DeSoto High Media Center Web Sites Fail Academic Standards

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A package arrived in the mail this morning that gives me one huge indication as to why 80 percent of DeSoto High's students can’t read at grade level. It’s a memo to the school board from a concerned citizen who researched and documented recommended Internet sites that the high school’s library – ahem, “media center” – has been offering to students.


The superintendent’s reading material for the district’s D-rated high school includes Oprah magazine, Fitness Mind Body Spirit, and Teen Cosmo. The citizen researcher discovered these lightweight materials regularly feature very adult sex advice (a sex-workout to control weight, why birth control might dampen sex drive, how celebrities stay thin during pregnancy – this last one from the Encyclopedia Britannica, of all places -- and more, more, more of this sort of drek).

The memo writer showed the superintendent and school board members this week that high school librarians have allowed, for years, Internet links to pop-music Web sites that feature the worst kinds of slang to describe sexual characteristics of famous actresses. The high school’s “course links” page on the superintendent’s Web site has featured, for years, a nubile youngster, bare-shouldered, spaghetti-strapped, gazing deeply into the eyes of the camera; the book she leaned over was a prop to hide her breasts instead of an item of actual academic endeavor.

Back in the media center, “algebra” links to a commercial site selling a $60 software package so students don’t have to do homework the “old way” (whatever that is). Links to an Internet dictionary, atlas and encyclopedia all take students to the ad-driven “Info Please” site where they are told this “is all you need to know.” Info Please sites that purport to be atlases, thesaurus, and encyclopedias feature side-bar ads of female torsos (headless – objectifying women) in string bikinis to promote (1) weight loss (2) vacation resorts (3) fitness programs (4) dating sites.

The concerned citizen’s memo asks the superintendent and school board if the high school’s library Web site furthers “academic, vocational and civic scholarship” among our youngsters. When asked the question, no one answered.**

My own questions are:
--- Why did not one of the $25,000-a-year school board members not find this and correct it years ago?
--- Where has the $131,000-a-year superintendent been while an entire generation of students perused car ads, half-naked women, and sales-pitches for homework helpers in the school library at his recommended Web sites?

What in this picture says academic, scholastic, vocational, or civic education?


My favorite links on this "student" page are ones that encourage teachers to visit a site in order to download lesson plans and worksheets. No wonder students hold teachers in such low esteem.
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**The offensive sites have been taken down; in fact the entire high school media center page has been deleted. However, the evidence of what DeSoto County students have been given to read in their library time is readily available. I will be glad to e-mail the citizen's memo with working links to every one of the sites to anyone upon request: barryfresco@gmail.com




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The Emperor's Clothes

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Barry –
Your blog dated July 10, 2009, entitled "School Board Salary Data Difficult to Track Down," hit the proverbial nail on the head. You are certainly not alone in either your thinking or naiveté. Incredulously, several years ago our ‘muzzled’ news rag the Sun Herald published the following letter to the editor from Harvey Goldstein of Deep Creek:

"As a retired teacher, professor and university dean, I support excellence in education. But, before I can support an increase in taxes for our schools, I have two requests. One: If the school board truly believes our schools need more tax dollars, they should give up their nearly $35,000 per year salaries including benefits). Indeed, at least one board member is in receipt of a generous pension as a retired… school teacher in addition to a fat school board salary. (Part Time!) Please note that in most of the U.S., elected school board members receive no compensation.
Two: The school board should review the need for every non-teaching administrative position. It seems clear that we are top heavy with high-paid administrators. …bureaucrats do not translate to good education. Good teachers and concerned parents do."

A couple of years ago when Dr. McNulty criticized the school system and challenged school board members to make changes, specifically to ‘rein in’ (or at least hold accountable) their incompetent, deceitful and vindictive CEO, Mr. Cline, Mr. Allen (Mr. Cline’s cousin by the way = nepotism?) immediately scolded McNulty. Mr. Allen had the audacity to suggest that, as a school board member, he viewed his function as "service above self." How delusional? If "service above self" is truly his belief, then why not accept the state-designated salary of $5,833.00 instead of five times this amount. (The Florida legislators established the base salary of a school district having a population between 10,000-49,999, referred to as level II population group, to be $5,833.00. (See Florida Schools, Chapter 1001.30, Statute 1001.395)

If Mr. Allen (and his cohorts) would genuinely like to do the noble thing and actually practice what he (they) preaches – "service above self," he (they) should either forego their salaries altogether or give it back to the very school system that they are so genuinely concerned about! As both Harvey Goldstein noted in the local rag and you, Barry, in your blog, in most school systems nationwide school board service is regarded as "a civic privilege and duty, to be undertaken by people unmotivated by a substantial paycheck, retirement fund and health plans." So much for the idea of nobility. Given this reality of "self above service," I can't help but feel nauseated by disgust when they begin their school board meetings with a prayer. Hypocrites and/or a den of thieves?

As if this is not enough of an insult, these school board members as well as Mr. Cline, gladly accept their pay while running a crumbling school system. So I now ask, what is the difference between these phonies and their counterparts on Wall Street who also gladly accept astronomical bonuses while running corporations into the ground? Pay for non performance? Pathetic!

Further, as Mr. Goldstein suggested, our school system is top heavy with servile flatterers, especially in the school district offices. There is something terribly wrong when some individuals without higher education are making substantially higher incomes than those in the same system with higher education, specifically the ones who count most – the teachers. Again, hypocrisy rears its ugly head. But many of us know the reason for this – Mr. Cline's survival. The emperor has to surround himself with a cabal of "yes" people -- servants in order to feel powerful and in control. But what these folks forget is how Hans Christian Anderson’s eerily similar tale ends!
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DeSoto School District Copies and Posts Web Pages; Fails to Credit Source

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When I was in school, I learned to cite the sources that I used in essays and research papers. I now follow this practice on my Web site as well. I learned that not citing the source of my ideas or using the words of others as if they were my own has a special name: plagiarism. It's a form of cheating. At least, that's what I was taught. Apparently, the lesson hasn't been learned by the local superintendent or school district.
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The DesSoto County School District's Web site has a button to click, called Be There. The click takes readers to the school district's page that describes nice things that happen when parents connect with their children. The "be there" theme is in red letters, but there's no indication that's a citation or reference -- just emphasis. Indeed, none of the red letters are clickable links. They should be -- because "Be There" is a trademarked, copyrighted, properietary program that promotes its mission at http://www.bethere.org/. In short, the school district , in the form of Adrian Cline, Superintendent whose name is the "signature" on the page in question, has plagiarized. He has taken "Be There" words and reproduced them as if it were the district's, or the superintendent's, own work.

The plagiarism isn't just the one page. It goes deeper. Click on a parent's tip link that appears on the District's Be There page, and readers get a bland looking PDF file of Parent Tips, typed into a plain white page. But if visitors were to visit the original Be There Web site, they'd find a remarkably similar document page -- word for word -- only prettier.

So, what's an old dog to think? Has the school district plagiarized? Comments welcome.
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DeSoto School Board Votes on Non-Agenda Item: Raising Taxes

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It's routine in that it happens every summer: DeSoto County School Board, like the thousands across the land, must create a budget for the upcoming year. After figuring how much money it takes to educate the 2009-2010 crop of kids, it caclulates the millage it must ask the tax collector to levy upon land- and homeowners. The millage is then advertised, and if approved, the tax collecter rounds up the money it generates and sends a check to Tallahassee. There it is massaged (so to speak) and the good governor remits the funds back to the locals with both some additions and some subtractions.
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Well, that's apparently the job the board was doing Tuesday night -- examining the draft of the proposed budget and setting the millage to fund it. The meeting wasn't routine in that not a single general citizen -- well one, and even he confessed to being surprised -- seemed to know this fiscal-year milestone was on the agenda.

Let me say this again: This important bit of business never appeared on the DeSoto County School District's published agenda. Citizens were not notified. No one outside an inner circle of boardmembers and administrators knew the time and place to discuss the next-year's tax rate.

And, making the whole operation a bit more hugger-mugger, even the newspaper was not notified that the public's business -- tax business -- was scheduled to be conducted. (I got wind of this from a blog that I follow. The writer focuses mostly on journalism, but he takes occasional side trips into the schools, which I why I recommend the site. )

But back to my concerns: I'm new to Florida, so I might have this all wrong. But I'm under the impression that public bodies have to do their business "in the sunshine." They aren't allowed to do things like award contracts, spend money, or set tax rates without some public notice -- hopefully accompanied by discussion. Am I wrong about this?
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School Board Salary Data Difficult to Track Down

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Boy, am I naïve. I thought reporting here exactly what I and my fellow taxpayers pay to school board members, a citizen-elected superintendent, and some key higher-ups in the main district office would be easy. Wrong. A deep troll through the posted budget for our local school district reveals none of this information.
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I did find out – on the sly – that DeSoto County School District pays its school board members $25,822 each year. The school budget also includes enough money to pay into the members’ Social Security fund, provide for their participation in a group medical and health plan, and contributes to a retirement account for them. We don’t yet have the grand total, but we’ll keep trying.

Meanwhile, Florida legislators have recommended that school board members be compensated on a sliding scale: the bigger the district, the more the base pay. In its wisdom, legislators deem that counties with a population under 50,000 (DeSoto is home to 33,991 souls at last estimate) should compensate school board folks at the rate of $5,833 a year.

Here's the chart from F.S. Chapter 1001.30

So, even without exercising our privilege to have government in the sunshine, we know the school district pays about $20,000 more to each school board member (times five members equals =$100,000 a year) than the state’s recommendation. And that’s before retirements, health plans, and whatever else we pay for by way of carfare and expenses.

I thought school board service was a civic privilege and duty, to be undertaken by people unmotivated by a substantial paycheck, retirement funds and health plans. Boy, am I naïve.
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More Excuses from Mr. Cline

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In a June 13, 2009 Sun article, the newspaper paraphrases our superintendent: "Cline feels comparing DeSoto County with urban coastal areas like Charlotte and Sarasota is not fair. DeSoto is more like Hardee, Glades, Hendry, Highlands, and Okeechobee." His comments are in response to the lack of performance of DeSoto High School. So lets take him up on his challenge – lets look at the Florida DOE data for all eight high schools in these heartland counties:

1) In reading, DeSoto High School came in 8th- last place!
2) Only Avon Park High School did worse than us in math - DeSoto came in 7th place!
3) In science, DeSoto placed 5th out of eight.
4) In writing, DeSoto came in 3rd place.

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With these results I’d like to ask Mr. Cline what he thinks now about the comparisons to the Heartland counties – below average wouldn’t you say? No, he wouldn’t say that – he’d offer another excuse! And the hypocrisy of his comparison is that two years ago Dr. McNulty compared our school system to that of Okeechobee because of similar demographics and he was scoffed at. Remember, "hypocrisy is the homage vice pays to virtue" (Anonymous).

In the same said article Mr. Cline states, "All three of our elementary schools are Title I schools and as of July 1, our middle school will be too." This statement sounds like an excuse, predicated on his assumption that the masses don’t know what a Title I school is (which is true) and that they will further assume this to be a reason for lack of performance. A Title I school is simply a school comprised of at least 35 percent of students from low-income families and thus is subsidized with free lunches, according to federal guidelines. Mr. Cline is merely playing the poverty victim card; that is, because we have a significant percentage of individuals that are poor (mainly Hispanics) and receive free lunches, we cannot expect them to do well academically! Why? Are there stupid pills in free lunches? How profoundly ignorant! Please correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t this year’s valedictorian from a minority group whose hard working parents are not wealthy? And isn’t he, like his brother several years ago, one of the brightest kids to graduate from this high school (even after valedictorian – salutatorian issues … more on this later)? The following shows the number of Title I schools in the other heartland counties :

Glades - 2
Hardee - 5
Hendry - 6
Highlands - 9
Okeechobee - 5

Further, lets look at two other Florida high schools with virtually the same ‘poverty’ demographics as DeSoto High School.

DeSoto High School - 63 percent qualify for free lunch
- ‘C’ rated in 2008
- now rated ‘D’ in 2008
South Brevard High School - 65 percent minority and 58 percent free lunch
- ‘D’ rated in 2008
- now rated ‘B’ in 2009
Pensacola High School - 68 percent minority and 62 percent free lunch
- ‘D’ rated in 2008
- now rated ‘B’ in 2009

At this point, let me expound upon a comment by anonymous on June 30 (to Barry’s blog on June 28). Concerned individuals at our high school should immediately meet with out-of-town administrators and teachers at both South Brevard and Pensacola high schools to find out what they are doing right – an ‘out-of-town’ educational summit. Galen, the father of medicine, said "Above all, do no harm." What harm would there be in this? Thank you, anonymous, for the educational summit idea! But even you know that Cline wouldn’t allow this!

Lastly, in the same newspaper article Cline says, "The question is : Have we improved from last year? Yes, we are showing improvement." Perhaps according to you, Mr. Cline, but certainly not according to who really counts, the DOE. Of the five schools in this county, only one -- West Elementary -- has achieved adequate yearly progress (AYP). And our high school is one step away from intervention as a corrective action by the state DOE.

Some of you may think that I'm being too harsh on Mr. Cline. As with all CEO's, Mr. Cline is where the buck stops. Management is measured by performance, and the performance stinks. It logically follows then that management stinks. When asked to comment on our schools' lack of performance Mr. Cline can only and always offer excuses. Let me ask those of you who read thi: Have you ever heard or read a statement from Cline claiming any responsibility for the condition of our schools? At least Bernard Madoff said he was sorry!

Mickey the Dunce
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Superintendent: To Be Elected or Hired: That is the Question

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Of the 17,000 school districts across the nation, only 147 still use the ballot box to determine who they call school superintendent.* Forty two of them are in Florida; the rest are in Alabama and Mississippi. None where superintendents are elected seems famous for academic achievement.** And, as one of the elected-superintendent districts is right here in DeSoto County, I went into list-making mode. Here are two lists, each comparing oft-cited pros and cons for hiring or electing the person who carries out the most important job that citizens entrust to local government: educating children and young adults.
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Districts that hire school superintendents:
-- can choose leadership and talent from a national pool. Elected superintendents must already live in the county, limiting choice to a pool of “qualified voters” willing to endure the time, trouble and expense of an election.
-- can set high standards, such as requiring a Ph.D., from applicants. Elected superintendents need only meet state-set minimum educational and experience standards.
-- can create a contract that allows for dismissal for poor performance. An elected superintendent may be removed only at the next election cycle except in cases of what is essentially criminal activity – which provokes a long, due-process investigation.
-- have a leader who answers to and is evaluated by the school board. An elected superintendent can ignore or override school board policies and decisions.
-- usually have fewer problems with nepotism, cronyism, and similar situations. Elected superintendents may feel obligated to reward those who helped them get into office.

Districts that elect superintendents:
-- are led by persons well known in the community. A hired superintendent is likely to be a “stranger” or “outsider.”
-- are assured of an orderly turnover at election time. Hired superintendents can be terminated by a school board for cause, resulting in periods of leadership vacuums.
-- generally pay less for a locally elected superintendent than a hired one. Hired superintendents often command higher salaries and require termination clauses.
-- don’t have to spend money on candidate searches. Locating, interviewing and selecting a hired superintendent can be costly and time consuming.
-- have a leader who answers to voters, not to the school board. A hired superintendent must respond to those who hired him or her.
-- may find it difficult to separate politics from education. Hired superintendents are usually less susceptible to local political pressures.

The Ultimate Criterion
Good arguments on both sides. But the final decision whether to elect or hire probably should be based on results. A couple of years back, DeSoto County School Board members heard from some folks in town who did their homework on this issue. The folder they passed along to me of quantifiable information extracted from the data warehouse at the state department of education concludes: “In all four years [of their survey 2003-2007] all school districts with hired superintendents outperformed, without exception, those districts with elected superintendents. In addition, in all four years, no school district with a hired superintendent was rated D or F by the Florida Department of Education.”

I’ve taken those materials and updated them to see if the four-year findings hold up over the two years since. They do. Based strictly on educational outcome as measured by the state and federal yardsticks, school districts managed by hired (also called “appointed”) superintendents, outperformed the few that still elect a beloved school principal or town politician to hold down the top job.


* so says the National School Boards Association.
** The thing I hear over and over in discussions about teen pregnancy, drop-out data, teacher pay, and similar school-quality indicators for Florida is, “Thank goodness for Mississippi.” Read more....

Department of Ed: Most DeSoto Schools Aren't Making Adequate Progress

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Being new to Florida, I was thoroughly confused by all the ratings I've seen applied to schools and students: AYP, FCAT, A+Schools -- there's more, but these seem to be the ones most folks talk about. It all seemed to be a big muddle. So, I did a little research, and this is what I found out about our "school report cards." Understanding how these measure fit together (or don't) is crucial to understanding whether we should be thrilled or cautious when a school adminstrator assures us that a particular school is "an A school."
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Part I: Adequate Yearly Progress

Florida's public schools are supposed to improve from year to year. Teachers and students are expected to get better in their roles as educators and learners. How much they improve (or don't) is measured with several yardsticks. The major measurements, the ones getting the most general attention, are data collected from standardized tests that score reading, math, science and writing achievement. Each year, students across Florida take a comprehensive achievement test, the FCAT, to measure their progress, both as individuals and as a group.

The state's department of education -- prodded by the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 -- wants students in every school to score better this year than they did last year and to score better next year than they did this year. That’s the progress part. The DOE -- again prodded by the fed -- also wants improvements to be not just small or incremental, but “adequate.” The DOE describes in some detail how to measure adequacy by analyzing the data it collects in several categories. That analysis is labeled “adequate yearly progress,” or AYP for short.

Schools where children don't make adequate yearly progress get a Florida report card with a grade of D or F. But even schools with Florida grades of A, B, or C -- a state ranking summarized in Part II, below -- can be found not making adequate progress. And that's what happened in most of the local schools. Here's the tally:

DeSoto High -------------- Grade: D -- AYP? No
DeSoto Middle School -- Grade: A ---AYP? No
West Elementary -------- Grade: A -- AYP? Yes
Memorial Elementary -- Grade: B -- AYP? No
Nocatee Elementary ---- Grade: C -- AYP? No

A school makes adequate federal progress if:

(a) at least 95 percent of its students take FCAT or an acceptable substitute test.
(b) at least 65 percent of all students and 65 percent of students in designated subgroups (African American, Hispanic, Asian, etc.) read at grade level (FCAT level 3) or better.
(c) at least 68 percent of all students and each subgroup score at grade level in math (FCAT level 4) or better.
(d) writing scores improve over the prior year by at least 1 percent; graduation rate must improve by 1 percent, and the school must not be graded by the state as D or F.

So here's what seems to be going on at DeSoto Middle School, graded A by the state, but targeted as failing federal AYP measures: Overall, just 57 percent of the students read at grade level and only 60 percent do math at grade level. By both reading and math yardsticks an inadequate number of students have learned to grade-level proficiency.

At Memorial Elementary, the picture is a little different. Overall, reading and math scores cleared the numbers hurdle (65 percent and 68 percent performing at math and reading grade level or better, respectively). But key subgroups did not. For example, among children with disabilities, 57 percent aren't reading at grade level and 56 percent aren't doing math at grade level. Two other groups at the school were "left behind" in math: white children and economically disadvantaged children.

The full report with sub-group details is available at:


Florida School Grades Homepage. Click on "Measuring Adequate Yearly Progress AYP in Excel format for the DeSoto-Lee report.

http://www.aypo809desototolee[1].xls/

Part II: Apples and Oranges: Why an "A School" Might Not Make "Adequate Yearly Progress"

All this might prompt a concerned parent to ask: Why would the state award a school an A if it’s not making adequate federal progress? The short answer is that different measures yield different results. The state's evaluation is based on different things than the federal evaluation.

The detail is found in looking at how Florida awards letter grade for schools. But here's a summary.

It’s actually pretty simple. It's a point system. Schools earn a point for each percentage point of students who meet eight standards. If 80 percent of a school’s students achieve a high standard, the school gets 80 points and if the remaining 20 percent of its students achieve a lower standard, the school gets 20 points for them. When all the eight categories are added up, schools with 525 points or more are graded A. Schools earning between 495 and 524 points are graded B. Those earning between 435 points and 494 points are graded C. Those earning between 395 and 434 points are. Less than 395 points equals an F.

The eight categories are tied to FCAT scores and earn points this way:

1. One point for each percent of students who meet high standards by scoring at or above FCAT Achievement Level 3 in reading.

2. One point for each percent of students who meet high standards by scoring at or above FCAT Achievement Level 3 in mathematics.

3. One point for each percent of students who meet high standards by scoring at or above FCAT Achievement Level 3 in science.

4. One point for each percent of students who meet high standards by scoring 3.5 or higher on the FCAT writing assessment. In the event that there are not at least 30 eligible students tested in writing, the district average in writing is substituted.

5. One point for each percent of students making learning gains in reading.

6. One point for each percent of students making learning gains in mathematics.

7. One point for each percent of the lowest performing students making learning gains in reading. In the event that there are not at least 30 eligible students, the school’s reading learning gains are substituted.

8. One point for each percent of the lowest performing students making learning gains in mathematics. In the event that there are not at least 30 eligible students, the school’s mathematics learning gains are substituted.

For schools that fall into the A,B, and C categories of points earned, two other measurements are applied: To keep the grade, the school must have tested 95 percent of its students (no "cherry picking" allowed) in order to keep an A, or have tested 90 percent of its students to keep a B or C.

In addition, to keep a point-scored letter grade of A, the school must show adequate progress compared to the prior year among children who tested in the lowest 25 percent in both reading and math; similarly, to keep an B or C, the school must show its lowest 25 percent of performers made adequate progress in reading and math compared to either of the two prior years.

It’s all pretty straightforward except for one hiccup: the state’s measure of adequate progress is not the same as the federal AYP! The state calls it adequate progress, or “learning gains” (essentially higher FCAT scores), when half of a measured group do better than the prior year.

Here's where it gets a little tricky. To calculate learning gains, Florida converts FCAT scores (reported on a scale of 100-500) into “developmental scores.” Developmental scores are pegged on a scale that ranges from zero to 3000. The conversion makes different year-to-year scoring readable on the same scale. Those of us not proficient at scale conversions will just have to trust the experts on this point. To check the math, go to page 20 and 21 of Florida's 2009 Guide to Calculating School Grades Technical Assistant Paper.

The result of Florida's grading scale is that a school earns points toward a letter grade based on how well children perform on the FCAT tests. That letter grade is retained (or dropped down a notch) based on a school’s lowest performers scoring better than last year or the year before. This is a quite different measure than the federal No Child Left Behind measure.

So, how does an "A school" fail to make "adequate yearly progress?" Apples and oranges; two yardsticks, two measures of cloth; nonequivalents.

In conclusion: Should I be concerned if my kid's school isn't making adequate yearly progress (AYP) even if the school district squeezes an A or B out of the state's rubric? Lots of folks are bad-mouthing "No Child Left Behind," and perhaps with some reason. Nonetheless, its a national measure and DeSoto isn't measuring up.

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DeSoto Education: Not Important

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Dear Barry:

A recent DeSoto Sun article (June 13, 2009) quotes Mike McNulty as saying "Education is not a priority in this county... we're on the Titanic, Cline is on the bridge and we're sinking." Pretty strong words! Fact or opinion? Let's attempt to find the answer. Toward this end let's look at management -- the school board and the superintendent. After all, as the noted economist Peter Drucker once said, "The ultimate test of management is performance." Certainly no one with any common sense can argue with these words.
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Way back in the summer of 2007, Mike McNulty urged school board members to join a key professional resource: Florida School Board Association. His request was logical and rational, given that school board members across the state gain useful information at such meetings and can avail themselves of a wealth of resources, e.g. how other school districts address and solve problems, what they are doing and what they are planning. After all, there are only three ways to do anything: my way, your way and the right way. Oops, I forgot -- our school system's way, the wrong way!

The ensuing vote speaks for itself. In a three to two vote, the local school board adopted the recommendation and joined the association. The dissenting voters, as it turned out, were long-serving good- ol' -boys, Mr. Ronnie Allen and Mr. Rodney Hollingsworth. At this point, I'd like to quote a sentence from the minutes of the school board meeting held Aug. 14, 2007: "Mr. Hollingsworth also admitted at one time he was not proud of the school board; now he is." Hold that thought.

Now in 2009, the board is suddenly no longer a member. The reason given for dropping membership is the cost and times are tough and membership costs $11,000. At least that's what I was told. So, DeSoto County School system is the only one in the state affected by this current economic downturn?

Now bear in mind that our school system's budget hovers somewhere around $50 million. If we perform higher mathematics and put 11,000 in the numerator and 50 million in the denominator and then multiply by 100 percent, we get 0.02. In other words, it costs two one-hundredths of a percent (0.02 percent) of the budget to belong to this oganization. Surely such a pittance cannot be the reason for withdrawal, especially given the fact that far more significant funds are spent frivolously, possibly for FDR memorabilia? (... more later)

So, all this begs the question: Why, really, did the school board withdraw from its state professional association? The board owes the community the real reason. Based on what I feel to be reliable "hearsay" three members went to these meetings periodically; no, I should say rarely. And two did not attend any of these meetings at all during this two year period! Guess who? The good-ol'-boys.

And now, at this point, let's ask Mr. Hollingsworth. "Are you proud of yourself? Are you proud of the school board?"

Just when we thought that it couldn't get any better (or worse), suddenly it does. Here is another example from those who are supposed to be in charge and concerned that "education is not a priority in this county:"

The Florida School Board Association is a statewide group; within this group are smaller groups. The so-called Heartland Consortium is one of them, and DeSoto is a member along with Hardee, Highlands, Hendry, Glades and Okeechobee counties. Like the state association, Heartland Consortium was formed to exchange information, ideas, and solutions to problems; its member school districts have virtually the same demographics as DeSoto, and therefore similar issues.

For example, after FCAT scores were released at the end of May, Heartland Consortium convened to discuss the scores as well as this past year's successes, failures, problems and future. Invited from all six counties were the superintendents, principals, and department heads. (Hardee County even sent its directors of transportation and maintenance -- and they went!)

Now let me ask a rhetorical question: What county was not represented at that meeting? If you answerd DeSoto County, you are right. Not one person from this district bothered to go. All five member counties were well represented, right up through their superintendents.

I believe it to be reasonable to assume our superintendent was aware of this event but perhaps failed to pass along the information. Perhaps he was too embarrassed to show up, given the FCAT performance (or lack thereof). So, is Dr. McNulty, if not on the bulls eye, at least near the mark, when he said, "Education is not a priority in this county?"

The following excerpt from Lee Iacocca's new book sums up our local situation:

"Am I the only guy in this country who's fed up with what's happening? Where the hell is our outrage? We should be screaming bloody murder. We've got a gang of clueless bozos steering our ship of state right over a cliff, we've got corporate gangsters stealing us blind, and we can't even clean up after a hurricane much less build a hybrid car. But instead of getting mad, everyone sits around and nods their heads when the politicians say, 'Stay the course.' Stay the course? You've got to be kidding. This is America, not the damned Titanic. I'll give you a sound bite: Throw the bums out!" --- "Where have all the Leaders Gone?"

Mickey the Dunce

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State Assistance Program to Include DeSoto High

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DeSoto High School appears prominently on the state's list of schools needing "level two" corrective action -- one rank above a full-scale intervention. The news came as part of a set of documents released Thursday by the state Department of Education. The DOE's announcement describes a major expansion of its Differentiated Accountability Program to include every public school in need of improvement. That category includes DeSoto High where students, as a group, have failed to make adequate academic progress in several consecutive years.
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LINK to Department of Education Press Release and supporting materials
Thursday June 25 2009:

Successful School Improvement Program Expands to Cover All Public Schools~ Schools unable to meet the academic needs of all students set to receive increased district and state assistance ~

TALLAHASSEE – Bolstered by strong performance increases in struggling schools this year, Florida’s Differentiated Accountability program has been expanded to account for every public school student in the state. Authorized by Governor Charlie Crist’s recent signing of House Bill 991, the successful pilot program now incorporates all public schools that, for two years in a row, fail to meet 100 percent of federal proficiency standards. These schools will receive escalating district and state support based on their specific needs.

For DeSoto High, the news means the district must implement a wide range of very specific steps aimed at improving teaching and learning. All the steps require state oversight. A few examples:

--The school assigns or hires lead teachers with district assistance and state oversight.
--School ensures performance appraisals of instructional personnel are primarily based on student achievement.
--The district uses a pay for performance system based on performance appraisals.
--The district implements a hierarchy of school and individual (teacher) improvement plans, professional study groups, and study groups.
--The school can employ no teacher who is rated as needing improvement.
--The school does not have a higher percentage of first-year or out-of-field teachers than the district average.

Local readers should click on the press release link above and scroll down the page to the DOE links. The supporting materials describe how the schools are ranked and what corrective measures each must take. More on this will follow.

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