September 16, 2024 • 61 mins
In this episode, Brooke and Sherri conduct an in-depth analysis of the failing Montgomery County Schools system. The discussion emphasizes the necessity for accountability, community involvement, and a focus on educational improvement to secure a better future for students.
• School performance statistics reveal troubling trends
• Critique of Montgomery County Schools' lack of accountability
• Call for increased parental involvement and community action
• Examination of leadership shortcomings in the school system
• Urging listeners to initiate educational reform discussions
• Discussion of methods to better engage with the school system
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
all right, bro, we are live.
Welcome.
Welcome everyone, all of ourlisteners to moco's voice.
Well, mama's voice, and we areon moco's voice with brooke and
sherry.
How you doing over there inthat RV?
Speaker 2 (00:24):
I'm doing good.
I feel like we should startwhere my husband tells me
something is 30 minutes earlierthan what it is, so you should
tell me that our podcasting timeis 6 o'clock until the public
hits 630.
But yeah, we're doing reallywell.
My family does not have toleave the rv.
(00:45):
I'm in my own space right nowand so it's pretty uh awesome to
have 10 whole extra footage oflength to live in.
You start to appreciate thelittle things a whole lot more
in dining home living, so yeah,uh, yeah, being with four of you
all.
Speaker 1 (01:05):
But I'm telling you, I know like that little space
can be very intimate and it canbe, um.
I remember, whenever you know,I got a family of six, um, and
so whenever my babies were there, it was like it was.
I mean, you know, a threebedroom.
We ended up doing four bedrooms.
Eventually, we had fourbedrooms, um, but you know just
(01:27):
that space where you're justintimate and your babies are
there and cuddled up under youand until they get too big to be
under you, and then it's adifferent story yeah, I mean I
grew up in a small house.
Speaker 2 (01:39):
I mean it was like a thousand eleven, a little less
than eleven hundred square feetand there was five of us and, um
, you know, it always felt likenot enough space but I had my
own room.
But I think it comes down to alot of like minimalist stuff
issues, like you know.
And then when we left, we had a3,000 square foot house and so
(02:01):
we went from that to our firstRV was the smallest like on the
market where you could stillhave all of the living features
and we had that based upon whatwe could pull.
And then we went a littlebigger with the motor home when
we had the baby, and then it wasjust like we know we've got to
trade in our vehicle and getsomething that we can pull in a
(02:22):
bit, and get something that wecan pull in a bit.
And while it seems this seems sobig now because we started so
small and uh, I, I will say mykids like never got on my nerves
ever before rv life like I liketreasured I was as a stepmom.
(02:43):
I treasured every second that Igot to get with my, with my
kids, because, you know, sharing.
And then my son.
He used to go visit, like hewould go to school and then he
would go, you know, to hisfamily member's house and stay
overnight and stuff, and so Ialways felt like, and Matt used
(03:03):
to travel for work, and so Iused to feel like we used to
travel for work and so I used tofeel like we never got enough
time as a family and that was areal big motivating factor for
doing this type of living and umbeing on the road, and so now
we have all this time together.
But I will say, like I did judge, probably say at home I'm a
(03:23):
little too harshly, becausebefore I used to think, you know
, oh, it's not hard, like,granted, I still have to work,
and I think that plays a bigfactor in my like, okay, I've
got to get my workout hours in,you know what I mean.
Like somebody's got to come getthis baby, because I got to
work too, you know, and so, butwe moved this week and I did not
(03:43):
do anything when it came tolike the heavy lifting of the
move, like Matt did it all andit was a lot and so I had, I was
like, but still like, so myin-laws were in town, um, but
I'm like somebody did his babylike he's been next to me for 24
hours, you know.
(04:04):
So anyways, it's been aninteresting adjustment, um it's
an interesting lifestyle.
But and then you'd be surprisedat how many people live that
lifestyle, and now all of my 10year olds friends live it too.
So, uh, not all of them, butalmost all of them, and they
(04:25):
they have like their discordchannel and their rv kids and uh
, so they understand each other.
But, like he'll be on, you knowthey say that uh, kids go to
school and tell their teacherseverything right well, how about
being in an rv when you get anew rv and you see your 10 year
(04:45):
old scanning the room to showone of his teachers with his,
with his mat, you know, circlingthe room and showing his
classes new, and so he shows upthe whole house, you know.
Speaker 1 (04:58):
Speaking of that, speaking of classroom schooling,
that just brings us to thepurpose of our show today.
Now, this is a disclaimer.
Okay, so we have to give adisclaimer as it relates to
Montgomery County Schools.
Speaker 2 (05:21):
North Carolina Because there are a lot of
Montgomery County, montgomeryCounty Schools, north Carolina
schools um north carolina,because there are a lot of
mcgovern county mcgovern countyschools, north carolina.
Speaker 1 (05:27):
um, we, I know that we we've had a past, you know,
good and not so good.
So this is not an attempt inorder to um down the school
system in any way.
Um, some of my best friends areteachers.
I know what they say, some ofmy best friends, okay, but it is
(05:50):
going to like some of thisstuff that we're going to be
revealing.
It has to be revealed for thebetterment of our school system.
So it's nothing to shednegative light on the school
system, but it is to so that wecan look at it through
corrective measures, because Ithink we've been glossing over
this for too long.
You know the school.
(06:10):
If you go to a school boardmeeting I'm just personally you
go to a school board meetingthen I mean it's bells and
whistles Brooke.
It's like look what we're doing.
Speaker 2 (06:21):
Yes, oh, the fact that you, the fact that this
most recent board meetingincluded the insanity that it
did, was so shocking, becauseI've always called it a dog and
pony show.
Um, when they just parade thetheir presentations in front of
the um, the board, and this iswhat this school is doing,
(06:45):
that's good, and so this schoolboard meeting is shocking, and
we live in a situation where thelocal media isn't going to
report anything negative.
They literally have a fluffpiece of the same dog and pony
show every week, and what we'rehere to do is not.
I just want to make it clearnone of this is a personal
(07:08):
vendetta.
Like while we, while I was inthe county or the school, no one
like I didn't get fired, like Ididn't, um, no one was
personally against me or mychildren ever, and or my husband
and even the people that we'regoing to uh are mentioned
because they work in for thegovernment.
(07:30):
Make them no mistake.
Like this is governmentemployees doing their job.
That is the education, likeeducating the entire county and
or being in charge of that, andso this isn't a personal attack.
I mean, if anything, I meanthere's going to be people
involved that I had no personalissues with.
Uh, I really was like, reallylike so, and was friends with
(07:55):
some of their family members, um, my matt, um, my husband, you
know, who grew up in montgomerycounty I'm not a native, he the
one of board members that we'regoing to talk he really liked
that school board member as hisbaseball coach, that school
board member's son that now hasa county admin role.
He liked playing baseball withhim.
(08:17):
That was his friend.
But the issue is not that wedon't like these people.
This isn't some.
Let's go after them becauseBrooke Crump doesn't like these
people.
This isn't some.
Let's go after them becausebrooke doesn't like them.
I really have zero negativeinteractions with these people
at all.
It's just when you listen andsee these things and you have
seen them in the perspective ofbeing a teacher and you've seen
(08:39):
them in this perspective ofbeing a parent, and then now I'm
seeing it as a perspective ofyou know, we've had teachers
contact us but they, they're tooscared.
There are former county officeadministrator, former
administrators, that wanted totalk, but then they just they're
scared of their current jobsecurity, right, right.
(09:00):
And so you know, even if it'sgoing to be off the record, they
originally I've had someone whorecently was terminated from
Montgomery County reach out tome.
They wanted to talk aboutMontgomery County, not the
school system, but they'rescared of the retaliation.
I won't get into all the detailsof that crazy request, but
anyways, the point of it is isthat this is not because I am
(09:25):
free you are there but forSherry, all good is got God over
.
God's protection is over.
You're right with the Lord.
I mean, you know I got somework to do with that.
It's above me, it's above, yeah, it's above.
He's got you protected.
But I'm gone and like me andhis rv, like we can go.
(09:48):
You know what I'm saying.
So they ain't got the point andI'm gonna say what I'm gonna
say.
And that was kind of uh, theywanted brooke crump to shut up,
because crump is not an idiot,right, right and um, she has
things to say that I don't want.
Whenever we you know, I, ifanyone who saw McGurk's voice
(10:12):
posted about some particularlydisturbing comments that were
made in the most recent Board ofEducation meeting.
Yes, none of that, none of,were um brought, brought to
light, because we have avendetta against anyone involved
.
We don't.
So I think that's justimportant to say.
So let's jump in talk.
(10:33):
Can you tell um why thisparticular meeting was important
?
Speaker 1 (10:37):
talk about that, okay , so it is the end of the year
review, right, for the 23-24school year of Montgomery County
Schools in North Carolina.
And the reason why this inparticular, was very important
to me is because there isthere's this sense of we have
(11:02):
some failing schools inMontgomery County.
Right, let's just put it out onthe table.
There are some really good, youknow, really high scoring
schools, such as the earlycollege, which is at 97%.
Right, so they are doing itover there.
They've gotten acknowledgementout of, not even statewide, but
(11:22):
nationally, have beenacknowledged.
So Montgomery County EarlyCollege is at the top, right, so
there are, you know, they're atthe top of the top.
Well, we also have in the sameschool district, we have a
school performing at 38%.
Performing at 38%, that's anelementary school.
(11:51):
Okay, now, that school wentfrom around 52% down to 35, I
think 38% somewhere in that, inproficiency.
What does that mean?
That means that almost 70% ofthose students are failing.
Okay, that's what it means.
All right, about 65.
We'll say 65.
So about 65% of those studentsare failing.
(12:14):
Now, that should bring up redflags there, right?
So with me, so well.
So what I'm saying is is thatit is I'm glad that that early
college is doing as well asthey're doing.
We do have some other schoolsthat are at the C's I think it
(12:35):
is, I might be D.
Well, no, no, as a matter offact, we do have some D's.
We have that one A which isearly college, and then we have
some C's, some D's, and then wehave right, I'm not quite sure,
let me bring it up real quick,but looking at that Brooke, it
is like whenever at this, Ineeded to see at this meeting
(12:59):
what is going to be donedifferently is going to be done
differently.
Speaker 2 (13:06):
Okay, I think you also need to point out that the
the scores dropped, and not onlythat, the growth dropped.
It's not about whether or notkids are passing the tests,
because in a title one school ordistrict, right, that is
unlikely right to be across theboard, but at the same time
their growth dramaticallydropped.
It can't happen.
But they're going to use thatexcuse, right, like they are who
(13:27):
they are and that is what it is.
And they did have a lot ofexcuses and I think that what's
important is that the board hadsome questions and so if, and
looking at so, mount gilliamount gillia elementary is now
um, they're the F school.
Speaker 1 (13:46):
Okay, out of the county.
35%.
Speaker 2 (13:48):
But also West Middle School has been at the-.
Speaker 1 (13:52):
That's what I'm getting ready to say.
If you look at our Ds WestMiddle School, they're a D and
they've been failing, lowperforming, for the past seven
years.
Speaker 2 (14:05):
Brooke and and the person who is the person in the
county office in charge ofdeputy of superintendent of
learning.
Who was that?
That's wade allman, and we canyou yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah he
told me um did he was whenever.
I mean, I think it's importantto know that when the seven
(14:26):
years that West Middle has beenlow performing and so that would
be starting in 2017, right,right exactly did Wade Allman,
when I know that they were, thiswas their seventh year.
And why is that important?
Speaker 1 (14:48):
Well, which is something, because in the
meeting it was one of the schoolboard members.
We actually need to listenbecause it's going to bring a
lot of clarity to what we'retalking about talking about.
(15:09):
So, going back, so our otherD's in the county if I'm not
mistaken, we have Green Ridge,kander and Page Street.
Now, this came from a boardmember, so these are our D
schools.
Then we have three C schools,so East Middle last year they
did score D but they're up forthis year with a C now.
(15:30):
So that's East Middle, starElementary and then the high
school, central, ok, and then,our A is the early college.
Speaker 2 (15:41):
Now.
So the growth?
I mean we need to talk aboutMontgomery Central High.
The biggest issue there whilethere, see it, was growth not
met.
They did not grow and thegrowth is such a is what honest
the teachers are evaluated on,the schools are evaluated on as
far as some of these otherschools, schools Montgomery
County Early College exceeded it.
(16:02):
Schools in Montgomery CountyEarly College exceeded it.
Right, you've got West Middle,who's a D and they met it, but
they did not exceed Troy AllenMentory.
They did not have statisticsyet released for that, which was
interesting, although Star,they met their growth.
And then Page Street sorry, theone that the main is not met
(16:27):
was mount gilead.
They neither.
They got an app and they didnot meet growth.
Speaker 1 (16:32):
Right, and so we've had a lot of conversations, okay
okay, so I understand growthand all of that, but this is my
thing.
Okay, this is my thing.
You do the people so brooke, Ican say that I'm getting ready
to drive from Troy to Bisco,okay, and so that is my, that's
(16:53):
my whole objective, that's mygoal.
Well, I get out the door, I goout the door and I make it to
the stoplight, or I'll make itout there to 2427 at the highway
.
I'm not there yet, but I'vegrown right from my house to
that highway.
I'm on my way, but slowly butsurely I'm making it there.
(17:17):
But this is the thing.
I'm not going to sit up hereand celebrate with all these
bells and whistles Yay, lookwhat I did.
I made it to the highway.
Like I mean, come on now.
Yeah, I grew and yeah, I'mfurther than where I was.
But at what point are we goingto stop celebrating these little
(17:38):
bitty things and say, look, weneed to make it to Bisco.
Speaker 2 (17:43):
They're not even doing that this year, so we're
not.
They're not even making it tothe highway, like their clunker
is sitting in the yard, right,like it didn't get started, it
is broke down, and so that's wehave to clarify for the
listeners that you understandand you want to calculate, and
you want to see these studentsnot just grow but excel, right,
(18:04):
okay, well, you want them tomake it all the way to pisco.
Well, honey, they've been they.
They're not making it to thehighway, no more.
And so we got to talk aboutthat, because if you're getting
worse and your county office isnot only the same, it's the same
county office officials,they're just getting more money
(18:26):
and they're getting higherpositions and they're all
related.
Multiple individuals in thecounty office are related to one
school board member.
It's shocking that the chairmanof the board.
Speaker 1 (18:40):
The chairman of the board.
Speaker 2 (18:42):
The chairman of the board is the direct, the
father-in-law and the father oftwo people in the county office
who are and they aremind-blowingly failing at their
jobs.
What do you, what are you goingto do, to improve Multiple
(19:03):
times Mr Allman, who is not adoctor?
Some of these people are DrEllis, dr Legrand, who's back
after getting fired from anotherschool district, has come back
to Montgomery County, and thenDr Jack is Jack Cagle Dr?
Yes, he's a talk about thepeople that are actually
certified superintendents versusthe ones who have a
(19:27):
superintendent license.
Wade Allman does not have asuperintendent license yet he is
a superintendent of learningfor Montgomery County Schools,
but he's also the son-in-law ofSteve DeBerry.
Interestingly enough, steveDeBerry, his daughter-in-law,
was a teacher not so long ago,but apparently he's divorced
(19:50):
from the director of technology.
Uh, his son, who was overtransportation for a couple of
years, just got a promotion inthe board meeting.
No one referred him for thatjob.
The job did not exist prior tothat the assistant director of
technology and so they created aposition for him and no one
(20:13):
recommended him for it, and hedoes not have any my knowledge
of any credentialscertifications in the school.
His ex-wife was a teacher, um,but she got the boot.
So wait on them.
Stay tight with your wife ifyou want to keep your big bad
job, because Steve Dayberry drop.
It's like a hot on the anyways.
(20:36):
Just kidding, I don't know,maybe she left on her own accord
.
Whatever, anyways, point of itis is that this position wait on
me does have the license for it.
He doesn't really have theeducation for it.
And when asked what to do onhow to improve his job Wade, I
think you're a handsome man,this is not personal towards you
you said I don't know, I don'tknow, I don't know, I don't know
.
And on top of that, when askedwell, what's going wrong?
(20:59):
Montgomery, early memory, um,early college, or they're doing
so well, and why are they doingwell?
And the uh, high school isn't.
What is the high school notdoing?
And um said well, you know thepain, it's the parent.
The parents don't care, they'renot going to parent nights and
(21:19):
they don't.
They only see the early collegeis academic, they only care
about.
If it's a football game, thenwhy did you invest a million
dollars into the football field?
If you are concerned about thegrowth, you have an $800,000
Jumbotron that you, your schoolsystem, mr, miss, dr Ellis, and
incorporated.
Then they've said that you know, oh well, part of it came from
(21:44):
a donation.
You, the county, still gave youfour hundred thousand dollars
for that, and on top of thatthat donation could have went.
You'd be like, hey, we needteachers.
Um, in a low performing school,the state actually specifies
that teachers are supposed to begetting a duty-free lunch.
We were low performing well, weactually met growth or
something.
But when, at west middle, whenwe were there, um, well, we
actually met growth or something.
(22:04):
But at West Middle, when wewere there, it's actually the
year it started, the year that Ileft.
Then you and I are not part ofthe West Middle, but see, going
back there, going back there.
Speaker 1 (22:18):
Brooke, even looking at, I'm going to tell you one of
the one of our greatestsetbacks is that that I'm going
to just say that Dale Ellis, drDale Ellis, he, whenever he
takes things personal, he, hegoes after you.
He made sure, even after youwent after me.
(22:41):
But I mean, I'm just because,even whenever.
So my history is whenever,whenever, whenever I was working
there, I ended up leaving atthe end of 2015 at West Middle.
I ended up leaving at the endof 2015 at West Middle and my
scores were good.
I don't know what them jokerswas out there talking about, I
don't know, but I was thereduring the time of.
Speaker 2 (23:04):
You need to say what you're talking about.
I know what you're talkingabout when you say them jokers.
They sent an email threateningto release your scores, right.
Speaker 1 (23:11):
Yeah, and release them.
We can release them today.
Right, yeah, and release them,they can release them today.
You see what I'm saying.
So, so at the end of 2015, Iended up early retiring because
I knew one I was getting readyto run for mayor.
Another thing is is that I feltmuzzled.
I felt like I could notadvocate for the students.
Speaker 2 (23:35):
You really did.
You don't have a job, Sherry.
Speaker 1 (23:38):
Right, and I did have a job and you said I can't do
this.
God's got me Exactly.
And so and I'm a child I waslike God got me, my bills got me
, I love it.
He got me baby.
I, if I got to depend onMontgomery County schools to
live, ain't going to happen.
But so whenever, at the end of2015, dr Lancaster himself
(24:04):
because I am certified to be aprincipal, I have my principal's
license, I've been in educationfor 20 something years, and so
Dr Lancaster did come, he satwith me over at West Middle and
was like okay, what can?
we do for you, to get you tostay.
You know, do you want aposition?
Do you want this?
Speaker 2 (24:19):
And I'm like no, so after that he was just the same
way with me when I left.
He said this is the first timeI'm hearing of this Right.
Speaker 1 (24:27):
So, mr McMillan Mr McMillan, you know he said okay,
sherry, let's work this out.
Speaker 2 (24:34):
The West middle principal that they fired and
just yanked out of school.
Speaker 1 (24:38):
Right, they did, still without explanation.
If they want to talk about himsleeping with somebody, they got
to go and clear the whole house, cause a lot of y'all out there
sleeping with each other.
Don't go there with me, solisten.
So whenever Dr McMillan wasthere, he said Sherry, let's do
a contract you come in and youdo tutoring in the morning time,
(25:02):
right?
So if you come in, you dotutoring for the students
because we want to make surethat our math scores are up,
okay?
So we had that agreement.
All of that.
That was done.
So they ended up firing DrMcMillan.
Whenever they fired Dr McMillan, I started speaking out.
I was like y'all need to likethis, whatever.
(25:25):
Y'all got going on.
Y'all got going on and yourdaughter protested and she did,
and it was like this is notendangering the students.
Speaker 2 (25:33):
These students love this man, like he is really
doing well with these students,and so this was my favorite
protest ever to see studentssitting outside of the classroom
, yes, protesting, and then whenthe teacher or the they went,
got the admin came down.
You were.
You had left at this point so Iwitnessed it and I had happened
(25:54):
to be down on your daughter'shall because I had it was my
planning period and I went tovisit my friend and the kids
were protesting, using theirdude, I mean exercising their,
their right to that, which Ithought was amazing and the
admin said you know, go back tothis class.
They're right to that, which Ithought was amazing.
(26:15):
And the admin said you know, goback to this class or go home.
And one of the protesters waswith your daughter, was like my
grandma is not going to be happywith this, I'm out.
And so she left and you pickedJoy up and was.
I was like you, were like youdid the right thing and I was
like I had not started using myvoice yet.
My voice was muffled.
(26:37):
My voice had we would, I wouldexpress my concerns to you and
be like what's going on here,like this is insane.
My first day, my second day onthe job, dr Ellis comes in and I
know some teachers that do havea recording of this.
I don't but screamed.
(26:57):
It was like my second day andyour second day at the school,
coming back from Raleigh, movingyou know on wake, screaming,
red-faced, mad, put a little bitof a list of every teacher who
had moved their child to acharter school, screaming about
the score, test scores.
(27:18):
And I remember him saying okay,okay, and was there?
Like I mean, what was I goingto do about last year's scores?
Like I wasn't there.
You know, I mean it was reallycrazy because there's a whole
lot of new teachers in the roomand you know it was really crazy
.
Like what's going on here.
And it's interesting that ateacher has reached out.
(27:42):
People don't realize that afterevery show that someone went in,
the system contacts you becauseyou're the cop to my bad, you
because you're the good cop tomy bad, um, and and says you
know, I was at that same meetingwith dr.
Uh, ellis comes around everyyear, then he does what he does.
This year he, because he wassupposed to be retiring, read a
(28:05):
poem about not blaming others.
He wasn't going to blame anyone, there was no blame game.
But boy did mr allman miss outon that conversation, although
dr ellis backed him up in theblame game when talking to the
board because but that thatwould be asked questions like
what is?
We got the recording?
(28:26):
You want to play the recording?
Yeah, let's go specifically toum you, there's so many hot
spots, go ahead.
There's one I'm going to getsuper big mad about, but that's
it, just one.
Speaker 1 (28:41):
Okay, you said okay, you have one opportunity to get
upset, but after that, you knowJust one time am I going to get
mad For women everywhere.
Speaker 2 (28:51):
You said for what?
Speaker 1 (28:52):
What is it For women everywhere, women everywhere.
Okay, for mothers, because thisis mama's voice are you able to
hear me?
(29:14):
you're gonna have to beat youcompletely all right, are you
able to hear me now?
All right, let's do this realquick.
Thank y'all for being patientfor the listeners, um, so let's
(29:35):
listen, because this is aconversation, um, regarding
accountability and it was led byone of the school board members
and let's see.
It should be coming up.
Are you able to hear it, brooke?
(30:02):
All right, it should be comingnow.
So, brooke, while it's comingup now, now, what part do you
feel like you got you were themost upset about?
Speaker 3 (30:25):
um let's see okay, we can do everything in the world
for a kid, but whenever they goto class and they don't have the
same type of structure, theydon't have the same kind of
encouragement and motivation, itmakes it very difficult for
what we're doing.
Speaker 4 (30:40):
Because there's got to be a reason, a reason why.
Speaker 1 (30:45):
Who is that speaking?
Early college is amazing.
This is Brian Dozier.
Speaker 4 (30:49):
Early school in Montgomery Central.
Well, if you show up late in acollege class, if you get too
many of those, you're going toend up failing.
So they know that from the verybeginning.
So I think that if they startthat in ninth grade, taking
their first college class, andthere's also that parent piece.
I think that you know Dr Sewelldoes a good job of bringing in
(31:11):
those parents at the verybeginning so that student
accountability is also with theparents.
Well, what is Dr Sewell doingto get the parents involved,
that the high school is not?
Speaker 1 (31:24):
doing that Montgomery Center is not doing.
Speaker 3 (31:28):
She's not doing anything different, it's just
the parents are coming to itversus the high school and,
honestly, I don't know anythingother than to say-.
Speaker 4 (31:37):
No one.
Speaker 3 (31:37):
They'll show up for a football game.
Speaker 4 (31:38):
They'll show up yeah, but in the early college.
Speaker 3 (31:41):
You think the parents have a different-.
I think that they see the earlycollege as more academic and
they see the high school as moreathletic.
Cuz, they will show up in afootball game, but they will not
show up for a parent conferenceat the high school.
I mean, if you go, if you wantto see something that shows you
a parent involvement, go to thehigh school on a parent
conference night.
(32:01):
You'll hear crickets in thehall.
Speaker 2 (32:06):
That's a nice school, we having crickets bugs already
now.
Speaker 1 (32:12):
That's interesting in so many different levels, but
I'm gonna let you deal with thatjust for a little bit.
Speaker 2 (32:19):
Um, there's a I think that speaks for itself.
I don't even know if we need todig into that, because I think
right now, um, if you could goto um in the transcript.
So y'all, we don't play.
Let's just clarify that IfBrooke Crump or Sherry Allgood
types, excuse me or talkssomething, it's going to be
(32:43):
facts, right, that's all thereis to it, because we do not take
someone's hearsay or whateverand go with it.
You didn't go and sit here andwrite down and scribble notes,
like miss tammy dunn does you.
You got it from from theirhorse's mouth, right, and you
didn't just scribble it for me.
(33:05):
I you know we've got thetranscript and so I can tell you
right now that if you go to uh,part two, um, uh, conversation,
wade Allman and we go to eightminutes and 22 seconds, that can
you go to that part?
Speaker 1 (33:23):
I'm not sure, because I what I did was I have it on,
based upon accountability.
Now let's listen to this, let'ssee or 743.
Speaker 3 (33:35):
One of the school systems weaknesses is the
teachers not holding themaccountable.
(33:58):
I don't necessarily say that.
I wouldn't say that it's theteachers holding them
accountable, because they stilldo, you know, do referrals and
all that kind of stuff, but it'sjust getting them to understand
the importance of being inclass.
I mean, you know, they mightspend a few extra minutes out in
the hall talking to theirfriends because they see that as
more valuable, or they stay outin the hall on their phone a
(34:21):
little while longer because theyknow when they go in the
classroom they're gonna gettheir phone taken if they try to
take it out in class.
There's a lot of differentthings with that, but it's just
holding kids accountable.
And making them responsible isdifficult, specifically in
today's you know climate.
Let's pause there.
Speaker 2 (34:44):
Apparently, the early college students don't like
their phones as much as the highschool bones, as much as the,
uh, the, the high school.
I want to point out that I hadno.
I've noticed a recent trendthat the valedictorians of their
class are not admitted to earlycollege.
Um, why do I know that?
(35:06):
I know the personally and therelatives of somebody I know
personally, for one of the yearsI taught was the highest
students and then one of myrelatives will be valedictorian
of their senior year and theywere not admitted to the early
college.
And so you're telling me thatif they went to the early
(35:29):
college they wouldn't be ontheir phones.
As a parent of a kid who wentto early college, they, the
early college, didn't care abouttheir phone, they weren't about
that life of taking theirphones right, they, they, I mean
they did not interfere withtheir studies like we're adults.
I think that we need torecognize that when you put
these children, even in abeautiful prison, the prettiest
(35:51):
prison at all I mean, guantanamobay is a breathtaking
background, right, but they'restill in prison and um, when you
are in prison and you'retreated as such, that we're in a
world where we have to have ourphones, right, and that's just
what it is like as a teacherwhen, uh, some students one of
(36:13):
the students, like got mad aboutsomething and emailed my sixth
grade student, so a 10 year oldemailed the principal and told
him I was on my phone.
Well, they were presentingtheir projects and I was
emailing comments to theteachers or to the parents about
their kids doing well orwhatever about their projects,
because we're required to givefeedback.
(36:34):
Right, and this was an easy wayfor me to do that while I was
facilitating them presentingtheir presentations, like, and
to become told that I'm agrown-up, that I shouldn't be on
my phone and that this 10 yearold should say, when I'm on my
phone, or not, to not trust aprofessional I mean the
principal, I mean it was, it wasmax, so he was just like you
(36:55):
know.
But their whole thing is let'splease these 10 year olds.
Right, you've got 10 year oldsthat want to talk.
They want to talk aboutaccountability.
When you go in and you tell abrine dozer, you go in and tell
the teacher to change yourchild's grade, which you did,
right, right, let's talk aboutaccountability.
You took a first year teacher.
She's good, a great teacher.
(37:16):
I'm not gonna lie like I'veseen her every single bit of
material.
I think she had the best ofintentions I think, she wanted
to be a good teacher.
You know, I think she had thebest of intentions, but I do not
think that they did not giveher the resources or got her
enough in what she should beteaching and through a
first-year teacher like jello onthe wall to see what stuff
(37:36):
brian wasn't happy about.
Speaker 1 (37:38):
They don't know what you're talking about, like you
gotta name a teacher's name.
Speaker 2 (37:42):
You know what I'm saying?
Okay, so brian dozier had ateacher kid had a teacher who
was a first-year teacher and, um, when the brian dozier didn't
like his child's grade went andhad them change it, right Now
were you there whenever thathappened.
And so I will say that is onething, but I've heard it from
two different people.
No, no, I was there Because ofjournalism.
No, no, no, I was there.
(38:03):
I know you told me about that,but I wasn't going to make you
talk about your bestie like that.
Speaker 1 (38:11):
No, no, no.
But for real, like I was, I wasactually firsthand.
I saw them go in there and theteacher came out in tears.
Now, he was on the school boardduring that time as well, and
the teacher was in tears and shewas like I'm not going to
change uh, you know, um, brianDozier's son's grade, I'm not
(38:36):
going to do it.
And he the principal duringthat time said well, I'll do it,
because the teacher said I'mnot going to do it.
And so that's what ended up.
And I was the first.
That was the first.
That ain't something that Iheard, it's something that I was
there to witness.
Speaker 2 (38:51):
But looking at that, okay, so you were the for the
year before I.
Could I keep forgetting?
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I was thereto witness, but looking at that,
you were there the year beforeI keep forgetting.
Speaker 1 (38:56):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I was there Now.
Listen to this real quick,though, brooke.
Listen to what it said.
Speaker 3 (39:01):
Holding kids accountable and making them
responsible is difficult,specifically in today's you know
climate.
Some of them want to help theCal I didn't want to go there
but that's why I was like youknow, we because so so he goes
(39:25):
back.
Speaker 1 (39:26):
This is.
This is dr ellis, who told histeachers do not do the blame
game right?
Speaker 2 (39:34):
no blaming, the whole poem because he was on his way
out.
He was feeling good andfootloose and fancy free.
Speaker 1 (39:41):
I don't know about that, bro.
Speaker 2 (39:43):
He had a picture, uh, celebrating his retirement 50
and free.
Make pearly, pearl, pearl yearwhere his he has a residence.
He has the residence of agar,montgomery County and apparently
has a condo at the beach.
Make Pearl year great again.
Just funny, cute.
I say make stuff great again.
(40:04):
It's ironic all the time I feltgood for you because he's
retiring.
He was feeling good in June,sherry he was retiring.
Speaker 1 (40:13):
That's was feeling good in June, sherry, he was
retiring.
I didn't.
I?
That's my first that I heardabout some retirement party, bro
, I don't.
Oh, it's just online it's.
Speaker 2 (40:22):
I mean, I can send you a picture if you want to put
it on the screen.
I mean he has a fun hat on.
There's some people from thecounty office there like I mean,
it was nothing, just a socialevent, a birthday party or no, I
don't know retirement party,but either way it's just a
unrelated to no.
There's no, I'm not knockingthe party, you know what I'm
(40:43):
saying.
Like, I'm just saying that hewas feeling good so he was going
out with being nice to thoseteachers, but now he's under
fire and I think there's a alarmgoing off somewhere in the
camera.
But there's, I can hear abuzzer like a.
It just went off that's allspeculation, brooke.
Speaker 1 (41:08):
It's all speculation.
I saw the picture.
Well, what I'm saying is wedon't know.
He may have been retiring fromsomething I don't know, but at
the same rate it is.
Speaker 2 (41:22):
His contract is expired and it was known in the
community that he was retiring.
He sold his home, that's publicrecord.
Speaker 1 (41:30):
Okay, that's probably right.
Speaker 2 (41:31):
So this is another thing, though, but if you look
at, Like, his family moved likeyou know know, and they're still
together.
So I mean he's I think he hasprobably has a great
relationship with his wife.
He gave her a lot of jobs overthe years I I, I, I think
(41:53):
they're fun.
Good, stop.
I mean, I probably in anotherlife might have had a drink with
them, you know.
Speaker 1 (41:59):
I'm missing here now you just be, you be, I'm not
insulting.
They gave his wife a lot ofjobs.
You don't like when people cutyou deep, brooke, stop it.
Stop it, indeed, okay, go aheadI thought that was being nice,
be nice.
Speaker 2 (42:14):
Be nice.
Dr Dale Ellis has never beenanything but nice to me, so I'm
not being rude.
Speaker 1 (42:18):
Well, so what?
So we look at focus here Arethese low performing schools.
Speaker 2 (42:26):
Well, I will say well .
I would like to get to a pointthat involves curriculum and a
part where they ask and I don'tknow if you are going to find it
and we can tell our listenerswe'll put a Google drive with
some of the highlights, hotclips and transcripts for them
to go look for themselves.
They've heard it from WadeAllman's mouth.
Now what we say is true, likewe didn't just come up with this
(42:48):
.
We're not putting words intotheir mouths.
The board member's voice thatasked have you considered going
to another school that's similarto ours in demographics and
seeing what they're doing?
Well, and it's like well, mrBoard Member, you've been on
(43:10):
this board for decades and thisis the first time that you're
thinking of suggesting this.
Speaker 1 (43:15):
No, no, no, that wasn't the first.
As a matter of fact, lastyear's end of year review, that
same thing was asked and, as amatter, they also reported that
they did go through and visitother schools.
Now this is the thing and I,and because we we're almost time
(43:36):
to go, but my question is thishow long right are we going to
continue putting up withsubstandard, substandard?
How long are we going to dothis?
Because if you look at thereviews and you look at, if you
(44:01):
are evaluating this currentadministration for Montgomery
County and it's not I'm nottrying to down them in any way,
(44:23):
but at the same rate, we got Idon't know what to do, but I'm
not, I'm not giving their job4,000 students that are
depending on this school systemfor education.
West care has closed down, sotherefore, those students are
coming in.
You got some, some things thatwere happening over at Tillery
(44:44):
Charter School.
Those students was coming backinto Montgomery.
Speaker 2 (44:47):
The person who created it since her school, the
Montgomery County Schools.
Speaker 1 (44:53):
Okay, thank you, but at the same rate is what I'm
saying, brooke.
Speaker 2 (44:58):
This administration is not giving our students what
they don't know how and theyshouldn't have to go ask other
schools what they're doing to besuccessful.
They should be hiring peoplethat know what to do to be
successful.
They shouldn't just give theirsons jobs and say, go ask other
schools what to do.
I don't know.
They go and do it sorry.
Speaker 1 (45:19):
What's happening is is they're going back and they
are.
They are hiring people thatjust don't know that are
building the plane as they areflying it and it's not working
because they don't have pilot'slicenses, right?
So this is what I'm saying isthat it is so.
It's so evident that they don'tknow what they're doing.
(45:39):
It is also evident that wedon't know who we're voting into
these positions, like we reallydo not understand the
importance of the school board.
Now I'm going to tell you oneperson that I'm not pleased with
on that school board.
As much as I love her I'm sureshe may be a sister in Christ
(46:02):
but Ann Evans has reallydisappointed me.
She has really disappointed mebecause as a teacher, a career
teacher, I would have thoughtthat she would come in willing
to speak on behalf of theteacher.
Say it again I personally toldher to teacher for the position
say it again, I personally toldher to apply for the position.
Speaker 2 (46:22):
Why urged um?
Because I thought she was anadvocate and I thought she was
stood for some of the thingsthat I did and had conversations
, but got in there with themgood old boys see them in the
role well, nope, she got inthere with them, good old boys,
see them in the role?
Speaker 1 (46:38):
well, nope, she got in there with them, good old
boys, and it's so evident thatduring that end of year I
question Brian.
Now I do commend Brian Dozierbecause he asked the right
question, that's a lot for menow.
Y'all listen.
Now, when I'm wrong, I'm wrong.
I will say, and whenever.
I even apologized to Dale Ellisone time, right, because I was
(47:01):
like, okay, look, you know,please forgive me, just know my
heart.
It's about the children goingback.
Brian Dozier asked the rightquestions.
That's why I was like, wait,who was that?
But this is a thing, this is athing that I do.
What point do you do somethingabout it?
Right, he asked the rightquestions, but he didn't know
(47:22):
enough to to know that they weregiving him the wrong answers.
Speaker 2 (47:26):
Well, he wouldn't even clarify and I think that
one time that it's reallyimportant to and then we can
even wrap up with this.
The most important thing thatwas in that he said well, let me
ask this question and agreethat it's important.
It is bearing out in testing,because are we testing that
reading part?
Then we are in math part, which, again, the scores were
(47:48):
released.
You can look at that, butwhatever.
So he asked because Mr Allmansaid that there wasa reading
curriculum for Montgomery, thatNorth Carolina provides reading
curriculum, but North Carolinadoes not provide these schools
any math curriculum.
And I'm going to say right nowthat I know schools that have
(48:10):
curriculum.
Ok, I'm just going to say it.
It might not be approved orstandardized across North
Carolina.
Speaker 1 (48:14):
Or standardized across North Carolina I happen
to know that point of it is isthat he said he went over and
over and over, saying well, wedon't have math curriculum and
that's this down the state level, right, this, no, no, the state
(48:34):
provides step-by-step, it hasits own standards that you can
go, that you can go day by day,by day.
Following that unpacking iswhat they call it, that document
.
So it's not like he can reallysay oh, we don't have a math
curriculum, so that's why mathscores are down.
(48:55):
But Brian Dozier was like well,what's the problem?
We're reading.
If that's your excuse for math,well, he didn't actually he.
Speaker 2 (49:02):
He said he asked him.
That would have been important.
But he said well, well, and hemight have been asking a
rhetorical question because heknew the answer.
But he said let me ask andagree that it's ported are we
testing better in reading thanwe are in math?
And then this is what hisanswer was yeah.
And by him I mean mr allman.
Yeah, it does vary by gradelevel.
It just depends.
It does.
(49:23):
I mean, you'll see, you'll, youknow, and knowing all the
individual teachers, you can seethe discrepancies in there.
I'm not going to talk names,but we had a fourth grade ela
teacher at one school thatmissed the last two months at
the of the school year becauseshe had breast cancer breast
Breast cancer.
There was a significant impactof those kids' proficiency on
that test.
(49:43):
You know, you have a teacherthat goes out on maternity leave
.
They're gone for two months orgone for 12 weeks or whatever it
is.
That has a significant impactbecause there's not a certified,
licensed teacher in thereteaching those kids and it has a
major impact.
And those are things we don'treally have control over and you
know, looking at it, it varies.
(50:05):
And then, uh, dozier comes backand says if the reading part as
paid by numbers, and then hesaid um, and he clarifies and
said you didn't answer myquestion at some point vaguely.
But let me just come back tosay that there are shame on you
and you should have beenterminated on the spot because
(50:27):
you have closed board, setmember sessions to discuss human
resource contra or issues withyour teachers and their leave
and the reasons for leave.
You specifically stated anelementary fourth grade teacher
that was out on cancer leave.
There's only so many schools inthis county and that is.
I could very easily I don'tknow be narrowed down, but the
(50:49):
fact that you published thatinformation should have been
immediately fireable, in myopinion, in open session and
that you blame.
You didn't answer the question,sir.
You answered.
He was asking you is readingbetter than math?
And you went on to say well,you know reading's bad because
the teacher had cancer.
Well, and then you saymaternity leaves was what's that
(51:12):
got to do with it as mothers?
Shame on you because guess,teachers are primarily women and
are at some of their teachersduring their childbearing years
and they're going to at somepoint need to go out and have a
baby and the fact that you puttheir scores on them and you
don't have a retired qualifiedteacher or some situation set up
(51:33):
for a teacher to come in thatthe teacher has to worry about
that.
Their teacher is going to teachon a team Because my child was
my son.
I was taught with a TV in oneclassroom and the teacher has to
worry about that.
Their teacher is going to teachon a team because my child was
my stepchild, was taught with atv in one classroom and the
teacher had to do both.
And I know in instances when Ihad taught the entire sixth
grade because the teacher wasliterally how was high the whole
year and then they fired her,but not after the kids didn't
(51:53):
get any ela education they tookme a second year teacher and
said teach them ela please.
They don't have more money toteach the entire, the entire
grade.
Right, and you're going toblame a, a mother uh for giving
maternity leave and a teacher, awoman for their cancer.
Shame on you, because in noworld do you make those
(52:15):
statements about women in anopen session.
If you want want to talk aboutyour contract, you go up in
closed session.
So why does that teacher notget that same respect?
Speaker 1 (52:24):
Well, and this is a thing.
So it goes back, brooke, itgoes back.
Going back to the blame game isgoing back to the answer.
So the thing is is that what?
What has to be taken intoaccount is that the
administration that is inMontgomery County school system
(52:45):
right now there are those thatare in those classrooms and even
principals that are wellqualified to be in that county
office.
Right, they're well qualifiedto be over curriculum and
instruction.
Speaker 2 (53:00):
But they're in other counties doing the job.
Speaker 1 (53:02):
Right, so they're well qualified.
But what's happening is is thatDr Ellis is handpicking, making
up jobs, doing all this otherstuff, and in the meantime our
students are suffering becauseand our teachers are suffering
because the teachers don't havethe support that is needed.
Then it's going to the.
(53:23):
They're pointing the fingers atthe principals and the
principal is like listen, y'allgot my hands tied because I can
do what y'all doing, but y'allover here don't know the answers
to nothing.
I'm going to tell you this andwe get ready to go, but in that
school board meeting in that endof year, the amount of
information, disinformation,misinformation that came out of
(53:46):
Dale Ellis and Wade Allman'smouth was just horrible.
And the thing is is that theschool board was just taking
what they were saying as if itwas true.
No research, no, they ain'teven looking up nothing.
My thing is they say okay, evenBrian Dozier, okay, brian, I got
to come at you on this one.
(54:07):
He asked what is a SIP?
What's a SIP?
It's school improvement.
You've been on this schoolboard for how long?
And you don't know theseacronyms just yet.
What is wrong here?
My thing is is that if you'regoing to be on the school board.
At least do some research, havesome type of education your own
(54:27):
self, so that whenever DaleEllis and Wade Allman is just
talking out of the side of theirneck, you can call him out for
it.
They send them just oh, really,oh, yeah, oh, is that right?
You should know that you can goto google.
You can google why, you, thequestions that they ask, and
they can go on google and findthose same, that same
information.
Speaker 2 (54:48):
and I'm listen, okay the voters needed to hear that.
That's all the voters need tohear, remember.
But no, here's the thing youcan't vote when there's no
options right, and when Sherry,all good, put her name on the
ballot because she is willing toask the hard questions and she
has.
Speaker 1 (55:09):
They don't want me on there, but the point of it is.
They never choose analternative they want a yes boy
and Ann Evans has become a goodgirl.
Alternative they want a yes boy, right, and Ann Evans have
become a good girl.
Shame on it.
If anybody I'm not goingagainst her, she might be
(55:30):
somebody mama, somebody auntieHer in my church.
I went to church with her Ifyou're going to be in that
position, but she was too goodof friends with Dale Ellis and
Alicia.
Ellis and.
Speaker 2 (55:44):
Ben Lancaster and Kevin Lancaster.
That's all there is to it.
Speaker 1 (55:50):
It's a difference.
You're there for business andyou're not even business.
You're there for the welfare ofthe students.
During that meeting, and evanspent a lot of time explaining
what wade allman and dale elliswas saying she does better,
she's not, but she's not.
Hiring better acts was notanything challenging.
(56:11):
It was like, oh well, whatabout this?
And they say it, and it's okay.
Well, what about this?
And then they tell her okay,nobody I mean now angela smith,
though is a force to be reckonedwith, because angela smith
called them out on those parentletters.
Speaker 2 (56:28):
She called okay well, you need to explain real quick
in this.
We're oh yeah, we got it, wegot that.
We gotta say and this isn'tvery important to leave them
with because I want them torecognize so, because there are
low performing, they're requiredto send home a letter to the
schools and they're supposed tonotify the parents and they're
(56:50):
supposed to say what the schoolimprovement plan is, and parents
are supposed to be given theopportunity to respond in
writing to that letter, right,and so wait on.
Themman said well, you know,we've looked into it and we
don't have to actually send aletter.
It's going to be very expensiveto mail y'all.
And so they said we looked intoit and we can put it on our
website.
(57:10):
No, sir, it's called statutesand if you look them up, the
statute, the North CarolinaGeneral Statute, specifying Max,
please now get him back tosleep.
Speaker 1 (57:22):
Is he asleep?
I'm trying to figure out why heis asleep.
Speaker 2 (57:24):
Oh man, because when it says written notice, you and
I both know that that means thatthey've been notified in
writing and that's defined bythe statutes, not defined by the
law of Brooke or Sherry or WadeAllman.
It's literally written notice,which means it's not required
service, which means the sheriffdoesn't have to get involved.
But you have to put it inwriting and deliver it to a
(57:46):
parent.
You can hand deliver it or youcan a letter.
They said they'd done it beforein book bags.
No, you need to deliver this tothe parent either by address,
by mail or in person, and thenthey have an opportunity to
respond.
But what you can put and thestatute says you can, if it
(58:07):
distinguishes for a website inpart of the statute, for one
part and not the other.
It's very clear that you can'tput the whole thing on the
website and they've said that byOctober 1st they're going to be
fine because they're going tohave the school improvement plan
on the website.
Maybe later on they'll attachthat letter to the report cards.
But parents aren't going tounderstand because they didn't
get this letter last year.
Okay, this is what they saidabout this letter.
You can Google it Schoolimprovement a low-performing
(58:28):
school.
We'll have a document.
We'll have an example.
If y'all need a format of whatthat letter should look, like
hell, I'll write it up for you.
Okay, but it should be.
It's right there, supposed togo to the parents in writing and
then, once the parents have anopportunity to respond, the
board is supposed to review it.
And now that the state, theirwhole thing has been don't,
please, please, please, do notlet the state get involved.
(58:51):
Teachers do better, parents dobetter.
They acted like teachers wouldcare because, guess what,
they're not going to go payteachers to come into montgomery
county, north carolina.
It's in the middle of nowhere.
What they're going to do isthey're going to clean house in
the office of the people whodon't know what they're doing.
So now, at the very end of thismeeting, that they said well,
(59:12):
it's about six or seven years ofa school is on and and, uh, you
said angela, what's her name?
Angela smith.
Angela said it's seven yearsand west middle has been a low
performing school in seven years, which means the state is
supposed to come in and they'resupposed to be, if not heavily
involved, they are supposed tobe regulating west middle.
(59:33):
Stop threatening the teacherswith this.
Stop doing the blame game ofthe teachers, y'all.
Your job is the one that is atstake and it's not the teachers.
And this, stop doing the blamegame of the teachers.
Your job is the one that is atstake and it's not the teachers.
And that's why you care,because they're going to see
whoa, what is going on here.
The school board member'sson-in-law, who doesn't have a
superintendent's license, is thesuperintendent of what.
The school board member's son,who doesn't have anything, any
(59:58):
background other than worked onthe truck uh, the buses is now
over assisted technology andthat's the job that wade allman
had before he became assistantsuperintendent of learning.
But this is what they.
That's the promotion laddertowards this job.
Well, he was director, notassistant, because, remember,
assistant director didn't exist,right, they had to create that
(01:00:18):
because they've got a directoralready.
Anyways, the state's going tocome in.
But the point of it is is thatit says that you can put that
letter or school improvementplan on the website once it has
been vetted.
Okay, it does not say from thebeginning.
And so you're trying to hidethe ball, just like you tried to
hide the ball with jasonhensley, but enter stage left
Moco's voice.
Here we are Brooke and Sherry,that's all.
Speaker 1 (01:00:44):
thank you, brooke.
Listen, we're going to be backnext week 6 30 pm, and I know
it's going to get hotter andhotter because I don't have good
air control right.
Well, once this airs, we'regoing to get more more people
are going to reach out to us andwe're going to get more more
people are going to reach out tous and we're going to have a
lot more to talk about.
Thank you, brooke, love you, Ilove you.
(01:01:05):
We'll see you next week.
Bye, bye-bye.
all right, bro, we are live.
Welcome.
Welcome everyone, all of ourlisteners to moco's voice.
Well, mama's voice, and we areon moco's voice with brooke and
sherry.
How you doing over there inthat RV?
Speaker 2 (00:24):
I'm doing good.
I feel like we should startwhere my husband tells me
something is 30 minutes earlierthan what it is, so you should
tell me that our podcasting timeis 6 o'clock until the public
hits 630.
But yeah, we're doing reallywell.
My family does not have toleave the rv.
(00:45):
I'm in my own space right nowand so it's pretty uh awesome to
have 10 whole extra footage oflength to live in.
You start to appreciate thelittle things a whole lot more
in dining home living, so yeah,uh, yeah, being with four of you
all.
Speaker 1 (01:05):
But I'm telling you, I know like that little space
can be very intimate and it canbe, um.
I remember, whenever you know,I got a family of six, um, and
so whenever my babies were there, it was like it was.
I mean, you know, a threebedroom.
We ended up doing four bedrooms.
Eventually, we had fourbedrooms, um, but you know just
(01:27):
that space where you're justintimate and your babies are
there and cuddled up under youand until they get too big to be
under you, and then it's adifferent story yeah, I mean I
grew up in a small house.
Speaker 2 (01:39):
I mean it was like a thousand eleven, a little less
than eleven hundred square feetand there was five of us and, um
, you know, it always felt likenot enough space but I had my
own room.
But I think it comes down to alot of like minimalist stuff
issues, like you know.
And then when we left, we had a3,000 square foot house and so
(02:01):
we went from that to our firstRV was the smallest like on the
market where you could stillhave all of the living features
and we had that based upon whatwe could pull.
And then we went a littlebigger with the motor home when
we had the baby, and then it wasjust like we know we've got to
trade in our vehicle and getsomething that we can pull in a
(02:22):
bit, and get something that wecan pull in a bit.
And while it seems this seems sobig now because we started so
small and uh, I, I will say mykids like never got on my nerves
ever before rv life like I liketreasured I was as a stepmom.
(02:43):
I treasured every second that Igot to get with my, with my
kids, because, you know, sharing.
And then my son.
He used to go visit, like hewould go to school and then he
would go, you know, to hisfamily member's house and stay
overnight and stuff, and so Ialways felt like, and Matt used
(03:03):
to travel for work, and so Iused to feel like we used to
travel for work and so I used tofeel like we never got enough
time as a family and that was areal big motivating factor for
doing this type of living and umbeing on the road, and so now
we have all this time together.
But I will say, like I did judge, probably say at home I'm a
(03:23):
little too harshly, becausebefore I used to think, you know
, oh, it's not hard, like,granted, I still have to work,
and I think that plays a bigfactor in my like, okay, I've
got to get my workout hours in,you know what I mean.
Like somebody's got to come getthis baby, because I got to
work too, you know, and so, butwe moved this week and I did not
(03:43):
do anything when it came tolike the heavy lifting of the
move, like Matt did it all andit was a lot and so I had, I was
like, but still like, so myin-laws were in town, um, but
I'm like somebody did his babylike he's been next to me for 24
hours, you know.
(04:04):
So anyways, it's been aninteresting adjustment, um it's
an interesting lifestyle.
But and then you'd be surprisedat how many people live that
lifestyle, and now all of my 10year olds friends live it too.
So, uh, not all of them, butalmost all of them, and they
(04:25):
they have like their discordchannel and their rv kids and uh
, so they understand each other.
But, like he'll be on, you knowthey say that uh, kids go to
school and tell their teacherseverything right well, how about
being in an rv when you get anew rv and you see your 10 year
(04:45):
old scanning the room to showone of his teachers with his,
with his mat, you know, circlingthe room and showing his
classes new, and so he shows upthe whole house, you know.
Speaker 1 (04:58):
Speaking of that, speaking of classroom schooling,
that just brings us to thepurpose of our show today.
Now, this is a disclaimer.
Okay, so we have to give adisclaimer as it relates to
Montgomery County Schools.
Speaker 2 (05:21):
North Carolina Because there are a lot of
Montgomery County, montgomeryCounty Schools, north Carolina
schools um north carolina,because there are a lot of
mcgovern county mcgovern countyschools, north carolina.
Speaker 1 (05:27):
um, we, I know that we we've had a past, you know,
good and not so good.
So this is not an attempt inorder to um down the school
system in any way.
Um, some of my best friends areteachers.
I know what they say, some ofmy best friends, okay, but it is
(05:50):
going to like some of thisstuff that we're going to be
revealing.
It has to be revealed for thebetterment of our school system.
So it's nothing to shednegative light on the school
system, but it is to so that wecan look at it through
corrective measures, because Ithink we've been glossing over
this for too long.
You know the school.
(06:10):
If you go to a school boardmeeting I'm just personally you
go to a school board meetingthen I mean it's bells and
whistles Brooke.
It's like look what we're doing.
Speaker 2 (06:21):
Yes, oh, the fact that you, the fact that this
most recent board meetingincluded the insanity that it
did, was so shocking, becauseI've always called it a dog and
pony show.
Um, when they just parade thetheir presentations in front of
the um, the board, and this iswhat this school is doing,
(06:45):
that's good, and so this schoolboard meeting is shocking, and
we live in a situation where thelocal media isn't going to
report anything negative.
They literally have a fluffpiece of the same dog and pony
show every week, and what we'rehere to do is not.
I just want to make it clearnone of this is a personal
(07:08):
vendetta.
Like while we, while I was inthe county or the school, no one
like I didn't get fired, like Ididn't, um, no one was
personally against me or mychildren ever, and or my husband
and even the people that we'regoing to uh are mentioned
because they work in for thegovernment.
(07:30):
Make them no mistake.
Like this is governmentemployees doing their job.
That is the education, likeeducating the entire county and
or being in charge of that, andso this isn't a personal attack.
I mean, if anything, I meanthere's going to be people
involved that I had no personalissues with.
Uh, I really was like, reallylike so, and was friends with
(07:55):
some of their family members, um, my matt, um, my husband, you
know, who grew up in montgomerycounty I'm not a native, he the
one of board members that we'regoing to talk he really liked
that school board member as hisbaseball coach, that school
board member's son that now hasa county admin role.
He liked playing baseball withhim.
(08:17):
That was his friend.
But the issue is not that wedon't like these people.
This isn't some.
Let's go after them becauseBrooke Crump doesn't like these
people.
This isn't some.
Let's go after them becausebrooke doesn't like them.
I really have zero negativeinteractions with these people
at all.
It's just when you listen andsee these things and you have
seen them in the perspective ofbeing a teacher and you've seen
(08:39):
them in this perspective ofbeing a parent, and then now I'm
seeing it as a perspective ofyou know, we've had teachers
contact us but they, they're tooscared.
There are former county officeadministrator, former
administrators, that wanted totalk, but then they just they're
scared of their current jobsecurity, right, right.
(09:00):
And so you know, even if it'sgoing to be off the record, they
originally I've had someone whorecently was terminated from
Montgomery County reach out tome.
They wanted to talk aboutMontgomery County, not the
school system, but they'rescared of the retaliation.
I won't get into all the detailsof that crazy request, but
anyways, the point of it is isthat this is not because I am
(09:25):
free you are there but forSherry, all good is got God over
.
God's protection is over.
You're right with the Lord.
I mean, you know I got somework to do with that.
It's above me, it's above, yeah, it's above.
He's got you protected.
But I'm gone and like me andhis rv, like we can go.
(09:48):
You know what I'm saying.
So they ain't got the point andI'm gonna say what I'm gonna
say.
And that was kind of uh, theywanted brooke crump to shut up,
because crump is not an idiot,right, right and um, she has
things to say that I don't want.
Whenever we you know, I, ifanyone who saw McGurk's voice
(10:12):
posted about some particularlydisturbing comments that were
made in the most recent Board ofEducation meeting.
Yes, none of that, none of,were um brought, brought to
light, because we have avendetta against anyone involved
.
We don't.
So I think that's justimportant to say.
So let's jump in talk.
(10:33):
Can you tell um why thisparticular meeting was important
?
Speaker 1 (10:37):
talk about that, okay , so it is the end of the year
review, right, for the 23-24school year of Montgomery County
Schools in North Carolina.
And the reason why this inparticular, was very important
to me is because there isthere's this sense of we have
(11:02):
some failing schools inMontgomery County.
Right, let's just put it out onthe table.
There are some really good, youknow, really high scoring
schools, such as the earlycollege, which is at 97%.
Right, so they are doing itover there.
They've gotten acknowledgementout of, not even statewide, but
(11:22):
nationally, have beenacknowledged.
So Montgomery County EarlyCollege is at the top, right, so
there are, you know, they're atthe top of the top.
Well, we also have in the sameschool district, we have a
school performing at 38%.
Performing at 38%, that's anelementary school.
(11:51):
Okay, now, that school wentfrom around 52% down to 35, I
think 38% somewhere in that, inproficiency.
What does that mean?
That means that almost 70% ofthose students are failing.
Okay, that's what it means.
All right, about 65.
We'll say 65.
So about 65% of those studentsare failing.
(12:14):
Now, that should bring up redflags there, right?
So with me, so well.
So what I'm saying is is thatit is I'm glad that that early
college is doing as well asthey're doing.
We do have some other schoolsthat are at the C's I think it
(12:35):
is, I might be D.
Well, no, no, as a matter offact, we do have some D's.
We have that one A which isearly college, and then we have
some C's, some D's, and then wehave right, I'm not quite sure,
let me bring it up real quick,but looking at that Brooke, it
is like whenever at this, Ineeded to see at this meeting
(12:59):
what is going to be donedifferently is going to be done
differently.
Speaker 2 (13:06):
Okay, I think you also need to point out that the
the scores dropped, and not onlythat, the growth dropped.
It's not about whether or notkids are passing the tests,
because in a title one school ordistrict, right, that is
unlikely right to be across theboard, but at the same time
their growth dramaticallydropped.
It can't happen.
But they're going to use thatexcuse, right, like they are who
(13:27):
they are and that is what it is.
And they did have a lot ofexcuses and I think that what's
important is that the board hadsome questions and so if, and
looking at so, mount gilliamount gillia elementary is now
um, they're the F school.
Speaker 1 (13:46):
Okay, out of the county.
35%.
Speaker 2 (13:48):
But also West Middle School has been at the-.
Speaker 1 (13:52):
That's what I'm getting ready to say.
If you look at our Ds WestMiddle School, they're a D and
they've been failing, lowperforming, for the past seven
years.
Speaker 2 (14:05):
Brooke and and the person who is the person in the
county office in charge ofdeputy of superintendent of
learning.
Who was that?
That's wade allman, and we canyou yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah he
told me um did he was whenever.
I mean, I think it's importantto know that when the seven
(14:26):
years that West Middle has beenlow performing and so that would
be starting in 2017, right,right exactly did Wade Allman,
when I know that they were, thiswas their seventh year.
And why is that important?
Speaker 1 (14:48):
Well, which is something, because in the
meeting it was one of the schoolboard members.
We actually need to listenbecause it's going to bring a
lot of clarity to what we'retalking about talking about.
(15:09):
So, going back, so our otherD's in the county if I'm not
mistaken, we have Green Ridge,kander and Page Street.
Now, this came from a boardmember, so these are our D
schools.
Then we have three C schools,so East Middle last year they
did score D but they're up forthis year with a C now.
(15:30):
So that's East Middle, starElementary and then the high
school, central, ok, and then,our A is the early college.
Speaker 2 (15:41):
Now.
So the growth?
I mean we need to talk aboutMontgomery Central High.
The biggest issue there whilethere, see it, was growth not
met.
They did not grow and thegrowth is such a is what honest
the teachers are evaluated on,the schools are evaluated on as
far as some of these otherschools, schools Montgomery
County Early College exceeded it.
(16:02):
Schools in Montgomery CountyEarly College exceeded it.
Right, you've got West Middle,who's a D and they met it, but
they did not exceed Troy AllenMentory.
They did not have statisticsyet released for that, which was
interesting, although Star,they met their growth.
And then Page Street sorry, theone that the main is not met
(16:27):
was mount gilead.
They neither.
They got an app and they didnot meet growth.
Speaker 1 (16:32):
Right, and so we've had a lot of conversations, okay
okay, so I understand growthand all of that, but this is my
thing.
Okay, this is my thing.
You do the people so brooke, Ican say that I'm getting ready
to drive from Troy to Bisco,okay, and so that is my, that's
(16:53):
my whole objective, that's mygoal.
Well, I get out the door, I goout the door and I make it to
the stoplight, or I'll make itout there to 2427 at the highway
.
I'm not there yet, but I'vegrown right from my house to
that highway.
I'm on my way, but slowly butsurely I'm making it there.
(17:17):
But this is the thing.
I'm not going to sit up hereand celebrate with all these
bells and whistles Yay, lookwhat I did.
I made it to the highway.
Like I mean, come on now.
Yeah, I grew and yeah, I'mfurther than where I was.
But at what point are we goingto stop celebrating these little
(17:38):
bitty things and say, look, weneed to make it to Bisco.
Speaker 2 (17:43):
They're not even doing that this year, so we're
not.
They're not even making it tothe highway, like their clunker
is sitting in the yard, right,like it didn't get started, it
is broke down, and so that's wehave to clarify for the
listeners that you understandand you want to calculate, and
you want to see these studentsnot just grow but excel, right,
(18:04):
okay, well, you want them tomake it all the way to pisco.
Well, honey, they've been they.
They're not making it to thehighway, no more.
And so we got to talk aboutthat, because if you're getting
worse and your county office isnot only the same, it's the same
county office officials,they're just getting more money
(18:26):
and they're getting higherpositions and they're all
related.
Multiple individuals in thecounty office are related to one
school board member.
It's shocking that the chairmanof the board.
Speaker 1 (18:40):
The chairman of the board.
Speaker 2 (18:42):
The chairman of the board is the direct, the
father-in-law and the father oftwo people in the county office
who are and they aremind-blowingly failing at their
jobs.
What do you, what are you goingto do, to improve Multiple
(19:03):
times Mr Allman, who is not adoctor?
Some of these people are DrEllis, dr Legrand, who's back
after getting fired from anotherschool district, has come back
to Montgomery County, and thenDr Jack is Jack Cagle Dr?
Yes, he's a talk about thepeople that are actually
certified superintendents versusthe ones who have a
(19:27):
superintendent license.
Wade Allman does not have asuperintendent license yet he is
a superintendent of learningfor Montgomery County Schools,
but he's also the son-in-law ofSteve DeBerry.
Interestingly enough, steveDeBerry, his daughter-in-law,
was a teacher not so long ago,but apparently he's divorced
(19:50):
from the director of technology.
Uh, his son, who was overtransportation for a couple of
years, just got a promotion inthe board meeting.
No one referred him for thatjob.
The job did not exist prior tothat the assistant director of
technology and so they created aposition for him and no one
(20:13):
recommended him for it, and hedoes not have any my knowledge
of any credentialscertifications in the school.
His ex-wife was a teacher, um,but she got the boot.
So wait on them.
Stay tight with your wife ifyou want to keep your big bad
job, because Steve Dayberry drop.
It's like a hot on the anyways.
(20:36):
Just kidding, I don't know,maybe she left on her own accord
.
Whatever, anyways, point of itis is that this position wait on
me does have the license for it.
He doesn't really have theeducation for it.
And when asked what to do onhow to improve his job Wade, I
think you're a handsome man,this is not personal towards you
you said I don't know, I don'tknow, I don't know, I don't know
.
And on top of that, when askedwell, what's going wrong?
(20:59):
Montgomery, early memory, um,early college, or they're doing
so well, and why are they doingwell?
And the uh, high school isn't.
What is the high school notdoing?
And um said well, you know thepain, it's the parent.
The parents don't care, they'renot going to parent nights and
(21:19):
they don't.
They only see the early collegeis academic, they only care
about.
If it's a football game, thenwhy did you invest a million
dollars into the football field?
If you are concerned about thegrowth, you have an $800,000
Jumbotron that you, your schoolsystem, mr, miss, dr Ellis, and
incorporated.
Then they've said that you know, oh well, part of it came from
(21:44):
a donation.
You, the county, still gave youfour hundred thousand dollars
for that, and on top of thatthat donation could have went.
You'd be like, hey, we needteachers.
Um, in a low performing school,the state actually specifies
that teachers are supposed to begetting a duty-free lunch.
We were low performing well, weactually met growth or
something.
But when, at west middle, whenwe were there, um, well, we
actually met growth or something.
(22:04):
But at West Middle, when wewere there, it's actually the
year it started, the year that Ileft.
Then you and I are not part ofthe West Middle, but see, going
back there, going back there.
Speaker 1 (22:18):
Brooke, even looking at, I'm going to tell you one of
the one of our greatestsetbacks is that that I'm going
to just say that Dale Ellis, drDale Ellis, he, whenever he
takes things personal, he, hegoes after you.
He made sure, even after youwent after me.
(22:41):
But I mean, I'm just because,even whenever.
So my history is whenever,whenever, whenever I was working
there, I ended up leaving atthe end of 2015 at West Middle.
I ended up leaving at the endof 2015 at West Middle and my
scores were good.
I don't know what them jokerswas out there talking about, I
don't know, but I was thereduring the time of.
Speaker 2 (23:04):
You need to say what you're talking about.
I know what you're talkingabout when you say them jokers.
They sent an email threateningto release your scores, right.
Speaker 1 (23:11):
Yeah, and release them.
We can release them today.
Right, yeah, and release them,they can release them today.
You see what I'm saying.
So, so at the end of 2015, Iended up early retiring because
I knew one I was getting readyto run for mayor.
Another thing is is that I feltmuzzled.
I felt like I could notadvocate for the students.
Speaker 2 (23:35):
You really did.
You don't have a job, Sherry.
Speaker 1 (23:38):
Right, and I did have a job and you said I can't do
this.
God's got me Exactly.
And so and I'm a child I waslike God got me, my bills got me
, I love it.
He got me baby.
I, if I got to depend onMontgomery County schools to
live, ain't going to happen.
But so whenever, at the end of2015, dr Lancaster himself
(24:04):
because I am certified to be aprincipal, I have my principal's
license, I've been in educationfor 20 something years, and so
Dr Lancaster did come, he satwith me over at West Middle and
was like okay, what can?
we do for you, to get you tostay.
You know, do you want aposition?
Do you want this?
Speaker 2 (24:19):
And I'm like no, so after that he was just the same
way with me when I left.
He said this is the first timeI'm hearing of this Right.
Speaker 1 (24:27):
So, mr McMillan Mr McMillan, you know he said okay,
sherry, let's work this out.
Speaker 2 (24:34):
The West middle principal that they fired and
just yanked out of school.
Speaker 1 (24:38):
Right, they did, still without explanation.
If they want to talk about himsleeping with somebody, they got
to go and clear the whole house, cause a lot of y'all out there
sleeping with each other.
Don't go there with me, solisten.
So whenever Dr McMillan wasthere, he said Sherry, let's do
a contract you come in and youdo tutoring in the morning time,
(25:02):
right?
So if you come in, you dotutoring for the students
because we want to make surethat our math scores are up,
okay?
So we had that agreement.
All of that.
That was done.
So they ended up firing DrMcMillan.
Whenever they fired Dr McMillan, I started speaking out.
I was like y'all need to likethis, whatever.
(25:25):
Y'all got going on.
Y'all got going on and yourdaughter protested and she did,
and it was like this is notendangering the students.
Speaker 2 (25:33):
These students love this man, like he is really
doing well with these students,and so this was my favorite
protest ever to see studentssitting outside of the classroom
, yes, protesting, and then whenthe teacher or the they went,
got the admin came down.
You were.
You had left at this point so Iwitnessed it and I had happened
(25:54):
to be down on your daughter'shall because I had it was my
planning period and I went tovisit my friend and the kids
were protesting, using theirdude, I mean exercising their,
their right to that, which Ithought was amazing and the
admin said you know, go back tothis class.
They're right to that, which Ithought was amazing.
(26:15):
And the admin said you know, goback to this class or go home.
And one of the protesters waswith your daughter, was like my
grandma is not going to be happywith this, I'm out.
And so she left and you pickedJoy up and was.
I was like you, were like youdid the right thing and I was
like I had not started using myvoice yet.
My voice was muffled.
(26:37):
My voice had we would, I wouldexpress my concerns to you and
be like what's going on here,like this is insane.
My first day, my second day onthe job, dr Ellis comes in and I
know some teachers that do havea recording of this.
I don't but screamed.
(26:57):
It was like my second day andyour second day at the school,
coming back from Raleigh, movingyou know on wake, screaming,
red-faced, mad, put a little bitof a list of every teacher who
had moved their child to acharter school, screaming about
the score, test scores.
(27:18):
And I remember him saying okay,okay, and was there?
Like I mean, what was I goingto do about last year's scores?
Like I wasn't there.
You know, I mean it was reallycrazy because there's a whole
lot of new teachers in the roomand you know it was really crazy
.
Like what's going on here.
And it's interesting that ateacher has reached out.
(27:42):
People don't realize that afterevery show that someone went in,
the system contacts you becauseyou're the cop to my bad, you
because you're the good cop tomy bad, um, and and says you
know, I was at that same meetingwith dr.
Uh, ellis comes around everyyear, then he does what he does.
This year he, because he wassupposed to be retiring, read a
(28:05):
poem about not blaming others.
He wasn't going to blame anyone, there was no blame game.
But boy did mr allman miss outon that conversation, although
dr ellis backed him up in theblame game when talking to the
board because but that thatwould be asked questions like
what is?
We got the recording?
(28:26):
You want to play the recording?
Yeah, let's go specifically toum you, there's so many hot
spots, go ahead.
There's one I'm going to getsuper big mad about, but that's
it, just one.
Speaker 1 (28:41):
Okay, you said okay, you have one opportunity to get
upset, but after that, you knowJust one time am I going to get
mad For women everywhere.
Speaker 2 (28:51):
You said for what?
Speaker 1 (28:52):
What is it For women everywhere, women everywhere.
Okay, for mothers, because thisis mama's voice are you able to
hear me?
(29:14):
you're gonna have to beat youcompletely all right, are you
able to hear me now?
All right, let's do this realquick.
Thank y'all for being patientfor the listeners, um, so let's
(29:35):
listen, because this is aconversation, um, regarding
accountability and it was led byone of the school board members
and let's see.
It should be coming up.
Are you able to hear it, brooke?
(30:02):
All right, it should be comingnow.
So, brooke, while it's comingup now, now, what part do you
feel like you got you were themost upset about?
Speaker 3 (30:25):
um let's see okay, we can do everything in the world
for a kid, but whenever they goto class and they don't have the
same type of structure, theydon't have the same kind of
encouragement and motivation, itmakes it very difficult for
what we're doing.
Speaker 4 (30:40):
Because there's got to be a reason, a reason why.
Speaker 1 (30:45):
Who is that speaking?
Early college is amazing.
This is Brian Dozier.
Speaker 4 (30:49):
Early school in Montgomery Central.
Well, if you show up late in acollege class, if you get too
many of those, you're going toend up failing.
So they know that from the verybeginning.
So I think that if they startthat in ninth grade, taking
their first college class, andthere's also that parent piece.
I think that you know Dr Sewelldoes a good job of bringing in
(31:11):
those parents at the verybeginning so that student
accountability is also with theparents.
Well, what is Dr Sewell doingto get the parents involved,
that the high school is not?
Speaker 1 (31:24):
doing that Montgomery Center is not doing.
Speaker 3 (31:28):
She's not doing anything different, it's just
the parents are coming to itversus the high school and,
honestly, I don't know anythingother than to say-.
Speaker 4 (31:37):
No one.
Speaker 3 (31:37):
They'll show up for a football game.
Speaker 4 (31:38):
They'll show up yeah, but in the early college.
Speaker 3 (31:41):
You think the parents have a different-.
I think that they see the earlycollege as more academic and
they see the high school as moreathletic.
Cuz, they will show up in afootball game, but they will not
show up for a parent conferenceat the high school.
I mean, if you go, if you wantto see something that shows you
a parent involvement, go to thehigh school on a parent
conference night.
(32:01):
You'll hear crickets in thehall.
Speaker 2 (32:06):
That's a nice school, we having crickets bugs already
now.
Speaker 1 (32:12):
That's interesting in so many different levels, but
I'm gonna let you deal with thatjust for a little bit.
Speaker 2 (32:19):
Um, there's a I think that speaks for itself.
I don't even know if we need todig into that, because I think
right now, um, if you could goto um in the transcript.
So y'all, we don't play.
Let's just clarify that IfBrooke Crump or Sherry Allgood
types, excuse me or talkssomething, it's going to be
(32:43):
facts, right, that's all thereis to it, because we do not take
someone's hearsay or whateverand go with it.
You didn't go and sit here andwrite down and scribble notes,
like miss tammy dunn does you.
You got it from from theirhorse's mouth, right, and you
didn't just scribble it for me.
(33:05):
I you know we've got thetranscript and so I can tell you
right now that if you go to uh,part two, um, uh, conversation,
wade Allman and we go to eightminutes and 22 seconds, that can
you go to that part?
Speaker 1 (33:23):
I'm not sure, because I what I did was I have it on,
based upon accountability.
Now let's listen to this, let'ssee or 743.
Speaker 3 (33:35):
One of the school systems weaknesses is the
teachers not holding themaccountable.
(33:58):
I don't necessarily say that.
I wouldn't say that it's theteachers holding them
accountable, because they stilldo, you know, do referrals and
all that kind of stuff, but it'sjust getting them to understand
the importance of being inclass.
I mean, you know, they mightspend a few extra minutes out in
the hall talking to theirfriends because they see that as
more valuable, or they stay outin the hall on their phone a
(34:21):
little while longer because theyknow when they go in the
classroom they're gonna gettheir phone taken if they try to
take it out in class.
There's a lot of differentthings with that, but it's just
holding kids accountable.
And making them responsible isdifficult, specifically in
today's you know climate.
Let's pause there.
Speaker 2 (34:44):
Apparently, the early college students don't like
their phones as much as the highschool bones, as much as the,
uh, the, the high school.
I want to point out that I hadno.
I've noticed a recent trendthat the valedictorians of their
class are not admitted to earlycollege.
Um, why do I know that?
(35:06):
I know the personally and therelatives of somebody I know
personally, for one of the yearsI taught was the highest
students and then one of myrelatives will be valedictorian
of their senior year and theywere not admitted to the early
college.
And so you're telling me thatif they went to the early
(35:29):
college they wouldn't be ontheir phones.
As a parent of a kid who wentto early college, they, the
early college, didn't care abouttheir phone, they weren't about
that life of taking theirphones right, they, they, I mean
they did not interfere withtheir studies like we're adults.
I think that we need torecognize that when you put
these children, even in abeautiful prison, the prettiest
(35:51):
prison at all I mean, guantanamobay is a breathtaking
background, right, but they'restill in prison and um, when you
are in prison and you'retreated as such, that we're in a
world where we have to have ourphones, right, and that's just
what it is like as a teacherwhen, uh, some students one of
(36:13):
the students, like got mad aboutsomething and emailed my sixth
grade student, so a 10 year oldemailed the principal and told
him I was on my phone.
Well, they were presentingtheir projects and I was
emailing comments to theteachers or to the parents about
their kids doing well orwhatever about their projects,
because we're required to givefeedback.
(36:34):
Right, and this was an easy wayfor me to do that while I was
facilitating them presentingtheir presentations, like, and
to become told that I'm agrown-up, that I shouldn't be on
my phone and that this 10 yearold should say, when I'm on my
phone, or not, to not trust aprofessional I mean the
principal, I mean it was, it wasmax, so he was just like you
(36:55):
know.
But their whole thing is let'splease these 10 year olds.
Right, you've got 10 year oldsthat want to talk.
They want to talk aboutaccountability.
When you go in and you tell abrine dozer, you go in and tell
the teacher to change yourchild's grade, which you did,
right, right, let's talk aboutaccountability.
You took a first year teacher.
She's good, a great teacher.
(37:16):
I'm not gonna lie like I'veseen her every single bit of
material.
I think she had the best ofintentions I think, she wanted
to be a good teacher.
You know, I think she had thebest of intentions, but I do not
think that they did not giveher the resources or got her
enough in what she should beteaching and through a
first-year teacher like jello onthe wall to see what stuff
(37:36):
brian wasn't happy about.
Speaker 1 (37:38):
They don't know what you're talking about, like you
gotta name a teacher's name.
Speaker 2 (37:42):
You know what I'm saying?
Okay, so brian dozier had ateacher kid had a teacher who
was a first-year teacher and, um, when the brian dozier didn't
like his child's grade went andhad them change it, right Now
were you there whenever thathappened.
And so I will say that is onething, but I've heard it from
two different people.
No, no, I was there Because ofjournalism.
No, no, no, I was there.
(38:03):
I know you told me about that,but I wasn't going to make you
talk about your bestie like that.
Speaker 1 (38:11):
No, no, no.
But for real, like I was, I wasactually firsthand.
I saw them go in there and theteacher came out in tears.
Now, he was on the school boardduring that time as well, and
the teacher was in tears and shewas like I'm not going to
change uh, you know, um, brianDozier's son's grade, I'm not
(38:36):
going to do it.
And he the principal duringthat time said well, I'll do it,
because the teacher said I'mnot going to do it.
And so that's what ended up.
And I was the first.
That was the first.
That ain't something that Iheard, it's something that I was
there to witness.
Speaker 2 (38:51):
But looking at that, okay, so you were the for the
year before I.
Could I keep forgetting?
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I was thereto witness, but looking at that,
you were there the year beforeI keep forgetting.
Speaker 1 (38:56):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I was there Now.
Listen to this real quick,though, brooke.
Listen to what it said.
Speaker 3 (39:01):
Holding kids accountable and making them
responsible is difficult,specifically in today's you know
climate.
Some of them want to help theCal I didn't want to go there
but that's why I was like youknow, we because so so he goes
(39:25):
back.
Speaker 1 (39:26):
This is.
This is dr ellis, who told histeachers do not do the blame
game right?
Speaker 2 (39:34):
no blaming, the whole poem because he was on his way
out.
He was feeling good andfootloose and fancy free.
Speaker 1 (39:41):
I don't know about that, bro.
Speaker 2 (39:43):
He had a picture, uh, celebrating his retirement 50
and free.
Make pearly, pearl, pearl yearwhere his he has a residence.
He has the residence of agar,montgomery County and apparently
has a condo at the beach.
Make Pearl year great again.
Just funny, cute.
I say make stuff great again.
(40:04):
It's ironic all the time I feltgood for you because he's
retiring.
He was feeling good in June,sherry he was retiring.
Speaker 1 (40:13):
That's was feeling good in June, sherry, he was
retiring.
I didn't.
I?
That's my first that I heardabout some retirement party, bro
, I don't.
Oh, it's just online it's.
Speaker 2 (40:22):
I mean, I can send you a picture if you want to put
it on the screen.
I mean he has a fun hat on.
There's some people from thecounty office there like I mean,
it was nothing, just a socialevent, a birthday party or no, I
don't know retirement party,but either way it's just a
unrelated to no.
There's no, I'm not knockingthe party, you know what I'm
(40:43):
saying.
Like, I'm just saying that hewas feeling good so he was going
out with being nice to thoseteachers, but now he's under
fire and I think there's a alarmgoing off somewhere in the
camera.
But there's, I can hear abuzzer like a.
It just went off that's allspeculation, brooke.
Speaker 1 (41:08):
It's all speculation.
I saw the picture.
Well, what I'm saying is wedon't know.
He may have been retiring fromsomething I don't know, but at
the same rate it is.
Speaker 2 (41:22):
His contract is expired and it was known in the
community that he was retiring.
He sold his home, that's publicrecord.
Speaker 1 (41:30):
Okay, that's probably right.
Speaker 2 (41:31):
So this is another thing, though, but if you look
at, Like, his family moved likeyou know know, and they're still
together.
So I mean he's I think he hasprobably has a great
relationship with his wife.
He gave her a lot of jobs overthe years I I, I, I think
(41:53):
they're fun.
Good, stop.
I mean, I probably in anotherlife might have had a drink with
them, you know.
Speaker 1 (41:59):
I'm missing here now you just be, you be, I'm not
insulting.
They gave his wife a lot ofjobs.
You don't like when people cutyou deep, brooke, stop it.
Stop it, indeed, okay, go aheadI thought that was being nice,
be nice.
Speaker 2 (42:14):
Be nice.
Dr Dale Ellis has never beenanything but nice to me, so I'm
not being rude.
Speaker 1 (42:18):
Well, so what?
So we look at focus here Arethese low performing schools.
Speaker 2 (42:26):
Well, I will say well .
I would like to get to a pointthat involves curriculum and a
part where they ask and I don'tknow if you are going to find it
and we can tell our listenerswe'll put a Google drive with
some of the highlights, hotclips and transcripts for them
to go look for themselves.
They've heard it from WadeAllman's mouth.
Now what we say is true, likewe didn't just come up with this
(42:48):
.
We're not putting words intotheir mouths.
The board member's voice thatasked have you considered going
to another school that's similarto ours in demographics and
seeing what they're doing?
Well, and it's like well, mrBoard Member, you've been on
(43:10):
this board for decades and thisis the first time that you're
thinking of suggesting this.
Speaker 1 (43:15):
No, no, no, that wasn't the first.
As a matter of fact, lastyear's end of year review, that
same thing was asked and, as amatter, they also reported that
they did go through and visitother schools.
Now this is the thing and I,and because we we're almost time
(43:36):
to go, but my question is thishow long right are we going to
continue putting up withsubstandard, substandard?
How long are we going to dothis?
Because if you look at thereviews and you look at, if you
(44:01):
are evaluating this currentadministration for Montgomery
County and it's not I'm nottrying to down them in any way,
(44:23):
but at the same rate, we got Idon't know what to do, but I'm
not, I'm not giving their job4,000 students that are
depending on this school systemfor education.
West care has closed down, sotherefore, those students are
coming in.
You got some, some things thatwere happening over at Tillery
(44:44):
Charter School.
Those students was coming backinto Montgomery.
Speaker 2 (44:47):
The person who created it since her school, the
Montgomery County Schools.
Speaker 1 (44:53):
Okay, thank you, but at the same rate is what I'm
saying, brooke.
Speaker 2 (44:58):
This administration is not giving our students what
they don't know how and theyshouldn't have to go ask other
schools what they're doing to besuccessful.
They should be hiring peoplethat know what to do to be
successful.
They shouldn't just give theirsons jobs and say, go ask other
schools what to do.
I don't know.
They go and do it sorry.
Speaker 1 (45:19):
What's happening is is they're going back and they
are.
They are hiring people thatjust don't know that are
building the plane as they areflying it and it's not working
because they don't have pilot'slicenses, right?
So this is what I'm saying isthat it is so.
It's so evident that they don'tknow what they're doing.
(45:39):
It is also evident that wedon't know who we're voting into
these positions, like we reallydo not understand the
importance of the school board.
Now I'm going to tell you oneperson that I'm not pleased with
on that school board.
As much as I love her I'm sureshe may be a sister in Christ
(46:02):
but Ann Evans has reallydisappointed me.
She has really disappointed mebecause as a teacher, a career
teacher, I would have thoughtthat she would come in willing
to speak on behalf of theteacher.
Say it again I personally toldher to teacher for the position
say it again, I personally toldher to apply for the position.
Speaker 2 (46:22):
Why urged um?
Because I thought she was anadvocate and I thought she was
stood for some of the thingsthat I did and had conversations
, but got in there with themgood old boys see them in the
role well, nope, she got inthere with them, good old boys,
see them in the role?
Speaker 1 (46:38):
well, nope, she got in there with them, good old
boys, and it's so evident thatduring that end of year I
question Brian.
Now I do commend Brian Dozierbecause he asked the right
question, that's a lot for menow.
Y'all listen.
Now, when I'm wrong, I'm wrong.
I will say, and whenever.
I even apologized to Dale Ellisone time, right, because I was
(47:01):
like, okay, look, you know,please forgive me, just know my
heart.
It's about the children goingback.
Brian Dozier asked the rightquestions.
That's why I was like, wait,who was that?
But this is a thing, this is athing that I do.
What point do you do somethingabout it?
Right, he asked the rightquestions, but he didn't know
(47:22):
enough to to know that they weregiving him the wrong answers.
Speaker 2 (47:26):
Well, he wouldn't even clarify and I think that
one time that it's reallyimportant to and then we can
even wrap up with this.
The most important thing thatwas in that he said well, let me
ask this question and agreethat it's important.
It is bearing out in testing,because are we testing that
reading part?
Then we are in math part, which, again, the scores were
(47:48):
released.
You can look at that, butwhatever.
So he asked because Mr Allmansaid that there wasa reading
curriculum for Montgomery, thatNorth Carolina provides reading
curriculum, but North Carolinadoes not provide these schools
any math curriculum.
And I'm going to say right nowthat I know schools that have
(48:10):
curriculum.
Ok, I'm just going to say it.
It might not be approved orstandardized across North
Carolina.
Speaker 1 (48:14):
Or standardized across North Carolina I happen
to know that point of it is isthat he said he went over and
over and over, saying well, wedon't have math curriculum and
that's this down the state level, right, this, no, no, the state
(48:34):
provides step-by-step, it hasits own standards that you can
go, that you can go day by day,by day.
Following that unpacking iswhat they call it, that document
.
So it's not like he can reallysay oh, we don't have a math
curriculum, so that's why mathscores are down.
(48:55):
But Brian Dozier was like well,what's the problem?
We're reading.
If that's your excuse for math,well, he didn't actually he.
Speaker 2 (49:02):
He said he asked him.
That would have been important.
But he said well, well, and hemight have been asking a
rhetorical question because heknew the answer.
But he said let me ask andagree that it's ported are we
testing better in reading thanwe are in math?
And then this is what hisanswer was yeah.
And by him I mean mr allman.
Yeah, it does vary by gradelevel.
It just depends.
It does.
(49:23):
I mean, you'll see, you'll, youknow, and knowing all the
individual teachers, you can seethe discrepancies in there.
I'm not going to talk names,but we had a fourth grade ela
teacher at one school thatmissed the last two months at
the of the school year becauseshe had breast cancer breast
Breast cancer.
There was a significant impactof those kids' proficiency on
that test.
(49:43):
You know, you have a teacherthat goes out on maternity leave
.
They're gone for two months orgone for 12 weeks or whatever it
is.
That has a significant impactbecause there's not a certified,
licensed teacher in thereteaching those kids and it has a
major impact.
And those are things we don'treally have control over and you
know, looking at it, it varies.
(50:05):
And then, uh, dozier comes backand says if the reading part as
paid by numbers, and then hesaid um, and he clarifies and
said you didn't answer myquestion at some point vaguely.
But let me just come back tosay that there are shame on you
and you should have beenterminated on the spot because
(50:27):
you have closed board, setmember sessions to discuss human
resource contra or issues withyour teachers and their leave
and the reasons for leave.
You specifically stated anelementary fourth grade teacher
that was out on cancer leave.
There's only so many schools inthis county and that is.
I could very easily I don'tknow be narrowed down, but the
(50:49):
fact that you published thatinformation should have been
immediately fireable, in myopinion, in open session and
that you blame.
You didn't answer the question,sir.
You answered.
He was asking you is readingbetter than math?
And you went on to say well,you know reading's bad because
the teacher had cancer.
Well, and then you saymaternity leaves was what's that
(51:12):
got to do with it as mothers?
Shame on you because guess,teachers are primarily women and
are at some of their teachersduring their childbearing years
and they're going to at somepoint need to go out and have a
baby and the fact that you puttheir scores on them and you
don't have a retired qualifiedteacher or some situation set up
(51:33):
for a teacher to come in thatthe teacher has to worry about
that.
Their teacher is going to teachon a team Because my child was
my son.
I was taught with a TV in oneclassroom and the teacher has to
worry about that.
Their teacher is going to teachon a team because my child was
my stepchild, was taught with atv in one classroom and the
teacher had to do both.
And I know in instances when Ihad taught the entire sixth
grade because the teacher wasliterally how was high the whole
year and then they fired her,but not after the kids didn't
(51:53):
get any ela education they tookme a second year teacher and
said teach them ela please.
They don't have more money toteach the entire, the entire
grade.
Right, and you're going toblame a, a mother uh for giving
maternity leave and a teacher, awoman for their cancer.
Shame on you, because in noworld do you make those
(52:15):
statements about women in anopen session.
If you want want to talk aboutyour contract, you go up in
closed session.
So why does that teacher notget that same respect?
Speaker 1 (52:24):
Well, and this is a thing.
So it goes back, brooke, itgoes back.
Going back to the blame game isgoing back to the answer.
So the thing is is that what?
What has to be taken intoaccount is that the
administration that is inMontgomery County school system
(52:45):
right now there are those thatare in those classrooms and even
principals that are wellqualified to be in that county
office.
Right, they're well qualifiedto be over curriculum and
instruction.
Speaker 2 (53:00):
But they're in other counties doing the job.
Speaker 1 (53:02):
Right, so they're well qualified.
But what's happening is is thatDr Ellis is handpicking, making
up jobs, doing all this otherstuff, and in the meantime our
students are suffering becauseand our teachers are suffering
because the teachers don't havethe support that is needed.
Then it's going to the.
(53:23):
They're pointing the fingers atthe principals and the
principal is like listen, y'allgot my hands tied because I can
do what y'all doing, but y'allover here don't know the answers
to nothing.
I'm going to tell you this andwe get ready to go, but in that
school board meeting in that endof year, the amount of
information, disinformation,misinformation that came out of
(53:46):
Dale Ellis and Wade Allman'smouth was just horrible.
And the thing is is that theschool board was just taking
what they were saying as if itwas true.
No research, no, they ain'teven looking up nothing.
My thing is they say okay, evenBrian Dozier, okay, brian, I got
to come at you on this one.
(54:07):
He asked what is a SIP?
What's a SIP?
It's school improvement.
You've been on this schoolboard for how long?
And you don't know theseacronyms just yet.
What is wrong here?
My thing is is that if you'regoing to be on the school board.
At least do some research, havesome type of education your own
(54:27):
self, so that whenever DaleEllis and Wade Allman is just
talking out of the side of theirneck, you can call him out for
it.
They send them just oh, really,oh, yeah, oh, is that right?
You should know that you can goto google.
You can google why, you, thequestions that they ask, and
they can go on google and findthose same, that same
information.
Speaker 2 (54:48):
and I'm listen, okay the voters needed to hear that.
That's all the voters need tohear, remember.
But no, here's the thing youcan't vote when there's no
options right, and when Sherry,all good, put her name on the
ballot because she is willing toask the hard questions and she
has.
Speaker 1 (55:09):
They don't want me on there, but the point of it is.
They never choose analternative they want a yes boy
and Ann Evans has become a goodgirl.
Alternative they want a yes boy, right, and Ann Evans have
become a good girl.
Shame on it.
If anybody I'm not goingagainst her, she might be
(55:30):
somebody mama, somebody auntieHer in my church.
I went to church with her Ifyou're going to be in that
position, but she was too goodof friends with Dale Ellis and
Alicia.
Ellis and.
Speaker 2 (55:44):
Ben Lancaster and Kevin Lancaster.
That's all there is to it.
Speaker 1 (55:50):
It's a difference.
You're there for business andyou're not even business.
You're there for the welfare ofthe students.
During that meeting, and evanspent a lot of time explaining
what wade allman and dale elliswas saying she does better,
she's not, but she's not.
Hiring better acts was notanything challenging.
(56:11):
It was like, oh well, whatabout this?
And they say it, and it's okay.
Well, what about this?
And then they tell her okay,nobody I mean now angela smith,
though is a force to be reckonedwith, because angela smith
called them out on those parentletters.
Speaker 2 (56:28):
She called okay well, you need to explain real quick
in this.
We're oh yeah, we got it, wegot that.
We gotta say and this isn'tvery important to leave them
with because I want them torecognize so, because there are
low performing, they're requiredto send home a letter to the
schools and they're supposed tonotify the parents and they're
(56:50):
supposed to say what the schoolimprovement plan is, and parents
are supposed to be given theopportunity to respond in
writing to that letter, right,and so wait on.
Themman said well, you know,we've looked into it and we
don't have to actually send aletter.
It's going to be very expensiveto mail y'all.
And so they said we looked intoit and we can put it on our
website.
(57:10):
No, sir, it's called statutesand if you look them up, the
statute, the North CarolinaGeneral Statute, specifying Max,
please now get him back tosleep.
Speaker 1 (57:22):
Is he asleep?
I'm trying to figure out why heis asleep.
Speaker 2 (57:24):
Oh man, because when it says written notice, you and
I both know that that means thatthey've been notified in
writing and that's defined bythe statutes, not defined by the
law of Brooke or Sherry or WadeAllman.
It's literally written notice,which means it's not required
service, which means the sheriffdoesn't have to get involved.
But you have to put it inwriting and deliver it to a
(57:46):
parent.
You can hand deliver it or youcan a letter.
They said they'd done it beforein book bags.
No, you need to deliver this tothe parent either by address,
by mail or in person, and thenthey have an opportunity to
respond.
But what you can put and thestatute says you can, if it
(58:07):
distinguishes for a website inpart of the statute, for one
part and not the other.
It's very clear that you can'tput the whole thing on the
website and they've said that byOctober 1st they're going to be
fine because they're going tohave the school improvement plan
on the website.
Maybe later on they'll attachthat letter to the report cards.
But parents aren't going tounderstand because they didn't
get this letter last year.
Okay, this is what they saidabout this letter.
You can Google it Schoolimprovement a low-performing
(58:28):
school.
We'll have a document.
We'll have an example.
If y'all need a format of whatthat letter should look, like
hell, I'll write it up for you.
Okay, but it should be.
It's right there, supposed togo to the parents in writing and
then, once the parents have anopportunity to respond, the
board is supposed to review it.
And now that the state, theirwhole thing has been don't,
please, please, please, do notlet the state get involved.
(58:51):
Teachers do better, parents dobetter.
They acted like teachers wouldcare because, guess what,
they're not going to go payteachers to come into montgomery
county, north carolina.
It's in the middle of nowhere.
What they're going to do isthey're going to clean house in
the office of the people whodon't know what they're doing.
So now, at the very end of thismeeting, that they said well,
(59:12):
it's about six or seven years ofa school is on and and, uh, you
said angela, what's her name?
Angela smith.
Angela said it's seven yearsand west middle has been a low
performing school in seven years, which means the state is
supposed to come in and they'resupposed to be, if not heavily
involved, they are supposed tobe regulating west middle.
(59:33):
Stop threatening the teacherswith this.
Stop doing the blame game ofthe teachers, y'all.
Your job is the one that is atstake and it's not the teachers.
And this, stop doing the blamegame of the teachers.
Your job is the one that is atstake and it's not the teachers.
And that's why you care,because they're going to see
whoa, what is going on here.
The school board member'sson-in-law, who doesn't have a
superintendent's license, is thesuperintendent of what.
The school board member's son,who doesn't have anything, any
(59:58):
background other than worked onthe truck uh, the buses is now
over assisted technology andthat's the job that wade allman
had before he became assistantsuperintendent of learning.
But this is what they.
That's the promotion laddertowards this job.
Well, he was director, notassistant, because, remember,
assistant director didn't exist,right, they had to create that
(01:00:18):
because they've got a directoralready.
Anyways, the state's going tocome in.
But the point of it is is thatit says that you can put that
letter or school improvementplan on the website once it has
been vetted.
Okay, it does not say from thebeginning.
And so you're trying to hidethe ball, just like you tried to
hide the ball with jasonhensley, but enter stage left
Moco's voice.
Here we are Brooke and Sherry,that's all.
Speaker 1 (01:00:44):
thank you, brooke.
Listen, we're going to be backnext week 6 30 pm, and I know
it's going to get hotter andhotter because I don't have good
air control right.
Well, once this airs, we'regoing to get more more people
are going to reach out to us andwe're going to get more more
people are going to reach out tous and we're going to have a
lot more to talk about.
Thank you, brooke, love you, Ilove you.
(01:01:05):
We'll see you next week.
Bye, bye-bye.
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