The next advisory meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 13th, at North Iredell High School. The meeting will start at 7:00 p.m. Again, the main purpose of the meeting is to allow students, parents, teachers, and others an opportunity to participate in the selection process for the new superintendent. You may not think that the School Board is truly going to listen the public’s input, but if we don’t speak out that just gives the Board members an excuse to do whatever they want.
If the same process is used at this meeting as was used at the SHS meeting, the participants will first be asked to list the priorities that they wish the new superintendent to address. That is what should be the main concerns for the school system. After that, the participants will be asked to list the character traits, experience, or strengths that the new superintendent should possess.
I have another meeting Tuesday night so I will not be able to attend this advisory meeting. I hope several readers of this blog will attend the meeting and then leave some comments so we can get a report of the main emphasis of this meeting.
I asked Mr. Brady Johnson some additional questions about the Advisory Meetings and the Superintendent search. Here are my questions and Mr. Johnson's response.
ReplyDeleteQuestions:
Who choose the format to be used at the advisory meetings?
Are Terri and Paul being paid to lead the advisory meetings?
Is the Board hiring someone to lead the superintendent search? If so,
who is it? If not, who is leading the search?
Response:
Terri & Paul chose the format for the area advisory meetings. They are being paid for their work. The board has not hired anyone yet. If they do, it would be Allison Shaffer with the North Carolina School Board Association. Through the month of October, the only activity going on is collecting feedback from area advisories. I will also be doing a similar activity with classified and certified staff advisory this month.
So it sounds like teachers will be given another forum in which to voice their opinions?
ReplyDeleteHopefully, it will be an anonymous one, for that is the only way that the BoE will get true, unvarnished feelings about what characteristics and policies the new superintendent should have.
Name one person who has been fired or retaliated against for speaking their mind. Pam Klaene still has a job doesn't she. Surely she would be tops on that list? Alvin Ostwalt speaks out on here. Is he still employed? He would be number 2 on that list surely. What about those 2? Are they still employed? To my knowledge, yes. Please drop the fallacy about not being able to say what you feel. That is a cover for those you say want to join you and don't. Unfortunately, despite your multiple posts on here, everyone knows you are in the minority.
ReplyDeleteSo the Baldridge Quality award winners can't conduct their own meetings?
ReplyDeleteOctober 13, 2009 5:47 PM :
ReplyDeleteHey, if you're right, then you have nothing to fear from an anonymous survey of teachers, now do you? So please...put sock in it!
I am certain many stories could be shared from teachers throughout this system regarding why they are afraid to pen their name. I can assure you that I could share a few with you. Why did I decide to pen my name? I am a life long resident of this county. I have children in the system. Half of my propety tax money has gone into this system for years. And stakeholders are suppose to be able to have a say (not a sticky note) in this system. The key phrase is probably "supposed to be able to have a say". As far as my decision to speak out, my cover was revealed by a BOE member to the Superintendent back in May. So, I decided to come out of the closet (so to speak).
ReplyDeleteAnd you still have a job Alvin, as you should. Speaking out is not a reason to get fired. People say on here they can't speak because they would get fired. You are living proof that it doesn't happen. Oh you could reveal some names, but you won't. Teachers who are afraid to pen their name. Soooo, they still have a job too. Therefore, it hasn't happened. Noone has lost a job for speaking out. Therefore, put a sock in that argument. The truth hurts some who want to push their negative agenda I guess 5:47pm. I look forward to that survey as well.
ReplyDeleteWhose business is it whether or not some teachers are reluctant to throw off the cloak of anonymity ...? No one's.
ReplyDeleteYou who are screaming for names, have no clue as to the personal reasons some may have for not wanting their names made public. MYOB, why don't you.
As has been said, let's have an independently supervised anonymous survey and find out how teachers really feel.
I say bring on the survey. Let's get it on. I want the truth to really come out. It is really coming out about the money wasted and we do have lots of upset parents. Staff and faculty need to have an honest survey and not one that turns the questions back around and on to you. And I know most of you know what that means.
ReplyDelete7:31pm - Point is people say on here that they don't do it because they will get fired. I don't care why they don't post their name. I get tired of reading lies like if I do this I will get fired. As long as people believe that they will be fired they will not speak and nothing will change. I'm not the one who needs to get a clue. I think it has been proven that noone has been fired for sharing their beliefs, which was the point. As long as everyone else posts anonymously, so will I.
ReplyDeleteOctober 15, 2009 9:28 AM :
ReplyDeleteWe regular mere mortals can only dream of being omnipotent like you ...
How in the world could you possibly know that no one has been fired, or pushed out for voicing their opinion? That's right...you cannot.
It is quite obvious by the time and tone of your comment that you are not a teacher...
Maybe your hero can find a position in KY for you, then you wouldn't have to trouble yourself with this pesky blog.
"It is quite obvious by the time and tone of your comment that you are not a teacher..."
ReplyDeleteI'm not the poster you are talking about but PLEASE elaborate. I am so curious to how you know this isn't a teacher by the time they post..
Ummm, gosh, October 15, 2009 7:32 PM, that is a tough one to figure out...but I'm betting the omnipotent one knows...
ReplyDeleteFunny how we don't see any BS supporters attempting to explain or defend what Mr. Klaene has posted....finally maybe, there is concession that the "award" and all the waste (and the dollars that are still being spent in the form of top admin salaries) that led up to it are absurd.
ReplyDeleteOct 13, 5:47 PM - My wife (Pam) has over 30 years of teaching experience with I-SS. She is also a long-term member of NCAE. That gives her some degree of job security that many other teachers do not have. There are many I-SS teachers who have only been teaching a few years and are struggling to help support their families. Some of these teachers do not yet have tenure and cannot risk losing their jobs. Plus, it is not just about being fired, there are other ways of ‘punishing’ those who might speak out. Teachers can be transferred to another school, assigned to teach another subject or grade level, or they may might be given a bad review and placed on an action plan.
ReplyDeleteTherefore I am going to continue to permit individuals to post on this blog anonymously. I want to give teachers, and others I-SS employees, a place where they may speak out without fear of retribution. I know what can happen when an employee speaks out and an administrator decides to take action against that employee.
Like? Not a single example yet.
ReplyDeleteThe Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award was created by Public Law 100-107, signed into law on August 20, 1987. The Award Program, responsive to the purposes of Public Law 100-107, led to the creation of a new public-private partnership. Principal support for the program comes from the Foundation for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, established in 1988.
ReplyDeleteThe Award is named for Malcolm Baldrige, who served as Secretary of Commerce from 1981 until his tragic death in a rodeo accident in 1987. His managerial excellence contributed to long-term improvement in efficiency and effectiveness of government. The Findings and Purposes Section of Public Law 100-107 states that:"
1.
the leadership of the United States in product and process quality has been challenged strongly (and sometimes successfully) by foreign competition, and our Nation's productivity growth has improved less than our competitors' over the last two decades.
2. American business and industry are beginning to understand that poor quality costs companies as much as 20 percent of sales revenues nationally and that improved quality of goods and services goes hand in hand with improved productivity, lower costs, and increased profitability.
3. strategic planning for quality and quality improvement programs, through a commitment to excellence in manufacturing and services, are becoming more and more essential to the well-being of our Nation's economy and our ability to compete effectively in the global marketplace.
4. improved management understanding of the factory floor, worker involvement in quality, and greater emphasis on statistical process control can lead to dramatic improvements in the cost and quality of manufactured products.
5. the concept of quality improvement is directly applicable to small companies as well as large, to service industries as well as manufacturing, and to the public sector as well as private enterprise.
6. in order to be successful, quality improvement programs must be management-led and customer-oriented, and this may require fundamental changes in the way companies and agencies do business.
7. several major industrial nations have successfully coupled rigorous private-sector quality audits with national awards giving special recognition to those enterprises the audits identify as the very best; and
8. a national quality award program of this kind in the United States would help improve quality and productivity by:
a.
helping to stimulate American companies to improve quality and productivity for the pride of recognition while obtaining a competitive edge through increased profits;
b.
recognizing the achievements of those companies that improve the quality of their goods and services and providing an example to others;
c.
establishing guidelines and criteria that can be used by business, industrial, governmental, and other organizations in evaluating their own quality improvement efforts; and
d.
providing specific guidance for other American organizations that wish to learn how to manage for high quality by making available detailed information on how winning organizations were able to change their cultures and achieve eminence."
Oh! Lookie! Someone has mastered copy and paste!
ReplyDeleteRead John Roseman's columns in the Charlotte observer. He says businesses and schools are two different matters. He thinks surveys for young children are a bunch of hogwash. Baldrige is the last thing he would wish on our schools.
ReplyDeleteBaldrige is a high profile business that is making high dollar money using schools as their guinea pigs. Any pyramid business would work the same way as Baldrige.