We have learned from an inside source (see comments to Disclaimer) that ACPS will soon block this blog. A shame that the first amendment stops at ACPS Administration's doors. We understand that not all of you want to receive emails related to this site...delete them. As teachers, we receive solicitations for all sorts of unwanted products and services in our email. Heck, most of the 'true ACPS' mailings are unwanted. Just delete any invitations to view acpsunderground.blogspot.com We've only received two complaints, to date. At the same time, we received more than 2,000 page reads today, alone, and we are read in Canada, Mexico, Italy and the UK! We urge you to check the site frequently, to Google us at acps underground...and to comment with regularity.
Voltaire
"Now, now my good man, this is no time to be making enemies."
(Voltaire on his deathbed in response to a priest asking him that he renounce Satan.)"
— Voltaire
That's ridiculous. It's time to get Michelle Pope or Tim Leary involved.
ReplyDeleteThey can block one blogspot site, but could they block dozens? :)
ReplyDeleteWhy has no immediate effort been made to block the inappropriate web sites the high school students visit on their school issued laptops? Let's talk about the ineffectiveness of DyKnow...
ReplyDeleteI believe the first poster meant Michael Pope, reporter for the Alexandria Gazette Packet. Not sure that would work, even if you could pull him away from writing about ghosts in Old Town and convince him to really examine the skeletons in the closets of The Ministry of Truth. The Gazette already ran that unbelievable three part series highlighting the troubling, questionable, and unethical practices taking place within ACPS. What was Sherman's response? At a recent PTA meeting he made reference to the articles as being "funny" and "ridiculous" and shook his head smirking. Parents and teachers in the audience just sat there is silence. Not sure if they were either dumbfounded by this slap-in-the-face statement or completely ignorant of just how unethical this operation truly is. There is nothing funny and everything truly ridiculous about wasting our tax dollars and our time on programs run by personal acquittances of the Superintendent. The key to exposing this house of cards is acting as fact checker and constant questioner. Parents, teachers, PTAs, members of City Council, the City Manager, and concerned taxpayers should listen to the story given by the Superintendent, check the information independently, and then demand to see the assessments of these proposals and programs to determine for themselves their effectiveness and value to increasing the quality of learning in Alexandria's classrooms.
ReplyDeleteUnbelievable!!! I was just told about this blog and I love it. I feel like a wimp posting as "anonymous" but Sherman and his Politburo buddies have created such a Stalinist environment that any disagreement with his "correct" ideas, his monopoly on truth, is seen as heresy and grounds for threats of dismissal. Mort has all the right answers and, if you disagree, you're accused of just not caring enough about the kids. Does that $250000 salary show you care about the kids, Uncle Mort [or should I call you Uncle Joe (Stalin)]?
ReplyDeleteForget Pope or Leary, get Pat Welsh to write an article in the Post &/or USA Today about ACPS trying to quiet their own staff, not to mention parents and students. Are they that clueless there is so much discontentment in the ranks? Or, do they just not care?
ReplyDeleteThe truth can not come from one voice. Pat Welsh has done his part, others must now do the same.
ReplyDeleteThey can't block this site except for the ACPS servers. This blog is protected speech and does not violate Google terms or service.
ReplyDeleteI also feel like a wimp posting as Anonymous, but anyone walking the halls of any of our schools should be able to feel the palpable sense of fear and oppression among the staff. This blog is a welcome relief--a chance to vent overwhelming frustration, as well as an opportunity to speak the truth. Perhaps if enough of the Anonymous begin to emerge, we can begin to tip the scales...back to sanity.
ReplyDeleteI won't be anonymous. Everyone knows about my battles with ACPS and Sherman. Bravo to the people behind this blog and do not be intimidated by ACPS cronies and hacks. If you need help, let me know. I have long been aware that it's not the teachers at fault within ACPS, it's a crooked administration made up of self-promoters.
ReplyDeleteMy post was supposed to be under my google name, but it didn't work! Email satiricalalexandria@gmail.com for info on Sherman.
ReplyDelete2 middle school APs have quit in the past month and a half. I think that is telling.
ReplyDeletenow I am intrigued...which middle school AP's quit? I used to work at one of the ACPS middle schools and left at the first sign of the craziness that was about to ensue. The pay cut was certainly worth my sanity.
ReplyDeleteGW2 & FCH 2 both had their APs quit. GW2's AP did not come back after winter break and FCH 2's AP has her last day this Friday.
ReplyDeleteGuess they couldn't keep their Excel data sheets in order. Let the ACPS Underground rise up like mighty Atlantis (yes the one in Bradlee) and "blow away the ceiling" which covers up the lies that are the impractical IAPs and the absurd labeling of our students as being "at promise." Every time a catchphrase is uttered, ask the question what does that mean and watch their heads spin.
ReplyDeleteIf another person above my pay scale tells me to" Work smarter, not harder", I may openly weep.
ReplyDeleteYour blog is not blocked, nor will it be. I am accessing it from an ACPS laptop in a classroom at TCW.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, do you really think anyone at Division wants the PR nightmare that could follow blocking a relatively harmless forum? Second, some of the inane ranting, ad hominem attacks, and tasteless references to fascism that I've seen on this site lead me to believe that plenty of the people who post here will do more harm to their cause than good in the public eye. Why would ACPS shut it down when it allows them to point and say, "did you read that garbage? Did you see that post from Voltaire, before he/she edited it, that compared Alexandria to Nazi occupied Europe? How can you take them seriously when they are that tasteless and refuse to stand publicly by their opinions?"
Keep on ranting the way you have, keep lurking in the shadows, and you will never get broad support. Show up at Board meetings in large groups, have the EAA file a grievance every time one of us talks at the board meeting and then has a walk through performed, have the EAA schedule time with every AP who tries to intimidate a teacher who disagrees with policy, have the EAA reach out to parents to explain why things are not what they should be--and reach out to parents yourselves--and then you'll have some legitimacy. No one listens to "anonymous". They'll listen to their kid's favorite math teacher, though.
Stop lurking in the dark, start working in the light (if you really think you have legitimate grievances and a case to make for change--so far all I've heard are people who resent being offered a bus ticket to Fairfax, people who resent outside help being brought in to help with the transformation, and who are perfectly willing to slam policies anonymously but have yet to offer constructive alternatives).
Real World 101: Management dictates policy. Those who disagree with management can try to change management (good luck), change policy through constructive feedback to management, or change their place of employment.
I believe the block is into teacher/staff emails at ACPS, not in ability to access from an ACPS laptop in a classroom at TCW. That's quite a shut down in information dissemination from this purposeful blog and a disservice to ACPS teachers.
ReplyDelete"or change their place of employment": You write this under management policy as the only other option to "constructive feedback"? Yep, it sounds like you are Mort or perhaps Mortified of Mort, so you give up ("good luck").
There is freedom in anonymity, thoughtfully expressed. From such freedom of ideas may come the benefits of encouragement, support, strength, wisdom and finally calls to specific and public actions.
If memory serves me correct, secret meetings have been pivotal in times of war and peace. Indeed, as WikiLeaks has shown, much of the world functions in back rooms, away from public light, under the guise of "anonymity".
In summary, acpsunderground is a work in process as I see it, with an ultimate goal of better Alexandria City Public School System teacher input and respect as well as education of the community. This will only benefit our students and community and shift the balance of power from "management" to all concerned.
Middle School teachers in ACPS do not support extended calendars or days at present, in part because their input about how to best use the time has not been solicited. More "professional training" by expensive consultants is simply not in the best interest of teachers' time, nor does it support cultural training, which is badly needed. If extra time were used entirely for direct student contact, especially around reading and other fundamental skills, that might be different.
ReplyDeleteA recent on-line survey of over 110 teachers at GW and Hammond schools received this result.
3. The ACPS staff recommends changes in the school calendar and extending the teaching day for 2011-12.
Do you agree or disagree with the following changes?
answered question 112
Starting school Aug. 29 (not Sept 5) and ending June 15 (not 20th)
Strongly agree (14%) Agree(14%) Neutral (24%) Disagree (13%) Strongly disagree (34%)
Extending the teaching day by 30 minutes throughout the year
Strongly agree (1%) Agree (4.6%) Neutral (4.6%) Disagree (14%) Strongly disagree (76%)
Larry Golemon (Concerned Parent)
I find it interesting that the post from 2/8 from a computer in TC recommending that people come in to the light and stop hiding behind anonymous posted anonymously. If you are giving advice why not take your own. The claims made here are not fictitious, they are real made by people that have rent and mortgages to pay and happen to love the career and the district that they have chosen but are frustrated by the ineffective changes that have been made by the current superintendent. One only has to look to the outstanding colleague that excelled in the classroom next door that is no longer there because they chose to stand up for their students or speak out and are no longer here but forced out after that action. The analogy may not be pretty but it is pretty accurate. If you are a teacher that hasn't experienced this then you can thank your lucky stars or just stop and look around at what is really going on. While I believe that you have some great points as to how to effectively take action you are also disillusioned as to the reality of what is going on in our district. I have been here for 18 years and I am no fool so I will protect my identity and have my say in a district that behaves in a way that portrays the belief that you are either with us or you're out!
ReplyDelete