Is Wake County Superintendent Tony Tata in danger of losing his job?
"It was brought to my attention this afternoon by reliable sources that Wake County School Board members, (Jim) Martin, (Susan) Evans, and (Christine) Kushner were making plans to to remove Superintendent Tony Tata from his position," Phil Matthews, vice chairman of the Wake County Board of Commissioners, wrote Sept. 11 on his Facebook page.
This is very concerning to me as a County Commissioner because Mr Tata has done an outstanding job for our school system. If this is true the citizens of Wake County will be very upset not to mention the majority of the Wake Commissioners. I will watch this situation very carefully!!"
Matthews said today he hasn't heard anything more since then.
The school board has been continuing its closed-session annual review of Tata's performance. The next discussion will likely take place at a Monday afternoon closed session to discuss "personnel issues."
If the board got rid of Tata, they'd have to pay him one year's salary —$255,222. The alternative would be to fire him "with cause," a messy and potentially legally expensive process.
Another option could be what's typically the Wake County way, encourage Tata to resign.
Kushner said today that she doesn't discuss personnel matters. She said she's been trying to work with Tata on the various issues that the school system is facing.
School board member Chris Malone, who says he's not one of the sources mentioned by Matthews, said it would be a mistake to get rid of Tata. He declined comment on whether there is a plot to fire the superintendent.
"If it comes to pass, it will be very bad," Malone said. "We would look like a dysfunctional leaderless rabble as far as a school board is concerned."
UPDATE
The Hilburn Drive Academy PTA sent out this email this afternoon urging people to contact the school board to save Tata's job.
The email points to the positive changes that have been made at Hilburn since Tata became superintendent. On Sept. 11, Tata received an award from the school's PTA.
Comments
ITB Ed free?
Sat, 09/22/2012 - 16:49 — realisticYou have got to be kidding. How about Leesville, Western Wake, now ED free compared to three years ago - remember the R board removed ED children from their districts and Tata certainly did not put them back with the Choice Plan . Did you scream about that? I bet not. Massively broken? So I guess your house is for sale? You do enjoy the drama of your posts.
actually I did early in the process
Sat, 09/22/2012 - 21:52 — snordoneI worked at an afterschool program in SE Raleigh at the time and I was determined that they would get achievement choices for them - schools that got growth from all subgroups, not just the critical mass of NED white kids. You can go back and find my posts about it.
and massively broken is an understatement. No drama, just look back at our data prior to 2009. You can listen to people talk or you can look at the data.
Problem was that many of those schools were not
Sat, 09/22/2012 - 17:35 — nmoskalThe problem was that many of those schools (Leesville and most in WW) were not meeting the academic needs of their ED students. Some schools where ED children were assigned to for "diversity" failed them miserably. Tata actually gives a crap whether or not ED children are getting academic growth/benefit in the schools to which they are assigned. The R board and Tata don't believe in spreading ED kids around just for the sake of spreading them around, regardless of whether where they end up meets their needs or fails them miserably. I know that's a foreign concept to many around here.
That is why ED children were not just "put back" in many of those schools with the Choice Plan. Instead, ED families were given a choice under the Choice Plan of certain schools, referred to as "Regional Choice" schools in WW and other areas. The families were also provided with the knowledge of which of those RC schools were "High-Performing" (HP), meaning they meet the needs of ALL students. Many of the HP schools had higher percentages of ED kids than the ones they'd attended in WW and Leeseville. Think about it and see if you can figure out why schools in diverse areas might do better with ED students than schools in non-diverse areas (ITB does not count as diverse, it is one of our most segregated areas). Under the choice plan, ED families could make an informed choice for their child instead of just being treated like something that needs to be spread around so everyone has their "fair share" and no one has to get too much poor on them. What an awful way to think about human beings.
It was very interesting to
Sat, 09/22/2012 - 21:17 — jenmanIt was very interesting to see which schools were Regional Choice/high performing schools. Some on that list would not be the ones Wake had come to expect after all the years of the diversity policy.
I wasn't surprised by which were HP
Sat, 09/22/2012 - 23:15 — nmoskalThe former administration had a deficit model culture at the top, but decentralized control where each school was a bit like its own island. As a result, you had many schools operating under a deficit model mentality, but also a few school islands quietly running under an asset model mentality and the results reflect that.
Plus, when the administration changed and the culture at the top moved off the deficit model, the asset model schools were able to flourish even more and finally be acknowledged because schools were no longer being judged on %FRL, but by their achievement results for all students. Plus, once the Effectiveness Index nonsense was stopped, people could judge actual academic growth for ED students, not we thought they got growth because the EI formula automatically lowered the expected growth bar for ED students, but they actually didn't.
I'm sure the deficit model BOE members would love nothing more than to stuff the HP schools back into the hidden bag, where they were designated as "at risk" schools because they had X% FRL students, instead of being designated HP based on their achievement results as that doesn't support their, and their supporters, deficit model theories. I'm guessing that is also one reason for the Tata witchhunt who isn't a deficit-model theorist and has been working to move wcpss off deficit mentality.
One of the schools with the highest growth last year was a high-poverty, high-minority school. Did you see how fast Martin tried to undermine that instead of acknowledging it? Deficit thinkers simply cannot accept that given the appropriate tools and removal of barriers to success (barriers like being given remediation when they are ready for rigor), poor and minority students are just as capable and able as rich and white kids. They also can't wrap their heads around the thought that the presence of rich, white kids and their parents itself is not a prerequisite to nor a guarantee of success for poor or minority students. Plus, deficit thinkers CERTAINLY cannot accept the thought that poor people are capable of thinking for themselves and making their own choices about what is best for themselves. Those thoughts simply rock the whole superiority/inferiority complex deficit thinking world.
Still ED kids by the busload at Mills Park Elementary...
Sat, 09/22/2012 - 17:27 — neverindoubtabout as far "western" in Wake as you get. Plenty still at Salem schools too. The solution is NOT busing these ED kids around because all that does is mask their lack of achievement by throwing them in a pot with achievers. The solution is to fix the reasons they underachieve....a cultural/SES issue more than an educational one. And I will say that the school I work at, a Title I school, with mostly immigrant ED kids, has shown tremendous growth with our ED kids. It can be done....but we need leadership...from the building level all the way up to make that happen. My principal constantly reiterates Tata's mantra: It's all about growth! Amen! Can't fix so many things about their lives so stop worrying about what you can't fix and focus all your energies on giving them as much as you can while they're in the building. That's what our team does....and it works.
so wrong, but you know that.
Sat, 09/22/2012 - 17:19 — AngelaWthe ED %'s are just as high if not higher in that area.
if you don't think so, do some research and stop pulling stuff out of thin air.
Ever figured...
Sat, 09/22/2012 - 08:58 — bpuli9999out what "academic achievement" is? Since you seem to be talking authoritatively.
"Old achievement plan?"
Fri, 09/21/2012 - 19:16 — woodstock"Old achievement plan?" What's that?
typo
Fri, 09/21/2012 - 21:06 — redcityMeant assignment
Don't you remember?
Fri, 09/21/2012 - 19:39 — shearertwDon't you remember?... It was the plan that failed to achieve.
And
Fri, 09/21/2012 - 16:15 — Bob_SconceRemember the gigantic knot they got in their collective underwear when the previous board dared to consider somebody who didn't have a doctorate in education. I'm sure that knot is why Brannon still has that sour look on her face.
Good point, however, I think
Fri, 09/21/2012 - 16:21 — woodstockGood point, however, I think the sour look is standard issue with her ilk.
Really?
Fri, 09/21/2012 - 15:00 — ShannonDingleI'm less concerned about a potential plot to oust Superintendent Tata and much, much more concerned about the unethical and childish way this (for now) rumor is being spread. Really, Matthews? He really thinks it's appropriate to most this sort of thing on his Facebook wall, regardless of the source? Wow.
Would you rather he write a
Fri, 09/21/2012 - 16:14 — shearertwWould you rather he write a letter to the editor? Have Keung post an article written by Matthews here? Have Matthews call a press conference?
How else would you have Mr. Matthews get the word out?
Once Tata resigns or is released, its a done deal....it's over and there's no going back. Perhaps Mr. Matthews (and me and a lot of other parents) don't want to see that happen. It may just be a rumor but given this bunch didn't even want us to see assignment maps before they could get their grubby hands on them, what makes you think we're going to get a big heads up that Tata's job is on the line? To many of us, this bunch of leftist BOE members who clearly are on a mission to restore WCPSS back to 2006-2007 status quo NEEDS TO BE STOPPED! The only means to prevent the loss of Tata would be to create public outrage BEFORE it happens.
Some of us like the direction Tata is taking us and the results he has achieved thus far. I'll trade student achievement for transportation effectiveness all day long.
Trading achievement for transportation? Seriously?
Fri, 09/21/2012 - 18:19 — realisticI wouldn't have had Mr. Matthews get the word out - at all. Its a RUMOR. He could have gone to Kushner, Martin and Evans. He could have set up a grown up meeting to address concerns, privately. But no, he likes FB.
I thought we wanted a superintendent that could run EVERYTHING in the system. So, how's student achievement going to be affected when kids are missing first period, consistently? How is is going to be affected when newcomers have missed 1/4 of school on their first day because the only seats are in year round schools? Oh yea, the "direction" of Choice Plan worked great. But lets fire the people who had the guts to stand up and say it didn't.
Apparently you don't get the
Fri, 09/21/2012 - 19:36 — shearertwApparently you don't get the point...as soon as its no longer rumor, it's a done deal! Several politicians including your buddy Obama have been praised for their use of twitter and Facebook to get "the word out". Apparently, his use of Facebook was effective because we're all talking about it.
As for meeting with the 3 Amigos...what a joke. They have never presented themselves as people you can have a reasonable discussion with. Those guys hate Tata and everything he stands for. They hate and have no respect for his military background. They want nothing more than to get rid of him and bring in some leftist educrat which is the last thing we need.
All your complaints are nothing more than what could be expected for a first year of a dramatically new assignment plan. Many of the issues would have resolved themselves over the first few years and natural assignment patterns developed for the community. But that's all over now...back to go where we tell you to and hope you win the lottery.
Given the level of
Fri, 09/21/2012 - 14:57 — tropicalgirlGiven the level of disrespect that Susan Evans has shown Mr. Tata, this doesn't surprise me in the least. What a joke she and her cohorts are. I still don't know how she won the election.
...
Fri, 09/21/2012 - 14:46 — SideburnsWell, isn't that the first priority at this point for Brannon and her GSIW members - including Evans, Kushner & Martin? They will try to pin anything and everything on Tata -- when, in fact, Tata has done more to bring this county together and address the educational needs of our students than anyone in recent years. Then again, Evans, Kushner and Martin's sole focus is to bring back the old 6200 and busing for diversity, regardless of the educational impact.