Prichard Committee focuses on education 'hot topics'

Here's Prichard's press release on their Fall meeting:

Education issues that are the subject of sometimes contentious state and national discussions were the focus of the recent fall meeting of the Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence.

The Committee is setting priorities for its work in the coming months, building on more than 25 years of advocacy that have contributed to Kentucky's improved national rankings in education. Members heard from the editor and publisher of Education Week, a leading national publication, and from representatives of Kentucky organizations who shared their perspectives on key issues in education today.

The Committee also celebrated the 15th anniversary of its award-winning Commonwealth Institute for Parent Leadership, an initiative that trains parents to become informed advocates for school improvement. To date, more than 1,600 Kentuckians have completed the program, which also has been made available in other states.

Publisher Virginia B. Edwards, who also is president of Editorial Projects in Education, told the group that the Prichard Committee has led efforts to heighten public will, political support and media attention as Kentucky has framed many of the issues that are now making headlines. Among the themes that in Edwards' view are taking shape across the country:

· The challenging transitions to tougher academic standards, such as those Kentucky adopted last year, and to the tests that will measure student performance on the standards. In Kentucky, the new tests are to be administered for the first time next spring.

· Early childhood education and the importance of parent involvement and community support for quality programs.

· Tight budgets that states are facing, worsened by the end of federal stimulus funding.

· The increasing significance of international measures and competition in determining and ensuring education quality.

· Political uncertainties about the re-authorization of federal education legislation and other matters.

Clustered under these areas are issues related to technology and on-line learning, teacher effectiveness, college access, leadership development, special education and other importance topics, she added.

National leaders and much of the public realize that the education system is outdated, Edwards said, adding that she believes four things could lead to significant changes in education: eliminating so-called "seat time," where students must remain in a class for a certain length of time regardless of their mastery of the subject; eliminating the adoption of textbooks to encourage more creativity in classroom teaching and learning; deploying teachers and other staff members differently to remove restrictions on how they do their work; and greater use of technology.

The Kentucky panelists shared their views as "voices from the field" in a session led by Stu Silberman, executive director of the Prichard Committee.

· Mary Ann Blankenship, executive director of the Kentucky Education Association, described the "excitement, anxiety and trepidation" that she sees in Kentucky classrooms today. The atmosphere is the result of Kentucky's adoption of the tougher standards and the additional work they will require when resources are limited and shrinking. KEA members appear to be "more stressed out and confused" than they have been for many years, she said.

· Bill Scott, executive director of the Kentucky School Boards Association, said his organization is focusing on helping local school boards set and maintain high expectations for student performance, accountability for results and ensuring the capacity is in place to meet the goals in both areas. He agreed that ensuring conditions for success was possibly the most challenging task in times of rising costs and diminishing resources, citing the tension between greater student needs and a declining capacity at the local level to raise revenue.

· Wayne Young, executive director of the Kentucky Association of School Administrators, agreed with elements of Edwards' assessment and said the state should change its thinking on curriculum with more emphasis on virtual and distance learning. "We need to look differently at what we teach."

· Jerry Green, president of the Kentucky Association of School Superintendents and Superintendent of Pikeville Independent Schools, applauded the new emphasis on preparing students for college and career and noted that parents want their children to be ready to succeed at that level. He also noted that "this has been the greatest single year of change since 1990, (the year the Kentucky Education Reform Act passed) without question."

The Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence is a statewide citizens' advocacy group, founded in 1983, working to improve education for all Kentuckians.

Charter Schools for Freedom and Liberty

Lurking in the back of the Capital Annex hearing room yesterday was David Adams, Campaign Manager for a Tea Party gubernatorial candidate who tea partiers don't even know - Phil Moffett. Moffett, like Adams, was associated with the Bluegrass Institute and apparently favors giving public dollars to private groups under the guise of school choice. It was Moffett who funded Rep Brad Montell's legislative field trip to an Indianapolis charter shcool in April.

Adams sat in for about a half an hour during the Joint Interim Committee on Education.

Adams, Waters, Moffett and their co-conspirators at the Bluegrass Institute love freedom and liberty. They want to be free to take liberties with public dollars. They prefer vouchers. But they'll settle for charter schools, for now.

You may recall Adams was recently the Campaign Manager for the Rand Paul campaign - which I believe it is safe to say is THE most prominent senatorial race in the nation. Adams deserves credit for Paul's very successful primary campaign. But much of the attention on Paul is also owed to the rise of the Tea Party movement and Paul's father Ron, who was once a presidential candidate.

Paul has also helped himself garner press by sharing several thoughts out loud that he had to immediately retract, or at least try to explain away. Much of the campaign so far has involved Paul making statements and his opponent Attorney General Jack Conway saying "no take backs." Last time I looked, Paul was up by 8 in some poll.

Immediately following one such gaff - when Adams allowed Paul to do the Rachel Maddow Show - Adams was "promoted" to Campaign Chairman, where he was clearly no longer in charge.

Adams was since demoted, one supposes, to Campaign Manager for Moffett. In any case, it was good to see him on the education beat yesterday. He always makes for good copy.

Other reflections on yesterday's meeting:

It was delightful to see KASA's Wayne Young, as always. And he was extra gracious when he introduced me to Robert Lewis. He didn't call me an agitator, or claim that all college professors do is invite practitioners to teach their classes, or anything.

I wonder how big the number is. How many comittee meetings/hearings/seminars/etc... has Cindy Heine sat through in the past twenty years? Three meetings a week? Five? More? I'm tthinkin' thousands. ...and that's a lot of briefings.

I introduced myself to CHNI's Ronnie Ellis, and sat next to him and Greg Stotlmyer in the press section. I told Ellis I appreciated his work on Comment on Kentucky and am a regular reader of his work. Later, I overheard a brief exchange between him and Jim Waters of the Bluegrass Institute. Apparently Waters was trying to tell Ellis what to write when Ellis responded, "I'm not going to debate with you guys."

But you've got to give it to the BIPPS boys. Despite being called ideologs by one legislator, they keep on plugging away. What a great country.

In his comments to the panel, Rev Stephenson said he would be calling on a higher authority for his remarks. So it was particularly gratifying that he chose to quote extensively from Kentucky School News and Commentary's Penney Sanders. In her article, "Unfinished Business," Penney writes,

A cursory analysis of the 2008 -2009 list of low performing school reveals that the majority of the seriously low performing schools (Tier 5) are in Jefferson County. The remaining schools on this list are scattered around the state with no region dominating...

After 20 years, if the full promise of the Kentucky’s school reform is to be met, these failing (seriously low performing) schools must, once and for all be dealt with...

Interestingly, KERA envisioned such provisions. The KERA framers believed that schools, after 3 or 4 years of poor performance, would be closed or the children given the option to go elsewhere. Sadly, we have not seen those sanctions-the ultimate hammers ever used.

The question is WHY NOT???

I'm going to have to start treating Penney with more respect...so I don't get struck by lightening.

Pertilli v Silberman: Day 2

It completely, totally and irrevocably damaged my career.

I was so shocked about it.

I couldn’t believe Stu would cave in

… and make a political decision.

It was life changing.

---Peggy Petrilli

Jim Warren provides a nice piece on the opening day of Petrilli v Silberman in today's Herald-Leader. This week, sitting in Judge Ishmael's courtroom, feverishly taking notes, I'm beginning to better appreciate the skill Warren brings to the storytelling. I'm also beginning to appreciate the grind.

But today's newspapers are squeezing the space alloted its reporters and blogs have no such restrictions. So today I'll chat through Warren's construction and add detail where I can. That might be the best service I can provide.

NOTE: In an effort to capture as many quotes as possible (since Judge Ishmael banned my audio recorder - I'm not complaining, Judge. ...just sayin') I have been typing as fast as my fat little fingers can fly. The result is a bunch of snippets that may read like a stream of consciousness, but I hope will be clear when presented within the context of Warren's story.

This from the Herald-Leader, photo by H-L's David Perry because his are much better than mine:

Trial opens in case of Fayette principal

who alleges racial discrimination

Peggy Petrilli testified in Fayette Circuit Court on Thursday that she wanted to remain as principal at Lexington's Booker T. Washington Academy in 2007, but that Superintendent Stu Silberman told her to either resign or retire.

She resigned in August 2007 and retired later.

"It was unreal," Petrilli told jurors. "I couldn't believe that Stu Silberman would cave in ... and let me go."

Petrilli: "Silberman told me, I know this isn’t true…I’ve never had such a hostile emotional meeting with a group of parents as I had last night….said I could either retire or resign but I could not go back to BTWA. I asked if we could meet with the group…He was very clear…very emphatic that I was to look into retirement and not to go back to BTWA and that I had the choice of resigning or retiring…there were multiple phone calls from Silberman and [Director Caremn] Coleman …wanted decision on what I was going to do Monday morning…"

Petrilli is suing Silberman and the county board of education for damages. She says that the superintendent forced her out to appease a small group of parents at Booker T. Washington who wanted an African-American as the school's principal.

But Defense Attorney John McNeill countered in his opening statement to the jury, “This case is about Ms Petrilli not wanting to take responsibility for her own short comings...The facts will establish… rather than Stu forcing Peggy to leave…she voluntarily resigned.

Petrilli said that she had wanted to remain as principal because she loved her job — "It was my passion," she said — and because she needed the income as her family's main breadwinner. She said she now teaches at Eastern Kentucky University and does consulting work, making a little more than half her original salary.

Petrilli: "I was out of work about a year…April 08 I applied at [EKU]... and in late April was offered a teaching position…I have to drive to Corbin…It started in late August."

Attorney John McNeil, who represents Silberman and the school board, painted a starkly different picture during his opening argument Thursday.

McNeil told jurors that Petrilli resigned voluntarily because of problems she was having as principal, not because she was forced out.

She raised no objections or reservations in the resignation letter that she signed, McNeil said; he noted that her attorney helped negotiate the terms of resignation and that Petrilli herself helped negotiate the wording of a press release announcing her departure.

McNeil further argued that there was no effort by black parents at Booker T. Washington to remove Petrilli and replace her with an African-American. Indeed, he said, parents initially were pleased when she became principal because they had heard of her success in raising test scores when she was principal at Northern Elementary School.

"There was no racial issue about Peggy Petrilli," McNeil said. "No one in the community wanted her to be fired."

McNeill argued to the jury that "[Petrilli] told [her former director and mentor Bob] McLaughlin she didn’t think she was the right fit for BTWA…said maybe this isn’t the job for me...[and that was] at end of her first year. In May...meeting with Director Lisa stone…Meeting didn’t go well…criticisms…an email generated as a result of meeting... But Stu was high on Peggy…wanted her to succeed…She talked to Stu about the Stone meeting…wondered if she was right for BTWA…wonder if I need to worry more about mgmt issues...In July 2007…before….Peggy emailed [former FCPS principal Judy] Hunter [then a principal in] in Scott County…looking for other opportunities…This was not an involuntary parting"

Rather, McNeil said, Petrilli stepped down because parents became disillusioned with her practices, such as holding students back in grade. But McNeil insisted that ilberman continued to support Petrilli and offered to arrange for her to return to Northern, an offer she declined.

Petrilli spent more than three hours on the witness stand Thursday as her attorney, J. Dale Golden, led her through her version of events.

McNeil raised a steady stream of objections to Golden's questioning, leading to numerous conferences between the attorneys and Circuit Judge James Ishmael.

At one point, Ishamel cautioned the lawyers to "talk to me, not each other."

You say, "Secret Meeting. I say, "Objection!"

The judge offered a smiling but meaningful admonishment. "Let’s watch it...now you guys can come up here all day if you want..." implying that the trial might go on for a long time at its present rate.

I know I messed up and missed one, at least, but here's my count of the afternoon side bars, which pales in comparison to the number of objections raised by McNeill:

12:50 Petrilli Called

1:19 side bar

1:21 resume

1:30 side bar

1:34 resume

1:43 side bar

1:44 resume

1:48 side bar

1:49 resume

1:56 side bar

2:00 resume

2:10 side bar goes into afternoon break

2:35 Petrilli resumes

2:50 side bar

2:51 resume

2:58 side bar

3:10 resume

3:12 side bar

3:13 resume

3:18 side bar

3:21 resume

3:27 side bar

3:32 resume

3:39 side bar

3:47 resume

3:48 side bar

3:50 resume

3:53 side bar

3:55 resume

4:02 Golden finished with Petrilli

Every time Petrilli said the words "secret meeting" McNeill objected. Finally, Judge Ishmael asked her to refer to it as "the meeting on August 22nd."

In his opening statement, Golden said Petrilli rapidly raised test scores during her two years at Booker T. Washington, received nothing but high scores on evaluations, and continued to received congratulatory messages from Silberman until a few weeks before her departure.

But Golden contended that a small group of parents at Booker T. Washington were unhappy from the moment Petrilli arrived at the school in 2005 because they had not been allowed input in the selection of the new principal. Eventually, the group's "sole agenda was to get rid of Peggy," he said.

Golden said he would present testimony that some parents at one point threatened to picket the school or complain to the news media if a change wasn't made.

The Catalyst

Petrilli testified: "Jessica Berry was a mom of a kindergarten student in 05…very vocal...very strong-willed mom that really, from early on…was very antagonistic...would hold meetings with parents…was very unhappy with me...Berry was at school pretty much every day…in the office…In the summer after my first year, 06...we knew we didn’t have every policy we needed…I brought a stack of every policy we needed…Berry moved that we postpone passing any….called a meeting in July [to try] again. Berry and [another mom, Alva] Clark wanted one policy at a time throughout the year...Berry was upset that we implemented a policy that parents must sign in…it really was security issue…parents were to sign in and wear a name badge...They wanted an African American principal and I wasn’t aware of this when I accepted the position."

The catalyst of her departure, Petrilli offered, was a decision she made to act on a report from a teacher that Alva Clark's child did not live in the BTWA district in violation of board policy. Petrilli said she referred the matter to Director of Pupil Personnel Gary Wiseman who investigated and sent a letter to the Clarks stating that their child was out of district.

"Mr Clark stormed into my office and demanded I rescind the letter…He was very hostile…but the letter came from the DPP...I can’t rescind this letter…I’ll give you an out of area form…" Petrilli told the jury that Mr Clark responded, "I fight for a living…I’m very good at it." Petrilli continued, "As soon as Mr Clark left the office I immediately contacted [secretary in the elementary director's office] Norma Welch...[and informed her] Mr Clark is on his way down to central office and is very angry." Petrilli testified that she had reported that she had been discriminated against in June. "Clark made it very clear he would go after me…I felt Mr clark was after me…"

Also at issue was a Herald-Leader article from August 26th. In the article, Silberman declined to discuss Petrilli's departure saying it was "a moot point" because she had resigned.

But Golden tried to establish for the jury that the words were Silberman's and not Petrilli's asking her, "Did you read that newspaper article?"

"Yes I did, Petrilli said.

Golden asked, "Did you say that to him?"

Petrilli responded, "No, I did not."

Golden: "As of the date of this article, Aug 26th, had you ever told Silberman you were leaving?

Petrilli: "No, I had not."

Petrilli: "[I was] told...I needed to have...either my resignation or my retirement letter on his desk by 8 am Monday morning. I didn’t do that. I called [Kentucky Association of School Administrators Executive Director] Wayne Young. He got me in contact with [attorney] Jeff Walther…I wanted to stay…I had conversations with Mr Walther …I didn’t want to leave…it was the best start to a school year ever…[when Petrilli had not responded by 8 AM] Silberman was demanding I make a decision by 3 PM because he was meeting with the faculty…if I didn’t resign or retire...he wouldn’t promise...but I’d be demoted to a teacher. I knew I hadn’t done anything wrong….I feel like I was compelled to provide a letter of resignation…"

There will be no testimony in the case Friday. The trial will resume Monday with cross-examination of Petrilli.

Court Documents posted at the Herald-leader:

Affidavits of Alice Weinberg and Leigh McCauley in the Peggy Petrilli case

Petrilli's response to request for summary judgment (PDF)

Exhibit: Letter from Fayette school board attorney to Petrilli's attorney

Fayette school board attorneys' motion to get more answers from Peggy Petrilli

Exhibit: Petrilli's answers to the Fayette school board attorneys

Report on investigation into allegations against principal Peggy Petrilli

Peggy Petrilli's lawsuit against the Fayette County schools (.pdf)

Defamation claim against Fayette schools dismissed

E-mails claimed to be parents' efforts to oust principal

More Commish Laments

In this morning's Herald-Leader a few more regrets were added regarding the lack of a Kentucky finalist for the education commissioner's position.

Wayne Young, executive director of the Kentucky Association of School Administrators, said Monday that he has heard some expressions of disappointment. "I think it would be fair to say there's some disappointment that the list did not include some folks from within the state," Young said. "That's understandable, and not surprising."

Young said that during the search for commissioner candidates he spoke with the search firm that the state hired to assist in the process. He said he advised the firm that the new commissioner should be "someone who could hit the ground running."
Young said that all of the four finalists "certainly seem to be qualified, and I'm sure they're all fine people."

"What strikes me and people who have contacted is the thought that some of our own folks were equally qualified," he said. "We'll be pleased to work with the new commissioner, whoever it is. But I'd be less than candid if I didn't say some people out there are kind of scratching their heads."

Young's finger is correctly measuring the pulse. I remember at the height of the Erwin debacle, it was very difficult to find a sitting school administrator (or association representative) who would utter a discouraging word, because they believed they would be working closely with the board's choice and didn't want to spoil the relationship before it started. The same dynamic applies here. KERA gave the board of education the authority to choose.

Brothers said Monday that some "very strong Kentucky candidates" were among the applicants for commissioner, and "the board would have been very pleased to have seen some of them among the finalists." The pool of candidates was "very competitive," and making selections was difficult, he said.

"The bottom line is, when you go through a process like this you try to do it fairly and equitably," Brothers said. "When we came to the end of the process, the top candidates weren't from Kentucky."

More on today's KBE meeting, Mooneyhan questions board's process

"The way that I’ve been dealt with in this situation,

I don’t see any Kentucky educator

that would want to apply for the job."

--Leon Mooneyhan

This from the Herald-Leader:

The Kentucky Board of Education has decided to continue with Kevin Noland as interim commissioner of education so it can focus instead on finding a permanent commissioner.

The board made its decision after meeting for nearly three hours in closed session on Saturday.
Noland, a deputy commissioner and legal counsel for the state board, has been serving his third stint as interim state commissioner. He had stated in the past that he did not want to continue as interim and wasn’t interested in the permanent position.

”I told the board of education at its meeting two weeks ago that I would prefer not to continue,” Noland said. “One full time job is enough for me. But at the same time … I would do whatever they needed me to do to maintain stability as they pursue an aggressive search for the commissioner of education.” ...

...“We decided that there wasn’t a need for an interim” other than Noland, said board chairman Keith Travis. “We had dialogue with Mr. Mooneyhan. We appreciate his willingness to support us and to serve should the need be there.”

Mooneyhan said he wasn’t offended by the board’s decision but has questions about the commissioner search process.

“The way that I’ve been dealt with in this situation, I don’t see any Kentucky educator that would want to apply for the job,” Mooneyhan said. “We have a board that has had a failed search, and so they need to take some positive steps in how they are going forward, and I think their decision today doesn’t support that.”

Mooneyhan thought the board would have laid out a clear plan on the commissioner search, but it has yet to do that...

...“Every time Kevin has been the interim, I think he’s done an admirable and in some cases a remarkable job … it’s always been under very difficult circumstances,” said Wayne Young, executive director of the Kentucky Association of School Administrators. “Given the complete unsettled atmosphere, with there being some apparent internal conflict, it would strike me as sensible to go with a known quantity.“

There has been some talk about tension on the board as a result of the botched commissioner search. At the Aug. 8-9 meeting, the board will elect new officers. Some board members indicated there may be a movement to name a new chairman to replace Travis, who has held the post since 2004. The board has 11 members, six of whom were appointed by Gov. Ernie Fletcher in April 2006. Travis has said he would be interested in continuing to serve as chairman, if re-elected.

Despite these problems, the board is now committed to finding a permanent commissioner, Travis said.

“That’s where we’re going to focus our efforts,” he said. “We don’t have a firm time schedule as such, we are aggressively pursuing it.”