surprised about. I am a parent, and she can not intimidate or threaten me like she can the staff and students. She will only meet with them because she has them scared that she holds their futures in her hands. All I know is that this is out of hand, especially now that she has taken away the recall rights of the 3rd and 4th year teachers. She has her agenda and that scares me. It scares me for my childs future and for the staff that I am sure we will loose. If morale wasn’t low before it is now! Folks take an extra minute and write a note, send a card give a hug to your kids teachers and staff! These people are hurting right now and are totally shell shocked. Show them you appreciate them even though the superintendant and obviously the board do not! Remember over half the board is up for re-election in 2011! At lease we do have a say in who we vote into the board.
Thank you Sara for speaking up but I got a feeling that she’s going to try and fire you. I know you don’t work for the district but do you really think that will stop her. If she ever does respond to your letter and maybe invites you down to the 4th floor fortress of Camp Madison Street (where only the highest ranking royalty are given not ONE but TWO security checks points that the peasants have to pass through before getting into the inner sanctum), I’d be sure to not go alone. I know you say that she can’t intimidate or threaten you, but I wouldn’t think a little thing like that would bother her royal bi…chyness. Take notes because whatever you hear from her will change the minute you walk out the door.
As for the election of half the board in 2011 – do you really think we can wait and survive that long?
I honestly don’t think we can wait until the elections next year. We need to pressure the board. Believe it or nor we are making some progress with some of the members. As a community we need to inundate the board and even Dr Sheffield with emails and letters regarding our displeasure. I have been in contact with the union regarding a no confidence vote. I won’t stop! She can threaten me, but we live in the land of the free. Right to free speech, right to assemble, and beyond that I have a greater power on my side. I have God almighty and his host of angels on my side! I fear not for God is with me. I readily welcome the opportunity to meet with her, however I don’t hold my breath!
Sara- Thank you for your letter.
I am committed and volunteering my time to ensuring our diverse community is well represented in upcoming focus group sessions planned for the RPS205 district.
At the April 13th RPS205 Board meeting Shannon Bingham of Western Demographics provided initial survey results for the school elementary zoning and selection process mentioned in this article: http://www.rrstar.com/news/x99760413/Elementary-zones-part-of-Rockford-schools-strategic-plan-draft. Shannon only averaged 6-12 people for these survey sessions, and as few as 3. Shannon said he could not locate people who were interested in participating. He claims this is typical of other school districts he has worked with.
I am confident that there is an abundance of district 205 residents that do want to get involved but were not fully aware of the meetings or the impact decisions generated from the focus groups results will impact the school district.
If interested, I can be contacted at d.clayburg@verizon.net
Best regards,
Doug