It makes perfect sense to somebody

Diana Beatty is a math teacher at Coronado High School. One would expect that the expertise of a high school math teacher would logically be found in math. One would also expect that there would be teachers at the high school level who have expertise in reading, writing, and grammar.

The following letter is from Beatty to a D11 parent at the end of last school year. Remember, Beatty is a math teacher.

----- Original Message -----
From: BEATTY, DIANA E.
To: xxxxxx@xxx.com
Sent: Monday, May 07, 2007 8:55 AM
Subject: Resend: xxxxxxx - Grade: 10


Hello,
This is (Student's) math teacher. I've tried to call you and e-mail you and am trying again. I am writing because I have been placed in charge of his ILP (Individualized Literacy Plan) paperwork. The plan addresses his reading needs as required by the No Child Left Behind Act. The aim is that every student be proficient in reading. We report the ILP data to the district and the district reports it to the state.

(Student) was placed on an ILP this year, as you may recall, because he did not score proficient in reading on the CSAP last spring. So, this year, we addressed his reading proficiency by working on comprehension. In my class, we used graphic organizers to build vocabulary and worked on understanding word problems all year. His other teachers have also worked on various methods of increasing his comprehension. Teachers have reported he has made inconsistent progress in his classes toward his ILP goals.

If you have questions about his ILP or his progress, our Literacy Resource person can answer your questions. Her phone number is 328-3677.

I have a form that requires your signature to indicate that I have shared this information with you. With your permission, I am allowed to sign off for you. I have talked to (Student), giving some information on what to work on over the summer and telling him what I have just written for you.

If you prefer to come in for a conference before signing, we have May 11 set aside for that purpose. Please let me know either way.

Take care,


Diana Beatty
Coronado High School Mathematics
beattde@d11.org
328-3658

Coronado placed a math teacher in charge of the “reading” ILP for a student. Coronado finishes below the national average in math ACT, and at the 10th grade level, performs at about the 39% proficient and advanced (PA) in math. In 10th grade reading, it scores about 74% PA. An argument could be made that maybe the math teachers should be spending their time dealing with math issues, of which Coronado has many.

Notice what this student was spending time doing in Beatty’s math class. He was using “graphic organizers to build vocabulary and worked on understanding word problems all year.” This was MATH class.

This is the type of math that the D11 leadership endorses, even in the “good” high schools. Although parents have demanded time and time again that their kids receive math instruction in math class, the administration continues to push reading literacy during math instruction. D11’s math scores are nothing less than abysmal at the middle and high school levels, but that won’t stop D11 administrators from doing the wrong thing.

The parent’s response to the math teacher’s reading ILP letter was what one would expect from a parent.

----- Original Message -----
From: xxxxxxxx
To: BEATTY, DIANA E.
Cc: EMERSON, KRISTY ; HUMPHREY, SUSAN A ; bishotn
Sent: Monday, May 07, 2007 10:11 PM
Subject: Re: Resend: xxxxxxx - Grade: 10

I am pulling (Student) from this school. Why are you the math teacher e mailing me about his literacy?? Is this because of the evidence part of your special math?? Where was the vocab for math? By the way, Why isn't Ms Emerson e mailing me this information.
I could care less about anything that has happened at Coronado. My son did want to play college ball. Not now, I should of left him at the Charter school. At least they have a teacher teaching math and the reading teacher teaches reading...

I am sick of the treatment my son has received. Starting with the horrible Title One lower level schools then this math that double honor students struggle with. I have been talking to many many parents on the side lines of both football and baseball. I KNOW how many F's you are passing out. You all should be ashamed of yourselves! I know the drop outs, the transfers and they are going to keep leaving the student led classes, the pod mentality, the F's. These athletes are losing their scholarships to play sports or even to get into college… The majority of the kids will never use this grammatical mathematics.

I am not putting my kid in any more classes. He should have had these in the third grade, not now. I am upset over the timing of his tutoring offer. He is seventeen this year and I have told him to just get by and he can go to developmental studies at PPCC with the rest of the kids that failed to learn in twelve years. It was not lack of parental involvement on my part. I have asked for help for (Student) for seven years and I have stopped. If I did not own my house I would of left the whole district!
I am not signing anything!!!!

Good job, D11. This parent has been constantly involved in her child’s education from the time he entered school. As she correctly pointed out, graduates now have to go to college to get the basic education that their parents paid $500 million for them to receive in K-12 in D11.

Coronado had a high number of students failing their math classes last year. I wonder how many of their reading teachers incorporated math in their reading classes.

There is no arguing the fact that D11 is not living up to its job of providing a basic education in math. The evidence is indisputable. The math town hall that we reformers sponsored was attended by an overflow crowd of parents who want their kids to learn math. Despite the ownership of these schools by the parents, the D11 administration, (particularly math czar Dora Gonzalez and her boss, Mary Thurman), continues to wear blinders and continues to provide substandard math education.

With this track record of failure in math, do they really want to put a math magnet school in the district? Will the school be used to teach reading or math, or neither? Until there is competent math leadership in the district, calling a school a “magnet” will be an empty PR gesture and a waste of tax payer dollars.

Why East Could not become a Good School

After years of declining enrollment and a total lack of meaningful academic instruction, East Middle School in D11 was closed by the labor union owned school board. The Cesar Chavez Charter School, which got its start in Pueblo, offered to move into the building to provide a quality education for the middle school students residing in the neighborhoods surrounding the East school building. Cesar Chavez is one of the highest performing public schools in the state of Colorado despite having a higher free and reduced lunch student population than almost all of the D11 schools. This benchmark is used by educrats to excuse poor performing schools. Cesar Chavez is very troubling to traditional school bureaucrats because of its successes.

The current D11 school board would not even consider allowing Cesar Chavez to utilize the East building. The issue was not whether Cesar Chavez could succeed in that neighborhood; everyone knew that it would succeed. That, in fact, was the problem.

Along with the list of National Education Association (NEA) resolutions that were adopted this year at the labor union's "Anything but Education" summit was resolution A.11. This resolution states: A-11. Use of Closed Public School Buildings. The Association believes that closed public school buildings should be sold or leased only to those organizations that do not provide direct educational services to students and/or are not in direct competition with public schools.

The Colorado Springs Education Association (CSEA) labor union is the local affiliate for the national labor union. By labor union arrangement, local affiliates cannot buck the wishes of the national mommy union. The NEA gives each local affiliate Uniserve grants. This is "behave yourself" money. The CSEA would lose its grants from national if it did not show active support for "national program priorities." In other words, despite the local labor union's claim to be independent from its national master, it has no independence whatsoever.

Each of the current D11 school board members had his or her seat purchased by the labor union, with the exception of Willie Breazell. The financial support of the labor union comes with the requirement that these board members do the labor union's bidding. The labor union informed the board members that they were not allowed to even consider having a charter school in the East building because it would be in direct competition with the labor union schools. In other words, the D11 school board, which is supposed to represent the interests of the D11 tax payers, had to make a decision based on the wishes of Reg Weaver and the NEA.

Cesar Chavez is a proven school with a track record that would have put D11 to shame. The Cesar Chavez staff would have taken East and made it into a model on how to run a middle school in D11. The hundreds of middle school age kids who live within the East boundaries would have had a neighborhood school that would have provided them with an education for a change. But the labor union won't allow competition. It won't allow competition because its leadership realizes that it would lose that competition. Cesar Chavez, through its success, would have destroyed all of the excuses that D11 apologists love to make for poor performance. What is even more appalling to labor union leaders is that Cesar Chavez would have achieved its success with teachers who were not members of the labor union.

Are the parents who live around East better off sending their kids to distant middle schools than they were sending them to East? No doubt, yes. East had long ago become something that had no resemblance to an educational institution. However, those parents would have been much better off had Cesar Chavez been allowed to take over that building and offer the same education that it is providing in other middle schools within the state.

Once again, a victory for the labor union equates to a loss for educational opportunity in D11.

Terry Bishop defends builders of Titanic

D11 superintendent Terry Bishop spent $12,000 on an ad in the Gazette on September 15th to justify his $33,000 bonus and his $10,000 pay raise. He also wrote an oped wherein he defended the status quo performance of himself and his staff. While some critics would suggest that Bishop put more time and effort into pretending that he was accomplishing something than he has into actually doing anything, supporters feel that his oped showed that he is the right man to defend poor performing entities. To test this theory (in a mock interview), Bishop was asked to take on another tough topic: the sinking of the Titanic.

Q: Terry, what exactly went wrong with the Titanic?
TB: First of all, you may call me "Doctor." By referring to me thusly, it helps to justify my pay. Pay is important to us doctors in education. Second, you seem to be attacking the builders and crew of the Titanic by claiming that something "went wrong." We could have a deeper understanding of the issues if you stopped using such harsh language and stop attacking the passenger ship industry.

Q: The Titanic was billed as unsinkable. Is it not justified to question the legitimacy of that claim when, in fact, the Titanic did sink?
TB: The Titanic was the largest passenger ship afloat at the time. It could carry over 2,000 passengers and crew. It was a very important ship. What value is there in attacking the crew and builders of that ship? There were other types of transportation in existence at the time, and I don't see the press being critical of their performance.

Q: Um, this was the largest single loss of any type of transportation in existence. This loss was devastating.
TB: Now we're comparing apples to oranges. The Titanic took on a larger and more diverse population than anything of its day. It carried people from all types of income levels and backgrounds. When it pulled out of port, it carried everybody. You can't compare it to ships or plains or trains that served only the privileged.

Q: OK, we are probably getting a little off topic, which is the sinking of the Titanic. But since you brought up the topic of serving the underprivileged, only 25% of the 3rd class passengers survived the sinking of the ship, while 62% of the first class passengers survived. Of course, even those who survived had to pay extra money to get to the U.S. via other means since the Titanic did not get them to their destination. Do you really consider this service?
TB: Look, each of those 3rd class passengers who got onto that ship counted as income to the ship. Of course they mattered to the cruise line. As John Gudvangen wisely stated just a couple of years ago, if the parents of these 3rd class passengers would have made wiser choices when they were younger, these people would not have been in the position to have to settle for the worst and most dangerous rooms on the ship.

Q: You claim that they "mattered," but they were not even allowed onto the life boats.
TB: I am not clear on the confusion. Of course they mattered. Without the money that their kind paid to the Titanic, the survival of the cruise line would have been in question. It was very important that those big ships from those large cruise lines survived.

Q: Out of 2,224 passengers and crew on the Titanic, only 711 survived. Do you consider that success?
TB: Anybody can make numbers say anything that they want. Of course that is success. The press needs to understand that the largest passenger ship of its time needed to have positive coverage for the passenger cruise industry to thrive. 711 people survived. There were some very important and accomplished people on that boat who lived and continued to be productive citizens.

Q: That may be true, and we agree that it was very fortunate that those 711 survived, but wouldn't you consider it a disaster when you consider that 68% of all souls on that ship were lost?
TB: I just told you that 711 people lived and you turn around and use the term "disaster." That type of terminology won't get us anywhere. That is what I mean by lack of support.

Q: Why don't you go ahead and tell us what went right with the Titanic.
TB: I just told you that 711 passengers survived. That is extremely positive. Also, the Titanic had some of the finest woodwork of any ship of its kind. The ballroom was absolutely marvelous, and the first class state rooms were top notch. The Titanic had some of the best chefs around at the time, and the orchestra was phenomenal.

Q: That all sounds great, but it seems to be a historical reality that the ship hit an iceberg and sank. What did any of those items you mentioned have to do with the overall success of the Titanic's mission, which was to transport passengers safely across the ocean?
TB: Now you are getting into semantics and number games. You can't simply blame the crew for the performance of the ship. There were only about 900 crew members on that ship, which means that there were over 1,300 passengers. The passengers have responsibilities as well. Why didn't any of them notice the approaching iceberg? If we are going to play the blame game, then answer that question.

Q:Yes, but these people paid money to be on that ship. The crew was supposedly trained (and paid) to navigate that ship. How can we blame the passengers for the performance of the ship?
TB: It is all about personal responsibility. And choices.

Q: The crew of the Titanic prohibited hundreds of people from boarding lifeboats. Even if they had allowed each of the boats to be filled, there was only enough capacity to handle 1084 people. There were 2,224 souls on board. Does that suggest a lack of planning?
TB: It suggests nothing of the sort. That crew had spent countless hours aligning resources with passengers. These were professionals. Besides, the fact that 711 people survived speaks volumes about how much these people cared. 711 survivors means that only 373 people did not make it onto life boats. That is not bad when you consider that 711 is almost twice 373.

Q: Wait a minute. There were 2,224 people on board and only 1,084 lifeboat seats. 1,513 people did not make it onto lifeboats. You are using the 1,084 figure.
TB: Well, you've got your numbers and I've got mine. We won't get anywhere if all you want to do is focus on the negative. Let's be honest here. A lot of those 3rd class passengers weren't destined for the lifeboats anyway. I imagine that a bunch of them went right over into the water, so how can you blame the crew for that?

Q: What could have been done differently to ensure that the Titanic had not sunk?
TB: Absolutely nothing. That ship was a beauty. It even had metal doors and walls and a partitioned design to prevent water from flooding more than one compartment at a time in case of a leak. The grand staircase was absolutely the best of its kind and the marble floors were unbelievable.

Q: Yes, but the design was flawed. Those metal barriers did not extend upward high enough to prevent water from flowing from one compartment to the next. Wouldn't you have changed anything now that you know that the design and performance was a total failure?
TB: I can't believe that you are so determined to deem the Titanic a disaster that you can't appreciate the successes. The designers obviously did something properly or 711 people would not have survived. Why on earth would you want to change anything that could jeopardize that type of success?

Q: So you fully support the performance of the Titanic?
TB: I fully support the performance of the Titanic and I would not have changed a thing. In fact, I was told that the Titanic was TOO advanced. I'm not saying that was a bad thing, of course, but that is what I was told.

Q: Based on your advocacy of the Titanic, you most certainly would have allowed your family to have traveled on this vessel, correct?
TB: Are you out of your mind? With the money I make, why on earth would I ever let my family anywhere near something like that?

CSEA: Anything but education

The items listed below are resolutions adopted at the 2007 National Education Association (NEA) convention. The local labor union, the CSEA, is subservient to the NEA. While local labor union leaders will try to distance themselves from these non-education issues, they will not explain why the local CSEA delegates voted in favor of them, all of which passed.

Notice the socialist nature of this labor union agenda. Notice that while we tax payers own our schools, they believe in forcing their extreme left-wing agenda down the throats of all tax payers and their kids. Notice that the labor union does not adopt resolutions related to education, and notice that it doesn’t even adopt resolutions relating to teachers except for a few social related resolutions. Keep in mind that this is the labor union that currently owns the D11 school board and will purchase the November board as well. This is a long entry, but worth the read to understand what this private organization is all about.

A-2. Educational Opportunity for All. The Association believes that all schools must be accredited under uniform standards established by the appropriate agencies in collaboration with the Association and its affiliates.

Craig: The private labor union wants to tell you what constitutes a good school. Great accountability that would bring.

A-14. Financial Support of Public Education. The Association believes that:
· Funds must be provided for programs to alleviate race, gender, and sexual orientation discrimination and to eliminate portrayal of race, gender, sexual orientation and gender identification stereotypes in the public schools.
· Full-day, every day kindergarten programs should be fully funded.
· Federal, state, and, as appropriate, local governments should provide funds sufficient to make pre-kindergarten available for all three- and four-year-old children.

Craig: And they claim to believe in local control?

A-15. Federal Financial Support of Public Education. The Association opposes any federal legislation, laws, or regulations that provide funds, goods, or services to sectarian schools.

Craig: They want federal funds for all public schools for sexual orientation education, but they don’t want non-public schools to receive a dime for anything, nor do they want federal accountability with their funds.

A-24. Voucher Plans and Tuition Tax Credits. The Association opposes voucher plans, tuition tax credits, or other such funding arrangements that pay for students to attend sectarian schools. The Association also believes that any private school or agency that receives public funding through voucher plans, tax credits, or other funding/financial arrangements must be subject to all accountability measures and regulations required of public schools.

Craig: Notice the anti-religious flavor of the labor union. How about subjecting the public schools to the same accountability as private schools, ie, how about making them compete in the open market for their students and dollars?

A-33. Federally or State-Mandated Choice/Parental Option Plans. The Association believes that federally or state mandated parental option or choice plans compromise free, equitable, universal, and quality public education for every student. Therefore, the Association opposes such federally or state-mandated choice or parental option plans.

Craig: The only thing missing is logic. Giving parents options is just the tool necessary to ensure that every student has the chance at a quality education.

B-1. Early Childhood Education. The National Education Association supports early childhood education programs in the public schools for children from birth through age eight. The Association also supports a high-quality program of transition from home and/or preschool to the public kindergarten or first grade. The Association also believes that early childhood education programs should include a full continuum of services for parents/guardians and children, including child care, child development, developmentally appropriate and diversity-based curricula, special education, and appropriate bias-free screening devices. The Association believes that federal legislation should be enacted to assist in organizing the implementation of fully funded early childhood education programs offered through the public schools. These programs must be available to all children on an equal basis and should include mandatory kindergarten with compulsory attendance.

Craig: Scary. Why are these socialists so eager to get their hands on our kids at such a young age? To teach them “diversity?”

B-8. Class Size. The National Education Association believes that excellence in the classroom can best be attained by small class size. The Association also believes in an optimum class size of fifteen students in regular programs and a proportionately lower number in programs for students with exceptional needs.

Craig: What they are saying is that small class sizes equates to more teachers which equates to more forced labor union dues which equates to more political funds for liberal democrats. For the record, the schools in D11 with larger classes (Martinez/Scott, etc) are performing at a higher level than those with smaller classes (Adams/Hunt, etc). Small class size does not equal better performance.

B-10. Racial Diversity Within Student Populations. The Association believes that to achieve or maintain racial diversity, it may be necessary for elementary/secondary schools, colleges, and universities to take race into account in making decisions as to student admissions, assignments, and/or transfers.

B-11. Racism, Sexism, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identification Discrimination. Discrimination and stereotyping based on such factors as race, gender, sexual orientation, gender identification, disability, ethnicity, immigration status, occupation, and religion must be eliminated. The Association also believes that these factors should not affect the legal rights and obligations of the partners in a legally recognized domestic partnership, civil union, or marriage in regard to matters involving the other partner, such as medical decisions, taxes, inheritance, adoption, and immigration. Plans, activities, and programs must -
· Increase respect, understanding, acceptance, and sensitivity toward individuals and groups in a diverse society composed of such groups as American Indians/Alaska natives, Asians and Pacific Islanders, Blacks, Hispanics, women, gays, lesbians, bisexuals, transgendered persons, and people with disabilities
· " Eliminate discrimination and stereotyping in curricula, textbooks, resource and instructional materials, activities, etc.
· Foster the dissemination and use of nondiscriminatory and nonstereotypical language, resources, practices, and activities
· Integrate an accurate portrayal of the roles and contributions of all groups throughout history across curricula, particularly groups who have been under-represented historically
· Eliminate subtle practices that favor the education of one student over another on the basis of race, gender, sexual orientation, gender identification, disability, ethnicity, or religion
· Encourage all members of the educational community to examine assumptions and prejudices, including, but not limited to, racism, sexism, and homophobia, that might limit the opportunities and growth of students and education employees
· Offer positive and diverse role models in our society including the recruitment, hiring, and promotion of diverse education employees in our public schools
· Coordinate with organizations and concerned agencies that promote the contributions, heritage, culture, history, and special health and care needs of diverse population groups
The Association encourages its affiliates to develop and implement training programs on these matters.

Craig: Don’t worry. With Tim Gill funding your D11 board, be prepared to see a lot of sexual orientation related changes in the district.

B-20. Education of Refugee and Undocumented Children and Children of Undocumented Immigrants. The Association supports access to financial aid and in-state tuition to state colleges and universities. The Association further believes that students who have resided in the United States for at least five years at the time of high school graduation should be granted amnesty by the Immigration and Naturalization Service, granted legal residency status, and allowed to apply for U.S. citizenship.

Craig: You spend millions of dollars each year educating children of illegal aliens in D11, and the labor union wants you to be happy about that. Keep in mind that the labor union blames these illegals for the poor performance of your schools.

B-35. Multicultural Education. The National Education Association believes that multiculturalism is the process of valuing differences and incorporating the values identified into behavior for the goal of achieving the common good. Multi-cultural education should promote the recognition of individual and group differences and similarities in order to reduce racism, homophobia, ethnic and all other forms of prejudice, and discrimination and to develop self-esteem as well as respect for others.

Craig: How about education on the great melting pot, the United States of America?

B-44. Family Life Education. The Association believes that programs should be established for both students and parents/guardians and supported at all educational levels to promote -
· The development of self-esteem
· An understanding of societal issues and problems related to children, spouses, parents/guardians, domestic partners, older generation family members, and other family members.
The Association also believes that education in these areas must be presented as part of an anti-biased, culturally-sensitive program.

Craig: There you go – self-esteem. Not self-esteem through education, mind you. The part about teaching students about “problems” related to family is where schools in some cities have begun turning students against parental authority. Watch out for this.

B-45. Environmental Education. The Association supports educational programs that promote -
· An awareness of the effects of past, present, and future population growth patterns on world civilization, human survival, and the environment
· Solutions to environmental problems such as nonrenewable resource depletion, pollution, global warming, ozone depletion, and acid precipitation and deposition
· The recognition of and participation in such activities as Earth Day

Craig: Who wants Al Gore in their child’s classroom?

B-47. Sex Education. The Association recognizes that the public school must assume an increasingly important role in providing the instruction. Teachers and health professionals must be qualified to teach in this area and must be legally protected from censorship and lawsuits. The Association also believes that to facilitate the realization of human potential, it is the right of every individual to live in an environment of freely available information and knowledge about sexuality and encourages affiliates and members to support appropriately established sex education programs. Such programs should include information on sexual abstinence, birth control and family planning, diversity of culture, diversity of sexual orientation and gender identification, parenting skills, prenatal care, sexually transmitted diseases, incest, sexual abuse, sexual harassment, homophobia.

Craig: They want a bigger role for the schools in this area, as well as Planned Parenthood, as well as the Gill Foundation.

B-55. Education on Peace and International Understanding. The National Education Association believes that educational strategies for teaching peace and justice issues should include the role of individuals, social movements, international and nongovernmental organizations. The Association also believes that educational materials should include activities dealing with the effects of nuclear weaponry and other weapons of mass destruction, strategies for disarmament, methods to achieve peace. Such curricular materials should also cover major contributing factors to conflict, such as economic disparity, demographic variables, unequal political power and resource distribution, and the indebtedness of the developing world.

Craig: In other words, USA=Bad; socialist countries=good.

B-63. Standardized Testing of Students. The National Education Association believes that standardized tests should be used only to improve the quality of education and instruction for students. The Association opposes the use of standardized tests when -
· Used as the criterion for the reduction or withholding of any educational funding
· Results are used to compare students, teachers, programs, schools, communities, and states
· Scores are used to track students
· Students with special needs or limited English proficiency are required to take the same tests as regular education students without modifications and/or accommodations.

Craig: “Give us the money, but don’t you dare hold us accountable.”

B-75. Home Schooling. The National Education Association believes that home schooling programs based on parental choice cannot provide the student with a comprehensive education experience. When home schooling occurs, students enrolled must meet all state curricular requirements, including the taking of assessments to ensure adequate academic progress. Home schooling should be limited to the children of the immediate family, with all expenses being born by the parents/guardians. Instruction should be by persons who are licensed by the appropriate state education licensure agency, and a curriculum approved by the state department of education should be used.
The Association also believes that home-schooled students should not participate in any extracurricular activities in the public schools.

Craig: They know better than you what to teach your child. And they want you to have a license before you can homeschool, and even though your taxes fund your public school, they want to prohibit your child from participating in extra-curricular activities.

C-27. Student Sexual Orientation and Gender Identification. The National Education Association believes that all persons, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identification, should be afforded equal opportunity and guaranteed a safe and inclusive environment within the public education system. The Association also believes that, for students who are struggling with their sexual orientation or gender identification, every school district and educational institution should provide counseling services and programs that deal with high suicide and dropout rates and the high incidence of teen prostitution.

Craig: Yep, lets spend funds telling kids that although they were physically born as a boy, they might actually be something else.

D-21. Competency Testing of Licensed Teachers. The National Education Association believes that competency testing must not be used as a condition of employment, license retention, evaluation, placement, ranking, or promotion of licensed teachers.

Craig: After all, incompetent teachers put a lot of money into the labor union, too.

H-7. National Health Care Policy. The National Education Association believes that affordable, comprehensive health care, including prescription drug coverage, is the right of every resident. The Association supports the adoption of a single-payer health care plan for all residents of the United States, its territories, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

Craig: And which article of the U.S. Constitution guarantees this “right?”

H-11. Statehood for the District of Columbia. The Association supports efforts to achieve statehood for the District of Columbia.

Craig: This one will really improve your neighborhood school.

I-1. Peace and International Relations. The Association urges all nations to develop treaties and disarmament agreements that reduce the possibility of war. The Association also believes that such treaties and agreements should prevent the placement of weapons in outer space. The Association believes that the United Nations furthers world peace and promotes the rights of all people by preventing war, racism, and genocide.

Craig: When has the UN ever accomplished any of this?

I-2. International Court of Justice. The Association urges participation by the United States in deliberations before the court.
I-3. International Criminal Court. The Association believes that the United States should ratify the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and recognize and support its authority and jurisdiction.

Craig: Wow.

I-28. Freedom of Religion. The Association opposes any federal legislation or mandate that would require school districts to schedule a moment of silence.

Craig: Didn’t they mean “freedom from religion?”

New I. Global Warming. The National Education Association believes that global warming causes significant measureable damage to the earth and its inhabitants. The Association also believes that humans must take steps to change activities that contribute to global warming. The Association supports environmentally sound practices that abate global warming and its effects.

Craig: Last year, my daughter’s teacher could not explain how the glaciers melted oh those many years ago.

There you have it. The top priorities of the teacher’s labor union and their school boards, including your D11 board. Makes you feel all warm and fuzzy about sending your kids off to school.

The Gatekeeper

There have been questions on this blog and within the district about the selection process for the principal of Freedom Elementary. Was this principal the best suited for the job? Did he have the qualifications to lead the new school, and is he a match for his community? Were the parents of Freedom involved in the selection process and was their input considered before the new principal was selected?

As I have pointed out over and over again, the parents and tax payers of any public school district are the owners of those schools. They should be allowed to be a part of the selection process for the principals of their buildings. Each school building is required by law to have a building accountability committee (called a BAAC) whose membership is made up of citizens from the community. These BAACs should play a heavy role in the selection process of new leadership for a building.

“What should be” and “what is” in District 11 are two very different animals.

David Schenkel is the D11 Director of Human Resources (HR). He is best known in the district for having the same discrepancies within his department year after year when the district’s external auditors perform their evaluation. Schenkel never takes action to fix these discrepancies, and the superintendents, his bosses, have never had the courage to sanction Schenkel for his failure to perform his duties. His errors include faulty record keeping year after year, and he was responsible for a $700,000 pay blunder that hit the district during the same time period that ex-superintendent Sharon Thomas was absconding with $400,000 tax payer dollars for getting fired.

In addition to his HR position, Schenkel also happens to be the lead “negotiator” who, in theory, is supposed to represent the district in its “negotiations” with the labor union. Ex-labor union boss Mike Coughlin once informed me that the labor union absolutely loved having Schenkel on the district’s side of the table during negotiations. The reason: because Schenkel gave the labor union anything it wanted.

When a school such as Freedom needs a new principal, Schenkel is the gatekeeper through which any candidate must pass. First and foremost, the person applying for the administrative job must be a loyal labor union supporter. If the person applying is currently a teacher, then Schenkel checks with the school principal to determine if the applicant was “manageable,” ie, is someone who will take instructions from central administration without questioning whether those instructions will be beneficial to the students. Schenkel then consults with the labor union to ensure that the applicant is a solid labor union member and is acceptable to the labor union bosses. If either the principal or the labor union leaders give a thumbs down, the applicant in question will never make it through the initial screening process. Even if the members of the school staff and community want a specific person as their leader, Schenkel will not allow that person to move through the selection process if he deems them not worthy.

Schenkel likes to pretend that the school communities are allowed to be involved in the selection of their principals. After he trims the candidate pool to one or two people, he pre-determines the candidate who will receive the job based on the candidate’s relationship with him or another high ranking administrator. Schenkel is not looking for leadership in the schools. Academic performance and achievement never cross the mind of the head of HR. The chosen candidate will be someone who will never question authority and who will never make waves. In short, central administration had better take priority over their school.

After Schenkel has determined who his next principal will be, he will send the one or two finalists to meet with the BAAC and school community members. This meeting is not a meeting for the BAAC to have a say in which candidate is ultimately chosen. Schenkel will have already made that decision. If the BAAC decides that it likes candidate B, and Schenkel has decided upon candidate A, then candidate A will get the nod and the BAAC will be said to have been allowed to participate in the process.

George Marin had no special qualifications that made him best suited for Freedom. He and his wife first came to D11 as special education administrators. Under his leadership, Penrose Elementary remained an average performing school. Marin never offered any strong initiatives to improve the school. Average was good enough, but most important to central administration and Dave Schenkel, he never made waves.

Parents of a new school such as Freedom have high hopes that the academic performance within their building will be top notch like the building itself. Parents of Freedom students are probably not sending their children to that new building in hopes that the school will be just another school. These parents need only look across the street at D20 and they will see schools performing at the 80%-90% proficient and advanced (PA) range on standardized testing (with “High” accountability reports), and they will ask themselves if they want to settle for 50%-70% PA with “Average” as the school accountability grade.

The fact that some Freedom parents might be upset with the principal selection for their school only 3 weeks into the year is beside the point. The Freedom principal has a performance record that all parents can view. They have a right to demand the best for their kids. There is no requirement that these parents have to wait for several years to determine whether their kids are receiving the type of quality education that they deserve. Did other candidates submit their names for consideration at Freedom? Absolutely, but Schenkel will never discuss his selection criteria for making his final choice. He will use “personnel confidentiality” to tell you that he cannot discuss his process.

Dave Schenkel is not interested in what Freedom parents (or any other parents) think about their principal. His is a system of rewards and punishment based on a person’s loyalty to the system, not their performance in the schools.