Some who are closer observers of the Hudson City School District than Gossips have predicted this might happen, and it has. Dr. Lisamarie Spindler has resigned as superintendent. The following is quoted from a press release issued this morning by HCSD:
Superintendent of Schools Dr. Lisamarie Spindler, who has led the Hudson City School District since Feb. 1, 2022, will resign effective June 30, the district announced to day. . . .
Board of Education President Willette Jones said the Board will quickly name an interim superintendent to lead the district of 1,591 students until a permanent superintendent is identified. A comprehensive search will begin this summer and community input will be sought in the process. . . .
Spindler's letter to resignation, submitted to the Board of Education, can be read here.
Is it time to call in the National Guard?
ReplyDeleteDr. Spindler took on the enormous. She listened to the community those who cared to comment. Or help.) She fought fights (and watched physical fights) and never gave up. Till enough was enough. I am a very severe critic of the HCSD and its taxes vs. education. But never did I see that we would hire someone like Lisamarie and allow her to be be micr-abused by a Mayor with zero qualifications (for just about any job) and who has ZERO moral authority here. I think the Mayor should steer clear of the Maria and family situation, less this all gets nastier. Maria and the Mayor know that the truth is out in full. How disgraceful for all. OK Mayor.....what is your plan to dodge all of this, be transparent and still claim moral authority over "kids" at the school district? By killing off a new and promising Superintendent you did not purge your own record. Come clean and then preach to us. Education of the kids comes first, not the tragic political career of someone that cannot be trusted.
ReplyDeleteKen I'm not sure what I have to do with any of this. I have never "micr-abused" the superintendent. I was actually on the team that hired her. I didn't even have much communication with Dr. Spindler. As you stated I have zero authority here. She wasn't fired she quit. As a parent of a child in the district. I can have an opinion like everyone else. As far as qualifications I would be here all day listing my accomplishments as mayor. Not to mention I literally have a degree in political science. I know who I am. If you want to have a real conversation with me just reach out. If I am correct you are the same guy who wrote a letter asking me to be more vocal about the district. I'm not hard to find.
ReplyDeleteDear Kamal: I think it is good policy to fight back. But in order to do so you need to “bring the receipts,” as they say. There are two kinds of real leaders, the first goes shopping with the team for coals, burgers, salads and sodas before the BBQ. That is when you can figure out if you forgot the ketchup. You also build networks. The second is the politician is the one who loads his car trunk with marshmallows so that in the event of a dumpster fire they can still pretend to be involved (and actually have a tasty dessert) when the real meal is long over. Marshmallow politicians are the worst.
ReplyDeleteThis is a long way of asking you if you have ever been to finance and audit committee meeting at the school. Have you, like me, tracked every dollar of COVID funds the school is spending and offered your opinion on what is good and bad? (They are NOT turning the money back in so we have to deal with it!). Have you EVER been told you only have 3 minutes to address the board when you are the only member of the public in the room. (I am sure not.) Have you, like Jeff and I have, on a yearly basis, hired high school kids to do summer work-ships on your property so you can listen to their hearts and heads? Have you ever shown up with your fighting spirit in the name of the education of the kids BEFORE there is a physical fight? Have you talked to the leaders of the towns around Hudson (to get their ideas) who also pay for the massive Hudson budget? Have you ever made transparent your relationship with the previous Superintendent and her family?
I asked you to get involved with the kids….not to run the Board of Education. Anyone could have predicted this post-Covid crisis in education and you should have been ahead of it. Your job is not to just be there when the cameras are rolling but to rise above the PR activity and set a course….for the kids…NOT the BOE. (Willette can do just fine on her own.) Show up when it doesn’t matter and when the issues are boring and meetings are tedious. Show up as a father not as mayor. You will learn a lot more. Put out a 10-point plan for fixing the education dilemma in the area, run it by our sister town leaders and get moving. Stop destroying the lives of visiting/new superintendents for reasons that are questionable, personal and totally disrespectful. (Aren’t you the human welcome sign for the city?) But, just show up and show up with dignity. I’d put the marshmallows in the trash, get that 10-point plan drafted and vetted with other taxpayers (I’m offering my help) and get the parents, students and city leaders back to work. And frankly, I think you should stay away from the process of replacing Dr. Spindler and issue a very personal apology to her (I saw some nasty social media about her.) Finally, it is time you for you to offer full 3-D transparency on your previous relationship with the HCSD. So, accept the criticism, pick your head up, put your pride down and start a listening tour of the kids. THEY are the BEST teachers. Then think one word-----diploma. Ken Sheffer
Why is the "blame game" the first order of business? That is the biggest waste of time before finding a solution, even though it seems the most popular.
ReplyDeleteI am so sorry for the staff and students of the Hudson City School District. And the Board of Ed owes all of them -- and parents and taxpayers -- an explanation. Most importantly, it needs to find out why Dr. Spindler left so soon and what her brief tenure has cost us. As an education journalist for much of the last 25 years (see here https://www.educationnext.org/author/pmeyer/) I can tell you that Spindler brought to Hudson a host of debunked educational ideas, terrible administrative practices, and the lack of experience not to know. Having been in the schools with my journalism program for much this past school year, I had a ringside seat on the disastrous results for staff and students. But the Board needs to be held accountable and tell us what happened and how it cost us. --peter meyer
ReplyDeletetypo on the last sentence: how much it cost us. ---pm
DeleteWell Peter, it was Maria and Carrie who picked her and they are no longer involved nor will they tell you why they personally stood up for her. As for finding out the cost, it will never happen. My strong suggestion is that you go become interim Superintendent.....you may be the only one to figure this expensive mess out.
ReplyDeleteKen, my sources tell me that Maria had nothing to do with hiring Spindler; had never even met her until after she was hired. But we could -- and should -- find this out with an investigation into what happened and why it happened. --peter m.
DeleteSince you were there Peter, you speak with credibility.
ReplyDeleteIt would be good to know why she resigned, the letter did not give any reason. Who knows, it could have nothing to do with the job, it could be an unrelated or personal issue.
ReplyDeleteAs far as the conditions at the school goes, it's not likely to improve anytime soon, regardless of the money spent. More likely, with all the effort being put into expanding HHA and creating more low income housing, it could get worse. That is not to say a child can not do well there, many of them do. Most of the teachers and staff are very good. But as far as ratings and statics go, they will probably remain low. It's a choice the city made to host and expand the hosting of these families. The low ratings come with the territory, but it does not mean the school is bad, a child can get a good education there. Also being exposed to a wide range of income brackets and cultures is not a bad thing. Throwing more money at the problem isn't necessarily going to improve the ratings.
What you said Peter is exactly the same situation that I have been hearing for months. It seems that the shortage of Superintendent candidates, especially good ones, has deepened with time.
ReplyDeletePerhaps Mr. Abitabile will have the stones to come back and take over.
ReplyDeleteHere is the current summary of the Hudson City School District
ReplyDeletehttps://www.publicschoolreview.com/new-york/hudson-city-school-district/3614940-school-district
It rates a 2 out of 10. Reading and math seem to be a big problem, even though the system "graduated" more of the students.
If the district can’t teach our kids to read and write then what good is it? Time to start a charter school to strangle the HCSD and replace it with a working school system.
DeleteHere is the current summary of the Hudson City School District High School
Deletehttps://www.publicschoolreview.com/new-york/hudson-city-school-district/3614940-school-district
It rates a 6 out of 10, which is in the top 50% of public high schools in New York.
Yes, but Hudson is at the top 1% for diversity. You can't compare ratings to schools that come from privileged, suburban, upscale neighborhoods. Many Hudson families that can afford it send their kids to private school or homeschool. The Hudson school is more comparable to an inner city school from an impoverished neighborhood. You can't pack a town with low income housing and expect to have a school with South Hampton type ratings, it's just not realistic.
DeleteI followed the link posted by John.Dunning and found this statement:
DeleteFor the 2023 school year, there are 3 public schools serving 1,619 students in Hudson City School District. This district's average testing ranking is 2/10, which is in the bottom 50% of public schools in New York.
Where is that good evaluation hiding? The link is exactly the same as the one cited by j kay.
Thanks Carole. The other report must have been "fake news", a problem in today's society.
DeleteThe sad and distressing part is that so much is spent to provide so little.
Reading and math skills are required to function in the world.
One of my education mentor/heros, E.D. Hirsch ("Cultural Literacy" 1988), once told me that are no bad people, just bad ideas. This is very true in education. We have hard-working and well-intentioned teachers and (for the most part) administrators in Hudson. But they have come out of an education training system that has been found to be flawed in many ways. Maria Suttmeier and her staff would beginning to implement the "good ideas" in our schools (adopting curricula from Hirsch's Core Knowledge Foundation and other such "what works" programs), with promising results. Spindler doesn't know who Hirsch is.
Delete"Strangle HCSD"?
ReplyDeleteYes. It’s illegal to fire a gun in the city limits. The district is necrotic. Time to start again.
DeleteSo what would be done differently n the new school environment?
ReplyDeleteFirst, the under- and non-performing administrators would be gone. It’s all uphill from there. A charter school can be focused on urban education issues rather than the non-functioning hybrid we currently fund at an unsustainable level.
DeleteJohn, this might ordinarily be the right move, but in this case we have one non-performing administrator and a board of ed that looks like it got taken for a ride. --peter m
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