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 |
| Commentary |
| TRANSPARENCY/PUBLIC RECORDS UPDATE |
| THE TRANSPARENCY SITUATION IN OUR U.S. PUBLIC SCHOOLS - PART II NOT MUCH, NOT YET--TINY GLIMMERS OF HOPE SHINING BRIGHT AMID TROUBLESPOTS By Peyton Wolcott November 3, 2006/1 a.m. |
| CLOSEUP: public records searches around the U.S. |
| QUESTION: How can Lake Travis ISD supe Rocky Kirk have decided that these girls below, dressed like this in their Lake Travis High School classes all day (Oct. 6, 2006), are less distracting to the education process than two parents filing public records requests? The back of one T-shirt featured "I wet my bed this morning" (below right) hand-embossed in silver. |
| The Lake Travis High School students at right, were photographed a local coffee bar en route for school dressed for "Senior Initiation" on the morning of Friday, October 6, 2006. While it's hard to imagine any teenage boys sitting in class that day with students dressed like this being able to concentrate on their studies much, it's harder still to imagine how this wearing apparel gibes either with the spirit or the letter of the high school's student dress code (excerpted at right, in pink box). Hardest of all, though, is understanding a school administration that would allow this sort of spectacle in student dress but complain about parents filing public records requests. Does this make sense to you? Especially when it comes from a supe who says he's in favor of open government and transparency? This second part of our report on transparency across the U.S. includes Tennessee, Texas and Washington; also, Florida's been added here My favorite Ph.D. Whether or not they really mean or measure or guarantee anything, titles mean a lot as do advanced degrees in the world of public education. So Tennessee's Hamilton County Schools (Chattanooga) trustee Rhonda Thurman calls herself a Ph.D. "Sure, I'm a Ph.D.," she tells people. "I'm a Professional Hair Dresser." A girl after my own heart. I tell Rhonda that when Hollywood comes calling to make a movie about goings-on there, Dolly Parton will play the Rhonda Thurman part. Both are smart and strong and know what they're doing--and are looking out for the little guy. Washington We revisit Mary Dombrowski in Bainbridge Island off the coast of Seattle, whose education activism has taken one of the most unusual turns of this group we're reporting this week. Remember 2003 And sadly while looking at the Pacific Northwest we must mention in passing a story with which we're all too familiar, the murky world of coaches and students and sex. While there, let's take a quick look at Evergreen Freedom Foundation's investigations of the Washington Education Association. The eyes of Texas Texas parents and taxpayers are an enterprising and energetic lot and it is to them that we look for much of the cutting-edge investigative work going on in public schools today. Plano, Dallas, Eanes, Lake Travis, Leander, Cleburne; the districts for their part have been more or less compliant but two are fighting back: Lake Travis ISD and Eanes ISD. More below. |
| California - Colorado - Florida Iowa - New York - Tennessee Texas - Washington |
| The white banner worn by the woman above right in jeans and pink T-shirt reads, "#1 Mom." |
| Texas |
| In 1998, PLANO ISD parents in suburban Dallas became concerned about a new fuzzy math program their school district seemed determined to force Connected Math on their children even though it was unproven, and based on poor principles. The district wouldn't even let the parents circulate a fact sheet on CMP on Math Night. So the parents sued for the right to distribute materials on campus, and won. Unfortunately, they were still stuck with Connected Math. Plano ISD supe Doug Otto was an Education Research and Development Institute (ERDI) consultant, and Pearson, which publishes Connected Math, was an ERDI vendor. Follow the money. Al Kirke and Roni Jenkins, two of the original plaintiffs in the lawsuit, agreed to meet me back at Wilson Middle School for this photo below on October 17, 2006; Al even found his original sign. |
| Excerpts from Lake Travis High School Student Handbook re Dress Code A student’s appearance is an excellent indicator of a student’s attitude toward learning and school. Cleanliness, neatness, and appropriateness for a school environment should guide student decisions concerning attire and grooming. With all the distractions facing students in today’s society, we hope the parents will work with us in keeping dress and grooming from being something that takes away from our children’s opportunity to learn. Students may wear uniforms associated with approved campus extracurricular activities, as directed/ approved by the principal or sponsor. Dress and grooming at Lake Travis High School is to be appropriate in keeping with the age and gender of high school students. Good judgment in grooming and clothes selection is the basis for our dress code. (emphasis added) |
| Sadly, little else has changed under Otto's tenure. When we started to go inside to take their photograph near the cafeteria door (below), the principal and assistant principal and a Plano ISD police officer blocked our entrance. |
| Tennessee |
| When HAMILTON COUNTY SCHOOLS trustee Rhonda S. Thurman (right) discovered that some HCS yearly employees such as principals "were sitting on |
| Rhonda Thurman |
| $100,000 checks when they retire" for unused sick and vacation days, her response was a realistic suggestion to cap the number of unused sick and vacation days the employees can cash out on retirement. Thurman points out, "If they've got this many vacation days and they're not using them, they don't need them." Currently HCS yearly employees are entitled to 12-24 days per year. Says Thurman, "I will never ever forget who I represent: The taxpayers, not the teachers, not the administrators. The taxpayers are who I work for." |
| Scene from a courtroom: Jennifer Riggs and partner Bill Aleshire, attorneys for Lake Travis ISD parents, leave court last Thursday, October 26 after judge threw out Lake Travis ISD's lawsuit |
| More Monday |
| Washington |
| In this WWII photo above, "Ethnic Japanese Militants at Tule Lake Segregation Center in Califor- nia demand to be immediately expatriated to Japan to fight for their Emperor, whom they worshiped as a living God." This sort of photo is not being shown to students enrolled in BAINBRIDGE ISLAND PUBLIC SCHOOLS. Instead, students are being told that the internment camps were like the concentration camps in Europe. Tule and Dachau are not the same. Local historian Mary Dombrowski and her husband, U.S. Coast Guard Captain James Olsen, fought the good fight; for their trouble Jim was barred from their child's school for a time and Mary and the child were followed by an armed police officer all day on a school field trip. Mary has turned documentary film maker to share what she knows about WWII history on the Island. Says Mary, "British and American cryptographers intercepted radio traffic from Tokyo and were aware that there was a vast espionage network on the West Coast. I think Bainbridge Island was first because we had an intercept station here--that's why they had to get the Japanese off the Island. Our intelligence was already getting messages saying, "Such and such a ship was entering Bremerton Harbor," or, "Five Coast Guard vessells wenty by and these were their names and these were the kinds of guns they were carrying. These were messages in Japanese being sent from Seattle to Tokyo in 1941--before Pearl Harbor." More about these historical DVD's here:www.bainbridgehistorians.org |
| EANES ISD DIANNA PHARR -- USE WITH ORR'S TO BERNADETTE GONZALEZ I am truly pleased to acknowledge the board’s recent decision to post relevant board meeting information on the Eanes ISD website using BoardBook. I am aware that BoardBook has the capability at no extra expense apparently to provide the district’s check register online; as I have also repeatedly requested the online posting of the Eanes ISD check register, please consider this option as well. |
| EVERGREEN FREEDOM FOUNDATION'S lawsuit against the Washington Education Association--that WEA should not be allowed to use dues to pay for political lobbying--will be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court; oral arguments begin January 10, 2007. "We obtained 60,000 internal union documents, some of them through public records requests," says Marcia Michaelis, director of EFF's Education Reform Center. |
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 |
Separatists in India's north-eastern state of Manipur have shot six male teachers in the leg for allegedly helping students cheat in exams. Two women teachers were beaten with sticks for the same offence, the rebels of the Kanglei Yana Kan Lup group said. The teachers were abducted from their homes after an exam on Thursday. The rebels said the teachers took up to 5,000 rupees ($110) for helping students cheat and warned of further punishment if the cheating continued. The Kanglei Yana Kan Lup (KYKL) is one of many separatist groups fighting Indian administration in Manipur. It said it abducted the eight teachers from their homes in and around the state capital, Imphal, because of reports they had taken bribes. --By Subir Bhaumik - BBC |
| 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? |
My New Book PEYTON WOLCOTT |
| QUERY THE SUPE & THE PR GUY |
TO:
KATHY COX-GEORGIA
SUP'T OF SCHOOLS &
CEO-GEORGIA DOE
CC:
DANA TOFIG-
GEORGIA DOE
PUBLIC INFO. OFCR.
DATE: JAN. 22, 2006
Can you please send me
the annual dollar
amount for each school
year (the five annual fiscal
cycles 2000-2005) that the
Georgia Public Schools
DOE has spent with
vendor Computer
Consulting Services
Corp., described as a
consultant to Georgia's
DOE.
KATHY COX-GEORGIA
SUP'T OF SCHOOLS &
CEO-GEORGIA DOE
CC:
DANA TOFIG-
GEORGIA DOE
PUBLIC INFO. OFCR.
DATE: JAN. 22, 2006
Can you please send me
the annual dollar
amount for each school
year (the five annual fiscal
cycles 2000-2005) that the
Georgia Public Schools
DOE has spent with
vendor Computer
Consulting Services
Corp., described as a
consultant to Georgia's
DOE.
| STATUS: No response rec'd from Sup't Gray as of Mar. 27, 2006 |
The question is not how to measure excellence at public schools and education agencies. The question is how to measure competence. -- Dianna Pharr |
| QUERY THE SUPE (& CC THE BOARD) |
DATE FIRST SENT:
FEB. 14, 2006
RE-SENT 03/26/06
Dear Strongsville
Superintendent
James Gray:
I'm hoping you can
clear something up for
me for my book and
website regarding your
standards for
administrative
practices in
Strongsville as there
have been not one but
two situations this past
year warranting
scrutiny....
Regarding special ed
teacher Christine
Scarlett's offering a
date with herself as a
grades incentive
1. What rules/
guidelines do you now
have in place to
assure that nothing
like this happens
again? Would these
be administrative
changes or has your
board set specific
policies in place for
you to follow in future?
2. Rumors of an affair
between Scarlett and
Bradigan persisted for
several months. You
have stated that you
have no idea such an
affair was going on.
Do you feel the fact
that you are
commuting from your
home in Akron (if this
has changed, please
let me know) has
adversely impacted
your ability to monitor
what's going on with
your employees in the
Strongsville
community in an
important and
sensitive area such as
this? Has your board
since made a
condition of your
employment that you
move to Strongsville
and become an
integral part of their
community?
Regarding the sex
education booklet
placed last fall in
young children's
lockers
4. What guidelines
did you follow from
your established
board's policies for
such?
5. There appears to
be a growing number
of parents who want to
be consulted before
such materials are
given to their students.
As one mom put it,
"What's wrong with so
many people in the
educational fields that
they don't even think
twice about providing
children with
inappropriate
materials and not even
consider the parents
wishes....Their tactics
mirror those used in
Communist China and
Cuba where children
are considered not
children of parents, but
wards of the State."
While this is clearly the
statement of an upset
parent, it does raise an
interesting issue
regarding public
school administrators
in the U.S. Do you
consider the students
in your schools yours
to educate as you
deem best or the
offspring of parents to
be consulted before
disseminating such
materials?
Regarding trainings
and conferences
6. Of which
education-related
associations are you
and Strongsville City
Schools a member?
What are these
organizations'
guidelines for
disseminating such
materials?
7. In which
education-related
conferences have
your and your staff
participated this past
year? Where were
they and what were
the costs for each?
Have you attended any
other seminars,
workshops or the like
offering guidance in
this area, and what
were those costs?
It may well be that
there are perfectly
reasonable
explanations for your
approving the placing
sex-education
pamphlets in young
students' lockers
without notifying
parents first, and it may
also well be that there
is a perfectly
reasonable
explanation for your
allowing a teacher to
offer a date at the Dairy
Queen with herself to a
young student; if so, I
am eager to learn such
reason or reasons.
==================
She said the booklet,
which also provides
information on the need for
parental consent for
abortion and a Web
address for the
Lesbian/Gay Community
Service Center of Greater
Cleveland, is
inappropriate for
11-year-olds. I believe
some sex education needs
to be given, but when
subjects are discussed or
material is given to kids of
this nature, a notice
should be sent home to
the parent and they should
be allowed to opt out of
the program if they wish,
Fleming said. School
Superintendent James
Gray said he gave an OK
for the pocket-sized
directories, which were
provided to the district by
United Way Services in
conjunction with the
county health department
and county commissioners,
to be given to students at
the high school, middle
schools and to sixth
graders. Gray said he
received two calls from
parents who took
exception to the booklet's
content. I understand that
and probably, in
retrospect, I should have
considered sending a
letter along with it as far
as an explanation, he
said, adding, this is a
developing situation. I
don't know what we are
going to do at this point.
Colleen Grady, a city
resident and a member of
the state school board,
said she got calls from four
parents concerned about
their children getting the
directory. Grady, who is
also a former city school
board member, said she
has not personally seen
the publication, but they
(parents) read me sections
over the telephone. She
said the state board of
education may wish to
make a legislative
recommendation to the
Ohio general assembly,
and the board could also
consider discussion about
adoption of a model policy
for the distribution of such
materials. Gray said there
will be continued
discussion, in the district's
curriculum and pupil
services departments on
whether to curtail
distribution of materials
which are considered to
be sensitive, particularly
for the younger kids.
FEB. 14, 2006
RE-SENT 03/26/06
Dear Strongsville
Superintendent
James Gray:
I'm hoping you can
clear something up for
me for my book and
website regarding your
standards for
administrative
practices in
Strongsville as there
have been not one but
two situations this past
year warranting
scrutiny....
Regarding special ed
teacher Christine
Scarlett's offering a
date with herself as a
grades incentive
1. What rules/
guidelines do you now
have in place to
assure that nothing
like this happens
again? Would these
be administrative
changes or has your
board set specific
policies in place for
you to follow in future?
2. Rumors of an affair
between Scarlett and
Bradigan persisted for
several months. You
have stated that you
have no idea such an
affair was going on.
Do you feel the fact
that you are
commuting from your
home in Akron (if this
has changed, please
let me know) has
adversely impacted
your ability to monitor
what's going on with
your employees in the
Strongsville
community in an
important and
sensitive area such as
this? Has your board
since made a
condition of your
employment that you
move to Strongsville
and become an
integral part of their
community?
Regarding the sex
education booklet
placed last fall in
young children's
lockers
4. What guidelines
did you follow from
your established
board's policies for
such?
5. There appears to
be a growing number
of parents who want to
be consulted before
such materials are
given to their students.
As one mom put it,
"What's wrong with so
many people in the
educational fields that
they don't even think
twice about providing
children with
inappropriate
materials and not even
consider the parents
wishes....Their tactics
mirror those used in
Communist China and
Cuba where children
are considered not
children of parents, but
wards of the State."
While this is clearly the
statement of an upset
parent, it does raise an
interesting issue
regarding public
school administrators
in the U.S. Do you
consider the students
in your schools yours
to educate as you
deem best or the
offspring of parents to
be consulted before
disseminating such
materials?
Regarding trainings
and conferences
6. Of which
education-related
associations are you
and Strongsville City
Schools a member?
What are these
organizations'
guidelines for
disseminating such
materials?
7. In which
education-related
conferences have
your and your staff
participated this past
year? Where were
they and what were
the costs for each?
Have you attended any
other seminars,
workshops or the like
offering guidance in
this area, and what
were those costs?
It may well be that
there are perfectly
reasonable
explanations for your
approving the placing
sex-education
pamphlets in young
students' lockers
without notifying
parents first, and it may
also well be that there
is a perfectly
reasonable
explanation for your
allowing a teacher to
offer a date at the Dairy
Queen with herself to a
young student; if so, I
am eager to learn such
reason or reasons.
==================
She said the booklet,
which also provides
information on the need for
parental consent for
abortion and a Web
address for the
Lesbian/Gay Community
Service Center of Greater
Cleveland, is
inappropriate for
11-year-olds. I believe
some sex education needs
to be given, but when
subjects are discussed or
material is given to kids of
this nature, a notice
should be sent home to
the parent and they should
be allowed to opt out of
the program if they wish,
Fleming said. School
Superintendent James
Gray said he gave an OK
for the pocket-sized
directories, which were
provided to the district by
United Way Services in
conjunction with the
county health department
and county commissioners,
to be given to students at
the high school, middle
schools and to sixth
graders. Gray said he
received two calls from
parents who took
exception to the booklet's
content. I understand that
and probably, in
retrospect, I should have
considered sending a
letter along with it as far
as an explanation, he
said, adding, this is a
developing situation. I
don't know what we are
going to do at this point.
Colleen Grady, a city
resident and a member of
the state school board,
said she got calls from four
parents concerned about
their children getting the
directory. Grady, who is
also a former city school
board member, said she
has not personally seen
the publication, but they
(parents) read me sections
over the telephone. She
said the state board of
education may wish to
make a legislative
recommendation to the
Ohio general assembly,
and the board could also
consider discussion about
adoption of a model policy
for the distribution of such
materials. Gray said there
will be continued
discussion, in the district's
curriculum and pupil
services departments on
whether to curtail
distribution of materials
which are considered to
be sensitive, particularly
for the younger kids.
| 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 |
| DALLAS ISD has had some problems with their Producrement (Pro-Card) credit cards. The Dallas Morning News did a great series this past summer. Thing is, Dallas dad Allen Gwinn broke the story on his site, www.dallas.org, the year before. In addition to presenting the story, he's also presented the receipts, all $38 million of them, with the information available such that he can tell you--and you can see for yourself--by which employees used the cards at convenience stores on the weekend. Remember the National School District Honor Roll, the roster of all public school districts posting their checks online? The CFO of a very large district has posed this question to me : "We write 1,000 checks per day. How would we publish all those online in a way that would be accessible for people?" When I took this probleme to Allen, he said, "School districts don't need to produce data in searchable format. They merely need to provide the data in raw format. There are plenty of organizations like Dallas.Org that would do the 'crunching' for them, place it online and host it." The FBI made their first arrest in September, Marsha Ollison, a secretary in supe Michael Hinajosa's office; among Ollison's charges: $12,000 in groceries. In other transparency issues, when Gwinn looked into DISD's bilingual program he ran full-force up against many districts' inherent instinct to circle the wagons and thwart transparency at every corner. Gwinn describes DISD board president Jack Lowe: He's "a decent guy," "a retirement-age-approaching senior executive who decided...he wanted to devote more time to giving back to his community" and "has the best interest of DISD at heart," someone who "is also an example of why things go so wrong at DISD." Here's what happened: "In the course of gathering research for an upcoming story on the District's bilingual education program, I interviewed Gilda Evans, Assistant Superintendent for the bilingual education program. Some of her comments raised questions. When it comes to the bilingual education program, the District doesn't mince words. A teacher's English skills are 'secondary.' Others have said it. Evans said it. Several teachers have complained openly that some bilingual teachers seem to have problems speaking and comprehending English. So I posed the question: Has the District hired teachers who couldn't pass the English portion of the certification exam? Evans' response was: In the past, [this] has happened, but it doesn't happen currently. So the cat was out of the bag. Not only did we have teachers complaining about colleagues, but the head of the program indicated there was a possiblity some teachers did have a real problem with the English language! Add to the mix, Dallas School Board Trustee Ron Price's comment that We have several teachers here who do not speak English at all." When Lowe telephoned Gwinn, Gwinn volunteered, Look, why don't you get the Board to direct an outside party, or me, to look at the alternative certifications, and I'll tell you if English language requirements were waived, and we can put an end to the speculation. Lowe's response was, We're not going to do that and I'll look into this without your help. Gwinn's take: "To Jack, you see, none of this is my business, and it's not your business. It's DISD's business, and it should be left to the DISD business handlers--not the unwashed public and certainly not busy-bodies who turn up sensational news stories like the recent procurement card scandal. There is no doubt in my mind that Jack will look into his business without my help. If irregularities are found, they'll be quietly addressed and the matter will be swept to the side. Everything will be forgotten, and another pump will be primed for the next sensational news story." More here www.dallas.org |