For almost two months, we've been trying to tell you why Head Start won't be part of the Monroe school district's 4K program next year.
Apparently, what we have is a failure to communicate.
To be fair as a journalist, it's important to give people a reasonable opportunity to respond to questions.
The question is, what constitutes "reasonable." Everyone, from reporters to school administrators, is busy - everyone's got work to finish, phone calls to make and meetings to attend. So it's not reasonable to expect someone to drop everything to return a reporter's phone call about a change in policy.
A return phone call within a day or so? That's reasonable.
But enough about professional journalistic practices: An anonymous reader's barb to the school district a few months ago raised the question of why Head Start is being dropped as one of several sites for Monroe's 4K program. My quest to find the answer started with a call to the local Head Start. The phone number for Monroe Head Start had been disconnected. So I Googled it and found the Wisconsin Head Start Association. Surely I could get a phone number there.
And I did. According to the WHSA Web site, the Dane County Parent Council's director, Marcia Huemoeller, is the contact for Head Start in Green County.
And so I called Feb. 27 and again Feb. 28. Both times there was no answer, so I left a message.
I didn't hear back, so I called Larry Brown, district administrator for the Monroe school district, to find out his take on the situation. (As a side note, local school administrators I've dealt with have been extremely prompt in responding to my queries.)
Brown said the district has had problems over the last several years getting information it needs from Head Start administrators. He mentioned it's been difficult to get enrollment and food service reports that the district needs from Head Start. Head Start also has a different school calendar than other 4K sites, and some parents were upset with how bus schedules and issues were handled.
The district tried to resolve the issues, but to no avail. There were communication problems with the group and not much follow through on plans to resolve problems, Brown said.
"Communication really became a problem," Brown said.
It wasn't an isolated problem or incident. There was a "pattern of problems" that continued for a "period of years," Brown said.
Ultimately, the district decided to end its partnership with Head Start. The program will continue through the end of the year, but come fall, it will not offer Monroe's 4K program.
With Brown's take on the situation explained, it was time to track down Head Start. Several more phones call later, I still haven't had a chance to speak with Huemoeller. I've reached her on the phone a few times, but she's been busy and has promised to call back. She did once or twice, but I wasn't in the office.
Last week, I sent her an email with my questions written down - sometimes this is the easiest way to communicate when people have conflicting schedules. That was Monday, April 7. I included specific times I would be in the office or offered the option to email written answers back.
Still no answer. So as much as I would like to offer Head Start's version of the partnership meltdown, I can't.
Brown did say that the district left the door open to renew the partnership if the two groups can work through these issues. It remains to be seen if that will happen.
Head Start was "a hard group to communicate with," he said.
Apparently, what we have is a failure to communicate.
To be fair as a journalist, it's important to give people a reasonable opportunity to respond to questions.
The question is, what constitutes "reasonable." Everyone, from reporters to school administrators, is busy - everyone's got work to finish, phone calls to make and meetings to attend. So it's not reasonable to expect someone to drop everything to return a reporter's phone call about a change in policy.
A return phone call within a day or so? That's reasonable.
But enough about professional journalistic practices: An anonymous reader's barb to the school district a few months ago raised the question of why Head Start is being dropped as one of several sites for Monroe's 4K program. My quest to find the answer started with a call to the local Head Start. The phone number for Monroe Head Start had been disconnected. So I Googled it and found the Wisconsin Head Start Association. Surely I could get a phone number there.
And I did. According to the WHSA Web site, the Dane County Parent Council's director, Marcia Huemoeller, is the contact for Head Start in Green County.
And so I called Feb. 27 and again Feb. 28. Both times there was no answer, so I left a message.
I didn't hear back, so I called Larry Brown, district administrator for the Monroe school district, to find out his take on the situation. (As a side note, local school administrators I've dealt with have been extremely prompt in responding to my queries.)
Brown said the district has had problems over the last several years getting information it needs from Head Start administrators. He mentioned it's been difficult to get enrollment and food service reports that the district needs from Head Start. Head Start also has a different school calendar than other 4K sites, and some parents were upset with how bus schedules and issues were handled.
The district tried to resolve the issues, but to no avail. There were communication problems with the group and not much follow through on plans to resolve problems, Brown said.
"Communication really became a problem," Brown said.
It wasn't an isolated problem or incident. There was a "pattern of problems" that continued for a "period of years," Brown said.
Ultimately, the district decided to end its partnership with Head Start. The program will continue through the end of the year, but come fall, it will not offer Monroe's 4K program.
With Brown's take on the situation explained, it was time to track down Head Start. Several more phones call later, I still haven't had a chance to speak with Huemoeller. I've reached her on the phone a few times, but she's been busy and has promised to call back. She did once or twice, but I wasn't in the office.
Last week, I sent her an email with my questions written down - sometimes this is the easiest way to communicate when people have conflicting schedules. That was Monday, April 7. I included specific times I would be in the office or offered the option to email written answers back.
Still no answer. So as much as I would like to offer Head Start's version of the partnership meltdown, I can't.
Brown did say that the district left the door open to renew the partnership if the two groups can work through these issues. It remains to be seen if that will happen.
Head Start was "a hard group to communicate with," he said.