Golden Gate High School???? drum-roll please...

Three (not Two) Collier high schools reach the "A" mark... pretty basic mistake.

no it is 3! BC, Naples, and GulfCoast. All made A's.

Does anyone also look at the AYP reports. That shows if a school or district meets the criteria for adequate yearly Progress... Even tho a school can get an A, they still can NOT make AYP. That does not seem correct to me, but I am not an educrat.

And Lee district had no F schools.
That's it, we need more money, more Rockfordians!!!!!!
;-)

10 schools in entire district made AYP.

Thompson had NOTHING to do with the good grades.

Here is a chart of points scored, and percent of students getting free lunch for the high schools:

Barron Collier 582 13
Gulf Coast High 558 13
Naples High 527 33
Palmetto Ridge 497 31
Lely High 432 42
Golden Gate 395 55
Immokalee High 391 84

School improvement is easy, just don't offer so many free lunches.

GOOD NEWS: Manatee Elementary School is now an A school!
BAD NEWS: Dr. Thomson FIRED Ms. Cox, the principal that made it all happen!!! She took Manatee from the depths and turned the place around- and look what she gets as her reward- a PINK slip!!! Dr. Thomson NEVER visited Manatee and NEVER saw the dedicated administration, the hard working teachers, or the focused students!
I am happy for Ms. Cox, she can go out with her head held high. She instilled the students with self-respect and confidence and they soared under her
leadership!!!! Congratulations to the students and the staff of dedicated professionals at Manatee!

Opti- Following the logic that we shoulder all the woes of the district onto Dr. Thompson, especially having been here for one year, all the garbage that has gone on, and all the other factors... Then no one should be fussing about the termination of Baker, or the leaving of Marlin. Collier county has done worse than this throughout the past 8 years.
Go find the rockford report card for the past 4 years, from 2003-2007, their test scores steadily increased by not just 1 or 2 points, but by 10 and more in some cases... The district as a whole went from 45% of their students meeting or exceeding testing requirements in 2003 Before Dr. Thompson was superintendent, to 62% of their students meeting or exceeding criteria for mastery. That is almost a 20% increase! HELLO!!!

Collier did not see that much of an improvement is the same period of time.

It is not good to be either excited or depressed by the results from a deeply flawed measuring device established by and for politicians. Its rewards and punishments make a travesty of learning.

It is good to note that, "This will be the last year that the FCAT alone is used to establish school grades. According to the new law, elements such as Scholastic Aptitude Test scores and graduation rates will be considered when determining overall school grades starting in the 2009-10 school year."

However, the whole 8-year thrust to make teachers and schools "accountable" to poorly-educated politicians has been a costly and failed experiment. What has become the fare for the school day is a terrible result and will continue to negatively affect our nation for decades to come. The puffing that articles like this perform for the state do no one any good, not even the politicians.

Thank you....

drgoogins.. or should I say "Dr. Thompson"

this report isn't all Golden... 7 schools with D or F... That is Terrible..

Hold Thompson responsible... FIRE HIM just like they fired Baker

drgoogins,

An increase of 17% on a base of 45% is a 38% improvement. That is really sensational, even if there is some disruption and controversy in the process.

checked on one of our schools that was a failing school two years ago and now has B Grade. Tell me how a school that has 67% in reading 60% in math, and a whopper 23% in Science can garner a B grade. Only in an FCAT system can failing grades get you a B grade.

Ridiculous. Do you know how, because they get points for improving failures to slightly higher failures. The test scores aren't going from F scores to B scores. Because of the convoluted math that they use if everyone fails the exams but they increase their failing scores buy one more point they get credit. The scores are still failing but they get points for the increase. Ridiculous. So the kids still read below level, fail at Science and math and they get a B grade.

#6 If DR. Thompson had NOTHING to do with the increase in scores, then who did?

YOU?

The test scores and comparisons of schools, teachers, superintendents using them as a basis is worse than silly.

It's all a lot of flapdoodle. What counts, _all_ that counts, is what the kids are going to be able to do after they leave the CCPS.

No test can measure that because it takes hindsight. Almost no one keeps track of data on our alumni. _That_ would be a test to consider. But we have such a high turnover rate among superintendents, principals, and residents that all such a "test" really would amount to is sour grapes.

Very interesting Dr Groogins

I don't know anything about the specifications but I hope these young people are getting what is needed to make something of themselves..especially the ones from 1 parent or no parent homes...

Rockford Grad is probably Thompson. All of his posts on other blogs seem to show this.

I am sure the teachers, and everyone involved with the actual STUDENTS havea lot to do with it.
YOU certainly don't Rockford GED Grad.

Okay teachers, lets stop all of our whinning and complaining now that Dennis Thompson is showing positive results with the recent test scores for all CCPS Schools. Apparently, by holding you all accountable and making you put forth your best effort it's paying off for our students. Let's get behind Superintendent Thompson as he is here to stay. Nice job Teachers! Excellent management by Thompson. You rock Boy ! I tried over and over to explain this to the Principal at Osceola Elementary School who thinks she knows everything.

Rockford Grad: Thompson was responsible for the success of our students????

It does definitely show that the dedication and perseverance of our teachers and students won out, IN SPITE of all the underhanded dealings and poor leadership at the highest level.

Is there REALLY anyone out there that thinks that Thompson has demonstrated good leadership skills, has made intelligent decisions, has had a positive impact on teachers and students...? Really????

It's a very vocal, very tiny minority that I see defending this man. Ask a random group of stakeholders (students, teachers, parents, even administrators if they can speak anonymously) to assess his performance thus far.

Many claim (correctly, I think) that the schools should be run more like a business. I have studied strategies implemented by Warren Buffett, and everything Thompson has done has been about as contrary as you can get. It can only go up from here.

I'm not a teacher, lawyerboy, and I don't do any "whining". (one n)

Thompson didn't start until the school year was up and running.
I know of several A schools at which Thompson never stepped foot.
It was the professionalism and perserverance of the teachers that makes the students succeed.

Go back to your lawbooks, hopefully you know a lot more about law than you do about the Collier schools and the teachers.
These schools were already "A" even before Thompson abandoned Rockford AND Tennessee.

Where is the common sense here? Credit does not go to anyone except the parents and children representing these schools. If you changed the student bodies at Golden Gate or Immokalee High Schools with one of the "A" schools, do think they would still receive an "F"? Of course they would! It is impossible to teach children who don't want to learn. Why do they not want to learn? It's in their upbringing. So quit criticizing or crediting Dr. Thompson. It has nothing to do with him.

Praise the Lord we finally have a story in the paper today that is reporting news that is positive. Oh heavenly Father please continue to bless this country with your great works and in the name of Jesus please continue to bless our children. I thank you in advance for their future success... Amen.

Lawyerboy, do you teach in this district? What are your criteria of measurement and credentials as judge of Thompson's management of the school district?

What did Manatee Middle School earn? The principal, Scholastica Choi has been destroying moral and the childrens educational atmosphere for 3 years. She should be sh#% canned immediatly. Check out that background from up north. You will find more skeletons than on a halloween night in Transylvania. Just cal the teachers union in Illinois or news paper articles. What the hell was Baker thinking?

Manatee Middle School earned a C, which is what it's been earning for the last 5 years. No change. As for Choi, she's being protected by the old boy network.

Gee, how did I know Golden Gate High School would receive one of the lowest in our county??????
Been there done that !

THANK GOD my child finished last year.

Now that we are experiencing an economic and housing slowdown, hope everyone realizes that school performance will suffer greatly with decreased real estate tax rolls. Florida needs to switch to sale's tax based public school funding!

When the Collier County School District opens new schools the school zone boundaries of the existing schools change. For example when Golden Gate High School opened most of the students came from Golden Gate City which was previously zoned for Naples High School.

Naples High had earned a "D" the year before but after they lost the Golden Gate kids they went up a grade level or two and everyone was crowing about how hard they had worked to achieve this. Only problem was that they weren't testing the same set of kids!

The same situation is at play with Manatee Elementary. Naples Manor kids were zoned for Manatee up until last year when Parkside Elementary opened. With the loss of the Manor kids Manatee Elementary went from a "C" to an "A", yet they are no longer testing the same group of kids.

When a school's attendance zone is redrawn to exclude a large group of lower income and/or non-native English speaking students, we should expect their average test scores to go up based on this fact alone. The most absurd part is that now the school with a higher level of advantaged students in its new zone earns a state bonus (most of which goes to the teachers)of $100 per student!

Teachers and staff at schools which serve low income kids can work smart and work hard and still be payed less than those who are lucky enough serve better off families.

Good post naples4kids,
Which ,also, explains the earlier post about who gets free lunches. If you notice, the schools getting the most free lunches also have the lowest scores........thereby being the schools with the lowest income.

lawyerboy: "you rock Boy!" ???? what, are you some sort of finocchio ?????

indigodragonfly;;;I am not sure what lawyerboy does. I went back and read his posts from the past. Hes been on here since May 23 07. One place he says he joined CCSO. Another place he says he beat someone in court. One place he says he beat a ticket by being nice.

So really I dont know what he does, except a lot of bashing something he does not like.You got to be careful what you say on here it could jump up and bite you in the butt.

This only confirms what many people have been saying all along. The schools with the higher social/economic student bodies score higher FCAT grades as a rule. There are exemptions to that rule which is good but the results have always been pretty much the same year after year.

Hopefully that state will give serious consideration to changing this convoluted system of grading schools in the years to come. I am very glad to see that the high school will not be graded differently.

This whole FCAT system requires a drastic overhaul soon. It has come to the point that it is all that is taught in many classes. It has become all about jamming information into the kids head to memorize to pass the test.

Even the company that developed the FCAT test for Florida has come out and said that the state is not using it in a proper manner. It was designed as a diagnostic tool not to be the end all of the education of students. We can all thank Jeb Bush for this mess.

And I am sure that all of these kids put their all into these tests especially when they get out early when taking these tests.

I do not feel that this year alone can be used as a measure of having a superindendent that was not a member of the club of the entrenched. I simply have been watching the scores over the last 8 years. I also look at AYP standards, graduation rates, etc...

I hope that we will see a continued rise in all educational areas.

My point was that, in looking at the scores and the number of schools in the Rockford district that have improved, been recognized as schools of excellence, and the increase in test scores, as found on the State District Report Card website:http://iirc.niu.edu/District.... the improvements over the time frame that Dr. Thompson was there, were good.

We could hope that our district could see some of those increases as well.

http://iirc.niu.edu/District.aspx?dis...

sorry, forgot the space between website and the actually address...

naples4kids, just to clarify- Manatee Elementary may have lost many Hispanic kids but they got three Habitat communities in place of the Manor. Most of the new children are recent immigrants and second language learners, making Manatee's success all the more impressive. Manatee did not inherit accomplished students- they encouraged, supported and produced them!!!

Who gets the credit for the scores? Easy. The kids and their parents, and their teachers. That's it. Surely the scores would have been higher if the district were run by a school board and superintendent with a real heart for kids and their teachers. Maybe later....

GIVE IT UP DRGOOGINS/MRS. CALABRESE

Congratulations to all of the teachers and students of Manatee and Golden Terrace Elementary School. The task of becoming an A school took years of hard work and dedication, it was NOT due to a new superintendent. It is a fact he did not step foot on the Manatee Elementary campus but he did manage to replace the entire administration of that school. What type of management style is that? Perhaps it is called "Fire your successful Leadership teams".

As for comments left by Naples4kids, yes it is true Manatee Elementary did not test the same kids, but let's compare the economically needy student numbers..Manatee Elementary 88.15%, Parkside Elementary 89.79%, I would estimate the schools being economic status are equal. Please congratulate the staff and students of Manatee Elementary and all other schools who joined the A list.

Checking the nine AYP schools, one can see that eight are elementary schools with one middle school. Drawing a line connecting these schools one can clearly see that the stripe on this skunk is still white with a touch of red! And what is happening at the end user level; HIGH SCHOOL? No AYP and reading at FCAT grade level at 37%?

How can anyone be very pleased?

To post #22 Flacrkr I Hate to tell you but your wrong! my child got a 3 in reading and 4 in math she goes to Highlands Ele in Immokalee even after having 3 DIFFERENT teachers this year. Just think what she could have gotten if she would have had a stable classroom to learn in. The adamin in Naples really don't care about our kids out here. but I'm really proud of her.

Gee, let me get this straight... Thompson removes administrative team at Manatee Elementary, which turns out to be an A school, and REPLACES this successful team with an entire administrative team from a C school....interesting.
The new principal has BIG shoes to fill!!!She has also lost MANY wonderful Manatee teachers who were FIRED or transferred to other schools. So sad.

The strategies, curriculum, teachers, etc., for the 2007-2008 school year for each school were already in place by the time Thompson figured out where his private bathroom was. Any district "support" had already happened. It will be interesting to see what happens next year.

How many times do we have to hear the same story Massachusettslady? We get it!! Cox was removed and by all your comments you’re probably her or her side kick. Get over it you've been replaced. Let's look at the positives and congratulate the school as a whole. Great job to everyone!!!
As for the new administration be careful, because chances are you'll be working for them. Don't focus on them coming from a C school you of all people should know about being a C school. Obviously something happened at Manatee that made Dr. Thompson make the change and that's why your principal is gone. Give the new administration time to get settled in..stop hating. Yes, they do have shoes to fill but I can guarantee you that after this school year is over you'll all be in awe with them.

East Naples Middle has been an A school for 3 years. The principal was replaced with an assistant principal from Lely-a D school for 2 years. Her replacement is from Rockford. There is no sense to the new regime.
Fortunately, good teachers will continue to teach successfully. This is what they know and love!

Muchwizernow: It appears you are not as wize as you name indicates. I am not Mrs. Calabrese. I believe that right now her concerns are not with the blogosphere of the NDN, but with the recovery of her husband.

I am just a parent, and active member of our community.

I agree with wethepeople in most respects. Ultimately, it is the parents, teachers, and students that get a job well done for their hard work.

Gee, Imagine the possibilities if everyone would stop trying to rip everything apart with hateful words, and actions, and instead worked to do what they could to increase the positive things happening in our schools.

Right Drgoogins....right...

Wow these results are very disappointing. There was once a time when this school district was among the best in the state and probably the best on the gulf coast. People chose Collier over Lee for the better school district. We were on par with the states strongest districts such as Sarasota, Seminole, and Brevard counties. Now we have become the laughing stock of Southwest Florida! Congrats to the top performing schools, better luck next time to those who underperformed - and a big razz for the school district administration who are steadily driving this district into the ground.

yea!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! CONGRATS MANATEE!!!!

Marth said: “There is a lot to be proud of,” Chief Instructional Officer Martha Hayes said. “All of the teachers deserve props. We provide the framework, but when the rubber meets the road, it is the teachers that make the difference.”

LOL.... you do nothing to help the teachers. Let them have their day in the sun. Your "framework" is flawed...severely!

GREAT JOB TO ALL TEACHERS, ASSISTANTS, CUSTODIANS, CAFE STAFF ETC. Thank you to all of you!!!!!

Great job, kids!

amen massa! MME was struggling and look at it shine now. The teachers and Cox deserve kudos. Let's fire her!! Oh, he did already.

some of you people really hate teachers. I bet your teachers didn't care much for you either :)

Thanks for all the tax dollars though!

The tests, the scores and consequent finger-pointing, the elation and disappointment, the vituperation, the lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification are responses from a deeply flawed measuring device established by and for politicians. To hold teachers and schools "accountable" to poorly-educated public has been a costly and failed experiment. What has become the fare for the school day is a terrible result and will continue to negatively affect our nation for decades to come. What has become the modus operandi for our SAC committees, our school board meetings, and these electronic Comments is vicious and detrimental to nurturing our school children.

The solution to the problem is for the community (and America) to put its faith in the people most intimately involved with the schools. Outside managers are not the ones to trust. Stop worrying over unfavorable comparisons with other nations and how they "do" education. Get rid of the inferiority complex. Stop feeding the teachers to the lions at the first sign of parental or public disapproval. Stop the tests and give control back to the classroom practitioners.

Most of all we need to be much more charitable as we judge each other, our youth, their teachers, and our schools. Children learn what they see and hear grown ups do and say. If we are harsh and even coarse with each other, we are teaching the wrong things.

Are teachers and schools accountable to firehauck?

Check some facts out. Golden Gate HS has about a 70% rate of students from non-english speaking, low income households. Zoning has been designed to keep it this way. Gulf Coast HS has about 700 more students than GGHS and needs portables to house them. GGHS has empty classrooms which are maintained and air conditioned. Student who live on the north side of RT951 within 4 miles roundtrip of GGHS are bused 18 miles round trip to Gulf Coast. With all the talk of money troubles, it seems that significant savings in energy costs and cost of portables can be achieved by simply rezoning. Is there a logical explanation for this zoning or is it simply designed to create a minority school?

If you look at the state data, some schools with a higher minority rate are performing much better than ours. Overall there is a disparity between large ESOL and low socio-economic schools and higher socio-economic "whiter" schools. That's still no excuse for Collier to perform mediocre at best. We waste money on high paid officials and not enough on the students and teachers. We build more schools instead of expanding the ones we have. This community has a lot of money and in the 80's and 90's it had one of the highest per pupil spending in the nation. The community used to be more involved with the schools. Im not a fervent supporter of this test, but it is currently the measuring stick in Florida on who are the top schools, though not always accurate. Im not sure if its a changing demographic or just the pressures of a changes society, but while it seems so many districts across the state have steadily improved, we have been stagnant at best.

We have great students and a caring, hardworking faculty and admin at Golden Gate High. I am proud to be a Titan!

Here's your sign:

The more whites, the higher the grade
Barron - 77% - A
Gulf Coast - 77% - A
Naples - 65% - A
Palmetto Ridge - 46% - B
Lely - 43%
Golden Gate - 20% - F
Immokalee - 3% - F

Istiklal;;;No I think firehauck is one of the teenagers that can not find a job this summer. He has decided to hang out here instead.

GatorHater07;;you are right about what you say but if we did that then we will have nothing to complain about. Wheres the fun then?

GH07....if all the stakeholders (school board, district admin, instructional and non-instructional employees, parents, community members)were represented in the decision-making process so that there is understanding and buy-in, your "all in it together" could become the battle cry for a successful district. Maybe the blue ribbon committee can achieve this goal. Until this happens, there will be distrust, dissension and dissatisfaction with every decision.

Some interesting comments on this thread...

Whether Thompson is responsible or not for school grades can be endlessly debated, but I predict Thompson will be the inspiration for a new, national debate and upcoming federal laws regarding who is qualified to lead a local school district.

I say that because it is now clear that:

-- voters are capable of electing idiots toelected board members who chat on the phone with each other at 3AM prior to ousting a superintendent),

--the local media does not report actual news (meaning: The Naples Daily Snooze ignored well over a dozen negative articles about Thompson from all sides of the political aisle for the excrementpy decisions he made in Rockford),

--AND UNQUALIFIED JERKS WHO HAVE NO CURRENT APPLICATION ON FILE CAN BECOME SUPERINTENDENT (meaning: an unlicensed "school counselor" can somehow be promoted to "Chief Academic Officer" of a school district, and then be appointed, twice, to superintendent positions because some school districts apparently have NO requirements for superintendents).

And, all this happens with no oversight and NO investigation by the state, even when requested by a newspaper or citizens to state government.

Consequently, I predict some changes in superintendent qualifications nationwide in an upcoming debate about this subject.

I also predict this because much to my surprise, my little sites about Thompson are attracting repeat visits from the US House of Representatives, as well as national non-partisian research groups.

Apparently, what has happened in Collier with this appointement of Thompson -- who never set foot in a K-12 classroom, yet became superintendent TWICE, in two states in this country -- is of genuine interest to lawmakers and to educational research organizations.

And, again -- Thompson was despised on BOTH sides of the political aisle, antionally, when he was making his series of excrement decisions in Rockford.

Hopefully, Thompson's days may yet be numbered.

http://www.dennisthompsonbackgroundqu...
(See new bonus question)

http://www.labbottsaysvisitrockford.b...
(revised to focus on Thompson)

Enjoy Collier's newfound status as the inspiration for a potential upcoming national debate on who is actually qualified to lead a school district...

GH07....thus the concept of buy-in....I understand the concept of representative democracy, but it is essential that we hold our elected officials accountable and not accept their decisions as gospel....primarily at the local level, we can create a greater understanding by allowing stakeholders more direct representation so that decisions can be explained.

Some interesting comments on this thread...

Whether Thompson is responsible or not for this year's school grades can be endlessly debated, but I predict Thompson will be the inspiration for a new, national debate and upcoming federal laws regarding who is qualified to lead a local school district.

I say that because it is now clear that:

-- voters are capable of electing idiots to a school board (meaning: elected school board members who chat on the phone with each other at 3AM prior to ousting a superintendent),

--the local media does not report actual news (meaning: The Naples Daily Snooze ignored well over a dozen negative articles about Thompson from all sides of the political aisle for the excrementpy decisions he made in Rockford),

--AND UNQUALIFIED JERKS WHO HAVE NO CURRENT APPLICATION ON FILE CAN BECOME SUPERINTENDENT (meaning: an unlicensed "school counselor" can somehow be promoted to "Chief Academic Officer" of a school district, and then be appointed, twice, to superintendent positions because some school districts apparently have NO requirements for superintendents).

And, all this happens with no oversight and NO investigation by the state, even when requested by a newspaper or citizens to state government.

Consequently, I predict some changes in superintendent qualifications nationwide in an upcoming debate about this subject.

I also predict this because, much to my surprise, my little sites about Thompson are attracting repeat visits from the US House of Representatives, as well as national non-partisian research groups.

Apparently, what has happened in Collier with this appointement of Thompson -- who never set foot in a K-12 classroom, yet became superintendent TWICE, in two states in this country -- is of genuine interest to national lawmakers and to national non-partisian educational research organizations.

And, again -- Thompson was despised on BOTH sides of the political aisle, antionally, when he was making his series of excrement decisions in Rockford.

Hopefully, Thompson's days may yet be numbered.

http://www.dennisthompsonbackgroundqu...
(See new bonus question)

http://www.labbottsaysvisitrockford.b...
(revised to focus on Thompson)

Enjoy Collier's newfound status as the inspiration for a potential upcoming national debate on who is actually qualified to lead a school district...

Why is there no grade reported for LHS?

I don't now, nor will I ever let elected officials do whatever they want, when they want to do it without criticism. I do expect them to do what they were elected to do.
When they stop listening to the electorate, it's time for them to go!!!

It would be interesting to take a few of the kids from low performing schools and put them in the high performing schools to determine if their scores would improve... So is it the school or the type student that makes for great scores?

Let's make all Barron students go to GGHS and see how well GGHS does next year. Wanna bet they would be an "A" school.
Open house at GGHS offered a FREE spag. dinner,college/vo-tech info.,a tutor table so kids could find out how to get help in a subject,websites for kids to find a career,etc.
I had 2 parents show up the entire night.
Most of my students laughed when I encouraged them to bring their parents or to come themselves.Many had to work.
Alot of leftover spaghetti.

A quote from an article I read about NCLB:

"No school fails because its students cannot succeed; schools fail because they and their districts fail to meet the needs of their students."

There are many, many students succeeding at GGHS & IHS. Their success is just not being measured on the FCAT.

Check out the lowest performing schools in the state. You will find that they are all High Schools with minority populations of 90% or higher. High Schools are the hardest schools to turn around.

Collier County has its work cut out for them! Lee County seems to be doing a better job ... only 1 school below a C and huge changes have already taken place there.

From above comment: It is absoutely infeasible, given the thousands and thousands of school districts nationally, for the federal government to set a "national" standard for selecting "local" school district superintendents, because that would potentially create a standard that would unattainable (for many reasons) in some school districts. What would happen in those school districts then?
-----------
Really? Then how do you explain the federal government's decision to set "national standards" for local teachers? A teacher may or may not be nationally certified, but the standards exist.

When an unqualified person becomes a superintendent of a local school district, and there is no other remedy, it seems feasible to me that someone else may step in to set a standard or criteria that clearly does not exist in every school district now.

How is Thompson's contract structured? Have you ever asked yourself that question? Does he earn incentive pay like he would if he were elected a superintendent? (He does not.) Is his renewal each year conditioned on certain benchmarks of progress he makes? (It is not; it is an "automatic" renewal.)

Those in charge of your construction company would be out of a job if you received an "F" grade for your work from every customer. Is there any reason why a superintendent should not be required to be able to attain some benchmarks of improvement prior to obtaining compensation?

But, in that case -- you might have to ensure a superintendent has some actual knowledge of what goes on in the classroom before bombarding the person with standards that he or she can not even understand, let alone achieve.

BTW, I do not believe the federal govt has the answer to every question, and I could be mistaken about my belief that some national debate may ensure; but, I am telling you the truth: there is a lot of interest out there, it seems to me, in understanding how a person with Thompson's background -- and track record of failure -- gets to take home $240,000+ in taxcpayer money "automatically" each year, and how he was hired with NO competition allowed, in a media blackout.

IMO, it was an extremely unfair appointment forced upon this community, no matter what else may or may not happen.

Re posts #68, 76 & 77 - BTW, this may be of interest:

http://chronicle.com/blogs/election/2...

July 8, 2008

'Education' Is Among Top Search Terms Sending Visitors to Candidates' Sites

“Education” ranks among the top five issue-related search terms that have led Internet users to the campaign Web sites of John McCain and Barack Obama in the second quarter of 2008, according to Hitwise, a New York-based company.

Hitwise analyzed the top 200 search terms that sent traffic to each candidate’s Web site.

Education ranked second, behind abortion, in top political-issue search terms that sent people to Senator Obama’s campaign Web site.

And education ranked fourth—behind health care, environment/global warming, and oil prices—that sent visitors to Senator McCain’s campaign Web site.

Education ranked higher among issue-oriented terms that sent Internet users to both candidates sites in the second quarter of 2008 than in the first three months of the year. In the first quarter of 2008, education ranked fourth among political-issue terms that sent visitors to Senator Obama’s Web site. The issue didn’t break into the top five issue terms among people visiting the Web site of Senator McCain.

Having worked in MME, MMS and SLE and a very high performing and progressive District up north I can assure you that the ESOL and ESE populations do make a huge difference in stupid FCAT scores. The parents at MME etc cannot help their children academically. Most Hispanic homes value family before school, so if a little one is home sick then the older sibbling stays home to watch him/her. If the fields are paying well then that same child may be kept home to watch the kids to the parents (or even the child) can pick longer.
I am not downing my Hispanic families that I taught in the past, but I can attest to the difference in culture and values when it comes to education. The girls (and this is for the most part...not ALL families) are expected to get pregnant and raise a family quite young. That is what their mothers did and their grandmothers and their great grandmothers. The men are expected to work. Most men are now leaving their families (something they learned on US TV perhaps).
All I can say is that teaching at BCHS or Seagate is a hell of a lot easier than your Title 1 schools. The kids come to those schools with a background knowledge, they have educated parents, they have the means to get extra help for their kids. Now, would I prefer teaching in those schools? No! With the money comes the attitudes, parents MIA on some vacation or business event, children left with their caretakers...I see more neglect from the rich than I do the poor (again...not ALL wealthy families).

anyway, that's my 2 cents. I lived teaching for 15 years; the highest incomes to the near nothing incomes. The money means the better grades. That is why I am so proud of MME! That was some hard work, but I know for a fact they had to teach to the FCAT test. That saddens me because I remember having fun in school and never cared about a test that lasted a week. We simply took it and did well. FL is MESSED UP to rely so heavily on one stupid test, but this is the south.

I have to agree with much of what FreshFace states. Some of our local schools will always be on the low end of the FCAT grading system. A large part of that is driven by the cultural and social environments that their student bodies' come from.

It makes no sense to judge any one school over the results of just one test. Hopefully some day soon the State of Florida will realize this and find other ways to evaluate it's schools.

Gator I will have to respectfully disagree with your point that the Federal government would not interfere with the local school systems. In my opinion that is just what they are doing with the No Child Left Behind Act. Just as the state is doing with FCAT. The NCLB is even a more convoluted set up than the FCAT is. We can see that here in Florida. Many schools that are rated "A' by the state do not meet the NCLB standards according to the Federal Education bureaucrats.

I am surely not an expert in education and don't profess to be but I can see through all this nonsense that was dreamed up by some so called "education expert".

Golly I am glad my kids are done with all this.

Is GatorHater07 actually Will Rogers blogging from Heaven? http://www.willrogers.org/

Re: from above comment -- But, they would have absolutely nothing to do with holding that position at the "local" level.
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No, I disagree. When you create a national standard for school district superintendents, as already exists for teachers, then you have added a new level of competition that may well impact the local level. Of course the local level would have to ALLOW OTHER CANDIDATES to apply for superintendent, UNLIKE this district in Thompson's case.

As for Thompson's "negociated" salary, well, I am bursting out laughing at that line of thinking! LOL! Are you referring to his private meeting with Barron High School teacher Terry Walters, whereby the two exchanged pieces of paper of Walter's secret trip to Rockford? Is that the "negociation" you're talking about?

Because here's a little news flash for you: most school districts do not "negociate" that way. Nor do they "ask" the superintendent how much pay the superintendents want. Other school districts SET THE SALARY and THEN invite candidates who WANT THAT salary level.

See how weird it is here, verses other school districts? Here, the school board falls all over itself shoving money down Thompson's throat, $240, $580,000, however much he wants for himself and his retired assistants.

In other school districts, the BOARD sets the salary, and can even say NO. But if they can't then the state gets involved and sets the salary maximum, like they just did with a new law in Michigan.

What happened in this district with Thompson's hiring is a disgrace. It is a very dark chapter in this district's history, and it will be good when he leaves, however that may happen, by federal law, state law, a state investigation, whatever.

And, no, he doesn't need to be a nationally certified teacher. But how about him facing some competition when he wants a job (like everyone else faces), or putting in an updated application (like everyone else is required to do), and taking a set salary (like everyone else who is a public servant) -- instead of always demanding what he wants? (And how about sunlight into his background?) That's a real public school district operates.

But this district has turned into his private money pit -- which is endless, it seems, for him, with no criteria or standards whatsoever.

Too bad for the students and teachers in this district.

http://www.dennisthompsonbackgroundqu...

Speaking of the possibility of legislated / federal laws re national superintendent standards -- this is pretty interesting, though it is dated 2001:

http://www.springerlink.com/content/t...

Journal of Personnel Evaluation in Education

Abstract In the current political climate, in which accountability and standards-based reform represent the educational centerpiece, a renewed interest has emerged in superintendent evaluation as a focal point for school improvement. This paper examines the current state-of-the-art of superintendent evaluation.

Findings from the study suggest that despite the recommendations for personnel evaluation standards proposed by The Joint Committee on Standards for Educational Evaluation (1988), 8 of the 50 state AASA/NSBA affiliates do not have requirements or guidelines for the evaluation of the superintendent.

Evaluation materials provided by the affiliates in the other 42 states do not meet all of the essential criteria for quality personnel evaluation.

I understand your point Gator. I just seems that anymore that the Federal and State governments seem to have more control on how the local schools are run than do the local authorities.

I remember as I am sure you do too, about the only requirements that came from the states were the length of the school year and how credits one needed to graduate from high school. The federal governments only role was mainly with Title I funds and subsidizing the school lunch programs.

It just seems that both agencies seem to have their hand in everything on how the locals run their schools anymore.

This is interesting, too - Thompson would not be qualified to be a "professional superintendent" in the State of Nevada, if in fact this proposed state legislation has now become law in that state:

http://www.leg.state.nv.us/register/2....

"...Sec. 3. To receive an endorsement as a professional superintendent of schools, an applicant must submit evidence to the department that he has completed at least 3 years of experience as a school administrator and ..."

You see, Thompson was never a "school adminsitrator" or anything like that. He was an unlicensed "school counselor" prior to his bogus promotion to a district position.

But in some local districts -- and, apparently, in some states as Nevada -- the law expects that not only should a superintendent have been s teacher, but also a SCHOOL adminsitrator (principal).

In Florida, the law seems somewhat vague, in that it states one must have "substantial" experience prior to becoming a superintendent.

But it also seems to imply, here in Florida, that one must be certified in SOMETHING in K-12 to be qualified to serve as a superintendent; however, I am trying to find out if that is true.

Because if that IS true, then: Thompson is not qualified to be a superintendent in this state either.

IMO, he is employed as a superintendent here solely because of politics. He is not a professional educator nor a professional superintendent -- based on what is known publicly about him (which isn't much, since he won't even fill out a required updated application).

Again, his appointment here, with no competition, in a media blackout, with no info about his background, was a total disgrace.

Disagree if you like, but take a moment to read about how other states require a person to have successfully completed certain experiences PRIOR to taking the highest spot in a school district.

It seems to me Thompson would be ineligible to even apply for a job as a school district superintendent anywhere in Nevada.

PS Enjoy:

http://www.dennisthompsonbackgroundqu...

Re above comment -

I think Nevada is in this country, the last time I checked.

You see, that's why there may now be more interest in setting a national standard for PROFESSIONAL superintendents -- because people like you don't realize that some STATES would PROHIBIT a jerk/political hack from running a school district (even though some local school districts are still run by jerks/political hacks).

Like this one, some would argue!

http://www.dennisthompsonbackgroundqu...

Re: Comment above -- "For instance, 20 years in leadership positions in the U.S. Army would probably qualify, wouldn't you agree?"
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LOL...well, try telling that to all the conservative education experts, as well as the liberal education experts, who publicly criticized Thompson for all his excrement decisions in Rockford.

Apparently, shooting a gun and running a public school district are two different skills.

But, nice try.

http://www.dennisthompsonbackgroundqu...

PS In a US presidential election, there is (a) media exposure about the candidates' pasts; (b) TWO or more candidates; (c) an actual election; and (d0 a set salary.

By contrast, in the forced hiring of Dennis Thompson, retired US Army colonel pretending to be a siuperintendent, there was (a) NO media exposure about his background (and all his excrement decisions in Rockford, despite coast to coast press he received); (b) NO other candidate for superintendent; (c) NO election by voters (only an appointment by majority of the school board in a 3-2 split vote)l and (d) NO set salary, just an emptying of the taxpayer till to whatever tune King Thompson demanded.

The forced hiring by Thompson was nothing like a presidential election.

But, again, nice try.

http://www.dennisthompsonbackgroundqu...

BTW, the above site is currently in a journalism competition, and should it win the national award, then, guess wha