Monroe Dispatch - No Struggle, No Progress

School has been in session for over a month, and the biggest news to report has been the firing of several high school football coaches and the almost suspension of a school superintendent. Football season practically dominates school activities, with various schools having their homecoming events to instill school pride among their students. But not lost in the process is the purpose of school, which is to educate all students who walk through its doors day-in-day-out. A dark cloud continues to hang over the Monroe City Schools District as questions continue to swirl over the recent revelation of MCS Superintendent Brent Vidrine surviving a suspension attempt on September 12 by the school board that he serves. There is anger, and rightfully so those in the community and perhaps on the board itself, that the individual who represents the board before the community didn’t get a slap on the wrist by the failed suspension. Some may call what happened at that special board meeting “a travesty” to the rest of the hard-working employees, some of whom have not fared as well as the superintendent when it comes to discipline. One would want to believe that the board’s intention with the suspension was to send a message that no one is above school policy. But it also sent an even worse message to the children, especially those who are old enough to know what discipline means and that one of its punishments is a suspension from class. The old saying that “who you know” and “who got your back” goes further than “what you know” in situations when you can’t talk your way out of certain situations. One can only hope that “justice” will be done and the Monroe City Schools can return to its mission of educating ALL children who walk through those classroom doors — just wondering.

Speaking of educating ALL of the children, this reporter saw where it was revealed(to no one’s surprise) that Louisiana, along with its northern neighbor Arkansas and its eastern neighbor Mississippi, was among 16 states that underfunded historically Black land-grant universities. Would one think funding was any different with historically Black high schools before(and after)integration? What is the current status of how much is spent on resources on schools within the Monroe School District where schools are failing? How do the schools compare in classroom size? Where are the most vulnerable students located, and what is being done for them, except hearing excuses for why they are not achieving? Resources are more than just money. It is placing the “right bodies”(counselors, professionals) in sufficient numbers in environments where, with proper(latest) instructional teaching methods that focus on the student, tangible results can be achieved. It won’t be easy, but it wasn’t supposed to be easy. We are in the 21st century, but there are some nations that appear to be in the 22nd century when it comes to educating their children. No one wants the Monroe City Schools District to be seen as in the distant past because the children it strives to reach are much more important than a superintendent. If the time comes when the District has to move past the current superintendent, we must accept that. Who knows that one of the children in the system may one day become the next superintendent? We have enough dropouts and enough children falling through the cracks. They can learn science, math, the arts, and even technical things that can amaze us. A stronger push may be needed, a stronger commitment to excellence, and that never-ending desire for the next generation to do better than the previous one. Just wondering - how long will the at-risk students continue to suffer when they don't have to?