The contract discussion scheduled for Monday night (Nov. 30) isn’t about whether Dr. McIntyre should be removed as Director of Knox County Schools (though it has been suggested many, many times over the past eight years.) Instead, it is about taking the contract he already has, which goes through 2017, and EXTENDING it ANOTHER TWO YEARS, through 2019.
No, you aren’t seeing things. He and five Board members seem to believe that after vehemently defending a principal’s “autonomy” to non-renew teachers with no notice at all, and for no reason at all, they should give the Director of Schools an all-expense-paid ticket, to do whatever he likes, for at least four MORE years.
Mike Donila gives a summary of each Board member’s evaluation HERE; but, it is important to read the full text to get a clear picture of how they are thinking (or not thinking, as some show). Each eval. is linked in the article, as well as below.
Community members and constituents must become aware of which Board members are considering the objectives laid out for the superintendent, and which are just copy/pasting text from his self-evaluation – which also creates a sad commentary on their own ability and/or concern for the position to which they have been elected. Sadly, many are showing that they either have a complete lack of concern for the position they were elected to fill, or they are simply following someone else’s instructions.
(Austin-East Magnet HS, Beaumont Magnet Elem, Chilhowee Int, Fair Garden Family Com Center, Ft. Sanders Ed Dev Center, Green Magnet Elem, Holston MS, L&N STEM Academy, Lonsdale Elem, Maynard Elem, Sam E. Hill Com Center, Sarah Moore Greene Magnet Elem, Spring Hill Elem, Vine Magnet MS, West View Elem)
(Bonny Kate Elem, Dogwood Elem, Gap Creek Elem, Mooreland Heights Elem, Mount Olive Elem, New Hopewell Elem, South-Doyle HS, South-Doyle MS, South Knoxville Elem)
The live blog for the Knox County Schools Board of Education Mid-Month Work Session, October 19, 2015 will begin at 5PM.
To follow the blog, just leave this page open and it will automatically update. If your page does not update, try refreshing your page or using another browser. If you have trouble with this page, please let me know in the comments.
Documents in tonight’s presentation are available, here:
Amy Frogge is a strong proponent of public schools and educating all children. Her opposition to the charter take-overs in Nashville public schools is not new, and she has consistently stood her ground and fought to expose the truth about the fraudulent institutions and false claims coming out of them.
Recently, an article painted her as a hard-core, bookburning, nut. Of course, when you leave out the evidence and the majority of the story (which is exactly how these Nashville charters operate), it is pretty easy to come up with something completely different from reality. The op ed that appeared in The Tennessean used this inflammatory and inaccurate headline: “Close a School Because of a Reading Assignment? That’s What One Nashville School Board Member Wants.”
For some, it is easy to forget that charter institutions are run by corporations. Their goal is money-making. The “success” of this corporation has been heavily and inaccurately reported because a lot of the reporting is done on multiple blog sites by Ravi Gupta, who is Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of RePublic Charter Schools – the group that runs Nashville Prep. Control the media, and you control the story.
This story has the potential to go on for some time, as it is quite complex. Before we delve too deeply into the larger problems in Nashville Prep, it is important to understand that even this one incident, with an absurdly inappropriate book, blatantly ignores the law.
Consider some of Betsy Phillips’ points at nashvillescene.com on Sept. 9, 2015, Nashville Prep, Please Stop This Right Now.
Phillips shared an article written by Ravi Gupta, in which he attempts to explain-away the blatant copyright infringement going on in his “school.”
But we actually didn’t assign this book as published. Despite the fact that we love this book in its unedited form, our curriculum staff met over the summer to discuss whether we could maintain scholar interest while editing out curse words and some of the more mature subject matter. We agreed that we could, so every scholar has received a redacted version of the book (excerpts of which were shared with the district).
We changed scenes involving “sex” to scenes involving “kissing.” We changed curse words like “s**t” to “”poop.” We also redacted whole sections that involved mature scenes. I am sure we missed a word here and a word there, but the book as edited is far from the excerpts Frogge and Baldwin are circulating in terms of mature content. I doubt this information will stop them from circulating pages from the original book though, because they seem more intent on creating a problem than solving one.
I sent sections of this redacted version to the district, who then shifted their attention to whether we committed a copyright violation in redacting sections of the book. These folks would have made Kafka blush. Our lawyers believe we are on safe ground, and I wonder whether the district wants to declare open season on any teacher in their system who photocopies a book or text for use in classrooms. I doubt the district wants to wear a white shirt here. I suspect that if we asked David Benioff (the author) his opinion, he would be more outraged that a school district was attempting to ban one of his books than at the fact that a school is attempting to make his work accessible for younger readers. After all, the father of the main character in City of Thieves was killed in an act of literary censorship — making this debate all the more ironic.
I hate to be the bearer of reality for Mr. Gupta, but it is absolutely against the law for a teacher (or anyone else), to copy a textbook. Had he any significant experience in education, he would be very aware of the strict penalties educators – and their school districts – can face.
Phillips also explains that this is a clear copyright violation:
All other issues aside, this is a clear copyright violation. Nashville Prep is stealing the intellectual property rights of David Benioff, the author of City of Thieves, and his publisher, Plume (part of Penguin, which is now part of Random House which is part of Bertelsmann, one of the largest publishers in the world). There are quite a few things going wrong based on the description Gupta provides above.
… the only two entities who could give permission for Nashville Prep to make copies of the book are Benioff and Plume. It’s clear from the post that they did not do this.
If you are keeping score, Gupta is currently at one copyright violation for EVERY copy of the book that was made and rewritten. Good luck keeping count from here…
Amy Frogge is trying to set the record straight. Hopefully, the taxpayers in Nashville will wake up and listen. I am also hopeful that other large urban districts will learn from Nashville’s mistakes, rather than repeating them. Amy Frogge’s Facebook post, regarding the book and continuing problems at Nashville Prep is below. I have highlighted select lines. Nothing else has been changed.
Amy Frogge
WARNING: THE CONTENT OF THIS POST IS NOT APPROPRIATE FOR CHILDREN.
Today I was attacked (again) by Ravi Gupta, the head and founder of RePublic Schools, which operates several schools in the district, including Nashville Prep. This time, Mr. Gupta was upset about a private email I’d written to MNPS administrators (the email was forwarded to Mr. Gupta) in which I reported that young students at his school are reading a wildly inappropriate book. In my email, I commented that Nashville Prep should be closed. Mr. Gupta has now sent out a blog post trying to focus attention on me and detract from the issue at hand; he contends in his post that I am trying to conduct a “book burning.” In response, I feel the need to explain the full context of my email. Anyone who knows me understands that I am not a fan of corporate education reform or of so-called “no excuses” charter schools. However, Nashville Prep stands out in its treatment of children. The book at issue is quite stunning in its rhetoric and descriptions of explicit sexual encounters; I will detail that below. However, complaints forwarded to me about this school over the last two years are even worse. Here, precisely, is why I have become very upset and frustrated about Nashville Prep:
Nearly two years ago, a parent approached me after a board meeting, crying. She had come to our board meeting as a last-ditch effort, because she had been unable to help her daughter, who was a 10-year-old student at Nashville Prep. She told me her child had become depressed and anxious because of the extreme no-excuses disciplinary procedures at the school, and she needed help removing her child from the school.She had tried to bring her concerns to the attention of the Office of Innovation (which oversees charter schools), but she said her concerns were ignored. She maintained that she had trouble navigating the withdrawal/enrollment process because no one seemed to be in charge of process for charter schools.
Editor’s note: Let’s step out and consider what this parent’s experience says: Nashville parents have choices, and can choose to easily enroll in Nashville Prep. It seems they can NOT choose to easily leave.
Some of the speakers from the June 3rd Knox County Board of Education meeting at the City County Building are linked below. Clicking the video will start the Youtube video and clicking the caption will take you to another page, where you can see both the video and a partial transcript.
Lauren Hopson Knox County third grade teacher who will begin serving as President of the Knox County Education Association, in July, 2015 – Speaking in support of non-renewed teacher, Christina Graham
Christina Graham Non-Renewed Kindergarten Teacher, with solid evaluation scores – Speaking about her non-renewal experience, and the inability to get straight answers or even a reason.
Jennifer Owen Former Knox County Teacher – Explains that action against employees who speak is illegal and that the Board has a duty to assume all reports are given in good faith and to fully investigate.
Holly Child Knox County Parent – Speaking about staffing concerns at Mount Olive Elementary School
Jade Wilson Knox County Parent – On the “Vision” of Knox County Schools and the fact that numbers of those who look out for the needs of students in Knox County are dwindling. “You cannot put a price tag on nurturing young minds.”
Therese Sipes Knox County Parent – Speaking regarding the “vision” at Mount Olive and the atmosphere of fear in KCS. “If this teacher didn’t fit one person’s vision for our school, then it is the vision, not the teacher, in need of replacement.”
Lynn Schneider Parent and Former Knox County teacher – “As our elected school board representatives, you have an obligation to advocate for our students. You should realize that the educators ARE the experts and they SHOULD be driving education policy.”
Jenny Ortner Knox County Parent – In Support of Natasha Patchen at Copper Ridge and on the climate of low morale, mistrust, and fear among staff. “Every decision educators make, is supposed to be about the students. I believe that the staffing decisions made at Copper Ridge have lost sight of that.”
Kelly Wright Knox County Parent – Speaking in support of Natasha Patchen and Christina Graham at Copper Ridge Elementary School
Steven Rogers Knox County Schools Teacher
Rob Taylor Former Knox County Schools Teacher
Mark Taylor Knox County Schools Teacher
Louise Povlin Knox County Parent – Addressing assessments, assessing the assessments, and the balanced calendar, and the “capricious and cruel” way teachers have been non-renewed. “I’m tired of seeing good teachers disappearing from my children’s schools.”
Teachers in Knox County are finding out that speaking to the Board of Education may cost their jobs. This has always been a risk, but many felt that expressing concerns was well worth it, as long as they did so respectfully. They are now finding that even respectfully speaking about certain topics can cause them to be non-renewed. Now, teachers are being told that even SITTING IN A BOARD OF EDUCATION MEETING will be “professional suicide.”
In response to those threats, my friend, Steven, posted this:
Point of order about protest/speaking up/taking a stand for what you think is right. Your PERSONAL situation may be good or great (for example, my gig is actually pretty damn good), but the situation of your colleagues in another part of the building, or county or in a different discipline, may be unacceptable. Saying “I’ve got mine” and letting them fight alone is lazy at best, and selfish at worst.
And I absolutely agree.
I have heard many groups gather together, to lament something that they see being done to a colleague, but RARELY see them do more than that. Shaking your head and saying,”Oh, this is terrible,” and then going on with business as usual solves nothing. It does, however, set up a spiral of hand-wringing and hiding.
Ten years ago, teachers in my building were faced with a reading curriculum that was so poorly put together, half the school could barely figure out how to use it. The other half had very little trouble, as they were using a different version and had different training. It was so bad that some of the staff got together, re-arranged the materials, to be usable, and retrained each other. (I assume that was very problematic for the people who had not disclosed that the whole thing was a RESEARCH PROJECT, to show how inferior training impacted student learning!) Throughout that time, we were never afraid to tell our principal that things needed to change.
Ten years ago, our principal met mistakes with a question about how we thought we could correct them and how she could help. By 2010, things had changed drastically, and we started to see sweeping changes throughout the state, as well as the nation. In our building, teachers opinions and ideas were no longer welcomed, but met with disdain and even public shaming. Six years ago, teachers in my building said that we should just “roll with it” until things changed.
Things have changed: Many of those educators are no longer teaching.
Three years ago, when I asked our BOE member to SHOW US the things that were being touted in the budget, the faculty urged me on and congratulated me for asking tough questions. When I asked them to go with me to speak with our legislators, or to even tell me what they would like me to say, they said, “You always do a great job with that. Whatever you say, I’m with you.” They were behind me, but not a single one of them stood BESIDE me.
When they came, in groups, to tell me about a problem that made them afraid to be in our building, that the administration would not address, I called KCEA for help. NONE of those teachers would talk. And when the administration came to my room and said that they knew I had made the call and that I had better never do anything like that again, I stood against them, alone. (Technically, I sat alone, because they were standing and had me cornered, behind my desk.)
Of course, there were always a few other teachers, who would question policy or curriculum, or other school-based decisions. They now say things like, “I’ve learned to keep my mouth shut; it’s just easier” or “See this? This is my happy face, and this is the face I am going to have this year – all year – no matter what.”
I expect those teachers to be gone soon, too.
Accepting terrible treatment and illegal actions, will not make them go away. Hiding them behind a smiling face will not make them go away. Allowing a few to stand up for you may make a difference for a while, but as they are struck down, one by one, who will be there to take their place? When you are the one being chopped, without due process and you are standing in an auditorium alone, facing the Board of Education, I hope some of us are still around, to stand with you. Based on the unwillingness of most, to even stand up for their students and themselves, I can’t imagine there will be many who are willing to stand for others, by this time next year.
A supporter contacted me to ask that I make some of the dates in this article more clear. While doing so, I have also added pieces of the video transcripts and made my photos from the 2011 Rally more accessible.
One thing that I cannot add, is YOUR voice – and I hope you will help, by adding your experiences in the comments. If you have spent years, trying to communicate these problems to our Board and/or Legislators, please add your voice. (No full names will be published – Make one up, if you like.) They like to claim that there is only a “small group” of 22 “disgruntled” teachers, who are trying to stir things up. What they need to know, is that there are THOUSANDS of teachers, parents, students, and community members, who are begging to be heard.
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The problems in Knox County Schools didn’t start yesterday, and they aren’t going to end tomorrow. Lots of people want you to only notice the past few months. Legislators, school boards, and district administrators want to make out teachers as spur-of-the-moment rabble-rousers, when the truth is very different. They want to convince the public to give them “time” to make changes, hoping the public will forget that we have been explaining the problems for YEARS – not months.
The Knox County Board of Education has heard from THREE different Knox County Education Association presidents. (Elected by teachers, they serve two-year terms.) They have been hearing about problems for MORE THAN FOUR YEARS.
The Board of Education, as well as local legislators were sent numerous letters and emails from educators – and were repeatedly told that we needed to “wait and see.”
Legislators very purposefully passed these laws. Boards of Education, at the local and state level, supported them. And superintendents “testified” in front of the legislature, claiming that teachers “embraced” the testing and evaluation systems that were being put into place and asked legislators not to change a thing:
From: U.S. House of Representatives Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education Subcommittee, Written Testimony as prepared by Dr. Jim McIntyre, Superintendent2/28/2013
At this same time, teachers were speaking to the Knox County Schools Board of Education. According to the BOE, they just “didn’t know” that morale was at an all-time low, or that students were undergoing so many tests, or that the evaluation system was seriously flawed and being used punitively, rather than for improvement. In other words, they lied.
The KCS BOE has been told about these problems since 2010. KCEA President, Sherry Morgan, spoke every time they met during the 2011-2013 school years. All three KCEA presidents regularly contacted Board members and legislators between 2010 to today – as have numerous other teachers, parents, and community members.
Four years.
Four years of ignored data.
Four years of ignored facts.
Four years of ignoring the professional educators of Knox County and Tennessee.
Four years of supporting the superintendent’s false testimony.
And, after four years of completely ignoring teachers, parents, and students, they ask us to please, just give it some time to “work” before they make changes.
The only people they are kidding are themselves and people who have been asleep for the past four years.
If anyone believes that teachers were just too softspoken to get through to the BOE, or that the BOE just didn’t “get” that there was a problem, here are some reminders in pictures and video from March 5th, 2011:
Tennessee teachers march to the Capitol, to rally against several anti-public education bills. March 5, 2011
Kayla Montgomery, KCEA, speaking at 2:15 “When people try to get rid of a bill, ask why that bill was in place. In essence, it’s to protect somebody.” March 5, 2011
Though this isn’t a bi-partisan speaker, the thing to remember is that this is no longer about one party or the other. It is about fixing the MESS that has been created.
0:55 – “This is an attack on teachers; this is an attack on firemen; this is an attack on collective bargaining. Collective bargaining – there are many entities that do collective bargaining – and you can’t forget what collective bargaining did for this country: Collective bargaining gave us the weekends; collective bargaining gave us safety laws in the workplace; collective bargaining…not to work children like they were grown people.”
1:45 – “These folks hate public education. They don’t care anything about public education. They tried to dicimate it with charter schools; they tried to steal the money everywhere they can, they tried to do away with the DOE at the national level. They do not care about education. They never have and they never will.”
2:55 – “This is a plot that’s happening all over the country…They are doing it all over the country.”
On March 6th, in Murfreesboro, TN, parents, grandparents, community members, and teachers, stood up to ask real questions of the NOT student-friendly group, “Students First.”
Not only were there TEA members in attendance from four different local affiliates, including the Tennessee Retired Teachers Association, but Murfreesboro and Rutherford County proved to have attentive educated parents who weren’t duped by shallow explanations, catch phrases, and unsupported documentation.
What a night! It was a great success for citizens who care for their Tennessee public schools! One lady seemed to know everyone there. She hugged most of them and greeted them with warm words. Toward the end of the evening, she was recognized to speak from the back of the room, which fell silent with her first words.
“You keep saying parents’ choice over our public schools, but our teachers don’t have a choice about common core or all this testing. You keep cherry-picking the people you want to answer your questions.”
It was phenomenal! Parents and grandparents spoke up, questioning the money trail entering the state from private interest lobbyists, certification of teachers in private schools, and accountability of the private schools that would be taking THEIR public tax dollars. Rutherford and Murfreesboro Education Associations have great, politically educated communities. An amazing night was had by all.
The organizers stopped the event short of their time limit when they saw the snowball building bigger and bigger. All of the General Assembly should hear the way the hosts talked about the lack of involvement that should be expected in the zoning of Tennessee’s school children. They also made it clear that their goal was not to stop with the current bill.
It is clear that representatives of the Beacon Center and Students First are steadfast in their message that bureaucrats have no place in determining where students go to school.
RESOLUTION OF THE RUTHERFORD COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION IN OPPOSITION TO LEGISLATION THREATENING A FREE PUBLIC EDUCATION SYSTEM
WHEREAS, Rutherford County Schools are not for sale; and
WHEREAS, a number of bills are being advanced before the State of Tennessee’s legislature by private lobbyists and for profit companies aimed at privatizing the State of Tennessee’s free public education system; and
WHEREAS, a number of out of state companies and alleged non-profit organizations are lobbying our State Representatives and our State Senators to obtain funds from the public education system to benefit their private companies and organizations; and
WHEREAS, paid lobbyists are lobbying our State Representatives and our State Senators to propose and vote for legislation seeking to move the State of Tennessee in the direction of allowing private companies and organizations to take control of our State’s free public education system; and
WHEREAS, many of these companies and organizations are out of state companies and organizations who are spending significant sums of money to advance their agenda through television advertising and lobbying; and
WHEREAS, the public education system of Tennessee is best managed by Tennesseans for which it serves and not by out of state companies and organizations; and
WHEREAS, paid lobbyists routinely appear before State of Tennessee legislative committees seeking to advance the causes of their private companies and organizations; and
WHEREAS, the taxpayers of the State of Tennessee do not have any lobbyists to protect the interests of Tennesseans in the State’s free public education system; and
WHEREAS, HB 2293 seeks to restrict the ability of Boards of Education across the State of Tennessee to provide information and communication to State legislators and legislative committees regarding education related matters; and
WHEREAS, legislation has also been introduced seeking to enlarge State government’s central control over local school systems and remove decisions from locally elected Boards of Education to appointed State of Tennessee officials in Nashville; and
WHEREAS, local Boards of Education who are familiar with their local area, demographics, schools, citizens and employees are able to make better decisions utilizing their taxpayer’s dollars than State appointed officials; and
WHEREAS, Rutherford County continues to have one of the highest achieving school systems in Tennessee and proposed legislation is threatening the school system; and
WHEREAS, the success of the Rutherford County School System is one of the primary factors attracting new employment and businesses to Rutherford County and growing the Rutherford County economy; and
WHEREAS, proposed legislation also threatens the economic future for Rutherford County;
NOW, THEREFORE, be it resolved by the Rutherford County Board of Education:
1. The Rutherford County Board of Education opposes HB 2293 seeking to limit Boards of Education ability to participate in legislation affecting the public education system.
2. The Rutherford County Board of Education opposes HB 2250 seeking to restrict local Boards of Education ability to control its own budget.
3. The Rutherford County Board of Education opposes SB 0677 seeking to vest certain control over local Board of Education matters to the State of Tennessee’s appointed Commissioner of Education.
About I Teach ~ I Vote
“If you choose not to do politics, politics will surely do you.”
We compile important politics & policies impacting public schools.
While legislators & BOE members in TN claim ignorance of excessive testing, flawed evaluations, Broad's influence, and much more, teachers, parents, and community members, have spoken out in record numbers, to help others understand the destruction of public education - and their importance in stopping it.
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