Botched Middle School Schedules Not Tech Glitch, Parsippany District Says

The first few days of classes at Central and Brooklawn Middle Schools in Parsippany have been anything but ordinary, and the battle between parents and the administration has been that of a schoolyard tussle.

The saga began the day before the opening bell, when the district released a statement on Wednesday, Sept. 2, letting middle school parents know that while schedules were not solidified, the issue was being worked on.

The statement, in full, said:

While we continue to be unable to provide you and your children completed regular schedules for tomorrow’s first day of school, we have been able to make substantial progress in this regard during the past 48 hours. We estimate that we have addressed up to 75% of our current issues. Middle School Principals have already provided you with specific schedules relative to your child’s one session day for tomorrow and Friday, September 4, 2015. We thank you for your patience and as promised we will continue to keep you updated.

As promised, more information was disseminated the following day – the first for students to attend class – where Superintendent Scott Rixford said the “template process” for student schedules was complete, and that students would need to interact with their guidance counselors on Tuesday, Sept. 8 to discuss options for electives.

While that was being done, Rixford said, “middle school teacher assignments and schedules are being recrafted to comport to student scheduling needs, and middle school administrators have begun to address building space allocations to support student schedules.”

Friday’s notice from the school district came by way of Assistant Superintendent Nancy Gigante, who stepped in as interim schools chief when Rixford suddenly announced a 30-day medical leave of absence.

Gigante’s note thanked district faculty members and administrators for their work in fixing the issue, and said the Genesis Parent Portal would be accessible to parents by the end of the long weekend. For the first time in the days-long issue, Gigante recognized the problem’s magnitude.

“That said, we know you expect more from us. I assure you that in the background of our immediate focus on fixing the problem, we are making plans to prevent anything like this from happening again in the future. Those plans include revising procedures, shifting responsibilities, and re-examining our academic program.”

Over the weekend, the district released another statement, claiming the Genesis portal was not the issue, rather a longer-range problem.

“We would like to inform you that the issues we are having with our middle school schedules do not have anything to do with our student information system software, Genesis. The design of the middle school schedule presented our district with various problems when it came time for implementation. When solutions were chosen as a means to correct the problem, the staff at Genesis was completely supportive and willing to help. They came to our district, conferenced with key personnel on the phone, and answered questions as they arose.”

The district’s statements and updates about the issue weren’t enough for parents and community members, however. District parents felt the need to vent since, as is usually the case, schedules for students were completed by families in January of last school year, giving the district some seven months to iron out the problems.

When Parsippany Patch announced Rixford’s medical leave, commenters on the site as well as social media took the opportunity to rail on the administrators, their missteps, and the Board of Education.

Patch reader AMT said, “Rixford is a disgrace. Middle schoolers still don’t have schedules. Gigante’s email to parents last night never even mentioned that he is gone! It simply said that the district is working tirelessly to fix the problem. Why didn’t they work tirelessly over the summer? And how does she define tirelessly? I attempted to reach a human both at BMS and the district office at 3:30. Yes, it was a half day. Yes it was the Fri before Labor Day. In my book, it’s all hands on deck to fix this mess.”

Patch reader JR said, “Wow! He couldn’t handle the heat. What a terrible hire he was! The BOE has a lot of explaining to do. Not a coincidence he left. Parsippany needs to strive and get the politics out of 292 Parsippany road. Clean house!!!”

Jennifer Lawlor DeStefano said, “And lets not forget to add that a letter was also sent out saying that the electives that the children selected may not be the ones they end up getting . Oh and the school does not have enough space to teach all the classes they have offered!!!! Over the past few days parents have expressed disapproval for this debacle and where told they could address these issues at the board meeting next week. Funny how Rixford is now taking a medical leave and will not be there for the meeting! Parents will not tolerate his lack of professionalism and his rude and disrespectful attitude for our teachers, children and parents. Things need to change I have had 3 children pass through BMS and are doing fantastic in school and their careers. Why did he feel the need to change the system that was working just fine? Why did he ignore the many teachers who said his plan would not work? Why do our teachers still don’t have a contract? Our fantastic teachers have had their hours increased, without a contract! Our fantastic teachers have worked hard to keep our kids busy and excited over the past few days to cover Rixfords mistakes. Why does Rixford continue to blame this on the Genesis program ? So many questions to be answered and now they will yet again be avoided for at least 30 days!”

Suniti Shah said, “Really. The middle school kids do not have any schedules. I hope all is well with him but honestly not so happy with the schedules and kids doing nothing for 3 days and the bus not on time. I do not know how much more I can take.”