BOE data analyst, self identified on the site as Head Activist, Dr. Darryl Jones, presented this data and opinions at the National At-Risk Youth Conference in Savannah, GA this past Tuesday. Also in attendance were 12 other reps from the BOE including an Asst Superintendent.
The site bashes academic tracking by race and "Bastardized" magnet schools that Jones says we have in Wicomico County. He claims the Magnet program ensures racial inequity in Wicomico schools.
The site is scandalous and libelous against the Wicomico Board of Ed and though it states that the site is not necessarily the opinions of anyone else at the BOE, Jones uses BOE data, used BOE background info, and was identified as a BOE employee. How did he get to present this in front of a conference with 12 other BOE present??
The site bashes academic tracking by race and "Bastardized" magnet schools that Jones says we have in Wicomico County. He claims the Magnet program ensures racial inequity in Wicomico schools.
The site is scandalous and libelous against the Wicomico Board of Ed and though it states that the site is not necessarily the opinions of anyone else at the BOE, Jones uses BOE data, used BOE background info, and was identified as a BOE employee. How did he get to present this in front of a conference with 12 other BOE present??
The Magnet program was initiated in the early 1980's by then superintendent Dr Evelyn Holman. The program has been the highlight of the public school experience for hundreds of the county's brightest and best.
How could he be allowed to use this data that is clearly Wicomico data?
How could this message be approved by Wicomico officials to give at a National Conference?
Why did 12 other BOE employees attend?
Who paid for their expenses?
Was Dr Jones paid as a speaker? Was he on BOE time?
Who paid for his expense?
How could Dr. Jones still be on the BOE payroll?
This fiasco further points out the lack of leadership and oversight at the BOE. The public will be outraged to learn of this.
http://www.stopass.org/
How could he be allowed to use this data that is clearly Wicomico data?
How could this message be approved by Wicomico officials to give at a National Conference?
Why did 12 other BOE employees attend?
Who paid for their expenses?
Was Dr Jones paid as a speaker? Was he on BOE time?
Who paid for his expense?
How could Dr. Jones still be on the BOE payroll?
This fiasco further points out the lack of leadership and oversight at the BOE. The public will be outraged to learn of this.
http://www.stopass.org/
New Posts to fall below.
97 comments:
I am sure if Dr. F approved it then it was purely to knock the magnet program down. However, when the information on each page is dissected, the realization become that it is not the magnet program that is the problem, it is the staff at central office who are making the decisions of student placement. Why should special education students be primarily in low when anyone with knowledge is aware that a lot of the students are very intelligent and can demonstrate it when challenged at their level? Are a huge part of the behavior issues due to lack of rigor? Officials in a capacity to promote change should really look at this data and use it to not only address these issues but to also develop the magnet program into a real magnet program.
Joe:
First, the data that is reference is public knowledge and can be found on www.mdk12.org.
Secondly, I can confirm that all those that attended this conference were not on vacation time and were being paid their normal salary through the BOE while they were at the conference.
Lastly, I am not sure how it was funded but I know that during the conference, Glen Avenue Elementary was given a national award so this is why so many attended. I am sure that it was funded through grant or federal Title I funds.
we all know the reason for the magnet schools is for those children who want to learn, while the rest of the riffraff that come from homes where the parents don't see the valure of an education since the government will be paying for them for the rest of their lives go to the other schools!
If this is the same Dr Jones that has worked at Wic Co BOE for years, you need to check his credentials. He was a dysfunctional geography teacher in Federalsburg Md for a couple years. He got his degree online (in a very short time frame)and then was hired in Wicomico county to collect and analyze data. He has been there for years collecting and analyzing data.
Off topic but.... The BOE needs to stop wasting money (ex. paying for 12 people to go to GA, custodians playing on the computers/phones all night, sooo many positions not needed UGH) so teacher's can get a raise!
To make intelligence a race issue is ridiculous. I agree with others here that the Magnet program is for those who go to school to learn things and value education.I also agree that behavior problems would decrease as the challenges increase. My son's biggest complaint is the repetitive boredom his classes hold every day.
2:23 you are joking right?
The magnet program today is not what Dr Holman ever intended. In all actuality the program here in the county should not be called a magnet program at all, but that is a different issue.
There is a serious flaw in the program itself, that is a child can not fail out of it. For instance, if John Smith gets in at the 3rd grade level and does ok, he does NOT have to be re-evaluated for entry the following years. This flaw has been brought up several times to Lori Bock and each time she dismisses it stating that the kids deserve to be there.
The whole program is being diluted with the integration of the Naglieri test and the "only teach grade level courses" idea. I can't wait to see it go personally, it is waste of resources.
I have met Jones several times, and was unimpressed by his lack of ability to produce anything other than an excuse.
The real reason for magnet school is to give those yuppy parents a place to send their spoiled little brats so they don't have to pay for private school.
The magnet concept as it is now is a joke. They should only take the top 2% of the gifted, not spoiled, children. It should also be for artistic talent as well, not just academics.
If you look at the true data of the county, a few schools are actually out performing the magnet schools. Goes to show you that some home schools are doing their job.
Is he saying we're spending many millions on programs from birth to senior high and even after that to help at risk kids and they're still not learning? Maybe we need to look at why the big investment is getting no return.
Dr. Jones was in Wicomico County schools and collected this data himself. I find it hard to believe that he wasn't biased when he collected it being that his feelings against magnet and homogeneous grouping are so strong. I think the first place people should look when they want to compare school performance and behavior is in the home, not based on which class a student is in. Yes there are a few students misplaced...some should be in higher classes and some should be in lower. That's when a parent should be advocating for their child. Taking away a decent learning environment from those that truly want to participate in school and learn is not the answer.
My son was in the Magnet program and benefited greatly from being in a classroom with motivated students. He is currently in his sophmore year at a top ten university(with a 4.0 GPA)and we credit Magnet for keeping him challenged and focused.
Anonymous 4:13pm I agree with your statement. Our daughter was also in the program and it served her well.
On the site he also claims that there are not "behavioral role models" for the lower achieving students. We delt with this issue when our daughter was in kindergarten in Wicomico County and her teacher consistently had her follow around an "at risk student" because she was so well behaved. As a result he pulled her hair, spit food at her, and bullied her. She had to sit next to him at lunch and walk him through the hallways. We constantly had to fight her teacher to not use her in this manner. The Board of education needs to put every child's educational rights first. My daughter's education should not be hindered because she is expected to parent the at risk kids in school. That is their parents responsibility! It is not just an issue of heterogeneous grouping. There are outrageous behavior issues that are affecting the education in the classroom - not just differences in academic ability.
I like that my child is in the Magnet program...I don't think the regular curriculum would be challenging enough for him. They used to have smart kids skip a grade (as two of my brothers did) but that can cause problems when they get to high school. Some people now are intentionally holding their kids back a year as they think it gives them an advantage in secondary school. All I know is my son was only offered to attend magnet because he tests very well and we push him to study and read. I think parental involvement has a lot to do with how well kids do in school. And no, I'm not some yuppie parent...I am a barely employed carpenter who drives an old pickup truck. I could never afford a private school. I hope magnet stays.
It is not a race issue at all. There are a bunch of white kids that can run just a fast. Problem is they can't run as fast with a 19" television under each arm.
I do think Dr jones kids were in magnet
Our schools are more in need of supporters than critics. We can pull together to give all children a good education.
Einstein, Nelson Rockefeller, to name a few would not have been in the magnet program. They would have been in special ed as they were dyslectic. A truly gifted child is most often not recognized in the system.
You are very wrong... I have a child that attended the magnet program and has a learning disability, yet had the skills and intelligence and determination to do his work although taking twice as long as any other student. Two of my 3 children attended the magnet program and it was the best thing for the 2 that had that opportunity. They are all in competive Universities or finished with several Degrees and feel that this program gave them the base that they needed (if it is where they truly belong). The environment of "wanting to learn" makes a difference also, and they deserve to learn without the distraction of those who chose to disrupt!
The program is not perfect but Jones is not talking about Magnet. If he were to break anything down, I'd put money that he would find a race issue. We stress to our children the mportance of working hard, making the grades and we support them 100% of the time. Nothing racial about that. Our children show up prepared with work complete and it pays off.
The fact that Jones will likely be employed another day is more indicative of what is wrong with the WCBOE and the school system than any single program.
Jones should be gone and so should any on the board who, in any way, support this rhetoric.
Dr. Jones, let us see his credentials....I had two kids go through the magnet program in elementry school, Dr. Holman had no reciprocal program at the middle or high school level so these children went to the Prep School in Berlin, Worcester Prep as it is now called. Both excelled in magnet and beyond. They had multi-racial friends, still do. Not sure why all the bashing of the magnet program continues or is even a racial issue at this point 20 some years later. Lots of children have benefited from being a part of that experience.
Jones needs to be fired now! Now! I wonder who even knew this clown existed. Looks hell bent to undermine the WBOE & the entire county.
there are two words that determine how he thinks in the first paragraph of the article
AT RISK !
thats all you hear these days kinda has the same meaning as keep giving until the well runs dry
7:49 PM...Amen,at risk for what? Non-parenting?? Step up people, you breed them you need to feed them
I will call Dr. Jones a slut to a Obama doctrine. Don't worry cutting off my sponsors, I have none.
The magnet program is such a touchy subject. I have experienced the program on two levels - that of a teacher and that of a parent. I'm a parent whose child qualifies for the program and was extended an invitation. I chose NOT to send my child because I taught in the magnet program. It is very much set up to create an environment that teaches (magnet) children to believe they are better than others (the "home" school students - home school meaning the children who attend the same school from the neighborhood but are not magnet). It's a horribly flawed program.
On top of that, anyone can get their kid in magnet. You just have to write a letter, attend a conference and complain enough. There are TONS of kids who shouldn't be there and don't qualify to be there. While I recognize that some of the students there belong, they are not the majority.
The joke is on the magnet parents who are making comments about other children not being good enough to attend. Keep raising your self-entitled little brat in the magnet program and when he/she gets back into the "regular" system in 6th grade, he/she will not only be the butt of jokes amongst their peers, but also from the teachers who hate to deal with the likes of your "Wicomico Private School" brat.
I have 2 children both completed the Magnet program in Wicomico County. One drew great benefit from it and one-not so much. I agree, the program has changed greatly since it's inception. However, I believe calling it a racially biased program is FAR off-track. This man should be called to defend his charges.
There were many children in he program with both of my kids that I knew for fact came from homes that were less than ideal. Those children did just as well as the other children--and they were white, black, indian, asian, etc.
Wicomico County has always done redistricting to place kids from certain locales in the county in classrooms with varying children. I'd like to see a sudy on those outcomes.
It's not where they live or what they have-it's the CHILD that gets the CHILD where they need to go.
So the kids who are advanced have three choices-move to another school district,go to private school,or languish in classrooms with kids who simply are there to kill time.Nice going Wicomico...
Part of the problem is that so many people think statistics and data analysis is so cryptic this guy is viewed as some kind of guru by most people at the BOE. I just wonder if anyone is checking up on the "data" that he's providing, given that it appears he has a political agenda.
Joe, stay on this. Blaming the magnet program, the kids in it or the parents of magnet students is DISGUSTING! Frederickson has been trying to dismantle it to help bring up the scores of the home school, NOT to bring up any other students.
What this so-called expert Dr. Jones forgets is magnet has minority children in it, too. Does he think minority children don't want a place to excel, too?
My child is not in magnet, but some of his friends are. Does Dr. Jones want to teach my son to resent other children because they are blessed to excel?
Shame on him. That website is disgusting. Just its name is disgusting. THIS is what is in charge of our children's education? Someone who teaches people to hate and blame instead of solving the real problems? Sound like someone looking for someone else to blame for his own failures to me!
I work for the BOE and have never heard of Dr. Jones. Exactly who is he and what does he do?
Daryl, your daughter was in magnet & i think your son was also. I guess it was ok then. Is this what you have done in ten years working at the Wic BOE.
9:26 go to http://www.stopass.org/
and you click on the lowest link on the left you will see who he is. you want to know what he does: look at the site, however he has been paid buy the tax payers for ten years for doing very little
Dr Jones was in Wicomico schools surveying classes and stated that he was doing research to determine if the county should keep Honors classes in high school or get rid of them and group all students together. There would be no honors and a student with an SRI of 1600 may be in a class with a student that has an SRI of 600. The little advantage of having an honors class on your transcript for college is going to be taken away in the near future.
To 8:40 - if this is how you talk about your job and the kids that you teach, I'm thinking you are in the wrong profession/school. I'm not arguing that there may be students in Magnet that didn't get in with through the proper channels however, with the attitude and distaste you obviously have, I'm thinking maybe you should ask for a transfer and get away from the so called brats.
What a money waster, they got rid of racial segregation to the cost of millions just in extra gas to bus kids miles and miles away from their neighborhood and now they bring it back with intelligence/achievement segregation. I'm not for segregation of any kind and I'm not for forcing people to pay for others education through the use of personal property confiscation, imprisonment and violence. If people choose to have children they should educate them themselves or pay for their children's education themselves.
Get rid of no child left behind , get rid of the students that are there just to make trouble they know that administration cant or wont do anything that seems like discipline that is a numbers game, then maybe parents wouldn't have to scramble to get there children in magnet it is all environmental. Maybe all elementary schools should have magnet then there would be no busing expense. Maybe all elementary teachers should be magnet teachers. Lets see how many request for the magnet program they get. They would be the ones that don't want there kids in a certain environment. Then parents would want to apply for special permission to switch schools. Check out how many have special permission request to go to another school. I would like to know how many teachers have put in for special permission they do get first preference. How may teachers children go to private school.
The BOE Cancer has grown to the extent that it is terminal. Too many chiefs and not enough indians!
10:37 is correct. This extends to middle school also. He was observing an honors math class and a struggling pre-algebra class and suggested they could be combined. He was gathering data to prove this. Wicomico...wake up!
Doing research on getting rid of honors classes? Sounds like his mind was made up before he went in the classes. Why do they think holding advanced kids back is the job of a school system? Why don't those kids deserve appropriate services?
8:43 AM
I believe you, but since when does a data analyst go into a situation looking for facts to prove an opinion? Whose opinion was he sent to prove?
Magnet School is not required in the no child left behind. If it is not mandated, our taxes shouldn't be paying for it. Also, just because a child doesn't have quite what it takes to get into magnet, doesn't mean that they come from a bad home, don't care, or a behavior problem. Just get that out of your heads.
Joe, please move this back to the top. This surely needs to be investigated and it can't be put out there if the citizens and tax payers have to sift through other useless articles. You know the Daily Times won't post this information.
Anonymous said...
2:23 you are joking right?
The magnet program today is not what Dr Holman ever intended. In all actuality the program here in the county should not be called a magnet program at all, but that is a different issue.
There is a serious flaw in the program itself, that is a child can not fail out of it. For instance, if John Smith gets in at the 3rd grade level and does ok, he does NOT have to be re-evaluated for entry the following years. This flaw has been brought up several times to Lori Bock and each time she dismisses it stating that the kids deserve to be there.
The whole program is being diluted with the integration of the Naglieri test and the "only teach grade level courses" idea. I can't wait to see it go personally, it is waste of resources.
I have met Jones several times, and was unimpressed by his lack of ability to produce anything other than an excuse.
March 10, 2012 3:54 PM
Obviously you are the joke you idiot. You are obviously an over paid liberal administrator that believes in warehousing children. I certainly don't want you teaching my children.
As a matter of fact I don't want to pay taxes to keep you employed with the Board of Education.
Anonymous said...
The magnet program is such a touchy subject. I have experienced the program on two levels - that of a teacher and that of a parent. I'm a parent whose child qualifies for the program and was extended an invitation. I chose NOT to send my child because I taught in the magnet program. It is very much set up to create an environment that teaches (magnet) children to believe they are better than others (the "home" school students - home school meaning the children who attend the same school from the neighborhood but are not magnet). It's a horribly flawed program.
On top of that, anyone can get their kid in magnet. You just have to write a letter, attend a conference and complain enough. There are TONS of kids who shouldn't be there and don't qualify to be there. While I recognize that some of the students there belong, they are not the majority.
The joke is on the magnet parents who are making comments about other children not being good enough to attend. Keep raising your self-entitled little brat in the magnet program and when he/she gets back into the "regular" system in 6th grade, he/she will not only be the butt of jokes amongst their peers, but also from the teachers who hate to deal with the likes of your "Wicomico Private School" brat.
March 10, 2012 8:40 PM
To the so called teacher I throw down the BS flag. Anyone who has a child would want to place their children in a program with other children who want to learn. if there was any truth to your comments you should be charged with neglect and child abuse. You are anti-magnet and your promote reverse discrimination. You are a worthless pig and if you are teaching in the Wicomico County school system you should be fire immediately.
Anonymous said...
Magnet School is not required in the no child left behind. If it is not mandated, our taxes shouldn't be paying for it. Also, just because a child doesn't have quite what it takes to get into magnet, doesn't mean that they come from a bad home, don't care, or a behavior problem. Just get that out of your heads.
March 11, 2012 9:21 AM
You obviously have children that don't want to learn and you obviously don't care about educating your children. You are the same type of liberal idiot that believes it's ok to use the school system as a baby sitting service.
Personally I don't believe in FARMS and I don't believe my taxes should pay for it. I don't believe that I should have to pay for middle school basketball programs for at risk children when they aren't providing baseball or soccer programs the same time. I don't think my tax dollars should be paying for kids to eat 3 free meals a day.
You breed them, then you need to feed them. Not my responsibility.
Who were the 12 WCBOE employees who went on this all expense trip? Please name names? The county is strapped and we are spending money like this? WTH is going on over there.
I don't understand how Jones could do a study like this when he was already biased coming in. And who is to say that the so-called negative responses he witnessed were even that if he already has an agenda. I think it's ridiculous that Wicomico county is going to base such a huge decision of getting rid of honors classes based on a biased study done by 1 person.
What to you expect from 4 board members that voted to reappoint this man with a less than average evaluation. You people should be outraged!
I think that before making comments about the Magnet program everyone should review the information on the BOE website under "Accelerated Learning Programs".
In the past few years several significant changes have been that contradict what several of the posts believe to be true about the program.
Once again, the parents on here with children in magnet are not getting it. Get off your pedestals. Just because a child is not in magnet, does not mean they don't want to learn. My child had the opportunity but we chose not to. I want my child to have a chance to be a child. We shouldn't be paying for this special program. If you want your child in it, pay extra for it. And stop with the crap that if a child isn't in the program, they don't want to learn and the parents just want daycare and all that crap. You sound like a little spoiled brat just like the one you are putting in magnet.
For over twenty five years magnet cost less than having the same kids in a traditional program because their classes were larger and the county bought them no reading series. No class had any type of assistants or specialized materials or equipment. Even with shuttle costs from the high school, it cost less. Then someone started saying it cost more even though it didn't and was determined to make magnet as much like traditional school as possible and then criticized it for not being different enough. A real educational leader.
If your boss told you to do something and you did it and got everybody mad, could you keep your job by threatening to tell all you knew? Could your boss convince his bosses that legally you could keep your job? Maybe the big bosses should be talking to the lawyers directly instead of getting info. second hand.
The only extra cost to magnet is one shuttle that goes back and forth from the high schools. They ride the bus with the high school students so that costs nothing more. The teachers would still be needed because they have entire classes full of students.These teachers would be needed regardless of where they were placed.
Now for cost, should at risk students have to pay for all the support they get? And if you know anything about this school system, you know at risk students are a huge cost to the district. Programs in school are being canceled all the time but there are no cuts to this category. Should special eduction parents pay for the services their children receive also? And of course, there is pre-k that is not needed yet is a huge financial burden on the county. There are lots of categories that get funding, don't single out only magnet because they get a shuttle.
This county spends $30,000,000 per year on at risk and special education students. Much of that is state or federal money but it still goes for targeted students. Then add the amount for programs and people that are for kids who are behavior problems. Then add the amount of principals, vice principals and dean of students salaries that go for discipline problems. How dare anybody say a few hundred magnet students don't deserve a total of $5,000 a year for transportation. The county doesn't buy them expensive reading series books like other kids get and those materials cost alot more than shuttle buses a few miles each way. How can millions be spent for no improvement in achievement and the solution is to take programs away from good students? Somebody oughta find out why we're wasting so much money on programs that aren't helping our weakest students.
Anonymous said...
I think that before making comments about the Magnet program everyone should review the information on the BOE website under "Accelerated Learning Programs".
In the past few years several significant changes have been that contradict what several of the posts believe to be true about the program.
March 11, 2012 3:14 PM
And your point is??
This man is disgusting and I don't want him anywhere near my children. He is promoting hatred and racism. He and Dr. Freddy both must go!
a few years back "Dr" Jones spent a lot of money to try to start his own private school here in Salisbury. Thank God it never took off. Magnet was fine for his children and his ex wife had enough sense not to go along with his views.
1146
oh dear native of the shore, I am not a liberal, nor an employee of the BOE, just a parent who has done their homework.
I just simply don't believe in a child getting into an accelerated program that clearly has no business being there.
Dr Jones won't release the stats on the children in the current magnet program because they would paint an ugly truth about the program.
One more thing, if you have a moment. IF you have a child in primary public school check out their report card, or ask their teachers...they don't teach above grade level in k-2 and it will be k-3 next year in all subjects.
Btw, shore native, you and your type of name calling and ignorance are what ruin this area.
I believe that everyone of the 13 had his/her own room. Good use of taxpayers money.
Man, you magnet parents sure are sensitive. Just keep thinking you're better than every one else.
On their home page it speaks about a "group of concerned stakeholders." I would like to know who these "concerned stakeholders are." Does anyone know?
I can not believe anything like this is happening in our county. This teacher should be banned from being around children.
8:09 PM
I know it sounds that way. If we keep quiet, programs get taken away from our kids and there isn't that much for them anyway. If we say anything, we seem sensitive or bragging. We just don't want them to finish all their work in 10 minutes of a 90 minute period and then tutor other kids for the rest of the time. We don't want them used as buffers or babysitters for behavior problems.
Anonymous said...
1146
oh dear native of the shore, I am not a liberal, nor an employee of the BOE, just a parent who has done their homework.
I just simply don't believe in a child getting into an accelerated program that clearly has no business being there.
Dr Jones won't release the stats on the children in the current magnet program because they would paint an ugly truth about the program.
One more thing, if you have a moment. IF you have a child in primary public school check out their report card, or ask their teachers...they don't teach above grade level in k-2 and it will be k-3 next year in all subjects.
Btw, shore native, you and your type of name calling and ignorance are what ruin this area.
March 11, 2012 7:56 PM
You are a liberal and you don't know how to do your homework. That is why you are a failure in life and your children are just mediocre learners. Sorry for your luck, but you should have pushed them harder.
Just wait were causing more snobbs with the stem programs. Parents think that is a way to get their children away from the poor block children. Just what magnet has done.
When I taught high school i could tell the difference between magnet kids and other smart kids were the magnet kids felt they were more entitled. Someone needs to show me the research that magnet is better. My son did not go to magnet and he is in the top of his class.
magnet equals public private school.
Please contact these board members and let them know how disgusted you are at this employee for spewing the hatred of Margo Handy and John Fredericksen.
Marvin Blye - mblye@wcboe.org
Tyrone Chase - tchase@shoreup.org
Larry Dodd - lwd7734@comcast.net
Carolyn Elmore - cjelmore@comcast.net
Donald Fitzgerald - donfitz64@comcast.net
Ronald Willey - row76@comcast.net
Michelle Wright - michelle@wrightsmarket.com
It is sad that at a time when we need our community pulling together we have a Board of Education employee using a hot-button issue to divide us…again. The magnet program is controversial, and for good reason. There are pros and cons and I have tried over the years to find validity in the arguments of its proponents and its critics. Unfortunately, Dr. Jones misrepresents some of the facts and turns what could be a sound argument into a report filled with inflammatory language, charges of racism, and inaccurate generalizations about the parents of magnet students. The comments on this post are also disheartening; I can’t believe there are adults who would make such snide comments about children, but that’s easy to do when it can be done anonymously. “Riffraff” and “spoiled little brats?” Ms. Magnet Teacher at March 10, 8:40 pm, perhaps it’s time for you to retire or put in for a transfer? I daresay that the students in your charge can sense your hostility.
Dr. Jones made reference to the “loud voices of a few connected and influential parents of Wicomico County” who were advocates of keeping the magnet program. I wonder what Dr. Jones thinks of the fact that many of those same parents worked to support a new Bennett Middle School, something the WCBOE also favors. I suppose the BOE only wants parental involvement when it is in line with their agenda. Parents get involved because it is in the best interests of their children and the children of this county. PTA parents all across this county work hard raising funds to benefit ALL students at their schools. They mentor students who need guidance and encourage them to succeed. Some seem to forget that our school system should be working to meet the educational needs of ALL students, not just at risk students, not just special needs students, but ALL. This includes students who perform at higher levels. Dr. Jones, if you have a better solution for meeting the needs of high performing learners, let’s hear it. Until then, your publishing of carefully chosen data and the manner in which you have done it is irresponsible and unprofessional. I find it insulting that you state “the true purpose of Wicomico’s Magnet program…is about segregation.” Please don’t take the ridiculous comment of one parent and apply it to all of us.
While you may have disclaimers on your website distancing your words from the WCBOE, you must know that what you say spills over to your supervisors, who, by their silence, give tacit approval. Perhaps your time would be better spent on finding ways to bring us all together rather than in sowing seeds of discord.
7:56 PM said,
Dr Jones won't release the stats on the children in the current magnet program because they would paint an ugly truth about the program.
This comment makes no sense. Did you see his web site? If he had such information he would release it because it would help him make his point.
Anonymous said...
Man, you magnet parents sure are sensitive. Just keep thinking you're better than every one else.
March 11, 2012 8:09 PM
Man, the underachiever parents sure are sensitive. Just keep knowing your child will be flipping burgers soon at McDonalds.
March 11, 2012 8:49 PM
Well said. Dr. Fredericksen is well aware of this website and he condones the actions of his employee. If Jones is publishing data on his hate mongering website that belongs to the Wicomico County School System then he needs to be fired.
If you were going to be fired, would you go quietly or take others down with you? Maybe that's how someone who should be gone is not.
The biggest mistake at the BOE is Dr. Freddy
Weren't two high ranking women at the central office fired for hearsay comments supposedly made to one other person at lunch? But this website and presentation at a national conference representing the WCBOE is allowed?
Please contact the board members and let them know your displeasure and disgust with this racially divisive website. This is the same person that was used to provide data to help Fredericksen and Margo Handy dismantle the Magnet Program. This is the same person they used to create redistricting. This person lost all his credibility and should never be used for data again. He is biased and should be fired from the Board of Education.
Marvin Blye - mblye@wcboe.org
Tyrone Chase - tchase@shoreup.org
Larry Dodd - lwd7734@comcast.net
Carolyn Elmore - cjelmore@comcast.net
Donald Fitzgerald - donfitz64@comcast.net
Ronald Willey - row76@comcast.net
Michelle Wright - michelle@wrightsmarket.com
Millions of dollars are spent for at risk students and others who need help. No one complains about that. But if you expect them to have learned something and have the skills to complete a class successfully you're a racist. Maybe its more racist to say the system isn't doing enough for one group when we're spending incredible amounts of money with no result.
7:27am Thank you posting the email address I will be using them today to tell them how I feel.
I'm amazed that the public has to tell board members and the central office that this is unacceptable. What are their standards? I agree that if women got fired for something much less ugly than this there is something fishy. Guess its all about who is pleased or displeased by what was said.
The new rumor going around is that there will be no GATE in middle schools next year. With the new common core, pre algebra will not be offered in the middle schools so the county is thinking about heterogeneously grouping all of middle school.
11:20 AM
Hard to see how we're Racing to the Top. We're not racing and the top is coming down. Hope parents get involved in this transparent attempt to close the achievement gap by stopping our strongest students from achieving. Common core does not mean there has to be heterogeneous grouping. More lies.
The board, Dr.Freddy, handy, Jones all know the crap that takes place at the BOE everyday day. The board members have gotten letter after letter and contiue to allow administratoon to ruin this county. Utterly disgusting.
If this is OK, why were the women fired for hearsay? Any lawyers want to weigh in?
Allegedly they were talking about two people at the BOE having an affair. hearsay, dr. f and a board member.
I hope people understand the ramifications of heterogeneous grouping. This is going to have a huge effect on classroom teaching.
2:38 thanks but do you see why that hearsay is grounds for firing but this awful stuff on a website and at a national conference representing the board is not?
I think most of central office staff needs to be fired. when a superintendent spends more time digging out of his own garbage than facilitating a healthy school system, its a problem.
Any idea why there was no input from teachers, parents or administrators on the heterogeneous grouping, end of pre-algebra and all the rest? It might be the teachers and administrators know a little more than a data analyst about what's going on in our schools.
Anyone ever think Dr. Fred put Dr. Jones up to this. I know Dr. Jones well he has much more sense then this.
Parent or not, our community needs to start showing up at school board meetings. There's one tomorrow night. Do you care enough about our community to show up? Long Avenue - you can sign up to speak in the lobby.
Being that he put that web site up in his own name I'm thinking he doesn't have much sense and you don't know him nearly as well as you think you do.
And maybe his job was threatened if he didnt listen to his boss? That has happened in this county, recently.
I totally agree with 8:55. I have a child who was in the magnet program in middle school. ( african american) not all of them are spoiled brats. I do agree with some of jones statements. Where as i know of many african american kids who had the test scores and the grades but were never given the chance or made their parents aware of magnet school. However there is a high level of caucasian kids in these magnet classes due to administrators and teachers in these schools being more informative to the caucasians.
10:43 PM
With all due respect, some school employees even visited homes of African American students if they qualified for magnet to persuade them to participate. Naming even one African American with the required scores and grades who was not invited to magnet would be almost impossible. The issue isn't that minority kids qualified but were not invited, it's that they didn't qualify.
It's not that kids were missed earlier, it's that the standards are so much lower in middle school. We put kids in advanced classes even if they can't do the work and want teachers to make the work easier. If not enough minority kids qualify even then, we'll probably get rid of the class. That is how we serve ALL children.
Special education in this county is bullcrap! Period
Joe, my daughter has been invited to the magnet program and I would love to hear more public opinion on the topic since I have not yet made a decision. Is there any chance you can report this or make a new post regarding magnet?
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