by Michael Monks
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THE RIVER CITY NEWS MORE COVINGTON NEWS THAN ANY OTHER SOURCE
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The debate over how to increase student achievement at Covington Independent Public Schools left the online social networking sites and made a public appearance at Wednesday night's school board meeting. The chamber at the Board of Education was standing room only as opponents of the school board and supporters of the administration aired their grievances face to face. "I never heard you say that our kids can't learn because they are poor," said Bennie Doggett of Covington's Eastside, voicing her support for superintendent Lynda Jackson. "We all know poor kids can learn. I do wish we lived in a community where kids' biggest concern was missing the bus but poverty has consequences."
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Opponents of Jackson often cite what they see as an excuse for poor achievement: poor kids. "It saddens me to think we have left it up to the schools to take care of all of these issues," Doggett continued.
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While a handful of the district's detractors took to the podium, most of those that voiced support for the administration are employees of the district. "I love coming to work because Mrs. Jackson gave me the opportunity to be a principal," said Tony Procaccino, principal at Latonia Elementary. "The best part of Mrs. Jackson is that every student knows her face. She is establishing college dreams in elementary students."
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Board member Glenda Huff also highlighted Jackson's achievements for the district. "The citizens of Covington are not looking in the right places for information," Huff said. "(Jackson) moved us out of near bankruptcy. We closed two schools, cut thirteen central office positions, went from five executive directors to two, consolidated or eliminated seventy-five positions. We are not happy with where we are with student achievement."
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Huff cited the board's and superintendent's efforts at restructuring Holmes High School to focus more on college and career readiness, the adoption of a new pre-Kindergarten curriculum, and an increase in services for gifted and talented students. "We're trying to think outside the box," Huff said. "We need partners in the community willing to do their part, be a part of the solution, get in her and sit at these board meetings. You can't honestly criticize if you don't know what we're trying to do."
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In addition to Latonia's Procaccino, principals from Glenn O. Swing Elementary, 6th District Elementary, and Holmes Middle School spoke in support of the superintendent. "I know (Jackson) is an instructional guru," said Sean Bohannon, principal of Holmes Middle. "She is about student achievement. You can't please everybody but team work makes the dream work. If you got a problem, come with a solution."
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At least one parent was not buying that argument. "I appreciate the cavalry," said parent Sandy Arnold of the principals and staff members present. "We can't come up with solutions until we have some facts. There's not a lot on this agenda that has anything to do with student achievement. Our goal is to be educated so that we can educate the community."
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Another parent also expressed concerns about her daughter who is in the 9th grade at Holmes. "She has never been asked what she wants to do," said Danielle Miller, who also has two other kids in CIPS. "My daughter has yet to meet with a counselor to set up a plan. I don't see where there is a communication between counselor and child, and child and parent."
Another parent also expressed concerns about her daughter who is in the 9th grade at Holmes. "She has never been asked what she wants to do," said Danielle Miller, who also has two other kids in CIPS. "My daughter has yet to meet with a counselor to set up a plan. I don't see where there is a communication between counselor and child, and child and parent."
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"We don't always get the best press," said Renee Murray, an instructional coach at Holmes. "Some of that is based in history and not the current reality. We have secured a half million dollars in grants and not one cent of that is local tax dollars. These funds are going toward professional development equipment, program upgrades. We are seeing results already." Murray then went on to discuss briefly another sticking point for the district's detractors: low ACT scores. "We have preliminary results (from this year's ACT scores) that show improvement," Murray said, also stating that she could not discuss those results any further yet. "We're on the move in the right direction."
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