Starting a new post with the two last comments from the last post:
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AnonymousMay 29, 2013 at 12:12 AM
From Mike Barbis Twitter feed: "Its an election season, right? BOE members up for re-election are suddenly asking questions about curriculum, worried about legal expenses?"
Cheap partisan politics.
By the way, is Barbis doing nothing about the budget because he's not up for re-election this year?
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AnonymousMay 29, 2013 at 6:58 AM
What about Haynie choosing curriculum? What's her connection to Amplify-Wireless Generation? Since when does she know better than the teachers what to choose? The teachers are angry!!! Where's Haynie's expertise coming from that she can choose and ignore the teachers?
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Feel free to add additional topics!
Curriculum? I wasn't aware that we had a curriculum.
ReplyDeleteOf course there is a curriculum!
ReplyDeleteBut apparently certain board members think that they know curriculum better than a bunch of teaching professionals. These members seem to think that a 1950s education is the way to go: one-size fits all! Who cares about individual student needs or students ACTUALLY reading and writing during the school day! Ha! Who needs THAT!
ReplyDeleteAlso, someone should look into why the person in charge of writing grants has so much say and power in programs, personnel, and deciding what will and will not happen (without the input of instructional specialists).
I was reading the last topic and it appears that people in central office are saying that either a secretary or bookkeeper in the grants department has way too much time on their hands. I hope someone who has a way to remedy this is reading this post. Taxpayers shouldn't be paying for people who aren't working! Take care of it, Board of Education, please.
DeleteNo, not the secretary...think higher up...
DeleteTo the last reply, why don't you come into Central Office and see what the grants secretary & bookkeeper do before you make such harsh comments! They are working for other people in Central Office in addition to getting their own jobs done! And the secretary had her hours cut.
ReplyDeleteTouched a nerve, did I? Who else do you work for, grants secretary?
ReplyDeleteInteresting choice of topics . . .
ReplyDeleteLet me offer the opinion one parent/taxpayer/BoE-member/former-teacher--
1. If the reported tweet is accurate (and really is from Mike Barbis), then more power to him for voicing his opinion publicly. Even though it slams me, I respect his right to make his opinions known. And, look what it's accomplished-- people on this blog are actually (hopefully) going to discuss the role of the Board of Education in picking curriculum.
2. Regarding the legal issue matter, when I ran nearly four years ago, I rallied against the excessive use of attorneys (especially in the special education department where they were being used to stonewall parents from getting the services their children deserved). That's why I worked to develop a protocol to limit who could access attorneys, reviewed the rates that could be charged (I pushed for the school department to solicit bids for legal services), worked to have corporation counsel used more frequently and have closely monitored those line items in the budget. Supt. Marks and I worked very closely on reigning in legal costs and I appreciate her efforts in that regard. For me, it is hardly a cause I embrace simply because I'm running for re-election as it has been focus of my entire tenure.
3. As a former teacher (and I taught in a district that had poor curriculum coordination between the middle schools and the high schools), I recognize the expertise that is required to assess the needs of our students and the curriculum that best meets those needs. I also recognize that I don't possess that expertise. As a Board member, I have asked my colleagues to be mindful of the expertise of the team of teachers and administrators who are reviewing the curriculum needs for English Language Arts (what we used to simply refer to as "English") for kindergarten through grade 5. This is the first comprehensive English Language Arts curriculum review since I came to the Board of Education and the first since the Board's Curriculum Committee was reconstituted two years ago (it had been effectively disbanded under prior "leadership"). Because members of this professional review panel were charged with sharing the curriculum materials with their colleagues, I did receive emails from some teachers (who were not on the panel) who shared their opinions and passed them along to my Board colleagues with my opinion that the experts deserved some deference in their evaluations. I hardly think that my interest in making sure that the best possible curriculum that serves the interests of all our children is motivated by "political" or "election year" considerations-- rather it comes from my belief that following open and transparent procedures that are grounded in fairness is critical when decisions of this magnitude are being made (especially given its impact on thousands of students and its significant cost).
4. The Grants Director has received high marks for her work as part of the Briggs Turnaround Committee. As I have told her when reviewing her work, I am very happy that I was out-voted when I sought to eliminate that position. I was wrong and I would ask the posters with negative comments to review the totality of her work over the past year.
Did an elected official just admit he was wrong? And make no excuses? Smart enough to keep an open mind. Good qualities to keep on the Board of Ed.
DeleteThank you, Steve, for speaking the truth. We have a dedicated committee that has been working on this all year. It is inappropriate for non educators to try and hijack it at the eleventh hour.
DeleteThank you Steve for stating that the team of teachers and administrators who are reviewing the English curriculum needs are experts. Why have them state their opinion,be away from their classrooms, and cost the district thousands of dollars in substitute teacher funds if their opinion is going to be ignored? Just because "I said so" by some Board members who are not experts, and don't have experience in the needs of young students is not a reason to choose a curriculum.
ReplyDeleteAs a building administrator, I have concerns about buying a program and calling that 'curriculum.' That being said, if the committee that worked all year, with time away from their classrooms and a huge investment of time and effort, makes a decision, it shouldn't be up to an individual board member to throw that all overboard.
DeleteThank you, administrator, for having the courage to speak out. I applaud your honesty and agree totally.
DeleteI've been trying to follow this curriculum debate on the blog.
DeleteWhat am I missing? How can a Board of Education member have such strong opinions about curriculum? What are we back in the day of the Scopes trial?
For me, I want the Board of Education to REVIEW the decision of the professionals- not SECOND GUESS it. If materials are offensive, then the Board of Education should step in. But no one on the Board (even the folks I think are doing a good job) should be trying to play curriculum professional. Right?
OffdaHook, you are absolutely 100% correct! This has been Sue Haynie's problem all along. Marks listened to her and look at what happened to her. That's why teachers and administrators had no confidence in Marks. Haynie hides behind the no more status quo, but what she really wants is a Haynie dictatorship. Maybe folks can see the truth about her if more educators speak up. SHE SHOULD NOT BE MAKING CURRICULUM DECISIONS!
DeleteCan you really just blame one person? This is just one outsider's perspective, mind you. From what I understand, Haynie isn't the chairperson of the Curriculum Committee. Shouldn't Mike Lyons be stepping up to bring some sanity to the situation?
DeleteListen to this! Haynie only went to one presentation and ignored the rest. Why should she be allowed to voice her opinion on curriculum if she didn't even attend the other presentations? Because she wants to line her friend's pockets? Tell us Sue Haynie what this is really about? We already know Mike B. does everything you say. He can't think for himself. What a mess this Board is in! Will Daddona step in and flex some muscle or not? Come on, people! Are you going to let one woman run a show she isn't even qualified to run?
DeleteWith all due respect, if Haynie really has as much power as you say, perhaps she SHOULD be running the district!
DeleteAll joking aside,there has been NO consistent LA curriculum for as long as my children have been in this district. It would be more beneficial to the readers of this blog for NPS staff (I am assuming that is who you are) to point to the merits of the curriculum chosen or quite frankly ANY curriculum rather than the constant personal attacks on Haynie. It's just getting boring.
Since this has become such a hot topic, I will give it a page of its own.
DeleteHaynie is choosing the curriculum her friend benefits from. Something fishy about that when a Board member isn't choosing what teachers want, but what a good friend is selling!
ReplyDeleteThe grants secretary also works for Craig Creller because he only has a secretary 2 days a week. I know for a fact that she does grants work first and then helps out Craig and other instructional specialists in curriculum. Think higher up!
ReplyDelete