Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Please, carefully read all of the points of Joseph 2.

Please, carefully read all of the points of Joseph 2.



Hillsborought School Board wants better PR

November 10, 2008
Hillsborought School Board wants better PR
The Hillsborough School Board is tired of getting bad press. It's time for a PR blitz.

Chairwoman Jennifer Faliero shared today plans to build an e-mail listserv, where parents can sign up to receive e-mails directly from the district on everything from transportation updates to the role of the School Board."



Comments vs. content: "December 09, 2008
Comments vs. content
When talking to school board members from across Florida the other day, I heard many gripes that blogs, including ours, weaken our content by allowing untrue reader comments to remain published as if they were true. They also didn't like the hateful things that many readers say.
Hillsborough board member Jennifer Faliero, who attended, later sent me an e-mail that said, in part:
'Two suggestions; the St. Pete Times establish policies governing the use of unregistered bloggers and force people to register and implement an approval process for live comments to be reviewed before going live. This can be done at home by a staffer for round-the-clock monitoring.

'The second involves you and taking a more active role in removing content you otherwise would not print.'
Faliero also wrote that some elected officials would be pushing for better laws regarding blog oversight.
'This is a policy issue which will spark lively debate; our private lives and futures are at stake and people are just fed up with the horrible things being sent out over the Net from reputable companies giving discontents a platform.'
Valid point? Let's hear it, all you commenters."


**********************


Fast backwards to two Josephs that became an influence to the world,


Joseph 1:
Education is a weapon whose effects depend on who holds it in his hands and at whom it is aimed. -Joseph Stalin

------
Joseph 2:
German Nazi Party member Joseph Goebbels became Adolf Hitler's propaganda minister in 1933, which gave him power over all German radio, press, cinema, and theater.


Listed below are the principles purported to summarize what made Goebbels tick or fail to tick. They may be thought of as his intellectual legacy. Whether the legacy has been reliably deduced is a methodological question. Whether it is valid is a psychological matter. Whether or when parts of it should be utilized in a democratic society are profound and disturbing problems of a political and ethical nature.

GOEBBELS' PRINCIPLES OF PROPAGANDA
Based upon Goebbels' Principles of Propaganda by Leonard W. Doob, published in Public Opinion and Propaganda; A Book of Readings edited for The Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues.

1. Propagandist must have access to intelligence concerning events and public opinion.

2. Propaganda must be planned and executed by only one authority.
a. It must issue all the propaganda directives.

b. It must explain propaganda directives to important officials and maintain their morale.

c. It must oversee other agencies' activities which have propaganda consequences

3. The propaganda consequences of an action must be considered in planning that action.

4. Propaganda must affect the enemy's policy and action.
a. By suppressing propagandistically desirable material which can provide the enemy with useful intelligence

b. By openly disseminating propaganda whose content or tone causes the enemy to draw the desired conclusions

c. By goading the enemy into revealing vital information about himself

d. By making no reference to a desired enemy activity when any reference would discredit that activity

5. Declassified, operational information must be available to implement a propaganda campaign

6. To be perceived, propaganda must evoke the interest of an audience and must be transmitted through an attention-getting communications medium.

7. Credibility alone must determine whether propaganda output should be true or false.

8. The purpose, content and effectiveness of enemy propaganda; the strength and effects of an expose; and the nature of current propaganda campaigns determine whether enemy propaganda should be ignored or refuted.

9. Credibility, intelligence, and the possible effects of communicating determine whether propaganda materials should be censored.

10. Material from enemy propaganda may be utilized in operations when it helps diminish that enemy's prestige or lends support to the propagandist's own objective.

11. Black rather than white propaganda may be employed when the latter is less credible or produces undesirable effects.

12. Propaganda may be facilitated by leaders with prestige.

13. Propaganda must be carefully timed.
a. The communication must reach the audience ahead of competing propaganda.

b. A propaganda campaign must begin at the optimum moment

c. A propaganda theme must be repeated, but not beyond some point of diminishing effectiveness

14. Propaganda must label events and people with distinctive phrases or slogans.
a. They must evoke desired responses which the audience previously possesses

b. They must be capable of being easily learned

c. They must be utilized again and again, but only in appropriate situations

d. They must be boomerang-proof

15. Propaganda to the home front must prevent the raising of false hopes which can be blasted by future events.

16. Propaganda to the home front must create an optimum anxiety level.
a. Propaganda must reinforce anxiety concerning the consequences of defeat

b. Propaganda must diminish anxiety (other than concerning the consequences of defeat) which is too high and which cannot be reduced by people themselves

17. Propaganda to the home front must diminish the impact of frustration.
a. Inevitable frustrations must be anticipated

b. Inevitable frustrations must be placed in perspective

18. Propaganda must facilitate the displacement of aggression by specifying the targets for hatred.

19. Propaganda cannot immediately affect strong counter-tendencies; instead it must offer some form of action or diversion, or both.

Saturday, December 6, 2008

HCPS - Ethical Challenges

Imagine one's life work is about to be undone because of one's position relative to their boss.

Imagine one who has towed the company line knowing that one's actions were not ethical but to do otherwise would be an end of one's career.

The other side of the coin are the employees who try to bring attention to the unethical actions, only to have their future handed to them in a pink slip.

I have for years said that a lot of good work done by employees of the District is undone by a few.

How close are we to seeing the truth?

Will the truth set us all free?

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

What Does The Media And Public Education Have In Common?

Murdoch to media: You dug yourself a huge hole | Coop's Corner - CNET News:




"'The complacency stems from having enjoyed a monopoly--and now finding they have to compete for an audience they once took for granted. The condescension that many show their readers is an even bigger problem. It takes no special genius to point out that if you are contemptuous of your customers, you are going to have a hard time getting them to buy your product. Newspapers are no exception.'" - Robert Murdock

Sunday, November 16, 2008

When PR Blitz Hits Public Voice Of Discontent

The countdown to the next Rumble At The ROSSAC is on.

The undercard will contain "Robert of the Rules of Order" vs. "The Voice of Authority Means Me". Professional decorum will be advanced by those who know how to invoke the rules to their advantage. Watch closely for a "call for the question". One Board member uses this tactic often, but it is unlikely that anyone ever noticed.

The main event of the night may well be the Tag Team fight between "The Bullies At The Helm" and the "Alafia Alliance Against Ellyn". At the moment, the AAAE has 52 members that will be around the ring ropes.

The Tuesday afternoon Rumble has had it's share of pre-rumble posturing. The Leader of the Dais has proclaimed enough is enough and has started a positive PR campaign to prove something. This action comes at the same time the AAAE has gained momentum and is ridin' in to town hell bent for leather.


When a stitch in time (last spring) could have saved nine, there are those who think this gator walk is a contrived performance to gain another national recognition title.

Hedge your bets for some last minute surprises.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Publius Would Have Given Anything For A Blog

For those who don't remember, Publius signed the 85 essays that were written and published during the years 1787 and 1788 in several New York State newspapers to persuade New York voters to ratify the proposed constitution.


Federalist Papers

I have been blogging over one and a half years. I have stated that public exposure is the Achilles heel of the local public education system. I have stated that the LEA will not be able to control information like it used to due to blogging and current media technology. In prior years, the only newspaper critique came from the St. Pete Times. In fact, the reason I started posting the newspaper links on my PRO site was to show the discrepancy between the Times and the Tribune. However, since I started that, there has been an increased number of articles from both papers, although you will still find more "negative but true" information from the Times, in my opinion.

It appears that others are catching on about blogging. I applaud them.

I also would like to say to those that are watching for the upcoming PR blitz not to think that it is only coming from one person. Read what I have written about how decision makers are not always the one sitting at the table.

Monday, November 10, 2008

Media Blitz - Truth or Propaganda

Hillsborough School Board wants better PR


Thanks to The Gradebook for the above link.

November 10, 2008
Hillsborought School Board wants better PR

The Hillsborough School Board is tired of getting bad press. It's time for a PR blitz.

Chairwoman Jennifer Faliero shared today plans to build an e-mail listserv, where parents can sign up to receive e-mails directly from the district on everything from transportation updates to the role of the School Board.

She said automated phone calls are in. Letters sent home are out. And stay tuned for exciting new programming for television about the positive things going on in Hillsborough schools.

"I'm tired of hearing what a bad job we're doing," she said. "We do a great job, and people need to have more access to what we're doing."

*

November 10, 2008 in Hillsborough County
The Gradebook



I am a bit surprised "they" haven't tried to silence the freedom of the press, yet. Or just stop televising their Board wars.

Friday, November 7, 2008

Sunday, November 2, 2008

It Is All About Trust

How many of us trust the rung above, equal or below us?


Administrators, ask yourself the above question.

Mid-level employees, ask yourself the above question.

Lower-level employees, ask yourself the above question.

Students - what does their behavior say about their "trust for the system"?

Parents - what does their behavior say about their "trust for the system"?


It is what it is. The tighter the system circles the wagons, the less the amount of trust. Look at the media. It has been increasingly critical because the obvious is hard to hide, despite how many wagons the system has.

Friday, October 31, 2008

Kurdell and Gorham Fiercely Debate Educational Issues While Defining Their Platform on Education

From The Tampa Tribune

Tone Getting Sharper In School Board Race

Well, I have a good title, even if was more image than substance. I have been well schooled.
Read the article anyway.

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

$4000 of Motivation Is Difficult To Measure

From the Tampa Tribune, we surprisingly have another critique of the HCPS.

Looking For Inspiration, Local Schools Go Afar:


"It's not the first time the district used Title I funds to hire motivational speakers, but it is the most questionable. In 2007, records show, the district paid Tulane University professor Calvin Mackie $5,500 to motivate boys at five struggling schools - an expenditure that at least touched students directly. Sherman, by contrast, spoke only to administrators and teachers."



When I first saw the video of this little boy, my first thought was how long he must have practiced to get it right. I have heard many "motivational speakers" in my lifetime. Most of them were hawking a product of some kind, so the goal of their speech was to motivate the audience to spend money as a testament to how motivated the audience person had become. Success of the speaker could be measured by how much money the speaker made.

As far as $4000 goes, if you divide that by the however-many-billions-it-is dollars of the HCPS school board budget, we all know it is a small percent, which makes it an insignificant line item in the budget. However, if one were to apply that same $4000 to something like ESE evaluations or OT/PT services http://www.standadvocates.org/2005_OT-PT_State_Complaint_Response.doc then somehow the thought rises that $4000 could add up to real money.

Monday, October 27, 2008

ABC News: Media's Presidential Bias and Decline

ABC News: Media's Presidential Bias and Decline

This article by Michael Malone says it all. You should read all five pages of it.

I see a correlation between what has happened to the media and what is happening to public education. After you read it, especially the last two pages, think about how the public school systems are responding to the public.

Tell me what you think.

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Selective Reporting or Fear of Retribution

Yesterday was a HCPS school board meeting that had it's share of how things can go wrong within one of the most powerful and influential organizations in our county.

Compare and contrast these two articles of the same meeting.

How can that be?

Rallies Inspire East Bay Students To Appeal Policy- Tampa Tribune

School Board talk on travel takes harsh turn - St. Petersburg Times

When "No" Has Different Connotations - And Motivations

I know a few lawyers who say "No means "no" only until it means "yes".

Yesterday's HCPS board meeting did not disappoint those who wanted to see some action at the dais. I was watching to see how the Alafia Elementary issue was going to be professionally smoothed over as a non-issue, fully expecting to hear the phrase "isolated incident" at least once.

The real action came after Ms. April Griffin attempted to ask for an "exception" for a rule she was just about to vote on. Admittedly, that was an awkward position to take. How does one get an exception from something that doesn't exist yet?

Perhaps the awkwardness of the order of events is what prompted Ms. Faliero, the Board Chair, to attempt to stop Ms. Griffin's request. For reasons I am sure we would all love to know, Ms. Faliero chose an interesting behavior when Ms. Griffin asserted her efforts to complete the request. From my perspective, when Ms. Griffin continued to speak, Ms. Faliero stated Ms. Griffin was "out of order". Ms. Griffin refuted that statement, and continued to speak. Ms. Faliero again stated Ms.Griffin was "out of order" and placed an emphasis on the fact that this was stated one more time. Ms. Griffin continued speaking.

What happened next is something that tells a lot about Ms. Faliero. I don't know what it tells, but it tells a lot. Ms. Faliero called for the removal of Ms. Griffin. Could this call have gone to the same person who was called to remove Ms. DeCeasare a few months ago?
Lee Drury De Cesare's Casting-Room Couch: Search results for freedom of speech: "Enter Lee Drury De Cesare, sharp-tongued critic, frequent speaker and perpetual thorn to certain public figures, Faliero included. Guess what? De Cesare said a name and kept talking as the buzzer sounded. Faliero told a security officer, 'Do your thing,' and De Cesare was escorted out."


After this command from the chair, there were several people speaking, Ms. Griffin being the most assertive. However, a female voice is heard to say "(please?) don't do that". I wonder who said it.

There is something to be said about the power and authority of a public school person. I write about it frequently on my other blogs, usually about how this authority is abused.

Hopefully there will be some learning from this event. Ms. Griffin later made an excellent point that what employees witnessed was not helpful in getting employees to come forward to express their concerns and that this type of action did not further the attempt at changing the culture of the system of fear of retaliation or words to that affect.

After all of that, what I haven't figured out is why would Ms. Faliero result to saying that Ms. Griffin just doesn't like to hear the word "no".

Monday, October 20, 2008

Response To A Comment About An "Assessment Team" Going To Alafia Elementary

Here is the link and the comment:
Blogger: Public Education - Politics, Business and Education - Post a Comment: "I have heard that an Assessment Team is being dispatched to the school. Time will tell whether this will be a true investigation or not. If the team truly looks into the matter, there can be only one conclusion. Otherwise, it will only have been a step taken in the course of cover-up and damage control.October 20, 2008 2:40 PM"


There is so much to say regarding this comment. My personal opinion is never, ever trust "the system". While there are a few, maybe many, trustworthy people who work for "the system", I repeat, I would never, ever trust "the system". This is based on years of experience from many different perspectives.

One would have to read every post and link that I have written to understand what I am talking about. The problem with that is that not every post is germane to why one should not trust "the system". You have to put the dots together.

My first response to an "assessment team" is you must understand the Delphi Technique:

Using the Delphi Technique to Achieve Consensus -- November 1998 Education Reporter


I have seen it in action and it is real. I have witnessed this in different arenas within the HCPS. Do not ignore it.


Here is my prediction. They will develop a team of district people and targeted parents. They will hold a set number of meetings. The District will be in control of all paperwork regarding the recording of all of the meetings. The first meeting will be to bring out all of the problems. Emotions will be kept in check as this is "just the information gathering phase, and emotions get in the way of positive outcomes". The District will take this information and synthesis it into 4 areas. The District will identify the problem areas "based on information gathered", and bring it back to the group. The group will then be subdivided so that the parents are divided. These sub-groups will hash out the emotional aspects of "the issues". The next meeting will be where the District "brings to the whole group" a breakdown of how the issues were decided upon. There will be a "discussion" and a "consensus" will be "agreed upon" by all. The final outcome will be that the problem was taken care of and "everyone" is in agreement. It won't be until later on that the parents figure out they were snookered, but the official paperwork and "official decision that the parents agreed to" will be on record.

Please remember that I am labeled a "malcontent". "Nothing the District does will ever please me". "(I) have a personal vendetta against the District". Ok. I accept it. Just prove me wrong.


If I am wrong, I will be very pleased. And surprised.

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Unusual To Have Two Local Papers Talking About Alafia Elementary

Frequent readers of my blogs know I like to read between the lines of the public comments on the online newspaper articles.

As someone on the Tribune commented, the Tuesday board meeting may be interesting. My bet it that one of the board members will make some comment that they were glad to see this misunderstanding taken care of and that statement will be backed up by someone else, and that will be it.

Everyone looking for anything more will be disappointed.

To make changes admits there was a problem. To admit there was a problem gives up power.

I hope I am wrong once. Time will tell.

Here are links to the two articles.


Public Education - Politics, Business and Education: Parents Critical Of Alafia Elementary Principal - Part Two On This Blog

PRO on HCPS: Alafia Elementary and The Clinton Defense

Saturday, October 18, 2008

Policies Are Only As Good As The Selection Of Enforcement

Read these two links and compare.


Tough new policies in Florida schools target bullies -- OrlandoSentinel.com

Tough new policies being rushed into schools across Florida call for swift, sharp punishment for students who pick on others. They may be spending time in detention or even be expelled.

"We want to make sure every student who comes to school feels safe and protected," said Keith Baber, a district counselor leading the counterattack on bullying for Orange schools.

Many school districts across the state, including Orange, have increased their anti-bullying efforts in recent years. But a new law passed by the Legislature last spring requires every school district to have a strict bullying and harassment policy in place by Dec. 1 that meets state guidelines.



MyFox Orlando | Girl called racist for wearing Palin t-shirt


"Girl called racist for wearing Palin t-shirt

By Melissa DiPane
FOX 35 NEWS

VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35, Orlando) -- She's only 12 years old but Ashleigh Jones is feeling the heat of this election year.

That’s because the seventh grader at New Smyrna Beach Middle School was called a racist by classmates for wearing a pro-Sarah Palin t-shirt."



How much is protection available when there is the "see no evil, hear no evil" defense by the system?
"Officials with Volusia County Schools said there were no referrals or complaints to the office about this incident."

Does this mean if it isn't documented, it didn't happen?

Sounds familiar:

Motel Special Ed: Big Fat Money:

"If an elephant came into the IEP meeting, dropped a load right in the middle of the table, no one could ever prove it if it wasn't written in the IEP form or the conference notes. Even when there are teachers, ESE specialists, related service personnel, principals, directors and parents that see the elephant, moved their papers out of the way of the big dump, and smelled the aroma that stunk up the whole room. If it wasn't written, it didn't happen."

Friday, October 17, 2008

Different Schools Approach Sex Talk Differently

PRO on HCPS: Alafia Elementary and The Clinton Defense


The above is a link to my other blog and it is about a letter of concern that a parent had written. Apparently a little boy had been saying some not so nice things to her daughter. Part of the concern was how the principal dealt with the situation.


To make a long story short, the principal apparently defended the situation by admonishing the moral stance of the parent.

Interestingly, this next link takes us to a situation in another HCPS school where s student was suspended because she kept talking about her teacher who was doing a student. Note, the suspendable behavior was talking about something she was processing.

PRO on HCPS: We are Playing Those Mind Games Together

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Almost A Year Ago - "Hillsborough: Board approves no-bid contract"

Hillsborough: Board approves no-bid contract:


"'What disappoints me the most is the lack of trust in the expertise sitting in this room,' said Carol Kurdell, the longest serving board member."


For those interested in Carol Kurdell, what about the above comment? How would those-in-the-know rate the "level of expertise"?

TAMPA - The Hillsborough School Board awarded a no-bid contract for $158,000 Tuesday to a company headed by a longtime employee.

School officials said the decision to hire as a consultant Tom Blackwell, the former general manager of construction, was justified by his unique expertise. His firm is charged with conducting a survey of school facilities, which the state requires every five years.

Several board members questioned the lack of bidding and the closeness of the relationship. Blackwell retired in late August after 21 years with the district.


Any comments about relationships in Education and Business? Just wondering.

School Board Election Politics - St. Pete Times

School Board election politics


For those who are interested, there are a few public comments about Ms. Kurdell that could have meaning - or not. I would assume that one could connect some dots - or not.

Relationships Are The Key To Education - or Business

In the Tribune we find:

Gorham Best Choice For School Board Change

As always, a public comment got my attention:

Posted by ( genewells ) on 10/14/2008 at 02:10 pm.

Your assesment of Kurdell is unfair. My personal experience has been a School Board Member that listens and acts for the community. When gunfire rung out at the old Rembrandt Housing Complex Kurdell was the first board member on the scene and taking action. She organized increased security at the school and ultimatley crafted the plan the created the land swap with housing authority that created better affordable housing and smartly acquired property right next door to Robinson High School for future expansion or new school site in South Tampa. We need Kurdell's experience, compassion and can-do actions today more than ever.



This comment jogged a memory of mine.

I don't know what all this information means.

http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1T4HPIA_en___US202&q=chet+luney

If one looks, one can find this:

Press Release



And then of course there is more public information:
HCPAFL.org SEARCH PROPERTY RECORDS [ LUNEY CHESTER M AND GWENDOLYN L ] FOLIO#018958-5092


And then on the HCPS website there is this:


"Assistant Superintendent for Student Services & Federal Programs Gwen Luney"

Superintendent's Office



Relationships seem to be a part of our public education system.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

School Board election politics

School Board election politics


What has she done for us lately? No, not the Board. Her

Friday, October 10, 2008

Parents Critical Of Alafia Elementary Principal - Part Two On This Blog


Parents Critical Of Alafia Elementary Principal#comments#comments#comments#comments#comments#comments:




I think this has the most pages of public comments that I have ever seen. Gotta love it.


One must take note of the diatribe from both sides on this one. With the added notes from some another Tribune missive, the public comments are interesting. It is a true war of "parents and a few insiders" vs "district personnel and a few insiders".

I think we can agree that "monkey1" is an interesting contributor. As a ex-member of "Team Parents", I think "monkey1" fits the stereotype for "company person". On the opposite side of the octagon, we have " EWH", "pokethefire" and "lbw250" representin' the parents.

One has to read between the lines with intent when one reads these public comments. I always like to pay attention to what I don't read as well as what I do read. In other words, are accusations refuted or are they countered? I can see both sides. I have been there. I happen to know one of the key players in this arena. I am not divulging who it is nor which side they are on. I do respect this person, so I am interested in the outcome.

I wish I could hold a betting line on this one. I am betting that the Principal moves up. The parents will be left holding their angst. The next Principal can't lose.

Any takers?

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Ellyn Smith, Ashley Smith, and a "Miffed Elia" - Relationships are Important

In today's Tribune, we see this statement:
" ..Smith could not be reached Tuesday night. Her husband, Ashley Smith, attended the board meeting but would not comment. He said his wife was at a PTA Board meeting."
An astute public commenter wondered "where did this statement come from?" How did the name of the husband of a principal just get thrown into this article as if he was pertinent to the issue? I know several principals, and I am quite sure that if their spouse turned up at a school board meeting, their name wouldn't be printed just because they were there alone. The public commenter (moi), asked:

"Posted by ( RLH ) on 10/08/2008 at 06:37 am.

The article doesn't say what position the husband, Ashley Smith, has with the school system."

And then there is this:

"Posted by ( Longball ) on 10/08/2008 at 10:42 am.

I know Mr. Smith use to be an administrator as well years ago, but I am not sure what he is doing now.
And he wasn't a strong administrator himself, so there could be some issues here with the Misses.

And finally, the lone comment that got my attention:

"Posted by ( pokethefire ) on 10/08/2008 at 02:52 pm. ...Now we'll see if things change! Superintendent Elia seemed miffed that she had to deal with this or that the issue was into the public view. .....
All can be read here:
Parents Critical Of Alafia Elementary Principal


This led to a little research, which now makes it all make sense of why there may be a lot more to this story than meets the untrained eye.

If we go to this link, the plot thickens:

Knowyourcandidates: STATE HOUSE 62

ASHLEY SMITH, 59, is a retired public school teacher and administrator living in Valrico. Smith began his teaching career as a social studies instructor at Plant City High. He has served as principal at Buchanan and Eisenhower middle schools and held assistant principal positions for almost 10 years at Armwood High. Before retiring in 2001, he also was president of the Florida Association of School Administrators from 2000 to 2001. A North Carolina native, Smith earned a bachelor's degree in education and a master's in administration from the University of South Florida. He served more than three years in the Air Force. He has lived east Hillsborough for 30 years. He and his wife, Ellyn, the principal at Seffner Elementary, have two grown children. ASSETS: house, investments. LIABILITIES: mortgage, car loan. INCOME: school retirement. WEB SITE: none.

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Digging Up Bones

Click Here:
Latest News

This site covers a few of the exposed skeletons of the many-closeted HCPS.

I know, I know, they are just isolated incidents and broad brush attacks.

But just look at the message of power-by-any-means that these stories give when you put them all together.

Enjoy.

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Complaint Alleges Hillsborough Withheld Services To Students

Complaint Alleges Hillsborough Withheld Services To Students: "The complaint alleges the students did not receive services such as counseling, social work or psychological help they were entitled to under federal law."


"The complaint alleges the students did not receive services such as counseling, social work or psychological help they were entitled to under federal law."


Could it be that few administrators recognize that "counseling, social work or psychological help" are related services?

(A) In general.--The term `related services' means transportation, and such developmental, corrective, and other supportive services (including speech-language pathology and audiology services, interpreting services, psychological services, physical and occupational therapy, recreation, including therapeutic recreation, social work services, school nurse services designed to enable a child with a disability to receive a free appropriate public education as described in the individualized education program of the child, counseling services, including rehabilitation counseling, orientation and mobility services, and medical services, except that such medical services shall be for diagnostic and evaluation purposes only) as may be required to assist a child with a disability to benefit from special education, and includes the early identification and assessment of disabling conditions in children.
IDEA - Building The Legacy of IDEA 2004



"Instead, the students were subjected to repeated disciplinary measures, including more than 10 days of in- and out-of-school suspensions, court referrals and undocumented, illegal removals from school."


I wonder if anyone in the HCPS knew about these concerns:
"Elia said she was surprised when she got notice Monday of the upcoming news conference because she was not aware of the concerns."


Motel Special Ed: Complaint Alleges Hillsborough Withheld Services To Students

Monday, September 29, 2008

Blasphemy Right Here In Black and White

'We give them less of everything'

Thanks to The Gradebook for the above link.

The blasphemy can be seen right here in the two words "not so".

TAMPA - It’s a common story line: If kids do poorly in school, it must be because of them and their parents. Not so, said Kati Haycock, president of the Education Trust.


"OMG", I could say in today's vernacular. Frequent readers of my other two blogs would recognize that I mock how "the system" blames students and parents for the failure of the public school system. Just as members of "the system" resent being blamed for the failure of the public school system, I resent that the students and parents are blamed for the failure.

I can already see that Ms. Haycock's statements will be discounted because of the position she holds. According to the memo, here is what it says:

"Hosted by the DOE, What’s Working is a series of meetings designed to inform education policy makers (such as district school superintendents; community college, state college, and state university system presidents; legislators and legislative staff; business stakeholders; State Board of Education members; and DOE staff), of current education trends and promote an open discussion of new methods for achieving greater academic success in Florida’s teaching institutions."


So what. I could speak to education policy makers and have done so many times. They discounted me, too.

Sunday, September 28, 2008

You're Nobody Until You Go To College

The above title must be the sign in every guidance counselor's office in every high school in the state. Perhaps the reason is that everyone knows that a high school diploma isn't worth much.

Despite passing FCAT, most PHCC students need remedial courses - St. Petersburg Times

Thanks to The Gradebook for the link above.

What is this all about? Kids are graduating from our high schools, so what is the problem? The high schools are doing their job, so get off their backs. I was told for many, many years that the education professionals were experts and I was just a parent who was too emotionally involved to be objective about what was going on in the classroom. Just leave the education to them and make sure my kid was in his/her seat on money-counting day was the message du jour.

There must be a heck of a lot money being poured into making parents be accountable for the education of their children. The reason I have come to this conclusion is that every time I read how the FCAT and graduation rates have little correlation to the level of education that a student actually obtained, I always see a comment that the failure of the system is due to the students and the parents.

Here are a few quotes from the article that reminds of us whose fault it is:

"They passed (the FCAT), so they're thinking they did all right.........

..."And it is working to get the word out that students really do need to take college-prep courses if they're planning on going to college."

""We lecture them," said Pat Barton, a guidance counselor at Central. "We don't start in the senior year; we start in the freshman year. We tell them, 'You have to be able to pass tests to do college work.'

""But they don't all listen," she added."

""Many of them don't believe they truly belong there, but they're taking a chance on you and the college," she said."


To me, the most interesting part of this article is how the upper and lower level educational systems blame each other. I think it is odd that the kids are left out of this accountability debate:


"Beard, the PHCC vice president, said he has often wished that K-12 districts would do a more thorough job of teaching students about careers and what they will need to succeed in college.

"Either (students) are not informed, or they're informed but it doesn't quite register what courses they'll need in college," he said.

But Hernando superintendent Wayne Alexander said many in the K-12 world are frustrated by what they perceive as a lack of accountability in higher education.

"One of the things the state has yet to do is define what college readiness is," he said, wishing aloud for a state testing system that would encompass post-secondary education. "It really boils down to who's going to hold the professors accountable."



I can hear Elmer Fudd telling us how "vehwy, vehwy scary" it would be if he was a student. If the leaders of school systems don't know how to help kids be "college ready", how the hell does a kid know?

Oh, I forgot. It would be the parents to know what means "college ready". You know, the parents who leave the education to the expert systems.

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Naming New Schools In The School Board Image

Griffin family wants school named for strawberry pioneer - St. Petersburg Times



On my other blogs, I have written many times about my perception that "the public school system" treats students and parents with an arrogant attitude. When ignorance is combined with this arrogance, students lose.

I am always challanged to demonstrate concrete examples of what I am talking about when I talk about "arrogance". I may not be able to take a picture of it, but I know what it is when I see it.

Within the above link, there is information about how the Hillsborough County School Board names new schools.

Maybe this is a concrete example of arrogance:

District policy dictates that schools be named for individuals "who have rendered outstanding service to public education, such as U.S. presidents, school board members, educators, and outstanding citizens." Schools can also be named for geographic locations, groups or clubs.


There are a lot of scientific studies that expose the significance of how one's perception and beliefs are directly influenced by the group they are in. Maybe it's just me, but how does a group of school board members overcome their belief that they "render outstanding service to public education"?

In this specific case, the person who is seeking to have this new school after them has the same surname as a school board member. It will be interesting to see how the current politics effect this vote.

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Imagine a "Parenting Handbook" written by "Educators"

I am well aware of the fact that many employees of the public education system think that parents are dysfunctional and therefore their (parents) kids are a valid reason for the current status of the public education system.

With all of the disdain that the public school system has for the public, it would stand to reason that the public school system could easily tell the public how to act. But when one looks at the types of policies that school districts develop and then have to enforce, one must wonder what the outcomes would be.

I have said somewhere before that "zero-tolerance" equals "zero-education".

Our public school system will defend to it's death that behavior is not something it has to teach.



Female Student Suspended After Hand Gesture Deemed Threat - News Story - WFTV Orlando

How The Power of Local Public Education Officials Effects Outcomes

I hate reading publications where the average number of syllables is over 3, but I managed to make it through.

Reconstructing Local Governance in American Public Education: Politics, Policy, and Process


What do you think about how one's local public school administration fits into this scheme of things?

I have highlighted a few points below.

"The political tradition of local school governance predates the existence of the United States. Yet the most prominent methods for selecting local authorities have evolved considerably from their colonial origins in response to the changing political climate of the nation, constituent demands, and legislative innovation."

"local officials hold significant power that constrains the principal-agent hierarchies forged by vertical divisions in the federal system (Chubb 1985; Peterson, Rabe, and Wong 1986)."

"For those local school districts with recurrent patterns of fiscal, managerial, and academic failure, twenty states transferred governance authority from local school boards to contracted management teams with the legal approval of the chief state school officer and state board of education. On the other hand, thirty-nine states authorized the creation of charter schools with limited bureaucratic constraints and regulatory oversight to introduce market-driven competition as an alternative to traditional public schooling and reshape the political incentives of school board members (Hill, Pierce, and Guthrie 1997)."



The States that started it all:
"The passage of governance reform began with the state takeover of Newark Public Schools in New Jersey and Pike County School District in Kentucky. To fully explain the competitive legal context for different reform strategies, we create two independent models of the diffusion process for state takeover reform and charter school legislation."


Money speaks:
"While the national government may signal preferences to state legislatures using several different mechanisms, the availability of federal funding is among the most influential determinants of policy innovation."

"In 1994, one major goal when national lawmakers reauthorized federal spending was dual endorsement of charter school laws and state takeover as a reform strategy."

States can't borrow as much as the federal government, which means the federal government has expansive borrowing capacity - wow how is that playing out today!?.:

"The annual budgetary process is (sic "in"?)many state legislatures regularly elicits the most divisive confrontations in American government due to the considerable level of state expenditures for social welfare programs and electoral constraints on state revenue collections. Without the expansive borrowing capacity of the federal government, state lawmakers cannot invest their political capital in expensive reform proposals during budgetary years characterized by fiscal insolvency. At the same time, local interests are well-positioned to maintain current governance arrangements when an overall budgetary crisis shifts public attention toward statewide fiscal stability rather than an interconnected network of local governmental activities during the limited duration of state legislative sessions."


"In contrast, we hypothesize the opposite relationship for states’ adoption of charter school laws because policy entrepreneurs have consistently framed the creation of privately-operated charter schools as a market-oriented, efficient policy option in statehouse deliberations(Hassel 1999; Mintrom 2003)."


"First, how do state bureaucratic institutions respond to an unprecedented level of public and private demands from governors, business leaders, constituents, and interest groups without the reinforcement of a competitive electoral process? And, in the broader consideration of state policymaking, when are elected lawmakers willing to challenge the political and economic constraints of divided localism in order to pursue localized governance reform?"


So, what do you think?

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Alright, Which Is It? Teachers or Families?

I just can't seem to get the message right.

Is public education good because of the teachers?

Is public education bad because of the teachers?

Is public education bad because of the kids and parents?

Is public education good because of the kids and parents?

Is it the teachers that make a difference?

Is it the kids and parents that make a difference?

Nothing like a squibble squabble about school recognition money to bring out some interesting statements that fit somewhere in the above questions.

Do I get a hint of suggestion that it is the kids and parents that make the difference?



What about the schools that are stuggling? How many of these schools getting award money are in nice neighborhoods, or are filled with middle/upper class kids, with all teh best teachers who don't want to work with the trouble children? The schools who need more funding are those who are stuggling.

Posted by: Hallie | September 17, 2008 at 12:07 PM

Yep, that's great. East Lake and Palm Harbor High both received close to $200,000. They may have great teachers but replace those teachers with all of the teachers from an under-performing school and the grade would be the same. It's a reflection of the student demographics more than anything else. And PHUHS with 2 magnet programs that never should have been given to a school in that location.

Posted by: Diana | September 17, 2008 at 01:06 PM


Thanks to The Gradebook, the above comments can be found at the the link below.


256 Tampa Bay schools get state checks

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Is This What They Call "Dumbing Down Education" In The Name of "The Business of Education"?

Jacksonville.com: Metro: Story: Schools chief asks to delay GPA rule


Someone help me out on this one.

"Students in five high school and four middle school accelerated academic programs, including Stanton College Preparatory School and Paxon School for Advanced Studies, must maintain a 2.0 grade-point average to remain in the programs."

This one pits the (some) educators against the (some)parents and students.

"The board was initially going to discuss possible changes to the 2.0 GPA standard at its workshop meeting today."


Surely they were going to raise the requirement from 2.0 to 2.5. After all, it does say "Advanced Studies". Surely any educational system worth it's weight in professional educators would understand that "advanced" means more than "average".

But we are left with this:


"On Sept. 2, the board heard from a number of parents and students from Stanton College Preparatory School who were vehemently against lowering the 2.0 GPA requirement."


"The superintendent of Duval County's public schools will recommend today that the School Board delay discussions about whether to lower the academic standards for nine accelerated middle and high school programs until the end of the year."



Please help me understand how this is a sound educational decision. Are the parents out of line?

Saturday, September 13, 2008

The Difficulty of School Reform

I have long wanted to know the origin of "public schools". I finally stumbled on a source of information that says it started in 1834. Seems like a substantial amount of time has gone by.

I have often wondered if the orginal design and/or concept of our public school system is no longer functional.

Are we trying to fit a round peg into a square hole?

Do other industries constantly "reform" or do they "re-design"?

Trying to make sense of it all.


The Difficulty of School Reform

Let Us Start Here

"Politics makes strange bedfellows"


Political interests can bring together people who otherwise have little in common. This saying is adapted from a line in the play The Tempest, by William Shakespeare: “Misery acquaints a man with strange bedfellows.” It is spoken by a man who has been shipwrecked and finds himself seeking shelter beside a sleeping monster.


It has to be rough not knowing who one is sleeping with. Especially when the one you are sleeping with tonight was last night sleeping with someone who does not have your best interest at sake. In fact, this shared bedfellow may be out to harm you.

In today's world, it is easier to find out who's sleeping where and who's cheating who.

I will start with a link to who is at least paying for a place on the bed. Click on a name, then click on the election year, then click on the "Contributions as Excel"

Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections - Buddy Johnson

Politics, Business and Education

I have stayed away from politics all of my life.

Since I started blogging over a year ago, I am realizing more and more the influence of politics on education. I now have a desire to explore what I read about regarding the influence and effects of politics on our local education system.


I had to learn about the local education system in order to obtain an education for my disabled son. My other two kids had the ability to become educated through many avenues. My disabled son was highly dependent on the people and environment that was immediate to him. While my two "regular ed" kids could make up for any deficiencies in their educational environment, my disabled son could not.

I like to explore the outside influences that effect what happens in the classroom with students. I hear and read about the dedication and committment of many teachers and some school administrators. When the education setting doesn't work, Arrogance with ignorance have been influences I am familiar with. Politics and business and how they relate to each other is something I want to learn more about.