Birney principal relishes tough assignmentBy Diette Courrégé (Contact)
The Post and Courier
Monday, April 7, 2008
Grace Beahm Principal Carol Beckmann-Bartlett (right) looks over a science project that Kyeasia Dobson and her classmates in Jessica Muench's (left) sixth-grade class are working on. Bartlett spends time in a few classes each day to keep up with what the students are learning. 
Grace Beahm Principal Carol Beckmann-Bartlett (red shirt) talks with eighth-grade teachers during a Teacher Curriculum Team meeting to discuss instructional information at Alice Birney Middle School. Carol Beckmann-Bartlett doubted whether she was making a difference. She was principal of Cario Middle School in Mount Pleasant, an academically strong school with one of the wealthiest student bodies in the county. She had developed strong relationships with teachers and students in eight years, and the community felt like family. But she questioned whether Cario was the right place for her. She decided last spring to take the principal position at Alice Birney Middle in North Charleston, which has one of the poorer student bodies in the district. She wanted to lead a school that was different from Cario in order to challenge herself as an educator. Beckmann-Bartlett tried to avoid preconceptions of what Birney would be like. It's easy to stereotype Birney and Cario, which seem polar opposites, but she found their similarities and differences far more complex. Beckmann-Bartlett spends more time doing what she wants to as a principal at Birney. She's able to focus on her responsibility of leading instruction. At Cario, constant distractions pulled her away from academic work, such as parents who would demand to talk to the principal and not anyone else. If those parents had been willing to talk to the appropriate staff person at the school, their problems could've been resolved in five minutes versus the hour that it would eat up of Beckmann-Bartlett's time, she said. Entire days would pass in which she did not have a conversation about academics. At Birney, parents respect the chain of command, which enables Beckmann-Bartlett to focus on instruction. That means she's able to spend more time in classrooms and have more conversations about academics. She can spot problem areas and find solutions. Birney teachers, for example, were teaching the mandated information in the state learning standards but not meeting the standards' goals. Seventh-graders learn about historical revolutions, such as the American, French and industrial revolutions. But the state requires students to go a step further than memorizing facts. Students should be able to analyze what makes a revolution, describe why revolutions happen and respond to a test question such as, "Are we in a digital revolution. Why or why not?" Beckmann-Bartlett ensures teachers' lesson plans align exactly with the state's requirements. The change should help improve students' test scores, she said. Another area of surprise has been the amount of financial and administrative support a smaller, struggling school such as Birney receives compared with a larger, academically stronger school such as Cario. Birney enrolls nearly half as many as students as Cario, but Birney has three assistant principals while Cario has only two. Both schools, despite the size differences, have about the same number of office personnel. But the administrative support at Cario couldn't handle the massive workload, she said. Birney receives about $800,000 per year that the principal can decide how to spend, compared with Cario's $150,000. Granted, 90 percent of Birney students are low-income, and many have more serious academic problems than those at Cario. Much of Birney's money provides students with needed help, Beckmann-Bartlett said. Cario's money covered any extras the principal wanted, whether that was an extra teacher or classroom supplies. Beckmann-Bartlett made the Cario budget work, but she said it was a difficult stretch. Although many high-poverty schools face high faculty turnover and inexperienced teachers, most of Birney's teachers have worked at the school for years. Birney functions more effectively than schools that are considered better, Beckmann-Bartlett said, because of the systems teachers put in place. The way Birney teachers handle discipline offenses is one example. They take a team approach in dealing with misbehavior and recommend consequences. In most schools, one teacher refers a student to school administrators, who decide what to do. Although Birney's process takes more time, it limits emotional recommendations from teachers and enables deeper discussions about ways to better handle students, Beckmann-Bartlett said. Some teachers said Beckmann-Bartlett has made instruction a priority. She has high goals and expectations, and she holds teachers accountable for students' work, said Stephanie Flock, a sixth-grade social studies teacher. Conversations revolve around students' test scores and what can be done to address their weaknesses and challenge their strengths, she said. "We were a good ship with good rowers; we just needed a strong captain to lead," Flock said. "That's something that she's taken on well. We all sort of knew the direction we wanted to go, but you have to have someone who's keeping you on track and reminding you." Sandra Riepke, a seventh-grade science teacher, said Beckmann-Bartlett ensures teachers have time each week to talk about lesson plans with others who teach the same grade and subject. The principal shows teachers how to better prepare students, such as using terminology on state tests in daily lessons so students are familiar with that language, Riepke said. Beckmann-Bartlett said teachers told her they wanted to grow professionally, and they have backed that up with action. It's stunning to watch them work on improving tests and assignments, she said. They are open and trusting with one another, and they accept feedback and constructive criticism to make their lessons better, she said. She compared her pride in them to the moment a parent stops running alongside his child and lets him ride a bike alone. "When I get to listen to the teachers talk about instruction and they don't know I can hear them, it is the same thing," she said. "I have never seen a whole staff take something in, and on, like this. I feel fortunate to be able to look on and be a part of it." Reach Diette Courrégé at dcourrege@postandcourier.com or 937-5546. |
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Comments
This article has 28 comment(s)
Posted by moonpie on April 7, 2008 at 6:13 a.m. (Suggest removal)
"Birney and Cario, which seem polar opposites" GREAT WORK MA'AM AND TO YOUR TEACHERS. ISN'T CAIRO THE SCHOOL MOST KIDS GO TO THAT SHOULD GO TO BIRNEY? SINCE NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND? IKNOW KIDS THAT ARE BUSSED FROM BIRNEY EVERYDAY TO CAIRO. THIS MAY BE THE ONLY SIMILARITY.
I'M THRILLED FOR THE PROGRESS BEING MADE BUT THIS IS A PARENTAL THING OR LACK OR.
Posted by Mayor on April 7, 2008 at 6:38 a.m. (Suggest removal)
All of the teachers that I know are the most caring people. If only the parents cared.
Posted by Early on April 7, 2008 at 8:13 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I see waste and fraud, the school is half the size and gets almost 4 times the money???? And what is the graduation rate of the student body?. See it's like this, it's been proven time and time again that throwing money at a school which has poor performing students WILL NOT solve the social problems that keep the child from learning in the first place. This may sound cruel but,,, then we waste the funds that should go to schools with average and above average student bodies and LIMIT their resources severely. And, the teachers that work in these schools do not receive ANY compensation for their efforts that's why they can't keep experienced teachers in the schools because it take and extraordinary amount of time to teach these kids Vs. a limited time to teach somewhere else. CCSD needs to compensate for the conditions the teachers have to deal with and maybe, just maybe some improvements will come about.
Posted by gingerisler on April 7, 2008 at 10:39 a.m. (Suggest removal)
This article is so insulting to Cario Middle School.
Bottom line is that Birney gets more because its parents and students are failures. Great use of taxpayers' dollars!
Posted by RTC on April 7, 2008 at 10:47 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I am puzzled by moonpie's comment.
When since have Birney students been bused to Cario?
Posted by charlestonnative1963 on April 7, 2008 at 1:01 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Parents in MT P. That is why I drove to Berkeley County for 16 years before giving up teaching. Those parents were driving me crazy...as were a few CCSD leaders
Posted by charlestonnative1963 on April 7, 2008 at 1:04 p.m. (Suggest removal)
RTC, Perhaps you have heard of No Child Left Behind...GW Bush...its not just Cario, all "good" schools have to take the kids from the "bad school" that is why a lot of the "good schools' are now " bad schools" Thanks BUSH
Posted by ColdBeer on April 7, 2008 at 1:09 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Quoted from the article: "At Cario, constant distractions pulled her away from academic work, such as parents who would demand to talk to the principal and not anyone else."
Wow. Another principal that doesn't like to talk to parents and has even justified in her mind that she shouldn't be made to talk to them. In the 4 years that my daughter attended Stratford HS, I asked to speak to the principal three times. I was denied all three times. I made one visit after a high school teacher refused to allow my teenage daughter access to the bathroom during class hours. My daughter didn't need to go to the bathroom because he had failed to pee in the few minutes between classes; she needed to go because there are times in a young woman's life when they have to do such things and those times are not scheduled or under their control. Why would I even want to speak to a teacher of that mentality? I wanted to, and should have been allowed to, speak to the principal. I couldn't. The principal was "monitoring lunch" and refused to see me even after I told the lady at the counter that she needed to let the principal know that there was a very upset parent in the office.
The biggest problem we have with education today is the lack of parent involvement. When parents are involved, the principal should support them 100%, not treat them as a burden, an interruption.
I'm not impressed with Carol "Beckmann-Bartlett".
Posted by KidYendor on April 7, 2008 at 1:38 p.m. (Suggest removal)
When I went to Alice Birney 40 years ago we did not have anything known as low-income. What does this translate to anyway? Low wages or welfare dependence? We were a majority white school with cheerful, friendly blacks. We all got along, we were happy. and we feared the paddle of our late and beloved teacher Mrs. Mamie B. Edgeworth. She was a great teacher who treated everyone fairly. The social experimenters have now taken our wealth from us and created population segments with 90 percent low-income/welfare dependent. You have to be kidding me? And this is progress?
Posted by local7 on April 7, 2008 at 3:23 p.m. (Suggest removal)
To imply that Birney parents follow the chain of command and Cario parents do not is insulting. Although the faculty and staff are excellent at Cario, the school system is a bureaucracy. Everyone knows if you want answers and results in a bureaucracy, then you must go to the top. And no, I do not have any children at Cario but I know of many parents that do. Mt. Pleasant has good schools because of parent involvement.
Posted by 2234BDFH on April 7, 2008 at 4:01 p.m. (Suggest removal)
WOW! What an INSULT to Cario parents. How sad :( . As a parent who "respected the chain of command" at Cario last year, I can tell you that only after each link in the chain was proven broken, did I consider going to the principal. I'm sorry Ms. Beckmann-Bartlett was not happy working with parents who tried the "chain of command" and got no results. Cario parents tend to advocate for their children and are not afraid to USE the chain of command and go to the TOP when warranted. Ms. Beckmann-Bartlett certainly painted a very insulting picture of caring Cario parents.
Posted by gingerisler on April 7, 2008 at 4:05 p.m. (Suggest removal)
local7, you are 100% correct! Families choose to live in Mount Pleasant because of its schools. Parents in Mount Pleasant demand excellence. It is a shame that the parents at so many other schools do not care about their children to demand the same.
Posted by LowcountryMoose on April 7, 2008 at 4:43 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Cario students are fortunate enough to, most likely, have two caring parents. Cario parents are fortunate enough to have an economic/employment situation that allows them to go to the school without having to forfeit pay at their job.
Posted by Thomas1776 on April 7, 2008 at 5:07 p.m. (Suggest removal)
" one of the wealthiest student bodies in the county."
Mt. Pleasant = Snobville, USA
Posted by RTC on April 7, 2008 at 5:13 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I was not aware of any type of busing of students from other schools to Mt. Pleasant, regardless of the "No Child Left Behind" policy.
When you haven't had a child in school for awhile you don't always know what's going on.
What this article doesn't say is that students from less affluent areas of Mt.P also attend this school.
The same could be said about any school East of the Cooper, except maybe Sullivan's Island Elementary.
I'm just glad that I don't have to deal with this anymore.
We will all continue to pay outrageous taxes to the school board until the day we die.
Posted by primetimebry on April 7, 2008 at 5:28 p.m. (Suggest removal)
First off, Ms. Beckmann-Bartlett did not write the article, nor did she tell the journalist to try and parallel Birney and Cario in her column.
And of course, another parent thinks their child is the best thing since sliced bread. Instead of throwing a fit in the front office, which I'm sure you did, why didn't you schedule an appointment with the principal and the teacher? Perhaps meet with the school nurse and see if you couldn't arrange a hall pass where your child could leave the classroom due to a certain condition. If the teacher let your child go because of 'the special women times', then he/she would have 10-24 other students complaining about their ovaries.
Once you stop thinking about your child and how you would 'do anything to protect your child,' think about the teacher and the other students. Stop trying to run the school and worry about what your kid does once he/she comes home. Take care of that end and don't put down good people like Ms. Beckmann-Bartlett. "Comprende?"
Posted by gococks1985 on April 7, 2008 at 6:16 p.m. (Suggest removal)
This is to Lowcountry Moose. I went to Alice Birney. I had two parents with a stable income and although I did not get everything we "wanted", I did get what I "needed" and some of my "wants". I am not sure why you felt the need to bring that point up. A lot has to do with the parental involvement in the school and at home. Care to elaborate so that I can grasp what you are saying?
Posted by RTC on April 7, 2008 at 7:05 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Thomas1776 = biased + ignorant
Posted by alwaysbize1160 on April 7, 2008 at 9:53 p.m. (Suggest removal)
1. Principals are required to wear many hats. They must be financial managers, personnel managers, physical plant managers, marketing managers, public servants - leaving very little time to their true position: educational leaders.It seems it would be easy to get frustrated over matters such as whether or not a student should be allowed to use the restroom.
2. The money schools like Birney receive come from sources outside of the state and are given based on school needs. The funds discussed are not funds that Cairo or any other satifactory/high acheiving school would qualify for. These funds are used to provide all the extra materials and man power it takes to improve the learning for those students needing serious help. Take my word for it, families who benefit from these funds would much rather not be in their position.
3. As a former teacher at Birney for 7 years, I learned an important lesson. Being upper middle class, I expected to work with absent parents, apathetic students, and a faculty without hope. Instead, I never had a meeting where a parent didn't show or didn't return a call, I always had a group of collegues who worked with me and went the extra mile, and I taught many students who were eager to please me and make me proud.
4.The parents at Birney do not respect the chain of command. Instead, parents link with teachers in their efforts in giving their child a better chance at a life without poverty - better than what they have...Parents reinforce what teachers are trying to do at Birney. Msot discipline meetings - the parent supports the teacher; not excuse the student. They are grateful that teachers are watching their children and are interested while they themselves are working hard to keep the lights on and food on the table-even if they can't be there.
5. It is unfortunate that one news article can actually influence the public over two schools that each do a good job at educating students. What has happened to critical thinking? A house divided cannot stand.
Posted by ColdBeer on April 7, 2008 at 10:08 p.m. (Suggest removal)
primetimebry, no, I didn't "throw a fit" in the office. I'm a 45 year old man. I'm well educated and know how to talk to people without throwing fits. I don't have to throw fits to get my point across. Make an appointment to see the principal? Give me a break. That's the problem. As a student's parent, when I walk in the office with a complaint about a teacher, the principal should be more than eager to see me.
As I stated earlier.. I'm not impressed with Carol "Beckmann-Bartlett".
Posted by belovedbliff on April 7, 2008 at 10:51 p.m. (Suggest removal)
The article states that students should be able to answer the question: why we are in a digital revolution or if we are in a digitial revolution? I can tell you as a state curriculum state specialist that this is not a standard. It is certainly a good question to bring relevance to the topic of revolutions, but it is not a standard in the 7th grade.
I found this principal to be a dishonest in her portrayal--maybe it was the author of the article.
Posted by SCgal on April 8, 2008 at 6:11 a.m. (Suggest removal)
IMO, Cario now has the leadership it needs to move forward and work together with the parents, adminstrators, and teachers and will welcome any student from throughout the county to better any child's education~
Posted by tammer on April 8, 2008 at 11:20 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I happen to be one of those "demanding" Cario parents, I will not apoligize for demanding that my child get the best possible education in the best possible environment. That would be the
case no matter what school my child attended. The fact that Mrs. Beckman-Bartlett had to spend to much time with parents was dut to her lack of her doing her job! I don't speak for all
of the Cario Family but I am personally glad that she has moved on! Now she is in a place that she doesn't have to answer to the parents and she is free to do as she pleases. Cario has a new administration who is in the process of fixing the mess that the former principal left behind.
Posted by Narnie on April 8, 2008 at 1:30 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I am deeply disappointed that a representative of the district spoke so divisively against her former school. How does this serve any of the students of Charleston County? I think I hear sour grapes... did she leave before she was forced out? I think so.
Had she done a better job, she would have "managed" to balance her duties and responsibilities for the students at Cario. She ran that that school rapidly downhill. To turn around and blame the parents that cared enough to show up, volunteer, raise money, and express concerns is a slap in the face to the East Cooper area.
Cario is recovering from the damage in the wake of her poor leadership. This is just another thing that the new leadership will have to struggle with as we try to move forward in a positive way for Cario's students.
For every disgruntled parent/teacher/administrator there are dozens of hardworking teachers/parents/administrators that care about the education and welfare of the students in Charleston County. They are working hard every day to create a positive learning environment. My hat goes off to all of the hardworking, positive people in our county that have the heart to face adversity and work for the greater good.
As for Carol Bartlett, good luck at your new school, we are so glad you are there.
Posted by viperIII on April 10, 2008 at 6:23 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I have read with interest the comments on this story. There is one particular comment that I take offence to. "Gingerisler" on April 7, 2008 wrote and I quote "Birney gets more because its parents and students are failures", unquote. How dare this person make a blanket statement such as that. What makes them failures? Is it because of where they live? Is it because of the job they have does not pay $100,000 a year? Is it because they don't drive a BMW or a Porsche? How is it that you classify every child and every parent associated with Briney a failure?
Most of the parents are hard working people who may not be able to afford to take time off from their jobs to bother the principal with things having nothing to do with education. Maybe the principal does not have to call them on their jobs because their little darlings elected to wear jeans to school with holes cut into them above the knees, or tops so short that their navel is showing, or skirts so short that they could not bend down to pick up something if they dropped it.
Look around gingersiler, not EVERY parent or student at Birney or any other "failing" school can be labeled as failures.
Posted by ParkCircle4Ever on April 11, 2008 at 10:26 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Many of the comments posted are obviously from a middle-class mentality. You have to think about the struggles of those living in poverty to really understand what it is like to work at a school like Birney. While we (those in the middle class) consider chicken or beef for dinner tonight, those in poverty consider whether or not they will have any food at all for dinner tonight. This is just one example of what many of the children attending this school face on a daily basis. When parents are working two jobs just to get by, it makes it very difficult to be as involved as they would like to be. It doesn't make them failures. They 'respect' the chain of command and I see nothing wrong with that. Like her or not, Principal Beckmann-Bartlett is making a difference at this school and they deserve every penny available to garner the resources they need to keep improving.
Posted by momofbees on April 28, 2008 at 1:58 p.m. (Suggest removal)
It is shocking to read some of these comments, and so disappointing. The ideas and generalizations about groups of people and the prejudices we have about each other are archaic (translation = NO LONGER USEFUL). I have no doubt that Ms. Beckman-Bartlett made comments about the parents at Cario that were derogatory. It also paints Birney in a negative light and makes it seem the parents there are not involved at all.
We do care about our students. We have dealt with assistant administrators who give one answer for all students without taking into consideration what is best for the student. It should be a collaborative effort, not a power struggle. And you (Beckman-Bartlett) should be more thankful for the parent involvement. EVERY time I have ever been to Cario (for the past three years) there is a parent VOLUNTEER at the front desk. I believe that Birney parents care about their children just as Mt. Pleasant parents do. If the average income in Mt. Pleasant is higher it is not because it just fell in their lap, it is because they have worked for it. Few people inherit their income. As a child I grew up wondering if I was going to get a meal or not every night and now am able to decide beef or chicken. I know I am blessed, but have worked hard to make my life better. Driving a certain car or living in a town does not make you a snob, there are snobs in every community. And in actuality a small percentage of people in Mt. Pleasant drive BMW's or Porches. You don't want to be judged for not being affluent, so please don't judge others.
Viper III - who are you saying is wearing skirts they can't bend over in and shirts that show their midriff? I can't figure out if you are saying girls from Cario or Birney? And what has that got to do with the ability of Carol Beckman-Bartlett doing her job at either school? If the parents took an hour of her day and she couldn't do her job, what did she do with the other seven or so hours? Sounds like a time-management problem to me.
As for no child left behind. How many tax dollars are going to the administration of this program that should be going into the schools that are failing? Someone mentioned the money coming from "out of state" sources. Would that be federal tax dollars - to which we are all contributing? It's not like some tree in the sky that the money is coming from - WE are still the source of that money. We should be changing the schools, not the location of the children. Everyone is not created with the same abilities. some are more academically gifted, some creative, some athletic. So in that respect we are different and need different challenges. But we all have the same opportunity to become educated. Education is the responsibility of the parent, teacher, and of the student to do the work.
Posted by SCgal on May 6, 2008 at 7:52 a.m. (Suggest removal)
"As reported in Monday's Post and Courier, nearly a full school year since making her move, she's glad she did".
WooHoo! In my opinion, the feelings are so mutual~ thanks to the current Cario principal for turning the school around, in a positive direction, as recently confirmed~ by students, staff, and parents~~ Great job~ hats off the the staff and leadership at Cario