Clickker: "parent committee"??? You were allowed a parent committee to help select your principal??? INTERESTING. I wonder (she says, already knowing the answer) if that is, or is not an option for every school in the district when hiring a principal????

NewYorkLilly: Excellent point. It seems ridiculous to me that we get rid of principals, then open up a state wide search to replace??? WHAT??

People leave jobs from time to time!!!! Listen to her own words that she wanted to be closer to her family. Some times it is just that, so get off Dr. Dolls back. Lawrence is a great district because the wonderful teachers and administrators we have and yes some times people leave or retire. This doesn't mean that Dr. Doll is running people out of town!!! Some people just aren't happy unless there is mess.

P.S. Myron is one the best at what is does!!!

"Espinoza said Tuesday that ... he wanted to announce his resignation so the district wouldn’t have to lay off a principal due to the cuts. “I wanted to jump ahead of that,” Espinoza said."

"Doll also said he didn’t think the state budget crisis was behind Thompson’s and Espinoza’s decisions to leave the district."

Apparently Doll didn't listen to the reason he gave Espinoza to resign. It sounds like Espinoza did an honorable thing in an attempt to prevent others from being laid-off. Maybe Doll can save the district the cost of a search, new hire, and orientation of a new principal by offering one of the open positions to Espinoza. It can't hurt to ask.

rez4prez (anonymous) says… P.S. Myron is one the best at what is does!!!

Yes, you are right about that. Myron is one of the best at avoiding confrontation that there is. If he can figure out a way to try and please everyone, he certainly will. Of course as the saying goes - the man who tries to please everyone ends up pleasing no one.

Clickker (anonymous) says… No one was happy to see Myron leave.

Not after getting saddled with Lisa.

For those of you who enjoy bashing someone as they are walking out the door... Congratulations on being a special kind of classless. You know, no leader is perfect and no employee is perfect. Moreover, I believe that the higher you go up the "food chain" of the corporate (or educational structure, in this case), the more criticism you draw. (And, on some level, rightfully so... You are, after all, responsible for more than you were before.)

However, the measure of a person who is a class act is one who says nothing when someone they do not like leaves a position. Let your silence be your voice. She's gone. You're happy. Good for you.

As for me? I worked with Lisa for two years at Langston Hughes. I had the privelege of working in the BEST (Behavioral and Emotional Support Team) Program. It was well run by the classroom teacher, Mrs. Copeland, and very rarely did I feel like we were micromanaged. I felt like she cared about the kids and would do anything for them. And, although there might be times where I didn't agree with decisions made by her... I never once thought it as a check against her, personally.

Furthermore, I believe that the school she is going to is going to be in for a great surprise. She is always energetic and wants the best for the kids. Her strengths far outweigh her weaknesses. And, I, for one, will miss being able to go into Langston Hughes and see her there.

As for those of you speculating about why she's leaving... I don't know for certain, but I would imagine it is for the primary reason she lists: Family. She lives in Olathe, has a cute little girl that she'd like to be closer to and have less of a commute to get home to every day. I really doubt there is animosity involved between Doll and any of the administrators. All in all, I have heard very good things about Rick's leadership thus far from inside the grapevine.

Good luck, Lisa!

--Danny Speicher

It is interesting that she takes credit for "the family I have created with the Langston Hughes staff and community." I wonder if she would acknowledge all of the people she has hurt both willingly and through her lack of leadership? The number of families happy to see Ms. Thompson leave will be extremely high. If the district had anything to do with this departure, I applaud USD #497.

I'm glad there are those who have had positive experiences with this principal. Unfortunately, I don't feel this number can come close to the number of people who have been treated poorly by her or have had unbelievably negative experiences with her. Here is to new beginnings and a chance for positive experiences for everyone!

This district needs to clean house. There are many poor, poor teachers, administrators and counselors that need to go. No longer do I give educators a free pass. They make more money than I do and many of them do not deserve it. My hat is off to those who excel. I have educators in my family, I base my judgement on their comments and insight.

I have a senior in one of the High Schools in town. This student takes AP classes and is receiving horrible teaching in one of her classes. Half the Class gets an F when they take tests. Tests are there to see if Learning has occurred.

When this was brought to the attention of the Asst. Prin. in charge, He said "we are happy with our scores, we get 2's to 4's on the tests. A 2!!!!!! That is failing Mr. Principal.

I have another relative in HS who has been told by their coach they could play D1 sports. They make over a 3.5 GPA. Their Councellor said "oh I don't think you could play your sport and go to college" You should look at Emporia or WSU. The counselor did not even know that this student played a sport or what sport or how good they were, but they can advise them not to play the sport????

I thought Counselors and teachers were supposed to teach our kids to excel??????

"This town needs an Enema!" - Jack Nicholson ~ The Joker

Whooo Hoo- Questioning minds. YOU GET IT! Those of us who have opened our hearts, time, and checkbooks to the school commend your blog for nailng it on the head! The comments about her helping the community make me ill. She is the one who single handendly shut down access to the school building for scouts, tutuoring, enrichment clubs- She did not choose to live in this community and had no stock. in it. Our community outreach committee no longer is productive because she sand bagged every idea after watching already over-committed parent volunteers spin their wheels/wasting their time to DO GOOD for the communtiy and she would reply in her "PINK " ink that the idea was turned down by her "leadership" committtee.

Perhaps thats is why she was able to sleep at night talking out of both sides of her mouth to parents and staff. She would NOT run the risk of running into us at HY-VEE in town! She lives in OLATHE! The two community things Langston is known for are Watch Dogs and its Marathon club which were completely PARENT driven- I guess she can be credited that she agreed to let the programs get started -but that only actually got her and her school notoriety for the programs.

Having been in the principal's office at LH concerning a problem with one of my kids and having the teacher and Lisa present, I noted Lisa sat quietly allowing the teacher to speak and address the problems. At the completion of the meeting the only thing said by her was has everything been addressed and walked out. No micromanaging on her part, no sense of entitlement on our or our child's part (they were totally in the wrong and we supported the school and the rules they present to all parents at the beginning of every year).

Thompson does support leadership, tutoring programs and enrichment clubs after school. It is called Boys and Girls Club and it goes from the end of school until 6pm on the school grounds. Thompson never said scouts or other programs could not use LH areas for meetings. She said they could use the areas after 6pm when B&G club was finished. She turned down the use of those areas requested by those programs while B&G club was meeting and refused to allow those programs to use the individual classrooms out of fairness to the teachers who would have to lock up or secure their things so cub scouts could meet in their rooms.

Most of her detractors were people who felt they were entitled to use the building and site when it fit their personal schedule rather than the schedule already set forth by others who went through the right channels first. Others were people who felt their kid should have this teacher or that teacher or should be in a certain class room and did not get it. Sorry we can't always get what we want. Been there and toughed it out for a year. I am also aware of several other rules she changed for the better.

I am also aware of some of the situations where the kids went to private schools or OP, maybe it is easier to badger or influence the admin at those schools rather than making child follow the rules. It is hard to sit and listen to someone tell you your kid is screwing up, but your not helping the kid by reinforcing the teacher is wrong.

Watchdogs are great and so is the Marathon Club and we take part in both the Parents do a great job and should get credit for all the work they do.

The number of families who have made decisions to move their kids, transfer from LH to another USD school, seek outside help and even home-school, should be a clues, big ones!. Let alone many parents who came to the realization "that I will stick it out because I only have three years to go," and then just avoided the building as much as possible. Three years? To avoid the school? it's your child's elementary years. It's not right that anyone should feel that way!

I am happy that this change is better for her, it will be good for her family. That's an honorable thing. Honestly, it's great for so many others too. There were definitely supporters, but there are so many who have been blown-off, ignored, treated poorly and disrespected as well as families who have been given the run-around when seeking help with their kids. Phone calls not returned, meetings attended but no engagement and little to no follow-up in any sort of timely manner.

It is understandable that many teachers and some parents will be sad to see her go, it is a tight team and change is always difficult. Families have had nothing but support for them and the difficult and honorable job they do, which will only get tougher due to finances and class sizes. When things got heated last year, the most unfortunate thing was that parents were never given the benefit of the doubt when issues came up, it was gut-wrenching, disgusting and wrong.

It has been anything but a community school. Relationships were never cultivated top-down to the greater school community. A handful of close supporters who backed her in every decision were always included and kept up-to-date. Per the previous poster, yes, there are parents who nit-pick, cajole and bother-there are also others who bully, circumvent, hold pre-meetings before real meetings and take power trips as well.

Many families, who only wanted to support this school through more than donations, have been repeatedly ignored-and this isn't about taking over someone's classroom. The amount of animosity within the school has been toxic, divisive and should never have occurred. If issues such as after-school building usage would have been hit head-on and dealt with above-board and with respect, there would have been understanding. Benefit of the doubt can often be your best friend. Sharing and dialogue makes for better relationships and helps build support. Unfortunately, that's not how it went. That's not how any bit of communication has gone.

The Friday Flier and website are really pretty and they contain a lot more information now, but by no means are they a real dialogue with the community. Getting any information disseminated or posted about anything remotely important has been unbelievably difficult.

Progress has been made, but there could never be any real progress without the one change that was announced yesterday.

I would like to clarify this line:

"no sense of entitlement on our or our child's part (they were totally in the wrong and we supported the school and the rules they present to all parents at the beginning of every year)."

The "they" I was referring to was our child and our child being wrong.

Tigerman: Too True.

I always wondered why it was so important to have the meetings at the school rather than at their individual homes like in the "olden days" when we were growing up. If they don't want their members in their house after school, why should they think a teacher should have to give up their "home" to make it easier to have meetings.

Peace and Love: Hopefully you can find one of these organizations you described in a different location so your child can at least learn how to be a couple of these: Trustworthy, Helpful, Friendly, Courteous, Kind because your misrepresentation of the events make me believe it needs to be taught somewhere.

I'm not going to beat a dead horse here. I'm not going to defend Lisa. My experience with her and everyone else's experiences with her are personal ones and the legacy she leaves will be based on those. I can't speak for her. And, I cannot defend her actions for those of you who feel wronged by her.

My issue lies with what you all see as "whistle-blowing." Call me old-fashioned, but I always thought "whistle-blowing" was taking a stand to make a difference in something you care about. This requires two things:

1. Personal involvement... If I guess correctly, most of you are great at expressing your opinions behind the guises of made up screen names and choose to do very little about the issues when your name is at stake. I realize there is a great deal of comfort behind posting something in a vaccuum where no one knows it is you that is making the claim. But, what you end up doing is marring someone's name and really not doing much to change the situation.

You huff and puff, but your hot air is not directed toward anyone that can do anything about it. If you feel so strongly about the leadership at your elementary school, please... By all means... Tell the superintendent. (I would do the same thing if I had kids and they went to a school where I feel the principal isn't up to standard.) Get a group of parents (which you apparently know MANY who are in the same boat as you) and go to the district with your concerns. I mean, really... If you know so many parents who have been so disgruntled with her leadership, you could have really gotten enough of a ground swell to make a difference while she was still in her position, could you not? Or perhaps you didn't have as much support as you thought. Or, perhaps you never did much more than "blew your whistle" anonymously which leaves very little chance for district leadership to do much to verify your "reports."

2. Timing... The time for "whistle-blowing" isn't when the person is leaving their position. You kind of have what you want. Right? Had you "blown your whistle" when you should have, would you not have gotten, ideally, what is happening at this moment? Did you want something more? Do you want her strung up by her toes? Do you want her in the stockades to make a public mockery of her supposed poor leadership?

Listen... I say all of that to say this... I don't understand why you do this when the person is leaving. It seems classless, rude and, above all, immature. I shudder to think that you have children who watch (and may model) your petty behavior. Grow up, folks. Your wishes have been granted... She's gone. The least you could do is be civil and stay quiet if you don't have anything productive or kind to say.

--Danny Speicher

Questioning Minds:

Excellent point regarding her employment history and the reasons she had been moved from her position as principal to that of a curriculum specialist in Kansas City Public Schools. One need not look far to realize the legacy this principal left at LH was simply history repeating itself. Surely the population of the Kansas City, Kansas school where she was formerly principal was not composed primarily of entitled parents? Hopefully, for the well-meaning patrons of Gardner-Edgerton, the “third time’s the charm” for Ms. Thompson.

It’s All Good:

You sound extremely passionate, intelligent, caring, and genuine. I don’t believe for one second that you have a sense of entitlement. Every school should be so fortunate to have parents like you.

It's all good:

"A handful of close supporters who backed her in every decision were always included and kept up-to-date. Per the previous poster, yes, there are parents who nit-pick, cajole and bother-there are also others who bully, circumvent, hold pre-meetings before real meetings and take power trips as well. "

I agree a school should have a family/community building component, but that is not always an option in this day and age. As nice as it would be for my kids to feel like school is like a family, it time for learning and education not hugs and love. And yes it would have been great to be able to keep everyone informed, but it is not nessessarily in the job description.

I would like to point out putting out fires and handling situations created by even a few of those described in the bully catagory can take up a large portion of an administrator's time, reducing the amount of time one can deal with those who are truly backers. Those few have been known to shape and manipulate what information was released to try and serve their own purposes. Several names of those groups come to mind as I write this and they should be the ones held accountable for the lack of information.

monkeywrench1969 Just a few comments, the term "family" was not in the post-that came from another source. Community schools are what we should be striving for, which means a child who is well-educated, rounded and concerned about the world in which they live. No hugs and love required, although there are many who provide it because they genuinely mean it.

The buck stops at the top, and it could be said that the district administration has maybe redeemed itself after the last seven years of protecting and ignoring real concerns. If a principal has autonomy without a measure of real supervision, as seemed to be the case, then this is what one gets.

As for whom a principal takes input from, it's their call. Leadership comes from the top and trickles down. Bad advice is just that, bad advice. They choose, they decide. That's where judgment comes into play.

Lastly, a principal should be a communicator and leader, as well as educator and administrator. With so many stakeholders in the success of students, how could one not?

I guess when you get some saying she was a micromanager (which would argue she was in the middle of all decisions made) as some have claimed and then others who say she was not involved enough it is quite clear everyone is basing it on events that affect the individual/family and it is clear in some of those cases they felt they should have been given more. In our case we felt our situatuations were handled FAIRLY our kids were not always in the right and outcomes for them at times were negative. She never over inserted herself nor was totally hands off. Communication was what was required we expected no more and no less.

She handled the situation and moved on and in a school full of kids/families, that is what you should do because there is only so much time in the day and in a school week. There is not time to have tons of meetings, making individual phone calls to everyone involved, it is up to her to put trust and faith in those below her to handle the rest of the situation.

I am quite aware of leadership structures. In most cases it is the teacher, counselor, para etc who should be making a lot of the decisions and handling situations daily and if the strategy is not working they should go up to the next level. One thing I have learned over the years being supervised and supervising others is many decisions are made from information given to leader by those in the field (ie teachers, paras, counselors etc.) and if a problem originates from that point then how is the leader going to accurate information on a situation if the lower level employee knows they are under the microscope or a family shapes their shape their side of the events to suit them. How is anyone going to make a decision which will suit anyone.

I know of a couple families who had multiple issues through out last year and took up so much time, if they would have followed the rules you and I had to, she might have had more time to communicate in the manner you require.

I've been reading all of these comments and I'm embarrassed to live in a community with such hate. The past is the past, move on people! Spend your energy on improving our community instead of talking trash about our school administration. Good luck Lisa!

PS. A dear friend recently said "If a person wants to write something negative on a public blog, at least own it". I completely agree.