VicMan Posted October 14, 2017 Share Posted October 14, 2017 The Houston Press published a series of articles about the suspension of Bertie Simmons, principal of Furr High School on Houston's east side (serves the Songwood, Northshore, Pleasantville, Clinton Park, and Jacinto City areas). Furr High School Principal Sent Home | Houston Press As Second Probe Launched into Principal Bertie Simmons, Supporters Protest at Board Meeting | Houston Press As did the Chron: Houston ISD investigating new allegations against Furr principal - Houston Chronicle and Houston public media: Without Its Storied Principal, What’s The Future Of Furr High? – Houston Public Media TLDR: Simmons went out of retirement to be principal of Furr since 2000 and is known for turning around the school (she took students to New York City to prove 9/11 happened as a reward for them being good for the school year) Simmons wanted to continue using school uniforms after Harvey to deter gangs, but HISD admins wanted to suspend uniforms because kids' clothing was damaged by the storm HISD admins accused Simmons of threatening tickets (court action) over uniform non-compliance and argued that it would expose illegal immigrant parents to court scrutiny, while Simmons stated she'd never suspend a student for uniform non-compliance HISD admins accused Simmons of threatening students w/ a bat, while her supporters and students say it's a commonly understood joke - students once presented a bat as a gift to the principals Simmons's lawyers accused HISD of trying to take $10 million in grants meant for Furr and to give it to other schools - Simmons says the grant organizer (Steve Job's widow) only intended the money for Furr and wouldn't give it if the money didn't go where it was supposed to go Simmons's lawyer accused HISD of trying to replace her (older white woman) with a non-white, younger principal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Dogs Posted October 23, 2017 Share Posted October 23, 2017 On 10/13/2017 at 11:24 PM, VicMan said: The Houston Press published a series of articles about the suspension of Bertie Simmons, principal of Furr High School on Houston's east side (serves the Songwood, Northshore, Pleasantville, Clinton Park, and Jacinto City areas). Furr High School Principal Sent Home | Houston Press As Second Probe Launched into Principal Bertie Simmons, Supporters Protest at Board Meeting | Houston Press As did the Chron: Houston ISD investigating new allegations against Furr principal - Houston Chronicle and Houston public media: Without Its Storied Principal, What’s The Future Of Furr High? – Houston Public Media TLDR: Simmons went out of retirement to be principal of Furr since 2000 and is known for turning around the school (she took students to New York City to prove 9/11 happened as a reward for them being good for the school year) Simmons wanted to continue using school uniforms after Harvey to deter gangs, but HISD admins wanted to suspend uniforms because kids' clothing was damaged by the storm HISD admins accused Simmons of threatening tickets (court action) over uniform non-compliance and argued that it would expose illegal immigrant parents to court scrutiny, while Simmons stated she'd never suspend a student for uniform non-compliance HISD admins accused Simmons of threatening students w/ a bat, while her supporters and students say it's a commonly understood joke - students once presented a bat as a gift to the principals Simmons's lawyers accused HISD of trying to take $10 million in grants meant for Furr and to give it to other schools - Simmons says the grant organizer (Steve Job's widow) only intended the money for Furr and wouldn't give it if the money didn't go where it was supposed to go Simmons's lawyer accused HISD of trying to replace her (older white woman) with a non-white, younger principal What's the latest developments on Simmons' lawsuit against HISD ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VicMan Posted November 4, 2017 Author Share Posted November 4, 2017 The students seem to favor Simmons http://cw39.com/2017/10/17/furr-high-school-students-stage-a-walk-out-to-protest-banning-their-83-year-old-principal/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Dogs Posted December 5, 2017 Share Posted December 5, 2017 On 11/3/2017 at 8:25 PM, VicMan said: The students seem to favor Simmons http://cw39.com/2017/10/17/furr-high-school-students-stage-a-walk-out-to-protest-banning-their-83-year-old-principal/ VicMan: Any new developments on Simmons' case ? HISD is stupid enough to do this! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VicMan Posted May 23, 2018 Author Share Posted May 23, 2018 On 12/6/2017 at 0:45 AM, Blue Dogs said: VicMan: Any new developments on Simmons' case ? HISD is stupid enough to do this! There is now https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/education/article/bertie-simmons-houston-hisd-principal-furr-high-12934326.php HISD concluded that some administrators (unnamed, and without providing evidence) had inflated students' grades. It didn't directly say Simmons did it, and it didn't provide any statement about her employment, but the Chron thinks it's a sign they want to fully terminate her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Dogs Posted May 25, 2018 Share Posted May 25, 2018 On 5/23/2018 at 4:56 PM, VicMan said: There is now https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/education/article/bertie-simmons-houston-hisd-principal-furr-high-12934326.php HISD concluded that some administrators (unnamed, and without providing evidence) had inflated students' grades. It didn't directly say Simmons did it, and it didn't provide any statement about her employment, but the Chron thinks it's a sign they want to fully terminate her. WOW. This is going to escalate into more expletive. How far would HISD go to do this ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VicMan Posted September 23, 2018 Author Share Posted September 23, 2018 Simmons was fired back in June - The board voted 5-1 in favor of getting rid of her. She's suing on grounds of age and race. She is also asking for an appeal from the TEA, although HISD is not obliged by state law to follow the recommendations from the TEA hearing examiner https://www.chron.com/news/education/article/Fired-Furr-High-School-principal-fighting-13207168.php Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VicMan Posted October 15, 2018 Author Share Posted October 15, 2018 Simmons got a $100,000 settlement https://www.click2houston.com/news/fired-furr-hs-principal-gets-100k-settlement-from-hisd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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