I have received the following document from an anonymous source. Based on this easily verified information, do we want a school board director, the president – no less, of an “award winning” school district plagiarizing? President Posti majored in English. Her livelihood is public relations. As a professional, a parent, a graduate of Mt. Lebanon High School
Rampant Plagiarism by Mt. Lebanon School District
There have been numerous instances over the last year of Mt Lebanon School Board President Josephine Posti stealing information from websites and posting it on her blog as her own. In the three instances outlined below, I have copied word for word her blog post and indicated in yellow highlighted text where that information was sourced from and the original text of that source. Again, Mrs. Posti has never indicated that her sources were from anything but her own intelligence.
There are very specific documents available on the District website that deal with plagiarism (see http://www.mtlsd.org/highschool/highschoolplagiarismlessons.asp
Grade 11 Plagiarism Tutorial):
Plagiarism (and avoiding it!)
If you intend to pursue a career or an education, you must not plagiarize.
Plagiarism is theft.
Plagiarism is stealing somebody’s idea or words without giving credit to that person. If you do not clearly tell your audience that you were not the person who came up with it, your audience will believe that the idea was yours. You are stealing credit for another’s work.
In the real world, people who plagiarize are punished. The same is true in high school and college. Do not risk your academic standing by not carefully and completely citing your sources. Please refer to the Student‐Parent Handbook for Mt. Lebanon School District
What follows are three of examples that were found after only a few minutes of searching.
Complete document is here.
Update: Direct links to Josephine Posti's blog.
Instance #1 direct link
Instance #2 direct link
Instance #3 direct link
More can be found on her blog just by searching key phrases on search engines such as Google.
Update 1:30 pm
I have been told that Josephine Posti has an accreditation in public relations. http://prsa-pgh.org/bio.php?n=150
From the website, http://www.prsa.org/Learning/Accreditation/
What is APR?
APR is a mark of distinction for public relations professionals who demonstrate their commitment to the profession and to its ethical practice, and who are selected based on broad knowledge, strategic perspective, and sound professional judgment.
I do not have a degree in English, journalism, or even fiction writing, but I was able to pass the plagiarism quiz on the District website.
Update 11:00 pm Screen shots of posts
Instance #1 Mergers and Aquisitions
Instance #2 Act 1 Exceptions
Instance #3 Single Prime Approved
Update August 22, 2011 Response from Josephine Posti, Mon. Aug 22, 2011 12:07 pm
Update 5:04 PM
Update: Direct links to Josephine Posti's blog.
Instance #1 direct link
Instance #2 direct link
Instance #3 direct link
More can be found on her blog just by searching key phrases on search engines such as Google.
Update 1:30 pm
I have been told that Josephine Posti has an accreditation in public relations. http://prsa-pgh.org/bio.php?n=150
From the website, http://www.prsa.org/Learning/Accreditation/
What is APR?
APR is a mark of distinction for public relations professionals who demonstrate their commitment to the profession and to its ethical practice, and who are selected based on broad knowledge, strategic perspective, and sound professional judgment.
I do not have a degree in English, journalism, or even fiction writing, but I was able to pass the plagiarism quiz on the District website.
Update 11:00 pm Screen shots of posts
Instance #1 Mergers and Aquisitions
Instance #2 Act 1 Exceptions
Instance #3 Single Prime Approved
Update August 22, 2011 Response from Josephine Posti, Mon. Aug 22, 2011 12:07 pm
Dear Mrs. Gillen, Thank you for bringing that to my attention. As your anonymous source may have noticed, I share information from a variety of sources and endeavor to attribute them and include links to original sources. I've made those corrections and provided additional information on my blog. Best regards, 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
Update 12:33 PM
Josephine Posti has entered a new post on her Center Court blog. Corrections Update 5:04 PM
"While SB1 was originally targeted to families making under $29,000 in failing schools or school districts, as amended SB1 would offer vouchers to families earning up to $67,000, even if they live in top school districts and even if their children have never set foot in a public school."
"Where SB1 was originally targeted to families making under $29,000 in failing schools or school districts, as amended SB1 would offer vouchers to families earning up to $67,000, even if they live in the top school districts in the state and even if their children have never set foot in a public school."
