Shelia Jackson says Katherine Nakamura and Terry Grier played politics

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School Trustee Calls to Investigate Peer
Voice of San Diego

...Last night, board member Shelia Jackson publicly requested an independent investigation of a campaign meeting called by school board president Katherine Nakamura and Superintendent Terry Grier to inform principals of volunteer opportunities for Proposition S, the $2.1 billion facilities bond slated for the November ballot. E-mails about the meeting from supervisors told principals either "please attend" or that the meeting was mandatory.

Bond opponent John Stump later argued that the meeting, held at no charge at the Girl Scouts Headquarters in Balboa Park, violated a city policy that prohibits city-subsidized facilities to be used for political activities.

Jackson said Nakamura might have violated another section of the governance policies that requires trustees to serve the interests of the school district above other advocacy or interest groups, and that Grier might have failed to prevent an activity that "endangers the organization’s public image or credibility," in violation of another policy.

Jackson’s request follows a public kerfuffle over a back-to-school conference championed by Jackson. The conference did not have board approval, but Jackson had used a district procurement card to buy supplies for the event. She later reimbursed San Diego Unified. Grier had requested an investigation of the expenditures, but didn't announce it publicly.


-- EMILY ALPERT
October 15, 2008

Shelia Jackson is right--San Diego Unified School District has not figured out how to teach black and brown kids

See all Shelia Jackson posts.

SDUSD trustee Sheila Jackson has come under attack for stating the obvious: our schools don't know how to teach black and brown kids.

Jason Robertson, a San Diego Union Tribune reader, says this can't be true because SOME black and brown kids graduate, so that proves the teachers do their jobs.

Then he says that it's the parents fault that the others don't graduate.

You can't have it both ways, Mr. Robertson. It seems to me that you've got to give the credit to the parents, not the teachers, of the kids who succeeded, if you're going to give the blame to the parents of the kids who failed.

Actually, I believe that SOME people know how to teach black and brown kids, and are caring and creative and intelligent, but the majority of our teachers are not up to the task. Far too many of the people who are responsible for teaching black and brown kids don't know how to do their jobs. They react with too much anger and judgment to children's failings, and thus create life-long problems out of obstacles that should be temporary. Some teachers of black and/or brown kids are out-and-out racists, intentionally or unintentionally undermining the very people whom they are paid to educate.

I've corrected the spelling of Shelia Jackson's name; I had spelled it Sheila.