bctv.org scoops Reading Eagle with exclusive interview on Reading schools progress

I’m thrilled that one local journalist has worked hard to find out what’s going on at the Reading School District.

Kudos to Madelyn Pennino at bctv.org!

On this major topic, she sure scooped the Reading Eagle, which has thousands of times more readers and whose newsroom has about 100 more people than bctv.org.

Her interview with BCIU chief John George, the acting superintendent of the dysfunctional district, paints a frightening scenario.


My lead paragraph would have pictured the officials entering the district finance offices, perhaps batting cobwebs, finding stacks of mail that had been piling up unopened for months, and searching for important finance documents like needles in haystacks.

What a relief to hear George describe the mess and give details and plans authoritatively.

“The good news is that progress has been made in terms of some of the four areas in RSD’s educational system, including financials, technology, facilities and board governance, he said,” Pennino wrote.

But what about perhaps a fifth area in “RSD’s educational system” – the curriculum?

Are children being properly taught? That’s the priority in my book.

Most of the news about this educational catastrophe focuses on the economics – that is, tax money. But it’s the education of 18,000 mostly needy children that must be the focus. Making sure that Reading High School produce better-educated students is a vital element in the economic development of the region.

Good reporters would develop parents, teachers, administrators as sources to find out if education is happening.

Mostly the Reading Eagle reporters go to the public meetings and write down what the grandstanding leaders say. And don’t ask questions after the meeting.