The La Mesa Spring Valley School District is Failing Our Children.

The La Mesa Spring Valley School District is failing our children.   Rolando Elementary School did all right.  Middle school has left a lot to be desired.  Looking back at the last three years our son has attended La Mesa Middle School, my wife and I have come to realize that compared to our middle school educations, our son has gotten a raw deal.   

Neither of us comes from a community as nice as La Mesa.  We were not lucky enough to live in places solidly dominated by the middle class.  I grew up in a small “working man’s town” where the school district consistently tested just above the inner city districts of New Jersey. The “new wing” of my middle school was constructed in 1929, the oldest classrooms in 1887.  

My wife lived in a largely Latino area of Phoenix.  The Barrio.

I had old, outdated facilities, but I did have a decent curriculum.  Every day, I had classes in English, Reading, Math, Social Studies, Science, Computer Science, PhysEd, and a study hall.

I also had a full class that rotated between Art, Music, and Shop/Home Economics.  I had the opportunity to participate in instrumental music lessons, band, and chorus.  Taking advantage of the industrial arts program, I learned how to work with various plastics, wood, and learned drafting/mechanical drawing.  

In short, 80% of our day was spent in academic and industrial arts classes.  That doesn’t count our study hall, which for many of us was when we had instrumental music or band practice,  2- 3 days a week.  We had a lot of learning packed into a full school day.

At La Mesa Middle School, my son spent about 65% of his time in academic classes.  The balance spent in PhysEd and Band.  Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m a big fan of music programs in the schools — I’m not sure that nearly 35% of his school day should have been devoted to  PhysEd, band, or the other available electives.  Of course, one day a week he had a shortened school day — “minimum day.”  What a farce.  I couldn’t believe it when I first found out.  

He’s missed out on daily classes in computer science (or whatever we might prefer to teach for computer education, today.)  He has never had a plastics shop, drafting, wood shop, or a cooking class.  He’s never had an art class, or music appreciation.  I’m sure that I was more “well read” than my son at age 14.  We read and discussed literature every day.  He’s had a “basic” education, far from what I would consider the “well-rounded” education that I received.  

We also had “DETENTION.”  Two kinds.  Individual teachers would keep students after school, or there was the centralized 1 hour of detention.  Speak out in class — detention.  Incomplete classwork — detention.  Didn’t bring in homework — detention.  Needed extra help — you could go see the teacher after school.

I had one teacher in the seventh grade who would keep kids until dark, or when their parents called looking for them.  We did our classwork and turned in our homework.  We valued our afternoons.

No detention at La Mesa Middle School.  Teachers can’t be asked to stay late.  Instead, they have ISS — In School Suspension.  They spend time during the school day, taken out of their academic classes, to be punished for such foolish things as trying to sit with their friends at lunch, or talking to a friend in the hallway.  How does this help them succeed?  It forces them to fall behind in class.  

There is no penalty for not completing classwork or not turning in homework, other than a failing grade, that your parents won’t know about until it’s too late to address.  Letting a student fail, instead of intervening early, is not to their benefit.  

And who is to blame for this sad state of affairs?  You have to blame the District.  Starting with the Board, to Brian Marshall, Superintendent, to Beth Thomas, Principal, down to the teachers, and the parent/voters who keep the same people in office.

“No money,” they’ll say.  Why not?  That’s a whole different discussion.  What it comes down to is that it has been allowed to reach this point, and everyone has stood by and let it happen.  

We’ve allowed these people to fail our children.  

It’s time we all wake up, and hold the District, Administrators, Teachers, and Voters accountable.  We’re talking about educating our children — we have to do better.