P E Y T O N W O L C O T T |
| 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 . Copyright 1999-2006 Peyton Wolcott |
| Modern Minutemen: Jimmy Kilpatrick |
| Editor in chief - EducationNews.org and special education advocate Website: www.EducationNews.org |
| About EducationNews.org |
| America's #1 leading online source for Education News When Jimmy Kilpatrick first began publishing education articles back in 1999, the Internet was still relatively new and EducationNews.org was the first of its kind. Six years later and the Internet is no longer new-- and by any kind of accounting EducationNews. org is still the first of its kind. Every day of the year, Jimmy presents snapshots and links to a wide-ranging variety of articles on education: curriculum issues to theft to learning disabilities to NCLB. There is nothing else on the Internet like it. Columnists • Alan Haskvitz • Chester E. Finn • Christina Asquith • Daniel Pryzbyla • Dennis Redovich • Dr. Hempenstall • George Scott • Jann Flury • Jimmy Kilpatrick • Kathleen P. Loftus • Martin Haberman • Marty Solomon • M.F. Shaughnessy • Nancy Salvato • Dr. Vassallo • Richard Phelps • Robert Oliphant • Ron Isaac • Sandra Stotsky • Tom Shuford |
| Jimmy Kilpatrick Senior Fellow, Alexis de Tocqueville Institution. Policy advisor, Office of the Superintendent, Houston Independent School District 1997-2004. He was selected by Dr. Rod Paige as a member of the Houston Independent School District's PEER Committee of Reading 1996. "Jimmy Kilpatrick is one the most knowledgeable people on reading within the State of Texas," Dr. Rod Paige . He is formerly with the University of Texas at Austin, Charles A. Dana Center under the Executive Director as a policy advisor for reading and reading disabilities 1996-1997, and member of the Dana Center's Family Learning Team for development of a Faith Based-Initiative. Also, Mr. Kilpatrick instituted a Tips for Reading in Spanish for Hispanic parents within H.I.S.D. Nominated for the National Association States Boards of Education's Outstanding Policy Leader Award 1999. He was advisor to the Office of Governor George W. Bush and the Texas State Board of Education members on replicated reading research, and worked extensively on the new Texas English Language Arts and Reading standards. ' The crisis at hand'/Governor wants $65 million to ensure that Texas schoolchildren learn to read Advised the US House Education and Workforce Committee on the Reading Excellence Act. He testified before the Senate and/or House Education Committees in Alaska, Mississippi, Texas and Alabama on reading issues. He was advisor for the State of Alabama Department of Education Committee for developing a state reading policy. In addition, he advised on the current legislation for the Individual with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) with many of the suggestions for reading disabilities being included. He is the former Legislative Education Chairman for The Texas Mexican-American Chambers of Commerce, and developed a National Reading Resolution for the League of United Latin American Citizens - Civil Rights Division (LULAC) based on replicated/scientific research. He was a member of the development of the Texas Alternative Document for English Language Arts and Reading . He has advised members of the California Science Standards Writing Team - chaired by Nobel Prize winner Glen Seaborg Ph.D. He is a National History Club , Advisory Council Member, and Member of the National Education Writers Association, Houston Press Club, The Haberman Educational Foundation Advisory Board member , Advisory panel Our Education (Yale University). Other major accomplishment and articles : EducationNews, the Internet's Leading Source of EducationNews is honored to be recognized as a professional online resource for education reporters throughout the United States by the National Education Writers Association. Spoke at Harvard Law School's "Advocate for Education" on the impact of "No Child Left Behind and Teachers" as well as a discussion panel addressing the impact of discussing "War in the Classroom" (Panel Calls for Dialogue on 'National State of Fear') at the National Press Club. Special Education Advocate and Consultant and Consultant Expert - Southwest Juvenile Defender Center Guest lecturer Texas Southern University on Reading and Reading Disabilities as well as Education Public Policy and Special Education the University of Houston System since 1994. Recipient, "A for Accountability" Award, with journalist George Scott, from ParentAdvocates.org Guest of the Qatar Education Foundation, Innovations in Education 2006: TECHNOLOGY, EMPOWERMENT AND EDUCATION, State of Qatar He is married with three sons attending public schools. |
| Jimmy Kilpatrick |
| About the Alexis de Tocqueville Institution, in their own words |
| The Alexis de Tocqueville Institution celebrates the literary and political contributions of French author and statesman Alexis de Tocqueville. The institution's studies apply Tocqueville's balanced ideals of civil liberty, political equality, civic vitality, and economic freedom to current public policy questions. We place special emphasis on the advance and perfection of democracy — within economic and political institutions in the United States, and around the world. Sharing Tocqueville's belief that democracy and human society are a work in progress, and faith in the "spirit of improvement" innate to mankind, we seek to make this original research available to the widest possible audience. |
| Current, original research; classic principles The Alexis de Tocqueville Institution is a public-interest research foundation for democracy, tax-exempt under section 501-c-3 of the IRS code. AdTI was founded by a resolution drafted July 29, 1985, approved at Sammy's Restaurant near Morristown, New Jersey by initial directors Martin Boles, Merrick Carey, Gregory Fossedal, Elizabeth Sullivan, and Dennis Teti. AdTI research strives to bring the insights and spirit of our namesake, Alexis de Tocqueville, to application to vital policy and ideopolitical issues of the day. We offer young journalists and scholars the opportunity to work on highly original research, through sponsorship of both independent projects, and participation in Tocqueville white papers under the direction of senior staff and AdTI associates. |
| EducationNews in their own words |
| EducationNews.org is a fresh approach to the age-old problem of increasing coverage of education news. Unfortunately, education is not a topic that news organizations are able to provide premium coverage to all the time, thus ironically, all education experts face the same problem - the difficulty of educating the public. Use of the Internet as a tool for disseminating news has been a colossal success. Everyday, news content drives millions of people to the Internet. The seamless features of the Internet enable news to travel to anyone with Internet access. The mission of EducationNews.org is to become the most frequently used tool on the Internet for disseminating education news. Soon, new technologies will enable personal digital assistants (PDAs) and wireless phones to send and receive news in text, sound and video formats across the Internet as easily as PCs. As use of the Internet for news grows, EducationNews.org endeavors to increase its reach by leveraging each of these new and exciting formats for Internet news on the horizon. |
| EducationNews Advisors |
| Martin Haberman Ph.D. Distinguished Professor University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, is creator of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Teacher Education Program (MMTEP). He was one of the three founders of the SOE Urban Doctoral Program. He received the 1996 Teacher Educator of the Year Award from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. Dr. Haberman is the author of seven books and more than 200 articles and chapters. He earned his doctorate in teacher education at Teachers College, Columbia University, and holds honorary doctorates from Rhode Island College and SYNY-Cortland. Dr. Haberman is the recipient of the AACTE Pomeroy Award and has served as a Hunt lecturer. The National Teacher Corps was based on his Milwaukee Intern Program. He has developed more programs preparing more teachers than anyone in American education. His interview for selecting Urban Teachers is used in 200 cities. Martin Haberman Frank Wang, Ph.D. WangEducation.com Frank Wang is the former chairman of Saxon Publishers, Inc., a grades K-12 textbook publisher based in Norman, Oklahoma. Frank began work for the iconoclastic founder of the company John H. Saxon as a 16 year old high school student. As a high school senior in 1982, Frank was selected as one of 40 Westinghouse Science Talent Search finalists. He then attended Princeton University, majored in mathematics, studied under Prof. B. Dwork, and received a A.B. degree in 1986. In 1986, he was one of 18 students to receive an NSF graduate fellowship to study pure mathematics. He attended MIT, wrote a thesis in the area of algebraic number theory under advisor Prof. H. Stark, and received a Ph.D. in 1991. During his graduate studies, Frank co-authored a calculus text that was published in 1988. He then joined Saxon Publishers and became President and CEO in 1994, a position that he had held until 2001. He has served on the math advisory panel to President Clinton's proposed national voluntary test and on the planning committee for the 2004 NAEP test. He is presently on the MIT math department visiting committee. Recently, Frank has been invited to be a visiting professor at the University of Oklahoma and will also a guest lecture as well as visiting professor at the Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics. George Scott, Senior Editorial Writer George Scott has been an advisor in the past to former Texas Education Commissioner Mike Moses and former Houston Independent School District superintendent Dr. Rod Paige who is now the Secretary of Education. Dr. Moses appointed Scott to a statewide accountability advisory panel while Scott helped Dr. Paige develop and support an innovative privatization effort in the Houston Independent School District. Gregory Fossedal, Senior Editor Senior fellow at the Alexis de Tocqueville Institution Syndicated "ed-buz" columnist for United Press International Author of Direct Democracy in Switzerland , Our Finest Hour, The Democratic Imperative, and other respected books on history and comparative politics and policies Miriam J. Masullo, Ph.D. Chief Scientist - Education Ph.D., Computer Science, The City University of New York. M.S., Computer Science, The City University of New York. B.A., Architecture and English, the City College of New York Current position Dr. Masullo is the founder, chief scientist and principal manager of inViVo Vision . She has over 16 years of experience in the telecommunications industry and has spent the last 17 years at the IBM T. J. Watson Research Center as a Staff Member, the most senior research position in the organization. While with IBM she was an executive-on-loan for two years at the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering (NACME). Recent relevant experience Dr. Masullo has worked on numerous large-scale technology projects in the areas of artificial intelligence, expert systems, natural language processing, object oriented systems, digital libraries, electronic commerce and educational technology. She has served on various committees and expert panels at the National Research Council and has received numerous national and international awards for her work, including a medal for contributions to society. More detailed information on Dr. Masullo can be found at: America Tomorrow . on education issues. Nathan M. Greenfield, Ph.D. Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, educated at Bard College and McGill University, Dr. Nathan M. Greenfield is the Canadian correspondent for the Times Education Supplement . He has been published widely in Canada on education issues. He is presently writing a book for Harper/Collins entitled The Battle of the St. Lawrence: The Second World War in Canada , which tells the story of the U-boat assault against Canada between 1942 and 1944. |
| More about LDAdvocates.com |
| Parents become studied experts, tireless advocates By VANESSA EVERETT August 7, 2005 The Beaumont Enterprise Shawna Clark, parent of a special education student in BISD, listens as Jimmy Kilpatrick talks about problems in the public school system. Kilpatrick is a special ed advocate specializing in reading, academic and behavioral problems. He is trying to help Clark get more help for her son. Dave Ryan/The Enterprise BEAUMONT -- After a dispute with teachers about her son's education, Shawna Clark sometimes stays up at night, worrying about how the teachers will respond. Will they use what she said to reach out to him, or will they retaliate against him? Parents with special needs children often lie awake at night, arguing with themselves -- or each other -- about the best course of action for their children. In the morning, they brace for the fights that come with having a child with a disability. They bury their noses in books to learn all they can about the disability. Then, they get ready for the next trial the special education life will bring. Clark, 42, mother of a special education student at Vincent Middle School, knows about keeping her fists up in a fight. She recently hired a reading specialist to accompany her to a meeting with teachers and Beaumont school officials. At the end of an exhausting, three-hour meeting, the specialist needed a cigarette, and Clark was steaming about the way the district "criminalized" her child, saying he had behavior problems. But they got what they wanted. Her son, who has an auditory processing disorder that makes reading difficult, would get 20 hours of intensive reading assistance through a program in Houston. Anita Watson, director of special education for Beaumont Independent School District, said not all parents get exactly what they want for their children. When there is only so much money, the district can't always promise parents the "Cadillac" of programs, but they must, by law, offer programs proven to work, Watson said. With hundreds, sometimes thousands, of special-needs children for each district to serve, it can be tricky to find the perfect service for each child. "We don't want to be adversarial, but we often have to come together to figure out what we can do," she said. Susan Cantrell, 45, a homemaker, has a daughter who has Tourette's syndrome and attends Vincent Middle School. Parents must become experts in their child's disability, she said, and they have to be willing to stand their ground. Cantrell had her daughter's doctors supply information on Tourette's and sent her daughter's records to an educational consultant for advice. She studied the laws and stayed up nights, learning all she could about the problem. She hounded the school until she got the administration to give teachers yearly training on Tourette's. Kristina DeVillier of Nederland wanted more than just a little help and classroom modification for her child, who has dyslexia, dysgraphia and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD. After two years of battling the school district, the 37-year-old nurse got her child included in the special education program. Denise Lindsey, 31, a homemaker from Port Arthur, refuses to leave it to the school district to make sure her child, who has Asperger's syndrome, which is at the lower end of the autism spectrum, gets what he needs. "I had to go to an outside tutor," she said. "I can't let him fall further behind." Amie Sonnier, 30, a respiratory therapist, has a 7-year-old with autism in the Port Neches-Groves school district. One of her parental struggles was getting enough individual attention for her child. "They might say, 'We do this for children with this disability,'" she recalled. "Well, I'm not worried about 'children with this disability.' I'm worried about my child." And all those struggles -- they're just the school side of it. A disability affects every aspect of a family, including the marriage, the other children and the way time and money are spent. It can make or break a marriage, Sonnier said. In an article written for www.autism.org, Dr. Stephen M. Edelson of the Center for the Study of Autism in Salem, Ore., said an autistic child can make family life difficult. Edelson noted that "divorce is quite common among families with an autistic child." Scott Ferguson of Bridge City, who has a son with Down syndrome, got to be alone with his wife, Gay, for the first time in more than a year when they went on a date last month. They haven't been on vacation in six years. Sonnier said non-disabled siblings often feel neglected. "So much energy, emotion, time, money, everything, is vested on the child with the disability," she said. Fair parenting becomes a delicate balancing act, she said. But Ferguson was quick to add that good parents gladly accept the challenges. Their children are their lives. "I wouldn't wish anyone to have a child with a disability," he said. "But at the same time, I'm lucky. My son will never see what we see on a daily basis. Hate, crime, war, money -- it's not going to bother him." |
| QUOTABLE FROM JIMMY KILPATRICK, AT HARVARD |
Texas has been Ground Zero for the development of the No Child Left Behind movement that has swept the nation. I believe those of us who have been involved in education issues in Texas will be able to provide valuable insight to the rest of the nation. |
How we take back our children's education: one person, one question, one school at a time. |
AASA - American Association of School Administrators ASA - Association of School Administrators CSD - Consolidated School District DOE - Department of Education ES - Elementary School HS - High School ISD - Independent School District JHS - Junior High School MS - Middle School MSM - Mainstream media NSBA - National School Boards Association NSPRA - National School Public Relations Association PS - Public School(s) SBEC - State Board for Educator Certification SD - School District Sup't - Superintendent TAKS - Texas Assessment of Knowledge & Skills TASA - Texas Association of School Administrators TASB - Texas Association of School Boards TASBO - Texas Association of School Business Officials TEA - Texas Education Agency TEKS - Texas Essential Knowledge & Skills USD - UnifiedUnited School District |
| GUIDE |
| FAIR USE NOTICE: This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of education issues vital to a republic. We believe this constitutes a "fair use" of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C., Chapter 1, Section 107 which states: the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright," the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond "fair use" you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. |
| QUOTES |
Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire. -- W.B. Yeats |
| ATTENTION EDUCATORS AND ADMINISTRATORS: Every attempt possible has been made to verify all sources and information. In the event you feel an error has been made, please contact us immediately. Thank you. |
| Copyright 1999-2006 Peyton Wolcott |
| POP QUIZ: How do you yourself know for a fact that your state or local supe is actually using the funds entrusted to them for the correct purposes? |
David v. Goliath: How America's Moms & Dads are taking on Education, Inc. PEYTON WOLCOTT |
The question is not how to measure excellence at public schools and education agencies. The question is how to measure competence. -- Dianna Pharr |
| CONTACT: Peyton Wolcott P.O. Box 9068 Horseshoe Bay, TX 78657 peyton@peytonwolcott.com |
| F o c u s i n g o n accountability f i r s t |
