It’s definitely going to take a lot more than overturning our current school board.
We need better legislators in Richmond who care about public education as well.
That’s where the groups like Moms For Liberty, No Left Turn, and Parents Defending Education are also working: in Richmond and with candidates running for Senate and Delegate.
Unfortunately, I’ve seen people in Spotsy complain about our school board and demand better, but plan on voting for anti-public education candidates for Senate and delegate.
The legislatures that make laws that school boards need to adhere to.
An bigoted anti-public Ed trifecta in Richmond will not bode well for us, even with a pro-public ed school board in Spotsy.
I’m noticing that people are struggling to think that far ahead. That, or quality education for all really isn’t a top priority for them 🤷🏻♀️
Wonderful, thorough, and sad analysis of a dreadful state of affairs that has permeated our entire country. I will share it as widely as I can. Thank you.
It is significant for readers to understand that Madison Downs is the brother of Xavier Downs.
He's also a Virginia politician who appeared and spoke during the audience comment portion of last Monday's SCPS Board meeting, 8/14/2023.
While people outside Spotsylvania are allowed to speak at meetings, it does beg the question as to Mr. Madison Downs' 'purpose. Mr. Downs should surely understand that parents and taxpayers have the right to the expectation that their elected school board members have the responsibility and right to request information from employees, including building principals and to have the expectation of a professional and respectful response.
Please note that Ms. Cole is my school board representative and is always responsive to any questions I've asked via email or by phone. Mr. Downs' suggestion that Ms. Cole should have contacted Superintendent Mark Taylor before contacting Mr. Downs is unfortunate given what those of us know from our own attempts as community members who have tried to contact Taylor via email. We immediately get a bump back email stating, in short, that Taylor is busy, receives a plethora of emails, and does not plan to respond to ours. Likewise, the three women who make up the minority of this school board have expressed their frustration that they do not receive responses from Taylor or the board chairwoman, Lisa Phelps, which makes it next to impossible for them to properly represent their constituents. In her role as a school board member, Ms. Cole had every right to inquire about Mr. Downs' handling of a blanket email that was sent to parents so that she had the information she needed as a school board member to field community questions and concerns. None of this is a FERPA violation because at no point is there any indication that Ms. Cole asked for confidential information about a student to be released or that she released or planned to release any confidential information about the student in question or any student. If Mr. M. Downs has evidence to the contrary, as Mr. Glazer asked, he may certainly post that here.
The issue with Mr. Xavier Downs' handling of the recent student tragedy at RHS is but one example of the concerns about Principal Downs. There are serious questions and concerns about his Virginia licensure as well as his employment history that includes being denied a Virginia license at one point and facing sanctions by the Texas Board of Education for falsifying documents. In fact, according to Jon Russell, SCPS Chief of Staff, at this point, late August, Principal Downs has yet to even apply for licensure in the state of Virginia even though he was hired this past June, 2023, about two months ago. Riverbend students and their parents, as well as other stakeholders who are taxpayers and citizens in Spotsylvania, have every right to question this.
It should be noted that Nicole Cole, as an elected school board member, is in effect Xavier Downs boss, as she is Mark Taylor's boss. The level of disrespect shown to her by Principal Downs in response to her email request, from the portion released in this article, is unprofessional at best. Mr. Glazer, in his comments, asked for clarification as to anything in Ms. Cole's email or correspondence with X. Downs that would have warranted such a disrespectful response. Mr. M. Downs has, as yet, not provided that.
In closing, since Mr. M. Downs has joined this conversation in what appears to be a defense of his brother, perhaps he could clear up some questions that many of us Spotsylvania citizens and parents have regarding the relationship between Xavier Downs, Madison Downs, and Jon Russell, SCPS Chief of Staff. Is there a prior personal or professional relationship between either or both Downs' brothers and Jon Russell which could give the appearance of nepotism, favoritism, or impropriety regarding the hiring of Xavier Downs as RHS's principal?
It is odd, in fact somewhat unheard of, for the adult relative of a professional employee of a school division to come so publicly to the defense of his close relative both in a public school board meeting and in a forum on a media site. Mr. M. Downs should understand that Spotsylvania's citizens do have serious and appropriate questions regarding his brother's employment in this school division and they do not owe Mr. M. Downs' an explanation or apology for asking them. The answers should perhaps come from the school division's leaders or from Principal Xavier Downs, not from his brother.
Thank you for your analysis. I definitely agree that Mr. Downs response to Nicole Cole was very odd. You mentioned, when citing Nicole Cole, that that was how here email "began." I was just curious if there was more to her email that might shed some light on Mr. Downs response? I don't think there is anything that would excuse his lack of professionalism, but I wondered if there was anything that might explain his comments more fully.
N. Cole has attempted to usurp Downs’ authority from day one-even before he stepped foot on the campus. 1st, she tried to smooth him over with dinner and a walking Quorum (violation of policy). Then she leaked confidential information to public (violation of policy). She obviously has no concern for the family’s privacy, or rights as they have asked for this matter to remain mum. When she could not bully Downs, she requested FOYA. According to policy, Cole is forbidden from contacting Downs in an official capacity; however, she continues to badger and harass him. If she wanted information she should have followed policy rather than, yet again, violating the aforementioned policy by contacting Downs. There are no instances of Downs violating policy or acting outside of best practices. The fact that Cole’s attention seeking behavior continues to be a distraction is very troubling.
The people deserve to know the full story rather than biased versions. At the core of this issue, there is one matter that should be considered paramount; and that is, who are the actors that are attempting to violate FERPA--who is actually violating policy--who is attempting to encroach upon the privacy of the family, and who is attempting to violate parental rights in this instant case?
Thank you for your response. However, I don't really find it that helpful to be honest. I was trying to get the full exchange so that I could get a better understanding. This message still lacks that context and is itself obviously biased. We here the phrase (or something similar), "people deserve to know the full story" quite often with little follow up of presenting the other side of the story.
In what is quoted, I don't see anything from Nicole Cole that violates FERPA. What i see is a school board member requesting to be as informed as the staff and inquiring why she was not sent a similar message from either the principal or the superintendent to keep her apprised of what is happening in regards to a student in the schools. As a school board member, I am not surprised that she would want to be informed. In the part of her email quoted, I saw nothing that would have generated the hostile response received, not to mention what appears to still provide no clarity on the situation in regards to that student.
Finding that odd is what prompted me to inquire about the rest of her email. Was there anything to explain Mr. Downs response in what she wrote. Your message does nothing to clear that up. You even start with her asking to sit down over dinner sounds like a perfectly reasonable act on her part, while it is Mr. Downs who seems to continue to be hostile and refusing to communicate with the school board.
Starting with a sit-down and a walking quorum is a violation of policy. Contacting a sitting principal, rather than contacting the Superintendent regarding the aforementioned matter is a violation. A siting board member should be familiar with the policies and procedures of SCPS. It really ought to be that simple.
What really confuses me with this is how much information you seem to have, Mr. Downs, as you are not to my knowledge employed at all in Spotsylvania County.
Maybe it should be that simple, but our current superintendent doesn't respond to requests from certain school board members. Thus, if she wanted to reach out to the principal, there is really no other way for her to do it.
Also, not sure why you keep mentioning a "walking quorum." What policy is violated by a school board member sitting down with a member of the administration? Members of the school board do it all the time.; they have meetings with people in central office, they visit a school and get a tour with a teacher and/or the principal. These are all normal occurrences.
And again, my question is what about Nicole Cole's request for an update warranted the hostile, un-informational, and unprofessional response? I am told there is another side to the story, but I am not getting it. Your response again, seems to simply indicate that Mr. Downs refuses to communicate without any justification for that lack of transparency.
Nicole Cole and Xavier Downs having different views doesn't rise to the level that they should not work together. They have both been tasked with working to help promote education in Spotsy, Nicole Cole as a school board member and Xavier Downs as the new principal of RHS. By your own writing, you really only keep suggesting that Xavier Downs has shown hostility towards Nicole Cole. You said, she offered to sit down over dinner (this seems perfectly respectable). She sent an email, that as best as I can see, is professional and respectfully asks for clarity so that she can better serve her constituents. To which I asked if there was more in that email that could have been hostile on her part, and yet you have now avoided including such language. This leads me to believe that it doesn't exist and that Marty's reporting is fair and unbiased. You suggested we deserve to know the whole story, and than provided little detail as to what you consider the other side of the story. And this most recent response is quite dismissive, suggesting that the sitting principal shouldn't have to talk to someone because he just doesn't want to and that gives him permission to be rude and unprofessional.
I really posted to seek more info on the chance it existed, but your responses keep coming up short. So let me be as clear as I can...can you provide something SPECIFIC that Nicole Cole did that you feel excuses the response email she received from Xavier Downs? And asking to meet and have dinner is not a bad thing.
If, by hostility, you mean requesting certifications on crisis management, and/or established experience and credentials in the area of psychology, after a tragedy had taken place. It is my understanding that Cole has no experience in that discipline, or in the field of education or education administration. Moreover, requesting said information from a school board member who was requesting information that, if given, would potentially violate the confidentiality of a grieving family and FERPA--no I don view that as being hostile at all. It is a simple request, especially after the aforementioned school board member had read the confidential email and was questioning the manner in which it was written. I in no way indicated that Principal Downs acted in a hostile manner. Matter of fact, it is written in my comment that Downs had not acted outside of best practices and that Downs acted with in policy.
It has been said that fences make great neighbors. In this case, adherence to policy and procedures make for great collogues. Perhaps Ms. Cole should learn to operate with in her lane. Operating with on established policy and respecting the law is a great way to do just that. There really isn't anything respectable about attempting to proposition a newly hired principal in an attempt to gain a political foothold on opposition. It is not respectable to attempt to use a families tragedy as a political football either, certainly not after the family requested privacy. Nothing respectable about that at all.
When you really get down to the bottom line, N. Cole is simply not privy to the information that she is seeking unless the "family" decides to share what has transpired. I know she really gets bothered about this fact, but that is the law, and that is the policy. Families have rights.
Where did she ask for specific information about the person(s) involved in the tragedy? She asked to be informed when something tragic happens so she is prepared when her constituents call seeking answers. Even if the answer is a vague "someone got hurt (or worse) at Riverbend HS, grief counselors will be on hand tomorrow for students and staff." it is better than not informing the school board at all. It does not have to be specific. She did not ask for it to be specific. She merely asked to be told there was an incident. Intentionally keeping board members in the dark, especially if it is only select board members kept out of the loop, is obviously only done for political reasons. This does not help the community. Your brother is actively hurting the community he should be serving by answering a school board member in this manner. Just stop. Start anew. Serve the community with best intentions and even his shady hiring may be forgiven.
It’s definitely going to take a lot more than overturning our current school board.
We need better legislators in Richmond who care about public education as well.
That’s where the groups like Moms For Liberty, No Left Turn, and Parents Defending Education are also working: in Richmond and with candidates running for Senate and Delegate.
Unfortunately, I’ve seen people in Spotsy complain about our school board and demand better, but plan on voting for anti-public education candidates for Senate and delegate.
The legislatures that make laws that school boards need to adhere to.
An bigoted anti-public Ed trifecta in Richmond will not bode well for us, even with a pro-public ed school board in Spotsy.
I’m noticing that people are struggling to think that far ahead. That, or quality education for all really isn’t a top priority for them 🤷🏻♀️
Wonderful, thorough, and sad analysis of a dreadful state of affairs that has permeated our entire country. I will share it as widely as I can. Thank you.
It is significant for readers to understand that Madison Downs is the brother of Xavier Downs.
He's also a Virginia politician who appeared and spoke during the audience comment portion of last Monday's SCPS Board meeting, 8/14/2023.
While people outside Spotsylvania are allowed to speak at meetings, it does beg the question as to Mr. Madison Downs' 'purpose. Mr. Downs should surely understand that parents and taxpayers have the right to the expectation that their elected school board members have the responsibility and right to request information from employees, including building principals and to have the expectation of a professional and respectful response.
Please note that Ms. Cole is my school board representative and is always responsive to any questions I've asked via email or by phone. Mr. Downs' suggestion that Ms. Cole should have contacted Superintendent Mark Taylor before contacting Mr. Downs is unfortunate given what those of us know from our own attempts as community members who have tried to contact Taylor via email. We immediately get a bump back email stating, in short, that Taylor is busy, receives a plethora of emails, and does not plan to respond to ours. Likewise, the three women who make up the minority of this school board have expressed their frustration that they do not receive responses from Taylor or the board chairwoman, Lisa Phelps, which makes it next to impossible for them to properly represent their constituents. In her role as a school board member, Ms. Cole had every right to inquire about Mr. Downs' handling of a blanket email that was sent to parents so that she had the information she needed as a school board member to field community questions and concerns. None of this is a FERPA violation because at no point is there any indication that Ms. Cole asked for confidential information about a student to be released or that she released or planned to release any confidential information about the student in question or any student. If Mr. M. Downs has evidence to the contrary, as Mr. Glazer asked, he may certainly post that here.
The issue with Mr. Xavier Downs' handling of the recent student tragedy at RHS is but one example of the concerns about Principal Downs. There are serious questions and concerns about his Virginia licensure as well as his employment history that includes being denied a Virginia license at one point and facing sanctions by the Texas Board of Education for falsifying documents. In fact, according to Jon Russell, SCPS Chief of Staff, at this point, late August, Principal Downs has yet to even apply for licensure in the state of Virginia even though he was hired this past June, 2023, about two months ago. Riverbend students and their parents, as well as other stakeholders who are taxpayers and citizens in Spotsylvania, have every right to question this.
It should be noted that Nicole Cole, as an elected school board member, is in effect Xavier Downs boss, as she is Mark Taylor's boss. The level of disrespect shown to her by Principal Downs in response to her email request, from the portion released in this article, is unprofessional at best. Mr. Glazer, in his comments, asked for clarification as to anything in Ms. Cole's email or correspondence with X. Downs that would have warranted such a disrespectful response. Mr. M. Downs has, as yet, not provided that.
In closing, since Mr. M. Downs has joined this conversation in what appears to be a defense of his brother, perhaps he could clear up some questions that many of us Spotsylvania citizens and parents have regarding the relationship between Xavier Downs, Madison Downs, and Jon Russell, SCPS Chief of Staff. Is there a prior personal or professional relationship between either or both Downs' brothers and Jon Russell which could give the appearance of nepotism, favoritism, or impropriety regarding the hiring of Xavier Downs as RHS's principal?
It is odd, in fact somewhat unheard of, for the adult relative of a professional employee of a school division to come so publicly to the defense of his close relative both in a public school board meeting and in a forum on a media site. Mr. M. Downs should understand that Spotsylvania's citizens do have serious and appropriate questions regarding his brother's employment in this school division and they do not owe Mr. M. Downs' an explanation or apology for asking them. The answers should perhaps come from the school division's leaders or from Principal Xavier Downs, not from his brother.
Thank you for your analysis. I definitely agree that Mr. Downs response to Nicole Cole was very odd. You mentioned, when citing Nicole Cole, that that was how here email "began." I was just curious if there was more to her email that might shed some light on Mr. Downs response? I don't think there is anything that would excuse his lack of professionalism, but I wondered if there was anything that might explain his comments more fully.
Check my response. Happy to assist.
N. Cole has attempted to usurp Downs’ authority from day one-even before he stepped foot on the campus. 1st, she tried to smooth him over with dinner and a walking Quorum (violation of policy). Then she leaked confidential information to public (violation of policy). She obviously has no concern for the family’s privacy, or rights as they have asked for this matter to remain mum. When she could not bully Downs, she requested FOYA. According to policy, Cole is forbidden from contacting Downs in an official capacity; however, she continues to badger and harass him. If she wanted information she should have followed policy rather than, yet again, violating the aforementioned policy by contacting Downs. There are no instances of Downs violating policy or acting outside of best practices. The fact that Cole’s attention seeking behavior continues to be a distraction is very troubling.
The people deserve to know the full story rather than biased versions. At the core of this issue, there is one matter that should be considered paramount; and that is, who are the actors that are attempting to violate FERPA--who is actually violating policy--who is attempting to encroach upon the privacy of the family, and who is attempting to violate parental rights in this instant case?
- HINT, It's not Downs.
Thank you for your response. However, I don't really find it that helpful to be honest. I was trying to get the full exchange so that I could get a better understanding. This message still lacks that context and is itself obviously biased. We here the phrase (or something similar), "people deserve to know the full story" quite often with little follow up of presenting the other side of the story.
In what is quoted, I don't see anything from Nicole Cole that violates FERPA. What i see is a school board member requesting to be as informed as the staff and inquiring why she was not sent a similar message from either the principal or the superintendent to keep her apprised of what is happening in regards to a student in the schools. As a school board member, I am not surprised that she would want to be informed. In the part of her email quoted, I saw nothing that would have generated the hostile response received, not to mention what appears to still provide no clarity on the situation in regards to that student.
Finding that odd is what prompted me to inquire about the rest of her email. Was there anything to explain Mr. Downs response in what she wrote. Your message does nothing to clear that up. You even start with her asking to sit down over dinner sounds like a perfectly reasonable act on her part, while it is Mr. Downs who seems to continue to be hostile and refusing to communicate with the school board.
Starting with a sit-down and a walking quorum is a violation of policy. Contacting a sitting principal, rather than contacting the Superintendent regarding the aforementioned matter is a violation. A siting board member should be familiar with the policies and procedures of SCPS. It really ought to be that simple.
What really confuses me with this is how much information you seem to have, Mr. Downs, as you are not to my knowledge employed at all in Spotsylvania County.
Maybe it should be that simple, but our current superintendent doesn't respond to requests from certain school board members. Thus, if she wanted to reach out to the principal, there is really no other way for her to do it.
Also, not sure why you keep mentioning a "walking quorum." What policy is violated by a school board member sitting down with a member of the administration? Members of the school board do it all the time.; they have meetings with people in central office, they visit a school and get a tour with a teacher and/or the principal. These are all normal occurrences.
And again, my question is what about Nicole Cole's request for an update warranted the hostile, un-informational, and unprofessional response? I am told there is another side to the story, but I am not getting it. Your response again, seems to simply indicate that Mr. Downs refuses to communicate without any justification for that lack of transparency.
Nicole Cole and Xavier Downs having different views doesn't rise to the level that they should not work together. They have both been tasked with working to help promote education in Spotsy, Nicole Cole as a school board member and Xavier Downs as the new principal of RHS. By your own writing, you really only keep suggesting that Xavier Downs has shown hostility towards Nicole Cole. You said, she offered to sit down over dinner (this seems perfectly respectable). She sent an email, that as best as I can see, is professional and respectfully asks for clarity so that she can better serve her constituents. To which I asked if there was more in that email that could have been hostile on her part, and yet you have now avoided including such language. This leads me to believe that it doesn't exist and that Marty's reporting is fair and unbiased. You suggested we deserve to know the whole story, and than provided little detail as to what you consider the other side of the story. And this most recent response is quite dismissive, suggesting that the sitting principal shouldn't have to talk to someone because he just doesn't want to and that gives him permission to be rude and unprofessional.
I really posted to seek more info on the chance it existed, but your responses keep coming up short. So let me be as clear as I can...can you provide something SPECIFIC that Nicole Cole did that you feel excuses the response email she received from Xavier Downs? And asking to meet and have dinner is not a bad thing.
If, by hostility, you mean requesting certifications on crisis management, and/or established experience and credentials in the area of psychology, after a tragedy had taken place. It is my understanding that Cole has no experience in that discipline, or in the field of education or education administration. Moreover, requesting said information from a school board member who was requesting information that, if given, would potentially violate the confidentiality of a grieving family and FERPA--no I don view that as being hostile at all. It is a simple request, especially after the aforementioned school board member had read the confidential email and was questioning the manner in which it was written. I in no way indicated that Principal Downs acted in a hostile manner. Matter of fact, it is written in my comment that Downs had not acted outside of best practices and that Downs acted with in policy.
It has been said that fences make great neighbors. In this case, adherence to policy and procedures make for great collogues. Perhaps Ms. Cole should learn to operate with in her lane. Operating with on established policy and respecting the law is a great way to do just that. There really isn't anything respectable about attempting to proposition a newly hired principal in an attempt to gain a political foothold on opposition. It is not respectable to attempt to use a families tragedy as a political football either, certainly not after the family requested privacy. Nothing respectable about that at all.
When you really get down to the bottom line, N. Cole is simply not privy to the information that she is seeking unless the "family" decides to share what has transpired. I know she really gets bothered about this fact, but that is the law, and that is the policy. Families have rights.
Where did she ask for specific information about the person(s) involved in the tragedy? She asked to be informed when something tragic happens so she is prepared when her constituents call seeking answers. Even if the answer is a vague "someone got hurt (or worse) at Riverbend HS, grief counselors will be on hand tomorrow for students and staff." it is better than not informing the school board at all. It does not have to be specific. She did not ask for it to be specific. She merely asked to be told there was an incident. Intentionally keeping board members in the dark, especially if it is only select board members kept out of the loop, is obviously only done for political reasons. This does not help the community. Your brother is actively hurting the community he should be serving by answering a school board member in this manner. Just stop. Start anew. Serve the community with best intentions and even his shady hiring may be forgiven.