Orange County has made its position known and I would love to know DCPS's. Or do they think like senator Stargel, that being gay is a choice?
At some point, silence becomes complicity and DCPS is silent about a lot of things.
Monday, May 17, 2021
Sunday, May 16, 2021
Education Commisioner Richard Corcoran says he had teacher, Amy Donofrio fired
More incredible work from Accountabalony:
but I didn’t think to say “okay and keep all of the crazy liberal stuff out” and so now we literally have them, and they hide it in “social emotional learning” so it doesn’t SAY “Critical Race Theory” but you could definitely have a teacher who teaches Critical Race Theory so now we have to go back and say, if it’s electronic, we want it out and, on top of that, we’re passing a rule this coming month that says, for the 185,000 teachers, you can’t indoctrinate students with stuff that’s not based on our standards, the new B.E.S.T. standards…
But you have to police it on a daily basis, it’s 185,000 teachers in a classroom with anywhere from 18-25 kids and it you’re not physically there in the classroom. I will tell you it’s working in the universities and it’s starting to work in… I’ve censored or fired or terminated numerous teachers for doing that. I’m getting sued right now in Duval County … because it was an entire classroom memorialized to Black Lives Matter… we made sure she was terminated and now we’re being sued by every one of the liberal left groups for “freedom of speech” issues and I say to them …
We made sure she was fired. Where does Corcoran end and Greene begin?
If you read the piece you will realize he has no idea what Donofrio teaches or what grade for that matter, but he took great joy in saying he had her fired.
Look you have to read the entire piece and then listen to the video.
What base is Green playing to? It certainly isn't public education
If you are over sixteen and haven't got vaccinated yet, that's a choice you have made. Greene has now made masks optional for graduation ceremonies. Does this decision support people who believe in vaccinations and masks or those that don't?
The change the name ordeal has gone on for nearly a year, racists and deniers have come out of the woodwork over and over again. Robert. E. Lee is an option to change the name of Robert E. Lee too. Has this process benefitted the people who want the names of those schools to change or those who want to live in a time when children of color were second-class citizens?
Jeb Bush is the man responsible for most of the school reforms of the last two decades, A-F school grades, privatization, high stakes testing, and blame the teacher evaluations, or you know the things that pro-public education people are against. So when Green joins Bush's Cheifs-of Change, is she telling the people who support public education she stands with them, or is she telling the people that want to dismantle it, she's their woman?
Executive orders that don't get push back.
A huge expansion of charter schools.
Practically ignoring the pandemic.
Silence as the state attacks unions, teachers, and trans children.
Who is Greene's base because it sure as heck doesn't seem to be public education?
When Greene joined Cheifs for Change, that was really the last straw. Still, the reality is Greene over and over again has shown, she has other thoughts than doing everything he can to fight for public education, and I don't know about you. Still, I want a super that bleeds public education, not actively undermines it.
Greene ignores CDC guidelines, continues to put people in jeopardy
First, let me say I am over masks. I am over wearing them, I am over telling kids to wear them, and I want nothing more than for them to be in the rear window of history. That being said, I will continue to wear them; you see, I don't know most of the people out there and don't trust the ones I don't know to do the right thing, and Jacksonville's vaccination stats, that say only a little over a third of the city (41 percent over 18) is vaccinated, despite there being plenty of supply has borne that out. Even though the CDC says going maskless to large evens is ill advisable and that Jacksonville is still at substantial risk, Greene has said @&%$ it and made masks optional for graduation ceremonies.
What the CDC says about large gatherings, including graduations.
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/your-health/large-gatherings
Here are Florida and Jacksonville's vaccination numbers.
https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#county-view
It's like we have run a race and decided to stop when the finish line is in sight. Why is finishing the year as is, get our vaccination numbers up and then get back to normal to much to ask?
Greene and the board have barely acknowledged there has even been a pandemic, so I guess this decision should come as no surprise, but since I am still capable of feeling it, it is disappointing.
Greene has been a disaster, and the last year has shown her real colors; she doesn't care about staff, students, or even public education, though she loves her some testing, and in my opinion, it is time for her to go.
To read more about DCPS graduation ceremonies, click the link:
https://www.teamduval.org/2021/05/14/impact-of-new-cdc-guidance-on-schools-graduation/
Sunday, May 9, 2021
The district's actions, speak louder than their words... and a pin.
During teacher appreciation week, DCPS had their faculty meet and watch a video where Greene thanked them for their hard work. The schools, I imagine at the behest of the district, then gave newer teachers blankets and senior teachers pins with years of service broken into five-year increments.
Some of my colleagues, people I respect and appreciate, were quite taken with the gesture. I do not want to diminish how they felt, but I think teachers are worth more than this tiny gesture, and I think it is safe to say more than a few teachers were insulted.
The district has had numerous chances to show they appreciate teachers all year long, and they passed at every opportunity.
If the district truly appreciated teachers, you would have thought they would have wanted to keep them safe, but all year long, teachers risked their health and worse, because of the woeful contact tracing and the lack of social distancing, which never occurred.
When the state passed its terrible teacher raise bill, which will actually see many veteran teachers lose money the super and board could have stood up and said, that’s not fair; they could have let the public know too, but they didn’t; they passed.
Then several bills attacked teacher’s unions this past legislative session, attempting to end automatic deductions. But, again, instead of explaining that it was no problem to do so and that the union is important, the district was silent.
With testing, they could have rolled it back, taking some of the stress that it brings with it away from teachers, but instead, the district doubled down and increased the pressure. In fact, all year long, the district has acted like there wasn’t a pandemic and put more and more on teacher’s plates, when many teachers were just trying to survive.
With evaluations, schools and the district won't be graded on this year's tests, but teachers will still be. The measures are bad in a good year, and this has not been a good year. If the district appreciated teachers, it would acknowledge that and then work to make sure teachers were evaluated fairly.
Elementary teachers don’t have enough planning, ESE teachers have a terrible IEP program, and nobody has enough time to do everything that the district thinks they should be doing, but instead of helping out, nope we get a pin, that for many, many teachers did not reflect their actual years of service.
All year long and at every opportunity presented, the district has shown its staff they don’t appreciate them. Unfortunately, their actions speak a lot louder than words and a pin.
Saturday, May 8, 2021
If Greene said being gay was a choice and they were going to burn in hell people would flip their lids. However when other education leaders say it, it gets barely a blip.
Senator Kelli Stargel when pushing the transphobic sports bill across the finishing line said being gay was a choice and received zero backlash for her remarks. Erika Donalds among a heap of other bat sh*t crazy remarks said gay people don't have to burn in hell, it's a choice, and DCPS rewarded her with a second charter school. How is this acceptable?
She later apologized, sort of.
Then there is Erika Donalds whose husband Byron is a representative in congress.
How does nobody care?
Why a 20 year teacher got a 15 year pin
For teacher appreciation week and more on that later, the district handed out pins with years of service in 5-year increments on them. This is my 20th year as a teacher, and yet I received a 15 yer pin. You would think it wouldn't matter so much, but it was really a reminder of how little the district appreciates teachers, especially veteran ones.
In 2010, superintendent PrattDannals declared a financial emergency, and the district skipped giving step raises; the district did the same thing this past year for the entire district but then later and again for veteran teachers gave them out and called them raises.
In 2010 it was later discovered the district had something like 186 million in reserves when the financial emergency was declared, and Pratt Dannals was eventually fired. You would have thought the step raises would have been reinstated, but you would think wrong.
Back then, the step raises weren't all that great, but if you were around year 15 or sixteen, you got the big bump, something like 5k, and I remember talking to a teacher in tears because they didn't get it.
So, where I have 20 years of service, I am only on step 19, and thus I got a 15-year pin.
Because of that step loss, some back of the napkin math tells me I am out about 9k (though if teachers were still being paid the same as they were on my first contract in 2000, I am out a lot more). There are 1400 or so teachers on professional contracts, which means we are collectively out millions, but hey, here is a pin and a reminder of what you lost.
I would say suddenly I don't feel that appreciated, but that's been the district's way for a long, long time.
Wednesday, May 5, 2021
DCPS's testing shenanigans
A lot of schools are doing a new testing regimen. In years past, an entire class would test all at once, but now higher achievers are testing first and lower performers sometime after. My initial thought was the district is trying to pull a fast one. The district knows kids talk, so the thought is maybe some could pass on some info to their peers, that and teachers just want to be helpful too. Now I don't see any teacher saying the answer to 26 is C, but if they see a subject on the test that could be covered a little more before the lower performing group took the test, that would be okay too. That's what I initially thought anyways.
Then somebody pointed out that it was being done so the lower performing kids could get more instruction. I can rationalize that, okay, sure why not. The district isn't some evil despot with plots within plots but maybe not so fast.
However, now I am learning that many of the "lower kids" aren't getting extra instruction because their teachers are proctoring the tests. A friend at the district pointed some more things out to me the district probably hasn't considered because "it seems like they look at every kid like they are dollar signs and test scores" instead of, well, instead of them being kids.
Isn't it going to be a kick in the pants when some kids realize they are the lower performers as they take the tests after their peers? Many of these kids experience test weariness; that is, there are diminishing returns from all the test prep, and if some burnout, worsening returns. How's that going to affect their mental health, something the district pretends to care about? My bet is not well.
Their tone-deafness is deafening. @$#&ing deafening.
In my mind, the district is doing everything they can to cook the books. Greene can taste that almost A from two years ago, and nothing is going to stop her.
I would say we were sold a bill of goods with Greene, but the reality is she came here with one scandal and dubious practice after another under her belt. Her actions, do whatever it takes, even if it leaves a trail of broken bodies and burnt-out teachers in her wake, speak louder than her words.
DCPS approves charter with racist and anti-LGBTQ ties
I sent below to the school board after seeing their plans to approve a second classical charter school. I knew it was going to pass, to fight back against what is wrong takes courage, and as we have seen all year long, the board lacks it, but I had hoped for some toke resistance, but apparently thinking racism doesn't exist and gay people are going to burn in hell doesn't move the needle for our school board.
I have grave concerns about the expansion of the Classical Charter school.
They get their curriculum from the Hillsdale Barney Charter school initiative.
https://www.jaxclassical.org/
Hillsdale is a small far-right liberal arts college out of Michigan, and recently they have sent out a series of mailers to locals.
https://imprimis.hillsdale.
They espouse some pretty radical theories where they basically say racism is a made-up tool to divide society so the radical left can seize power.
For as long as I can remember, the right has accused public schools of trying to indoctrinate kids; well, friends, this seems like some straight-up far-right indoctrination on their part.
Furthermore, last year, Hillsdale sent out a Facebook poll asking how afraid of socialism people were; I kid a little, but the answers were basically really scared, and really #$@%ing scared,
https://jaxkidsmatter.
How can we be sure that far-right indoctrination isn’t going on? Then, however, it gets worse.
This is an Optima Foundation.
The Optima Foundation is led by Erika Donalds
https://optimaed.org/
Erika Donalds has rather interesting views on banning books and troubling views on LGBTQ individuals.
Banning Books
http://cbldf.org/2016/09/
Removing LGBTQ protections
Gay people are going to hell.
Just some random troubling stuff, from the Tampa Times,
She led the conservative Florida Coalition of School Board Members, which split from the larger Florida School Boards Association over vouchers. She pressed for school board term limits and a statewide charter school authorizer in an amendment that famously failed Supreme Court muster amid heated statewide debate.
If being related to far-right indoctrination and blatant hatred of LGBTQ people isn’t enough, your own analyses only give them partial credit in about two dozen areas.
I understand that the state does districts no favors and stacks the deck against them when it comes to charters, but I would urge you to vote no until all the standards are completely met.
Then some board members have taken campaign contributions from Classical Charter board members, those members should recuse themselves.
Finally, at some point, some board has to say no, and have a proper conversation with the community about what charters have become. Or, at some point, that is all we will have. You all ran to make a difference; maybe this is it.
Sunday, May 2, 2021
DCPS approves charter schools hand over fist, other districts fight back.
This should be all you need to know. DCPS approved a charter school right across the street from an A-rated school. They approve charter schools all the time in areas of town that don't need them; District 7 Lori Hershey's district, Mandarin has more charter schools than any other part of the city. Schools doing great; no problem, let's put a charter in their neighborhood. Schools are underutilized; that's cool; let's put charter schools there too. Out superintendent and board approve them, like that, and not supporting the district's public schools is their job.
Charter schools were supposed to be teacher-parent laboratories of change that, if successful, were to be replicated in public schools. They were supposed to be innovative and work with public school systems. But, unfortunately, that's not what we have in Florida and Jacksonville in particular. Here it's all about the money, and since the referendum turned Jacksonville into a cookie jar for charters, the money is flowing like water into the pockets of charters, and we can expect a lot more to open up in the next few years.
It doesn't have to be this way; districts could fight back.
From Tallahaseee.com,
After a lengthy debate, the Leon County School Board denied a new charter school's application during Tuesday night's board meeting.
Red Hills Academy submitted the charter's application in February, which school board members officially reviewed during Monday's agenda review meeting. The proposed site would have been Leon County's sixth charter school.
The school would be located at 3551 Austin Davis Boulevard near the corner of Mahan Drive and Capital Circle North East.
The school's application sparked the latest local flashpoint in the debate over the creation of new charter schools, which public school advocates say drain resources from the traditional education system.
Now I don't want to sugarcoat it. Despite what the state constitution says, Tallahassee has stacked the deck against districts and for charters, including putting the district on the hook for any legal fees should a charter fight being denied in court. That being said, if a charter school wants to open up across the street from an A school in a neighborhood that doesn't need one or isn't innovative, isn't this a fight we should have? Doesn't the district have an obligation to fight for the city's children and inform the city's citizens? I think so, but apparently, Greene and the board don't.
We can and should be doing better, and it's a shame that we aren't.
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