A special edition of Schools News Around the Blogosphere: Bad Behavior
Also a special shout out to the Long Hill Observer blog. Recent entries include:
What is the problem with open and transparent government?
I Asked The Board; No Response Yet
Apathy This one was a goodie!
How Do We Hold Them Accountable?
Wow...sounds just like home!
Ga. county struggles as school crisis drags on
Fort Mill Times, May 31, 2008
A February report from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools blamed the district's woes on a "fatally flawed" school board and accused it of bickering, acting on behalf of special interests, meddling in the schools and making derogatory comments to school administrators during meetings.
Taxpayers won't have to pay for new Clayton diplomas
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 05/31/08
A national company has offered to waive the charges to print 3,000 new diplomas for Clayton County students, saving taxpayers about $80,000. Clayton's new schools superintendent, John Thompson, had ordered new diplomas printed after he learned the old ones bore the name of former Superintendent Gloria Duncan and the signature of former school board Chairwoman Ericka Davis, who resigned in April.
Palm Beach County teachers found to have questionable content on Facebook profiles
South Florida Sun-Sentinel June 1, 2008
Join Facebook and type in "Palm Beach County School District." Up popped more than 200 names, many of them local teachers sharing personal information. A kindergarten teacher had a page with links to photos of herself drinking and having her bottom spanked by a friend. An elementary school music teacher had a page sprinkled with profanity about his former administrators. A special-education teacher had a page that revealed he is "super horny" and an "A++" in bed.
'Loose at best, criminal at worst'
Toronto Sun, June 1, 2008
Toronto's Catholic School Board trustees still owe taxpayers for thousands of dollars worth of questionable expenses, a Sunday Sun review of board documents dating back to 2003 shows.
Sunday, June 1, 2008
More information on Beaver County merger
Here's a link to the Center Area School District webpage on the merger with Monaca
Fight for your child
From the BCCT this morning. Here's a letter about the Emperor's attempts to illegally obtain special education student information.
Has anyone ever asked the Emperor why he needs to be so confrontational and divisive? Whenever there's an easier way out, he seems to instinctively choose the course of action that requires the most work, the most angst, and the greatest amount of scorched earth. These are not highly prized qualities.
A second article reports on a merger between two Beaver County districts.
The last article is about a one-man campaign to stop teacher strikes. There's one line from the article that is very revealing" "School board President Gregory Lucidi said that Campbell’s approach can be forceful, but effective."
Imagine what could be accomplished in Morrisville if YOU got involved.
Fight for your child
The Morrisville school board wants to cut spending on special education. This
certainly caught my attention.
I have a special needs child in the district. I have been hearing about how the school board president wanted to get the names, addresses and amount of money spent on each child in the district. I heard that he was told at a school board meeting how he cannot take away programs to help our children. This is the law.
Now he wants to cut spending. Exactly where does this put the needs of the child?
I have spoken to many parents from other districts who have horror stories about their children’s education. I have always been proud to say that Morrisville has given my son the resources he needs and because of this he has made amazing progress.
To all parents of special needs children: Get out the booklet that you get at your IEP meetings and this will show you the legal rights of your child. Then if the board tries to take away our children’s rights to be educated, this booklet will give us the information to fight for our children.
Board President Hellmann is a CPA but does he understand anything about educating the special needs child? Obviously not.
Debra Hutchinson Morrisville
------------------------------------------------------------
Ed. secretary: Districts’ merger should be model
MONACA, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania Education Secretary Gerald Zahorchak says he hopes the looming merger of two struggling Beaver County school districts will lead to similar deals between other districts.
The Center Area School Board is scheduled to vote June 12 on a resolution that would seal the district’s merger with the neighboring Monaca School District.
“It’s historic,” Zahorchak said. “School districts all around the state are talking about this. There are probably eight or 10 different pairs in the talking stages.”
Center and Monaca decided to merge because their shrinking student populations had led to concerns about wasted building space and the inability to offer anything more than basic programs. Specialized courses are harder to justify when few students are available to take them.
The districts expect to save $1.5 million annually and have been promised $500,000 from the state to cover one-time costs associated with the merger.
The real benefits, however, may be reaped by other districts that should consider merging for the same reasons, but have been putting it off, said Zahorchak and Tom Gentzel, executive director of the Pennsylvania School Boards Association.
“Parents and taxpayers need real, specific examples and answers as to how things will work,” Gentzel said. “If we get one or two of these that work well, it will certainly make it easier for others.”
Pennsylvania has 501 school districts and 211 have fewer than 2,000 students.
------------------------------------------------------------
Strikebuster
Dad declares war on teachers union
Lower Makefield’s Simon Campbell models himself after Margaret Thatcher and is leading the drive to ban teacher strikes in Pennsylvania.
By MANASEE WAGH
In 1950s England, Simon Campbell’s electrician grandfather publicly ripped up his union card. In the same decade, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher dissolved the power of trade unions in the United Kingdom. Campbell, who grew up in northwest England and is now a resident of Lower Makefield, said his grandfather was making a public statement against strikes. “He wanted to go to work and provide for his family. When the strike happened, he was one of the few to cross the picket line,’’ Campbell said. Now Campbell, 40, is taking a page from his grandfather’s book and going one step further: Over the past three years, he’s raised a grassroots movement to pass legislation making teacher strikes illegal in Pennsylvania. As a father of three elementary school children in Pennsbury, he said he was appalled by the 21-day teacher strike in 2005 and blamed “the power of the union” for disrupting the school year.
Three years after Campbell started protesting union rules and teacher strikes in Pennsbury, he has become a controversial figure in the local community.
In early April, Campbell linked to a list of teacher salaries on StopTeacherStrikes.org, the volunteer organization he started after the 2005 strike. Pennsbury teachers union leaders downplayed the publicity he generated, saying that the information already was publicly available.
Campbell is guardedly optimistic about Senate interest in the future, and as for interest from Gov. Ed Rendell, Campbell thinks it could go either way.
“You never know with Rendell. He’s made some noises on the issue. Of course he’s taken a truckload of money from teachers unions. But you never know.”
While Campbell was not the first to make salaries public or claim that teachers are paid too much, he did stir up the issue.
“We are doing this to galvanize the public,” he said.
He hopes the public will eventually pressure the state Legislature into passing the Strike-Free Education Act, House Bill 1369. It would make Pennsylvania the 38th state to make teacher strikes illegal. Campbell contributed ideas for the bill, which chief sponsor and author state Rep. Todd Rock, R-Franklin, unveiled in early June 2007.
Rep. Dave Steil, R-31, who supports the bill, said Campbell is the only one “on the forefront” of the push for anti-strike legislation.
“He’s had the temerity to follow through. It’s a real uphill battle in this state,” said Steil. “Ultimately legislation passes when there is a massive groundswell of public support.”
In February, Tim Allwein, assistant executive director of the state school boards association, said he thought it would take at least five more years for public pressure to mount high enough to change state law.
The bill is under consideration in the House labor relations committee and has 28 co-sponsors. Still, Campbell doesn’t anticipate a vote anytime soon — he believes that Robert Belfanti, the committee chairman, would be antagonistic to the bill because his campaigns have been funded in part by union money.
CARRYING THE MESSAGE
Campbell travels two to three times a month to connect with others about StopTeacherStrikes.
“I get invited to speak to other groups, and I network with other taxpayer groups. Activity happens through networking and talking to others,” he said.
Juggling his work, his volunteer activities with StopTeacherStrikes.com and being a parent of three young children, doesn’t leave him much time for hobbies, said Campbell.
“Mostly when I get down time, I like to read, travel and spend time with family and friends. I used to play a lot of squash but hurt my back so I can’t anymore.”
In the mornings, he’s an independent futures trader who works out of his simply appointed home office, with its sunny yellow walls, beige curtains and cream and wood furniture. The rest of the day he usually devotes to his cause and taking care of his three daughters, who attend Quarry Hill Elementary. He met his American wife at the University of Hull when she attended a year of college in England. She is an executive search consultant.
When the strike happened, Campbell said his family was “horrified.” Prior to settling in the U.S., the family had lived in Switzerland, where his eldest had attended two years of public school in a system that didn’t allow teachers to strike.
“The contrast was quite stark,” he said. “It is unconscionable and immoral to me that innocent children can be pushed out of school.”
But what pressed Campbell to action was what happened on the final day of the strike.
“As sure as I stand here, the war is not over, but the battle is done,” Nyla Houser, then union president, told about 600 striking teachers that day. At the time, some teachers believed that she was trying to keep up their spirits and stand in solidarity with them.
For Campbell, her words comparing the situation to a “battle” incensed him and were the trigger for rousing public opposition to teacher strikes and union rules, he said. It pushed him over the line from angry parent to activist.
“Had she not said those words, I might not have been inspired to StopTeacherStrikes,” said Campbell.
Whenever Campbell talks about his mission, his speech gets more heightened as he gets wound up. The volume increases, the eyes frown and the nostrils flare in a tidal wave of fervor for his cause. If there is one thing Simon Campbell is not, it is hesitant. And he’s not afraid to voice his opinions, even if it means being politically incorrect.
As an invited speaker at the Pennsylvania Leadership Conference in April, Campbell described unions as “Teletubbies” and the Pennsylvania School Boards Association as “Pretty Silly Blindingly Awful.” Later, Campbell explained the analogy.
“Teletubbies are kids’ characters, strange creatures that jump up and down making incoherent noises. But I’m being flippant. My sense of humor is an acquired taste.”
He went on to say at StopTeacherStrikes, “we don’t care about political correctness; we just cause a lot of trouble for the teachers union.”
Campbell tends to stir up emotions among those who agree and disagree with him. Many community members say they enjoy what he stands for but privately dislike his aggressive style.
House Bill 1369 co-sponsor Steil can appreciate Campbell’s confrontational methods.
“He once said to me confrontation works. We disagreed somewhat and we probably still do,” said Steil. But he added that Campbell’s brand of strong action keeps public attention focused on the issues.
In his children’s own school district, Campbell’s work to keep the public’s attention includes speaking up during the public comment portion of Pennsbury school board meetings.
School board President Gregory Lucidi said that Campbell’s approach can be forceful, but effective.
“He is doing a good job raising public awareness about teacher strikes and is getting a very positive response from members of the public. He has a very aggressive style, maybe too aggressive for some people’s taste, but he is effective,” said Lucidi, who has worked with Campbell to promote House Bill 1369. He believes Campbell’s input on the bill has garnered statewide attention.
‘I’LL DESTROY YOU’
Some local critics say that Campbell goes beyond strongly preaching his views.
Ronald Smith, a Lower Makefield supervisor and criminal defense lawyer, said he dislikes his behavior.
“I’m of the opinion that he’s nothing but a cancer. Although some of his positions may be laudable, he attempts to present his position by confrontation, intimidation and disparaging remarks to all those who may disagree with him,” Smith said. “They’re afraid to say this but I’m not afraid. If you don’t agree with Campbell, you are his archenemy. His position is — if you don’t agree with me, I’ll destroy you.”
Smith has accused Campbell of creating a rift between teachers and the school board. As a result, Smith says he’s worried that Pennsbury teacher contract renegotiations next year will be more difficult.
Campbell is quick to point out that he’s not against teachers.
“We’re anti-strike, not antiteacher. All my kids’ teachers are great.” He blames the unions for a number of ills in the district and state.
What vexes Campbell about unions, he said, is that non-union members have to pay a union fee in Pennsbury.
“There’s a difference between what a union member pays and what a non-union member pays, but why should they be forced to pay anything? It’s coercion. They’re like captive passengers.”
George Miller, president of Pennsbury’s teachers union, countered that the fees contribute to the cost of collective bargaining and contract management.
“No one is forced to join the union under any circumstances,” he said. However, he did not return phone calls and e-mails asking for further explanation.
Campbell also blames unions for contributing dues money toward political action.
“They shouldn’t be collecting money for private organizations to give for political actions. This money can pay for lobbying, political action committees, and be used to directly influence elections.”
Union leaders said that the money is used for more innocuous reasons. It goes toward petitioning for political actions that would benefit students, like paying representatives to petition for reforms on its behalf. Because teachers can’t go to Harrisburg and Washington, D.C., said a union leader, political leaders have to take action for them on concerns like No Child Left Behind.
As far as strikes go, Wythe Keever, spokesman for the state education association, said they evolved out of a feeling of helplessness in the late ’60s. At that time, Keever said, teacher salaries were low and public employees didn’t have collective bargaining rights.
He said growing advocacy at the state level led to the use of strikes as a bargaining chip.
“Striking is the only leverage that teachers have when bargaining fails to produce what they consider to be fair settlement. The general feeling is that strikes should be a last resort, but a legal last resort.”
WHERE DO LEGISLATORS STAND?
Campbell recently put a survey for state representatives on his StopTeacherStrikes Web site.
It asks whether they support strike-free legislation and union practices like taking a fee from all teachers, whether they are part of the union or not.
Campbell said he wants the public to know where legislators stand. He said StopTeacherStrikes is “all about educating the public, trying to get people to look at the big picture.”
He looks to his grandfather’s example when confronted with opposition.
“It wasn’t that he was teaching me to be anti-union but that I should stand up for what I believe in.”
Campbell said his role model is the former prime minister of the United Kingdom,
“In the 1980s, Margaret Thatcher liberated the UK from the stranglehold of corrupting union power and socialism. She was a conviction politician. People either loved her or they hated her. I loved her.”
Has anyone ever asked the Emperor why he needs to be so confrontational and divisive? Whenever there's an easier way out, he seems to instinctively choose the course of action that requires the most work, the most angst, and the greatest amount of scorched earth. These are not highly prized qualities.
A second article reports on a merger between two Beaver County districts.
The last article is about a one-man campaign to stop teacher strikes. There's one line from the article that is very revealing" "School board President Gregory Lucidi said that Campbell’s approach can be forceful, but effective."
Imagine what could be accomplished in Morrisville if YOU got involved.
Fight for your child
The Morrisville school board wants to cut spending on special education. This
certainly caught my attention.
I have a special needs child in the district. I have been hearing about how the school board president wanted to get the names, addresses and amount of money spent on each child in the district. I heard that he was told at a school board meeting how he cannot take away programs to help our children. This is the law.
Now he wants to cut spending. Exactly where does this put the needs of the child?
I have spoken to many parents from other districts who have horror stories about their children’s education. I have always been proud to say that Morrisville has given my son the resources he needs and because of this he has made amazing progress.
To all parents of special needs children: Get out the booklet that you get at your IEP meetings and this will show you the legal rights of your child. Then if the board tries to take away our children’s rights to be educated, this booklet will give us the information to fight for our children.
Board President Hellmann is a CPA but does he understand anything about educating the special needs child? Obviously not.
Debra Hutchinson Morrisville
------------------------------------------------------------
Ed. secretary: Districts’ merger should be model
MONACA, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania Education Secretary Gerald Zahorchak says he hopes the looming merger of two struggling Beaver County school districts will lead to similar deals between other districts.
The Center Area School Board is scheduled to vote June 12 on a resolution that would seal the district’s merger with the neighboring Monaca School District.
“It’s historic,” Zahorchak said. “School districts all around the state are talking about this. There are probably eight or 10 different pairs in the talking stages.”
Center and Monaca decided to merge because their shrinking student populations had led to concerns about wasted building space and the inability to offer anything more than basic programs. Specialized courses are harder to justify when few students are available to take them.
The districts expect to save $1.5 million annually and have been promised $500,000 from the state to cover one-time costs associated with the merger.
The real benefits, however, may be reaped by other districts that should consider merging for the same reasons, but have been putting it off, said Zahorchak and Tom Gentzel, executive director of the Pennsylvania School Boards Association.
“Parents and taxpayers need real, specific examples and answers as to how things will work,” Gentzel said. “If we get one or two of these that work well, it will certainly make it easier for others.”
Pennsylvania has 501 school districts and 211 have fewer than 2,000 students.
------------------------------------------------------------
Strikebuster
Dad declares war on teachers union
Lower Makefield’s Simon Campbell models himself after Margaret Thatcher and is leading the drive to ban teacher strikes in Pennsylvania.
By MANASEE WAGH
In 1950s England, Simon Campbell’s electrician grandfather publicly ripped up his union card. In the same decade, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher dissolved the power of trade unions in the United Kingdom. Campbell, who grew up in northwest England and is now a resident of Lower Makefield, said his grandfather was making a public statement against strikes. “He wanted to go to work and provide for his family. When the strike happened, he was one of the few to cross the picket line,’’ Campbell said. Now Campbell, 40, is taking a page from his grandfather’s book and going one step further: Over the past three years, he’s raised a grassroots movement to pass legislation making teacher strikes illegal in Pennsylvania. As a father of three elementary school children in Pennsbury, he said he was appalled by the 21-day teacher strike in 2005 and blamed “the power of the union” for disrupting the school year.
Three years after Campbell started protesting union rules and teacher strikes in Pennsbury, he has become a controversial figure in the local community.
In early April, Campbell linked to a list of teacher salaries on StopTeacherStrikes.org, the volunteer organization he started after the 2005 strike. Pennsbury teachers union leaders downplayed the publicity he generated, saying that the information already was publicly available.
Campbell is guardedly optimistic about Senate interest in the future, and as for interest from Gov. Ed Rendell, Campbell thinks it could go either way.
“You never know with Rendell. He’s made some noises on the issue. Of course he’s taken a truckload of money from teachers unions. But you never know.”
While Campbell was not the first to make salaries public or claim that teachers are paid too much, he did stir up the issue.
“We are doing this to galvanize the public,” he said.
He hopes the public will eventually pressure the state Legislature into passing the Strike-Free Education Act, House Bill 1369. It would make Pennsylvania the 38th state to make teacher strikes illegal. Campbell contributed ideas for the bill, which chief sponsor and author state Rep. Todd Rock, R-Franklin, unveiled in early June 2007.
Rep. Dave Steil, R-31, who supports the bill, said Campbell is the only one “on the forefront” of the push for anti-strike legislation.
“He’s had the temerity to follow through. It’s a real uphill battle in this state,” said Steil. “Ultimately legislation passes when there is a massive groundswell of public support.”
In February, Tim Allwein, assistant executive director of the state school boards association, said he thought it would take at least five more years for public pressure to mount high enough to change state law.
The bill is under consideration in the House labor relations committee and has 28 co-sponsors. Still, Campbell doesn’t anticipate a vote anytime soon — he believes that Robert Belfanti, the committee chairman, would be antagonistic to the bill because his campaigns have been funded in part by union money.
CARRYING THE MESSAGE
Campbell travels two to three times a month to connect with others about StopTeacherStrikes.
“I get invited to speak to other groups, and I network with other taxpayer groups. Activity happens through networking and talking to others,” he said.
Juggling his work, his volunteer activities with StopTeacherStrikes.com and being a parent of three young children, doesn’t leave him much time for hobbies, said Campbell.
“Mostly when I get down time, I like to read, travel and spend time with family and friends. I used to play a lot of squash but hurt my back so I can’t anymore.”
In the mornings, he’s an independent futures trader who works out of his simply appointed home office, with its sunny yellow walls, beige curtains and cream and wood furniture. The rest of the day he usually devotes to his cause and taking care of his three daughters, who attend Quarry Hill Elementary. He met his American wife at the University of Hull when she attended a year of college in England. She is an executive search consultant.
When the strike happened, Campbell said his family was “horrified.” Prior to settling in the U.S., the family had lived in Switzerland, where his eldest had attended two years of public school in a system that didn’t allow teachers to strike.
“The contrast was quite stark,” he said. “It is unconscionable and immoral to me that innocent children can be pushed out of school.”
But what pressed Campbell to action was what happened on the final day of the strike.
“As sure as I stand here, the war is not over, but the battle is done,” Nyla Houser, then union president, told about 600 striking teachers that day. At the time, some teachers believed that she was trying to keep up their spirits and stand in solidarity with them.
For Campbell, her words comparing the situation to a “battle” incensed him and were the trigger for rousing public opposition to teacher strikes and union rules, he said. It pushed him over the line from angry parent to activist.
“Had she not said those words, I might not have been inspired to StopTeacherStrikes,” said Campbell.
Whenever Campbell talks about his mission, his speech gets more heightened as he gets wound up. The volume increases, the eyes frown and the nostrils flare in a tidal wave of fervor for his cause. If there is one thing Simon Campbell is not, it is hesitant. And he’s not afraid to voice his opinions, even if it means being politically incorrect.
As an invited speaker at the Pennsylvania Leadership Conference in April, Campbell described unions as “Teletubbies” and the Pennsylvania School Boards Association as “Pretty Silly Blindingly Awful.” Later, Campbell explained the analogy.
“Teletubbies are kids’ characters, strange creatures that jump up and down making incoherent noises. But I’m being flippant. My sense of humor is an acquired taste.”
He went on to say at StopTeacherStrikes, “we don’t care about political correctness; we just cause a lot of trouble for the teachers union.”
Campbell tends to stir up emotions among those who agree and disagree with him. Many community members say they enjoy what he stands for but privately dislike his aggressive style.
House Bill 1369 co-sponsor Steil can appreciate Campbell’s confrontational methods.
“He once said to me confrontation works. We disagreed somewhat and we probably still do,” said Steil. But he added that Campbell’s brand of strong action keeps public attention focused on the issues.
In his children’s own school district, Campbell’s work to keep the public’s attention includes speaking up during the public comment portion of Pennsbury school board meetings.
School board President Gregory Lucidi said that Campbell’s approach can be forceful, but effective.
“He is doing a good job raising public awareness about teacher strikes and is getting a very positive response from members of the public. He has a very aggressive style, maybe too aggressive for some people’s taste, but he is effective,” said Lucidi, who has worked with Campbell to promote House Bill 1369. He believes Campbell’s input on the bill has garnered statewide attention.
‘I’LL DESTROY YOU’
Some local critics say that Campbell goes beyond strongly preaching his views.
Ronald Smith, a Lower Makefield supervisor and criminal defense lawyer, said he dislikes his behavior.
“I’m of the opinion that he’s nothing but a cancer. Although some of his positions may be laudable, he attempts to present his position by confrontation, intimidation and disparaging remarks to all those who may disagree with him,” Smith said. “They’re afraid to say this but I’m not afraid. If you don’t agree with Campbell, you are his archenemy. His position is — if you don’t agree with me, I’ll destroy you.”
Smith has accused Campbell of creating a rift between teachers and the school board. As a result, Smith says he’s worried that Pennsbury teacher contract renegotiations next year will be more difficult.
Campbell is quick to point out that he’s not against teachers.
“We’re anti-strike, not antiteacher. All my kids’ teachers are great.” He blames the unions for a number of ills in the district and state.
What vexes Campbell about unions, he said, is that non-union members have to pay a union fee in Pennsbury.
“There’s a difference between what a union member pays and what a non-union member pays, but why should they be forced to pay anything? It’s coercion. They’re like captive passengers.”
George Miller, president of Pennsbury’s teachers union, countered that the fees contribute to the cost of collective bargaining and contract management.
“No one is forced to join the union under any circumstances,” he said. However, he did not return phone calls and e-mails asking for further explanation.
Campbell also blames unions for contributing dues money toward political action.
“They shouldn’t be collecting money for private organizations to give for political actions. This money can pay for lobbying, political action committees, and be used to directly influence elections.”
Union leaders said that the money is used for more innocuous reasons. It goes toward petitioning for political actions that would benefit students, like paying representatives to petition for reforms on its behalf. Because teachers can’t go to Harrisburg and Washington, D.C., said a union leader, political leaders have to take action for them on concerns like No Child Left Behind.
As far as strikes go, Wythe Keever, spokesman for the state education association, said they evolved out of a feeling of helplessness in the late ’60s. At that time, Keever said, teacher salaries were low and public employees didn’t have collective bargaining rights.
He said growing advocacy at the state level led to the use of strikes as a bargaining chip.
“Striking is the only leverage that teachers have when bargaining fails to produce what they consider to be fair settlement. The general feeling is that strikes should be a last resort, but a legal last resort.”
WHERE DO LEGISLATORS STAND?
Campbell recently put a survey for state representatives on his StopTeacherStrikes Web site.
It asks whether they support strike-free legislation and union practices like taking a fee from all teachers, whether they are part of the union or not.
Campbell said he wants the public to know where legislators stand. He said StopTeacherStrikes is “all about educating the public, trying to get people to look at the big picture.”
He looks to his grandfather’s example when confronted with opposition.
“It wasn’t that he was teaching me to be anti-union but that I should stand up for what I believe in.”
Campbell said his role model is the former prime minister of the United Kingdom,
“In the 1980s, Margaret Thatcher liberated the UK from the stranglehold of corrupting union power and socialism. She was a conviction politician. People either loved her or they hated her. I loved her.”
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Tech School Budget Passes and Morrisville is Irrelevant
Chalk up another one for the Emperor. For all his public posturing and eyebrow wiggling about the tech school budget, instead of doing the hard work of talking to the other districts and working collaboratively toward a common goal, the Bensalem school board approved the budget, making Bristol's unanimous veto and Morrisville's delay actions irrelevant. The budget is now law.
BUCKS COUNTY TECHNICAL HIGH SCHOOL
Tech school budget approved
Expenditures for 2008-09 are up 4.4 percent over this year’s expenses.
By JOAN HELLYER
STAFF WRITER
Bucks County Technical High School will be able to implement its estimated $21.7 million budget for 2008-09, now that enough sending districts have approved the financial plan, the school’s administrative director said.
The budget had been in limbo for about a month by a perceived lack of movement in efforts to revise the school’s funding formula for future budgets, officials said.
It left the comprehensive high school that serves the Bensalem, Bristol, Bristol Township, Morrisville, Neshaminy and Pennsbury school districts just short of the approvals needed to enact the budget. The tech school bylaws require at least four of the six sending districts and at least 28 board members from the districts served by the school, which is in Bristol Township, to approve the budget.
The Bristol, Neshaminy and Pennsbury school boards approved the proposed budget in April, with 26 board members from those districts voting in favor of it.
However, the Bristol Township board unanimously rejected the budget to protest inaction on proposed changes to the funding formula involving special education students. In addition, the Bensalem and Morrisville school boards delayed votes on it.
The logjam ended Wednesday night when the Bensalem board voted unanimously to approve the budget after the tech school’s joint board committee agreed to tackle the funding formula issue this summer.
Morrisville’s board again postponed its vote on the tech budget last week, but that will have no impact now because enough sending districts and board members have already approved it, officials said.
The 2008-09 budget is almost $1 million greater than this year’s budget, administrators said. Each district’s cost share will increase 4.4 percent, they added.
About 1,500 students in ninth through 12th grade attend the school, which offers studies in approximately three dozen trades.
BUCKS COUNTY TECHNICAL HIGH SCHOOL
Tech school budget approved
Expenditures for 2008-09 are up 4.4 percent over this year’s expenses.
By JOAN HELLYER
STAFF WRITER
Bucks County Technical High School will be able to implement its estimated $21.7 million budget for 2008-09, now that enough sending districts have approved the financial plan, the school’s administrative director said.
The budget had been in limbo for about a month by a perceived lack of movement in efforts to revise the school’s funding formula for future budgets, officials said.
It left the comprehensive high school that serves the Bensalem, Bristol, Bristol Township, Morrisville, Neshaminy and Pennsbury school districts just short of the approvals needed to enact the budget. The tech school bylaws require at least four of the six sending districts and at least 28 board members from the districts served by the school, which is in Bristol Township, to approve the budget.
The Bristol, Neshaminy and Pennsbury school boards approved the proposed budget in April, with 26 board members from those districts voting in favor of it.
However, the Bristol Township board unanimously rejected the budget to protest inaction on proposed changes to the funding formula involving special education students. In addition, the Bensalem and Morrisville school boards delayed votes on it.
The logjam ended Wednesday night when the Bensalem board voted unanimously to approve the budget after the tech school’s joint board committee agreed to tackle the funding formula issue this summer.
Morrisville’s board again postponed its vote on the tech budget last week, but that will have no impact now because enough sending districts and board members have already approved it, officials said.
The 2008-09 budget is almost $1 million greater than this year’s budget, administrators said. Each district’s cost share will increase 4.4 percent, they added.
About 1,500 students in ninth through 12th grade attend the school, which offers studies in approximately three dozen trades.
Schools News Around the Blogosphere
The big "unfunded mandate" is the one the unions demand
Keep the promise to the children - educate them
Providence Journal
Julia Steiny
The big “unfunded mandate” is the one the unions demand, asking to be constantly paid more and more, for the status quo as well as the “extras,” no matter what the academic outcome for the kids.
Fewer Kindergarteners Will Take a Screening Test
Rollback Set in Schooling of the Gifted
New York Sun
Chancellor Joel Klein last year said he wanted to expand screening so that programs often dominated by well-connected and affluent white parents could include a more diverse group of students.
Parents question proposed changes to Pennsylvania's gifted-student regulations
Pennsylvania is taking steps to make gifted education available to more students, but that has done little to quell long-standing tension between parents and school districts over how the state's brightest are educated.
Schools CEO to earn up to $500,000 a year
By Kristen A. Graham
Inquirer Staff Writer
The ink is dry and the details finalized - incoming Philadelphia schools chief Arlene Ackerman will earn a package worth up to $500,000 annually in salary and perks, a review of her contract shows.
Long school holidays 'should end'
British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) (UK)
Long school holidays should be abolished to prevent children falling behind in class, a think-tank says. The Institute for Public Policy Research said studies suggested pupils' reading and maths abilities regressed because the summer break was too long.
Ohio teacher training: What does it take to make the grade?
Cleveland Plain Dealer
Why teacher training matters: A growing body of research argues that education schools - despite some exemplary exceptions - produce inadequately prepared teachers. Students who have three ineffective teachers in a row will score as much as 50 percentage points lower on standardized tests than those who have three effective teachers in a row.
Educations "Wag the Dog": Geniuses Lost
By Dick Kantenberger
It is like someone shouted "FIRE" in a theater, but nobody moved. Is the theater empty? No, it's full of people, but still nobody moved or even cared. We are losing hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, of potential geniuses every year in the United States because we are just not finding them before it's too late, which in most cases is about the time they are suppose to start 9th grade.
Algebra I stumping high school freshmen
Detroit Free Press
Thousands of high school freshmen across Michigan are failing Algebra I, the first of four math courses this class of students must take and pass to fulfill what are among the toughest graduation requirements in the nation.
U.S. Experts Bemoan Nation's Loss of Stature in the World of Science
Washington Post
Some of the nation's leading scientists, including Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's top science adviser, today sharply criticized the diminished role of science in the United States and the shortage of federal funding for research, even as science becomes increasingly important to combating problems such as climate change and the global food shortage.
Idaho asks the feds for a fresh start on No Child Left Behind
Idaho Statesman
Idaho's State Board of Education wants a fresh start for hundreds of public schools facing sanctions under a tough federal education accountability mandate.
Keep the promise to the children - educate them
Providence Journal
Julia Steiny
The big “unfunded mandate” is the one the unions demand, asking to be constantly paid more and more, for the status quo as well as the “extras,” no matter what the academic outcome for the kids.
Fewer Kindergarteners Will Take a Screening Test
Rollback Set in Schooling of the Gifted
New York Sun
Chancellor Joel Klein last year said he wanted to expand screening so that programs often dominated by well-connected and affluent white parents could include a more diverse group of students.
Parents question proposed changes to Pennsylvania's gifted-student regulations
Pennsylvania is taking steps to make gifted education available to more students, but that has done little to quell long-standing tension between parents and school districts over how the state's brightest are educated.
Schools CEO to earn up to $500,000 a year
By Kristen A. Graham
Inquirer Staff Writer
The ink is dry and the details finalized - incoming Philadelphia schools chief Arlene Ackerman will earn a package worth up to $500,000 annually in salary and perks, a review of her contract shows.
Long school holidays 'should end'
British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) (UK)
Long school holidays should be abolished to prevent children falling behind in class, a think-tank says. The Institute for Public Policy Research said studies suggested pupils' reading and maths abilities regressed because the summer break was too long.
Ohio teacher training: What does it take to make the grade?
Cleveland Plain Dealer
Why teacher training matters: A growing body of research argues that education schools - despite some exemplary exceptions - produce inadequately prepared teachers. Students who have three ineffective teachers in a row will score as much as 50 percentage points lower on standardized tests than those who have three effective teachers in a row.
Educations "Wag the Dog": Geniuses Lost
By Dick Kantenberger
It is like someone shouted "FIRE" in a theater, but nobody moved. Is the theater empty? No, it's full of people, but still nobody moved or even cared. We are losing hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, of potential geniuses every year in the United States because we are just not finding them before it's too late, which in most cases is about the time they are suppose to start 9th grade.
Algebra I stumping high school freshmen
Detroit Free Press
Thousands of high school freshmen across Michigan are failing Algebra I, the first of four math courses this class of students must take and pass to fulfill what are among the toughest graduation requirements in the nation.
U.S. Experts Bemoan Nation's Loss of Stature in the World of Science
Washington Post
Some of the nation's leading scientists, including Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's top science adviser, today sharply criticized the diminished role of science in the United States and the shortage of federal funding for research, even as science becomes increasingly important to combating problems such as climate change and the global food shortage.
Idaho asks the feds for a fresh start on No Child Left Behind
Idaho Statesman
Idaho's State Board of Education wants a fresh start for hundreds of public schools facing sanctions under a tough federal education accountability mandate.
Friday, May 30, 2008
More small district woes
School taxes could jump 14 percent
By CHRISTOPHER RUVO
The Intelligencer
Riegelsville taxpayers would pay 14.3 percent more in school property taxes under next year's proposed budget from the Easton Area School District.
The borough at the northeastern tip of Bucks County sends students across the county line to the school district in Northampton County, a situation some in the riverside enclave would like to change because of what they feel are high school taxes.
Under Easton's proposed $121.8 million 2008-09 budget, property owners in Riegelsville, which has 68 students in Easton schools, would pay a millage rate of 159.46 — a nearly 20 mill increase. That would result in a property tax bill of $3,827 for a home assessed at $24,000, up $479.
Homeowners approved to receive a property tax rebate through the state's gambling revenues would have $233 knocked off the 2008-09 bill, bringing the average bill down to $3,594.
A mill is a tax of $1 on every $1,000 of a property's assessed value.
If the same $24,000 Riegelsville home were in Palisades, the Upper Bucks school district that abuts Riegelsville, the owner would pay $2,400 under a proposed 2008-09 budget.
Qualified homeowners here would receive a rebate of $233 thanks to casino monies, knocking down the average bill to $2,167.
That's a big reason why the Riegelsville Tax and Education Coalition is pursuing transferring the borough's students to Palisades, despite two rulings that denied the move and opposition from some borough residents who wish to remain in Easton.
“The tax inequity issue is very critical,” said William Casey, a Doylestown lawyer representing the coalition as it pursues its case for secession from Easton before the Commonwealth Court.
Although a state school spending law, Act 1, caps Easton's allowed tax increase at 5.6 percent, the district has qualified for exceptions that allow the rate to jump well beyond that, said Jeffrey Bader, Easton's business manager.
Bader cautioned that the budget is preliminary and could be whittled down.
“We're always looking at getting down costs,” said Bader, who noted that everything from fixed expenses like salaries and fuel to rising special education costs is driving up spending.
Still, the Riegelsville coalition wants to become Palisades Pirates.
The group has argued that Riegelsville, which is surrounded by country townships, fits in better in the rural 2,100-student Palisades school district than the 9,000-student, urbanized Easton.
The town is contiguous with Palisades, but not with Easton, and has ties to the Upper Bucks communities that make up Palisades through the library, local sports leagues and emergency services.
Easton's final budget will have to be approved before June 30. It could be voted on at a special meeting scheduled for May 29.
High school students from Riegelsville have been attending Easton since 1932, when a school building in Durham became overcrowded. By 1965, the state consolidated school districts and all Riegelsville residents were attending Easton schools.
“It was a good thing for a long time. But now that Palisades is really going, it's time for the kids to go there,” said Casey.
By CHRISTOPHER RUVO
The Intelligencer
Riegelsville taxpayers would pay 14.3 percent more in school property taxes under next year's proposed budget from the Easton Area School District.
The borough at the northeastern tip of Bucks County sends students across the county line to the school district in Northampton County, a situation some in the riverside enclave would like to change because of what they feel are high school taxes.
Under Easton's proposed $121.8 million 2008-09 budget, property owners in Riegelsville, which has 68 students in Easton schools, would pay a millage rate of 159.46 — a nearly 20 mill increase. That would result in a property tax bill of $3,827 for a home assessed at $24,000, up $479.
Homeowners approved to receive a property tax rebate through the state's gambling revenues would have $233 knocked off the 2008-09 bill, bringing the average bill down to $3,594.
A mill is a tax of $1 on every $1,000 of a property's assessed value.
If the same $24,000 Riegelsville home were in Palisades, the Upper Bucks school district that abuts Riegelsville, the owner would pay $2,400 under a proposed 2008-09 budget.
Qualified homeowners here would receive a rebate of $233 thanks to casino monies, knocking down the average bill to $2,167.
That's a big reason why the Riegelsville Tax and Education Coalition is pursuing transferring the borough's students to Palisades, despite two rulings that denied the move and opposition from some borough residents who wish to remain in Easton.
“The tax inequity issue is very critical,” said William Casey, a Doylestown lawyer representing the coalition as it pursues its case for secession from Easton before the Commonwealth Court.
Although a state school spending law, Act 1, caps Easton's allowed tax increase at 5.6 percent, the district has qualified for exceptions that allow the rate to jump well beyond that, said Jeffrey Bader, Easton's business manager.
Bader cautioned that the budget is preliminary and could be whittled down.
“We're always looking at getting down costs,” said Bader, who noted that everything from fixed expenses like salaries and fuel to rising special education costs is driving up spending.
Still, the Riegelsville coalition wants to become Palisades Pirates.
The group has argued that Riegelsville, which is surrounded by country townships, fits in better in the rural 2,100-student Palisades school district than the 9,000-student, urbanized Easton.
The town is contiguous with Palisades, but not with Easton, and has ties to the Upper Bucks communities that make up Palisades through the library, local sports leagues and emergency services.
Easton's final budget will have to be approved before June 30. It could be voted on at a special meeting scheduled for May 29.
High school students from Riegelsville have been attending Easton since 1932, when a school building in Durham became overcrowded. By 1965, the state consolidated school districts and all Riegelsville residents were attending Easton schools.
“It was a good thing for a long time. But now that Palisades is really going, it's time for the kids to go there,” said Casey.
Hellmann Schools Death Plan
Here's the BCCT article on the Hellmann death plan for the schools.
For all of his deficiencies as a human being in general (supreme arrogance being the most glaring) the Emperor is not stupid. He can do this. Yes, I take back what I said yesterday after having some time to think about it. He has three solid puppet accomplices who would vote for anything as long as Hellmann wished it: Al Radosti, Marlys Mihok, and Brenda Worob. (Did you notice that is now the "leadership" on the board?) That's a 4-4 tie vote at best. The the fifth vote comes over the dead body of committed schools champion Ed Frankenfield. A reliable new toady will be appointed and the fait is truly accompli. Forget about (no direct disrespect to any of these four people, but it's the truth) the unsteady waffling of Bill Farrell and Gloria Heater. They are as irrelevant as Joe Kemp and Robin Reithmeyer, and if they happen to support the plan, that's just another vote in favor.
The teachers union negotiations will ultimately result in concessions of one sort or another that will begin to pave the road. Financing will appear. So will the buses to Pennsbury, Bristol, Council Rock, or even DVHS at the deep, deep discount Joe Kemp mentioned earlier.
It's only money. That's the only thing driving this latter day Scrooge-like board. There's no happy ending for Tiny Tim here. His special ed is being cut too. Paging the three ghosts of Christmases past, present, and future: Your table is ready. The Emperor is already seated.
The Emperor's vision for Morrisville was conceived during his long, long period of isolation as a rusting Tin Man longing for a heart. The difference here is that instead of journeying to see the Wizard and obtaining that heart, (or remixing my metaphors, being visited by the ghosts), he realized that rusting away in the field was his highest ambition, and he wants Oz-like Morrisville to rust right alongside him.
Give the Emperor his kudos. He's played his hand well and the public has played their role to perfection: They stayed home and did nothing. It's just about too late and we're watching the end of MHS. We're gathered at the bedside of the dying patient and we're waiting for five votes to pull the plug.
Beep....beep......beep..........beep.........................beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
MORRISVILLE SCHOOLS
Board president presents school consolidation plan
By MANASEE WAGH
The three public schools in the Morrisville School District could shrink to just one in the future.
School board President William Hellmann announced a three-pronged plan of how he would do that at Wednesday’s board meeting:
Grades nine through 12 would be absorbed by other districts
Renovate the existing high school
Transfer remaining grades — kindergarten through eighth now at two elementary schools — to the high school building.
“My overall theme is consolidation,” he said Thursday. “Instead of keeping three buildings, we consolidate into one.”
Hellmann unveiled his plan to much outcry from diehard community members who remained planted in their chairs past midnight.
Hellmann stressed that the idea was just a plan, and that it was up to the entire board to make a decision.
“I know some people don’t like the idea but tough choices have to be made,” he said Thursday. “These are my thoughts. I’m not telling everyone what to do. These are my recommendations.”
The former school board wanted to create a new $30 million consolidated school for the district’s approximately 1,000 students, a plan that would have raised taxes for several years. However, the current board nixed the idea on the promise to keep taxes low. It elected to return most of the remaining bond money the previous board had obtained for its merged schools plan.
Hellmann said his plan would use $7 million from capital reserve funds to renovate the high school.
“I want to center renovations on the high school. But it’s a very solid building. That building will be there after I’m gone. I cannot see knocking that down,” he said.
The new school board has been trying to figure out how to accomplish school renovations since the beginning of the year. There is no fixed plan in place, but the board accepted an engineering firm’s proposal Wednesday to provide bid specifications for electrical safety issues at the high school.
There are 273 students who attend ninth through 12th grade in the high school building this year. That’s not counting those who attend services outside the high school building.
Hellmann did not explain how sending students to other districts would work, adding he’s not sure how to implement all parts of his plan at the moment.
“Our No. 1 problem is teacher contracts. No. 2 is special education costs,” he said.
Teacher contracts are binding and can’t be altered without union approval.
“The only way is to bargain with them, but we’re not at that point yet. The problem is, the prior board approved contracts in February 2007. It was a very expensive contract. Prior board members didn’t anticipate the cost over the next several years. That’s the biggest problem,” Hellmann said.
An average teacher salary in Morrisville is about $70,000, according to the state Department of Education.
Next year’s budget calls for about $10 million in employee salaries and benefits.
Hellmann said rising special education costs are a problem, too, but the state mandates that districts pay for any necessary services. Hellmann didn’t describe his plan to reduce next year’s cost increase by about 30 percent. He said the board would stay within legal territory.
“This board is not going to do anything illegally. That’s guaranteed. That’s why we have a solicitor.”
The department of education said it would not comment on any district’s situation unless the board approves such changes.
On May 21, the board voted to consider a $19.7 million budget that’s about $250,000 short of the budget the administration recommended.
The lower budget would reduce necessary funds for incoming special education students, as well as money for students expected to attend charter and alternative schools.
Based on the number of students anticipated and their educational needs, the district is looking at a $2.1 million bill for special education services next year. The administration doesn’t have a choice in how much to pay for special education, said Superintendent Elizabeth Yonson at Wednesday’s meeting.
“Since December we’ve been looking at ways to cut costs without infringing on the needs of our children,” Yonson said Thursday.
Hellmann’s proposed cuts to the increase in special education expenses are about 30 percent. It would have been 40 percent, but the price for administrative services is lower than earlier thought, Yonson said.
Still, Kimberly Myers, supervisor of pupil personnel services, said she doesn’t see how the reduced budget could cover projected needs for special education requirements.
Hellmann thinks there’s a way to do it.
“My goal from the beginning was to provide an education for children that the town can afford. I’m trying to be reasonable. That’s it,” he said.
According to Yonson and Myers, the only way might be to reduce other expenditures.
“At this point, we’re hoping to convince the board not to do this. We are giving them a barebones budget,” Yonson said.
For all of his deficiencies as a human being in general (supreme arrogance being the most glaring) the Emperor is not stupid. He can do this. Yes, I take back what I said yesterday after having some time to think about it. He has three solid puppet accomplices who would vote for anything as long as Hellmann wished it: Al Radosti, Marlys Mihok, and Brenda Worob. (Did you notice that is now the "leadership" on the board?) That's a 4-4 tie vote at best. The the fifth vote comes over the dead body of committed schools champion Ed Frankenfield. A reliable new toady will be appointed and the fait is truly accompli. Forget about (no direct disrespect to any of these four people, but it's the truth) the unsteady waffling of Bill Farrell and Gloria Heater. They are as irrelevant as Joe Kemp and Robin Reithmeyer, and if they happen to support the plan, that's just another vote in favor.
The teachers union negotiations will ultimately result in concessions of one sort or another that will begin to pave the road. Financing will appear. So will the buses to Pennsbury, Bristol, Council Rock, or even DVHS at the deep, deep discount Joe Kemp mentioned earlier.
It's only money. That's the only thing driving this latter day Scrooge-like board. There's no happy ending for Tiny Tim here. His special ed is being cut too. Paging the three ghosts of Christmases past, present, and future: Your table is ready. The Emperor is already seated.
The Emperor's vision for Morrisville was conceived during his long, long period of isolation as a rusting Tin Man longing for a heart. The difference here is that instead of journeying to see the Wizard and obtaining that heart, (or remixing my metaphors, being visited by the ghosts), he realized that rusting away in the field was his highest ambition, and he wants Oz-like Morrisville to rust right alongside him.
Give the Emperor his kudos. He's played his hand well and the public has played their role to perfection: They stayed home and did nothing. It's just about too late and we're watching the end of MHS. We're gathered at the bedside of the dying patient and we're waiting for five votes to pull the plug.
Beep....beep......beep..........beep.........................beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
MORRISVILLE SCHOOLS
Board president presents school consolidation plan
By MANASEE WAGH
The three public schools in the Morrisville School District could shrink to just one in the future.
School board President William Hellmann announced a three-pronged plan of how he would do that at Wednesday’s board meeting:
Grades nine through 12 would be absorbed by other districts
Renovate the existing high school
Transfer remaining grades — kindergarten through eighth now at two elementary schools — to the high school building.
“My overall theme is consolidation,” he said Thursday. “Instead of keeping three buildings, we consolidate into one.”
Hellmann unveiled his plan to much outcry from diehard community members who remained planted in their chairs past midnight.
Hellmann stressed that the idea was just a plan, and that it was up to the entire board to make a decision.
“I know some people don’t like the idea but tough choices have to be made,” he said Thursday. “These are my thoughts. I’m not telling everyone what to do. These are my recommendations.”
The former school board wanted to create a new $30 million consolidated school for the district’s approximately 1,000 students, a plan that would have raised taxes for several years. However, the current board nixed the idea on the promise to keep taxes low. It elected to return most of the remaining bond money the previous board had obtained for its merged schools plan.
Hellmann said his plan would use $7 million from capital reserve funds to renovate the high school.
“I want to center renovations on the high school. But it’s a very solid building. That building will be there after I’m gone. I cannot see knocking that down,” he said.
The new school board has been trying to figure out how to accomplish school renovations since the beginning of the year. There is no fixed plan in place, but the board accepted an engineering firm’s proposal Wednesday to provide bid specifications for electrical safety issues at the high school.
There are 273 students who attend ninth through 12th grade in the high school building this year. That’s not counting those who attend services outside the high school building.
Hellmann did not explain how sending students to other districts would work, adding he’s not sure how to implement all parts of his plan at the moment.
“Our No. 1 problem is teacher contracts. No. 2 is special education costs,” he said.
Teacher contracts are binding and can’t be altered without union approval.
“The only way is to bargain with them, but we’re not at that point yet. The problem is, the prior board approved contracts in February 2007. It was a very expensive contract. Prior board members didn’t anticipate the cost over the next several years. That’s the biggest problem,” Hellmann said.
An average teacher salary in Morrisville is about $70,000, according to the state Department of Education.
Next year’s budget calls for about $10 million in employee salaries and benefits.
Hellmann said rising special education costs are a problem, too, but the state mandates that districts pay for any necessary services. Hellmann didn’t describe his plan to reduce next year’s cost increase by about 30 percent. He said the board would stay within legal territory.
“This board is not going to do anything illegally. That’s guaranteed. That’s why we have a solicitor.”
The department of education said it would not comment on any district’s situation unless the board approves such changes.
On May 21, the board voted to consider a $19.7 million budget that’s about $250,000 short of the budget the administration recommended.
The lower budget would reduce necessary funds for incoming special education students, as well as money for students expected to attend charter and alternative schools.
Based on the number of students anticipated and their educational needs, the district is looking at a $2.1 million bill for special education services next year. The administration doesn’t have a choice in how much to pay for special education, said Superintendent Elizabeth Yonson at Wednesday’s meeting.
“Since December we’ve been looking at ways to cut costs without infringing on the needs of our children,” Yonson said Thursday.
Hellmann’s proposed cuts to the increase in special education expenses are about 30 percent. It would have been 40 percent, but the price for administrative services is lower than earlier thought, Yonson said.
Still, Kimberly Myers, supervisor of pupil personnel services, said she doesn’t see how the reduced budget could cover projected needs for special education requirements.
Hellmann thinks there’s a way to do it.
“My goal from the beginning was to provide an education for children that the town can afford. I’m trying to be reasonable. That’s it,” he said.
According to Yonson and Myers, the only way might be to reduce other expenditures.
“At this point, we’re hoping to convince the board not to do this. We are giving them a barebones budget,” Yonson said.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
School Funding Battle
The irony here is that the Emperor and his accomplices could follow through on his school death plan only to find out that action on the school funding formulas could have saved the district from the anguish of being used as a biology classrooom dissection frog.
Here's the email I was sent. Please visit the website and register. There is no cost involved and a copy of your email is sent to:
Governor Edward G. Rendell (D-PA)
Senator Chuck McIlhinney (R-PA 10th)
Representative John T. Galloway (D-PA 140th)
I have become increasingly concerned about how unfair Pennsylvania's
system of school finance is and how many children are not able to get a
quality education as a result. The wealthiest districts in the state
spend two and a half times as much per student as the poorest, and their
tax rates are actually much lower because they have much healthier tax
bases. As a result, many children in many communities simply don't
have access to the best teachers, modern books and materials, and
up-to-date programs. We really should do better by all of our children, and
I'm sure you agree with me about that. Nothing else the state does is
more important than guaranteeing that our children and grandchildren, no
matter where they live, have access to the best education possible.
Why am I writing to you now about this? I recently heard about and
became a supporter of the Pennsylvania School Funding Campaign, and I would
like you to join me by clicking the link at the bottom of this e-ma
il. It will just take a minute. It will cost you nothing. Your
e-mail address will not be passed on to others. You will receive one
e-mail a week to keep you posted on the Campaign's progress. The children
of Pennsylvania need our help - and it is so easy to give that help.
Thanks.
Click on this URL to take action now
http://capwiz.com/paschoolfunding/utr/2/?a=11216011&i=87477843&c=&u=capwiz.com%2Fpaschoolfunding%2Fmlm%2Fsignup%2F
If your email program does not recognize the URL as a link,
copy the entire URL and paste it into your Web browser.
Here's the email I was sent. Please visit the website and register. There is no cost involved and a copy of your email is sent to:
Governor Edward G. Rendell (D-PA)
Senator Chuck McIlhinney (R-PA 10th)
Representative John T. Galloway (D-PA 140th)
I have become increasingly concerned about how unfair Pennsylvania's
system of school finance is and how many children are not able to get a
quality education as a result. The wealthiest districts in the state
spend two and a half times as much per student as the poorest, and their
tax rates are actually much lower because they have much healthier tax
bases. As a result, many children in many communities simply don't
have access to the best teachers, modern books and materials, and
up-to-date programs. We really should do better by all of our children, and
I'm sure you agree with me about that. Nothing else the state does is
more important than guaranteeing that our children and grandchildren, no
matter where they live, have access to the best education possible.
Why am I writing to you now about this? I recently heard about and
became a supporter of the Pennsylvania School Funding Campaign, and I would
like you to join me by clicking the link at the bottom of this e-ma
il. It will just take a minute. It will cost you nothing. Your
e-mail address will not be passed on to others. You will receive one
e-mail a week to keep you posted on the Campaign's progress. The children
of Pennsylvania need our help - and it is so easy to give that help.
Thanks.
Click on this URL to take action now
http://capwiz.com/paschoolfunding/utr/2/?a=11216011&i=87477843&c=&u=capwiz.com%2Fpaschoolfunding%2Fmlm%2Fsignup%2F
If your email program does not recognize the URL as a link,
copy the entire URL and paste it into your Web browser.
Behaving Badly in Special Education
New this fall: Reality TV meets Special Education
Mom Considers Suit After Class Voted to Expel Her Autistic Son
Posted May 27, 2008, 01:01 pm CDT
By Debra Cassens Weiss
Updated: A Florida woman is considering a lawsuit after a teacher allowed students to take a vote on whether her misbehaving autistic son should remain in class.
Melissa Barton said the teacher made her 5-year-old son, Alex, stand in the front of her classroom after he returned from the principal’s office, the Sun-Sentinel reports. Each classmate was allowed to say what they disliked about Alex and then the class was told to vote on whether he should remain. The school is in Port St. Lucie.
Alex lost the vote 14 to 2. He is in the process of being diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome, a type of high-functioning autism.
Alex has not been back to school since the incident, and he starts screaming when his mother takes him with her to drop off his siblings at school. The other night, Barton said, he kept repeating "I'm not special" over and over.
A police spokesman said no criminal charges will be filed in the matter.
Since initial reports of the incident, the school district has reassigned the teacher and Barton has received hundreds of supportive e-mails, ABAJournal.com notes in an update on the story. She also received a call from Dr. Phil, who asked her to appear on his show, and from the Florida Attorney General’s Office of Civil Rights, reports TCPalm.
Alex brightened when he received a call from a classmate Tuesday evening who discussed SpongeBob SquarePants and squirrels with him. They are planning a play date this summer.
Barton says she has heard from many parents of special needs kids who have had problems in school for behavior that isn't their fault. “It’s not something you can correct with some sort of demented behavior modification program,” she said.
Barton and her son gave an interview to CBS News, and she is considering the Dr. Phil invitation.
Updated at noon on 5/29/2008 to add information about the aftermath of initial reports of the incident.
Mom Considers Suit After Class Voted to Expel Her Autistic Son
Posted May 27, 2008, 01:01 pm CDT
By Debra Cassens Weiss
Updated: A Florida woman is considering a lawsuit after a teacher allowed students to take a vote on whether her misbehaving autistic son should remain in class.
Melissa Barton said the teacher made her 5-year-old son, Alex, stand in the front of her classroom after he returned from the principal’s office, the Sun-Sentinel reports. Each classmate was allowed to say what they disliked about Alex and then the class was told to vote on whether he should remain. The school is in Port St. Lucie.
Alex lost the vote 14 to 2. He is in the process of being diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome, a type of high-functioning autism.
Alex has not been back to school since the incident, and he starts screaming when his mother takes him with her to drop off his siblings at school. The other night, Barton said, he kept repeating "I'm not special" over and over.
A police spokesman said no criminal charges will be filed in the matter.
Since initial reports of the incident, the school district has reassigned the teacher and Barton has received hundreds of supportive e-mails, ABAJournal.com notes in an update on the story. She also received a call from Dr. Phil, who asked her to appear on his show, and from the Florida Attorney General’s Office of Civil Rights, reports TCPalm.
Alex brightened when he received a call from a classmate Tuesday evening who discussed SpongeBob SquarePants and squirrels with him. They are planning a play date this summer.
Barton says she has heard from many parents of special needs kids who have had problems in school for behavior that isn't their fault. “It’s not something you can correct with some sort of demented behavior modification program,” she said.
Barton and her son gave an interview to CBS News, and she is considering the Dr. Phil invitation.
Updated at noon on 5/29/2008 to add information about the aftermath of initial reports of the incident.
District Restructuring?
Looks like it was a good meeting last night.
It's 12:20 AM Thursday morning and I just came home
from a marathon school board meeting. Among the
protests of whether or not a reduction on the increase
in special education is a cut or not, Bill Hellmann
finally unveiled his death blow to the Morrisville
school system.
Close Reiter and Grandview
Renovate the high school and use to house grades K-8
Tuition out grades 9-12
I really hope everyone who voted for the stop the
school group is happy tonight.
I'm not sure this is a done deal just yet. Seemed like the turnout at the January meeting was overwhelmingly against a tuition plan, and they can't renovate the high school with only seven million in the bank. Besides, there's always the issue of {cue dramatic music} the teachers union and their contract.
The bigger question will be if the people of Morrisville have had enough. Is anyone going to stand up?
It's 12:20 AM Thursday morning and I just came home
from a marathon school board meeting. Among the
protests of whether or not a reduction on the increase
in special education is a cut or not, Bill Hellmann
finally unveiled his death blow to the Morrisville
school system.
Close Reiter and Grandview
Renovate the high school and use to house grades K-8
Tuition out grades 9-12
I really hope everyone who voted for the stop the
school group is happy tonight.
I'm not sure this is a done deal just yet. Seemed like the turnout at the January meeting was overwhelmingly against a tuition plan, and they can't renovate the high school with only seven million in the bank. Besides, there's always the issue of {cue dramatic music} the teachers union and their contract.
The bigger question will be if the people of Morrisville have had enough. Is anyone going to stand up?
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
In Memoriam: Ed Frankenfield
I received this email a short time ago with some very sad news.
Ed died this morning. I don't know much more than that it was a relief to his family as he was in a lot of pain. Pat spoke with Dr. Yonson this morning and sent her thanks to everyone who shared their support. I'll think of a proper eulogy when I can think again.
The floor is open for any comments. We've lost a real leader.
Damn...
From the district website:
SAD NEWS
It is with a very heavy heart that we must inform you that Mr. Edward Frankenfield, member of the Morrisville School Board passed away this morning (5/28/08). Ed was a great friend of education and to our school district in particular. He served our district well in the four years on the school board, from raising money for band uniforms to reading to our children at Reiter Elementary to making sure the children and staff had the resources they needed. Ed was always there. The District's condolences are extended to Ed's family.
Ed died this morning. I don't know much more than that it was a relief to his family as he was in a lot of pain. Pat spoke with Dr. Yonson this morning and sent her thanks to everyone who shared their support. I'll think of a proper eulogy when I can think again.
The floor is open for any comments. We've lost a real leader.
Damn...
From the district website:
SAD NEWS
It is with a very heavy heart that we must inform you that Mr. Edward Frankenfield, member of the Morrisville School Board passed away this morning (5/28/08). Ed was a great friend of education and to our school district in particular. He served our district well in the four years on the school board, from raising money for band uniforms to reading to our children at Reiter Elementary to making sure the children and staff had the resources they needed. Ed was always there. The District's condolences are extended to Ed's family.
Comic Relief
Some of these may be new to you, but it highlights a real problem: How can Johnny learn if his parents need some assistance themselves?
This column is by Richard Lederer
A fifth-grade pupil wrote in an essay: "I have enjoyed my boyhood so much that I am looking forward to my adultery."
A young woman wrote to advice columnist Dorothy Dix: "I have been an adolescent for the past six or seven years. When will I grow up to be an adulteress?"
Eventually little boys and girls do grow up to become adults and adulteresses, at which point their writing is supposed to get better. But that is not always the case. If you wonder why Johnny and Jane can't write, take a look at some of the prose miscreated by their moms and dads. Here are some poor excuses for excuse notes that were actually received by teachers throughout our land:
Is there any excuse for the disrepair of these excuse notes?
Or are the parents just too slow to be quick?.
This column is by Richard Lederer
A fifth-grade pupil wrote in an essay: "I have enjoyed my boyhood so much that I am looking forward to my adultery."
A young woman wrote to advice columnist Dorothy Dix: "I have been an adolescent for the past six or seven years. When will I grow up to be an adulteress?"
Eventually little boys and girls do grow up to become adults and adulteresses, at which point their writing is supposed to get better. But that is not always the case. If you wonder why Johnny and Jane can't write, take a look at some of the prose miscreated by their moms and dads. Here are some poor excuses for excuse notes that were actually received by teachers throughout our land:
- Please excuse Raul from school yesterday. He had a stomach egg.
- Susan was not in school today because she had her first menopause.
- Stanley had to miss some school. He had an attack of whooping cranes in his chest.
- Gerald was out last week because his grandmother died in Kentucky again.
- Please excuse Margie for being absent Wednesday and Thursday as she was sick with a stripped throat and an absent tooth.
- Ronnie could not finish his work last night. He said his brain was too tired of spelling.
- The basement of our house got flooded where the children sleep so they had to be evaporated.
- I kept Monica home today because she was not feeling too bright.
- Please excuse my daughter. She had an abominable pain.
- Please can Jill not have Jim today? She had Jim last week and is still sore.
- Please excuse Lupe. She is having problems with her ovals.
- Ralph was absent yesterday because he had a sore trout.
- Please refuse Robert's absents last Friday. He had a sour thought.
- Please forgive Clarence for being absent from school the past few days. He was home sick from an operation. He had trouble and had to be serpent sized.
- Please excuse Redbird. Every time she coff she make whoopie.
- Jennifer was late due to our clock getting unplugged and waking up late.
- Please excuse the stink on Bill's clothes. We've been spraying the garden because it is full of abnoxous incests.
- Please excuse Jane. She had an absent tooth. Wednesday she will have an appointment with the ornithologist.
- Please excuse my daughter's absence for the past week, as she had a case of the fool.
- Please escuse my daughter's absence. She had her periodicals.
- Please excuse Connie from gym class to day, as she had difficulty breeding.
- Paulie was late because he was not too early. He is never in no hurry. He is too slow to be quick.
Is there any excuse for the disrepair of these excuse notes?
Or are the parents just too slow to be quick?.
Pennsylvania School Standards
Here's an editorial from the BCCT this morning calling for better state education standards. Our school board, and many others in the area, have passed resolutions opposing many of the proposals.
What do you think?
Empty diplomas Raising the bar
School districts shouldn’t be allowed to graduate students who can’t read, write or do math.
If you’re not familiar with the term “empty diploma,” it refers to the shameful and destructive practice of graduating kids who lack basic skills. This is a big problem in Pennsylvania.
According to the state Department of Education, more than 56,000 high school seniors graduated from Pennsylvania high schools last year even though they failed state math and reading tests. This happened because the state PSSA (Pennsylvania System of School Assessment) tests aren’t the final word on who gets diplomas and who doesn’t.
School districts have final say via so-called local graduation assessments. And so the PSSAs, which are Pennsylvania’s No Child Left Behind tests, can be and routinely are summarily dismissed as a graduation requirement.
How it helps graduates to enter the work force or go on to college while lacking basic math and language skills is a mystery to us — and a disservice to the ill equipped graduates. It’s why the Education Department, at Gov. Rendell’s urgings, has developed a battery of graduation tests in 10 core subjects. Sensibly, the tests would be administered at the completion of each course as opposed to combining the subject areas into a single comprehensive test in students’ senior year.
That would be less troubling for students. And with remediation provided along the way, it would be a more effective way to help students learn the basic skills they need to succeed in today’s world. Besides, we have to do something.
State Education officials can’t allow watered-down graduation standards to remain in place. It’s impractical if not ruinous from a national perspective; it also violates the state’s legal and moral obligation to provide students with an education.
Unfortunately, the proposal is getting panned by school districts and teacher unions. They warn against burdening already test weary students and fret that more students will drop out if standards are raised. Additionally, they claim that districts are the best judges of whether students are qualified to graduate.
Seems to us local standards are much too weak if students who can’t pass basic skills tests are getting diplomas anyway.
What’s worrisome is that lawmakers are joining the opposition. And so we encourage citizens to chime in. Public comment on the proposal to standardize graduation requirements will be accepted through June 16.
Stand up for real graduation standards and against handing out diplomas just for showing up.
What do you think?
Empty diplomas Raising the bar
School districts shouldn’t be allowed to graduate students who can’t read, write or do math.
If you’re not familiar with the term “empty diploma,” it refers to the shameful and destructive practice of graduating kids who lack basic skills. This is a big problem in Pennsylvania.
According to the state Department of Education, more than 56,000 high school seniors graduated from Pennsylvania high schools last year even though they failed state math and reading tests. This happened because the state PSSA (Pennsylvania System of School Assessment) tests aren’t the final word on who gets diplomas and who doesn’t.
School districts have final say via so-called local graduation assessments. And so the PSSAs, which are Pennsylvania’s No Child Left Behind tests, can be and routinely are summarily dismissed as a graduation requirement.
How it helps graduates to enter the work force or go on to college while lacking basic math and language skills is a mystery to us — and a disservice to the ill equipped graduates. It’s why the Education Department, at Gov. Rendell’s urgings, has developed a battery of graduation tests in 10 core subjects. Sensibly, the tests would be administered at the completion of each course as opposed to combining the subject areas into a single comprehensive test in students’ senior year.
That would be less troubling for students. And with remediation provided along the way, it would be a more effective way to help students learn the basic skills they need to succeed in today’s world. Besides, we have to do something.
State Education officials can’t allow watered-down graduation standards to remain in place. It’s impractical if not ruinous from a national perspective; it also violates the state’s legal and moral obligation to provide students with an education.
Unfortunately, the proposal is getting panned by school districts and teacher unions. They warn against burdening already test weary students and fret that more students will drop out if standards are raised. Additionally, they claim that districts are the best judges of whether students are qualified to graduate.
Seems to us local standards are much too weak if students who can’t pass basic skills tests are getting diplomas anyway.
What’s worrisome is that lawmakers are joining the opposition. And so we encourage citizens to chime in. Public comment on the proposal to standardize graduation requirements will be accepted through June 16.
Stand up for real graduation standards and against handing out diplomas just for showing up.
The Emperor Speaks!
Thanks to the tipster regarding Kate Fratti's blog.
I couldn't find the BCCT editorial and Greta's guest opinion on line to see if any comments were posted. In fact most dates from the holiday weekend are not there. I think it's a CONSPIRACY!!!
Maybe conspiracy is a little over the top. Maybe. Who knows?
And Kate--can you get the editorial and Greta's guest opinion posted to phillyburbs.com?
I’m all ears
Today, I heard from Morrisville School Board President Bill Hellmann who invited me to sit down with him soon to talk about the challenges facing Morrisville and the board majority’s efforts to deal with them. Hellmann is a man of very few words, often decling comment even at public school board meetings. I’d asked him to simply explain his rationale for calling for serious cuts to spending on special education and alternative schooling. He’s proposed not funding nearly half of the increase in costs. Says the district has to draw a line somewhere. Some argue that what he’s proposing will never pass legal muster. I’ll let you know when we’re scheduled to talk.
I couldn't find the BCCT editorial and Greta's guest opinion on line to see if any comments were posted. In fact most dates from the holiday weekend are not there. I think it's a CONSPIRACY!!!
Maybe conspiracy is a little over the top. Maybe. Who knows?
And Kate--can you get the editorial and Greta's guest opinion posted to phillyburbs.com?
I’m all ears
Today, I heard from Morrisville School Board President Bill Hellmann who invited me to sit down with him soon to talk about the challenges facing Morrisville and the board majority’s efforts to deal with them. Hellmann is a man of very few words, often decling comment even at public school board meetings. I’d asked him to simply explain his rationale for calling for serious cuts to spending on special education and alternative schooling. He’s proposed not funding nearly half of the increase in costs. Says the district has to draw a line somewhere. Some argue that what he’s proposing will never pass legal muster. I’ll let you know when we’re scheduled to talk.
School Board Business Meeting Reminder
Make sure to attend tonight's board meeting to see the Emperor's decrees regarding the budget, special education kids, and what we're going to do with three dying buildings and 950 students.
Morrisville school board: 7:30 p.m., Large Group Instruction Room of the Middle/Senior High School, 550 W. Palmer St. Agenda: Consider resignation of board treasurer and election of new one; consider going ahead with updated strategic plan; Bucks County Technical High School budget; discussion of alternate high school plan for the school district. 215-736-2681
Morrisville school board: 7:30 p.m., Large Group Instruction Room of the Middle/Senior High School, 550 W. Palmer St. Agenda: Consider resignation of board treasurer and election of new one; consider going ahead with updated strategic plan; Bucks County Technical High School budget; discussion of alternate high school plan for the school district. 215-736-2681
Sports News: 1 for 2
Congrats to the boys baseball team on their 7-3 win off of Matt Miller's grand slam in the eighth, but also condolences as the Lady Bulldog softball team closes out the season with a loss to Christopher Dock 4-1.
DISTRICT ONE CLASS A BASEBALL: MORRISVILLE 7, DELCO CHRISTIAN 3 (8 INNINGS)
Bulldogs feel grand, make final
Matt Miller’s dramatic grand slam added to the magic of Morrisville’s season.
By KEVIN COONEY
COLLEGEVILLE — There wasn’t any Carlton Fisk wave coming from Matt Miller as he sprinted down the first base line Tuesday.
But there was this prevailing thought running through his brain a million miles a minute with every step:
“Please stay fair, please stay fair, please stay fair….”
“I saw the ball tailing towards the foul pole and I was hoping that it would just stay in play,” said Miller, a senior pitcher/shortstop for the Bulldogs. “When I got near the bag, I started wondering if it had enough to get over the fence.”
The ball cleared the 320-foot sign down the left field line to give Morrisville’s incredible season another memorable moment.
Miller’s grand slam with one out in the top of the eighth inning proved to be the defining moment of the Bulldogs’ 7-3 win over Delco Christian Tuesday in the PIAA District One Class A baseball semifinals at Perkiomen Valley High School.
The Bulldogs will play either Christopher Dock or Devon Prep in the District One championship game on Thursday afternoon at a site and time to be determined. (Morrisville officials are hoping that District One will allow for an early start on Thursday so Miller can attend the 10 th annual Courier-Kiwanis Scholar Athlete Banquet Thursday night at St. Mary Medical Center.)
“I’m thrilled, because we kept battling as a team,” said Miller, who tossed five innings of shutout ball in relief of starter Andrew Fletcher. “The games that we didn’t win earlier in the year, we’re finding a way to get it done now.”
Time after time Tuesday, it looked as though the breaks that the Bulldogs received on Thursday against Bristol were going to go against them this time. Hard hit balls that should have been singles found a way into Delco gloves.
When pitcher Mike Connelly hit a wind-driven three-run homer in the third to give Delco Christian the lead, the Bulldogs appeared to be in deep trouble.
“The best part about our guys is the fact that they don’t quit,” Morrisville coach Dave Vaccaro said. “We kept telling our guys that we were only one play away from being back tied or in the lead. I didn’t want one guy to beat us.”
Connelly was strong, but Morrisville would draw even in the sixth on George Souyack’s RBI single to right. The game would drift into extra innings.
That’s where Connelly appeared to run out of steam on his fastball, unable to locate it over the plate. Three walks set the stage for Miller, who jerked a 3-2 curveball down the line and over the fence for the slam to send the Bulldogs thirdbase dugout into euphoria.
“Honestly, I didn’t know if it would stay fair or not,” second baseman Kyle Schnee said. “But when it did, I can’t tell you how excited everyone got.”
------------------------------------------------
DISTRICT ONE CLASS A SOFTBALL: CHRISTOPHER DOCK 4, MORRISVILLE 1
Hickey lifts Dock to final
By AL THOMPSON
Hickey said she had her off-speed pitches working early, plus she could feel the excitement of trying to defeat a team that dominated Dock during the regular season. The Bulldogs crushed the Pioneers, 11-1, earlier this year.
“I was very excited, I had a lot of energy,” Hickey said. “My screwball was doing good as well as my curveball. I was just keeping them in and out.”
Dock coach Wayne Benner said his team was motivated against Morrisville because of the lopsided loss that stung him personally.
“We never gave up,” Colon said. “That’s just not our style.”
Colon loses four starters to graduation and has many new solid players coming, plus he gets his ace pitcher back for another year. Kaylee White, the Constitution Division MVP, pitched well, limiting the Pioneers to four hits while striking out 11. Two of Dock’s runs were a result of a wild pitch in the third and a fielder’s choice groundout in the fifth.
“We wouldn’t have come this far without her,” Colon said of his hurler. “She played very well.”
In addition to Hickey, Dock was led by Kelby Bolton, who collected two hits, including a two-run triple. She also scored a run.
The Bulldogs ended their season with a 14-5 record overall and a division-winning Bicentennial Athletic League record of 12-1.
Coach Ivan Colon said although Hickey was dominant, his team only had itself to blame for the loss.
“The biggest thing was we left too many people on base,” Colon said. “We struck out looking a few times at the beginning, then we started battling. I like the way we battled.”
Colon was referring to the sixth and seventh innings, when Morrisville sent 11 batters to the plate but was only able to push one run across when Kristen Jopko’s single knocked in Jamie Schlosser from second. Overall, the Bulldogs left seven runners stranded.
DISTRICT ONE CLASS A BASEBALL: MORRISVILLE 7, DELCO CHRISTIAN 3 (8 INNINGS)
Bulldogs feel grand, make final
Matt Miller’s dramatic grand slam added to the magic of Morrisville’s season.
By KEVIN COONEY
COLLEGEVILLE — There wasn’t any Carlton Fisk wave coming from Matt Miller as he sprinted down the first base line Tuesday.
But there was this prevailing thought running through his brain a million miles a minute with every step:
“Please stay fair, please stay fair, please stay fair….”
“I saw the ball tailing towards the foul pole and I was hoping that it would just stay in play,” said Miller, a senior pitcher/shortstop for the Bulldogs. “When I got near the bag, I started wondering if it had enough to get over the fence.”
The ball cleared the 320-foot sign down the left field line to give Morrisville’s incredible season another memorable moment.
Miller’s grand slam with one out in the top of the eighth inning proved to be the defining moment of the Bulldogs’ 7-3 win over Delco Christian Tuesday in the PIAA District One Class A baseball semifinals at Perkiomen Valley High School.
The Bulldogs will play either Christopher Dock or Devon Prep in the District One championship game on Thursday afternoon at a site and time to be determined. (Morrisville officials are hoping that District One will allow for an early start on Thursday so Miller can attend the 10 th annual Courier-Kiwanis Scholar Athlete Banquet Thursday night at St. Mary Medical Center.)
“I’m thrilled, because we kept battling as a team,” said Miller, who tossed five innings of shutout ball in relief of starter Andrew Fletcher. “The games that we didn’t win earlier in the year, we’re finding a way to get it done now.”
Time after time Tuesday, it looked as though the breaks that the Bulldogs received on Thursday against Bristol were going to go against them this time. Hard hit balls that should have been singles found a way into Delco gloves.
When pitcher Mike Connelly hit a wind-driven three-run homer in the third to give Delco Christian the lead, the Bulldogs appeared to be in deep trouble.
“The best part about our guys is the fact that they don’t quit,” Morrisville coach Dave Vaccaro said. “We kept telling our guys that we were only one play away from being back tied or in the lead. I didn’t want one guy to beat us.”
Connelly was strong, but Morrisville would draw even in the sixth on George Souyack’s RBI single to right. The game would drift into extra innings.
That’s where Connelly appeared to run out of steam on his fastball, unable to locate it over the plate. Three walks set the stage for Miller, who jerked a 3-2 curveball down the line and over the fence for the slam to send the Bulldogs thirdbase dugout into euphoria.
“Honestly, I didn’t know if it would stay fair or not,” second baseman Kyle Schnee said. “But when it did, I can’t tell you how excited everyone got.”
------------------------------------------------
DISTRICT ONE CLASS A SOFTBALL: CHRISTOPHER DOCK 4, MORRISVILLE 1
Hickey lifts Dock to final
By AL THOMPSON
Hickey said she had her off-speed pitches working early, plus she could feel the excitement of trying to defeat a team that dominated Dock during the regular season. The Bulldogs crushed the Pioneers, 11-1, earlier this year.
“I was very excited, I had a lot of energy,” Hickey said. “My screwball was doing good as well as my curveball. I was just keeping them in and out.”
Dock coach Wayne Benner said his team was motivated against Morrisville because of the lopsided loss that stung him personally.
“We never gave up,” Colon said. “That’s just not our style.”
Colon loses four starters to graduation and has many new solid players coming, plus he gets his ace pitcher back for another year. Kaylee White, the Constitution Division MVP, pitched well, limiting the Pioneers to four hits while striking out 11. Two of Dock’s runs were a result of a wild pitch in the third and a fielder’s choice groundout in the fifth.
“We wouldn’t have come this far without her,” Colon said of his hurler. “She played very well.”
In addition to Hickey, Dock was led by Kelby Bolton, who collected two hits, including a two-run triple. She also scored a run.
The Bulldogs ended their season with a 14-5 record overall and a division-winning Bicentennial Athletic League record of 12-1.
Coach Ivan Colon said although Hickey was dominant, his team only had itself to blame for the loss.
“The biggest thing was we left too many people on base,” Colon said. “We struck out looking a few times at the beginning, then we started battling. I like the way we battled.”
Colon was referring to the sixth and seventh innings, when Morrisville sent 11 batters to the plate but was only able to push one run across when Kristen Jopko’s single knocked in Jamie Schlosser from second. Overall, the Bulldogs left seven runners stranded.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
We're Waiting Steve...
The silence is deafening...
Remember this post?
School Funding Fight
Or are they just content with publicly whining about how unfair the current funding plan is and not following through with the hard work of making proposals become reality?
While I think about it, someone got up at a recent school board meeting and said, "Someone needs to do something" about the tax situation. Well, DUH. Talk about a stroke of the blinding obvious.
First off, I remember very well who said that from the audience. Now it's time to pay up. Congratulations! YOU, sir, are that someone. Introduce a resolution in the borough council supporting this tax plan. Get one introduced in the school board. Pass them both unanimously and present them tied with red ribbons and bows to Governor Rendell, Senator McIlhenney, and Representative Galloway.
Remember this post?
School Funding Fight
Or are they just content with publicly whining about how unfair the current funding plan is and not following through with the hard work of making proposals become reality?
While I think about it, someone got up at a recent school board meeting and said, "Someone needs to do something" about the tax situation. Well, DUH. Talk about a stroke of the blinding obvious.
First off, I remember very well who said that from the audience. Now it's time to pay up. Congratulations! YOU, sir, are that someone. Introduce a resolution in the borough council supporting this tax plan. Get one introduced in the school board. Pass them both unanimously and present them tied with red ribbons and bows to Governor Rendell, Senator McIlhenney, and Representative Galloway.
Give Me Liberty, or Give Me Sheep
This was such a great comment I though it deserved its own posting. It also has the virtue of being inexpensive.
Do I hear a motion? Is there a second?
Pat Henry has left a new comment on your post "Send the Emperor and Angry Al to Sioux City!":
Why not start with a more practical experiment.
For this experiment you need:
1 set of "Robert's Rules of Order"
1 dictator
5 sheep
2 board members willing to buck the system
Meeting 1:
Board member 1 (let's call him Joe) could make a motion to remove the dictator as president of the board. Board member 2 (let's call her Robin) would second the motion. With a motion and a second on the floor the motion will be open for discussion. The two board members will make a case that, for the good of Morrisville, someone else should be the board president. A CALM and LEVEL argument for the motion must prevail. Do not let the temperature rise too high before turning down the heat. (Predicted outcome: The sheep will quietly gnaw at the grass. The Dictator will get angry. The motion, upon a vote, will be defeated.)
Meeting 2:
Repeat the experiment. Note the changes in the sheep. Suggest another board member as a replacement (it doesn't matter who, the object is to shake the dictators confidence. Even a replacement by the Vice President,(let's call him Al) would be a successful conclusion to this experiment. In fact, it might serve the experiment if you started with the most acerbic replacement, and on each iteration suggest amore acceptable candidate).
Repeat over and over again until a change in results becomes evident.
This experiment in civil protest should produce some very interesting results. The idea is not to remove the dictator from the board, just to remove him from the role of dictator.
Do I hear a motion? Is there a second?
Pat Henry has left a new comment on your post "Send the Emperor and Angry Al to Sioux City!":
Why not start with a more practical experiment.
For this experiment you need:
1 set of "Robert's Rules of Order"
1 dictator
5 sheep
2 board members willing to buck the system
Meeting 1:
Board member 1 (let's call him Joe) could make a motion to remove the dictator as president of the board. Board member 2 (let's call her Robin) would second the motion. With a motion and a second on the floor the motion will be open for discussion. The two board members will make a case that, for the good of Morrisville, someone else should be the board president. A CALM and LEVEL argument for the motion must prevail. Do not let the temperature rise too high before turning down the heat. (Predicted outcome: The sheep will quietly gnaw at the grass. The Dictator will get angry. The motion, upon a vote, will be defeated.)
Meeting 2:
Repeat the experiment. Note the changes in the sheep. Suggest another board member as a replacement (it doesn't matter who, the object is to shake the dictators confidence. Even a replacement by the Vice President,(let's call him Al) would be a successful conclusion to this experiment. In fact, it might serve the experiment if you started with the most acerbic replacement, and on each iteration suggest amore acceptable candidate).
Repeat over and over again until a change in results becomes evident.
This experiment in civil protest should produce some very interesting results. The idea is not to remove the dictator from the board, just to remove him from the role of dictator.
Stop being your own worst enemy
From the BCCT this morning, there are two items. First is the "Financial Suicide" editorial and then a guest opinion from Greta O'Keefe. Greta has appeared in several entries on this blog previously. Many of you are going to see her name and turn the page muttering, "Yeah, well, she was FOR the NEW SCHOOL!" Wait. Give her a minute and read anyway.
This was one of the tactics that the Stop the School people used very well: Make the most simplistic argument (Stop the School) and say noting else. It worked and they won.
Now, when it's time for their plan, there is none. The "old" school board had a plan, thought out their activities, and proceeded accordingly.
Now, the "new" board is cutting textbooks (Men on the moon? Really?), cutting the technology budget, downsizing the special education services, not replacing teachers and principals, AND, they gave the money back. We have literally nothing to show for years of work and $4.5 million dollars in costs.
This is going to give you a double whammy. First, you will get a tax break this year, but that's only because the costs of the bond for the new school are gone. Did you notice that your taxes have NOT returned to the levels that they were at pre-bond? That's because the costs have gone up and more needs to be paid for.
His Highness, William I, has already decreed that taxes WILL go up next year by some 45 mils. So the tax "cut" of about 20 mils for this year is temporary. Next year, it will be back and DOUBLED. Don't forget. The students will all be crammed into a single K-12 building that is NOT designed to hold those age groups.
So your taxes will rise and your home's value will drop because of the lack of a modern school system.
Is this what you wanted when you voted to Stop the School? Higher taxes and lower property values? It's certainly what you got. The school board is now controlled by the same people who "run" our town. No vision, no future, and no changes. Just the sound of self centered power hungry individuals chattering endlessly with no goal, running the progressive-minded people we desperately need away with their foolishness.
Budget slashing in Morrisville
Financial suicide?
The Morrisville school board is flirting with lawsuits and sanctions as it cuts programs and people.
Is the Morrisville school board trying to commit financial suicide? Some folks think so.
They believe that the new majority on the board, elected on a promise to torpedo a new $30 million K-12 school, wants to sink the district financially as well, and force the state to take over the district. Board decisions have done little but feed that suspicion.
Consider that the board chose not to take advantage of the exception to raise taxes above the state limit, leaving members no choice but to cut proposed spending increases in next year’s budget. While doing so is music to taxpayers’ ears, some spending increases essentially are mandatory, which is why the state offers exceptions to the tax limit.
For example, districts have no choice but to provide costly special education programs. With more special-ed students enrolled next year, Morrisville’s special-ed bill naturally will spike. Still, the board chose to slash the spending increase needed to keep pace.
Board members also reduced spending increases for alternative schools and will consider staff cuts, including not replacing a principal leaving one of the district’s two elementary schools.
The cutbacks would reduce the average tax bill by about $300.
This would be a commendable accomplishment in most districts and also startling. But the Morrisville board is flirting with state sanctions and possibly a lawsuit, the only recourse special-ed parents would have if the district does not provide programs to which their children are entitled. Board members need to calculate the cost of possible litigation and sanctions before formalizing decisions that could come back to haunt.
Indeed, dozens of residents attending last week’s board meeting voiced concern that the spending cuts would hurt the district and ultimately their children.
“How are we going to survive?” asked one concerned parent at last week’s meeting. That question among others went unanswered as the board’s dictatorial chairman, William Hellmann, and supporting cast members sat mute in the face of criticism. Hellman, likewise, did not return our reporter’s phone calls the next day.
Said minority board member Joseph Kemp, “Not to respond to these parents, these concerned citizens, is really disrespectful.”
It is that and much, much more.
In conclusion, we turn to today’s Guest Opinion writer, Greta O’Keefe, a former school board member, who urges Morrisville citizens and officials “to rise up and demand better of yourself. Have some dignity and stop being your own worst enemy.”
GUEST OPINION
Morrisville citizens: Stop being your own worst enemy
By GRETA O’KEEFE
Morrisville was settled in 1624, and it’s been settling ever since...
I have owned a home here for six years, and haven’t seen much change, other than more cigarette shops exist than when I moved in, and another exciting plan for revitalization was destroyed. How embarrassing!
Morrisville, it is time for you to wake up and see that the town won’t fix itself, and fighting against everything isn’t the answer. You have successfully stopped a money-saving new school, considered opening a burlesque theatre on our main street, and now you voted against a riverfront complex that would have produced jobs and tax revenue.
If you think shooting this in the foot doesn’t discourage future investors, think again. Morrisville is on a slippery slope and the school district will continue to increasingly suck the money out of our wallets, no matter who runs it (into the ground), until someone brings an actual tax base into this community.
I see many parallels between myself and the people of Morrisville, even the town itself. I grew up in a poor neighborhood and often believed I didn’t have a future. I come from a family where college wasn’t “for people like us,” that you work your life away just to survive.
As a young adult, I believed it, and cleaned houses, waitressed and nannied, but always hoped there was more potential for a better life. I finally realized the best way to meet that potential was to go to college. But how would I pay for it? I took out loan after loan putting myself through school, something that many thought I could never do, including myself at times.
Sound familiar? Morrisville is struggling to revitalize without much council support, and in case you still think it’s possible, Pennsbury won’t touch our school district for all the money in the state. Almost half of our town is now rental property, our high school test scores are an embarrassment, our council doesn’t put enough money into improving our town, and all anyone does is complain about what things might cost IF we actually did something about any of it. Many residents, for some reason, accept this and are insulted when anyone says it could be better.
The point is, I was willing to invest in myself and my own future and it changed my life. Yes, I am still paying off loans, but when they are paid, I will have already reaped the reward, with the best yet to come, not to mention the pride I gained throughout the process of improving myself.
See the parallel?
Morrisville, you need to rise up and demand better of yourself. Have some dignity and stop being your own worst enemy. You need to stop distributing blame for your tax bill and start working toward a solution. I am disgusted that 82 percent of our town’s voters elected the current school board.
Morrisville, why do you continue to vote for people who keep you down? You listened to the fear tactics of the very people that hold you back by kicking out the people that were trying to lift you up. You need to stop blaming the young folks in town for your problems and start inviting new people to come in and build.
Turn off your TVs, improve your property, and get involved. Go to school board meetings and make the members improve our district! Go to council meetings and demand improvement to our blighted main street! Make the board and council work for you! Better yet, run for office against them. Stand up for your town and stand up for yourself. You have definitely settled for far too long...
Greta O’Keefe, Morrisville, is a former member of the Morrisville school board member.
This was one of the tactics that the Stop the School people used very well: Make the most simplistic argument (Stop the School) and say noting else. It worked and they won.
Now, when it's time for their plan, there is none. The "old" school board had a plan, thought out their activities, and proceeded accordingly.
Now, the "new" board is cutting textbooks (Men on the moon? Really?), cutting the technology budget, downsizing the special education services, not replacing teachers and principals, AND, they gave the money back. We have literally nothing to show for years of work and $4.5 million dollars in costs.
This is going to give you a double whammy. First, you will get a tax break this year, but that's only because the costs of the bond for the new school are gone. Did you notice that your taxes have NOT returned to the levels that they were at pre-bond? That's because the costs have gone up and more needs to be paid for.
His Highness, William I, has already decreed that taxes WILL go up next year by some 45 mils. So the tax "cut" of about 20 mils for this year is temporary. Next year, it will be back and DOUBLED. Don't forget. The students will all be crammed into a single K-12 building that is NOT designed to hold those age groups.
So your taxes will rise and your home's value will drop because of the lack of a modern school system.
Is this what you wanted when you voted to Stop the School? Higher taxes and lower property values? It's certainly what you got. The school board is now controlled by the same people who "run" our town. No vision, no future, and no changes. Just the sound of self centered power hungry individuals chattering endlessly with no goal, running the progressive-minded people we desperately need away with their foolishness.
Budget slashing in Morrisville
Financial suicide?
The Morrisville school board is flirting with lawsuits and sanctions as it cuts programs and people.
Is the Morrisville school board trying to commit financial suicide? Some folks think so.
They believe that the new majority on the board, elected on a promise to torpedo a new $30 million K-12 school, wants to sink the district financially as well, and force the state to take over the district. Board decisions have done little but feed that suspicion.
Consider that the board chose not to take advantage of the exception to raise taxes above the state limit, leaving members no choice but to cut proposed spending increases in next year’s budget. While doing so is music to taxpayers’ ears, some spending increases essentially are mandatory, which is why the state offers exceptions to the tax limit.
For example, districts have no choice but to provide costly special education programs. With more special-ed students enrolled next year, Morrisville’s special-ed bill naturally will spike. Still, the board chose to slash the spending increase needed to keep pace.
Board members also reduced spending increases for alternative schools and will consider staff cuts, including not replacing a principal leaving one of the district’s two elementary schools.
The cutbacks would reduce the average tax bill by about $300.
This would be a commendable accomplishment in most districts and also startling. But the Morrisville board is flirting with state sanctions and possibly a lawsuit, the only recourse special-ed parents would have if the district does not provide programs to which their children are entitled. Board members need to calculate the cost of possible litigation and sanctions before formalizing decisions that could come back to haunt.
Indeed, dozens of residents attending last week’s board meeting voiced concern that the spending cuts would hurt the district and ultimately their children.
“How are we going to survive?” asked one concerned parent at last week’s meeting. That question among others went unanswered as the board’s dictatorial chairman, William Hellmann, and supporting cast members sat mute in the face of criticism. Hellman, likewise, did not return our reporter’s phone calls the next day.
Said minority board member Joseph Kemp, “Not to respond to these parents, these concerned citizens, is really disrespectful.”
It is that and much, much more.
In conclusion, we turn to today’s Guest Opinion writer, Greta O’Keefe, a former school board member, who urges Morrisville citizens and officials “to rise up and demand better of yourself. Have some dignity and stop being your own worst enemy.”
GUEST OPINION
Morrisville citizens: Stop being your own worst enemy
By GRETA O’KEEFE
Morrisville was settled in 1624, and it’s been settling ever since...
I have owned a home here for six years, and haven’t seen much change, other than more cigarette shops exist than when I moved in, and another exciting plan for revitalization was destroyed. How embarrassing!
Morrisville, it is time for you to wake up and see that the town won’t fix itself, and fighting against everything isn’t the answer. You have successfully stopped a money-saving new school, considered opening a burlesque theatre on our main street, and now you voted against a riverfront complex that would have produced jobs and tax revenue.
If you think shooting this in the foot doesn’t discourage future investors, think again. Morrisville is on a slippery slope and the school district will continue to increasingly suck the money out of our wallets, no matter who runs it (into the ground), until someone brings an actual tax base into this community.
I see many parallels between myself and the people of Morrisville, even the town itself. I grew up in a poor neighborhood and often believed I didn’t have a future. I come from a family where college wasn’t “for people like us,” that you work your life away just to survive.
As a young adult, I believed it, and cleaned houses, waitressed and nannied, but always hoped there was more potential for a better life. I finally realized the best way to meet that potential was to go to college. But how would I pay for it? I took out loan after loan putting myself through school, something that many thought I could never do, including myself at times.
Sound familiar? Morrisville is struggling to revitalize without much council support, and in case you still think it’s possible, Pennsbury won’t touch our school district for all the money in the state. Almost half of our town is now rental property, our high school test scores are an embarrassment, our council doesn’t put enough money into improving our town, and all anyone does is complain about what things might cost IF we actually did something about any of it. Many residents, for some reason, accept this and are insulted when anyone says it could be better.
The point is, I was willing to invest in myself and my own future and it changed my life. Yes, I am still paying off loans, but when they are paid, I will have already reaped the reward, with the best yet to come, not to mention the pride I gained throughout the process of improving myself.
See the parallel?
Morrisville, you need to rise up and demand better of yourself. Have some dignity and stop being your own worst enemy. You need to stop distributing blame for your tax bill and start working toward a solution. I am disgusted that 82 percent of our town’s voters elected the current school board.
Morrisville, why do you continue to vote for people who keep you down? You listened to the fear tactics of the very people that hold you back by kicking out the people that were trying to lift you up. You need to stop blaming the young folks in town for your problems and start inviting new people to come in and build.
Turn off your TVs, improve your property, and get involved. Go to school board meetings and make the members improve our district! Go to council meetings and demand improvement to our blighted main street! Make the board and council work for you! Better yet, run for office against them. Stand up for your town and stand up for yourself. You have definitely settled for far too long...
Greta O’Keefe, Morrisville, is a former member of the Morrisville school board member.
Monday, May 26, 2008
Comic Relief
We really do have some pretty awesome photoshoppers out in the audience!
I like learning math...
Is this service available in Morrisville? Please?
I like learning math...
Is this service available in Morrisville? Please?
Memorial Day Parade Flyer
I was handed this flyer during the parade. If you have a friend or neighbor who did not receive it, print this out and give it to them.
And make sure that you come out Wednesday night, May 28, 2008. Let them know you want lower taxes, but you do not want a ruined school system in return.
And make sure that you come out Wednesday night, May 28, 2008. Let them know you want lower taxes, but you do not want a ruined school system in return.
Memorial Day
Come on out to the annual Morrisville Memorial Day Parade and cheer on your neighbors. While you're barbecuing, partying, or even taking advantage of the sales at the mall, remember who died to allow you the freedom to do all these things.
Sunday, May 25, 2008
The Sunday BCCT
Why don't you check out the Sunday BCCT. Grab a cup of coffee and relax. There's a commentary on NCLB, three local districts with teacher contracts expiring (take a look at how the budget process affects the contract negotiation process) and local towns actually uniting with local school boards to promote development. (The rumors are TRUE! Outside of Morrisville, cooperation toward a common goal does exist!)
GUEST OPINION
No Child Left Behind leaving far too many behind
“No Child Left Behind” is working? It is if your definition of “No Child” equates to 70 percent of our children.
Last month’s report by America’s Promise Alliance concluded that nationwide, nearly 1.2 million students drop out of school every year and that about seven out of 10 students graduate on time. While these alarming statistics may only seem a problem for failing schools and the children they affect, the loss of potential along with the economic burden on society as a whole should be of immense concern for all of us. The Alliance along with the Bill Gates Foundation has announced its support for summits to be held across the country to “increase awareness, encourage collaboration and facilitate action” to improve graduation rates. But will any of these summits deliver anything different than the same ole-same ole?
A recent Philadelphia Inquirer editorial addressed the dropout problem, stating, “The problems are complex and not entirely the schools’ fault. In fact, the most effective solutions to reducing the dropout rates start at home.”
In a perfect world, that may be, but home is only the solution where there is no dropout problem. It’s a Catch 22. If the home solution premise was applicable to the kids dropping out, we would have no such problem. You’d be better calling for a wholesale change in society than expect the families of dropouts to be able to get the kids back at their desks.
You can have as many educators’ symposiums and “dropout summits” as you like. But no matter how hard you work it, continuing the same approach and expecting a different result, is not a description of success. It’s the definition of insanity.
It doesn’t start in the home, or with the student. It starts with the attitude of the educational system towards the student. And that will need a complete overhaul. That might sound expensive, but it really isn’t. When a child drops out of school we not only lose revenues derived if they had remained, but we’re also losing their futures and everything they could have contributed to society. We’re losing the taxes from work income and the potential their creativity could have generated, if only we showed them how to access it. Instead we end up with welfare and criminal drains on our taxes and well-being. An overhaul done right becomes a revenue producer, not an expense.
The turnaround calls for reminding children, repeatedly, how adversity, mistakes and failure can be key ingredients to cooking up a tasty pot of success. Pushing ahead in spite of the obstacles we all face not only turns many defeats into victories, but more importantly, reveals a passion or hidden talent that otherwise would have remained buried; something so unique to the child alone, something so vital to his or her happiness, that no one else but they could have discovered it.
But it all starts by removing the negative implication of the word “failure.”
In sports, we call it practice. In entertainment, rehearsal. In science, research. In education ... failure.
That can be changed the moment we choose to start using the tools that failure provides; not to smash, but to shape possibilities.
It’s is not about embracing incompetence, but about students recognizing their own strengths, no matter what they are, and using them as a jumping off point. Failure should never be where we stop, but where we begin; not a place of loss, but one of discovery.
In most cases our present educational process makes an effort to teach the same thing to in the same way to every individual student and expecting the same result. But with each student’s individual experience and level of expertise, how in the world would we ever expect any diverse group of children to learn on an equal level?
In this lemons-to-lemonade principle, we must allow students to create their own lemonade. It may not turn out as sweet as we think it should be, but the process is not about accommodating our personal taste. It’s about helping each student tap into his or her own heart, soul and enthusiasm; into that part of the student that says “I can do it.”
The idea is not to judge, not to stifle, not to kill the freedom and energy that creativity breeds.
Hopefully, our educational system sees the benefit of teaching every student where they are. Only then will our children can see how far they can go.
The cost, negligible. The benefits, astronomical.
Steve Young,
Langhorne, is author of “Great Failures of the Extremely Successful” (www.greatfailure.com)
-------------------------------------------------------
Teacher contracts up in 3 districts
By HILARY BENTMAN
STAFF WRITER
While school districts are working to finalize their 2008-09 budgets by the June 30 deadline, several in the area are finding themselves at a considerable disadvantage — not knowing how much it will cost to pay their teachers next year.
The Palisades, Neshaminy, and Bristol Borough districts in Bucks County will see their teachers’ contracts expire at the end of this school year, and have yet to ink a new deal with their unions.
Salary and benefits account for about two-thirds of a budget, and district officials say they are trying to make educated guesses as to how much a new agreement will cost.
Administrators in Palisades are tight-lipped about how they’re budgeting in anticipation of new contracts, citing ongoing negotiations as the reason for their reticence.
“We do the best we can to estimate where we think things will fall,” said Donna Holmes, spokeswoman for the Palisades district, which has 160 teachers nearing the end of a three-year deal.
There is one important factor in negotiating — a school board cannot agree to a contract that is more expensive than what’s been budgeted.
For example, if a district sets aside $1 million to cover salaries, the board cannot agree to a deal that would cost $2 million, said Joe Paradise, business administrator for Neshaminy, where its teachers are coming to the end of a seven-year agreement.
In calculating its 2008-09 budget, Neshaminy officials are going by the current salary schedule, but have added on the amount owed to teachers who will reach the next level in experience.
Teachers are paid more for years of service, so if a fourth-year teacher is entering his fifth year, for example, the district will budget his fifth-year salary, based on the pay scale as it currently stands.
For health care, Paradise said Neshaminy will plan as if the current benefits program goes unchanged but will budget the 16 percent to 18 percent increases expected from the carrier, Blue Cross.
Palisades has faced some difficulties ironing out contracts in the past. Its current deal was not inked until October 2005, or three months after the previous deal expired. While classes continued uninterrupted, teachers worked only their contracted hours and some back-to-school nights were canceled.
The pact provided for approximately 3 percent raises annually. Starting salaries for new teachers jumped from $36,671 to $40,000 by 2007-08, while maximum salary increased from $88,309 to $93,505. Teachers agreed to contribute 11 percent to health care costs.
Under Palisades’ proposed $36.3 million budget for 2008-09, about $23.8 million is set aside for salary and benefits, representing nearly 66 percent of the budget.
Under the current year’s $34.7 million budget, about 67 percent of the budget is for wages and health care.
Laurie Borger, president of the Palisades’ teachers union, calls the bargaining environment “very amicable” and expects to reach an agreement before school starts in the fall.
In Neshaminy, negotiations have been described as slow. A state appointed fact-finder has now reviewed both sides and is expected to shortly release a recommendation to the school board and union.
Each side has about 10 days to accept or reject the deal. School board attorney Charles Sweet said the report will be made public if both sides reject or accept the contract.
Under the current deal, a new hire earns about $42,552, while a teacher with a master’s degree plus 30 credits is making about $95,923.
Teachers do not pay any health care premiums, but they do pay $15 co-pays and $5 and $20 for generic and brandname drugs, respectively.
Of the district’s $166.6 million proposed budget for next year, about $118 million, or 71 percent, is set aside for salary and benefits.
Bristol Borough teachers will see their five-year deal expire at the end of August.
School board members have met with teachers union representatives a couple of times, and plan to do so again in June, said district business manager Joseph Roe, who declined to provide specifics about what’s been discussed so far.
The Lower Bucks district has about 100 teachers. Under its expiring deal, salaries increased 13 percent over the length of the contract.
-------------------------------------------------------
Towns unite to apply for development grant
The aim is to improve the Penndel train station and the surrounding area.
By GEMA MARIA DUARTE
Ask and you shall receive.
At least that’s how it happened for Penndel.
Borough Councilwoman Barbara Heffelfinger asked Middletown’s supervisors Tuesday to participate in a partnership that would enable the borough to apply for a Transportation Revitalization Investment District — or TRID — grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development.
Middletown committed $15,000 to the project, which calls for improving the Penndel train station and its surrounding area.
“I think it’s a good idea because part of land they want to improve, the parking lot around the train station, is in Middletown,” Middletown Supervisor Jasper Caro said Thursday. “With just about anything you do, you need a study, and this will help get that out of the way. If everything comes to fruition and there is a marked improvement in that area, then it will be that much more worthwhile.”
The purpose of TRID is to spur transit-oriented community revitalization and enhance the community character around public transit facilities. The major objective is to encourage municipal cooperative approaches to generate new investment, reinvestment and revitalization through transit-oriented development as well as increasing public transit.
In addition to the $15,000 from Middletown, Penndel would chip in $10,000 to match part of the $75,000 TRID grant.
“Middletown voted to commit to the funds for the match if the grant is awarded to Penndel,” Ward McMasters, Penndel’s council president said Thursday.
“Heffelfinger, her committee, the borough council, borough planner Joseph Luste and other consultants are to be commended for what has been achieved in the last seven years,’’ McMasters said. “There have been a number of grants that have resulted in a number of critical studies and recommendations leading the borough to the last piece of the puzzle, a TRID application.”
Middletown also is one of several groups that have written letters of support for the grant application. Langhorne Manor, Neshaminy School District, SEPTA and other county agencies also have given their support, McMasters said.
GUEST OPINION
No Child Left Behind leaving far too many behind
“No Child Left Behind” is working? It is if your definition of “No Child” equates to 70 percent of our children.
Last month’s report by America’s Promise Alliance concluded that nationwide, nearly 1.2 million students drop out of school every year and that about seven out of 10 students graduate on time. While these alarming statistics may only seem a problem for failing schools and the children they affect, the loss of potential along with the economic burden on society as a whole should be of immense concern for all of us. The Alliance along with the Bill Gates Foundation has announced its support for summits to be held across the country to “increase awareness, encourage collaboration and facilitate action” to improve graduation rates. But will any of these summits deliver anything different than the same ole-same ole?
A recent Philadelphia Inquirer editorial addressed the dropout problem, stating, “The problems are complex and not entirely the schools’ fault. In fact, the most effective solutions to reducing the dropout rates start at home.”
In a perfect world, that may be, but home is only the solution where there is no dropout problem. It’s a Catch 22. If the home solution premise was applicable to the kids dropping out, we would have no such problem. You’d be better calling for a wholesale change in society than expect the families of dropouts to be able to get the kids back at their desks.
You can have as many educators’ symposiums and “dropout summits” as you like. But no matter how hard you work it, continuing the same approach and expecting a different result, is not a description of success. It’s the definition of insanity.
It doesn’t start in the home, or with the student. It starts with the attitude of the educational system towards the student. And that will need a complete overhaul. That might sound expensive, but it really isn’t. When a child drops out of school we not only lose revenues derived if they had remained, but we’re also losing their futures and everything they could have contributed to society. We’re losing the taxes from work income and the potential their creativity could have generated, if only we showed them how to access it. Instead we end up with welfare and criminal drains on our taxes and well-being. An overhaul done right becomes a revenue producer, not an expense.
The turnaround calls for reminding children, repeatedly, how adversity, mistakes and failure can be key ingredients to cooking up a tasty pot of success. Pushing ahead in spite of the obstacles we all face not only turns many defeats into victories, but more importantly, reveals a passion or hidden talent that otherwise would have remained buried; something so unique to the child alone, something so vital to his or her happiness, that no one else but they could have discovered it.
But it all starts by removing the negative implication of the word “failure.”
In sports, we call it practice. In entertainment, rehearsal. In science, research. In education ... failure.
That can be changed the moment we choose to start using the tools that failure provides; not to smash, but to shape possibilities.
It’s is not about embracing incompetence, but about students recognizing their own strengths, no matter what they are, and using them as a jumping off point. Failure should never be where we stop, but where we begin; not a place of loss, but one of discovery.
In most cases our present educational process makes an effort to teach the same thing to in the same way to every individual student and expecting the same result. But with each student’s individual experience and level of expertise, how in the world would we ever expect any diverse group of children to learn on an equal level?
In this lemons-to-lemonade principle, we must allow students to create their own lemonade. It may not turn out as sweet as we think it should be, but the process is not about accommodating our personal taste. It’s about helping each student tap into his or her own heart, soul and enthusiasm; into that part of the student that says “I can do it.”
The idea is not to judge, not to stifle, not to kill the freedom and energy that creativity breeds.
Hopefully, our educational system sees the benefit of teaching every student where they are. Only then will our children can see how far they can go.
The cost, negligible. The benefits, astronomical.
Steve Young,
Langhorne, is author of “Great Failures of the Extremely Successful” (www.greatfailure.com)
-------------------------------------------------------
Teacher contracts up in 3 districts
By HILARY BENTMAN
STAFF WRITER
While school districts are working to finalize their 2008-09 budgets by the June 30 deadline, several in the area are finding themselves at a considerable disadvantage — not knowing how much it will cost to pay their teachers next year.
The Palisades, Neshaminy, and Bristol Borough districts in Bucks County will see their teachers’ contracts expire at the end of this school year, and have yet to ink a new deal with their unions.
Salary and benefits account for about two-thirds of a budget, and district officials say they are trying to make educated guesses as to how much a new agreement will cost.
Administrators in Palisades are tight-lipped about how they’re budgeting in anticipation of new contracts, citing ongoing negotiations as the reason for their reticence.
“We do the best we can to estimate where we think things will fall,” said Donna Holmes, spokeswoman for the Palisades district, which has 160 teachers nearing the end of a three-year deal.
There is one important factor in negotiating — a school board cannot agree to a contract that is more expensive than what’s been budgeted.
For example, if a district sets aside $1 million to cover salaries, the board cannot agree to a deal that would cost $2 million, said Joe Paradise, business administrator for Neshaminy, where its teachers are coming to the end of a seven-year agreement.
In calculating its 2008-09 budget, Neshaminy officials are going by the current salary schedule, but have added on the amount owed to teachers who will reach the next level in experience.
Teachers are paid more for years of service, so if a fourth-year teacher is entering his fifth year, for example, the district will budget his fifth-year salary, based on the pay scale as it currently stands.
For health care, Paradise said Neshaminy will plan as if the current benefits program goes unchanged but will budget the 16 percent to 18 percent increases expected from the carrier, Blue Cross.
Palisades has faced some difficulties ironing out contracts in the past. Its current deal was not inked until October 2005, or three months after the previous deal expired. While classes continued uninterrupted, teachers worked only their contracted hours and some back-to-school nights were canceled.
The pact provided for approximately 3 percent raises annually. Starting salaries for new teachers jumped from $36,671 to $40,000 by 2007-08, while maximum salary increased from $88,309 to $93,505. Teachers agreed to contribute 11 percent to health care costs.
Under Palisades’ proposed $36.3 million budget for 2008-09, about $23.8 million is set aside for salary and benefits, representing nearly 66 percent of the budget.
Under the current year’s $34.7 million budget, about 67 percent of the budget is for wages and health care.
Laurie Borger, president of the Palisades’ teachers union, calls the bargaining environment “very amicable” and expects to reach an agreement before school starts in the fall.
In Neshaminy, negotiations have been described as slow. A state appointed fact-finder has now reviewed both sides and is expected to shortly release a recommendation to the school board and union.
Each side has about 10 days to accept or reject the deal. School board attorney Charles Sweet said the report will be made public if both sides reject or accept the contract.
Under the current deal, a new hire earns about $42,552, while a teacher with a master’s degree plus 30 credits is making about $95,923.
Teachers do not pay any health care premiums, but they do pay $15 co-pays and $5 and $20 for generic and brandname drugs, respectively.
Of the district’s $166.6 million proposed budget for next year, about $118 million, or 71 percent, is set aside for salary and benefits.
Bristol Borough teachers will see their five-year deal expire at the end of August.
School board members have met with teachers union representatives a couple of times, and plan to do so again in June, said district business manager Joseph Roe, who declined to provide specifics about what’s been discussed so far.
The Lower Bucks district has about 100 teachers. Under its expiring deal, salaries increased 13 percent over the length of the contract.
-------------------------------------------------------
Towns unite to apply for development grant
The aim is to improve the Penndel train station and the surrounding area.
By GEMA MARIA DUARTE
Ask and you shall receive.
At least that’s how it happened for Penndel.
Borough Councilwoman Barbara Heffelfinger asked Middletown’s supervisors Tuesday to participate in a partnership that would enable the borough to apply for a Transportation Revitalization Investment District — or TRID — grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development.
Middletown committed $15,000 to the project, which calls for improving the Penndel train station and its surrounding area.
“I think it’s a good idea because part of land they want to improve, the parking lot around the train station, is in Middletown,” Middletown Supervisor Jasper Caro said Thursday. “With just about anything you do, you need a study, and this will help get that out of the way. If everything comes to fruition and there is a marked improvement in that area, then it will be that much more worthwhile.”
The purpose of TRID is to spur transit-oriented community revitalization and enhance the community character around public transit facilities. The major objective is to encourage municipal cooperative approaches to generate new investment, reinvestment and revitalization through transit-oriented development as well as increasing public transit.
In addition to the $15,000 from Middletown, Penndel would chip in $10,000 to match part of the $75,000 TRID grant.
“Middletown voted to commit to the funds for the match if the grant is awarded to Penndel,” Ward McMasters, Penndel’s council president said Thursday.
“Heffelfinger, her committee, the borough council, borough planner Joseph Luste and other consultants are to be commended for what has been achieved in the last seven years,’’ McMasters said. “There have been a number of grants that have resulted in a number of critical studies and recommendations leading the borough to the last piece of the puzzle, a TRID application.”
Middletown also is one of several groups that have written letters of support for the grant application. Langhorne Manor, Neshaminy School District, SEPTA and other county agencies also have given their support, McMasters said.
School Board Business Meeting Wednesday
Looking ahead through the holiday weekend, the public has another chance to be ignored by the full school board during the monthly business meeting on Wednesday, May 28, 2008, 7:30 P.M. in the MHS LGI. This month's battle: The budget.
It's hard to stand up in front of the board, speak your precisely timed three minute statement, and then have the Emperor cavalierly proclaim "I have nothing to say", but come on out anyway. I hear that some of the people have started bringing snacks and there's a pool running on how soon into the meeting the first snarl will come from the Emperor. (I chose "during the Pledge of Allegiance" in the pool. Did you notice he doesn't even invite the public to stand anymore? He just bangs the gavel and stands.) Marlys Mihok is even sponsoring a contest for the spiffiest ring tone to be heard during the meeting. Prizes will not be awarded, but she will grace you with a withering stare.
The truth is that, yes, the Emperor DOES need to address the concerns of the public. That's the entire meaning behind the thirty day display period for the budget and the public comment period at each meeting. The public is invited to come out and state their concerns. It's also the duty of the board members to RESPOND to those concerns. Notice I did not say they had to AGREE with the concerns: They only need to RESPOND. Do you remember how Sandy Gibson used to make a list and go down it: "Mr. Jones, you talked about"..."Mrs. Smith, we can't do that and here's why"...and on and on. Our Lord Sovereign Emperor does not speak to mere mortals, nor address their concerns. But he's supposed to. He works for you, remember?
It's hard to stand up in front of the board, speak your precisely timed three minute statement, and then have the Emperor cavalierly proclaim "I have nothing to say", but come on out anyway. I hear that some of the people have started bringing snacks and there's a pool running on how soon into the meeting the first snarl will come from the Emperor. (I chose "during the Pledge of Allegiance" in the pool. Did you notice he doesn't even invite the public to stand anymore? He just bangs the gavel and stands.) Marlys Mihok is even sponsoring a contest for the spiffiest ring tone to be heard during the meeting. Prizes will not be awarded, but she will grace you with a withering stare.
The truth is that, yes, the Emperor DOES need to address the concerns of the public. That's the entire meaning behind the thirty day display period for the budget and the public comment period at each meeting. The public is invited to come out and state their concerns. It's also the duty of the board members to RESPOND to those concerns. Notice I did not say they had to AGREE with the concerns: They only need to RESPOND. Do you remember how Sandy Gibson used to make a list and go down it: "Mr. Jones, you talked about"..."Mrs. Smith, we can't do that and here's why"...and on and on. Our Lord Sovereign Emperor does not speak to mere mortals, nor address their concerns. But he's supposed to. He works for you, remember?
Sports News at MHS
Congratulations to the MHS Baseball AND Softball teams on a great season and best wishes as they continue through the district playoffs.
On Tuesday the baseball team will play the Class A semifinal match against Delco Christian.
Also on Tuesday, the softball team will play their Class A semifinal match against Christopher Dock. This game will be played at William Tennent.
On Tuesday the baseball team will play the Class A semifinal match against Delco Christian.
Also on Tuesday, the softball team will play their Class A semifinal match against Christopher Dock. This game will be played at William Tennent.
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Send the Emperor and Angry Al to Sioux City!
Well, one can dream, right?
Thank you to Anonymous for finding this case. Doing the Google search on the keywords "Spirit Lake" school board remove shows quite a large body of information, including the actual recall petition.
"We, the undersigned Spirit Lake, Iowa registered voters and residents, state that we have "no confidence" in the abilities of the Spirit Lake School District Board of Directors, particularly under the guidance and direction of President Beth Will and Vice President Ann Goerss to responsibly direct the finances, budgets, contracts, and the public, professional, business meeting requirements of our Spirit Lake School District.
We therefore request the immediate resignation of President Beth Will, and Vice President Ann Goerss so as to allow for responsible fiduciary actions and ethical conduct in doing the public business of the Spirit Lake School District. We find we are in a time of true crisis and thus must be able to peacefully and respectfully have our school district able to move forward in a positive, ethical and legal way."
I like the way that sounds...Will it work on defeatist and defunct borough council members as well?
Thank you to Anonymous for finding this case. Doing the Google search on the keywords "Spirit Lake" school board remove shows quite a large body of information, including the actual recall petition.
"We, the undersigned Spirit Lake, Iowa registered voters and residents, state that we have "no confidence" in the abilities of the Spirit Lake School District Board of Directors, particularly under the guidance and direction of President Beth Will and Vice President Ann Goerss to responsibly direct the finances, budgets, contracts, and the public, professional, business meeting requirements of our Spirit Lake School District.
We therefore request the immediate resignation of President Beth Will, and Vice President Ann Goerss so as to allow for responsible fiduciary actions and ethical conduct in doing the public business of the Spirit Lake School District. We find we are in a time of true crisis and thus must be able to peacefully and respectfully have our school district able to move forward in a positive, ethical and legal way."
I like the way that sounds...Will it work on defeatist and defunct borough council members as well?
Why Smaller Works Better
The editors at Newsweek take an annual look at the top high schools in the nation and Morrisville has not been a contender for a position on that list for quite a while now. While we're not quite as student deficient as this high school where there is one member of the class of 2008, I'd like for you to think for a minute what Morrisville would be like with a board and community that supported the school system.
Instead we have a group of selfish morons who want to literally steal from the kids to need the help the most. Instead of trying to raise up the district and the students, they are trying to destroy the system piece by piece in a slow strangulation ballet.
Small Schools Rising
This year's list of the top 100 high schools shows that today, those with fewer students are flourishing.
Fifty years ago, they were the latest thing in educational reform: big, modern, suburban high schools with students counted in the thousands. As baby boomers came of high-school age, big schools promised economic efficiency, a greater choice of courses, and, of course, better football teams. Only years later did we understand the trade-offs this involved: the creation of lumbering bureaucracies, the difficulty of forging personal connections between teachers and students. SAT scores began dropping in 1963; today, on average, 30 percent of students do not complete high school in four years, a figure that rises to 50 percent in poor urban neighborhoods. While the emphasis on teaching to higher, test-driven standards embodied in No Child Left Behind resulted in significantly better performance in elementary (and some middle) schools, high schools for a variety of reasons seemed stuck in a rut.
Size isn't everything, but it does matter, and the past decade has seen a noticeable countertrend toward smaller schools. This has been fostered, in part, by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which has invested $1.8 billion in American high schools, helping to open about 1,000 small schools—most of them with about 400 kids each, with an average enrollment of only 150 per grade. About 500 more are on the drawing board. Districts all over the country are taking notice, along with mayors in cities like New York, Chicago, Milwaukee and San Diego. The movement includes independent public charter schools, such as No. 1 BASIS in Tucson, with only 120 high-schoolers and 18 graduates this year. It embraces district-sanctioned magnet schools, such as the Talented and Gifted School, with 198 students, and the Science and Engineering Magnet, with 383, which share a building in Dallas, as well as the City Honors School in Buffalo, N.Y., which grew out of volunteer evening seminars for students. And it includes alternative schools with students selected by lottery, such as H-B Woodlawn in Arlington, Va. And most conspicuous of all, there is the phenomenon of large urban and suburban high schools that have split up into smaller units of a few hundred, generally housed in the same sprawling grounds that once boasted thousands of students all marching to the same band.
Hillsdale High School in San Mateo, Calif., is one of those, ranking No. 423—among the top 2 percent in the country—on NEWSWEEK's annual ranking of America's top high schools. The success of small schools is apparent in the listings. Ten years ago, when the first NEWSWEEK list based on college-level test participation was published, only three of the top 100 schools had graduating classes smaller than 100 students. This year there are 22. Nearly 250 schools on the full NEWSWEEK list of the top 5 percent of schools nationally, available on Newsweek.com, had fewer than 200 graduates in 2007.
Although many of Hillsdale's students came from affluent households, by the late 1990s average test scores were sliding and it had earned the unaffectionate nickname "Hillsjail." Jeff Gilbert, a Hillsdale teacher who became principal last year, remembers sitting with other teachers watching students file out of a graduation ceremony and asking one another in astonishment, "How did that student graduate?"
So in 2003 Hillsdale remade itself into three "houses," romantically designated Florence, Marrakech and Kyoto. Each of the 300 arriving ninth graders are randomly assigned to one of the houses, where they will keep the same four core subject teachers for two years, before moving on to another for 11th and 12th grades. The closeness this system fosters was reinforced by the institution of "advisory" classes. Teachers meet with students in groups of 25, five mornings a week, for open-ended discussions of everything from homework problems to bullying and bad Saturday-night dates. The advisers also meet with students privately and stay in touch with parents, so they are deeply invested in the students' success. "We're constantly talking about one another's advisees, " says English teacher Chris Crockett. "If you hear that yours isn't doing well in algebra, or see them sitting outside the dean's office, it's like a personal failure." Along with the new structure came a more rigorous academic program; the percentage of freshmen taking biology jumped from 17 to 95. "It was rough for some, but by senior year, two thirds have moved up to physics," says Gilbert. "Our kids are coming to school in part because they know there are adults here who know them and care for them." But not all schools show advances after downsizing, and it remains to be seen whether smaller schools will be a panacea.
The NEWSWEEK list of top U.S. high schools was compiled this year, as in years past, according to a single metric, the proportion of students taking college-level exams: Cambridge, International Baccalaureate and Advanced Placement. We count the total number of these tests taken at a school by all students each May, and divide by the number of graduating seniors. Any school with a ratio of 1.000 or higher is placed on the NEWSWEEK list. Over the years this system has come in for its share of criticism for its simplicity. But that is also its strength: it's easy for readers to understand, and to do the arithmetic for their own schools if they'd like.
Ranking schools within the list is always controversial, and this year a group of 38 superintendents from five states wrote to ask that their schools be excluded from the calculation. "It is impossible to know which high schools are 'the best' in the nation," their letter read, in part. "Determining whether different schools do or don't offer a high quality of education requires a look at many different measures, including students' overall academic accomplishments and their subsequent performance in college, and taking into consideration the unique needs of their communities."
In the end, the superintendents agreed to provide the data we sought, which is, after all, public information. (A list of all the schools can be found on Newsweek.com, along with a list of elite schools, whose lack of average students disqualified them from the main list.) There is, in our view, no real dispute here; we are all seeking the same thing, which is schools that better serve our children and our nation by encouraging students to tackle tough subjects under the guidance of gifted teachers. And if we keep working toward that goal, someday, perhaps, a list won't be necessary.
Instead we have a group of selfish morons who want to literally steal from the kids to need the help the most. Instead of trying to raise up the district and the students, they are trying to destroy the system piece by piece in a slow strangulation ballet.
Small Schools Rising
This year's list of the top 100 high schools shows that today, those with fewer students are flourishing.
Fifty years ago, they were the latest thing in educational reform: big, modern, suburban high schools with students counted in the thousands. As baby boomers came of high-school age, big schools promised economic efficiency, a greater choice of courses, and, of course, better football teams. Only years later did we understand the trade-offs this involved: the creation of lumbering bureaucracies, the difficulty of forging personal connections between teachers and students. SAT scores began dropping in 1963; today, on average, 30 percent of students do not complete high school in four years, a figure that rises to 50 percent in poor urban neighborhoods. While the emphasis on teaching to higher, test-driven standards embodied in No Child Left Behind resulted in significantly better performance in elementary (and some middle) schools, high schools for a variety of reasons seemed stuck in a rut.
Size isn't everything, but it does matter, and the past decade has seen a noticeable countertrend toward smaller schools. This has been fostered, in part, by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which has invested $1.8 billion in American high schools, helping to open about 1,000 small schools—most of them with about 400 kids each, with an average enrollment of only 150 per grade. About 500 more are on the drawing board. Districts all over the country are taking notice, along with mayors in cities like New York, Chicago, Milwaukee and San Diego. The movement includes independent public charter schools, such as No. 1 BASIS in Tucson, with only 120 high-schoolers and 18 graduates this year. It embraces district-sanctioned magnet schools, such as the Talented and Gifted School, with 198 students, and the Science and Engineering Magnet, with 383, which share a building in Dallas, as well as the City Honors School in Buffalo, N.Y., which grew out of volunteer evening seminars for students. And it includes alternative schools with students selected by lottery, such as H-B Woodlawn in Arlington, Va. And most conspicuous of all, there is the phenomenon of large urban and suburban high schools that have split up into smaller units of a few hundred, generally housed in the same sprawling grounds that once boasted thousands of students all marching to the same band.
Hillsdale High School in San Mateo, Calif., is one of those, ranking No. 423—among the top 2 percent in the country—on NEWSWEEK's annual ranking of America's top high schools. The success of small schools is apparent in the listings. Ten years ago, when the first NEWSWEEK list based on college-level test participation was published, only three of the top 100 schools had graduating classes smaller than 100 students. This year there are 22. Nearly 250 schools on the full NEWSWEEK list of the top 5 percent of schools nationally, available on Newsweek.com, had fewer than 200 graduates in 2007.
Although many of Hillsdale's students came from affluent households, by the late 1990s average test scores were sliding and it had earned the unaffectionate nickname "Hillsjail." Jeff Gilbert, a Hillsdale teacher who became principal last year, remembers sitting with other teachers watching students file out of a graduation ceremony and asking one another in astonishment, "How did that student graduate?"
So in 2003 Hillsdale remade itself into three "houses," romantically designated Florence, Marrakech and Kyoto. Each of the 300 arriving ninth graders are randomly assigned to one of the houses, where they will keep the same four core subject teachers for two years, before moving on to another for 11th and 12th grades. The closeness this system fosters was reinforced by the institution of "advisory" classes. Teachers meet with students in groups of 25, five mornings a week, for open-ended discussions of everything from homework problems to bullying and bad Saturday-night dates. The advisers also meet with students privately and stay in touch with parents, so they are deeply invested in the students' success. "We're constantly talking about one another's advisees, " says English teacher Chris Crockett. "If you hear that yours isn't doing well in algebra, or see them sitting outside the dean's office, it's like a personal failure." Along with the new structure came a more rigorous academic program; the percentage of freshmen taking biology jumped from 17 to 95. "It was rough for some, but by senior year, two thirds have moved up to physics," says Gilbert. "Our kids are coming to school in part because they know there are adults here who know them and care for them." But not all schools show advances after downsizing, and it remains to be seen whether smaller schools will be a panacea.
The NEWSWEEK list of top U.S. high schools was compiled this year, as in years past, according to a single metric, the proportion of students taking college-level exams: Cambridge, International Baccalaureate and Advanced Placement. We count the total number of these tests taken at a school by all students each May, and divide by the number of graduating seniors. Any school with a ratio of 1.000 or higher is placed on the NEWSWEEK list. Over the years this system has come in for its share of criticism for its simplicity. But that is also its strength: it's easy for readers to understand, and to do the arithmetic for their own schools if they'd like.
Ranking schools within the list is always controversial, and this year a group of 38 superintendents from five states wrote to ask that their schools be excluded from the calculation. "It is impossible to know which high schools are 'the best' in the nation," their letter read, in part. "Determining whether different schools do or don't offer a high quality of education requires a look at many different measures, including students' overall academic accomplishments and their subsequent performance in college, and taking into consideration the unique needs of their communities."
In the end, the superintendents agreed to provide the data we sought, which is, after all, public information. (A list of all the schools can be found on Newsweek.com, along with a list of elite schools, whose lack of average students disqualified them from the main list.) There is, in our view, no real dispute here; we are all seeking the same thing, which is schools that better serve our children and our nation by encouraging students to tackle tough subjects under the guidance of gifted teachers. And if we keep working toward that goal, someday, perhaps, a list won't be necessary.
Schools News Around the Blogosphere
Poverty can adversely impact test scores
Shreveport Times
Taped to a wall in Friendship House in one of Shreveport's poorest neighborhoods is the Kids' Club's list of prayers. One prayer asks God for "(sic) My Dad back." Another asks to "stop (sic) druging and homeless and naked." One child, who belonged to the Allendale club, prays "that my granddaddy will not die soon."
Public School Questions
David W. Kirkpatrick
Columnist EducationNews.org
WHY is certification required for those who teach in the public schools but not for the education professors who teach others to teach in the public schools?WHY does schooling require more certification credentials than any other profession -- to teach at the elementary level, to teach at the secondary level, to be an elementary school principal, to be a secondary school principal, to be a superintendent, ad infinitum?
Schools can't spare time or dimes for field trips
Los Angeles Times
By Seema Mehta
Visits to art, nature and science exhibits are rare as more hours are devoted to studying for required English, math tests. But some venues are adapting their offerings. At a time of shrinking budgets and increased emphasis on standardized testing, such class visits to science centers, museums and zoos are becoming increasingly rare.
Shreveport Times
Taped to a wall in Friendship House in one of Shreveport's poorest neighborhoods is the Kids' Club's list of prayers. One prayer asks God for "(sic) My Dad back." Another asks to "stop (sic) druging and homeless and naked." One child, who belonged to the Allendale club, prays "that my granddaddy will not die soon."
Public School Questions
David W. Kirkpatrick
Columnist EducationNews.org
WHY is certification required for those who teach in the public schools but not for the education professors who teach others to teach in the public schools?WHY does schooling require more certification credentials than any other profession -- to teach at the elementary level, to teach at the secondary level, to be an elementary school principal, to be a secondary school principal, to be a superintendent, ad infinitum?
Schools can't spare time or dimes for field trips
Los Angeles Times
By Seema Mehta
Visits to art, nature and science exhibits are rare as more hours are devoted to studying for required English, math tests. But some venues are adapting their offerings. At a time of shrinking budgets and increased emphasis on standardized testing, such class visits to science centers, museums and zoos are becoming increasingly rare.
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