Cobb school chief to SACS: Stark divisions on board, which is ineffective. Widespread anger over calendar vote.
Here is a fascinating and candid response from Cobb County Superintendent Fred Sanderson.to the concerns of the accrediting agency SACS over recent school board actions.
Sanderson faults the board on many fronts. Please click on the link and read the entire letter, which is quite amazing for its criticisms, especially in the calendar reversal vote.
I am just sharing a small part of the five-page letter on the blog – Sanderson’s response to SACS’ concerns that the calendar vote “eroded public trust and public confidence in board members’ ability to govern stemming from the “efforts of four board members to exclude their fellow colleagues and use their personal and political agendas to drive school board decisions, including the decision regarding the calendar.”
Sanderson responded:
The process of approving a system calendar in February 2011 was legal, but did not represent the spirit of effective governance. The board was hasty in raising the issue and voting to replace a three-year calendar that had been approved by a prior board, and had been in effect only five months. The effort to change the calendar was led by three newly elected board members, along with one veteran board member who is also board chair.
In November 2009, when the three-year balanced calendar was approved, board member
Alison Bartlett stated, “I was not willing to change the calendar because we had already set it
and I thought it was wrong to go back and undo what we had already set where people had
already set their calendars, so that is why last time I voted the way I voted because it wasn’t
right to go and do that.” In February 2011, as board chair, Ms. Bartlett did vote to change the calendar just six months prior to the start of a new school year.The newly elected board members had campaigned on the issue of changing the calendar, but should have recognized their first priority on being sworn in was to become acclimated to and informed about district operations, and trained in the basics of school board leadership and effective governance. Had these first steps been taken, the new board members and one
existing member may have considered a more productive consensus-building approach to
honoring their campaign promises.Instead, these four board members immediately brought the issue to the table for a vote,
despite the division it caused with their three board member colleagues and within the
community. The board chair appointed two of the newly elected board members to work with
the superintendent to develop alternative calendars. Additionally, the board chair directed
administration to conduct an online survey of stakeholders on the calendar issue and present the results to the board in less than one week’s time. The survey results indicated
overwhelming opposition to changing the calendar, but the four board members nevertheless
put the item on the board meeting agenda and, by a 4-3 vote, changed the school-year
calendar.The result has been widespread anger and distrust among a large contingent of the district’s stakeholders. Many stakeholders have voiced their displeasure at board meetings, public forums and in the news media, and have complained that the four board members who voted for changing the calendar failed to provide a valid rationale for doing so other than the fact that they campaigned on the issue. Other stakeholders have submitted multiple Open Records Requests to district administration asking for data pertaining to the calendar issue and board member emails. Retrieving information in response to these requests has consumed many hours of staff time. Additionally, on April 1, 2011 the entire Board of Education was summoned to appear before the Cobb County Grand Jury to answer questions about the calendar approval process, among other issues.
The calendar issue has created stark division between the four supporting board members and the three opposed. One of the opposed board members, David Banks, has used his constituent email newsletter, David’s Grapevine, to publicly criticize his four colleagues, and in at least one instance used the district’s email network to distribute the newsletter. These actions are a clear violation of district policy and the board’s own ethics policy.
–From Maureen Downey, for the AJC Get Schooled blog
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146 comments Add your comment
Professional Educator/Researcher
April 29th, 2011
3:57 pm
@ FedUp: Be careful when you start citing “(non-biased) university studies” for several reasons. Firstly, most of the studies conducted on this topic are studying a very different calendar from the one we are debating – which really should be called a “modified” calendar vs. a year-round calendar or a balanced calendar. It is only appropriate to consider school districts with similar demographics as Cobb County (e.g., Cherokee County) who are implementing a similar calendar (redistributing two weeks rather than balancing the 180 days across the 12 months such as those in California). Secondly, while some of these studies did in fact demonstrate no “significant” improvement in academic achievement, they DID show some improvement overall and specifically for children who come for economically disadvantaged homes. I have heard that over 40% of the students that Cobb County serves come from these homes. Thirdly, you cannot compare our school district with districts from out West (or Canada or anywhere else). “An important consideration when examining both sides of the balanced school year is defining the goals of the proposed change. What may be an objective for one school or district may not be as important for another” (Madeira City Schools, 2007, p. 8). Lastly, the author of the study you provided concluded: “On purely academic grounds, I wouldn’t advocate a year-round calendar, but I can’t recommend against it, either,” he said.
another comment
April 29th, 2011
3:59 pm
Their are so many lies about teachers using less leave. That is Hogwash. The schools are just using more retired teachers to cover it. My daughter’s 5th grade teacher has been out so much it isn’t funny. Ever since the principal announced her retirement I have seen alot of leave being used at my daughters school.
Cobb History Teacher
April 29th, 2011
4:03 pm
“Many teachers I spoke to said that it takes almost a week to reel the kids back in when they’ve been out, so essentially you lose two weeks for every week the student is off. “
Some teachers just have better classroom management skills I guess, and some children aren’t as capable of retaining material as others. Of course self control and discipline is something you learn at home. It is a part of childrearing.
As for the calendar…who cares? Teachers get paid the same no mater when the start date is.
sarah
April 29th, 2011
4:04 pm
Well obviously more parents who were in favor of the traditional calendar voted their candidate in office. The board members did what they said they would and now they are being critized for the manner in which it happened – give me a break! At the end of the day, these three individuals kept their promise and for that I’m thankful. There are too many elected officals that pull that bait and switch and I’m thankful these board members did not.
another comment
April 29th, 2011
4:07 pm
The fact remains it is the teachers and the administators that are who like this stupid balanced calandar the best. It stinks for the working parents and the students. By the way Disney et al… raised their prices to a high season rate for the Feb. week. Kids think they should go out of town on vacation each of those weeks of vacation. It is too expensive for the average family to do. My big question is, who in the private sector gets all of those weeks off to go on vacation????
I would rather take advantage of the low rates at the begining of August and go to the beach.
Why should those of us who have our children read all summer be penalized by those who are ignorant and don’t work with their kids to maintain grade level.
The board needs to give Fred his walking papers in 24 hours. They need to call an Emergency Executive session to fire him for insobordination. That is how real board operate in the private sector. The 4-3 majority works. You don’t have the hired help sabatoging you behind your back. Working with Holli in the background, because she lost her vote.
For those who are ignorant, all three seats were contested. Two were decided in the Republican Primaries.
East Cobb Parent
April 29th, 2011
4:10 pm
I’m really surprised at the number of people that continue to state that the issues are with the newly elected board members. I guess you liked things better with all the cheerleaders (Holi Cash) and Rubber Stampers – LCE, David Banks, at times David Morgan, Abraham, John Crooks – look at all the violations of the sunshine act under those that are no longer on the board. I guess you guys preferred the violation of sunshine laws and rubber stamps.
Personally, I would rather have board members that think for themselves. Lynda Crowder Eagle has never voted against anything Sanderson recommended, no one truly agrees that much unless you’re a Stepford Wife.
Interesting Observation
April 29th, 2011
4:13 pm
What? The folk in pristine Cobb are jealous because APS, Clayton and Dekalb are getting all the negative publicity and want to create their own?
Cobb History Teacher
April 29th, 2011
4:13 pm
@Fedup
“Maybe the teachers should start fighting the No Child Left Behind, teach to the CRCT debacle instead of worrying about the school calendar.”
Maybe the parents who are the vocal majority should do the same. Elected officials will listen to parents before they listen to teachers as there are more parents than teachers. Most teachers agree however we are the minority.
TeresaB
April 29th, 2011
4:13 pm
to Another Comment:
Who are you trying to fool? Disney and all the parks and hotels offer their lowest rates in February, May amd September, you obviously are not from there sparky. The highest rates for all the parks and hotels are June, July, August, November,and December, when EVERYONE is out. Wake up and smell the coffee, don’t just repeat what you have been told to repeat, it’s not becoming.
Professional Educator/Researcher
April 29th, 2011
4:18 pm
Ultimately it is the results of the general election (and not the primary election) that puts a person in office. When there is only one name on the ballot in a general election (and not a primary) for a given office, I would say that person is not subsequently “voted” into said office; rather that person is “defaulted” into office.
ups57
April 29th, 2011
4:22 pm
Sanderson is a MORON and he needs to GO NOW!!!
East Cobb Parent
April 29th, 2011
4:33 pm
Feb is not a lower rate for Disney it is a peak time, Peak Season – February 17-26 and March 11 – April 16 (especially weekends)
From the Disney Mousesaver website.
Cobb voter
April 29th, 2011
5:18 pm
Read the comments and notice the tone. The prior Cobb County School Board was repeatedly lambasted in the local paper, as was Sanderson. The divisions on the Board are terrible and public; not just obvious, but flaunted. That attitude of “Attack! Attack!” does affect the ability of the Board to make thoughtful decisions. They do not operate in concert, they operate in opposition. I don’t doubt SACS is looking – they should. If anything will destroy our schools it is this attitude that doesn’t allow respect, consensus building, or cooperation.
Charles
April 29th, 2011
5:28 pm
Too bad superintendents don’t say what they really think until after they’ve announced their retirement!
catlady
April 29th, 2011
5:44 pm
Lookout! The SACS boogyman does not like boards that disagree, and board members that let folks know why they disagree. The former supt called in SACS because there was a board member not agreeing with everything he proposed, and warning against overspending. The system was sanctioned in a trumped up monkey court (which is worse than a kangaroo court) and the board member drummed out.. Fastforward 4 years and BINGO–it turns out someone should have listened to the “rogue” board member, as the things he warned against have come to pass and the school system is in deep financial doo.
Thanks, SACS, for ignoring the first amendment, and the right of the people to elect whom they choose.
East Cobb Parent
April 29th, 2011
5:53 pm
@ Cobb Voter I’m not sure where you stand, would you rather the new board members rubber stamp and have meetings in violation of the Sunshine Laws, as did their predecessors or do you think the older board members should stop being rubber stampers? Let me be clear, I do not agree with all of their decisions I do however support that they question and exam things and then vote. I’m still wondering why we needed to approve new schools when many are under capacity and that lovely over budget expansion at Lassiter.
Personally, I’m extending an invitation to Dr. Trotter or Catlady to apply for the Super position in Cobb. And would you please focus on not hiding the fact that kids are not taught but indoctrinated into feel good philosophies
Alabama Communist
April 29th, 2011
6:10 pm
Meanwhile as the educational system collapes nation wide along with the econony. Cobb County Superintendent Fred Sanderson said he would waterboard the first board member who pop their mouth off at him again..
Happy In Cobb
April 29th, 2011
7:37 pm
I’d like to say thank you to Mr. Sanderson for representing the people you truly report to, the citizens of Cobb County. He told the truth and now the board will have to suffer the consequences. As we learned from the last SACS intervention (the board is currently under advisement) CCSD schools are great; it’s the CCSB that has issues with proper governance. They need to get along and do what’s best for ALL of Cobb County, not just special interests. School boards should be non partisan and a county wide “at large” member would be great. I am proud to teach my kids this lesson that sometimes telling the truth hurts, but it is always the right thing to do.
Dr. Craig Spinks/ Augusta
April 29th, 2011
7:41 pm
Hopefully this calendar squabble won’t divert the attention and energies of CCSS personnel and parents away from the system’s failure rates of 33%, 24% and 25% on 2010 EOCTs in Math, Science and Social Studies, respectively.
CobbMom23
April 29th, 2011
7:56 pm
The truth hurts so good! Way to go Mr. Sanderson!!!
East Cobb Parent
April 29th, 2011
8:06 pm
@ Dr. Craig, of course it does. Didn’t you see Happy in Cobb. They are so busy patting themselves on the back that Sanderson gets to slide out with his polices in place that hide many issues. Parents of ES students think they know how their kids are doing as the parents brag about the 2’s received on SBRC. Yet no one is taking the time to ensure those children master the material. They brag about meeting the standards on the CRCT never questioning the low cut scores on that test either. By moving the ITBS from 8th to 7th grade Sanderson again bought time on when MS student parents will notice an even greater decline. Sanderson is behind wonderful polices such as a pretest for all tests in HS – currently used at Pope and several others. Will these students be prepared for college, careers, jobs or even life? Only the few whose parents paid attention and looked beyond the smoke and mirrors and demanded better of their children.
Equitas
April 29th, 2011
8:16 pm
I have read about several instances where SACS has been involved
with other school boards and districts. Most of the concerns seemed
warranted,but should SACS be involved in micromanaging a decision
concerning school calenders that is within the legitimate bounds of
acceptable attendance for students and families? The board is an
elected body with the responsibility of making school policy. While
the school board should maintain proper community relations, and
seek input from (or compromise in some cases) its stakeholders to
form a consensus, It also has the right to pursue policies consistent
with state regulations and stated educational goals advocated during
the campaign of school board elections. All board members represent
their constituents, and know that when they cease to represent their
constituents that someone may pursue a recall campaign against them.
If SACS becomes actively involved, primarily because of the calender, it
would undercut the process of elected school boards. SACS should
only intervene in situations where there is a serious question of academic
quality,integrity, financial mismanagement, or blatant disregard for state
educational laws.
A Teacher Named Just Wondering
April 29th, 2011
8:29 pm
The comments by JustWondering do not surprise me. Coming from a teacher who says they don’t give homework and projects over break, should check into Middle and High Schools in West Cobb. We can surely prove you wrong. What do you teach, 1st grade, band, chorus?
For teachers to say they don’t have time to grade test before break and SURELY they aren’t going to take them home makes me sick to see the amount of homework that my child in 6th grade brings home each night. Pinnacle system that grades haven’t been entered since April 1, blogs not updated at all. And what is said, Parents need to get involved! Yeah, maybe the teachers should get involved. Sick days? 8 to 10 weeks off for summer, a week off at Thanksgiving, 2 weeks off for Christmas and News Year, Labor Day, Presidents Day, MLK Day, election day in an off year. And teachers have the nerve to call in sick with 12-14 weeks off per year. Hell, if we could all be so lucky. And Justwondering is wanting a week off in Feb. too. Wow, poor thing.
Just dump the No Child Left Behind nonsense, quit teaching to the CRCT and maybe the kids will turn out better. I know we care about our kids. They are good students, we are involved in all aspects, they have extra curricular activities and do fine. JustWondering, maybe you need to be in another profession, like working at the Post Office. Wait, that wouldn’t work, they only get about 3 to 4 weeks off per year. If you are a teacher, quit posting on blogs while you should be teaching.
jd
April 29th, 2011
8:31 pm
Effective governance is doing what the voters expect you to do. End of story.
FedUp
April 29th, 2011
8:38 pm
So Professional Educator,
40% of students in Cobb are low income? Seriously? Have you read the recent 2010 census? Why are grades lower now in the South, consider that Georgia and specifically Atlanta has the 4th highest level of illegal aliens, many of which cannot even speak English. Also, take out the Atlanta City Schools, and the numbers are much higher.
The main thing I was referring to in the 2009 post were ALL the people MAD about the change in the school calendar. Now people are complaining again.
Thank you Fred
April 29th, 2011
8:43 pm
I appreciate Fred implicating the Marietta Daily Journal in some of this mess. The MDJ and its editors first got a taste for blood after running Redden out of town about 7 years ago, and have been at war with the Cobb County school system ever since. The adversarial nature of this relationship has been to the detriment of the community and show no signs of abating. I’m tired of the MDJ making despicable insinuations while attributing it to conveniently anonymous “board watchers.” Maureen–Is this an issue that you could look into or do an article about? As an avid follower of your blog as well as the MDJ’s coverage of Cobb County I notice a distinct difference in the professionalism that you diplay, and the petty editorials and cheap shots the MDJ commonly uses.
Sara
April 29th, 2011
8:44 pm
Too bad the first time he shows some guts as Superintendent is when he is 2 months out from leaving!
FedUp
April 29th, 2011
8:46 pm
2010 Census report results.
The U.S. Census Bureau ranks Cobb County as the most-educated in the state of Georgia and 12th among all counties in the United States.It has ranked among top 100 wealthiest counties in the United States.
CCSDteacher
April 29th, 2011
8:48 pm
It should be noted that the Balanced Schedule was originally proposed because in other areas this schedule increased CRCT/state test score (that so many find SO important). Students get small breaks where less information is lost, instead of a 11 week summer where elementary students often drop 2-3 reading levels. Long story short, the kids hadn’t even taken the CRCT under the new schedule. They will regret their decision if the test score show what we already know about student retention
lawdawg
April 29th, 2011
8:49 pm
After reading his letter, all I could say is “wow.” Mr. Sanderson has thrown his system and the board under the bus. The school district’s attorney never should have let that letter be sent. It’s one thing for board members to whine publicly, but it’s quite another for the superintendent to whine in an official response to SACS, obviously trying to fuel an investigation in bad faith. Imagine if the CEO of a company wrote such a letter about his company to the SEC or another governmental agency. Do you think the CEO would be fired?
Barb
April 29th, 2011
8:55 pm
This is a disgrace and embarrassment. Public trust was eroded when the Balanced calendar was passed for three years. The newer board members were completely transparent about their position on this subject when they ran for the board that they planned to return to a more traditional calendar. This idea that it all came as a surprise is simply due to people not paying attention. Now that the newer members have lived up to their campaign promise those who don’t like it are heaping an embarrassing amount of attention on this issue. Read Sanderson’s comments. What they did is legal. If you don’t like it vote in new candidates but this unseemly behavior is tearing down one of the few bright spots in public education in Georgia.
another comment
April 29th, 2011
9:15 pm
I just went to dinner with two 5th graders from two different Cobb County Elementary Schools. The districts border each other. One is clearly known as the more desirable school. The kids at the more desirable school have been learning the US Contitution out of their book devoted to the US Constution.
I asked the child who goes to the less desireable school if they were also learning the US Constitution. I was told no. We have been having two hrs a day of Math of CRCT review, in case we failed them. They think we failed them, so they are reviewing it for if we have to take it again. This child also said they only covered the Constitution for about a day. They didn’t have a seperate book on it like the other school.
Both these schools feed into the same High Schools. So what happens down the road?
But in Cobb we have Fred and the teachers more worried about getting their breaks. Why on earth did they have to change from the traditional schedule anyways. We need to look at the Damage Reardon and Fred along with their patsy boards have done. They district has rapidly gone down hill. The Board Chair and three new board members are the fresh air we voted for.
Professional Educator/Researcher
April 29th, 2011
10:00 pm
Thx FedUp. You made my point for me. However, Cobb county is still federally mandated to demonstrate accountability in academic achievement and these students, regardless of their status (which is off topic BTW), affect AYP numbers. Like it or not, these student’s achievement are aggregated into the bottom line numbers. And, just a quick side note going back to your reference of that study: another limitation of that study is that they didn’t take transient students into consideration. A snap shot picture of standardized testing at one point in time does not reflect whether every single student who took that test was in that school district the entire year. If you have a student who moves into the school district mid-year, their performance is reflected in that standardized test, yet they could have started out that year in a low-performing school district.
Also, per the CCSD website:
Percentage of Students Qualifying for Free/Reduced Lunch (2009-10) – 43 %
Transiency Rate (2009-10) – 24.2 %
Another West Cobb Parent
April 29th, 2011
10:39 pm
Sanderson is correct about the board and it’s ineffectiveness. All he has done is state the facts that show how disfunctional the board is. The calendar vote was a power grab by Bartlett and the three new members. The way the rammed the calendar vote through truly angered the public. Sanderson was more in touch with the needs of the children than the current board. He should be applauded for his work and his candor in this response.
jason
April 29th, 2011
10:42 pm
Move over Fulton and Clayton…there is a whole new board of retards running our school system and making the front pages. Someone please explain how they decide changing the calendar again was the right thing to do when the survey overwhelmingly said the people dont want that?
Just Wondering
April 29th, 2011
11:10 pm
f d the time. I’m speaking for myself and my experience. I don’t give projects over breaks. My children very rarely got projects over breaks (and never had projects due upon return). I’m sure there are teachers out there that do, and if you feel that strongly about it then you need to take it up with your new board members.
“What do you teach, 1st grade, band, chorus?” Ha ha, very funny. I teach an academic subject in a secondary school (one for which there is a CRCT/EOCT).
“For teachers to say they don’t have time to grade test before break and SURELY they aren’t going to take them home makes me sick to see the amount of homework that my child in 6th grade brings home each night.”
Do you have kids in high school? Do you understand how the final schedule works? They take a test on the LAST day. Then school is over. Then break starts. I don’t know how to explain that to you any clearer. And if you think teachers don’t bring stuff home over breaks to work on, then you don’t know any teachers. Are there teachers that don’t? I’m sure. But many do. The work doesn’t get done otherwise.
As far as your sixth grader goes – is s/he in AC classes? Have you talked to the teachers? Have you talked to the administration? Complaining on a blog certainly isn’t going to do much good – teachers are damned if they do, and damned if they don’t when it comes to homework – for every parent like you, there’s a parent thinking we don’t give enough. Why does your child have so much? Is it unfinished classwork that needs to be done because s/he would rather talk to friend than do work? Is it taking forever because your child is multitasking on facebook and texting friends?
“Pinnacle system that grades haven’t been entered since April 1, blogs not updated at all. And what is said, Parents need to get involved! Yeah, maybe the teachers should get involved.”
That sounds like a problem between you and your child’s teacher. My Pinnacle grades happen to be updated, as is my blog. I don’t know why your anger is directed at me.
“Sick days? 8 to 10 weeks off for summer, a week off at Thanksgiving, 2 weeks off for Christmas and News Year, Labor Day, Presidents Day, MLK Day, election day in an off year. And teachers have the nerve to call in sick with 12-14 weeks off per year. Hell, if we could all be so lucky. And Justwondering is wanting a week off in Feb. too. Wow, poor thing.”
People get sick. Kids get sick. Sick kids get teachers sick. And none of this happens at the convenience of a calendar. I don’t understand why you are upset that teachers get sick days. Most profession jobs that require a college diploma offer PTO as part of a typical compensation package. With last year’s calender, and no furlough days, teachers would have had 7 weeks off (unpaid, BTW). This year it is closer to 9 due to the calendar shift, but as we well know, that was done “for the children” and not for the teachers. It’s not ten, and hasn’t been for as long as I’ve been with the system. We get a week (unpaid) at Thanksgiving because PARENTS wanted it. We get two weeks (UNPAID) at Christmas (which include the UNPAID holidays of Christmas and New Year’s that are usually paid holidays in the corporate world) because PARENTS want that. We have Labor Day and MLK Day off UNPAID, where most corporate jobs have these as either PTO or paid holidays. We haven’t had President’s Day off in several years – it has been a professional learning day – that is NOT a teacher workday in the traditional sense. When we do have it off, it’s UNPAID.
As far as me being a “poor thing,” my point, which you CLEARLY missed was that this big push to move to a later start was in an attempt to get back to a more “traditional” calendar. My point was that for me, a February break WAS traditional. I would have liked it for my children when they were still in Cobb schools – I wasn’t even a teacher then. Thank goodness they have both graduated and are done. Now if I can only keep my home value up.
“Just dump the No Child Left Behind nonsense, quit teaching to the CRCT and maybe the kids will turn out better. I know we care about our kids. They are good students, we are involved in all aspects, they have extra curricular activities and do fine.”
Who is this addressed to?? Me? I hate NCLB, and I don’t teach to the test. In case you haven’t been paying attention, NCLB is federal legislation from the Bush era. It’s not Cobb county, or even Georgia’s legislation. You might want to pay more attention, because the way the law is written, ALL schools will be labeled failing by 2014 if just 1 student fails to pass the CRCT/EOCT. I’m glad you care for your kids, but I’m not sure what the point of that was in this discussion.
“JustWondering, maybe you need to be in another profession, like working at the Post Office. Wait, that wouldn’t work, they only get about 3 to 4 weeks off per year. If you are a teacher, quit posting on blogs while you should be teaching.”
Again, why the vitriol? You don’t know me. My students love me and my parents do, too. I get excellent evaluations, and I’m involved at multiple levels of the profession. I’m politically active and aware, and I love nothing more educating a generally ignorant public about the truth behind the chalk. Thank you for the opportunity to do so tonight.
FTR – I was not blogging while I should be teaching – don’t worry your pretty little head about that. I’m too busy TEACHING, while teaching, to blog. I was in the “real world” for many years before I decided to take the plunge and try my hand at making a difference. If you think all those days off are so enticing, and you think it’s so easy, why don’t you join us? I’m sure you’ll never look at the world the same way.
Just Wondering
April 29th, 2011
11:12 pm
Not sure what happened to the first part of the post, but it was directed to my friend and admirer, “A Teacher Named Just Wondering” – not sure what I did to get your ire darlin’, but I hope you have yourself a good night.
MrLiberty
April 29th, 2011
11:18 pm
You wouldn’t put up with this from a private business in a competitive market where other choices were competing for your business and where your needs would be met. Why do you put up with it from the government school system??
Oh, that’s right. You don’t have a choice. How’s that working out for you? Would getting government completely out of the picture really be all that bad? Could it possibly be any worse? All it takes is for you to change your mind about the role of government and the system will collapse in upon itself. Its your children’s future after all.
Wow
April 30th, 2011
1:01 am
I would dare say that most teachers, like myself, get into teaching because they want to make a difference. They value education. They have a love for learning and want to pass that on to others. I also believe that most teachers do not choose this profession for the days off. I sat in a class for a week with a man who had been in the business world for 20 plus years as an engineer and decided that he wanted to teach. He struggled. A lot. Teaching a room full of teenagers is not an easy job. I agree with Just Wondering. Please . . . don’t judge until you have tried it for a day. Or a week. Or a school year – regardless of the calendar or the number of days off. I would never get on a blog and judge how a dentist or an IT professional or even a parent did his or her job. After reading all the entries in today’s blog, I couldn’t tell you the difference between a traditional calendar or a balanced one. I couldn’t tell you which side any of the posters supported. I could tell you that most of the posters are angry and defensive and am curious of the real source of these negative emotions.
Wow
April 30th, 2011
1:02 am
By the way, I am also a parent of two school aged children.
Wow
April 30th, 2011
1:03 am
I am also the parent of two school aged children.
CobbMomof3
April 30th, 2011
2:10 am
Great job Fred. It’s about time someone started telling the truth.
Yes, the 3 new board members ran on a platform that promised a return to the traditional calendar. And yes, many people voted them into office specifically for that reason (which is absurd considering the larger issues facing our students’ education), but many of us did not know that we would actually change our minds and end up LIKING the balanced calendar until we had a chance to see the effects on our children. After seeing this, many of us who had in fact voted these people into office realized that we had been wrong and that the balanced calendar was in fact better for our children. At the time they were voted into office, we had not actually LIVED the balanced calendar for more than a few months. With time, the realization that our children were doing better, test scores were improving, (at a time when increased class sizes, etc. gave us every reason to expect them to go down this year) attendance was improving…these truths started to sink in and many of us started changing our minds about the traditional calendar being for the best.
The job of an elected official is to LISTEN to their constituents and be our voice. Ultimately what we voted them into office to do was what was best for our children. If what is best for our children changes with time and experience, I would expect the board members to listen and roll with the changes. To blindly say “I promised to change it, I promised to change it” is crazy. WE are the people they promised it to, and WE (the majority) are saying that we now don’t want to go back to the traditional calendar. WE have found that there is actually a better way. Unless of course it isn’t actually US (the voters) to whom they are trying to keep their promises…
It will be interesting next election to see who the real “majority” is. Or will they then accuse the board of elections of running a “flawed” survey and discount that majority as well?
Normal Dad
April 30th, 2011
5:08 am
As we are seeing all across our nation, this is buyer’s remorse on steroids. A lot of us fell for the anger and fear being sold by the Republican party last year and we are now seeing exactly how wrong we were. I have deprogrammed myself from the cult of conservatism (thank God) and can now see that voting based on anger only leads to disappointment. These dimbulbs on the Cobb School Board are dangerously close to losing accreditation for the entire district because they still operate on the theory that each of their opinions is a fact – they truly do not know the difference.
But, we voted them in. It may be time for a recall movement in order to save our school system from these uneducated hicks.
NY Teaching Vet
April 30th, 2011
7:10 am
I can just skim these posts and see that people are simply rehashing their points on one side of the calendar issue or another. And that illustrates EXACTLY what Mr. Sanderson was saying in his letter – the Board may have been perfectly within their legal rights to change the calendar, yet the process was divisive.
Mike in East Cpbb
April 30th, 2011
7:26 am
Not that anyone will really read this entry, here is my 2 cents.
FIRE FRED SANDERSON
FIRE FRED SANDERSON
FIRE FRED SANDERSON
FIRE FRED SANDERSON
FIRE FRED SANDERSON
FIRE FRED SANDERSON
He started ths and should live with it. My former friend board member LCE (a Fred supporter) said Fred told her to suggest the calendar by using monkey survey, They knew they could make the numbers look like they wanted to. In addtion, he did tell people to write to SACs if they were angry.
FIRE FRED
“JUST DO IT”
Joe Frank
April 30th, 2011
7:51 am
I am growing “weary” of assaults on elected leaders when the “stakeholders” don’t agree with how a system is being run! They run to SACS ( which is no more than a FOR PROFIT enity) and in the case of Delkab and Fulton the Gov. when things do not go the way they see fit. When (or should I say where else) did the inmates take over the asslyum?
The “stakeholders” have pushed the so called balanced calenders so THEY can have more days off.
It is that simple. They have pushed block schedules so that in an eight hour day they get 2 hours off, AND it requires more people and cost more money.
Don’t let the “stakeholders” fool you. They along with GSBA, SACS, and most Supt.’s I have met don’t feel the “public” is capable of electing ANYONE (unless of course it is a retired educator) to tell them how to do their job. Now, they want you to sign that check, pay more taxes, but don’t dare suppose that gives you any right to tell them how to do thier job.
For the record on the subject at hand, NO DATA exist that indicates either calender is better than the other.
War Jacket
April 30th, 2011
7:56 am
Everyone is missing the mark here. We are wasting time bickering about balanced or traditional school calendars while the Chinese and Indians and 35 other countries are turning out better educated children in large part by having students attend school year round.
Wake up America, we are getting our butts kicked regarding education and we spend our time arguing about antiquated calendar issues.
Interesting Observation
April 30th, 2011
8:16 am
Stop blaming ileegals and minorities prior to an influx of illegals and integration the south has always and always will lag when it comes to educational achievement.
Interesting Observation
April 30th, 2011
8:16 am
illegals
X-CVV
April 30th, 2011
8:33 am
The cobb school board is filled with lightweights with their own agendas, not those of voters. Very embarrassing group of “elected” leaders in this county. They’ll be voted out in the next election—mark it down.