We need to keep the facts straight. Dr. Williams HAS NOT been fired. He has been placed on paid administrative leave pending an “investigation” that does not seem to be happening.

We keep hearing about this large bandwagon of people who want him out, but when given the opportunity to make comments (especially on this site) they wish to remain hidden behind identities like “Jon Doe” and “Let’s think about it”. In public, this bandwagon of people fail to hop on their horse and buggy and show up?

I have worked in Perry township a long time and lived here even longer. I am very confused about your comment stating that for the past several years parents, teachers, and students have been heavily against Dr. Williiams. I have no recollection of a significant number of people from any of these groups being against our superintendent. Of course, in a school system as large as ours you are going to have some people who disagree and some people I’m sure have been against Williams (to use your words) BUT the vast majority of Perry parents, teachers, students, and residents have been quite pleased with Dr. Williams as the leader of our schools. That is why there is such a public outcry now (as you mentioned in your post).

Contrary to the beliefs of some people, the responsibility for the drop out rates do not solely lie upon the shoulders of Dr. Williams or his administration. A student’s attitude, commitment to learning, the teacher’s commitment to teaching and most importantly the involvement by the parents in the educational process is the key.

If I, as a parent, do not stress the importance of learning then I am the most guilty. Once a child enters any school system the parents have made a 12 year commitment to support their child and the teachers involved with their student. If the parents don’t do their job then the teachers can’t do theirs. Education begins at home but does not stop when a child leaves the house and enters school.

While replacing a principal or superintendent may help, or in this case hurt the administrative process, it is not the only answer! Stop holding Dr. Williams soley responsible for the dropout rate.

FYI…my daughter falls under the percentage of “dropouts”, but I assure you she is not a loser. She opted to home school due to some health issues; however, she took a couple of classes at Perry, as well. She scored very high on I-Steps and SAT exams. She also received college credit for some of her high school classes. Although a home school diploma is perfectly acceptable in Indiana, she CHOSE to take the GED, and passed with Honors. She is a college student now at one of the nations most respected universities, and she is doing quite well.

So, Jon, as you can see…things are not always as they appear. Several of my daughter’s friends also obtained their home school diplomas for various reasons. Your statistics of MSDPT dropouts does not represent the whole picture.

You even sound like a high school student, one who certainly has been thououghly brainwashed and is too emotionally involved to recognize it, because you lack reason, you exhibit bitterness and hatred, and you are unwilling to even consider another’s point of view.

Read your comments in about 7 years; I hope you’ll see what the rest of us see. Good luck!

In the meantime, I hope your children won’t have to be the ones suffering from the damage this Board majority will have caused our educational system.