Last week turned out to be pretty active considering it was spring break in Wake County's traditional-calendar schools.
I'm going to try to split some things into individual posts so you can have your say. First up, John Tedesco announced Friday that he was resigning his job as VP of development of Big Brothers, Big Sisters of the Triangle to devote his time to working on the school board.
"I believe in times of challenge leaders need to make sacrifices to serve a greater public good," Tedesco says in his press release. "As we launch this new course over the coming months I am committing to working beyond full time in the efforts to bridge those gaps on our path to “great."
Not mentioned in the press release are the efforts by some supporters of the diversity policy to force Tedesco out of his job at Big Brothers Big Sisters. In Saturday's article by Matt Ehlers, Tedesco said that those threats were politically motivated and those who made them had not donated to Big Brothers Big Sisters in the past.
Comments
Smelling a Rat
Mon, 04/05/2010 - 23:02 — dgraffI smell a rat.
If Mr. Tedesco lived the life of a student in poverty, and claims to champion their cause by seeking measurable academic achievement., AND has worked for a non-profit (and been successful) that focuses on the betterment of disadvantaged kids, AND is supporting younger siblings, why in the world would he quit?
Why indeed.
Perhaps he cares too much about the kids and the programs at BB&BS to taint it's image and reputation. So rather than risk tainting the image of the programs and organzitaion he takes the high road and resigns quietly without accusations toward the management, it's supporters or those opposed to his views as a board member.
I call that respect, courage and class.
And another thing, in this ecomomy, who would quit their job unless they were forced out?
Agree
Tue, 04/06/2010 - 15:06 — SDR256I agree with you. I think the motivations are not as they appear. I heard that he was one of the most successful fundraisers they'd ever had. He increased their donations by something like 300% - so any tainting would have to come from the outside. Every time he had the chance he spoke of his work with great pride and joy. He wasn't doing that work for political purposes. He was doing it for the children and I can only imagine the pressure and stress involved in making this decision. I suspect that those who are pressuring the board would stoop to dragging that relationship through the mud. That's my own personal instinct on this one.
And yes, I agree it would be characteristic of John's moral compass to point him in the direction of helping BBBS maintain their quiet focus and not letting those who are working against him try to use their organization as a battle tool. Its BBBS loss, and especially to the children who have lost a strong advocate, activist and fundraising engine. Shame on the troublemakers who have worked to erode that relationship.
My concern is the BOE is a
Tue, 04/06/2010 - 17:31 — user12345My concern is the BOE is a part time job where citizen managers elect set direction from public input and staff recommendations, which is a slow deliberate process. John appears to lack the ability to lead or delegate and prefers to work alone. He appears to want to do it all himself … skip the pubic debate, bypass the staff recommendations and avoid the noisy pubic meetings to get it done “John’s Way”. What we end up with is a plan by a single individual who wants to put his stamp on the school system with little broad public input and superficial staff involvement. That is not the way the school system is suppose to operate.
John has put himself out
Tue, 04/06/2010 - 18:35 — jenmanJohn has put himself out there more than any other board member that I can think of. He attends meetings where he knows he many not receive a warm welcome (understatement, lol) and he is recruiting members and leaders of the low income and minority communities to work with him on student achievement. He also has citizen members on the student assignment committee. As usual you are seeing things how you want them to be, not how they really are. John is not perfect in how he has handled everything, but he's not what you make him out to be either.
Not John's Way
Tue, 04/06/2010 - 18:02 — occum_sharpeThis new plan will not be John's way and you are foolish to think it will be. It will be Farr's way, it will be Pope's way. John is putting all of his time into his job as the blueprint reader so that he doesn't screw up the plans Note:there are lots of very smart people watching very carefully and they know if they don't coach him well, he will screw up as he already has on one occassion.
There is no plan to develop. It has already been developed. Public input and discussion will be a farce.
The biggest issue, which our new board can't seem to address on student assignment, a new high school, bell schedules, transportation, etc. is WHAT WILL IT COST???
It would be really interesting to follow Mr. T around to see who he is meeting with. He's probably already on the payroll at Civitas.
Extreme fantasies
Wed, 04/07/2010 - 12:58 — SDR256These extreme fantasies don't take the public dialog in a positive direction. Its a little cloak and dagger, don't you think? Don't you think that the truth is more of a shade of grey?
What about a scenario where John was pushed out of his job and may have to sleep in his car - you know, the one that was vandalized several times? That is closer to the truth I would reckon. Does that make you feel good or make you feel bad? Do you think it bodes well for others who might have considered civic service?
Extreme fantasies
Wed, 04/07/2010 - 12:57 — SDR256These extreme fantasies don't take the public dialog in a positive direction. Its a little cloak and dagger, don't you think? Don't you think that the truth is more of a shade of grey?
What about a scenario where John was pushed out of his job and may have to sleep in his car - you know, the one that was vandalized several times? That is closer to the truth I would reckon. Does that make you feel good or make you feel bad? Do you think it bodes well for others who might have considered civic service?
So when will he quit Wake school board?
Tue, 04/06/2010 - 09:34 — sachivalayOnce the things get hot here, he is going to find some other gig and quit school board. Just wait and watch.
Bingo
Tue, 04/06/2010 - 09:52 — supportwcpssPretty obvious John has higher aspirations.
John T
Mon, 04/05/2010 - 18:19 — HereWeGoI don't understand why he would quit his job. If the other board members are part time is he planning on being a one man school board? He has talked about supporting his younger siblings so why would he put their support at risk?
Not mentioned in the press
Mon, 04/05/2010 - 14:58 — user12345Not mentioned in the press release are the efforts by some supporters of the diversity policy to force Tedesco out of his job at Big Brothers Big Sisters
While is makes it simple to condense all opposition to the board down to diversity, I do not think that is fair or accurate. Less than 10% of the kids are bussed for diversity and 90% of all kids live within five miles of their schools so we have neighborhood school system now and the BOE is unlikely to change much of that. The real issues appear to be around creating a poverty zone ITB which will lose a lot of money for many people. By all rights, ITB should be a wasteland like other cities where desegregation caused White families to evacuate to the suburbs. So, it appears ITB had a good 40 year run and will now revert to what other cities have at their core. Second, people are not happy with the priorities of the board which should be improving education, creating a budget, securing funding, etc. while their priorities have been hiring another lawyer, moving a high school for a mayor, changing the calendar at donor's schools, conduct a survey and ignore the results, ending Wednesday learning time for teachers without providing an alternative, firing the Superintendent with three months left, ending diversity which lost more funding, changing the bell schedule, and reassigning some donor's nodes which will not improve our children’s scores or education. How long will it be until they start to close next year’s $20m gap and the year after’s $80M shortfall.
So, while valuing diversity is an issue for this board, they have made so many mistakes to far and appear to be off track that many people are afraid for their children’s education and whether we will be able to retain experienced teachers, reclaim lost electives, and expand opportunities like vocational education in our children’s limited time in school.
Wasteland?
Mon, 04/05/2010 - 15:55 — Duhhuh666Thanks for explaining the diversity program. I never realized its the countys responsibility to insure ITB doesnt become a "wasteland" by constantly shuffling our children around from one school to the next. I always thought the school system was designed to teach not as a means to keep real estate values from declining.
amazed
Tue, 04/06/2010 - 06:37 — oatmealIt will never cease to amaze me when I hear the magnet program being used as a tool to increase property values.
Does anyone really want to Raleigh's core disintegrate ? How would that help the community ?
Core disintegrate
Tue, 04/06/2010 - 09:00 — Duhhuh666No one wants Raleighs core to disintegrate. But it is the citizens of Raleigh who must do something to correct issues in Raleigh, not citizens who live else where. I must deal with the issues in the city I live in, I dont see the citizens of Raleigh rushing in to help with our problems.
The Triangle Area is my Community
Tue, 04/06/2010 - 11:02 — oatmealDuhhuh666-I enjoy visiting the Life & Science Museum in Durham, Morehead Planetarium in Chapel Hill, The Museum of Natural History in Downtown Raleigh. I have an interest in seeing that none of the cities around me disintegrate.
As far as poverty and urban renewal go, wikipedia had some interesting writing:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urban_renewal
It is part of the social
Tue, 04/06/2010 - 10:05 — user12345It is part of the social contract where cities like Raleigh house all the poor people who can be used in low paying service jobs which are consumed by suburbites. Many cities like Cary and Apex use zoning rules to contain or keep poor people out. Concentrations of poor people is part of a plan not random occurance.
I don't think the magnet
Tue, 04/06/2010 - 07:44 — user12345I don't think the magnet program increased prices as much as stablized prices ... having good local schools allowed families to live ITB where in most cities they would have attended private schools in high poverty areas.
constantly shuffling our
Mon, 04/05/2010 - 19:50 — user12345User you are wrong
Mon, 04/05/2010 - 21:16 — Duhhuh66690% like in a nighborhood
Tue, 04/06/2010 - 08:07 — user1234590% .... is found on the WCPSS website on travel distance .... so, only 10% leave their neighborhood ... next look at the F&Rs ... they make up only 30% of the kids .... not even a majority of them get moved as you pointed out by the number of high poverty schools remaining.... but enough poor kids are sent to affluent schools to piss many people off ... I do not see how your 8th grader was reassigned 5 times. When you look at the reassignment maps most nodes were "last reassigned" >3 year before ... I never saw a node that was reassigned every year to a different school like you are claiming ...
3 different elementary
Tue, 04/06/2010 - 08:55 — Duhhuh6663 different elementary schools and 2 middle schools.. and there are many more out there with similar experiences
One would be the ES to MS
Tue, 04/06/2010 - 08:30 — danofncOne would be the ES to MS switch. Normally the "my kid has been moved 'x' times" people include that like they think it should count.
Since he mentioned the YR/TR middle school situation, I'd guess that he must have had a kid grandfather a reassignment to remain at a school, and then had the other kid denied a transfer. I can't imagine the same house being assigned two different MS.
I'd bet that an explanation of the switches would show much more logic than the "5 schools in 8 years" suggests.
Plus, he should understand that just because his kid isn't going to a new school doesn't mean he's not moving for growth. Sometimes the new school doesn't have to be all that close to you for it to have an impact.
Thanks
Tue, 04/06/2010 - 08:56 — Duhhuh666Thanks for the explaination, only problem is we during those 8 years we didnt have a new middle or elementary school built. Yes it should have been 2 schools maybe 3 but it was 3 Elem. and 2 Middle. Each assignment moved us to a school further away with the final assignment 3 schools were closer, but our node was needed to "balance" another school. I dont think it is unreasonable to ask for some level of stability, Having kids in different schools and different schedules is crazy. I went before the board (and eventually the superintendent) and was told that this isnt a hardship because it was only for one year! the "its about growth not diversity" mantra is bull****. So yes the number of times moved is important, if it had been your child I bet your view would be different. It is easy to experiment with someone elses child, not so easy to do to your own.
Can you tell what nodes or
Tue, 04/06/2010 - 10:31 — carson79Can you tell what nodes or schools you are talking about?
If not, could you give a node # that has experienced a similar pattern since you say there are many more parents out there like this?
Other than you and Woodstock, I've never heard anything close to this.
I've heard of it happening,
Tue, 04/06/2010 - 13:18 — danofncI've heard of it happening, but I've never heard of it happening without a new school or two being a factor somewhere along the line.
Well, my daughter is in 1st
Tue, 04/06/2010 - 09:35 — danofncWell, my daughter is in 1st grade, and she's in her 2nd school. There is at least a chance that her current school may not be in our "zone" under JT's plan, so we could be in 3 ES in 4 years.
How far away were these schools? I can leave my house and be at 5 different ES within 10 minutes. I'd feel dishonest if I was complaining because there are 3 "closer" if I was only talking about a matter of 2 or 3 minutes.
I can tell you that I don't necessarily think your situation is all that horrible. If you're willing to give more details (school names, distances, which area you live in, etc.), I'd appreciate it.
Excellent point! Some
Mon, 04/05/2010 - 16:28 — shearertwExcellent point! Some people, however, will try and use every arm of the government to advance their personal agendas. Its very sad when they will not leave education of children out of it. It appears nothing is off limits as the "ends justify the means".
If that agenda includes not
Mon, 04/05/2010 - 19:52 — user12345If that agenda includes not warehousing all the poor in concentrated areas and schools which provide fewer opportunies and encouragement, I think that is a noble goal.
..
Mon, 04/05/2010 - 15:48 — Dove314Tomorrow's agenda:
www.wcpss.net/Board/agendas_schedules/04_06_2010-agenda.html
No update on Magnet School grant continuations or applications is currently listed.
No overall discussion of the budget is currently mentioned.
No update on the ED Student Performance Task Force is included and no meetings are currently on the Board's calendar for April for this committee.
Hopefully an update will be included from the March 9 Student Achievement meeting. The Student Achievement committee is scheduled to meet on April 13 but has already cancelled the regularly scheduled meeting for April 27th.
So...
Mon, 04/05/2010 - 15:26 — Bob_SconceIt seems clear that most of the heat levied at the school board is due to its plan to drop the diversity-based assignment policy. There are certainly people who are upset about other things, but I suggest that they might not have even noticed those things had it not been for the diversity issue. Heck, some of them wouldn't have even come up -- Del Burn's quitting, for example.
ITB Raleigh will not turn into a "wasteland" simply because students go to school closer to home. That's just silly. If you're going to make silly statements like that, why not just say that it will be taken over by the Lord of the Underworld and be done with it?