Appalling

Today was a kick-off the year right event or something for the whole District. Never mind the standard schlock about "touching the future" and "overcoming hurdles" and a "man walking down the beach throwing star-fish back into the water" and a completely out of context keynote address delivered by a man with a lot to say about himself and little insight to share, the worse part came when the MC, a man of some status in local education circles, made a rambling, disjointed closing remarks about how we are too self-critical, should celebrate our success, and how -- get this -- "we can compete with the top schools in the nation."

What?

He said it three times. "We can compete with the top schools in the nation."

I love this community, these kids, this mission, and the progress we've made, but to suggest we're done, even in the context of morale-building, is negligent and absurd. Holy crap, what if someone actually believed it? When, as a District, we average about 30% proficient? When 60% of our kids don't graduate high school? When the surrounding communities have seen an unparalleled spike in gang violence, with three stabbings in the past two weeks? When we still have no policy to address immigrate students, no newcomer center, no alternate curricular programs? When, let's face it, the self-congratulatory sub-mediocre teachers outnumber the competent ones three to one?

"We can compete with the top schools in the nation."

No we can't, and to suggest otherwise is fucking criminal.