In the emails listed, identifying information has been redacted to protect the personal privacy of individuals discussed in the letters.
From: JPosti@mtlsd.net
To: Stakeholder, Parent 1
CC: SchoolBoardEmaillist@mtlsd.net; Parent 2
Subject: RE: TERC Investigations
Date: Wed, 28 Nov 2012 19:08:02 +0000
Stakeholder,
Your email is childish, disrespectful and counterproductive in addressing the concerns of parents with children in the District. Name-calling is beneath you and not an effective method of motivating the educational professionals charged with curricular responsibility.
Parent 1 and Parent 2,
Have you discussed your concerns with your [child's] teacher or principal? An understanding of those discussions would be helpful to Dr. Allen and her team as they evaluate how Investigations is being used in each building and within specific classrooms.
For the Board,
Josephine Posti
President
Mt. Lebanon School Board
412.667.1479
http://jposti.blogspot.com
Mission: To provide the best education possible for each and every student
________________________________
From: Stakeholder
Sent: Wednesday, November 28, 2012 1:03 PM
To: Parent 1,
Cc: School Board Email list; Parent 2
Subject: Re: TERC Investigations
Good going.....I hope parents organize and hound the SB and staff at meetings & e-mail to get off their "high horses" and do something about this....firing Steinhauer for his behavior know-it-all attitude plus Allen for her total incompetence would be good for starters....then give 12th grade PSSA, ACT & SAT math portion tests to all math teachers forcing them to use only this current flawed math teaching protocol. Fire all who fail the tests!
---------- Original Message ----------
From: Parent 1
To: <schoolboardemaillist@mtlsd.net>
Cc: Parent 2
BCC: Additional Stakeholders
Subject: TERC Investigations
Date: Wed, 28 Nov 2012 17:25:51 +0000
Good afternoon Board,
Have all of you actually reviewed the Investigations books that are actually used in the classroom? If so, what have you found?
Yesterday evening, ...I asked my [child] if...Seriously folks, would this have been acceptable for your children?
I honestly don't see how the entire board can just sit there while the mother of a 6th grader says during a public meeting her son cannot do long division. The parents of the children in our school district demand more. What are you going to do about it?
Here is a link to provide you more information:
http://www.wgquirk.com/TERC2008.html
Parent 1
I have received numerous emails complaining about Dr. Deb Allen's performance. Yes, I agree with the stakeholder. Getting rid of Posti, Steinhauer, and Allen would be a great start. Throw in Klein's retirement and we just might get the District back on its feet again.
23 comments:
Parents can also write a letter to the State Board of Education and document their concerns. Request the State to look at the curriculum and investigate.
5:07 I believe that you will find that the PDE will not comply with such requests in the manner you have in mind. We mere citizens, taxpayers and parents do not realize that the State and local Districts are joined at the hip, they support and cover for each other and believe the public is beneath them. Even our State legislators and legislative bodies will not cross swords with the PDE because the PSEA and all its local affiliates are too politically powerful and supportive of the PDE.
Any attempt to correct the myriad of ills and wrongs in PA public education statewide or even locally would be a threat to PSEA and member interests. The hell with the public, the hell with taxpayers.
District superintendents and senior administrators well know all this and take full advantage of it in their dealings with parents and the public. School boards tend to be rubber stamps for administrations and align themselves with school staff's rather than the public they are supposed to represent.
None of this current math concern will go anywhere or change anything.
justialIIEY5:07 I believe that you will find that the PDE will not comply with such requests in the manner you have in mind. We mere citizens, taxpayers and parents do not realize that the State and local Districts are joined at the hip, they support and cover for each other and believe the public is beneath them. Even our State legislators and legislative bodies will not cross swords with the PDE because the PSEA and all its local affiliates are too politically powerful and supportive of the PDE.
Any attempt to correct the myriad of ills and wrongs in PA public education statewide or even locally would be a threat to PSEA and member interests. The hell with the public, the hell with taxpayers.
District superintendents and senior administrators well know all this and take full advantage of it in their dealings with parents and the public. School boards tend to be rubber stamps for administrations and align themselves with school staff's rather than the public they are supposed to represent.
None of this current math concern will go anywhere or change anything.
This topic is getting the attention of the Dept. of Education from four states. So go ahead, administrators, keep ignoring us. This may not go anywhere, but neither will you.
Elaine
Jo, I forgot to mention that several districts in the AIU have also been following this, but you probably know this from your Analytics on Center Court.
Elaine
Here's an interesting perspective on mathematics education from people who know mathematics, the Russians.
http://www.america.gov/st/educ-english/2010/October/20101019101345zjsredna0.107052.html?CP.rss=true
It's amazing the board is "on board" or even tries to paint itself as helpless as this experimenting is occurring with children. If they are helpless, why not resign. If you can't do anything, why are you there?
At least we'll have a fancy new school a bunch of confused kids can hang out in.
I was holding this back but now might be the time...
There was a rumor out there that I got from a reliable source that said in Deb Allen's last contract with John Allison that Deb would retire at the end of that 3 year contract.
Her and Allison's verbal assurance of that agreement are what had some of the people who wanted to get rid of Allen allow her to stay on.
That vote passed 6-3 for that contract extension with Stipanovich, Hart, and Fraasch voting against it. Kubit, Remely, and Posti all voted in favor of it.
How else can you explain why someone who has been shifted around so often to mask professional incompetence has been able to latch on for this long?
6:02 PM: Never underestimate the power of the written word! If enough parents would document their complaints, the State cannot ignore this. Write to the
director of math curriculum.
http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/mathematics/7538
I heard the same rumor. I believe it to be true but dr allen will say anything to stay in power.
Posti's emails are a classic board stall tactic.
Talk to the
Teacher,
Principal,
Asst. Superintendent,
Superintendent,
before the Board.
Parents who are concerned should use you news and TV contacts to bring reporters to a board meeting. Be sure to come yourselves and plan to talk at least five minutes. When the Directors get tired of the pushback they will tell the Superintendent to clean up the mess. Then something will happen.
By the way, superintendents are entitled to 150 days notice that their contract won't be renewed under the School Code, but you need not wait until 150 days before the contract expires. You can give the 150-day notice years in advance telling the superintendent his/her contract won't be renewed. They have time to find a job and the district avoids a buyout of the contract.
Deb Allen's increase was 1.9%. According to the July 26 post, Twenty MTLSD administrators received salary increases, 1.5% increase if approaching expectations, 3% increase for those who met expectations, and 4.5% increase for those who far exceeded expectations.
I admit that I used an online percentage calculator to do the calculation. Yes, I'm a MTL grad, just like five of the school board directors. None of us can do math. Not much has changed.
Elaine
Mrs. Posti, your behavior "is childish, disrespectful and counterproductive in addressing the concerns of parents with children in the District. Name-calling is beneath you and not an effective method of (leading) the educational professionals charged with curricular responsibility."
Mrs. Posti "(h)ave you discussed (our) concerns with (our superintendent,) teacher(s) or principal(s)? An understanding of those discussions would be helpful to (parents,) Dr. Allen and her team as they evaluate how Investigations is being used in each building and within specific classrooms."
Mrs. Posti, have you ever had to replace your rubber stamp?
With any luck, you have only invested in what you need for two board terms.
Here's a little new math problem.
School district M has had falling enrollment for a number of years while total staff has increased during the same time.
If the district eliminates one $120,000 administrator and does not hire. a $900,000 fund raiser consultant, how much money does the district save over 6 years?
Think it can't be done. Businesses in private industry do it all the time. It's not convenient, it's not pleasant but they do it to survive.
Can it be done in a school district? I believe it's time to work on the problem, especially in a district that whines about revenues yet hands out more vacation time for it's top administrator.
If you want to see a prime example of how things work in our local school district, try to catch the Ch 19 airing of the special change order meeting.
While you watching think back to the original bid fiasco, the geofoam approval, the power line fire, etc., etc. Then think forward, come next budget discussion you can bet there will be glowing accolades offered and all players involved in this will have met or exceeded expectations.
This is my favorite Posti email.
Parent 1 and Parent 2,
Have you discussed your concerns with your [child's] teacher or principal? An understanding of those discussions would be helpful to Dr. Allen and her team as they evaluate how Investigations is being used in each building and within specific classrooms.
For the Board,
Josephine Posti
President
Mt. Lebanon School Board
Why don’t you tell Dr. Allen to have those discussions, Josephine, We don’t have parents on the payroll.
it amazes me how these people acknowledge the immense responsibility they carry but reject any accountability for performance and results. when it comes to accolades and applause that however is an orange of a different color
She told school board members she would be retiring but didn't. John Allison believed her when she assured him she would. He may have convinced several school board members to vote to let her stay. What a mistake…now we are stuck with her. School Board members Stipanovich, Hart, and Fraasch voting against it because they knew she wouldn't retire the assurance was just a scheme to let her stay long enough for the school board election to occur. Kubit, Remely, Sue Rose, Alan Silhol and Posti voted to let her stay believing she would retire. I don't recall who the 9th school board member was who voted to let her stay. She was insubordinate to Marge Sable. Thanks to this blog a record of what has happened over the years is available to refer back to so as to hold the administration and board member's feet to the fire...even though the fire isn't hot enough to get them to take action based on what people who live in this really good community want.
Would that be Elaine Cappucci?
Elaine
Dr. Allen
11:08 PM, I was responding to 6:19's comment. Would the 9th board member who allowed Allen to stay have been Elaine Cappucci?
Elaine
It only take five votes to let her stay. " . . . Kubit, Remely, Sue Rose, Alan Silhol and Posti voted to let her stay . . ."
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