Where was it said? Susquehanna or Coatesville?

When the district's current leadership team began, there were numerous concerns being shared about the experiences of Susquehanna Township while Dr. Taschner and Dr. Donahue were Assistant Superintendents there together. But regardless of those concerns, Dr. Taschner was hired and Dr. Donahue joined the district shortly after. Now, five years later, we see many of the same concerns emerging and patterns repeating in Coatesville. So with that in mind, we'd like present a game this morning to see if you, our readers, can tell whether the following statements were said about Susquehanna or Coatesville. Where was it said?

(All of the statements below were from newspaper articles, editorials, or community Facebook groups. See the bottom of the article for a link to the answers and sources.)

1. ...former teachers talked about changes that ate away at their love of teaching and pushed them to leave the district. Another former staff pointed to discipline problems.

2. Retired teacher: It was like a "prison sentence" getting up in the morning and going to school knowing he couldn't be effective in the classroom. 

3. There's a lack of consequences for students who are disruptive in the classroom.

4. Peter Principle is a management theory which suggests that organizations risk filling management positions with people who are incompetent if they promote those who are performing well at their current role, rather than those who have proven abilities at the intended role.

5. Unfortunately, it does not appear that any teachers were interviewed for this report... with the additional cost of hiring substitute teachers to cover the times teachers were training...

6. The high school has a growing number of students taking AP courses.

7.  Questions ranged from addressing possible academic and discipline issues to ways to improve transparency and communication and the working relationship between the community, school district and school board.

8. The current climate in the schools has undermined the functioning of the IEP team.

9. Contrary to what our administration was telling us, our teachers were not leaving us because of "greener pastures," or simply because the wanted to retire, or because they didn't want to cover the lunchroom.

10. I am tiring of the long-winded explanations/ excuses provided by our superintendent.

11. We must continue to be actively engaged to restore the greatness we once had.

12. Once upon a time, parents watched as their beloved school district, deliberately chosen because of its excellence, deteriorated into an entity they no longer recognized. Calls and emails to teachers, board members, and administration were numerous but unproductive. 

13. While money was spent on questionable programs, curriculum and discipline weakened. Trust eroded and communication broke down. Dozens of families fled for private school, while others relocated into neighboring districts. 

14. Many experienced staff members resigned, with some retiring earlier than planned. Most families stayed, however, unwilling to surrender their children’s schools to poorly made decisions and arrogant, disconnected leadership at the top. 

15. Former teachers said they didn’t get the support they needed from administration when it came to unruly students. One former high school teacher said teachers were switched out of their positions at times because of disagreements with administration.

16. ...pushed a “conquer and divide” mentality – telling one group one thing and another group something different. She believed that was an effort to keep people fighting and from coming together for a common goal.


For answers and source links for the above, please click here.