This and That, September 6, 2024

 In the latest shooting - this one in Georgia - it appears that the gunman had a chaotic home life with both mom and dad. Mom, over the last 10+ years, has been arrested for drug use and, according to neighbors, sometimes locked her kids out of the house. Dad apparently was a verbal abuser. There are two other siblings involved and you feel for them.

It's all sad and pathetic but there is nothing that would justify what Colt Gray did.

And in one of the worst things you can do as a media outlet, WBS-tv in Atlanta put up a photo of a victim as the shooter. It wasn't mixing up photos on one page - there was only one photo. Interestingly, the tv station picked the only Black victim to do this to. Hmmm.

Here's what one teacher at the school posted on Twitter; bless her and every teacher who puts their life on the line every day. Her name is Jennifer Carter. 

 

  

In Seattle Schools' news, I did try to listen into last week's Board retreat but the sound was so bad and the set-up in the room so bad, I gave up. I don't know why but they had it in the West Seattle Elementary School library instead of down at JSCEE where they have an audio and video setup. I don't think the effort was made to allow those on Teams to hear. 

What I DID hear was President Liza Rankin turning the meeting over to SOFG guru, A. J. Crabill who apparently is going to have a big hand in writing the 2025-2030 Strategic Plan. I am going to ask for all the documentation.

I cannot believe the money that the Board is spending on Crabill. I mean, it must be a fair amount but my public disclosure request never went anyway and it's been over a year. 

The district that has exhausted all its resources ALWAYS has money for consultants. Always. 

 

Of note is this story from Fresno, California:

Fresno Unified board conducts retreat. What did they learn from the $100,000 coach? 

Fresno Unified SD is currently conducting a superintendent search. They also employ A.J. Crabill and the Council of Great City Schools to train Board members in the Student Outcome Focused Governance program. In this story from the Fresno Bee, you hear all the same language that Crabill uses with the Seattle School Board.

School board members and the interim superintendent met at a two-day retreat over the holiday weekend to learn about goal-setting and the process to proceed with the stalled Fresno Unified superintendent search.

Except:

With the $40,000 headhunter firm quitting the same night when internal interviews were canceled. The board hired the Council for $100,000 to help trustees work as a collective governing board and to provide guidance on how to proceed with the search.

So somehow the Fresno USD Board spent $40K on a superintendent consulting firm and then is spending double for the CGCS to help.

Just hard to hear how many districts are going this route. I have no doubt it will fail. I want to go on the record saying it's disarmingly simple and seems like a good idea - focus on kids. The problem is that it takes most of the oversight away from school boards. Board members are elected to oversee what the superintendent does in any given district. The balance of power in a district should be shared equally between the superintendent and the board. 

 

In area school districts, you see clashes between boards and superintendent as well as parents and superintendents.

In Kent, apparently their superintendent, Israel Vela, is on leave. Odd for the first week of school but maybe it's personal. But there was an incident at a high school where a criminal entered the building to get away from police and parents thought Vela should have sent out a message. (Vela used to work for Seattle Schools.)

In Highline, there was an open verbal fight at their last board meeting. Via Burien News:

Onlookers at the September 4th Highline School Board meeting gasped audibly as directors, administrators, and the Superintendent tossed aside civility, attacking two new directors.

Two relatively recently elected board members, Directors Azeb Hagos and Melissa Petrini, have begun asking reasonable questions and requesting a modicum of transparency, thus enraging the old guard. Last night, insults and accusations flew their direction for nearly an hour.

For the past three years, Superintendent Duran has been able to rely on the support of a "friendly" board, including the President. This time, however, one of the three directors, Joe Van, was absent, setting the scene for a fractious, emotional meeting, at times lacking in the customary civility. 

Apparently this was over a couple of board members who wanted an item that was unfinished taken off the Consent Agenda. It was the superintendent's evaluation. 

During the recesses, several of the community members and students were curious, "is this normal?" One person stated, "this is better than reality TV!" A long-time Highline employee commented that they had never seen a meeting this contentious in their 20 years of attending Highline Board meetings.

Nearing the two-hour mark, Director Stephanie Tidholm announced that she "had to leave," and immediately departed, leaving the president with only her single vote against two opposing. Eventually, (Board president Angelica) Alvarez capitulated and grudgingly agreed to schedule another executive session to discuss Superintendent Duran's performance.

Let us know how safety issues are going at your school. I read via Twitter that Eckstein Middle School has many cameras that have been helpful in controlling student behavior. 

And how hot is it in your child's classroom? I'm hearing the heat is making it difficult on both kids and staff.