Friday, July 17, 2009

Kentucky's Loss, Iredell's Gain

The Kentucky Department of Education is reporting that Dr. Holliday has been selected as the next Kentucky Education Commissioner. The following is taken from the press release.

Terry Holliday, superintendent of the Iredell-Statesville school district in Statesville, North Carolina, has been selected as Kentucky’s fifth commissioner of education. His salary will be $225,000 annually, and his first day in office will be August 5. The contract is for four years.

The Kentucky Board of Education announced the selection today at a special-called meeting in Frankfort. Chairman Joe Brothers said that Holliday exemplifies the qualities the board sought for the next commissioner. “Terry Holliday has a proven record of accomplishments, and chief among those is his work to raise student achievement levels,” Brothers said. “He is a strong leader who understands the importance of collaboration and communication among partners, including parents, educators, community leaders, businesspeople and elected officials.

For more of the Kentucky press release click on the link below

Holliday selected as Kentucky Education Commissioner

To access the related article in the Record and Landmark, click on the link below.

Holliday selected for Kentucky post

The following is taken from The I-SS News release found on their web site.

Kentucky Board of Education members this morning voted to hire Iredell-Statesville Schools Superintendent Dr. Terry Holliday as the state’s next commissioner of education. Holliday was one of four finalists for the position.

“My family and I are certainly excited about this new challenge,” said Holliday. “But leaving Iredell-Statesville Schools will definitely be a bittersweet experience. During the last seven years, I have come to love not only our schools, but our community and its people.”

Iredell-Statesville Schools Board of Education Chairman Dr. David Cash says Holliday’s selection as the Kentucky commissioner comes as no surprise.

According to Cash, the board of education will begin work immediately to name an interim superintendent. “We certainly want to build upon the solid foundation we currently have in place,” said Cash. “Right now, we want to maintain stability and work to identify the best individual who can help our district continue on its path of success.”

Cash said the board will be discussing the interim job with a handful of internal candidates. “We’re very fortunate. Our school district has developed a pool of highly-motivated, talented leaders who we are confident will continue to ensure our young people succeed,” he said.

The board will begin meeting with potential candidates for the interim position during a special called meeting on Monday afternoon. Cash said it was possible that the board would make an announcement about an interim replacement for Holliday at the conclusion of the meeting. Once an interim replacement is in place, the board will begin advertising for a permanent replacement.

For more of the I-SS press release click on the link below

Superintendent Becomes Kentucky's New Education Commissioner

Now is the time to take action. Contact the School Board members and let them know that they have to concentrate on what is best for the students. Students, parents, teachers, teacher assistants, and the citizens of Iredell County should all be allowed to participate in the selection of the interim superintendent as well as the permanent superintendent. Apparently, the School Board is planning on meeting in a closed session on Monday with no input from the public.

The contact information for the Board Members is listed below.

Mr. Bill Brater (District 5)
529 Catspaw Lane
Statesville, NC 28677
704-528-3531

Dr. David Cash (District 2)
149 Foxglove Drive
Statesville, NC 28625
704-873-3269

Mr. Charles Kelly (District 6)
132 Blueberry Hill Drive
Statesville, NC 28625
704-873-7578

Mr. John B. Rogers, Jr. (District 3)
851 Wesley Drive
Statesville, NC 28677
704-873-7777

Mrs. Karen Watson (District 7)
PO Box 4533
Mooresville, NC 28117
704-660-8018

Mr. Keith Williams (District 4)
1724 Jones Street
Statesville, NC 28625
704-878-6559

Dr. Kenneth Wilson (District 1)
293 Rash Road
Olin, NC 28660
704-876-4515



32 comments:

  1. I agree that we need to have input into this selection. Our children's futures are at stake here.

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  2. Board meeting in closed session? Why don't they meet and take public comments on the new selection? Could this be Brenda Clark's next ultimate job?

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  3. With the news that Holliday is leaving,I am in the process of contacting all of the school board members. I will urge them to move away from Baldrige and name Dr. Johnson as interim. I implore all readers of this blog to contact board members and offer your opinions about an interim superintendent.

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  4. It is imperative that people contact their board members. It has been rumored that Holliday has mentioned three of his staff to be his replacement. They are Melanie Taylor, Dale Ellis, and Ron Hargrave. The rumor may be true or not. But the rumor of Holliday getting the Kentucky job came through. We better check their Baldrige credentials. It is obvious the pro-Holliday forces do not care what the people of Iredell think. Therefore, it is important to develop some form(s) of rally point(s). stage protests at the SR&L or at the next board meeting - bombard your BOE members with emails and phone calls - etc. It is extremely important for the people who want change in the current policies to come forward and express themselves. You have been denied your freedom of expression. You have been ridiculed by some posters for expressing your opinion. Do not let yourself be denied the opportunity to do something extremely important. You will have no one to blame if except yourself if you do not seize the opportunity of the moment. Mr. Klaene has been ridiculed for his efforts. I applaud his efforts and as a citizen and stakeholder of this community I am thankful for his efforts and the efforts of others.

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  5. I will contact the board members, but I do feel it will be a huge waste of time........they are elected already and do not respond in any way to e-mails sent. Good Luck students.

    I would like to nominate Barry Redmond. He cares about Iredell.

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  6. In other districts, teachers actually have a vote in chosing a new superintendent. I'd love to see this happen here! That alone would be a HUGE second step in improving teacher morale. Getting rid of Holiday is the first, as we sure are celebrating, at least for today!

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  7. I also have contacted the members. It will be a waste of time only if no one does it. When the board is overwhelmed with e-mails and phone calls, they will have to listen.

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  8. Brenda Clark does not have the credentials for superintendent. She does not have a NC certificate of any kind.

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  9. Wow, teachers having a a vote in choosing a new superintendent...now that would actually be empowerment.

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  10. Teacher morale is at an all time low in ISS, though today was a day to celebrate. It is my hope that the BOE does not simply slide another Baldridge supporter in place. Teachers, now is the time to speak out Everyone needs to contact all of the school board members.

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  11. In the Statesville Record and Landfill today, the editorial is speculating what is next for ISS. From this reader's viewpoint, the editorial staff is giving the Badridge (sic) Model all of the praise and glory for the success of our schools. Here is my observation. Read the editorial, p.7A. Check out the freudian slip, Badridge, and go have another glass of wine,
    it's 5:00 somewhere, and then e-mail or call your school board. Tell them you are so done with Badridge. The NC Board of Education holds the educators accountable enough.

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  12. Read today's Record and Landmark. With Dr. Cash ,it is going to be more of a Baldridge person as interim superintendent. It is time to get busy with phone calls and bombard this board all day Monday before closed session. Otherwise ,look for more of the same old junk. Parents, staff and teachers ,it is time to unite. One person cannot do it, but all of us can.

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  13. If the teachers of ISS accept the fact that the interim supt. accepts the Baldridge method of doing things then I am done. The teachers must have enough courage to speak to our board of education and share concerns. You so think it is over.... just wait......

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  14. Why would an interim change anything? What is set is set. The interim will be there to keep things going and get the school year started. The real concern will be the permanent hire. Why would someone in there for 2 or 3 months make a lot of changes? Then in 2 months a permanent hire come and change it again with how they think things should be done. Then everyone would be even more upset. Change will be the job of whoever is hired for the long term. We just need to hope the Board moves quickly toward hiring that permanent replacement.

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  15. I'd be curious to know what questions the BoE will ask candidates applying the the permanent superintendent position. A list of their desired qualifications should be published for all citizens to see. Citizens should also be made aware of BoE feelings about continuing a program that has cost I-SS numerous wonderful teachers and principals...check the lucky counties around Iredell, their children have been the benefactors of our losses.

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  16. A benefactor of our losses... and substandard performance on state assessments.

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  17. Substandard? Really...

    NCDPI would probably be interested in your source of statistics. According to their website

    http://abcs.ncpublicschools.org/abcs/abcAYPList.jsp?pYear=2007-2008


    these are the ABCs AYP results for
    2007-2008

    Alexander County...........92.3
    Hickory City ..............88.9
    Newton-Conover.............98.1
    Elkin City.................94.1
    Mt. Airy...................89.1

    Iredell-Statesville.................87.9

    There are a total of twenty school systems that outperformed I-SS

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  18. Right on 7/19 5;31PM

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  19. To the 3:13 poster:

    Where's that super secret proof that all the school systems around I-SS are substandard?

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  20. The comments posted here are very sad. If the energy displayed here could be put to use volunteering in the schools, assisting with fund raising for schools, attending school events, suporting/showing respect for educators (administrative and teachers) and helping to make sure you are sending students to school ready to learn.............you would certainly see a great deal of success for students. It's time to help build up education and stop tearing it down in these uninformed attacks.

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  21. The above 7-19 9:33 comment was brought to you by a Pro-Holliday, Baldrige, and SR&L enthusiast. I think they must have watched the Holliday video and took his words to heart. The real sadness comes from the fact that this blog had to created so that we may better understand what has been occuring in the I-SS system.

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  22. Nothing like generalizing someone based on their comments....when all else fails, attack them personally huh?

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  23. Keep those cards and letters coming 7-19 11:06. Huh?

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  24. To what is 7-19, 11:06 referring? Have we totally misunderstood your point? Is it a personal attack to refer to someone as pro-Holliday, Baldrige and SR&L enthusiast? Is that not a compliment to you? The "energy" here is strictly Pro-ISS, and yes, it is sad that Dr. Holliday has created this rift among ISS employees and the Iredell/Statesville community.

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  25. When are we expecting to hear who will be the interim super?

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  26. It's Brady Johnson.

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  27. Has this been officially stated?

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  28. yes..ISS website.

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  29. This is an excellent choice, he well serve the district well.

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  30. I think it is very interesting that I-SS scored 87.9% last year and this year it is 77%. That looks like a negative gain to me. Or should I say a loss.

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  31. You must remember, only selective and positive data is shared under the current I-SS system. Let us pray that it stops in a few days.

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  32. Or maybe you have no clue what you are talking about. 77% refers to the percent of schools making AYP, 87.9% refers to the percent of district AYP goals met.

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