tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post2793772116438111861..comments2024-01-08T03:21:35.616-05:00Comments on DeKalb County School Watch: Coaching Teachers: What You Need to Know - From Education WeekCerebrationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11161868015604029471noreply@blogger.comBlogger51125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-32685592848750692572011-02-21T09:34:44.962-05:002011-02-21T09:34:44.962-05:00Things will not change with the high salaries, hir...Things will not change with the high salaries, hiring of friends and family members and promoting them without justified qualifications until accreditation is lost. I do not wish this on the children, but it could be the only way that we can get rid of the wrath of New Birth and the other corruption that permeates the County and school system.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-84951356556603761402011-02-21T09:03:21.743-05:002011-02-21T09:03:21.743-05:00I agree Anon. There is so much corruption in Dekal...I agree Anon. There is so much corruption in Dekalb County School System it makes me sick to my stomach! <br /><br />DCSS cant fix DCSS. Our Board chair has shown us that by appointing two board members to finance committees who have compromised ethicsand legal matters. <br /><br />When will we learn! SACS did it to Clayton and it is going to happen to Dekalb! I thought the issues with the Clayton County School system board was embarrassing. Dekalb is a public disgrace!!!<br /><br />When the raft of SACS come down it will affect both the North side and the South side of DCSS. We will truely then be "One" Dekalb. One Dekalb with no Accrediation!!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-51183178908126750532011-02-21T08:36:11.260-05:002011-02-21T08:36:11.260-05:00It's simple, the taxpayers and parents want a ...It's simple, the taxpayers and parents want a decent education for their kids. The DCSS leaders and Central Office personnel are treating DCSS as their personal gravy train. That train has run off the rails, thanks to the current leadership or should I say lack of it! Enough, get rid of everyone or nothing is going to change.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-75829483023613284302011-02-18T22:33:34.724-05:002011-02-18T22:33:34.724-05:00Meant to say the numbers of Title 1 DCSS schools m...Meant to say the numbers of Title 1 DCSS schools making AYP this past year showed a sharp decrease.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-31251151249788915302011-02-18T22:30:15.538-05:002011-02-18T22:30:15.538-05:00@4:56
Please cite one source that we can access th...@4:56<br />Please cite one source that we can access that shows the statistics that definitively link increases in student achievement in DCSS to Instructional. Perhaps you can provide a weblink that will compare teacher attrition over time specifically in DCSS since you base much of your argument on that. There is plenty of data that shows a decrease in The number and percentage of Title 1 schools Making AYP. Maybe you don't consider it a Coach's job in a Title 1 school to ensure students make adequate yearly progress, but to my mind student achievement is paramount and this program has failed in that regard. The state of Georgia Title 1 data show over time that more Title 1 schools are failing to make AYP. That is particularly true for last year when testing monitoring was instituted. The nu<br />Bed of Title 1 schools in DCSS showed a sharp decrease.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-44255645177643884342011-02-18T21:30:08.996-05:002011-02-18T21:30:08.996-05:00I completely agree, Anon 8:21 PM... The vocational...I completely agree, Anon 8:21 PM... The vocational programs are so necessary and wonderful. Everyone deserves a chance to grow into a productive citizen able to provide for their own family. Poverty is a cycle and education is one of the few things that has the power to break that cycle. That doesn't necessarily mean college-prep education. We also need to prepare young people for decent jobs.Cerebrationhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11161868015604029471noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-78329476597364952672011-02-18T20:39:16.335-05:002011-02-18T20:39:16.335-05:00I have seen many instructional coaches in my years...I have seen many instructional coaches in my years of teaching in DeKalb and they are typically not the best teachers. Those jobs include a pay raise and are considered "plum assignments" for those teachers anxious to get out of the classroom. The individuals who get these jobs are more often hired through some personal connection, not because they are exceptional teachers.<br />I personally wish they would do away with the whole concept. But, if DeKalb MUST hire instructional coaches I have a simple proposal: Hire one extra teacher in the math and language arts department at each school and allow the teachers in the department to choose the coach for the year with the understanding that that teacher would return to the classroom the following year. Each year a new coach would be chosen (with no extra pay, BTW.)<br />Talk about genuine staff development.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-53691999579050156722011-02-18T20:21:48.822-05:002011-02-18T20:21:48.822-05:00I don't think "Survival of the Fittest&qu...I don't think "Survival of the Fittest" doesn't mean leaving the weakest with nothing. I think that we do a tremendous disservice to society by constantly increasing the entitlements and at the same time weakening the educational structure so people can not fend for themselves. I think it also means that we need to give kids real career options -- not just, essentially, college, jail or entitlements...which is how I think the current system is set up (and maybe how many in "charge" actaully want it). Call me a cynic. I think we need to give kids the skills to provide for themselves, however they are best able to do so -- that is the job of our system of education and government. Nothing else. Self-reliance has made America great. The inability of future generations to fend for themselves will be our undoing.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-52721678491946550682011-02-18T17:57:29.963-05:002011-02-18T17:57:29.963-05:00"Intelligence is highly heritable. That means..."Intelligence is highly heritable. That means that intelligence is one of the most genetic traits a child has. This is a fact." <br /><br />Yes, you can make the case that intelligence is inherited. However, IQ tests vary. Many are culturally biased. You score may depend on how well you slept the night before or whether you ate breakfast. That leaves us with one thought on IQ. It is only an estimate of intellectual ability. Some people work well below their tested IQ level and some people work well above their tested IQ level. <br /><br />I prefer to work with students where they are. If that means they are working hard and are ready for advanced work, I will provide it. You can have a high IQ and find yourself working at a fast food restaurant. It all depends on what you DO when you are in school.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-52817867614245901962011-02-18T17:32:15.856-05:002011-02-18T17:32:15.856-05:00Title One money is not left to school systems by t...Title One money is not left to school systems by the Education Fairy!! Good grief...the talk about these funds is incredible!<br /><br />It's like this money from heaven!<br /><br />Where in the "opposite of heaven" do you think this money comes from??Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-75912151596416788342011-02-18T17:12:21.260-05:002011-02-18T17:12:21.260-05:00T ANON 2/18/2011 6:33 am...
Sure, intelligence is...T ANON 2/18/2011 6:33 am...<br /><br />Sure, intelligence is genetic--no argument there. However, we still must teach ALL children (whether they can learn or want to learn, or not). What else are we gonna' do with them?<br /><br />My problem with the current system is that we continue to allow children to progress through the system, even though they have not mastered essential skills and concepts.<br /><br />My solution would be to enforce retention. Children should be grouped by reading level, not age. People do not develop at a uniform rate. Thus, we should group and instruct children based upon level of ability. I have 9th grade students fully capable of working at a 12th grade level, and 11th grade students who cannot read at a 4th grade level. Those performing below grade level should never have been allowed to continue on beyond their level of ablility.<br /><br />The whole conversation about accountability is a waste of time if we are not going to insist that our students actually master the skills and concepts BEFORE advancing to the next level of education. Set the baseline for success and hold EVERY STUDENT accountable. Then teachers can spend LESS time on remediation and MORE time actually teaching.<br /><br />Oh yeah...based upon MY experiences with instructional coaches, they are a waste of time. Perhaps if I had been exposed to effective coaches, I would feel differently.<br /><br />Just a thought...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-52908741827481466752011-02-18T16:56:36.956-05:002011-02-18T16:56:36.956-05:00What is interesting is that the bulk of research o...What is interesting is that the bulk of research on teaching coaches paid for out of Title I in most places is money well spent. It helps retain new teachers (Research says that new teachers have coaching mentors do better and stay in teaching longer). It was one of the answers to how do we (nationally) losing over 40% of our new teachers in their first five years. Conversely you have no data or research to show that coaching in DCSS is ineffective. However, several local research universities are collecting data about the DeKalb County experience. Finally some of you have little idea of the vast range of restrictions and hoops that are included in Title funding. I think Satchel was right when he said it's not what you don't know that will hurt you-it's what you think you know. The wonderful or awful thing about federal Title funds is that in order to use them your local school board, the state of Georgia Department of Education and the US Department of Education all have to approve how you use them. Along the way the have requirements and suggestions. The amount of actually discretionary money available to a principal is usually not enough to hire staff but the principals use it well for the most part. Yes there are Title I teachers but they are part of a formula. And, of course, not all our schools get Title I funds-only the ones on the Title I list which are the ones with a majority of students who qualify for free and reduced lunch. Some people say that the funds follow students who leave these school but you can’t send part of a Title I teacher or a portion of teacher or Intervention specialist, or teaching coach to another school. There have to be a significant number of Title I students at a school for the funds to be significant enough to be noticeable. And finally if the yearly audit shows any misuse of funds someone will go to jail.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-38937385897171087062011-02-18T16:55:06.463-05:002011-02-18T16:55:06.463-05:00I work in a school with a "small learning com...I work in a school with a "small learning communities" liason who taught MAYBE three years (while working on her leadership degree, no doubt) in Business Education. My principal has directed her to go into core subject classrooms to evaluate the teachers. Give me a break!<br /><br />I am willing to embrace research-based and proven strategies. However, I am sick to death of jumping on every bandwagon (ie America's Choice) and then ditching the new program within 2 years.<br /><br />Further, the evaluation process has been COMPLETELY PERVERTED by administrators in DCSS. Instead of using the evaluation process to develop and retain quality instructors, our administrators use the process to punish the teachers they dislike. Evaluation in DCSS is a disciplinary tool used to intimidate and demoralize.<br /><br />Please show me a knowledgeable coach I can trust!!! I am willing to learn!!!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-21503529059250420892011-02-18T16:47:17.256-05:002011-02-18T16:47:17.256-05:00Hey, everybody, it's up to 72 degrees out ther...Hey, everybody, it's up to 72 degrees out there, an the Columbia High School swimming pool is open for a splash! Alls you got to do is come on down to the lower level of Columbia High School and get your swim on! Principal Uras Agee III don't care if you dive and dip on in. No matter there is no certified adult there to save you if you don't know how to swim. Just bring your own flotation device and you'll be okay. OK? <br /><br />Yo, and if you let yourself in with one of those Columbia High School master keys you got from the locksmith there at Glenwood and Columbia next to the chicken wing place, you know, those master keys that don't have "Do Not Duplicate" on them, well, make sure you don't dip and dive after eating some of those $3.99 wing/fries specials you be getting at the chicken wing place if you flash your Columbia High School master key and say Jonathan Woods sent you. <br /><br />Now make sure you bring your flotation device so you don't drown, all the kids at after school athletic practice be jumping on in. None of them has drowned yet, an there hasn't been not one certified adult there in swimming first aid! Uras Agee III sure do know how to run a school. <br /><br />Sweet!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-48624177692330380232011-02-18T16:36:45.601-05:002011-02-18T16:36:45.601-05:00Wrong
That's simply not true. Title 1 teachers...Wrong<br />That's simply not true. Title 1 teachers are a perfectly acceptable way to use Title 1 funds. Federal funds do not mandate $100,000 a year Instructional Coaches who never teach a child.<br />Wrong Wrong-Federal funds mandate a fixed perecentage of title I to be used for staff development and the accepted manner is instructinal coaches-what you don't know about Title I would fill a barn.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-91353707644621885742011-02-18T16:09:40.662-05:002011-02-18T16:09:40.662-05:00... Meant to say:
... For our lowest income studen...... Meant to say:<br />... For our lowest income students struggling with math and reading. <br /><br />Thumb typing is not my thing.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-14587336025435378222011-02-18T16:05:25.097-05:002011-02-18T16:05:25.097-05:00@ 2:05
That's simply not true. Title 1 teache...@ 2:05 <br />That's simply not true. Title 1 teachers are a perfectly acceptable way to use Title 1 funds. Federal funds do not mandate $100,000 a year Instructional Coaches who never teach a child. <br /><br />Look at the number of Title 1 schools that have failed to Make AYP. The number and percentage of schools not making AYP has increased, not decreased. The Office of School Improvement has preside over declining student achievement. When the graduation rates are adjusted in Georgia, that one spot of improvement will show hhis department is terribly inept and ill managed. Why Audria Berry has been allowed to oversee the disposition of hundreds of millions of dollars ($128,000,000 just last year) while less and less Title 1 schools are making AYP is a mystery that Lewis, Tyson, and the BOE need to be explaining to taxpayers. Title 1 and federal funds are not "free" money to be used to hire legions of non-teaching personnel. Title 1 funds come from federal income tax. They are meant for our lowest income students and in particular for our lowest income lewdness struggling with math and reading. Somehow this concept has been perverted into the creation of highly paid non-teaching positions with no accountability when students do not achieve.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-51506010345467247702011-02-18T14:19:31.614-05:002011-02-18T14:19:31.614-05:00Then maybe we need to lose the money?! Should we ...Then maybe we need to lose the money?! Should we be wasting our money? Where ever the money comes from-state, local or federal-it is our money and we are wasting it spending it on coaches worried about bulletin boards and not helping the children.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-74148701577573257952011-02-18T14:05:16.520-05:002011-02-18T14:05:16.520-05:00You can not replace coaches with teachers because ...You can not replace coaches with teachers because of the Title I and GADOE mandates that the money be used for coaches. Get rid of the coaches, lose the money.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-87873709160695050732011-02-18T13:53:30.921-05:002011-02-18T13:53:30.921-05:00I would rather see all 90+ (average cost $100,000 ...I would rather see all 90+ (average cost $100,000 per coach) Instructional Coach positions discontinued in DCSS and 150 Title 1 teachers placed in the elementary schools for double dose (small groups of struggling students) math and reading. That's what many of the most effective states do. Title 1 funds are absolutely appropriate for this use. All the coaches in the world won't help when a teacher has 30+ students, many of which cannot read or compute.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-28751905006832484732011-02-18T09:34:53.196-05:002011-02-18T09:34:53.196-05:00I was always taught that our compassion, vision an...I was always taught that our compassion, vision and sense of fairness and democracy is what made this country great—I'm very glad to be a part of that idealism, if it still lives. <br /><br />I firmly believe that children born into poverty have just the same ability to learn as other levels of income/class/parent gene pools. As an enlightened society (at least the kind I have learned to love) we are beholden to hold up our weakest and most vulnerable. It is to everyone's advantage to educate absolutely everyone. If that takes more effort (from society) for some than for others, then so be it.Cerebrationhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11161868015604029471noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-54739048796218725212011-02-18T09:19:25.104-05:002011-02-18T09:19:25.104-05:00okay -- throw stones now -- but we are one of the ...okay -- throw stones now -- but we are one of the only societies where Darwin's pinciple of "survival of the fittest" hasn't been allowed to work... with all of our "entitlement" we are one of the only places on the planet where we are holding up our weakest at the expense of our strongest. Doesn't really bode well for the future now does it?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-23461138780429376722011-02-18T09:05:05.095-05:002011-02-18T09:05:05.095-05:00People who are against coaching really do not unde...People who are against coaching really do not understand what a real coach does. I am not talking about a DCSS coach, but a coach in a good school district outside of Georgia. Coaches help teachers to read the quality data that they have gathered on children and work together to devise plans on how to help the children who are behind. Coaches will even pull small groups. Coaches help teachers to teach lessons that they know didn't go well, but don't have an idea on how to make better. Coaches help teachers to teach material that they may not understand well themselves-few colleges do not teach phonetics, phonemic awareness, and not every person teaching young children has it or even understands it. Coaches help new teachers in a way a mentor would, but without having to find coverage for another teacher's classroom. Coaches help a veteran teacher who is struggling to use best practices and continue to use worksheets or struggle using technology in the classroom. Coaches help teachers who show too many videos or do not have classroom management skills to have students work on. <br /><br />Coaches can help a good school become a great school or a failing school become a good school and eventually become great. <br /><br />Yes, maybe principals and APs should be doing this, but reality is that a good principal and AP really don't have the time to do this correctly.<br /><br />I don't see a coaching program done correctly in DCSS, but I know that it could help our schools improve. In DCSS our top teachers will not be used as coaches, but it will become a thank you job for friends and family members.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-8906793534717629492011-02-18T06:33:18.142-05:002011-02-18T06:33:18.142-05:00I come to this blog to laugh.
Here are the facts...I come to this blog to laugh. <br />Here are the facts:<br /><br />Intelligence is highly heritable. That means that intelligence is one of the most genetic traits a child has. This is a fact. No matter what school your kid goes to, no matter how dumb or smart he/she is, it's not going to matter. A smart kid, with smart parents, will be self-motivated to learn, and will do just fine. A dumb kid, it will be the opposite.<br /><br />Trust me. I know. I am a product of very poor public schools in MS, then went on to very elite universities and received graduate degrees, as did my siblings.<br /><br />Coaches? This is making me laugh so hard! What's next? Coaches to teach kids and teachers how to wipe their butts?<br /><br />The good news is that the AJC reports this morning that Dekalb county will not raise taxes, and there will be cutbacks.<br /><br />This is great news for those of us who don't depend on the government to support our every move.<br /><br />Teach your children, protect yourselves, and if things get really bad, move.<br /><br />Quit being parasites.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-39275660569194488752011-02-18T05:59:23.822-05:002011-02-18T05:59:23.822-05:00Thoughts About Teacher Pay
by Trea Kimball
Are y...Thoughts About Teacher Pay<br />by Trea Kimball <br /><br />Are you sick of high paid teachers? Teachers’ hefty salaries are driving up taxes, and they only work 9 or 10 months a year! It’s time we put things in perspective and pay them for what they do - baby sit! We can get that for less than minimum wage.<br /><br /> <br />That’s right. Let’s give them $3.00 an hour and only the hours they worked; not any of that silly planning time, or any time they spend before or after school. That would be $19.50 a day (7:45 to 3:00 PM<br /><br />with 45 min. off for lunch and plan — that equals 6 1/2 hours).<br /><br /> <br />Each parent should pay $19.50 a day for these teachers to baby-sit their children.<br /><br />Now how many do they teach in day…maybe 30? So that’s $19.50 x 30 = $585.00 a day. However, remember they only work 180 days a year!!! I am not going to pay them for any vacations.<br /><br /> <br /><br />LET’S SEE…. That’s $585 X 180= $105,300 peryear. (Hold on! My calculator needs new batteries).<br /> <br />What about those special education teachers and the ones with Master’s degrees? Well, we could pay them minimum wage ($7.75), and just to be fair, round it off to $8.00 an hour. That would be $8 X 6 1/2 hours X 30 children<br /><br />X 180 days = $280,800 per year.<br /><br /> <br />Wait a minute — there’s something wrong here! There sure is!<br /><br />The average teacher’s salary (nation wide) is $50,000. $50,000/180 days = $277.77/per day/30 students=$9.25/6.5 hours = $1.42 per hour per student–a very inexpensive baby-sitter and they even EDUCATE your<br /><br />kids!)<br /><br /> <br /><br />WHAT A DEAL!!!!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com