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11 comments:
What ever happened to the Peabody HS Committee? I was NOT invited. I've not heard a peep. Did they meet? Do they meet? Is there a list of who is on the committee?
The last committee meeting was last week. We will look into whether any kind of a report is ready.
Two weeks ago I attended a focus group related to Career and Technology education in the PPS. What I thought would be a forum to flush out the best way to administer CTE (eg one centralized school versus programs in schools throughout the city) turned out to be something quite different. The focus group was run by a marketing firm that has been hired by the city. The survey consisted of 2 questions (I am paraphrasing because I neglected to write the questions down!):
1) What challenges facing struggling students in the PPS could CTE help in addressing?
2) What challenges does the PPS face in communicating the importance of CTE to the public?
We all flipped through pages of random images and selected 5 that we thought best answered the question. I commented that I thought that the second question was somewhat rhetorical as we all know that CTE is essential in any school system as different students have different career goals.
After leaving the focus group it occurred to me that possibly the administration is looking for ways to sell the public on CTE because it is planning to spend a lot of money on it and it needs to justify that expenditure after saying that it cannot afford to renovate Schenley. Just a guess...
At a party this weekend I met someone who had moved their family to the suburbs due to PPS. The parents had called the principal at their feeder 6-8 school and explained that they were considering the school but would like to meet with someone at the school for more information. The principal informed them that there would be an open house the next May and that after that they could call in with any questions. The response was not particularly welcoming and they didn't wait around for the open house. Should PPS be doing more to retain families at transition grades?
Nice article, thanks for sharing.
Is Randall Taylor right? If Randall is right, this is one of the few times that the board has listened to parent complaints. In this morning's PG among the other changes listed, Ms Berdnik is being transferred from Linden to Woolslair. Mr. Taylor complained that it was orchestrated by a handful of parents critical of Ms. Berdnik. Although I am no longer closely associated with Linden, I have heard more than a few complaints from the parents that I still know there.
Another Principal has bailed out. It will be interesting to hear the story behind this story. Did Mr. Lentz actively seek a new job even before his new Sci-tech school opens or was he recruited by Fox Chapel because of his outstanding credentials? Is Mr. Scherrer's transfer a demotion because of the recent events at Allderdice or is heading up one of Mr. Roosevelt's pet schools a promotion? and how will the parents at 'Dice accept Ms. Friez? Lots of changes
Just read A+ School's Board Watch report card. My first reaction is, how can you go down in two areas and only improve in one but have your overall score improve? I think a C+ in conduct from our leaders is disgraceful!
I just read that report too and wondered the exact same thing. Sure hope that the board watchers aren't coming up with yet another grading scheme to offer to the district: the falling individual grades, higher GPA "don't want them to feel too bad" scheme.
Regarding the process of replacing the outgoing school board member, there is the question as to whether the school board president was advised by the district's legal counsel and if, in fact, she was advised correctly. This situation brings up another situation that should be addressed, the fact that the PPS, the 2nd largest district in the state, does not have its own in house legal counsel. Every time the present legal consultant answers a phone call regarding the district, the PPS is billed at an exceedingly high rate. The amount that the district is paying to an outside lawyer is fiscally irresponsible. In fact, two full time lawyers, along with benefits, could be hired for the cost that the district is paying in the present situation. In a time when schools are being closed and teachers are losing their jobs, every cost-cutting measure must be examined. And perhaps there will be a less politicized approach to the legal opinions as well!
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