I will do what the PRO on HCPS does - connect the dots for those who do not see the picture.
The dots are within mine and the local blogs. Just connect them.
Earlier, I posted some comments about the situation at Middleton High School.
According to the article from the media, the Hillsborough County Public School's Superintendent was apparently trying to bully the local media to write more positive reports.
What if the local media does not kowtow to the Superintendent's inference that Middleton's problems are due to the media.
In other words, what if the local media is not bullied?
What does a bully have once their obfuscation is called?
What does a bully have once their claim to professionalism is seen as simply charlatan behavior?
What does a bully have once their claim that they know best doesn't work?
Bullying comes at us everyday.
I personally have been bullied. The day after I wrote a letter of complaint to the HCPS, I was threatened with trespassing on a public school property where my child was enrolled. I did the same behavior that I had done before, but suddenly, I was threatened. I was advocating for my son. I have had the finger of authority in my face. I didn't like it then, and I don't like it now.
Arrogance with ignorance. What does a bully have other than an image?
The videos that Goader provides speaks loudly. I suggest you listen to them last to first.
Bullying Is Not Kidding Around : Goader
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Once Again, Image Is Everything
If I lived in the Middleton area and had a kid in that school, I can only imagine how I would feel.
I have often written about how I think the school systems see image as a factor to be manipulated, not as a factor derived from reality or substance.
It is my understanding that Middleton has had several D ratings already, so they can't say this one is an isolated incident.
I was under the impression that several D ratings would sort of signify a poor reputation, independent of media reports. If fact, the negative media coverage would seem to be derived from the reality or substance of the several D ratings. Apparently, this year's D rating has a lot more positive with it.
If we can get the media to write a lot of good articles, we could submit them next year to the state. I never realized how much influence the local media has on the state grade.
Apparently, the Middleton community just needs to learn to trust. What else could it be?
Trust that the money is well spent.
Trust that there is some substance to the fact that the number of students enrolled in at least one AP class has tripled. Once again, I point out that the system deals with numbers, not people. Parents that care usually care about their child, not statistics. Spitting out numbers to parents concerned about their kid has a way of seeming to be dismissive. How callous would it seem if a hospital touted their low death rate to a family whose kid just died?
It appears a few people blame the students, the parents and even the culture of the community. Is this a fact, or are they guessing or hoping? There must be a slew of sociologists involved in this endeavor. A million dollars is a lot of money to just be throwing up against the wall of education just to hope it sticks.
Middleton group urges improvement:
I have often written about how I think the school systems see image as a factor to be manipulated, not as a factor derived from reality or substance.
It is my understanding that Middleton has had several D ratings already, so they can't say this one is an isolated incident.
I was under the impression that several D ratings would sort of signify a poor reputation, independent of media reports. If fact, the negative media coverage would seem to be derived from the reality or substance of the several D ratings. Apparently, this year's D rating has a lot more positive with it.
If we can get the media to write a lot of good articles, we could submit them next year to the state. I never realized how much influence the local media has on the state grade.
Apparently, the Middleton community just needs to learn to trust. What else could it be?
Trust that the money is well spent.
Trust that there is some substance to the fact that the number of students enrolled in at least one AP class has tripled. Once again, I point out that the system deals with numbers, not people. Parents that care usually care about their child, not statistics. Spitting out numbers to parents concerned about their kid has a way of seeming to be dismissive. How callous would it seem if a hospital touted their low death rate to a family whose kid just died?
It appears a few people blame the students, the parents and even the culture of the community. Is this a fact, or are they guessing or hoping? There must be a slew of sociologists involved in this endeavor. A million dollars is a lot of money to just be throwing up against the wall of education just to hope it sticks.
Middleton group urges improvement:
"Middleton received another D rating from state officials this year, landing it on the list of schools at risk of state intervention. The only other school on that list this year is in Miami.
Elia spelled out the situation in two broad strokes: things are better at Middleton than many people know; the school's poor reputation is a result of negative media coverage.
'They don't want you to see the positive,' Elia said of the media."
SCHOOL POSITIVES
Hillsborough schools Superintendent MaryEllen Elia said Middleton High School is doing better than its portrayal in the media suggests. Among the positives she highlighted Saturday:
•The school district has spent more than $1 million at Middleton on new staff and training for current teachers aimed at improving students' performance.
•The number of students taking at least one Advanced Placement class has nearly tripled in the past three years.
•The number of students referred for disciplinary action has dropped 60 percent in the past three years. The school's population fell by 37 percent in the same period.
•Students have won recognition for activities from Japanese language classes to math to rocketry
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Can Anyone Refute This?
What about Ziggy and Antigrammargrich?
You guys seem to have a more realistic view of the system. What do you think>
Florida & Tampa Bay schools blog - The Gradebook:
"
You guys seem to have a more realistic view of the system. What do you think>
Florida & Tampa Bay schools blog - The Gradebook:
"
The problem with public education is most people in society are ignorant or don't care as apathy is rampant. This leads to poor quality politicians who just want to milk the system for their own benefit to easily win re-election.
Most Americans believe what they read or see on TV.
Unfortunately, most educators are lemmings and sheep which is the reason why we're in the shape we're in.
Face the facts, the districts lie to protect the hierarchy. If more teachers were in tune with what's going on or had a backbone they'd never get away with it.
Posted by: terminator | July 18, 2009 at 05:28 PM"
Looking Through Another Glass
The links below sound inviting to me.
I don't know enough about any hidden agendas that may be behind this plan, so I am not saying I endorse it.
I am planning another IBEA post that deals with the word "trust".
How many of us trust the system after it wasn't "friendly or inviting?"
What about a whole community that finds the system not friendly or inviting, except in the terms of the linked-to author:
My words for condescending are cavalier or arrogance with ignorance.
Think school systems will have this as a check-mark for parental engagement?
Florida & Tampa Bay schools blog - The Gradebook:
I don't know enough about any hidden agendas that may be behind this plan, so I am not saying I endorse it.
I am planning another IBEA post that deals with the word "trust".
How many of us trust the system after it wasn't "friendly or inviting?"
What about a whole community that finds the system not friendly or inviting, except in the terms of the linked-to author:
"The usual way schools try to get parents involved is by saying, “Come to us and we’ll teach you what to do.” That’s an educator’s natural response, but it can come off as lecturing or preaching. It can sound condescending."
My words for condescending are cavalier or arrogance with ignorance.
Think school systems will have this as a check-mark for parental engagement?
Florida & Tampa Bay schools blog - The Gradebook:
"Another group was just very intimidated. Maybe school hadn’t been a friendly or inviting environment for them."
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
IBEA - Part 5 - Behavior
To paraphrase Don Henly, this is the one that started it all.
In my 5th series of exploring the need for a new federal funding program named the Individuals with Blackness Education Act (IBEA) which would be modeled after the Individuals with Disabilities Education ACT (IDEA), it was the subject of behavior that spawned the concept.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Do highly qualified or better yet, highly effective teachers avoid schools with a large populations of minority students?
Then, there were these statements:
*******************
Substitute the word "minority" for "students with disabilities".
Look at how behavior is addressed in the IDEA: Regulations: Part 300 / E / 300.530
Sec. 300.530 Authority of school personnel.
Working backwards, we can throw out .530 e (ii) because no conduct in question is ever, I repeat ever, the direct result of the LEA's failure to implement the IEP.
That leaves us with with .530 e (i). We have all heard that there are double standards of behavior when it comes to students with disabilities. If you haven't heard any of these anecdotal stories, I can provide you with some. One concrete example that most should comprehend would be where two kids are running down the hall and a figure of authority, say an SRO, yells "Stop!". Both kids keep running. Now, not only can they be charged with disorderly conduct, they can be charged with non-compliance or disobeying an order, attempt to escape arrest or whatever. However, after the handcuffed kids have been hauled off to the local detention center, someone finally states that one of the two kids is deaf.
Oh, shit. Try overturning an administrative decision.
I actually witnessed a scene that had a lot of similarities to this tale. Since I was there, the results were a little tamer.
In my example, everything past the charge of running would and should be considered a manisfestation of the deaf kid's disability. Despite how pissed off the authority figure is that both kids openly and outrightly challenged their authority, it doesn't change the fact that the deaf kid could not hear the command. Consequences for running, assuming the deaf kid had the cognitive ability to understand that there is no running in the halls, would be appropriate as it would not be considered a manisfestation of his disabilty.
From the comments I have been reading (see previous series on IBEA) it appears that schools with high minorities have a high incidence of violations of code of conduct. From what I am gathering, the kids and the parents don't know how to behave or don't care, and the administration is afraid to back up the teacher's request for intervention of repeated and repeated and repeated violations of the code of student conduct.
Within IDEA, if the parent doesn't know how to deal with their kid, and how many do, guess what?
Double Oh shit. According to 300.34 8 (iii), it's not PC to bash parents of kids with disabilities openly, and it looks like the school system has an affirmative action to help parents, even the parents who are told they are in denial, and they should leave the education to the professionals and especially those that are told that the professionals know more about the kid's disability than the parent.
Therefore, it seems reasonable me that the federal government needs to step in and develop the IBEA.
If it worked for overcoming the obstacles for families that had kids born with disabilities, it should work for families that had kids born with blackness.
In my 5th series of exploring the need for a new federal funding program named the Individuals with Blackness Education Act (IBEA) which would be modeled after the Individuals with Disabilities Education ACT (IDEA), it was the subject of behavior that spawned the concept.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Do highly qualified or better yet, highly effective teachers avoid schools with a large populations of minority students?
Then, there were these statements:
Euclid said...
The more interesting question which the study did not seem to ask is:
Were the effective teachers in Charlotte/Mecklinburg compensated based on the performance of their students? If so then their departure may have been to avoid losing bonus money because of the expected poor performance of the minority students. Which clearly indicates that the promise of additional teacher compensation tied to student performance probably does not promote effective teaching. Even here in Florida we reward A schools with additional compensation which is usually distributed to the staff. However, the schools with large minority populations struggle to earn A's. The "top teacher flight" might be something that SDHC wants to look hard at as we proceed toward rewarding "effective teachers" with additional compensation a la the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Goader said...
I don’t think teachers leave or avoid schools because of race or school grades. They do so because of persistent incorrigible behavior problems.
Anonymous said...
Behavioral problems are a huge reason for most teachers! Those "bonuses" aren't a possibility for effective teachers whose students are constantly suspended or worse- those students that are allowed to continually disrupt classrooms. Administration is overwhelmed at these schools. Parents do NOT care in many instances!
Anonymous said...
Let me see if I have this correct? As an effective teacher I can work at a school with a positive environment and students that are more likely to meet the benchmarks that determine my bonuses, including AP, with fewer behavior problems, and get paid on the same scale as my counterpart that is banging their head against the wall everyday at an at-risk school. Did I mention the overabundance of meetings and trainings required at these "problem" schools? hhhmmm...NO THANKS!!
July 8, 2009 8:12 PM
Anonymous said...
Until students of all ethnicities and backgrounds come to school with appropriate attitudes and behavior, it will be so.
July 10, 2009 9:33 AM
Anonymous said...
OK-- I read the piece on D/schools that have heavy minority populations. Until the powers that be get it--that they can workshop/mentor teachers to insanity, change admin time and time again, build fabulous new building equipped with the newest tech, yet not work with parents and students in those schools--NOTHING will change.
*******************
Substitute the word "minority" for "students with disabilities".
Look at how behavior is addressed in the IDEA: Regulations: Part 300 / E / 300.530
Sec. 300.530 Authority of school personnel.
e) Manifestation determination.
(1) Within 10 school days of any decision to change the placement of a child with a disability because of a violation of a code of student conduct, the LEA, the parent, and relevant members of the child's IEP Team (as determined by the parent and the LEA) must review all relevant information in the student's file, including the child's IEP, any teacher observations, and any relevant information provided by the parents to determine--
(i) If the conduct in question was caused by, or had a direct and substantial relationship to, the child's disability; or
(ii) If the conduct in question was the direct result of the LEA's failure to implement the IEP.
Working backwards, we can throw out .530 e (ii) because no conduct in question is ever, I repeat ever, the direct result of the LEA's failure to implement the IEP.
That leaves us with with .530 e (i). We have all heard that there are double standards of behavior when it comes to students with disabilities. If you haven't heard any of these anecdotal stories, I can provide you with some. One concrete example that most should comprehend would be where two kids are running down the hall and a figure of authority, say an SRO, yells "Stop!". Both kids keep running. Now, not only can they be charged with disorderly conduct, they can be charged with non-compliance or disobeying an order, attempt to escape arrest or whatever. However, after the handcuffed kids have been hauled off to the local detention center, someone finally states that one of the two kids is deaf.
Oh, shit. Try overturning an administrative decision.
I actually witnessed a scene that had a lot of similarities to this tale. Since I was there, the results were a little tamer.
In my example, everything past the charge of running would and should be considered a manisfestation of the deaf kid's disability. Despite how pissed off the authority figure is that both kids openly and outrightly challenged their authority, it doesn't change the fact that the deaf kid could not hear the command. Consequences for running, assuming the deaf kid had the cognitive ability to understand that there is no running in the halls, would be appropriate as it would not be considered a manisfestation of his disabilty.
From the comments I have been reading (see previous series on IBEA) it appears that schools with high minorities have a high incidence of violations of code of conduct. From what I am gathering, the kids and the parents don't know how to behave or don't care, and the administration is afraid to back up the teacher's request for intervention of repeated and repeated and repeated violations of the code of student conduct.
Within IDEA, if the parent doesn't know how to deal with their kid, and how many do, guess what?
Regulations:Part 300 / A / 300.34(8)
(iii) Helping parents to acquire the necessary skills that will allow them to support the implementation of their child's IEP or IFSP.
Double Oh shit. According to 300.34 8 (iii), it's not PC to bash parents of kids with disabilities openly, and it looks like the school system has an affirmative action to help parents, even the parents who are told they are in denial, and they should leave the education to the professionals and especially those that are told that the professionals know more about the kid's disability than the parent.
Therefore, it seems reasonable me that the federal government needs to step in and develop the IBEA.
If it worked for overcoming the obstacles for families that had kids born with disabilities, it should work for families that had kids born with blackness.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
IBEA - Part 4 - School Systems Have Been There - Done That
My idea for the Individuals With Blackness Education Act (IBEA) follows the same thinking that public schools systems have toward the Individuals With Disabilities ACT (IDEA).
Check out the public comments on these two links.
Breakthrough-in-legal-dispute-over-black-students-in-pinellas
New Gibbs High principal vows to take the Pinellas school from an "F" to a "B" - St. Petersburg Times
Then, put on your comprehension hat and check out this link:
Over-Identification of Students of Color in Special Education:
A Critical Overview
Chew through the statistics and implications of same. Don't stop in the middle after assuming you get the gist of the opening pages. Since 1975, when our professional public school systems were forced to try to educate students with disabilities, some 20 years after they were forced to try to educate black students, school systems have over-identified students with blackness as special-ed students and under-identified students with blackness as gifted.
Think about the numbers of students who have been mislabled and "taught" on a false premise. How does one develop a specialized set of instructions designed to meet the individualized needs of a student with a disability when the disability does not exist. Yet, I dare say that the number of appropriate individualized education programs designed every year are deemed 100% appropriate.
What may be missing in the discussion about why the black population is not measuring up to current public education and standards may be based on the fact that the public education system does not know how to accurately evaluate, and therefore teach, black students.
What may be of more importance is that the prejudice of the system actually creates or fosters low expectations and creates or fosters low outcomes for black students. Thousands of parents yearly are told, by professional educators of exceptional ed students, that, when confronted with evaluation results that indicate the student's need for special education services, that the parents are "in denial" if they disagree with the findings. Few should doubt the arrogance of the public school system.
If the school system has been wrong for so long regarding special education and black students, what leaves us to believe that they are right regarding regular education for black students?
Check out the public comments on these two links.
Breakthrough-in-legal-dispute-over-black-students-in-pinellas
New Gibbs High principal vows to take the Pinellas school from an "F" to a "B" - St. Petersburg Times
Then, put on your comprehension hat and check out this link:
Over-Identification of Students of Color in Special Education:
A Critical Overview
Chew through the statistics and implications of same. Don't stop in the middle after assuming you get the gist of the opening pages. Since 1975, when our professional public school systems were forced to try to educate students with disabilities, some 20 years after they were forced to try to educate black students, school systems have over-identified students with blackness as special-ed students and under-identified students with blackness as gifted.
Think about the numbers of students who have been mislabled and "taught" on a false premise. How does one develop a specialized set of instructions designed to meet the individualized needs of a student with a disability when the disability does not exist. Yet, I dare say that the number of appropriate individualized education programs designed every year are deemed 100% appropriate.
What may be missing in the discussion about why the black population is not measuring up to current public education and standards may be based on the fact that the public education system does not know how to accurately evaluate, and therefore teach, black students.
What may be of more importance is that the prejudice of the system actually creates or fosters low expectations and creates or fosters low outcomes for black students. Thousands of parents yearly are told, by professional educators of exceptional ed students, that, when confronted with evaluation results that indicate the student's need for special education services, that the parents are "in denial" if they disagree with the findings. Few should doubt the arrogance of the public school system.
If the school system has been wrong for so long regarding special education and black students, what leaves us to believe that they are right regarding regular education for black students?
IBEA - Part 3 - Pinellas County May Be The Pilot Program
In my third missive regarding my proposed Individuals with Blackness Education act, I may have found a pilot program.
Florida & Tampa Bay schools blog - The Gradebook:
If you read the memorandum, I think you will find that it mimics the IDEA fairly well. Similar to the development of PL 94-142 for kids with disabilities, the memorandum claims that the school system did not adequately meet the needs of kids with blackness.
Similar to IDEA, the memorandum covers funding issues and the need for specific educational goals and, of course, increased tracking systems. Special Education teachers are familiar with the increased paperwork that comes along with the federal money.
This squabble between the Pinellas County Schools and the students with blackness has been going on for a very long time. Perhaps Pinellas could lead the way to another set of laws that mandates how school systems should meet the needs of a specific set of kids.
Florida & Tampa Bay schools blog - The Gradebook:
"Breakthrough in legal dispute over black students in Pinellas"
If you read the memorandum, I think you will find that it mimics the IDEA fairly well. Similar to the development of PL 94-142 for kids with disabilities, the memorandum claims that the school system did not adequately meet the needs of kids with blackness.
Similar to IDEA, the memorandum covers funding issues and the need for specific educational goals and, of course, increased tracking systems. Special Education teachers are familiar with the increased paperwork that comes along with the federal money.
This squabble between the Pinellas County Schools and the students with blackness has been going on for a very long time. Perhaps Pinellas could lead the way to another set of laws that mandates how school systems should meet the needs of a specific set of kids.
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