...there were a non-judgmental forum for making suggestions at school?

Over the past few weeks I have openly discussed some of the various issues at University City High School. I do not presume to be the only one to notice these issues - nor do I believe I am the only one to bring them up. However, since there is such a lack of consistent communication at our school, I felt the need to bring to light some of the problems I see as diminishing the potential of this great school.

37 years ago, UCHS was built by people with beliefs and ideas about how to change the education available to students in West Philadelphia. At present, I believe we are failing at that mission, partially because we do not collaborate enough on the hard solutions that would really get to the cure instead of providing proverbial Band-Aids to fix the symptoms. I have come to realize that my posts only continue in that vain and are not making the kind of difference I had wanted them to so I am ending them.

I challenge all of you: If you read even one of these emails take some time to think about how you could be fixing the real problems at UCHS instead of just brushing them under the rug to never deal with them in the future. Work with your fellow staff and collaborate on projects that might end up benefitting the school more than you have ever dreamed.

In order to foster this idea I have created a new Google account that all of you can access using my newest email address. I have done this so that suggestions will remain anonymous unless the suggester wants to add his or her name. In the Documents section for this account there is a document named "How to make UCHS better." I recommend you follow the instructions below to navigate to this document, add to it, and keep tabs on it so that these suggestions can be implemented. And if they are not, talk to someone who should be fixing them.

Instructions:
1) Go to http://docs.google.com
2) Login with the following info:
Email: wb1682
Password: uchs1682
3) Click on the document in the window labeled "How to Make UCHS Better"
4) View/edit/add to the document at will
5) When done, click the "Save & Close" button in the top-right corner so others can do the same