Here's a job opening in Morrisville that used to be contracted out through the BCIU. It was held by a very talented lady and the Emperor is about to find out just how talented she was.
We better find someone new quickly. There's a lot of work to do over the summer.
Director of Pupil Personnel Services
Location: US-PA-Philadelphia
Status: Full Time, Employee
Job Category: Education/Training
Industry: General/Other: Training/Instruction
Career Level: Manager (Manager/Supervisor of Staff)
Job Description
EDUCATION -Director of Pupil Personnel Services: Requirements: Strong interpersonal, organizational, supervisory skills to direct all aspects of the pupil services and special education programs; Supervisor of Pupil Services and Special Education Services certifications in addition to School Psychologist certification with at least three years experience and a minimum of an Educational Specialist degree required; Send letter of interest, resume, copy of certifications, clearances and three letters of reference to : Office of the Superintendent. Morrisville School District, 550 W. Palmer St, Morrisville, PA 19067.
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News
Contact Information
Reference Code: pn2402088
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
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28 comments:
Why, why , why? What is the thinking here? Why let the IU person go? They are contracted at a rate far below what is actually worked to get the job properly done.
I predict that the new hire will either:
1.) not get the job properly and completely done; or
2.) put in so much overtime that it will cost the district more than what they were paying the IU.
Was she (Kimberly Myers) let go, or did she resign, or did her contract expire and the board didn't renew it? Does anyone know how that went down?
If she resigned, I can understand why, what with a bull-in-a-china shop board majority at odds with your expertise/work/career/livelihood.
From today's Phila. Inquirer...
Phila. taking back 6 privatized schools
By Kristen A. Graham
Inquirer Staff Writer
In a blow to the Philadelphia School District's historic privatization experiment, the School Reform Commission voted yesterday to seize six schools from outside managers and warned them that they are in danger of losing 20 others if progress is not made.
"Hard decisions have to be made," said Arlene Ackerman, the district's chief executive. "Adults must be held accountable."
Of the 38 schools run by outside managers, 16 percent - the poorest performers - will return to district control, 53 percent will get one year to show accelerated progress, and 32 percent will get new, three-year contracts.
Operated by a variety of providers, such as companies and universities, the schools were evaluated on their academic performance and their climate, including attendance and violence.
Privatization, considered by many the core of sweeping changes imposed under a Republican-led state takeover, came to the district in 2002. The decision put Philadelphia in the national vanguard.
At one point, officials considered turning the entire district over to Edison Schools Inc., a for-profit provider that runs 20 schools, four of which will return to district control.
But in the last six years, the privately run schools have not proved to be a silver bullet. The schools failed to deliver higher test scores than district schools did, despite costly interventions.
Sandra Dungee Glenn, School Reform Commission chairwoman, said it was time for action.
"It's been six years, and it's time to sort it out," she said. "We need to be tailoring and matching models to the needs of each school."
Still, despite the hard line, the "diverse provider" model is a worthy one and here to stay in Philadelphia, Dungee Glenn said.
Schools that are performing well will need no district interventions, and their best practices will be shared with struggling schools, she said.
"We're also not closing the door to new relationships," Dungee Glenn said.
The six that will open in September as district schools - Gillespie, Harrity, Potter-Thomas, Stetson, Dunbar and Fitzsimons - have repeatedly failed to meet state standards and district targets. They will receive intense district support, including teacher coaches, targeted professional development, a parent-outreach worker, and a social worker.
Schools in the second tier, which have shown limited progress, will receive some of that support. After their year is up, the commission will look for significant improvement and may return them to district control or consider turning them into charter schools.
"It puts providers on notice that we consider they have made just limited progress for children, and that's not good enough," Ackerman said of the middle tier.
Each of the schools returning from outside management will retain its faculty, Ackerman said.
"We are not reconstituting any school," she said. "This is probably more support than they've gotten ever from the district."
The contract discussion sparked some controversy on the commission. Participating in the meeting via teleconference, James Gallagher urged his fellow members to wait a month before acting.
Gallagher said he was unclear on how schools had been selected for the three groups.
"Some of these schools were in horrific condition. Now they're in positive condition?" he asked.
Ackerman shot back that there was no time for delay. She said she needed all summer to prepare the returning schools to open in the fall.
Gallagher was overridden, and the measure passed, 3-1. Commissioner Heidi Ramirez abstained because she is a professor at Temple University, one of the outside managers.
Representatives of Edison, the largest provider, said they were disappointed to lose four schools. Todd McIntire, general manager, singled out two for making gains not reflected in the district's data.
And "a year is a problem" for 12 other Edison schools because it's not enough time to evaluate change, he said.
"Overall, Edison Schools brought significant progress to the reform effort in all of the partnership schools since 2002," he said in a statement.
The commission also took action on two other projects.
Sulzberger and Turner Middle Schools in West Philadelphia will close at the end of next school year because of low enrollment. The district is shifting most primary schools to kindergarten through eighth grade.
Also, the Parkway West and Middle Years Alternative Schools, both in a building at 49th and Chestnut Streets, will move to the Sulzberger site.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A Blow to Private Operators
Of 38 Philadelphia public schools run by companies or universities, 16 percent will return to district management, 53 percent will be run under one-year contracts, and 32 percent were approved for new three-year deals.
Returning to the district: Gillespie, Harrity, Potter-Thomas and Stetson (Edison); Dunbar (Temple University); Fitzsimons (Victory).
One-year contracts: Alcorn, Barratt, Hartranft, Kelley, Kenderton, Locke, Ludlow, McMichael, Penn Treaty, Sulzberger, Tilden and Waring (Edison); Kinsey, Martin Luther King and Pastorius (Foundations); Ferguson (Temple); E.H. Vare (Universal); Pepper, Rhodes and Wright (Victory).
Three-year contracts: Anderson, Comegys, Huey and Shaw (Edison); Fulton (Foundations); Duckrey and Meade (Temple); E.M. Stanton (Universal); Lea and A. Wilson (University of Pennsylvania); Bethune and Pratt (Victory)
"Was she ... let go, or did she resign, or did her contract expire and the board didn't renew it? "
Unconfirmed sources tell me that the board just didn't renew the contract with the IU.
So, consider this scenario (not impossible considering the Phila Phiasco):
The board decides to pharm out students 9-12 AND, lo and behold they get away with it (no public outcry or court appeals).
They reconfigure the high-school for K-8. they sell off Grandview and Reiter to some land speculator, (maybe someone that is a client of Hellmann CPA, or friend of Steve Worob).
And then the privatized school underperforms, severly.
So what choices do we then have with regard to closing privatized outsourcing of 9-12? What is our capacity to address our legal obligation to educate those children?
Just curious what the contingency plan is.
Contingency plan? Why, you just press this here button and the upstairs come downstairs? What happens to the downstairs? Gee, I don't know...
Borows, when you question "what if the private school under performs severly?" Do you mean what if it under performs even more severly than the public school has? For example, what if 4 out of every 4 graduates fail at state math and reading tests instead of 3 out of every 4?????????????????????
Let me know where you get your figures so that we can talk about the same thing.
But let's take what you say as a baseline. Then yes, if we go from 3 in 4 failing to 4 in 4 failing, what do we do then?
Or what if the results don't change? What if, after privatizing, we stay at 4 in 4 failing?
Essentially what happened in Philly was the schools were failing, and there was public outcry, like in Morrisville. They privatized the school management and now many schools are doing worse, and most are doing just as badly.
What did privatizing accomplish other than put public money into private hands?
Tfall back for Philadelphia is to take those schools that are doing the worst away from the private management companies. What did that accomplish?
My question is not whether privatizing in Morrisville is good or bad. That will be determined over time. Hey, if it is good for Morrisville, then I'm all for it.
My real point is, what contingency plan will be there if it doesn't work? Time and again the school board acts as if nothing can go wrong... go wrong... go wrong... with their plan. I think that, in considering a plan that so drastically changes things in the district, like closing and selling schools, furloughing staff, permanently eliminating support services, it would be wisest to consider a plan for a future where your initiative doesn't work out so well.
Quick primer on the 11th grade PSSA: Until this year, it had no bearing on a student's ability to graduate. Think about it – you've got 16-17 year old kids, thinking about their futures (or girls or boys, cars, etc.) and they have to take YET ANOTHER standardized test that they're not graded on, that colleges don't care about and doesn't matter for graduation. Is it possible that some may not take it very seriously? Yes, it is possible. I asked the administrators (at a public meeting where all who pay attention can hear) and they said, yes, that has been a problem. But this year, they made proficiency a requirement for graduation, that or a C-or-better average. Some folks who heard that exchange still refer to the 75% number incessantly and use it as a "we've got to get rid of these high school students" rallying cry.
I expect to see much higher proficiency numbers in 11th grade this year and even better ones when the kids realize that the new rule is real and even though this test doesn't matter to their colleges, it does matter for their graduation.
Regarding the Director of Pupil Services listing: Mr. Hellmann believes that someone else will be able to cut special education costs. It's pretty much as simple as that. It's been explained to him time and again that these costs are state mandated and that it's a team of people which decides which children need an Individual Education Plan and which can move forth without one. His feeling is that the Director, since he or she has the final say, can decide who gets the services and who doesn't. Kimberly was always aware of the financial situation here and kept costs down as much as possible. But she also wouldn't give up the names and addresses of the IEP kids, since that would be against the law (with the PDE and Superintendent backing that decision).
Mrs. Myers's pay was, I believe $80,000 (that's what the IU got anyway) plus $20,000 in benefits. Expect at least $100K plus benefits for someone to be hired in-house. Though to the best of my knowledge, no one who is qualified has applied yet.
Kim decided not to apply herself, since (in my words) she really doesn't need this crap. I wish her the best and I believe we've lost a quality individual.
So then answer me this:
1. Why are 76% of our high-schoolers failing math & reading?
2. Why can't the board have the names and addresses of all the Special Ed students?
3. Why are over 40% of the Morrisville school students actually New Jersey residents, with absolutely nothing done about it?
4. Why wasn't the 19067 funding formula fixed years ago?
5. Why did Ken Junkins promptly move out of town within seconds after handing out his last diploma as School Board President?
6. Why did John Gould pocket all that money from R.J. Davey, and steal all that stuff from the school store? Do you have any idea what the street value of a protractor is?
7. Why was the prior board so hell-bent on building a new school, even when they knew darn well the injurious effects of kidney-handlebar interfacing?
8. Why did Sandy Gibson personally and singlehandedly bankroll the "Moving Morrisville Forward" candidates' 2007 campaign, design their slick website and literature with her own bare hands, and personally control the candidates' thought waves?
9. Why did the PDE pull a knife on me?
Jon, it's all obviously a conspiracy, can't you see that?
Oh, and I'm sure it will all be in the book. BTW, I wonder if the book will create new lawsuits.
Frankly, I doubt the book will ever be published. After the Gould lawsuit Steve doesn't have the money to self-publish it, and it would only open himself up to further lawsuits.
BUT, in the event he does publish it, I'm willing to buy the ONLY copy and circulate it. I'll even put a copy in the library so people cam take it out for free.
No sense in everybody actually PAYING Steve for that trash.
Anyone want to guess the title? Maybe "The Further Adventures of the Raping Of Morrisville"?
I'm curious as to why anyone would expend that kind of effort on something that I can't believe anyone but a few of his "friends" would be interested in reading. It certainly won't be a Pulitzer work of literature. I wonder who will be the editor...Maybe our newly ensconced board member will handle those honors.
How 'bout "The Sodomizing of Morrisville"?
It could be a Putzuler Prize winner.
Hmmm! Mariam the librarian. That's cute, but trash is what you read on the blog not in my book. You see, blogheads lack the ambition, fortitude and life experiences necessary to write a book. I don't care whether the book sells or not, it's a long-shot that it will but at least the truth will be out there for the people to see if they care to look. For you to insinuate that a book "is trash" before ever seeing it, well, that makes you a close minded librarian.
Beauty is always in the eye of the beholder, Steve. If this humble corner of the blogosphere is trash to you, why do you return again and again? That's like making U-turns on the interstates to go back and see the accident again from the other side.
I approved your comment, but it was a close call. If you want to promote the book, each comment will cost $100. Make the checks payable to the "Morrisville School District" and send them to Reba Dunford. Include a note that she should email savethemorrisvilleschool@yahoo.com once the check clears, and I'll post your comment. If I do not get the confirmation email within ten business days, I will assume you do not wish to purchase the advertising time and will delete the comment and place it in the trash.
Now that was priceless!
Not much left to say! Too Funny!
Personally, I think all of his comments should be posted, even if they're just shameless plugging of a book that never seems to materialize. Let the man speak, and put his views out there for critique or worship. His world frightens and confuses me, in much the same way that our modern world bedazzled "Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer" in those Phil Hartman SNL sketches (shout out to STS Graphics Dept., whoever you are!). I want to hear more. And this way he can't fall back into victim mode with claims of "they tried to silence me!".
He may very well have that kind of money, though. He just dropped a house on a completely avoidable lawsuit.
I'm sorry "save the school." I don't mean your blog is trash but just some of the comments on it. Yes I'm looking in a mirror and am guilty of occasional trash writing. It's just irritating when people criticize and name call without doing one spec of research. As much as I diaagree with Jon and Borows who may slant things, but they do their homework and I have to respect that. As for you "save the school." You may be on to a brillant thought. We may not agree on everything but business is bsiness and you got the blog and I got the book. How about after it's ready and you've reviewed it and determined that IT IS NOT MORRISVILLE SCHOOL BASHING, you promote the book on your blog and I'll donate a percentage of each book to the Morrisville School District. How bout it?
Mr. Hellmann should research (or better yet, ask the Superintendent) the going rate for the position before ousting the existing Director.
Here is the same position in nearby Cheltenham SD. Salary range: $100,000 to $115,452.
I'm all for trying to save a buck where it makes sense but sometimes this just backfires and you end up paying more than the quality person you just lost, not to mention the soft-costs of having to bring in a new person.
Yeah Jon, I wouldn't be intimidated and couldn't be bribed. Got little help and was even chastised by my own town. You're right, "dropped a house on an avoidable lawsuit." I defied the devil Jon and "dropped a house." Small price to pay on the eternal scale. Oh by the way, have you driven through Grandview Estates lately? I got that house back plus another one. Praise the Lord.
Good for you Steve - it's your call to make about whether it has been worth it to you. It seems to me like you had a good deal of support, were more cheered than chastised, and that you have created the "devils" in order to dance with them. I think you could have accomplished the same objectives without having to drop a house. It's your methods that trouble me the most. All the negativity and tearing down - I think it does tremendous damage to Morrisville and its outside reputation.
With so many people wailing about being able to keep their own houses, Steve is crowing about all of the houses that he owns. I guess the lord pays him well for fighting the devils.
self righteous
One entry found.
self-righteous
Main Entry:
self–righ·teous Listen to the pronunciation of self–righteous
Pronunciation:
\-ˈrī-chəs\
Function:
adjective
Date:
circa 1680
: convinced of one's own righteousness especially in contrast with the actions and beliefs of others : narrow-mindedly moralistic
Example: High Public Official
"Small price to pay on the eternal scale. Oh by the way, have you driven through Grandview Estates lately? I got that house back plus another one. Praise the Lord." - Steve Worob
Does anyone NOT expect Steve to be the recipient of a sweetheart deal when the Grandview Elementary School building and property, conveniently located across the street from his house in beautiful "Grandview Estates", is sold off by the school district?
Watch for the straw man or shell corporation that swoops in to make the first (and LOWEST) bid. A so-called "small price to pay", and certainly retribution for losing in court.
Praise the Lord.
I knew it. I knew it! Irv Homer always said it was about a land grab.
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