Mar 9, 2023

At Least She Isn't White


As a blogger, I get called with pitches for one thing or another. In regard to the school superintendent situation, I told a recent caller that it's no topic for an old white guy. In the past I had blogged about Allentown's superintendents often. My archives indicate no less than a dozen such posts. 

A few supers ago, Allentown decided that its top person should look like its students...That meant no whites need apply. The issue now seems to be that the current person serving as interim super is not of the majority minority. 

The same board members now claiming to endorse a search had enthusiastically hired Carol Birks as interim. At the time, I wondered why someone from the existing administration couldn't serve as interim. It's no surprise to me that the board now wants to hire her permanently. To add another layer of irony, the consultant now warns that searches motivated by race preference are illegal. 

Although I remain an old white guy who knows that there is no winning when writing such a post, I also remain a blogger.

13 comments:

  1. Hires based on affirmitive action, rather than merit, have the expected results. The only question is how big the settlement will be when the position again becomes open.

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  2. The fact that the Board is willing to give her a long-term contract without any search is shocking. If I remember correctly, she was the sole applicant for the interim position and had recently been let go from her previous district. I doubt there is any objective evidence in those four months to make anyone believe that ASD schools have improved with her in the top spot.

    Which leads us to the larger question: What criteria did the Board use to evaluate her performance, and what criteria will they be using to evaluate her going forward. For the Board to not publicly state those standards is at best a disservice to the taxpayers and students of the district and a sign of the Board's disregard for the public. More likely, nobody on the Board has thought to set an objective standard for the position (or they can't agree on what those standards should be) which is a sign of the Board's incompetence.

    ASD schools lag far behind the schools of surrounding districts, and well behind the brick-and-mortar charter schools the district often attacks. Not only hasn't the Board stated what standards they will hold their new hire to once they remove the interim title, I haven't read anything in the newspaper as to what standards and goals the actual applicant has for the district.

    So once again we have elected officials throwing our money away without providing any scorecard as to how we should evaluate their decision. That's hardly surprising for politicians, but certainly not a roadmap for success in the district.

    As a taxpayer, I can live with the Board throwing away a quarter million dollars on another failed superintendent. What I can't live with is knowing that another group of students will be failed and pushed forward with an indequate education.

    I can only hope that the contract they are going to ram through without community input has safeguards as to the amount needed to be paid out if the new Superintendent leaves (or is let go) early. I think we all know that they either don't want to do that or it hasn't even crossed their minds.

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  3. There is a lot that is very wrong with the ASD and it's leadership. Both have been in dramatic decline these past few years. The board seems bizarrely irrelevant while the superintendents do as they please and come and go through a revolving door. Lately the board has become completely mute and has apparently acquiesced to the will of the solicitor whose involvement should be limited to providing legal council. Again, things are wrong here, very wrong and the children are the ones taking the biggest hit.

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  4. For years now, most classrooms in ASD operate as government daycare centers. It’s not so much the kids are educated, it’s that they’re “minded.” It’s an extremely difficult place to get impressive test scores due to student engagement in learning.

    Each week throughout the school year kids enroll and dis-enroll making the June class rosters very different from the September rosters. There is very little continuity of process. To make matters worse, class sizes are much too large, and that limits individual student-teacher instruction.

    How do I know this? Been there, done that for more than 30 years.

    ASD is lucky to attract anyone willing to “right that ship,” especially when searching with a racial bias. Good luck to Carol Birks!

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    1. Results started a dramatic decline even before the lockdowns, the lack of discipline do to the implementation of "Restorative Practices" has made a bad classroom environment far worse and from what teachers have told me, it's next to impossible to teach. Never has the quality of leadership been lower than it is now. The latter we can blame on the voters of the city, the former on those the leadership has hired. While we are at it, the district needs to be audited by the state auditor general. Newly elected state senator, Jarrod Coleman should make the request, we know the Allentown Democrat elected officials never will.

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  5. Sorry but the best person for the job should get the job, equity and inclusion, for all qualified candidates. If we just go to hire by race, could you imagine what the NBA games with players being 50/50 would be like?

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  6. This will be a disaster for ASD. Superintendent positions have become a last stop in order to raise the pensions before retirement. This person can't show results. She's sharp and articulate and while she knows how to repeat numbers (that were given to her) I doubt if she could name 6 ASD principals. She's not saying anything new, she's telling a great story, but she's been "let go" by two districts. I suspect that her contracts have to be bought out. She may be a good "independent advisor" who can be called in to deliver an inspiring message from a stylish woman, dressed in the best, but she doesn't have the results. I'm involved with ASD and I don't think she knows what she is dealing with. Her message is way too general and her actual days in the classroom are limited. It is so annoying and wasteful to think that the School Board isn't looking further. So she speaks to Tuerk, does she think that he has any idea what goes on in public schools?

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  7. My two concerns.
    (1) The promised $250,000. That's a whole lot of loot not being assured there will be a positive job performance.

    (2) Severance. Time and again there has been payouts when things didn't work out. How many of us ever received a severance payout. I bet very few. To my way of thinking when your employment ends so does your pay whether voluntarily or not.

    This job is highly overrated.
    In my opinion success or failure is not dependent on any one person. Perhaps the school system should be run in entirely a new form of power structure. Let's say for example principles of each being responsible for the success or failure of each of their schools. Each accountable to the individual administrative heads which provide the tools and expertise principles need to perform their functions. They in turn also accountable to what principles feel they require to achieve their goals. Each and all overseen by paid school board members. Their pay coming by eliminating the $250,000 given to the current proposed superintendent. Thus their positions would be held accountable directly by electors themselves.

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  8. First, I was proud to be an ASD teacher for so many years, Scott Armstrong. I’m now retired. Thanks so much!

    As I explained earlier, Teaching in ASD is very challenging. There are so many variables outside the teacher’s control that hinder the effort. Many kids come in unprepared to concentrate on learning. They come from non-traditional families and move from school to school often. That’s one problem with so many subsidized rental units in Allentown. They live in disorder. Many lack support and encouragement at home. Some apparently raise themself (with the help of lousy TV programs and video games) I’ve dealt with homeless kids who need proper rest and are hungry. Even had a child report barefoot one year!

    So, what is the benchmark we use to evaluate their teachers? Surely, it’s not in academic comparison to districts like Parkland, East Penn, Saucon Valley, or the Catholic Schools.

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    1. Congratulations anon 6:03... you managed to survive ASD till retirement!!! I am a 1970 graduate of Wm Allen, and in that particular time frame, ASD schools were considered in the top tier. Today we are blaming the school district, the teachers, the school board and the superintendent. I believe the problem with ASD rests squarely with the majority of the students... they don't want to be there and have no inkling to learn. I feel for this generation of do nothings, know nothings... they're going to have a hard life or we, the taxpayers, will be supporting them...

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  9. Allentown communities of color are continuing to publicly fight amongst one another. Social media is a circus with people attacking one another and seeking to discredit one another rather than gain recognition and leadership through their own accolades. Tearing other people down is embarrassing and highlights the lack of unity within the community. The last few superintendent appointments appear to be carefully orchestrated by the individuals of color and whites that don’t use social media to attack others or show up at meetings screaming and yelling. Like it our not power is political and politics require a willingness of us all to work together for the best interests of our youth

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    1. Please explain how we work together with people, usually those in control and their underlings, who have zero interest in actually working with the community. Their interest is maintaining their own power. We can all seek pie in the sky remedies if we so chose but understand what the results will be. Nice words, extended hands will gain us nothing with Allentown's ruling class.

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