Thursday, December 9, 2010

New superintendent no surprise

From the PG:

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10343/1109425-53.stm

12 comments:

Questioner said...

Tribune article:

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/s_712942.html

Questioner said...

Good luck to Dr. Lane.

Re: the news articles, it is unfortunate that opinions continue to be stated as facts. For example, the PG article refers to the Broad program as "prestigious" although its main premise- introduction of nontraditional superintendents- is very much in question. And, the Tribune article stated that Mark Roosevelt worked collaboratively and was data driven while in the PG article Dr. Lane herself stated that she was different from MR in that she likes "to dig through data, lay all the elements of a problem or issue on the table, and do some relative analysis of costs and benefits".

Also both articles refer to Board statements about money saved by not doing a national search, without noting that the Board had agreed to accept a grant from the foundations to conduct a search.

Mark Rauterkus said...

Got Kool-Aid?

Anonymous said...

The word "prestigious" was a joke

3 More years of the same

The search agreement was very interesting Questioner.

I spend more than 250 dollars on my students every year, her spending that money seemed like a PR hook.

Here is something interesting I have heard from many others in the district.

Monday or Tuesday
The Principal at U-Prep asked the promise ready students at a school wide assembly, to stand up and give themselves, applause. They complied. Then he asked the non-promise ready students to stand up. Then he told them to (Boo) their teachers. They excitedly complied.

If this would happened to me, I would have been fired, maybe even arrested.

Talk about a hostile work enviroment for teachers. What an out right disrespect for the teaching profession. He is labeled the Rising Star of the PELA program by many.

He should be fired, of course the union is mute

Questioner said...

What a bizarre exercise- especially since the same teachers presumably taught the promise ready and non-promise ready students. No credit for the successes but blame for those who did not succeed? And when are the principal and administration held accountable?

Anonymous said...

Even beyond teacher and administrative accountability is STUDENT accountability. How absurd: pat yourself on the back for what you earned, point fingers at others for what you failed to achieve. What message are we sending students when we do silly stunts like this?

Can anyone verify that this happened firsthand? This sounds so outlandish that I hesitate to believe it --- except that so many unbelievable things have happened over the past 5 years that I simply can't dismiss it!

Questioner said...

PG article on reaction to the selection:

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10344/1109706-53.stm

Dr. Lane is very likeable and of course everyone wishes her the best. However, the constant references by Board members to "staying the course" is puzzling since the course has been all over the place and has not produced very good results. At the A+ community meeting, only a small percentage of people thought that continuing current initiatives is a priority.

alldone said...

We do need firsthand confirmation on this alleged incident at UPrep. If it is an accurate account of what happened and there is no fallout, public apology, probationary period for the individual, etc. our problems are bigger than currently known. If this does not come up on a talk show today it will be a surprise. The parent hotine number is 622-7920. Just what the heck are the principals doing in professional development? If somebody is paid to train on effective motivational methods a refund is deserved.

Questioner said...

Also it would have been nice if the quote from the community watchdog addressed wbat the community wanted to see- since the Board can and does speak for itself!

alldone said...

Questioner, Dr. Lane did a very short segment on KDKA radio yesterday early in the morning. When asked whether or not she anticipated any deviation from the programs and plans in place her answer was something like, "not immediately." I think she went on to explain something that would make one think whe won't continue what clearly does not work.

Questioner said...

That approach would be consistent with really looking at the data, while blindly staying a course would not!

Anonymous said...

Dr.Lane is just another of the gutless masses on Bellefield Avenue. Smile, take the $80 million, genuflect before Broad/Gates and target teachers. Could have been much worse....they could have hired the "other" assistant.
Still, more hard times for teachers.

Need verification? Spend a year with us instead of sipping coffee from the comfort of your dens.