Thoughts on the Roundtable......

Needed:  Honest, courageous, and productive conversations at the roundtable on Tuesday....

Sheriff Chip Simmons has empaneled a group of community leaders to hold a round table discussion this Tuesday regarding a deadly double-shooting in District 1 two weeks back. I applaud his leadership in taking this bull by the horns.  The conversation will be about the levels of violence in the community as well--not just this particular shooting.  I am honored to have been invited to participate, and I look forward to Tuesday.

In the lead up to the event, I have given three media interviews on this topic, after having been asked my opinion on what, if anything, should be done to focus on the violence in our community that leads to these tragic events like the murder that happened in Bellview.  Two of the pieces have subsequently been published and I believe the third will be published this week in the lead up to the roundtable. 

The violence, the gun crimes, and the gangs+drugs issues we see growing in our community are symptoms of a bigger problem that few are willing to discuss: The loss of the family unit in growing pockets of our community.  This dissolution of the in-tact family unit leaves many young men with no strong role model and disciplinarian in the house to deal with issues that invariably arise in child rearing through formative years.

The single biggest predictor of whether or not a young man in America will become entangled in the criminal justice system is whether or not a father was/is in the home where such a young man is/was raised.  But to some, such discussions are verboten for political correctness' sake.

Imagine, as my friend Tom Danheisser posited in his hard-hitting, prescient op-ed on this topic last year, if we were trying to cure lung cancer but we could not talk about cigarette smoking?  He knows what I know and he has seen it in his courtroom as has my brother in his courtroom:  Fatherless families produce children who are at a much higher risk of committing crimes, being prosecuted, and ultimately ending up in prison.  (And lending creedence to the media's reticence to discuss root causes of the crimes, drugs, and gangs issues in Pensacola/Escambia County that produce the carnage we see locally--I'm told the Dannheisser op-ed was also sent to the PNJ last year in May of 2021--but their editorial team refused to print it.  Too much truth I suppose.....)

So this conversation Tuesday has to have a few guideposts if it is to be successful:

1.  We must realize the long term solution will take decades.

2.  We must realize the problem is not the police.

3.  We must have the courage to speak truth and use irreputable facts and figures to buffet our positions.

4.  We must realize no matter what we do we cannot and will not be able to save every young person from descending into a life of crime.

From my perspective, in order to actually accomplish a worthwhile outcome and trajectory toward

Two Questions about Education, Community, and Vision...

I was asked recently to answer two rather straightforward questions for a college student locally as a part of a homework assignment.  As I gave my answers, I wondered how the average citizen would answer these same questions?  I wondered how my peers on the BCC would answer them?  I'm sure the answers would be all over the map because there really are no "right" or "wrong" answers--alot of this is ideological and subjective.  I do believe education is critical though--and I think most would agree on that point.  And I do believe there is a direct correlation between a community's level of education (on average) and the community's quality of life (e.g. a highly educated, highly skilled community will enjoy a community with better schools, better amenities, and better jobs than a community that has a lower level of educational attainment)

Here are the questions and answers I gave....

1. What is your vision for the future of Escambia County?

My vision for Escambia County is fairly straightforward.  I want to help create and foster the conditions that allow for the private sector to create employment opportunities that are varied and well-paying.  Traditionally our area has been a two-legged stool, with Military Jobs and Tourism-related jobs.  Beyond this, we have had lots of low-wage service sector jobs.  So the big vision is jobs diversification that makes us less dependent upon the DoD and the Beach related tourist seasons (which the 2010 oil spill illustrated was very vulnerable to damage if conditions at the beach ever faced an environmental issue).  We are now seeing some significant jobs growth in the private sector in manufacturing, aircraft service and repair, and back office support (NFCU).  I believe it is essential for the County to take a leadership role in economic development which brings this jobs diversification, which in turn raises the entire regional GDP.  When the entire region improves economically, this provides the revenue the County needs to fund other essential functions like public safety and infrastructure as well as quality of life initiatives.  If the private sector flourishes, this “rising tide raises all boats” and all the functions of government can do well and tax rates on property owners can be held steady and not raised while the functions of government are fully funded and the quality of life for all citizens becomes gradually elevated.

2. How is higher education helping prepare students for this vision?

Higher education is a critical component in a successful community.  In order to fill the essential and high-wage jobs that drive an economy—an educated, highly skilled workforce is required.  As we transition toward a more information-centered and applied-science workforce, advanced degrees and/or advanced technical competency is required.  These skills are largely the product of a student’s diligent efforts at attaining an advanced degree or certification in a college or career center.  The more of these students that are employed, with their concomitant high salaries, the better the quality of life for the community.  With high income areas comes better neighborhoods, less crime, more public services available, and better schools.  With higher income demographics, the private sector sees the need and satisfies the demand for a higher quality of goods and services, and this pushes out lower-end retail (check cashing, pawn shops, payday loans) and brings in a higher caliber of businesses (high-end automotive, fine dining, research and engineering firms) All of this also leads to housing being built by the private sector that is high end, single family and less multi-family and low-income housing.  All of this positive change occurs because of the presence of a highly skilled, educated workforce.

Progress is Coming to North Florida...Hopefully

Collier County School Board Member Erika Donalds (Chair, CRC Small Government Committee, Past-President of the Florida Coalition of School Board Members) closes on her initiative to make all Superintendents of Schools statewide appointed rather than elected positions, 12-14-2017

While the rest of the world is spinning and most of Florida is busily moving through their collective day today, a HUGE event is taking place in Tallahassee.

Today is the day Progress is Coming to North Florida....Hopefully.

The Constitution Revision Commission local government committee just voted to move forward to the full commission two important items:

By a 5-1 vote, a constitutional amendment mandating term limits for elected school board members; and

By a 4-2 vote, a constitutional amendment to make ALL Superintendents of Schools statewide appointed positions (appointed by the elected board of education like the rest of the world already does....)

These two issues are huge, absolutely imperative to moving our educational system, statewide (and locally in Escambia County), into the 21st century.

The committee was lobbied heavily today--with a large contingent of local (elected) superintendents from the panhandle and North Florida coming to today's hearing to plead their case.  It wasn't enough to move the needle, though.  Committee moved the initiative despite the lobbying by a  4-2 vote.

Now the major-league, statewide lobbying begins in earnest.  Getting this passed by the full commission will be a much tougher, much heavier lift. I will begin by doing my part to get this moving forward immediately--starting today.  We need a system of appointed superintendents of school statewide.  It is an Absolute must have!!!!!

I can't wait to speak before the CRC when they come to Pensacola for their listening tour!!!!!!!!!

Going Back to Tally Part III: Important Initiatives Move Forward!

I was in Tallahassee for political purposes in 1985 (Left picture) in 2007 (center-with Sen. Gaetz and Gov. Crist for the Merit Pay Bill signing ceremony) and yesterday to push for appointed superintendents of school statewide.  I've been going to to Tallahassee for Decades...

I took a day off of work yesterday in order to do something important:  I went to Tallahassee to testify about some important statewide issues that are going through the process to be placed on the ballot in 2018 as Constitutional Amendments.  Listen to the interview I gave to AM1620 on this topic here.

As I discussed here and here--going to Tallahassee is something I have done frequently over the years--beginning way, way back in 1985 when I was still in High School!  And because important proposals were to be voted on yesterday in the Education Sub-Committee of the CRC---- yes, I wanted to be there to speak.

Four main issues were discussed:  Class Size, Appointed vs Elected Superintendents, School Board Term Limits, and ending School Board Salaries.

I hold strong opinions on all of these issues.

---I support easing the class size mandate (or doing away with it altogether if feasible) to the extent we are able to do so because I have been unable to see data that points to any measurable increase in student achievement due exclusively to smaller class sizes.  Meanwhile, having this cap exacerbates our teacher shortage, limits our ability to increase teacher pay, and creates a situation where funding required to meet the law is not fully provided (unfunded mandate)--incentivizing some large districts to intentionally violate the cap with no significant penalties assessed (which has happened).  In the words of one panelist at yesterday's meeting "I would rather have a large class size with one amazingly talented teacher than a small class size with a marginal teacher"  I agree.

--I do not support eliminating school board salaries--I lived that job and those positions should be paid in my opinion.  (this measure did not pass out of committee)

-- I strongly support the amendment proposal to make all superintendents of schools, statewide, appointed rather than elected.  This arcane, anachronistic throwback model of school district governance and operation  is well past due for a change.  Of the nation's 15,500 or so public school districts------99.4% have figured this out and have moved to the correct structure:  Elect members of the board of education, and allow the board to hire the most qualified, highly-skilled and educated superintendent they can get from a nationwide pool.  (note:  this proposal passed favorably out of the meeting by a 6-2 vote, with Commissioner of Education Pam Stewart voting in support of this amendment proposal.)  We also learned yesterday that the bottom 10 districts if Florida, in terms of performance, have elected rather than appointed superintendents of schools.  Time for a change, time for us to enter the 21st century on this issue.  As Bruce Buffer would scream----It's time.

--I support term limits for elected school board members--did not speak to the proposal but waived in support. (this proposal passed unanimously)

Watch the videos of the entire proceeding  on the Florida Channel here and here.

Going Back to Tally Part II: Encouraging the Commission to End the Election of School Superintendents

The Florida Constitution Revision Commission has finalized the list of 103 items for consideration, for addition to the 2018 ballot.  All of these items will not make the ballot.  Several are similar.  Any that make it to the ballot require 60% voter approval for successful passage and subsequent addition to the Florida constitution.

#33 on the list is proposed amendment to make school superintendents appointed, rather than elected.

Currently, 99.4% of the 15,500 or so public school districts in the United States have moved to this model--with very good reason.

I've documented my tremendous support for appointed superintendents based upon many logical reasons--many of which I have delineated here on this blog.   To summarize the most important reason is simple.  The position of Superintendent -when elected-- undermines the elected board's ability to properly govern, allows for any 18 year old resident of a county to run for and win such a position, and injects too much politics into the job.  This is why the vast majority of the rest of the world has moved away from electing the school superintendent, and this is why Florida must do the same!

As a ten year school board member in a district that elects its chief operating officer for schools and its board of directors--I saw first hand how dysfunctional and dangerous this arrangement can be.

In my experience:

--legitimate information that I had a right to see and requested was kept from me and withheld from my view and analysis by a deliberate act of the elected superintendent of schools that I worked with--he did not want me to know how badly the weak teacher evaluation tool was pencil whipped by several schools and school principals--he didn't want a headline!

--Important information that was known to the elected superintendent and his senior staff about some nefarious conduct occurring at a district charter school (including cheating on standardized tests and grade inflation to fraudulently earn a  higher school grade and state bonus money) was deliberately withheld from the board for over a year according to senior staff that reported this to me subsequent to a whistle-blower revelation. (superintendent did not want a messy headline in the lead up to his re-election announcement)

--All 5 board members disagreed, unanimously, with the initiative to convert School Deans to 2nd Asst. Principals (to handle paperwork instead of discipline) at our two largest Middle Schools.  Superintendent did this conversion anyway---over our objections.  He said we didn't understand why this was necessary and had to happen

--On multiple occasions, I submitted items to be added to a school board agenda--and the superintendent deliberately did not add these items to the agenda for discussion/consideration by the board.  Often, he did not want a headline or the board to discuss something for which he already had a firm position.

There are many other--too numerous to list--reasons why the elected school superintendent model is a relic of the past that must be changed.  I will testify about this on Monday;  I'll testify about why I feel it is essential that this item be one that is put on the ballot for statewide consideration so that Florida can move its public education system 100% into the 21st century, along with the rest of the nation.

Going Back to Tally....Part I: Testifying

The Florida Capitol Building, Tallahassee Florida

The other day I was listening to talk radio and the intro to the 1987 LL Cool J rap song "Going back to Cali" was playing.  I remembered that song from a very good yet extremely depressing movie of that year, Less than Zero.

And then I thought about an upcoming trip I'm taking to Tallahassee---I'm not going back to Cali--I'm going back to Tally!  But I'm going to Tallahassee for a very important reason.

I've been there many times, the first time of significance was when I attended Florida Boy's State in 1985 and met then Governor Bob Graham and learned a lot about civics, politics, and elections.  That was a great experience.

I had the honor and privilege of attending Florida Boy's
State in the Summer of 1985

My next big trip to Tallahassee was not until 22 years later, in 2007, when as an elected school board member I was strongly supporting teacher Merit Pay and was present with Governor Charlie Crist and Senator Don Gaetz for the signing ceremony upon the passage of that legislation.

Merit Award Plan signing ceremony in 
Tallahassee, Florida
March, 2007.  Sen Gaetz, Gov. Crist, 
and Escambia School Board
Member Jeff Bergosh (background)

(footnote--only 9 of  67 counties [Escambia was one of the 9] ever successfully implemented that plan, the MAP, in year one.  by year 2, the unions killed it and statewide merit pay for teachers essentially ended in Florida until 2015 and the Best and Brightest Teacher Bonuses came to the forefront.  Don't worry though--Unions and status quo defenders are working in the courts to kill this now,  too.....)


While a school board member, I attended many meetings and lobbying sessions in Tallahassee, several of which were productive, many of which were not.  But along the way I met legislators and made connections.

In 2014 and 2015--when school choice was under fierce attack by liberals, Democrats, and status quo educrats--I made many trips to Tallahassee  (and other parts of the state as well).  Luckily for all the kids stuck in failing school attendance zones throughout the state--the suits seeking to end tax credit scholarships at that time were all eventually defeated.

But an important by-product of that attack on choice was the formation of the Florida Coalition of School Board Members and the passage of HB 7029 in 2016--which included language that I helped craft ending the monopoly on school board advocacy associations enjoyed comfortably for many years by the Florida School Boards Association.  I'm very proud of what we accomplished in Tallahassee, me and school board members and legislators from around the state working together to dismantle an unfair monopoly by allowing school board members choice in advocacy (or the ability not to fund their portion of "yearly dues" to an organization that ideologically was/is not supported by such individual school board members).  2015 was huge.

Fast Forward to the end of 2017 and I once again find myself going back to Tally.  This time, I am no longer a school board member but now a County Commissioner.

This time, the reason I'm going back to Tally is to advocate for some specific constitutional amendment proposals.

The constitution revision commission (a group assembled and convened only once every several decades in Florida) has finalized a list of 103 potential constitutional amendments for addition to the 2018 Ballot.  (A very brief yet very informative guide to the CRC is here.)  Several of these potential amendments  have my particular interest due to both my current job and to my past experience as an elected school board member.

So I'm going back to Tally to give my testimony about the ABSOLUTE NECESSITY that we push forward many of these proposals---in particular the one that will end the arcane, throwback practice of electing superintendents in the state of Florida.  This practice is such an anachronism and it is so damaging that it must end ----and if I can play a small part in pushing  this forward to the voters--- I'm ready willing and able to do so.  And I will.

Interesting Dynamic Comes out of #FLPromise15 in Tallahassee

One of the more interesting aspects of Tuesday's Education Summit in Tallahassee was the contrast between the small handful of protesters outside of the FSU Alumni center that were disgruntled, loud, and unhappy---compared to the crowd of media, policymakers, and dignitaries from around Florida that participated and were HUGELY receptive to former Gov. Bush and and his message on School Choice.  Watchdog.org picked up my post on this interesting dynamic.

From that article:

"The welcome Mr. Bush received when he arrived was especially enthusiastic, with the assembled group of state lawmakers, educational policymakers, and other statewide officials giving him a standing ovation upon his entry to the room. Outside the hall, a small but vocal group of protesters yelled at the meeting attendees and waved signs for passing cars.  This assembled group of protesters had a different welcome in mind for the former Governor and would-be president. Jeb Bush and his voucher programs and testing and drilling of students are destroying our schools” said retired Hillsborough County (Tampa, FL) teacher Susan Smith. “His voucher ideas that have been expanded in Florida are draining resources from the public schools” she continued.  “And the voucher schools don’t have the same accountability as the public schools. Come talk to us about education, not someone who never taught one day in a class!” yelled a burly man to some passers-by. Inside the hall, Jeb Bush was talking about the importance of education and the audience was hanging on every word.  Before he started in on educational topics, he made mention of the protestors outside.  “They mean well and they care-but they are protesting to support adult economic issues, I’m in here because I support children and their parents.” said the former Governor to thunderous applause."

Read   "Jeb Bush defends school choice at Florida education summit"

Violence in our Schools Part II: Liberal Psychosis Destroying the Public Schools before our Very Eyes..

Liberals have a way of patting themselves on the back when they feel things are going better in the schools.  In this ridiculous piece—if a disruptive student is acting up, not following established rules and affecting the teacher’s instruction—this is 100% the teacher’s fault and he/she needs more training.  From Salon.com

“Across the country, educators are rethinking their approach to school discipline in response to sky-high suspension rates that disproportionately affect black children. Some of the more common efforts aim to change student behavior or overhaul school protocols. A district might unilaterally ban suspensions for more subjective transgressions or adopt restorative justice practices designed to repair relationships when there’s been a rift. But a growing number of schools in the Bay Area and nationally are realizing that improving discipline is just as much about changing teacher behavior as changing student behavior.”

Meanwhile, liberals in California are busy patting themselves on the back because they are achieving fewer expulsions, even though student behavior, per se, has remained constant.  It’s just that the discipline handed out is much more lenient now, particularly for minority students. And this is legislated from the state capitol.  Essentially, like they’ve done for academic rigor, they have lowered the bar on school discipline, violence, and misbehavior so they can pat themselves on the back and claim “success” because fewer students, particularly minorities, are being expelled.  From the San Jose Mercury-News

“Impetus came from the state Legislature, which last year began limiting schools from suspending students for defiance. Suspensions for "willful defiance" dropped 28.9 percent from 2012-13, and expulsions for the same reason dropped 47.7 percent.  Previously, they accounted for the largest number of suspensions, and were associated with a large number of minority students' discipline.”

When Liberals (Democrat and/or Republican) squeeze this balloon on one side, it will expand on the other—they should know this.  When the politically correct educrats want a victory and sell out teachers, the good well-behaved kids, and parents to get it---this is not only reprehensible-it is dangerous. 

They wonder why fewer and fewer students are going into the field of education?

They wonder why some schools cannot be staffed?

It’s not a mystery.  Between careerist bureaucrats telling teachers they must endure verbal, physical, and emotional assaults from students that are violent, disruptive, and dangerous--- and parents and communities chastising them for being failures at educating and disciplining students from dysfunctional households—who would want that stress for the abysmal pay?

Teachers today have knives at their backs and knives in their face—they get it from both directions as they receive less support than ever from both administrators and parents.

We are engaging in this very thing here in our local schools in many instances and it is disgusting to me.   Telling the world that everything is fine in the schools when I hear from teachers, parents, and

$50K Minimum Wage for Florida Teachers??

That is what Florida State Senator Darren Soto wants.  From first Coast News:

"The bill filed by State Sen. Darren Soto (D), whose district covers Kissimmee, would prevent school districts from setting a minimum salary lower than $50,000 a year, though it would leave negotiating base pay with teachers unions up to each district.

Plus, it would require the state Department of Education to raise teachers' salaries each following year, based on inflation from the previous year."

Everyone wants teachers to be paid better, we can all agree on that.  The problem with this proposal is the universal fact that even though we have lots of needs and wants-- we can still only spend our money once, as Andreas Schleicher points out.  

Florida has staked out the priority of "small class sizes"  and that's where the money is being spent. To do that and also what Soto wants would strip the local districts of control, while simultaneously blowing up state and local budgets like a hot air dirigible.  I also find the language dictating that these teachers must be union members to be unsavory.  Why must they be union members?

Free Community College For All?

President Obama has announced an ambitious plan to offer free community college for America’s students, with a formula that calls for the Feds to pay 3/4 of the costs with the states picking up 1/4 of the expense.

While on the surface this may seem like a very worthwhile idea, It would be an absolute disaster if implemented.  It stands no chance to succeed if it is pursued—particularly with the new Congress that has just been seated.

Why not?

Because somebody has to pay, there is no free lunch, and right now-we’re broke, tapped out, strapped--that's why.  Worse yet, we’re leveraged.  So to pay for this sort of a scheme, either we borrow more money, or we raise taxes.  Both ideas that are reckless and irresponsible.  That’s number 1.

Number two is a simple axiom of truth:  When we add government money into institutions –the costs go up exponentially. 

Number three is if you give something away for free, it greatly diminishes the value of that “thing.”

Look at healthcare-the idea was to lower costs, but what is happening is we are keeping costs fixed and covering millions of new enrollees with massive government subsidies, and this “reform” is just in its infancy and already the costs are skyrocketing… 

Look at the post office attempting to compete with FEDEX and UPS for package delivery services, the USPS gets shellacked.  

Everyone knows the DoD stories of $500.00 toilet seats when similar (or better) can be bought at Home Depot for $19.99.  And the list goes on.

In education-just look at the meteoric rise in the costs ofpublic universities in just the last two decades as the government has feverishly doled out student loans to many who in reality have no business going to college.  Now there are $1.2Trillion in outstanding student loans that may not be collected -creating a new bubble that could threaten our fragile economy.

Government infusions of cash into education at the college level have made public, state school tuition rise to the point that many middle class students can barely afford the tuition.   Many can’t afford it, yet they are not eligible for sufficiently affordable student loans to cover the costs.  The middle class gets squeezed once again!

So no, excuse me if I do not enthusiastically support this ill-conceived initiative.  We can’t afford it, it will only add to our historic debt, and possibly worst of all- it will entice even more students who are unprepared and in reality need to directly enter the work-force-to attend college.  Not everybody needs to go to college, and not everybody is equipped mentally or academically to be successful in 

Board Discussion on Warrington Middle School Contract--Stay the Course Is the Message

As I said I would do, I brought the contract for professional development, coaching, and support that was approved last month for Warrington Middle School back to the board this month for a discussion among the full board.

The contract was approved last month with two board members not present for the discussion.

I laid out the argument for pulling back the contract and taking a different approach, however all of my fellow board members and the Superintendent support going ahead with the contract as written, convinced it is the right support for Warrington Middle School.  They all voiced this strongly at the meeting.

The board based their decision to support this strategy on the strong recommendation of the incoming principal, who has stated she feels this support is essential to making the school successful.  Additionally, some of the board members have met with the personnel from this vendor and feel they will be successful.

So after hearing from the board members and realizing I was the only one with continuing reservations about this tactic at Warrington, I ended the discussion on the topic.

I can count to three and there are no shortages of other issues to move on to....

Chris, You Don't Get It

In response to the viewpoint from Christopher J. Lewis in today's PNJ....

Chris,

So your magic bullet to make it all better in Escambia County Schools is to make school board districts “at large”?  Really? Didn’t you think “at-large” council seats were the solution for the Pensacola City Council?  What happened there, Chris?  Never mind.

Let’s see what your idea would do to our schools.  First, in violation of a standing court ruling from the civil rights era, it would potentially eliminate the minority representation for district three.  Poof, gone, and we’d be in violation.  Guess you did not think of that unintended consequence, right Chris?

Secondly, in case you didn’t know this, we do represent the community county-wide, we are simply elected by geographical districts, in order to minimize the influence of the politically savvy and wealthy concentrated in some areas of town.  You see Chris, geographical representation is a balance to outside influence.  What does this mean?  Let me dot-connect for you.   It means I can walk neighborhoods and visit Thousands of households going door to door in my campaigns to target my message inexpensively in my district (which I have done on multiple occasions)—neutralizing, to a large degree, any outside money, influence, and power.  So your proposal actually takes power away from voters and candidates at the grass-roots-which seems counter to what you appear to believe in based upon your writings.  Paradoxical.

But, back to the response to Peacock’s article—I stand by every word of it, because it is accurate.  Chris, I understand from scanning your lengthy and rambling screeds that you see the world through rose-colored glasses instead of dealing with reality.  Folks like you that are naïve and glib on many

Warrington Middle School Town Hall: Parents a No-Show

Tonight a town-hall meeting was held at Warrington Middle School to address issues at the school with respect to student achievement.  Although the school has a student population of around 650---Only 12 parents (12) bothered to show up for tonight's meeting.  We heard a variety of opinions about why the vast majority of the parents were a no-show, including a lack of transportation.  We also heard that "some" were at work at their second jobs.  I wonder how many parents from Warrington are actually "at-home" parents, who do not work?  Wonder why they blew-off this meeting??  For those parents that were there--KUDOS to you!! For all the rest who were not at work or predisposed with something major----congratulations, you are a huge part of the problem at Warrington.  I cannot imagine ANYONE blaming administrators, staff, school board members, or anyone else for that matter--if these same blamers could not be bothered enough to attend this meeting tonight.  At this meeting, any parent that felt that things are not right could have voiced this opinion for all the district to see--including every member of the school board--as all five of us were there.  But these folks were a huge no-show! For the large contingent of teacher/staff from Warrington that stayed for the meeting--KUDOS to you.  You (teachers) did not deserve the cheap shot the local paper took at you in last Sunday's edition, and you certainly do not deserve to be beat up for an issue that, at Warrington MS in particular, is entirely a PARENT/COMMUNITY problem!

Al;though the tenor of the meeting was positive overall--I certainly wish PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY could have been discussed and highlighted;  A lack of prioritizing PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY and GOOD CHOICES IN LIFE is what has led to the HUGE issues at Warrington MS, not a "lack of programs or resources....."

Matt Damon Says "We Don't Need No Stinkin' Testing!"

An alleged cheating scandal in Washington D.C., and the recent, actual cheating scandal in Atlanta have opponents of accountability and reform lined up to decry the use of student assessment exams to measure teacher effectiveness.   These guardians of the status quo are out in force, and have now deftly hijacked the student examination “process”.   These folks now deridingly refer to the common practice of examining students for skills mastery assessment as “high stakes testing” “dumbing down education”, or “teaching to the test”.  Somehow, this group has managed to make “testing” a dirty word.  Grasping at straws to defile the practice of student testing further, many of this mindset argue that the utilization of test data for teacher evaluations will lead to more cheating in more school districts. 

Funny how all this fear-mongering anger is just now coming to the surface, though.   Standardized testing has been performed in America  for decades, and for all this time as the resultant data showed that our students were learning less and less compared to their peers in other nations (even as public school expenditures were rising exponentially), nobody thought testing was so bad.  But nothing was changing, American education policy was stuck in the mud, more money was being spent, yet we were still falling behind countries like China.

So “A Nation at Risk” came along in the 1980s, and in 2002 Ted Kennedy’s No Child Left Behind was enacted.  And now, in 2011,