| Despite being a lead story for Fox News (the only network to provide daily live coverage) all last week, by Thursday night -- when key amendments to the social studies curriculum were proposed, debated and voted on -- the crowd at the Texas State Board of Education was sparse. At right are panoramic views of the SBOE board room Thursday night (March 11, 2010), the first at approximately 8:30 p.m.; at a time when matters of great importance were being decided on the board's preliminary pass through the social studies curriculum standards adoption process, very few people were in the room. Absent entirely from the meeting by then were board members Rene Nunez, Rick Agosto and Mary Helen Berlanga. Absent often from the board room was Lawrence Allen. All four were elected as Democrats. |
| After the last gavel, just before 10 pm, from left: SBOE members Don McLeroy, Terri Leo and Barbara Cargill with SBOE chair Gail Lowe. Middle, SBOE member Ken Mercer just to the right of the blue recyle bin where we last saw Texas Freedom Network's Dan Quinn; next is Texas Eagle Forum's MerryLynn Gerstenschlager (photo courtesy of the Eagle Forum). Top right, the night in 2007 when I met Jonathan; it was very late at the Texas Senate; our friends at Texas Public Policy Foundation had given up on their check register bill and gone home to celebrate the holiday weekend -- but not Jonathan and Houston constitutional lawyer Kelly Coghlan (in white shirt) who, despite discouraging news, persisted in getting HB 3678 passed. The School Children's Religious Liberties Act, also known as the Religious Viewpoints Antidiscrimination Act, guarantees that Texas public schoolchildren can pray at school if they wish. In signing the bill into law, Gov. Perry said, "Though the United States Supreme Court holds religious discussion in schools permissible, some Texas schools have been misapplying the law and restricting student’s legal expression. This may be due to outdated school policy or an unintended consequence of efforts to promote a neutral learning environment." This was not a casual bill Kelly threw against a wall along with several others in an attempt to please a board of directors and donors; its original genesis was in 1994. His and Jonathan's energy and determination were something to behold. I learned a lot that night about the importance of only committing to do what we believe in so much that we are willing to persist, no matter what. Read Kelly's "prayer that stopped a riot." At far right, from top, TFN's Dan Quinn with amendment; next, TEA staffers providing backup; bottom right, Mavis Knight (in pink hat) returning to her seat. |



| Texas Education Agency, Austin |

| Here's this morning's Kansas City Star's lead photo (above) and its caption today: "After the meeting ended, Christine Taylor-Butler (left), a district parent, gives Nancy Haynes, a teacher at Faxon Montessori, a hug. Faxon's program will no longer exist, as the students will be split into two different schools and other students will move into the building. In a 5-4 split, the Kansas City School Board voted to approve the largest school closing in the district's history. The Right-sizing plan, recommended by Superintendent of Schools John Covington Wednesday, Mar. 10, 2010, at the Board of Education Building in Kansas City, resulted in the closure of 26 district schools. JILL TOYOSHIBA/The Kansas City Star." |






| Transparency history Llano ISD FOIA conviction Edgewood ISD PD re FOIA Progress by March 2007 1st year ann'y: Oct. 2007 Gov.Perry & Comm.Scott |
| WHO'S ATTENDING YOUR SCHOOL BOARD MEETINGS? Follow the money in our vendor-driven schools: 15 vendors & special interests to look for at your next board meeting. |
| P E Y T O N W O L C O T T |
How we take back our children's education: one person, one question, one school at a time. |
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| Copyright 1999-2010 Peyton Wolcott |
"Walk softly and carry a big stick." -- Teddy Roosevelt "Trust but verify." -- Ronald Reagan |
| Just because you can doesn't mean you should. |
| H o w w e t a k e b a c k o u r c h i l d r e n ' s e d u c a t i o n : o n e p e r s o n , o n e q u e s t i o n , o n e s c h o o l a t a t i m e . |



| AZ CA KS MD MO OH OK KeyWest CreditCards SLAPP TX Senator John Cornyn Edgewood 1 2345 CleburneISD KatyISD BremondISD LlanoISD |
| Check Registers US TX Flyer Ask your district Set goals/organize Ask lots of questions School Board Ethics Pledges Watchdogs: AngryActivist Alert PR |
| PEYTON WOLCOTT'S 6 SIMPLE SUGGESTIONS FOR SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT S: How you can rebuild public trust and save at least $75 per student this next year. 1. End discretionary spending. Set an example for your staff; let them know you mean business about running a tighter ship: No trips, no conferences, no meals, no credit cards. If you want to learn more about something, use Google. Do a webinar. Read a newsletter. No golf games with vendors, ever. No chauffeurs, no rental cars. Stay home, do your work and keep your nose clean. 2. Reduce administrative costs. Go through your administrative staff roster and cut every other job, starting with getting rid of all PR and marketing. No advisors, no consultants. Learn how to really read a budget. Put your check register and all wire transfers online. 3. Ethics. No nepotism. Let your wife and kids earn a living in a field other than education. No board members' spouses working in the district. Conduct all discussions with vendors and potential vendors in the open; invite your public to watch and ask questions. Throw away your contract and work year by year. Move your chair off the dais at board meetings. You're not a team member with your elected trustees. You're not equal to them. They're your boss. 4. No construction. If you're the rare district truly experiencing sufficient growth to justify building new schools, splinter off that population and let them start their own new school district or charter school. They might be able to take over an abandoned church or office building for much less than the Taj Mahal you had in mind. 5. Back-to-basics curriculum. Math table (1st grade: add, 2nd grade: subtract, 3rd grade multiply, 4th grade divide) daily drill. You made sure your own kids learned the basics at home or with tutors; why shouldn't all children have that same opportunity? Ditto for phonics. Classical literature. History, not social studies. No more block scheduling. Daily P.E. for all. Emphasize individual effort and accomplishment. 6. Attitude. You're a public servant, not a Third World dictator. Practice humility and gratitude. Remember when your employees laugh at your jokes or tell you you're cool or vendors marvel at your every utterance that they're all sucking up to you. Remember why you got into education to begin with. Sell your house in the gated community and buy one in the middle of a real subdivision like your average parents and taxpayers can afford. Let yourself be driven not by the latest platitude you picked up at the latest education conference but by the same wonderful noble desire to educate kids that got you into this field. |
| Ethics pledges Corruption Team of 8 Nationalization NCLB/Pearson $1.4 B (TX) Transparency 2006 Lax oversight Lobbyists 1 2 3 PassTheTrash 1 2 |
| Edu-Monopoly EduInc Internal Controls Tech Audits ERDI Financial Exigency Laptops Credit cards Supes travel/meals Edu-Conferences TASA MidWinter GORGE-ous Supes/Golf/Vendors 1 |
| Terms & Conditions: Sorry to have to include this; some groups--God bless them--have copied my research and published it as their own. |
| Robin Hood & 22 'equity' failures: MALDEF's 22 Edgewood districts cost Texans billions in failed academics & extravagance. |
| How to persuade your district: Friendly works best-- take the Golden Rule with you when asking your schools to post checks. Testimonials: issues & concerns solved. |
| Welcome, America -- glad you're finding this no-ads website useful! #1 on Google & Yahoo of 256,000,000! |

| Texas Hill Country - Mesquite and Wildflowers Boerne |
| WELCOME, Washington state! Public school checks now online in 34 states, 600+ school districts, in 3 years! |

| Fox News mention |
| Texas Education Service Centers posting check registers |
| CONSERVATIVE: ABOUT EMAIL ARCHIVES FOLLOW THE MONEY NATIONALIZATION INTERNAL CONTROLS PR FOR THE ANGRY & THE POSITIVE STATES SCHOOL DISTRICTS |
| CHECK REGISTERS |

| Are your district's checks on their website? If not, why not? More than 818 are, in 37 states, in just 3 years. Simple how-to.here works 100% of the time--if no shortcuts. |
| Friday March 19, 2010 |
| Click here for former IBM chair Lou Gerstner's Let's nationalize our schools, Mr. Obama WSJ 2008 manifesto |
| ED PHOTO OF THE WEEK: 2 PRESIDENTIAL TELEPROMPTERS IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CLASSROOM (VA) |

| President Barack Obama, accompanied by Education Secretary Arne Duncan, speaks to the media after a discussion with 6th grade students at Graham Road Elementary School in Falls Church (VA), Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2010. (AP) |

| Only Texas -- thanks to Governor Rick Perry, Education Commissioner Robert Scott, and our State Board of Education -- all supported by those who cherish individual freedoms and local control of our school districts -- has had the courage among the 50 states to stand firm against the power grab by the United States Department of Education, the school equivalent of what Mr. Obama's crew is trying to do with healthcare. As with healthcare, Race to the Top's national curriculum standards have less to do with education and more to do with being a vehicle for increasing federal control. |
| Bringing you the information and tools you need in order to improve public education and lower taxes and spending; during the past two decades of the voucher debate an entire generation has grown up in the public school system. If you don't think this is important look at the Nov. 2008 election where folks voted based on emotions and hope rather than facts. Let's put a stop to the school-to-prison pipeline -- and keep our public schools locally run, strong and free.. |






| For names, right click on images, choose "Properties." |
| Texas Education Agency Press Release / March 10, 2010 Fox inaccurately reporting State Board of Education action AUSTIN – AUSTIN – The Fox Network in recent days has repeatedly broadcast highly inaccurate information about the State Board of Education’s efforts to adopt the new social studies curriculum standards. Here are the facts. The direct quotes come from the March 10 broadcast of Fox & Friends. Fox: “Texas board of education begins hearings today on proposed changes to textbooks…” The truth: The State Board of Education today is expected to take a preliminary vote on updated social studies curriculum standards. The standards detail what teachers are to teach in each class. New social studies textbooks are not scheduled to be selected until 2011. Fox: “So one of the proposed changes is to start history class in the year 1877.” The truth: Texas has and always will teach U.S. History from the beginning until present day. U.S. History through Reconstruction is taught in the eighth grade and those standards can be found in the middle school standards, which are called Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS). Here is a link to the middle school standards: http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/teks/social/MS_TEKS_amended.pdf. U.S. History since 1877 is taught in 11th grade. Fox: Abraham Lincoln and George Washington have been removed from the textbooks. The truth: The standards, not textbook, are before the board this week. Lincoln is required to be included in the first and eighth grade history classes, as well as in the U.S. government class. Washington is required to be taught in kindergarten, first grade, fifth grade and eighth grade. Here is a link to a document detailing those historical figures, including Lincoln and Washington, who are required to be taught as part of the standards: http://ritter.tea.state.tx. us/teks/social/AlphabetizedList_including.pdf. There is another list of individuals who are suggested for inclusion and it can be found here: http://ritter.tea.state.tx. us/teks/social/AlphabetizedList_such_as.pdf. Additional modifications are still possible to both lists as the board debates the standards during its March and May meeting. Fox: Independence Day and Veteran’s Day are being deleted from the textbooks. The truth: Again, the new history textbooks have not been written yet but they will be based on the curriculum standards adopted by the board. The standards currently under consideration cover Independence Day in kindergarten, second and fifth grades. Veteran’s Day is included in kindergarten, first, second and fifth grades. Fox: References to Christmas have been deleted. The truth: A TEKS review committee briefly recommended removing Christmas from a list that mentioned one major holiday for each of the world’s religions. The committee recommended leaving Easter in the document. The State Board immediately rejected this idea and a reference to Christmas was restored in the standards months ago and can be found in sixth grade in standard 19(b). Fox: Textbooks adopted in Texas will be used classrooms across the country. The truth: Each state has its own textbook selection process. Publishers may offer other states the Texas edition of a book but they are not required to select it. Citizens can read the standards for themselves at http://www.tea.state.tx.us/index2.aspx?id=3643. A live webcast of the meeting, which begins at 11 a.m. today, can be viewed at http://www.texasadmin.com/cgi-bin/tea.cgi. |
| Fox and Friends |



| At left, SBOE member Mary Helen Berlanga (in black) of Corpus Christi chats with the press in the Texas Education Agency lobby after her "in a huff" exit from the still-ongoing SBOE meeting; that's Fox News' tall Peter Doocy at far right. |








| Left: Texas Education staffers providing back-up for the meeting. Above, SBOE members Bob Craig and Geraldine 'Tincy' Miller stretch their legs. |
| At right, empty chairs of SBOE members Rene Nunez, Rick Agosto and Mary Helen Berlanga. |
| Above, SBOE members Don McLeroy and Barbara Cargill. |

| Above, the SBOE board room at about 5:30 on Thursday, March 11, 2010. That's the board in the large burgundy wing-back swivels in the center of the room; below, at far left is the TEA backup (general counsel David Anderson and the parliamentarian against the rear wall. To the left of the door to the SBOE break room (to the left of the American flag) are the TEA staffers taking minutes and providing other support. To their immediate right is general seating, often reserved for testifiers. |
| By 8:30 not many people were left; for example, the only folks occupying the empty folding chairs in the center were Jonathan Saenz of the Liberty Institute and Texas Eagle Forum's MerryLynn Gerstenschlager (and me). |

| What the Texas SBOE board room looked like at 8:30 p.m. (March 11, 2020) |



| At the press table from left, Terrence Stutz of the Dallas Morning News and TEA communications director Debbie Ratcliffe; behind her, Brian Thevenot of the TX Tribune. |

| All 15 SBOE member bios here. |


|

| Cecile Richards |
| Liberty Institute's Jonathan Saenz (at right) interviewed by Fox News' Griff Jenkins. |
| SBOE member Pat Hardy (left) with Texas Freedom Network's Dan Quinn; out of camera range at right is TFN executive director Kathy Miller. |

| According to the National Women's History Museum, by the end of the 19th century, "Across the nation, anywhere from 25% to 40% of the labor force was female." Above, 19th century factory workers in Indianapolis. Below, 19th century Johnson & Johnson factory workers. |

| Examples of women working in factories in great numbers during the 19th century |

| PAT HARDY, NOW & THEN Above: I took this shot above last Thursday because Pat had just conferred with someone in the audience and I was curious whom; it turned out to be Sharon Pope, past president-TCSS, editor/The Texan, retired director-secondary social studies/Spring Branch ISD. Below: On July 19, 2007, Pat sits at far left with audience members Nancy Hester (curriculum liaison/ Texas Council for the Social Studies, SS coordinator/Georgetown ISD), Betty Barringer (curriculum liaison & past president/TCSS, teacher/Dallas ISD)--and, at far right, Sharon Pope. |


| Below, more 19th century women in factories, from the film Hard Work.. |


| Above, the press table. To the right of the camera is Fox's Brian Wilson; Terrence Stutz (grey hair) sits in the middle, and at far right is Debbie Ratcliffe, a former reporter. |

| Two volumes of Calhoun's "A Social History" with Goodwill and Texas State Library tags--plus my post-its. |
| Above, the right side of the room was slightly less spotty; Texas Freedom Network's Dan Quinn (far right) anchored a spot to the right of the entrance and the blue recycling bin; the arm to his right belongs to TFN executive director Kathy Miller. You know you're well-connected politically when Jason Embry of the Austin American-Statesman wishes you a happy birthday on March 8. |

Developing . . . . |




| LITTLE-KNOWN FACT: The real "Rosie the Riveter" is Norman Rockwell's Saturday Evening Post cover below, not the iconic J. Howard Miller "We Can Do It!" poster above. |


| A cozy moment: US DE Secretary Arne Duncan (R) with Eli Broad at Broad's Obama inaugural party. |


| Roslyn execs Frank Tassone & PamGluckin |





| Lawrence supe Wilfredo Laboy & assistant |

| The home of Virginia's Colonial Beach Schools' CFO Barbara J. Worrell was raided; at right Worrell in shackles en route to court. |

| Ground Zero in New York City on 9/11 in 2003. That's the Hudson River at the right; the tiny speck is the Statue of Liberty. |
| A personal and very appreciative hats off to Marc LaVorgna in Mayor Bloomberg's press office and to Ebony in Deputy Comptroller Alan Van Capelle's office for helping verify this information, and to Sharon Lee in the Comptroller's press office. |