Something IS up!!!!!!

As is thought my last post, something is definitely up, but I am not being told exactly what. I first want to share with you a proposal that I have made to this employer, which I might add she took as her own idea. Though it is not new nor particularly innovative, it does have some ideas I had never thought of previously. Here it is:

Proposal for the Retention of the “Older” Student:

It is a well known fact that all educators should have as their most immediate terminal goal the “graduation: of each child from her/his particular grade with the knowledge necessary to move to the next step in life. The “older” student presents a particularly distressing problem. Graduation from high school is usually something that has eluded said student(s) for one reason or another. Often times a child will reach the age of 18 and still be in the 10th grade or so. This can be completely disturbing to her/him. Another problem could be the fact that at age 18 a parent may proverbially wash hands of the “child.” We also have some kids with kids themselves and/or jobs. We CAN keep these kids in school BUT we must not expect to do it in the “traditional” manner.

It is my belief that we should do EVERYTHING in our power to ensure that these children find the success needed to matriculate from their high school environment and embark on a post-secondary career, whether or not that includes college. The typical school day for these students just will not work, therefore we must get a bit creative.

I have had discussions and gotten emails from various people with the Ohio Department of Education and have found that there are a great many options available to us. Although we have heard and seen in various places that the student(s) needs to be in school for 920 hours during the school year. That is a very simplified version of the whole truth. The fact is that we need to AVAILABLE for at least 920 hours during the school year, this does not mandate that a student must be in attendance for that quantity of time. In fact, during my last two years of high school I was only there for about two or three classes then went home or to work. This is still a possibility according to the Office of Community Schools as long as the student is completing the work assigned.

In our school something like this should be a foregone conclusion. We are, by definition, a, “work at your own pace,” entity. We have the possibility of starting something that can have grand repercussions in our field, though it is in no way a new idea. Why do we not make the attempt to work around our students, or at least meet them somewhere in the middle? If a student completes the equivalent of 7(or whatever quantity we determine) classes within a day, why should she/he be required to sit here longer? I realize this may precipitate a culture of speed rather than accuracy, but that is the nature of the “beast.”

I propose an individualized education plan/program for the “at-risk” student. I think we should look carefully at each specific situation and design an educational experience that will work for everyone: the Student, ODE and …. We have all the tools necessary to make this happen but human resources are sorely lacking. I have kids needing one OGT and two or three classes, of which they may be nearly complete, but we are making them come here for an arbitrarily determined amount of time that has no basis in law or good sense. I would have been furious and would have just quit. That is not our goal.

This is a tentative yet purely doable idea. I will add specifics when necessary.

I sent this at the beginning of February or there about. And if you look back to around last May or so, this is not too much different. Also I have written to the governor and ODE about other problems, finally using names, which, I guess, must have finally gotten back to the "empress" as I have now crowned her. I attempt to will refrain from using "vulgar" names (though they DO fit).

Specifically, on 25 March 2008, while I was attempting to get students where they belong, the empress came down the hall ( she has only been back there twice this year) and unceremoniously ordered me to her office. I had to have given her a dumbfounded lock and know I did not immediately move, so she looked back and said, "Now." As you who know me can attest, I do not take well to anyone thinking I, or anyone else, should jump because someone says so, and this little woman is one of the lowest on my list of people I want to do ANYTHING for. So, needless to say, I was torn. I have to admit, though, that I was more than a bit nervous. I had written to quite a few people and told many about what I knew, specifically about many people's licensure through the Ohio Department of Education, which, I might add, is public knowledge. I was in no way fearful of any legal action, as everything I have done is above board, so to speak, but I was a bit worried that she would tell me to leave, which would have precipitated an horrendous verbal and legal battle. So I walked toward her office, she took a detour to the SPED wing and told me to go wait in her office. I am a 44 year old guy with family in the area of the school, Appalachia, and lower echelon Ohio, as well as upper echelon, Pinellas County Florida and St. Louis, Missouri, and she is a short late 30s woman from a different very insulated world. This like that just don't fly.

I must admit, though, she does have the "bitch" manager thing down to a science. Make sure your "victim" is off guard and then slam him with all guns. On my way to her office I stopped to talk to a few colleagues and one student, who left because he saw me ordered into the office. Others were ordered as well. Three from the SPED office, one on the net from Israel, and my supposed immediate supervisor. While waiting for them to arrive I sat in a chair on the north side of her desk while she was faced the other way toward her computer, in fact writing and reading emails. Fact you will find somewhat humorous later: I was watching over her proverbial, because she really wasn't in front of the screen as much as I was, shoulder and reading from whom the emails had come, me being one of them. That let me know that my latest email had nothing to do with the summons. She, after completely ignoring me for more than five minute, began by saying something about what I had been delving into for the past couple of months.

Once everyone was there and the Israel dude was plugged in, she began her tirade, I don't really want this to sound catty, but tirade is the only word that really describes the feeling in that room regarding her speech. The first thing out of her mouth, after a dramatic flounce from the door toward her desk, was, "You're a voyeur, looking into other people's lives. What gives you the right?" Looking at my supervisor, she said, doesn't it seem like he is being a voyeur? (or something on those lines). This was to be the tone of the entire thing. She looked at me for I would have to say, less than 5 percent of the total time while talking at or about me 99 percent of the time. I guess this is another of her tactics to keep a person of guard and under her proverbial thumb. It might work for some, but I was getting more and more aggravated each passing moment. More scary, though, maybe for both she and I, I was also getting less and less worried.

She asked, and I am going to paraphrase the rest of this because I did not tape it and therefore do not remember absolute wording but I definitely have the gist, what I was doing. Before I could answer she told me that I had no right to look into the lives of others and ask about their certification and/or licensure. She told me that it was not my business. When she finally stopped enough for me to answer, I told her that I most certainly DO have the right, as does anyone in the State of Ohio. Licensure records are public knowledge as is school funding, which is another thing she keeps under her wig. She told me that all of this was going to, "Stop right here and now! You are going to tell me what it is you want to know and I will tell you." That was just the first lie of the session. She slammed me with the question of who I was looking at, because she knew her elementary was licensed and most of the middles school was licensed. I tried four time to answer what she had asked but she did not stop. I finally told her that I didn't really care about them but had done a little looking. I said what I was interested in was administrative background.

The empress told me again, that I had no right. She again asked, whose information I was seeking. I finally said, "You," pointing directly at her, "Him," pointing at my supervisor, "Them," pointing at the SPED folks, and... I was beginning to talk of the head of school, interim head of school, and the head of elementary, but she wouldn't let me, therein the reason for me saying something about her first lie previously.

She talked over me again saying it didn't matter. She went into the educational level of various people within the organization, which I have seen and was not in question, then went on to tell me that some of the positions, including the one held by the SPED Director, could be handled by a clerk if she wanted it that way (she meant the writing of IEPs, but she is wrong on that as well.). A clerk may be able to transcribe an IEP but one is not qualified to WRITE one. Lie number two.

She then told me she was able to have anyone she wanted in an administrative position regardless of licensure. I said, "When I went down to Columbus in January and spoke with people from the Ohio Department of Education, they said that was not the case. They said that we as 'community' schools (not charter as she kept saying) have to follow all licensure rule the rest of the state must meet. We have some leeway in other places, but licensure is not one of those places." Immediately she began to attack my reason for going to Columbus, but I fended her off until I had completed my statement.

"What right do you think you had in your capacity as a lab teacher to go down to Columbus and ask questions?" Again, I answered that I had every right to ask whatever it was I pleased, as all is public knowledge. The "lab teacher" comment was just on more way for her to assert her "superiority" over me, she thinks. I then said that the "lab teacher" thing was not how it was supposed to have been in the first place, which started a whole new speech. She TOLD me that my contract said just that and had since the beginning of the year. As I have written previously, that is not the case. I informed her of the fact that I did not even have a contract until January, meaning two months ago, and hadn't had one since the end of the 05-06 school year. She said that I did, too have a contract and then asked what it said on it. I told her I didn't really remember, but she kept asking while telling me she knew. At one point on of the SPED folks went next door to get a copy of said document. Too bad it didn't have time to come up because it didn't say ANYTHING about a "lab" AND it had a start date in January. Lie Number Three.

Getting back to Columbus, I said that a "Chartered Non-Public" school (private) could do as she was saying with regard to administration, but not a public school. She said I was wrong, to which I replied that it wasn't me who said it. It was ODE, therefore, I guess it was THEY who were wrong. She said she was sure she was right and I let it go. She then said she would look into it. (I have an alternative admin license, she does not, my supervisor does not, the head of school and interim head of school only have k-6 alternative admin. licenses which precludes them from high school, and the SPED folks have none except the dude from Israel who has School Psychologist but is in ISRAEL!!!! In fact, my pupil services admin license is what should be running that department due to my experience in the filed AND my ODE licensure, but I am not from the enclave, therefore not even considered. Lie number four.

She then looked and my supervisor and said, to his nodding head, "Anyway me and... are working on and alternative administrator license for him right now." That is an untruth as it is not even pending on the ODE SAFE Account website. They may be thinking of it, but nothing is being done. Lie number five. I told her my reasoning was because I did not want to see us close just yet and wanted to make sure we were doing what was needed. She said she thought we should stay open but rumor had it I was trying to bring the school down. Not true. Trying to get them to do the right thing. If shutting them down is a side effect, so be it. I said that it made no sense that I would try to close a school when I had just proposed a program. She replied in a very juvenile manner that "a lot of thing don't make sense." I really didn't know what to make of that one.

She them turned around to her computer, picked up her phone, and that was it. A dismissal of epic proportions. This woman shows sign s of megalomania that I have never seen in practice. I was disgusted but somehow enthralled by seeing such a classic case in action. She not only has no clue how to react with a general human public, she doesn't care. Case in point, a few weeks prior in an all school staff meeting, a young colleague called her on the carpet for being rude and not even acknowledging students nor staff and being, too good for everyone. She said, in her most annoying and condescending manner, " I hear you," and, "uh huh. uh huh." Her words and sounds coming out mid thought of the person doing the talking. She did that to me often when I could get her to look at me. I also told her, when I was told to come to her for further questions, that what was said at the meeting was exactly why I would not come to her. She replied, "I am the manager and I don't need any licensure so that's just tough. You don't have to like me and I can manage how I wish." I said, "I now know how to talk to you." Which is when she turned from us. She is supposed to be a licensed psychologist.

Holy hell, that's a lawsuit waiting to happen. There were three others in the room and the guy from Israel. I have NEVER heard him keep his mouth shut for that long so wonder if he really heard all she had to say. Will any of those in the room advise her that she fucked up in a major way, or will they all sit around a congratulate themselves for shooting down another gentile in their midst? I can tell you this, I am even more pissed now than I was before, which is why it took me so long to put this down on the blog. I am ready for the good fight, but I feel we have already won. This school CANNOT continue as is if the ODE has any credibility, and she particularly should be no where around the education process. She looks down on everyone, but our kids the most. Go the fuck away and never bother us again.

Some thing is up.

I can't tell you exactly what is going on, but something is obviously, "up." The entire day on Thursday the 20th was odd. From one of the lab monitors yelling at me in the middle of the hall AGAIN, which hasn't happened since the beginning of the year because I have avoided him like the plague, to the constant calls for two of the proverbial "top dogs," at least in their minds, to come to the office "immediately" of the owner of the company.

I think the ODE has come down hard this time. I think it involves paying back money that has not been used correctly. I think that some people in our organization are scared silly and are ready to bolt. I may have my qualms about the ODE but this time, if it is in fact what I think it is, they are on the right track. I can only hope they wait until the end of the school year to close it, because those that will lose the most will be the kids, and my pocket but that's another story.