8/4/2019 October 2011Statement by the officers of the Academy of
Arts and Minds PTSA
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STATEMENT BY THEOFFICERS OF THE A&M PTSA
October 2011
Please visit theA&M PTSA Facebookpage to learn more about
the facts that support all of the
issues discussed here. We also welcome your questions and
comments. Our email address is
[email protected]. Additional contact information is on the
Facebook page.
A&M PTSA OFFICERS DO NOT WANT TO SHUT
DOWN THIS SCHOOL!!
We want it to get better! We've heard, however, rumors going
around the school that parents
have some sort of "hidden agenda", or want to take over the
school, or are trying to shut the
school down. These rumors are simply not true. Quite the
opposite-- we are concernedparents who want the school to be run
the way it is supposed to be run, for the interests
of its students and in compliance with the law.
A&M PTSA OFFICERS BELIEVE THAT WITH PROPER
MANAGEMENT THIS SCHOOL CAN BE GREAT!
A&M has all the ingredients of a great schoola self-selected
student body of kids interested
in the arts; dedicated teachers attracted to a small school with
motivated kids; active parent
involvement. Our kids like going to school here; or at least
they liked it until the problems
with the schools governance were revealed. A&M has the
potential of being a great school,if it is run properly!! While
many students and parents have left, weve instead chosen to
stay
and fight for positive change, so that the school can reach its
true potential for the benefit of
current and future students as well as our community as a
whole.
A&M PTSA OFFICERS HAVE ASKED MDCPS TO
ADDRESS THE MANY PROBLEMS AT OUR SCHOOL.
In the past year A&M lost two experienced and knowledgeable
Directors in William Machado
and Kevin Sawyer; lost a respected and effective Artistic
Director in Octavio Campos; and has
lost nearly 80% of its teachers. Many students didnt return from
last year; many students whodid have since withdrawn. The simple
fact that teachers, administrators and students wont
stay at this school demonstrates that there are problems. MDCPS
sponsors this charter school
and is responsible for making sure that the school is fulfilling
its responsibilities. Weve asked
MDCPS to please help the school fix its problems.
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8/4/2019 October 2011Statement by the officers of the Academy of
Arts and Minds PTSA
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A&M PTSA OFFICERS BELIEVE THAT THIS SCHOOL
NEEDS A NEW AND INDEPENDENT GOVERNING
BOARD THAT WILL ACT SOLELY IN THEINTERESTS OF A&M STUDENTS,
TEACHERS AND
PARENTS.
PTSA officers and other concerned parents strongly believe that
the members of the A&M
governing board have failed to follow the law; have failed to
look out for the financial interests of the
school; and have failed to manage the school in the interests of
its students, teachers and parents. The
members of this board have also been publicly and privately rude
and disrespectful to the
schools parentsthey have not responded to letters sent by
parents to the board earlier this
year, and two of them literally walked out of their board
meeting on September 22nd
when aparent raised issues that they apparently didnt want to
address. The school has problems, and
the governing board has not addressed them. For these reasons we
believe that Ruth
Montaner, Cecilia Holloman, Percy Aguila and Ignacio Ortiz Petit
should voluntarily
resign from the A&M governing board.
A&M PTSA OFFICERS BELIEVE THAT MANUEL
ALONSO POCH HAS IMPROPER CONTROL OVER
MANAGEMENT OF THE SCHOOL.
As detailed in the complaints filed with MDCPS we strongly
believe that Mr. Alonso
essentially operates this school on his own at the same time
that he acts as the landlord; the food
service company; and, as of July 2011, the new management
company. As Mr. Alonso explained to
parents on September 22nd, he is the only person with a
significant financial interest in the
school, and he wants to protect it. Mr. Alonso has also been
rude and disrespectful to parents
both publicly and privately. We believe that Mr. Alonso must
stop exercising control over
the school and allow A&M to be operated independently of his
financial interests, with
full operational authority granted to an experienced and
qualified Director, such as
recent Directors Machado and Sawyer.
