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Byrneville Principal Takes Issue With Comments In PNJ; Says School Is Not Racial Biased
March 2, 2009
The principal of Byrneville Elementary School is speaking out after a Sunday article in the Pensacola News Journal that includes terms like “white flight” to describe the predominantly white school.
The article quotes Sandra Edwards, director of the county’s school choice office as say that white children in the Carver/Century K-8 School attendance zone would “find a reason” to transfer to Byrneville or Bratt.
About 12 percent of Byrneville’s students are minorities; at Bratt, that number is 21 percent. The PNJ articles states that of the 130 students in the Carver/Century zone that attend Byrneville, only four are black.
“Sandra Edwards’ remarks about the pending closing of Carver Century School, quoted in the article in the Pensacola News-Journal March 1 edition, imply that Byrneville Elementary School, Inc., a charter school, is racially biased. That is false,” Byrneville Principal Dee Wolfe-Sullivan told NorthEscambia.com Sunday evening.
Wolfe-Sullivan points out that figures that state 130 students are leaving Carver/Century to attend Byrneville are misleading. When the district voted to close Byrneville, it became a charter school ran by a board of directors rather than directly by the Escambia County School Board. The former Byrneville district was eliminated; students that lived near Byrneville Elementary suddenly were with the Carver/Century zone.
“Edwards’ statement that 130 of our students are in the Carver Century zone is misleading. The zone for Carver Century was expanded by the District to include the old Byrneville zone the same year the District closed Byrneville and we opened as a charter school. Our students never left the Byrneville zone to attend Carver Century,” Wolfe-Sullivan said.
NorthEscambia.com was unable to reach Edwards for comment Sunday night due to the school district office being closed.
Wolfe-Sullivan stressed that Byrneville is not a racially biased school in any manner.
“Since we opened as a charter school we have admitted the children who came to us, black, Native American, Latino, Asian, and white,” she said.
What Will Happen To Byrneville Elementary?
In an exclusive story on January 22, NorthEscambia.com explored how Byrneville might be impacted by the closure of Carver/Century K-8 School. That closure is expected to be finalized at a March 17 meeting of the Escambia County School Board.
The facts are simple: Only about 44 percent of the students in the Carver/Century district actually attend the school. On the elementary level, 126 attend Carver/Century, 130 attend Byrneville Elementary and 32 attend Bratt Elementary. But where will the 126 elementary children at Carver/Century end up next year?
The official answer is Bratt Elementary, because Century will become part of Bratt’s district.
But Dee Wolfe–Sullivan, principal at Byrneville, feels like many parents and guardians may choose to send their children to her school rather than having them bused to Bratt. Byrneville Elementary is a charter school ran under district guidelines but under its own set of rules; those rules would allow Byrneville to accept Carver students.
“Some of those parents will want to enroll their children here,” Wolfe-Sullivan said. “But the issue becomes if we have room or not.”
There are currently 166 students at Byrneville, and the school only has a capacity of about 200.
“It is possible that applications may exceed our capacity next year if Carver Century is closed. We will continue to follow our own board’s admissions preference policy, which does not regard race or minority status. That policy gives first preference to students who live in the original (District system) zone; then dependents of staff and board members; then siblings of students; and then any Florida student,” she said.
In our January 22 story, NorthEscambia.com presented a “what if” scenario to Wolfe-Sullivan. “What if the school board closed Carver/Century and then offered the Carver/Century facility to Byrneville Elementary?” we asked.
“We have not discussed the Carver/Century building, so I would have no comment at the present time,” she said.
“If parents want to send their child to Byrneville, we certainly welcome them,” Wolfe-Sullivan added. “We are a small school. Every teacher knows every child, and they know most of the families. It is a great atmosphere.”
Pictured top: Byrneville Principal Dee Wolfe-Sullivan at lunch with a group of students. NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
Comments
26 Responses to “Byrneville Principal Takes Issue With Comments In PNJ; Says School Is Not Racial Biased”
“Just me” – You have absolutely no idea what you are talking about and I am apalled that you would make such a comment on March 2nd. Do you know these teachers personally, do you have children that attend this school, have you checked out the credentials of these teachers, done background checks on them??? You sound like “you think” you know so much about the teachers of Century/Carver school. What do you do for a living or for the love of it? How would you like someone to make such a statement about “YOU”!!! Well, “just me”, I do know most of the teachers at this school, much better than you do. I worked there for 12 years before being transferred to another school in the district due to consolidation. It was definitely my choice, because I would have stayed there forever. YOU MUST HAVE A LOVE FOR THESE CHILDREN! These are some of the BEST teachers in this or any other county. They teach their hearts out day after day, just like “some” other teachers in other schools. Blessings don’t always come in disquises, we should be able to see them right in front of us & it “should be” the students/children that we are really concerned about & how this will affect them. I realize that I may have not followed all of the rules for comments, but those before me are much more discriminating than mine. This has been on my heart for some time & I have tried not to get involved in this, but this comment really got the best of me!!!!!!
Good old PNJ trying to stir up things without the correct imformation to sell there paper. They might as well tell people how to vote and whom to vote for! Or put out just one side of the story and not both sides to put there preference across. I have met Mr. Thomas and i find him to be straight forward and he should make Mrs Edwards available for rebutable.
I would like to comment on just me’s comment on March 2. How do you know that Carver/Century does not have qualified teachers. Well I am a teacher at the school and yes I am QUALIFIED. We get so tired of comments like that, from people who do not know us. We challenge anyone to come work with us. We do everything and more just like any other school in this district.
To answer Elaine. I’m not positive but I think the charter school gets the same amount as any other school in the county does.The difference is they decide how to spend it.If the county decides all fourth graders are getting new science books this year, charter schools can decide against new science books and use the money for what they really need(maybe math books).Also, I think the teachers are still county employees.But like I said,this is what I heard and I’m not absolutely positive.
I would be glad to answer Ms. Stewart’s questions if she would give me a call at 256-6350.
Thank you,
Dee Wolfe-Sullivan
Hi I am someone who was raised in Century and my family still leaves there. Matter of fact I have nieces and nephews that are apart of this issue. I sit and read alot of this and it strikes me that 25 or so years later you are dealing with alot of the same issues that we were dealing with when I went to school there. It was really hard then and it seems its really hard now to determine where children are going to get a good education. Now I leave in New Orleans and I see some of the same things here, but finally solutions are being made here. After Katrina the school systems are really trying to figure out how do we give the children here a good education. Before Katrina my kids would have never went to public school now they are. I also have my older child in a charter school.Last year when we evacuated to Century for Gaustauv I was talking with a teacher at Northwiew about if another “Katrina” hit and I had to stay here where would I send my 9th grader to get the quality eduacation and simply the same courses she is taking now. And what we came up with is should would have to go to a school in Pensacola. My question is why? Why can’t the standards in Century be raised? I think that the real question has to be what can we do for all of the children in the sourounding areas of Byrnieville, Century, and Bratt to give all of them a great education. Maybe it is to change the way you do some things. Just like the people here in New Orleans have had to see that sometimes it is about making a huge change. And somtimes that maybe sitting next to someone in class of a different race or religion that they have never set by. Or somtimes that means changing the curriculam, or changing policy and procedure. When I grew up there my parents sent my sister and I to school in Pensacola not because of any reason except to for us to get a good education one that could provide us with chanllenges and avenues that was not offered in Century. I am greatful for that but it saddens me to know that parents still have to do that because people are still worrying about race instead of what can we do. What changes need to be made, where do we need to go from here for our children to have avenues and challenges to help the succeed after elementary, middle and high school.
My question is, “When a school becomes a charter school, how are the finances for that school handled?” Meaning, salaries, books, buses, lunchroom, custodial etc. I realize these individuals pay taxes just like the rest of us. I am curious as to how a charter school is funded….what about Title I funding too?
Is district money still going into a charter school, at a percentage, if so, how is the difference made up. What about the faculty and staff? Are they still donsidered district employees?
With great pride I included my entire name on my previous post and will do so anytime I make my opinion public. I am not going to banter back and forth with another poster to make for “good reading,” even when I am prodded to do so. I am proud to be a part of the schools here in northern Escambia County and will continue to be a pro-active part of them. Proverbs 10:12 tell us “Hatred stirs up quarrels, but love covers all offenses.” We should all work together to make this transition as smooth as possible for all students involved .
If this is a race issue look at Jay, there about 98% Caucasian and 2% minorities….
If Ms. Edwards is the fine person you say, Dedra Singleton, why hasn’t Edwards been availible to explain herself? I’m sure she was “in the office” on Monday because Mr. Thomas was trying to do damage repair for her loose cannon remarks, but that right, it’s those wicked newspaper people twisted her words. Edwards can get her opportunity to speak to us at the Carver/Century closure hearing on Thursday evening, but I bet you she doesn’t show.
I just have to let everyone reading this know that Sandra Edwards is one of the finest employees the Escambia County School District has! I have read the PNJ article several times now to see if there is something I am missing. Mrs. Edwards did not make any type of racial statement. She simply stated the fact that many students who live in the Carver Century District have already transferred to Byrneville and Bratt. Mr. Garthwaite backed up her statement by using the phrase “mass exodus” as he referred to the failing grade Carver Century made in 2007. Unfortunately, a neighborhood school has to close. We can argue the point of “why it should close” or “why it shouldn’t” but it does not matter now. An extremely tough decision had to be made and unfortunately it does not make everyone happy. Instead of making this article something it is not, let’s work together to make the schools in the north end of our county the best ones in the district!
Not taking Mrs Edwards side BUt… Just Maybe that PNJ has once again twisted the words of MRs Edwards. It seems that others have been misquoted or their words taken out of context before. So I would not be surprised. What does the old quote say” You can only believe half of what you hear and less than half of what you read” WIth what I read I don’t find the PNJ to be very big supporters of the Escambia County School District. . I’m wondering if this is really What Mrs. Edwards said!!!!!!! I don’t trust PNJ.
I whole heartedly agree with “Century resident” about the lack of parental involvement at Carver/Century. Even with that school closing and where ever those students attend in the future, there will still be a lack of parental involvement coming from the parents of students now attending Carver/Century.
Not only do you have lack of parental involvement to deal with but will also see a lot of disipline issues arise.
More than likely we will see higher numbers of these Carver/Century kids being sent to alternative schools. And this is a burden to place on the parents of those students, not teachers or administrators.
Education is a priveledge as much as it is a neccesity for our childrens future.
I will agree that Byrneville and Bratt do have a better quality of teachers and administrators, so maybe Carver/Century closing down will be a blessing in disguise for the children. So, to all the Carver/Century parents upset about this schools closing, wake up and take a real interest in your childs education!
The later responders here are, to some extent, missing the point. PNJ printed the comments of Ms. Edwards. It is her opinions which appear, not necessarily PNJ’s.
The other point everyone is missing is that PNJ isn’t a real newspaper. It’s a vehicle through which its owners make money selling advertising.
If it were a real newspaper it would not have published Ms. Edwards’ comments without giving someone at Byrneville a chance to respond or rebut in the same article.
If you lower your expectations of PNJ to the appropriate level — hack journalism and cheap sensationalism — you won’t be angered by it so often.
A perfect example of the ignorance of PNJ reporting is when the Driskell’s closed their store at the Byrneville Crossroads. The reporter stated that the nearest store or gas station was tweny- five miles. Oh, I could go on forever but yall’ get my point!!!!!!!!!!
Ditto,Diana…..Now for my two cents! I am so sick of reading the PNJ’S stupid ,ignorant accounts every time one of those reporters,reports any issue that has anything to do with the “NORTH END”. You, PNJ, seriously, needs to send an unbiased reporter up here to go around this whole area, visit all the folks here and get to know that we are not a bunch of poor ,barefoot ,racist,people. Century Carver is being closed because the school board can save one million dollars a year ,your figure PNJ. Bottom line.Now where the million dollars was being spent on this school, I would love to see that tally sheet. And where the kids will go to school next year is another thing….. no matter which shool Byrneville or Bratt ,they will be welcomed. Hopefully none of our children will have to go anywhere closer to Pensacola than they have to. We raise good children in the NORTH END and would like to keep them as close to home as possible!!!!!!!
I agree with Bondurant,
She taught me in Byrnville and i loved her she was very nice.
People do not understand that the area Byrnville is in.
I personally think that this school is very good but do have some problems sometimes,maybe alot.
I live in the Century/Carver zone and send my children to Byrneville and Ernest Ward. It is not a race thing, it is an educational thing.I sent one child through Century Elementary and Carver Middle School and his education suffered because of it. Why should I put my other children through that school system when I don’t have to?
This is to answer citizen. If Byrneville was closing ,I would send them to the school that was an A school. It dosnt matter what school. As a parent I want the best for my child I hope you would to. Century has been a failing school to long. Yes the enrollment is down , but don’t blam that on the school for having a bad grade. Look how small Byrneville is . Well their an A school. And who said Carver children could not go to school with them. I have not seen or read anything that said no one was welcome to “go to school here”. This is not a racial issue please quit trying to make it one.
The people of Byrneville school district i have two questions for you.
If this is not a racial issue lets turn back time when Byrneville was closing and you could have sent them to either Century or Bratt what would have been your choice?
And why Century kids are good enough to play ball with and go to church with
but not to school with.
Unfair, biased reporting? You mean something like this was said in the PNJ?! I am so shocked!
Anyone who has actually spent any time at Byrneville Elementary will notice several things: 1) The administration and the teachers genuinely care about not only the students in their own class, but in every class, and they take a personal interest in each student. 2) The entire staff (not just teachers) is committed to investing in the lives of these children and their families. 3) The atmosphere of the school is extremely welcoming and comfortable, providing an excellent environment for learning. 4) Teachers go above and beyond by working with each student’s individual learning style to ensure that every child gets the best opportunity to learn and grow as individuals.
These things apply to EVERY child in the school, regardless of race, religion, gender, family background, socio-economic status, or any other factor. Perhaps the parents in the Century-Carver district who elect to send their children to Byrneville just feel that Byrneville is a better school for their children. In the original article, the Century-Carver principal even acknowledged that many of the students who left their school did so after the school received a grade of “F.” Is it too absurd to assume that parents are just trying to get their kids into a school that is not failing by state standards?
It really upsets me that the PNJ would make such remarks and implications about a school and a group of people who are working so hard to do so much good.
It is not right to point out another school because one is closing. I do wish they were not closing Carver. But it looks that way. Byrneville Elem. is a great school, they are a A school. They work hard. But their is a reason they are an A school. Not only is the staff at that school working hard with their students but the parents are very inolved . That’s alot of the problem with Century , people blame the teachers their , it’s not the teachers , the parents need to take action and become more involved with their child. I do not believe that Mrs.Sullivan nor the school is racial. Why someone would say that , is crazy. Byrneville can hold only so many students, because of that, how dare someone slander that school. Byrneville Elementary you are doing a great Job …. Keep up the good work.
Shame on Edwards and her arrogant attitude… I hope Mr. Thomas quickly reels her in this morning and directs her give a full apology for her disparaging remarks printed in the downtown “mullet wrapper!” Parents don’t need to “find a reason” to move their student from Century; all they need is the FCAT grade earned by the school!
I agree with you a.nicole.
This is insane. Every school has a majority race, whether it is white, black, Native American… It depends on the area in which that school is located and the predominant race that resides in that area. I believe this would be considered slander on PNJ’s part. Shame on them!