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The WakeEd blog is devoted to discussing and answering questions about the major issues facing the Wake County school system. How much will the new Democratic majority on the school board do to undo the changes made by Republicans since 2009? Will the new student assignment plan be a hybrid of the last two models or primarily be a return to the use of busing for diversity? Who will replace Tony Tata as the new superintendent of the state's largest district? How will voters react to a likely request in 2013 to borrow potentially more than $1 billion to build and renovate schools?

WakeEd is maintained by The News & Observer's Wake schools reporter, T. Keung Hui. While Keung posts information and analysis on the issues, keep us posted on your suggestions, questions, tips and what you're doing to cope with the changes in Wake's schools.

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Carolyn Morrison says they "could do better" than hiring Anthony Tata

Submitted by KeungHui on 12/23/2010 - 17:23

Wake County school board member Carolyn Morrison says they "could do better for the parents, children, staff and taxpayers" than hiring Anthony Tata to be the new superintendent.

In this statement today, Morrison says that Tata is to "be commended for his service to the American people during his years in the Army." But she says can't vote for him because "nothing in his background of experience suggests that he is prepared to lead the largest school district in N.C."

Morrison says there are more qualified people to be superintendent, pointing to all the career educators. She says that Tata's 18 months as chief operating officer of D.C. Public Schools and his time in the Broad Superintendents Academy don't qualify him for the Wake job.

Morrison argues that the track record of former military officers serving as superintendents has been poor.

Morrison also takes a shot at Tata's military-action novels, saying "they're less than scholarly."

"His thought world does not seem to support his desire to go to the top of our profession as his starting point," Morrison says. "I think he should work his way up in an educational system as he was required to do in the military."

1293140219 Carolyn Morrison says they "could do better" than hiring Anthony Tata The News and Observer Copyright 2011 The News and Observer . All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Comments

I can't wait for the voters

Thu, 12/30/2010 - 14:17 — woodstock

I can't wait for the voters to demonstrate they can "do better" than Carolyn "What Day is It?" Morrison (or her lady-in-waiting, Ann Sherron).

you and Deborah Prickett

Mon, 01/03/2011 - 11:38 — stepbystep

Woodstock, you and Deborah Prickett seem to have an above average dislike of Dr. Morrison--you in offensive blog posts and she in disrespectful behavior at BOE meetings towards a classy lady who has served our students well for years as an educator and during the past year as a BOE member. Both of you have a lot to learn from Dr. Morrison.

I don't know Dr. Morrisson

Mon, 01/03/2011 - 14:37 — woodstock

I don't know Ms. Morrison so I would not say I "dislike" her. That would be beside the point anyway. My comments on this forum are based solely on her position as an ~~elected~~ (sorry) "appointed" public official and her increasingly frequent, rude, nasty and insulting comments reported in the N&O and stated at board meetings. I do not see much evidence of the "class" you reference, maybe she saves all that for when the microphones and cameras are put away.

Interestingly, Morrison's classless behavior and the frequent rude and insulting comments are also evident in Morrison's mentee, Ann Sherron. I am not sure how Sherron acted before her involvement with Morrison, but it seems the apple does not fall far from the tree.

Actually, based on Sherron's recent bizarre and threatening rant at a recent BoE meeting, I am going to cut Morrison some slack here and say that Ann Sherron has taken what she learned from Morrison and taken it to a whole new level.

Fixed your typos

Mon, 01/03/2011 - 15:42 — magnetParent

"Interestingly, ~~Morrison's~~ Tedesco's classless behavior and the frequent rude and insulting comments are also evident in ~~Morrison's~~ Tedesco's ~~mentee~~ mentor, ~~Ann Sherron~~ Ron Margiotta. I am not sure how ~~Sherron~~ Tedesco acted before ~~her~~ his involvement with ~~Morrison~~ Margiotta, but it seems the apple does not fall far from the tree."

Fix it for ya

Oh my, that's weak. LOL Here

Mon, 01/03/2011 - 17:28 — woodstock

Oh my, that's weak. LOL

Here is an example of that famous Morrison class from the The American Independent: http://www.americanindependent.com/163410/morrison-leads-protest-over-hiring-of-retired-general-to-lead-wake-schools#dsq-form-area

In it you will learn such "classy" Morrisonisms as:

The only skill set folks with a degree from West Point and a military background possess is "how to kill."
General Tata supports "segregation."
And, the search committee, which Morrison was part of and that Debra Goldman chaired, did a lousy job of selecting candidates. (Take that Goldman... so much for trying to work together with that classy Carolyn Morrison.)

I can not wait for the BOE

Thu, 12/30/2010 - 14:36 — user12345

I can not wait for the BOE to spend less time on politics and more time on student achievement.

LOL So, the fact that they

Thu, 12/30/2010 - 19:41 — woodstock

LOL So, the fact that they have done more for student acheivement in one year than was done in the past decade is completely lost on you? I thought you were an informed guy... just kidding, I never really thought that. Just how far are you able to get your head up your...? I think you should contact Guiness, you may have a new world record... but you may have to pry the trophy loose from Carolyn Morrison's hands.

So, under the new boe

Fri, 12/31/2010 - 10:15 — user12345

So, under the new boe graduation rates of AA have risen to ??. We have replaced Chapel Hill and Fairfax, VA as the best system in the nation?? EOx have risen what %?? Work has started on what vocational campus??

Besides bell schedules, a new lawyer, and lunch prices they had done nothing to make our kids more globally competitive .... , I am want to know the actual academic achievements. Do you have a list?

I've listed them multiple

Fri, 12/31/2010 - 10:53 — woodstock

I've listed them multiple times, in he future please try to keep up. Here is a summary of some of the highlights:

Eliminated the very discriminatory zero tolerance policy instituted and implemented by the status quo; this will lead to less long-term suspension, more kids staying in school and lower dropout rates
Instituted the use of EVASS to better track student and teacher performance and provide data for academic intervention when necessary
Eliminated the discriminatory practice instituted by the status quo of denying minority and low-income students access to higher level math courses. Now, literally thousands of students who would have been held back (i.e., discriminated against) are now in advanced math course which will broaden their future academic opportunities.
Reassigned students to schools closer to their homes to eliminate excessively long bus rides providing students with more time (up to two additional hours per day) to attend to school work; it also facilitated greater parental involvement.
Proactively taken initial steps to place schools in locations that reflect future population growth. This will facilitate shorter commutes (less time on a bus and more time to attend to school) and greater community and parental support (which will lead to lower drop out rates and higher graduation rates).
Hired a highly qualified Superintendent whose primary focus will be on student achievement, effective teachers and competent administrators.

This sounds like a weak

Fri, 12/31/2010 - 12:04 — user12345

This sounds like a weak performance plan .. hired X, changed policy Y, moved Z ... I am looking for numerical results that will show WCPSS is a different place ...none of your academic accomplishments will significantly improve academic performance ... moving kids closer or further from home is unlikely to help us beat Singapore in math ... remember your #1 concern was AA graduation rates .... do you think your list of accomplishments above is making the Chinese shiver in fear?

LOL Predictable response. It

Fri, 12/31/2010 - 17:04 — woodstock

LOL Predictable response. It just shows that no matter what they do you will not acknowledge progress or success. You know perfectly well the changes have to be in place for a period of time before the numbers you seek will be available.

Do you really doubt that the changes mentioned -- better academic tracking tools, more kids in advanced classes, lower drop out rates, increased graduation rates, more parental involvement -- will not lead to greater achievement for more students? You are in denial, pal. What will be your story when the data shows progress. What will be your excuse then?

You never said a word when achievement declined over the past decade, now folks are stepping up and make positive changes to halt and correct the decline and you can't shut up. What's your game? Is partisanship really your only concern?

Data driven Decision making

Fri, 12/31/2010 - 17:39 — Solon77

If we are going to use EVAAS type analysis to evaluate success of teachers then why not policies as well. It stands to reason there should be numerical goals and tracking against those goals - otherwise how does one measure success ?

I for one am interested in what the goals are. Increase graduation rate from X to Y, Increase test scores from X to Y. If you want to attribute improved test scores and graduation rates to shorter bus rides and lower long term suspension have at, but if graduation rates and test scores do not improve with the initiatives then it is all for naught.

"If you want to attribute

Sat, 01/01/2011 - 18:27 — Apexter

"If you want to attribute improved test scores and graduation rates to shorter bus rides and lower long term suspension have at, but if graduation rates and test scores do not improve with the initiatives then it is all for naught. "

I have no idea if shorter bus rides or lower long term suspension rates will affect test scores or graduation rates. However, they will represent shorter bus rides and lower long term suspension rates, which I think both have intrinsic value. Hardly "all for naught."

Improved test scores and graduation rates are good goals. However, they are not the only item worthy of improvement.

"It stands to reason there

Fri, 12/31/2010 - 18:06 — woodstock

"It stands to reason there should be numerical goals and tracking against those goals - otherwise how does one measure success ?"

I agree 100%, it does stand to reason... and I think you will see that. The public pleaded for years with the status quo board to conduct a study to prove that the ridiculous node system and constant reassignments were benefitting anyone. The response from some on the board was "we don't need to do a study, we know it works" .... as the grad and achievement rates continued to declined. That kind of response did not fly before and wouldn't fly now. I am with you one this one.

I predict Carolyn Morrison will win

Fri, 12/31/2010 - 17:52 — FSandYOU

the Limp Leaf Loblolly Gumball award for most INEPT person ever to serve on the boe.

DC did better

Sat, 12/25/2010 - 14:31 — HereWeGo

DC did better they picked Kaya Henderson to head their school system not Mt. Tata.

Better? Oh my. Get back to

Thu, 12/30/2010 - 19:46 — woodstock

Better? Oh my. Get back to me in a year and let me know what you think.

Carolyn Morrison says she

Fri, 12/24/2010 - 13:14 — woodstock

Carolyn Morrison says she won the Long Leaf Pine award. I have no doubt that is true; but what does it mean? According the the N&O "A State Employee is awarded The Order of the Long Leaf Pine if he/she has 30+ years of service to North Carolina." So, this means that Morrsion was awarded this "honor" by simply never venturing outside the narrow confines of academia during her 30-year career. No wonder she suffers from tunnel vision and lacks so much perspective.

Good grief!

Fri, 12/24/2010 - 18:14 — drecj56

Here we go again, Morrison disagrees with the hiring of Tata, and as a result of her disapproval of his hiring she is subject to insults and a smear campaign by you Right Wingers. Go figure, you guys hate it when people stand up and speak out on an issue, except of course, when you are in agreement. Morrison has every right voice her opinion, and in this case she is right, Wake could have done much better in choosing a new Super, 100 hundred candidates and this is what we get! Good grief!

?

Sun, 12/26/2010 - 11:40 — Bob_Sconce

What smear campaign?

Nobody's claiming that she doesn't have a right to voice her opinion. But, she's a public official -- when she says something asinine or just ill-advised, she should be called out for it. That's especially true when it's a thought-out position and not just, say, an off-the-cuff remark. (Which I'm much more forgiving of.)

You don't know who applied for the position or what their qualifications were, so you have no way of knowing if Wake could have done better -- you're just speculating. Personally, even though I don't have a whole lot of information on Tata, I like what I've seen so far.

LOL I absolutely LOVE it

Sun, 12/26/2010 - 11:04 — woodstock

LOL I absolutely LOVE it when people "stand up and speak out" as Morrison has done. I think she should do it more often. It will help folks understand just how isolated and bigoted it is in the little world in which she chooses to live.

Also, how would you describe the criticism of Tata? Sounds like "smears" to me. General Tata is clearly a very accomplished and learned man who has served his country honorably and has taken decisive steps to prepare himself the the position he now holds. He may not have been a teacher, but he has not been hired to teach, he has been hired to manage a staff of 18,000 and a budget of $1 billion... something he as extensive experience doing. He has more direct experience in leading and managing large organizations than any previous superintendent. He is supremely qualified. However, it seems the extreme left -- including McLaurin Meeker, Sutton, Hill and Morrison -- prefer to play politics rather than admit that.

The Trouble with Teaching's Circle-the-Wagons Mentality

Fri, 12/24/2010 - 10:21 — AngelaW

http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/rick_hess_straight_up/2010/12/the_trouble_with_teachings_circle-the-wagons_mentality.html?print=1

Did she really say this??

Fri, 12/24/2010 - 00:50 — nancync

"nothing in his background of experience suggests that he is prepared to lead the largest school district in N.C."

She did! And I know who she voted for President to lead our military as well, I'd bet my house on her vote on that one ;)

Typical

Thu, 12/23/2010 - 23:43 — Bob_Sconce

Morrison's reaction is exactly the same reaction that every insular group when an outsider takes control. Basically, read this as "the education establishment is offended." The "less than scholarly" comment is tellingly snobbish.

I love how she questions whether a person who didn't have a military career would be qualified to be in charge of the military. Uh... Earth to Carolyn: check out the resumes of the nation's past Secretaries of Defense and its current President!

I just read through

Thu, 12/23/2010 - 19:23 — jenman

I just read through Morrison's statement and I must say that "people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones." Cliche but true. If I were to judge her by her written statement, let's just say that the results would be less than flattering. I readily admit that I'm a bit of an education snob but thankfully I've learned over the years in the real world not to judge somebody's intelligence by their writing ability or their choice of topic. If I turned that statement in as a persuasive paper, my college profs would have given me a B at best. Good thing that Morrison doesn't have to answer to Dr. Young like I did. ;-)

Are you logging?

Fri, 12/24/2010 - 18:22 — drecj56

And judging by your grammar, I wouldn't have given you a B. Are you kidding? the general is not being judged by his ability to write, but on his razor thin resume as an educational leader. No experience in improving student achievement, no experience as a Super, and no experience as an educator, it all adds up as a total disaster for our already crumbling school system.

Most people who major

Sat, 12/25/2010 - 14:47 — woodstock

Most people who major in education in college are in the lower third of students. Those who attend institutions such as West Point -- as Tata did - are at the top of their class.

The last two superintendents

Sat, 12/25/2010 - 14:40 — woodstock

The last two superintendents of WCPSS were Del Burns and Bill McNeal. Neither had superintendent experience... or even training as a superintendent as Tata does have. Unlike Tata, neither Burns or McNeal had experience leading large organizatrions or managing billion dollar budgets. It is pretty clear that if one considers the actual responsibilies of being a superintendent (not a teacher) Tata is significantly more qualified -- by far -- over WCPSS's previous superintendents.

Billion $ budgets

Sat, 12/25/2010 - 16:17 — Solon77

My wife can swipe the credit card with the best - that doesn't mean she is a qualified financial executive. So the last time the Defense Budget was cut was ? With regards to DC - ok so he outsourced some maint people, no mention of the realized savings (if any) and under Rhee school funding has been increased by $100m a year / 20% increase.

Hey if he can cut $100m out of the budget and sustain achievement improvements through 2014 I would kick in a bonus.

It Is Kind Of Funny To See...

Sat, 12/25/2010 - 18:01 — chaboard

...people hold up his Pentagon budget experience as a key qualification. I guess it's possible that he showed some capability there to make hard budget decisions and deal with budget cuts.

But regardless of your ideology it's hard to dispute that the Pentagon/DoD is the most pork-laden, waste-ridden AND oversight-free financial entity in humam history. And given that his experience came in the war theater which would be the very last place to be subject to any cuts.......given all that, it's pretty damn unlikely that he has ANY experience with budget shortfalls.

Think he was grilled on that in the "interviews"?

Again, chaboard prejudice view

Sat, 12/25/2010 - 23:31 — Voice_of_Reason_

The pork mainly comes from Washington and acquisitions. Commanders in the field actually have tight budgets. Most waste at that level is spent at the end of the fiscal year. It is the mind bogling waste of taxpayer money that is forced upon military commanders when money is left over at the end of the year. The reason this occurs is due to government budgeting rules (i.e. use it or lose it and get less next year). This even occurs in state level governement agencies. Many military commanders deal with budget shortfalls during the year. Budgeting is a very important command function for commander's staffs. Don't get buying weapon systems and operational unit's operating expenses confused.

But as I think it has been said before, what did Dr Burn's (when he was hired) or any other educator have in the way of keeping budgets in comparison to what BGen Tata has? BGen Tata's is far superior.

So...

Sat, 12/25/2010 - 20:08 — Bob_Sconce

An awful lot of that pork and waste comes from congress appropriating funds for things like weapons programs that the military doesn't want.

True

Sat, 12/25/2010 - 23:44 — chaboard

But it doesn't change the fact that it's most likely the first real tough budget the guy had to make was in DC post-military.

as opposed to...

Sat, 12/25/2010 - 18:25 — red_balloon

BOE Interviewer: Welcome Dr. Burns. School A has 500 all white kids. School B has 300 all black kids. If you are made supdt, would you bus and 'balance' the schools?

Dr. Burns: Yes, I will bus 250 white kids to School B and 150 black kids to School A.

BOE Interviewer: Brilliant! Welcome aboard Supdt. Burns!

...

Sat, 12/25/2010 - 18:41 — Sideburns

You forgot a sentence.

Dr. Burns: And I will give a plethora of electives to the white kids at School B for their sacrifice.

Why do you believe that?

Fri, 12/24/2010 - 18:33 — nancync

Is a degree in education on any level an automatic winner? No, not when you're discussing the management of a very large school district. How many educators have the degree or experience running billion dollar corporations with systems management, technology sectors, human resources etc?

By that question, would not an educator not be qualified to run a large school system which requires a level of business acumen not provided in their educational degree? I tend to believe so.

What in the heck is a

Thu, 12/23/2010 - 18:38 — jenman

What in the heck is a 'thought world'?

I guess she is the

Thu, 12/23/2010 - 21:39 — DrActualFactual

I guess she is the self-appointed thought police. Ms. Morrison is a disgrace to our system. She hired Del Burns years ago, and he helped get her appointed to her seat--cozy. I am sure the general will be really impressed by your pointing out the big difference in the number of stars required for success. Ms. Morrison needs to get a clue on how to work well with others--you maam have dug a hole that our overpaid PR dept. couldn't even get you out of and have removed all doubt as to the level of your utter stupidity and lack of judgment. GSIW is right behind you in a close second finish for insulting the newly hired.

The thought world is

Thu, 12/23/2010 - 21:14 — CaryCurmudgeon

The thought world is actually part of a parallel universe, where all the schools in Wake County are great and they consider a 56% ED graduation rate to be "progress." Carolyn Morrison lives there, so does Ann McLaurin.

Well, you'd be hard pressed

Fri, 12/24/2010 - 18:33 — drecj56

Well, you'd be hard pressed to find anyone who would suggest that "all the schools of Wake are great." they are not, but if you do some research and stop bashing the system, you might discover that it is far better than most. I think that the universe you'll describing is what you have created for yourself and you are angry that others won't live in it with you!

uhm....books?

Thu, 12/23/2010 - 18:43 — AngelaW

uhm....books?

..."thought world?" Maybe it

Thu, 12/23/2010 - 18:50 — woodstock

..."thought world?" Maybe it is dreams or point of view... or -- more likely -- maybe just the incoherent babbling of a person whose entire perspective is limited to academia and Wake County in the 1970s.

It is interesting that

Thu, 12/23/2010 - 18:38 — woodstock

It is interesting that Morrison brought up the matter of votes. Before she casts aspersions on folks about working/earning their way into a position, perhaps she do the same herself. Most BoE work their way onto the board by campaigning and winning elections. She did neither.

Morrison is a doddering old fool who cannot even keep up with the proceedings during board meetings. I am quite certain the public cares little about what she has to say on the matter.

Woodstock, I agree with Morrison

Fri, 12/24/2010 - 09:48 — valspar

Seeing Morrison's education credentials below, (from the WCPSS website) I would have to agree with her that I would not want her leading my son into battle with simply a Broad course, regardless of her credentials in her first chosen field. I also agree with her that military strategists, no matter how decorated, should not start out leading when out of their field. Tata will be only as good as the people he leads, and that is assuming he can effectively keep, hire and retain effective career educators, not being one himself. I, personally, was hoping for some new, innovative ideas in education, not someone who knows how to set up a warehouse and order books and computers, and make thousands of soldiers change clothes at the snap of a finger (read his website). Woodstock, as usual, your posts are juvenile. Looking at Dr. Morrison's credentials, she has the credentials to serve. You post sounds, once again, like the ramblings of a Prickett - "quite certain". How, pray tell, are you quite certain? And, you forgot to say "um". That's right - in print, you can clean it up first.

Dr. Morrison recently retired after serving as the director of the Division of Education at Peace College. Prior to that she was an associate professor in the School of Education at Campbell University and was chairperson for the state ABC Assistance Team for the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. She had a long career in the Wake County Public School System serving as a principal at Lynn Road Elementary and Root Elementary, as a WCPSS Elementary Curriculum Consultant, and as a teacher at Green Elementary.

She is a member of the Board of Visitors at Peace College, received the Order of the Long Leaf Pine from the state of NC, and served as an elder and deacon at her church, First Presbyterian Church of Raleigh, NC. She is married to Fred G. Morrison, Jr., the Senior Administrative Law Judge for the NC Office of Administrative Hearings.

Hmm...

Fri, 12/24/2010 - 13:47 — Bob_Sconce

I also agree with her that military strategists, no matter how decorated, should not start out leading when out of their field.

I'll point out that the current commander-in-chief has absolutely no prior military experience.

I'll Point Out That

Fri, 12/24/2010 - 17:50 — chaboard

the commander in chief isn't SUPPOSED to have military experience. The whole constitutional point of the commander in chief role is to ensure CIVILIAN control of the military.

And the current civilian commander in chief earned his role by openly convincing 60 million or so Amerians of his abilities.......not by getting rammed through in secret by five people. There is a slight difference there.

I agree...

Sat, 12/25/2010 - 01:19 — Bob_Sconce

They're certainly different. But, the point is that coming from "outside the field" does not necessarily disqualify somebody from leadership. Every profession and industry, and many companies, think that outsiders should have to learn from the ground up, just like they did. That's why old time ham radio operators were enormously upset when the Morse Code requirement was dropped. It's part of the reason (among several others) that the capital press corps took an instant dislike to Sarah Palin ("How dare McCain bring in somebody we don't know about??"). It's why the Los Angeles teachers boycotted the LA Times when it ran the value-add study ("These aren't professional educators. How dare they presume to measure us.")

Tata's appointment, like Joel Klein's before him, is a threat to school administrators all across the country because if he's successful, it means that you don't need their degrees, "primary research," and so on. So, they view it as a slap-in-the-face -- basically, a statement from the WCPSS school board that "we don't think your degree and experience are worth what you think they're worth." All you need is proven leadership skills and a 10-month training program.

Correction

Sat, 12/25/2010 - 10:05 — HereWeGo

A 10 month weekend ungraded training program.

Seriously?

Sat, 12/25/2010 - 23:55 — chaboard

A 10 month weekend ungraded training program.

You know the one thing I was impressed with was his going back to start a second career with extensive training. Not too long ago I went back to school full-time for a 10 month MS degree and it was one the hardest things I've ever done. I was thinking he had done something similiar. But just weekends? Ungraded? Sheesh....

Carolyn Morrison says they "could do better" than hiring Anthony Tata

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