Confessions of an Urban Principal /The AYP Electric Slide
by Frank Murphy
Installment (6 of 9)/
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One of Mr.Vallas’s chief deputies visited our school today. John had invited her. When he first told me of this invitation, John said, “We will ask her for suggestions on how to succeed at meeting our AYP goal. I’m sure she can offer us some good suggestions. Besides it wouldn’t hurt, if she decides to take a personal interest in Meade.” Read the rest of this entry »
You’ve Got To Be Kidding
Submitted by Frank Murphy, January 18.2011
When talking to reporters, people sure can say the strangest things. Both Veronica Joyner, the Chief Administrative Officer of Mathematics, Civics and Science Charter School and State Senator Anthony Williams recently uttered questionable quotes.
Ms Joyner was cited in the Philadelphia Daily News as saying:
“I’m noticing a trend over the years that a lot of the charter school students are being attacked because they’re wearing uniforms. They’re being seen as nerds, and they [other students] resent the fact they’re getting a better education. They’re getting attacked by kids in the neighborhoods.”
The news article quoted was written as a follow-up to an earlier story describing a brawl between a group of students from West Catholic High School and Boys Latin Charter School. During this mêlée, several students suffered stab wounds that required treatment at area hospitals. Read the rest of this entry »
Confessions of an Urban Principal/ Luis Doesn’t Get Along Well With Women.
by Frank Murphy
Installment (5 of 9)
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Luis came into the main office today. Mr. Nottingham had sent for him. Luis had been giving his classroom teacher a hard time. It was the fourth time this week that he had acted in a disrespectful manner towards one of his teachers. Read the rest of this entry »
Notes from the Field
Submitted by Frank Murphy, January 13, 2011
Yesterday, in an article published in the Chicago Sun-Times, Chicago mayoral candidate Miguel del Valle was attributed as saying, “Let’s stop attacking teachers”. Mr. del Valle is one of several candidates, including Rahm Emanuel, the former chief of staff of President Obama, who are seeking to be the next mayor of Chicago.
Miguel del Valle’s comment was made within the context of a broader statement in support of Chicago teachers he made in reference to the proposed “Performance Counts” legislation that is currently being considered in the Illinois state legislature. I discussed this proposed bill in this post at cityschoolstories.com.
It is refreshing to hear a candidate for an elective office taking a stand in support of teachers instead of pursuing the increasingly popular political tactic of bashing and scapegoating them. Even more interesting is his willingness to state his opposition to the idea that teacher unions should be denied the power to strike. Political figures that take such a stance are becoming an increasing rarity. In doing so, del Valle risks inflaming the ire of the free market corporate education reformers who are increasingly gaining control of our national educational policies. They have money and they know how to use it to support the campaigns of candidates who will support their educational agenda. Read the rest of this entry »
Confessions of an Urban Principal/ Professional Development Schools
By Frank Murphy
Installment (4 of 9)
I awoke this morning to the sound of raindrops pelting against my bedroom windows. A winter thunderstorm had darkened the sunrise. Lightning flashes filled the sky and heavy rains were pouring down on the city. My ears filled with the sound of thunder, as I hazily contemplated the day ahead. Read the rest of this entry »
Notes from the Field
Submitted by Frank Murphy, Jan 11, 2011
The School Performance Index (SPI) rankings for Philadelphia’s elementary, middle and high schools are now posted on the district’s web site. The unveiling of this information is a precursor to the upcoming announcement of schools that will be placed on this years Renaissance Eligible and Renaissance Alert list.
Last year Meade Elementary School was placed on the alert list. This designation came as a surprise to the staff and community supporters of Meade. There were numerous positive accomplishments that this school community had achieved over an extended period of time. Most significantly Meade had been recognized for having made Adequate Yearly Progress for several years in a row. Despite an abundance of data indicating the school was serving its students well, Meade was rated 10-7 on the School Performance Index in 2009. The best rating that a school could receive on this index is 1-1. The worst rating is 10-10. Read the rest of this entry »
Confessions of an Urban Principal/ Shakespearian Tragedy or Comedy: Life in Meade School.
by Frank Murphy
Installment (3 of 9)
At three-fifteen, I headed off to the district headquarters. I had been invited to be a member of the Chief Academic Officer’s advisory committee. The first meeting of this group was scheduled for four o’clock this afternoon. I didn’t want to be late. Read the rest of this entry »
You’ve Got to Be Kidding
Submitted by Frank Murphy, Jan. 6, 2011
Recently I have been considering adding a new category to Cityschoolstories.com . In it, I would place posts, videos, links and images that communicate the hypocrisy and/or absurdity of the billionaires’ school reform efforts being forced on public schools across our nation.
The Philadelphia Public School Notebook’s, “Notes from the News” for January 4, 2011, included a post from the blog Practical Theory, titled Satire-The Arena and Dialogue of Ed Reform. The You Tube video featured in this post is an excellent example of the type of material I am interested in occasionally featuring here on cityschoolstories.com.
I will be titling these new post entries under the category heading, “You’ve Got To Be Kidding”. Suggestions from readers for links or leads to other satirical school reform materials would be greatly appreciated. Please send any suggestions you might have to f@cityschoolstories.com.
I have included in today’s post, three examples of school reform satire that amuse me. Like the Reformer versus Real Reformer video that is featured on the Practical Theory blog, these are funny and painfully accurate representations of the diabolical and manipulative nature of current school reform initiatives.
The first example is a link to a mock web site titled the Last Stand for Children First Blog. As you can see in this content, it is the caring billionaires and politicians who support them who will help America’s children succeed in school. They will do so despite having to face the obstacle of the presence of a teacher in every classroom.
In fact, as exemplified in the second video clip, the “reformers” are working on devising a strategy that will eliminate the ill-effect on children caused by the presence of teachers. By utilizing a “proper” evaluation system of current teachers, they hope to gather information to be able to clone truly effective test prep facilitators.
In the final example, if you are an energetic young entrepreneur interested in supporting the mission of the friendly billionaires, you need to purchase the tool kit described in this video. To help you become a successful school reformer, you will be tutored in the language described in the Corporate Reform Action Pack.
Confessions of an Urban Principal/ Of Angels and Fallen Boys
by Frank Murphy
Installment (2 of 9)
Today I received a call from a school police investigator. He asked me if I had a five-year-old student by the name of Jared or Jarod White. I told him that we did have a Jared White-Miller enrolled in our first grade. The investigator asked me to check and see whether the boy was in school. Read the rest of this entry »
Notes From the Field
Submitted by Frank Murphy, Jan 4, 2011
During the winter break a teacher forwarded to me a post from the Labor Notes. It is an interesting piece that details the author’s claim that Bill Gates, and Eli Broad are leading a group of wealthy individuals who are attempting to eliminate organized opposition to their plans for America’s public schools. According to this article the attention of these billionaires has recently been focused on squashing teacher resistance in Chicago.
On June 12, 20010 the leadership of the Chicago Teacher Union was assumed by candidates from the CORE (Caucus of Rank and File Educators) union slate. CORE was one of five groups that sought control of this union local. In a run off election, they defeated the incumbent United Progressive Caucus headed by Marilyn Stewart. The result of the Chicago teacher election suggests a new direction for teacher unionism. Read the rest of this entry »