There is no doubt that the job duties of a superintendent of schools must be vast. From the outside looking in we can clearly see a lot of time being spent on power plays backed up by polarizing posturing. From what we are finding out, we apparently elected a board of education that wanted a person with just the management style our current superintendent possesses.
The majority of the BOE has gone on record in support of such a management style and we just need to understand that what we may see as chaos and pain is all part of the "Strategic Plan." We don't have to like it, we don't have to love it, but we are being asked to "respect" the Machiavellian approach to turn around in education... after all, the ends justify the means.
What exactly does the BOE support?The majority of the BOE has gone on record in support of such a management style and we just need to understand that what we may see as chaos and pain is all part of the "Strategic Plan." We don't have to like it, we don't have to love it, but we are being asked to "respect" the Machiavellian approach to turn around in education... after all, the ends justify the means.
"We're ready to make difficult and unpopular decisions because a good future demands it." Board President, Reverend. Linda Butler
Constant turnover among employees at the school district; never ending bus driver issues; the potential cutting of the people who serve as aides, nurses, occupational, therapists, and school librarians (last year, 82 support staff were pink slipped); the yearly principal shuffles at high risk schools; employees being treated unprofessionally due to the emotional nature in which actions are brought to the board; late arrival of books; and oh yes, the annual practice of pink slipping teachers.
In the midst of spending time to manage constant turmoil/turnover (all in the name of “Accountability”), we are supposed to trust that there is still time left in the day to insure that children throughout the District are receiving a good education and that this chaos does not hinder that.
District 150 Board To Vote On Teacher Layoffs
Layoff notices will be going out next week for some Peoria District 150 employees.
District 150's school board will vote on Monday to pink slip first, second, and third-year teachers, as well as part-time teachers.
Pink slips for less tenured teachers happen every year, but most teachers are eventually brought back to teach again in the fall.
There is one change for this year. Some schools in District 150 will give out pink slips based on performance, not tenure.
If teachers are pink slipped in District 150 Public Schools this year, all will be handed out without regard for seniority. It's part of a new state law that's designed to give teachers chances to improve before being let go. Teachers faced a series of formal and informal observations by administrators throughout the school year.
If teachers are pink slipped in District 150 Public Schools this year, all will be handed out without regard for seniority. It's part of a new state law that's designed to give teachers chances to improve before being let go. Teachers faced a series of formal and informal observations by administrators throughout the school year.
The district created a new evaluation tool to gauge teacher performance. This year, it will only be used at District 150 high schools and Sterling Middle School. All other schools will use an older evaluation model until next year.Source
32 comments:
Well said, Emerge. Sadly, teachers at school with histories of bad administrators are the ones looking at losing their jobs. If you worked for one principal after another that had NO expectations of you as a teacher in that building, is it the teachers' fault they are "less than adequate"? Remember, only poor administrators hire poor employees. I don't think it is fair to fire a teacher after giving them a set number of days to become better. Remember, it took YEARS for them to become "inadequate" therefore, it will take work on the part of the principal and teacher to turn this train around. This is the tip of the iceberg. Dr. Lathan has many friends in NC looking for a "union-wage" job, since they are sorely underpaid in NC.
I want to know who TRAINED these administrators on the new evaluation system. Yes, there is a new evaluation tool, but NO ONE has been trained YET. How many lawsuits can D150 juggle? Be prepared Peoria taxpayers, this will cost us all dearly. Poorly planned, poorly executed, poorly administered.....D150!
Respect the chaos.
A message for Reverend Linda Butler, Pastor Joyce Banks and Pastor Harvey Burnette
Question: "Do the ends justify the means?"
Answer: The answer to this question depends on what the ends or goals are and what means are being used to achieve them. If the goals are good and noble, and the means we use to achieve them are also good and noble, then yes, the ends do justify the means. But that’s not what most people mean when they use the expression. Most use it as an excuse to achieve their goals through any means necessary, no matter how immoral, illegal or unpleasant the means may be. What the expression usually means is something along the line of “It doesn’t matter how you get what you want as long as you get it.”
The “ends justifying the means” usually involves doing something wrong to achieve a positive end and justifying the wrongdoing by pointing to a good outcome. An example would be lying on a resume to get a good job and justifying the lie by saying the larger income will enable the liar to provide more adequately for his family. Another might be justifying the abortion of a baby to save the life of the mother. Lying and taking an innocent life are both morally wrong, but providing for one’s family and saving the life of a woman are morally right. Where then does one draw the line?
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Continued
The ends/means dilemma is a popular scenario in ethics discussions. Usually the question goes something like this: “If you could save the world by killing someone, would you do it?” If the answer is ‘yes’ then a morally right outcome justifies the use of immoral means to achieve it.
From a biblical standpoint, of course, what is missing from this discussion is the character of God, God’s law, and the providence of God. Because we know that God is good, holy, just, merciful and righteous, those who bear His name are to reflect His character (1 Peter 1:15-16). Murder, lying, theft, and all manner of sinful behaviors are the expression of man’s sin nature, not the nature of God. For the Christian whose nature has been transformed by Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17), there is no justifying immoral behavior, no matter the motivation for it or the outcome of it. From this holy and perfect God, we get a law that reflects His attributes (Psalm 19:7; Romans 7:12). The Ten Commandments make it clear that murder, adultery, stealing, lying and greed are unacceptable in God’s eyes and He makes no "escape clause" for motivation or rationalization. Notice that He doesn’t say, “Don’t murder unless by doing so you will save a life.” This is called "situational ethics" and there is no room for it in God’s law. So, clearly, from God’s perspective there are no ends that justify the means of breaking His law.
Also missing in the ends/means ethics discussion is an understanding of the providence of God. God did not simply create the world, populate it with people, and then leave them to muddle through on their own with no oversight from Him. Rather, God has a plan and purpose for mankind which He has been bringing to pass through the centuries. Every decision made by every person in history has been supernaturally applied to that plan. He states this truth unequivocally: “I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please. From the east I summon a bird of prey; from a far-off land, a man to fulfill my purpose. What I have said, that will I bring about; what I have planned, that will I do” (Isaiah 46:10-11). God is intimately involved in and in control over His creation. Furthermore, He states that He works all things together for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28). To go back to our first two scenarios then, a Christian who lies on a resume or aborts a baby would be violating God’s law and denying His ability to provide for a family and preserve a mother’s life if He purposes to do so.
Those who do not know God may be forced to justify their means to an end, but those who claim to be children of God have no reason whatsoever to break one of God’s commandments, deny His sovereign purpose, or bring reproach upon His Name.
Recommended Resource: Philosophical Foundations for a Christian Worldview by William Lane Craig & J.P. Moreland
Happy Easter
Anonymous said...
"A message for Reverend Linda Butler, Pastor Joyce Banks and Pastor Harvey Burnette"
I forgot to include Reverend Tony Pierce
Pink slipping teachers this time of year has been going on for years, and happens in every school district, not just District 150.
My daughter, who teaches Spanish in a Springfield high school, is finishing her 3rd year, so she is non-tenured. But she has never gotten a pink slip. Yet.
Schools are at the mercy of the State of Illinois General Assembly as far as funding for education goes. I read where big cuts to education have been proposed; in that case, many pink-slipped teachers may not be returning if those cuts are kept.
Dennis, I struggle to "understand" your argument regarding D150 pink-slipped teachers. It has ZERO to do with lack of money and 100% to do with Lathan the all Powerful. She is weilding her wand and padding her resume. What she doesn't know(or maybe she does)is that she is setting this district up for one hell of a lawsuit(or multiple lawsuits) for "pink-slipping" tenured teachers. Ask leaders from other districts what is involved in the new evaluation for teachers, they will tell you that they don't know because there has YET to be anything written in stone and NO training given. So, how was D150 able to implement the new evaluation process at the high schools and Sterling WITHOUT any training for the evaluators? I smell lawsuits GALORE! Hope at least ONE BOE member is reading this!
Speaking of accountability-
Will the BOE hold Dr. Lathan accountable if ISAT scores go down?
Pink slipping of teachers does NOT happen in every school district. It does, however, happen every year in Peoria. Not everyone gets called back either.
Emerge. Nice article. Happy Easter!
JJ Attorney at Law--Dunlap will be using the new evaluation tool next school year. They have already trained their staff and administrators.
Jenny: Please tell inquiring minds just exactly WHAT TRAINING, from whom did you receive said training and is the teachers union "on board" with said training? I understand the IEA and AFT are on the verge of filing lawsuits regarding the "new evaluation"...just sayin.
Newspaper the other day, there is a liar contest coming soon to Peoria. Alicia Butler cannot participate because she is a professional liar, but it's only $10 to enter, so we should have some other highly qualified contestants. Besides, Alicia should be using that $10 to get her Bradley transcript so she can run for school board again.
What does Alicia Butlerhave to do with this? Find another forum to complain about someone wbo has nothing to do with the current d150 board.
Exactly! What does she have to do with any of this?
What does she have to do with this? Nothing. I just hope that Jim Stowell isn't posting as an Anonymous.
Is the district still using Ford Explorers to tow school buses? Does anyone remember why the district bought almost a million dollars worth of houses near Glen Oak Park? What happened to those properties? Old news that goes to show a history of accountability or lack thereof.
What about that 8,000 magic program that was supposed to right size our budget? Did "closing" Woodruff ever save any money? How are those Wacky Wednesdays working out for everybody?
Either the Superintendent has got the board completely buffaloed or they are dumber than they look! Nothing on Monday night's agenda is "for the children", let's make that clear from the get go. It's about padding Lathan's resume to move on to bigger and better things(more money). I would like to see if Lathan MET any of the goals on HER evaluation. Oh, does D150 BOE even evaluate her highness? Probably believes everything cart blanc.
I do not know what the philosophy is or what the ultimate expectations are, but I caught part of the Bloomberg Risk Takers rebroadcast of Michelle Rhee and the schools of Washington, D.C. One has to wonder.
Einstein--I was referring to Dunlap Schools. Their teacher's union is on board with the new evaluation tool based on Charlotte Danielson's method. The teachers were exposed at their March institute through teacher trainers who had been trained over the method for the past year.
I know nothing about NEA or AFT wanting to sue, but Dunlap will be using the new evaluation tool next year.
Guess what Jenny? The teachers in D150 have not been EXPOSED to anything. Everything in this district is a "secret" unless you are "lucky" enough to be in Lathan's INNER circle. Teachers have things THROWN at them, with ZERO consideration regarding TRAINING. Our trainins usually consist of a vendor selling more CRAP under the guize of TRAINING. Every district around the area, sans D150 knows about the evaluation tool. However, NO superintendents or administrators have been trained on how to use the evaluation to pink-slip tenured teachers. I know that many districts have had inservices regarding the Danielson model, that's not what I was referring to. Like I said, any administrator considering giving an unsatisfactory better be able to stand behind it 110% or it will be ugly.
Does anyone have a copy of the new teacher evaluation form and the form used to evaluate principals?
Curiosity has gotten the best of me.
I wanted to see whether those evaluations are objective or subjective.
The actions of this board will have far reaching effects just as previous board decisions are still having effects. Former board members and their decisions are haunting us. Chinese, the ridiculous house purchases in Glen Oak Park, Woodruff closing, charter school...I think it is very relevant to address former liars and current board members. who is up for election next?
The teachers received an email from Bobby Darling earlier this year and he appeared to indicate there would be NO mass layoffs this year like in years past. Guess we were lied to again. No surprise!
Just curious...how many Peoria schools met AYP last year? Two years ago? Five years ago? The fact of the matter is, administrations come and go; the teachers and their union have to accept responsibility for the sorry state of our schools. Now the party's over and all they can do is yell about how unfair it is.
Dear Hatemonger,
Please get some therapy. You come across as being very disturbed--very full of hate. Forgive so that you can be forgiven and give up the hate.
Perhaps the reason d150 scores are low is because the ignorant, irresponsible children that are raising our students continue to be evicted and are constantly moving from one baby daddy to the next. Moving from chicago, springfield, mississippi and ack again. I have had an 18 child tur.over just this year. Short of moving these students in with me, I cannot help what happens the other 16 hours of their days. Please quit blaming the only people that are fighting for them....poor form.
I just checked the 150 website for the information regarding the eval tool. It is posted there for all employees to see under the staff systems link. It's been there for quite awhile. It is very, very detailed. So the problem I see this year is that how can the district fire teachers when the same tool wasn't used across the board within the same union (not to mention the usual arguements about the subjectivity of the old tool). I agree with some of the other posters, while there have been trainings (I am sure that the schools using the new tool, Trewyn, Manual, Sterling... have been trained) have administrators been carefully trained on how to dismiss someone? I hear they didn't know who was even getting rif'd from the staff in their own building!! Seriously?
The means portion of the "end justifies the means" does not always have to signify that whatever the "means" method is or methods are for reaching the end is immoral. Reverend Butler herself was quoted as saying, "We're ready to make difficult and unpopular decisions because a good future demands it." I have no idea whether or not the "tool" is honorable or dishonorable and no idea what it is. However, since pink slips happen every year everywhere, some tool is dire for reckoning the situation of a critical lack of authentic learning, which appears to remain largely constant in most U.S. educational institutions; it needs to be actualized and effectuated without delay in order to enjoy blessings in today's educational world and in the future of education. ---Everyone knows tenure does not necessarily an efficacious facilitator of genuine learning make---
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