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Dayton Daily News education reporter Scott Elliott writes about schools, kids, teaching and learning.
Home > Blogs > Get on the Bus > Archives > 2006 > August > 01 > Entry
Omega’s principal problems
Not even two weeks ago, I met with the new leadership of the Omega School of Excellence, including the upbeat new principal, Tracy Ross. Two days after my story about the school appeared with a large photo of Ross, she was fired.
The management company leading the school, called KIDS (Keys to Improving Dayton Schools, Inc.), won’t explain why it let Ross go less than a month after she was hired and just a few weeks before school starts.
In an unfortunate coincidence for the school, three days after Ross was fired, the woman she replaced sued the school over her termination in March. Although KIDS says it didn’t make the call to fire Michelle Frazier Trotman, the group was hired prior to Trotman’s dismissal and took over running the school when she left.
The school’s founder, the Rev. Vanessa Oliver Ward, indicated she thought Omega did right by Trotman when it paid her salary three months after she was let go until her contract ended. But Trotman’s contract states she must have 180 days notice to be fired and she was given just 108 days notice.
KIDS, a new group that hopes to make a business out of “reconstituting” low scoring schools with new, effective academic staffs, appears to be off to a bit of a bumpy start.
Permalink | Comments (7) | Categories: Charter Schools and School Choice
Comments
By Scott Elliott
August 1, 2006 10:44 PM | Link to this
A bit of good news for prospective Omega families is that KIDS’ choice to replace Ross is Pat Love, a very good principal with a track record of success in public and charter schools in Dayton.By Oldprof
August 1, 2006 10:06 PM | Link to this
But Dave, legislation is what creates our education system. I did some graduate coursework in education, and the primary focus was on legislative authority and such legalisms. Happily, my work in the classroom hasn’t required me to be involved in that sort of thing daily, but I would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge the role that politics plays—for good or for wrong—and the excellent work of the administrators whose job it was to deal daily with those issues, and who did it so well that my career has been greatly enhanced. But I’m one of the tiny minority; most have suffered hideously from budget slashing and legislative ham-handedness.By Ms. Cornelius
August 1, 2006 10:03 PM | Link to this
How in the world is someone going to be able to come into that school and get ready for the beginning of the year? What were they thinking?By Dave
August 1, 2006 8:35 PM | Link to this
Old Prof, I agreed with you until you used the word “legislate”. Everytime the Legislature gets involved in schools, the situation just gets worse.By elementaryhistoryteacher
August 1, 2006 7:13 PM | Link to this
I support the idea behind charter schools, however, this type of scenario really scares me where it would seem that everyone is doing their own thing ignoring policies and procedures. One of the best gifts we have can give a school is consistency, and it starts with a principal.By Oldprof
August 1, 2006 5:11 PM | Link to this
Unfortunately for Ms. Banks, probably no one in power is yet ready to pull the plug on these risky experiments. I’m sorry your child was a guinea pig. Now, from another perspective, can we legislate that it’s a felony to call yourself a “School of Excellence” unless an impartial national association has extended that status? There are lots of schools claiming that they’re “excellent”, when that declaration comes from no one outside those schools.By Valerie Banks
August 1, 2006 3:03 PM | Link to this
My son was a student at Omega 2005-2006 and I had to transfer my son April 2006 because the Board had a meeting with me to tell me that they could not provide my son with the education service that he needed. They knew that when school started August 2005, why would they wait until two months before school was out to tell me. I had to put my son in Dayton public school which has been working out great for him. However, I truely believe my son was treated unfairly in this case. Is there anyone that I could talk to about this? Thanks