Improve Conway Schools – An Exodus of Experience?
The rebuttal continues, as another email came out Monday from ImproveConwaySchools.org:
Resignations
ImproveConwaySchools.com reported that there has been an exodus of experience leaving the schools and this was at “an alarming rate” and that the professionals were told to “adapt the superintendent’s mandates or find another job”. They claim and “alarming” lack of transparency and highlight “lack of respect” throughout their email to the public. All of this is gaslighting techniques in which they try to get you, the public, to question what’s going on and to assume that things are being hidden and done in secret. But as has been stated many times, this isn’t true. Let’s review the facts for what they are.
First, they DO state the facts that certain administrators who are long-tenured with the district either have left or are leaving. This would include KK Bradshaw, Joel Linn, Heather Kendrick and Gary Logan. They state that at least 28 teachers have or are also leaving.
This information IS TRUE. But is it alarming? Hardly.
First, change is hard but often necessary to move forward. It’s often some of the MOST TENURED people who need to leave in order for improvement to be facilitated. While state law requires personnel matters to remain confidential, it’s very possible and likely that at least some of the long tenured administrators were asked to leave, ImproveConwaySchools.com wants you to think they chose to leave but they don’t know that as fact. It’s just an assumption- a gaslighting tactic.
Are teachers leaving at an “alarming” rate? What are the facts? First, for this school term there are 89 resignations in total, last term was 88 and the term before was 99. Will there be more resignations before years end? Likely, yes. But is this alarming? Hardly. It’s actually par for the course.
The other consideration is just the overall morale of the teaching industry. Industry reports show that nationwide, teachers are leaving their field in favor of other jobs that pay more and are less stressful. Conway isn’t an anomaly like ImproveConwaySchools.com wants you to believe. They are part of the growing trend across the country.
At May’s board meeting, Mrs Linda Hargis did something really smart. She called on the teachers who were leaving the district to find out why. The answers were largely what you would expect if you are not trying to build a conspiracy narrative. Teachers stated they were leaving the profession (as the national trend indicates), retiring, moving away as their spouse got another job, leaving teaching because of the behavioral problem many kids are facing. There’s nothing concerning with any of the reasons teachers are leaving the district, except for the behavior issues students are facing- and that’s for a different report.
So what do we do about teachers leaving and getting out of the profession? We increase pay and benefits- This has been done and Conway and the board will continue to do what they can to raise pay even further. They address mounting discipline issues, which the board and admin staff will discuss. They up their recruiting efforts, which Conway has done successfully. Conway is seeing many qualified candidates come to the district looking for jobs. The future is bright for teachers in Conway!
The final point about administrative staff in our district, which ImproveConwaySchools.com refuses to address, is the amazing hires that Dr Collum and the board have recently made. They won’t discuss this as it pokes holes in their narrative! But let’s look at just a couple of the new hires.
– Dr Megan Duncan. Dr Duncan will be joining Conway as the Asst Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction. She’s leaving Fayetteville (a highly sought district by the way) to come work for Conway. Dr Duncan is a huge win for Conway and is going to do great things within our district. Dr. Duncan is a career educator, worked for the ADE and has been named superintendent of the year. Oh, and Dr Duncan is taking a pay cut to come work for Conway. It’s interesting how this narrative is being spun about the state of Conway schools, yet highly credentialed and tenured staff WANT to come work for Conway.
– Dr Andy Ashley. Dr Ashley will be joining Conway as the Asst Superintendent for Innovative Programs. Dr Ashely is leaving a superintendent position at Heber Springs to come work for Conway. So Dr. Ashley is stepping down in title and is also taking a pay cut so that he can be part of Conway schools. Dr Ashley is very well seasoned and brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the district. He’s going to do great things in our district.
Any registered voter living in the Conway Public School District can vote! You do not need to live in the city or have children enrolled in school. Remember to take your ID to the polls. Please consider voting for:
Jennifer Cunningham* in the At Large race.
Additionally, if you live in Zone 5, you can also vote for Bill Milburn*
NOTE: Early voting is over. Tuesday, May 9 is Election Day.
One of the concerns ImproveConwaySchools.org has brought up is, why has Conway received 187 FOIA requests since October 2022 and why do they need a Chief Legal Officer? They ask these questions with the narrative in mind that it must be a lack of transparency.
However, the naysayers have been looking for a ‘smoking gun’ through FOIA requests ever since this current board has been in place. They were hoping the FOIA requests would lead to some incriminating information against the school board. They are doing everything they can to accuse the board of secret meetings, not being transparent, of hate and bigotry. But the interesting thing is, they haven’t found anything to actually support any of this. Sure, they can use what they found and twist things in a way to try to make it fit the narrative, but nothing has been found.
So why so many FOIA requests? They are looking at the board and superintendent under a high powered microscope and their findings are boring.
So why does Conway want a Chief Legal Officer? Where will the money come from? Well, most districts the size of Conway have legal counsel on staff. With the amount of FOIA requests, any potential litigation and any legal guidance the district might need can come from this staff member. And when you have legal counsel on staff instead of outsourced, you can better control how your money is spent on legal needs. And the concern of where will the money come from? I would imagine a majority of it would come from offsetting the need for outsourced legal needs. It’s common sense that hiring legal counsel means less need for outsourced legal counsel. So the bill for Conway’s outsourced legal services goes down, leaving room in the budget for hired legal counsel.
You don’t have to be persuaded by the false narratives being spewed by those talking the loudest. Consider the facts and common sense. Vote for
Jennifer Cunningham* in the At Large race.
Additionally, if you live in Zone 5, you can also vote for Bill Milburn*
Click here to check your voter registration status.
Please forward this email to your friends who are concerned about the current School Board’s direction.
ImproveConwaySchools.org is a growing group of concerned citizens (including parents, grandparents, teachers, retired teachers, and local business people), committed to academic excellence for ALL students in the Conway Public School District. We expect respect and transparency from our Superintendent and School Board, and a clear focus on academic success. We expect the media and the democrats to quit hyper focusing on the things they don’t like by spreading misinformation. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! And we’re taking a stand. Help us elect candidates who support our values and represent the majority of the community.
* ImproveConwaySchools.org is not allied or associated with any candidate in the upcoming school board election.
This message has not been approved by any candidate
1637 Clifton St, Conway, Arkansas 72032, United States
