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Friday, February 18, 2011

First Goldie Hawn... now Miley Cyrus and Justin Bieber are coming to ACPS?

Take a moment to read the following three paragraphs...PLEASE!  There is a common thread running through the three-- the future of education in our public schools.  In particular, each of the three is speaking to the notion that a new, radically different course must be charted if we are to close the "achievement gap" in education.  If you are interested, Michael Winerip has written an outstanding piece, highlighting Harvard professor Ronald Ferguson in the February 13th edition of the New York Times.  He is one smart guy.  And it is easy to be sold on his vision as the panacea to what ails ACPS.  But before you fall in love with Ferguson and the 21st century, take time to read Jay Mathews in today's Washington Post, I've excerpted it below.  His conclusion that this is all "dreamy nonsense" is spot on.
Look, it's not only okay to have these discussions about touchy subjects such as race and poverty and how they relate to intellectual development and how they shape debate about education, it's not just okay--it's essential.  But, when school systems adopt the vision and say, "That's the answer!"  We're in trouble.  As Jay Mathews also writes, "That leaves us with the idea of a new social contract to make this all work.  It is a lovely thought.  We can dream. But it isn't going to happen.  Their European examples sound good, but they don't address negative trends like the demonstrations in France last fall."  (By the way and speaking of demonstrations, did anyone else feel like we were missing something the last couple of weeks by not airing and discussing, at school the Egyptian uprising and its import to the very future of our planet?  I dared not switch on the TV even for an hour at TC.)  But I digress.  ACPS not only fails to look critically and skeptically and yet another cure all for what ails us, we buy the whole damn thing!  And just as our superintendent loves to rub elbows and eat out with Goldie Hawn and the beautiful people, he evaluates these visionaries as if they are Miley Cyrus and Justin Bieber.  We don't need no stinkin' rock stars!  Yvonne Folkerts is letting us all know that we are going the very 21st Century route that Mathews warns us about.  In fact, the talk at Central Office is that the pursuit of a new curriculum that will replace all we've ever known, to date, will be a three year process and will guarantee that Sherman and his friends will be around for at least that long.

So, call it yellow journalism, portray it as a grudge by Voltaire but this is a wake up call. We, as a city, are about to expend enormous resources on this new model.  Thousands of teacher hours will be spent training to implement it, millions of dollars will be spent to implement it.  Many fine educators will leave because of it, morale will suffer along with it, great teaching models will be replaced by it and we will be the poorer for it.


Jay Mathews, Washington Post

Posted at 5:00 AM ET, 02/18/2011

Smart people + big report = dreamy nonsense

I had high hopes for the latest high-profile plan to save our schools. "Pathways To Prosperity: Meeting the Challenge of Preparing Young Americans for the 21st Century" has 63 contributors, including some of the smartest people in education. The project that produced the report is based at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and led by two of its brightest luminaries, academic dean Robert B. Schwartz and senior lecturer Ronald Ferguson. Those familiar with the sad history of similarly ambitious reports have already detected the signs of impending disappointment. The reference to 2lst century education is troubling. People who use that term tend to start talking gibberish, without intending to.
Yvonne Folkerts, ACPS School Board
During the retreat, Board members were given a handbook written by ACPS staff titled, “Literacy Framework:  Research-based Best Practices for Promoting 21st Century Literacy.”  This is a big title for an even bigger task:  providing our teachers and administrators with strategies to promote all students’ literacy development. The book is available online (yes, even parents can access it!) and gives teachers information about how to assess a student’s literacy across all curricula, how to use strategies to improve a student’s reading comprehension, how to use questions and thereby encourage students’ critical thinking skills, how to improve a student’s writing, and more. A second handbook will be issued later this year for math literacy. That handbook will arm teachers with strategies to incorporate math across the board into all subjects a student is studying.





Mort Sherman, Superintendent, ACPS
Morton Sherman, the Alexandria school superintendent, watched him (Ronald Ferguson) defuse the anger at a meeting of 300 people. “He talks about these things in a professorial way, a kind way,” Dr. Sherman said. “It’s not about him. He doesn’t try to be a rock star, although he is a rock star in this field.”

"You're a bitter man," said Candide.
"That's because I've lived," said Martin.
— Voltaire (Candide)


50 comments:

  1. The voting public in DC saw through this type of smokescreen and ran it out on a rail. The same needs to occur here.

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  2. Take a look who is on the Literacy Framework cover. I think that says it all. What a shameless self-promoter.

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  3. On the ACPS site, mousing over one of the photos (reading literacy) says "Teachers preparing for class" and the next identical photo more accurately "Superintendent reading to class". And there he is again reading to the class under his message. Is it possible to go beyond self-promotion?

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  4. I'm sure a lot of you have seen this already. It sums up what is going on in ACPS perfectly.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVXhA_hs2J8&feature=youtube_gdata_player

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  5. Has everyone read about the compromise the EAA made with Mort? Check out eaavea.blogspot.com
    What a disgrace!

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  6. What does "yellow journalism" mean? The term was derived, through a series of peculiar circumstances, from a cartoon by the famous 19th century cartoonist, Robert Outcault called "The Yellow Kid" (see second from top). The cartoon was first published in The World, until Hearst hired him away to produce the strip in his newspaper. Pulitzer then hired another artist to produce the same strip in his newspaper. This comic strip happened to use a new special, non-smear yellow ink, and because of the significance of the comic strip, the term "yellow journalism" was coined by critics.

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  7. Dear Voltaire, While I don't agree with everything on this blogsite, I also know that it is not yellow journalism. As a former high school journalism teacher, I know the difference between a forum of this type and a daily newspaper. I don't blame anyone for choosing anonymity. We are scared to death to speak up at Cora Kelly.

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  8. Interesting how Sherman says he ignores "yellow journalism" yet among his calls for courage of conviction to speak out publicly he fails to explain how his words ended up in a local letter to the editor verbatim. Oh, and the letter to the editor was not addressed from Mort Sherman. It was from the PR consultant he hired, Alan Hilburg, who also failed to note in that same letter that he was a paid consultant for ACPS. Now that doesn't sound too courageous to me. And what ever happened with that PR consultant who we shelled $12,000 a month to? What slogan or brand did we get for our coin? What did we learn from the survey results put together by the PR consultant? Is this hiring decision paying out several times over as it was first reported it would by the Washington Post back in December? It is these types of decisions which should give all, not just the writers of this blog, cause for concern. Write the City Council and demand to know how the school system is spending our money and why.

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  9. I do not understand how everyone can complain so loudly about the solutions that are being offered, but were painfully silence for all the years the system failed. No one said a word when we hid behind meaningless banners of success plastered on the outside of ACPS schools while year after year the kids on the inside were failing. Apply for the Sup's job, lead, follow, or just please get out of the way!

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  10. Lead, follow or get out of the way...there's a trite slogan we can believe in!

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  11. Apply for the Sup's job???? A thousand men, mutants and just plain Joes stand ready...
    Unfortunately, that's not the way it works. And do you know who selects the Sup if the job ever comes up again? That's right, the seven dwarfs plus two!

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  12. This is the best blog EVER!! I love 99% of the comments and the humor!

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  13. First off, it is painfully silent, not "painfully silence." Secondly, no one has ever been hiding behind banners. In fact, most teachers were against such things for they had absolutely nothing to do with learning or improving learning for children. And thirdly, what solutions? Where is there one iota of evidence that all of the changes made within ACPS, from STAR, to HOM, to AVID, to IAPs, to labeling kids "at promise," to Lucy Caulkins, to the current coaching model, to Skillful Teacher, to ______ (you fill it in) are effective for the students and teachers within ACPS? Listen to the "solutions" being presented, I mean truly listen. They are gimmicky, silver bullet riddled, catch-phrase peppered, repackaged manure which have been sold to various schools within our system before and are now being pitched district wide. I am all for following someone who is leading the way when it comes to encouraging learning within children. When it comes to referring to children as numbers and subgroups, implementing educational programs based on social and/or political fads, and perverting the true meaning of dialog and collaboration, get out of my way and get out of education.

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  14. Perhaps the finest comment, to date.

    Thank you for posting this.

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  15. The solution to some of the problems is proper staffing. That means ENOUGH teachers to teach the kids. Enough resource teachers to have enough time to do interventions and help lift up struggling students. Enough reading teachers in every elementary school to make sure all elementary students are reading on level so no child is missed. Being able to read is the key to continued learning.
    According to Ms Folkerts and Dr. Sherman it is time with teachers that the children of ACPS need. Well then, give them the teachers to have the time with. Stop wasting money on one initiative after another and put the funding into staffing. After all without proper staffing any program is meaningless. You need a teacher to teach the children.

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  16. As an active parent I will soon participate in a discussion about Skillful Teacher/Skillful Leader which will be summarized and shared with the School Board and Dr. Sherman. I would love to hear thoughts from anyone who has participated in the program so that I can bring better informed questions to the discussion. Anonymous is fine by me.

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  17. Correct my spelling errors all you like, but at the end of the day, this school district has not met it's responsibilities. Too many children failed long before Sup Sherman came on board. Where was this site under Perry or the previous administrations? Where was the outrage? Who spoke out? You were silent. Speaking now says your voice is only heard when it directly impacts you and because you don't like the change now you can speak.
    Real change takes time and a willingness to change. Too many are unwilling to change and too many seem to want change overnight. Stand your ground fight against what is being offered, resist long enough to kill anything that is offered. Your resistance is not anonymous, the kids and the parents see it everyday. Which communicates that nothing is going to work, because resistors won't allow it too.

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  18. Okay, i'll take you up on the offer to correct your spelling/grammatical errors. But let me first remark that I have no idea what your point is. How do you know when anyone came on board? How is being late to the conversation worse than acquiescence?

    On to the spelling...
    its responsibilities, not it's-not a contraction but a possessive.
    Resistors are electronic components.
    Grammar-Stand your ground.
    Your resistance is not anonymous.
    Which communicates that nothing going to work...fragment--one dependent clause joined to another dependent clause

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  19. Thanks, perhaps you might be one of the great English teachers employed by ACPS good for you. You are right, I have no idea when anyone came on board, but I do know as an ACPS parent for the last 14 years, the "voices of concern" are louder than they have ever been. If you all have been here that long, what have you done? How has your voice been heard? What impact have you had? Perry must have been a saint in your eyes and a very effective leader. If you're new to the party, fighting everything just isn't helping anyone. If you are new, can you accept that the problem is a not new one, and you might not have all the answers either? Still interested in knowing how absolute resistance helps the students you are so qualified to teach. As long as you correct their spelling, even with a bad attitude, they will be fine, right?

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  20. I don't think it is an unwillingness to change. Teachers are flexible by nature. They have to change constantly. On a daily basis a teacher makes something like 1200 decisions. A teacher has to change and redirect constantly. They are always trying something new, a different approach to make content interesting and engaging. A teacher realizes when something doesn't click and will reassess mid stream so that children can get it. Teachers take classes and read books all the time to learn new ways to enhance and enrich. So don't argue an unwillingness to change.

    I think it is an unwillingness to be lead by a tyrant, a dictator. To be made to feel daily like less than nothing, unworthy. Leading by intimidation never nets positive results. He set the tone when he told all of his employees,"If we didn't like it, we could buy a ticket to Fairfax." If the teachers of ACPS treated the children the way Mr. Sherman treats his employees they would no longer be in a classroom teaching children.

    We are asking the questions that the School Board should have asked but didn't. They have, by their own admission, given permission to proceed without any knowledge or understanding of what they are approving or how these programs will change the achievement or if there is any proof that they will. Apparently, the Board works for Sherman not the other way around.

    I'm not sure that there is a big mystery to having a successful school system since we are neighbors with a school system that consistently has nationally ranked high schools. Maybe Mr. Sherman and all of the teachers should go train in Arlington. Adopt what they are doing and move Alexandria in that direction instead of doing the same things that Mr. Sherman tried in every system he has been in before and failed. To quote what Mr. Sherman has said at PTA meetings, "What is the definition of insanity? To do the same thing and expect a different result." Perhaps, Mr. Sherman is the one that is unwilling to change.

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  21. So the problem is Sherman and if he wasn't here the problem would go away? Don't you think a shake-up is necessary to get something to move? I don't agree with everything Sherman is doing, but it is better than the nothing that was happening before. This system has been in denial for a very long time, and now it's time to pay up. Yes it is harsh to say "buy a ticket to Fairfax" but what is the alternative? Congratulate everyone for doing such a great job while kids continue to fail? The stalemate between the Sup and the teachers doesn't move anything forward.

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  22. The problem is making change for the sake of change and having nothing to show for it. Whether it is under Sherman, or any other "reformer" of education, there should be measurable initiatives put into place to show progress. Sherman constantly refers to things as "immeasurable." Why do you think that is? A stalemate does not move anything forward, but it does prevent failing initiatives and wasteful spending from continuing to take place within ACPS and elsewhere.

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  23. and kids continue to fail....that is measurable and it is growing.

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  24. You are blaming the teachers??? Seriously, the problem with all of this is their voices are never heard. The children are more than statistics and so are the teachers.
    If you are such a concerned citizen, where have you been for ALL these years?? What have you done???? What solutions have you offered??

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  25. I did not blame the teaches, I asked where were they when the kids were failing before Sherman got here. There is enough blame to go around. I've served actively on PTAs, I've spoken out when previous administrations and school boards told everyone all is well, while the division failed to meet AYP and students failed. I've also spoken out against some of the strategies of this current administration. But most importantly, I'm engaged with my own kids and their teachers to ensure my kids get the best ACPS has to offer. (And yes, I do know some great ACPS teachers and I've challenged them to speak up for the last 14 years, few have). In doing all that I didn't see the Underground rage against the nothing that was happening before. Many parents stood alone while our teachers were silent. The system didn't get to where it is in the 3 years Sherman has been here. I'm simply trying to understand what point the teachers are making. It seems all they are saying is "we don't like our current boss, leave us alone, let us do what we've always done. That is what is sounds like to me.

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  26. Did you not read beyond this post? Do you not read the other comments? Voltaire has proposed a very positive, forward looking approach. Or, perhaps it's because Sherman is not part of the equation at nearly $300k a year.

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  27. Yes, I've read many of the other comments. Exactly how does Voltaire propose to implement proposals from behind an underground machine? Whatever, it's a free country, go ahead, pursue your cause your own way. I wish you success if you are truly interested in the best interests of students, I'm just not convinced from what has been posted that is truly the case. The Sup's salary bothers you? So resisting his programs will hopefully get him fired, and you think that the next Sup will be more to your liking, making the salary okay? Perry made a nice salary as well- and bad teachers still get paid. Oh yeah, I forgot, there is no such being as a bad teacher.

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  28. How are the current changes taking place within ACPS beneficial to the students? That is the question which should be addressed and not this petty "where were you then?" or "do you like your boss?" business. What has been rolled out over the past two and a half years is proposal after proposal, ill-conceived initiative after ill-implemented initiative, one program run by friends of the Superintendent after another program run by friends of the Superintendent.

    What do we have to show for it? How are the multitude of programs put into our schools being measured to determine their effectiveness? What is the true cost of implementing these changes and is there a true benefit to that cost? The lack of answers to those questions is part of the concern raised on this blog, and should be raised at PTA meetings and in emails to the School Board.

    If all we hope to achieve is a checklist of initiatives ACPS has put into place to address student achievement, well, that has been done. But what is there beyond this list?

    Enough with the snide comments and blame to go around. Ask the questions and see what type of responses you get. I'll bet it will be hard to keep the responses linear as you slowly watch them just roll into circles filled with hollow education buzzwords and meaningless acronyms.

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  29. ACPS did not get to where it is today in the two and a half years since Sherman came to town. What was happening before Sherman's tenure is relevant.

    What was the baseline when he started and has it moved in a positive direction? Yes we should measure, but we should measure based on the conditions that were present before he started. Those conditions have improved some, in my view. Is it enough? It doesn't appear to be for many people. Is there much more to do? Yes. I just don't agree with the view that ACPS went to Hell when Sherman showed up. It was already there.

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  30. How would you create baseline data for an ever changing student population? The method you seem to propose would be the value-added method which has been debunked by many (not just within academia) as being a invalid and unreliable measurement.

    Also, what do the numbers actually show you? And at what point do the SOL scores no longer reflect initiatives from previous Superintendents and start reflecting current initiatives? Are the "improvements" (SOL scores) you see due in part to programs from the age of Perry and before?

    Go beyond the SOL number crunching and examine what is taking place at this moment and judge the "improvements" for yourself. Within ACPS now, progress is measured by the number of students enrolled in a course, regardless of their performance or the course's academic appropriateness. This started under Sherman's tenure. Within ACPS now, progress is pointing to a litany of programs regardless of their effectiveness. This started under Sherman's tenure. Within ACPS now, progress is adding minutes to the day or days to the year regardless of research indicating additional time as an ineffective way of addressing student needs. This started under Sherman's tenure. Within ACPS now, progress is dividing two middle schools into five, regardless of the effectiveness or rationale. This started under Sherman's tenure. Within ACPS now, money is being siphoned away from classrooms and into the pockets of associates of the Superintendent. This started under Sherman's tenure. Within ACPS now, a grading and attendance computer system which worked, has been replaced by one which repeatedly fails. This started under Sherman's tenure. Within ACPS now, a math and literacy coaching model has been implemented which actually limits availability of reading and math coaches for students and teachers and goes against all research on the subject. This started under Sherman's tenure. Within ACPS now, students at risk of failing are now referred to as "at promise." This started under Sherman's tenure. Within ACPS now, guidance counselors, who once met with students to guide them into appropriate classes, mediate disagreements or teen concerns, and mentor at risk students, have been turned into clerks and record keepers of IAPs. This started under Sherman's tenure. Within ACPS now, $12,000 a month is spent on a PR consultant to "brand" ACPS with absolutely nothing to show for the enormous cost, time, and use of resources. This started under Sherman's tenure. Within ACPS now, teachers are spending outrageous amounts of time out of the classroom to attend mandated "professional development" for programs run by FRIENDS OF THE SUPERINTENDENT. This started under Sherman's tenure. Shall we continue?

    Teachers see the approaching tsunami and are raising the red flags as fast as they can in the face of all of this worthless diddly-squat. If ACPS were already in the depths of the Underworld, as you so matter-of-factly state, I am not sure the Sirens songs of the Superintendent's Songsters or the special appearances by celebrities of eras past, are going to pull us out of the lake of fire and brimstone which is our public school system. We traded a Superintendent drunk on wine from Theismanns for a Superintendent drunk of celebrity and self-promotion. Alexandria can and should do better.

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  31. I can only speak from the naive, ignorant viewpoint of a parent - I know it is ignorant because Dr. Sherman and his acolytes have made this clear to me on a number of occasions - but when I ask for the data supporting these new programs as 'evidence-based' a la the strategic plan, I am simply told that studies have shown the efficacy of 'similar' approaches. Not these programs, but similar ones for which people other than his consultant buddies were getting big checks. I bet the big ACPS checks make the work of his buddies feel lots more efficacious!

    I know from direct observation that teachers seemed to have the flexibility to deal with issues of concern to the progress of my students on an individual basis pre-Sherman. Post Sherman I began getting strained responses in team conferences in front of the principal, followed by apologies in one-on-one conversations with the teachers. They said their hands were tied and they could not change anything that was not in lockstep with the program du jour.

    Perhaps it is naive for me to believe that the decline over the past two years in my children's classroom engagement, curricular rigor and general contentment with school has something to do with the current administration and Board? I know the Supt. proudly touts in his newsletter the achievements of star ACPS students in non-ACPS activities as if ACPS were responsible. Where are the successes for which he can truly claim credit? I mean aside from citing the number of hours teachers have spent in training arranged by his consultants.

    I am staying the course for now because I have great faith in the teachers we will meet at T.C. But please do let me know before it's too late if I need to stop tilting at Sherman's windmills and move on!

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  32. I'm a parent too. Perry ignored parents like me, now Sherman is ignoring parents like you. For me, getting the PLA label is an improvement, ACPS can no longer cook the books and tap dance itself away from the truth. It's failing too many kids, and that is not new. If it takes a Sup who hangs out with Goldie to get people talking, so be it, now can they be as outraged about the failing scores that have been around a lot longer? If everything he's done is so bad and everything done before is better and students fail at the same rate, what difference does it make? Also, I like that kids can enroll in classes they haven't been able to take before. It worked for my student, the teacher engaged and it was very successful. Many of the guidance counselors weren't doing much of anything before, I like professional development too-it helps people to see that may not know all the answers all of the time. I don't like the implication that Sherman's friends are getting rich at our expense and I don't like the additional time without pay, I don't like the changes in math and reading if they are not working. I do like that this Sup has pushed people out of their comfort zones and I do like that the previous status quo has been challenged.

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  33. Just why did T.C. get the PLA label? It was because Alexandria decided to take the money. All in the interest of a buck. Sherman was here for two years before the PLA label was bestowed upon T.C. In those two years was T.C. "achieving" based on SOL results? Nope. So what was done for those two years before the federal government's coin was dangled in front of ACPS? Wasn't that the reason Sherman was brought in to ACPS, to address the middle school and high school deficiencies?

    And if you think ACPS isn't tap dancing around things now, well you had better start attending the beginning of the year ACPS Convocation Extravaganza. You will know you are there when you see the YouTube videos presenting made up facts on Chinese schools and professionals made to sing and dance to the amusement of the Superintendent and the amazement of colleagues.

    Our money is being thrown at this program and that program with nothing to show for it. If there were numbers, besides inflated class rosters, to show achievement wouldn't it be out in the open for all to see? You can sure bet Ole Mort would be on channel 71 talking up this SOL increase and that SOL increase. But no, that is not the case. Instead we have made up labels for kids, added time to schedules, and have become nothing more than ventriloquist dummies in so called "courageous conversations." (Anyone ever exhibiting real courage should be offended by this nonsensical butchering of language and perversion of actual communication.)

    What is happening in ACPS has nothing to do with professionalism and nothing to do with development. So let's move away from jumping on the "professional development" bandwagon. Rather than making assumptions or saying what you think teachers should do (having never taught a day in a classroom), actually ask a teacher this question: "was the time spent away from your students worth it?" See what their response is. Be forewarned, you will hear a lot of talking, and it isn't for the better.

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  34. That's one way of looking at it, another is Perry was fired because of middle school and high school deficiencies. She never took the money because the pretense that all was well was worth more than acknowledging the real problem. Not taking the money didn't mean ACPS hadn't earn the PLA label, it just meant they didn't want anyone to know and did not want to be accountable for fixing the problem. This Sup took the money, and also brought the issue of failing students out of the shadows. That is still an achievement. The problem has to at least be acknowledged. I don't believe 2 years is enough time to really judge improvement, particularly given the level of resistance. So teachers sing and dance? So what? Maybe more need to lighten up just a bit and try something new. By the way, based on recent news reports, everyone isn't happy about Arlington Public Schools either. ACPS isn't the only system where the Sup is not fully supported. Michelle Rhee just got asked to leave, maybe it's the water in the region?

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  35. To Anonymous 8:17 AM
    What "kind" of parent are you? How do classify yourself? How do you classify the other parents? Are you a teacher? How much time have you spent in the classroom teaching?
    Are you the parent that expects the world to bend to you and your child regardless of ability,behavior or interest. Is your child, in a class that is above their capabilities (not necessarily because he/she lacks the brains but because he/she lacks the background knowledge,drive or desire that would have had placed him/her there without a change in policy) and instead of having your child do what it takes to rise to the rest of the class's abilities do you complain until the material is brought to your child's level? Thus, leaving the other students to do less engaging work that would challenge and push them. Or do you expect the teacher to work one on one with your child out of class to catch him/her up and keep them from completely failing. (Nothing like a free tutor) Would you of course never hear of pulling your child from the class if they weren't making the grade and moved to a class where they would be successful without frustration? No, you would probably just complain to the principal or Central Office about how unfairly your child has been treated.

    As a parent, what do you know about academic professional development or the programs that the teachers are being professionally developed in?? What do you know about these program's content or bottom line curricular effectiveness? Do you know how or if any of these programs have been proven to raise scores and stop failure? I am sure that there is not a teacher out there that thinks they know all the answers all the time. But you do right?? Look what you know about the issues within the school system.

    A self-serving, publicity hound is not the answer to ACPS's problems. It is just taking things from bad to worse. Ask Sherman how many schools have made AYP since he has taken over. Ask him why middle schools are much worse now than before he came even though, according to Ms. Folkerts, middle school improvement was to be his specific concentration. There is no cause for celebration or compliments here. This is nothing but a lose/lose situation occurring. But you must already know that since you know everything all the time.

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  36. I don't agree with you. I don't agree it's a lose/lose situation. I believe that there has been improvement. I am a parent. My child goes to public school, I have a right to express my opinion and I don't have to answer your "what kind of parent are you survey". If you don't agree with me, that's fine, it's a free country, feel free. I am content not to agree with you as well, and I don't need to know what kind of parent and or teacher you are, you just let me know, your mind is closed-that's all I need to know.

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  37. Since you claim there is improvement, show me the improvement. Please give examples which go beyond federal, state, or locally made up labels. Go beyond SOL scores which fluctuate from year to year or can be skewed with some data tweaking. Go beyond enrollment numbers in AP and/or Algebra courses. Give some concrete examples of improvement in student learning due to the myriad of programs implemented under the good Dr. or as a result of the circular conversations held within the echo chamber created within ACPS. Is it close-minded to seek truth over fantasy?

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  38. You don't want me to show you anything, you only want to see what you believe you already know. The indicators you just discounted are the very indicators used to determine the PLA label in the first place. Show you "Improvement beyond enrollment numbers in AP and/or Algebra courses"-Why? Don't you believe it is an improvement to increase enrollment in those classes? One more student that succeeds in those classes is a success or don't you think so?

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  39. I'm glad this is the ACPS Underground. Please stay there.

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  40. Show me the success. What you point to is quantity, not quality. Increasing numbers in a course, regardless of student performance is not progress. If that is your measure of progress, we are all in trouble. And I do want you to show me the improvements, so please do.

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  41. I did and you missed it. Increased enrollment in classes that some students were not allowed to take is an improvement. Many of those students, including my own have earned high grades in those classes. That is an improvement!

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  42. Are you aware of the recent changes to the grading scale? 40% for zero work turned in and F's changed to I's. As such, grades have increased for all students. This is not progress, it is number manipulation. Come on, find some real improvement to learning. Surely you can cite something beyond just padded class numbers and inflated grades.

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  43. If you are a teacher, it is teachers like you that refuse to see that one size does not fit all and that instruction can and should adjust. There is no use trying to have a conversation with you. Go ahead and kill all progress that might not be packaged the way you'd like and I'll just keep praying my student doesn't land in your class.

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  44. So simply placing students into a course, regardless of appropriateness or success, is differentiating the instruction of students? Awarding grades students have not earned is best practices for student learning? Asking questions and not accepting myth for fact is somehow killing progress?

    And just what is the progress? Since you are all about the numbers, the middle school model did not resort in any of the "5" schools making AYP. The increase in algebra and AP students did not result in T.C. or any of the middle schools making AYP.

    How is the academic rigor of courses impacted when they are opened to all and stuffed with students who may not be able to do the work? Should they still be considered "Advanced Placement" or abstract math courses, or have they essentially become remedial courses, challenging in name only? How are these courses benefiting the students who have been placed within them and are failing because the course is an inappropriate fit?

    These are the questions and realities which are ignored within ACPS in order to present "progress" that people like you nod in approval of and cheerily spout "look what they do for us." It is not my fault that the progress you cite is flawed and the argument you pose is muddled.

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  45. You know not of which you speak, ignore questions and facts, and enter into circular and illogical reasoning. And, as a result of your weak and muddled stance, resort to attack. Shame on you.

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  46. I'll gladly answer the question: What sort of parent am I ?

    1. I am well-educated enough to understand what 'evidence-based' is supposed to mean when accurately applied vis-a-vis scientifically conducted studies of program efficacy.

    2. I am active enough to have participated in the Strategic Plan working group. I know the Supt. is supposed to hold new programs up to the 'evidence-based' standard according the Strategic Plan. Because the Supt. will not supply any such evidence when asked, it seems likely that he is failing to meet this standard. If I'm wrong, then by all means show me the data. Heaven knows the Supt. tells the Board often enough that his hands are tied by the Strategic Plan when he wants something from them.

    3. I know my limitations. I am not a professionally trained teacher. Ironic to applaud 'professional development' on the one hand and then claim 'right to ill-informed opinion' on the other. When discussing the realities of teaching in ACPS today, I try to avoid generalities and speak only of my own experience with our teachers. When I spend time in a the classroom of a teacher or discuss my child with them in conference, I can certainly make some observations. When a truly successful teacher is a dynamo for one child's class, then three years later is constantly hamstrung by new policies and her classroom is transformed in ways that she herself says are detrimental to the students, I find this persuasive. (Fairfax is lucky to have her, by the way.)

    4. When anonymous parent says his/her child can take more classes now: Do you perhaps refer to open enrollment honors? As someone who wishes to be taken seriously, I am sure you did your homework and know that the open-enrollment initiative was Perry's, right? It started at T.C. and was being rolled down gradually at a pace intended to allow teachers and students time to adjust successfully . The current Board and administration accelerated the time-table by two years. The middle schools were forced to switch within a few months with hurried planning and preparation. Funny the same Board then selected a new Supt. who introduces most programs this way!

    Speaking of pace ... anonymous parent hopefully is not referring to the array of enrichment course his/her child will be offered in the middle schools. Let's just say that whole PACE thing didn't really work out so much. I guess that wasn't in the newsreel.

    5. Among my limitations is my lack of training in human brain development. Sure, I can look at those cool MRI scans that show which areas of the brain light up at which ages in general, and I can read the studies showing that the part of the brain that lights up during abstract problem solving doesn't light up until around puberty for most kids. I can only imagine how hard it would be to learn Algebra if that part of my brain wasn't kicking in yet! Math teachers used to have the discretion to give this question serious thought before referring a student for early Algebra placement. It sure seems like awfully lucky timing to me that so many ACPS students hit this developmental milestone all at once just when the Supt. needed to hit a poorly conceived Algebra placement goal. (A hearty shout of to the one Board member who said that successful mastery of Algebra should be the benchmark, rather than enrollment.)

    6. Finally, I am a parent who is sick to death of the parents who tell me to be patient, blindly trust in the Supt. and stop asking annoying questions, because implicit in that request is their urging to stop trusting our teachers. Sure, we all have had an experience with a teacher or two who did not quite cut it. But I have been an ACPS parent long enough to say those teachers are few and far between. My children are the wonderful little people they are today in part because of the hard work of some wonderful ACPS teachers, counselors and administrators. And when they tell me face to face that things are going badly, I believe them.

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  47. Ms. Quixote- Anonymous parent here. Since everyone else except you is keeping their identity secret, I just wanted to be sure to identify myself.

    "Awful lucky timing" may be how you see it, but for many parents, it is long overdue. Some of our kids didn't get the opportunity when they were ready and the enrollment that is happening now, is very lucky for many students who are successfully mastering Algebra now that they have been given a chance to get in the door. Truth is not every teacher can see the potential and the open enrollment allows for the teacher to a part of, but not the only factor in deciding who is ready.

    How is it that you seem confident that your experience is the rule and not the exception? I like you have been an ACPS parent long enough to have worked with wonderful ACPS staff across the board, I've also experienced a lot more than a few that were not and they were not as far between as you have encountered. Our experiences have clearly been different, which is why I see the present efforts to Transform as a welcomed change and I am willing to allow some time to pursue the change before dismissing it right out. As a Division ACPS has never made AYP. If that wasn't the case, my position would be different, but when the facts are students are failing and have been failing for a long time, I am willing to allow time for changes to take hold. Two and a half years just isn't enough time to declare failure.

    How are you able to determine that my opinion is "ill informed"? How do you know? You're right Perry started open honors enrollment, which was a plus for her, and I recall that many, maybe not you, objected to that approach. Look how long it has taken to demonstrate progress that can be measured? How come so many people are not willing to wait for Sherman's proposals to take root?

    AP has always been an exclusive club that the open honors enrollment is helping to open up. Working to mastery and differentiation is also helping to cast a wider net. As a parent I know the success my student has had in AP when the status quo did not support the placement. My student did well in the class and passed the AP Exam. So for me it has been very successful.

    When the very good teachers I've worked with tell me face to face that many of their co-workers are blindly ignoring and resisting the current policies and how that attitude is hurting the students, I believe them.

    I'm not wishing for anything by participating in a anonymous blog, I'm expressing my opinion. I'm assuming though, I could be wrong, that the other participants on this blog are adults and can surely understand the concept that everyone does not have to agree with you in order to discuss a topic of concern.

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  48. Anonymous said...
    "I'm glad this is the ACPS Underground. Please stay there."
    February 25, 2011 1:23 AM

    Au Contraire: Bravo to Voltaire and for this blog and for such freedom of opinion being expressed.

    One suggestion: let the light shine bright and rename yourselves to ACPS AboveGround. The time is ripe for open discussion in Alexandria separate from what we see and read by our School Board and Super and other mainstream ACPS support groups.

    With great admiration for getting to the meat of the issues, and as a parental stakeholder,

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