Youngstown Schools give parents reasons to leave

Youngstown Schools give parents reasons to leave
EDITOR:
I am a life-long resident of Youngstown and a graduate from the Youngstown City School District. In recent years, many students have been pulled out of the Youngstown city schools, partly because of vouchers and charter schools. But I, having a sense of loyalty to the school system that helped me obtain my education, chose to send my 7-year-old daughter to a Youngstown city school. This is my daughter's first year at Sheridan Elementary, and because of my daughter's experience and my own with the so-called professionals I now see why so many parents choose not to send their children to this school system.
My daughter is an honor roll student, which is an accomplishment that she should be proud of. But by the end of 2001, I noticed that my daughter abhorred attending school every day. I learned that my daughter, along with the rest of her class, has been continually bullied by a fellow classmate. Angered by the verbal and physical abuse my daughter endured, I called the teacher. I was assured that the problem would stop, but she was only pacifying me. Over the course of one year, I have spoken with the teacher twice, the assistant principal twice, the principal once and the assistant superintendent of Youngstown City Schools and have left numerous messages for the superintendent to return my call. I have even requested a meeting with the bully and her mother so that we could intervene, but was told by the assistant principal at Sheridan that "that wouldn't be necessary. We'll send them to mediation." Mediation proved to be a joke because all they did was tell the girl to be nice and then offered the bully and the victim candy.
I am very angry and disappointed with the Youngstown City Schools system. My daughter should not have to go to school in fear of being assaulted on school property. This situation should have been handled appropriately by now instead of pacifying the situation with hope the problem will vanish at the end of the school year. The lack of action taken by the school administration is the exact reason why we have so many children packing weapons to school, followed by school officials scratching their heads wondering why massacres take place.
I am a tax-paying citizen paying the salaries of school administrators who don't even have the decency to return a phone call. I don't think the people I spoke to in the school system care about our children.
We, as parents, trust them to protect and educate our future, and it appears that all they want to do is secure a paycheck,
I am hurt that some of the teachers working in Youngstown don't care about what sort of future generation they are contributing to. I have been a witness to the second-rate Youngstown City Schools system.
Just because many Youngstown citizens are considered the "working poor" doesn't give anyone the right to provide our children with a sub-quality education in a learning environment that perpetuates the deviant behavior of those who need help.
TIFFANY NELMS
Youngstown
Adelphia Corp.: one more company to con region
EDITOR:
Your newspaper dedicated a good part of one Sunday's edition outlining and explaining the "benefits" that were to be provided this community by Adelphia Communication Corporation. The talk was of bringing in 5,000 jobs. Another con job that got community leaders excited along with this newspaper.
The Rigas family is jumping ship. The founder and patriarch resigned as CEO, his sons resigning from upper echelon management, resigning from the board of directors, etc.
Why? Only because the company is facing bankruptcy, the family owes the company $2 billion, the company is facing grand jury investigations and the NASDAQ Stock Market halted trading in Adelphia shares and may delist the company's stock.
ATTY. ED SOWINSKI Jr.
Poland