 Use comment tag below to express your opinion.houstonisdwatch wants to hear from you especially from HISD insiders. Farinas uses teacher assignment change as a means to non-renew her Farinas: HFT helps teacher appeal termination decision Farinas: Teacher challenges her decision. With HFT representation, asks for certified hearing examiner from T.E.A. Farinas: Conference for Record summary; teacher not present, represented by HFT Allegations of Discrimination made by Brenda Limbrick-Sanders against Pam Farinas handled by HISD's E.E.O. office AP Test results: A good deal for the HISD taxpayer? With issues like the bond election ahead, it's necessary to review how the trustees and Grier spend our money. Grier has mandated for Advanced Placement courses in high schools, and he has mandated that every student enrolled in the A.P. class sit for the A.P. exam. In addition to the waste of examinee no-shows, look at the number of exams taken that did not achieve a score of "3" or better, the minimum standard for the award of college credit. 2012 A.P. test results Farinas: Theft at Gregory-Lincoln HPD Report Criminal mischief at Gregory-Lincoln HPD Report Terroristic threat at Gregory-Lincoln HPD Report  Update from houstonisdwatch member NAST-T: Fryer's back in town Aug 23, 2012 @ 9:06 AM delete ROLAND FRYER DROPS "F-BOMB" (and a few others) AT APOLLO 20 KICKOFF CELEBRATION ON 22 AUG 2012 It was bad enough that Grier talked condescendingly to the teachers present at this "celebration" by telling them what he expects when he walks down the halls of the schools, but more nauseating than this, his Messiah, Dr. Roland Fryer, who was the keynote speaker at this "celebration," completely disrespected the crowd of approximately 700 Professionals and about 75 school aged children. While talking about his seemingly rough childhood, he saw freely to drop three S-Bombs, one D-Bomb, and yes, one powerful F-BOMB in the presence of adults and children. Does this mean I can do this in my class? Allow me to drop one of my own real quick... ASSHOLE...THIS IS NOT ACCEPTABLE. DO US A FAvOR AND STFU. How do you like those apples... by NAST-T (Aug 23, 2012) Pam Farnias calls HPD: Fighting in public, disrupting school Pam Farinas' reimbursements Pam Farinas' step increase Pam Farinas transfered from Foerster Elementary to Gregory-Lincoln Middle School, garnering a $2000 raise in the process She earned $84,000 at Foerster; $86,000 at Gregory-Lincoln Mary Cisneros at Golfcrest:: Police report Burglary of school Child abandonment/endangerment Narcotics investigation Pam Farinas at Gregory-Lincoln : Terroristic threat at Gregory-Lincoln Assault (Bodily Injury) Reactions to McDonough's Bellaire Principalship from Time to tell the truth: Westside will not even miss McDonough since he did nothing while at WestsideHS. You said it best when you called him Mr. McDoNothing. Hey Bellaire, you should have done your homework and checked him out. You would not have been impressed. He can't make a decision! Wimp! He is no Tim Salem and never will be. Very few people wanted McDonough at Bellaire but HISD played their games and gave the committee no options. The committee picked the AP from Bellaire but Grier had selected Mr.DoNothing administrator before the interviews started. The secret is out, McDonough stinks it up everywhere he goes. Hang on Bellaire! You'll be begging for Salem to come back! by Time to tell the truth (Aug 21, 2012) From I agree: @ Time to tell the truth! You've called it. It was an inside job from the start. They just held the community meeting to give some gloss to a done deal. We're just wondering if part of McDonough's deal is that he tries to persuade the important and skeptical Bellaire community to support the bond. Everything's about the bond right now. by I agree (Aug 21, 2012) From cynical Houston: You nailed McDonough's double speak really well. He says what people want to hear; then he does what he wants and relies on his favorite son status to not get caught up in the fall-out. He's Teflon Mike -- nothing sticks to him. All in all though, Bellaire got what it needed -- an experienced principal ready to step in on day one. Westside got shafted, but hopefully they'll find someone who actually cares about that community. On the other end of the stick, we have the Apollo schools that are just a revolving door. Someone might be good, but there's no time to find out. Scores aren't where they want, they're gone, even if things are beginning to turn around. Or they're smart and jump off the merry-go-round because the pressure and headaches aren't worth it. HISD's biggest problem right now is it's lack of effective campus leadership. Why is that you ask? I think that's what the board and HISD should be asking. by cynical houston (Aug 21, 2012) From What Did You Expect: Of course Mike McDonough was going to get the Bellaire job. Grier wasn't going to risk pissing off the Bellaire parents. They have the influence and the money to ring his clock. Grier will just stay to pissing off the Elrod, Kashmere, and the likes. His sorry ass doesn't have enough balls to go against Bellaire's kind. As far as McDonough goes, he is the ultimate in putting up the necessary fronts but all along does what he wants and is a master at making you think that it is what you really wanted to. He will do what he has to to get along, and pick his battles very carefully. He does care about children and tries to make their stop at his school the best it can be. I'll give him that much. But he lacks discipline with both students and staff. He is more soft on the serious issues, and kind of flip if you point things out to him. Once his mind is made up about something you can forget it. He will not break once he makes a decision whether its good or bad or right or wrong. But he certainly will make a good fit. The Bellaire community puts him right back in his favorite element. He always wanted to be principal of that campus. by What Did You Expect? (Aug 21, 2012) Elrod still looking for three teachers; overall 219 teacher vacancies Apollo schools Jones, Kashmere, Lee, Sharpstown, Key, Ryan, Dowling all have vacancies Correction suggested on number of teacher vacancies: Also, the number of teacher vacancies is way off . More like 30-40. High number showing is a result of paperwork lag in HR. Who will step up and take the lead to make this an effective department! by Insider (Aug 21, 2012) 2012-13 HISD Slogan? How about a thought caption of Grier's: "Pass the bond, I won't be here anyway by the time the work begins" What is the slogan for HISD this year? Please don't make it college bound again. Maybe it could be "Keep our teachers happy." by Milbified (Aug 16, 2012) Teachers' slogan: "Just Say "NO!" to administrative bullying" A new year begins and we should join together so that we will not be intimidated and bullied by TEAM HISD. We should also realize that we need to speak for ourselves and not allow unions (HFT) to speak for us. Where were the unions when we needed them. We, the veteran teachers of HISD are professionals and should demand to be treated that way. BE BLESSED! by UNITED WE STAND-DIVIDED WE FALL (Aug 19, 2012) Grier avoids tangling with Bellaire parents, appoints safe choice Michael McDonough to succeed well-liked Tim Salem Bellaire High School parents, students, and staff should count their blessings this morning. They wanted an individual familiar with Bellaire's culture, someone they know and trust, a practical applications guy rather than an ideologue. Michael McDonough, a seasoned HISD principal with stints at Pin Oak and Westside, satisfies those requests. With political skills which, at times, rival Mitt Romney's doublespeak, McDonough will have difficult challenges when the zealotry of the Grier administration pushes him to buck influential parents and citizens of Bellaire. Middle school is not high school nor is Bellaire Westside. Mr. McDonough returns to Bellaire after serving as former Principal Bill Lawson's intern and as an assistant principal. Bellaire staff is hoping the legacy of his A.P. stint, when students dubbed him "Mr. McDoNothing," is buried deep in the past. There is no doubt he has had some excellent mentors, and he returns to Bellaire replete with trust and high expecations. He has always wanted to be principal of Bellaire. He possesses the smarts and skill to make his return to Bellaire a success. Grier attempts to appease Bellaire parents but ignores Kashmere, and Elrod parent groups It's politically incorrect to call Grier's actions race-based, but what are they? Kashmere parents spoke to the board, Sheila Jackson-Lee spoke to the board, telling them they do not want Amber Wilson as their principal. Grier does not budge. Bellaire's parents are predominately white. Kashmere's are black. Elrod has many active Hispanic parents. So what gives? Kashmere parents made it clear they have nothing against new principal Amber Wilson. They did, however, want to be consulted in the principal selection process. Consequently, Ms. Wilson is not an acceptable choice. …..and the Ineffective Leadership Gold Medal goes to.....Linda Bellard. Here is the score breakdown: Lack of Data Knowledge 10 (Could not explain actual data when teachers with statistics knowledge asked her what the breakdown was according to individual teachers. Her math coach was trying to cover for her by comparing apples to carrots. Teacher who asked question was appalled to hear math coach’s response.) Not Prepared for Teacher’s First Day 10 (Constantly flipping through pages looking for things and forgetting where she had placed information and making excuses for not finding what she was looking for.) Grammatical Error and Typos 15 (Power Point presentation contained a lot of typo errors and handbook is, again, full of grammatical errors and conflicting information. Most of the suppose Board Policy is made up by her.) Unity Theme 10 (Grade levels are comparably close to each other to work as teams. She has dispersed them throughout the building. She did not put any thought of where she was placing the many NEW teachers and teachers that were moved to different grade levels. All decisions are made by HER. Suggestions were not taken into consideration.) Full of Excuses 20 (She constantly was making excuses as to why she did not have correct data, why she was not prepared, why there were so many grammatical errors and typos, and the reason she did not have time to think about where teachers should be because she was preparing for the first day to welcome teachers.) We’ve never had scores over 10 in the history of the Olympics but the Committee has decided to make an exception due to the circumstances of the merit being awarded. by In Spirit of the Olympics (Aug 21, 2012) More teachers views of HFT The problem with hft is they are pretty limited in what they can do being as Texas is basically a non union state for teachers. But I must say in my dealings with them it depends on the union rep you get. Some are really good and some suck big time and need to retire asap. by uniontx (Jul 16, 2012) Yes the unions and HFT are limited to what they can do. BUT with what HISD is currently doing to teachers and their many of THEIR members, with these F'ed up principals, they need to STOP playing with HISD and start bringing lawsuits on behalf of their members and others! With all the discrimnation, harassment, bullying, and downright lying taking place in HISD the past few years there IS a class action lawsuit in there somewhere or are they just letting HISD do as they please as they sit by watching their membership roles dwindling? Bring in the "big" guns and guys from the federal offices and since Grier and his minions like to play games...let the real game s and investigations begin! Again where are the unions???? Hello? Hello? "chirp" chirp" Hellllllloooooooo...... by Stop playing Unions (Jul 16, 2012) Union supports you when you need help the most Not Joining the Union As a nonmember the union can not assist you. Why should teachers join a union? • To have someone to turn to when you have been treated unjustly • For backing and legal assistance • Because unions advocate improving our standard of living • Unions fight for public education, smaller class sizes, and fair compensation for us. Who will come to your aide if you do not belong to a union? N o one! Rest assured your principal will not confront you one to one he/she will have several people with them when they call you to the office. I stand with my fellow teachers and ask you to do the same, unite with a union. You, should join the American Federation of Teachers before the beginning of this school year. by Dude (Jul 16, 2012) From Not Joining the Union: I have decided that the union is a waste of money. Teachers have been fired without due process and they sit around and do nothing. Complaints have been filed to numerous individuals about the crap that is going on at Elrod and nothing is being done. The union is as helpless and anyone. They sent that survey out only to get teachers in trouble-like what happened at Elrod when teachers did speak up. THE UNION IS A WASTE. They were s o busy going after bull crap claims when we need them they really do not know what to do for real situations. Stop giving your money to the union. by Not Joining The Union (Jul 16, 2012) Counter attack HISD? Until the so-called unions announce how they intend to counter attack HISDuh and this evil regime, I would not waste my money either! Might as well save it for when you resign instead of being terminated because that's what the union lawyers will do for you for the dues you've paid!?!? by ABSOLUTELY!!!! (Aug 20, 2012) Union leaders: Where are you? One question....where in the heck are these so-called union leaders when all this mess is going on within the walls of HISD? Why hasn't there been a class action lawsuit filed with the state and federal DOJ's and EEOC's for the continual discrimination and forced retirement, resignation or in the end termination against mostly veteran teachers as well as others , harassment of teachers, bullying of teachers, and the list could go on and on??? This has ben occuring since Grier wss hired and every year it has gotten worse! As stated before, these leaders are making up crap and downright lying on state documents/evaluations and getting away with it by this administration! Someone needs to file a lawsuit and get the state and feds investigating just what the heck in being allowed to go on in this district! SO hello Unions???? Get the ball rolling here before your the next ones on the unemployment line because there won't be any teachers left to join your organizations! And you wouldn't have to look to far for complaintants to sign on to your lawsuit because everyone that haas been wronged by this administration in one way or another will come out of the woodwork!!! Again, union leaders.....where are you!?!?!?! by Lawsuit (Jul 16, 2012) Should you join the union this year? A new year begins and we should join together so that we will not be intimidated and bullied by TEAM HISD. We should also realize that we need to speak for ourselves and not allow unions (HFT) to speak for us. Where were the unions when we needed them. We, the veteran teachers of HISD are professionals and should demand to be treated that way. BE BLESSED! by UNITED WE STAND-DIVIDED WE FALL (Aug 19, 2012)  Apollo after two years not a source of good P.R. for HISDApollo Program & Dr. Fryer: No comments on Dr. Fryer this summer? by TIRED?????? (Aug 13, 2012) Editor: Let me ask you a question: When have you heard the word "Apollo" uttered by any board members at meetings held in 2012? It's the elephant in the room for some obvious reasons: 1) Inability to maintain strong leadership 2) Lack of enthusiasm among parents resulting in declining populations (Ryan, for example?) 3) Failure to produce the kind of test results to validate the program's success 4) The end of Title 1 funds earmarked for Apollo tutoring, meaning the program will become an even greater drain on district resources 5) Roland Fryer's assessment last year that Apollo students would not see meaningful gains in reading achievement levels for at least four years. (This report comes from the Huffington Post. 6) Funding raising goals that now seem far out of reach. These reasons may explain why Roland Fryer is absent from the Houston scene, why Grier and Paula Harris refer to Apollo as "that program", and most assuredly why the words bond and Apollo will never uttered in the same context by HISD officials. From Questions: If the Apollo program is a 3 year trial "test" to create successful inner-city schools, why on earth would Grier remove the "leaders" after 2 years and place new one into that school. Does this make sense? by Question (Aug 19, 2012) Defending Mary Cisneros' leadership at Golfcrest Proud Golfcrest Teacher: I am excited to be returning to work this year. I have met with some teachers over the summer and we energetic and ready to work with our students who are arriving next week. Hopefully those employees who were unhappy have found the opportunity to move on. There are many on our campus who like the direction that we continue to move on with our students and as members of the Golfcrest staff under the leadership of Mary Cisneros. I believe that Mary Cisneros is a strong leader and many positive changes have taken place the past two years under her leadership. by Proud Goldcrest Teacher (Aug 19, 2012)  Mary Cisneros subscribes to the Rodriguez-Davila methods ofschool management say her critics CISNEROS INTRADISTRICT TRAVEL Traveling Houston's highways and byways at HISD taxpayers' expense always on school "business" $120.42 requested on April 6, 2011 $97.92 requested on June 27, 2011 $267.00 requested on Dec. 7, 2011 As an assistant principal at Davila ES, Cisneros made $64,296.50. Replacing Freddy Delgado at Golfcrest, she would earn a base salary of $60,500 with a performance award of $7500, a total of $81,000 annually. On June 24, 2010, Sam Sarabia, HISD Elementary Schools Officer, recommended Mary Cisneros, who had been serving as an A.P. at Davila Elementary School, be given the principal's position at Golfcrest. HISD's P.R. about back to school activities; Apollo schools begin on August 20 Bellard: STAAR Worskshop in Beaumont documentation/reimbursement Bellard reports: Terroristic threat by cutting made against student at Blackshear In 2011 52-year-old Linda Bellard received a base salary of $62,500 to transfer to Blackshear and a $7500 performance bonus, uping her salary to $76,000  Westside's Michael McDonough  Bellaire's Andrew Monzon are the two HISD candidates remaining in the search BELLAIRE PRINCIPAL SEARCH IN FINAL STRETCH: FOUR FINALISTS: Randy Duran, an educational consultant from San Diego; Mike McDonough, current Westside High School principal; Andrew Monzon, current Bellaire administrator; and a woman from Galena Park ISD. Three of the four finalists are Hispanic. Bellaire's last female principal preceded Bill Lawson. After several disagree- ments with the faculty, she resigned and moved to Alaska. A principal is to be named on Monday, August 20. Teacher reviews of Terry Grier: High pressure leadership, hired as a hatchet man HISD "deals with" STAAR results from the Houston Press  Get ready: The TFAers are coming! With 221 vacancies, HISD is looking for a quick solution to its H.R. problems Read Teach for America's puff piece on Rodriguez-Davila HISD's TFA report 2009-2011 *HISD's interview questions courtesy of Glass Door From Milbified: Can someone explain just what a TFA teacher is? And does anyone know where we can find our AYP results are? I heard that thousands of letters went out telling students that they can transfer from a lower performing school to a higher performing school. Just wondering if we will be losing or gaining students. by Milbified (Aug 15, 2012 Veteran responds: To Milbified A TFAer is a person who went to college and majored in something other than education. Upon graduating they decided that evidently they wasted their time with the other degree because they can't find a job sooooooooo hey I think I can teach! And so they apply to Teach For America where they are trained for 4 weeks over the summer to be an effective, qualified teacher (LMFAO) and remember I DID NOT say certified! Then after committing to 2 years they get their own little classroom. Now mind you many don't last and others just do it to pay off student loans before returning to college. Those that DO stay DO NOT want to stay in the classrooms they waht to run the show because Annie Best and others tell them they are so great and the veteran teachers are old, lazy, and can;t teach so steer clear of them. Point of fact, look at where some of the TFAers at Lee HS who are NOW principals! WTF.. .it used to be you had t tach for a good 10 to 15 years before you would have ever thought of moving up! But with Grier and his idiotic ideas, he seems to think that these kids are going to save HISD. Some will turn out to be great teachers and leaders but the major move on after their time because it was not what they thought or was told it would be! So here is alittle about TFAers in a nutshell. by Veteran (Aug 15, 2012) Extravagance of HISD bond election in perspective: Houston voters will be asked to approve $2.7 billion in bonds in November, $1.9 billion put up by HISD Guidry News report on August 9, 2012 board meeting: Aren't all those abstention votes getting old?  School at 3200 Rosedale still not named This new structure was to be called "Turner-Lockhart" before Paula Harris & friends decided to disrespect the Reverand George B.M. Turner by removing his name. Citizens from Houston's Third Ward addressed the board, asking that the name not be changed or shortened. Harris suggested returning the naming process back to committee. The last word houstonisdwatch heard about this conflict concerned an NCAAP lawsuit against HISD over what they believe to be an unfair and discriminatory naming process.  Robert Glasser, Democrat District 22, calls bond election a referendum on the HISD Trustees' leadership What the Chronicle DOES NOT say, but needs to be said, is that the bond election IS a referendum on the way the board manages its affairs. As is correctly pointed out, they may not be breaking the rules, but they MAKE the rules, and if they don't implemen t proper rules they are just as guilty of mismanagement and malfeasance as if they violated proper policies. Just because they are not violating rules does not mean that their actions are ethical. The ballot in November may not give voters the opportunity to impose ethical restrictions on the board, but it WILL give us an opportunity to send a 'vote of confidence' message and limit their ability to spend even more taxpayer money and obligate the NEXT generation of taxpayers into paying for their decisions. Now, let the lobbying begin for the passage of this bond vote- paid for by the many consultants, contractors, bond lawyers, and 'friends' of the board that will benefit from these taxpayer financed expenditures. Spend your money- we are 'wise' to your intentions!  With ample doses of arrogance and condescension, Pearson defends TAKS and STAAR, accuses Texas professor of drawing "wild conclusions" From the Texas Tribune: "...Stroup’s analyses, which he conducted with two other UT-Austin researchers, question how Pearson applies “item response theory,” a widely accepted method of devising standardized exams, to create the state’s TAKS exams. Using that method, he said, test developers select questions based on a model that correlates students’ ability with the probability that they will get a question right..." Read Morgan Smith's complete report. BELLAIRE PRINCIPAL UPDATE: Mike Lunceford, District V trustee, met with Bellaire's SDMC Wednesday evening. A faculty & community meeting will be held Thursday, August 16, 2012, at 6 p.m. in the multipurpose room to discuss the principalship. HISD is to name a principal by August 20, 2012.  As of August 15, 2012, HISD has 221 teaching vacancies. More on Haberman as an ineffective screening tool from hisdwatcher: Brittany Maloney is not certified to be an A.P. It is obvious that the Haberman does not validate the qualifications of an Administrator. That is assuming that all administrators are subjected to this tool. A perfect example would be Britney Maloney is an Assistant Principal at Kashemere High school that-according to SBEC does not have the qualifications. But would we expect anything different from the current SIO of Apollo Schools? by hisdwatcher (Aug 13, 2012) On the other hand, supporting Ms. Maloney: I'm going to go out on a limb here, probably to the dismay of the majority of the readers, and at least stick up for Ms. Maloney. I know that will probably incite many of you to question my "allegiance" (a stupid conclusion, we're here for kids) or make some statement about my ignorance as a teacher, but while I have not worked closely with her, I have been at Lee for longer than most teachers and have seen her perform. Yes, it's true that she may not be the most qualified person. The fact is that I can think of things I would improve in her teaching... just as ALL of us have ways to improve in our teaching (even the best of us do). However, I find it bewildering in reading the statements that she was a marginal teacher. Who exactly are these bloggers and what is this conclusion based off of? I'm not saying she was teacher of the year, but in my past time at Lee, I can name on one hand the people who are still at Lee and who would have observed Maloney in the classroom. So that claim is baffling at best. Second, I recall a time when Maloney was brought to tears out of sympathy of hearing a student's story, an exchange that a few of us witnessed. I just remembered thinking that clearly, she really did care about the kids. I think before you parade about ulterior motives or her pursuit of her own ambitions, it's unfair to assume that she has no priorities that involve kids. My biggest focus is what I can do with my classroom. I read the site constantly, and I pick my fights sparingly, but couldn't help but speak up at the perplexing comments I was reading. I don't know what's best for Kashmere, because I don't work there, nor does "Lee Teacher". I think I would just like this blog to transition to creating real solutions rather than spewing toxicity and being a venue for complaining. by Random (Aug 15, 201 What goes on outside a classroom can impact what goes on inside.... @Random In response to your last paragraph, I do agree that we are here for the kids but you have to understand that what goes on outside the classroom can impact what goes on inside. During my first year at Lee I chose to focus on what was going on in the classroom. While I tried to do that my second year when Apollo was introduced, it was impossible. Though admin never picked on me personally, the environment was so toxic that I felt it. As for any comments I have made about Ms. Maloney, I am a former TFAer and I have worked closely with her. by Former Lee Teacher (Aug 15, 2012) HISD's choice of principals & assistant principals called into question: From adios: Isn't that interesting. I know of SEVERAL highly qualified people who have been in HISD for several years already. Have been extremely SUCCESSFUL in the classroom and have wonderful management and people skills. And ARE CERTIFIED by the state of Texas to be principals but do not have jobs as principals in HISD because they can't pass that stupid Hauberman test!!!! And yet we see people with no certification being assistant principals. That is horrible. Most districts will not even interview you as an assistant principal unless you are fully certified as a principal. HISD just wants you to pass that stupid test. And I know of people cheating on that test. They get a buddy in HR or somewhere to help them answer the questions correctly. So that test is just a big fat joke! by adios (Aug 13, 2012) Brittany Maloney will not be an asset to Kashmere From Lee teacher: What is really sad about Britney Maloney is that she has had very little time in the classroom, was only a marginal teacher, but was put in leadership by Davila. She became one of "them" and in doing so, hurt Lee more than helped it. Because she is young, I doubt she has any idea the part she plays in the mass destruction of Lee teachers and and their reputations. As with most TFAers, it was all about her. I don't know if some day these TFAers will realize their foolishness and thinking everyone was below them but I watched as Britney stood by when her friends and collegues were picked off one by one. Then, when Davila moves on, Davila helped her move on. She will not be an asset to Kashmere, a school that needs strong leaders. It will still be about her. It is a dangerous concept to promote these young people after the minimum time in the classroom. It hurts everyone. by Lee Teacher (Aug 14, 2012 From Former Lee Teacher: With regards to Ms.Maloney's promotion to AP at Kashmere, I think that the new SIO of Apollo Schools (Davila) sent her there to be a "spy" like she was at Lee. It only makes sense that Davila would want one of her followers to be an insider to get information on who the "bad" teachers are. Note: If you are a Kashmere teacher or know one please warn them to be careful. by Former Lee Teacher (Aug 14, 2012) From Out of Here: Unfortunately, it is true. Ms. Maloney was used as a spy at Lee. I also agree with above responses that Ms. Maloney didn't have very strong teaching skills and her classroom management was a mess. Being promoted by Davila this year, as are several others, is probably to enhance Davila's life as an SIO. Good Luck Kashmere!So sad that ineffective APs are being hired. Grier is cutting his own throat and doesn't know it! by Out of Here! (Aug 14, 2012) Examiner profile of Kashmere's new principal Amber Elaine Wilson RUMOR MILL CHURNING: TODAY'S FAVORITE FOR THE BELLAIRE PRINCIPALSHIP IS FORMER BELLAIRE TEACHER, ANDREW "TIM'" WAINWRIGHT This rumor has got to be a joke. There's just no way the former social studies teacher who jumped around HISD's administrative jobs if prepared to lead Bellaire. He;s having a difficult time leading Westbury. houstonisdwatch blogger A Citizen described Westbury: My niece is a student as Westbury, and it appears to be a mess over there. I've been over there mutiple times to meet with the principle and he is never on campus. He's always away for lunch or a meeting with Alaniz (the SIO) or Larry Marshall or one of the Friends of Westbury. Is he a coward or is that his reason for allowing his school business manager run the school? Many of her teachers have left because of the way he treats the teachers over there, and apart from the students protesting once in a walk-out, nothing is being done to get rid of him. The school's TAKS scores took a nosedive, and he still has his job. by A Citizen (Jul 5, 2012)  Fleeing Blackshear only to enrage ElrodLinda Bellard's assignment to Elrod ES was a lateral transfer The higher up an educator climbs on the career ladder the more ominous a lateral transfer becomes, especially when the lateral transfer is made within the same school district. Moving from one city to another or going across state lines negates any negatives associated with a lateral transfer in most cases. A principal who makes a lateral transfer within a district has to justify the move and frame it as positive. Otherwise, the principal confronts charges that he or she wasn't suitable for the position, couldn't get along with parents, just wasn't a good fit. houstonisdwatch has documented Grier's disinterest in listening to parents and faculty members regarding principal choice. On Feb. 7, 2011, even Grier agreed to the reassignment of Linda Bellard from Blachshear ES to Elrod. In fact, Bellard was described this way in her reassignment letter: "You have many of the qualities that the parents and staff at Elrod are looking for in a principal -- high expectations, knowledge of curriculum and best practices and your desire to build parent and community partnerships. See the assignment letter here. (response to houstonisdwatch's Texas Open Records Act request) Parents in the Elrod community hasve not been impressed with Bellard and have stated for the record that she doesn't have any desire to build parent and community partnerships. Her former staff at Blackshear offered muted praise, described the environment there as professional yet stiff. Ms. Bellard was interested in academics and didn't put much time into building staff relationships. She was generally vindicated in the major bullying investigation of a student referred to P.V., except by the school nurse, who blasted Bellard's lack of involvement, knowledge about the students who attended her school, and failure to respond to serious charges of bullying. Whatever happend at Blackshear had deep enough roots to remove Bellard as principal. The way Grier has behaved in relation to the Kashmere community means that, even if the Elrod community had protested Bellard's assignment - logically stating her unfitness at one elementary school didn't make her any more appropriate for another - Grier wouldn't have listened. Grier will use multi-year administrative contracts to groom more bully principals, force principals to be totally complicit with his demands Read between the lines here. The decision makers are Grier and his hand-picked (and expanding) team of school officers. The criteria looks to be objective, but which prinicpals are selected for longer contracts remains to be seen. "In an effort to attract and retain the highest quality principals, the administration would like to begin using multi-year performance contracts to these administrators, based on demonstrated performance..." If HISD threw out the worthless Haberman Protocol - for which effectiveness data is just now being gathered - and allowed principals autonomy to run their campuses and build a culture of collaboration, instead of fear, intimidation and bullying, HISD wouldn't waste time and resources replacing principals, many of whom could pass the Haberman Protocol but were clueless in the common sense decision-making necessary to run a school. After all, who really has faith in HISD's selection of principals? From @ Former Lee Teacher: I can't say I'm surprised that Quintero is now Principal. Is she even qualified? I heard another of Davila's APs is going to be a Principal at an elementary school now. I guess it pays to sell your soul to DR, you'll be rewarded. Glad I escaped that the world of HISD. Good luck to you @Lee Teacher. May the odds be ever in your favor. by @ Former Lee Teacher (Aug 9, 2012) @ Former Lee teacher. I too have left Lee. Although Quintero isn't the monster Davila is, she really doesn't have what Lee needs to lead them further. She really is a pawn of Davila's. I'm quite sure that is the entire reason lthey have placed her in that position. The STAAR scores were incredibly awful so obviously, Davila's stop everything and test, test, test didn't work. (nor her insanity of getting rid of highly qualified teachers_ As far as the AP's, Davila has indeed placed them at other schools although the TFAers have very, very little experience in the classroom. What is a highly qualified principal look like? Or, a highly qualified AP? Maybe we should create our own requirements here on this website. by Former Lee teacher (Aug 9, 2012) And in more colorful language from Mack: A highly qualified Principal or AP ( what a joke) in HISD can be identified by the "huge" lips that they use to kiss Grier's ass! Also, they may be seen with a can of "fix-a-flat" which is needed to re-inflate their oversized egos and to keep the shapes of their hollow heads in tack because if you took all their brains and put them together it wouldn't be enough to fill one of these empty headed bozos! HISD is one big ass joke!!!! And if it weren't for the poor kids who have to attend these schools this would be laughable! Sad state that this district has been allowed to fall below North Forest lead by the incompetent morons that haven't a clue what the heck they are doing besides drawing a huge fat check and for what???? Vote no! Vote damn NO on this bond mess!!!! by Mack (Aug 9, 2012) Grier creates market for unqualified school administrators From Qualified? Who is qualified these days? Quintero has an elementary background. She was probably not a very good elementary teacher either. What does she know about HS? All she knows is Davila. That's it! Davila has three AP's now in principal positions. Let's see how they do next year. Why Davila has been given this power is beyond me. Maybe it's a reward from Grier for having to put up with all his mess. Puppet Master Davila Has a nice ring to it. Where's Roland?? Has anyone seen Roland Fryer? Did he take the money and run? I bet he shows up again when HISD is awarded Race to the TOP. Any takers? by Qualified? (Aug 9, 2012)  Grier leading the HISD trusteesBoard allocates even more funds for the "implementation of a formative assessment system and universal screener to provide predictive and diagnostic assessments and to negotiate and execute contracts with Public Consulting Group, Inc., and Imagination Station, Inc. Is this HISD admitting its benchmarks have been way off the mark? The district is looking for the "best value" in a formative assessment and universal screener "solution" aligned with district's curriculum standarnds. So the district wants Public Consultant's EdPlan and Imagination Station, Inc.. First year cost: $3,288,206 Staff requirements: One administrator & one data clerk. Just what HISD needs or more administrative bloating from Grier and the trustees? This item did not get a favorable review from the trustees except, of course, Larry Marshall, who claims HISD "has plenty of money in its savings." Of course, we know from the bond vote last Thursday that when called upon to vote on instructional issues, the board members fall in line behind Grier, like little ducklings following their mama. From Unbelievable: Mr. Editor, please read Ericka Mellon's tweets from the Board Agenda review on this past Monday. Grier is ecommending spending $33 MILLION $ ON A TESTING PROGRAM!! (Training teachers how to develop tests!) And he is requesting 5 NEW STAFF MEMBERS TO IMPLEMENT THE PROGRAM! We're cutting teachers and he continues the bloating. Even though it was weak, Paula Harris did protest and ask why current staff couldn't implement; she also stated that she would like to see teachers trained to teach reading instead of testing. What you want to bet she votes YES on Thursday? Can you believe that when others are trying to reduce the amount of testing in schools, he would have the audacity to make this request? Mr. Bingle, please find out more about this testing program; I bet it is connected to friends and family. Grier is out of control! by Unbelievable! (Aug 8, 2012)  houstonisdwatch bloggers weigh in on bond: From Right On! I am on board with all the bloggers that are saying to vote NO on the bond issue. I iive in the 3rd ward area and to put in plainly these schools suck big time. We have hard working dedicated people working in these run down buildings. With the exception of the new Lockhart-Turner campus, we are not seeing much bond money in this area for the amount of property taxes that we are paying. Can anybody say Ryan or Yates? I know we should be about the kids, but Team Grier is not about the kids. If Paula Harris and Company would grow some balls and have Grier hit the bricks, they would have more support. 35 million for a testing program when you have school buildings that I guarantee are not ready when the kids return? HISD will work the maintenance department and the plant operators like dogs to get these buildings ready and it still won't happen. Say hell no to the bond vote. The public has to hit the message home to this board so they can get the message that Grier needs to move on. by Right On! (Aug 9, 2012) Education Grrrrl: And our kids need sparkling new facilities to help them achieve? It would be great if the taxpayers realized that the teachers at Bellaire, Lamar, DeBakey, Carnegie, and HSPVA helped make those students top notch. If there was a bond election to retain those great teachers which would turn out successful kids by the thousands, the Houston taxpayers would be throwing money at HISD. But since many of those teachers are gone--these fab new buildings won't do us much good. The Grier PR machine has their work cut out for them--doing smoke and mirrors--while many of us know they probably just plan to slash and burn, just with more money if the bonds pass. by Education Grrrrl (Aug 10, 2012) Contractor ties to HISD board member from B.E.: Since the vote was 8-1 for the bond let's have this board agree no company who has ties to any board member shall be eligible to bid for contracts. Let's just once not have a board member's BF get a contract. I don't know of anything more repulsive than continuing to see board member's BF's filling their pockets at the cost of other companies. by B.E. (Aug 11, 2012) HISD to march forward with Grier's pet screening device, the Haberman, with no verifiable data to support it "In the 2011-2012 school year, the Haberman Foundation has been HISD's partner in screening and interviewing prospective teachers, assistant principals, deans and principals. The Haberman selection tools help assess whether applicants have the characteristics, values, and beliefs predictive of success in an urban school setting. Human resources...strongly believes that the Haberman selection tools will continue to allow HISD to effectively keep the bar high for these hires." Belief based on fantasy, not data. Nationally, Haberman is considered to be pretty much a joke, and some of the worst principals HISD has ever hired successfully navigated through the protocol. Did the board even try to challenge Grier on this one, a critical point as it essentially controls all personnel hires who work directly with children? Continuing Haberman is an Ann Best suggestion (she's still here), and that should tell you everything you need to know about it. Of course not. Contact: Editor@houstonisdwatch.com Link to previous pages. Link to AEIS reports, Open Records requests, and more Use comment tag to express your opinion. houstonisdwatchwants to hear from you, especially from HISD insiders. |
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