Comments on: Oakland Unified comes back to its teachers with a proposal

By: Luis Rivera

Luis Rivera — Sun, 30 Sep 2012 04:08:13 +0000

I subscribe Jesse James, please let us know about “special assignments”.
Under what influences must one be to call this “sunshining”? Is the district also hiring verbal jugglers, polysemists or failed car dealers as consultants?
For the little content in the slides, I marvel at the outcomes of positive evaluations. Don’t we know that quite a bunch are non compliant or dropped? Or simply the evaluatee is such a headache that we better not open pandora’s box and give a barely passing score?
Awww Jesse James, your special assignment person was not gossiping, he or she was building community relations for the betterment of the full service charade.

By: Jesse James

Jesse James — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 02:20:32 +0000

How is that a proposal–5 years without a contract and we get a bunch of slides with some nice ideas? That’s hardly sunshining.

Katy, please please please research the high number of principals on special assignment. There seem to be a high percentage of failed site administrators sitting around downtown while budgets are slashed at sites. Without their positions, I bet there’d be money for supplies and afterschool tutoring, class size reduction at my site. By the way, just as she did last year, our principal on special assignment just sits in our office gossipibg with our secretary! What a waste of money and time!!!

By: Nontcair

Nontcair — Thu, 27 Sep 2012 20:42:20 +0000

Re-arranging the deck chairs.

By: MuseKing

MuseKing — Thu, 27 Sep 2012 19:53:10 +0000

HI, I”m not going to get into the free lunch thing, there are certainly a lot of Oakland families who can barely (if actually) put decent and enough food in front of their growing children– the Alameda County Food Bank serves over 10K meals/day and many of them are for families. Thank you, JR, for the extra info, I will try to sort through the facts and develop an opinion.

To the point here, though. I am a local parent with public school kids and am new to these issues. Can anyone translate this cryptic (for most layfolks) document and tell us what it means? What changes (or not) are being proposed? As a parent, particularly in the 21st Century, in a state with a rapidly diminishing education budget (where we have to make touch decisions about the most impactful uses for every dollar), I agree (generally) that administrators should be reduced (relative to teaching staff, though a LOT of de-facto teaching staff is not counted because it may be paid for by the school’s– the fortunate ones– PTA) but I am also ADAMANTLY opposed to seniority-only decision-making about teacher hiring/firing/advancement. I’m open-minded and willing to be educated about this issue from both sides…

By: Jerry Heverly

Jerry Heverly — Thu, 27 Sep 2012 02:20:36 +0000

Do the proposed teacher evaluations include a test score component?

By: J.R.

J.R. — Thu, 27 Sep 2012 02:14:47 +0000

Makeit,
It’s much appreciated that you took the time to read the links, thank you! Hopefully Allison will read them as well, and then respond. I won’t get my hopes up though.

By: makeitgoaway

makeitgoaway — Thu, 27 Sep 2012 01:38:41 +0000

Agree with you JR.

By: J.R.

J.R. — Wed, 26 Sep 2012 22:57:08 +0000

Allison,
One more thing, as a taxpayer it is prudent that we verify that our money is used as intended. As long as I write the truth and back up my assertions with evidence there is nothing to be ashamed of on my part. I don’t think any tax paying citizen should feel shame about asking hard questions.

By: J.R.

J.R. — Wed, 26 Sep 2012 22:49:57 +0000

Here’s a rundown on funding and verification:

http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=3071

http://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/nu/rs/rates1213.asp

http://www.cde.ca.gov/ds/sh/cw/filesafdc.asp

http://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/nu/sn/verification.asp

The verification is absurdly weak and almost non existent.

By: J.R.

J.R. — Wed, 26 Sep 2012 22:26:11 +0000

Allison,
Facts like this:

http://oaklandlocal.com/blogs/2010/06/oakland-unified-school-district-“state-plate”-june-3-2010-alethea-marie-harper

http://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/nu/sn/mbusdasnp152012.asp

or this……

http://educationnext.org/fraud-in-the-lunchroom/

http://reason.com/archives/2001/08/01/free-lunch

http://educationnext.org/fraud-in-school-lunch-program-not-just-about-free-lunches/

maybe this?

http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/13752766-418/cps-says-12-principals-abused-free-lunch-program.html

http://calcoastnews.com/2011/10/school-lunches-open-pandora’s-box/

Read and decide for yourself. I am sorry I am not able to take your word and or opinion for it. Show me studies, research or links, and I will read them.

I will be waiting…………..