tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post3475014576806080440..comments2023-10-17T22:56:42.784-04:00Comments on Only in The Republic of Amherst: Regionalization Not Ready For Prime TimeLarry Kelleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02614645831526190536noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-616717402507929162015-03-11T21:17:30.490-04:002015-03-11T21:17:30.490-04:00Last I heard he was coming back "next year&qu...Last I heard he was coming back "next year". I do know he is all done at Amherst College, the ones who are paying his freight.Larry Kelleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02614645831526190536noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-29484676076662752022015-03-11T21:00:22.369-04:002015-03-11T21:00:22.369-04:00Shouldn't Mr. Terell be coming back for anothe...Shouldn't Mr. Terell be coming back for another visit or two per his contract with the district? Or the district now paying him his money & asking him not to return? Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-86889124498542829882015-03-11T20:12:14.397-04:002015-03-11T20:12:14.397-04:00Does anyone know why Mr. Shabazz abstained in the ...Does anyone know why Mr. Shabazz abstained in the budget vote?<br /><br />I'm looking for the explanation most favorable to Mr. Shabazz, not the snark answer.<br /><br />I can supply the snark.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-44478223644299361252015-03-11T18:35:06.113-04:002015-03-11T18:35:06.113-04:00Tax money follows the children, not stuck with a l...Tax money follows the children, not stuck with a low performance school.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-43222339607715906712015-03-11T15:41:09.143-04:002015-03-11T15:41:09.143-04:00Ed, all of that info is online and easy for anyone...Ed, all of that info is online and easy for anyone to access. You don't have to request it. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-51822529481214470312015-03-11T14:33:41.204-04:002015-03-11T14:33:41.204-04:00Also check out amount of money apportioned for sec...Also check out amount of money apportioned for secretarial/administrative assistant positions to support recently (last couple of years) elevated administrators - Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-49226650418412842872015-03-11T10:35:24.703-04:002015-03-11T10:35:24.703-04:00(One note on teachers’ unions: Collective bargaini...<br /><i>(One note on teachers’ unions: Collective bargaining does not go away, but the rules on tenure will have to change.)</i><br /><br />I'm not so sure -- there always has been the "RIF" exception to tenure, if there are more teachers than they need (i.e. have money for), they get laid off, tenured or not. <br /><br />But the teachers' unions have a very different issue -- they think the collective good rather than the individual good -- they don't want Black kids in Boston to be able to go to a Charter School because it isn't "fair" that the kid who wants to learn is able to do better than those who don't.Dr. Ednoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-45592560710387214602015-03-11T10:18:03.924-04:002015-03-11T10:18:03.924-04:00Honestly think that Calvin Terrel has ever mopped ...Honestly think that Calvin Terrel has ever mopped a floor? <br /><br /><br />I'm not saying "stood around with mop in hand" but actually <b><i>done it???</i></b><br /><br />Honorable work done well is respectable and you shouldn't disrespect janitors by comparing them with this schmuck.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-4615722172586224012015-03-11T10:13:19.149-04:002015-03-11T10:13:19.149-04:00Anon 2:35AM raises a good point.
Larry, the names...Anon 2:35AM raises a good point.<br /><br />Larry, the names & salaries of public employees is a matter of public record, as are the specifics of where and how they spend their working day. <br /><br />While name of any child, or anything "personally identifiable" to any child is protected by FERPA, the fact that a public employee works with children and the specific nature of what the public employee does with/for/to them is not.<br /><br />While the information the public employee has is confidential, the fact that the public employee works with it, and what the employee does is <b><i>not!</i></b><br /><br />There is precedent on this -- me forcing UMass to name the members of the then super-secret Assessment Care Team. The public has an inherent right to know how public employees spend those hours they are on the public payroll.<br /><br />While there is the public safety/security exception to the public records law, there is also precedent on that one too. Remember the 2006 Deval Patrick Pep Rally in the Cage? UMass wouldn't tell me how much it cost in police overtime.<br /><br />I argued that public safety would not be jeopardized by the public knowing "how much extra money an unknown number of police officers would have to spend on Christmas presents for their children" and Boston agreed.<br /><br />I know how much work would be involved but I would request the data for all three districts as well as the central office -- then compile a single list of who, what, and how much. I would include everyone, perhaps not listing the salaries of those below a certain level -- perhaps the Western MA median family income figure.Dr. Ednoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-29727405464612964052015-03-11T10:11:10.726-04:002015-03-11T10:11:10.726-04:00Amherst school is just a sample of larger problems...Amherst school is just a sample of larger problems with American k-12 education. Here is an interesting piece to read...<br /><br />The key reason for the failure of American schools is the government monopoly of public education. Once the government — even local government — gets involved in anything, the fastest growing segment of that enterprise quickly becomes the bureaucracy, in this case, principals, assistant principals, superintendents, assistant superintendents, assistants to the assistant superintendents, etc., etc., etc. In addition, American schools are controlled by unionized teachers, licensed by State Boards of Education, and intellectually dominated by the remarkably similar university Schools of Education throughout the country. The interrelatedness of all these institutional influences leaves the local school boards able to do little more than hire and fire superintendents and provide the funding for ever-increasing budgets.<br /><br />What we need is experimentation with different approaches to different challenges. Charter schools, home schooling, and limited voucher programs have shown the way. It is time to act on what we have learned from these experiences.<br /><br />The answer is not the curriculum, the teachers, the books, or the facilities. The answer is to change the way the American institution of education is organized.<br /><br />The way to accomplish this goal has been pioneered by school vouchers. The new principle for overhauling our educational system is this: the money should follow the child, not the school.<br /><br />This approach puts parents in charge of the child’s education, rather than the State, rather than the teachers, principals, or superintendents. With each child carrying a publicly funded voucher, many experiments with educational strategies will be tried. The successful schools will be easy to spot – they will be the ones with the most students. Likewise, teacher evaluation will be vastly simplified — the best teachers are the ones with the greatest parent support. (One note on teachers’ unions: Collective bargaining does not go away, but the rules on tenure will have to change.)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-21370259921866404762015-03-11T08:38:10.818-04:002015-03-11T08:38:10.818-04:00I think they should put Calvin Terrel on as full-t...I think they should put Calvin Terrel on as full-time staff. Chief of Chill. Superintendent of Vibes. Or better yet.. JANITOR.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-41260224260060134592015-03-11T02:35:59.866-04:002015-03-11T02:35:59.866-04:00Forget that, what about the cuts. My God, the clim...Forget that, what about the cuts. My God, the climate specialist is losing her job. And she did so much. (Snicker) Is it because the worse of the cold weather is over. (chuckle) Why must teachers be cut. Isn't there more than enough administrative jobs that can go? Two assistant principals? Just curious, how many admins are there in the system anyway Larry? Of said another way, how much waste is being kept at the top while again kids suffer at the loss of teachers, the direct link to education. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-44420069464933823152015-03-10T21:25:05.536-04:002015-03-10T21:25:05.536-04:00Die, RAWG, die!Die, RAWG, die!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com