posted by Mike Madison at 6:01 PM /
While the members of the Mt. Lebanon School Board bicker in public about who has been nice to whom (see this post and the comments), a sharp-eyer BL reader sent me a link to the recent USNews survey of the Best Public High Schools in the United States. These surveys are always flawed and biased in some respects (even many respects), but given Mt. Lebanon's proud history and commitment to the schools, it's fair to expect that our schools would show up among the top schools in the region.
Two years ago, USNews included Mt. Lebanon among its "silver" scorers in Allegheny County.
This year, Mt. Lebanon is nowhere to be found. The top scorers in Allegheny County are Mt. Lebanon's perennial public school competition: Upper St. Clair, Fox Chapel, and North Allegheny.
Perhaps someone else can wrangle the data to figure out where Mt. Lebanon has gone off the rails. Or where USNews has gone off the rails, which is entirely possible.
Two years ago, USNews included Mt. Lebanon among its "silver" scorers in Allegheny County.
This year, Mt. Lebanon is nowhere to be found. The top scorers in Allegheny County are Mt. Lebanon's perennial public school competition: Upper St. Clair, Fox Chapel, and North Allegheny.
Perhaps someone else can wrangle the data to figure out where Mt. Lebanon has gone off the rails. Or where USNews has gone off the rails, which is entirely possible.
Labels: mt. lebanon school district
6 Comments:
Last year Mt Lebanon was ranked as well (see http://lebosbupdates.blogspot.com/2008/12/mt-lebanon-high-school-ranked-one-of.html) It is unusual for schools to fall off a list like this.
I'm not sure if you remember about a year or two ago that Mt Lebanon was left off an initial ranking list because of the way the publication incorrectly interpreted information given to it by the District. After corrections were made we were subsequently added back to the list.
We'll see where this ends up. I hope it was a simple oversight.
James
Baldwin made the list. I'll gladly take their tax bill.
In other news, Jerry Springer is interested in hosting our next school board meeting.
I'm so proud . . . .
Dave Franklin
Lots of wonderful schools in the Charleston, SC suburbs. Daniel Island, Mt. Pleasant to name a few. We just got back from a visit. Weather's great, too.
What can I say? I feel the flames...
When the first words out of the gate of a new school board member are "Welcome, everyone, to 'Survivor School Board'" (Mary Birks) it's an indication of a mind intent on fighting, not serving. She has clearly indicated to the Mt. Lebanon community that she joins Sue Rose, Jo Posti, and Elaine Cappucci in their tribe.
Unfortunately, that tribe values deceptive statements and bullying over fact-based reality.
Lest any readers think the last school board meeting was a wrestling match, it wasn't that bad. Only three board members tipped into foolishness at all, and of them only two could be said to have been petty or spiteful, and even then only briefly. The remaining six board members "stayed classy," even when stones were cast in their direction. All in all, then, I would say the glass was two-thirds full.
And, of the empty third, I suspect that those board members now regret having cast stones. After all, what did their unkind behavior gain them?
My guess, then, is that everyone will be on their best behavior at the next meeting. I'm betting on a full glass.
Cheers,
Tom
As a quick update, I attended tonight's school-board discussion meeting (14 December) and saw nothing but civility from all board members. It was a long, jam-packed meeting, and there were many differing points of view, especially regarding the CAC's findings, but everybody treated one another with kindness and respect. I even saw a few smiles. It was delightful.
The new board is off to a good start.
Cheers,
Tom
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