Sorry, but the survey 'EOY Review SMART Goals' is not currently live, so you cannot take it at this time.
Perhaps someone at I-SS was checking this blog, saw the post about the survey, and decided that the survey should be corrected. Anyone looking at the survey should be able to tell that it was seriously flawed. The statements were cryptic and lacking essential information. I do not know who designed this survey but that person is in serious need of professional training. Maybe it is time for a PDSA.
Of course, it could be that the administration did not like the responses and decided to remove the survey before they received any more negative responses. Remember it is important that the data represents what we want it to represent.
The ISS Report R.I.P. September 7, 2009 died from lack of interest
ReplyDeletelittle Paul Klaene started a blog about the schools,
ReplyDeletehe was intent on making Holiday look like a fool,
Holiday left and Klaene is alone,
so now he has to pick another bone,
the school posted a survey but it went away,
just another time that Klaene didn’t get his say,
he said he took it but it didn’t make any sense,
it made him frustrated and made him tense,
what will little Paul Klaene come up with now,
maybe little Paul Klaene will throw in the towel,
his supporters will read this and say how dare you,
his supporters are like him they need a life too,
they are angry and unhappy and don’t like their life,
their way of coping is to keep causing strife,
Holiday is laughing all the way to Kentucky,
he got out just in time he got lucky,
now Brady Johnson he is in charge,
he better watch his back because Klaene is at large,
Klaene and his crew have nothing else to do,
if you aren’t careful they will be coming after you,
with rumors and gossip and a mean spirited mind,
they’ll be happily giving you a really hard time,
Klaene is most gleeful when he is on someones back,
It really doesn’t matter if it’s based on fact.
hahahaha.... whoever you are, i want to kiss your face
ReplyDeleteMr. Klaene, it must be very flattering to know that Holliday and Baldrige cultists are still losing sleep over your blog. How obsessed they must be -- obviously stalking your site at midnight, then lying awake composing odes to you, and posting on your blog at dawn!! Maybe it's Holliday himself, or His "Holi . . ness." What's most amusing is that they don't seem to realize they can only post on here with your permission. Yes, "hahahaha.... whoever you are."
ReplyDeleteThis is refreshing. I don't believe the above opposition comments would be allowed in the SR&L. We will see where the interim leadership will take us and where the BOE will lead in the selection of another Superintendent. And we will see how each principal will lead each individual school. It was recognized at the "Concerned Citizens Meeting" at Statesville Sr. High regarding the "hammer approach" method of managing schools leading to very poor morale throughout the system. This was recognized by the interim superintendent and the lone present board memeber. Unfortunately, it took them about seven years to understand this. And I don't believe the SR&L even bothered to give coverage to the event.
ReplyDeleteWell you can be sure that if SR&L were to print anything at all it will not appear for a couple of days to weeks later. And there would/will be holes in what they do say.
ReplyDeleteMr. Klaene,
ReplyDeleteIf this is all you have to report I hope you will cease your efforts at detroying the I-SS administration. This is worse than posting salaries of the CO staff. Really??? You are mad because a survey is inactive??? Anyone with schoolwires training knows surveys are set up by dates and the date period for the survey probably went out.
Also, your conspiracy theories are about as bad as a Pauley Shore movie..oh wait...a carrot top movie would be worse!!!
I find it interesting people can write poems about you. If they had a drawing feature to your blog I am sure you will get interesting art work as well.
Ok, so let's try this out. I was looking at your wife's webpages at Lakeshore Middle and her Calendar isn't up to date. Was she mad at I-SS and decided to not put anything on her calendar because it was a requirement from Holliday? Or, is she trying to hide inappropriate homework activities from parents? Or, does she really just not care about her students or parents enough to post activities?
I'm willing to bet she is like many other people in the district and the calendar is just not something that she keeps updated. It's not her fault. Conspiracy theories are stupid. If you don't know fact don't publish it.
I'm not attacking Mrs. Klaene, her teaching abilities, or her ability to post on her calendar. I'm just saying that you have pointed out a little minor and incovenient flaw to your ability to be nosey so you are going to try to stir the rumor pot some more.
Your bully practices and false sense of victory because Holliday is not here anymore are tiring. I saw on Mrs. Klaene's profile she is in her 36th year of teaching, Congratulations!!!. Why don't you and her retire and leave I-SS alone. Life is too short to worry about these minor issues. I'm sure we can do just fine without these inaccurate posts.
Your credibility has dwindled significantly in the past 3-4 weeks. Throw in the towel and save what little face you have left. The students will be just fine but you have got to stop trying to lower teacher morale.
Holliday is gone...everyone has been able to breathe again. Just as a butterfly comes out of the cocoon and flaps it's wings so to I-SS is coming out of it's shell and taking off in a new direction.
Thanks,
Captain America
little Paul Klaene is hurting morale,
ReplyDeleteCaptain America said throw in the towel,
Holiday is gone and so ends your fun,
I'll bet you think Holiday was behind 9-11,
he pointed out the calendar that wasn’t done by your wife,
now Captain America said that it’s time to get a life,
your credibility has dwindled in the past 3-4 weeks,
it’s time to be humble so you don’t look like a geek,
not everything is against you as it may seem,
stop stirring up problems and join the team,
the survey expired so you need to get a grip,
it’s time to come off your egotistic mushroom trip,
he wants you to retire and leave us alone,
quit snooping and digging and just go home,
or move to Kentucky and be a pain there,
it’s time that you got out of ISS hair,
Holiday is gone and now it would seem,
that you are the one fighting and that you are mean,
ISS is a butterfly coming out of a cocoon,
If this thing had pictures I would shoot you a moon.
I was a poet,
ReplyDeleteand didn't know it!
Mr. Kleane, perhaps it is time to initiate a positive approach to bettering ISS. This BLOG and your efforts could go towards a much better cause.
ReplyDeleteISS has forced even more work on the poor classroom teacher, but all you do is badmouth people. You should not talk about Mr.Klaene or his wife. My dad always said if you cannot say anything nice about a person then keep your mouth closed ,because it makes you lower than that person. If you are discussing issues that is a different game. Keep blogging Mr. Klaene. The survey on ISS wasn't on there long enough to have been closed out.
ReplyDeleteSnobby people and rude people have ruined our world now because it is still your way or no way. Noone has ever had a right to an opinion according to you.
Go help a classroom teacher, go tutor a student ,and find something nice to say about everyone. You need to get a life.
So, it is ok for Mr. Klaene to disrespect and slam Holliday's wife but not ok to get it in return? Saw a couple blogs back he had to remove his own statement he was so mad when someone mentioned his wife. I have no special affinity for Ms. Holliday either, but Mr. Klaene shouldn't throw stones and not expect them to be thrown back. The hipocracy lives on. Badmouthing people is all this blog is about. Not about making things better.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, Mr. Klaene- the survey works just fine. Just took it for myself. Perhaps when you tried there was an operator error? No..... couldn't be. You're "Klaene the Great". Seriously, get a life.
ReplyDeleteCaptain Fraud, shouldn't you be "teaching"?
ReplyDeleteYeah, you're a teacher...right....
For the thousandth time...Paul Klaene has, and is doing a valuable service for the citizens of Iredell County. And he must striking some nerves to draw all this rancor and incredibly bad poetry (keep your day job, whoever you are)
Why is this blog of such dire concern to you who feel that what Holliday and Company did to OUR school system should be treated like ancient history...it is NOT ancient history...and no one in their right mind wants to repeat it. Nosy? Excuse me? ALL tax payers have the right to question how effectively THEIR tax dollars are being used...what country do think you're in? Check the flag and the Bill of Rights.
And since this is a free country-- if you don't like what you're reading in this wonderful blog--you could just choose to move along...no one is interested in your ridiculous, ugly blasts of Mr. and Mrs. Klaene.
Here's an idea...Go start your own 'Tribute to Holliday' blog ....
Mr. Klaene could delete you at any time ,but he lets you have the right to your opinion. I don't think he labeled Dr. Holliday or his wife as rudely as you have him and his wife. He was more concerned with the dictatorship of Dr. Holliday's policies that were also dictated by his wife. She ,just like Gov. Easley's wife, was given a cushy position that others could have handled ,but only because her husband was the superintendent.
ReplyDeleteShe should have taken a position in another county, and this would have helped the neopotism probelem. She worked for her husband and it would not have mattered who her supervisor was. Do you really think that their evaluation of her could ever be honest? That supervisor still had to answer to Dr. Holliday. The money spent to win an award ,also, was a big problem. That money should have been spent to help the students. EC students aren't helped by more paperwork on walls that they have no idea what it is about. More tutoring and 1 on 1 teaching would do much more for that EC student.
The taxpayer needs to be informed about this waste of money. Too much data and too many tests are not helping improve our students ,if there is no time for remediation or to reteach material as needed. We need some time to instruct. If we continue to do data and do assessing all the time, when do you think our students will ever learn?
With Dr. Holliday the data bank grew and grew but the scores did not grow enough to warrant all the monies spent. Until at least 95% of our students are on grade level or above, we are not there. Teachers are already staying late to do all the paperwork, and also, are having to tutor their own students after school because during the day the time is so limited. Noone is raising their salaries. Classroom teachers do this because they do feel responsible for their student's learning. So perhaps if the Hollidays had taken out some time to help students one on one, then perhaps they would have been looked at differently.
Captain America, I am Pam Klaene, Paul Klaene's wife, and I have not updated my website because I have been setting up my classroom, attending Baldrige meetings, planning lessons, meeting with my PLC, and instructing my students. My website will be updated next week when our tech coordinator is back at our school to help any teacher with web pages. She was at our school today to help with setting up grade books, just as she was supposed to do. As for my homework assignments, they appear on my team's eboard which is updated several times a week.
ReplyDeleteAs for retiring, I will do so when I am ready. I am a master teacher and have earned this title because of my expertise and many years of expericence. I wish to continue sharing these qualities with my students. My teammates and administrators value my methods of teaching and support what I do in my classroom. I hope that you will come to value all master teachers and their knowledge.
Well stated Master Teacher!
ReplyDeleteYou All missed the point. The point of the entire post was to show how rediculous an entry on a blog dedicated to the quality and accountablity of our district has been distorted. The fact that we have a post about an insignificant survey that is no longer working because a man felt when he posted to his blog the "powers that be" stopped the survey. When someone feels they have become so empowered by the posts on his blog that he must post something so minor as to a survey surely he would realize he is barking up a tree that no longer exists. The conspriracy theories are enough.
ReplyDeleteA survey is used to gain feedback. A survey is put out to obtain anonymous information on how to improve something.
My post was not an attack on you Mrs. Klaene. My post was an attack on a blog that had an irrelevant topic of discussion. That discussion involved a survey that no one really cared about.
Last night when I went to your page I saw the e-board and thought it was a good idea. I conveniently left it out because I wanted to show that when I posted what I did about you it was not the whole truth because you obviously had other work.
However, I looked at Mr. Klaene's post as a one sided post and therefore I posted a one sided post so that people would pick up on the metaphor.
Why can't this blog focus on REAL issues happening right now in the district? Why can't it talk about the use of your e-boards? I personally would like to know more about them and how they are used to promote the learning of your students?
Why can't we get conversation started about the qualities that our new superintendent SHOULD have? Why can't we discuss all of these Baldrige Meetings so that we ALL know WHAT they are discussing in them and WHY those strategies are not working?
I really could care less if your website is updated but if I see bogus posts I am going to speak my mind and I am going to complain on how idiotic it is.
As far as some of the other posts are concerned. I do know what country I live in. I do understand my Bill of Rights. I understand freedom of speech. But what were the intentions of our forefathers when they wrote those documents and died for our country? Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Enjoy your life, never let go of your liberty, and always pursue what makes you happy.
However, Be just, be true, and post only fact and not bogus and biased material.
To address one more concern I have. I am not pro-Holliday. For you to disagree with my opinions is one thing. For you to disagree with my opinions on the back of Holliday is cowardly. I do not agree with the practice of his other half either. At first, I did not see the light. I was young, I was new, and I came to the realization that our district was doing a lot of things wrong a little over a year ago. I accept that humility and that foolishness. I do not accept you trying to de-rail my opinion by grouping me with a Holliday.
Goodness, you spend a lot of time on this blog, September 9, 2009 11:29PM. You are like a stalker. Is there anything else you do? Anything else you can think about or talk about?
ReplyDeleteSeptember 9, 2009 8:51 PM Mr. Klaene isn't striking nerves he is getting on nerves. Oh and a poor quality of poetry is all he deserves.
ReplyDeleteYou obviously spend a lot of time reading...so who is the stalker?
ReplyDeleteYet another attempt to discredit an opinion because it is not in line with the current direction of the blog.
Just another reason on why this blog is not credible and why school board members who read it should get information from other sources...
Pam Kleane you must be as bitter and narrow minded as your husband to fly back with a defense when none was needed. Captain whoever clearly said that he was willing to bet you are like many other people in the district and the calendar is just not something that you keep updated. IT'S NOT HER FAULT. He also said, I'm not attacking Mrs. Klaene, her teaching abilities, or her ability to post on her calendar. So defensive when nobody is attacking. There is alot of meaness on here.
ReplyDeleteThis blog runs on meaness. Without it there would be nothing. You can't claim to care when you do nothing but look for minor problems so you can make up another post.
ReplyDeletelittle Paul Klaene has a battle on his hands,
ReplyDeletehe is fighting ISS and now the common man,
people read his blog hoping to see some things changed,
now a few people have decided that he is deranged,
he’s trying to find fault a mad hatter on a mission,
he is looking to find wrongs he is always fishin’
Captain America stepped on Pam’s toe,
off to the blog she did hurriedly go,
to defend her honor she thought was taken away,
she posted with fury she had her say,
but Captain America wasn’t really throwing down on Pam,
he used her website as an example to discredit her man,
little Paul Kleane had again crossed the line,
and some of us think that it is about time,
that Paul and his friends they get up to date,
for Holiday is gone it will be Kentucky’s fate,
there are other real issues that need to be talked about now,
like tweaking Baldrige and deciding how,
we will choose a new Super this coming spring,
what qualities do we want that is the thing,
so let’s focus on the future and let go of the past,
Holiday is gone let’s get on task,
This is my morning poem and I hope that you may,
As Paul Harvey said, have a good day!
Captain America, the purpose of the above post and the other post regarding the Strategic Plan Survey was to alert the readers of this blog to the presence of the survey and to encourage everyone to take the time to respond to the survey. The survey allows I-SS stakeholders to assess the strategic goals for the school system. These goals should be used to guide all I-SS processes. You may think that is an irrelevant topic of discussion and one that no one really cares about, but I do think that it is very relevant and something that all I-SS stakeholders should care about. I did question the format of the survey and the way it was being presented because I thought that a topic of this importance should be dealt with in a proper manner. Sept. 9, 8:50 PM said that he, or she, was able to access the survey. Therefore I am again recommending everyone, even Captain America, to take the survey and to share your comments with the school administration.
ReplyDeleteAlso, Captain America, you state that this blog should deal with REAL issues such as the qualities that our new superintendent should have. I put an announcement of the Committee of the Whole meeting in the previous post and said that at that meeting the Board would start the process of selecting the new superintendent. Did you respond to that post? Did you attend the Committee of the Whole meeting? Unfortunately, there were only a few people in attendance other than the Board members and I-SS administrators. There were some teachers there to share with the Board how they use the Baseline Assessments in their classrooms. Were you one of those teachers and, if so, why didn’t you stay for the entire meeting? In addition, on August 10th I posted information regarding the results of a survey conducted by Transylvania County during their search for a new superintendent. At the end of that post I asked the readers of this blog what characteristics they would like to see in the new I-SS superintendent. Did you respond to that post?
To Sept. 8, 7:43 AM and to others who post comments that do not truly add to the discussions of this blog, I would like to say that after reading some of the comments to this post I seriously thought about changing the format of the blog so that all comments would have to be approved before being posted. However, my wife and I talked about it and we decided that, for the same reasons I gave in a comment to a previous post, I should continue to allow comments to be posted immediately without approval. But I will end this comment by quoting a famous philosopher.
Wise men speak because they have something to say; Fools because they have to say something. - Plato
Thank you, Mr. Klaene. Twenty five comments ago, an anonymous poster stated "The ISS REPORT R.I.P. September 7, 2009 died from lack of interest." The report of that death was "greatly exaggerated." There is certainly plenty of interest in the blog, even if much of it is from those who wish to see it cease. Let's say there are two basic posts reponding to the blog: those for and those against. Neither is convincing the other of anything, and each thinks the other is "mean." One common theme that seems to be developing, however, is that both views are glad that Dr. Holliday is gone and would like to see Baldrige eliminated or modified. Those who focus only on Holliday seem to think that Mr. Klaene's job is finished, but Dr. Holliday didn't create the cruel working atmosphere of the past 7 years on his own. It was stated in a previous post that perhaps he did not even realize that he had unleashed some monsters among us who are still around and desperately clinging to power. Some of you may not have encountered one of these and therefore may not realize why it may be necessary for Mr. Klaene (or anyone else) to question any hint of manipulation within the system. School Board members do need the public's input on the practices of the past 7 years as they seek a new superintendent. It would be great to know if there is any other local source where one can anonymously comment with safety and comfort, regarding "pluses," "deltas," or "opportunities for improvement" in the school system. Unless you have given your real name, i.e. Paul Klaene, Pamela Klaene, Janey Munday, Rene Dulin, Larry Coover or John Rogers, then you have to agree that "Anonymous" is needed, with no registration and no hand-written post-its overseen by supervisors. If you want Mr. Klaene to cease and desist, please muster up the courage and take the initiative to provide an alternate site with perfect blogs, given by you, to which the rest of us may respond without identifying ourselves and without censorship.
ReplyDeleteTo September 9, 2009 11:45PM: The midnight "stalker" is the one who pursues Mr. Klaene obsessively and to the point of harassment. "Who" would that be? Well, I think you know the answer. Get on with your life!!!
ReplyDeleteCaptain America, so you were young and new a year ago. Who knows what you may learn in the next few years? Or maybe what you may learn in the next 40 years? Wow!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteIt looks like all of you need a dictator! Silly Klaene. All this carping back and forth. The I-SS Board should consider that when hiring a new superintendent -- suppress the dissidents and get on with those trips to Disneyland!
ReplyDeleteOut of the Loop said, Has anyone gone to Washington yet to receive the wonderful (and expensive to local taxpayers) Baldrige
ReplyDeleteAward from the president of the United States? Wasn't there a lottery or something to determine who would go? I haven't seen anything yet in the SR&L about that. Had anyone in Iredell County heard of Baldrige prior to Dr. Holliday's arrival and who in the entire world cared anything about it before or after Holliday's sojourn in Iredell County?
September 8, 2009, 1:06PM: Hahahaha. Whose face do you wish to kiss?
ReplyDeleteWhy won't this site just go away? I criticized it, I wished it so - why is it still here? Hello? I am CAPTAIN AMERICA!!!! Yo-Ho!
ReplyDeleteCaptain America said . . .
ReplyDeleteI was so wrong!!!! I have so many years to learn about what is right!
Captain America said . . .
ReplyDeleteI apologize for my arrogance. I am just a fool!
To September 9, 2009 11:45 pm: The midnight "stalker" is the one who pursues Mr. Klaene obsessively and to the point of harassment. "Who" would that be? Well, I think you know the answer. Get on with your life!!!
ReplyDeleteKind of like Mr. Klaene did to Dr. Holliday...obsessively to the point of harrassment. Time for Mr. Klaene to get a life...the man is gone. Touche.
Captain America said . . .
ReplyDeletePerhaps, just perhaps . . I may yet learn from my students and from those teachers who have many years ahead of me . . . perhaps I should not be so arrogant as maybe one day I will be the one with years of experience . . . and then I will realize that there is always much to learn . . .
September 10, 2009 6:03PM. That's the point. His followers are not gone! They need to be monitored. Touche' Touche' Touche' Hahahaha
ReplyDeleteHELLO!! I AM CAPTAIN AMERICA!!!! LISTEN TO ME!!!!!!! Dont' let those other people distract you!!!!
ReplyDeleteI am CAPTAIN AMERICA!! I desperately need your attention!!!! I have no life without you! Please, please, respond!!! I am so smart, don't you know?
ReplyDeleteHaha...some of you make me laugh. I can't believe the thought of comments being approved crossed Mr. Klaene's mind. If what I have said is truly bad and my side can't be heard then why have a public sounding board to talk about ONLY negative issues with ISS. Just another sign that the true intent of this blog was to stir up the crap within the system. The only product coming from this is to fire up the minority and stiffle the morale of the teachers as a whole.
ReplyDeleteI'm very sad that some of you will not wake up. I've said my piece. I am Captain America and this will be the last post I will ever make on this blog. I refuse to be a part of the rhetoric taking place on a biased site that is not credible to the complete views of the people of Iredell County.
SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS - Do not read this blog...This blog is not a representation of the people of Irdell County. As you can see by the committee of the whole, concerned citizens group, and the other public meetings that take place there is nothing on here but hot air. Look at the overall participation...this is all a crock. If Mr. Klaene ever runs for school board I will not vote for him and I will do all I can to make sure he is never voted in to our school board.
The "Man" is gone? What about his followers? We only wish they would go to Kentucky. Touche'. Look it up!!!
ReplyDeleteCaptain America said . . . That's all folks! Good by and thank you.
ReplyDeleteCaptain America said . . . . Dont' worry. I'll stay up all night reading the comments on this blog!! I love you, Paul!!!!
ReplyDeleteCaptain America said . . . I love Paul Klaene. Listen to him!!!
ReplyDeleteCaptain America said . . . I am hot air . . . I like it, uh uh, uh uh,I like it . . . I won't be back! Oh, so, so, sad!! Captain America? I was SO SO WRONG!!!!!
ReplyDeleteCaptain America said . . . "stiffle?" Explique, s'il vous plait. It is good to know that you are gone forever! Please keep your promise. You really didn't have anything positive to offer. Goodby, goodby goodby.!
ReplyDeleteCaptain America said: "I am Captain America and this will be the last post I will ever make on this blog. I refuse to be a part of the rhetoric taking place on a biased site that is not credible to the complete views of the people of Iredell County." Let's all hope he keeps his word. I especially liked his BS about the reason he left out some comments about Mrs. Klaene. He will never grow up. His comments about life, liberty and pursuit of happiness certainly don't seem to coincide with his political views.
ReplyDeleteCaptain America said: I like the word "crap." It defines me.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you have said your piece....or peace as it should be, it was rIdiculous anyway. This is what happens, when someone cannot defend the Baldridge system, they just attack people...the blog creator, his wife, teachers, school board members, people who post on a blog, etc.
ReplyDeleteAs far as the survey, the district has made it clear they don't want to hear from anyone but the principals. Principals that were hired under Baldridge, do not want anything but the status quo for children and teachers in the classroom, and more control over Ifs for themselves. In fact, the top 3 issues the principals told Mr. Johnson to work on were directly related to the principals and IFs, absolutly nothing to do with anything that goes on in the classroom. Yet, they are the only voice being heard.
I think there should be a new requirement in the principal evaluation - complete a PDSA and administer at least 1 of the endless tests in a Kindergarten classroom! Maybe then they will be focused on what really matters.
Oh, yes. Captain America is the answer!!
ReplyDeleteHello!! I am Captain America. Hear me roar!!
ReplyDeleteBaldrige! Baldrige!! Baldrige!!!
ReplyDeleteRead, read, read this blog!!! Love, Captain America!
ReplyDeleteHello, I'm Captain America and I will not give my real name. I am a coward and I'm finished here!!!
ReplyDeleteI won't post anymore on this blog!! Yes, I am a dunce!
ReplyDeleteGood night! I only wanted you to hear me whine!
ReplyDeleteMrs. Klaene- Could you be more specific about just what are "Baldrige" meetings? Are you referring to the beginning of the years staff meetings (?) b/c last I checked I have been attending those for the past ten years in this district which was before the last administration. Just because the word "Baldrige" has been floating at the top of the pond for the last seven years doesn't mean that everything should be labeled that. I hate to tell everyone but a lot of the current practices in education today have nothing to do with the word "Baldrige". Maybe it's time to read an updated educational textbook.
ReplyDeleteThanks Paul. Thank you for stirring up the crap. Someone needed to do it. The SR&L certainly would not touch it. Now I have to get back to work.
ReplyDeleteI'm finished here!!!
ReplyDeleteI mean it!! I really am finished here!! You won't hear anymore from me. I am Captain America!
ReplyDeleteHey, I am Captain America and I will "stiffle' you!!
ReplyDeleteSounds like someone is infatuated with Captain America. Wow. Take a prozac and don't call me in the morning! If I didn't know better it would appear you miss him so badly you are doing everything in your power to lure him back. You are a sick individual and obviously representational of the Klaene irritational approach to bettering our school system.
ReplyDeleteI'm REALLY finished here - crock - c/mon young and new as you are -- isn't there ANYTHING
ReplyDeletepositive you have to offer to the ISS
School Board?
The point is this blog was so people could speak their mind without any fear. Of course, there are so many psychos in the world. They have no idea what they sound like or really care. Hate is pure ignorance. There are many of those who do not care for others or their opinions. As for surveys, most parents are sick of them and as for our high school students, they detest them. It is just more crape that is not worth one penny to anyone. Noone really cares about the reality of whatever they are talking about. Real people hate surveys because the world has gone berserk with them. Go to store and look at the receipt. We are a brainwashed society. We pretend that we care about the issues but then, never really listen to them ,so that way we do not have to deal with them. Look at management anywhere. They still want it their way or no way. You see and hear about the issues , but noone dares to fix it.
ReplyDeleteDoes someone have a problem with these posts? The ones that are finished with Klaene? What is "irritational?" That is a new one!
ReplyDeleteI'm here. I'm listening. I realize now that Mr. Klaene is asking the right questions!!
ReplyDeleteDon't see anyone here but me. September 10, 2009, 9:36PM: What is your problem with that? I will "stiffle you."
ReplyDeleteSeptember 10, 2009, 9:36PM: You are correct. It does appear that Captain America is a sick individual and he/she is quite "irritational."
ReplyDeleteLets keep the real Captain America seperate from this new fictional representation of Captain America. It is sad he won't post anymore...he actually made sense.
ReplyDeleteNo Way. We are one and the same! So what makes sense to you?
ReplyDeleteThre is no "real" Captain America. I am strictly fictional. I have NEVER given my real name nor do I wish to do so.
ReplyDeleteWell another day has gone by,
ReplyDeleteAnd what a fight last night oh my,
Captain America lost his cool,
he said he wouldn’t argue with a fool,
someone jumped on him and chased him away,
then they provoked him so he would stay,
little Paul Kleane’s blog has gone wild,
it may be a lot of things but it isn’t mild,
there is meanness and accusations galore,
so much so that the Captain hit the door,
what a shame it is to see him go,
he said some things that others should know,
before long all the good people will be gone,
there’ll be nobody left to hear Klaene’s sad song,
I’m thinking about heading out myself,
It’s time to put this blog on a shelf,
Klaene and his crew will have to find,
someone else who will kiss their behind,
because nobody cares about what they tell,
so with that, I bid you farewell!
If I'm a board member, I would read this and take it seriously. Yeah right. I want the people posting on here to have a prominent piece in selecting the next superintendent. Even bigger yeah right. Keep up the good work here! The credibility is falling by the minute, if this site ever had any credibility to begin with. But, it sure is fun!
ReplyDeleteYep! Might as well have fun because the Klaene agenda is a joke!
ReplyDeleteWhat scares me the most is that this Captain America person is actually working in some capacity in our school system. Psycho comes to mind....
ReplyDeleteTo September 10 8:54PM: What makes you think I have not read an "updated" education book? I do keep up with current education research. You are, of course, entitled to your own opinion of me. I certainly have my own opinion of you, and that opinion will not be shared with anyone else. My reference to Baldrige meetings include those led by the IF, PDSA writing, PLC meetings--and these are in addition to the first teacher workday faculty meeting. I am well aware that the first workday is given over to the details of opening school, and I have no objection to this. What I do object to is the meaningless Baldrige staff development that does not address specifically my content area and accomplishes nothing but wasting my time.
ReplyDeleteIf you think Professional Learning Communities were something developed by "Baldrige" then you really do not have any idea what you are talking about. And the last time I checked PDS(C)A was a concept developed by Deming not Baldrige...but good try. Good job 8:54pm
ReplyDeleteYou have to realize there was a true Captain America...and then this other person got on and posed as him. They are two different people. One was right and spoke good opinions. The other was just a jackass. They are not the same person...I'm sad we won't hear good opinons anymore.
ReplyDelete8:49 thanks for pointing that out. I started too but decided it wasn't worth it.
ReplyDeleteThose of you who hate Baldrige are going to be in for a big surprise. Baldrige ideas won't end just because Dr. Holliday left. Don't you understand that the whole state (along with many other states) has adopted both the language and the initiatives of the Baldrige system? That is the first point I would like to make. The second is that when I listen to some of you boast about how you "got rid of" Dr. Holliday - it's laughable. He left because he got a huge promotion. He got a $50,000 raise. It certainly wasn't because of some pitiful, mean-spriited blog that almost no one reads. This blog is absurd and ridiculous.
ReplyDeleteI don't believe that the creator or people on this blog boast about how "you got rid of" Holliday. There are many that are happy that he is no longer here. That would be true. And, there was obvious controversy during his tenure here. I do not believe that can be argued. Yes, it is may be true that some Baldrige initiatives have been adopted. However, the initiative that Holliday brought to the system was to win that award. And that was the problem. That award had to be won no matter who stood in the way.
ReplyDeleteEdward Deming truly did develop the PDSA. Baldrige is a Republican subversion of Deming's 14 Principles.
ReplyDeleteWell said Alvin
ReplyDeletePLCs are Baldrige?! get out from under a rock Klaene, or maybe your wife should pay attention in PLCs and learn what they are about! or go get an advanced degree or persue national boards...PLCs are Baldrige thanks for the laugh, I needed that!
ReplyDeletePLC's as "led" by an IF are a joke...Teams of teachers have ALWAYS met to collaborate. It is the artificiality of pretending that teachers need to be 'facili-manipulated' by someone who knows no more (or in most cases, much less) than the teachers who are being insultingly talked down to and even given 'homework' by someone for whom they they have absolutely no respect.
ReplyDeleteWhat genius EVER believed that this would fly? It has been, and continues to be a huge joke and a sad waste of time.
PLC's do NOT need to be led by anyone other than the department chair. If the next superintendent is to have an ounce of creditability, then he or she MUST eliminate the IF position.
If these teachers (IF'S) are as gifted as many say they are, then put them back in the classroom where they can actually do some good. They can become department chairs and lead from that position.
WOW! You are so right...Why would you ever use cooperative grouping, nonlinguistic representation, summarizing and notetaking, seeting objectives and providing feedback in a social studies classroom? If you think these are so meaningless than take a stand...rebel.
ReplyDeleteOur PLCs are still an agenda run mockery. Nothing more. You can give every teacher a list of what to do. We can read and will do what is required, but do not pretend that our teachers have input. We do not.
ReplyDeleteOur real colloborative meetings are when we are discussing our students in the halls or when we meet togther in the afternoon.
We gather the suggestions that we all have, and use it for helping those students on our own ,not in meetings run by the IF. We do not need a person who has no concept of what our students are really like to guide us.
We write our own plans in our own plan books, (no PDSA needed) , and we do our own IEPs for students that need it. We assess, and try teach what is needed (the Essentials). We conference with parents and let them know it their child is struggling or blooming.
Teachers have pacing guides and syllabuses which have always help guide us through our NCSOS( our Bible). We have objectives and we do know what we are doing. The problem is we are treated as if we do not.
Our mission and goal has always been to get our students to learn and succeed at that grade level or higher. Foundations have to be laid or the whole building falls in.
Someone contiunues to think that Baldrige started this. No ,It never did. Malcolm Baldrige wanted the bottom layer of employees to feel empowered and that they were indeed part of the solution to make their business succeed.
We ,as teachers ,are made to feel like the bottom layer that has no idea what they are doing, and that someone must tell us every move to make in our teaching day. We are treated as if our opinion does not matter.
ISS has used Baldrige incorrectly ,and as a dictatorship. Teachers are not ignorant, as those at the top would have us believe. It seems the more education one gets the more ignorant one becomes, or as the classroom becomes a distant memory in one's life ,the less one knows about a classroom. Those who can adapt can, and the others cannot. It is simply still those who cannot compromise , because it is still their way or no way. Programs will come and go. Classroom teachers are the ones who change and continue to improve as teachers. Everything that has been done just runs around in circles in education. Cycles come and go. We should be allowed as teachers to choose our course, and if it fails then change. So if you love the Baldrige way then you do it, but if I choose to teach in my creative way, and my students go beyond expectations, then let my data show this.
We will see which is better in the classroom , my way or your way. I as a teacher should have that right.
delete "try" above beside teacher.
ReplyDeleteDelete try beside teach. Let me see most days this week I left school at 6:30pm, and I'm in elementary and there at 6:50am everyday.
ReplyDeletePerhaps, I will learn to reread and edit before I send. Thanks. I hope everyone has a wondeful week-end.
September 12, 2009 3:09 PM
ReplyDeleteWOW! None of the methods listed have anything to do with IF-led PLC's. As September 12, 2009 3:58 PM said, teachers are perfectly capable of researching and reading---they do it on a continual basis.
So sorry if the demise of the ill-conceived IF idea means you actually have to teach students. But the concern should be about doing what is best for the children, and not about getting out of the classroom. There are many other career avenues if classroom teaching is too difficult for you.
It is very sad that I-SS has experienced such great division the last seven years. It should not have been, but it has happened.
ReplyDeleteIs that what the public or “stakeholders” and the BOE expected when the last Superintendent was hired? I will let the reader answer that question for themselves.
Many believe that since the departure of the former Superintendent teachers should just move on and forget the past. But those with that mindset please consider the following. Every day during the last seven years teachers went to work fulfilling the responsibilities required of their job while a central office power structure was being recruited. That power structure spent vast resources adjusting and “tweaking” a constantly evolving model every day until the Baldrige award was won. During that seven years teachers did their expected job plus the many other required responsibilities that would help when the “prestigious” honor.
During that period, did anyone gather accurate data of the human capital resources I-SS lost to other surrounding systems? Was the trade-off of this human capital really worth what the system received in return? Again, you consider and answer yourself.
Was the accomplishment of winning the Baldrige award really worth it for the [a] public and “stakeholders, [b] the BOE, or [c] the
Superintendent? In your mind you can select none, one, two, or all three choices.
Please remember who created the division and was it worth it? This and the above are questions that need to be considered by all as we enter the search period for a new Superintendent.
Very well said Alvin, I personally would love to see the exit list and exit interviews of every teacher that left over the last seven years. Wait...they probably don't do exit interviews because that would involve actually listening to what someone had to say in regards to leaving. Just getting rid of Baldrige won't solve the morale issues. It has to start at the top and flow down. As long as those at the top receive promotions and raises and the bottem just receives more work, the morale problem will continue. I'm sure someone on here will jump all over my last statement, but it's just one example of the "perceptions" that create this working environment. In my opinion, the BOE made a huge mistake in approving those raises. They could have set the tone and said the moves would occur and no one would receive any additional compensation with their new responsibilites because we are all in this (budget) crisis together. I think that alone would have shown real change.
ReplyDeleteIf anyone mentions how "teachers are paid by the state, go talk to DPI" again, I may scream. If the BOE can approve raises given for the "extra work" that administrators who were shifted were given...then they can approve an increase in the teacher supplement for the extra work/duties that teachers have been assigned. The teacher supplement percentage is ENTIRELY controlled by the local school system. So don't think that the buck of responsibility can be passed on to DPI.
ReplyDeleteAs the previous poster said, teachers are being given more and more duties/work that they must perform ...(or so-called "leadership opportunities" -- that's the new euphemistic moniker being used by principals to describe all the extra administrative duties being thrust upon teachers) for NO additional compensation.
And I dare say, that if the burden of extra work for no extra pay were being shared equally by BOTH top administrators and teachers, then you wouldn't hear nearly as much complaining.
This is not fair, and it reeks of hypocrisy. It is really very simple...if teachers are to be expected to work more for the same compensation, then the same should be required of top administrators.
Is it any wonder that I-SS morale is at an all time low?
This is my first post since the last time I got jumped on. But I'll give this a shot.
ReplyDeleteIf a teacher assistant was promoted to a teaching position would they get a raise? The people who got raises at the Central Office all got promoted to a different position.
Do I think that "they should have agreed to keep working at their current salaries to set the tone and said the moves would occur and no one would receive any additional compensation with their new responsibilites because we are all in this (budget) crisis together." Yes I do.
So the raises were justified because of the promotion, but a bad choice for morale. Whee do we go from here? Do we keep beating this thing in the ground, or move on? Brady has already said that this year was bad, but unless the economy pulls out of the nosedive it is in, next year is going to be really bad. I took it as we avoided losing a lot of positions this year, but next year it may be unavoidable.
Pay attentinon in PLC !Ha!Ha!
ReplyDeleteSame old ,same old stuff. Analyze our baseline data.
I can analyze my STAR testing and my last year's DRAs. I knew from day 1 where my students were by just listening to them read and asking a few questions,and by watching them work out the math problem of the day, and from watching how they solve addition and subtraction problems in math. I can determine by observing my students making words and sentences about spelling and writing skills. I can analyze my students very quickly from the first day, and then I sit in a PLC 2 or 3 weeks after school starts to analyze where my students are. Too late , I already know. Why? Because I am their classroom teacher. Colloborative planning should be with grade levels discussing and planning how to address our low level students and improve them. It should not be two or three weeks later ,but the day we observe and realize which student needs more 1 on 1 from the beginning. Get rid of PLCs with an agenda for the data. It should be for helping our students improve and grow in their grade levels which is sometimes a year or two behind. PLCs have not helped those students at all. They are still at the bottom of the totem pole, and continue to be every year. You get rid of what does not work, not what does.
It is the same old same old discussions that do not help our students in PLCs. Just a gathering of data , nothing more.
My experience in teaching has been 20 at the high school level, seven at middle school (grade 8), and this year grade levels 8 and 9. Therefore when I read posts involving the elementary level I must make a strong effort to comprehend their description and frustration. And I think with my experience in education that I am capable of understanding those comments.
ReplyDeleteI do not know if I took this above statement from a previous post in the right context.
“WOW! You are so right...Why would you ever use cooperative grouping, nonlinguistic representation, summarizing and note-taking, seeking objectives and providing feedback in a social studies classroom? If you think these are so meaningless than take a stand...rebel“.
Here is my reply.
My experience with the IF staff development was that it was considered to be a waste of valuable time by most if not almost all of my co-workers. But I would really have to take a survey to get accurate results (that is if that type of survey would be allowed). Now you should understand that I do not believe there was a problem with the IF or the way the IF was perceived by the faculty. The IF was certainly a very competent person. But, why was the staff development considered to be a waste of time? Very simply, the topics of the development were really nothing new to teachers. We would be polite and dutiful. After we left we would look at each other in disbelief and state that more of our time had been wasted. The topics of the staff development were nothing new.
Here is an example. This week I was trying to develop a solution with the problem of lack of textbooks, or inability of students to access their online eEdition, or using the CD text. With the help of a co-worker I was learning how to place some of the text on my webpage to make it accessible if students were experiencing problems. The end result of the effort and teacher collaboration culminated in the novel idea that our system should give us staff development that is more relevant to the needs of teachers and that may be more beneficial to the students. Wow, what a novel idea! Instead, I and others have to take valuable time developing solutions to solve immediate and pressing problems. This may not be a clear explanation to some of the readers, but if you are involved in education you probably understand.
On paper, I believe the concept of IF led staff development would look like a wonderful idea to whomever saw it (maybe the BOE, I don’t really know). But in implementation, this was not the result. And it seems that I read the same attitude from the posts on this site.
continued....
You should be aware that most teachers are not aware of this site but should be. And very unfortunately, if teachers do post they are afraid to give their name. Something is very wrong with that picture.
ReplyDeleteAlmost every teacher and parent that I see throughout our community that has a close and vested interest in I-SS were not happy with the guidance of the former leadership. Something is also very wrong with that picture.
Two years ago I joined NCAE as a result of the fear that I felt in I-SS. In fact, we had so many first time applicants to join NCAE that they sent a representative to our school for a conversation. Do you think that was a red flag that something was not quite right within the I-SS working environment?
After much delivered documentation and phone discussions with an NCAE representative, I was told that I probably needed to consider changing to another school system. Do you consider that type of advice to be somewhat strange? I was certainly not going to leave. I endured and refused to leave my community. I kept hoping that soon the Superintendent would move to another situation after receiving his many accolades at the expense of our community.
If you have read my post with an open mind than you may understand some of the concern of the employees within the I-SS system. We do want to move forward. We just would like to move forward intelligently. Unfortunately after seven years a team was assembled. And at some of those 35 schools the leader of that team may have the same qualities that reside in Kentucky. Would you consider that to be a problem? I thought I would give any reader of this post something to think about.
One more important point to consider. Staff development over the last six years was comprised of mostly learning about how the
ReplyDeleteBaldrige method of implementation was constantly being modified or "tweaked" for the purpose of conforming to what the BNQP would accept as an acceptable and award winning model in education.
It was only within the last two years that any real attempt at relevant staff development took place. It seemed that two years ago an effort was being made at relevant development. And last year was the final product as implemented by IF's. At least, this was my experience.
None of the staff development is new unless you never went to college ,or ever checked research for math and reading on the internet. It is just a bunch of stuff that has been heard over and over. If we do not know it by now as teachers,then I say you should not be teaching in a classroom.
ReplyDeleteLarry, once again you miss the point. I said I would get jumped on for the comment about the raises and you did not let us down. Your example about teacher assistants moving to teacher and getting a raise does not even come close to this situation. The moves that were made are temporary!!! That's what we were told. They told us they would go back to their old positions once the new super was chosen. I assume that also means their old salary. "Mr. Johnson did say that when the new superintendent is named, these people would go back to their old positions." That was a quote from an earlier Paul Klaene entry. Here's one for you Larry, since a teacher assistant covers the class everytime a teacher is out of the room or on working lunch etc., does that mean they should be paid a teachers salary when the teacher steps out???? That's the point you made and to use your own analogy. We are trying to move forward and have been trying since Holiday left. The point is....as long as these types of "old" decisions are being made, it is very hard to see change and move on.
ReplyDeleteTeachers AND students deserve REAL staff development from qualified individuals. There is absolutely no time to waste in a school day...every second counts. The time for planning (speaking of a day in the life of a 4th and 5th elementary teacher) has already been reduced down to pretty much nothing...maybe 40 minutes a day. Subtract the day taken by the IF agenda (because this truly is wasted time) and the total planning time is less than three hours per week. Anyone knows that that is nowhere close to enough time to properly plan lessons. So, you guessed it, teachers work very late at school, and then when they finally do leave to go home, they take work home with them.
ReplyDeleteThe state says teachers are to have 5 hours of planning time per week ...middle and high school teachers may get 5 hours, but elementary ones do not. Nor do any I know of any who get duty free lunch (another state requirement )....
Does this shed any light on why there is so much frustration with the dog and pony shows that are the IF-led meetings every week? Add to that the PDSA wallpaper charade and maybe all can understand why teachers are about to pull out their hair and run away screaming.
I-SS is is dire need of a thorough overhaul...here's hoping that the BOE chooses carefully and wisely...the wise part would include providing teachers with a real voice in the superintendent selection process. This must be done in the form of an anonymous survey...the level of trust is not high enough for teachers to feel secure enough to voice their opinions in a public forum...you can thank the past administration and its remnants for this mistrust.
4:15 once again let me point out that the unfortunate part of reading a post is that you can't hear the tone in which something is being said. I am usually direct in making my points, but that doesn't by any means qualify as an attack. So, you didn't get jumped on. I gave my viewpoint as did you. The difference is yours came with multiple question marks and exclamation points. Let’s try this as grownups and have a discussion. You respond back and show me where I'm wrong and I'll be glad to hear it. That is how differences are worked out.
ReplyDeleteAs for teachers assistants covering the classroom every time the teacher leaves the room; that is part of what they expected to do as a teacher’s assistant. As an assistant, the full overall responsibility still falls back on the teacher. If they get promoted to the position of teacher and have the full responsibilities of a teacher for a temporary time period, then they should get teachers pay.
Also, I understand the logic behind the CO raises, but if you read my post more thoroughly you will see that in my opinion it was a bad decision for both financial and employee morale reasons.
The thing to do would go to Brady Johnson directly and ask him to explain the reason behind the raises. I noticed at the Thursday night meeting that Brady attended, nobody asked that question. It was of no interest to me, but I started to ask it anyway just because it has been brought repeatedly on here. Why wasn’t that question asked? My point about moving on is that nobody has asked that question so it can be laid to rest; people just want to harp on it. I don’t see the point. Nothing is resolved by bitching. You either do away with something or make peace with it.
As for my viewpoints, if you actually read them, I am not one to take a side. Instead I try to help find solutions to problems. I don’t work in the CO or as a teacher or anywhere in ISS, which means I have nothing to gain except getting the focus back where it belongs; on my children.
I am very glad to see the well thought out posts about IF’s, PDSA’s, PLC’s and DPI of which I don’t know anything and don’t need to know. I put my trust in our teachers to decide what works best for them and I hope that the administration will take teacher’s suggestions and apply them to determine the direction we need to go.
By the way 4:15 I wasn't responding to your post. I had to (just now) look back over to find where you said you would get jumped on. I have been skimming over posts lately, not reading all. I didn't read yours. The one that caught my eye was 8:55 am. The posts that are broken into paragraphs are easier to skim over and I tend to read them more.
ReplyDeleteThere was a lot of justifiable anger and resentment in the 8:55 post and it bothered me. I hate to see anyone carry that with them. I have had jobs that affected me that way and it carries home to your family, affects your health and overall just drags you down. Is it worth it? I have come to realize just how short life is. If something is wrong I try to fix it, if I can't then I walk away. Happiness is more important than winning sometimes.
I saw a past aquaintance today. This person teaches at the elementary level. I asked the general question of "How are things at your school?"
ReplyDeleteThe reply (and remember we are 12 to 14 days into the year) was as follows (my summary). I wish I had more time to do what I was called to do. I love the profession and this is my calling. But I spend so much time with charts, data, PDSA, etc. I spent so much time this week, yesterday, and today completing these meaningless tasks. I wish I had time to plan meaningful, relevant, and enjoyable lessons. I wish I had the time to do what I know is best for my students.
I think educators and I hope parents understand this recurring theme. I do hope members of the BOE are reading this. I hope Central Office staff members are reading this. If I were a parent of an elementary child, I would be greatly upset at the directives of the I-SS system.
How about you? Would you be upset? Now, I must get back to work.
Mr. Coover,
ReplyDeleteTeacher assisstants can't get promoted to teacher unless they have more education to obtain a teaching license. What additional degree or license did the CO staff have to obtain to qualify for their new positions?
They may have more responsibilities, but so do teachers. In one school, teachers are now required to sponsor an after school activity each week. True teachers don't have to have an extra degree to do these things, but they still have more responsibilities. That's a much more fair comparison than teacher assisstants. The raises at CO are just an insult to our already injured morale.
The only BOE member who took the time to show up at that meeting was John Rogers. The raises probably weren't brought up because, like you said, it is percieved as just bitching. And we already know the answer, it's they got new positions.
We teachers do know what works for us, but the administration refuses to hear from us. They heard from the principals whose only focus was the IFs. We keep being told to move on, Holiday is gone, we're lowering teacher stress, yet noone will listen to us, nothing has changed for us or our children, it's just like always.
5:22 and Alvin have said it wonderfully.
8:11 thanks for your response. As for the degree deal, I would assume that they were already qualified for the position with whatever degres they already had.
ReplyDeleteSecond paragraph; I agree wholeheartedly that teachers are overwhelmed with teaching, ativities, meeting parents, discipline problems, etc. (Discipline problems are an area I really want to look into after the rest of this dies down). An additional after school activity SOUNDS like some more of the meaningless BS that has gone on for years.I don't know the details on what you are talking about, but there is a lot of "feel good" stuff going on that takes away from the time needed to teach. I definately understand the raises being an insult.
I am annoyingly aware that John was the only BOE member that showed up. I pointed that out to everyone that evening. Until I see differently I have no use for any of the other BOE members. All but John refuse to answer emails as well.
There were other more trivial things brought up at the meeting, I don't know why the raises weren't brought up. It needs to be settled. Since nobody who is harping about it will ask, I will email Brady myself and ask for a simple explanation. I know it has been explained that they are all filling positions that were already budgeted for so there actually was no more money spent. I also understand the point that there needs to be money saved. Now we are back to the other point that the money from which the CO pay comes from cannot be used for other things. It's all back and forth. I will try to get a clear answer to the concern. It needs to be laid to rest.
Your last paragraph really bothers me. I sat with John and Brady both at different times and told them the teacher's opinion needs to have a majority influence on decisions that are made. I also pointed out that many of the teachers I know don't feel comfortable giving their opinion. I have heard both men say that they have talked to many teachers that are feeling much better about things.
I think the next problem to address is the leadership at individual schools. It would appear that is where the problem lies. I know Brady sent out an email to all the principals to pass to their teachers about coming to the meeting if they choose to and there would be no repurcussions. Several principals did not pass that email on after Brady sent it out twice. Again, I told him at the meeting in front of the whole group that if that is what happened it needs to be addressed. He assured me that it would be.
The atmosphere in our schools is dictated by the principal and vice principal. They are given control of the school by the superintendant and I agree that is how it should be. Some of those principals and vice principals are still operating as though the Holliday regime is still in power. I said in an earlier post that they need to change or be removed. I know that at the end of last year the leadership at East Iredell Middle was still promoting a very negative atmosphere.
According to John Rogers and Brady Johnson, there is no reason for anyone to treat the people in their charge heavy handedly. If it is still going on, they want to know. That is what they said.
Sorry, I got stuck on the not being heard deal and got on a tangent. If the teachers still aren't being heard and nothing has changed, we need to talk to someone. It's time to move forward and I will do what I can to make that possible. Excuse the typos, I am in a hurry and tired, trying to estimate a job.
I'm not saying after school clubs are a bad thing, but they are mandated and done after the official teacher school day ends, which just shows how teachers are taking on more responsiblities. We are all implementing the RTI program, which again, isn't neccessarily a bad thing (we'll see how it's implemented) but it's more work for the teacher. We are truly doing more with less.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your willingness to get an answer. I'm sure you will also be reminded that they are all taking a 2% decrease, which again is rubbing salt in the wound of a 5 - 34% increase.
I have heard John and Brady say the same things. I'm glad Mr. Rogers is putting himself out there also. I'm glad they are saying it, yet I also know that some elementary schools are doing two PDSAs (more than district requires) and the teachers were never given a say, which probably has to do with the admin, not neccessarily district, but just saying teachers should have a say, without giving them one (the survey) is disingenious.
I have to give credt where I know credit is due. I know of one school where the leadership is aware of some problems with admin, and speaking to a teacher there, the leadership have taken steps that they believe will remedy the problem and are tracking it at least. I give them credit for that. Just the fact that the teachers spoke up was impressive to me. It wouldn't have happened under Holiday. Perhaps the fear is changing at some schools.
It's a step in the right direction that they seem to be taking care of big problems, but until they give us that survey, many do not feel like they are listening to the average school. As another poster said, if Mr. Johnson wanted teachers at that meeting, he coud have emailed everyone in the district. He choose not to, and not every principal forwarded it. I'm glad you brought that up to Brady and he seemed serious when he said it would be addressed, but the real question was why did he put the principal as middleman?
As I understand it, there is some sort of teacher panel being assembled to discuss PDSA. Again, a step in the right direction, which I will hold my applause on for now. If actual changes are made, I will be amoung many to praise the new leadership. Unfornately, I have seen too many things on Plus/Delta that have been addressed by teachers, but not changed. For examples, as I was told, testing on the first day of school was addressed at curicullum week by teachers, and not changed. That was also addressed at the meeting with Mr. Johnson, but we'll see if it changes next year.
We are all wondering where the trimming is happening. We are staying late to meet the students' needs and Matrix requirements, (the Baldrige schedule for non-teachers) wondering when we are supposed to be breathing as Mr. Johnson said we are to do. Ok, fine, eventually the IFs will be only be gone 1/2 day....how does that help the students or teachers? Those are the ones that have been tested to tears, hammered with triangles, useless professional development, PDSA, and are having to find all kinds of averages using the data we just received to have graphs on the wall done in time. Hopefully there are real changes coming.
I just sent off an email to Mr. Johnson and I'll let you know how that turns out. I wanted to bring up a point. At the Thursday night meeting there were some things that were said and done.
ReplyDeleteOne, Statesville High Principal Larry Rogers discussed the way his school handled Baldrige and the comparisons to other schools. In so many words, he said they did it the way that worked for them. He listened to his staff and worked with them so people were happy and effective. That is good leadership. He also said that he gathered his own comparisons that were with schools that had the same demographics as them and showed that they were higher in their scores than those schools. That is fact finding and standing up for his people. That was under the Holliday regime. This is a perfect illustration of the amount of influence the Principal can have on their school.
Another thing that happened... a teacher expressed concern over some issues. Brady got riled and said that it shouldn't be going on. Then he asked her if she would be willing to go address it with him. I made sure I thanked her after the meeting for the passion she had for her students and also for the courage she had to bring the issues to light AND to help Brady address them. Let's not overlook the fact that Brady didn't hesitate for a second in offering his time to personally help her see it fixed.
This is a real positive time for ISS. I am actually looking forword to the improved atmosphere that I believe is here and growing. If anyone is not seeing a change in their school, it needs to be addressed. The leadership in that school is not going along with what the interim superintendant and BOE John Rogers are trying to do.
*forward
ReplyDeleteAt the school where I teach there is no difference this year...there is still a matrix for compliance with Baldrige which requires PDSAs, plus/deltas, mission statement, and meaningless first week testing data. The whole Baldrige thing is just so fake. It is yet another time-consuming game that is played to make the unnecessary IF's feel necessary.
ReplyDeleteLet us hope that the IF's will soon be back in the classroom where they belong. Does anyone ever wonder why it is that the IF's so badly wanted out of the classroom? Isn't it ironic that those who are desperate to NOT be in the classroom are telling us how we should be doing what they chose NOT to do...
Well, I emailed Brady about the CO raises and got a response. Here is my email:
ReplyDeleteHello Brady,
I hope the world is treating you well. I hope my wording makes sense, it's 1 am and I've got a toothpick in each eyelid. I have seen an issue that keeps resurfacing; the raises that were given as roles shifted around at the central office. I haven't mentioned it as I am not much into the financial end of ISS, but did think it odd at first when I saw how it was done. As I understand it, the positions and the salary increase are temporary. After the superintendant slot is filled, everyone will drop back in position and salary to where they were. Sounds reasonable enough, but the point has been made that teachers have been given extra workload without a pay increase and they question the validity of giving raises to anyone while we are in financial turmoil. I also understand that money for salaries comes from different places and most cannot be transferred around. There has been expressed concern that money is given where the administration decides they want to. Here is a post from Klaene's blog that I found to be very reasonable in wording and worthy of a reply: (I was especially fond of the "leadership opportunities" line.)
"If anyone mentions how "teachers are paid by the state, go talk to DPI" again, I may scream. If the BOE can approve raises given for the "extra work" that administrators who were shifted were given...then they can approve an increase in the teacher supplement for the extra work/duties that teachers have been assigned. The teacher supplement percentage is ENTIRELY controlled by the local school system. So don't think that the buck of responsibility can be passed on to DPI."
"As the previous poster said, teachers are being given more and more duties/work that they must perform ...(or so-called "leadership opportunities" -- that's the new euphemistic moniker being used by principals to describe all the extra administrative duties being thrust upon teachers) for NO additional compensation."
"And I dare say, that if the burden of extra work for no extra pay were being shared equally by BOTH top administrators and teachers, then you wouldn't hear nearly as much complaining."
"This is not fair, and it reeks of hypocrisy. It is really very simple...if teachers are to be expected to work more for the same compensation, then the same should be required of top administrators."
Here is Mr. Johnson's reply. I hope that it helps to bring some understanding:
ReplyDeleteLarry,
Thanks for the inquiry. I was hoping someone would have asked this when we had our meeting at Statesville High School. My response would be something like this: This summer, we had TAs that finished their degrees and became teachers. This summer, we had a cafeteria worker become a cafeteria manager. This summer, we had teachers become assistant principals. We also had assistant principals become principals and we had classroom teachers complete National Board certification and became National Board Certified teachers and received a 12% raise. In each of the examples above, these folks were promoted and given more responsibility. I'm of the opinion that in each case they deserved more compensation. In the case of the five central office employees (including me), we were each promoted to the next level, supervising more people, managing larger budgets, and accepting more responsibility. I personally feel like this warrants increased compensation. We teach high school students to get a good education, learn all you can about a job, take on more responsibility, and you'll earn more income. That's part of the American free-enterprise system. If a US Senator gets elected President, they receive a substantial raise. Should we ask central office people, or any employee, to accept promotions without compensation? A lot of the bloggers don't realize that each of these five central office peoples' salaries will be reduced to their old rate when they return to their old job. A lot of people don't realize that currently we have asked all administrators from the superintendent to the assistant principal to take a 2% pay cut. We did not ask teachers for this concession.
Thanks again for the question. I hope it doesn't sound defensive. I knew when I took this job that the rate of pay would be questioned. Anyway, I hope my explanation helps a little.
Brady
Brady Johnson
Interim Superintendent
Iredell-Statesville Schools
P.O. Box 911
549 N. Race Street
Statesville, NC 28677
Office - 704-924-2028
Fax - 704-871-2834
First thank you Larry, but my second response....Wow....just wow. Teachers who earn National Boards receive a raise from the STATE. Teacher assisstants EARNING a DEGREE are paid more by the STATE. Cafeteria managers are paid more than cafeteria workers by the STATE. Assisstant principals are paid more than teachers by the STATE. Principals are paid more than assisstant principals by the STATE.
ReplyDeleteFor those interested, all the state salary info can be found here:
http://www.ncpublicschools.org/docs/fbs/finance/salary/schedules/2009-10schedules.pdf
Does anyone realize that Brady is a Superintendent 1, since he has no experience in the position, and the state says the Maximum amount he should be paid is $106,116, yet his base salary is more than Holdiday? I don't dispute he should of gotten a raise, but how does he get more than Holiday did as Superintendent of the year? I would love the BOE to justify that!
I knew you would hear the 2% comment...while they accepted a 5/12/34% raise in the other hand...I believe I speak for all or most people when I say, I would take that deal anyday!
Noone is claiming they didn't take on more responsibilities, but we are also not denying, like Brady completely ignores, that classroom teachers did too! They raised class size, added more programs and Baldridge, and he thinks teachers don't have more responsibility??? Funny how the teachers that teach those high school students those values are not valued for doing the same exact things. "Get a good education, learn all you can about a job, take on more responsibility, and you'll earn more income," unless you're a teacher. But is that taught anymore? If there's no data, we don't teach it. How do we test that?
And now I'm confused...Brady is calling this a promotion. Is this a promotion or an interim position? Interim postions, because they are temporary, do not have to be accepted, they can be assigned. Promotions are permanent positions, therefore they are accepted rather than assigned.
Wonder if the IFs took that 2% paycut....
Does anyone really truly believe they are going to go back to their old positions? I'm sure a new superintendent is going to want to come in and basically demote people, taking away some of their salary. Doesn't everybody want to be the new guy coming in upsetting people, who may already be upset they didn't get Superintendent? If they hire from within, how do you take money out of your buddy's pocket? Who is going to insist they go back to their previous position?
ReplyDeleteWhy did they make them interims instead of permanent promotions? Well, if we make it interim this year, we can justify a salary increase. Then next year, when the positions become permanant, we can again justify a salary increase.
Thank you, Larry, for forwarding my comments to Brady Johnson (yes, I'm the author of the "I may scream" post).
ReplyDeleteAs the person who posted after Johnson's reply said, the interim superintendent conveniently ignores much of what is a teacher's reality. Becoming Nationally Board Certified does not add more responsibility...not to diminish the accomplishment, but it does not increase responsibility.
This year, all the teachers I know are being required to assume more administrative duties than ever before...(and by 'administrative duties' I mean that previously, someone in a school's office or administration was carrying out these duties). Teachers are bearing the brunt of the load in many ways..increased class sizes being at the top of the list
No matter what Mr. Johnson says, he is assigning more value to what those in the top tiers of the Central Office do than he does to the value of teaching. It is clear that he sees teaching as a stepping stone to being part of administration so one can make more money.
Teachers who entered the profession because they truly love teaching do not see teaching as a stepping stone, but as something they were meant to do.... this does NOT mean that they do not wish for what they do to be valued! Right or wrong, in our society, value is measured with dollars. Based on the value received by society, I contend that the difference between teacher and top administrative salaries is too great.
All in all, Mr. Johnson's response failed to justify the unjustifiable. He and all the others who greedily grabbed raises while those in the classroom are working longer and harder should be ashamed of their actions, and what they did should be unacceptable to taxpayers.
Of course, most taxpayers aren't aware of the hypocritical raises. Too bad there is no Fourth Estate in this town, the priorities of the BOE and Mr. Johnson's interim administration need to be exposed so that the the citizens of Iredell County can decide whether or not they approve of what is going on in I-SS.
Humor... One thing I am sure of. I hope whoever gets the superintendant job has some leather underwear.
ReplyDeleteYa'll have a lot of questions and, I think some valid points. There are two choices on this.
1.) Let it go and spend the energy that is used addressing salaries on students.
2.) Get a group of teachers together (yeah! Unity), write a letter detailing your concerns and take it to Brady Johnson.
That second suggestion comes back to what I have tried to do all along which is start a group (strength and courage in numbers) to calmly and maturely address issues of concern.
I thank Brady for taking the time to reply and I appreciatate the return posts on here. It's a start.
We would love to be allowed to expend more of our energy teaching students, but we are much too busy wallpapering, testing and attending Baldrige meetings.... :(
ReplyDeleteIn I-SS, for teachers...frustration reigns!
Wow! great response 5:45pm. I'm with you.I guess you can call it an interim position and a promotion just for taking on more responsibility. Isn't that the point. No one seems to address the fact that people were being laid off due to a budget crisis, teachers never received any additonal compensation,and all while ABC money was cut, and with fewer TA's. Kind of sounds like Wall Street and the automotive industry all wrapped up into one. One can justify about anything. It goes back to perceptions, and what effect those perceptions have on the work force. They already knew morale was low, that move just kicked it right into the bucket. As far as where the money comes from etc., most don't care and are tired of hearing it, because if it doesn't make sense it needs to be changed. If the money was just sitting there and couldn't be used for anything else, then let it sit and find a way to change the system so that it can be used where it is needed. That is an antiquated way of doing business. As far as some TA's getting their degree and becoming teachers over this past summer? Where? I thought we had to move teachers around to avoid laying any off...didn't know there were so few employed that they actually had openings.
ReplyDelete9:23... the teachers need a unified voice. The chain of command would dictate going through the principal I assume. For those of you who don't have a principal that will represent you, form a large group and go to Brady. He say's he wants to hear from people, try him out.
ReplyDeleteHello Larry,
ReplyDeleteI appreciate and greatly respect your interest in wanting to see I-SS move forward. I do not see too many common citizens giving input on this blog. And I think that is needed. However, after seven years (you could almost compare it to two Presidential terms), the former administration implemented many controversial policies and created an extremely poor atmosphere for morale.
While we would like to solve the problem simply, I am not sure it is that easy. Personally, I have new responsibilities this year and it is taking a great amount of time to transition to those new responsibilities. And to make things more difficult, I-SS did not provide me with the basic tools of the trade to do my job. And also, from what we are reading on this blog, teacher assignments from the former policies do not seem to have improved. Teachers would simply like to work more intelligently in order to accomplish their goals.
Larry, I think the local newspaper had a lot to do with where we are today by providing complete support to the former administration. And I think they could also play a major role in improving the concerns we read about on this site.
I certainly do not have all the answers. I simply give what I hope to be rational concerns and viewpoints. But again, the local paper might be a major starting point in improving the current status quo. If the newspaper would do its job in involving total community input, it would be very helpful. We should challenge the Statesville Record and Landmark. The first challenge would be to write a letter regarding these issues and see if would even get printed. That was a major problem in the past. When information becomes suppressed, apathy due to lack of understanding of the issues begins to set in.
Alvin,
ReplyDeleteProblems within a group of people are never simple to solve because it involves the complicated task of combining ideas and many times soothing emotions. The first step is to get unity among the teachers. The administration, I think is wanting feedback from the teachers but that feedback is as divided as day and night.
Brady has said he wants input from teachers. The problem right now is that asking for input from teachers is asking to be in the center of a heated debate. I have seen very different viewpoints on this blog regarding use of classroom time.
If the teachers themselves could arrive at a basic mutual agreement of what would work, then they would have something to present to Brady and the BOE. There are several ways this could be done. It will take time and effort but hey, I'm putting it in there, so are you and everybody else can too. What better motivation than our children, right? That brings up the common citizen getting involved. Where are all the parents? They don't mind jumping on teachers when their kid gets a low grade, but they won't support that teacher either. It's called apathy and being too busy with one's own BS to have time for your children.
As for the Refuse & Landfill; they will probably go under if they keep on the same path that they are on. I find it both irritating and amusing when I go to the grocery store and someone outside is pestering me to take a free copy. When you can't give your publication away for free it's time to fold up.
They won't take a stand on anything unless it involves minorities and they want to stir things up. They are as far left liberal as liberal can go and the articles aren’t even news. I also wouldn’t recommend that anyone ever allow them to quote you as they will write it however they want. If you write an article and give it a title they change it to suit themselves often time missing the point of the entire article. (They did Janey Munday that way with the teachers get more headaches deal. Next thing you know she got jumped on for calling children headaches.)
I used to have a bi-weekly column which they progressively edited more and more. The last straw was when the editor pulled an article the night before printing because he felt like “it would be too divisive”. The title I gave my article; Healing, not division. If I had a parakeet I wouldn’t put their rag in the bottom of the cage for fear he would start cheering every time Nancy Pelosi came on TV.
They were invited to the first Citizens meeting by another member and their reporter got up and stomped out. That same reporter called me and asked for a statement to print. I told her she could use the one I sent her by email only if she used it in its entirety. (I was tired of being misquoted). That same message was in the email. She used part of it and switched the sentences around. I still have a copy of the correspondence from that one. Their online posting to articles is the best thing they have going. Other than that the R&L serves no useful purpose that I am aware of.
I've got to go find a paper bag to breathe into.
Larry,
ReplyDeleteI am at home sick but still working - the reason for a late response.
I understand very well your comments. In fact, I got into a near argument one time (tried to make it a civil conversation or at least debate) with one of the SR&L hawkers at a local grocery store.
Teachers at the various levels of education are affected very differently by the "one size fits all" policy of the previous administration. I think the current administration should realize this and that would be a great way to start improvement. I very recently saw a person who is working under a person who is related to a top administrative official. The person at this elementary school said things are no better. Therefore, I think you may understand that things are not necessarily improving in this operational mode.
It is not easy to get teachers together simply due to the fear created by the previous administration. In 28 years, I have never worked under such condition. There has always been fear, but this fear is exponential.
You can read my most recent comments in the most recent posts and see how I am starting to get anonymous criticism. I would like to hear your feedback regarding my most recent posts. As you can see, some are trying to use the Holliday numbers to validate everything. I don't necessarily question the validity of their calculations as I question the reason why education should not be directed in attaining those numbers. I think it is dangerous (by focusing only on tests)and really misses the human element of education.
I do not at this time have the answer to unity. But I believe these continued efforts gets us closer to a solution and to positive change
Alvin said; “Teachers at the various levels of education are affected very differently by the "one size fits all" policy of the previous administration. I think the current administration should realize this and that would be a great way to start improvement.”
ReplyDeleteBrady put out a questionnaire to the principals about some of the techniques being used. Each item was answerable by three choices. They were something like:
It’s wonderful, better than sliced bread.
Keep it but it needs tweaking
Terrible, worse than a poison ivy outbreak on your backside
The responses were overwhelmingly “keep it but it needs tweaking”. You may have hit a great point about the one size fits all policy not working. One of my favorite comments of the night was from a teacher (I believe kindergarten) who said that her kids need loving first and then teaching. But (in her opinion) she is too busy doing useless required work that has no educational benefit.
So let’s refine the unity plan by saying that it needs to be done according to correlating grade levels.
Another point about the questionnaire is that it was given to the principals. Brady expected the principal to represent their teachers. In some cases, such as Larry Rogers I would say that was how it went down. In some other cases I doubt that the principal represented anything except what they thought the administration wanted to hear. Fact; we have some principals that are a real problem.
That brings me to my next post...
There are some principals remaining who are not only heavy handed with employees but also very rude and hateful to parents. I have heard of several well documented cases already this year. Unfortunately the people like most, don’t want to “get involved”. HEY! …you got “involved” when you or your child was mistreated. If you complain to me and we both agree it is wrong, you just entered into a verbal agreement to fix the problem.
ReplyDeleteI emailed Brady about the treatment of teachers by principals and the fear factor that Alvin and others have mentioned. Here is my email;
Apparently there are still some schools where the teachers are still feeling held under the same heavy handed leadership as was in place before. This really needs to be addressed and I understand from previous conversations that it is. However there are some still not feeling the new atmosphere they were told to expect. Here is an excerpt from another post:
"We teachers do know what works for us, but the administration refuses to hear from us. They heard from the principals whose only focus was the IFs. We keep being told to move on, Holiday is gone, we're lowering teacher stress, yet no one will listen to us, nothing has changed for us or our children, it's just like always."
Here is Brady’s reply;
“Please encourage anyone that has an issue with any principal to call me. They do not need to be concerned about retaliation. I promise that I will listen and investigate any complaint that they have. Please let them know that I work late and that I will answer my office phone anytime that I am there after 5:00. My direct number is 704-924-2029.”
Brady is offering and that is all he can do. He has always been very available and fair with me even when we respectfully disagree. I have purposely not abused his availability because I am grateful that he has always taken the time to talk to anyone.
Alvin, as far as your posts about the numbers I am afraid that I can’t comment on them for lack of understanding. I will quote Mark Twain who said, “There are three kinds of lies; lies, damned lies and statistics”. I have heard it said before that the numbers are skewed but I can’t answer that one.
Time to crash and burn. I hope the time I put into these posts will be at least a little helpful in some way.
Larry,
ReplyDeleteI attended the first board meeting under the leadership of Brady. You have to understand that Brady and I are both graduates of South Iredell High. Brady and I taught together at South Iredell for a number of years. I have a tremendous respect for Brady. He is a gentleman and a person of great character. However, in some ways he is like the President (the buck stops here) and I do not envy his position.
I have not criticized the salary issue, but I do understand the debate.
Regarding the concerned citizens meeting:
I attended the first BOE meeting under the leadership of Brady. On that night he gave some homework to the board. Now we can only imagine what the homework involved, but we can hope it involved the present concerns.
RE the Baldrige application from the Principals:
It involved KEEP, TWEAK, or GET RID OF
If you remember, Marshall Stewart, a former teacher at SI and now employed at Newton Conover questioned the lack of involvement from the teachers. (He also ran against Dr. Cash for school board. Unfortunately, there were two other candidates running against Dr. Cash. Therefore it split the votes and there were more votes against Cash than for and Stewart received a very large number of votes. Do you think Holliday wanted Stewart to become a board member?) forgive the aside. If we are having problems within the 35 Principals with the use of power and character, than I would think the results from that chart are greatly skewed. All of those chart attributes affect teachers in the classroom and take a tremendous amount of time. Therefore, teachers should also be involved in that evaluation process. Again, if not, the data is skewed and the application of the plan flawed.
Also regarding that meeting:
Brady emailed all Principals regarding an announcement of that meeting. I did not receive the email (please understand though, I have great leadership at my school). Someone stated that the email should have gone directly from Brady to each teacher.
That being stated, I think Brady should give a direct email to teachers regarding the openess of communication. Now I know, that can open a huge can of worms. But, it is time to go fishing.
Again, I agree that teachers should be involved in the evaluation process. There has to be a coming together of teachers for that to happen, or at least a system wide survey. I would say that the first step is to identify the problems. That is what I have been pushing the teachers to meet on their own to do. The second step is to find solutions to those problems to present to the Brady and the board.
ReplyDeleteI know I sound like a broken record but I keep responding to the same statements by different people. If I don’t get the results that I am wanting from someone else, if they aren’t doing what they need to do, I do it myself. Do you piss some people off doing that? Yes you do. Now I want to know why you or anyone else cares. I understand the job security thing, the fear factor and the concern for retaliation. The teachers can form a group, give me the information without any names attached and I will take it to Brady or the BOE myself. I really don’t care who I piss off if it needs to be done. Personally I think Brady Johnson would be relieved and grateful to have a massive group effort in identifying problems and in making suggestions for tweaking the system. You can’t expect one person to handle everything. Brady is good, he is dedicated, but he can’t read minds and he can’t do magic.
Also, I have been in the process of starting my own blog. It will cover many subjects, but will have some dedication to the school system as well. It will have a different format and agenda than this one. It is an addition to my personal website. This should be a link to take you there… TheNakedFrogBlog If the link doesn't work go to www.HappyNakedFrog.com and look for the blog button. I hope to start posting soon.
I really don't think teachers are afraid to state their true opinions given the chance. Why couldn't the survey be given during the weekly afterschool meeting attended by teachers. There would need to be no names or identifying numbers on the survey. Teachers could be asked the same questions Brady had on his chart which he asked the Principals. An announcement could be made a week before the meeting so teachers would be aware that their feedback was needed. I bet not a teacher would be absent. And then something never before thought possible, the results could be counted and posted in everyone's presence. Hey no need for a third party. Stakeholder input. Someone could even have a hidden mic to prevent any attempts at coersion on the part of administration. This survey would be a cheap, simple and reliable format for teacher input. How about it, Brady?
ReplyDeleteOf course the survey would have to be done on paper to ensure the reliablity of the data!
ReplyDelete9:11 that sounds like a really good idea.
ReplyDeleteA survey done after school hours would work as well as anything. And I think it makes sense to have to same questions that were asked of the principals. Those are obviously the questions Brady wanted answers to and it would be some great "data gathering" to see how well the principals represented their teachers.
Again, there are many saying that the teachers are afraid to voice their opinion even anonomously. Apparently this varies from school to school.
The last post I made was in a really big hurry and after reading it again that night I didn't find it very clear. What I was trying to say, is that instead of waiting for someone in administration to pass around a survey, the survey (same as the one given to the principals) could be passed around by the teachers themselves at each school and the results documented and then given to Brady.
That was the point I was trying to make when I said that if people aren't doing what they are supposed to do, I do it myself. And, sometimes that makes people mad because you circumvented their authority. If you feel there should be a teachers survey, approach Brady about having it done at an afterschool teachers meeting or wherever. If he doesn't want to do that, do it yourself and give him and the BOE the results.
Note: I think very highly of Brady Johnson and have said so numerous times. But, in the last post I said that if Brady isn't doing what he is supposed to do, go around him.
ReplyDeleteIf it is hard to figure out who's side I am on, it's beacause I don't have a side. This isn't about people like it has been made out to be with all the finger pointing. It is about addressing problems and fixing them. It's about mine / your children.
The staff at our school has gone to Brady in various forms. He has said he will do A and B. He's not done any of it, and in fact is now doing C that will probably make it worse.
ReplyDelete4:06 was this before or after he was named interim superintendant?
ReplyDeleteAfter Larry. We trusted him, but it didn't take long for him to go back on his word. He said what we wanted to hear, than turned around and did something completly different - the exact thing he told us he would not do. Things are about to get much much worse and we all know it.
ReplyDeleteOther schools, do not open your mouth no matter what is happening...Don't make the same mistake we did.
I'm thinking. (Again)
ReplyDeleteThink all you want. It doesn't change the fact that he betrayed us and did not follow thorough on his actions.
ReplyDeleteI'm not trying to change any facts, so relax. I have suggested several different ways of bringing this whole thing together and now am trying to think of another.
ReplyDeleteI have one motivation and that is to have the best classrooms I can for my children. My oldest have two years left. In that time they have to get good grades to help launch them towards their next educational endeaver. This junk has to stop.
There are several teachers at their school who have been difficult to say the least. (Not with them directly). I don't know if it is the environment they are teaching under that is causing this or if they were just born a horses behind. I do know that their principal is a tyrant and that crap flows downhill.
When you are a kid, having to get good grades is enough pressure, especially with what they are expected to learn today, like algebra in elementary school. Now my girls are both taking honors classes as well which causes them to work even harder. (They're doing good too, I'm proud of them!) So, the atmosphere in our schools needs to be a positive one in order for them to do their best.
It seems like every suggestion I have made gets shot down and the kids continue to lose. So, getting back to the original problem; how do we get system wide input from the teachers and present it to Brady and the BOE? If we do that and they don't listen, then we can make our next move. The thing is we have to start somewhere.
Larry, thanks for your posts. Was wondering if your wife is involved in your posts? We have only seen your name on posts. Thanks again
ReplyDeleteMy wife hasn't made any posts. We discuss things and are on the same page. Curious why you wondered though.
ReplyDeleteNo particular reason.
ReplyDeleteThere is a purpose behind every question. The question buried between all the thank you's was odd at the least.
ReplyDeleteSept 16 9:11, and Sept. 17 4:06, 10:21...
ReplyDeleteHere is an email I sent to Brady Johnson and John Rogers on 9/18 regarding your posts;
Brady & John,
Brady, you said you didn't read Klaene's blog. I have been going back and forth with some of the teachers in an effort to find a starting point for tweaking the current educational techniques. It was said at the Thursday night meeting and I agree that the teachers need a survey of their own. Asking the principals what they thought probably isn't getting a true representation. One person suggested the following which I thought sounded very reasonable:
"I really don't think teachers are afraid to state their true opinions given the chance. Why couldn't the survey be given during the weekly afterschool meeting attended by teachers. There would need to be no names or identifying numbers on the survey. Teachers could be asked the same questions Brady had on his chart which he asked the Principals. An announcement could be made a week before the meeting so teachers would be aware that their feedback was needed. I bet not a teacher would be absent. And then something never before thought possible, the results could be counted and posted in everyone's presence. Hey no need for a third party. ...This survey would be a cheap, simple and reliable format for teacher input. How about it, Brady?"
Taking a survey anonymously and having the teachers help tally the results right there will put an end to all of the back and forth about techniques and not getting listened to. Especially if those results are posted attributed to each school. I suggested giving the same questionnaire that you gave the principals since it apparently contained the questions that you wanted answered. It will also show you how well the principals represented their teachers, another issue that many have said needs to be addressed.
There are still some suggesting that not only are things getting better, but they are getting worse. The following was also posted on the blog:
"The staff at our school has gone to Brady in various forms. He has said he will do A and B. He's not done any of it, and in fact is now doing C that will probably make it worse.
"4:06 was this before or after he was named interim superintendant?"
"After Larry. We trusted him, but it didn't take long for him to go back on his word. He said what we wanted to hear, than turned around and did something completely different - the exact thing he told us he would not do. Things are about to get much much worse and we all know it. Other schools, do not open your mouth no matter what is happening...Don't make the same mistake we did."
All I know is that my oldest children only have two years left in ISS. At the rate this is going it will be 5 years before the major bugs are worked out which is when my son will be graduating. I don't see any reason not to do a teacher survey. Even if the posts are a representation of only a few and the rest are happy as pigs in manure, this would show them that they are the minority. I also like the idea of doing it at meeting instead of online because everybody then takes it one time.
John, I would value your opinion on this as well?
Thanks,
Larry
This is the response I received from Brady Johnson. I recieved it today, so now Brady is spending Sundays answering emails. Agree or dissagree with Brady, he is dedicated.
ReplyDeleteHi Larry,
Please encourage this staff member to call me or come visit. I will be sending a letter to staff soon on getting their feedback.
Thanks,
Brady
Brady Johnson
Interim Superintendent
Iredell-Statesville Schools
P.O. Box 911
549 N. Race Street
Statesville, NC 28677
Office - 704-924-2028
Fax - 704-871-2834
It sounds to me like he is doing what you want. However, I know there are some of you who will bash this as another empty promise. All I can say is give him a chance. As for the person who posted and said Brady didn't come through last time they gave him a chance, try it again.
For what it is worth I will go along with you for support, documentation whatever you need. I am busy all the time which is why many of my posts are really late at night or very early in the morning. But, I will take the time to help get anything resolved by doing whatever I can to help.
I wanted to add something that I thought about today. I hate to fight and argue and the older I get, the less I bother. My attitude is that you shouldn't fight for something that is important to you, but it's okay to fight for something that is important, period.
(I did not receive a response from John Rogers. I assume that he has been tied up.)
With all due respect Larry, if I was comfortable going to Brady I would have myself. I realize this is a public forum, but I was saying what I said as a warning to other teachers. I wish I could go into detail so teachers would understand, I reaalllly do, but I am waaay too scared, especially now. I wasn't before, and that was a mistake. There may not be any retribution from Brdy, but that doesn't mean there's not consequences.
ReplyDeleteThe reason I know Brady didn't follow through on his word is because the staff has already gone to him, as I said in my first post...going to him again and again, to hear he's going to do this or that, and then have him not do it, is just banging your head up against a wall and we've done it so many times, we're dizzy.
I appreciate the offer, but there is just no time in my schedule to waste and documentation doesn't do anything. I also don't care to get in trouble for speaking out. Even without specifics, I'm sure I've already said too much but I sure won't be saying anything else. I've learned the lesson on that.
This post is in reply to September 21, 2009 1:05 AM. However it is intended for anyone within ISS who has concern that their voicing of concerns will result in retaliation.
ReplyDeleteAlready this year I have been told of two well documented cases with a principal that would be enough to get that person chastised very harshly if not demoted or fired. The person with the information said it isn't worth it, and as with you, I have to be respectful of their decision.
I didn't realize that warning others was your only reason for posting the information. The way I work is you identify a problem and I'm ready to roll up my sleeves and fix it. Many, like you are sitting on information that could probably make a difference if it is used correctly.
I understand the part about banging your head on a wall. I have run into several principals whose idea of leadership is to never give into anything, even when they are dead wrong. They can be moved though. Usually their own well documented words and actions are enough to clearly show how wrong they are.
As for you not saying anything else... I know many parents who had all the information they needed to affect great change on different issues but they succumbed to the bluff of ISS administration after having to fight, argue and be verbally abused. A digital tape recorder is a wonderful thing. So is a hidden camera on loan from WSOC. Sound extreme? It's no more extreme than the actions of some of our school administration. There are a few with the personality of Hitler or Napoleon, total tyrants.
You made this statement, "There may not be any retribution from Brady, but that doesn't mean there are not consequences." That sounds like the problem wasn't Brady, so much as someone over you who Brady is not aware jumped on you for speaking up. That can be fixed if that is the case. There are many ways of documenting things effectively.
Good luck to you. I hope your situation takes a positive turn.
One more note to 1:05 am (and everyone else)... you made the remark about banging your head on the wall until you were dizzy. That is what some of these people want you to do, it's how they wear you down and succeed in keeping (in their minds) their power.
ReplyDeleteWhen you hit the wall, back up and regroup. It's like being loaded for squirrel and running into a bear. You have to go back and get loaded for bear. Once they show that they want to be a tyrant, fall back and get it all together. They'll think they have won until you show back up with everything you need and a couple bonuses to boot. Mean vindictive people build their own traps if you let them.
If only you knew the facts. If you did, you would know that almost nothing actually is as it seems to you.
ReplyDeleteI do agree that mean vindictive people build their own traps if you let them....but it only counts if someone will listen.
As far as regrouping, well, that's been done already, with "bonuses". Hopefully there are lots of jobs out there next year so we can each regroup individually and thrive in a healthy environment. Until then, we will continue to give eachother sympathetic looks, candy, pats on the back, and anything else that will let each person know they are not alone. And when we are with students, we will continue to smile, love our kids, and give them everything we've got in terms of knowledge and leadership. That is the core of our school and the children never let us forget.
5:45pm - Yes we did!
ReplyDeleteI have been following this blog since its inception. It appears that things are at a stand still. Mr. Klaene and Mr. Coover talk to Mr. Johnson and Mr. Rogers. They talk back to each other and it seems by the teacher posts that nothing is changing. What have we learned from the letters, editorials and posts? Baldrige is still very much alive and well, select CO personnel got promotions and raises, not many people have shown up for the citizen meetings etc., and most of the blogs have taken on a whining, finger pointing slant. Teachers have been asked to come talk to Mr. Johnson but most still fear the consequences. Things will not really get done unless a good number of the "stakeholders" and I mean parents, start to question what is going on. Perhaps the parents can form a "concerned parents" group. It has been done before for other groups. The emails and blogs are fine, but until there are faces to those it will never go very far. You must recruit the concerned parents and for now, leave the teachers to teach.
ReplyDeleteSeptember 22, 2009 6:57 PM, You are correct. The CO top admins only listen if parents are complaining...then they will move mountains, fire people etc. to please parents. It will take parents rising up against Baldrige to truly eradicate it form I-SS.
ReplyDeleteThe problem is, teachers don't and won't inform parents about what a tragic waste Baldrige is...and we all know that the Statesville R & L is only good for lining the birdcage.
So here we are, another school year and though Holiday is gone, he might as well not be...things are sill the same. A sad reality for the students of I-SS.
You can forget about forming a concerned parents group. I have tried numerous times to start one to address all of the constant (legitimate) complaints that parents were expressing.
ReplyDeleteAnd you certainly won't get a group of parents to support the teachers. Most parents aren't concerned about the teachers. The only time they want to show up is to blame the teacher if their child isn't doing well.
I have come to the conclusion that most people don't care about anything anymore unless it directly affects them in a big way. Everyone is willing to complain, but when someone mentions actually putting effort and time into making things right, the complainers scatter like a covey of quail.
We do need a parents group. We need a teachers group. What I would really like to see is a combined group of parents and teachers. The teachers deal with the kids and the parents of those kids deal with the kids. Both sides represent the kids and the kids are what the school is about.
But you can forget it, it is not going to happen.
The comment of Sept. 15, 5:45PM ended with the following.
ReplyDeleteWonder if the IFs took that 2% paycut....
Sept. 21, 7:59PM said: 5:45pm - Yes we did!
Earlier today I asked Dawn Creason the following question.
Were all IFs required to take the 2% furlough or was it only required of the IF Coordinators?
Ms. Creason replied with the following.
Instructional facilitators were not cut.
Instructional facilitator/assistant principals lost 2 weeks of employment (because the state cut employment for two weeks for all assistant principals).
Just curious Larry...since you are certain a parents group won't work and you can't get a group of parents to support teachers and the teachers will never form a group...What do expect to accomplish on your website? I would say that was a very negative post filled with defeat. The teachers should utilize NCAE. Many say they don't help but I have seen their presence assist in matters. The teachers still have to be proactive when they (NCAE) is called in and they have to stay on top of the issues even with them there. The area advisory meetings are a great way for those interested to provide feedback. Look at the redistricting of lines at Lake Norman. The parents there banded together, formed and signed a petition and got their way.
ReplyDeleteI love the way some of you people twist things around just to form a basis for attack. What is your real agenda? Got your feelings hurt by me somewhere along the line? You must not be very secure in your beliefs or position.
ReplyDeleteAllow me to break down your pathetic line of questioning...
I didn't say a parents group wouldn't work, I said you can't get parents to join together. If they did it in the South end, I am truly happy that they were successful in doing so. (Not sarcasm)
As for my website, the website was already there for my business. I saw it had a blog feature and decided to start posting articles like I used to publish on the R&L. There were a bunch of people over the years who keep asking me to write again. I won't send anything to the R&L so I decided to post them on the blog feature. I didn't do it to "accomplish" anything. I enjoy writing and it is there for those who want to read it and out of sight of those who don't.
As for the parents banding together, a group effort is always the best. I am glad it worked for them.
Once again you have proven my point of how some people will spend all kinds of energy to pointlessly attack another, energy that could be used for finding answers to the problems we face at ISS. And you wonder why my post sounded negative and filled with defeat? People like you tend to wear me down to that point. You win.
8:59 please stop bullying anyone that simply raises an issue with you. It can seem many times over on this blog. If you are frustrated, please try to see that maybe other people are frustrated as well.
ReplyDeleteWho is 8:59? If you are referring to 8:50 I have watched people repeatedly attack Mr. Coover without merit or reason. You may want to read over things to see who the bully is. If that isn't what you are referring to, my apologies.
ReplyDeleteSeptember 21, 2009 1:05 AM
ReplyDeleteGoing to Brady does not mean you will get what you want. But, he will listen and address if he can or should. The fact that nothing was done means what you wanted was not in the best interest of kids. And that will not be done. It is not all about just pleasing people. Sorry for that realization being dropped on you and the others here who expect everything to change regardless of it being good for kids or not. I might suggest you come to the Committee of the Whole meeting and see how some of the components you so despise are supposed to work. Teachers are presenting to the Board each month. Not administrators...teachers.
Who selects the teachers that present? Probably administrators.
ReplyDeletePleasing people? How about doing what is in the best interest of the students? I don't care what lip service the top I-SS admins give...they have proven over and over again whose best interest they are serving....their own SELF-interest.
No one who greedily grabbed an increase in salary can ever again say "It's all about the children." Because that is total malarkey... for them it is all about a deceased American statesman named Benjamin.
The thing about going to Mr. Johnson is that he may not be able be able to do what you want, but he can explain why things are like they are. Seeing the view from both sides brings understanding as to how things work. Of course some people are unreasonable even after being shpwn and still want their way regardeless of what you show them.
ReplyDeleteOh yeah... The Committee of the Whole meeting is open to the public. Nobody has to be selected.
ReplyDeleteYes, the Committee of the Whole (COW) meeting is open to the public but it is not a public forum. Comments from the public are not allowed. If a member of the public does speak out or asks a question, that person is quickly informed that he or she may make a comment at the regular board meeting but not at the COW meeting. Yes, teachers do sometimes speak at the meeting but that is arranged before hand and placed on the agenda. I don't know who makes those arrangements, but from what I have seen, it appears as if some administrator has chosen which teachers will speak at the meeting. However, administrators, not teachers, are the ones who make most of the presentations at the COW meeting.
ReplyDeleteAnother conspiracy theory!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the information, Paul. You are truly doing a much needed public service for the students of I-SS...
ReplyDeleteThanks! Paul Klaene!!
ReplyDelete