Many times we cannot express our true feelings in the work place without fear of repercussions from co-workers, superiors or the community. We may fear our comments will put our job in jeopardy or affect our working environment. We worry our motives for our comments may be misconstrued. You are your own best spokesperson.
The list is long of reasons for not speaking up and speaking out. Well now…Here is your chance and here is your place. Please come on in, be honest and let it all out. I believe folk’s need a place to vent, a place to speak candidly. Complain, brag, inquire, explain, about co-workers, policies, the union, the students. Share with us what may be happening in your corner of district 131.
You may want to send out your questions and concerns in a comment to get feedback.You never know who else may be dropping in to take a peak at what is being said. Your thoughts may hit deaf ears but could reach a few eyes through blogging. Reply anonymously if you like, or with your real name, if you choose. If you use an alias (select other) that would help distinguish commenters and make it easier when others respond.
Please read the right hand side of this blog and remember to be respectful.
73 comments:
I'd like to know why Rick Johnson isn't held accountable for the poor performance of our football team the past couple of years. After all, he was one of the administrators who insisted that the H.S. band program needed to improve--and exactly how is THAT program better?
It's my understanding that Rick Johnson was brought here from Minooka by his pal, "Serial Bully" Radakovich. He's overstayed his welcome by at least 2 years, IMHO!
I thought we were supposed to be respectful? I guess that is for only people you like or agree with your OPINIONS.
Opinions is the key word, so take the comments for what they are worth to you.
But while we are mentioning Rick Johnson, I hear he is the reason 131 is paying for a new gym floor. While debating with contractors about liability he "allegedly" allowed flooding to happen in the gym.
The resulted cause.....lack of maintenance ordered by none other than RJ -supposedly water back up rather than flood water from outside.
Can anyone validate this story?
It's not "OPINION", it's fact: the East High football team has gotten decidedly worse under the current athletic director/assistant principal's "guidance".
I don't think it's disrespectful to point out the truth, and to call for accountability from someone who seemed to be so eager to criticize other teachers' performance just a few short years ago.
Okay while everyone else complains about football I will continue reading the next blog site on the real problems involving Waldo Middle school. To add to the horrible Tornando Procedure, I was at Waldo a couple of times in the afternoon and you know that there is noone sitting at that table in front of the school then upon going to the office I found out that the principal left the building and left the school police officer "in charge" I like him a lot but I did not realize that he was certified to be left in charge of a school. Although maybe if he was in charge for the tornado warning he would have been smart enough to keep the kids inside instead of announcing that..."All children must leave the building immediately"
I have to wonder what they were thinking hiring this lady to be principal at Waldo...at open house be sure to ask what the Waldo Grading policy is as of now it is still unknown and if you ask Mrs. Barnes what you should say to the parents she will tell you that "it is not something they need to know"
The parents do have a right to know as well so do the teachers.
I think an important thing HR needs to look at is the assistant principal turn over rate at Waldo. These are the people who handle the majority of the administrator tasks and they keep leaving or getting moved as in the case of Mr. Rios. Maybe they should bring him back from Cowherd since they have not even hired anyone yet. Does the board or HR ever look at the reasons behind the turn over rate in our district? It does affect the children.
Great point about the turnover rate.
The admin. would like the public to think it is all about money and a tax increase is the fix all.
Hmm maybe it is working conditions, or possibly admin / staff relationships ?
Or maybe it is lack of program funding, parental support in the schools, and disrespectful children.
All of which fall under working conditions.
from what I heard on the inside the last two vice principals left due to problems with the principal. We also need the principal to stand behind the teachers when it comes to disipline then maybe the kids would think twice before being disrespectful. As far as parental involvement goes we had more parental invovlement with our last principal...this one really makes the parents feel unwanted and unneeded. She got rid of our annual family picnic, she has made the "parent" advisory board all about her....
I feel the kids would be more respectful if they knew that the principal was going to stand behind the disipline actions. I actually heard a student cuss out a bus driver on a field trip and when we got back to school all he recieved was a slap on the wrist.
wow, this is my first time on here and im surprised about the waldo comments...they're all true but i didn't think anyone else noticed. that building is going down the tubes, and is a lawsuit waiting to happen. the turnover rate there is huge, there were so many that left last year, including tenured teachers, and if the same admin is there next year plenty more will be leaving. it's sad how things are being handled there, and how they prentend they want parents involved but when we ask questions they have no answers for us
Has anyone taken their concerns a step higher. I realiz admin defend each otehrs actions and stick together. Has anyone taken it publicly to the school board, perhaps?
Take your concerns to the school board as there are ones on it that will listen to what you have to say and look into it. Go to a meeting and speak to the board about your concerns and ask that you get an answer back, form the school board members and not Dr.Roberts or anyone else.
Going higher up would be nice but what if you are a teacher and afraid of losing your job? I know all about job security and all that but everyone knows the ones who speak up are likely to be treated in a completely different manner.
It is just as hard to get the parents to step up they are worried that their child will be treated differently. We have gone to other people and all we get is how wonderful the principal is blah blah...if she is so great then why are our teachers leaving?? If she is so great then why would she put our children in danger during the tornando warnings? I am scared to send my child to school...she is obviously not with it enough to be running a school. She never even admitted her mistake or reasonsibility with the tornando warning mess. We are planning to file letters with the state of Illinois.
Agree that the questions asked of the board should be answered by them and not by Roberts or other staff. In fact its the board by laws that "They" will answer all questioms at the following meeting . I have bee n asking questions for years and have naver gotten an answer from anyone. Bob McCue and the Beacon say that we should listen to the experts we'ev hired I would but the only thing thier expert in is CYA. I ask the board again ask the hard questions and demand credible answers. Pay as munch attention to us as you do Roberts and his cohorts in mismanagement. To tell us to attend the board meetings is not an answer many of us can't thats why we elected you. One side comment if Russul feels the way he says he does about the people in this district he should leave now and don't let the door hit in hit him in the butt on the way out. ;
I truly understand how you (teachers, parents, and community members) feel. This process of questions to the board is outrageous BUT at this point it is what we have to follow. I have stood at that podium MANY times with questions, concerns, and complaints and can count on one hand with fingers left over, the amount of times I received any type of response. This system is flaws AND has been this way for a very long time. The only way we can change it is by challenging it.
These last 5 months Rayanne and I have been working very hard to understand policy and procedures. Learn the different committees and their structures. Read everything they throw our way and stay on top of the current issue and there have been many. As we go along we have impacted some changes and have laid the groundwork for others and we have lots more we need to touch on but we need your help. Come in and let the board know what is going on. Until reading this blog I did not know about the incident with letting the students out in the storm. I have not heard anything about problems with the principe at Waldo or any details. Believe me, that information is not in my board packet. You, the parents and teachers, are our ears. I can't ask the question if I don't know it needs to be asked.
I have stayed away from the blog's purposely. I don't want to be accused of "searching" for problems. That dosen't mean I think things are okay. Help us, help you. We have the opportunity to have a new member on the board, lets make this count. If you can't attend the meetings send an email to Dr. Roberts and ask for the details. Keep pushing for the videotaping of the meetings. We have the new website underway, lets keep it up.
I know some are afraid to email but I promise you, I will not give out your name. If you like, give your question to somone else to send to us, I have gotten a few questions thru trusted third parties. Or as silly as it may seem, mail the questions to me. I want to hear YOUR side of the story.
This situation did not happen overnight and it will not go away overnight or by itself. I have entered int this with faith that I am doing what it is I am suppose to do. I hope you will do the same.
I see that the 2007 report cards are available to superintendents now has he shared the results with the board yet?
I think it is a good idea to file some letters with the state and maybe they can come down here and take a look. I know it must be hard for teachers to bring things up because of losing their jobs but if you have concerns do as dee said and do it through a third party. It is a step in the right direction to change.
Now I'm reading in the Beacon blog this morning that the East High gym floor will cost at least $500,000 "out-of-pocket" for the district to fix. I think that most of that $500,000 should come from Rick Johnson's "pocket", not ours.
Dee Weaver said to email her directly but we would need an email address also one for Dr. Roberts would be nice even though we have spoke to him and he doesn't seem to hear. We do plan to take these letters on Waldo to the Beacon News maybe the Media will help us to get help.
jroberts@d131.org
Has anyone taken a look at the band display case in the East High lobby lately? There used to be a lot of memorabilia from years past (pictures, plaques, trophies)--now the case is almost empty except for a few pictures from last year's band and one plaque that says "Aurora East High School Band--Organization Contest--Division I Rating".
Excuse me, but didn't the band get a Division II rating last year?
Why are the administrators at that school allowing this kind of deception and dishonesty? Or are some people so desperate to project a positive image that they are willing to lie about the band's "accomplishments"?
You would be better to take the letters to the Daily Herald than the Beacon.
Yes the band display case looks nice. It used to be convered in dust, and there were no pictures in it. It looked like it had not been touched for 30 years. You people COMPLAIN about every change.
To 9:12--
So we shouldn't "COMPLAIN" about dishonesty? About a high school administration willing to endorse or ignore a false claim that the EHS band received a Division I rating? What's next--a plaque in the athletic display case that says "East High State Football Champs 2007"?
Oh, but I forgot--our standards are supposed to be lower now. Heaven forbid anyone should suggest that certain programs at EHS are not "better" as promised but much worse. No, we're supposed to just ignore blatant incompetence and dishonesty and pretend everything's just fine at East High.
Well, I for one would much rather see a dusty display case that contains awards fairly achieved than a sparkling clean one that makes false claims. And if that makes me a "complainer", then so be it!
Shut up, you are ignorant.
I'd rather be called "ignorant" than illiterate or unethical, because only someone who couldn't read the false claim on that bogus plaque or who thought that lying is OK would defend it.
And I most certainly will NOT "shut up" rather than speak the truth!
Sounds like someone very close to the "new" (not so improved) band director is blogging, again.
Too bad the students don't speak as highly of his accomplishments.
Out of the mouths of babes........
You can email me at dee4schoolboard@hotmail.com. I would love to hear your comments or ideas.
I am a regular reader of this blog and appreciate not only the forum but the diverse viewpoints. I am a parent of a freshman high school student and attended the open house tonight. I looked in the case with the band pictures and awards and did not see this plaque. I do not have a student in band but have been aware of the issues from being a community member. Has anyone just asked the director about the plaque? So far when contacting teachers or counselors about questions of concerns I have received a quick response. Just a thought.
The plaque must have been removed today, because it was in the case yesterday. Looks like someone saw the wisdom of taking it away before any more people noticed the deception.
Definitely a positive move--a big thanks to whoever had the guts & ethics to do the right thing!
just curious if anything will ever be done with incompitent admin in the district? more specifically at waldo? they haven't had anyone worth anything there in the past 5 years except tony rios and they made him go to cowherd. does the board and the super not see or hear all that is going on? it's sad that the only reason barnes got it was they were hoping she was a little like joan, but if only they had been aware of her actions at cowherd they would have know that earline learned nothing from joan and is just all talk and just clueless
The new guy at Waldo does not have a chance because look who is training him. Also, how did Roberts and the board allow Ms. Powell to take another job without hiring someone first. That tells me that Roberts and the board don't care what happens at Waldo. Are they trying to set up the new person? It is hard as a parent to talk to an administrator because they are down one and Barnes is always in her office and the new guy is running around doing everything else.
the comment about barnes training the new guy was right on!
she has no discipline ecperience so how can she train someone?
powell leaving to go back in the classroom should say alot about what she had to deal with at waldo
I agree with the T. Rios comment him and Hernandez were actually the only good things I have seen in Waldo Admin. in a long time...but hey let's take something that is not broke and try to fix it..that is what they did by taking Rios from us. In order to "fix" Waldo now they need to get rid of Barnes and do a complete clean up...I would suggest sooner rather than later such as x-mas break. I have "heard" that a couple of parents have spoken to lawyers about the Tornando disaster she displayed. That is what we need a Law suit in District 131. From what I hear it has to do with Child endangerment.
New Blogger" Which Hernandez are you referring to? Lenore or Michael? I am sure he left for probably the same reasons Powell did. And Lenore was demoted although many of the staff and parents would probaby rather have her back at this point. At least she was semi-organized. THe sad part is while Rios is sorely missed at Waldo, he is totally unappreciated at Cowherd. Why couldn't they just leave well enough alone. It is going to be even tougher next year when all the new people leave and many tenured do as well. But I guess that will save the district more money so what do they care.
I don't know if the "district" is to blame for the poor decisions or a few of the top administrators.
The way I understand it......teachers report to dept. heads, dept heads report to the principal, and they report the superintendent. (if there is a staff member out there, correct me if I am wrong).
When choices need to be made as to where to make changes, or cuts, it is by the recommendation of the head to the principal, then to the super and board for the final OK.
131 has lost many fine teachers to bad management decisions. Good coaches, dedicated teachers with and without tenure.
The managers would like to blame it all on a matter of money but if you find teachers willing to talk about their job, you will find many are dissatisfied with the lack of control and organization. They are unhappy with the lack respect they receive for the efforts they put into their job. They have their hands tied yet get a kick in the pants to "get it done."
Parents talk to your children’s teachers, support them, encourage them. Most of them care about our children’s education, they are doing a good job in spite of the "plans" administration implements to fix the problems admin. has created or allowed to fester trying to put a bandage on it, in the form of more dollars.
Make those at fault accountable, they are all human and hired to do a job. If they are failing to produce they should be replaced or given a position they can handle.
This is from opeline in the Beacon today.
Use funds wisely
The latest issue of Chicago magazine provides an analysis of Chicagoland high schools, including East Aurora and all others in Kane County. Some interesting statistics: Both St. Charles high schools and Geneva High School spend less money per student yet their SAT scores are dramatically higher than East Aurora. Also, of the over 200 schools included in this analysis East Aurora has the third highest percent of students with limited English. Maybe we should spend less effort trying to raise more money and more effort on applying the funds we have in a more effective way, namely having students be literate in English. Maybe we should look to the administrators, teachers and especially the parents to understand why we're not getting a better return on our investments.
D131 keeps the students in bi-lingual and then to ESL from K to 12 due to the money it gets for these programs. It is a disservice to the students and really does not help the disctrict. The ones who need help in areas do not get it due to the fact all time is spent with this other program. It is time to put an end to it all, and yes, the administrators and school board do know what is going on, how does anyone think it continues?
"a mom" said--
"131 has lost many fine teachers to bad management decisions"
Ain't that the truth!
Bad management decisions, and the occasional personal vendetta!
The Hernandez I was referring too was Mr. not Mrs. as far as some of the other commenters I agree that D 131 has some great teachers and counselors I enjoy the atmosphere at East. I use to enjoy being a parent and coming into Waldo but now it is not all that welcoming to parents...Waldo needs to change all admin. quickly I do hope that there are board members reading this because x-mas break is coming what a better time...like I said before that tornado mess is a law suit waiting to happen.
I used to enjoy going to work. Now it sucks. The district is going down the tubes!Something needs to be done with administration.
going to work gets harder everyday
waldo has become a place of misery for many
it's sad many are only there because they've put in too many years and feel they can't leave now, so they have to be miserable daily
i wonder how many will go next year? barnes and the new guy are a huge problem, but what about marin gonzales??? she doesn't help the situation much either.
My heart goes out to those of you have to work in less than desirable conditions due to imcompetence.
I am a parent and I had thought when they removed Marin from East that it was to be a stepping stone to excessing her out of admin. I guess the rumors were wrong :o(
What is she doing at Waldo, I thought she worked at the SCC?
They (admin) are always looking for a new & improved way to fix our education problem (strategic plans- huh!).
Too bad they can't see past the end of their nose that THEY ARE the problem!
Marin Gonzales is a big problem and the administration knows it so they just shuffle her around now. Parents of students need to get together and go to Dr.Roberts and take it to the school board. She really needs to go!
what admin knows marin is a problem? do they know barnes is a problem too? do they have any idea? and is anything going to be done? at this point what can we really do except wait for the year to be over and leave?
it's sad that this is what many are thinking and it is only september.
is it appropriate for staff to bring their kids to work with them? i went to waldo today and the woman at the sign-in table had a baby behind the table. my son told me than he has seen many teachers there bring their kids into work at times. i wonder how good of an idea that is?
What I meant about Gonzalez beinga problem and admin knows about it is that they keep shifting her around. Why else would they do this? Still think that people should talk to the board about this, just don't mention names. Also think that the question about someone bringing their baby or children to school while they are working should be brought up before the board. If don't want to do this get ahold of a board member and talk to them about it. If nothing else, I would think that liability and possible law suit could come about if anything was to happen when something like this is done. If a parent saw this and students are aware, one would think that the one running the place would know.
There is a process you can follow to let your concerns be known. It can be aggravating (I have done it myself) and seems like nothing is happening but...you must go thru the steps. Go to the school directly and state your concerns. If you put your concerns in writing, there can be no confusion. If you do not receive an acceptable response in a reasonable length of time take the issue to the assistant superintendent with a copy to the superintendent. You can always send a copy of your concerns to the board. I suggest sending it to Clayton Muhammad AND Lisa Morales. Let them know you want a copy forwarded to each board member.
After reading this I will forward your concerns to Ms. Hollingsworth and Juanita Wells to see if I can get any answers.
Keep posting please. This process will be slow but remember slow and steady won the race! Have faith.
I read on the agenda for the upcoming board meeting that there's to be a discussion about board members being able to attend meetings via video or audioconferencing.
Is this for Bud Herbig's benefit?
March-April, 2007
Remote communication's easy, but heed restrictions
Melinda Selbee, IASB general counsel, answers the question for this issue.
Question: May school board members participate in a board meeting via audio or video conferencing and may they use e-mail to communicate with each other?
Answer: Technology makes it easy to communicate remotely. But before being tempted to use remote communication for board business, school board members should consider the restrictions imposed by the Open Meetings Act. These restrictions are consistent with the public policy supporting the Act, that is, "to ensure that the actions of public bodies [are] taken openly and that their deliberations [are] conducted openly." (105 ILCS 120/1)
Participation by audio or video conferencing
With some exceptions, the Open Meetings Act requires that a school board conduct its deliberations and business during meetings that the public may attend. A meeting means "any gathering, whether in person or by video or audio conference, telephone call, electronic means (such as, without limitation, electronic mail, electronic chat, and instant messaging), or other means of contemporaneous interactive communication, of a majority of a quorum of the members of a public body held for the purpose of discussing public business." (5 ILCS 120/1.02 as amended by P.A. 94-1058, effective January 1, 2007) The Act goes on to significantly limit when video or audio conferencing may be used.
The Act allows a board member to participate in a meeting remotely only if four requirements are met.
1) A quorum must be physically present at the meeting. The Act requires that a quorum be present at all board meetings. This means that four individuals on a seven member board must be physically present at all board meetings regardless of those participating remotely.
2) The board must have adopted "rules" for video or audio participation. The rules, typically contained in a policy, must conform to the restrictions in the Act and may provide additional limitations. The PRESS sample policy, School Board Meeting Procedure, includes a section on "Quorum and Participation by Audio or Video Means."
3) The reason the board member wants to participate remotely must be permissible. The reasons justifying a board member's need to participate remotely are limited to: (a) personal illness or disability, (b) employment or district business, or (c) a family or other emergency. The statute does not include a requirement for documentation or certification of the reason.
4) A board member must give notice to the recording secretary or clerk at least 24 hours before the meeting unless advance notice is impracticable. The statute does not contemplate someone either "approving" or "denying" a request, only that the request be accommodated if the notification is provided.
While not specified in statute, accommodating a request requires that appropriate equipment be available in the board meeting area. In a case arising before the Act that addressed telephone conference calls, an Illinois appellate court upheld their use finding that the accessibility of the public was satisfied by broadcasting the call over a speakerphone. (Freedom Oil Co. v. Illinois Pollution Control Board, 655 N.E.2d 1184 [Ill.App. 4 Dist.,1995]). A board should consider ways to enable a board member to hear, be heard and effectively join the meeting when participating remotely.
Use of e-mail
While the Act does not specifically prohibit meetings by e-mail, its provisions, taken as a whole, do exactly that. The definition of a "meeting" includes gathering by "electronic means (such as, without limitation, electronic mail, electronic chat, and instant messaging), or other means of contemporaneous interactive communication of a majority of a quorum of members of a public body held for the purpose of discussing public business."
A meeting occurs, therefore, when a majority of a quorum discusses board business using e-mail. Such a meeting will violate the Act's requirement that meetings be open to the public. This means that if three or more board members discuss district business using e-mail, they violate the Act.
Not all electronic interactive communication among board members is prohibited. For example, two board members on a seven person board may use e-mail to discuss board business — the two members would not constitute a majority of a quorum. Board members may also use e-mail to communicate with each other on non-public business, such as social invitations and information.
Superintendents or board members may send each other e-mail messages that do not involve deliberation, debate or decision-making. E-mail containing agenda suggestions, meeting schedules or information supporting an agenda item are acceptable, provided no discussion of the item ensues.
The Act uses the term "contemporaneous" to designate when an interactive communication among members of a public body is considered a meeting. However, board members should not expect that their serial e-mail discussions will survive scrutiny simply because they were not sitting at their computers at the same time. "Contemporaneous" does not only mean simultaneous, but also "during the same period of time." A good rule of thumb is to consider string or serial e-mail to violate the Act when they function as a meeting. The actual factual context surrounding the e-mail will determine whether they violate the Act.
The PRESS sample policy, Communications To and From the Board, contains a section addressing e-mail use by board members. Another resource is "School Board Meetings Requirements of the Illinois Open Meetings Act," October 2006, page 11. This booklet is available on our Web site at http://iasb.com/files/schboardmeetings.pdf.
A board workshop is scheduled for October 1st at 5:00 p.m. to discuss Referendum Strategies – Review the Pros and Cons of a February vs. November Ballot Question.
FYI-EA Board members may attend remotely when impossible to attend for emergency reasons, not vacations and such.
I am a long time teacher with #131 and I've seen many blunders over the years, but the biggest to date is the hiring and keeping of Clayton. We get emails from him that are nothing more then copies of Beacon articles. I'm not talking about one or two, he does them in batch. I received six today and some are a week old. Now he will do nothing for another week. He is the biggest joke among the staff. Emails from him are deleted as soon as we get them because we know they are useless, like the sender. We have cut programs in 131 that cost the district less then his salary. We have no faith in our Central Office. The names on the doors change, but nothing else does. THERE IS NO ACCOUNTABILITY!!!!! Why doesn't the community get off their duffs and demand accountability and change from the Central Office? Nothing will change until you make it happen. The teachers are trapped. We known what is going on, but we can't do anything without being punished. Please help us! Clean out the excess at the Central Office.
I am also a teacher at east, you only got 6, I think there was 8 or 9 today. They are deleted right when they come it. I think that there needs to be a public relations person, but Clatyon is not doing that. We need a person who will get the newspapers to East events (not just the Beacon) and send out information to the district that is interesting to read.
Comment on the tornado procedure: The tornado warning that was given by the National Weather Service was in effect until 3:15pm that day. Nevertheless, the students were let out at 3:00-3:05pm.I don't agree that a lawsuit is the best thing to do. First of all no one was injured due to the decision to let the kids out (that I know of). Second of all, you can't get blood out of a turnip (the district has no money and if they had to pay out it would only hurt the kids in the long run).
Clayton works with more than just the Beacon. Wasn't it just a few weeks ago he got a few tv stations to film an event at Waldo? When's the last time we had good press like that?
I agree with the massive amounts of forwarding of Beacon articles Clayton sends out. As for the "People you should know" series I believe the web has made this type of info easily accessible to anyone who cares to have it, so it is just junk mail.
He does many good things, but has too much authority and responsibility for things that should be delegated to others or not done at all. Whether the duties were given to him or he has taken them up on his own, he or his supervisor needs to re-evaluate what his priority duties should be.
Getting our district/school meeting and activities and recognition info to the public is of utmost importance-hence "Office of Community Relations" not promoter of minority recognition.
Years ago when my son was at Dieterich School, Mr. Muhammad was very involved in improving our district and community. My son & I had a great deal of respect and admiration for him.
But Mr. Muhammad turned out to be a big disappointment when he chose to "rubber-stamp" and defend every decision of "Serial Bully" Radakovich and his corrupt School Board. And for the last three years my son and I have had very little regard for a man who seems to care more about fabricating a positive image than listening to and responding to parents' concerns.
Basically, our opinion of Mr. Muhammad took a nosedive right about the time he said, "the issue is over"!
Attracting talented teachers is going to be a problem for District 131 as long as their average teacher salary is more than $10K less than neighboring districts such as Indian Prarie 204. They say teachers don't teach for the pay, but come on. Take a look at average administrator salaries and you see a different pattern. D131's average administrator salary is right in line with IPSD 204. Why the discrepancy? D131 may be able to keep their veteran teachers, but new teachers are going to be gone as soon as they find an opportunity.
Nice article by Clayton...it's funny that he mentioned earline barnes as getting her position because of competence, not color. What a joke! Maybe they thought she'd be competent at first but she's nothing but a waste of a salary.
What Mr. Muhammad failed to mention is that, in this district, competence is no defense against personal vendettas. A teacher who refuses to kiss certain administrators' behinds will be gotten rid of (or "reassigned") despite his or her proven record of competence or support from parents.
And on a related note: I've heard that Rick Johnson has been sent to anger management classes recently. Great idea--long overdue--but I certainly hope this wasn't at taxpayer expense!
Is there any chance someone can "put a bug in someone's ear" about updating the East High website? For example, under "Academic Departments--Performing Arts" there's a picture from at least two years ago. Ten people are in the picture, and only 4 are listed as working in the performing arts department; and one of the teachers in the picture PASSED AWAY several months ago! In addition, no calendar of upcoming events is posted, just a notice that "all events will be posted!" They will? When??
Oh, but wait--this must be just one more example of how standards have slipped at East High. I guess it's too much to expect that the new department chair and administration over there would respect parents & taxpayers enough to provide current information.
There was some information earlier that the web positions were not being reinstated while the district sought out a company to do a major overhaul on the web pages. Any updates to web pages since the beginning of the year (and I see some when I went to the website mentioned in the previous post) mean that it was done by volunteers. So maybe you could offer your services to update what you find out of date, or contact the people of the department for information. I have found that I get quick communication back when I do call. As far as web pages, I'm going to wait and see the final outcome before I complain about an individual page, because the district has communicated that they are working on this.
Why can't the new Fine Arts department chair help update the website? As I recall, the two previous department chairs did an adequate job of keeping at least some basic current information available to the public. What's so different with the present administration?
And I don't think it's about being too "busy", because the band director has gone to the effort of setting up and maintaining a site for the band (and I'm sure he's been as busy as anyone lately). No, this has to do with disrespect and disregard for the public. And I shouldn't have to make a PHONE CALL to find out information that should be available at the click of a mouse!
I recently wrote to the tech dept and received response from Dr. Roberts & Chuck Roberts. I will not quote them but I will give you brief in part of what I wrote and how they responded.
Part of my note said:
As one person in this community, I myself feel the duties ( of webmaster) should be assigned to each individual building. The people who work in that building know best what is going on and are available for immediate updates. It is this one woman's opinion that technology people should be the one's to be on the front line of this process. You are the experts, yet I will say, I feel community members should have input as to what they would like to see, in terms of available information. Keeping it friendly to those using it on the outside is the most important.
Can you share any comments you may have on my opinions, or is everything still "confidential?"
Thanks for any enlightenment you might share.
Dr. Roberts explained to me:
-although the public is free to voice their opinion on a particular subject, that does not hold the administration captive to act on that opinion. Oftentimes the public is unaware of the nuances’ of a particular matter and therefore what “seems” to be the best decision is often not the best one… all things considered.
Mr. C. Roberts explained:
In order to make our website the communication tool it should be, the district and the school board have decided to place control and responsibility of the website under one individual. A single point of responsibility, instead of 16 different web masters...
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I must admit I did not recall voting to give this responsibility to one person.
I have been told verbally, they have chosen a company to get the website started. You should see the "new & improved" showing it's face over the next 4-6 months. From the demos I have seen, it looks to be worth the wait!
Let me know what ya think as it develops.
How many of you know about the recent student happenings at Waldo? Students caught almost having sex in building, fight where students barricade the door so no teachers can get in, girl seen with syringe and then syringe found in bathroom by staff, teacher punched in the face during a fight where hundreds of students had gathered. The posts on here have stopped about Waldo but things haven't gotten any better,they just continue to get worse. I wonder if Roberts will do his job and get rid of Barnes next month?
A fancy website is not going to increase the achievement of the students. A fancy website is not going to sway voters to vote for a referendum. Spending $60K to create a fancy website is a waste of money.
I notice that D131 is advertising a "Director of Human Resources" administrative position opening. Is this in addition to all the other (expensive) administrative personnel at the Service Center, or are some positions being consolidated?
Seems to me we don't have any extra money right now to add administrative jobs in this district! Hopefully someone can reassure us that the money for this new position is coming from a source other than our tax dollars??
The HR director position being advertised is not an additional position. Yvonne Hollingsworth, the current HR director, is retiring.
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