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Has anyone considered that it is time for his daughter to start school? Oh where oh where would she go in the PPS??? Better make it a nice cozy private school, and leave the mess he made to the Pittsburghers.
"He is also the founder of The Pittsburgh Promise, a ground-breaking initiative that has already raised $150 million..."
They are counting money dependent on matching funds as already raised. There is no guarantee that a future superintendent will make fundraising for a prior super's initiative a priority (or that a future super will be able to raise the money, given that MR himself could not raise the full matching funds for the second Promise fundraising year).
This resignation raises questions about the wisdom of rapid and extreme change. It's kind of like a homeowner decorating with bright primary colors. It's a departure from plain white, and that homeowner may be able to pull it off, but chances are that the next homeowner will not be able or want to do so.
Here is the problem, in a nutshell. As is the case in any dictatorship, you often have to clear out the entire regime in order to eradicate the problem as the mindset is often imbued in subordinates immediately around the leader. I am praying that this all was in the wind and Linda Lane turned down the Iowa job because she had some assurances about Pittsburgh. At the very least, I believe that she remembers the classroom. I can think of one assistant superintendent whose selection as superintendent would be infinitely worse for teachers and for this district, in general. Her thoughts on both curriculum and grading policies so out of touch with the needs of our kids that it defies imagination.
Although the search for a new super should be broad, there is something to be said for choosing a committed Pittsburgher who will stay around and answer for decisions made long after he or she leaves the position.
I like how he told the media his job is "stressful work". YES!!! It is stressful. ESPECIALLY for us who work in the schools. He has no idea about what "stressful work" , like working with students really is. His leadership caused most of the stress everyone is talking about! He created and led an administration who create unnecessary stress for those of us who work with students. I really think his administration sit in their offices all day and create initiatives for us to implement at the schools. After all, they have to make it look like they are important and busy so they create initiative after initiative for those of us who are really working to find the time to implement them all. He and his cause the "stressful work". I hope they all leave town.
Lane is cut from the same cloth as Roosevelt, she is onboard with the Broad/Gates agenda. Nothing will change. Last time I checked she had the most Broad residents working in her department. She certainly is not siding with the teachers. Quite the opposite.
She is not a warm person or engaging person. This administration seems to feel they are above the community, and owe us nothing.
Too bad Rossevelt didn't leave many yesterdays ago! He and the board have made a mess of PPS but he's smart enough to leave. For personal or professional reasons, I DO NOT CARE... he's going away!!! Be sure he has always watched out for number one.
Interesting that the 'news' article was published before the news conference.
Our biggest problem is that the media is reporting press releases as if they are news and people who are not aware of what goes on in the PPS think Roosevelt, the board and the broadies have done a wonderful job.
In the next episode of "HOW to Destroy a School Sytem" Who will take over? Who will pick this person? Who will the corporate sponsors be? How will we chase away the few remaining interested parents and students. Will the do nothing board members follow their leader to places far, far away? The drama continues complete with giggle and tears!
A true Pittsburgher is someone who has lived here most or all of their lives, has family and friends here and does not desire to ever leave. I know many true Pittsburghers. The Board is made up of true Pittsburghers. They need to find a Superintendent with a solid education background who is a true Pittsburgher and will watch out for the best educational interests of the children, families and communities of Pittsburgh.
Roosevelt and his crew are not true PIttsburghers. Lesson learned! Let's move forward from today's announcement.
FROM THE NEWSPAPER AT BOSRTON.COM A ntioch is a liberal-arts college that became known for social activism and civil disobedience in the 1960s. It has produced two Nobel Prize winners, as well as Coretta Scott King and "Twilight Zone" creator Rod Serling.
No, he would never, ever put his child in a Pittsburgh Public School. He could have put her in a PPS preschool and he chose not to. But I suspect the reason he is really leaving is because the district will not make AYP this year. The bar is too high. And how will that look? To not make AYP two years in a row? How could he possibly manipulate data to look good this time around? Now when they don't make it he can say that it was because he wasn't there to keep things on course.
The person they should name as superintendent is Kaye Cupples. He understands Pittsburgh, the district, the students and is an HONEST man of integrity!
I'm betting that on his last day in office he will sign over the Schenley building to UPMC.
I too think part of his desire to leave is that his daughter is getting to school age, and he certainly wouldn't want her in a Pittsburgh Public school. However, another factor is that he has reconfigured all the schools he can, created a teachers' contract that renders the union impotent, and he is ready to go off and "fix" another organization.
Lane has this reputation of being above it all among many teachers. I think some out there have had more positive experiences with her than they had had with Roosevelt.
That said, she has been fairly to completely dismissive of several factions of teachers when they've met with her, questioning the value of their roles. The attitude reads as "You're replaceable," which I guess we all are these days anyway.
Someone posted this link earlier and it's worth another post to get more people to read it. This blogger is not a Pittsburgh:
I look at Lane or even Lopez as being somewhat the same in terms of being the "lesser of three evils." I have to laugh at the buffoonery disguised as provincialism that comes through in the anonymous "true Pittsburgher" post. Baloney. This town has its fair share of complete lunatics who are employed as educators. Just because they happen to be "our" educators shouldn't give them some inner path to the superintendent's chair.
What our district needs is a lot like what the political landscape needs--a complete overhaul. And just like politics, it's a pipe dream. With so much money having been infused into this district by "philanthropists" who see education reform as being equal to the indoctrination and capitulation of teachers into acceptance of ideologies and philosophies which simply WON'T move our kids forward, well, you're not going to get any refreshing new voice that appreciates teachers.
It's been said by more than one person here--and my experience would verify it--that we have a combination of people now at the administrative level, none of whom are friends of the classroom teacher. You have the ivory tower types so far removed from the classroom that you wonder if they can be considered educators. You have those in supervisory and PELA positions that made negligible contributions in the classroom, at best, and are now being indoctrinated as to how to run schools, however woeful their background and abilities may be. And most notably, you have a number of arrogant, vindictive types who are enjoying the power they've been given. To a parent, that must sound like some wild exaggeration, but it's true. Numerous content supervisors, department heads and other higher-ups fall into this category and the funny thing is, they wouldn't know effective teaching if it hit them across the face.Their vision comes directly out of adherence to their own poorly written curricula, period. How pathetic. The disconnect between this outgoing superintendent--between his office and his schools--was remarkable. I cannot imagine being a parent or student and having feeling about his resignation. Lately our board has looked outside for leadership and chosen poorly. I truly hope that if it looks within, it looks closely at demeanor, at character, at the ability to empathize and in contrast, at arrogance and vindictiveness. Want to move Pittsburgh's kids forward? Build a true team that empowers teachers and gives them a voice. We haven't had that in 6 years, and no team will be built--no REAL progress made--unless a team building leader is put in place.
The PELA, teacher reform, Gates, Broad train wreck left the station over a year ago.
PPS will hire another Broad/Gates approved super. They all drank the Kool-Aid. Roosevelt may be many things but stupid is not one of them. He has impeccable timing and will never take the blame for this clusterf*ck.
Lane is not an acceptable replacement. Pittsburgh deserves better than this.
Colazzi already announced Roosevelts hall of fame status, and said they are not changing plans. She represents my district, and I don't know how to contact her. I guess they are above us.
So what kind of superintendent can we get with the president of the board announcing "they are not changing pland"? Who wants to step into a situation where decisions no matter how poor are set in stone? They will need an MR clone.
That is the point! We can't hire anyone but an MR clone. PPS sold their souls to Broad and Gates. If they do not approve of the replacement they will pull all of their funding.
Our school board is brainwashed or Eli Broad washed. I think we should tell them (Broad/Gates) to take their money and leave, but there is NFW they will make a hard decision. They have simply nodded for 4 years.
PPS has had free reign way too long. You may think, I am sending my child to a private school so it is not my problem.
It IS THE problem. I was rah rah public schools. I am not at this point, but I do have hope. The value of your home pays for PPS. The city/schoolboard added taxes for the "Privileged' which we may or may not meet the standards when families consider child support. Hands down we are doing financially better than most families.
In hindsight we were idiots. We invested in the city, bought a house, believed in something we were told was not possible. Best of luck.
"I think my skill set is to plant a garden, and now I think it will be somebody else's skill set to bring that garden to life."
- There has been a real pattern in PPS over the past 5 year of plunging into one new project after another without seeing projects through or analyzing what has worked or not worked and why. There was the Kaplan curriculum (abandoned); CEP, which has been quietly changed to something new; university prep, the planned flagship, which is in "warning" status and has seemingly been forgotten as the focus shifts to Westinghouse and Oliver; the ALA's, which posted disappointing AYP results; and now the teacher academy. It's always fun to experiment and start a fresh new project but not so much fun for those who have to deal with what has been done.
To anon at 9:46, isn't that all emblematic of the great shell game? The effort is to continually look "progressive" and "evolving" when in fact, the truth is this:
We implement ideas that sound good or look good on paper. We don't really have a clue as to how they will go, and in fact, there are no long term studies to draw upon. We implement it. It fails or does not provide the immediate results we wanted. We can't risk an expose, an investigative report or bad pub, so we abandon ship and spend millions on something new.
Then board members talk about how they had to close schools because they are so concerned about taxpayer money.
Next time around we need someone committed to seeing his/her ideas through and making them work. That way we are more likely to get ideas that are workable in the first place.
And a political hack like Ira Weiss has the guts to come out and say that his buddy Roosevelt was worth it. Amazing. Mark Brentley says he's throwing John Thompson's name in the ring as a replacement. You know, it's funny. He could never ever be worse than Roosevelt or his left over cronies.
How much money did he raise for CAPA? It's funny how for one person, raising money wasn't sufficient since scores weren't high enough but for the other fundraising made up for less improvement in scores. And CAPA is a proven success, while it remains to be seen whether the Pittsburgh Promise will fizzle out and whether the teachers academy really prodcues results (or makes things worse- many parents are very concerned about their children's teachers being pulled out of the classroom for weeks or months at a time). Kids benefit from stability (isn't that the idea behind looping?).
Please look deeper before anyone seriously considers Dr. Thompson as a suitable replacement. A very entertaining and likeable guy who liked to go to ball games as part of his daily duties as superintendent. Parent groups were treated to many sumptuous dinners before parent meetings and he did several giveaways during a school year to active parents on committees. Overtime pay skyrocketed during projects like Cupples and summer work for building improvements during his school closing period. How those things got funded, I don't remember, probably some via Title I/PI funds for the parent activities, but I do believe we are living under different financial circumstances now and can't afford a returning super who comes across as a knight riding in on his charger to restore things to old ways.
He had many champions to be sure, but did not always have the correct answers. If he like your question/s you were welcome, if not..less than welcome.
Me neither, Anon 10:35. All the effort to bring in young families with the Promise and improvement to PPS education will be negated by folks like me ready to bolt the city if taxes go up. My kids are soon to be on their own and as much as I like inner-city living, a little ranch house might be what I need in some quiet corner outside the city.
Most people seem happy with taxes not being raised, but what if they could be lowered by not continuing to take on new debt as old debt is paid off- there is not much attention to that possibility, or to seeing that money is put to the best use. Juse keep taxes the same.
John Thompson would have to clean house in administration. Here is a man who APPRECIATED the work of teachers. He would be in the midst of people who abhor them and publicly downgrade the fact that they were ever teachers to begin with, as if there is some shame in having been in the classroom. Here in this snakepit of vindictiveness and vitriolic blame games, Thompson would have to show the gumption to ask for resignations. We've lost good board members like Randall Taylor in favor of "yes-men" who rubber stamped everything the current superintendent asked for. They should take a lesson from the Jefferson Hills board and learn what the idea of being responsible to constituency actually means. I'd take John back in a heartbeat over ANYONE in this administration.
It basically says that MR lived up to his promise due to the grant for teacher training, the contract w/ the teachers union, and the Pgh Promise.
But- the teacher training and related contract are unproven. It would have been nice to see the concept tried w/ a small group of teachers first. And we just don't know if the matching funds necessary for the PGh Promise will be raised. Donors might want to see some data on the percentage of Promise recipients that actually fnish their college programs.
Anyway, was the promise at the outset a plan for teacher training and scholarships?
WE need someone who prioritizes and is committed to providing educational foundations for children versus commitment to Broad/Gates foundations for adult self-aggrandizement.
WE need someone who prioritizes and will raise academic achievement versus raising multi-millions of dollars.
Reminds me of a 'House' theme a couple of years ago. $100 million meant complete, totalitarian oversight---until one day, the collect consciences of good people told the guy with the money to take a hike. They remembered what their charge was.
I live for the day that PPS administrative left-overs are either told to take that hike or to go and teach in an underachieving school. This starts with an assistant superintendent who has all the answers. Since that's the case, she and her cronies can obviously bring our kids farther.
I live for the day that a trued educator--a Louise Brennen or Helen Faison--is put in charge. I wonder how long it would be until either would see that something is grossly out of whack on Bellefield Avenue.
And the $100M (if it is matched) was never free money anyway. Large non-profits that function similarly to for-profits were going to make some kind of payment. The difference is that the payment was made outside of the usually government taxation and spending process (ie, the spending decision was not made by elected officials).
56 comments:
It seems strange to leave for a job not yet in hand. At the very least, why weaken your bargaining position for the new job?
Has anyone considered that it is time for his daughter to start school? Oh where oh where would she go in the PPS??? Better make it a nice cozy private school, and leave the mess he made to the Pittsburghers.
He has the job. He is the only candidate.
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20101006006892/en/Antioch-College-Presidential-Candidate-Visit-Campus-Oct.
Many predicted that he would never send his daughter to an ALA.
http://www.businesswire.com/news/
home/20101006006892/en/
Antioch-College-Presidential-Candidate-Visit-Campus-Oct.
The link above says:
"He is also the founder of The Pittsburgh Promise, a ground-breaking initiative that has already raised $150 million..."
They are counting money dependent on matching funds as already raised. There is no guarantee that a future superintendent will make fundraising for a prior super's initiative a priority (or that a future super will be able to raise the money, given that MR himself could not raise the full matching funds for the second Promise fundraising year).
The title for THIS post should read GOOD RIDDANCE!!!!! OR DON'T LET THE DOOR HIT YA WHERE THE GOOD LORD SPLIT YA!!!!
PG report:
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10279/1092990-100.stm
This resignation raises questions about the wisdom of rapid and extreme change. It's kind of like a homeowner decorating with bright primary colors. It's a departure from plain white, and that homeowner may be able to pull it off, but chances are that the next homeowner will not be able or want to do so.
Interesting link.
This foundation is owned/run by Lee Morgan who is the chair of the Antioch board of trustees.
http://www.morganfamily
foundation.org/
http://antiochcollege.org/news/news_archive/prez_search.html
Here is the problem, in a nutshell. As is the case in any dictatorship, you often have to clear out the entire regime in order to eradicate the problem as the mindset is often imbued in subordinates immediately around the leader. I am praying that this all was in the wind and Linda Lane turned down the Iowa job because she had some assurances about Pittsburgh. At the very least, I believe that she remembers the classroom.
I can think of one assistant superintendent whose selection as superintendent would be infinitely worse for teachers and for this district, in general. Her thoughts on both curriculum and grading policies so out of touch with the needs of our kids that it defies imagination.
I will be saying powerful novenas.
The PPS website has under "Good News" a link to an article "PPS Superintendent notifies the board of his decision to leave Pittsburgh":
http://php.pghboe.net/news/index.php/2010/10/06/pittsburgh-public-schools-superintendent-mark-roosevelt-notifies-board-of-his-decision-to-leave-pittsburgh/
Although the search for a new super should be broad, there is something to be said for choosing a committed Pittsburgher who will stay around and answer for decisions made long after he or she leaves the position.
I like how he told the media his job is "stressful work". YES!!! It is stressful. ESPECIALLY for us who work in the schools. He has no idea about what "stressful work" , like working with students really is. His leadership caused most of the stress everyone is talking about! He created and led an administration who create unnecessary stress for those of us who work with students. I really think his administration sit in their offices all day and create initiatives for us to implement at the schools. After all, they have to make it look like they are important and busy so they create initiative after initiative for those of us who are really working to find the time to implement them all. He and his cause the "stressful work". I hope they all leave town.
Lane is cut from the same cloth as Roosevelt, she is onboard with the Broad/Gates agenda. Nothing will change. Last time I checked she had the most Broad residents working in her department. She certainly is not siding with the teachers. Quite the opposite.
She is not a warm person or engaging person. This administration seems to feel they are above the community, and owe us nothing.
Don't be fooled.
Too bad Rossevelt didn't leave many yesterdays ago! He and the board have made a mess of PPS but he's smart enough to leave. For personal or professional reasons, I DO NOT CARE... he's going away!!! Be sure he has always watched out for number one.
Interesting that the 'news' article was published before the news conference.
Our biggest problem is that the media is reporting press releases as if they are news and people who are not aware of what goes on in the PPS think Roosevelt, the board and the broadies have done a wonderful job.
In the next episode of "HOW to Destroy a School Sytem" Who will take over? Who will pick this person? Who will the corporate sponsors be? How will we chase away the few remaining interested parents and students. Will the do nothing board members follow their leader to places far, far away? The drama continues complete with giggle and tears!
A true Pittsburgher is someone who has lived here most or all of their lives, has family and friends here and does not desire to ever leave. I know many true Pittsburghers. The Board is made up of true Pittsburghers. They need to find a Superintendent with a solid education background who is a true Pittsburgher and will watch out for the best educational interests of the children, families and communities of Pittsburgh.
Roosevelt and his crew are not true PIttsburghers. Lesson learned! Let's move forward from today's announcement.
I pray it is not Lippert. What a dark day for PPS THAT would be.
FROM THE NEWSPAPER AT BOSRTON.COM
A
ntioch is a liberal-arts college that became known for social activism and civil disobedience in the 1960s. It has produced two Nobel Prize winners, as well as Coretta Scott King and "Twilight Zone" creator Rod Serling.
The school plans to reopen for fall 2011.
Insightful blog regarding MR's jump.
http://www.edpolicythoughts.com/2010/10/pittsburgh-superintendent-stepping-down.html
No, he would never, ever put his child in a Pittsburgh Public School. He could have put her in a PPS preschool and he chose not to. But I suspect the reason he is really leaving is because the district will not make AYP this year. The bar is too high. And how will that look? To not make AYP two years in a row? How could he possibly manipulate data to look good this time around? Now when they don't make it he can say that it was because he wasn't there to keep things on course.
The person they should name as superintendent is Kaye Cupples. He understands Pittsburgh, the district, the students and is an HONEST man of integrity!
Kaye does not have the cajones to stand up to Theresa Colazzi.
Plus if you respect the man, let him retire in peace.
I'm betting that on his last day in office he will sign over the Schenley building to UPMC.
I too think part of his desire to leave is that his daughter is getting to school age, and he certainly wouldn't want her in a Pittsburgh Public school. However, another factor is that he has reconfigured all the schools he can, created a teachers' contract that renders the union impotent, and he is ready to go off and "fix" another organization.
Lane has this reputation of being above it all among many teachers. I think some out there have had more positive experiences with her than they had had with Roosevelt.
That said, she has been fairly to completely dismissive of several factions of teachers when they've met with her, questioning the value of their roles. The attitude reads as "You're replaceable," which I guess we all are these days anyway.
Someone posted this link earlier and it's worth another post to get more people to read it. This blogger is not a Pittsburgh:
http://www.edpolicythoughts.com/2010/10/pittsburgh-superintendent-stepping-down.html
I look at Lane or even Lopez as being somewhat the same in terms of being the "lesser of three evils." I have to laugh at the buffoonery disguised as provincialism that comes through in the anonymous "true Pittsburgher" post. Baloney. This town has its fair share of complete lunatics who are employed as educators. Just because they happen to be "our" educators shouldn't give them some inner path to the superintendent's chair.
What our district needs is a lot like what the political landscape needs--a complete overhaul. And just like politics, it's a pipe dream. With so much money having been infused into this district by "philanthropists" who see education reform as being equal to the indoctrination and capitulation of teachers into acceptance of ideologies and philosophies which simply WON'T move our kids forward, well, you're not going to get any refreshing new voice that appreciates teachers.
It's been said by more than one person here--and my experience would verify it--that we have a combination of people now at the administrative level, none of whom are friends of the classroom teacher. You have the ivory tower types so far removed from the classroom that you wonder if they can be considered educators. You have those in supervisory and PELA positions that made negligible contributions in the classroom, at best, and are now being indoctrinated as to how to run schools, however woeful their background and abilities may be. And most notably, you have a number of arrogant, vindictive types who are enjoying the power they've been given.
To a parent, that must sound like some wild exaggeration, but it's true. Numerous content supervisors, department heads and other higher-ups fall into this category and the funny thing is, they wouldn't know effective teaching if it hit them across the face.Their vision comes directly out of adherence to their own poorly written curricula, period. How pathetic.
The disconnect between this outgoing superintendent--between his office and his schools--was remarkable. I cannot imagine being a parent or student and having feeling about his resignation.
Lately our board has looked outside for leadership and chosen poorly. I truly hope that if it looks within, it looks closely at demeanor, at character, at the ability to empathize and in contrast, at arrogance and vindictiveness.
Want to move Pittsburgh's kids forward? Build a true team that empowers teachers and gives them a voice. We haven't had that in 6 years, and no team will be built--no REAL progress made--unless a team building leader is put in place.
Old timer,
The PELA, teacher reform, Gates, Broad train wreck left the station over a year ago.
PPS will hire another Broad/Gates approved super. They all drank the Kool-Aid. Roosevelt may be many things but stupid is not one of them. He has impeccable timing and will never take the blame for this clusterf*ck.
Lane is not an acceptable replacement. Pittsburgh deserves better than this.
Colazzi already announced Roosevelts hall of fame status, and said they are not changing plans. She represents my district, and I don't know how to contact her. I guess they are above us.
So what kind of superintendent can we get with the president of the board announcing "they are not changing pland"? Who wants to step into a situation where decisions no matter how poor are set in stone? They will need an MR clone.
That is the point! We can't hire anyone but an MR clone. PPS sold their souls to Broad and Gates. If they do not approve of the replacement they will pull all of their funding.
Our school board is brainwashed or Eli Broad washed. I think we should tell them (Broad/Gates) to take their money and leave, but there is NFW they will make a hard decision. They have simply nodded for 4 years.
Our kids are paying the price.
Welcome to our school board president,
http://www.wpxi.com/news/14663251/detail.html
Unreal, her son earned over six thousand dollars his senior year.
We need an urgent parental shout out.
PPS has had free reign way too long. You may think, I am sending my child to a private school so it is not my problem.
It IS THE problem. I was rah rah public schools. I am not at this point, but I do have hope. The value of your home pays for PPS. The city/schoolboard added taxes for the "Privileged' which we may or may not meet the standards when families consider child support. Hands down we are doing financially better than most families.
In hindsight we were idiots. We invested in the city, bought a house, believed in something we were told was not possible. Best of luck.
I apologize for my poor grammar.
I am honest and fair, I did not attend PPS! :)
I have lost too much sleep worrying about this mess.
Tribune article, noting that MR has been speaking w/ Antioch since last spring:
http://pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/pittsburgh/s_703127.html
The superintendent commented
"I think my skill set is to plant a garden, and now I think it will be somebody else's skill set to bring that garden to life."
- There has been a real pattern in PPS over the past 5 year of plunging into one new project after another without seeing projects through or analyzing what has worked or not worked and why. There was the Kaplan curriculum (abandoned); CEP, which has been quietly changed to something new; university prep, the planned flagship, which is in "warning" status and has seemingly been forgotten as the focus shifts to Westinghouse and Oliver; the ALA's, which posted disappointing AYP results; and now the teacher academy. It's always fun to experiment and start a fresh new project but not so much fun for those who have to deal with what has been done.
anon 11:17 , Board members can all be contacted thru the Board office either by phone or mail.
To anon at 9:46, isn't that all emblematic of the great shell game? The effort is to continually look "progressive" and "evolving" when in fact, the truth is this:
We implement ideas that sound good or look good on paper. We don't really have a clue as to how they will go, and in fact, there are no long term studies to draw upon.
We implement it. It fails or does not provide the immediate results we wanted. We can't risk an expose, an investigative report or bad pub, so we abandon ship and spend millions on something new.
Hey, it's just taxpayer money.
Then board members talk about how they had to close schools because they are so concerned about taxpayer money.
Next time around we need someone committed to seeing his/her ideas through and making them work. That way we are more likely to get ideas that are workable in the first place.
Taxpayers fund Roosevelt's insurance payments for the next 10 years! From the Trib.
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/s_703311.html
And a political hack like Ira Weiss has the guts to come out and say that his buddy Roosevelt was worth it.
Amazing.
Mark Brentley says he's throwing John Thompson's name in the ring as a replacement. You know, it's funny. He could never ever be worse than Roosevelt or his left over cronies.
If you actually look at John Thompson's results in terms of achievement and enrollment he compares pretty favorably!
And Thompson's the one that go the new CAPA built with private money, I believe?
That Kansas City article made it sound like Roosevelt invented the concept and got them a lovely building. No and no.
How much money did he raise for CAPA? It's funny how for one person, raising money wasn't sufficient since scores weren't high enough but for the other fundraising made up for less improvement in scores. And CAPA is a proven success, while it remains to be seen whether the Pittsburgh Promise will fizzle out and whether the teachers academy really prodcues results (or makes things worse- many parents are very concerned about their children's teachers being pulled out of the classroom for weeks or months at a time). Kids benefit from stability (isn't that the idea behind looping?).
Please look deeper before anyone seriously considers Dr. Thompson as a suitable replacement. A very entertaining and likeable guy who liked to go to ball games as part of his daily duties as superintendent. Parent groups were treated to many sumptuous dinners before parent meetings and he did several giveaways during a school year to active parents on committees. Overtime pay skyrocketed during projects like Cupples and summer work for building improvements during his school closing period. How those things got funded, I don't remember, probably some via Title I/PI funds for the parent activities, but I do believe we are living under different financial circumstances now and can't afford a returning super who comes across as a knight riding in on his charger to restore things to old ways.
He had many champions to be sure, but did not always have the correct answers. If he like your question/s you were welcome, if not..less than welcome.
With so much money involved- is there a way to free the process of the effect of favors done for certain people at certain times?
Remember Thompson was able to play "Santa Claus" because he raised taxes every year. That doesn't excite me as a resident of Pittsburgh at all!
Me neither, Anon 10:35. All the effort to bring in young families with the Promise and improvement to PPS education will be negated by folks like me ready to bolt the city if taxes go up. My kids are soon to be on their own and as much as I like inner-city living, a little ranch house might be what I need in some quiet corner outside the city.
Most people seem happy with taxes not being raised, but what if they could be lowered by not continuing to take on new debt as old debt is paid off- there is not much attention to that possibility, or to seeing that money is put to the best use. Juse keep taxes the same.
Questioner said...
With so much money involved- is there a way to free the process of the effect of favors done for certain people at certain times?
October 9, 2010 9:04 AM
Wow, Questioner. This query should be reposted everyday until an answer is found.
OK, it will be.
John Thompson would have to clean house in administration. Here is a man who APPRECIATED the work of teachers. He would be in the midst of people who abhor them and publicly downgrade the fact that they were ever teachers to begin with, as if there is some shame in having been in the classroom.
Here in this snakepit of vindictiveness and vitriolic blame games, Thompson would have to show the gumption to ask for resignations.
We've lost good board members like Randall Taylor in favor of "yes-men" who rubber stamped everything the current superintendent asked for. They should take a lesson from the Jefferson Hills board and learn what the idea of being responsible to constituency actually means.
I'd take John back in a heartbeat over ANYONE in this administration.
It basically says that MR lived up to his promise due to the grant for teacher training, the contract w/ the teachers union, and the Pgh Promise.
But- the teacher training and related contract are unproven. It would have been nice to see the concept tried w/ a small group of teachers first. And we just don't know if the matching funds necessary for the PGh Promise will be raised. Donors might want to see some data on the percentage of Promise recipients that actually fnish their college programs.
Anyway, was the promise at the outset a plan for teacher training and scholarships?
WE need someone who prioritizes and is
committed to providing educational foundations
for children versus commitment to Broad/Gates foundations for adult self-aggrandizement.
WE need someone who prioritizes and will
raise academic achievement versus raising
multi-millions of dollars.
Reminds me of a 'House' theme a couple of years ago. $100 million meant complete, totalitarian oversight---until one day, the collect consciences of good people told the guy with the money to take a hike. They remembered what their charge was.
I live for the day that PPS administrative left-overs are either told to take that hike or to go and teach in an underachieving school. This starts with an assistant superintendent who has all the answers. Since that's the case, she and her cronies can obviously bring our kids farther.
I live for the day that a trued educator--a Louise Brennen or Helen Faison--is put in charge.
I wonder how long it would be until either would see that something is grossly out of whack on Bellefield Avenue.
And the $100M (if it is matched) was never free money anyway. Large non-profits that function similarly to for-profits were going to make some kind of payment. The difference is that the payment was made outside of the usually government taxation and spending process (ie, the spending decision was not made by elected officials).
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