Mama's Voice
Join friends Brooke and Sherri on Mama’s Voice, a podcast where they discuss local news, current events, and share their differing perspectives with humor and respect with conversations that are both insightful and entertaining. Tune in for a fresh take on Montgomery County happenings and beyond.
Mama's Voice
So many questions for the Montgomery County School Board who have few answers
In this episode, Brooke and Sherri conduct an in-depth analysis of the failing Montgomery County Schools system. The discussion emphasizes the necessity for accountability, community involvement, and a focus on educational improvement to secure a better future for students.
• School performance statistics reveal troubling trends
• Critique of Montgomery County Schools' lack of accountability
• Call for increased parental involvement and community action
• Examination of leadership shortcomings in the school system
• Urging listeners to initiate educational reform discussions
• Discussion of methods to better engage with the school system
all right, bro, we are live. Welcome. Welcome everyone, all of our listeners to moco's voice. Well, mama's voice, and we are on moco's voice with brooke and sherry. How you doing over there in that RV?
Speaker 2:I'm doing good. I feel like we should start where my husband tells me something is 30 minutes earlier than what it is, so you should tell me that our podcasting time is 6 o'clock until the public hits 630. But yeah, we're doing really well. My family does not have to leave the rv. I'm in my own space right now and so it's pretty uh awesome to have 10 whole extra footage of length to live in. You start to appreciate the little things a whole lot more in dining home living, so yeah, uh, yeah, being with four of you all.
Speaker 1:But I'm telling you, I know like that little space can be very intimate and it can be, um. I remember, whenever you know, I got a family of six, um, and so whenever my babies were there, it was like it was. I mean, you know, a three bedroom. We ended up doing four bedrooms. Eventually, we had four bedrooms, um, but you know just that space where you're just intimate and your babies are there and cuddled up under you and until they get too big to be under you, and then it's a different story yeah, I mean I grew up in a small house.
Speaker 2:I mean it was like a thousand eleven, a little less than eleven hundred square feet and there was five of us and, um, you know, it always felt like not enough space but I had my own room. But I think it comes down to a lot of like minimalist stuff issues, like you know. And then when we left, we had a 3,000 square foot house and so we went from that to our first RV was the smallest like on the market where you could still have all of the living features and we had that based upon what we could pull. And then we went a little bigger with the motor home when we had the baby, and then it was just like we know we've got to trade in our vehicle and get something that we can pull in a bit, and get something that we can pull in a bit.
Speaker 2:And while it seems this seems so big now because we started so small and uh, I, I will say my kids like never got on my nerves ever before rv life like I like treasured I was as a stepmom. I treasured every second that I got to get with my, with my kids, because, you know, sharing. And then my son. He used to go visit, like he would go to school and then he would go, you know, to his family member's house and stay overnight and stuff, and so I always felt like, and Matt used to travel for work, and so I used to feel like we used to travel for work and so I used to feel like we never got enough time as a family and that was a real big motivating factor for doing this type of living and um being on the road, and so now we have all this time together.
Speaker 2:But I will say, like I did judge, probably say at home I'm a little too harshly, because before I used to think, you know, oh, it's not hard, like, granted, I still have to work, and I think that plays a big factor in my like, okay, I've got to get my workout hours in, you know what I mean. Like somebody's got to come get this baby, because I got to work too, you know, and so, but we moved this week and I did not do anything when it came to like the heavy lifting of the move, like Matt did it all and it was a lot and so I had, I was like, but still like, so my in-laws were in town, um, but I'm like somebody did his baby like he's been next to me for 24 hours, you know. So anyways, it's been an interesting adjustment, um it's an interesting lifestyle.
Speaker 2:But and then you'd be surprised at how many people live that lifestyle, and now all of my 10 year olds friends live it too. So, uh, not all of them, but almost all of them, and they they have like their discord channel and their rv kids and uh, so they understand each other.
Speaker 2:But, like he'll be on, you know they say that uh, kids go to school and tell their teachers everything right well, how about being in an rv when you get a new rv and you see your 10 year old scanning the room to show one of his teachers with his, with his mat, you know, circling the room and showing his classes new, and so he shows up the whole house, you know.
Speaker 1:Speaking of that, speaking of classroom schooling, that just brings us to the purpose of our show today. Now, this is a disclaimer. Okay, so we have to give a disclaimer as it relates to Montgomery County Schools.
Speaker 2:North Carolina Because there are a lot of Montgomery County, montgomery County Schools, north Carolina schools um north carolina, because there are a lot of mcgovern county mcgovern county schools, north carolina.
Speaker 1:um, we, I know that we we've had a past, you know, good and not so good. So this is not an attempt in order to um down the school system in any way. Um, some of my best friends are teachers. I know what they say, some of my best friends, okay, but it is going to like some of this stuff that we're going to be revealing. It has to be revealed for the betterment of our school system. So it's nothing to shed negative light on the school system, but it is to so that we can look at it through corrective measures, because I think we've been glossing over this for too long. You know the school. If you go to a school board meeting I'm just personally you go to a school board meeting then I mean it's bells and whistles Brooke. It's like look what we're doing.
Speaker 2:Yes, oh, the fact that you, the fact that this most recent board meeting included the insanity that it did, was so shocking, because I've always called it a dog and pony show. Um, when they just parade the their presentations in front of the um, the board, and this is what this school is doing, that's good, and so this school board meeting is shocking, and we live in a situation where the local media isn't going to report anything negative. They literally have a fluff piece of the same dog and pony show every week, and what we're here to do is not. I just want to make it clear none of this is a personal vendetta. Like while we, while I was in the county or the school, no one like I didn't get fired, like I didn't, um, no one was personally against me or my children ever, and or my husband and even the people that we're going to uh are mentioned because they work in for the government. Make them no mistake. Like this is government employees doing their job. That is the education, like educating the entire county and or being in charge of that, and so this isn't a personal attack. I mean, if anything, I mean there's going to be people involved that I had no personal issues with. Uh, I really was like, really like so, and was friends with some of their family members, um, my matt, um, my husband, you know, who grew up in montgomery county I'm not a native, he the one of board members that we're going to talk he really liked that school board member as his baseball coach, that school board member's son that now has a county admin role. He liked playing baseball with him. That was his friend.
Speaker 2:But the issue is not that we don't like these people. This isn't some. Let's go after them because Brooke Crump doesn't like these people. This isn't some. Let's go after them because brooke doesn't like them. I really have zero negative interactions with these people at all. It's just when you listen and see these things and you have seen them in the perspective of being a teacher and you've seen them in this perspective of being a parent, and then now I'm seeing it as a perspective of you know, we've had teachers contact us but they, they're too scared. There are former county office administrator, former administrators, that wanted to talk, but then they just they're scared of their current job security, right, right. And so you know, even if it's going to be off the record, they originally I've had someone who recently was terminated from Montgomery County reach out to me. They wanted to talk about Montgomery County, not the school system, but they're scared of the retaliation.
Speaker 2:I won't get into all the details of that crazy request, but anyways, the point of it is is that this is not because I am free you are there but for Sherry, all good is got God over. God's protection is over. You're right with the Lord. I mean, you know I got some work to do with that. It's above me, it's above, yeah, it's above. He's got you protected. But I'm gone and like me and his rv, like we can go. You know what I'm saying. So they ain't got the point and I'm gonna say what I'm gonna say. And that was kind of uh, they wanted brooke crump to shut up, because crump is not an idiot, right, right and um, she has things to say that I don't want.
Speaker 2:Whenever we you know, I, if anyone who saw McGurk's voice posted about some particularly disturbing comments that were made in the most recent Board of Education meeting. Yes, none of that, none of, were um brought, brought to light, because we have a vendetta against anyone involved. We don't. So I think that's just important to say. So let's jump in talk. Can you tell um why this particular meeting was important?
Speaker 1:talk about that, okay, so it is the end of the year review, right, for the 23-24 school year of Montgomery County Schools in North Carolina. And the reason why this in particular, was very important to me is because there is there's this sense of we have some failing schools in Montgomery County. Right, let's just put it out on the table. There are some really good, you know, really high scoring schools, such as the early college, which is at 97%. Right, so they are doing it over there. They've gotten acknowledgement out of, not even statewide, but nationally, have been acknowledged. So Montgomery County Early College is at the top, right, so there are, you know, they're at the top of the top. Well, we also have in the same school district, we have a school performing at 38%. Performing at 38%, that's an elementary school. Okay, now, that school went from around 52% down to 35, I think 38% somewhere in that, in proficiency.
Speaker 1:What does that mean? That means that almost 70% of those students are failing. Okay, that's what it means. All right, about 65. We'll say 65. So about 65% of those students are failing. Now, that should bring up red flags there, right? So with me, so well. So what I'm saying is is that it is I'm glad that that early college is doing as well as they're doing. We do have some other schools that are at the C's I think it is, I might be D. Well, no, no, as a matter of fact, we do have some D's. We have that one A which is early college, and then we have some C's, some D's, and then we have right, I'm not quite sure, let me bring it up real quick, but looking at that Brooke, it is like whenever at this, I needed to see at this meeting what is going to be done differently is going to be done differently.
Speaker 2:Okay, I think you also need to point out that the the scores dropped, and not only that, the growth dropped. It's not about whether or not kids are passing the tests, because in a title one school or district, right, that is unlikely right to be across the board, but at the same time their growth dramatically dropped. It can't happen. But they're going to use that excuse, right, like they are who they are and that is what it is. And they did have a lot of excuses and I think that what's important is that the board had some questions and so if, and looking at so, mount gillia mount gillia elementary is now um, they're the F school.
Speaker 1:Okay, out of the county. 35%.
Speaker 2:But also West Middle School has been at the-.
Speaker 1:That's what I'm getting ready to say. If you look at our Ds West Middle School, they're a D and they've been failing, low performing, for the past seven years.
Speaker 2:Brooke and and the person who is the person in the county office in charge of deputy of superintendent of learning. Who was that? That's wade allman, and we can you yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah he told me um did he was whenever. I mean, I think it's important to know that when the seven years that West Middle has been low performing and so that would be starting in 2017, right, right exactly did Wade Allman, when I know that they were, this was their seventh year. And why is that important?
Speaker 1:Well, which is something, because in the meeting it was one of the school board members. We actually need to listen because it's going to bring a lot of clarity to what we're talking about talking about. So, going back, so our other D's in the county if I'm not mistaken, we have Green Ridge, kander and Page Street. Now, this came from a board member, so these are our D schools. Then we have three C schools, so East Middle last year they did score D but they're up for this year with a C now. So that's East Middle, star Elementary and then the high school, central, ok, and then, our A is the early college.
Speaker 2:Now. So the growth? I mean we need to talk about Montgomery Central High. The biggest issue there while there, see it, was growth not met. They did not grow and the growth is such a is what honest the teachers are evaluated on, the schools are evaluated on as far as some of these other schools, schools Montgomery County Early College exceeded it. Schools in Montgomery County Early College exceeded it. Right, you've got West Middle, who's a D and they met it, but they did not exceed Troy Allen Mentory. They did not have statistics yet released for that, which was interesting, although Star, they met their growth. And then Page Street sorry, the one that the main is not met was mount gilead. They neither. They got an app and they did not meet growth.
Speaker 1:Right, and so we've had a lot of conversations, okay okay, so I understand growth and all of that, but this is my thing. Okay, this is my thing. You do the people so brooke, I can say that I'm getting ready to drive from Troy to Bisco, okay, and so that is my, that's my whole objective, that's my goal. Well, I get out the door, I go out the door and I make it to the stoplight, or I'll make it out there to 2427 at the highway. I'm not there yet, but I've grown right from my house to that highway. I'm on my way, but slowly but surely I'm making it there. But this is the thing. I'm not going to sit up here and celebrate with all these bells and whistles Yay, look what I did. I made it to the highway. Like I mean, come on now. Yeah, I grew and yeah, I'm further than where I was. But at what point are we going to stop celebrating these little bitty things and say, look, we need to make it to Bisco.
Speaker 2:They're not even doing that this year, so we're not. They're not even making it to the highway, like their clunker is sitting in the yard, right, like it didn't get started, it is broke down, and so that's we have to clarify for the listeners that you understand and you want to calculate, and you want to see these students not just grow but excel, right, okay, well, you want them to make it all the way to pisco. Well, honey, they've been they. They're not making it to the highway, no more. And so we got to talk about that, because if you're getting worse and your county office is not only the same, it's the same county office officials, they're just getting more money and they're getting higher positions and they're all related. Multiple individuals in the county office are related to one school board member. It's shocking that the chairman of the board.
Speaker 1:The chairman of the board.
Speaker 2:The chairman of the board is the direct, the father-in-law and the father of two people in the county office who are and they are mind-blowingly failing at their jobs. What do you, what are you going to do, to improve Multiple times Mr Allman, who is not a doctor? Some of these people are Dr Ellis, dr Legrand, who's back after getting fired from another school district, has come back to Montgomery County, and then Dr Jack is Jack Cagle Dr? Yes, he's a talk about the people that are actually certified superintendents versus the ones who have a superintendent license. Wade Allman does not have a superintendent license yet he is a superintendent of learning for Montgomery County Schools, but he's also the son-in-law of Steve DeBerry.
Speaker 2:Interestingly enough, steve DeBerry, his daughter-in-law, was a teacher not so long ago, but apparently he's divorced from the director of technology. Uh, his son, who was over transportation for a couple of years, just got a promotion in the board meeting. No one referred him for that job. The job did not exist prior to that the assistant director of technology and so they created a position for him and no one recommended him for it, and he does not have any my knowledge of any credentials certifications in the school. His ex-wife was a teacher, um, but she got the boot. So wait on them. Stay tight with your wife if you want to keep your big bad job, because Steve Dayberry drop.
Speaker 2:It's like a hot on the anyways. Just kidding, I don't know, maybe she left on her own accord. Whatever, anyways, point of it is is that this position wait on me does have the license for it. He doesn't really have the education for it. And when asked what to do on how to improve his job Wade, I think you're a handsome man, this is not personal towards you you said I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know. And on top of that, when asked well, what's going wrong? Montgomery, early memory, um, early college, or they're doing so well, and why are they doing well? And the uh, high school isn't. What is the high school not doing? And um said well, you know the pain, it's the parent. The parents don't care, they're not going to parent nights and they don't.
Speaker 2:They only see the early college is academic, they only care about. If it's a football game, then why did you invest a million dollars into the football field? If you are concerned about the growth, you have an $800,000 Jumbotron that you, your school system, mr, miss, dr Ellis, and incorporated. Then they've said that you know, oh well, part of it came from a donation. You, the county, still gave you four hundred thousand dollars for that, and on top of that that donation could have went. You'd be like, hey, we need teachers. Um, in a low performing school, the state actually specifies that teachers are supposed to be getting a duty-free lunch. We were low performing well, we actually met growth or something. But when, at west middle, when we were there, um, well, we actually met growth or something. But at West Middle, when we were there, it's actually the year it started, the year that I left. Then you and I are not part of the West Middle, but see, going back there, going back there.
Speaker 1:Brooke, even looking at, I'm going to tell you one of the one of our greatest setbacks is that that I'm going to just say that Dale Ellis, dr Dale Ellis, he, whenever he takes things personal, he, he goes after you. He made sure, even after you went after me. But I mean, I'm just because, even whenever. So my history is whenever, whenever, whenever I was working there, I ended up leaving at the end of 2015 at West Middle. I ended up leaving at the end of 2015 at West Middle and my scores were good. I don't know what them jokers was out there talking about, I don't know, but I was there during the time of.
Speaker 2:You need to say what you're talking about. I know what you're talking about when you say them jokers. They sent an email threatening to release your scores, right.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and release them. We can release them today. Right, yeah, and release them, they can release them today. You see what I'm saying. So, so at the end of 2015, I ended up early retiring because I knew one I was getting ready to run for mayor. Another thing is is that I felt muzzled. I felt like I could not advocate for the students.
Speaker 2:You really did. You don't have a job, Sherry.
Speaker 1:Right, and I did have a job and you said I can't do this. God's got me Exactly. And so and I'm a child I was like God got me, my bills got me, I love it. He got me baby. I, if I got to depend on Montgomery County schools to live, ain't going to happen. But so whenever, at the end of 2015, dr Lancaster himself because I am certified to be a principal, I have my principal's license, I've been in education for 20 something years, and so Dr Lancaster did come, he sat with me over at West Middle and was like okay, what can?
Speaker 1:we do for you, to get you to stay. You know, do you want a position? Do you want this?
Speaker 2:And I'm like no, so after that he was just the same way with me when I left. He said this is the first time I'm hearing of this Right.
Speaker 1:So, mr McMillan Mr McMillan, you know he said okay, sherry, let's work this out.
Speaker 2:The West middle principal that they fired and just yanked out of school.
Speaker 1:Right, they did, still without explanation. If they want to talk about him sleeping with somebody, they got to go and clear the whole house, cause a lot of y'all out there sleeping with each other. Don't go there with me, so listen. So whenever Dr McMillan was there, he said Sherry, let's do a contract you come in and you do tutoring in the morning time, right? So if you come in, you do tutoring for the students because we want to make sure that our math scores are up, okay? So we had that agreement. All of that. That was done. So they ended up firing Dr McMillan. Whenever they fired Dr McMillan, I started speaking out. I was like y'all need to like this, whatever. Y'all got going on. Y'all got going on and your daughter protested and she did, and it was like this is not endangering the students.
Speaker 2:These students love this man, like he is really doing well with these students, and so this was my favorite protest ever to see students sitting outside of the classroom, yes, protesting, and then when the teacher or the they went, got the admin came down. You were. You had left at this point so I witnessed it and I had happened to be down on your daughter's hall because I had it was my planning period and I went to visit my friend and the kids were protesting, using their dude, I mean exercising their, their right to that, which I thought was amazing and the admin said you know, go back to this class. They're right to that, which I thought was amazing. And the admin said you know, go back to this class or go home. And one of the protesters was with your daughter, was like my grandma is not going to be happy with this, I'm out. And so she left and you picked Joy up and was. I was like you, were like you did the right thing and I was like I had not started using my voice yet. My voice was muffled. My voice had we would, I would express my concerns to you and be like what's going on here, like this is insane.
Speaker 2:My first day, my second day on the job, dr Ellis comes in and I know some teachers that do have a recording of this. I don't but screamed. It was like my second day and your second day at the school, coming back from Raleigh, moving you know on wake, screaming, red-faced, mad, put a little bit of a list of every teacher who had moved their child to a charter school, screaming about the score, test scores. And I remember him saying okay, okay, and was there? Like I mean, what was I going to do about last year's scores? Like I wasn't there. You know, I mean it was really crazy because there's a whole lot of new teachers in the room and you know it was really crazy. Like what's going on here. And it's interesting that a teacher has reached out.
Speaker 2:People don't realize that after every show that someone went in, the system contacts you because you're the cop to my bad, you because you're the good cop to my bad, um, and and says you know, I was at that same meeting with dr. Uh, ellis comes around every year, then he does what he does. This year he, because he was supposed to be retiring, read a poem about not blaming others. He wasn't going to blame anyone, there was no blame game. But boy did mr allman miss out on that conversation, although dr ellis backed him up in the blame game when talking to the board because but that that would be asked questions like what is? We got the recording? You want to play the recording? Yeah, let's go specifically to um you, there's so many hot spots, go ahead. There's one I'm going to get super big mad about, but that's it, just one.
Speaker 1:Okay, you said okay, you have one opportunity to get upset, but after that, you know Just one time am I going to get mad For women everywhere.
Speaker 2:You said for what?
Speaker 1:What is it For women everywhere, women everywhere. Okay, for mothers, because this is mama's voice are you able to hear me?
Speaker 1:you're gonna have to beat you completely all right, are you able to hear me now? All right, let's do this real quick. Thank y'all for being patient for the listeners, um, so let's listen, because this is a conversation, um, regarding accountability and it was led by one of the school board members and let's see. It should be coming up. Are you able to hear it, brooke? All right, it should be coming now. So, brooke, while it's coming up now, now, what part do you feel like you got you were the most upset about?
Speaker 3:um let's see okay, we can do everything in the world for a kid, but whenever they go to class and they don't have the same type of structure, they don't have the same kind of encouragement and motivation, it makes it very difficult for what we're doing.
Speaker 4:Because there's got to be a reason, a reason why.
Speaker 1:Who is that speaking? Early college is amazing. This is Brian Dozier.
Speaker 4:Early school in Montgomery Central. Well, if you show up late in a college class, if you get too many of those, you're going to end up failing. So they know that from the very beginning. So I think that if they start that in ninth grade, taking their first college class, and there's also that parent piece.
Speaker 4:I think that you know Dr Sewell does a good job of bringing in those parents at the very beginning so that student accountability is also with the parents. Well, what is Dr Sewell doing to get the parents involved, that the high school is not?
Speaker 1:doing that Montgomery Center is not doing.
Speaker 3:She's not doing anything different, it's just the parents are coming to it versus the high school and, honestly, I don't know anything other than to say-.
Speaker 4:No one.
Speaker 3:They'll show up for a football game.
Speaker 4:They'll show up yeah, but in the early college.
Speaker 3:You think the parents have a different-. I think that they see the early college as more academic and they see the high school as more athletic. Cuz, they will show up in a football game, but they will not show up for a parent conference at the high school. I mean, if you go, if you want to see something that shows you a parent involvement, go to the high school on a parent conference night. You'll hear crickets in the hall.
Speaker 2:That's a nice school, we having crickets bugs already now.
Speaker 1:That's interesting in so many different levels, but I'm gonna let you deal with that just for a little bit.
Speaker 2:Um, there's a I think that speaks for itself. I don't even know if we need to dig into that, because I think right now, um, if you could go to um in the transcript. So y'all, we don't play. Let's just clarify that If Brooke Crump or Sherry Allgood types, excuse me or talks something, it's going to be facts, right, that's all there is to it, because we do not take someone's hearsay or whatever and go with it. You didn't go and sit here and write down and scribble notes, like miss tammy dunn does you. You got it from from their horse's mouth, right, and you didn't just scribble it for me. I you know we've got the transcript and so I can tell you right now that if you go to uh, part two, um, uh, conversation, wade Allman and we go to eight minutes and 22 seconds, that can you go to that part?
Speaker 1:I'm not sure, because I what I did was I have it on, based upon accountability. Now let's listen to this, let's see or 743.
Speaker 3:One of the school systems weaknesses is the teachers not holding them accountable.
Speaker 3:I don't necessarily say that. I wouldn't say that it's the teachers holding them accountable, because they still do, you know, do referrals and all that kind of stuff, but it's just getting them to understand the importance of being in class. I mean, you know, they might spend a few extra minutes out in the hall talking to their friends because they see that as more valuable, or they stay out in the hall on their phone a little while longer because they know when they go in the classroom they're gonna get their phone taken if they try to take it out in class. There's a lot of different things with that, but it's just holding kids accountable. And making them responsible is difficult, specifically in today's you know climate. Let's pause there.
Speaker 2:Apparently, the early college students don't like their phones as much as the high school bones, as much as the, uh, the, the high school. I want to point out that I had no. I've noticed a recent trend that the valedictorians of their class are not admitted to early college. Um, why do I know that? I know the personally and the relatives of somebody I know personally, for one of the years I taught was the highest students and then one of my relatives will be valedictorian of their senior year and they were not admitted to the early college. And so you're telling me that if they went to the early college they wouldn't be on their phones. As a parent of a kid who went to early college, they, the early college, didn't care about their phone, they weren't about that life of taking their phones right, they, they, I mean they did not interfere with their studies like we're adults. I think that we need to recognize that when you put these children, even in a beautiful prison, the prettiest prison at all I mean, guantanamo bay is a breathtaking background, right, but they're still in prison and um, when you are in prison and you're treated as such, that we're in a world where we have to have our phones, right, and that's just what it is like as a teacher when, uh, some students one of the students, like got mad about something and emailed my sixth grade student, so a 10 year old emailed the principal and told him I was on my phone. Well, they were presenting their projects and I was emailing comments to the teachers or to the parents about their kids doing well or whatever about their projects, because we're required to give feedback. Right, and this was an easy way for me to do that while I was facilitating them presenting their presentations, like, and to become told that I'm a grown-up, that I shouldn't be on my phone and that this 10 year old should say, when I'm on my phone, or not, to not trust a professional I mean the principal, I mean it was, it was max, so he was just like you know.
Speaker 2:But their whole thing is let's please these 10 year olds. Right, you've got 10 year olds that want to talk. They want to talk about accountability. When you go in and you tell a brine dozer, you go in and tell the teacher to change your child's grade, which you did, right, right, let's talk about accountability. You took a first year teacher. She's good, a great teacher. I'm not gonna lie like I've seen her every single bit of material. I think she had the best of intentions I think, she wanted to be a good teacher.
Speaker 2:You know, I think she had the best of intentions, but I do not think that they did not give her the resources or got her enough in what she should be teaching and through a first-year teacher like jello on the wall to see what stuff brian wasn't happy about.
Speaker 1:They don't know what you're talking about, like you gotta name a teacher's name.
Speaker 2:You know what I'm saying? Okay, so brian dozier had a teacher kid had a teacher who was a first-year teacher and, um, when the brian dozier didn't like his child's grade went and had them change it, right Now were you there whenever that happened. And so I will say that is one thing, but I've heard it from two different people. No, no, I was there Because of journalism. No, no, no, I was there. I know you told me about that, but I wasn't going to make you talk about your bestie like that.
Speaker 1:No, no, no. But for real, like I was, I was actually firsthand. I saw them go in there and the teacher came out in tears. Now, he was on the school board during that time as well, and the teacher was in tears and she was like I'm not going to change uh, you know, um, brian Dozier's son's grade, I'm not going to do it. And he the principal during that time said well, I'll do it, because the teacher said I'm not going to do it. And so that's what ended up. And I was the first. That was the first. That ain't something that I heard, it's something that I was there to witness.
Speaker 2:But looking at that, okay, so you were the for the year before I. Could I keep forgetting? Yeah, yeah, yeah, I was there to witness, but looking at that, you were there the year before I keep forgetting.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, yeah, I was there Now. Listen to this real quick, though, brooke. Listen to what it said.
Speaker 3:Holding kids accountable and making them responsible is difficult, specifically in today's you know climate. Some of them want to help the Cal I didn't want to go there but that's why I was like you know, we because so so he goes back.
Speaker 1:This is. This is dr ellis, who told his teachers do not do the blame game right?
Speaker 2:no blaming, the whole poem because he was on his way out. He was feeling good and footloose and fancy free.
Speaker 1:I don't know about that, bro.
Speaker 2:He had a picture, uh, celebrating his retirement 50 and free. Make pearly, pearl, pearl year where his he has a residence. He has the residence of agar, montgomery County and apparently has a condo at the beach. Make Pearl year great again. Just funny, cute. I say make stuff great again. It's ironic all the time I felt good for you because he's retiring. He was feeling good in June, sherry he was retiring.
Speaker 1:That's was feeling good in June, sherry, he was retiring. I didn't. I? That's my first that I heard about some retirement party, bro, I don't. Oh, it's just online it's.
Speaker 2:I mean, I can send you a picture if you want to put it on the screen.
Speaker 2:I mean he has a fun hat on. There's some people from the county office there like I mean, it was nothing, just a social event, a birthday party or no, I don't know retirement party, but either way it's just a unrelated to no. There's no, I'm not knocking the party, you know what I'm saying. Like, I'm just saying that he was feeling good so he was going out with being nice to those teachers, but now he's under fire and I think there's a alarm going off somewhere in the camera. But there's, I can hear a buzzer like a. It just went off that's all speculation, brooke.
Speaker 1:It's all speculation. I saw the picture. Well, what I'm saying is we don't know. He may have been retiring from something I don't know, but at the same rate it is.
Speaker 2:His contract is expired and it was known in the community that he was retiring. He sold his home, that's public record.
Speaker 1:Okay, that's probably right.
Speaker 2:So this is another thing, though, but if you look at, Like, his family moved like you know know, and they're still together. So I mean he's I think he has probably has a great relationship with his wife. He gave her a lot of jobs over the years I I, I, I think they're fun. Good, stop. I mean, I probably in another life might have had a drink with them, you know.
Speaker 1:I'm missing here now you just be, you be, I'm not insulting. They gave his wife a lot of jobs. You don't like when people cut you deep, brooke, stop it. Stop it, indeed, okay, go ahead I thought that was being nice, be nice.
Speaker 2:Be nice. Dr Dale Ellis has never been anything but nice to me, so I'm not being rude.
Speaker 1:Well, so what? So we look at focus here Are these low performing schools.
Speaker 2:Well, I will say well. I would like to get to a point that involves curriculum and a part where they ask and I don't know if you are going to find it and we can tell our listeners we'll put a Google drive with some of the highlights, hot clips and transcripts for them to go look for themselves. They've heard it from Wade Allman's mouth. Now what we say is true, like we didn't just come up with this. We're not putting words into their mouths. The board member's voice that asked have you considered going to another school that's similar to ours in demographics and seeing what they're doing? Well, and it's like well, mr Board Member, you've been on this board for decades and this is the first time that you're thinking of suggesting this.
Speaker 1:No, no, no, that wasn't the first. As a matter of fact, last year's end of year review, that same thing was asked and, as a matter, they also reported that they did go through and visit other schools. Now this is the thing and I, and because we we're almost time to go, but my question is this how long right are we going to continue putting up with substandard, substandard? How long are we going to do this? Because if you look at the reviews and you look at, if you are evaluating this current administration for Montgomery County and it's not I'm not trying to down them in any way, but at the same rate, we got I don't know what to do, but I'm not, I'm not giving their job 4,000 students that are depending on this school system for education. West care has closed down, so therefore, those students are coming in. You got some, some things that were happening over at Tillery Charter School. Those students was coming back into Montgomery.
Speaker 2:The person who created it since her school, the Montgomery County Schools.
Speaker 1:Okay, thank you, but at the same rate is what I'm saying, brooke.
Speaker 2:This administration is not giving our students what they don't know how and they shouldn't have to go ask other schools what they're doing to be successful. They should be hiring people that know what to do to be successful. They shouldn't just give their sons jobs and say, go ask other schools what to do. I don't know. They go and do it sorry.
Speaker 1:What's happening is is they're going back and they are. They are hiring people that just don't know that are building the plane as they are flying it and it's not working because they don't have pilot's licenses, right? So this is what I'm saying is that it is so. It's so evident that they don't know what they're doing. It is also evident that we don't know who we're voting into these positions, like we really do not understand the importance of the school board. Now I'm going to tell you one person that I'm not pleased with on that school board. As much as I love her I'm sure she may be a sister in Christ but Ann Evans has really disappointed me. She has really disappointed me because as a teacher, a career teacher, I would have thought that she would come in willing to speak on behalf of the teacher. Say it again I personally told her to teacher for the position say it again, I personally told her to apply for the position.
Speaker 2:Why urged um? Because I thought she was an advocate and I thought she was stood for some of the things that I did and had conversations, but got in there with them good old boys see them in the role well, nope, she got in there with them, good old boys, see them in the role?
Speaker 1:well, nope, she got in there with them, good old boys, and it's so evident that during that end of year I question Brian. Now I do commend Brian Dozier because he asked the right question, that's a lot for me now.
Speaker 1:Y'all listen. Now, when I'm wrong, I'm wrong. I will say, and whenever. I even apologized to Dale Ellis one time, right, because I was like, okay, look, you know, please forgive me, just know my heart. It's about the children going back. Brian Dozier asked the right questions. That's why I was like, wait, who was that? But this is a thing, this is a thing that I do. What point do you do something about it? Right, he asked the right questions, but he didn't know enough to to know that they were giving him the wrong answers.
Speaker 2:Well, he wouldn't even clarify and I think that one time that it's really important to and then we can even wrap up with this. The most important thing that was in that he said well, let me ask this question and agree that it's important. It is bearing out in testing, because are we testing that reading part? Then we are in math part, which, again, the scores were released. You can look at that, but whatever. So he asked because Mr Allman said that there wasa reading curriculum for Montgomery, that North Carolina provides reading curriculum, but North Carolina does not provide these schools any math curriculum. And I'm going to say right now that I know schools that have curriculum. Ok, I'm just going to say it. It might not be approved or standardized across North Carolina.
Speaker 1:Or standardized across North Carolina I happen to know that point of it is is that he said he went over and over and over, saying well, we don't have math curriculum and that's this down the state level, right, this, no, no, the state provides step-by-step, it has its own standards that you can go, that you can go day by day, by day. Following that unpacking is what they call it, that document. So it's not like he can really say oh, we don't have a math curriculum, so that's why math scores are down. But Brian Dozier was like well, what's the problem? We're reading. If that's your excuse for math, well, he didn't actually he.
Speaker 2:He said he asked him. That would have been important. But he said well, well, and he might have been asking a rhetorical question because he knew the answer. But he said let me ask and agree that it's ported are we testing better in reading than we are in math? And then this is what his answer was yeah. And by him I mean mr allman. Yeah, it does vary by grade level. It just depends. It does.
Speaker 2:I mean, you'll see, you'll, you know, and knowing all the individual teachers, you can see the discrepancies in there. I'm not going to talk names, but we had a fourth grade ela teacher at one school that missed the last two months at the of the school year because she had breast cancer breast Breast cancer. There was a significant impact of those kids' proficiency on that test. You know, you have a teacher that goes out on maternity leave. They're gone for two months or gone for 12 weeks or whatever it is. That has a significant impact because there's not a certified, licensed teacher in there teaching those kids and it has a major impact. And those are things we don't really have control over and you know, looking at it, it varies. And then, uh, dozier comes back and says if the reading part as paid by numbers, and then he said um, and he clarifies and said you didn't answer my question at some point vaguely. But let me just come back to say that there are shame on you and you should have been terminated on the spot because you have closed board, set member sessions to discuss human resource contra or issues with your teachers and their leave and the reasons for leave. You specifically stated an elementary fourth grade teacher that was out on cancer leave. There's only so many schools in this county and that is. I could very easily I don't know be narrowed down, but the fact that you published that information should have been immediately fireable, in my opinion, in open session and that you blame.
Speaker 2:You didn't answer the question, sir. You answered. He was asking you is reading better than math? And you went on to say well, you know reading's bad because the teacher had cancer. Well, and then you say maternity leaves was what's that got to do with it as mothers? Shame on you because guess, teachers are primarily women and are at some of their teachers during their childbearing years and they're going to at some point need to go out and have a baby and the fact that you put their scores on them and you don't have a retired qualified teacher or some situation set up for a teacher to come in that the teacher has to worry about that.
Speaker 2:Their teacher is going to teach on a team Because my child was my son. I was taught with a TV in one classroom and the teacher has to worry about that. Their teacher is going to teach on a team because my child was my stepchild, was taught with a tv in one classroom and the teacher had to do both. And I know in instances when I had taught the entire sixth grade because the teacher was literally how was high the whole year and then they fired her, but not after the kids didn't get any ela education they took me a second year teacher and said teach them ela please. They don't have more money to teach the entire, the entire grade. Right, and you're going to blame a, a mother uh for giving maternity leave and a teacher, a woman for their cancer. Shame on you, because in no world do you make those statements about women in an open session. If you want want to talk about your contract, you go up in closed session. So why does that teacher not get that same respect?
Speaker 1:Well, and this is a thing. So it goes back, brooke, it goes back. Going back to the blame game is going back to the answer. So the thing is is that what? What has to be taken into account is that the administration that is in Montgomery County school system right now there are those that are in those classrooms and even principals that are well qualified to be in that county office. Right, they're well qualified to be over curriculum and instruction.
Speaker 2:But they're in other counties doing the job.
Speaker 1:Right, so they're well qualified. But what's happening is is that Dr Ellis is handpicking, making up jobs, doing all this other stuff, and in the meantime our students are suffering because and our teachers are suffering because the teachers don't have the support that is needed. Then it's going to the. They're pointing the fingers at the principals and the principal is like listen, y'all got my hands tied because I can do what y'all doing, but y'all over here don't know the answers to nothing. I'm going to tell you this and we get ready to go, but in that school board meeting in that end of year, the amount of information, disinformation, misinformation that came out of Dale Ellis and Wade Allman's mouth was just horrible. And the thing is is that the school board was just taking what they were saying as if it was true. No research, no, they ain't even looking up nothing.
Speaker 1:My thing is they say okay, even Brian Dozier, okay, brian, I got to come at you on this one. He asked what is a SIP? What's a SIP? It's school improvement. You've been on this school board for how long? And you don't know these acronyms just yet. What is wrong here? My thing is is that if you're going to be on the school board. At least do some research, have some type of education your own self, so that whenever Dale Ellis and Wade Allman is just talking out of the side of their neck, you can call him out for it. They send them just oh, really, oh, yeah, oh, is that right? You should know that you can go to google. You can google why, you, the questions that they ask, and they can go on google and find those same, that same information.
Speaker 2:and I'm listen, okay the voters needed to hear that. That's all the voters need to hear, remember. But no, here's the thing you can't vote when there's no options right, and when Sherry, all good, put her name on the ballot because she is willing to ask the hard questions and she has.
Speaker 1:They don't want me on there, but the point of it is. They never choose an alternative they want a yes boy and Ann Evans has become a good girl. Alternative they want a yes boy, right, and Ann Evans have become a good girl. Shame on it. If anybody I'm not going against her, she might be somebody mama, somebody auntie Her in my church. I went to church with her If you're going to be in that position, but she was too good of friends with Dale Ellis and Alicia. Ellis and.
Speaker 2:Ben Lancaster and Kevin Lancaster. That's all there is to it.
Speaker 1:It's a difference. You're there for business and you're not even business. You're there for the welfare of the students. During that meeting, and evan spent a lot of time explaining what wade allman and dale ellis was saying she does better, she's not, but she's not. Hiring better acts was not anything challenging. It was like, oh well, what about this? And they say it, and it's okay. Well, what about this? And then they tell her okay, nobody I mean now angela smith, though is a force to be reckoned with, because angela smith called them out on those parent letters.
Speaker 2:She called okay well, you need to explain real quick in this. We're oh yeah, we got it, we got that. We gotta say and this isn't very important to leave them with because I want them to recognize so, because there are low performing, they're required to send home a letter to the schools and they're supposed to notify the parents and they're supposed to say what the school improvement plan is, and parents are supposed to be given the opportunity to respond in writing to that letter, right, and so wait on. Themman said well, you know, we've looked into it and we don't have to actually send a letter. It's going to be very expensive to mail y'all. And so they said we looked into it and we can put it on our website. No, sir, it's called statutes and if you look them up, the statute, the North Carolina General Statute, specifying Max, please now get him back to sleep.
Speaker 1:Is he asleep? I'm trying to figure out why he is asleep.
Speaker 2:Oh man, because when it says written notice, you and I both know that that means that they've been notified in writing and that's defined by the statutes, not defined by the law of Brooke or Sherry or Wade Allman. It's literally written notice, which means it's not required service, which means the sheriff doesn't have to get involved. But you have to put it in writing and deliver it to a parent. You can hand deliver it or you can a letter. They said they'd done it before in book bags. No, you need to deliver this to the parent either by address, by mail or in person, and then they have an opportunity to respond. But what you can put and the statute says you can, if it distinguishes for a website in part of the statute, for one part and not the other. It's very clear that you can't put the whole thing on the website and they've said that by October 1st they're going to be fine because they're going to have the school improvement plan on the website. Maybe later on they'll attach that letter to the report cards. But parents aren't going to understand because they didn't get this letter last year. Okay, this is what they said about this letter. You can Google it School improvement a low-performing school. We'll have a document. We'll have an example. If y'all need a format of what that letter should look, like hell, I'll write it up for you. Okay, but it should be. It's right there, supposed to go to the parents in writing and then, once the parents have an opportunity to respond, the board is supposed to review it.
Speaker 2:And now that the state, their whole thing has been don't, please, please, please, do not let the state get involved. Teachers do better, parents do better. They acted like teachers would care because, guess what, they're not going to go pay teachers to come into montgomery county, north carolina. It's in the middle of nowhere. What they're going to do is they're going to clean house in the office of the people who don't know what they're doing. So now, at the very end of this meeting, that they said well, it's about six or seven years of a school is on and and, uh, you said angela, what's her name? Angela smith. Angela said it's seven years and west middle has been a low performing school in seven years, which means the state is supposed to come in and they're supposed to be, if not heavily involved, they are supposed to be regulating west middle.
Speaker 2:Stop threatening the teachers with this. Stop doing the blame game of the teachers, y'all. Your job is the one that is at stake and it's not the teachers. And this, stop doing the blame game of the teachers. Your job is the one that is at stake and it's not the teachers. And that's why you care, because they're going to see whoa, what is going on here.
Speaker 2:The school board member's son-in-law, who doesn't have a superintendent's license, is the superintendent of what. The school board member's son, who doesn't have anything, any background other than worked on the truck uh, the buses is now over assisted technology and that's the job that wade allman had before he became assistant superintendent of learning. But this is what they. That's the promotion ladder towards this job. Well, he was director, not assistant, because, remember, assistant director didn't exist, right, they had to create that because they've got a director already. Anyways, the state's going to come in. But the point of it is is that it says that you can put that letter or school improvement plan on the website once it has been vetted. Okay, it does not say from the beginning. And so you're trying to hide the ball, just like you tried to hide the ball with jason hensley, but enter stage left Moco's voice. Here we are Brooke and Sherry, that's all.
Speaker 1:thank you, brooke. Listen, we're going to be back next week 6 30 pm, and I know it's going to get hotter and hotter because I don't have good air control right. Well, once this airs, we're going to get more more people are going to reach out to us and we're going to get more more people are going to reach out to us and we're going to have a lot more to talk about. Thank you, brooke, love you, I love you. We'll see you next week. Bye, bye-bye.