Ohio Mom Kelley Williams-Bolar Jailed

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Do you feel the US public schools fail their students?

[ 1 ]

Yes- Teachers Unions are to blame

17%

[ 4 ]

Yes- Lack of funding is to blame

[ 0 ]

Yes- Lack of parental involvement is to blame

[ 0 ]

Combination

26%

[ 6 ]

It's complicated

52%

[ 12 ]

Total Votes : 23

MommyZ

Thu, Jan 27 2011, 4:10 pm

Ohio Mom Kelley Williams-Bolar Jailed for Sending Kids to Better School District

An Ohio mother's attempt to provide her daughters with a better education has landed her behind bars.

Kelley Williams-Bolar was convicted of lying about her residency to get her daughters into a better school district.

"It's overwhelming. I'm exhausted," she said. "I did this for them, so there it is. I did this for them."

Williams-Bolar decided four years ago to send her daughters to a highly ranked school in neighboring Copley-Fairlawn School District.

But it wasn't her Akron district of residence, so her children were ineligible to attend school there, even though her father lived within the district's boundaries.

The school district accused Williams-Bolar of lying about her address, falsifying records and, when confronted, having her father file false court papers to get around the system.

Williams-Bolar said she did it to keep her children safe and that she lived part-time with her dad.

"When my home got broken into, I felt it was my duty to do something else," Williams-Bolar said.

While her children are no longer attending schools in the Copley-Fairlawn District, school officials said she was cheating because her daughters received a quality education without paying taxes to fund it.

"Those dollars need to stay home with our students," school district officials said.

Sentence Intended as Deterrent

The district hired a private investigator, who shot video showing Williams-Bolar driving her children into the district.

The school officials asked her to pay $30,000 in back tuition.

Williams-Bolar refused and was indicted and convicted of falsifying her residency records.

She was sentenced last week to 10 days in county jail and put on three years of probation.

She will also be required to perform community service, the Beacon Journal reported.

Williams-Bolar said she was being singled out.

"I don't think they wanted money ? ," Williams-Bolar said. "They wanted me to be an example."

Presiding Judge Patricia Cosgrove acknowledged as much.

"I felt that some punishment or deterrent was needed for other individuals who might think to defraud the various school districts," Cosgrove said.

yummymummy

Thu, Jan 27 2011, 4:23 pm

I voted for "combination".

I blame the teachers' union for tenure which makes it practically impossible to fire bad teachers.

I blame the teachers' union for not allowing pay differentials based on performance rather than seniority.

I blame the parents for not spending the time needed help their kids with homework, studying for tests...

I blame the parents for not setting high enough expectations for their kids to succeed. (how very Chinese mother of me).

I DO NOT think the public schools need MORE funding.

Last edited by yummymummy on Thu, Jan 27 2011, 7:04 pm; edited 1 time in total

chavamom

Thu, Jan 27 2011, 4:31 pm

If it's the teacher's unions fault for keeping bad teachers in positions they don't qualify for, why are districts in affluent areas successful while ones in lower socio-econmic areas are failing (on the whole)? It's obviously a combination of factors.

chavamom

Thu, Jan 27 2011, 4:37 pm

OK, just to add - I live in a district that was one of the best school districts in the area. It became a failing district in the 70's and 80's WITH THE SAME TEACHERS. What happened? "White flight", affluent, educated parents moved out and kids from the 'hood moved in.

MommyZ

Thu, Jan 27 2011, 4:37 pm

chavamom wrote:

I agree

yummymummy

Thu, Jan 27 2011, 4:44 pm

chavamom wrote:

Sometimes teachers' expectations as well as their lessons are negatively effected by their clientele. The same teacher might expect more from a certain group of students and push them to excel while writing off another group of students and not even bothering to extend the effort needing to motivate them to learn. Otherwise how do you explain how a failing school/class is turned around by a new administrator or teacher being brought in?

chavamom

Thu, Jan 27 2011, 5:09 pm

Maybe they movtivate the students or parents to get involved? It's not so easy to say "oh, they expect less". At least locally, there was a significant period where the clientel was very mixed socioeconomically, so they were all sitting in the same classes together.

yummymummy

Thu, Jan 27 2011, 5:42 pm

There are no easy answers to this question. Students, teachers, parents and administrators need to work together to achieve success and everyone needs to accept responsibility and be held accountable for their failings. Only then can the system change.

chavamom

Thu, Jan 27 2011, 5:46 pm

But people are really quick to say "it's the teachers!" There is only so much a teacher can do in 50 minutes a day (if you are talking Jr. High or HS)

yummymummy

Thu, Jan 27 2011, 5:50 pm

chavamom wrote:

But people are really quick to say "it's the teachers!" There is only so much a teacher can do in 50 minutes a day (if you are talking Jr. High or HS)

I completely agree with you. I just get equally upset when the teachers' unions insist on maintaining the tenure and seniority pay scale status quos.

MommyZ

Thu, Jan 27 2011, 5:52 pm

chavamom wrote:

But people are really quick to say "it's the teachers!" There is only so much a teacher can do in 50 minutes a day (if you are talking Jr. High or HS)

There's a reason why I didn't put "blame individual teachers" as an option and blame teachers' unions instead

chavamom

Thu, Jan 27 2011, 6:03 pm

[my mom was a public high school English teacher until last year - I've heard plenty on the topic]

yummymummy

Thu, Jan 27 2011, 6:13 pm

chavamom wrote:

[my mom was a public high school English teacher until last year - I've heard plenty on the topic]

my sister teaches public school, I'm sure they could swap war stories LOL

marina

Thu, Jan 27 2011, 6:26 pm

chavamom wrote:

1. Districts in wealthier areas pay better and consequently have a wider choice of candidates to hire in the first place.

2. Wealthier districts have more money for creative attorneys who will conduct the bargaining, grievances and hearings in a way that allows for less retention of poorly qualified teachers.

Quote:

And that whole pesky IDEA thing where special ed kids now have to be taught together with everyone else and not locked in closets anymore.

chavamom

Thu, Jan 27 2011, 6:43 pm

marina wrote:

chavamom wrote:

1. Districts in wealthier areas pay better and consequently have a wider choice of candidates to hire in the first place.

In some places, yes. Here, the failing districts actually pay better.

Quote:

And that whole pesky IDEA thing where special ed kids now have to be taught together with everyone else and not locked in closets anymore.

Yeah, I guess there is no middle ground between locking them in the closet and being tossed out into the mainstream. [/sarcasm] Class within a class anyone? Extra hours, tutoring and remediation for those with IEP's?

chavamom

Thu, Jan 27 2011, 6:45 pm

BTW - no one has even addressed the issue in the OP. The mother cited safety concerns, not just failing schools. That's a real issue, esp. if you have a school with gangs.

marina

Thu, Jan 27 2011, 6:51 pm

Quote:

Extra hours, tutoring and remediation for those with IEP's?

Not so much in the large districts with huge unions. More so with the smaller wealthier ones with better attorneys. Best of all are often charters. Sorry for being snarky, long day.

emama

Thu, Jan 27 2011, 6:59 pm

I've had my share of blaming teachers who were "teaching" my kids. I too am a teacher, and as much as we can blame the teachers, we need to be realistic and recognize that parents and the general society are the cause of many of the problems in the school today. Take a look at what the kids are bringing to the table. Let's be fair. Teachers (and I don't mean people who have no right being in the classroom) have too many jobs to do. They don't just teach, they have to deal with kids who have no one at home encouraging them, making sure they've done their homework, or that they've eaten, or that they've slept.

Quote:

And that whole pesky IDEA thing where special ed kids now have to be taught together with everyone else and not locked in closets anymore.

And what's this about? Better we should just make them disappear? I don't get what you are saying, but I don't think I like whatever it is.

chavamom

Thu, Jan 27 2011, 7:17 pm

OK, I'll give another example of where I'm coming from. My mother taught in a district that for....um, probably forever....was very homogeneous (majority white, middle class, certain amount of rural students bused in b/c their small towns purchased service rather than open their own small school). Probably 20 years ago a program started where they relocated homeless families from "the city" to an area covered by this district. This district to this day has all the "right" things in place. My mom taught class within a class with 2 special ed. teachers in the room and small class size. She taught the English class where they got 2 hours of Freshman English instead of 1 a day. The kids love her, she makes it interesting, but a lot of these kids come in with a 1st, 2nd, 3rd grade reading level. There is only so much you can do with that when the expectation is to teach them Romeo and Juliet, Great Expectations and 9th grade English grammar (no child left behind!)....and they are going to leave, go home, get no further help and leave their homework in their lockers. Not to mention that a lot of these kids probably had less than ideal environments in utero, might have lived in lead filled homes....I don't think this is a teaching union keep poor teachers in place issue.

marina

Thu, Jan 27 2011, 7:35 pm

emama wrote:

Quote:

And that whole pesky IDEA thing where special ed kids now have to be taught together with everyone else and not locked in closets anymore.

And what's this about? Better we should just make them disappear? I don't get what you are saying, but I don't think I like whatever it is.

Look. I can't. I can't write [sarcasm] [/sarcasm] every time I write a post. It would just cramp my style, see. So you are just going to have to get know me better.

FTR, I taught reg. ed, special ed, worked as school psych and spec. ed director in urban districts.

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