News-Record.com

I will be there.
There are so many questions, but I would like to know what three changes will they make within the first 3 months of being here?

How do they plan to evaluate current and future programs?

Why are they better for the job than the other candidate?

What are the top problems in education and how will they propose to address those problems.

Do they believe in community and parent involvement or just lip service to the same?

Maurice Green, CMS Deputy, is one of the 2 finalists for GCSS superintendent.

I just called a friend of mine who lives in Charlotte. Mo Green is not at all well liked there.

Ask any teacher - you'll get the same response. They would love to get rid of him.

He has ZERO teaching experience.

Do you need to have teaching experience to administrate a sucessful school system?

Yes, I wholeheartedly believe you do.

HELP WANTED … VERY High paid executive position , tons of perks, spousal pay possible, side consulting income may be allowed, other Board positions to subsidize pay as well. You will supervise thousands of employees, be responsible for over a half billion a year budget and a half billion more in construction projects. This highly paid, highly prized educational position with one of the largest school districts in the nation is available. No teaching experience required, minimum 2 years managerial experience desired. History of success is not a requirement.

I could have written that one. (it is fiction…but the results are not!)

We the Board will decide shortly Guilford County, hold your hats, your input was asked for months ago, now you can come watch, we, the board are not going to give you time to comment though! We were elected to know better than you and are at least considerate enough to introduce 2 candidates we have narrowed our search down to, far more openness that you have had in the past, so be happy! You trusted us with a half billion in bonds after all.

Arts, Advanced Learners, yeah right!

Debora, get off it, your time to ask questions has expired, we don’t want anymore input from the public, you had your chance now trust us.

(sorry, you know me) Every concerned citizen not out of town on vacation had better be there!

Garth

2 years 5 months...there will be a lot of happy people then, me included.

"what do you plan to ask?"

Simply, why do you want this job with its myriad of issues and problems?

"I think we've got two good candidates," said board member Kris Cooke. "I don't think we can go bad with either of them."

Go bad? Yeah, way to show off your education, Kris. Duh!

It's hard to evaluate candidates' qualifications from afar, but on the surface, I can not conceive why the citizens of Guilford County would want a lawyer running their school system, even one that was Duke-educated. Mr. Green may be a very well-qualified person, but his resume just doesn't shout-out educator. Don't we really need someone that is trained to educate, not sue and defend people?

Ms. Prince has not had nearly the flashy career track that Mr. Green has enjoyed, but my intuition tells me that she will be a better fit for the job. When making a hiring decision, an employer must consider beyond education and work experience. A candidate's desire for the job and "fit" for the job is essential to success. From what's been reported, Mr. Green does not appear to possess either quality.

What is this two hours for if not for the public to have some input? Again, what a joke... we are what.... the 18th largest school system in the country (something like that) and we paid $34,000 plus expenses to find the best people in the US and we got two candidates within 100 miles of here! This is the best we could get!!!! One non-educator with no experience running a school system, but with experience in a large system. One educator running a 7000 student county, 10 times smaller than ours... oh my!

Please don't give either one of these a long term contract or we could be sorry.

what is the format for tomorrow evening? Did the BOE think 5-7 was a friendly time for the public? When are parents suppose to go home and walk the dog, feed the kids etc. Just leave early from your job and hang out and watch the show? No time for feedback? Will this be televised?

Debora,
The 5-7 p.m. meeting will be televised.

Garth has interesting comments about the job and the control its occupant has over a pretty big budget, people and resources. Having someone from outside an educational background has advantages of bringing an outside perspective. Someone from inside the educational arena will also bring a good perspective. The difficulty is that once you reach this level it is impossible to make everybody happy, and the power and politics of the position force you to be a survivor until you get the next best job offer and move on. Weast is gone, Greer is outta here --isn't the Superintendent position really a temp job? Why worry about it at this point if we will need another one in a few years? It's too late to impact this one, how do we focus on the next one?

Debora,

It's all smoke and mirrors. The board has already scheduled a meeting for Wednesday tonight so they can vote on the next super.

Do any of us really believe that they're going to take any input on the day of the vote?

No - they'll have their little meeting (they probably already know who the next super is) and afterwards they can tell the public that we had input.

Makes me think of a communist election.

Ah, this will be Commrade Kearns parting gift to Guilford County.

Garth,

You speak in riddles.

I for one just dont "get" your remarks.

They are either sarcastic and arogant or I just dont know what.

I just dont get it?

Debora,

Whats wrong with hiring locally?

Do you think that this County is San Diego or something?

Nothing is wrong with hiring locally, just surprised that we had to hire a head hunter and the final candidates lived so close. They would have probably applied from an ad in the paper.

If they had so many applicants that it took boxes to contain them, how did we result in these two candidates? I really can't say that either is an outstanding candidate for a school district this size. Is it possible that really qualified candidates don't want to come to this county and work for this school board?

yes

What is the format for tonight's meeting? Will the BOE make a decision tonight? Trusting your child's future to a lawyer with little experience is risk we do not have to take. It appears he wants to move before he understands the job he is now in. Would someone bring clarity to this matter.

FYI

You have to be either a bit arrogant (egotistical) or ignorant to run for public office, those that know me can judge me. Sarcasm, yes and that is not the only thing either. Someone was right, I was quiet for too long…my apologies. I will try to do better and keep the public a bit better informed on what is their right to know and judge by. Of all those great resumes collected, I saw and interviewed 6 people. Of all those resumes, our attorney presented me with a small notebook the other night holding maybe 20 resume’s. That some of them looked good to me doesn’t matter. That we as a board were directed down to these few by others leaves me with the watch your backside feeling. I am learning slowly who is running this show and collection the materials for proper documentation! Raw data like a good steak can be savored, but when some one grinds it up, adds fat, oatmeal etc..you have a cheap hamburger!

Our employees are actually talking more about our problems, our teachers and principals still feel insecure and threatened. We need help and a board that cares about our employees and staff.

Garth,

Your intermost thoughts are correct. You need to act. It is never good to have legal people involved in non-legal matters.

Best regards,

Deborah, I have to say I was thinking the same thing as you. Why pay a search firm when you could have found these candidates at the local job fair.

One other thing, the last thing the teachers, staff and students need is another lawyer. It's bad enough with 1 attorney who has the gavel and a 2nd who orchestrates everything from the other side of the room.

What the county needs is someone who actually has a genuine interest in the education of the children.

Dear GateCity,
I have disagreed many, many time with Alan Duncan; but I know that he has kids at the top of his list! The thing is that his route to get to the same point that I would like to get to are often different. I don't disagree that three lawyers involved at the top level might be one too many.

Some people are losing sight of what we said we needed. We want someone who will inspire teachers to at the highest level. You are asking too much of a lawyer to fill those shoes. Don't forget Dr. Becoats has little or none classroom experience. Having #1 and #2 with no real teacher contact in the past is a recipie for disappointment. Mr. Green has not proven himself yet in CMS. It is unfair to think he is ready for Guilford Co. Please don't do it.

Joe, I would be more comfortable with you at the helm.

I don't think either of them are good candidates. Being an educator does not necessarily mean you will have a vision and are able to execute it. We have a county full of people in our school system with degrees in education right now and we still can't get our test scores up and reach/teach all children (achievement gap). Dr. Prince comes from a county with only one high school and that school was low performing- give me a break!! I just don't know what to think about Mr. Green's credentials- experience is not everything, but I just don't know enough about him or his past record to make a judgement. I just don't get why we can't find some better candidates for our large school system than these- Our board needs to go back to the drawing board and start over!!! We need someone with a proven track record, a visionary, who is a mover and a shaker- who will get things done- FAST!!! We've got real problems that need to be addressed with our schschools!!!

Alan Duncan is "special interests".

He has a full time job but is given plenty of time to work on school baord issues.

Has anyone stopped to think about why an employer would let somebody do that?

It smells big time.

I am a teacher and YES!! I want a Superintendent
who has classroom experience. I want my future
boss to know what it's like for me, day after day, in
the trenches.

Would anyone want a blind driving instructor?
Would anyone listen to a 300-pound weight
loss expert?

Don't be silly...... So why would we want a lawyer
leading our educational system?

I am a teacher too- Most of the superintendents we've had have had teaching experience and administrative experience- and have made very little difference with regard to improving achievement with kids who are academically behind. We need someone who has a track record of improving achievement, especially among the weakest students-we have a serious achievement gap in this county and our county is becoming more diverse by the year- do either one of these candidates handle those issues (teaching or no teaching experience)? I don't want someone who will just pander to my individual needs as a teacher, I want someone who will focus on the achievement of students and do what is best for them, regardless of how popular it may be-

I wonder if Alan Duncan knows this Green guy through his Lawyer contacts or perhaps they have worked together before?

Another of Alans so so conflict of interests?

Has no one made the connection that Dr. Becoats is from Charlotte-Meck, along with his wife. It's also curious that Lise Timmons is from Charlotte. Hmmm, do you think they know Green?

concerned has a point. The school board did a listening tour of interested stakeholders a few months ago to hear what everyone wanted and didn't want in a new superintendent. It seems that the board has an obligation to those stakeholders to explain how these two candidates meet that standard. They should not be comparing them to the other candidates, they should be comparing them to the criteria and standards developed at that time. If the two do not meet that standard, then they should start over, rather than "settling, which is likely what they will do.

Sure, they will be reluctant to tell the search firm that neither candidate meets our standards, but that is what they should do. The search firm was paid to identify a qualified candidate that meets our standards. It does not appear that has happened. We've waited this long, we can wait a little longer. Searches for executives at this level of pay and responsibility can easily sometimes take 6-12 months.

Would Alan Duncan be inclined to vote for Green just because he is a Lawyer?

These public meetings to get input are typically farcical.

Gives a chance to let some of the natives blow off steam and think that their input is valuable.

I thought Mo Green was done in by the Godfather?

They need to hire someone like that lady whose shaking up the Washington DC school system, I believe it's a Ms Chee. No sacred cows approach.

In any event, I'd go with the person who has the background in education, principaling & teaching, instead of the lawyer who'll muck up things with his lawyerese type spin.

debora,

Your comments in the newspaper today seems to indicate that you have done a 180 turn on these two candidates from what you posted here earlier. Were they that impressive? What changed your mind so quickly?

You know, being the critic of CGS from the inside, you do find some things out that might surprise you. Like how we beat the pants of Charlotte Meck schools in AYP. Our percentage of schools making AYP dropped 26% while Mecks dropped 54% more than twice as bad as us and we didn’t even have a superintendent!

Our elementary schools dropped 14% Meck dropped 38%, almost triple our rate! Our High Schools last year 78.3% compared to Mecks 36.4 percent looked hot already, but we only dropped 57% Meck dropped 73% or in simple terms 1/3rd of our High Schools made AYP 1/10th of Mecks made AYP, GO GCS! They may want to hire our talent to fix their district?

We appear to be doing OK without a Super, that's a scarry thought.

All figures are preliminary and can be found at gcs website for tonights school board materials and http://www.dpi.state.nc.us/nclb/abcayp/ayp/

You know, being the critic of CGS from the inside, you do find some things out that might surprise you. Like how we beat the pants of Charlotte Meck schools in AYP. Our percentage of schools making AYP dropped 26% while Mecks dropped 54% more than twice as bad as us and we didn’t even have a superintendent!

Our elementary schools dropped 14% Meck dropped 38%, almost triple our rate! Our High Schools last year 78.3% compared to Mecks 36.4 percent looked hot already, but we only dropped 57% Meck dropped 73% or in simple terms 1/3rd of our High Schools made AYP 1/10th of Mecks made AYP, GO GCS! They may want to hire our talent to fix their district?

We appear to be doing OK without a Super, that's a scarry thought.

All figures are preliminary and can be found at gcs website for tonights school board materials and http://www.dpi.state.nc.us/nclb/abcayp/ayp/

I really must be sick to find this comforting news!

When you see someone from Charlotte, ask them if they think the School System is moving forward? This will you give you a feel of whether you want the Charlotte model duplicated here.

My quotes are correct, but not total. I said I felt better once I heard the candidates than they looked on paper. I am still surprised that we didn't have more qualified candidates for the final choice, but both are very intelligent, well spoken and seem passionate about children. They do not seem like slick, all about me and the publicity kind of people. I liked some of the most of the answers from each, but disagreed with several things from each. Overall, I think either might work... still not sure if they are the best the country has to offer, but obviously they are the best that GCS could find (for whatever reason!)

BTW, while GCS and CMS both fell down in AYP, Scotland county improved, yes improved and beat both GCS and CMS... Dr Prince must be something right.

As an life long educator, I was impressed with Dr. Prince because she addressed issues that actually do matter when it comes to providing a quality educational experience for all children, and they are issues that she as a superintendent can influence.

The idea to make sure that all children who were eligible to get dental services is huge. Anyone who has ever had a tooth ache and had to wait a few days to see a dentist, can only imagine how this might affect a child who goes to school day after day with a tooth ache or a head ache related to a dental problem. Furthermore, as I just alluded to, dental problems can affect general health and some general health conditions show up in the mouth, so the dentist might be the first health care provider to identify a wide spread, chronic condition.

Second, Dr Prince stated that one of her specialties is the development of leadership. Strong principals who are truly passionate about children can get their staffs to do almost anything. Strong leaders make it easier for teachers to do their jobs, not harder. A simple request such as asking parents to make appointments to talk with teachers either during their planning time, or after school rather than showing up unexpectedly at the teacher's door in the morning because that is the time it is convenient for the parent to ask a question or two, may not seem like a big deal to some parents, but for the teacher who is preparing for the day, it might be mean playing catch up for the rest of the day.

Strong leaders understand if they are visible in the hall ways, their mere presence will cut down on the jostling and the noise as students move from one class to the next. They also understand that a student who feels safe at school will learn more than one who is wondering if he is going to get his books knocked on the floor between classes.

Dr. Prince's public recognition of the fact that all students learn at different rates is significant. Although she brought this up in the context of getting the public to understand that students will have to pass five EOC's before they can graduate from high school, the understanding that it might take an average student ninety days to learn algebra while another may require a year, validates the concerns of advanced learners. This group of students is capable of mastering a large numbler of skills and conceptual constructs in a much shorter length of time than most students their chronological age. The North Carolina General Assembly recognized this fact and wrote into law that these students' needs must be served by the public schools. While the law gives the local board broad latitute in how to deliver those services, the intent of the law is clear. Gifted students have needs, and the more highly gifted the child, the greater the need.

Perhaps her background in evaluation and leadership has already shown Dr. Prince that no program, however good it, is as important as the person in the classroom implementing it. Programs do not teach children. People do.

Well the vote is done... $250,000 plus other incentives to Mo Green.... the vote 7-4; Darlene Anita, Jeff, Garth against...I wish Mr Green all the best and pray that he can lead this county in the upward direction that we so desparately need.

Okay, the real deal is...the super works for the board. So when it comes time to vote in new board members, please everyone take time to REALLY consider who has the best interests iof ALL children at heart. Go to the "town meetings" put signs in your yard and advocate for those who really make the difference. This ridiculous lack of a search and $34K expenditure for nothing does not have to be the last word. We can make a difference by staffing the board with caring, responsive and responsible members. Remember, Dot's at-large position is up for grabs this time around...

The teachers wanted an Educator. That for me would be the biggest swing factor in any vote for these two good candidates.

Since when has this school board EVER listened to any stakeholder?

Business as usual in GCS.

Hmm...a lawyer. Interesting choice.
He must be good...or mighty convincing....

Friend of Alan Duncan.

Mike Stone said

“I do believe that he’s a listener,” “It’s refreshing to hear someone going into that position saying 'I don’t know. I don’t have the answers.’ I think he’s going to be this person that will draw people in.”

How could we be happy with someone that doesnt know what he going to do?

yeah Mike that's exactly what you want to hear when you hire for a job of this magnitude..."I don't know, I don't have all of the answers, I've never taught or been a principal before"......give me a break.

Just please God let the guy be a disciplinarian.

I spoke with a few principals who said that after their meeting with the candidates, Dr. Prince was their clear choice. They said both candidates were personable but worried that Mr. Green's answers were always, "I don't know. I would seek input on that" even when asked about his vision. His lack of experience was a strong concern to them.

They thought they made their concerns clear to the board members who asked their input. Either they weren't clear (hard to imagine for outspoken principals) or the board chose to ignore the input of the people who will work most closely with the superintendent to carry out his vision. Disappointing but typical for our board

Members of the BOE seem to know better than the public. Perhaps they really do know something about the candidates that wasn't made public, but I have my doubts. Until people want to run for BOE and there is a choice then the BOE members can do as they see fit because there is no chance of being ousted. Remember Walter, Anita, Deena and Kris have only one person running for those positions. So 4 of the 6 seats will go uncontested.

The BOE seems to not know how to get the process right. The two finalists were introduced Wed night. Thre real vote for who the winner would be was made in closed session right after the public event. The citizens had no time to contact BOE membes or give them their thoughts on the matter. Note the Jeff and Kris (from the beach) was there on Wed night but not Thursday night. By Thur morning this thing was a done deal. I feel used. Those of us who came Wed night to learn and give input were in fact just stooges.

I wasn’t able to attend the ‘meet the public’ event because of a previous engagement, but I did watch it until 6:45 when I had to leave. I saw all of Mr. Green’s Q and A and about 15 minutes of Dr. Prince’s.

My first impression of Mr. Green and his ‘I don’t know, I’ll ask questions, listen, etc.’ approach was a very positive one. However, when that became his mantra, I became a little concerned. I felt like I knew very little about his philosophy about education and about any ideas that he might have about how to lead Guilford County Schools.

Unfortunately, after years of trying to follow GCS and trying to make a difference…I have learned that people who don’t have their own ideas is exactly what most of The Board likes. GCS is a ‘political machine’ (for lack of a better term.) The fact That Mr. Green has been very willing to be involved in Community Boards in Charlotte Meck and I am sure in Guilford County, was probably also a plus for the Board. Although I am all for being involved in the community, I also realize that some of the best ‘schmoozing’ and ‘posturing’ for special interests occurs within the leadership of some of these organizations.

Deborah…you are right about members of The Board knowing best. I admire your tenacity in dealing with them. I wasted too many hours and so I gave up. Instead I just spent my time at my local school trying to positively influence young people. They are a far easier group to impact than a group of politicians who love power and work under the thumb of Greensboro politics. I know that doesn’t apply to all of our board members, but in my opinion, for the majority it does.

I also agree that I wish more people would run, but even when they do…Guilford County Citizens don’t take the time to educate themselves on the candidates and issues and so we get the same old thing. Whoever is backed by the ‘political’ machine’ wins in most cases. I worked very hard for a candidate several years ago who represented what citizens of all races, genders, and political affiliations said that they wanted. That candidate was defeated. Why…we as voters are apathetic and lazy and we let special interests groups tell us who to vote for and they in turn control the destiny of education in Guilford County.

Joe, after all your years of involvement are you really surprised that the decision was made without regard to the opinions of the public? I applaud you and your commitment to education in Guilford County.

Whether one agrees with my assessment or not, the perception that parents, teachers, and ‘regular’ community voices are not well received and respected is very real, and until that changes…we will have no change in the direction of education in Guilford County.

I really wish Mr. Green the best and pray that he will lead GCS in a positive direction.

On the surface of it, Mr. Green seems like an odd choice to lead GCS. "Odd" doesn't necessary mean a "wrong." Let's give the man a chance and see what
he can do.
.

On the surface of it, Mr. Green seems like an odd
choice. "Odd" doesn't necessarily mean "wrong."
Let's give the man a chance and see what he can
do.

Nothing like on-the-job-training!

7-4 vote for him.

Not a ringing endorsement.

Over at Off the Record blog in this Newsy, a Charlotte citizen has some eye opening comments with respect to Mo Green and his time in the CMS system.

Not to flattering.

Well, one canidate with an education background that has actually been in the classroom and one that has been in a courtroom and an office. Yeah this will be great for Guilford County Schools. I wonder what really drove this decision? I guess one doesn't have to look too deep.

Well, one canidate with an education background that has actually been in the classroom and one that has been in a courtroom and an office. Yeah this will be great for Guilford County Schools. I wonder what really drove this decision? I guess one doesn't have to look too deep.

Of course its easy to be cynical.

The same few that voted for Greene are those that have much damage in GCS for the last few years.

But....

Having been at the forum I am glad to say that this guy is NO Grier.

Grier is not here anymore. Lets rejoice.

How is Green that much better than someone the
board could have hired from within GCS? If I were an employee of GCS, I would be discouraged.

The school board hires a 42-year-old
lawyer with two years experience in school administration from Charlotte (is that supposed to impress us?) instead of seriously considering internal candidates. Apparently they have never heard of internal leadership development. It's a cryin' shame.
Mr. Green will be off to a bigger and better position
in a couple of years. Once again, we'll be paying a
search firm $34,000 to search high and low for that magic person who can solve all our problems right here in River City..oops...Gate City.

Mo must be a smooth talker because on paper it doesn't look all that promising.

Remember - his answer to every single question was "I don't have the answer".

Lets get some positvie vibes going here.

Kearns is out after this year. Childs too. I mean, come on does that guy have a brain?

Enough is enough!

That will be Mendenhall, Kearns, Childs and Grier gone.

Its a new era for GC. Lets not lose sight of that very positive thought!

To Enough of Being Negative -

How in the world could you have forgotten
Marti Sykes??

Thank goodness she's no longer hurting education in Guilford County.

Thanks Enough.

Its actually good to reflect on things like that.

With that I will enjoy my weekend much more now.

What a wonderful world.

Yes, there is much to be grateful for. I think thats what we must feel about Mr Green too.

Green vs Grier.

The sun shines brightly now on GCS.

From the Rhino- A Real Test for Mr. Green
Clean up of the AL Dept.

No Easy Fix For Advanced Mess


by Paul Clark
Staff Writer write the author

July 24, 2008
The Guilford County Schools Advanced Learning Department, which is supposed to provide advanced education to the brightest students in Guilford County schools, is in chaos after a mass exodus of its staff and is in danger of being unable to provide state mandated services to those students in the 2008-2009 school year, according to school board members, school employees and parents familiar with the program.

The Advanced Learning Department, long the Advanced Learners Department, provides accelerated teaching mandated by the state, and by the school system's Advanced Learner Plan, last approved by the Guilford County Board of Education in June 2007 and since approved by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. The department was run for the last nine years by Ann Barr, a much lauded advanced learning specialist with 31 years' experience in such programs, who retired in April 2007. Barr still works training advanced learning teachers in a joint venture between Guilford County Schools and High Point University.

Sources familiar with the department say its decline began with the departure of Barr, while at the same time then-Superintendent Terry Grier promoted and expanded the administrative staff of the program, something he declined to do during Barr's tenure. Barr's title was coordinator of advanced learner education, and she never made more than $80,000 a year. Grier replaced Barr with an executive director, a director and a grant coordinator, making a total of $245,000.

Grier brought in, in June 2007, as executive director of the department, Jane Fleming, who was hired as part of a package deal with her husband, Kevin, the incoming principal of Grimsley High School. The Flemings were hired from Maryland, where Kevin Fleming was principal of Fallston High School in Bel Air, and Jane worked for the Maryland State Department of Education. Kevin Fleming served as principal of Grimsley for a year, then was transferred last month to become principal of the Middle College at GTCC-Greensboro. Jane Fleming's salary last year was $97,500; Kevin Fleming's was $125,000.

Grier and then Chief of Staff Eric Becoats brought in as director, or Jane Fleming's second-in-command, Lise Timmons, at a salary of $86,000. They added, as the third-ranking person in the office, a coordinator for the advanced placement/International Baccalaureate program, Ashley Morrison, at a salary of $61,000. Morrison is leaving the department next year to return to Grimsley High School, where she worked before taking the job.

The hiring of the Flemings mirrors Guilford County Schools' hiring of other couples; Eric Becoats and his wife, Jocelyn, were hired in a similar package deal. Jocelyn Becoats is the school system's middle school officer of curriculum and instruction.

Neither Jane Fleming nor Timmons, when hired, had the qualifications required of a coordinator in the Advanced Learner Plan. The plan requires the coordinator (the top administrator position before the creation of the executive director position) to have a state certification in gifted education and five to seven years' experience working with gifted students as an administrator or teacher. School board members say they made no exception to the requirements for either Jane Fleming or Timmons.

Jane Fleming refused to be interviewed for this story, but provided a written response in which she said she and Timmons earned their advanced learning certification in June 2008, and that Timmons has worked in the advanced learning field. Fleming also has a doctorate in administration and state school leadership certification.

Jane Fleming said, "While neither position description required AIG [academically or intellectually gifted] certification, Ms. Timmons and I decided to be proactive and earn that certification." The school system has not posted job descriptions for the new positions, but the lower position of coordinator did require certification.

"It was brought to my attention that members of the community have questioned my personal commitment to advanced learners," Jane Fleming said. "Professionally and personally, this department has demonstrated its commitment and passion for AL children with each of our initiatives – some directly in response to concerns by our parents."

What happened after Jane Fleming was hired depends on whom you ask.

Some school board members and some employees of the program described it, under Barr, as one of the success stories of Grier's tenure, a program that became a national model for similar programs. They described Jane Fleming as unfamiliar with advanced learning, abrasive and unwilling to learn the basic mechanisms used to provide services to gifted students. They said the program, although not a priority of Grier's administration, was popular with parents of advanced students.

Jane Fleming, in a public interview last month, said parents had been very unhappy with the program and that it needed improvement.

What's not in dispute is that when Barr left the department in April 2007, it employed eight program facilitators – administrators, many with years of experience, who worked with principals and teachers to identify and track gifted students and to arrange accelerated education for them. By the end of 2007, that number had dropped to two. Most of the program facilitators had left, some citing unhappiness with the change in leadership and with what they saw as an unraveling of the department at the hands of an administration that did not support it. The department has since added two new program facilitators.

Jane Fleming attributed the exodus of program facilitators to circumstances unique to each individual, including a retirement, two program facilitators moving to be near spouses when their homes were sold, a promotion, and three accepting other jobs in Guilford County Schools. She attributed those three job changes to family, school and professional concerns. Two of the employees on Jane Fleming's list, however, told The Rhino Times that they left because they considered Jane Fleming hostile to the department's mission and because the department was rapidly declining, but that they had not left for the nominal reasons Jane Fleming listed.

Since she was hired, Jane Fleming has completely reorganized the department, in which program facilitators had been assigned to one level, such as elementary school or middle and high school. Jane Fleming made every program facilitator, in theory, responsible for every grade from kindergarten to high school seniors, something educators with long experience in advanced learning say is not practical.

The exodus of administrators was accompanied by what one educator referred to as a "parent uprising" at Ferndale Middle School, where parents said former Principal Lori Garrison had watered down the program by refusing to group advanced students together for weekly accelerated classes in reading and math, as required by the plan. Garrison, in response, described parents as resistant to having students of color in their children's classes and as attempting to limit classes to students from their own social circles and their own neighborhoods.

Oct. 4, 2007 letter to the editor

Workers at the school appealed the issue to Jane Fleming, who supported Garrison and sent an email to principals to that effect. Jane Fleming's email prompted an anonymous letter from a teacher to the editor of The Rhino Times, published on Oct. 4, 2007, accusing Fleming of substituting her own agenda for that of the school board and the state, and asking whether or not she had been hired by Grier to dismantle the advanced learning program.

Sources familiar with the department said the letter to the editor was the last straw that broke the already fracturing department, resulting in frantic efforts by Jane Fleming to discover and punish the letter's author, and a series of escalating mutual recriminations that led to the exit of some of the remaining program facilitators.

People inside the department and Guilford County Schools said Jane Fleming tried to get access to employee email accounts, and the hard drive of at least one employee, in an effort to discover who wrote the letter to the editor. Jane Fleming said she didn't.

"I did ask staff members to provide passwords to my support staff in the event of an emergency," Jane Fleming said. "This was a customary practice in my previous leadership position. I was later told that this was against GCS policy; consequently, it was not done."

After the initial Ferndale brouhaha, Jane Fleming and then Chief Academic Officer Mack McCary met with parents at the school in an attempt to placate them. Parents said McCary assured parents that Garrison and Jane Fleming's policies were not harbingers of a greater shift away from providing advanced learning services. Garrison has since left Ferndale, and the uprising there is remembered mostly as an exemplar of a larger conflict between forces in Guilford County Schools that have diametrically opposed views of the Advanced Learning Department.

One side sees the program as, if not exactly racist, at least suspect of being elitist, because it focuses attention and resources on advanced, often upper-income students at a time when most of the schools' focus is on improving the grades and test scores of low-performing students, many of whom are minority students and from low-income families. "Close the gap, close the gap, close the gap," was the rhythmic way one educator described the current mandate. But about 40 percent of the advanced learning students at Ferndale were minority students.

The other sees students who the school system also has a mandate to serve being shortchanged by blind adherence to that mandate, and obsession with the needs of low-performing students. The state requires school systems to have advanced learning, or "academically and intellectually gifted" programs, and pays Guilford County Schools extra for advanced education for 4 percent of the school system's students. The advanced learning program includes an estimated 12 percent of Guilford County Schools students, and the school system picks up the tab for the other 8 percent.

That conflict is reflected in the change of the department's name from the Advanced Learners Department to the Advanced Learning Department – to avoid, according to those familiar with the program, the suggestion that there are such things as advanced learners. In the words of a speaker at a recent school board meeting, in a statistically unsound, unironic and probably unintended echo of Garrison Keillor, 100 percent of the children in Guilford County are above average.

"Dr. Grier would have liked to have totally changed the criteria, so everybody was gifted," one former member of the department said.

Some of the criteria for advanced learning students were weakened in the three-year Advanced Learner Plan last approved by the school board; the most recent plan dropped the required grade for students to get "strong needs" advanced instruction – the middle of three levels of advanced learning help – from an "A" to a "B."

The internecine warfare in the Advanced Learning Department could be considered a personality driven conflict in a department with long working hours and administrative pressure from above, were it not for two things: insiders say the department is in real danger of being unable to provide state mandated services to advanced students this fall, and the dispute has boiled up to the school board, where some members say they are going to demand an accounting of what's happened in the department during the last year.

The concerns over the provision of services focus on the department's process for identifying and tracking advanced learners, which included end-of-grade testing, grades, observation by teachers and program facilitators and portfolios submitted by students. Data on those criteria were fed into a database that, until the exodus of the department's staff, was maintained by program facilitators. After the exodus, it was turned over to the information technology staff headed by Chief Information and Special Services Officer Terrence Young.

Sources inside the department say Young's staff certainly has the skill to run a database of 10,000 names, but that the labor intensive process of identifying potentially advanced students and entering them in the database has broken down, and predict Guilford County Schools will have lost track of current advanced learning students, or at least failed to identify many new ones, by the time school starts.

Jane Fleming said the old database was actually a collection of spreadsheets, some on desktop computers, that was incompatible with the school system's main student-records database and was "rife with errors."

She said she worked with Young and other staff members to create a new database that is compatible with the main system, can electronically import data such as test scores, and has limited access to maintain data integrity. She said, "The database is still being refined, but at the last audit, only about two errors were found for over 10,000 student records."

School board member Garth Hebert said, flatly, "I'm told they have no database."

Only the advent of the new school year will show which prediction about the Advanced Learning Department's tracking system and database is accurate. But some educators say Jane Fleming has virtually courted conflict with the school board, her ultimate employers, by telling educators she intends to rewrite the Advanced Learner Plan, which was approved by the board and the state and will not be up for reconsideration until 2010. Jane Fleming said she has supported the plan as written and that a recent review of the program will result in all cases of noncompliance with it being fixed before school begins.

School board member Darlene Garrett said she will ask for a complete review of the department soon after school starts in August. She said she fears that Jane Fleming does not have enough experience in advanced learning to properly lead the department.

"We had all these bright people in the department who already knew the plan," Garrett said. "It could have been a seamless transition from Ann Barr, who was phenomenal. But it hasn't worked that way."

Garrett said she regrets the loss of the years of experience among the staff members, and fears advanced students are slipping through the cracks and will not be recovered. She said the chaos in the department was too complete to be accidental.

"I think it does make some sense that there must have been someone in authority, which must be Dr. Grier, who didn't value that program," Garrett said. "I wish he were here ... well, no, I don't wish he were here, but I'd like to ask him."

Jane Fleming said she is unaware of any concerns that the department will not be able to provide services this fall. She said her department will offer the same services and will be able to improve the quality of those services.

School board member Amos Quick, who, as the school board's liaison with the Advanced Learning Department, helped rewrite the plan, and is perhaps best situated to understand the department's problems, said he will meet with Jane Fleming in the next two weeks to learn more about the situation in her department. He said he has heard complaints from parents that the department is slipping in its mission to help advanced students. He also said he has heard warnings that the tracking database is no longer being maintained.

Quick said the department, and the plan, should remain firmly under school board control.

"Any dramatic changes in the program will of course have to have board approval," Quick said. "The board's position is that we have a plan in place. Until such time as the board changes it by official act, that's what we have."

Quick said he's not aware of any movement among school board members to alter the plan. Jane Fleming said she looks forward to meeting with any concerned school board members.

Quick said he thinks advanced learning departments nationwide are probably missing students who would be well qualified to take advantage of their services and may need to find new methods to identify and serve students.

Hebert, who has two children being served by the Advanced Learning Department, said its employees are dropping like flies.

"It's almost like it's intentionally being taken apart," Hebert said. "It appears to be an intentional destruction of the AL Department. I think Terry [Grier] just sabotaged it."

Hebert said the result of the department's disintegration has been noted in recent interviews by candidates to take the superintendent's job now shared by interim Co-superintendents Eric Becoats and Sharon Ozment.

Hebert said, "They've already seen the statistics, and they've seen that our gifted kids aren't doing as well as the state average."

This is why people find some AL parents so obnoxious.It's all about their kids. There is
another blog for AL.

Whats obnoxious about wanting the best for your children?

All children desire to be served and challenged and AL children are often left out of the equation.

They were in TG's equations.

The aim was to bring em down.

Hayes and Co dont like it either. Hayes thinks if you are white then you are a potential slave owner so you deserve to be punished.

If you're feeling sensitive about my comment about
the separate AL blog right after this one, then
maybe my comment applies to you. Get a grip.
All children need to be challenged
appropriately. Not much is appropriate these days--for any kid.

There's Title I and then there Highly Entitled.
Save us from Highly Entitled Parents.

Did no one notice that Mo worked his way up to partner in six years at Smith Helms before leaving to go to CM?

Does anyone remember who Alan Duncan works for?

We should stop kidding ourselves about the leadership of GCS schools, go ahead and hire Alan Duncan to take on the official title of the job he already does. Currently, it's the perfect job - all of the responsibility he wants, none of it that he doesn't, and zero accountabiity.

I wonder if Alan voted for Mo's partnership back in the day?

Did Alan participate in candidate selection, interviews and voting? Or did he abstain because of a potential conflict of interest? There's probably no actual conflict here, but there's plenty of cronyism - which I personally believe to be more insidious than COI's. Maybe John Hammer will dig in a little bit.

I continue to be disappointed at the lack of leadership exhibited by our school board. It is mind-boggling that they are sharp enough to achieve success in private life, but are dumb as bricks in public life. They couldn't hold a job for a month in private industry if they used the same decision-making processes there that they do in session.

Jerry Weast was not GCS's problem with educating our kids. Terry Grier was not GCS's problem with educating our kids. In due time, it will not be Mo Green that was GCS's problem with educating kids. GCS's problems with educating our children sits in eleven chairs a couple of times a month at 712 N Eugene St.

Until this county stops electing the yahoos to public life that they currently do to the County Commission, the City Council, and the School Board nothing changes. (Interesting reading in today's paper, by the way...our current leadership has made Guilford County the laughing stock of our sister cities across the Southeast. And, of course, Kirk's response was oh so brilliant.)

The Board will be happy to know that I'm no longer disappointed in your actions - you're only doing what you know to do and what you can get away with. My disappointment lies with the residents of Guilford County who seem to make every moral, social, political or cultural decision based on whether they run with rednecks or race baiters, as evidenced by Guilford County's political leadership.

Get ready Greensboro. We blew a good opportunity. Prepare yourselves for a sequel of "Mo Money Blues." (John - you can use that as a headline next budget session)

Bubba,

Where is the link to the Mo story. Pls share.

I just find it a little ironic that Guilford county---the system famous for begging for more and more money to waste--hires a man named:

Mo Green

How appropriate.

Deena Hayes and Walter Childs are racists. Instead of advocating for and demanding accountability of their own race they insist of taking away what others have. That means AL, good schools, you name it. If they havent got a piece of it they will arrange a plan to screw it up for you. What fine people they are.

Meanwhile other minorities, ex Hispanics, march on and leave them behind.

Anonymous above might be one of the Highly
Entitled Parents I was referring to. Let's not worry
about anyone else's children--just his/her own.
Thank you for so clearly proving my point.

I find looking out for my own quite a handful. If only others would look after theirs.

I cant stand these patronizing people who criticize parents for wanting the best for their children.

Obviously not a parent!

Actually I am a parent and my child was in AL.
I've been around many Highly Entitled Parents.
They are self-centered about their children and do
not give a rat's eyelash about other children.
I'd rather spend 3 years
in a school with Deena, as much as I disagree with her philosophy, than 1 month with a Highly Entitled Parent. You know who you are.

Enough about AL, though. Let's get back to Green.

Good god, parent of an AL. Dont generalize and pigeon hole people.

With that attitude you are as bad as the people you citicize.

Go and terrorize the AL blog (as you said) and lets get back to Mo Green.

I am really interested in this Alan Duncan and Green connection.

I have heard from sources that for many years now Alan Duncan has been working behind the scenes.

Could he be that calculating to get "his" man as super?

He is very influential and that might explain how Nancy Routh voted for Green.

I am amazed that she did not vote for an educator. I found that to be very strange.

If you read carefully, you will notice I said "some."
AL parents are Highly Entitled--not all. And I agree-you can't pigeon hole all AL parents more than you can pigeon hole Deena's constituents.

I agree with you that it is strange that Routh did not vote for the educator. Routh has a mind of her own though--she must have her reasons.

Too many anon's here.

I am lost. Anon, Are you talking to the same person all of the time? If so how do you know? If not then why do you answer as if you are? If you are not answering like you are it seems so and if not then I owe you an opology.

How do you know anyone on the school board?

How do you people know so much about these people on the school board?

I should have said Anon 2 or some other name.
I've lived here a long time and I know quite a few
people--some better than others. Guilford County
is a relatively small county. Nancy has a mind of
her own and no one talks her into anything. She
is sharp. Same with Deena. I may not
agree with them (and sometimes not all--no not one
bit) but I know they have thought long and hard about their points of view. That is something to respect in both those women.

To anon who posted 7/28 @ 11:54 p.m.

All you have to do to know somuch about these people on the school board is to have followed the local politics for the past several years: see who works for whom; who affiliates with whom;
what committees they are on; when did Guilford County School Alliance come into being; who's involved with Action Greensboro; who gets the minority contracts, etc. etc. etc. You follow the facts, the clues and the big picture is oh so clear.

Why do we have a temp super from Charlotte? Why does his wife have a job with GCS? Why did Grier make all those speaking engagement and consultant fees? Why do we drink coke in our schools and not pepsi? Could this have something to do with the coke scholarship fund and who is one of the judges?

I've been off the blogs and just catching up on the news.

What I find will be ironic is this new black superintendent will probably have just as much influence in narrowing the "gap" as his predecessors. Who can Deena and co blame then?

Why do you think the AL program is continually being dummied down? Remove the cream from the equation, change the curve and the gap magically disappears.

And to those who think the AL parents are some elite group. What's wrong with wanting the best for your child, to be a good parent and receive an education for your child for the taxes you pay? How many of these "non elites" get out and vote? How many of the gangbanger parents own property and pay taxes?

I am so glad my children are no longer in the Guilford County School System.

Garth, we did so right in supporting and electing you. I pray for you do have the strength to carry on. How frustrating it must be to know what you do know goes on and not a darn thing can be done at this point. But please, please keep speaking up. Maybe one day some other citizens will have a wake-up call. For others it's just easier to stop supporting public schools and go private.

And to the poster of the good news. Most board members who voted for the HP Choice plan are gone or will be gone.

p.s. Dot did not look too happy on TV when they were announcing the new superindendent, but then again what does she care. She is gone.

You are right Bubba. My first thoughts where Mo Green got killed in The Godfather. I would definitely no use that nickname if I wanted to earn respect.

T Anon who hates High Entitled parents.

I do too. They get on your nerves. Always hanging around schools. Always helping out in classrooms, giving their own money to the schools.

Just who do they think they are.

I say kick em out of GCS.

New Anon hit the mark. ----To the parent who is sick of the parents who volunteer and help in the school system and who give money- are you for real? I hope that is sarcasm.

Give me a break. Giving your time does not justify being a Highly Entitled Parent and volunteering in
schools does not entitle you and your child to extra
privileges. If you think you deserve anything extra
for volunteering, then you need to stop volunteering.
No school needs that kind of help.

There's a big difference between being a parent who cares about his child's welfare and one who cares ONLY about his child's welfare. If you're bothered by the term "Highly Entitled Parent," then maybe you should pay attention. I've seen more than one hardworking teacher roll his/her eyes when a Highly Entitled Parent walked away. I don't want to be unkind about it but the world does not revolve around the your one family.

Our school system would be better off if all parents cared a little more about the well-being of all
children. Sure you have to advocate for your child--I don't disagree with that and that is our job as parents. That still doesn't justify some of the mean-spirited attitudes I have seen some white AL parents take. I would also take Deena to task for mean-spiritness on more than one occasion. We all get frustrated; however, that doesn't justify lumping entire races of people together and characterizing them a certain way. That is just wrong.

I am getting tired of you anon and I wish you would get off your high horse!
Please go away.

I won't go away and I'm not getting off
what you refer to as my "high horse."
You and anyone else can talk
about "non-elites," "gangbanger parents,"
removing the cream" and other hateful
innuendos-this is a free country- but be assured
that I will continue to challenge comments like those.
If that's stressful for you, too bad.

Back to the subject at hand...has anyone talked to
any school board members about why
they specifically they chose Green?

I would also be interested in knowing why the BOE choose Mr. Green. I was so sure that once they heard the interviews that the public heard that Dr Prince was a clear choice. I must be out of touch with reality. It would be interesting to see what were the attributes that they saw verses what I saw. If all were equal, then Dr Princes experience running a district (although small), her knowledge of cirriculum, and other educational background should have been the deciding factor. Perhaps it was the glass ceiling for women. Do you think they didn't want a woman at the helm? Could we be that far behind the times? I certainly hope not. Was it Mo Greens apparent ability to play well with others that made the decision? His "I have no Mo Green plan"... I don't think we will ever find out, but I hope that he gets a plan that serves all children in the county and brings education up several notches.

I'm not sure if it will play again, but I did catch a part of the school board meeting at which they discussed and then voted for our next superintendent. At least most and maybe all of the school board members made at least some comments explaining their individual perspectives and how they were planning to vote. For whichever candidate they preferred, school-board members expressed themselves passionately, convinced that the person they wanted to lead our system was the best choice. Based on her comments, Nancy Routh seemed at least partially inspired to back a non-traditional candidate (Maurice Green) after a principal revealed that he/she was inclined not to ask certain questions of the two finalists because one of them would likely become his/her boss and that principal wasn't sure if asking certain questions could come back to haunt him/her. I didn't take notes, but Dr. Routh's comments on the subject were provocative. Once the school board voted not to select Dr. Prince and then voted to offer the position to Mr. Green, I was impressed that Jeff Belton, though convinced that Dr. Prince was the better candidate, immediately pledged his complete support toward Mr. Green. Toward a positive beginning, I hope all the school board members, school staff members, and community members do the same. (Our county commissioners have handled similar situations with far less class.) Time will bring decisions and policies for us all to judge, but it's worth considering that how we communicate with one another and how we treat ALL special-interest groups (students, parents, business leaders, community leaders, teachers, school staff members, central-office staff members, etc.) matter.

I agree Debora.

Dear Seymour,
The speeches that we heard at the meeting were well written and thought out, and not at all the normal way that things run at BOE meetings. There was no true debate, no give and take, just their statements. That makes me think that the decision was already made and the vote was just for the public. All personel issues are discussed behind closed doors. The public has been telling the BOE for years that the staff was intimidated by Dr Grier, I was very surprised that Nancy was just 'getting' that point. I still don't understand why it was assumed that a lawyer could handle openess more than an educator.
Again, I will work just as hard to support him as I would have Dr. Prince, we have to stand together and work together. I look forward to attending any open forums that Mo Green has for parents and community. I hope that by the end of his 100 days that he has a realistic view of our issues, has good staff ready to work with him and comes up with some great ideas for our county.

I have it on good authority that most of the Board members that supported Grier for so many years, gave him raises etc have now turned against him.

It just makes me question what took them so long?

It is interesting that Mo gave himself 90 days even though some things need fixing now. Things that obviously need to be corrected now should be corrected. Why wait? On the other hand, he should not change things that are working in a good manner. It is unusual for a person being paid at his level to take no action for 90 days. If Obama said that, he would be laughed off the stage. Listening only goes so far. Action is what we need. During the discovery process, he should telegraph our weaknesses so we want be surprised at his solutions. I asked Mo if he would promise to stay four years. He would not promise that under the guise of saying he had to "protect his family". I hope we have something other than a love-fest. The idea of no academic experience is an asset is hard to accept. I think the BOE is wandering in the desert. I hope I wam wrong.

Joe,

Per your request.

A guy who lives in Charlotte had this to say about Mr. Green's time at CMS over at Doug Clark's blog on 7/25. Not to flattering.

"I hope it works out for y'all but Mo Green's track record here in CLT does not suggest it will.

Recent history, the Independence football eligibility which hunt which cost CMS at least $100K and featured a uniformed Charlotte fire-fighter forced to march down to confront the board and demand that CMS investigators stop harassing his family. Investigators who were working under the direction of Mo Green. Ask anyone who has there that night -- Mo wanted to crawl under the table.

Then the charter school funding suit, another Mo Green production. CMS was shorting county charters the funds due them, no doubt about it. CMS refused to comply with the law. CMS was sued and lost on the primary question of state K-12 funds, but the trial court agreed with CMS that Bright Beginnings funds should not go to charters. Incredibly, CMS appealed the decision and NC Appeals court found that not only did CMS owe charters K-12 money but Bright Beginnings $$ as well. So Green and crew actually spent money to LOSE more money!

Don't forget the small matter of Mo Green negotiating Pete Gorman's massive contract with CMS and then having Pete Gorman hire Mo Green at massive salary increase to a new post, CMS's chronic problems with criminal background checks of employees, wildly over-estimating student enrollment, bus sked snafus, etc.

Oh, and Pete Gorman has made NO big changes at CMS. He won a bond referendum, spent $9m. to set up another layer of bureaucracy (six-figure salaries all around), and has $4m. 25-person PR shop that spins constantly.

All the way to G-boro, evidently.

Good luck,
JAT"

Thanks, Bubba.

I was not aware of most of this info.

Joe,
I can understand that Mo wants to review and listen in GCS, but as you said 90-100 days is far too long to wait to do or suggest doing something. I fear that the time frame is partially due to his lack of educational experience. Running the day to day operations of a system is different than leading that same system. He will need people that he can lean on and turn to, people that have visions etc. Remember most of the senior staff was here under Grier, so are they use to doing a job on their own or only what Grier wanted.. we just will have to wait and see. BTW, I think many of the senior staff are great, while others need to find a new job, and no; I will not say which ones I think need a new place of employment

They have to make way for Mo's wife somehow.

Isnt it funny. He hasnt even started but its already getting dirty!

Mo’s wife is not on the menu…nepotism, a different story. Mrs. Green and their entire family deserve the best welcome we can give them. There are lots of great jobs here if someone of her caliber wants one, and with kids as young as theirs and her husband’s demanding schedule, she might not desire full time or any employment for awhile. Her employment was not a condition of his contract and said issue is no-issue. They will be a great addition to our community.

In the area of nepotism, it is a nightmare in the business world where seldom have I seen success, but yes I have seen success. In the arena the District operates in, it almost always drags in problems when leadership positions are held by both. Two teachers, little problem only, 1 teacher 1 administrator with no line of authority crossing, little problem, 1 elementary school principal, 1 High School Principal, we’re getting a bit more difficult. We must look at a new era of transparency and openness.

Going down the path of nepotism is not an intentional trip to begin with. You need highly qualified individuals in leadership and a couple is almost ready made. An exception that seems of little issue appears to work then another is made. Soon the exceptions advance and both are in leadership and what employee is going to say boo without looking bad. Next more opportunities arise, the camel is already in the tent and before long you have a tent full of camels and it begins to get crowded, problems arise and removing one camel is very difficult.

The tent was filled, one camel at a time with the best of intentions, sadly some bad roads are paved with such intentions and I am just as guilty as any in laying the pavements first brick. By judging one party as impeccable beyond reproach and correctly assigning the same to the other I still forgot that employees and others would feel these as “untouchables”. Now, what to do with the tent full of camels?

Garth,

I really appreciate your openness. I feel that I could come to you if I ever had a problem. I can't say that about the other board members - except Darlene.

I think Grier had full hiring authority as well as principal and teacher placement authority. I would like to see the board have more authority in the hiring of central office personnel and principals. I would also like to see the board have to approve every principal transferred.

Grier had way too much power. Don't make the same mistake with Green.

Green already said in his interview that in Charlotte they took the best Princpals and put them in the lowest performing schools. They did not give them a choice either.

So if you have a good Principal and your school is doing ok you had better expect change.

Why? Greens only reference is Charlotte.

I am conflicted. Do we really want our school board memebrs discussing SB business on blogs?

Tell me a better way to conduct public business than in the public purview? We have this mess because no one can talk openly and no one trusts the behind the scene players. I am letting light shine in a dark and murky place. When we state a policy to the public and then a few Board members manipulate it behind the scenes and staff is too scared to speak about it to anyone else, then we have the mess we have.

When the public and staff overwhelmingly say we need an educator to lead the district and we get someone from a district whose AYP scores have fallen so dramatically under their mentor’s “leadership”, with only 2 years of managerial experience and their claim to fame is what? Mo’s a good guy, he has more charisma and presence than any other candidate and for sure he is not dumb, he is also very politically astute, more than I can say for myself, but that is not a recipe for improving a school district with very serious problems.

When we have public hearings, more than 1,000 citizens show up and all but unanimously tell the Board one thing and they are ignored, what else is left but to fly the dirty laundry at full mast? Give me the voice of reason? Prove me wrong! No one has yet to produce logical, intelligent reasons for dismantling AL behind the public’s back, for choosing a super with so weak a resume from a failing district. I do not mind being proven wrong, being on this School Board is enough public humiliation for my lifetime, yet I am willing to openly state when I screw up and I will tell the public why I do things and be accountable.

Anyone who knows me would understand that I despise the airing of dirty laundry this way, but until reason, openness and honesty prevail, or someone can find me a better way I will continue to raise the banner for all to see. I am the bull in the China Shop, an amateur who cares more about truth, honesty and openness more than they do about themselves, good luck shutting me up!

My hats off to the Rhino reporter who not only did a great story, he also was pretty good at out sourcing me. I frequently call former employees to find out why they leave. I then go for second and third sources to back up credibility and then I constantly question motivation of my source. He appears to have outdone me on all accounts and still protected the people that needed protecting. That is the most difficult part of all, making sure those willing to speak the truth are not punished for doing so.

Anon, or whoever you might be.

With respect to your concern about Garth's comments on this blog. The more transparent the better IMO.

As far as the Board getting into the hiring and firing and transferring gig which one of the Anon's advocates, yeah that'll work.

The Board is to give direction and advice to the Super. The Board hired the Super to manage the store and in order to be effective, the Super doesn't need a bunch of part time elected officials looking over his/her shoulder and trying to micromanage him.

Let the new Super provide the direction and implement what he feels is necessary to run an efficient organization that provides a quality education to our students. If he feels he needs to do some transferring of personnel, some firing of personnel, etc., then Let It Be. After all, the keys to the executive washroom have been reassigned and distributed and there's a new guy in town with some plans of his own.

If Mo Green fails to live up to our expectations, then the BOE should fire him and hire Ms. Prince.

Bubba,

That's an interesting blog from Doug's site. My comment is "so what else is new? seems like power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely"

I truly hope that the school board stays more in the loop than they did with Grier. I know for a fact that some of the school board members had difficulty under Grier's reign in getting correct, clear information. One could watch some of the school board meetings in the past and know this is true. Board member asks for information. "we don't have that ready but will get it to you". Or one figure is given one time and a different figure later. Then there are the ENDLESS Dr. Z charts, colored graphs, etc. and if anyone understands Statistics, one knows you can make them work to report only the outcome you want someone to infer.

About the 90 day thing. Sounds like 90 days to size everyone up, know who is ally with whom, know the players, know the politics, etc. Why give a definite 90 days? Wouldn't it be better to say, "I need some time to learn the particular programs that are here in Guilford County, study the test scores, the strong and weak areas of the GCS and see what needs changed, improved, etc. I won't make any rush changes until I have had time to analyze the situation and work with my team and the school board at finding solutions." Anyway, something like that.

Debora,

Of course the decision was made before the public meeting. You should know by now, that's how the game is played. The public dog and pony show always comes after the real decision has been made.

What is still baffling is after all those resumes why get two candidates so close to home. Wouldn't it have been easier and a lot cheaper for the school board to have made phone calls to every major city in NC and talked to every super and assistant super, ask for their resumes if they were interested? Then again, our school board has never been one to save money.

to "I am conflicted. Do we really want a school board member discussing SB business on blogs?"

YES WE DO! AH HA!!! YOU MUST BE A SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER.

YOU GO GARTH! You are wonderful at protecting your sources. and ditto to the person about trusting Garth and Darlene.

Alan Duncan is always preaching we want to be as transparent as we can be. Well I say bring on the saran wrap and ditch the aluminun foil! The public is tired of being played like saps. A great example is all the pretend public meetings for opinion when decisions have alreayd been made.

Some things NEVER change.

Pretend you care what the public has to say; hold a public meeting; no, at least two or three in different geographic locations so we can say we listened to everyone; feel the public out; what group will we p- - - off the least? which group of parents will not be the constant thorn in our side?
who do we not want to make waves with? Talk to each other on the phone and confirm how we want to vote. Do we have the 6 votes we need?
Yep we were sure transparent.

For many of us, it is incredible how the Board Zigs and Zags. If the BOE has any core values, I do not know what they are. Just a reminder, the BOE decided that Ronald McNair, Randall Jarrell and Edward R. Murrow were unfit names to put on our schools. If is unfair to expect students and teachers to be on message when the BOE is wandering in the desert. We all have great hopes for Mo Green. It appears that his plan is to wait 90 days and present a master plan of action. We have seen it before. A better plan of action would to set priorities, and get to work one school at a time. A good place to start would be Smith High School which has the lowest achievment of any High School in NC that graduates 70 or more students a year. One thing I like about Mo is that he thinks the individual student has a responsibility to see the he/she is educated. This is simple, but when was the last time you heard it.

The biggest joke in town is how well Charlotte-Meck is doint. In 2002 their SAT scores were 996. In 2007 their scores were 996. Zero progress. They do have a PR Department of 25 employees that are very good at speading the "we are wonderful" message.

I am hopeful.

Conflicted.

I also support Garth's approach to being a school board member. I wonder what other members of the board think about it?

If they dont like it doesnt it compromise his position?

Joe,

Go to:
http://www.gcsnc.com/leadership/pdfs/2008-09%20Superintendent's%20Budget%20Message.pdf#page=6

and you'll see the core values for GCS:

1. Diversity.
2. Empathy.
3. Equality.
4. Innovativeness
5. Integrity

Education didn't seem to make the list

How did integrity make it?

I appreciate the help. I have in mind core values like reading, doing homework that has been assigned, personal responsibility, respect for the teacher and etc. We can not even agree that students should sit in their seats and listen to what the teacher says. As one teacher told me, "children learn in various ways". Some learn sitting down and others learn walking around talking to their friends. Am I crazy, what am I missing?

anon,

Integrity is a goal that may never be achieved.

Looks like Garth Hebert has some.

He is the only board member that will speak anytime and on any issue with honesty and integrity.

Dont expect it from any of the others.

1. Diversity.
2. Empathy.
3. Equality.
4. Innovativeness
5. Integrity

mmm...let's see: Diversity at what cost? endless crosstown busing; busing children across town once the move so they can stay in their old school; diversity is a great goal and can be accomplished but at what price do we draw the line with rising fuels costs? do we continue to put 2 students in a bus and send across town?

equality: well darn HP schools are now sure equal, back to exactly where they were several years ago or "equally" failing AYPs, lacking discipline in the classroom.....

empathy.....did the original BOE who voted for the HP Choice plan show any empathy for how many years to the parents involved in this failed plan? are they empathetic to the AL parents and their children's needs?

innovative...well we know we had Mr. Innovative for how many years? How much did this innovativeness cost this county in failed programs? well, he tried and it sure was innovative or just copied from others's ideas...that is for those actual programs that are working

integrity....can we even go there?!?*$%#^^!!??
let's get public opinion once we know how we are voting... it sure looks good

interity: Garth, YES Darlene, YES and a few others. Let's not have any conflicts of interest now with minority contracts hired. Let's not have nepotism. God forbid that would not show integrity.

Joe, keep at em. God forbid if students had to actually be expected to sit have have to listen, now that would just be too boring.

to Eastern parent

what the heck does it matter if they think it compromises his position? Garth does not break confidences. it's not like his spouse is getting contracts sent her way or has a relative working in the school system.

and what the heck are they going to do? "fire him" - now that is laughable

who the heck would want that abuse it takes to be on the BOE

Garth. You are and have always been our hero!