Bullard parents vocal about school's slump

Parents worried by test scores, other issues.

Published online on Saturday, Aug. 01, 2009

Frustrated with mounting problems at Bullard High School, some parents have waged a reform campaign so intense that they even considered trying to turn the northwest Fresno campus into a charter school.

The parents say they are worried by dropping test scores, rising disciplinary problems, a crumbling campus and other issues that they say are chipping away at Bullard's legacy of public school excellence.

They have reason to be concerned: Bullard's scores and rankings on state standardized tests have dropped over the past four years and expulsions are up.

But critics question whether the school is declining as much as the activists suggest. They wonder if over-involved, influential parents are simply too demanding, pointing out that other Fresno schools have faced many of the same problems -- or worse -- for years.

"Bullard is like any other high school," said Janet Nelson, a Hoover High School parent and first-grade teacher in Sanger. "They have to deal with it."

Bullard's new principal, Brian Beck, knows he must mend fences between parents and district officials. "From my perspective, we all have a common goal. But how we get there, that's where we have to get our heads together," he said.

The Bullard parents say they're willing to give Beck a chance to turn things around. But, if the future is anything like the past, he'll be under close scrutiny.

Parents upset

Over the last year, Bullard parents have repeatedly complained to district leaders about falling test scores, outdated facilities and student discipline. But it's been their strong-arm approach that has prompted a backlash.

When the district was recruiting for Bullard's new principal just before school ended in June, parents were upset they weren't more involved in the hiring process and even suggested several names.

Not all Bullard parents agreed with taking that approach. "I don't know that parents have a right to demand a meeting with prospective principal candidates," said parent Lynne Thaxter Brown, a local attorney. "This is not a private school."

But parents like Chuck Manock, a lawyer and Bullard grad who is a member of a parent-booster group called Bullard Pride, said parents need not apologize for being concerned.

Manock said Bullard Pride members want the best for children -- all children. "I think it's wrong for anyone to call us elitist or racist," he said.

Concerns about elitism were raised by a January letter from Bullard Pride to then-school principal Glenn Starkweather, complaining that officials had failed to deal with problems such as dress code enforcement and to discipline unruly transfer students. The letter talked about problems with menacing students in gang-like attire and a fear that the school is losing its "core identity."

"If fundamental changes do not occur, our school will follow the path of Fresno High, McLane and Hoover," the letter stated. "Each year we will become more and more of an inner-city school with falling test scores and rising disciplinary problems." The letter said they wanted to return Bullard "to the status of an elite school."

Thaxter Brown said she found the letter offensive because it denigrated other high schools.

She said the parents may have been well-intentioned, but "I just found it elitist and offensive the way it was written. Not just as a parent of a Bullard student," Thaxter Brown said, but as a community member.

Parent advocacy is critical to achieving academic excellence, said Anne Foster, executive director of Parents for Public Schools, a Mississippi-based national organization that works with parents to improve public schools.