NEW VIDEO: Welcome Back to School
Note: The video has been removed from this post. I have been asked not to use items from the I-SS web site but rather to place links to the site.
I also hope that all students, teachers, teacher assistants and other I-SS employees have a good school year.
That was a great video! I hope more uplifting things start to surface on this blog.
ReplyDeleteWe should try to get everyone together to come up with a unified solution for the interview process of the new superintendent. Our school board needs to know what qualities will truly make I-SS a district of high student performance with high teacher morale.
The previous superintendent could have fooled the worst cynic with his blog, had they not seen or endured him in action. Mr. Johnson, on the other hand, lives his words. He is a genuine educator and a fine person! This should be a year of healing in I-SS.
ReplyDeleteDr. Holliday was brought into the district to clean it up. The Superintendent before him was fired because he ws largely responsible for a budget deficit of over two million dollars. When Dr. Holliday took over, the I-SS graduation rate was 53rd in the state, and in 2008 we were 11th. SAT scores were 57th in the state in 2002, and in 2008 we were 7th. In 2002 our dropout rate was 6.5% and in 2008 it was 3.8%. I think we should remember these specific statistics before we go around criticizing him. The statistics do not lie, and I, for one am tired of people on this blog mischaracterizing him. He was hired to clean things up and he did. Mr. Johnson is a good man, but Dr. Holliday was not the evil dictator that some here would have us think he was. He did expect results, and he was willing to fire incompetent people. That is one thing I admired about him - and it is rare in education circles. As his policies are being rapidly dismantled, and as we focus on making people "happy," perhaps we should remember that the rest of the state is just now embracing those very policies and strategies that Dr. Holliday introduced. In fact, the country is embracing them as well. Why in the world do you think he was chosen to lead education in Kentucky - it certainly was not a demotion? Why? Because they knew that the state needed the skills that he has. We once had people here who could have positioned us to take a leadership role not just in the state, but in the nation, but not anymore. So, as we step backward in time, other districts and the nation are stepping up. The loud and small-minded few on this blog have made it worse for students graduating from I-SS, and it saddens me.
ReplyDeleteWhile no one is all good or all bad, you obviously did not teach in this school system while Holliday was here. I was the target of one of his tirades, and it was neither pleasant nor pretty. You are absolutely entitled to your opinion--I just gave mine.
ReplyDeleteNothing is as perfect as it seems. There are good things and bad things with all programs .
ReplyDeleteIf teachers are to be empowered, then it is not all dictated the way we teach. Creativeness does work well in most situations, and some of the best lesson plans have changed because of something that just happens in the classroom.
Life is not perfect nor does it evolve from PDSAs. You should allow the true data to separate from the made-up data. Dr. Holliday did some good things for ISS but he definitely had to have it his way, Everything we learn in life does not come from contiuous testing. There are other programs out there and very similiar to Baldrige. It just happened to be Holliday's personal agenda that upset others. There was a definite conflict of interest with Holliday and Baldrige, and all the money spent.
Well Captain America, now you see. Paul made a post that was intended to be positive. (Thanks Paul!) He was hoping "...that all students, teachers, teacher assistants and other I-SS employees (would) have a good school year."
ReplyDeleteYou followed with a post about unification on a positive note and after one other poster saying that it is time to heal...we are right back to Holliday and Baldrige. No other comments from educators about their first day or having a great year. I am starting to understand why the BOE and the Superintendent didn't listen to feedback!
I want to know who that cute blonde was!
ReplyDeleteUplifting! Yea, students. Just PLEASE - no more BALDRIGE and the Dr. Holliday hype that goes with it. Please let's just get over it!
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