In an effort to appear ethical, the Alabama legislature passed a new ethics law has made giving a teacher a gift card illegal just in time for the holidays.
Let’s make sure we understand this.
We’re not going to pay our teachers a competitive salary to draw great ones away from other fields.
We’re going to freeze their sal [...]
Monthly archives for November, 2011
Alabama Legislature to Teachers: Bah ...
In an effort to appear ethical, the Alabama legislature passed a new ethics law has made giving a teacher a gift card illegal just in time for the holidays.
Let’s make sure we understand this.
We’re not going to pay our teachers a competitive salary to draw great ones away from other fields.
We’re going to freeze their sal [...]
Thankful for Autism?
When the pediatrician, at the boy’s two-year check-up, said to us, you’ll probably need to have him checked for autism, I wasn’t thankful.
Since this is a family blog, I’ll refrain from being frank with my language. Suffice it to say there was a rageful fear that stole over me in those moments. Followed rapidly by a li [...]
What Changes Wardynski Hath Wrought
Dr. Wardynski has been superintendent of Huntsville City Schools since July 5, 2011, or a just shy of five months. It’s been a busy five months for him.
Here’s a quick summary of the changes Dr. Wardynski has brought about in that time.
Classroom Sizes have increased along with a higher student to teacher ratio.
The Central Offi [...]
Experience Matters
Last night during the Huntsville School Board meeting, Dr. Philip Kovacs, a concerned parent, asked Dr. Wardynski and the board a few specific and direct questions concerning the Teach For America four-year contract that the board approved at the beginning of the month.
He, of course, received no answers.
The only response offered was Dr. Wa [...]
Special Education Presentation at the...
Just shy of two months ago, I posted my findings concerning the reductions in the Huntsville City Schools budget for Special Education. Using numbers provided to me by Mr. Frank Spinelli, CSFO, and Mr. Rob Terry, I found that the Special Education budget for FY2011 was $27,588,027.27. This budget for FY2012 has been reduced to $20,414,163.53 [...]
Teach For America Contract Costs Incr...
A quick follow up to my post from last Saturday, November 5th, Teach For America Costs Twice the Reported Amount: It would seem that I was correct that the cost of TFA was at least twice as much as had been reported. The Huntsville Times reported Sunday that the actual cost of the contract will be “at least twice as much as initially i [...]
“Good” vs. “Poor...
At the last board meeting on Thursday, November 3rd, Dr. Robinson defended her support of the superintendent’s recommendation to sign what was at the time a $1.7 million dollar contract with Teach for America by claiming that she had spent the week reviewing studies on TFA and the effectiveness of the teachers placed in a system by TFA [...]
Rocket City Bloggers: On Education
“If you want to witness a miracle, watch a teacher teach. And you will believe.”
It is my distinct honor to play host to a collection of excellent writers who share their ideas on education. If you’re used to reading my stuff, please take a few minutes to read the writings of my friends from here in the Rocket City. Their t [...]
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