At the outset of a recent community forum on Rochester schools issues, RTA President Adam Urbanski stressed that he and Superintendent Jean-Claude Brizard share a lot of common ground.
But make no mistake; the areas of disagreement are still substantial.
Democrat and Chronicle report on our meeting last night:
Parents and citizens peppered Rochester schools Superintendent Jean-Claude Brizard and Rochester Teachers Association President Adam Urbanski with questions Monday night at a forum sponsored by the Activists Against Racism Movement.
More than 100 people attended the meeting at Trinity Emanuel Presbyterian Church on Shelter Street and spoke out on topics ranging from teacher evaluations to the district’s in-school suspension policy.
WXXI report on our meeting last night:
ROCHESTER, NY (2009-01-05) The Superintendent of Rochester Schools and the President of the city teachers union met with concerned community members last night — and tried to put to rest a dispute over the district’s new in-school suspension policy.
Superintendent Jean-Claude Brizard implemented the policy as one of his first major changes when he came to Rochester a year ago. Instead of putting disruptive students on long term suspension and having them attend two hours of class a day at libraries and other locations, he ordered them sent to in school suspension rooms to attend classes at their regular schools.