| 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 |
How we take back our children's education: one person, one question, one school at a time. |
Friends, because there's now so much on this site--reports, commentaries, book excerpts, all designed to help you bring improvements to your local schools--I'm in the process of preparing a site map. Underlining indicates active links. Please check back. SITE MAP NEW COMMENTARIES: RANDOM ROUND-UPS ACCOUNTABILITY & OPEN RECORDS ISSUES: School District Checks/Check Registers Online Connecting the Dots Pass the Trash Reader Q & A's SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) Transparency Report ____ GOVERNANCE ISSUES: The American Superintendency Team of Eight ____ Arizona Nogales USD Pima County Ofc. of Ed. Santa Cruz County OE California Glenn County Ofc. of Ed. San Francisco USD Florida Citrus County PS Miami-Dade County PS Michigan Ann Arbor New York New York PS Roslyn Ohio Strongsville PS Texas Bremond ISD Cleburne ISD Dallas ISD Eanes ISD Edgewood ISD Everman ISD Houston ISD Katy ISD La Joya ISD Lake Travis ISD Llano ISD State Board of Education ____ Edu-Conferences ____ BOOK EXCERPTS: Education, Inc. How To File a Public Records Request How To Organize Lax Oversight ____ WHAT OTHER FOLKS ARE DOING: MODERN MINUTEMEN SUCCESS STORIES, KINDRED SPIRITS ____ COMMENTARY ARCHIVES ___ SPECIAL REPORTS: TEXAS LEGE: TEA POWER GRAB PAYING FOR TEXAS PUBLIC EDUCATION: A PRIMER ____ About/In the News 2006 - Year in Review |
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 1999-2007 Peyton Wolcott |
| Britain's King George III once ruled our country; despotism by those with power does not last. Public school superintendents would do well to remember this lesson from history. |
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.
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.
| STATUS: No response rec'd from Sup't Gray as of Jan. 22, 2007 |
| QUERY THE SUPE (& CC THE BOARD) |
| CONTACT: Peyton Wolcott P.O. Box 9068 Horseshoe Bay, TX 78657 peyton@peytonwolcott.com Want to subscribe to my newsletter? Send me an email marked "Subscribe." |
| F o c u s i n g o n accountability f i r s t |
| 95 Questions here Online School District Check Registers Here Random Round-Ups Here 2006 - Year in Review here Nov.-Dec. 2006 commen- taries here Pass the Trash here SLAPP reports here and here Reader Q&As |
| Conservative Commentary |
| LOCATION: Texas Association of School Boards/Texas Association of School Administrators - Annual Convention (Houston, Texas) DATE: Oct. 6, 2006 EVENT: UBS Financial Services, Inc. reception FACTS: There were four chairs at this table and a total of five alcoholic beverages (green arrows), according to waitstaff. There's more than one way to skin a cat--or to sell financial services. UBS was not listed on either the 2005 or 2006 TASB/TASA official paid and registered exhibitor list; instead, it appears to have bypassed the vendor hall in favor of doing its selling at receptions such as the one above. This is nothing against UBS; they're no doubt a fine company, plus I'm a pro-business and free enterprise kind of girl. But is this the type of environment in which we want our school superintendent s and trustees to be making important financial considerations involving taxpayer dollars? |
| Friends, can you help me identify the man and two women in this picture from TASB/TASA 2006? Enlarged, with more information, here |
| No, these folks above are not New Year's Eve revelers--this photo was taken Friday, October 6, 2006 at a party hosted by UBS Financial Services. Educated guess: These folks are most likely public school administrators or elected school board members. |
| CONTACT |
KEY POINT: "Superin- tendents and school boards would have to be willing to be perceived as being anti-open government and anti- transparency to turn down your request that they post their check registers online." --Peyton |
Questions for the Ameri- can Ass'n of School Admini- strators re the state of the American superin- tendency Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2007 |
| In progress: PROBLEMS WITH YOUR LOCAL SCHOOL DISTRICT? HOW TO SOLVE THEM |
Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall. --President Ronald Reagan |
ONE MORE TIME HERE'S HOPING THAT IF OUR TEXAS LEGE PASSES A PRO-VOUCHERS BILL . . . They'll also at the same time completely rewrite our gibberish-laden, vendor-driven TEKS and give our Texas schoolchildren standards which are: Knowledge-based Academic Measurable Explicit Grade-level specific and Objectively tested. * Otherwise, if children attending voucher-paid private school are forced to take the TAKS test as it is now written, nothing will be gained--and much will be lost. The only place parents will then have left is to homeschool. We must be wary that the Lege is not hornswoggled again as occurred when the TEKS were chosen over the Texas Alternative Document--and common sense. The FBI appears to be on the trail of clearing up this earlier debacle--let's not drop our guard again. _____________ * Thank you, Donna Garner, for this language. |
| Vouchers Update This week's Austin rally By Peyton Wolcott - Copyright 2007 Published Thursday, February 8, 2007 |
| Vouchers in the edu-cellar state: South Carolina By Peyton Wolcott - Copyright 2007 Published Thurs., Feb. 8, 2007 Your tax dollars paid for a South Carolina educator's week-long vacation stay here, in the penthouse of Myrtle Beach's Regency Towers. |
| Crowds were estimated at Wednesday's rally at 3500 to 5000 people, many of them schoolchildren bused to Austin for the day. |
| South Carolinians for Responsible Government Invites you to the 2007 School Choice Legislative Day and Rally Tuesday, February 13, 2007 South Carolina State House Rally begins at 11:30 AM Parking will be available at the Capital City Stadium. Buses should drop off passengers at the State House Complex (Sumter Street side). Shuttles will be available for anyone parking at the Capital City Stadium from 9:00AM-3:00PM. |
| Easy to afford a beachfront highrise penthouse stay when you're defrauding the government of $4 million in E-rate technology ? |
| According to the Department of Justice, Cynthia K. Ayer "used her position as the technology director of the [Bamberg] school district to award technology contracts to her company, Go Between Communica- tions, by submitting fraudulent applica- tions for E-Rate funding of more than $3.5 million to the Federal Communica- tions Commission’s (FCC) Universal Service Company (USAC) without a competitive bidding process. The indictment further charges that, as a result of her scheme to defraud the E- Rate program, Ayer fraudulently obtained $468,496 in payments from USAC. The charges in the indictment include 10 counts of mail fraud and two counts of wire fraud." |
| In May 2003, Bamberg Schools technology director Cynthia K. ("Cindy") Ayer apparently spent ten days in the penthouse in this high-rise resort above; according to the online guestbook: |
| The mission of Bamberg School District One is to develop productive, independent and contributing members of a multicultural society by providing innovative educational experiences which promote lifelong learning and encourage respect for individual differences. |
| We stayed at this Penthouse for a 10 days in May. I can sum this condo in one word FANTASTIC. The view is unbelievable from all rooms. The decor is fabulous and the condo is very spacious. We will be back next year without a doubt. [sic] --Cindy Ayer |
| ABC's Johnson Stossel (above) with Houston City Council hopeful Carlos Obando; below, Howard Fuller of the Black Alliance for Education Options and Dallas Rabbi Aryeh Feigenbaum (L) |
| Enough stories like the foregoing, and the case for vouchers almost makes itself. |
| And what of Bamberg schools? They've got a mission statement. And they're focusing on multiculturalism. |
| Veronica Gallegos (L) and Ashley Gutierrez, 9th graders at San Antonio's Holy Cross High School, live in Edgewood ISD; San Antonio physician/ businessman Jim Leininger has funded a $50 million vouchers program to EISD schoolchildren. |
| (L to R) Darryl Thompson, Ashkelon Khan, DaMarers Waldrup and Dontreal Thompson (Darryl's brother) traveled from Houston's Fifth Ward to attend the rally; they are students at E.O. Smith Middle School |
| Lots of flag waving yesterday (above); wearing your ideals on your shirtfront beats wearing your heart on your sleeve. |
| An endless stream of chartered buses -- 88 total, according to event organizers -- were hired for the event. Below, students from San Antonio's Holy Cross High School standing ready for crowd control duty; Holy Cross is located in Edgewood ISD. |
Right now, if a vouchers bill passed today, it would be tied to our gibberish-laden, vendor-driven TEKS; this is the intent of the education lobby, what I call "Education, Inc." While pro-voucher conservatives are hoping that vouchers legislation will provide for testing and standards which are: Knowledge-based Academic Measurable Explicit Grade-level specific and Objectively tested,* Education, Inc. has been wily in the extreme in the past. Remember Voyager? At all times and at all costs, Education, Inc.'s vested interest is to continue the status quo. If children attending voucher-paid private schools are forced to take the TAKS test, nothing will be gained --and much will be lost. The only place parents will then have left is to homeschool. We must be wary that the Lege is not hornswoggled again as occurred when the TEKS were chosen over the TAD--and common sense. The FBI appears to be on the trail of clearing up this earlier debacle. Let's not drop our guard again. |
| THE SINGLE FACTOR THAT COULD MAKE VOUCHERS WORSE FOR TEXAS SCHOOLCHILDREN |
| As a conservative, I'm all for students getting to go to better schools with traditional curricula, our tax dollars follow- ing the students. That said, there is a big problem as things stand right now: |
| Jim Leininger (above right) |
| About the rally, Connie Sadowski of Austin CEO Foundation (above) commented, "Private schools need to be aware at all times of what their students are accomplishing with standardized testing--Iowa or Stanford achieve- ment tests. There would be no reason to overregulate private schools to mandate a TAKS test which is very controversial right now--and in the middle of a rewrite." She added, "There are a lot of wonderful public schools and teachers in Texas. We're addressing the needs of the schools that are not meeting the needs of some children." |
| Dallas Rabbi Yehudah Abrams (R) |
| John Stossel, February 7th rally's keynote speaker |
| Below, Channel 8 reporter looks for meaning and the right words in the State of Texas. |