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By a 6-2 vote, the Wake County school board has voted today to fully cooperate with the AdvancED accreditation review.
The four Democrats were joined by Republicans Debra Goldman and John Tedesco. Before the vote, Tedesco read a statement urging the board to vote unanimously to welcome AdvancED in and show the community is more united than it is divided.
But Chris Malone and Deborah Prickett voted no. They objected to the scope of the review.
UPDATE
Click here to read Tedesco's statement.
Comments
I am trying to think of how
Wed, 01/26/2011 - 07:20 — willynillyI am trying to think of how this whole thing comes about. ADvanced is paid some 25K to accredit the WCPSS and is paid that by the WCPSS. If they do this (WCPSS) then they are really giving permission for ADvanced to come in at any time to review what is going on. Now there is the question of the scope.
When I take my Explorer in to get it inspected each year I am getting it inspected "by the state." However, this crack on the lower part of my windshield will be an issue. For 2 years that crack has been a non-issue. Last month the inspector said they needed to replace my windshield. The guidelines say that the crack cannot obstruct my view. So here we have a difference in opinion. The crack is still there by the way.
I know this analogy might seem a bit off here, but when you pay someone to do something and they "know what they want" to see then you are at their mercy. That entity can take away your accreditation if they choose. You paid them to do what they do.....and that is what they do. That may be a bit of a simple way to look at it, but whomever is reading through the documents for this review will be the one "interpreting" the information.
All they needed was an excuse...
Tue, 01/25/2011 - 12:07 — bpuli9999to save face. Fortunately for them Elgart (the AdvancEd president??) did that.
The four Democrats were
Tue, 01/25/2011 - 11:33 — user12345The four Democrats were joined by Republicans Debra Goldman and John Tedesco.
?
Tue, 01/25/2011 - 11:59 — Bob_SconceIt's a 6-2 vote, and you're accusing the TWO of not thinking for themselves?
But Chris Malone and Deborah
Tue, 01/25/2011 - 12:39 — user12345But Chris Malone and Deborah Prickett voted no. They objected to the scope of the review.
Bob ... think for yourself ... check with your neighbors who have children about to graduate and ask them if dumping accreditation is the top priority they want the BOE working on ... or if they would drop accreditation because a few members did not like the scope of teh audit... this has to be one of the most obvious examples members were willing to sacrifice our children for their own hardcore political philosophy. That is not thinking ..
So...
Tue, 01/25/2011 - 12:57 — Bob_SconceThere are legitimate questions of whether AdvanceEd provides value and of whether they are overreaching in their investigation (it is not an audit). The evidence is hardly conclusive -- DeLuca's Point of View article today makes that case better than I can**.
As a political matter, dropping accreditation would be a dumb move -- lots of people *think* that it provides value, even if, perhaps, it doesn't in reality. So, it would be politically expedient for Malone and Prickett to go along with the investigation. In my book, not going along with that political expediency is independence.
(**DeLuca didn't spend much time on the college/scholarship angle. There's been a lot of hand-waving about how it would affect college admissions and scholarships, but no good facts. I've done some internet investigation and I think that concern is seriously overblown. I didn't find any scholarship that required an accredited high school, and only a single college -- Pittsburg State in Kansas -- that required it. $25K/yr is a lot to spend so WCPSS students have access to a podunk school in Kansas that nobody's ever heard of. And that doesn't count all the staff and board time spent dealing with AdvanceEd.)
(As to the "but, we called UNC and they said it was important" line, first of all, that's not exactly what they said. Secondly, UNC is accredited by AdvanceED -- that's not a fight they want to pick.)
There are legitimate
Tue, 01/25/2011 - 14:28 — user12345There are legitimate questions of whether AdvanceEd provides value and of whether they are overreaching in their investigation (it is not an audit).
Bob ... I say go research their question on their own time... if they have ideological differences with accreditation don't experiment on our kids ... this is not the issue to make a neocon stand on the role of government, etc. If they want to play with people's life, get off the board and do some video game.
So...
Tue, 01/25/2011 - 14:43 — Bob_SconceYou took me a bit too literally -- perhaps I should have said "There are reasonably positions on both sides of the argument."
Their position is not neoconservative. If anything, it's just antiestablishment, which is neither conservative nor liberal.
Your position appears to be, approximately, "Until you can convincingly demonstrate that a long-standing practice is superfluous or destructive, we should presume that it is necessary." That's actually a very conservative position.
I did not mean to offend you
Tue, 01/25/2011 - 15:19 — user12345I did not mean to offend you .... my point is don't rock the boat ... sort of like diversity ... investigate and move cautiously to where you want to be ... so, put up this group and find another one later ... accreditation is not a place where I want them to make their last stand ... especially with our kids ...
Oh...
Tue, 01/25/2011 - 15:58 — Bob_SconceNo offense taken. I didn't mean to imply that I was offended.
The problem is that the boat is already rocking. If this were just a periodic review, then I'd fully agree. But, despite all the talk about collegiality and cooperation, AdvanceEd is soon going to be tossing grenades into board members' laps.
Has there ever been a case where AdvanceEd did one of these investigations and DID NOT put the schools on probation?
See I think AE is under the
Tue, 01/25/2011 - 16:09 — user12345See I think AE is under the same pressure. On false step and Rush will be all over it ...."liberal, commie, pinko accreditation group pushes socialist agenda on conservative Wake". I think that just need to do their job and force the issue or other systems will start to buck their request too. Again, $25k is not where I would have much of my attention at this point.
Really?
Tue, 01/25/2011 - 16:28 — Bob_SconceI don't see this making national media. Heck, neither the Washington Post story or Colbert mentioned it.
What would make the national media, at least among educator circles, is if WCPSS told AdvanceEd where to go. There'd also be press if the GA decided to have the NC Dept. of Ed do the accrediting and took AdvanceEd out of the picture for the entire state. (Not Likely.)
This is a place where WCPSS' membership in the NCSBA could have been helpful.
Bob .. I do dream about Ron
Tue, 01/25/2011 - 16:53 — user12345Bob .. I do dream about Ron and team telling AE to shove it, DOE to keep their money, and all Educational Organizations to get lost .... that would rid us of these guys forever ...
...
Tue, 01/25/2011 - 16:41 — Sideburns"There'd also be press if the GA decided to have the NC Dept. of Ed do the accrediting and took AdvanceEd out of the picture for the entire state. (Not Likely.)"
Why do you think this is not likely?
Because...
Tue, 01/25/2011 - 17:18 — Bob_SconceIt's not clear how much it would cost; in this budget year, we're trying to have gov't do less; it's really a local issue.
If it weren't for the unknown cost, I'd think it'd be a great thing.
Good question. DG applies
Tue, 01/25/2011 - 11:54 — sachivalayGood question. DG applies logic and votes. It is becoming clear that JT uses passion to vote. CM and DP only look at the RM's playbook and vote. Let's see who sees beyond the playbook next!