In your reported story you say, " In making our endorsements for School Board this year, we looked for people with intelligence, critical thinking skills, and a solid understanding of the Rochester School District and its high-poverty population."
Yet none of the candidates you endorse have any experience teaching in the district. "Where the rubber meets the road." So to me, your endorsements are a contradiction.

Thank you City Newspaper for this endorsement! I would like to make a correction. My last name is SHELTON. "Sung" is my middle name and interestingly means "Victory". I use my middle name to pay homage to my mother who is a first generation Korean immigrant and has worked hard to raise a strong, educated and caring woman or color!

Speaking of being well-informed, there are more school board meetings than the regular monthly one. The recent candidate forum for school board, held by Metro Justice, AQE and CAFEE, was scheduled for the same day/time as a school board meeting. I asked the organizers why, and they said the meeting had not been published on the school district website.

I hope my campaign gives City News and others a broader understanding of how the school district operates. Please check out vote-for-chris.net/ and see for yourself how much thought and detail is evident.

I hope as the campaign progresses there will be more opportunities to clarify what the "best possible education" really is and how RCSD can address moving in that direction. In the age old tension in educational emphasis between "vocational skills" and "academic skills", right now the pendulum has swung wildly out of balance towards "academic ' side in ways that are quite evident in the RCSD as well as statewide.

Evidence includes emphasis on standardized testing, the near-elimination of all but "regents" diplomas, or how Edison's vocational programs are languishing with low enrollment, low interest and low funding (student find the onerous graduation requirements off putting as well)

Bringing back more emphasis on skill based learning could be done without sacrificing academic study, but, done skillfully, actually improve it. Growing urban orchards, for example, would provide all kinds of authentic learning opprtunities in the life sciences, while also teaching critical lessons not only in nutrition, but also more subtle ones such as delayed gratification, long term planning, or creating a stronger connection to the land, its processes and the origins of ones energy sources. Sending tree cuttings home with students to plant offers a great lesson in entrepreneurial activity-- creating something large out something very little.

Right now, with the possible exception of a few pear trees in the Franklin courtyard, nowhere does the RCSD grow a single peice of fruit despite our location in the center of a major fruit-growing region. Note the vast and mostly underused lands surrounding many school buildings (Douglass, Jefferson in particular). Given all of that, it seems like it would take very little to get some urban orchards started, opening up this experience to more students.

The garden projects already taking place such as at #2 school are an excellent start; but many students are not reached by these piloting efforts. The particular advantage of offering urban orchards as well is that they do fine over the summer months with little maintenance.

In Chicago, there is an "urban ag school" that raises fish to sell at local restaurants. They also do some livestock, cheesemaking and a host of other activities. Offering students opportunities to be tangibly useful has been found to solve a whole host of behavioral and motivational problems students, particualrly in the 6-9th grade range, where many student can get 'lost" in a large district.

The District's challenge, it seems to me, is not so much to emphasise bringing hands on learning to academic topics, but bring academic learning to obviously useful human acitivites. The real way to learn Mendelian genetics is by growing a garden, the best way to learn of the Irish potato famine is to have tried to grow potatoes. Bacteria come alive (literally) when making cheese or yogurt.

At least then students will have to spend less time wondering "Why do I have to learn this? and actually spend more time learning it in an authentic and meaningful way.

It turns out that if you want to raise math scores on a test for young students, 15 minutes of outdoor recess does more than another 15 minutes of concentrated review. The dichotomy between vocational and academic skills is a false one; if the district were to add extra emphasis on skill based learning could, instead of taking away from academic performance actually improve it.

I am appealing to readers to please understand that the information below does not represent “sour grapes” on my part relative to not securing City newspaper’s endorsement for Rochester Board of Education. On the contrary, I must respond to that which I consider as being nothing less than a thinly veiled, underhanded and unfair attack on my character by City, which I shall detail momentarily, but first, as an aspiring scholar and fairly prolific writer --- I would like to outline just a few of the numerous, fundamental flaws, inaccuracies, half-truths and contradictions in City’s explanations (really rationalizations) relative to their endorsement choices for Rochester Board of Education Commissioners. Although, I am not a journalist, I do remember from the journalism class that I took in college --- that one of the cardinal principles within the profession is accuracy. As noted above, City’s explanations are filled with inaccuracies and contradictions. A few of the most outstanding ones are as follows:

• Supposedly, the endorsement choices were determined by “City editorial staff,” which I find to be very interesting, if not strange --- since my endorsement interview involved a one-on-one meeting, exclusively with Mr. Tim Macaluso. Considering the numerous flaws referenced above --- it is highly unlikely that Mr. Macaluso accurately conveyed the content of our one-on-one interview to other members of City’s “editorial staff.” For example, it was noted that I have been a teacher in the Rochester City School District (RCSD) for “22 years.” Actually, it has been 23 years. This may seem like a small, excusable, mistake. However, when we consider that Mr. Macaluso had his tape recorder on throughout the duration of the interview --- it is reasonable to think that he would have referred back to the recording --- to ensure that he got the basic facts right. Seemingly, he did not.

• It is most interesting that City didn’t even correctly state the name of one of the candidates that they endorsed.

• “Community Activists For Educational Excellence” (CAFEE) was mentioned in City’s explanations / rationalizations. The last time that I checked --- the correct name of that particular organization was Concerned Advocates For Educational Excellence. I’m quite sure that the name of the organization hasn’t changed.

• It was mentioned that: “Two candidates are running on the Working Families line…” Yet, there was no mention of who the two candidates are. I happen to be one of those candidates, and as far as the other one is concerned, City listed several organizations that have endorsed him, but apparently forgot to mention that one of those organizations is Working Families Party. After my interview with Mr. Maculuso, I sent him a note to remind him that I have the endorsements of Working Families Party, the Green Party and St. John Fisher political science professor, and former Rochester Board of Education Commissioner, Jim Bowers, but of course none of this is mentioned in City’s endorsement explanations / rationalizations.

• Van White is given credit for “pushing particularly hard on African American studies.” Yet, even though Mr. Macaluso acknowledged (during our interview) that he is fully aware --- it is not mentioned that I (along with another colleague) originally suggested the idea to Commissioner White of introducing a Board Resolution to develop a Department of African And African American Affairs. The original intent included the idea of providing a vehicle that would go far beyond just dealing with “studies,” i.e. curricula issues.

Now, as it relates to City’s thinly veiled, underhanded, unfair, and journalistically non-objective, biased and unprincipled attack on my character --- they accused me of being “emotional and vitriolic.” First, I must say that anyone who even pretends to be genuinely concerned about and committed to improving educational conditions within the RCSD --- who can engage in such work in a manner in which their emotions are detached --- is perhaps suspect. I admit to being emotional (even to the extent that, based on overall conditions and treatment of many of our students and their families --- on more than one occasion --- I have literally broken down and wept). Yet, I understand that weeping publicly, for instance at a Board of Education meeting, probably would not be acceptable behavior. I cite this example to drive home the point that there is nothing wrong (in and of itself) with being emotional. A problem arises when leaders are emotional to the extent that negative feelings / emotions become uncontrollable. I am proud to say that I have never had that problem.

I vehemently take exception to use of the term “vitriolic” to describe me. Vitriolic is a loaded, code word designed to conjure up images of mean-spiritedness, rudeness, and disrespectfulness. Regardless of some people’s interpretations, apparently including Mr. Macaluso’s, there is no record of such behavior in my personal or professional history. If Mr. Macaluso and / or City’s so called editorial staff disagrees --- then I challenge them openly and publicly to cite one example --- just one.

Based on my thorough preparation, knowledge, understanding, expertise and commitment as a vested RCSD parent; 23-year veteran, RCSD, High School Social Studies teacher, and 30 consecutive years as a grassroots community activist --- I appeal to the citizens of Rochester for an opportunity, via their support at the polls on September 15th --- to help end the long reign of Democratic Party politics as usual (that is, status quo within the RCSD and beyond), which is obviously backed by City newspaper. Our children, their families, and the taxpayers and citizens of Rochester, NY deserve fundamental, progressive change and substantial, sustained improvement (not in the by-and-by, but right now).

In the final analysis, I am unequivocally convinced that Mr. Macaluso and/or City’s so called editorial staff are not qualified to determine what is or is not “the last thing that this board needs.”

Sincerely,
Howard J. Eagle

As Mr. Eagle notes, his interview was conducted only by our education writer, Tim Macaluso. However, the interview was taped so that others on the editorial staff had a chance to hear it. In addition, this newspaper has known and covered Mr. Eagle for several years and have interviewed him over the years, both as a political candidate and as a passionate activist. In fact, in his last School Board candidacy, we endorsed him.

As “The editors” note, when I campaigned for a seat on the Rochester Board of Education in 2007, City so-called “endorsed” me. However, what they do not note is that they also endorsed each of the other four (4) candidates in that particular race. Thus, for all practical intents and purposes --- the unconventional (probably historic) act of so-called endorsing every candidate on the ballot --- really amounted to no endorsement at all.

More importantly, even in the process of so-called endorsing me in 2007 (just as in 2009) --- City underhandedly attacked my character. That is to say, I was the only candidate whom they made negative comments about in their weird, so-called endorsement process in 2007. In fact they wrote: “We endorse him with a bit of hesitation, because his activism has sometimes been more angry than thoughtful” --- while at the same time --- waxing eloquently about the other four (4) candidates. In the final analysis, in both 2007 and 2009, City played the-angry-black-man-card against me, which is unprincipled, and calls their journalistic integrity into question.

I maintain that City’s so-called editors are not qualified (nor are they vested) to the extent that they can legitimately determine what is or is not “the last thing that this board needs.”

Again, I would like to clearly state that receiving or not receiving City newspaper’s endorsement --- really is not a big deal. However, I vehemently object to their continued character assassination and defamation.

Sincerely,
Howard J. Eagle

Your reasons for not endorsing Howard Eagle for the Rochester School Board conflict with your own criterion. Being a board member cannot be abstracted from educational policy-making and what it means to be an activist (active citizen).
Urban schools, like other public schools, provide a critical referent for measuring the degree to which American society fulfills its obligation to provide all students with the knowledge and skills necessary to participate in and shape democratic public life.
All too often, individual board members obtain and retain their office through the sponsorship of particular, organized constituencies (e.g., elite neighborhood associations, teachers union, business alliances, etc.). The close identification of some board members with these groups helps ensure their incumbencies. Consequently, the demands of organized interests tend to be accommodated in board policy, thus complicating the process of reform.
A vast number of citizens in Rochester who make up the urban poor , whose preferences may not be represented by organized groups, face considerable competition securing a position on the Board of Education agenda. Activists provide opportunities for raising questions about what it means to rethink urban education, because they move from a purely naive knowledge of reality of the urban poor to a high level of what the urban poor perceive as the causes of their reality (critical thinking).
It is profoundly important that those who hope to be a board member remain in touch with the lived world of their students. Many times some of our well-intentioned board members bring with them their bias; usually a lack of confidence in poor people's ability to think, to want, and to know.
Surely there is room for at least one perceptive activist on the School Board to help set the agenda.
As to being "emotional and vitriolic": thank goodness we had several founding fathers who had no problem using strong words and a stern demeanor to help negotiate reform and forge a new democratic direction for our country.

I watched the 55 min WXXI voice of voter video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pREiQMFuO58
and read the D&C and City paper endorsements. I have also met these candidates at various committee meetings or canvasing my neighborhood.

While generally not a rubber-stamper, I must say I agree with the City Newspaper's choices and logic for endorsing White, Cruz, and Sung Shelton.