CURRICULUM REWRITE POST: MORE TOP DOWN MENTALITY

Here is what Sutherland is fighting for.. waste of time and no input from anyone on the curriculum writing

Time to call out our curriculum department

by Ann Sutherland on 05/23/17

 Like most readers, I have been hugely frustrated over the many workshops and lectures by non-teachers over how we should manage our classrooms.  Last week I attended another one of those, run by attractive women gaily reading still another powerpoint.  This one is builds from the Common Core framework (yes, the CC) and hopes by training young teachers in "social emotional competency", after which the young teachers will train other young teachers through summer workshops.  The workshop was held in the heart of downtown in an expensive venue (with valet parking paid).

Did you hear that Mr. Carroll is going to be re-writing curriculum?  This is too much.  The curriculum already matches the TEKS and it is stuffed with those worthless Short Cycle Assessments (which are still illegal).  This garbage is a huge contributor to our failing urban schools.  It's time to declare independence from the stranglehold of the central office curriculum department.  

Listen, you $200,000-per-year fools!  YOU CAN'T FIX SCHOOLS FROM THE CENTRAL OFFICE CURRICULUM DEPARTMENT!

If these people are such great teachers, let's put them in classrooms and watch them where they can do some good.

REALITY BOARD MEETING SHOW

Well we here at CIA missed the punches at the board meeting following the naming of all campus leaders.. side joke, we were busy with the Russia investigation..

But we have plenty here at FWISD. We hear that many friends and family members of our board were named to schools.  We know from just hearing Dr. Sutherland that some board members dipped their hands into the selection and others did not get who they wanted, presumably Dr. Sutherland.  

Some of the appointments just leave you to roll your eyes because they don't make sense.  Durbin for example of all people who was under Washington back at Meadowbrook and has done crap since yet he gets a school.  You have Christmas going from destroying one campus moved to the next one.

Another example is what credentials does Xavier Sanchez have?  The only one we know is his mother helped him get there and she now picked some of the principals announced.  

So the board led district has put people who have no major credentials to show.  

What we also hear is that the board meeting recording was altered to take out the part where Dr. Sutherland strongly objected to the naming of administrators by stating why some board members get who they want and other don't.  If this is true, as several people contacted, then this is a violation of the Open Meetings Act because they are choosing to publish what they want and not what exactly happened.  The district does not have the right to choose what the public is entitled to and Barbara Griffin and team were the ones in charge.  Dr. Sutherland, check to see if that occurred because not only are they trying to continue to censor you but now they are doing it deliberately.

BULLY AWARD TO COMO MONTESSORI

So now comes Janna Russell Bennett the principal of K-8 Como Montessori School--- or Como Monster Sorry School because under Bennett she has created a House of Horrors!  Bennett is a an inept, bully who famously tells people Downtown that she grows her teachers--- which in FWISD code-speak means that she belittles, berates (in front of students), and brings her teachers to tears, while Downtown turns eyes wide shut.  What's it going to take?  Just this year, a middle school boy routinely "painted" the boys' restroom walls with his own feces!  Enough to get removed?  Enough to get psychological counseling?  Nope, he's still there and students and teachers alike dread his next masterpiece.  It's probably his way of interpreting the quality of the administrative leadership.

The middle school students  (including Fece-angelo) just returned from their academic trip to San Antonio; except that one young lady was forced to have her parents drive to San Antonio to have to retrieve their drunken daughter after she and her roommates broke into the hotel room liquor cabinet and getting fece-faced(?)  It's reported that up to five San Antonio Police cars and paramedics had to be called in.  All while Bennett was there "supervising" the trip (maybe she broke into her own room's liquor cabinet)!

Now CIA hears that Como Monster Sorry School has its own "fight club" going on in the restrooms that students love to video and set to music!  Creative juices or frustrated anxiety?  Students and teachers all know that Bennett, who grew up in the Como neighborhood does not discipline, suspend, or third party Black students because they may be related to Bennett or are from families that Bennett grew up knowing--- but forget it if you are a Hispanic living in and attending Como.  Bennett, like folks in Como, resent the now majority Hispanics moving into the Como neighborhood and she does all that she can to discourage Hispanic families from enrolling their children in "her school".  With what Bennett has done to destroy what used to be a well-known and respected Montessori school--- she can have it; but we wish that Downtown would do something, at least for humanity's sake.

NEW CURRICULUM FORMAT, MORE TRAINING COMING UP

We all know that each time the district, every year, brings on something new and never really keeps one thing.  Think DII, the lady who got paid to do training that was nothing helpful, etc.

So now the district is going to rewrite the way curriculum is written this May, or is in progress and then roll it out we suppose.  We all know that everything is rushed a few days before school starts and then training during the year when we should be teaching.  So this process requires a lengthy detailed plan, so get ready for hours of planning since we do not know how to align what we teacher to what we test.  What a novel concept, we didn't know that's what it is.

The backward design for planning will be used, see this link

http://www.grantwiggins.org/documents/UbDQuikvue1005.pdf

Then this Neuhaus Education is a non-profit who is focused on Reading but Sutherland says it cost 600,000 with no board approval.  Neuhaus is based out of Bellaire in Houston and well the ASSt. Super for Curriculum is from Houston so we get the connection.  We all know that some get kickbacks like Scribner from Achieve 3000.  So once again teachers have to redo because the district just can't figure out what to do and still believe our teachers have no clue on how to do their jobs.  They want a company or some program to fix teachers and students.

So get some rest this summer teachers because you will have to do something new and get beaten for not doing it right when you will not be trained well anyway.  So start your research and get ahead.

Such incompetence in this district.

TURMOIL AND TURNOVER

It appears that a large exodus of principals from most high schools that are not part of the wealthy are disappearing.  We wonder if the Board of Managers (since they board runs the district) are leaving openings for retired or promoting their friends to fill spots they are unqualified for.  

Schools include:

Easter Hills HS

Poly HS

Carter-Riverside HS

South Hills HS

Western Hills HS

Teachers aren't the only ones leaving the chaos of which this board has created.  They have a puppet in Scribner who basically does what they say.

Where do the children of FWISD employees go?  Let's see  Dagget Montessori, Paschal, YWLA, YMLA, Tanglewood, Alice Carlson, World Languages Institute, Arlington Heights (well there is a gang infestation there so not topsy anymore.  

The only reason FWISD is not on the news is because the news refuses to cover it and we know this city will just push it under the rug.

COMPLICIT BOARD ALLOWS BULLYING AND HARASSMENT AT WILKERSON GRIMES

Let's recall a story about Johnny Cole, former coach at Eastern Hills, accused of having an improper sexual relationship with a former student.  The board voted 5-3 to keep him and moved him to Wilkerson-Grimes.  TA Sims voted to keep him because he said he voted his conscience.  He probably fell asleep and pushed the wrong button, you think?

So now we hear that Cole has earned the Bully Award for mistreating employees under him at the Grimes.  So apparently the move to Grimes was to be away from students yet he is at the place where young ladies go to swim.  So tell us how far away is he from the place where he is housed and ladies are around.  The board is complicit!  But this is the Fort Worth ISD Board running the district and deciding to keep their friends instead of doing the best for students.

But currently Cole gets away with everything and employees have no support from anyone.  They are being harassed and bullied but INOK doesn't apply.

Wait the board wants to do away with bullying policy, which means silence the complaints.

Oh and Tobi is over Eastern Hills, wonder what happened there?

THE OLD GUARD WINS

Well folks, we can start packing our bags or drink heavily because another four years of torment are coming.

The results are in and the old guard won, even dinosaur Sims, and the good lord has not called him in.

So now the chips begin to move and looks like Tobi is a shoe in for President unless they keep Ramos.  The new girl Luebanos is bought by Ramos so no change there.

So Scribner is safe for the next four years to get his paycheck.

Elections do have consequences and we know too well what they will be.

THE AGE OF SCRIBNERISM- LIES, FAKE NEWS!

There is so much crap happening that we can't keep up with it but the ultimate result is that it hurts our teachers and students.

Scribner was not brought here to change things rather become a poster manager to highlight propaganda items.  The objectives have the intention of improving but the actions taken by the administration do not mirror what is happening in the classrooms nor even their own initiatives.

A comment was made regarding the promise that Scribner made at Convocation 2016 when he said he reduced his cabinet to a team of 10 because support needed to be where the need is.  So we would have expected extra individuals to be supporting the classrooms and that was completely the opposite.

Hear his speech here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OqxTXSk20k and go to 1:15:38 until about 1:17.  Words don't mix with the action being taken.

Also we hear that Maria Sanchez, retired, has been contracted as a consultant to hire principals.  Recall that Robert Ray was brought back to take an academy, also retired.  So we are headed even backwards to the old FWISD, way of doing things.

If you saw the results given of the climate survey, it was a good laugh over coffee.  So the survey indicates that at least 80% or more of campuses will meet standard or higher because they have all the resources and support they need.  If that was the case we would  not have 40 under watch but they know best.

Spinning the propaganda machine!

SO HOW IS THAT TEACHER APPRECIATION FOR YA?

We thought we had to contend with 100 days of Trump, thinking that it was the worse.  We come to Teacher Appreciation Week with Scribner slashing teachers in the Core Areas to allow 6.4 million dollars to go to central office because trickle down support will for sure help the schools.

Sutherland has shown us the tricky math the administration is using to justify their continued growth in central office with no data or results to show how it helps.  Tell us how?

We don't know whether even calling Scribner cynical fits his Trumpism.  Has no vision, no concept of governance and it has shown more and more.  He has allowed the erosion of employee rights, even more than before.

We don't hear anything from anyone else because they are given what they want if they just agree and shut up.  Sutherland still is hanging in there even when we disagree with her at times.

Where are the scores for the first round of testing?  Why are we not hearing about it?

So teachers, how are you being appreciated this week?

Thus far we've gotten the middle finger as a start...

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