You might have missed the point Dr. Holloway

VICKSBURG, Miss. (VDN) — Last night I had the pleasure of attending the Vicksburg Warren School District State of the District meeting held at Sherman Avenue Elementary School. VWSD’s Superintendent Dr. Toriano Holloway closed the the address with a speech. 

Dr. Holloway was obviously frustrated and in his own words was being facetious about negativity on social media platforms. He stressed that his teachers and students were doing a great job and tried to make it seem as if negativity around the school district was about the performance of teachers and students. 

Well, Dr. Holloway, I think you missed the point. 

As a writer of VDN, I’m well aware of some of the pointed stories I’ve written and put out on social media. I know a lot of the comments that were probably agitating. However, see, I’m a mother of two students in your school district. I have skin in this game. I know the things these kids are capable of doing. Their ability to reach excellence is well within their range, and this Mama is rooting for all of them.

I believe in the teachers. They show up day-in and day-out pouring themselves into students and helping shape the future generation. I admire our teachers and wish I had their patience and passion for education. 

During the speech, one of your remarks was about how the district held a tour of the schools for community members to show up and see all the great things available at the campuses.

“A whooping four people showed up, but you let something go on Facebook and you’ll have 200 responses,” you said. 

Well, that left me scratching my head. See, as I mentioned, I have students in the district. They tell me things just like the other students go home and tell their parents. And it is the parents who eventually get frustrated enough to reach out to me and VDN. One thing I always ask them is if they have reported things to the principals or administration. They all say “yes”. There and that is the root of the community frustration, Dr. Holloway. They report things and nothing is done. It builds distrust when they are simply ignored.

So I have to ask, when was the last time you visited your schools in person? Why do you literally have high school students going to social media accounts and complaining that there hasn’t been soap or toilet paper in the women’s restroom for weeks?

How can you expect great things from your female students and female teachers when they can’t properly or hygienically use the restroom? 

Look, the “Great Toilet Paper Shortage of 2020” was six years ago…it should be easier to come by now. There should be no reason teachers and students should have to think ahead about taking napkins from the school cafeteria to use in the restroom later. All of that just adds extra stress to students and teachers who should be focusing on academics while they are on campus and ultimately, under your care.

Why do you have already over-stressed bus drivers forced to transport children in an overcrowded bus? They already have the stress of needing to drive defensively to avoid other crazy drivers on the roadway. They shouldn’t be forced to drive cramped busses with students standing down the entire length of the aisle. 

No, Dr. Holloway, no one is blaming the students or the teachers or the bus drivers. They are blaming people in the administration level. Leadership starts with you, Dr. Holloway as the superintendent of our schools. When you lead from the front, you can’t see what is happening behind you. 

You mentioned that you’ve worked for six different school districts and none of them were perfect. Sure. I can agree with that. I’ve lived all over multiple states and can honestly say, I haven’t found a perfect one myself. 

I will say, I have seen districts who take responsibility and transparency more seriously than VWSD. 

Heck, one morning when I was a publisher of a paper in north Mississippi, I got a phone call at 6:30 a.m. from the local superintendent. 

“Hey, Steph, look, I have to tell you something. We found a gun on a bus this morning. Let’s go ahead and get the facts out before the rumor mill starts on Facebook,” he said.

That was a perfect example, in my opinion, on how to handle the situation. We got the story out, and sure there was a round of negativity on social media surrounding the initial event. Yet, guess what? People were forgiving because they saw that their school district was open and honest about a serious event. The district had the community’s trust.

Later that year, we had a series of bomb threats concerning the local high school. With each bomb threat, the schools were forced to go through procedures and evacuate the campus. It was a pain. It was hard on all the students, staff, teachers and even the local police department. Yet each time, the superintendent was on the phone with me telling me each step so I could help deliver the news to the worried parents and surrounding community. 

That is leading from the ground up. That is transparency. That is having the right people in the right job. 

You also seemed agitated about positive news not being publicized. Well, we do that too. Anytime since I have been here that there has been an invitation from the district to highlight a positive, I’ve personally gone and reported on it. I would be happy send you the links.

But the problem is that we have to beg for information from your district. Why aren’t we getting more invitations to showcase the wonderful accomplishments of the students and teachers? You mentioned a canned food drive as a collaboration of schools with the goal of filling an entire bus with donated goods. That is a great story! So why did we just hear about it last night?

Look, at the end of the day, we can only report on what we know. That goes for the good, the bad and ugly. So why not just make it all transparent in the first place?

So, Dr. Holloway, let me put your mind at ease. You have great teachers, bus drivers and students in your district. They have the potential to continue to strive to raise the bar and lead Vicksburg into a brighter future. 

But if I might humbly suggest one thing? Stop shifting the blame to social media or perceive disgruntlement aimed at teachers and students. 

And this is just an opinion piece, but I believe there are two types of leaders: proactive and reactive. Maybe it’s better to get ahead of issues and be proactive about making the little things better for your students and teachers. It really is time to stop being reactive to the things you read on social media. The simple solution is to proactively head off issues before they become problems you must react to in the State of the District addresses.