Author Archive for Waldo

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Sheras Not Running for HoD

Published by Waldo on March 28, 2005 in Politics. Closed

Democrat Peter Sheras has announced that he will not be running for the 57th House of Delegates seat, WINA reports. Since Del. Mitch Van Yahres’ announcement of his retirement back on the 5th, a wave of potential candidates appeared, but three of us removed our names last week. With UVa psychologist Peter Sheras out, that leaves UVa professor Jeffrey Rossman and developer Kim Tingley as the only Democrats who have made it publicly known that they’re interested, other than declared candidate David Toscano.

David Toscano may be the only Democratic candidate. However, in addition to Rossman and Tingley, there are also interested folks who haven’t said anything publicly — perhaps others will step forward.

School Board to Survey Staff About Administration

Published by Waldo on March 26, 2005 in Education. 1 Comment

In yesterday’s closed session of the Charlottesville School Board, it was decided to survey the staff to determine what they think of the administration, James Fernald reports in today’s Progress. It looks like the survey is intended to assess the staff’s take on beleaguered Superintendent Scottie Griffin, despite the official stance that it’s about the administration on the whole.

Two board members — Dede Smith and Muriel Wiggins — were opposed to the idea, saying that the questions used on the survey don’t actually help to figure out what staff thinks about the administration. There are a few more closed school board meetings coming up in the next week, but it’s not publicly known if they have anything to do with Griffin.

Speed Trap Notices and Size Claims

Published by Waldo on March 24, 2005 in Crime and General News. 1 Comment

Dope that I am, I read WINA‘s weekly notices of speed trap locations around town, and figure I know where the police will be and where they won’t. In this week’s Hook, Lisa Provence explains how the system works, with a little help from Sgt. Mike Farruggio.

My favorite bit in the piece is an offhand mention by Albemarle Lieutenant John Teixeira, who describes Albemarle as nearly as big as Rhode Island. Wha? So I checked the Census. Lo and behold, Rhode Island is 1,045 sq. mi. (counting only dry land), and Albemarle is 723 sq. mi. I don’t know if “nearly as big” is the phrase, but it’s not bad. Augusta County, however, is 970 sq. mi., and Rockingham is 851 sq. mi. I’d say if anybody around these parts of Virginia gets to claim that they’re nearly as big as Rhode Island, it’s the folks to the west of us.

School Board Holding Closed Personnel Sessions

Published by Waldo on March 24, 2005 in Education. 6 Comments

In the next week, the Charlottesville School Board plans to hold a pair of closed sessions to discuss personnel matters. That’s not terribly exciting in itself, but given the recent turmoil surrounding Superintendent Scottie Griffin, there’s the possibility that this may involve either Griffin or Assistant Superintendent Laura Purnell, who called out Griffin in a letter last month. Or, of course, it could be something routine and uninteresting. The Hook‘s got the story.

Achievement Gap: Racial or Economic?

Published by Waldo on March 23, 2005 in Education. 7 Comments

There’s been a lot of talk in the past few years about the achievement gap in Charlottesville — that is, that black students tend to score lower on standardized tests than do white students. With the racial concerns stirred up around Superintedent Scottie Griffin, the issue has gotten quite a bit more attention recently. What’s not clear, though, is whether the problem is an economic one that tends to manifest itself along racial lines, or whether it’s a problem with race at its roots. In the African-American Reflector, Corey Carter has an article addressing that question:

It is true that poor children be they black or white have achievement problems, generally speaking, because of their home environment. However, it is reckless to assign poverty as the primary cause for the achievement gap in a feeble attempt to deracialize institutional racism. Whether a black child lives on Hardy Drive, or in Greenbrier, or in Farmington, they will be subjected to institutional racism and have less opportunities to be successful in school.

I don’t know if the root cause is racism or class-based disadvantage, but I’m glad we’re talking about it.

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