PTSA member helps facilitate a group. Photo by Phoebe Monsour.
PTSA member helps facilitate a group. Photo by Phoebe Monsour.

PTSA members discussed implications of Mayes’ investigation

Manual’s PTSA hosted a meeting to discuss members’ feelings about the district’s investigation of Principal Jerry Mayes.

The PTSA plans to use the opinions of those who attended the meeting, held in the senior cafeteria on November 28, to inform their actions on the issue and plans to discuss the implementation of these actions sometime in January.

Marian Vasser, the Director of Diversity Education and Inclusive Excellence at the University of Louisville, helped facilitate the meeting, which was only open to current paying PTSA members.

Attendees wrote anonymously on Post-it notes answers to three questions, which they discussed within a smaller group and later with the entire meeting.

Marian Vasser and another meeting facilitator help stimulate discussion in a group. Photo by Phoebe Monsour.

The questions were:

  • What are your current feelings about what is going on at Manual?
  • What do you think should happen and/or what action should be taken?
  • What role should the PTSA play?

Vasser said before the discussion that no attendee should quote another without explicit permission in order to promote an open discussion of the issue, but said general concerns of those who attended were that “people don’t know what’s going on; people are frustrated because central administration has not articulated the process.”

Vasser also advised those at the meeting to direct the focus of the discussion away from issues with specific individuals and, rather, focus on the broader situation.

Still, many who attended the meeting, such as Lilah Weiss (11, MST), had their own views on Mayes.

Weiss said, “I know a lot of people are pushing for the removal of Mr. Mayes and I don’t know how I feel about that. But I think there does needs to be reform. And I do think there needs to be a lot more communication and education amongst teachers, students and administration.”

Another student, Emily Slaven (10, HSU) said the meeting encouraged open communication.

“This was a really good idea to hear from everybody and hear what people’s concerns are because in all honesty I didn’t know people were so concerned with such different things,” Slaven said. “There were only a few students at this PTSA meeting, and I’m glad that I could be one of them.”

A PTSA member facilitates discussion of notes for her group. Photo by Phoebe Monsour.
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  • L

    LauraDec 5, 2017 at 8:40 am

    Derek, I really hate to state the obvious but sometimes I forget that it’s necessary with certain types of people who spend their lives looking for offenses.

    The fact that you wrote what you did above on a duPont Manual affiliated site shows there is no abuse of power.

    The abuses of power are coming from your side. People who are targeted have nowhere to go to make a defense because in your world there is no defense to basic disagreement. Therefore you must ruin people who disagree with you. It’s a great censoring tactic that has worked for far too long. You prefer to view yourself as a victim while you seek to victimize others who disagree with you. That is sad, indeed.

    You guys are making a great case for school choice.

    Reply
  • L

    LauraDec 5, 2017 at 8:22 am

    Derek, are you 16? You have no clue what “abuse of power” really looks like.

    Reply
  • D

    Derek JensenDec 1, 2017 at 6:06 pm

    Dear Laura, your comments make very little sense.

    “He is a white man who seemed to believe some students at Manual could handle critical thinking analysis.”

    To what is this sentence referring? Is it referring merely to the covertly recorded audio? If so, have you heard the entire audio? If you’ve heard the entire audio, do you genuinely believe that all of it was just “critical thinking analysis” — including the parts where he belittled his colleagues and superiors? (JCPS reprimanded him for that part.)

    If you’re referring merely to the covertly recorded audio, then perhaps you are unaware of the other allegations against Mayes, all of which are fairly consistent in depicting the man’s abuses of power. Here are some of the allegations:

    http://dearjcps.com/dupont-manual-community-speaks-out/

    It is my understanding that there are even more allegations that have not been made public and are being investigated by the district.

    So you see, Laura, there’s more going on here than you think, so you may want to rethink your off-base comments about how a man abusing his power is just trying to get student to do some “critical thinking analysis,” whatever you think that phrase means.

    Reply
  • L

    LauraDec 1, 2017 at 9:15 am

    PSTA is now defined as PC. Political Correctness. Walk on eggshells at DuPont Manual as PC now more important than academics. It only took a few SJW parents/teachers to rip the place apart. They want Mayes out because he is a white man who seemed to believe some students at Manual could handle critical thinking analysis. He was wrong. Not even some teachers can. Wonder what their next demand will be? Because it’s never enough and JCPS crumbles like a house of cards over PC.

    So, “reporter”, how many people were at the meeting?

    Reply
  • C

    Charley HansenNov 30, 2017 at 8:50 pm

    What a pity that PTSA was never defined. Do I guess it means Parents Teachers Students Association? What are the qualifications for membership and the amount of dues?

    Reply