Tuesday, April 24, 2012
The Latest is......
I have heard that several administrators are looking for jobs in other districts. It appears that people are fed up with the Board of Ed making curriculum decisions without even asking certified educators. They are fed up with Red Apples filling the void at the top and they are fed up with the 'gotcha' attitude of some of the apples/Board. Staff throughout the district are just plain disgusted. Is this what the community really wants?
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IMHO, Supt. Marks has no grasp of public attitude about the Apples. She can't figure out that NEF is collapsing since affiliation with Apples.
ReplyDeleteShe relies on Haynie. What has Haynie achieved on the BoE? Really- can anyone name a single achievement?
Yes, I can name an achievement. She is going to make curriculum decisions for the Norwalk Public Schools. Watch out, M.D.s, she might decide to make medical decisions when she gets bored with education. So what if she doesn't have a degree? She seems to think she's very capable.
DeleteMedical degree, that is......
DeleteSue Haynie has done more work and research on best practises in education that the rest of the Board put together. She is incredibly knowledgeable and has brought many ideas to the table. In particular she has spent a lot of time looking for solutions to help under-performing students get up to speed. She is one of the few people who seem to care that hundreds of our students are rising throught the ranks of elementary school and they don't even know how to read!! And administrators - such as anonymous 4/26 115 PM -- don't give a hoot! They just want things to stay the same and shoot down any new practises.
DeleteFrom what I see every day, morale is low. Less than competent principals still have their jobs- no discipline, no consequences. It is very discouraging. One close friend of Supt. Marks isn't held accountable for taking vacation days whenever she wants at Norwalk High School. Is it any wonder good people are thinking about leaving?
ReplyDeleteYes, Carol M. Is still being treated differently from everyone else. The superintendent seems to give her anything she wants. Next will be the IT job. Of course that won't be announced until after all the cuts have been made. Whoever labeled her 'teacher's pet' hit the nail on the head.
DeleteSomeone needs to check her attendance record. Seriously!!!!!
DeleteWe won't miss some of these administrators ... so it will be just fine if they leave! They are negative and refuse to acknowledge the current status of affairs -- lousy test scores and families moving to perceived stronger school systems. We need to wake up and develop a plan to save our schools!
ReplyDeleteWhat you don't understand is the good administrators want out!
Delete@ 5:50 AM, Guess you got your wish. the Wolfpit Assistant Principal was hired by Greenwich. The first of them to go! I guess Greenwich appreciates the quality of leadership in Norwalk! How many more good administrators will be chased out of Norwalk because of current attitudes and conditions?
DeleteWake up Norwalk! Non educators are making decisions because of no leadership at the very top. Now these non educators want us to look like a private school in Darien! They are making curriculum decisions. Does any one of them have any background in curriculum? I don't think so! This is serious business, making curriculum decisions! The superintendent didn't even go to observe in Darien. We are not Darien. Sorry, but we need curriculum that suits Norwalk's diversity. There is no diversity in Darien!
This is all very real. All of the above. If anyone is looking to work in the public schools in Norwalk, I would discourage them Norwalk has become one of the worst districts I know of. Thanks, Sue Haynie, Red Apples and Susan Marks. What a group! I wouldn't wish them on anyone. I guess no one on the Board wants to help. Doesn't look like the mayor wants to help either. Sad, very very sad!
ReplyDeleteHave you noticed how Sue Haynie and Mike Barbis (Red Apple board members) always vote together - for whatever the Supt asks... like no staggered entry?
DeleteThank God for people like Artie Kassimis and Steve Colarossi who continue to stand up against the Supt and the Rotten Apples!
Keep it up guys! There is hope... hopefully one of you can be Chairman next year. PLEASE!!!
Look at what's going on . . .
ReplyDeleteIT Director Polselli gets tossed under the bus when Supt. Marks supports Carol M. in her grievance. No one but Marks testified at the grievance hearing. He was a good Marks soldier (even tried to unseat NASA leaders for her)-- now, he's outlived his usefulness.
Nathan Hale principal McCain has Marks overrule the special ed director to get him staff for his special intensive reading program. What happens? Some folks complain, Marks pulls the rug out from under him and never admits that she helped keep the program. She even visited that classroom several times!
Craig Drezek was a good COO, but Marks kept him late, didn't care about his family commitments, so she burnt him out.
But, if you're one of her friends, you get bumped when your central office position is eliminated but you get to keep your higher salary. If you're a friend, you get what you want. It's that simple.
Don't even get me started about the Asst. Principals who work for tyrants that Marks won't discipline.
No accountability. No loyalty.
I heard that Marks was the only one to testify for Carol M. as well. IMHO, this friendship has gone waaaaay too far. isn't anyone going to stop this nonsense?
ReplyDeleteGreat news for the Wolfpit AP who is becoming a principal in Greenwich. I think he would have taken the promotion even if he didn't work for the door-slamming knitter. But we'll see how many Norwalk people apply for the open job.
ReplyDeleteI know it was mentioned before. But if the Board of Ed is cutting more than five million dollars how are the cuts kept away from the kids? Will it be ending high school sports, firing teachers, closing schools, cutting out school libraries? WE WANT TO KNOW. When I don't see a plan from the superintendent I get worried. I would think that administrators are as worried as we are. That definitely hurts morale.
ReplyDeleteBoE Steve C. Is determining the cuts. The Superintendent is not. Regarding budget cuts, some of what has been suggested so far is that the smaller elementary schools will share an ass't principal, and Columbus won't get extra classes.
DeleteWhy should Columbus get extra classes while every other school will lose important resources? Once again, Columbus thinking their model is more important than everyone elses. Newsflash - Columbus students are leaving because of gang violence in the neighborhood and young families want to leave Norwalk.
DeleteIf you're enrollment is down, you don't get to add more resources while the rest of us lose our resources. Try filling the empty seats first....
Having heard from others about the mention of REd APPLES on this blog, I felt I should respond in order to clarify the brew-ha ha over 'adminstration fed up' as refered to in this post. No doubt it follows on from a BOE Subcommittee Meeting (that is open to the public btw)last Monday night. At issue: advocating for more meaningful evaluations of adminstration/principals. At issue: 1) to actually do them 2) to add more managerial metrics for principals 3) for them have the same rating system that teachers have. Curently there is no rating system. Every organization has some form of evalations, development, assessments for management -except it would appear NPS Administration. There are various reasons why it hasn't been done. I even suggested peer to peer evaluations like what most other professions do. I was laughed at.
ReplyDeleteLisa, I'm sorry to hear that you were laughed at. You are doing the right thing. The trouble is, principals and administration work for the Superintendent, and in my experience are implicitly considered at-odds with "the other team" (the actual teachers, who are members of the union).
DeleteIt's a conflict of interest for the Superintendent to do meaningful evaluations of members of "her own team", so it's going to take a lot of community involvement to make it happen. Keep at it!
Incidentally, note that the administration *loves* to try to evaluate and assign performance numbers to teachers, when instead they should rely on having experienced master teachers evaluate other teachers (which they are loathe to do).
Who are the "Red Apples"? What does that term mean?
ReplyDeleteYou can't blame the administrators for not having an evaluation plan - that's Supt. Marks job. Her changes? Her proposals? Zippo.
ReplyDeleteWill anyone ever talk about the weak 2 page review the BoE gave Marks? It was a joke. But as long as Marks is a friend of the Apples, the "reformers" won't say a word about that.
Maybe if the Apples held Marks accountable for anything, they'd have some credibility-- they won't and they don't.
Anonymous 11.10
ReplyDeleteYou know not of what you speak. And yes there are changes. First, evaluations are being done NOW - first time in years! Mr Ditrio admitted that they haven't been done in our meeting on Monday. And some (not all) of the principals are not happy! There was no rating system before Marks got here...so how do you get rid of someone when there is no rating system and no documentation to back it up and the union doesn't want that to change. This has been an issue for probably a decade in Norwalk. Did anyone notice the former HR Director's contract was not renewed? Dr. Marks is pushing for a rating system and exploring options - and passage of SB 24 will help in the next few weeks. But my observation is that this district is being held hostage by about the fear mongers and gatekeeper who attend all the meetings. Where is everybody? The adminstration is also unionized. This is stunning to me to think that administration has collective bargaining rights and no rated appraisals. Great deal! And in response to 11.10 the principals and administrators are not "on the same team" as the Superintendent. Her posistion and 3 others the AS, CFO and HR Director have their own contracts and not subject to collective bargainnig like the entire staff of NPS. The sad thing is that the 19 schools have been doing their own thing for so long, any attempt to reign things is challenging...especially when at this stage, unless an employee committs a code of conduct violation, like doing something illegal, it is just as hard to get rid of an administrator as anyone else. And also for the record, there are very few folks left on the 3rd floor - its a ghost town. This is why I had suggested peer to peer evaluations for teachers and for principals as a means of picking up some of the responsibilities of central office staff (who are not there.) Sadly, everything is a fight here in Norwalk... And also for the record, I do not agree with everything Dr. Marks does, nor she with me. I will continue to push for evaluations, scientific based reading instruction for k-3 teachers (also outlined in HB 5350.) Meaningful PD for staff, and fair ECS funding for Norwalk. This Apple Friends label is simply an attempt to derail change. I only see here when I attend the DDDMT or public meetings. Again, whre is everybody! The one thing I have in common with Dr. Marks is that there are NPS staff who hate me for speaking up. However, staff who know me and my sons know the content of my character and I am not dissuaded from the reforms that I advocate for. I'm in good company with the Governor, the Commissioner of Edcation, Arnie Duncan and the President of the United States.
As a priority school district, Norwalk has been held accountable for those literacy standards for over ten years. It was our Priority School supervisor, perhaps ten years ago who suggested to the
DeleteState Department of Education to follow the researched based findings used in Reading Recovery to drive our literacy program. Running Records were utilized across Priority School districts in the state of Connecticut as a result of this. Our Language Arts Supervisor, Dr. Mary-Alice Fitzgerald, had already provided Reading Recovery teachers for our failing students in grade one. So much for your 'expertise' on HB5350, Lisa. Norwalk needs educators with knowledge of educational research, past history and classroom practice to drive instruction, not people who know not what they say. And that's just covering your comments on literacy. I'll let others take you on regarding your other claims.
You know not of what you speak is right. Administrators have been evaluated and are evaluated. Those administrators who have been extremely weak have been supported, but if no progress has been made, have been told they had a choice - to resign or be fired. This is not public knowledge, so parents don't realize what is really happening behind closed doors.. People, don't listen to this garbage being spewed here by folks who only think they know the truth.
DeleteLisa Thompson, would you mind sharing your degrees in education, especially administration, that allow you to be such an expert on these matters? I'm just curious about your self proclaimed knowledge on these subjects.
ReplyDeleteSome people are in love with power. You will never get a reply from this one.
DeleteJust FYI, a few points:
Delete1. An education degree -- though a lot of work -- isn't all that difficult to get, nor is it terribly useful. Sorry, but ask any good teacher over dinner and they'll concede that to be the case.
2. Many people go into a field entirely different from what they studied in college and become experts in that field. College isn't necessarily for teaching you subject matter as much as it is for teaching you how to learn on your own.
3. Most folks don't make it their business to take time out to reply to every anonymous person on the net asking them slighting questions intended to provoke an argument.
You couldn't be more insulting to teachers. People in other countries have the highest respect for their teachers. Perhaps that is why the children in those countries go to school with the attitude that education is important and their teachers are to be respected. Knowledge of curriculum, test interpretation, learning theory, multiple intelligences, literacy and numeracy practices, special education laws, etc. are garnered through study and research. A classroom is not for those who don't come with a foundation in education, nor is it for those who don't keep current with research. A teacher who states that a degree in teaching is easy, is not a good teacher. It seems that you aren't even a good judge of who is a good teacher.
DeleteLisa, don't bother defending or explaining yourself - you've been very vocal about topics that scare many people and topics that many have in mind. Yes, there is one or two that constantly bash Red Apples but so what - people always find a way to belittle and trash intelligent - strong opinion voice- individual. I wish bloggers back off the apples, even though they are healthy for you, and face the most recent news and the education of these kids.
ReplyDeleteApples can be rotten too. So I guess Lisa has no background in education and is just on a power trip. Why else should she not answer the question? And yes, she does need to defend herself. Wouldn't you want a surgeon who is giving you advice to have credentials s/he can tell you about? Or are you stating that certified educators are not professionals and deserve to be bashed and set up for the Apple 'gotcha' mentality?
DeleteThe hour had another bomb about the budget - finger pointing, miscalculations, possible school closing, deeper in debt - just never ends. Steve stated that dr marks hired additional teacher without approval of the board - how in the world does this happen? Those new hires will have to be the first ones to go and shame on the board for not holding her responsible. Never mind evaluations and tenure - we have a debt and a lot if cleaning up to do before doing anything else
ReplyDeleteWe now have a new problem. The 4 million dollar debt added to the almost 5 million dollar cuts in the 2012-2013 budget translates to disaster for the upcoming year. Who is responsible? Lots of people are pointing fingers. Seems that the last COO was responsible, but I believe his immediate supervisor was the superintendent. Of course the Board of Education has fiscal responsibility for the budget as well. So.....no heads will roll, is my guess.
ReplyDeleteIf someone could explain what "red apples" means, that would be great. Otherwise new visitors won't know what you're talking about and this place becomes an echo chamber.
ReplyDeleteSorry. A quick search turned up http://redapplesnorwalk.org/
DeleteThe Red Apples are a power hungry group who have brainwashed the Supt. They are undermining education in this city by promoting their own pet agendas. None of them have degrees in education yet they act as if they know better than our certified, well educated teaching staff. Who have gone to school and have their Degrees - in EDUCATION!
DeleteWell, in what ways would you say they have they brainwashed the Superintendent?
DeleteLooking at their mission statement on their website, I would say I agree with their points. Also, they seem pretty smart, progressive, and organized.
And also, it says something about Lisa's character that she's got the guts to post here under her real name (unlike most of use, myself included). Though, please Lisa -- use linebreaks. :-)
Regarding degrees in education, I've got most of one, and have found it useless. The people who know most about education are the experienced teachers who are also generally respected by their peers.
Anyway, since I don't know much about them, I'd be interested to hear what you think they're wrong about. What "pet agendas" of theirs do you disagree with?
http://redapplesnorwalk.org/
ReplyDeleteAs reflected in our name, we believe in Reforming Education and promote the following principles:
Accountability for all stakeholders in the education process
Parent and community involvement
Pressure to reform the status quo through the use of data and the political process
Leadership, vision and collaboration from those in charge
Educational standards and achievement raised for ALL students
Support and time for ongoing teacher and staff professional development
Wow...
ReplyDeleteI've got an undergrad in journalism, post grad in business and 1 year post study in organizational behavior. Spent 20+ years with AT&T in the US, Europe and Asia in an executive capacity supervising managers and unionized employees and another 5 years as a consultant working with Fortune 500 companies.
Documentation was paramount for all, professional development encouraged, and company(s) performed annual 360 degree feedbacks where employees above, below and peers were surveyed on your performance.
So very comfortable speaking to the need for evaluations and accountability in large organizations. I've seen nothing to indicate that one needs a degree in education to speak to that in NPS.
Started volunteering 7 yeras ago, as parents do, in my boys classrooms. Was a PTO Treasurer and Co President and joined the DDDMT 4 years ago. I am intimately knowledgeable about the operational and personality issues in NPS having witnesssed most first hand.
As a taxpayer,businesswoman and parent, I have been trying to bring a non-educators perspective to the K-12 world. Not just an NPS problem... look a the nation.
This latest financial fiasco goes back to rising health care costs. When you have an inadequaqtely staffed finance/central office, a BOE that gets hi-jacked into minutia, 20% of an EDUCATION budget allocated towards HEALTHCARE and a decreasing GRAND LIST for your tax base, this is what happens.
Educators, reformers, city officials and collective bargaining units are going to have to come together to figure out how to educate our kids for the 21st century and not break the bank in the process.
Wow!
DeleteSo you feel that a degree in journalism, experience in some 'executive capacity' as well as experience in consulting allows you to step in and give advice in how to run a school system? Oh yes, I forgot you were a room mother and active in your PTO. That's real experience in a classroom! lol Lisa, you are so far removed from the classroom it's no joke. Education of our students is not the same as studying organizational behavior. Children are not the same as producing a car or a product. Teachers are evaluated differently from factory line workers. You are way out of your area of expertise ( BTW, I didn't read that you earned a Master's Degree in business. Did you? You only stated 'post grad' - That could mean courses, not a degree.) Most of the teachers in Norwalk have a Master's degree and beyond. Some even have a doctorate. The Supervisor of Language Arts, who was responsible for the Language Arts curriculum going in the direction it went, Dr. Fitzgerald, had her doctorate from Harvard. She studied under the leading authorities in literacy. According to you and your friends no one ever knew what was researched based in Norwalk. Stop trying to say that nothing is right in Norwalk. What is wrong is you!
According to her resume online:
DeleteUniversity of Utah
Sundridge Park Management Center - UK
1992
She was a district manager for software sales at Alcatel-Lucent
And held 'various positions' at AT&T. That's a quote from her own resume.
And THAT makes her qualified to tell the Norwalk Public Schools how to evaluate, how to choose curriculum and how to run the school system????
Oops! Cut and paste for the University of Utah didn't paste the degree. it's a Bachelor's in Journalism.
DeleteThere are no ther degrees posted, but to be fair, perhaps she didn't update her resiume on Linked In? And perhaps she hasn't updated to include her Fortune 500 jobs? Feel free to make corrections, please.
And Anonymous 1247 AM ... what are your qualifications? If we have so many well qualified teachers, why are so many of NPS's students unprepared for middle school and high school? They can't read and they can't multiply. The system is failing students and needs to be overhauled.
DeleteAs a matter of fact, I have three legitimate college degrees from a legitimately top college in Boston. Aside from that, Norwalk is not alone in trying to find a solution to the literacy and numeracy problem with students. There is no magic bullet, nor is there a 'program' that will create good readers and mathematicians. Those who preach that it is a matter of doing the research and finding the perfect program are snake oil salesmen. Parents desperately want to listen to these people, but are led astray. Think for yourselves, parents. Do you really believe teachers and administrators are purposely keeping good programs and good teaching from our children? Are they enjoying being bashed all the time and told that they don't know what they are doing? If you believe that, then listen to the snake oil salespeople. We sure have them in Norwalk.
DeleteWell said 10:54
ReplyDeleteThe recently discovered $4,000,000 in understated operating expense is just another example of how incompetent the BOE Finance Department has been. Run by two people who don't have a clue, one a retired assistant principal from McMahon, who has been the interim budget coordinator for over three years and the other one a glorified secretary who thinks she is the CFO. Between the two of them they couldn't find a pea in a pod. What a mess we have on our hands
ReplyDeleteAnd the next issue you are all going to work on is bullying in the schools, OMG people!
ReplyDeleteYou don't need to agree with straight education reform as Red Apples and ConnCan believe, but at least they're doing something, trying to improve a failing education system. You spend more time fighting anonymously on this blog, than working together to solve big problems. Everyone needs to be more involved, informed and educating.
Stop beating people down for trying.
Get your facts right, please. The Red Apples are bullying teachers and administrators. If you read their postings, they are all about teacher and administrator bashing. It's a 'gotcha' mentality, as someone already posted. We are about to lose some of our best teachers and administrators to other districts who respect who they are. Watch them go! Other really good districts are snatching our people up. Someone has to stop the 'people who are trying.' Thereal question is, just what are the Apples trying to do? Get rid of good people?
DeleteGet your facts stratight! Not bullying teachers or administrators but asking questions. Seems they are not alone either. Maybe if more questions were asked, NPS wouldn't be in a $4M hole on top of the 2012-13 gap.
DeleteI have my facts straight, thank you. Bullying and bashing are the correct terms! As for the 4 million in debt, look to the city. The insurance reserve was held by the city. Why did the city not notify the Board of the fact that the reserve was running in the red? There was a change in COOs, so the city should have made it perfectly clear to anyone who would listen! They did not! How could they have let this run into the millions? Answer that one, if you please!!!
ReplyDeleteGo back and look at the books. The BOE fully funded this years insurance costs. The question is where is the 2.8 million dollars? It's floating out there in the great world of accounting.
ReplyDeleteI hear Bob McCain is headed to Hartford, Wolfpit AP to Greenwich and yet a certain MIA housemaster from BMHS is still being paid? And a Housemaster from NHS is unable to do their job and still there? Not to mention the middle school principals who are lack luster leaders who hide in their offices and have secretaries handle important issues. Why are we saying good bye to those who do and keep the dead wood?
ReplyDelete