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VCUSD Reality Check

There is a serious disconnect between the reality of the State Administrator and that of the teachers and staff who work in the classrooms of Vallejo 's schools. Perhaps Dr. Damelio and his team need to come out of their newly refurbished and furnitured island offices and step inside the classrooms of Vallejo to see personally what teachers and children arrive to on many days.  In more than a few schools they would see, and smell, garbage cans whose liners have not been changed, reeking of sour milk and crawling with ants.  They would see desks, tables and countertops that have not been wiped down for weeks; floors that are sticky to the touch from lack of mopping; carpets that you wouldn't want your pet to sit on; and dust and cobwebs around windows and light fixtures that have not been touched in years. 

To suggest that the every-other-day cleaning plan has been working is an insult to anyone who actually occupies these rooms.  To suggest that teachers are misrepresenting the state of their classrooms by saying that there has been no increase in the reports of classroom cleanliness concerns is simply inaccurate.  The District receives many CoC (Condition of Classroom) reports each week, in which it is made clear that the problems exist. 

I suggest that Dr. Damelio and his maintenance supervision team plan a trip around the district before the start of the school day and view some classrooms.  Then they need to ask themselves the question, “Would I want to work or go to school here?”   If their answer is no – which it most certainly will be in many cases – they need to make an honest and concerted effort to do something about the cleaning and day-to-day maintenance of the schools, rather than suggest that the teachers have been dishonest and unwilling to work on a successful cleaning program.

Janie Vranicar-Lewis