Fayette schools' claim rejected
The Kentucky Department of Education says it hasn't found enough evidence to support allegations that Peggy Petrilli tried to inflate student test scores at Lexington's Booker T. Washington Academy.
Petrilli was the school's principal from 2005 to 2007, when she resigned.Petrilli later sued the Fayette County Public Schools, alleging that she was forced out to appease some Booker T. Washington parents who wanted a black principal. Petrilli is white.
A Fayette Circuit Court jury rejected her claim after a trial last summer.
State Education Secretary Terry Holliday recently sent a letter to Fayette school Superintendent Stu Silberman, saying that he concurs with a state Testing Board of Review finding that "not enough evidence was found to support a violation of the Administrative Code for Kentucky's Educational Assessment Program." The letter did not refer to Petrilli by name...
On Monday, Golden contended that Holliday's letter vindicates Petrilli. "This finding is consistent with Peggy's proof that all her evaluations reflected the highest marks," Golden said. "It is not consistent with any proofs submitted on behalf of the Fayette County schools."
Golden referred to information and testimony presented during last year's trial of Petrilli's lawsuit showing that she got high marks on her job evaluations.
Attorney John McNeill, who represented the school district in the case, declined to comment...
5 comments:
Dear Mrs. Petrilli,
You were the true victim here.
That your case is receiving so much attention is a good thing: I think at least one man in Central Office is understanding that you can't do business in Lexington the way you do it in Owensboro.
If there is anything good that come out of another lawsuit, it might just be the "final exit" of Mr. Silberman.
Mr. Silberman has always been zealously devoted to children and their parents, but in doing this he neglected and mistreated his teachers and principals. He and his crew implied you had falsified data and must be smarting now that you have been cleared of those charges.
The results from the Kentucky Core Content Tests in reading, math, science, social studies and on-demand writing lend more support to Peggy Petrilli's claims that she:
1) Did not cheat, and
2) Can turn schools around quickly.
Sadly, those results also indicate the performance of a successful principal can be undone by another, less talented one.
See more on that here: http://bluegrasspolicy-blog.blogspot.com/2010/03/evidence-lacking-that-fired-school.html
It looks like a lot of people owe Peggy Petrilli a huge apology.
And, a lot of kids are suffering adverse impacts from her abrupt removal.
Thanks for the comments y'all.
My very limited (and possibly inaccurate) inquiries suggest that Silberman never faced a single lawsuit while he was in Daviess County. In Fayette County, it took about ten minutes. That's the nature of the big city, but in the Petrilli case, Silberman was central to the dispute.
I've heard this more than once. Lots more.
Nice chart, Richard. I had not looked at the numbers but am not surprised. I have heard more anecdotal snippets related to the present atmosphere at BTWA particularly in contrast to other FCPS schools. Academics who have visited numerous FCPS schools have found BTWA kinda cold and the kids highly directed. By contrast, one of these folks had also visited Athens and commented on how much happier the children appeared and noted the flexibility that the faculty enjoyed.
Same district.
Different populations.
Different educational experience.
I'm not sure what that means, if anything. But I do know which experience I would want for my own child. I guess Peggy Henderson is still at Athens; very competent in my opinion. Unfortunately, I am unfamiliar with Ms. Brown at BTWA.
I 'm not sure anyone suggested Mr. Silberman ever faced a lawsuit in Owensboro. In a smaller community, the paternalistic superintendent is less likely to be challenged. In Owensboro Peggy would have gone quietly.
Here Peggy is standing up for her rights, and in doing so she is challenging a very popular superintendent. I applaud her for doing so, and I'm pleased to hear she is in higher education these days.
Thank you, Mr. Innes, for adding to the debate. I continue to believe Mr. Silberman railroaded Peggy, and I continue to believe his suspensions and demotions of teachers will be challenged in the courts.
With Stu Silberman at the helm, the Board of Education better not fire the in-house attorney!
Post a Comment