Iredell Schools Moving Goalposts On Bond?

Posted on December 9, 2014 by A.P. Dillon

In the last month or so, I’ve covered the Iredell schools and their bond vote issue.  Now that it has passed, it looks like there is a moving of goalposts being attempted.

Statesville.com:

Iredell-Statesville Schools’ Board of Education and administration signaled this week that it may be trying to change the school bond plans as they were presented to the voters who approved them two months ago.

In their Committee of the Whole meeting, board members largely reacted positively to two proposals from administrators: that they request that Iredell County commissioners sell all the bonds for projects in the district at once; and, if not, that the county allow them to swap the order of construction, moving the two new $23.5 million middle schools ahead of the $9.5 million auditoriums planned for the campuses of North Iredell and South Iredell high schools.

 

Read the rest. The Director of Finance is quoted as saying this was not what was originally presented.

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‘Mostly Peaceful’ Protesters Leave Molotov Cocktail Behind

Posted on December 8, 2014 by A.P. Dillon

Last Friday night, protesters gathered in Durham to protest ‘aggressive’ police tactics.  I found tweets mainly from December 5th, but some into the morning of December 6th which were referencing protests in the Durham area. According to WRAL, they were ‘largely peaceful’.

“Largely peaceful”, except for windows smashed in:

The protest was located at the Durham Performing Arts center and took place as a show was letting out sometime around 10 pm last Friday evening.  The ‘mostly peaceful’ protesters also left behind a molotov cocktail according to WRAL:

Officers responded to a call about a suspicious device in the 600 block of Foster Street between West Geer Street and West Corporation Street. They found an undetonated device – a bottle with a wick and a petroleum-based liquid inside of it. The device was safely removed from the area, authorities said.

Gee, was Occupy on hand?

WRAL reported the names of some 31 protesters who were arrested for failing to disperse and/or blocking traffic. The list is below. The same list with charges included is at News and Observer. I’ve linked any interesting bits to their names.

  • Austin Marie Bouton, 24, of Durham
  • Susan Catherine Edgerton, 32, of Durham
  • Chelsea Amanda Flowers, 29, of Durham
  • Adrienne Liege Harreveld, 21, of Durham
  • Tamika Monique Heard, 21, of Durham
  • Aaron Alexander Caldwell, 21, of Raleigh
  • Susan Anne Pietroluongo, 23, of Apex
  • Akeem Zarhar Cheek, 29, of Durham
  • Morgan Anne Brooks, 25, of Raleigh
  • Sara Taylor, 26, of Durham
  • Allison Charlotte Swaim, 26, of Durham
  • Kathleen Rebecca Yow, 28, of Hillsborough
  • Kellie Ann Grubbs, 28, of Graham
  • Alexandria Leigh Stewart, 22, of Durham
  • Masha Taskindoust, 21, of Durham
  • Dominique A. Beaudry, 21, of Concord
  • Gabrielle Karine Beaudry, 18, of Concord
  • Laurin Michelle Gioglio, 29, of Carrboro
  • Natalie Frances Smith, 33, of Durham
  • Kenneth M. Strickland, 29, of Durham
  • John Charles Thornton, 28, of Durham
  • Crystal Larence Eatmon, 19, of Durham
  • Rachel Anna Cotterman, 26, of Hillsborough
  • Danielle Katherine Nelson, 22, of Durham
  • Lauren Brooks Parker, 30, of Durham
  • Erin Bree Heuerman, 32, of Durham
  • Asha Renee Godfrey, 22, of Graham
  • McKenna Elizabeth Ganz, 21, of Colorado Springs, Colorado
  • Abigail Victoria Harris, 25, of Chapel Hill
  • Lydriquez Blount, 26, of Durham
  • Charles William Soeder, 28, of Durham

 

 

FYI to parents with school aged kids – From the list, is a pair of sisters with the last name Beaudry. Turns out Dominique Beaudry is a 2014 Duke Truman Scholar who plans to become a teacher and has a history of protesting.  See her video on Amendment One. Don’t miss the class project video where her friend mocks Republicans.

https://twitter.com/LadyLiberty1885/status/542011750036418560

Posted in A.P. Dillon (LL1885), Occupy, Protests | Tagged | 26 Comments

#DM7: “Career Education” Is The New “Career and College Ready”?

Posted on December 7, 2014 by A.P. Dillon

This is a reposting of my weekly Da Tech Guy Column:  “Career Education” Is The New “Career and College Ready”?

 

By A.P. Dillon

Over a year ago, NC’s Superintendent was made President Elect of the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO).

Recently, the transition from President Elect to full President has occurred.

The CCSSO, if you are unfamiliar, is a D.C. trade group. The CCSSO is one of two D.C. trade groups who hold the copyright on the Common Core State Standards.

So, NC’s Superintendent is basically running the one of the heads of the Common Core cabal and trying to convince people she’s impartial while our state is attempting to dismantle the standards.  Our local media in North Carolina has yet to report this little conflict of interest tidbit.

Diving right into Atkinson’s big, shiny Presidency – From Politico:

NEW PUSH TO IMPROVE CAREER EDUCATION: North Carolina State Superintendent June Atkinson — also the new board president of the Council of Chief State School Officers — plans to make career education and economic development a priority in her new leadership role at CCSSO. Career and technical education is an issue that’s personal for her, she told Morning Education. Atkinson used to be a business education teacher and she’s the former president of the National Business Education Association. She said she’d like CCSSO to work with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other economic development organizations to ensure that career education is a national priority. Atkinson was in D.C. on Monday to release new CCSSO recommendations [http://bit.ly/1tvKLuT] for states looking to boost career education. Forty-two states and D.C. have signaled their support.

— Of particular importance to Atkinson is making sure students get career counseling and schools partner with local employers to build career pathways. She said she didn’t receive much help in either of those areas when she first entered the world of career education. “Ninety-two centuries ago, I had little if any career counseling,” Atkinson joked. “That continues to plague students throughout the nation and that’s something I’d like to see rectified.”

 

Initial Thoughts Looking at the statements From Atkinson via Politico

“Career Education” is the new term for “Career and College Ready”?

“New push”? No, this has been ongoing.

Looking at the history of changes in the state under Atkinson, a pattern can be discerned. She likes to follow the latest education fads. Well, “Technical careers” are now hot. Just ask the NC Governor. (Related read: Gov. McCrory Signs NC Up For ‘Workforce Academy’)

Dr. Atkinson is diving right into her new Presidency with a focus on ‘Career and technical education”.  Technical education has not dodged Common Core either, but it’s been a bit harder to pull it into the fold.

This alignment of Technical careers is happening though, and will continue to be a focus as more kids under Common Core will become eligible for the ‘2 year non-selective college’ that the standards promise for them.  This renewed focus might be aimed at addressing the estimated increase in drop out rates the Core will be causing.

Now, consider that North Carolina taxpayers are spending an estimated $150k per High School Diploma with the likely end result being that ‘2 year non-selective college’.  Businesses are getting their workers but are taxpayers getting their return on investment? Are students? Doesn’t seem so.

The second bit in the Politico snippet, where she talks about career pathways and counseling? Those things exist already in North Carolina and have for some time.

Bringing in businesses to dictate skills for those pathways? That too already exists and has been going on since 2009.

One might suspect that someone down the road will hurt their arm patting themselves on the back for something they already had in the bag for quite a while. (Related read: NC Ready for Success Pt 4)

 

If you enjoyed this article, you should really check out other pieces written by Da Tech Guy’s Magnificent Seven writers and maybe hit that tip jar!

AP DillonA.P. Dillon (Lady Liberty 1885), is a Conservative minded wife and mother living in the Triangle area of North Carolina. A.P. Dillon founded the blog LadyLiberty1885.com in 2009. After the 2012 election, she added an Instapundit style blog called The ConMom Blog. Mrs. Dillon recently participated in Glenn Beck’sWe Will Not Conform. Mrs. Dillon’s writing, in addition to Da Tech Guy’s Magnificent 7, can also be found at StopCommonCoreNC.org, WatchdogWireNC and WizBang. Non-political writing projects include science fiction novellas that are, as of yet, unpublished. Her current writing project is a children’s book series.

Posted in A.P. Dillon (LL1885), Common Core, June Atkinson | Comments Off on #DM7: “Career Education” Is The New “Career and College Ready”?

The Common Core Weekend Reads – 12-7-14

Posted on December 7, 2014 by A.P. Dillon

Disaster girl coreThese are the Common Core Weekend Reads for December 7, 2014.

This is a review of the past week of news on Common Core nationwide and in North Carolina.

Articles are organized by category.

Prior Edition of Weekend Reads: 11-30-14

 

NC UPDATES:

 

APUSH UPDATES:

 

QUOTES OF THE WEEK:

“I would like to see us throw out Common Core standards and adopt the standards Massachusetts used to have,” said Sen. Donna Boley, R-Pleasants.
– Charleston Daily Mail, Editorial – Tread lightly on new education laws

 

“From the standpoint of national support, [Mr. Kasich] is out of step with virtually every other candidate,” Mr. Zawistowski said. “He’s on the wrong side of Common Core and Medicaid expansion. On immigration, he’s really hurt himself on that. But that’s John Kasich.”
– Toledo Blade, Ohio Gov. Kasich Potential Presidential Candidate

“We found obviously that federal mandates don’t work well. Where we’ve had the most success is around incentives. And lots of carrots. Not mandate, not have sticks, but put money out there where we can to reward excellence–and that’s a hard sell on both sides in Congress. They’d much prefer straight formula funding. So we’re always fighting to have just a little bit of money to put out there as carrots.” – Arne Duncan
– Missouri Education Watchdog, How the USDoED uses common economic advice to their advantage

 

LEGISLATIVE/LEGAL:

 

 POLITICAL/PROTESTS:

 

 HIGHLIGHTED ARTICLES:

 

THE WEEKEND READS:

 

TESTING UPDATES:

 

WEEKEND VIDEOS:

 

 TWEETS OF THE WEEK:

Posted in Common Core | Tagged | 4 Comments

Where Is The Transparency For NC Common Core Commission?

Posted on December 6, 2014 by A.P. Dillon

“The Commission shall assemble content experts to assist it in evaluating the rigor of academic standards. The Commission shall also involve interested stakeholders in this process and otherwise ensure that the process is transparent.” – SB 812

The NC Common Core Academic Standards Review Commission (ASRC) was supposed to be set up in a fashion so that the process of removing Common Core would be open and transparent to the public.

So far, only those able to attend the meetings in person have been able to see what is going on. Even attending in person, materials used by presenters thus far have not been made available to the public in a timely manner and in some cases, are still not available.

The Department of Administration took a while getting the website for the ASRC up. The address was announced at the third meeting.  What gives DOA?

Looking at the site, if you know how to find it since there is no portal or menu to send you to it,  there is little to inspected and no video or audio of any of the three sessions can be found there. The second meeting is the only one with extensive documentation.

Those like myself in attendance say that video was being taken at these meetings. Where is it? Probably the same place the funding for the commission is:

“Funding is still issue. Lacking funds prevents the Commission from bringing in experts” – November 17th ASRC Minutes

Some transparency.

 

It’s worth noting that after the Dept. of Public Instruction (DPI) gave their ELA presentation, changes were made to the Common Core documentation they presented on. I have confirmed that the ASRC asked for the list of changes and has not received a said list from DPI. I also asked for it and have not received it yet.

 

UPDATE: Thank you Carolina Plott Hound for linking!

Posted in Academic Standards Review Commission, Common Core | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Pearson Is Everywhere: FBI Seize LAUSD Docs On iPads

Posted on December 5, 2014 by A.P. Dillon

PearsonWelcome back to Pearson Is Everywhere!

In prior editions, we’ve covered the Los Angeles Unified School District’s mayhem with iPads loaded with Pearson Common Core curriculum and the contract shenanigans related to those iPads.
See these related stories:

Today, we’ve learned the FBI has seized documents related to these devices and are investigating the possibility of fraud in relation to the contracts.  This would not be the first time Pearson has been accused of contract shenanigans, as AIR has sued in New Mexico, alleging a contract there did not follow state rules for vendor competition.

AP via ABC News:

While it remained unclear exactly what aspect of the iPad project ? one of the biggest technological undertakings by an urban district in the U.S. ? the FBI was investigating, legal experts and education observers immediately focused on Deasy’s relationship with Apple and Pearson and the use of construction bond proceeds to spend money on a short-term device purchase.

Ariel Neuman, a former federal prosecutor, said the government is likely investigating possible fraud involving the contracts.

“If someone doesn’t disclose a relationship they have with Apple,” he said, “those could be material omissions that could lead to a wire or mail fraud case.”

More from Breitbart:

The improprieties at issue in this case were reported back in August when KPCC revealed that notes were going back and forth with Apple and software provider Pearson long before the tech contract was ultimately opened for competitive bidding.

The KPCC report found that “Deasy and his deputies communicated with Pearson employees over pricing, teacher training and technical support — specifications that later resembled the district’s request for proposals from vendors. Pearson and Apple emerged as the winning bidders and were awarded the now-abandoned contract in June 2013.”

L.A. schools Interim Superintendent Ramon Cortines stated that “The L.A Unified School District will offer its full cooperation to federal authorities during the course of the investigation.”

Posted in A.P. Dillon (LL1885), Common Core | Tagged | 1 Comment