2009-08-7 Education Round Up

Accurate info v. rhetoric: From Insider Online:

Sixty-one percent of people say funding for public education should be increased, but that figure drops to only 51 percent when people are given accurate information about how much is currently being spent. That’s the finding from a survey conducted by William Howell and Martin West. Howell and West, who describe their survey in the Summer 2009 issue of Education Next, also find that accurate information about teacher salaries causes support for higher teacher salaries to drop from 69 percent to 55 percent.

Mission creep: Something Nashville can look forward to even if they don't work toward providing the education parents want for their children. The system will try to maintain its presence and so they'll expand their mission for survival's sake like St. Louis is doing.

"Long plagued by declining enrollment and academic struggles, the school district wants each new "full-service" school to serve as a community hub. The district is using roughly $1.7 million budgeted for schools already offering community education programs to turn them into full-service schools.
(snip)
Windom said security measures also are in place to make sure students don't come in contact with members of the public who seek services. BND.com

This made me laugh. After expressing that he was 'apoplectic' at the prospect of me being on the school board back in 2006 Councilman Mike Jameson (East Nashville/downtown) doesn't have much sympathy when someone else's ox is gored. He is quoted after this last Council BOE appointment as saying:

“The process is certainly not perfect."
Tennessean

That's for sure.

Not very encouraging: This among new BOE member Kay Simmons' initial comments:

“I think my experience has taught me to look objectively, at everything,” Simmons said. “The truth is that … there’s not an urban school district across the country that’s succeeding. We do need to look at different things. Nobody has the answer. My guess is that we won’t find the silver bullet either, but we need to peck away.” City Paper

The children don't have time to for the adults to just peck away at these problems with the view that no one has the answer. We need wholesale commitment to providing options for students that will work for them instead of offering the excuse that no one else can get it done either.

NEA To Do List: Every 4th of July the National Education Association holds its annual convention. What is voted on there is regularly outside the mainstream of America and often very surprising to parents who are trusting their children with these folks for so many hours of the day. Some items are just head scratchers. Why is this important to the education of children or the well-being of teachers on the job? For a peek check the New Business Items from the last Representative Assembly.

• to inform and influence President Obama's proposal to turn around 5,000 schools with $5 billion in five years beginning in the fall of 2010
• Develop success indicators beyond standardized tests while making sure that curricula promote the development of 21st Century Skills
• the local Association must be involved in any discussions regarding school reorganization, including but not limited to, charter school conversion;
• Tell the story to America of the importance of unions in assuring great public schools for every student
• NEA will zealously advocate for national health care reform that is consistent with the policies, resolutions, and legislative programs of the NEA and its state affiliates
• NEA will take such actions as may be appropriate to support efforts to (a) repeal any federal legislation and/or regulations that discriminate against same-sex couples, and (b) enact federal legislation and/or regulations that treat same-sex couples and similarly-situated heterosexual couples equally with regard to social security, health care, taxation, and other federal rights and benefits.
• To help state affiliates be more effective in opposing funding for charter schools that do not meet NEA criteria for support,
• The NEA will publicize and seek members' participation in the campaign for the defense of labor and human rights in Iran and for the release of the recently arrested Iranian trade union leaders, including Ali-Reza Hashami of the Teachers Organization of Iran.
• NEA will work with the Department of Labor in order to review and modernize the definitions of "teacher" and all other education professionals in the Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT).
• We oppose any efforts to restructure the U.S. educational system or local educational units on any basis that would allow schools to "cherry pick" students or institute separate and unequal educational models which could lead to further marginalization and segregation of student populations.
• The NEA go on record in support of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW) in their organizing drive to represent workers in the new Delta Airlines.
• That NEA recommend to its State Associations that "Juneteenth," a celebration by many African American communities that acknowledges the end of over 200 years of slavery in the United States, be placed on their written and electronic calendars. This day is June 19.

The Rep suggests: "While we are at it why not allow parents to at least see teacher performance reviews? How did students from one teacher at a school compare to students from another teacher? Currently those records are not available to parents."

I'd like to see some basic information posted outside their classroom doors:

Welcome to Mr. John Smith's Classroom
Masters in Education and a minor in music from Baylor University, 1973
TVAAS rating is 8.9
John.Smith@mnps.edu
Supervisor: Dr. Sally Jones sally.jones@MNPS.org

It seems amazing to me that we require parents to place their children in the care of people they've hardly had a chance to vet. It's even more amazing to me that the BOE grants tenure on a wholesale basis. Too much 'just trust us' going on.

Cheryl D. Mayes wants to replace MNPS BOE member Karen Johnson (District 6-Antioch). From Mayes' blog:

"I would also like to take this opportunity to invite you to share your personal stories with my staff and me. Please email your personal stories to us at CherylDMayes@gmail.com. We would like to know about the great things you and your students have experienced with MNPS. Please also share your concerns and your ideas for making our school system the best nationwide."

She's got a poll at the bottom of her blog asking "Are you satisfied with the type of education your child currently receives with MNPS?" Here's a clue, Ms. Mayes, check the number of folks who have chosen NOT to enroll their children in MNPS if you want to know what improvements to make. Last week I saw corporate suits from a rival grocer at Aldi's. You've got to know your competition.

Next August 5 of the seats on the School Board will be up for election. Once again Nashville has an opportunity to change the majority on the Board. Obviously, it's not too early to begin working on ensuring the board has the best qualified applicants who will provide the system with the oversight and vision it needs to provide a good education for every MNPS student. Get involved early.

We need a few more parents like this fellow in San Diego:

"David Page says the problem is that parents are on their own. Teachers have a union. So do principals. School board members get to vote plans up or down and top administrators make decisions in the salmon-pink offices of San Diego Unified.

But parents are often too intimidated to speak up or too star-struck with school staffers to question them, Page said. Education is a world loaded with its own numbing lingo -- categorical funding, supplement not supplant, program improvement -- and it seems overwhelming to understand it, let alone to fight it." Voice of San Diego

He's right. There really isn't a union for parents and child child advocacy organizations rarely stand behind parental rights.

Local connection: "Under Terry Grier, [Page] has been critical of the way the school district is planning for the stimulus dollars earmarked for disadvantaged kids, especially an early effort to develop plans by "clusters," as haphazard and lacking real input from parents." Yup, Terry Grier Vandy grad and the former Superintendent of Williamson County, TN schools.

Enough for today.

MNPS taxing authority

Well they had their 'give the BOE taxing authority' rally yesterday and surprise, surprise (not) the news is full of how this would be a good thing for MNPS. Less politics, more accountability, less bickering, yadda, yadda.

I don't understand how having the Mayor, in consultation with the BOE, suggest a budget amount for MNPS and then the Metro Council passes the budget, after budget hearings asking about the needs of MNPS and its past performance (to include how they spent the money they got last time) is LESS accountable than handing over taxing authority to the BOE directly. Please remember, once the Council passes the budget they hand over a lump sum to the BOE who then has the freedom to spend that money as they see fit.

"The public is left out there with no idea which authority to hold accountable,” said Stephen Smith, assistant executive director of the Tennessee School Board Association." City Paper

So the School Board Association instead of educating the public about the process so that we can make wiser decisions about who to hold accountable will "dumb down" the process to ensure this homework isn't too hard for us. Bonus for the education system is they only have to persuade nine people that their pet project is worth reaching into your wallet. Remember, this is all about making it easier for the BOE not easier for taxpayers. I've absolutely no doubt that the BOE doesn't enjoy have to go hat in hand to the Mayor or the Council but that's part of accountability--having to answer for what you've done with what you got before.

And where should it stop? Maybe the police and fire departments should also have taxing authority. The same bogus argument about accountability could be made for them too. Personally, I value public safety over public education. And speaking about public safety...what about the health department? Maybe they shouldn't have to suffer the inconveniences and embarrassment of making a case for their expenditures.

This from the Tennessee County Commissioner's Association back in December of 2008:

"As things stand right now, the Tennessee Constitution would have to be changed in order to directly give school boards taxing authority. That takes time as such a proposal would have to pass two separate General Assemblies and then be approved by the voters. What could happen right away is that the General Assembly could lift the ban on existing school districts converting to special school districts. We have about 14 special school districts in Tennessee currently, but the law has prohibited the creation of any new special school districts for some time. Special school districts levy a property tax pursuant to a private act adopted by the state legislature that sets a tax rate for the school system. So it would take taxing authority away from the county commission, but would give it to state legislators who usually act based on the recommendations of the school board for the special school district." (emphasis added)

How does moving this taxing authority up to the state level make our neighborhood schools and our school board more accountable? Looks like they'll have the same excuse they've got now "Well, we could have done better but the Council/Legislature wouldn't let us have the money we needed."

And what we know about education spending is that the BOE will raise taxes to the maximum the Legislature will allow as quickly as it can with nothing but an election every other year for half of the board to slow it down. You'll have nine folks, most of whom are less financial geniuses than the Metro Council, deciding how much of your money you'll have left to feed and clothe and house your family because they see what they do 'for the children' as more important that what you're trying to do for your own children with the money you earned.

According to the Tennessean the MNPS is 40% of the Metro Nashville budget. 40%! We're getting close to the tipping point. This year the BOE wants $620 million dollars to education about 75,000 children. That's about the current quote for the new convention center. And they've been spending about half a billion dollars for several years now. That's $8,000+ for every one of those 75,000 students and that doesn't include state or federal dollars. They've got enough money.

No matter how many times the Chamber and its partners say 'accountability' this plan is less accountability. They are calling black white and white black. They're going to repeat that often, loudly and in full color brochures as long as we'll let them. I say no. Absolutely no. If the goal really is accountability...how about we see those teacher value added scores AND we put the MNPS check register on-line?

Say What?

I made my opinion known and stayed out of the Superintendent fray in Nashville. They've decided to offer the job to Jesse Register of Chattanooga. The Tennessean headline was probably most accurate in identifying the move as 'hesistant'. It seems to be their MOS. Of the three candidates available I believe they made the best choice.

Of more concern to me was a comment from female and black MNPS BOE member Karen Johnson (District 6-Antioch) which caught my ear the other night. I've gone to WKRN, WSMV, WTVF and WZTV and reviewed their on-line videos and not one of them has the quote but I know I heard it while surfing the late news as did several commentators at the Tennessean web site. Metro 3 isn't re-running the live broadcast so I can't check that. The video showed her saying that her immediate reaction to hearing Jesse Register was among the candidates was doubt that a white man could run such a diverse school system. To her credit she eventually voted for him. However, I'm disappointed she thinks that way. I'm very surprised to hear her make this comment in public.

What about being white disqualifies anyone for a job? I'd like to know when we will actually get past the assumption that only people 'like' people can actually advocate for them and serve them well. It's the same sort of nonsense that says only women can understand women's issues or vote for their good. What's the use of all this diversity training if the end result isn't people who can understand someone else's POV and need? Would it be good to have Hispanics, women, the handicapped involved in the governing of our world...yes. But I'm looking at the BOE and I don't think lack of 'diverstiy' at the top of the system is really a problem.

2008-12-15 Roundup

Nail in the NOW coffin: Women outearn men at top business jobs.

A Carnegie Mellon University study has concluded that women executives out-earn their male counterparts.

The study, which examined 16,000 executives over 14 years, found that women at the top of the business world bring in a bit more than men and are promoted at the same rate, countering the popular notion that women earn less than men for the same work. (snip)

The largest empirical analysis of the top echelons of publicly traded companies determined that women earned about $100,000 more per year than men of the same age, educational background and experience.Via Post Gazette

Mayor Deans calls for obeying Open Records Laws: Well, that's not the headline in the Tennessean but it should have been. Ben Cunningham points out that the new 'rules' Dean set for open records request are minimal and he could, and should, go much further if he really wants to do the job right. Since Dean is also acting as Superintendent of Schools I'll add to Ben's list "ditto for MNPS". Prosperity Project has more. One of Ben's suggestions is:

- Assign staff to review each department's records and determine if important records can be digitized for easy online access by citizens.

For me, getting the full MNPS BOE agenda packet online didn't happen until I talked with the Board Secretary and we realized that the photocopier she was already using to copy the agenda to create the Board's hard copies (being delivered by courier, btw) could also create pdf documents. I suspect there are very few documents that couldn't be digitized. The question will be how to get the system into the habit of doing so. This is where the clerical staff can be our friends.

I'll add to the list that I'd like to see proposed budget documents released in Excel format also so that others can move the numbers around during the discussion of where the money should go.

Did the mayor bring an interpreter or was that Crafton? Rex also comments on the recent celebration of the Japanese emperor's birthday where Nashville Mayor Karl Dean and Councilman Eric Crafton met. Rex found it ironic considering they are on opposite sides of the English as Official Language charter amendment. Rex should have mentioned that of the two gentlemen only Crafton could express best wishes of the day to their Japanese hosts in fluent Japanese.

Goose/Gander: Can someone explain to me how the Faith Leaders for All of Us (Really? ALL of us?) can use The Bible to influence public policy but Two Rivers Baptist or Cornerstone Church can't? What's the difference? Oh, that's right...they're not LEFT-wing fundys.

And one more on left-wing fundys unable to MoveOn: Someone torched Gov. Sarah Palin's church over the weekend. Let's hope they were unaware that the church was occupied at the time or else let's call this attempted murder and lock 'em away for their lives. Donations can be mailed to: Wasilla Bible Church, 1651 W. Nicola Avenue, Wasilla Alaska 99654

MNPS BOE---just say no

If I haven't made my POV clear here it is again.

MNPS BOE doesn't need to hire a director at this time.

We need to leave Chris Henson in place through the summer when we know where we stand with the state. THEN we should begin a director search when everyone knows just what the job is going to require.

• We don't need to hire someone just to have someone in the job.
  
• We don't need to have this BOE hire someone when, depending on the scores in August, they may be tossed out of office by the state.
  
• We don't need to have a new person come in and try and make changes that the state may very well not allow in August when the scores are known.

This whole effort is a colossal waste of time, effort and cash we cannot afford to waste on a dog and pony show. Just suck it up, apologize to the candidates for wasting their time and let's look at this again when we have a better pool of candidates because we have a better job description.

BTW: Maybe someone can clean up the Director's Cabinet page and actually create an Interim Director page to link to when bloggers and others refer to Chris Henson. The current page refers to Garcia as Director, still has Ben Wright and Woody McMillan on it and still doesn't have Melissa Bryant's photo. I'm sure she's not really concerned about it but if you're going to mention her there---

BTW II: I know the BOE voted to provide Henson a few more dollars each month but if they're going to take my advice and leave him in the position for another year, they need to up that yet again for the next year. There is no way we can fully compensate anyone for putting up with all this nonsense but let's at least try.

Gracie Porter 2004 Election Finances

Gleaning from the 2004 Campaign Financial Disclosure Statements of Gracie Porter , District 5 Representative for the Metro Nashville Public Schools reveals the tremendous investment that Democratic PAC's and the unions involved in the public school system made in ensuring Porter's election.

For those unaware, I was appointed by the Metro Council to fill the unexpired term of the former BOE rep in May of 2006. Just 11 weeks later was the general election and Porter and I, and two other candidates, all ran for the seat. It was obvious during the campaign that big guns were pulled out to keep me from retaining my appointment on the MNPS Board of Education. I think many people will be surprised at how much money and manpower these Democratic PACS and these unions expended to ensure that I wasn't around to ask questions, hold people accountable and provide answers to parents, taxpayers and voters.

Here is ample evidence that the foxes are guarding the hen house. No real progress will be made in Nashville schools until we break the conflict of interest that results when a BOE member owes their seat to the folks they are supposed to hold accountable.



This chart shows $18,300 from PACS and unions. That's 88% of her contributions coming from "Democracy" for America/TN, SEIU, MNEA, AFL-CIO, the Tn Democratic Women's PAC, and the Chamber of Commerce's Success PAC which fought hard to keep Pedro Garcia in charge of MNPS.

So, who do you think is going to ensure her reelection?




















All of this is important to keep in mind as this is the final week to qualify to run for any MNPS BOE seat. Petitions must be picked up from the Metro Election Commission and returned before noon on Thursday, April 3. If you are unhappy with how MNPS schools are being run do something about it. Be or back a candidate that will hold the system accountable with your time and your treasure. It's not too late to get 25 fellow district voters to qualify a candidate.

Here are the current BOE members up for re-election in August.










From left to right:
Ed Kindall on the BOE since 7/9/1985, nearly 23 years,
George Thompson on the BOE in 1991 and then back on 8/1/1996, more than 12 years,
MNPS BOE Chair Marsha Warden on the BOE since 8/24/2004,
Gracie Porter elected in August of 2006 and
Mark North since spring of 2007.

Covering

From this morning's City Paper:

Between now and Saturday Nashville School Board members will complete the process of evaluating Director of Schools Pedro Garcia, complete a written evaluation, and then publicly hear the results of their efforts. When they do, their individual scores will become public record — but their scores also will be anonymous.

This is wrong.

The Tennessee School Board Association is facilitating this evaluation. It became obvious several years ago that Garcia's performance was so divisive that the BOE couldn't do this on their own. Now they're going to use TSBA's usual operating procedure, and their own Policy Governance as a cover for their own accountability to voters.

The board’s governance process policy states, in multiple points, that only the board as a whole — rather than members as individuals — can exercise authority over the director. In one portion, the policy states that, without explicit authorization from the entire board, all board members’ “interaction with the director and with staff must recognize the lack of authority vested in individuals.”

Karen Johnson:

Board member Karen Johnson said she thinks it’s right that the official evaluation be only a cumulative document, but that she plans to post her individual scores on her blog, karenyjohnson.blogspot.com.

George Thompson:

Thompson said he does not believe it is right that board members can keep their evaluation scores to themselves.

Unfortunately he doesn't have something as public as a blog or website, like Johnson to use for publication.

Steve Glover:

Glover said he would be willing to share his scores with constituents who inquire. But he reiterated that he believes it is correct that individual names be left off the evaluation,...

Ditto on the blog/website.

It shouldn't be a surprise. They're not reliably including their names in the regular Executive Expectations reports evaluating Garcia, why should we expect them to include them now?

They used to. Here's a snip from a report from 5/23/06

















and from the most recent EE available dated 12/11/07.



















I think we need to encourage every board member to ensure their scores on Garcia's performance are made public. Move to have them included in the BOE minutes. Make them available via the MNPS website somewhere. The people of this district, the BOE employer, deserve to know where each one of them stood at this very important time. To hide this vote, months before most of the Board is up for re-election comes across as covering their own backsides to protect their seat.

Thursday 12/14/06

Life is keeping me pretty busy. I'll make some quick comments on the following.

MNPS Chief Instructional Officer Sandra Johnson is, frankly, not well liked by many of our public education consumers. News in this morning's City Paper that she's up for a job anywhere else will be welcome.

Currently, Johnson oversees nearly all departments for the school district, answering only to Garcia.

And that's part of the problem for many parents. She wasn't accountable to the board and an obvious favorite of Garcia. If Glendale, Arizona wants her--God bless 'em.

“I think she’s done an admirable job and I certainly think it would be a loss to the district,” Thompson said. “And it may well be she has trained others enough to carry on.”

"Admirable?"--so there's one man's opinion. George is up for reelection in 2008. Let's see what tune he sings then.

LEAD Academy gets approval from the BOE. I'm very glad to see us get another charter school. This is an important option for some very needy students. MNPS isn't meeting their needs with what they have available--there is no good reason to keep there where they're not learning.

“A large part of the Pearl-Cohn district is in the district I serve,” [BOE member George] Thompson said. “My concern is how will we deal with maintaining Pearl-Cohn in the public school system if we’re going to help to populate a competing charter for that same population.”

Ask Sandra Johnson, George, she's been doing an 'admirable' job.

Actually, Mr. Thompson, the needs of the students should take precedence over saving any system. These students are not getting the education their parents were promised. We've got to try a different system. Regardless the board will protect the system despite the cost to students:

The board agreed to add language into LEAD’s contract to clarify the issue and guarantee the school would not drain the Pearl-Cohn cluster.

Pearl-Cohn cluster parents should contact the BOE members now and let them know how they feel about being excluded from a charter school that may very well be the answer to their child's education needs.

Traditional v. Balanced: Thank goodness the BOE members (well 7 at least) understood that a change was merely window dressing. That change for changes sake (a hallmark of public education) isn't beneficial for the children. Lacking any reliable evidence that the change will benefit the children and families the system serves it was given a thumbs down by the BOE.

“I hope tonight… that we don’t adopt policy simply to make a change and that we finally and permanently dump the balanced calendar matter into the dustbin of school board history,” Fox said. City Paper

Thank you, Mr. Fox. And for some illuminating information you may want to cruise over to the comments section of the Tennessean's article where "Magoo" posted the scores of local systems by calendar and it clearly shows that traditional scores higher. In our impatience and love for flash, glamour and NEW! we too easily abandon the boring and traditional forgetting that one of the reasons most traditions hang around is because they work. Sorry guys but it may be boring--but I'll take boring and effective over flashy and iffy every day when it comes to the essential education of our children.

Now maybe we can move that calendar all the way back to traditional and start after Labor Day and save some AC costs.

Cell phones for students--just not board members. This article in the City Paper Monday made me snort-laugh. After all the fuss the BOE went through over their cell phone use, the return of the phones, the vote over what equipment we could and couldn't have provided we now have MNPS handing out free phones to students.

The students have been allotted 500 minutes a month and all incoming calls are free of charge. Students are also encouraged to give out their cell phone numbers to fellow students to get feedback regarding district issues.

And what do we know about teens and allotted minutes? Let's see if teens are better than BOE members at limiting their minutes.

Irony aside, if this 'narc-phone network' works I'll be happy to pay the bill.

The Robert Bowers dismissal hearing continues according to yesterday's City Paper. It's these sorts of hearing that are exceptionally draining on BOE members. And it's these hearings that prove to me that the MNEA (Metro Nashville Education Association) is a union and not a professional organization. Yes, everyone deserves their day in court, but if MNEA were a true professional organization they'd be equally appalled that the unprofessionalism of some of their members and do some housekeeping of their own. Instead, if my summer dismissal experience and this current one are reliable indicators, they make excuses for the employee and point accusatory fingers at others in a desperate attempts to keep the employee employed--at the expense of children.

Bowers’ attorney Vince Wyatt implied during questioning of Mansfield that most of the errors were the fault of previous guidance counselors, not Bowers.

Then why wasn't Bower's complaining from the get go about the mess he'd inherited and why wasn't he begging for additional help?

It's time to work on the budget and so it's time to lead and stand. It doesn't look like Steve Glover understands that.

“I’m nervous about stepping out saying we’re going to cut this position or we’re going to cut these positions,” Glover said. “We’re really just so early in the game.” City Paper

Someone's got to start the process. I dearly hope there is a leader on that Board that will. Looks like Mr. Fox has taken over former BOE member Kathy Nevill's number crunching job for the BOE. Bless him and his calculator.

That's it for now, life calls.

Public School business must be public

The Metro Nashville Public Schools Board of Education is suggesting to the Tennessee School Boards Association that they pursue legislation that would allow more of the BOE business to be conducted away from public accountability. This must not happen.

Today's City Paper quotes former BOE Chair Pam Garret as saying:

“There are some things that I felt like, and I think we all agree, would be better off in private, like the hiring of the director, the evaluation of the director,” Garrett said. “For some districts the issue of purchasing property would be considered something that would be better off to be confidential.”

The board is asking to exempt meetings to consider employee dismissal, compensation, discipline or performance, as well as collective bargaining matters, from the law. This could effect certain aspects of union negotiations.

All of the above are decisions that are vital to the running of the district. These decisions will commit the district to paths that will have long term and far reaching impact and absolutely must be conducted with full accountability to the public that is paying for the system, the parents with children in the system and to the voters that determine who will oversee the system. To take make this information private is completely wrong and mocks the term "public education".

I understand that some of these issues are delicate. I understand what it's like to have people discuss you and your performance with little regard to the fact that you can hear them and that may scare a few potential employees off. I know that we may pay a bit more for land because someone was paying attention to the proceedings and realized the value of their property. Disciplinary proceedings are very difficult but we don't need to have secret trials determining whether people come or go. The public is owed the information about the conduct of it's employees and employees are owed the safety of a public proceeding. Going secret with these discussions comes at too high a price.

Part of the problem is the attitude that our board meetings must be sedate, polite and entirely business-like, that there should be no public disagreement or fireworks. Policy Governance rules and demands order in the interpretation of some--perhaps at the cost of legitimate in depth discussion. Somewhere we bought into the lie that healthy disagreement and airing of views is shameful. It's only so if the participants lower themselves to personal attacks and not the facts of the matter.

It's my opinion that the BOE and MNPS are still doing a poor job of communicating exactly what they are about to do and have done as it is. They don't need more hiding places for the people's business.