Chaparral High School in Clark County “persistently” sucks.
According the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the school is currently “in its sixth year of needing to show academic improvement under No Child Left Behind.” As such, the school district finally decided to take some drastic action. It applied for a federal grant which requires the school to replace at least 50 percent of its staff. Students and staff were informed of the change, which will take place at the end of this school year, this week.
The school’s principal is one of those who will not be coming back next year. That led student Julie Ann Martel to ask, “Why would getting rid of a good principal make our school better? Considering what a nice guy he is, it doesn’t seem fair.”
Ah, the mouths of babes. If your school makes the “persistently” sucks list six years in a row, that doesn’t exactly qualify you as a “good principal.” And being a “nice guy” isn’t necessarily what an underperforming school needs. In fact, what it probably needs is a principal willing to “crack skulls,” not be everybody’s buddy. And finally, life’s not fair, Miss Martel; get used to it.
But at least Julie Ann has the excuse of youth to explain her lack of comprehension of the need for such dramatic change; but how to explain the ignorance articulated by Chaparral English teacher David Winkler who worries that the changes “may be counterproductive to the purpose of educating our kids.”
New flash, Mr. Winkler: If you and your school were educating your kids, which clearly you are not, the changes wouldn’t be necessary. Duh. And you have a college degree?
