From The Howard County Times

http://www.explorehoward.com/news/72964/county-will-not-enforce-campaign-sign-la\
w/


    What does this mean for you folks running for BOE ? Take a ride through
Western Howard and take a look at Ehrlich's signs .

Jack

From The Howard County Times

http://www.explorehoward.com/education/72861/wireless-access-plan-goes-online-sc\
hools/

-----Original Message-----
From: pamythompson
Sent: Jul 2, 2010 2:20 AM
To: howardpubliced@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [howardpubliced] Wireless access plan goes online for schools

 

From The Howard County Times

http://www.explorehoward.com/education/72861/wireless-access-plan-goes-online-schools/

-----Original Message-----
From: pamythompson
Sent: Jul 2, 2010 2:15 AM
To: howardpubliced@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [howardpubliced] Howard County will not enforce campaign sign law

 

From The Howard County Times

http://www.explorehoward.com/news/72964/county-will-not-enforce-campaign-sign-law/

What does this mean for you folks running for BOE ? Take a ride through Western Howard and take a look at Ehrlich's signs .

Jack

The article on the wireless plan does not indicate whether or not students will
be able to access the network from their own devices.

Does anyone know where we can get a copy of the plan? I don't see it on the web
site, so it is probably buried somewhere inside BoardDocs (under the meeting at
which it was approved).

- David T

From The Columbia Flier

http://www.explorehoward.com/news/72988/full-ballot-after-candidate-filing-deadl\
ine/

Jack:

Go to my blog for a complete list of principal evaluations and reassignments.
You have to get the list from BoardDocs, but you have to know the date of the
meeting when the report was presented to find it. This is not good information
management.

When I get around to it, I'll start posting all good reports on my own web site
in an easy-to-find list.

David Thalheimer
Candidate, Board of Education
Web: http://www.betterboardofed.org
Blog: http://blog.betterboardofed.org


--- In howardpubliced@yahoogroups.com, "pamythompson" <pamythompson@...> wrote:
>
>    I watched this post with interest , I looked for a list of promotions and
reassignments but thusfar I only see individual school websites reflecting on
moves relevent to ther particular schools .
>
>   I find the HCPSS website rather lacking as well as less then user friendly .
I am able to read Mr. Dyer's links in the email but not on this group . I save
and read all of his attachments .
>
>   Evaluations !!!!  The HCPSS does not seem to desire the input of
stakeholders , actually they can be down right unfriendly about it . We as
parents evaluate these people constantly amongst ourselves . If we have no imput
into our children's education then we have no choice but to speak publicly . The
place to start is at the top . Is the superintendent and his staff competent to
make these decisions ? From my experience I do not believe they are . I believe
they themselves were promoted up through a system where they were poorly trained
and poorly supervised , a system which for years has deteriorated . A system
that not only allows negligence and incompetence but fosters it . If they want
to improve the schools then they need to let the parents , students and teachers
speak . Let us work together on it openly . They need to either quit cowering
behind their office doors sucking off our tax dollars , return the schools to
the community or they need to resign and walk out the door . I firmly believe
the children of Howard county would benefit most from the latter .
>
> Finally is the end result of repeated failure .
>
> Jack
>
> --- In howardpubliced@yahoogroups.com, "david_thalheimer" <dthalheimerusa@>
wrote:
> >
> > I don't know why, but I can never access message attachments. All I see is
text, but no link. Can you upload this to the "Files" section? Otherwise, I can
look up the code myself.
> >
> > --- In howardpubliced@yahoogroups.com, "Allen Dyer" <aldyer@> wrote:
> > >
> > > ----- Original Message -----
> > >   From: david_thalheimer
> > >   To: howardpubliced@yahoogroups.com
> > >   Sent: Thursday, June 24, 2010 9:02 AM
> > >   Subject: [howardpubliced] Re: Principal Evaluations & Reassignments
> > >
> > >
> > >   There is one administrative item requiring approval of "Administrative
> > > Appointments and Promotions" and another report (no action) on
> > > "Administrative Transfers." So, I think you are right, but does it make
> > > sense to only approve appointments and promotions, but not transfers? They
> > > are both important leadership actions. I don't even see any prior
disclosure
> > > of the details. I guess we only get to see them after the fact.
> > >
> > >   ...
> > >   David Thalheimer
> > >   Candidate, Board of Education
> > >
> > > david,
> > >
> > > you are keying in on the important interplay between the board of
education
> > > and the superintendent and while your reference to the board web page is a
> > > good start, you need to go to THE SOURCE -- the maryland annotated code.
> > >
> > > the local boards of education derive ALL of their power from the maryland
> > > general assembly and that authority is delegated to the local boards via
the
> > > education article of the maryland code.
> > >
> > > in the matter that the howardpubliced list is currently discussing, i
> > > suggest reference to education section 6-201.  please see attached.
> > >
> > > attached also, hurl v. board of education for howard county (1995).
> > >
> > > allen
> > >
> >
>

Well it appears my efforts to send the hiring and seperation reports has hit
a snag . It does not show up here but it does in your email which is not good
for the many people who read this group through it's open message board . I will
try to get it here so everyone can see it or if we can get it into the files
section .

    My interest is this report shows ethnicity of the staff and it also shows
that ethnicity in staff mirrors ethnicity of the student population . Basicly
our schools are clearly "black and white" . I believe that if we can get older
reports they will show as the schools changed in the number of children for a
given race that the staff changed as well . This is significant for schools such
as Cradlerock which has seen a turnover of teachers for at least 15 years .

   This report also speaks of targeting minority schools as well as media outlets
in an efort to increase the number of African American , Asain and Hispanic
teachers however it also shows these teachers are not assigned equally through
the system .

Hiring anyone by race does not secure the best teachers nor does it solve the
problem of disparity in our schools . The reality is for now we have black and
white schools but there is no excuse for having a staff that is segregated . A
teacher should be able to teach anywhere and a Howard County teacher should not
enjoy the priveledge of only teaching in one or two schools . A Howard county
teacher should be required to teach in many schools .

Mr. Katz was kind enough to locate this information for me as he had researched
this information for the HCPSS . With this type of information in front of the
senior administration there is no excuse for the festering problems our children
have endured .

Some may say that it is not the job of the BOE to micromanage the superintendent
and his staff and if this was a fully functioning corporation they may be
correct however this is a dysfunctional group of overpaid and incompetent
garbage that has floated to the top of an educational cesspool . Education
reform requires we dredge the scum from the pond . It is the job of the BOE to
set in place a system that scrutinizes and holds those at the highest levels of
the HCPSS acountable .

I need to try to get this report here as well as older ones and I probably
should look at the equity report while I am at it .

Jack

--- In howardpubliced@yahoogroups.com, pam thompson <pamythompson@...> wrote:
>
>
>
> --- On Fri, 6/25/10, Julian Katz <Julian_Katz@...> wrote:
>
>
> From: Julian Katz <Julian_Katz@...>
> Subject: Hiring & Separation Report
> To: pamythompson@...
> Date: Friday, June 25, 2010, 3:20 PM
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Mr. Thompson
>
> I believe this is what you are looking for.
>
>
>
> Julian Katz
> Coordinator of Research and Program Evaluation
> Student Assessment and Program Evaluation
>
> 410-313-6755
>
> This e-mail, including any attachments, is CONFIDENTIAL and may be legally
privileged.  If you are not an intended recipient or an authorized
representative of an intended recipient, you are prohibited from using, copying
or distributing the information in this e-mail or its attachments.  If you have
received this e-mail in error, please notify the sender immediately by return
e-mail and delete all copies of this message and any attachments.  Thank you.
>

More info on school start times....
Debra

-----Forwarded Message-----
>From: The Herman Group <alert@...>
>Subject: Herman Trend Alert: Postpone School Start Time to Support Adolescent
Learning
>
>
>LOOKING FOR A DYNAMIC KEYNOTE SPEAKER?
>You need look no farther. Joyce Gioia (joy-yah) is a sought-after speaker for
corporate and association audiences. Joyce shares her knowledge and expertise
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Her understandings and insights will inform and fascinate you. For more
information, call Carol McKinney at 336-282-9370 or visit the web site at
http://www.hermangroup.com/joyce.html for more information on Joyce's topics.
>
>Herman Trend Alert: Postpone School Start Time to Support Adolescent Learning
>July 14, 2010
>
>In his landmark book, "The Seven Secrets of Learning Revealed", our late THG
Consulting Partners colleague, Laurence Martel, details adolescents' optimum
times for learning.
>
>Reinforcing Martel's work, a pilot study, conducted in a small private high
school (St. George's School) by Hasbro Children's Hospital located in
Providence, Rhode Island, confirms a brief delay in school start time of only 30
minutes was associated with significant improvements in adolescent alertness,
mood, and health. These findings were published in the July issue of the
Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine.
>
>Inadequate nightly sleep in adolescents, defined as fewer than nine hours, is a
known problem and a major public health concern. For years, pediatric sleep
experts have encouraged delayed school start times to address this concern. In
fact, the start time in this study was delayed only from 8am to 8:30am.
>
>Due to a shift in circadian rhythms, biological changes in adolescents can
cause a "phase delay"---later sleep onset and wake times. Despite the shift in
their wake/sleep times, the optimal sleep amount for adolescents is nine to 9-ÂĽ
hours per night. On a practical level, this sleep pattern means that the average
adolescent rarely falls asleep before 11pm, so the ideal wake time is around
8am. Not surprising, many studies have documented that the average adolescent is
"chronically sleep-deprived and pathologically sleepy".
>
>The consequences of sleep deprivation are far-reaching: impairments in mood,
attention and memory, behavior control and quality of life; lower academic
performance and a decreased motivation to learn; and health-related effects
including increased risk of weight-gain, lack of exercise and use of stimulants.
>
>Overall the percent of students sleeping fewer than seven hours, after the
change in school start time, decreased by 80 percent. Plus, there was a
significant average increase in sleep duration of 45 minutes on school nights.
across all grades (nine to 12).
>
>We have only begun to scratch the surface in discovering how to support
learning among people of all ages. Certainly, we may expect these insights about
sleep and start times to result in more student-centric schools similar to many
of the changes made at High Point University.
>********
>GOOD SELECTION = BETTER RETENTION
>If you are not using pre-employment assessments, you are flying without
radar---not very smart in today's highly competitive environment. Let us help
you better understand your candidates and your employees. In less than 30
minutes, you will know if they can do the job (abilities); their work behaviors,
even their personality and attitudes (like integrity & ethics), and those can't
be trained. It's very cost effective, too! For more information, contact Joyce
at 336-210-3548 or e-mail assessments@.... Validated for many
countries and cultures. We offer in-depth help with job descriptions, too!
http://www.hermangroup.com/assessments.html
>********
>UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY
>You love this weekly email and so do many others! Reach the thousands of
business people who read and appreciate the Herman Trend Alert every week.
Sponsor our weekly alerts and we will write a personal message for you and
deliver it at the top of our emails. Call Joyce at 336-210-3547 for more
information and rates.
>********
>To read this Herman Trend Alert on the web:
http://www.hermangroup.com/alert/archive_7-14-2010.html.
>*****
>
>Herman Trend Alerts are written by Joyce Gioia, a strategic
>business futurist, Certified Management Consultant, author, and
>professional speaker. Archived editions are posted at
http://www.hermangroup.com/archive.html
>
>Find it interesting? Send it to your friends. The e-advisory is received by
>over 29,000 subscribers in over 87 countries, in addition to other websites and
printed magazines. The Herman Trend Alert is published each week in English,
Spanish, and Portuguese.
>
>To unsubscribe or change your e-mail address, go to
>http://mh.databack.com/c.php?L=trendalert&E=debra4@earthlink.net
>
>"© Copyright 1998-2010 by The Herman Group of Companies, Inc., all rights
reserved.  Reproduction for publication is allowed by permission of The Herman
Group, Inc., and must include the following attribution: "From 'The Herman Trend
Alert,' by Joyce Gioia, Strategic Business Futurist. (800) 227-3566 or
http://www.hermangroup.com. The Herman Trend Alert is a trademark of The Herman
Group of Companies, Inc."
>
>The Herman Group, 7112 Viridian Lane, Austin, Texas 78739 USA (336)
>210-3548  www.hermangroup.com
>

From The Howard County Times

http://www.explorehoward.com/education/73270/school-board-hopefuls-cite-goals-gr\
ipes/

Below is from the comments section of the story . I caled the HCPSS to inquire
and after being transferred all over , primarily between human resources and
public relations but other places as well and leaving a few messages over more
then a week I stumbled across the office of Dr. Clarissa Evans, Executive
Director, Secondary Curricular . I was told Ms. Erickson had sent out such an
email but those plans had changed . I was told the position would not be placed
as open but would be filled by someone in the system or be assigned as
additional work to someone . As I inquired further about this position the
person speaking to me refused to give any more information and referred me to
human resources . I thanked them for their time and asked their name at which
point they refused to give their name and hung up on me . I called back , 410
313 5686 and got the secretary Mary Crotts who told me she over heard the
conversation but she too refused to tell me who I spoke to . Ms. Crotts would
say that their were only two people in the office , herself and Dr. Evans .

   It really does not matter who I spoke to because every person in the HCPSS
should be able to speak openly for themself , it shows poor training when an
educated person can not give their name and their secretary must basically lie
for them . It is a shame that information is so hard to find and that the people
that work for HCPSS do not believe that it is the publics business . As I made
this inquiry I encountered , as I have often found , two types of people , those
that would help you as much as they were allowed or were trained and those that
acted as though public education belonged to the priveledged .

   This inquiry for me reinforced the firm belief that the system Ms. Erickson
has retired from is not what the public expects or deserves . The deputy
superintendent's position needs to be advertised nationally and vetted publicly
. The person that recieves this position should bring an honest , open
partnership to the residents of Howard county .

Jack

Below is from the comments section of the article

"I read with interest the article on Ms. Erickson's career and retirement from
HCPSS. The article was well written and gave much credit to Ms. Erickson's
educational endeavors. Unfortunately, the article also raised a serious
question. On June 15th Ms. Erickson personally sent out an e-mail, to Dr.
Cousin, all central office staff,as well as all elementary, middle and high
school principals. announcing her retirement as well as her subsequent
re-employment with Howard County in August of 2010. She stated that she would be
the coordinator of the Fine Arts program which is a new .5 position. This
information seems to be in direct contrast to Ms. Erickson's feigned
indifference, in this article, exactly one week later, to re-employment after
her retirement. Is it possible that the Howard Times could engage Ms. Erickson
in a second interview to explain what appears to be two contradictory positions.
I know that I am joined by many others seeking the answer to this seemingly
inconsistent position that Ms. Erickson has on her retirement"

--- In howardpubliced@yahoogroups.com, "parenthcpss" <parenthcpss@...> wrote:
>
>
> This is an important position - I hope that a thoughtful decision will be made
for her replacement in order to raise the effectiveness of the current
Administration.
>
>
>
http://www.explorehoward.com/news/72662/deputy-superintendent-schools-announces-\
retirement/
>

David ,

    The lists give us some information but leaves out much . For example , one of
River Hills assistant principals will be leaving to become principal of Parkdale
in Prince Georges county . Parkdale is a challenging school , we will get
Parkdale's current principal , who just happens to live in Howard couny . Why
would an educator leave a place like Parkdale where so much work needs to be
done to come here ?

   The principal from Riverhill will go on special assignment under Ms Wise at
central office . I have no doubt since I first met Ms. Wise in the 90's that she
was in serious need of help . Honestly , disregarding what principal went on
this special assignment , we need to ask some serious questions , such as
exactly what in detail this person will be doing and could those same duties be
done by someone already there or by someone for a lot less money .

   Riverhill will get Mr. Novak back from Glenelg as principal , primarily
because of the amount of time he has at Riverhill prior . I personally have
never met Mr. Novak but I do know the rest of Glenelg's administration and it is
my steadfast opinion that any training he recieved in his tenure at Glenelg was
poor at best .

    I honestly believe from what I have witnessed , the administration of the
HCPSS needs a complete overhaul beginning with the superintendants office and
have no faith in the senior administration of HCPSS to oversee our children's
education .

    As for the Assistant Principal from Riverhill who has taken on the challenge
of Parkdale , I wish this person the best and honestly feel that Howard county
has lost a lot of potential in this departure .

Jack

--- In howardpubliced@yahoogroups.com, "david_thalheimer" <dthalheimerusa@...>
wrote:
>
> Jack:
>
> Go to my blog for a complete list of principal evaluations and reassignments.
You have to get the list from BoardDocs, but you have to know the date of the
meeting when the report was presented to find it. This is not good information
management.
>
> When I get around to it, I'll start posting all good reports on my own web
site in an easy-to-find list.
>
> David Thalheimer
> Candidate, Board of Education
> Web: http://www.betterboardofed.org
> Blog: http://blog.betterboardofed.org
>
>
> --- In howardpubliced@yahoogroups.com, "pamythompson" <pamythompson@> wrote:
> >
> >    I watched this post with interest , I looked for a list of promotions and
reassignments but thusfar I only see individual school websites reflecting on
moves relevent to ther particular schools .
> >
> >   I find the HCPSS website rather lacking as well as less then user friendly
. I am able to read Mr. Dyer's links in the email but not on this group . I save
and read all of his attachments .
> >
> >   Evaluations !!!!  The HCPSS does not seem to desire the input of
stakeholders , actually they can be down right unfriendly about it . We as
parents evaluate these people constantly amongst ourselves . If we have no imput
into our children's education then we have no choice but to speak publicly . The
place to start is at the top . Is the superintendent and his staff competent to
make these decisions ? From my experience I do not believe they are . I believe
they themselves were promoted up through a system where they were poorly trained
and poorly supervised , a system which for years has deteriorated . A system
that not only allows negligence and incompetence but fosters it . If they want
to improve the schools then they need to let the parents , students and teachers
speak . Let us work together on it openly . They need to either quit cowering
behind their office doors sucking off our tax dollars , return the schools to
the community or they need to resign and walk out the door . I firmly believe
the children of Howard county would benefit most from the latter .
> >
> > Finally is the end result of repeated failure .
> >
> > Jack
> >
> > --- In howardpubliced@yahoogroups.com, "david_thalheimer" <dthalheimerusa@>
wrote:
> > >
> > > I don't know why, but I can never access message attachments. All I see is
text, but no link. Can you upload this to the "Files" section? Otherwise, I can
look up the code myself.
> > >
> > > --- In howardpubliced@yahoogroups.com, "Allen Dyer" <aldyer@> wrote:
> > > >
> > > > ----- Original Message -----
> > > >   From: david_thalheimer
> > > >   To: howardpubliced@yahoogroups.com
> > > >   Sent: Thursday, June 24, 2010 9:02 AM
> > > >   Subject: [howardpubliced] Re: Principal Evaluations & Reassignments
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >   There is one administrative item requiring approval of "Administrative
> > > > Appointments and Promotions" and another report (no action) on
> > > > "Administrative Transfers." So, I think you are right, but does it make
> > > > sense to only approve appointments and promotions, but not transfers?
They
> > > > are both important leadership actions. I don't even see any prior
disclosure
> > > > of the details. I guess we only get to see them after the fact.
> > > >
> > > >   ...
> > > >   David Thalheimer
> > > >   Candidate, Board of Education
> > > >
> > > > david,
> > > >
> > > > you are keying in on the important interplay between the board of
education
> > > > and the superintendent and while your reference to the board web page is
a
> > > > good start, you need to go to THE SOURCE -- the maryland annotated code.
> > > >
> > > > the local boards of education derive ALL of their power from the
maryland
> > > > general assembly and that authority is delegated to the local boards via
the
> > > > education article of the maryland code.
> > > >
> > > > in the matter that the howardpubliced list is currently discussing, i
> > > > suggest reference to education section 6-201.  please see attached.
> > > >
> > > > attached also, hurl v. board of education for howard county (1995).
> > > >
> > > > allen
> > > >
> > >
> >
>

I was interested in what the principal on special assignment would be doing
for us and whether it was cost effective . About a week ago I began asking and
understand that it may be in the board docs somewhere as well may be part of a
state initiative . Keep in mind that I have no interest in the person that fills
this position but in the position . I had not researched it that far when I
began recieving phone calls from Mr. Bruzga .

  With all the problems at Glenelg , Ms Erickson had made Mr. Bruzga my personal
liason which did not work and I have repeatedly objected even to the
superintendent . None of the problems at Glenelg were ever resolved and continue
and worsen to this day . Mr . Bruzga insists that I am now part of his job and
everyone at HCPSS somehow believes that I am not to be spoken to but referred to
Mr. Bruzga . This arrangement effectively has denied me access to my children's
education even to the point that I am unable to get a conference with any of my
children's teachers although I have repeatedly asked the superintendent's office
only to be referred back to Mr. Bruzga who somehow believes that I have been
provided all the information I need . This may explain my interest in every
aspect of the HCPSS as well as my efforts to bring some transparency and overdue
improvement to the system .

   Since Mr. Bruzga has decided the information below is resonable for me to have
and I see nothing that the public should not have I will publish it here and
proceed to look further into this special position .

   This is a public school system and the people of Howard county have a right to
unrestricted access to every aspect of it .

Jack



Cc: "Linda T. Wise" <LINDA_WISE@...>Dear Mr. Thompson,


Mr. Bill Ryan, recently appointed to the position of principal on assignment at
the central office, will have three main areas of responsibility (as well as
other duties as assigned):


1.)  coordinating the school system's school improvement process,
2.)  providing leadership development for system leaders, and
3.)  promoting systemic initiatives.


Please feel to contact me if you would like any additional information.


David A. Bruzga
Administrative Director,
Secondary Schools
Howard County Public School System
410-313-5683
fax:  410-313-5661




"Things turn out best for people who make
the best of the way things turn out."
                             - Anonymous



This e-mail, including any attachments, is CONFIDENTIAL and may be legally
privileged.  If you are not an intended recipient or an authorized
representative of an intended recipient, you are prohibited from using, copying
or distributing the information in this e-mail or its attachments.  If you have
received this e-mail in error, please notify the sender immediately by return
e-mail and delete all copies of this message and any attachments.  Thank you.

According to the HCPSS website Glenlg HS falls into Allen Dyer's cluster
assignment.
http://www.hcpss.org/board/clusters.shtml

As an elected official he should able to trump Mr. Bruaga and get you the access
you need.  I have talked to Mr. Dyer myself about other topics; I would think
getting you access that you desire is right up his alley.  Try his phone, it's
on the HCPSS site too.

--- In howardpubliced@yahoogroups.com, "pamythompson" <pamythompson@...> wrote:
>
>     I was interested in what the principal on special assignment would be
doing for us and whether it was cost effective . About a week ago I began asking
and understand that it may be in the board docs somewhere as well may be part of
a state initiative . Keep in mind that I have no interest in the person that
fills this position but in the position . I had not researched it that far when
I began recieving phone calls from Mr. Bruzga .
>
>  With all the problems at Glenelg , Ms Erickson had made Mr. Bruzga my
personal liason which did not work and I have repeatedly objected even to the
superintendent . None of the problems at Glenelg were ever resolved and continue
and worsen to this day . Mr . Bruzga insists that I am now part of his job and
everyone at HCPSS somehow believes that I am not to be spoken to but referred to
Mr. Bruzga . This arrangement effectively has denied me access to my children's
education even to the point that I am unable to get a conference with any of my
children's teachers although I have repeatedly asked the superintendent's office
only to be referred back to Mr. Bruzga who somehow believes that I have been
provided all the information I need . This may explain my interest in every
aspect of the HCPSS as well as my efforts to bring some transparency and overdue
improvement to the system .
>
>   Since Mr. Bruzga has decided the information below is resonable for me to
have and I see nothing that the public should not have I will publish it here
and proceed to look further into this special position .
>
>   This is a public school system and the people of Howard county have a right
to unrestricted access to every aspect of it .
>
> Jack
>
>
>
> Cc: "Linda T. Wise" <LINDA_WISE@...>Dear Mr. Thompson,
>
>
> Mr. Bill Ryan, recently appointed to the position of principal on assignment
at the central office, will have three main areas of responsibility (as well as
other duties as assigned):
>
>
> 1.)  coordinating the school system's school improvement process,
> 2.)  providing leadership development for system leaders, and
> 3.)  promoting systemic initiatives.
>
>
> Please feel to contact me if you would like any additional information.
>
>
> David A. Bruzga
> Administrative Director,
> Secondary Schools
> Howard County Public School System
> 410-313-5683
> fax:  410-313-5661
>
>
>
>
> "Things turn out best for people who make
> the best of the way things turn out."
>                             - Anonymous
>
>
>
> This e-mail, including any attachments, is CONFIDENTIAL and may be legally
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            Since speaking at the Board of Education open forum, I have realized that we need several new Board of Education members that respect their constituents and represent our goals instead of the school system's goals.  Here is my story:

            When I spoke at the June 24th meeting, I really needed about 6 minutes to get out all of my remarks but I only got 3 minutes. The Board restricts public input in this way:  Only 5 speakers are allotted time at the open forum and it has to be reserved well in advance.  I reserved my spot over 2 weeks ahead.  Extra time could not be reserved ahead of the meeting and they actually set a buzzer at the meeting. 

I spoke to a silent, I think mostly hostile crowd then sat through one full hour of congratulatory motions by the board before they spoke about anything of substance.  I stayed for 2 hours to see if they would ever address my concerns but they didn't.  It cost me $40 in babysitting, the sweat of being a nervous speaker, forget about the work that I put in the present a study of the Integrated Approach at Cradlerock.  They didn't even mention my concerns at all. 

Two weeks later, after I followed up with 2 emails to them, finally I got an "acknowledgment" email from Linda Wise, Chief Academic Officer.  I call it an acknowledgement not a response because that is all her email did.  It only acknowledged that they received my presentation and email and suggested that I talk to my school's principal if I have further concerns about the presentation of the curriculum.  Her email not did mention any discussion of my suggestions by board members or plans to address my concerns.

My concerns are many.  For those who haven’t heard or read previous Columbia Flier articles about the Integrated Approach (or IA), it was authored by Donyall Dickey, Murray Hill Middle School Principal and break down into 3 parts.  Those parts are

1.      Action Plan for Tested Areas

2.      Performance Based Objectives

3.      Explicit Instruction of the County Curriculum

I read the book and I can identify many problems to be addressed in all 3 areas but implementing the first part has been a disaster in Cradlerock.  According to Mr. Dickey’s book, an action plan should include 5-7 minutes of each class (English, gym, art, etc) devoted to teaching various skills one tested on the MSA, one allotted for each week of the school year.  The students have a pre-test on Monday and the same test is administered as a post-test on Friday.  On Tues, Wednesday and Thursday a mini-lesson was taught on the subject without revealing the missed questions to the kids. Post-tests are recorded as part of the student’s grade and tracked in a “Data Center” spreadsheet so that students can look at their scores and compare their scores to others in the class.  Each student is assigned a student number to “insure privacy.”  Ideally teachers use the Data Center to decide if a topic needs to be re-taught or one student needs remediation.

There are so many obvious logic problems with this system it is hard to name all of them.  As a mother of a Cralderock student my largest concern is the detrimental effect on the relationship between student and teacher, but the lack of data integrity in the “Data Center” is a close second.  At Cradlerock a survey of parents and students was conducted to find out what was wrong with our approach.  The results were not surprising to parents like me; kids hated it and felt it unfair, especially because it affected their grades adversely and the Action Plan took up class time without being related to the class at all. Parents who took the survey saw it as ineffective and stated many different problems suffered by their kids.  Both groups were angry and frustrated.  I will post more about the survey and a study I did on this website group. 

I asked the board to discourage the use of the pre-test/post-test data centers, a post-test being the same as a pre-test, negative grading.  I also urged them to inform schools that are using this program about the negative effects we have encountered at Cradlerock and encourage all IA schools conduct their own surveys of parents, students and teachers.  It seems that survey would have been a great way to gauge the success of this program but not even the author himself a survey as we at Cradlerock did.  I felt these constituted a simple first step to understanding the effects of IA and protecting students from an experiment gone wrong.  

It is apparent that the Board of Education found the protection of its students, parents and teachers from disastrous experiments like The Integrated Approach to Student Achievement, out of the scope of their responsibility and left it to the school system administrators to put me in my place.  Their attitude in my case highlights the BoE's lack of concern for kids and parents in favor of the school system.

This September and November citizens of Howard County will have a chance to elect 4 new members to the Board of education.  Four new members to replace the four rubber stamps can drastically change the situation for Howard County students.  Please, I urge everyone to vote in new members and consider candidates carefully so that we can get people who represent us.  Currently the Board of Education represents the school system to the public, shouldn’t it be the other way around?

"Most times this ok...to create a decent system"

I like this , and you are absolutely right . Anyone that home schools will
tell you the same thing , the state provides the curriculum and the parent
basically learns with the child . This is natural and has been going on forever
. The idea that we blindly hand our children over to the state where they are
institutionalized under the guise of education is exactly the problem . I know
of many teachers who have no training in the subject they profess to teach as
well as some that went on to become administrators . At Glenelg I saw this
approach come full circle when the Tech ed teacher had no training in the
subject and the assistant principal who taught drafting for 5 years had none
either .It was a pitiful combination that hundreds of our children were
subjected to .

   You are absolutely correct , where we were once forced to accept the status
quo as normal , however we now are able to openly communicate , we are beginning
to see just how dysfunctional our educational system is . Electing a new BOE is
a start as well as holding them accountable however the real change wil come as
parents take back their children and hold those we hire very clearly accountable
.

Jack

--- In howardpubliced@yahoogroups.com, "Heather Cindric" <hjcindric@...> wrote:
>
> Yes, I like Allen too, he is the only member who has been helpful or
> interested.
>
> For more info on the Student and Teacher survey at Cradlerock, I posted
> a report I did.
>
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/howardpubliced/files/ (Cradlerock Student
> and Parent IA SOW Survey.pdf)
>
> FYI I am on the IA Committee at Cradlerock and contributed questions the
> survey but other members conducted the survey.  Obviously, I don't speak
> for the committee all the conclusions are my own based on the raw data
> from the surveys.
>
>
> The Sola's said :
>
> "Most times this ok...to create a decent system"
>
> Definitely not.  The fact that we have accepted it for so long as normal
> should scare you.   This attitude really speaks to how imbalanced the
> system really is.  I am not getting down on you, this is actually a very
> recent eureka moment for me and just sharing.
>
> The administrator's job should be to advise in a professional capacity,
> not tell the board how it should be.  The board has we-the-public to do
> that.
>
> Every parent who can read and do some arithmetic and use a computer can
> teach their own children.  You don't have to be a rocket scientist
> (though I bet around here some of you are) to show your kids how to
> learn.  They already know that.  Even if they have been labeled as
> 'deficient' in some way by the school, you could do it.  Especially
> then.  What the school  system does for our kids is not magic.
>
> We need to demystify the school system and take back  our place at the
> decision table.  Stop thinking that the professionals know what is best
> for your kids; they don't.
>

I talked to some of the teachers that once worked at Cradlerock . First and
foremost they blamed the administration for the problems . They went on to say
because it was a hybrid , elementary/middle school , the test scores were not
counted the same and hid the problems . They said the work was harder there ,
more time had to be devoted and as far back as the mid 90's there was an exodus
of what they termed "good teachers" from the school . They very clearly
expressed the problems at Cradlerock were hidden .

    When I began to look at teachers leaving I noticed a direct correlation
between this and the changing ethnicity of the school and then I noticed that
the ethnicity of the teachers mirrored that of the students . I don't believe it
was "good teachers" leaving but white teachers that were leaving . I looked at
the number of years that the problems there went on as well as parents being
ignored and realized that I observed this at Glenelg . Then I saw this at
Reservoir and a pattern began to emerge . I began looking at how statistically
poor and minority children are lost . I looked at the MSA achievement data which
our school system caters and teaches to . Advanced , proficient and basic and
very clearly these children are being instructed to a proficient level with the
number of children in the basic category being greater then those in the
advanced . Proficient does not get it in our world , not good colleges , not
good jobs and it certainly does not alter their future . Compare these numbers
to majority white schools and you still see they are instructed to a proficient
level however class advantage gives you a greater number of advanced over basic
scores .

    The problem with our schools is in the administration in central office . If
the problem can not be contained behind an office door then a plan must be
implemented however that plan always assumes that it is the child . There is no
excuse for any of this , if you take a 5 year old and teach them and stay with
them as they grow like our future depends on it then you will have positive
results . The problem is not with the children , it is with the system . The
failure is in the people that we hired to teach them who are not performing and
the answer is to fire them . To set a standard which does not provide for these
children in life and call it proficient and then to say these people have done
what we hired them for is ludicrous . If by toothless you mean lazy , gravy
sucking scum and apply this definition to a large portion of the employees in
the HCPSS , then I would say we have found our problem .

    We do have some very fine teachers and many of them teach AP/GT class . If
you were to look at the tech magnet school , Eleanor Roosevelt in PG county in
the late 70's you will see that it was also a magnet for teachers . Half the
school were advanced and half the school was local population . These children
that lived in the neighborhood benefited greatly from the teachers in this
school . Sign a waiver and move your kids into these GT classrooms in middle
school , it will alter their lives . This is the answer , better staff . It is
time we stopped harboring garbage in our school system . Ask what teachers are
good and what teachers and administrators are poor and refuse those that do not
produce . To do this we need to set up groups so that a parent in first grade
can get feed back from parents that have already had the experience . We have
teachers at Glenelg that parents warn each other about for years . We need to be
more vocal when we encounter trash so that no one else needs to be subjected to
it because the system hides it .

    I agree that we need to take back our schools and our children's education .
As I encountered problems I first looked at my kids and sometimes this was the
answer but very often I found the problem was larger , involving many children .
Then I began up the chain of command seeking answers . Frustrated , I began to
look at the rules so I could make a diference . Eventually I realized that I was
dealing with a system that protected it's own , riddled with the poorly trained
and the incompetent . I met my share of half truths and liars . After 25 years I
came to understand , there is no recourse and that is why we lost all of these
children . By this time , most people have finished raising their children and
there will be a few years before their grandchildren repeat the process , in
effect , the game is over .

      "In effect , the game is over" , Don't believe that for a minute .

Jack

--- In howardpubliced@yahoogroups.com, "pamythompson" <pamythompson@...> wrote:
>
>    I like this , and you are absolutely right . Anyone that home schools will
tell you the same thing , the state provides the curriculum and the parent
basically learns with the child . This is natural and has been going on forever
. The idea that we blindly hand our children over to the state where they are
institutionalized under the guise of education is exactly the problem . I know
of many teachers who have no training in the subject they profess to teach as
well as some that went on to become administrators . At Glenelg I saw this
approach come full circle when the Tech ed teacher had no training in the
subject and the assistant principal who taught drafting for 5 years had none
either .It was a pitiful combination that hundreds of our children were
subjected to .
>
>   You are absolutely correct , where we were once forced to accept the status
quo as normal , however we now are able to openly communicate , we are beginning
to see just how dysfunctional our educational system is . Electing a new BOE is
a start as well as holding them accountable however the real change wil come as
parents take back their children and hold those we hire very clearly accountable
.
>
> Jack
>
> --- In howardpubliced@yahoogroups.com, "Heather Cindric" <hjcindric@> wrote:
> >
> > Yes, I like Allen too, he is the only member who has been helpful or
> > interested.
> >
> > For more info on the Student and Teacher survey at Cradlerock, I posted
> > a report I did.
> >
> > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/howardpubliced/files/ (Cradlerock Student
> > and Parent IA SOW Survey.pdf)
> >
> > FYI I am on the IA Committee at Cradlerock and contributed questions the
> > survey but other members conducted the survey.  Obviously, I don't speak
> > for the committee all the conclusions are my own based on the raw data
> > from the surveys.
> >
> >
> > The Sola's said :
> >
> > "Most times this ok...to create a decent system"
> >
> > Definitely not.  The fact that we have accepted it for so long as normal
> > should scare you.   This attitude really speaks to how imbalanced the
> > system really is.  I am not getting down on you, this is actually a very
> > recent eureka moment for me and just sharing.
> >
> > The administrator's job should be to advise in a professional capacity,
> > not tell the board how it should be.  The board has we-the-public to do
> > that.
> >
> > Every parent who can read and do some arithmetic and use a computer can
> > teach their own children.  You don't have to be a rocket scientist
> > (though I bet around here some of you are) to show your kids how to
> > learn.  They already know that.  Even if they have been labeled as
> > 'deficient' in some way by the school, you could do it.  Especially
> > then.  What the school  system does for our kids is not magic.
> >
> > We need to demystify the school system and take back  our place at the
> > decision table.  Stop thinking that the professionals know what is best
> > for your kids; they don't.
> >
>

pamythompson wrote:

> Anyone that home schools will tell you the same thing , the state provides
> the curriculum and the parent basically learns with the child . This is
> natural and has been going on forever . ... I know of many teachers who
> have no training in the subject they profess to teach as well as some that
> went on to become administrators ... It was a pitiful combination that
> hundreds of our children were subjected to.

Why is it "pitiful" when a teacher has no training in the subject and
teaches at school, but it is "natural" when parent has no training in the
subject and teaches at home.

If the untrained teacher is unwilling or unable to learn, however, that
would be as much of a problem as a parent who is unwilling or unable to
learn when homeschooling a child.
--
Ray Lischner

Ray ,

    You at least raise the point that I should be clear .

   Most people believe that our teachers are performing a job in which they have
an educated background in the subject they teach . The knowledge they impart
will raise our children to a level beyond our own capabilities . The reality is
evolution has given us all we need to raise our children and yet as the original
auther of this thread suggested , the raising of our own children has become a
lost art . More then we need to demystify the education process , we need to
realize that we too were institutionalized by this system . We have become
dependent or more to the point , we have embraced stupidity . Only in modern
history do you see the majority of mankind giving up their children to be
trained . I have always said that if a child sits through 13 years of education
then if they were truly educated  they should be able to teach to the level they
have achieved . Previously , children learned from the teachings and
observations of their elders , looking forward as they aged and applied that
knowledge in retrospect as they assumed the role of teaching those who were
younger . Education was both of a forwad nature , for example , how to be a
parent or a grand parent as well as contemplating their past as they observed
those younger in the family . Only now do we have a system in place that
isolates our children in large groups of a similar age with very few role models
and no point of reference to their past . In the past a situation where you had
a large number of people of identical age would have been indicative of a great
tragedy such as famine or plague . In this situation it is far more likely that
the few elders would revert and assume more child like behaviors , further
limiting the process of education . Since teaching is now a choice it stands to
reason that you will have individuals who are incapable of moving forward in
life who choose to remain in this unnatural environment .

Now for clarity ,

     After teaching soft ware apps for about 10 years one of Glenelg's teachers
being confronted with the class being outdated and to be droped took a few
summer classes so that they could teach the states voluntary Tech ed class which
is now required . With almost no training in this area this person proceeded to
educate our children . Daily the children questioned in class as to whether or
not this person knew what she was doing and daily she looked up the meanings of
what she was trying to teach and very often she was wrong in her instruction and
corrected by children in the class . Many of the children discussed openly how
the teacher did not know what she was doing and that they were not learning .
Further none of these children ever knew what their grades were , grades would
appear on their report cards although no work was graded . I brought this before
the assistant principal and a conference was scheduled . The teacher pulled two
of my children's work minutes before the conference and graded it . I opened my
third childs work at the conference which was ungraded for the year and asked
her to explain . The assistant principal told me he had taught drafting for 5
years as though to lend support to her plight . Near the end of the year I
walked out of the school with all my children's work and it was all ungraded and
another meeting was set up . At this point no one could explain why none of the
work was graded or why this teacher attempted to hide it or why she was
permitted to teach a class she had no experience in . At this point I asked the
assistant principal where he studied drafting only to find he was trained as
poorly as his teacher . After this meeting none of her students made any more
entries in thier journal , their work was not available to be viewed . The
teacher continued to alter grades on teacher ease over the summer and into the
following school year . We made copies of these alterations which were dated and
again brought them to the assistant principal . At this point he said he was
instructed by the principal and his supervisor not to pursue the matter any
further .

    This teacher has pretended to teach this class for 3 years which means about
300 of our children were cheated out of an education by these people . Let me be
real clear here since this was on my mind when I first replied to this post .
This teacher and her three supervisors need to refund the residents of Howard
county the money and benefits they were compensated for this charade and be
fired , further an independendent investigation should be done to determine how
common this is in the HCPSS with similar measures taken against all involved .

Jack


--- In howardpubliced@yahoogroups.com, Ray Lischner <rl.edu@...> wrote:
>
> pamythompson wrote:
>
> > Anyone that home schools will tell you the same thing , the state provides
> > the curriculum and the parent basically learns with the child . This is
> > natural and has been going on forever . ... I know of many teachers who
> > have no training in the subject they profess to teach as well as some that
> > went on to become administrators ... It was a pitiful combination that
> > hundreds of our children were subjected to.
>
> Why is it "pitiful" when a teacher has no training in the subject and
> teaches at school, but it is "natural" when parent has no training in the
> subject and teaches at home.
>
> If the untrained teacher is unwilling or unable to learn, however, that
> would be as much of a problem as a parent who is unwilling or unable to
> learn when homeschooling a child.
> --
> Ray Lischner
>