When interviewing for a new job everyone tries to tell the best story possible about their past work experiences. Interview coaches even advise you to say something positive about every job you have had - even if it was a living hell.
Given that, I'm not sure how to interpret Shirley Carraway's comments to the Augusta Chronicle in an article titled "District seeks near perfect fit" :
Coming from a small North Carolina school system about 35 miles from Raleigh is "nothing insurmountable," Dr. Carraway said.
"I'm very fortunate that I have enjoyed every job that I ever had, and I would hope that people who know me would say that every job that I've been in I have left it better than I have found it," she said.
I am not sure about the people who know Shirley best, but in the light of pending budget cuts, potential forced layoffs, high principal turnover and the mess created by the merger she proposed, I have doubts that she is leaving Orange County Schools better than when she arrived.
Here is the full text of the Augusta Chronicle write-up:
Shirley Carraway
Her wealth of experience in education will benefit the students of Richmond County, Dr. Carraway said. She has worked in North Carolina schools for 31 years but said she wants something different.
School improvement is a continuous process, and her experience has taught her how to keep a school moving forward, Dr. Carraway said. That starts with digging deep and talking with everyone involved.
"It's really easy to look at test data to make decisions about which students are getting it and which ones are not, but the why to that might be a bit more complicated," she said, and the why is needed to find a solution.
As the mother of an adult son who is mentally disabled, she has a particular interest in special education.
Coming from a small North Carolina school system about 35 miles from Raleigh is "nothing insurmountable," Dr. Carraway said.
"I'm very fortunate that I have enjoyed every job that I ever had, and I would hope that people who know me would say that every job that I've been in I have left it better than I have found it," she said.
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10 comments:
Sometimes I cannot decide which is worse ... Shirley Carraway's policies for Orange County Schools or the fact that our School Board so blindly follows her policies.
Whatever happened to the days when the elected body set policy and the superintendent implemented their policy?
Shirley Carraway has been terrible for Orange County Schools. There is no denying that fact. What is worse is their are School Board members who enable Carraway.
Dennis Whitling, Liz Brown, and Ted Treibel need to be kicked to the curb along with Carraway.
I respectively disagree on one comment from the previous anonymous voice: Ted Treibel. I think he is solid and has the best interests for all kids, including the HES kids. He is tough, and he is someone you want to have on your side. He has come over as a supporter of HES and my feeling is that he would never compromise the school because of low test scores at a totally different school. If the writer had written "Debbie Piscitelli" or "Susan Hallman", I would have understood.
Dennis, Liz, Debbie, and Susan need to consider the damage they could do by making a merger happen. There is strong resentment from the parents of both schools. Dr. Carraway may have been the catalyst, but nothing happens unless the school board reacts. These members need to demonstrate that they are the leaders that we elected, and not some politician that is more interested in future ambitions.
I respectively disagree with the anonymous individual who respectively disagrees. Ted Treibel's actions demonstrate something other than what the anonymous person describes.
Yes. Susan Hallman is obviously in over her head. She was never school board material to begin with. Serving on the School Board is part politics and Hallman is ill-equipped to deal with school system politics.
Yes. Debbie Piscitelli is rude, mouthy, abrasive, and equally as ignorant as Susan Hallman. Apparently having the same HYAA associations as Dennis Whitling hasn't helped much.
You are correct about ambitions and school board reactions. The fact is that TED TREIBEL VOTES WITH HALLMAN, BROWN, PISCITELLI, AND WHITLING each and every time. Treibel has an over-inflated ego to match his ambitions. That equals a bad combination for Orange County students who are already under assault from Shirley Carraway.
If Treibel truly represents his constituents, he should check his ego at the door and demand Shirley Carraway's resignation asap (i.e. NOW). Carraway is a lame-duck Superintendent with an evil agenda.
It is one thing to rally for your child, but it is another when you are mean spirited. This blog has done nothing, let me repeat nothing to help the children. It is an avenue for you to be ugly. This is not the way to work towards a soluition to support the schools. You have torn teachers and parents apart. What have you accomplished.
The Board is elected. If you don't like it, then use the proper avenue.
Talk about vendictive Dr. Carraway-not Shirley, reports to the Board. They have the ultimate voting power. One woman did not create this problem. People pulling their children out of schools because they are too much of a snob to sit with children of color created this mess. Schools/pricipals that allowed people to enroll when they are not in the districted area created this mess.
Get off your high horse and look at yourselves. You created this mess, and you make the pile bigger every time you open your mouths.
Ted served a few years in a Vietnameese prison--I'll be glad to give him the benefit of the doubt. Defending our freedom so we can bicker about the status of our schools causes me to consider Ted to be genuine. He is not part of Dennis/Liz/Debbie/Susan faction. He may vote with them, but he is totally independent when it comes to making his decision. Concerning his ego, he may have left it at the Hanoi Hilton?
To the other anonymous writer, there may be some mean-spirited people, and I may be one you are talking about. But don't judge my child. It also, just like you say, be an avenue for us to be ugly. It is not my way to say it is or isn't. But it is our right, and it is legal. If you do not like what is being typed, I got a simple solution: don't read it. If you want to write how we are all idiots, bigots, and mean-spirited, you go ahead. But don't you dare raise your finger at my child.
HES is being held as the whipping boy for a screwed up system. You say that we are the fault of this problem, but I assure you we are not the cause of the system's woes. The previous school boards created this scenario with illadvised redistricting plans. CES's problems are also a result of liberal transfer policies, Orange Charter, and a lack of controls on the admissions policy to HES. There is so much that could have been done by the board and central office to prevent this place we are in now.
I assure you that the merger idea came from DR. CARRAWAY and her STAFF. Now the SCHOOL BOARD has to follow the path set forth by DR. CARRAWAY.
So Dr. Carraway must be like Obi Wan Kenobi and used Jedi mind tricks to make the board agree with her. I do not understand why anyone would try and put all of the blame on her. This is not a dictatorship. The board had to agree.
If an issue is presented in such a way that the board has no choice but to pursue it, then yes, I guess it is a dictatorship. The board has to take the heat while DR. CARRAWAY sits back and enjoys the show
There is no need for ignorance. Carraway has resigned, so most of you should be happy. Let her go in peace. Some of you should run for the board and show us how things should be done.
http://www.wrdw.com/schools/headlines/8211707.html
Dr. Carraway didn't get the job after all.
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