Excelsior Principal denounces Ministry of Education study
Earlier this week the Ministry of Education issued a press release saying they were not satisfied with the management of Excelsior High School and intend to implement a Cabinet recommendation that the school be “guided by a community-based board”. The Ministry says the conclusion is based on a three-month study conducted — they say — by a committee which reviewed Excelsior’s financial records, annual reports, student performance and the schools management among other issues. The Ministry says the study was carried out from June to September and was conducted by an evaluation committee headed by Vandley Jenkins of the Ministry of Education. While the Ministry had its say on the issue, today the Principal of Excelsior responded to the harsh criticisms leveled against him and his staff and had some harsh comments of his own about the validity of the review.
While the study noted that there have been some improvements made in providing Excelsior’s two hundred and seventy-one students with much needed services, the school’s administration was heavily criticized. According to a release from the Ministry of Education, the evaluation revealed a lack of teamwork among teachers, lack of effective leadership and management by the principal and board, inappropriate relationships between teachers and students and substandard student performance and academic achievement. Needless to say, Principal Mario Rodriguez does not agree with the findings. He told News Five the statements are misleading and he strongly believes the exercise was conducted primarily to get rid of him and several other members of staff.
Mario Rodriguez, Principal, Excelsior High School
“I must say that the Chairperson of that committee, Mr. Vandley Jenkins is either ignorant of how to conduct a systematic evaluation or he is a hand picked henchman sent here to fabricate evidence and set the stage for the slaughter of those of us who are on the chopping block.
When he talks about inappropriate relationships let me tell you what Mr. Jenkins told me when he sat in my office. He said, “I saw some things that I am not in an agreement here.” And I said, “For example what?” He said, “I see a teacher sharing his food with a student, the food that he was eating, he gave it to a student.” He said that is a no, no; that shouldn’t happen and then right here in the press release it talks about the kind of students that we cater to. There are students here who are hungry. So for me there is no problem for a teacher sharing the food that they would have thrown away and give it to a student who is in a needy position.
We know that in the past we did encounter that kind of thing. We knew as we said that in June we knew there was an instance that we thought a teacher was having an affair and we dealt with it. So the question is not whether it happens or it doesn’t happen. The thing is what is the school’s policy of dealing with it. Do we condone it, and we don’t.”
Rodriguez says he has also been accused of nepotism because he has a brother and sister who also teach at the high school. However, both teachers were employed at the school before he became Principal in 1993. The Principal says although the results of the study were made public on Wednesday, he was not informed until two days after it was sent out. And although the release stated that the study was conducted by a committee comprised of Ministry of Education officials, community stakeholders and representatives from the teacher and student bodies, Rodriguez claims the exercise was actually a one-man show.
Mario Rodriguez
“There was no systematic evaluation here at all, just Mr. Jenkins coming here, informally interviewing students, teachers, informal interviews and illegally recording teachers despite their protest. Accepting the information that he thought was in line with his foregone conclusions and worst yet failing to refer to valuable records that could have proven or disproven the things that were said.
Like the curriculum committee, you are assessing the curriculum. You look at our records of curriculum, you look at the teachers’ instructions in the classroom, you assess it and based on your professional judgement you come to a conclusion. You just don’t come here and listen to gossip and then you sift out the ones which are inline with what you want to conclude and gather those and make a conclusion.”
Rodriguez says from the time they were told about the study, the school has been unable to discuss the issue with the other members of the committee nor Dorian Barrow, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education.
Mario Rodriguez
“They have shown us a lot of elusiveness. We try to get some cooperation to get some understanding as to the procedure and the transparency of this process and we have encountered a lot of obstacles.”
Although none of the teachers would talk to us on camera, the majority we spoke to said they did not agree with results of the study. Adelaine Williams, President of the Student Council said Excelsior students are doing well and they do not have a problem with the Principal or teachers. Williams says what the Ministry should focus on is renovating the school’s dilapidated buildings.
Adelaine Williams, President, Student Council
“I think the Minister is not really doing anything at Excelsior because they usually take Excelsior as a no school and they need to get in and try to get the place clean because Excelsior is doing as well as the rest of the schools.”
Mario Rodriguez
“What have they given Excelsior since 1982 when we got this hurricane shelter which didn’t look like this the way it look now. It was just a shell. The school is the one that has made the improvement: enclosing the downstairs, putting floor, adding on a workshop, partitioning the upstairs to make it into a classroom and the school the way it is right now. Of course it is still not much a school right now but there has been an improvement.”
Rodriguez would not say what action he and the staff will be taking in response to the study results but says the present school board plans to meet to discuss the matter.
News Five was unable to reach Vandley Jenkins or P.S. Dorian Barrow for comment.
