Why Bishop chose the status quo
Like most superintendents around the nation, Terry Bishop took control of School District 11 with big promises of big results. Like most superintendents of most school districts, Bishop's talk was just that - all talk. Even before the recall election in December 2006 (which Bishop supported), Bishop chose to move down the path of least resistance, which is to say, the path of"status quo." Bishop was convinced by D11 staff that it was not wise to ask D11 employees to actually work harder to achieve better results. After all, Bishop and his close advisers all believe that there is only so much that can be done to educate poor and minority children, so he felt that there was no need to push for something that was not in the realm of possibility.Bishop was convinced by D11 board president John Gudvangen that the recall election was going to be successful, and therefore there would be no need for Bishop to actually do anything in the course of his large salaried job.
In fairness, it cannot accurately be said that Bishop has not done "anything." He has succeeded in growing central administration and placing more of his close friends on the public payroll.
The 2006-2007 CSAP preliminary results have been posted on the Colorado Department of Education website today, and as can be expected when a school district has lethargic leadership, the overall composite CSAP results for the district declined slightly,.from 56.5% Proficient and Advanced (PA) to 55.9% PA. Congratulations Terry Bishop and Instructional Superintendent Mary Thurman. Your hard work in fighting reform has allowed you to continue your records of mediocrity. Congratulations also go out to this labor union purchased school board for overseeing yet another decline in district performance. While you are busy "getting along" and attending board meetings while drunk, the district continues to lose students and families to perform at a level that places it near the bottom of all school districts in El Paso County.
The CSAP results indicate that D11 has declined or remained level in 15 of 26 tests given this past Spring. No doubt that Bishop will receive a healthy check for his at-risk performance bonus, and he will immediately pay a bonus to his deputy superintendents.All of the current board members will run for re-election and they will promise the public that if just given more time, they will surely drive D11 to new heights. They will talk of caring about kids and respecting teachers, but none of them will provide any specific ideas or plans to actually shake D11 out of its decline.
For the record, to highlight the unhealthy state that D11 finds itself, in 2006, 17,435 students took the CSAP. In 2007, only 16,841students took the test. That is 594 students whose parents found someplace else to educate their kids.
The only slight bright spot in the statistics fall in middle school math. 7th grade statistics show a jump from 45% PA to 56% PA. 6th grade math had a 3 point jump, and 8th grade math had a 4 point increase. On the down side, 10th grade test results slipped from 30% PA to 28% PA. In another ominous sign of things to come, in 3rd grade, test results showed a decrease from 74% PA to 70% PA. Much of this decline stems from the fact that math chair Dora Gonzales continues to push the nationally discredited Everyday Math Program on the elementary schools. If 30% of D11 students at this young age cannot be taught basic math, this does not bode well for the futures of those students.
If anyone thinks for a minute that Bishop or his staff will take this data and develop a plan to improve D11, they are sadly delusional. While the teachers' labor union was deep in felony scandals, and while the board members were sipping cocktails at their North End dinner parties, and while Bishop and his staff were taking home their 6-figure salaries, your kids and you tax payers were continuing to be told that 50% effort and 50% performance were not only good enough, but were good enough to reward those in the district who already get paid the most and, in reality, do the least.
This is exactly the type of performance that recall supporters wanted to see in D11. This is exactly the level of achievement that labor union activists were pushing for. All of this results from low expectations, low standards, and a board that demands nothing of the D11 employees. This is exactly the type of school board that will assure the continued decline of the largest school district in El Paso County. As usual, the crisis continues (ACK TAS).
In fairness, it cannot accurately be said that Bishop has not done "anything." He has succeeded in growing central administration and placing more of his close friends on the public payroll.
The 2006-2007 CSAP preliminary results have been posted on the Colorado Department of Education website today, and as can be expected when a school district has lethargic leadership, the overall composite CSAP results for the district declined slightly,.from 56.5% Proficient and Advanced (PA) to 55.9% PA. Congratulations Terry Bishop and Instructional Superintendent Mary Thurman. Your hard work in fighting reform has allowed you to continue your records of mediocrity. Congratulations also go out to this labor union purchased school board for overseeing yet another decline in district performance. While you are busy "getting along" and attending board meetings while drunk, the district continues to lose students and families to perform at a level that places it near the bottom of all school districts in El Paso County.
The CSAP results indicate that D11 has declined or remained level in 15 of 26 tests given this past Spring. No doubt that Bishop will receive a healthy check for his at-risk performance bonus, and he will immediately pay a bonus to his deputy superintendents.All of the current board members will run for re-election and they will promise the public that if just given more time, they will surely drive D11 to new heights. They will talk of caring about kids and respecting teachers, but none of them will provide any specific ideas or plans to actually shake D11 out of its decline.
For the record, to highlight the unhealthy state that D11 finds itself, in 2006, 17,435 students took the CSAP. In 2007, only 16,841students took the test. That is 594 students whose parents found someplace else to educate their kids.
The only slight bright spot in the statistics fall in middle school math. 7th grade statistics show a jump from 45% PA to 56% PA. 6th grade math had a 3 point jump, and 8th grade math had a 4 point increase. On the down side, 10th grade test results slipped from 30% PA to 28% PA. In another ominous sign of things to come, in 3rd grade, test results showed a decrease from 74% PA to 70% PA. Much of this decline stems from the fact that math chair Dora Gonzales continues to push the nationally discredited Everyday Math Program on the elementary schools. If 30% of D11 students at this young age cannot be taught basic math, this does not bode well for the futures of those students.
If anyone thinks for a minute that Bishop or his staff will take this data and develop a plan to improve D11, they are sadly delusional. While the teachers' labor union was deep in felony scandals, and while the board members were sipping cocktails at their North End dinner parties, and while Bishop and his staff were taking home their 6-figure salaries, your kids and you tax payers were continuing to be told that 50% effort and 50% performance were not only good enough, but were good enough to reward those in the district who already get paid the most and, in reality, do the least.
This is exactly the type of performance that recall supporters wanted to see in D11. This is exactly the level of achievement that labor union activists were pushing for. All of this results from low expectations, low standards, and a board that demands nothing of the D11 employees. This is exactly the type of school board that will assure the continued decline of the largest school district in El Paso County. As usual, the crisis continues (ACK TAS).
posted by Craig Cox | 3:01 PM
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