Once again we have had to set up a new SAUSD corruption thread as the last one started to run slow with all the comments on it.
Our schools are in crisis today – not just here in Santa Ana but all over the state. The only thing we know for sure is that we are going to take more budget hits.
I am amazed that the SAUSD hired back all their laid off administrators. How crazy is that? Class sizes are growing, good teachers are laid off, and the union, as usual, is asleep at the wheel.
We will continue to reason through all this here at the Orange Juice blog! We can but hope for the best…
tmare –
you inquire if the person who posted has any back up to verify the report out. good question. generally you’d refer to the minutes of the meeting. you are familiar with RROO, aren’t you?
What?? Where in the world is all this coming from about Cole? I am no admin supporter, but even I can see the illogical jump in these accusations. WOW!!!! get a life and maybe take your meds #799 & 800. It sounds a bit on the paranoid side to me.
Willard is not the problem. The problem is the parents not being involved and students that could care less about their education because their parents do not care. Teaching students at Willard is not an easy job. I would love to see teachers from one of the districts higher schools come in and teach the worst class at Willard. Oh wait we did have several people teach the worst class last year. Most of them were either department chair, or sent to the school by the district. One of them even hit a kid. So I do not think changing the staff around will do any good because some people just can’t handle our students. Not just any person can walk in and teach at Willard. If they were to get new teachers, I can pretty much say that the school will have a lot of problems. It takes a very caring teacher and those people could care less about the students.
Responding to 794
Oddly, GG 18 writes to say she agrees with the Outsider. I also believe that the SA teachers “do not like waste …” and said as much. It is the administration that took the school site money before the first meeting and used it to “buy” a TOSA. That could be as much as $120,000 that one teacher described as a Gal Friday. The members of the school site never had a chance to vote one way or another, though I doubt they would think this is the highest and best way to utilize monetary resources. BTW, Wilson teacher and Patricia also have school site council stories and I bet they have a lot of them.
In answer to your question, my environment (and yours), is Kafka.
In reference to comment #799…I don’t know where you get your information, but unfortunately on this one you are WAY off the mark! That is a pretty radical assumption, and even suggesting that something like that could happen to a staff of teachers at Willard that were essentially all RIFed and have been RIFed for the past 6 consecutive years is both rude and unprofessional. We are a “special” group at Willard, and we definitely have taken our fair share of “abuse” over the years. It certainly isn’t perfect this year either, but it is far less of a dictatorship than it has been in the past years. We can only hope that a master schedule is chosen for next year that incorporates the high number of multiple subject teachers that are there this year, and doesn’t force us out of yet another school site.
TheOutsider is correct.
SSC at Wilson during the AngRYano years were bogus. Wilson’s former principal (now Pio Pico’s pariah) always put his puppet parents and BRT crony on the councils so no matter how the teacher representatives voted, the vote ALWAYS went the way of the PRINCEipal. He didn’t follow proper protocols for notice of meetings, items to be discussed, or RROO when staff or parents would try to speak during the meetings. The District was informed by me and other teachers about all the baloney and they never did anything about it. The staff at Wilson is convinced that the District ignored and probably even condoned/encouraged this takeover of the SSC.
THANK GOD that for the last two years Wilson now has an administrator who cares about educating the children. Mr. Norris Perez comes from a family of teachers (his wife is a teacher) and he truly does all he can to provide the best education for every student. He also understands the proper dynamics of the SSC and follows proper procedures. If he and Mark Bello were running this District, we would be in good hands.
I’d love to know where the district thinks the kids that have parents that wouldn’t bother to sign on to the fundamental school policies are supposed to go. Willard used to be a pretty good school many years ago before the opening of two more fundamental schools. The same thing has happened to Saddleback with the opening of two fundamental high schools in the south. Just a bunch of kicking the can around, but it’s been kicked so much that there is no where left for those kids to go. It is unfortunate that all of the work for dealing with these kids is left to the non-fundamental schools. Maybe someone at the district should be dealing with the real issues of parent involvement and supporting real teachers instead of just re-naming schools.
I saw at my school site and its official!! Patricia is running again!! People please don’t make the same mistake twice and vote for Patricia!
TO: The Outsider,
You are correct. I do agree with much of what you say. Unfortunately I didn’t make it clear on my comment. I should have said from Anonymous to the Outsider (post #793), that is where I do not agree. In response to your comment #791, I really don’t think you are correct and I certainly hope not. But, I am ready for a change in “leadership” (I use the term loosely) and will certainly vote for the candidate with integrity – Patricia!
If teachers want to have the best possible chance of keeping their jobs this year, they need to vote and get their friends to vote for Patricia. She has what it takes to fight for jobs. Susan has already presided with unconcern over the loss of over one hundred jobs, and will undoubteldy let the district have its way with cutting more. GET THE WORD OUT . . . VOTE FOR PATRICIA to SAVE JOBS!
I am thrilled to hear that Patricia is running for union president. She was incredible last summer at the board meetings. She is without a doubt the voice I want representing me.
803
Anonymous says:
February 17, 2010 at 4:08 pm
Why don’t you ask Black? She will no longer sub at Willard. She refuses, thanks to Cole.
When was the last time a principal walked into your classroom, directs you not to call for security or A.P assistance, reprimands you in front of the whole.
DENISE COLE!
Holy be thy name!
Prayer sessions as follows:
Tuesday Feb, 23rd
Willard Parent Room,
Preacher, Denise Cole
Tuesday March 2nd
Willard Parent Room
Preacher, Denise Cole
Every Tuesday of the Month
all sessions start at 6:30 sharp
799
anon says:
February 17, 2010 at 1:25 am
There are several of us teachers and support staff here at Willard that have experience the “snake” side of Dennis, as he likes to be called. He is such a snake. He is the snake that gave Adam and Eve the apple. He comes across as the greatest person to ever come to Willard and resuscitate the learning process. His demeanor is more like a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
He is supposed to be and educator.
He is here to educate and allow us to do the same.
799 is right,
he is not only here to eventually get rid of all the teachers and support staff, but also the students. Kids don’t get a second chance with Dennis. His favorite words are Suspension , for absolutely no reason.
He would never survive at any other school, besides Willard as a principal. The abuse of students and parents rights is absurd, but he gets away with it because 99.99 percent of our kids and parents don’t know nor do they understand they rights.
Dennis Cole speaks with a forked tongue and is the messiah of Evil, while holding a bible.
799~ Why are you pretending to be a Willard employee? Obviously, you are not informed with what is happening at Willard. You may know bits and pieces, but it appears you have an issue with Dennis Cole and are trying to character assassinate him for kicks. It’ is true, Willard is going through some changes. Leave it to the Willard staff to handle it and stay out of where you don’t belong.We will take care of it. We have fried bigger fish than Cole!
Opps people may misunderstand my last post. When I said don’t make the same mistake twice I meant in terms of re-electing Susan. People on here need to let their peers know why they should vote for Patricia and why they shouldn’t vote for Susan. Elections I believe are next week and we NEED people to to participate and know why they should vote for Patricia.
O’Neill was the one who filed federal Freedom of Information Act papers to get the district to disclose their 93 million in hidden funds. The union ran with her numbers w/o any thanks. Mercer has a shown a petty and vindictive side not only in this case, but in her ludicrous, immature and offensive cartoon animations- posted on the SAEA site, supported by your union dues- depicting Russo, Lopez, and Hammlet as jibber jabbers running around a table. Mercer has poisoned the well and will never be taken seriously by the District.
We must send O’Neill to lead the SAEA.
I’d like to know now long it took O’Neill to get the info she requested citing the Freedom of Information Act. The district bounced my request around for nearly two months and spent close to $3k in lawyer fees to perpetuate the delay.
Parents are not engaged because the district has done a good job of fractionalizing the parents. PTA, PTO, and other parent organizations. Keeping the parents fragmented allows the district to move forward with their agenda. And that’s why the district hand selects the same so-called parents like Victoria Zaragoza to advance the Superintendent’s agenda.
Now, if there were ONE, single parent organization, comprised of PARENTS ONLY, that could be very powerful force making life difficult for the distict admins.
I think the district’s modus operandi is Conquer and Divide.
Ouch 816! A bit tempermental? 799 never purported to be a Willard employee. Rumors about Cole are floating throughout the district and this blog is for all to comment. Are you the blog police?
Re: Post 821 – Anon
Oh please, give it a rest. I think we can all see that you are at the very least a disgruntled employee. I know a LOT of people in this district after 3 schools, 6 principals, not to mention 22 years. Dennis Cole rumors ARE NOT floating throughout the district and we all know it. There are big fish to fry around here, and he is not one of them. So take your personal agenda elsewhere! And by the way, maybe we need blog police. I, for one, was glad to see #816 respond to your ridiculous comment. Go away!
I just got a flyer in my mailbox from Patricia, but I also had two others from Susan…I really think Patricia needs to take this to another level and do more than just send out flyers with a week to go!! PATRICIA if you’re listening, you need to get in touch with a few schools and talk to them! I think flyers will help but I also think if you did more than that it would definitely help those other teachers who will not participate or just aren’t informed! They need to know how childish the union has been with their attacks on the SAUSD and they need to see that they’re not resourceful! I really think you need to step outside the box of sending flyers because people most of the time just throw them away…
TRex, what school are you at? Just curious. We are trying to keep track of what schools got the flyers. Thanks! We appreciate your ideas and support!
Trex is correct.
The majority of the staff throw the flyers away, me included.
Is it apathy? Is it lack of “connection” by candidates? Perhaps it’s both AND the overload many teachers are feeling.
I don’t know if I really want to disclose my school since I have said many things on this site that would raise some eyebrows and warrant criticism that I do not need. Let me just say I don’t think enough people participate in these elections, plus I just think Patricia would even have a better chance if she visited some schools and hand out these flyers personally. She doesn’t have to ALL schools but lets say next week is “election” week, I would say its in her best interest to visit 2 schools a day before the election and let teachers know that she is here for us.
I agree with Trex. I really want Patricia to win, but I’m afraid flyers aren’t going to cut it. Most of the teachers don’t seem to understand how badly they have been served by the union over the last several years, and they are apathetic. Unless Patricia shakes things up, most teachers won’t vote or will vote for the status quo without realizing how bad things are and how much better off they could be with Patricia as President.
i know of at least 4 schools who haven’t gotten flyers. Sorry i don’t want to reveal my location either, for the same reason as trex and the fact that I have a lot more to say in the future. Patricia needs to put out a “fact” letter and I will pick some up for my school, if this site can tell me where to get them.
Patricia- get a website!
Thanks for all of the support! We are keeping a record of what schools received the flyers and will get flyers to those who did not receive anything. Please send all correspondence to teampatricia@yahoo.com. We are listening to your suggestions and ideas & will definitely take them into consideration!
I just read this blog. I read alot about an election for the union. When is this election? and for what positions?
Really SAUSD teacher?? You read a lot about the election but don’t know when it is…and you don’t know what positions are being elected? you read a lot about it? you’re a teacher and you ask a question like that..
Please view the Team Patricia Election flyer here: http://tiny.cc/TeamPatricia
This guy does not know how to keep religion and government separate. Every other word that comes out of this guys mouth is religion. After a while, damm, give it a rest.
822,
Maybe you haven’t heard anything downtown for a reason. District office is the last stop before the street for everyone. What else can you say about yourself to help I.d you. It’s not character assassination, cole is doing a good job himself. You should read some of his emails.
Trex –
You’re being a bit rough on SAUSD teacher. Most registered voters in this country don’t know it’s mid-year elections and have no clue of their own statewide elections.
It’s a sad statement about a good majority of registered voters. And that’s why nearly $5 billion was spent during the last general election. Yikes!
I agree with # 835. Lighten up Trex… At least the teacher asked! jeeez… if you’re a teacher, I hope you don’t respond to a student in the same manner. I usually enjoy reading your posts, but this seemed a bit out of character for you.
As a person with experience teaching students at Willard I agree 100% with the comment that most people would encounter difficulty under the conditions. There is a bright spot in Mario Cervantes and his dedication to serve the needs of his students. Good luck to any who wish to continue at the school.
By the way did anyone read the news about LAUSD giving away 30 schools over to charter programs and Villaragosa? Our union is slowly falling apart because of the rigidity of our unions and its will not to be more flexible during these tough times. I still have 25 more years to teach and the way its going there will be no more union when I get there thanks to all the teachers who came before me. I really just want to thank all the teachers for screwing up my life and screwing up the system that’s there to protect us. Again thanks in advance for standing up to our government and never thinking about the future but instead thinking about yourselves.
#837 & others,
Yes, I can guarantee that the VAST MAJORITY of students and parents at our site do NOT want to go to Willard…they ALL want to go to Mendez [even though it looks/functions/uniforms-BLACK like a prison].
Ryan,
Could you please elaborate on just how our union is falling apart and just how there will be no more union when you get there and just how those of us who have been teaching a while have screwed up your life and the system? Your generalizations are astounding. If you have something specific to say, please say it. I’ve been teaching for 22 years and probably have 20 more to go, so if I’ve screwed something up, I guess I’ve screwed it up for myself also. I’d just like to know specifically what it is and what is supposed to be done about it. From my perspective, teachers pretty much fight for teachers most of the time and this is what they get criticized for in the media, just how are teachers screwing up everything for you?
The problem, Tmare, is that teachers fight for teachers, as you said, and not for students. Unions have a reputation for protecting, and in fact protect, drunk teachers, incompetent teachers, teachers who hit students, etc., etc., etc. The L.A. Times has documented the virtual impossibility of firing a teacher.
Unions also contribute to very liberal causes like gay marriage that not all union members or members of the public agree with.
It is also impossible for unions to fairly represent all teachers. There are inherent conflicts, for example, between junior and senior teachers, and elementary and secondary teachers. For unions to gloss over these conflicts and pretend like they can fairly represent all just leads to constant in-fighting and bickering among union members, which is a detriment to students and the public.
Also, at times of layoff, which we are again entering according to today’s O.C. Register, the union’s rigid insistence on basing layoffs exclusively on seniority necessarily means that some low-performing teachers will be retained while others lose their jobs.
Unions and their lobbysists have controlled the state legislature, particularly the Democrats. The rigidity of unions, and their constant insistence that taxes be raised — so teachers can be paid more — has led to the flight of small and large businesses from California, and the disastrous shape that California is in right now. Do you know how bad it sounds for unions to be insisting on squeezing every last penny out of districts, which are funded with public dollars, when so many members of the public are out of work?
The teacher’s union, and particulary the closed shop, is more responsible than any other organized entity for the demise of education in California, and sooner or later the public — hopefully — will stand up to the teacher’s union and say enough is enough.
Nobody is personally accusing you, Tmare, or any other individual teacher, of having bad intentions toward students or other teachers, but the union is part of the problem, and has no constructive part in any solution.
S.A. Teacher, you said it better than I could! I agree that the union needs to be more flexible, and stop looking out for itself because they are slowly loosing members and schools. But there is also an argument that says we spend more money on prisoners, slush funds for city councils that would make up the deficit we have in our schools. That side of thought says that we’re spending money in so many other areas of government (air resources board, fire department over over over time, secretaries, slush funds for city councils) that there would be enough money for education if that “fluff” was cut off.
Willard does not only look like a prison, cole treats students like prisoners. Example, Cole and his admin team is forcing teachers to take hooded sweatshirts away from students, snow rain or shine. It does not matter. hooded sweatshirts are confiscated, stored and then donated to “GOD” LOl, knows who. It is sad to see kids freezing because they do not want loose their only sweatshirt to cole or his admin team.
I had sick kids in my classroom who where afraid to put their sweaters on beacuse they were hooded. I allowed them, all I asked was for the hoods to remain off.
I would like to see Dennis Cole confiscate and donate student property from kids at South County. Cole has made it so far, thanks to the un-educated parents and students of Willard.
Cole’s solution to all of Willard kids, suspension. Get rid of them. His forgetting, he is an educator and his in the education business.
Dennis Cole does not care about kids or Willard staff.
Read the writing on the wall, “teachers” luckily the writing is a lot more clear as the days go by.
While I understand people’s frustration with union politics, I have a bigger beef with the reasons we retain incompetent teachers year after year. At my site there are several teachers who routinely violate the contract and no administrator is willing to follow protocol in order to document the problems with these teachers. It truly isn’t as difficult as many think to get rid of incompetent teachers, tenured or not. Unfortunately, administrators (at least at my site) refuse to give verbal warnings and then write up these teachers so year after year, they remain. A teacher can be fired, but only if an administrator has the guts to do their job. We have union people at our site who are begging the administrators to do just that, yet they refuse.
tmare,
right! and if they do have the guts to fire them, they may be faced with years of lawsuits and teachers on leave with pay. I’ve heard estimates of over $300,000 to fire a teacher who wants to fight it. Hope it’s not true, but have heard it many times. I personally knew a drunk and drug addict who was teaching for far too long as this person was still functioning somewhat (during working hours) and I use the term “functioning” loosely. Meanwhile the union “fought” for her with our hard earned dues.
Its so true…the fact that teachers are associated with the term “union” makes the public cringe. Why does it? Because its been abused by those who came before us. As a fairly new teacher (4.5 years), I can see how the union will become a thing of the past. Teachers before me have abused its use and its becoming to expensive to “house” teachers in this form. It has nothing to do with incompetent administrators it has to do with the process. It is difficult and probably impossible to fire a teacher without spending thousands of dollars to do so. Goodbye union, it was once a good thing but to many have abused its purpose.
So much for the union NEA… 🙁
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Education/2010/0225/All-teachers-fired-at-R.I.-school.-Will-that-happen-elsewhere
The mass firing of the Central Falls High School staff is akin to the thankless dismissal of soldiers and Marines after they failed to win in VietNam 40 years ago.
Sir Sarcasm says:
Excellent, let’s expect America’s best and brightest teachers to WANT to teach in inner-city schools so the “weaklings-that-be” can blame them for society’s failures.
And, let’s make sure that all teachers everywhere will be judged by the tested performance of their students so that the best and brightest teachers will WANT to teach in inner-city schools.
Obama “knows” what is best for America’s students…so he [and the rest of the sell-out politicians) sends his precious petunias to private school and could care less about the foul schools of DC!
NEA and AFT Urge Support for Fired Rhode Island Teachers
By Cynthia McCabe
February 26, 2010 — Teachers and staff at Central Falls High School in Rhode Island were making real progress in improving academics and raising test scores. But this past week, district administrators made national headlines with the now-infamous decision to fire the entire staff of the school. The NEA and the American Federation of Teachers stand together in solidarity with the fired educators and are urging supporters to take action on their behalf.
By signing the petition at http://centralfallskidsdeservebetter.com/petition educators, parents, students, and members of the public call on District Superintendent Frances Gallo to do what is right — work with the teachers instead of scapegoating them, and seek real reforms that help students achieve.
The 74 teachers and support professionals fired are invested in their students and their community, union leaders said. And while they recognize there is still much work to be done, they want nothing more than to stay hard at work and continue the momentum.
In recommending their firing to the Central Falls school board Tuesday, Gallo took the unusual step of blaming the teachers, rather than following a collaborative path to proven reforms that benefit students. As school board members tallied their 5-2 vote that amounted to a humiliating public firing of the educators, teachers packing the room leaned against each other for support and wept.
New federal school reform requirements offer districts four options for turning around under-performing schools. Under the transformation model, educators work in collaboration with administrators. That’s what was under way in Central Falls, until Gallo opted to switch to the turnaround model, by which every teacher is fired at the school.
NEA and AFT leadership and members are working closely with the Central Falls Teachers Union and the Rhode Island Federation of Teachers and Health Professionals to get the Central Falls administration to return to negotiations and find a resolution to the crisis.
It’s easy to rag on the union when it seems to be ineffective, but you mustn’t throw out the baby with the bath water.
Who’s going to advocate for teachers when salary or personnel issues come up? Who’s going to defend wrongly accused teachers when they’re in trouble? And who’s going to keep the boss from treating you unfairly?
The market place? Your Republican Rep?