Just last week, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools board chairwoman Mary McCray speculated that the reason Heath Morrison left his role as superintendent without a fight is because he saw "a future out there" for himself.
And if that future is in leading a public school district, there are certainly plenty of large districts looking for a new leader.
The job leading Los Angeles schools is clearly the plum position on the list. Morrison's name has already been linked to the search by websites covering the school system.
For his part, Morrison -- who is 48 -- has said there will certainly be lots of rumors about him pursuing this job or that job, but has declined to comment on any positions in particular.
And of course, there's no guarantee he'd go back into a superintendent's job. Morrison's predecessor at CMS, Peter Gorman, left for a job in the private sector in the educational division of News Corp.
Here's a sampling of big school districts looking for a new superintendent:
- Los Angeles Unified School District (California), 670,000 students
- Albuquerque Public Schools (New Mexico), 94,318 students
- Austin Independent School District (Texas), 85,355 students
- Fort Worth Independent School District (Texas), 84,588 students
- Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools (Tennessee), 80,393 students
- Elk Grove Unified Public Schools (California), 62,000 students
- Boston Public Schools (Massachusetts), 57,000 students
- Seattle Public Schools (Washington), 49.269 students
And by the way, Washoe County in Nevada is looking for a new superintendent now, too.
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143 comments:
Public schools in this country are out of control - but not because of students or teachers. The corporatization of education ( Gates, Pearson, etc...) is causing huge turnover. There's a brain drain occurring - the best teachers are jumping ship. Government mandates from all levels ( federal, state, and local) are insane. RttT is wreaking havoc as states push their teachers to levels to exhaustion and exasperation like has never been seen. Supers see the chaos and want out. Blame them?
The schools' answer to everything is " let's have another test!"
PROACT did so well with landing Heath surely CMS will throw more cash at them for a 2nd failure. No district on that list has the same problems and lack of trust that CMS does. The credibilty from within CMS is gorund zero. KW Hurley
Broad Academy Superintendents
Eli Broad and his quest to dismantle public education…
LAUSD – John Deasy: quit before he was fired. “He has pushed too many autocratic programs without real consideration of the consequences for educators” He resigned.
Albequerque – Winston Brooks: Brooks refused to elaborate on his resignation, and the APS is refusing to release a report investigating a “serious personnel issue” concerning Brooks that forced his resignation. He is obtuse, corrupt, or a coward. He resigned.
Washoe – Pedro Martinez. Abruptly terminated.
Who else was Broad?
Gorman – resigned, closed schools, attacked teachers with Pay for Performance, exponential growth if high stakes testing.
Morrison – yep.
Anthony Tata – Wake County, relieved of duty
What do Broadies do?
Close schools * High stakes testing *Pay for performance * “brusque and often punitive management styles” * continual reorganizations * firing staff * experiments to create a myth of constant change (Task Forces, anyone??)* opening charter schools (hey our CMS BOE wants to do this…hmmm)
Oh yes PROACT is linked to Broad too.
SO will our BOE reject the Broad Principles and hire someone who is truly going to help teachers teach and students learn, or will they again go for the rock star that they are told to hire?
How’s THAT worked out for us the last two superintendents??
CMS board chair and their lawyer mouthpiece caught red handed in their extortion "gap" scam may have now jeopardized Mo from getting the job and look like scared deer frozen silent in the headlights.
Its over folks.
Winner Dr Morrison meanwhile will be raking in 1.5 million salary at Los Angeles Unified School District so the good guy does win in the end.
He will fix that rag too.
On the other hand the CMS loser dirty playaz gets scorned and chastised and hopefully arrested for ethics violation if the FBI finds any trace of irregularities in their probe of a few bank accounts. Could this be the tip of the iceberg?
Nobody on the board or legal dept is saying a word.
Telltale.
BUSTED !!!!!!!!!!!!
bj
CMS will never have a successful superintendent until the BOE is eliminated. Superintendent should report to county commissioners who should act as a board of directors. No micro-managing - just big picture general philosophy.
With the changes the NCGA has pushed through since Heath Morrison came, and then the character assassination by his inner circle, Heath Morrison was probably quite happy to get the *7&^ out of CMS. As a school-level employee, I will miss him.
To Anon at 9.15
Testing is not the school's answer
The teacher's want to teach.
It is the politicians and educrats
that want to test and manipulate scores.
Maybe local School boards should promote within their system, rather than bring in folks from other parts of the Country. We need to back to old time education.
After the comments Pete Gorman made in Memphis in Dec, 2011, about not knowing if turning CMS around was "physically possible" (given the politics), it is easy to surmise why Morrison did not fight his dismissal. I imagine he was ready to escape the maelstrom.
Anon at 10:30, i imagine most will miss him, even though they may not realize it yet, except the lawyer who would be king, and the incompetents on the board and central staff. Wonder if the corporations will be as eager to continue supporting Project L.I.F.T. now that they see more clearly that some elected and appointed officials have their own--not the students'-- best interests ay heart?
Journalism in America has reached an all-time low. The grammatical errors in stories is bad enough, but now writers are asking readers to complete their stories for them. “It's possible that one of these slots has since been filled... Please let me know in the comments…” Is this serious? Pick up the phone, call them your lazy self, complete your half-done story, and inform your readers!
Anon at 12:27:
The REAL story is still out there, waiting to be reported. It is the story of WHY the CMS attorney felt empowered to unilaterally launch an investigation and recommend the firing of a superintendent hired just two years ago by the duly elected representatives of the people of Mecklenburg County. It includes the following details: 1. HOW did Battle come to be hired in the first place. 2. WHO made him feel empowered to unilaterally act on the superintendent 3. WHAT was the catalyst for said investigation and recommendation
(it is logical to assume the endgame, the firing/ resignation, was known at the beginning) 4. WHEN was this plan hatched (he had gotten a 4.5 of 5 on a spring, 2014, performance evaluation) 5. WHY were an outside attorney who had long been on the CMS payroll for real estate projects, a lowly admin who had
transferred over a year ago and a finalist for the job who lost out to Morrison the primary sources of complaints investigated, and 6 . WHERE (behind whose closed doors) was the decision to dismiss Morrison made?
One question that will NEVER be answered: how did the citizens of Mecklenburg allow CMS to devolve to this?
I find it laughable that Morrison and Gorman both were run out of town on a rail; especially Morrison for ambiguous reasons.
Yet, our BOE and that of other LEAs and the Justice Department are all up in arms over minority suspension/expulsions, with my all time favorite about the middle schooler who was suspended 13 times in one year because "he was angry".
Based on the mindset today about not expelling or suspending anyone, you would think Morrison had at least 8 more lives before he was canned.
The public schools that are and will be successful are not and will not be in "urban" districts for just those political reasons, Coyote. Many large cities are comprised of a number of independent school districts, e.g., Atlanta, Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, Denver. I believe our single, county-wide system hurts our ability to recruit companies' division or regional headquarters. Ardrey Kell, for instance, may students equal to Plano, but its residents lack the ability to vote the funding it needs. The same for Hough, Providence, etc.
10:46,
I am not sure I catch you meaning. Are you saying the white parents are out numbered, as such their schools are not being properly funded. If so, a little ironic they are the ones paying the bulk of the taxes to support public education. Those three schools you mentioned are the best CMS has to offer, i wonder why?
If AK,Prov and Hough are the best CMS has to offer then it's worse than we really think.
10:46
Define properly funded. Do you plan on robbing the poor to pay the rich, since those poorer schools get much more in funding?
You raise the per pupil spending for Ardrey Kell, you automatically raise it higher for West Charlotte, which is getting nearly twice as much funding already.
Good luck with getting CMS split up and also the right to levy taxes for schools.
That is the ultimate disaster.
By the way. The Dallas ISD has more students than CMS at 158,000. Whites makeup 5% of the student body.
~ Dallas ISD was reported in April 2008 to have the 7th highest dropout rate of any urban school district in the US.
~ From 1998 to 2008 Dallas ISD had a pattern of having an average of 14,600 9th grade students but only giving high school diplomas to an average of less than 6,300 students four years later. Using these 9th grade numbers indicates that roughly 56% of students are consistently missing at graduation.
The graduation rates (percentage of 9th grade students represented by the number of diplomas given to that class at graduation) for the classes of 2006, 2007 and 2008 have been 41.4%, 40.5% and 41% respectively. With the graduation of the Class of 2009 the graduation rate went up to 43.5%.
We don't need to emulate DISD. We're already there.
Wiley, my point was that citizens of Metro Dallas has choices other than private schools and DISD, e.g., Richardson ISD, Highland Park ISD, Carrollton ISD, Irving ISD, and then there's Plano ISD, etc., each with its own taxing authority. Mecklenburg has one choice only and the school board (and a judge) has the ability to fund schools at different rates. Of course, critics will say that is why DISD is only 5 per cent white, (forgetting all the scandals that go back for over 20 years.) But the Dallas Metroplex is also home to many division headquarters. e.g., Toyota. Despite appearing on every list for years as one of the best places for businesses, you cannot say that for greater Charlotte.
10:56
So anyone who lives in metro Dallas can choose to stay where they live and send their kids to any of those surrounding school districts without having to move?
There are a lot of affluent blacks and hispanics in Dallas. Their kids don't as a rulr attend DISD either. It is not about race.
Wiley, no. They move into the independent school district where they wish their children to attend school. The school district boundaries are set and DO NOT change. They don't necessarily follow city limits. School and property taxes are separate and school taxes vary from district to district as do real property values. DISD has some great neighborhoods in all price ranges. Many, not all, of the affluent families of all races whose homes are in DISD choose to send their children to private schools. There are magnets in DISD. There has never been busing as we know it.
2:09
Wiley, my point was that citizens of Metro Dallas has choices other than private schools and DISD, e.g., Richardson ISD, Highland Park ISD, Carrollton ISD, Irving ISD, and then there's Plano ISD, etc
Then they do NOT have "choices", anymore than we do here.
Our choices are the same; private schools, charter schools, home schools or move to Union County, Ft. Mill or Clover.
The little I know about those other districts you mentioned are some are vast majority White.
Perhaps you should start trying to carve your own little neck of the woods out of Ballantyne or Providence and tax yourselves...
Wiley,
I meant that it is unfair for schools such as Ak, Providence and Hough to have lower per pupil spending then schools such as West Charlotte. Especially when you take into consideration the parents who's children attend AK, Hough and Providence actually pay taxes when the bulk of the parents at schools such as West Charlotte don't. Once more, this philosophy is clearly not working.
and despite what an earlier person stated, Ak, Hough and Providence are good schools.
MOrrison , Clark and the rest of the bumbling assistant and assistant to the assistant superintendent have NO IMPACT on the learning of the student.
REDUCE UPPER ADMINISTRATION NOW or at least reduce salaries. Market adjustment was a JOKE !!!
What 2:09 is alluding to is that Texas, like NC has a system that heavily relies on Property Taxes to support the schools of a particular district. For this reason alone many school districts are woefully underfunded in Texas. The lawsuits that were filed for "minimally adequate" education in NC have been filed against the State of Texas as well.
"Based on the mindset today about not expelling or suspending anyone, you would think Morrison had at least 8 more lives before he was canned."
Wiley, it's not just "anyone" who doesn't get expelled.
They are very selective about this to avoid "disparate impact".
Gorman and Morrison were simply the wrong demographic to benefit from this type of largesse.
Wait for the next super and see if they are better suited for special handling with those kid gloves.
I suspect that he (or even more likely, she) will be.
After all, once it's deemed necessary to hire teachers who "look like" the students, the next logical step is to hire administrators and other leaders who "look like" the teachers, isn't it?
It's all part of the plan, you see.
One that we mere taxpayers will know as little about as possible until the job is done.
"with my all time favorite about the middle schooler who was suspended 13 times in one year because "he was angry"."
These days you can burn down a town (or at least a good chunk of it) because you are "angry".
As long as you are among those "exceptional" folks who are given the freedom (and, apparently, the permission) to express themselves this way.
So that middle schooler is getting an appropriate education on society's expectations for his future behavior.
I'm sure someone has a plan for him when he gets out of school.
He may not like that plan, but that's not his fault.
He's a victim of society and the system.
Everything is working as designed.
9:25
Again, define minimally adequate and who decides what that number is.
SC just went through this for the past 20 years in a lawsuit, but looking at Clarendon County School districts (3), the high "poverty district" gets much more funding than the other two.
Just so happens that the one getting the most funding is virtually all minority.
The problems are not due to lack of funding. You could dump another $100 million into CMS and it wouldn't change a thing.
Too many chiefs/support staff in CMS. Think about it, only half the staff are teachers. Get out of the way and let the teachers teach, get rid of 50% of the Ivory tower/support staff.
5:44 Define good schools.
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2014/11/30/5352642/wake-county-school-policy-change.html#.VHyEJU2BEb0
This is priceless, our school geniuses have been pushing BYOT and jumping on all the latest technology bandwagons, and now they are surprised that it's causing problems.
Cell phones should not be allowed in the class rooms, keep them in your backpacks or lockers if you have them. They are a constant distraction for our children, and not necessary for learning, as there in no evidence that there is improved "learning" using technology. Yes, our children are better than ever at googling information, cutting and pasting, as well as taking selfies.
Charles,
A good school is a school that is able to produce thoughtful, articulate, confident and productive citizens.
Alicia
* Does anyone else think that being able to look up information in an old-fashioned textbook using a table of contents, headings, subheadings, indexes and glossaries matters anymore? I'm dismayed at the number of 5th grade students who have no clue how to do this. Children, step away from the computer...
Teachers do not have the time to supervise students on personal technology devices. They are being misused frequently in the classroom and lunch room and there is no ability to police such devices. Why are we letting the students use them at school? Sounds counter-intuitive to me. They can use them at home for homework. Just my 2 cents.
in regards to Wake County possibly making changes to the school cell phone policy, common sense would tell one that a student is not going to follow a cell phone policy.
Anon 6:48am.
"Too many chiefs/support staff in CMS. Think about it, only half the staff are teachers."
Yep. That's definitely a problem as far as costs are concerned.
But, you have been fooled into thinking that schools merely exist to "teach" when that is clearly not the case any more.
Schools exist to deliver social services, of which one may be an actual education.
And, for many, that may not be the most important service they provide.
So you need a lot of specialists and support staff for the real mission of schools today.
Turn schools into places where kids just go to learn things and it's a lot more efficient.
Of course, you need to do something with all the "problem" kids who aren't there to learn.
And that's where we have failed (and continue to fail) miserably.
No one in power wants to change because they're the ones benefitting from spending other people's money.
CMS probably could be split into smaller chunks, too.
But if someone in, say, Ballantyne decides they want to break away from the feeding trough of CMS, then they will be labeled "racist".
If you don't believe me, check out what is happening in Baton Rouge vs. St. George...
Trust me, CMS DESPERATELY NEEDS to remain "too large to fail".
Or it will.
Shamash,
You know full well CMS has already failed, long reaching the point of diminishing returns.
Again, they are running out of White kids.
The Achievement Gap at CMS will only be closed when there is one White kid left who happens to make a score less than the aggregate of minority kids.
Taxation Without Representation
AK high school receives at least 2x less per pupil spending without ANY of the Project Lift $55 million private funding.
Do you think those tax paying citizens rich and poor in that zip code want to split off ?
Come On Man
Disclaimer:
I wholeheartedly agree that slapping the name "charter" in front of a school means little unless we're willing to agree that a "public" school comparison between a school in Greenwich CT and a $55,000,000 school in West Charlotte is apples-to-apples.
This being said:
I'm attempting to teach my 5th grade Singapore math students how to accurately calculate the percentage of full-time teachers vs. administrative/support staff at my charter school. Based on our calculations, 3% of our full-time staff members are non-instructional. And to think we were able to calculate this without the benefit of an entire CMS department of college educated graduates devoted to guesstimating "predicated" numbers for the benefit of a politically correct outcome.
Alicia
I have taught in CMS for over 25 years. Rarely has anyone from the Central Office come to my school, taken the time to speak to me or sure as heck help have an impact on my effective teaching.
The students and myself could use a market adjustment with the work we are producing within the classroom.
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2014/12/01/5354993/trevor-fuller-re-elected-chair.html#.VH2flodSy14
What a total crock fully expected only weeks after the CMS Morrison scandal where the same type "gap" and "status quo" crowd deviously fired highly competent superintendent Morrison and clumsily lied about it. Now the same type crowd moves the goal posts again for Fuller using lies about the arrogant corrupt county manager Jones firing led by Cotham that was admirable.
So what does it take for Cothan and other democrats to wise up and switch to the winning side or at least go unaffiliated?
The democrat brand in permanently tarnished and damaged irreparably on all levels. It all starts at the top with the socialist in chief.
The real deal champ Big Red Tide has now rolled in coast to coast like a tsunami to seize back rightful possession of America as the Founders created and will assume power after Jan 1st 2015 to try to begin fixing this out of control ungodly mess.
Meanwhile sour grapes poor loser tyrant in chief in denial tries desperately to make himself relevant and steal the winners thunder quickly busting the Constitution on illegal aliens that will decimate schools and their budgets.
Anyone with half a brain also knows Obama is behind the Ferguson situation and now continues his national race bait to police departments endangering America never mentioning the massive crime problems in the hoods and 12,000 annual black on black murders.
BTW Charles Barkley called the rioters in Ferguson a bunch of "scumbags" indirectly referring to the scumbag race baiter in chief.
bj
It is difficult for the teachers to manage BYOT in class, students can still access the internet if they choose to. But it makes it easier for the students to occupy their time, so teacher is happy.
Hope our new Superintendent looks at the high school bell schedule time and makes the necessary changes. Later school start times aren't about coddling teenagers. It's about health and safety.
5:42am You are right on. We just don't need them. The teachers and students will be just fine. Actually we wouldn't even know they were gone.
The issue with CMS is much deeper than just the schools. Charlotte is no longer an attractive place to live as far as the white middle class is concerned. The schools and the city government are merely a reflection of those who are now in the majority. As Shamash suggested, I wouldn't be surprised to see the next CMS super to look like those now currently in power.
CMS will remain on a downward trajectory, the school system is only going to get worse. Remember, only 30.5% of the children who attend CMS schools are white and that number will continue to shrink.
The declining white population in CMS is a direct result of all that ails public schools nationwide: top down, socialized education.
Those who can afford to move, or send their children to private schools do, and that trend won't stop anytime soon within CMS.
This trend is something CMS is well aware of, yet unwilling to do anything to stop. To do so would bring down the wrath of those looking out for the inner city folks who stand to benefit most from how things are being down!
Based on the TFA article for CMS, I would suggest that TFA place one of those "extensive"(ly) trained recruits in the figurative throne of superintendent.
It would only cost a new teacher salary to replace each one eight times a year when they leave early.
Other than this, maybe Wiley, Shamash, and Alicia could form their own Superhero triumvirate to swoop down and rescue the villain urban education machine and restore and revise AP History from the inmates.
It's always fun to peruse the lunacy on all sides of CMS.
It doesn't matter who the next Superintendent is the plan is the same as stated by Ann Clark.
The only thing CMS cares about is the Race to the Top or any other Federal Government money they can get their wasteful hands on. Free and Reduced lunch program and on and on. Top heavy administration is just an onion to peel while they bend over backwards for Obama or Broad or any other fool that will give CMS tens of millions
CMS talking heads destroyed a National Superintendent of the Year and all you can find is an improper $40 cab fair.
How does a secretary take down the CEO?
Come On Dunn
bj,
"The democrat brand in permanently tarnished and damaged irreparably on all levels. It all starts at the top with the socialist in chief."
Well, that really started with LBJ and has been on a downhill roll ever since.
Personally, I don't see that the Republicans are that much better, either.
America will NEVER return to the state envisioned by our Founding Fathers simply because too much has changed.
What we have today is so radically different from their vision that it will never be the same again.
For one thing, power which used to belong to the states has been put under Federal control.
This is VERY UNLIKELY to change no matter what anyone does.
(The South already lost that war.)
Our form of "democracy" is getting to be more like mob rule and smart folks will just have to be prepared for that.
We can probably look to other "democracies" like India for a peek into our future.
Of course, my solution has always been to move away from the problem.
As long as we still have freedom of movement (and assembly), we can control some of our destiny.
I just don't see that we can change the world (or even the country)that much any more.
The best most of us can do is to take care of our own the best we can.
But I'm a bit of a fatalist in that regard, and do get some flak for it...
Anon 3:47pm.
"Other than this, maybe Wiley, Shamash, and Alicia could form their own Superhero triumvirate to swoop down and rescue the villain urban education machine and restore and revise AP History from the inmates."
I seriously doubt that we would agree on this.
I'm not one of those AP History revisionists (or whatever they are calling themselves).
(I'm already getting "grief" elsewhere for not toeing the party line on that topic, as if I have a party...)
Besides, I'm too much of an outcast and a rebel to form a committee of three for much of anything in the "public" interest.
Much less so to be a "Superman" (or even one-third of the Superman Trinity) for our ailing schools.
Can't you tell?
My best advice has always been to MOVE AWAY from the problem.
That is, until I find a better solution (so far, though, nothing practical and sensible really stands out).
advice to CMS parents - accept it, change it or leave it.
"5:42am You are right on. We just don't need them. The teachers and students will be just fine. Actually we wouldn't even know they were gone."
Yet, as long as we have mob rule, nothing will be done.
Too many people benefit from things as they are for it to change.
NO one may need them, but how do you get rid of what you don't need in government today?
Especially when they can vote (or otherwise manipulate things) to keep themselves and their cronies in control, too.
Who is possibly going to change things in such a system?
This is a problem in many corrupt third world countries as well.
Welcome to our future.
And don't try to split off as some near Baton Rouge (or even Ballantyne?) have tried, or you will be branded "racist", and who knows, maybe even face some trumped up "Civil Rights" lawsuits.
Unfortunately for public education, it is exactly the out-of-control, bureaucratic behemoths like CMS which have forced people to consider privatization and things such charter schools to do an "end run" around the system.
This stuff is NOT happening in a vacuum. The public school systems have brought this on themselves.
And while you can argue about whether public schools are failing until Diane Ravitch is blue in the face, there can be little doubt that they are not being run as effectively or as efficiently as they could be.
But who in "control" is going to change that?
And get keep their jobs, that is...
Shamash,
"Other than this, maybe Wiley, Shamash, and Alicia could form their own Superhero triumvirate to swoop down and rescue the villain urban education machine and restore and revise AP History from the inmates".
"I seriously doubt that we would agree on this".
Right on!
Alicia
Shamash,
To be fair, the surrounding public school systems are much better than CMS. Of course there will always be those who would beg to differ. I would agree with you in that the only true recourse for those unhappy with CMS, is to move away, charter schools or private school. CMS is not going to improve, the system will continue to decay until it looks like Detroit Public schools or perhaps Chicago public schools. If you have any doubt of this, you need to look no further than the leadership in Charlotte.
I would also agree that many of these issues started with LBJ!
No I aint gonna work on Annie Clarks Farm no more.
Gorman, Morrison, Clark ect...
Did any front line teacher ever notice the difference when they were gone? The only people impacted were in the Ivory Tower sitting on their market adjustments and the taxpayers money swirling down the toilet.
3:47
I've been asked to run for the BOE by a number of individuals and my response is always the same; that I wouldn't last one meeting because I wouldn't put up with the diversity at all cost, politically correct BS that is the status quo.
Look at what is happening in our country today with the Ferguson issue.
Joe Scarborough sums up the mindset in this country quite nicely, saying what most people believe but are too scared to say it. That's exactly what has been happening in public education for decades.
I have sat here quietly and listened to BS being spewed all over this network and all over other networks," said Scarborough, "I can’t take it anymore."
"There are so many great people to embrace as heroes in the black community," he continued, "that deciding you’re going to embrace a guy who knocked over a convenience store, and then, according to grand jury testimony, acted in ways that would get my children shot...that’s your hero? That’s the reason you want to burn down black businesses?" Scarborough also blasted some of the guests on his show, without naming names, saying that they agreed with him privately but were afraid to be honest about their views on air.
"You know what pisses me off too is I have people around this set all the time," he said. "They let me say what I say on set and they sit and stare at me, slack-jawed,” he said. “They’re afraid to say anything on the air, even though they know it’s BS. People [are] saying one thing when the camera’s on and then saying something completely different when the camera gets turned off, because they’re somehow afraid they’ll be called racist if they tell the truth."
The only way to fix public education is to completely dismantle the system, let teachers teach, reduce the bureaucracy and size of admin, ensure students and their parents have a full understanding of what is expected of them and enforce those expectations and last but most importantly, eliminate the diversity and political correctness as driving principals.
You are a student. Not a statistic, not a rich kid or poor kid and not a color.
You come to school to learn to prepare you for life. If you don't get it and detract from those who want to learn, you're gone.
funny story, I had several boys visiting my son over the T'giving break (recent AK grads). We were playing a board game at the time and none of them could "list the planets in order from the Sun" (Although all my nephews, who were visiting from a nearby state, answered it correctly).
Shouldn't all students know basic facts about the world around them before they graduate from HS? Thankfully they all had their I-phones to look it up.
7:54
I teach 5th grade math and social studies. The bulletin board I designed directly behind my desk has our solar system planets placed in Nicholas Copernicus fashion. The fun part is explaining why Pluto is excommunicated off the board.
Alicia
Alicia,
That excommunication planet board would be a perfect analogy for The County Board of Commissioners and Ms. Cotham leading into a 5th grade Civics lesson.
Wiley,
One should also read Charles Barkley's comments of Ferguson as well.
Pluto never gets any respect.
Mickey, Minnie, Donald and the rest got more air time.
10:06
Heard the audio.... he was spot on, as well as a number of other African Americans who said the same thing.
It's actually refreshing to hear prominent voices from the black community express themselves as Charles Barcley did recently.
Until the black community stands up and says enough is enough, what we're witnessing across the country in response to Ferguson will continue.
Alicia,
I have a small experiment for you to try. Since you are teaching the solar system to your students now, I suggest that you go back to these same students next year at this time and see if they retained this info, odds are, they probably forgot. After all, how many times does an average child talk about the planets and their position relative to the sun?
secondly, I have mentioned this to you before, schools are merely a reflection of the community in which they serve. The same is true with children, they are a reflection of the home they are raised in. Fortunately for you, the students at your charter have parents who probably care about their education, otherwise they would have not explored a different option.
This is not to say that parents such as myself, who have not opted for a charter school, are not involved or don't care. I am very pleased with the education my kids are receiving in our local public school system, so I see no reason to explore other options at this time.
It is worth noting, both my wife and I understand our role in our children's education!
1:47 Your children will study the Solar system several times throughout their elem, middle and high school careers. I think the point that the early commenter was making is that, even after all that education, basic facts about the Earth and our Universe, as well as many other basic (trivial?) facts about life, history, etc... are completely blown off by this generation. They don't care, they just care about texting friends, and Instagram/Facebook. Are they really learning anything, and has all of this technology made them any smarter? I think it's made many young students lazier.
1:47
Actually, I very distinctly remember learning the order of planets in 3rd grade. I also remember when Apollo 11 landed on the moon - our family was invited to watch the event on our neighbor's console TV! In school, we listened to the astronauts over the loud speaker. Space exploration was a big deal back in the dinosaur age. Maybe not so much anymore.
My students are learning about the Protestant Reformation in Social Studies which includes the study of Copernicus's heliocentric theory which poor Galileo suffered imprisonment and eight years of house arrest for supporting thanks to the Catholic church. At the very least, I hope my students remember a year from now that planet earth isn't the center of the universe. The study of Copernicus is also being covered in science, English language arts and art based on my school's cross- curricular approach which is one reason I chose to work here.
Alicia
I'm Lutheran. Go Martin!
Huge school districts cannot accomplish what smaller, closer to the community school systems can accomplish.
It is a broken system done to appease the busing lobby.
While the CMS BOE stinks, I don't think the action to install Trevor Fuller gives any credibility to the County Bd. of Commissioners either.
4:45
Smaller LEAs have the same issues.
Look south to Richland County, SC.
Two school districts with about 25,000 students each.
They have the same garbage going on there as well, with a couple of schools here and there that shine while the rest don't.
Isn't is close to the time where they release next school bell schedules?
fyi....Pluto is once again considered a planet in our Solar system.
Anon 8:32pm.
"fyi....Pluto is once again considered a planet in our Solar system."
And instead of referring to it as a "dwarf" planet, Pluto has been officially upgraded to a "little people" planet to reflect its re-acceptance into our solar society.
My 3 year old knows all the planets in the solar system and knows which way they spin around the sun. See Alicia it has nothing to do with teaching but not putting enough pressure on parents to parent and teach. It is called talking to your child and teaching everything there is to know about the world and not leaving it up to some 5th grade teacher who seems to make up their own curriculum because they feel it will make their students "smarter".
Alicia's theory is the same as the commercialization of Baby Einstein toys and that they make your baby smarter. Just because it has Einstein in it doesn't make your baby smarter, neither does the name Shakespeare or Mozart.
10:11
I have studied astronomy for years, had a telescope since I was 10 and love the solar system.
However, right now, I coldn't tell you whether Uranus is closer to Earth than Neptune.
I know Uranus has an effect on things...... in the solar system, especially Pluto.
...if you catch my drift...
Ya gotta love Charles Barkley.
He's the guy who said:
"I'm not a role model... Just because I dunk a basketball doesn't mean I should raise your kids."
And, yet, he would probably be so much better than many who do/did look up to him as a "role model" for his athletic abilities.
I wonder what they think of him now?
Pretty soon someone lurking in the dark shadows will do a "Cosby" on him to take him down a few notches for being so outspoken.
Things sometimes have a way of happening like that for some odd reason.
Now that we've mastered the art of trials by public opinion (not coincidentally, IMO...)
Anon 10:11
well said, that was my point, both my wife and I understand our role as parents with regards to our children's education. We do not rely entirely upon our children's teachers, it's our job too. I think this is lost upon far too many parents these days. It also speaks to the disadvantage of some children, and perhaps this is a factor as to why the achievement gap is still very large.
I also wonder about the curriculum being taught by Alicia, which I think is a little too mature for 5th graders to truly understand and appreciate.
the oforedReading all of there comments about forcing parents to parent and students to learn makes me remember something I was told much earlier in my life:
If God had created everyone equal, the competition would be he!!
Sadly that's being manifested in front of our very eyes, where we can no longer compete, and are no longer the world's leading economic power.
Liberals have succeeded in bringing America down to size, while fundamentally transforming this once great nation!
You sound like a teacher.. Have you worked in a school before?
That's not common core..
Anon 4:17pm.
"Sadly that's being manifested in front of our very eyes, where we can no longer compete, and are no longer the world's leading economic power."
While I can somewhat agree with this sentiment, it's not entirely true.
Sure, we aren't at the top of the world as we were immediately following WWII, but we aren't quit in the ashcan of history yet.
Many of our people can still compete globally, and our economy is still one of the strongest, if not necessarily the largest (depending on how you measure it), in the world.
We have a lot working against us, though, such as our overall inadequate level of education and some fairly oppressive taxes and laws.
Not so sure much of that will change, so we can probably expect more of a relative decline compared to many other countries which apparently "get it".
This is especially true for the bottom segments our society who are basically competing against other developing and third world populations.
This is very different from the past when just being an "American" put you a notch above them all.
An amazing number of people still haven't caught onto that, yet.
Still, though, our "poor" don't have it quite so bad as the "poor" do globally.
But we can't have much of a future based on how our "poor" compare to the rest of the world.
They do not drive our economy by a long shot.
Larry or Mr. Dunn,
Perhaps one of you might be able to answer a question. I thought charter schools were supposed to be held accountable with regards to academic performance. If the charter school is not performing at a higher standard academically then that charter school would be closed. Can either of you explain to me why Crossroads Charter High school or Kennedy K12 are still open. Both of these charters schools are performing exceptionally poorly. Crossroads students are 5% proficient, Kennedy is just about as bad. So why are both of these schools still open?
Yes it has finally happened. The United States has fallen to number 2. The Chinese now have overtaken the US as the largest economic power in the world.
Thank you CMS and all the other school systems for making our country politically correct and not focusing on being competitive.
4:48,
Low wage, medium wage, and high wage American companies don't worry about that stuff. Just find cheap labor and now that oil prices have dropped we can ship your holiday dingles or electronics cheaper than paying educated or uneducated workers. GSK just dumped 900 in RTP. These weren't uneducated mill workers. If you want a highly educated technical workforce, then pay for it. CMS has had a longtime leadership vacuum in CTE that the interim superintendent is sorely aware of yet continues to allow.
4:48
CMS is a great school system to blame for this. Instead of helping students fit what occupation would be viable to them and taking it in a serious direction they try to make all children fit into a college mold. Most children are not fit for college. CMS should be working hand in hand with local plumbers, mechanics, electricians, builders, manufacturing, furniture makers, anything that is a skilled trade and will require an apprenticeship.
Instead we continue to force these kids into a mindset that if that do not go to college they are failures. Which is further from the truth. But instead these kids graduate from high school, waste their money going to community school to see they need a full year or semester of remedial college courses that will not count for college credit, now they quit, feel like huge failures and go work at McDonalds or do something illegal like selling drugs.
There are wonderful business in the Charlotte region, an entire smorgasbord of industry and if you go to them and ask why they have a hard time filling positions it is because a lack of skill.
Heard a stat the other day that only 26% of the jobs in the US require a college education.
same old same.
There are a few examples of what you are referring to around CMS, but not enough, Olympic High school comes to mind, a parternship with Bosch Rexroth for a manufctruing/maching program. Also, you are correct, not all children are college material. Public schools should be investing in vocational programs, perhaps partnering with local community colleges to use their technical facilities?
Does it bother anyone that we have not yet received a satisfactory reason for the firing of our School superintendent. The only input I've seen is he was a tough boss and he didn't want to pay school lawyers more money. Those are not acceptable reasons for firing him. It sounded like he was a good steward of taxpayer funds. If the School Board proceeds with paying lawyers more money, we have a big problem.
bell schedules for next school year? This is when they surprise people due to the magnet postings. Any word on any changes? Hopeful to get rid of a 9:15 start time.
My view is that most entrepreneurs and people that discover new innovative ideas are usually not the college student but the person who tinkers with things; whether tinkering with plumbing issues, electrical issues, constructional issues, robot manufacturing issues etc. We are not giving our children chances to tinker with stuff anymore. This is what makes our country different-- we are the easiest country in the world to create an idea, submit a patent and you own that idea (something China doesn't have a chance comparing too--and why they steal our ideas).
But with the current school career track of college for everyone, no new ideas are coming out of these generations from tinkering (unless it involves computers and programming something).
So until we get a new Superintendent that has these views, lets Project Lift dissipate and put these kids on a different educational career track, our country will continue with increasing the polarization of the have's/have not's, increase in drug abuse/drug activity and generations of kids not feeling satisfied with life because they never made it in college.
Yes, More technical training in CMS. Only half of CMS students should even consider going to college.
Yes, change the bell schedule. Get rid of the 7:15 start time for high school.
I wish Ann Helms was still covering education for the Observer, I think with her experience and insight to CMS, the truth about the Morrison situation would have probably been brought to light. Personally i think he was the wrong color for this leadership crowd. Either way, Morrison is probably better off in a different school district, CMS is a lost cause!
Wiley,
Martin Luther was a trip. He called the Pope "satan" and John Calvin "the devil". (My paternal family heritage is closer to Calvin vs. Luther).
Which might be why St. Gabriel's Catholic Church in Charlotte tries to discourage it's overflowing membership from parking in their neighboring under-filled protestant church's parking lot located directly across the street on Sunday's - in an effort to avoid a Second Reformation.
I love teaching 5th grade History because everything is always so current. Like Dr. Morrison and Machiavelli. Way to much fun!
Alicia
11:30 PM
My charter school's "Core Knowledge" 5th grade curriculum was developed by a University of Virginia professor who greatly differs with your opinion on what a "Common Core" 5th grade curriculum should look like.
I invite you to educate yourself on the topic starting with E.D. Hirsh, Jr.
Alicia
11:30
Dude,
And my 5th grade class reenacted a tableau of the 'Firing on Fort Sumpter' for a photo contest this past Thursday down by the lake - in full Civil War regalia courtesy of two parents who travel the country reenacting Civil War events. These same parents will be assisting me as I direct a 5th grade production of Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream".
Got a problem with these "too advanced for 5th grade" activities?
Shamash, where are you?
Alicia
3:13 Agree with you, we need more non-traditional education and technical training.
But these kids all have cell phones, and know how to Google, and play video games. Sigh.
...mixed reviews.
Imagine that.
Alicia,
yes, I do think much of what you are "teaching" your classroom is not appropriate for 5th grade students. But you are not working with my child, so as long as your parents are good with what you are doing, so be it.
I noticed the report on the demographics, not surprising to see there are only a handful of CMS schools where white children are the majority. I wonder if it is merely a coincidence those same schools are the top performing schools in cms.
Also noticed the story regarding project lift, it is not making a difference, I am not surprised. larry said it best in a post, money is not the answer, getting the parents and community involved is. It is a shame what has happened to CMS.
I attended Harding for a couple of years back in the 80's, really sad to see the state of the school now.
"Shamash, where are you?"
Just chillin'.
I didn't care much for Shakespeare, either, even in HS.
I was more of a non-fiction reader.
I'd try something simpler on fifth graders, though. Maybe start with a few famous phrases and quotes from Shakespeare, and a few excerpts or show how some of his plays have been "reinterpreted" for modern times.
Try to develop the interest, then maybe go into depth for those who are more interested.
They used to have "Classic" comics which would do that.
And cartoons used to use classical and other famous music, too, to expose kids to "culture",but that's not the case as much today.
bj,
"Cops have been begging for these cams for ages to convict more criminals and vindicate cops."
About all we can do with these asp-clowns is hope the law of unintended consequences bites them in their rears.
I think the copcams will do just that.
I would like to see a public national database of ALL videos of felony arrests and police/citizen "conflicts", so the voting, tax-paying citizens who pay for this get the maximum entertainment value for their dollar.
Such a database will be more popular than the MeckCo Sheriff's arrest profiles ever were.
But, those kinds of things are often an embarrassment to those who like to spin reality as well as the "he was a good boy just getting his life together" crowd.
But, that's just tough for them.
10:07
Interesting that my network charter school's curriculum might be to conservative for your liberal taste.
And anyone who's followed this blog for any length of time will appreciate the irony.
Alicia
If the curriculum is factual, then it knows not conservatism or liberalism.
It's when either side tries to skew it to fit their agenda that becomes the problem.
Wiley,
My Core Knowledge Social Studies curriculum often finds me thinking to myself, "Dang, can I teach this without getting sued"? Apparently, I can discuss Leonardo da Vinci's "The Last Supper" and allow my students to express their thoughts about Jesus and his disciples. We studied Michelangelo's Vitruvian Man in full naked form. Students drew "spoofs" in art class (think Vitruvian Micky Mouse). Our chapters on the Aztecs included the topic of human sacrifice in somewhat graphic form. The Civil War is our lengthiest unit - 25 chapters. Fasten your seat belts, kids!
Is having the ability to study Christian art history in 5th grade public school conservative or liberal?
Alicia
Alicia,
Just for the record, I am not a liberal. There was a time when I considered myself as a moderate, however I would say my views have gone more conservative.
With regards to another point raised, I am thrilled police officers are getting body camera's. Perhaps then we can see what the police officers face everyday in the hood/ghetto!
Thank God for our police officers, they are what stands between us and total anarchy!
History is history, warts and all.
The problems arise when it goes from a factual discussion to a preaching his or her personal beliefs.
If I hear Holder or Obama or anyone else say we need to have an honest conversation about race i'll throw up.
They don't want to have that conversation anymore than they want to have an honest conversation about the number of African Americans being slaughtered by other Blacks in Chicago and other major cities. It doesn't fit their agenda.
When is the last time you've seen an atheist group put up billboards or rail against Jewish or Muslim holidays?
You won't because it doesn't fit their agenda.
Teaching the Civil War comes with its own pitfalls. Any attempt to have an honest conversation about the Southern mindset at the time goes unheard because slavery trumps all rational debate in the eyes of many.
No need to mention comprehensive sex education and family planning, both of which might actually help kids, save them anguish and taxpayers money.
http://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl/athletes-refuse-to-just-shut-up-and-play/ar-BBgtp81
NFL self imploding fast. They used to keep politics and race out of pro sports when they were making a fraction what they rip off the mass consumer today.
Good. The sooner they dissolve and disband these all self important narcissist gods of pro sports the better. Total useless past time frivolity costing the masses trillions overall.
It takes teachers an entire year to make what many pro athletes make in one minute of play.
Like Al McGuire said sports is nothing but a coffee break.
Alicia,
I'm happy that your students reenacted the "Firing on Fort Sumpter." Maybe they'll find it in some state above the Mason-Dixon line. Spending a little less time polishing your pedestal in this blog would be beneficial to possibly helping you reenact "Spelling Fort Sumter."
Alicia
Please just go drive that TRUCK already.
Alicia,
"Is having the ability to study Christian art history in 5th grade public school conservative or liberal? "
Neither as long as you're teaching it as History and not with some ulterior motive.
(Also, you misspelled Mickey Mouse in addition to that fort's name. Might as well get in on the bashing...As a public school teacher you need to develop a thick skin and I'm willing to help any way I can.)
Wiley,
"When is the last time you've seen an atheist group put up billboards or rail against Jewish or Muslim holidays?"
Actually, it's been happening a lot lately. Even near Charlotte in the past few years or so.
Not sure if you meant this in jest or not, but...
http://insider.foxnews.com/2014/12/02/christmas-fairy-tale-american-atheists-group-launches-controversial-billboard-campaign
This has actually been going on for a few years now, but I think it is mostly directed towards "closet" atheists.
But, still, a lot of believers are taking offense.
As expected, I'm sure.
Part of the "agenda" is sometimes just getting in the news no matter how you do it.
It's more advertising bang for your buck if you can be controversial.
7:28 I was not going to say anything about Alicia's spelling of Fort Sumter, thank you for doing so and let's hope the plays banners had the correct spelling.
It is well understood that especially before the 1700's the Catholic church's hold on the populace was extraordinary and if you are going to teach world history before 1700s you must talk about the Catholic church's hold. But I hope Alicia isn't putting in her beliefs of the church into why St. Gabriel's won't let folks from the neighboring Protestant church park in their spaces. I really don't think it is because the Protestant church is holding up signs saying the Pope is the Beast of Revolution but rather just a typical city issue of limited parking spaces.
But this is an example of a possible a conflict and difference with carters vs public. Who is making sure dear Alicia is not giving examples of a parking issue between churches?
Since Alicia continues to talk so proudly about her lessons, I wish she would provide the name of her charter school. I would be interested to know how the school is performing as compared to local traditional public schools with a similar demographic.
This is a topic of interest to me, and unfortunately not many of the local writers will discuss. However, people are allowed to promote charters without being questioned.
For example, the new local charter school in my area, Cabarrus Charter Academy reports their EOG results are higher than the surrounding school systems. If this is true, that is something worth celebrating and also something that should be researched to find out why. Is this merely a function of the demographic of the school or is the result of better teachers and a better curriculum.
I have long believed that schools are merely a reflection of the community in which it serves. When you look at the data, it is clear that traditional public school is not working for the majority of African American children. But what is not clear is whether charters would do any better in the long term. We can see that most of the charters in this region that do serve mostly African American children are struggling badly.
same old same,
"carters vs public"?
Classic blunder in spelling flame.
11:44
I have long believed that schools are merely a reflection of the community in which it serves.
When you look at the data, it is clear that traditional public school is not working for the majority of African American children. But what is not clear is whether charters would do any better in the long term. We can see that most of the charters in this region that do serve mostly African American children are struggling badly.
I don't buy into the argument public schools are not working for African American children. It is true public education in this country is a mess and has been for decades, but I believe it's due to keeping the busing/diversity/political correctness mindset at all cost narrative going in the mainstream.
It's all about money and votes.
Look at the latest Project LIFT report. Is anyone surprised by the report? Most people are not, but there will be a huge push to somehow ensure in the end it does not come across as a complete failure. To do so would set back the status quo for many years.
The really sad fact is, many people will continue to buy into "we need more money" or minorities are getting "short- changed" blather.
Look at what is happening today around the country with all these "I am a victim" protests. It's incredible.
Blacks are being killed by other Blacks at alarming rates yet it's "hands up don't shoot" or "I can't breathe".
As with public education, facts be damned and let's ignore the real problems.
So to sum it up, maybe it's African Americans who aren't working for public education instead of it being the other way around.
I would like to start a discussion of my own based on a few statistics I have found?
West Charlotte High school:
Approx. 1,800 Students
2 Principals
4 Assistant Principals
4 Deans
1 Student Intervention Administrator.
5 Security Guards
2 Behavioral Modification Technicians (3 more to be hired)
1 In school suspension assistant (2 more to be hired)
South Mecklenburg High School:
Approx. 2,900 students
1 Principal
4 Assistant Principals
2 Deans
3 Security Guards
1 In school suspension assistant
How is this possible justifiable?
All the kings horses and all the kings men could not put West Charlotte school back together again...
My spelling does leave something to be desired - no doubt about it. My mother (with no college degree) corrected and sent back love letters to my father when they were courting who can't spell for the life of him even with a Ph.D from Columbia Univ. and a law degree from UConn. My brother can't spell either - Yale, physics. It's drives his wife nuts. Spelling is an inherent disability in my family. Foreign language is even worse. My Yale educated brother (with a degree in physics) failed Spanish twice. My father got a D in foreign language. I received a C in foreign language. My "gifted" son has prolonged taking a 3rd year of Spanish 1 in order to graduate with a B.A. in marketing and finance this May. The good news is that we've all been able to successfully function in work and in life without having to pass a standardized spelling test administered by the Academie Francaise. Whew!
Fort Sumter (I believe I spelled it correctly and then incorrectly). As a Yankee on the winning side, I'm willing to take some aim and pot shots from the losing side.
May the best win this year's Charlotte Observer spelling bee!
Alicia
As a reminder;
My father is a retired public school superintendent. My grandmothers were school teachers going back 3 generations.
The charter school I teach at is a NC state PUBLIC school with many of the same issues and challenges as any other public school. I am a public school teacher charged with a "Classical" curriculum very different than what's typically offered at more traditional public schools. For me, the curriculum I teach is a good fit which might not be the best fit for every teacher. And that's OK.
Which brings me to another point: If students and families deserve "choices" in public education, shouldn't teachers deserve choices too? Or, I'm I expected to meet some one-size-fits-all mold according to some daily de jour powers-that-be whim?
Alicia
I love my $36,800 a year career-change 5th grade public school teaching position. I really do. And yes, I will unabashedly tout the things I find highly fulfilling about my public school job.
Does anyone else find it rather sad that there are no other public school teachers on this blog who appear to love their jobs as much as I do?
Alicia
That because the smart student loan debt paying former teachers are all driving a TRUCK now at $60,000 + a year with better salary and benefits.
Now that unemployment in Charlotte is under 6% it will be several years if not a decade until there is a large pool of highly qualified teaching candidates in our city. They sure as heck will not come from JCSU because they did away with the education program due to lack of demand. CMS spends tens of thousands going up North to find anybody to come to Charlotte. That pool of candidates from true Union states is drying up as well.
Truck drivers, Welders, HVAC Techs are the true in demand high paying jobs today. Not teachers and not blowhards working for NOTHING but an intrinsic reward.
Wiley,
"As with public education, facts be damned and let's ignore the real problems."
As usual, I agree with just about everything you wrote.
I'd add one more thing (well, maybe more, but I'll try to keep it short...)
And that is the so-called "solutions" our warped leaders come up with for these "problems" often make them worse.
It's as if no one has EVER clued them into the law of unintended consequences.
Or maybe they DO know and are trying to make things worse on purpose, or perhaps they simply do not care as long as they pander to a "constituency".
I really don't know and I'm not sure I care as much anymore.
Things just seem a bit out of control at times and I just like to stay away from the craziness.
I know how to get away from the problem, so that's MY solution.
Our "leaders" do not seem capable of thinking things through to their logical conclusions.
Or see things from any angle other than the one they are pushing.
A prime example is the problem of "discipline" and black boys in school.
Our brilliant "leaders" solution is to stop suspending (or "punishing") the black boys.
Even to the point in some school districts of singling out blacks for preferential treatment in not getting suspended or expelled.
And nothing is apparently done on the behavioral side to improve things.
Bad idea. Unless you want an unruly mob to run the school.
Which SOMEONE apparently does.
As long as it's a black (or "minority") unruly mob, that is.
Decisions like this only drive a deeper wedge between those who want to act like criminals-in-training in schools and those who are there to study something other than how to be criminals.
It drives more decent kids and parents away from the kids and parents who apparently "need" them to stick around to make the schools work.
The same thing is happening with the criminal element outside school, too.
Once Holder and Co. start messing with things, it will only make the streets more violent in many neighborhoods which are already suffering.
The only difference will be that the police WILL NOT want to do anything to control the criminals.
And more decent people will try to move away.
Then who's to blame for the crime explosion which follows that?
I certainly wouldn't blame the police (and other law-abiding citizens) for moving away from the problem.
At times I do believe that many of the people we have making the decisions in this country are deliberately trying to destabilize the country by favoring the law breakers (and those inclined to be law breakers) over those who follow our laws.
I can't think of any other country deliberately trying to move in the direction of more disorder like this, either.
Anon 11:21pm.
"Truck drivers, Welders, HVAC Techs are the true in demand high paying jobs today. Not teachers and not blowhards working for NOTHING but an intrinsic reward."
I think you can probably add police officers to that group of folks who are working for an "intrinsic reward" who might be better off driving a truck.
After all, what better way to dismantle a country than to decimate BOTH its core of high quality teachers and police...
Apparently, ignorant mob rule is the wave of the future.
Question: how many of these other school districts have elected the former teachers' union boss as the head of the BOE? If you get hired as the CMS's next super, you had better not change the status quo. Keep Mary McCray happy or you will be out of a job, no explanation needed. There's something about Mary indeed!
Alicia,
I respect that you ahve such highly educated people in your family. Yet you still did not provide the name of your charter school! I presume Alicia is not your real name, so why not provide the name of your charter school?
good to see the article about the forced resignation of Morrison, thank you for the article. This story should not be allowed to fade until Battle and McCray address this issue in full view of the public.
Wiley,
It is unfortunate that you feel that you are not well suited for a position on the CMS school board. I think you would bring a common sense approach, however it may be too little too late for CMS.
So Battle doesn't like what Morrison said and went on a crusade to kick him out. Anyone who takes the superintendent job better not challenge the almighty Battle.
For the incompetent way the "investigation" was conducted Battle should be fired (of course this school board won't do that - he probably has something on each of them as well, or will create something).
1:42....
It's not that I "don't feel suited" to serve, It's the package in which I will be forced to serve.
Save for one word in a long post I sent in this morning for here, Mr. Dunn chose not to post it.
That's the type censorship I would face from the BOE.
Perhaps I should have typed bs instead of the egregious ******** long name.
It's not a real union... Without collective bargaining, it's just an organization. My wife friends a teacher and she has no idea who the "union" leaders are. She told me that there was not a union... It's not like other states here. I am not really a union person but I believe the schools would be better if teachers had more say. Most the teachers I have
talked to sound more like Willey then the bureaucrats that run the show in CMS.
9:01
With gladness.
My charter school network is TeamCFA. And we very much are a network of "sister" charter schools with varying demographics. As a public school teacher, "Public Charter" doesn't hold anymore weight for me than "Traditional Public". I attended a "Public Magnet" school back in the 1980's which was considered a threat to traditional public education.
You obviously are fairly new to this blog. As a founding blog cohort (and we all know who we are), I welcome you to the mix! Bring it on...
Alicia Durand
9:01
I actually had teachers tell me I was making a "HUGE mistake" when I advocated to attend an arts magnet high school that had only been in operation a short period of time.
From my "Public Magnet" school experience, I went on to earn a FULL tuition scholarship PLUS stipend at George Washington University through the School of Education and Human Development with a concentration in Dance.
Put that MA degree in your hat and smoke it.
Alicia
The "ignorant mob" is the teachers that took on hundreds of thousands of dollars in student loan debt.
They now start at $35,000 never to make more than #50,000 in their career with limited benefits.
High school grad with the needed skills set / training is in a much better lifelong career path.
9:01
In order to catch you up to speed as far as where I'm coming from - using my real name.
I have a son with a well diagnosed learning disability who is attending CPCC with plans to transfer to a 4-year college upon completion of an associate's degree. My mother earned an associate's degree from our local community college in her late 40's which she then transferred to UConn enabling her to earn a B.A. with honors.
I housed a CMS McKinny Vento student for a full year.
My children attended CMS as well as private schools in the Charlotte area.
I attended a public arts magnet high school founded in 1973 located in New Haven, CT. Class of '81.
Prior to becoming a 5th grade math and social studies teacher at a public charter school, I worked as a dance educator through the Greater Charlotte YMCA as well as working as an adjunct professor at the Univ. of the District of Columbia and Penn State Univ. I also worked as a public school dance teacher with the Prince George's County MD public school system. My experience as a dance educator includes working with urban teenage gang members as well as working with wealthy children from the suburbs.
I'm a former PTO president and school leadership team member.
My family has a long, rich and proud history of public servitude in the field of education.
I love what I do.
I'm humbled by those with differing opinions who are as passionate about education as I am.
I've throughly enjoyed this blog since it's inception which I find analogous to the Gutenburg printing press which my 5th grade students are currently learning about in Social Studies.
The Courage to Dream
The Courage to Achieve
I am
A NC Public School Teacher
Alicia
Alicia,
After learning which school you are employed, it's no wonder that you are so blissful when describing your job. You have a dream set up for goodness sake. Your charter school is located in a lovely resort community, a k-11 school with 351 students, with a student body comprised of 93% white, 2% Asian, 4% mixed race and 1% black.
When looking at those demographics I was not surprised that your school is doing pretty well with regards to academics, but then again, most schools would perform well with those demographics. Again, schools are merely a reflection of the type of students who attend them.
12:33
There lies the problem with public education no one wants to talk about.
When you have a huge number of "those type of students" - no one wants to talk about addressing the root causes of the problems. If you do, then you're a racist.
So the only option is to talk about more funding as the solution which we all know does ZERO to alleviate the status quo cycle and fix the problem(s).
12:33am.
"Again, schools are merely a reflection of the type of students who attend them."
Yep. I agree. It's families and students which drive the schools.
Which is one reason so many people have to pick up and go when the "wrong kind" of people show up in their school.
That's just reality.
Especially for public schools where there is no Mother Superior to rap knuckles (or jump the gun) and keep everyone in line.
The government is making sure that discipline gets a back seat on the public school bus.
Alicia,
That's the problem with "too much information".
You're darned if you do and darned if you don't.
My number one rule of success in non-show-biz is "never give them what they want".
I'd be on the lookout for any unemployed truck drivers over your "envious" arrangement, though.
Just in case.
Shamash,
You are correct when you stated people pick up and leave when the "wrong kind" of people show up. There is no better example of this than Hopewell High school. A fairly new school in what I consider to be a really nice community and yet the student population is a bunch of foul mouthed kids from the hood. See youtube video for Hopewell High school graduation 2013 for your reference. It would seem those Hopewell students can't even manage to string a sentence together without dropping the F bomb.
To give you an indication of how far that school has fallen, families who wish to leave but couldn't sell their homes, are renting out their home while renting a home for themselves further north in either Cornelius or Mooresville.
The only chance Hopewell has is if CMS will redefine the boundaries for the school in order to get the rough kids out!
12:33 AM
Before you accuse me of working for "Lake Wobegon Classical Academy", I ask you to consider that out of the 374 students my charter school serves, over 115 students are EC classified. Do the math.
I drive two little girls (grades 3 and 5) who have been in and out of 6 different foster care homes to school every morning. Yes, my school's "resort" area comprise's a well educated populous that also includes of populous of severe poverty - rural white poverty. I find rural white poverty as ugly and complicated as urban black poverty - in the spirit of "equity".
Alicia
Shamash,
I knew full well that was coming. If my charter school was "bad" the reaction would have been that all charter schools are "bad". Working for a "good" charter school has to mean something sinister is going on that inherently "isn't fair". Right? In my case, the mere location of my school isn't fair despite the obvious rural white poverty that exists and an above average population of EC classified students. My son, who is a college senior, commented on some of the poverty in the area over Thanksgiving. We have local churches that donate money to our school and a local outreach center that helps students and their families. Our school raised over $2,000 to help cover funeral expenses for a second grade student who died in a tragic car accident the Friday before Thanksgiving. Therefore, I do not accept the ignorant commentary aimed at me by those who know nothing about the public school I work for. My "utopian" school is a reflection of an entire small town community that stands firmly committed to making it's local charter school work. And this is why my charter school will continue to grow and make academic strides.
I'd love to see a LIFT type experiment executed in a poor rural area. Wouldn't that be interesting?
Alicia
Alicia,
I think it would be interesting to compare the results of a Project Lift from a rural and urban community.
I tend to think the poor white kids(rural) would outperform the poor black kids(urban). The reason being, many of the poor white kids have a father in the home, where most black kids don't.
2:38 PM
Perhaps. Although, in my experience with poor rural white kids, it's not unusual to find a meth addicted mother in jail with a foster parent or a single father at home who only knows they are a biological father through a DNA test, trying to raise children.
Black or white. Urban or rural. Poverty ain't pretty.
Alicia
2:38 PM
Perhaps. Although, in my experience with poor rural white kids, it's not unusual to find a meth addicted mother in jail with a foster parent or a single father at home (who only knows they are a biological father through a DNA test), trying to raise children.
Black or white. Urban or rural. Poverty ain't pretty.
Alicia
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