School Committee Member Antonette Pepe Fired Up Over Error-Ridden Exams
by Bill Dusty
Antonette Pepe
The veteran School Committee member told Bax and O’Brien that when she pressed the Superintendent of Springfield Schools, Dr. Alan Ingram, during a committee meeting for answers on why the exams weren’t proof-read prior to being distributed, she was “chastised” by new School Committee member Denise Hearst.
“At our meeting,” said Pepe, “I was the enemy,” rather than the waffling Ingram. “Not one of those School Committee members supported me at all. I was the enemy because I was picking on Dr. Ingram.”
Pepe didn’t blame any of the teachers for the debacle. She explained that the exams arrived at schools already stapled and ready to go. School teachers only saw the tests after they were opened up and, in many cases, passed out to students, she said.
It didn’t take long, though, for the students to notice something was a-miss. Some students asked if the tests were a joke, said Pepe. At one point, at least one of the exams informs test-takers that the test is over, when in fact there were two pages of questions remaining.
Officials reportedly counted 40 errors on the 12th grade exams and 60 errors on the 11th grade exams. Worse still, some of the questions were so incomprehensible that teachers allegedly marked some incorrect answers “correct” out of concern that the error-ridden questions might have been misunderstood. (Would that include the last two pages of questions following the erroneous “This is the end of the test” notification?)
Even so, according to Pepe, the School Department apparently still intends to use those test scores in determining a student’s final grade.
Pepe said she was further told by Ingram that the test results would not affect the students grades. “How dare that man say this will not affect our students placement grades or class rankings for the following year or college,” she said.
Publisher CTB/McGraw-Hill, which made up the error-strewn exams for the School Department under its “Aquity” program, was contracted last year at just over $370,000, according to Pepe – an amount she said was later bumped up by another $10,000.
“So it pays to be incompetent,” she said.
Pepe went on to say that the McGraw-Hill contract was set to end this past June 30, but was renewed despite the company’s screw up.
Co-host Mike Baxendale commented that it was just these kinds of incidents that make the entire Springfield school system look bad in the eyes of parents. “You have to wonder,” said Baxendale, pondering what parents might be saying to themselves when considering whether or not to place their kids in Springfield’s schools, “If they’re going to make this kind of bone-headed mistake with this particular test, what other mistakes are they making that we don’t know about?”
Indeed, it appears that the School Department was hoping to just sweep the problem under the rug rather than address it and hold any responsible parties accountable. That hope was dashed after Pepe spoke out.
Pepe said she’s tried to work with both the School Department and other members of the School Committee, but “when you’ve got a go-along, get-along School Committee and a mayor who support everything [Ingram] does,” there are bound to be conflicts.
Pepe said her inquiries about the exams began last May, when she and Ingram went back and forth via email about the errors and she insisted that someone be held accountable. According to Pepe, those communications turned sour and Ingram got “very insulting” towards her, accusing her of bringing up the errors only “under the guise of accountability.”
Pepe said that Ingram never got around to answering her questions, and their exchange finally ended when Ingram told Pepe that her concerns were “noted.”
“That’s it,” Pepe said in turn. “Now you’re going to be noted.” And that was when she determined she was going to have to go public with her concerns in order to get the answers she was looking for.
And going public these days can be a risky maneuver for anyone on the School Committee not following the proper guidelines. That’s because, according to regulations adopted by the Committee in October of 2008 that seem specifically designed to counter whistle-blowers like Pepe, talking to the press without first discussing an issue with other School Committee members can result in dire consequences. In fact, a letter sent out by Ingram himself to Springfield School Committee members this past spring reminded them of that responsibility, and included a copy of the penalties that might be handed down should they speak to the press rather than communicate internally. “As superintendent, you can expect me to keep you as fully informed as needed to effectively fulfill your responsibilities,” wrote Ingram. “As superintendent, I need the following from you if I am going to do my job effectively.” Ingram went on to list his expectations, which included a stipulation that School Committee members must “maintain fidelity to your fellow school committee members, school committee policies and governance team standards when communicating with the media.” The list of punitive actions that might be taken against offending School Committee members culminated in penalties for repeat offenses, which included “a public request for the offending member’s resignation from the board,” or the initiation of a campaign to have the offending member recalled by a vote of the people. (Lest anyone be confused by the way Ingram worded his letter, it’s actually the Superintendent who reports to the School Committee, not vise versa.)
But Pepe has long-complained about the “us against them” culture within the School Department and School Committee, where she has repeatedly locked horns with officials who seem more concerned with protecting the ol’ boy (and girl) network in city government than watching out for the welfare of students in the schools.
“I’m not going to apologize for defending the underdog. I’m not going to apologize for doing my job,” declared a defiant Pepe on Bax and O’Brien. “And I’m not going to suck up to the superintendent, the mayor, or anybody else. I got elected to be the watchdog of the students of the Springfield School Department, and that’s what I’m going to do.”
Listen to the entire Pepe interview on the Bax & O’Brien Show right here.
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5 Responses for “School Committee Member Antonette Pepe Fired Up Over Error-Ridden Exams”
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Thank you for printing the truth, Could not have said it better. A job well done. Antonette
It’s embarrassing how Antonette has been marginalized on the School Committee for being her own person, not letting herself be bullied into silence, and asking the questions that need to be asked – in other words, for doing her job.
(And I still don’t understand exactly what these exams were – if they were regular exams, as opposed to standardized exams, why were they written by an outside company and not the teachers who teach the courses?)
Go for it Antonette. It was correctly stated “the Superintendent works for the School Committee”, not the other way around.
For too long the politicians have worked for themselves and not for those who elected them.
Ingram has turned out to be a true hack. If he was still in the Air Force he would have had a court martial for insubordination.
As for Hurst’s conduct at the sub committee meeting, she should resign. Like all the Hurst, she is anti white and cares nothing about the students. Her hysteria at the sub committee meeting was outrageous.
Antonette:
Kudos to you for doing the job you were elected to do. Silence and acquiescense accomplish nothing except keeping up the status quo. In this City the status quo is a downward spiral and that includes a failing school system. Speak out, speak up, speak loudly. We, in the public arena are listening.
She is the most arrogant and disrespectful person I have ever met. She is very rude and not considerate. Not to mention she’s on a School Cmte, with herself having a G.E.D. Ya…. she’s qualified….