Best big brother ever…

We have a front yard roughly the size of my computer monitor.  And one tree.  So when CLT Dad sends Large out to rake the leaves, it’s a 2 minute process.  UNLESS he rakes them all up, then comes inside and asks his little sister if she wants to jump in them.

I’m telling ya…this kid is the best.  He raked them all up, let Medium & her friend jump in, raked them again, more jumping, raked, jumped, rake, jump, rake, jump, rake, jump….even Small got in on the action!

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I didn’t say it was a BIG pile.  Only that they had fun.

The Debate: a recap & my thoughts

This was the event I was most excited to attend this election season, and I think MeckEd & WFAE did a great job.  The use of technology was fun and unique.  The vast majority of the people who stood to ask questions were able to have a turn at the microphone.  And, most importantly, I felt far more educated when I left…..as if I’d gotten a sense of each candidate.

Clearly there isn’t enough time in one evening to get into details on each issue with 12 candidates, but that’s okay.  Because you CAN get a sense of the way the candidates operate (i.e. displaying an iPad flashing the number of students in our area who have left the CMS system a la Larry Bumgarner, or making polarizing statements in the midst of answering questions as in Dr. Plots’ “We all know that when Myers Park wants something, they get it.”) and these tidbits give us an idea of what the candidates would be like to work with.  Which is just as important as where they stand on issues.

Here’s a recap, followed by my conclusions:

Topic 1: 6 randomly selected candidates answer a question relating to a topic the audience chose. 

Question: Does the increased use of standardized testing lead to teaching to the test?

Rankin: Not necessarily, but it does shift focus in the classroom.  Mr. Rankin advocates for less testing and more focus on skill sets that are harder to capture on standardized testing. (i.e. critical thinking skills)

McRay: When the testing is tied to teacher compensation it will lead to teaching to the test.

Morgan: No. Testing makes teachers use other strategic teaching methods to make sure students do well.  Professional development is a big part of this as well.

Dashew: Testing does play a role to provide data on instruction.  But we should focus on other things like critical thinking in order to prepare kids for the world they are graduating to.

Plotseneder: Testing changes teaching.  As a teacher as West Meck High, he feels we need to modify testing away from all multiple choice.

Pomis: As a teacher he recognized that testing helped him to teach more effectively.  But the pendulum can swing too far and it has.  The promise to our students needs to be to prep them to excel in college, build character, life skills, etc.

Topic 2: The remaining 6 candidates answer a question relating to a topic the audience chose.

Question: What are CMS schools doing well today and how might we replicate those successes?

Scher: United States schools are falling behind.  We need to look at European models, such as kids staying with the same teacher for multiple years, and bring new ideas.

Nelson: CMS is doing nothing well.  26% of students don’t graduate and they have no vocational training to help them.  18% of freshmen are held back.

Bumgarner: 1,200 of the 1,600 students that came from CMS into CPCC require remediation.  One positive is the charter schools.  We could put one in every neighborhood to compete with neighborhood schools.

Hurley:  There are schools who keep students with teachers for more than one year, it’s called “looping.”  It’s very successful and shouldn’t be hidden at certain schools.  It should be expanded.  We also need to stop over-testing and support teachers.  [insert tangent re: teaching vocations i.e. training beauticians, mechanics, etc., not bussing students, referring to HB 546 and renaming PFP (Pay for Performance) "Pete Forgot the People."]

Wise: We have strong magnet schools.  Administrators are given more flexibility in underperforming schools to allow for improvements.  Both should be expanded.  Kids need to feel like individuals.  Teachers need a collaborative environment, not a competitive one (i.e. PFP).

Ellis-Stewart: While running a drop out prevention program she learned that we need to focus on academics and keep the bar high, quality teachers who are effective, students must be exposed to broader community, and CMS needs to engage partnerships with parent groups, faith-based groups, health & human services so children can come to school ready to learn.

Question & Answer: Questions from the audience (once a candidate has been asked a question, he or she cannot be asked another question until all candidates have been asked a question)

To Bumgarner – How do you propose to bring the community together to make schools more successful?

Answer: Competition.  There are 37,390 students in charter, private & home-schools.  We need competition to make our neighborhood schools better.

To Scher – Why are you running for school board?

Answer: I spent 8 years as a County Commissioner, ran a business for 32 years, have raised 5 foster kids.  Teacher and students are not being respected.

To Morgan – Last year my daughter went to a CMS school and came home on April 1st with a testing prep packet.  From then on the learning stopped and it was all test prep.  I’ve pulled my kids out and they go to Latin now.  How will you help my kids come back to CMS?

Answer: Does not approve of learning ending in April.  Wishes he’d known of this sooner.

To Hurley: What factors should be included in evaluating teachers?

Answer: Principal, the School Improvement Plan, SMART program.  Also mentioned that the Strategic Plan of 2014 isn’t being implemented.

To Nelson: What are your thoughts on No Child Left Behind and it’s incentives?

Answer: The legislation is the result of good intentions, but doesn’t work.  Needs to be scrapped and we should go back to what we did 50 years ago.  Control needs to be at the local level, not the federal level.

To McCray:  Do you have the experience necessary to evaluate __________ (couldn’t hear)?

Answer:  Yes.  As a classroom teacher for 34 years, and an affiliate of many education groups she has had the privilege of visiting other school districts here and abroad to meet with people and see what strategies are working elsewhere.

To Plotseneder: In September the CDC said that 70% of high school students are sleep deprived leading to a myriad of problems ranging from academics to depression.  Our schools starting so early exacerbate this problem.  What are your thoughts?

Answer: Agree completely.  As a high school teacher he sees this everyday.  100% in favor of changing the bus schedule.

To Rankin: What are your thoughts on the longer day for elementary school students?

Answer: He has not seen the benefit, and it should be changed.

To Wise: What types of programs would you implement to support teachers and increase morale?

Answer: He would scrap PFP and explore the system they’re using in California which involves rigorous peer review and teacher support system.

To Pomis: You come from the Charter system with smaller class sizes.  How will you adjust to dealing with the CMS?

Answer: At the KIPP school, we have over 30 kids in a classroom, so he’s used to larger class size.  The problems arise when communities are pitted against each other and given either/or propositions.  At the Community Charter school he helped align the school priorities and with budget priorities and student achievement increased while maintaining a budget surplus.

To Dashew: At the Community House two electives were recently removed.  Journalism and Fitness….which students needs to help fight obesity.  How would you change this?

Answer:  Sad to hear about these classes being cut, and doesn’t know all the details.  But she would like to partner with the student who proposed the question to figure it out.  While these decisions are and should be made by the principal, she would be accessible to students, teacher, parents and principals to help.

To Stewart: With some of your campaign money coming from the Chamber of Commerce, will you rescind HB 546?

Answer: She’s received no money from the Chamber of Commerce.  CMS slapped teachers in the face with HB 546 and it needs to be taken off the table.  Teachers need to be celebrated in CMS and we need to make CMS the employer of choice for teachers nationwide.

To Morgan: We now have a seven point grading scale, but other districts have different scales, such as 10 point.  What’s your opinion on changing to a 10 point grading scale?

Answer: CMS has used the 7 point scale for over 20 years.  It was in place when he graduated from CMS and he sees no reason not to support it.

To Dashew: I live in Montclaire neighborhood which is over 50 years old.  No one wants to go to the neighborhood school.  How do we improve that?

Answer:  It will take the full community to improve that.  Parent leaders are making a difference and helping turn things around at some schools.  As a Board, we need to empower parents and support their efforts.

To Nelson: At my school there has been a dispute about Senior exit projects this year.  What are your thoughts?

Answer: Graduation should be based on proficiency, not necessarily a project.  If it involved forced volunteerism, he is 100% opposed to it.  In the end, local schools should make the decision, not the Board.

To Pomis: Who should have more voice when it comes to education?  Students, teachers or principal and why?

Answer:  Everyone needs a voice.  Students because it’s their lives.  Teachers because they can give the best on-the-ground feedback.  Principals too, but the closer you are to a classroom the more you should talk.  The farther away from a classroom, the more you should listen.

To McCray: What are your thoughts on the bathroom facilites including toilet paper and woman products?

Answer: It’s pretty crappy. (got a lot of laughs)  Typically the woman products are not available so as a classroom teacher she has made it a practice to keep them in her classroom for students.

To Rankin: Recently students have begun to have to pay for the testing in their AP classes.  Should students be reimbursed for the cost of testing if they receive a 4 or 5 on the test?

Answer: No.  When students enroll in AP classes, the costs is known.  Also, the AP classes provide a benefit to the student.

To Bumgarner: How will you effectively help keep schools open during the budget crunch?

Answer: It comes down to priorities.  We have millions to the symphony, why not schools?  We should allow PTSAs and Superintendents to operate schools.

To Stewart: Does CMS properly reflect Mecklenburg county’s demographics?  Should it?

Answer: The diversity of a school depends on the area.  Some schools are more brown, some are more caucasian and some are in the middle.  We have work to do on how schools are populated.  We need to ensure diversity, improve the quality of programs everywhere, and embrace diversity as a community.

To Plotseneder: There is a difference in resources among schools.  How is that acceptable?

Answer: It’s not acceptable.  He sees it everyday as a teacher at West Meck High where he is still waiting on textbooks for one subject.  We all know that when Myers Park wants something they get it.  CMS should provide the same equipment for every school.  We need to catch up as a district.  We have too few computers and too many administrators.

Lightening Round: Each candidate will have one minute to respond to what has been said.

Stewart: Gave her background.  Has been an advocate in Charlotte for 20 years.  Wants to facilitate conversations.

Wise: Spoke about projects vs. EOGs and how much more useful a thoughtful project could be.

Hurley: Discussed over-testing and the anxiety it brings students.  Some students wind up on medication to deal with it, then when they transfer out of CMS they come off the meds and do fine.

Bumgarner: Worked in gang prevention. Says if your kids are familiar with SWARM technology and are bilingual, there’s no need to vote for him.  But if they aren’t, you should.

Nelson: Regarding losing electives, it’s because of testing.  Journalism should be taught in english, but can’t be because it isn’t on the EOGs.  We’re sending tons of money to the West side of Charlotte.  The budget isn’t an issue of resources, it’s an issue of priority.

Scher: Taught at West Meck, Harding, etc.  We need to use technology (textbooks on iPods).  Main issue is changing the budget process.  Need to make the State give CMS their figures on April 1st, and the County should give their figures on April 15th so CMS doesn’t have to keep firing and rehiring teachers.

Pomis: Student at KIPP recently wrote his goals, 1) Go to UNC-Chapel Hill  2) Become a dentist  3)  Be a good dad.  This campaign is more about George Wise for dentist than Aaron Pomis for school board.  He’s committed to giving students the best opportunities.

Potseneder: The three things he has:  1)More relevant education (masters from UNCC in school administration) 2) More experience in business (IBM & BofA) 3) 14 specific strategies for moving forward

Dashew: Why is she running? She is passionate about change and bringing communities together.  Our economic prosperity is tied to the quality of our schools.

Morgan: Yes, only 76% of our students graduate.  But that number was 60% four years ago.  Progress is being made.  This election is about whether or not we want to continue moving forward, or go backwards.

McCray: 50 years ago she was in 2nd grade in an all brown school, at a different facility with substandard resources.  Thank goodness we don’t have to go back to the way things were done 50 years ago.  Also, money is flowing to the west side now to make up for past neglect.

Rankin: We are in the midst of a war of quality education, and our children are on the battlefield.  He is willing to listen and wants to come together with the community to set priorities first before finding a new superintendent so we can make sure the two align.

My thoughts

So, since I took tons of notes and typed up this handy-dandy recap….I’m not going to feel bad about spouting my opinions.  Here they are, candidate by candidate:

Know that I’m going into this thought process weighing each candidates issues equally with their perceived ability to be effective and collaborative leaders.  We need to do some serious trust-building in this community and if the BOE is constantly at odds and we fill it with fire starters, it’s not going to work.

Bumgarner:  His positions include: school competition being the answer and deconsolidating the school district.  There are lots of grammatical errors on his answers to the MeckEd survey (maybe that shouldn’t matter, but it does to me), and he feels like a lightning rod.  After watching him give short and arrogant responses at the debate he doesn’t seem collaborative at all.

Dashew: She is very knowledgeable about CMS and is clearly taking a position of availability and partnership.  Knowing that she springs from a parent advocacy group (MeckFUTURE) lends some credibility there.  I like her honesty about the role of testing (to gather data for students and teachers), and that she has real ideas about places to cut costs as well as funding priorities.

Ellis-Stewart: I liked everything about her (advocacy, her position against HB 546, and her knowledge that the entire community needs to rally around kids to make sure they enter school ready to learn).  Then she said, “we need to look at how schools are populated” in a discussion about school diversity.  Which, in my head, translates to being in favor of bussing.  Since my head can’t be trusted, I’ve e-mailed her and asked for clarification and will post her response upon receipt.

Hurley: I agree with a lot of his positions (in favor of looping and vocational training, opposed to bussing, over-testing, HB 546, PfP), I was turned off by his inability to stay focused while answering questions.  Not sure someone who spends time coming up with catch phrases like PfP stands for “Pete Forgot the People” is someone who can work well with others.

McCray: She seems like a very nice lady and a teacher I’d like my children to have.  I’m not sure if maybe she didn’t have a chance to shine in this debate because her questions were a bit fluffy (Do you have experience, and the bathroom question) or if it’s because she just doesn’t shine.  When I read her survey responses, I like them.  But I’m just not excited by her.

Morgan: OK, here’s the deal.  I’m not even going to address his issues or whether or not I agree with him….because it doesn’t matter.  He’s already on the Board of Education.  He represents District 6.  If he’s elected to an At-Large position, he will vacate his District 6 seat and the Board will appoint his replacement.  So, voting for Tim Morgan is, in essence, giving your vote to the Board to do with what they please.  I take my right to vote very seriously, and am not giving it away.  Period.

Nelson: It seemed like every time he opened his mouth, a train wreck fell out:  ”CMS does nothing well.”  ”We should go back to what we did 50 years ago.”  He agrees with some pretty mainstream ways of thinking, i.e. NCLB was well intentioned, but doesn’t work.  But he had a tendency to let his mouth run away with him and that’s not productive.

Plotseneder: I’m befuddled.  I left the debate not enjoying him at all.  His comment about Myers Park getting whatever they want was a huge red flag because I don’t like lightening rods.  But as I look back over his answers, I’m find myself pausing.  He’s for changing bus schedules, wants all schools to have the same equipment, says “testing changes teaching” and had laid out specific strategies that are pretty great….though totally unattainable. (Not to be cynical, but come on….the Board almost couldn’t put 5 votes together to form a committee to explore outsourcing.  Not to actually outsource.  Just to explore it to see if it might save us money.  Amazing.)  But he gets points for having a plan, right?  *long thoughtful pause*  All of that said, if he’s a lightening rod…it doesn’t matter if he has good ideas.  So, I’m going to pass.

Pomis: I’ve got an e-mail in to his volunteer coordinator, because I want a sign in my yard.  This guy impressed me.  Not only do I LOVE KIPP schools (he’s AP, Dean of Instruction at KIPP Charlotte), but I loved every word that came out of his mouth.  ”The closer you are to a classroom, the more you should talk.  The further you are from a classroom, the more you should listen.”  ’Kids need to be prepared to excel in college AND have character skills necessary to succeed in life.’  ”We need to align academic priorities with budget priorities.” Even the totally campy and rehearsed, “George Wise for dentist” line got me.  Hook.  Line.  Sinker.  Pomis for School Board.

Rankin:  He seems well-intentioned, but I’m not excited about him.  As I look over his responses to questions, I’m not offended or moved any any of them.  (In favor of ditching the extra 45 minutes/per for elementary kids, fine with students paying for AP test, in favor of less testing.)  I’m not big on the “War on quality education” line…but it’s not unforgivable.  Then I checked his responses to the MeckEd survey and he says he has no opinion on Weighted Student Staffing.  Really?  How do you NOT have an opinion on that?  What does that mean?  You don’t know what it is?  You can take it or leave it?  I don’t get it.

Scher: Not impressed.  Didn’t answer the question on what CMS is doing well.  Didn’t inspire me with why he’s running.  Kindof creeped me out. (Just being honest.)  Went to his Facebook page for more info and it’s not pretty.  Lots of ranting on issues ranging from the Democrats not supporting him to a friend saying she was going to call….then not calling.  Can’t elect a whiner.  Moving on.

Wise: Again, not much of an impression in person, but as I look back over his answers….I like them.  He can name things CMS does well and wants to scrap PfP and start over.  Looking at his survey answers, I agree with him across the board.  Continue the progress made with weighted student staffing, reduce testing (“It means little if 90% of our students graduate but cannot make it successfully in the world.”), etc.  In person, he didn’t leave much of an impression….but looking back objectively, I like him.

So that boils down to:

NO: Bumgarner, Hurley, Morgan, Nelson, Rankin, Scher, Plotseneder

MAYBE: Dashew, McCray, Wise

LIKELY: Ellis-Stewart (pending response on bussing)

YES: Pomis

More info for your decision making pleasure:

Where to find the candidates. (survey links, links to websites, facebook, etc.)

Political affiliations:  

Republicans: Hurley, Nelson & Morgan (though Hurley was registered as “unaffiliated” before Davis dropped out of the race, which left only two Republicans in the field)

Democrats: Ellis-Stewart, McCray, Plotseneder, Pomis, Rankin, Scher

Unaffiliated: Bungarner, Dashew, Wise

Woosh…

Everyone defines playing differently.

I “play” by making jokes.  Large equates “playing” with the Wii or board games.  Medium “plays” by hanging with friends.  Small “plays” by mimicking, which I think is pretty typical for someone his age.

So it came as no surprise to me that when I pull out the vacuum, he runs in circles humming like a vacuum cleaner.

THIS however, did catch me off guard…..

and has brought me endless smiles since.