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Midway Through the Seven Year Healing ProcessIt’s been just over three years since Esperanza Zendejas decided the best way to force a buyout would be to authorize the largest teacher layoff in recent California history. Zendejas, however, did not come up with that idea on her own. Keeping Up Appearances: The Semblence of StabilityIn business academia, the term “destructive leadership behavior” defines the bullying tactics of a leader more focused on personal gain than the needs or values of the organization. This bullying leads to complete disruption within the organization, effecting the employees and career paths of hundreds if not thousands of workers subordinate to the bully in power. During Esperanza Zendejas’ tenure as the superintendent of the ESUHSD, we reported on how her managerial style led to the rapid departure of a number of administrators. We also reported on similar behavior exhibited during her days as the superintendent of Indianapolis Public Schools. Her claim to infamy rested on her constant shuffling of administrators to different school sites with no real justification other than a desire to intimidate her subordinates. No matter how many chumps count the change, the chump change stays the sameAt a recent board meeting, president of the Measure E bond oversight committee John Moore complained about comments made by a union member in the East Side Teacher Association’s newsletter Panorama. The article spoke to foxes being in charge of the henhouse and the appearance of cronyism in a bond committee that formed under the previous school bond. While Moore took issue with the satirical tone of the article, the members of Team Unruly have been scratching their heads about his failure to understand why anyone would question the integrity of a bond committee in East Side dealing strictly with construction, property acquisition and land development. After all, two of the five members of the board of trustees are lobbyists by profession. |
The Kiko AwardThis issue, the Kiko goes to Bettina Lopez and Noemi Ramirez at Andrew Hill High School. You can read about some of the escapades that led to their nomination in this issue’s related story “Keeping up Appearances: The Semblance of Stability.” The nominating committee didn’t want to award them the Kiko initially. Quite a few of their mishaps, like letting a substitute inform a new teacher that her schedule’s been changed, while infuriating, can be seen as rookie mistakes. Firing two competent school counselors the week before school let out in order to make life easier for a mediocre assistant principal is another story. The matter exploded into an embarrassing political mess for the principal and vice-principal involving not only the current superintendent, but former superintendent turned state assemblyman Joe Coto. With angry parents complaining to the superintendent, competent employees seeking work in other districts, an emasculated school site council waking up to the fact that they’ve been bamboozled, and a circulating rumor that the principal wants to solve the crisis through a little nepotism — all taking place in a little over a month — the Kiko committee had no other choice. Unrulyrus Version 2.0Miss us? We had some difficulty with web hosting that we’ve resolved with the help of friends and volunteers. No more www, but otherwise all is well at the Advocate. This September we’re taking a new step and becoming more like a blog than a webzine. We’ll publish a story or two each week, so check back each Monday after Labor Day. While you’re at it, click on the forum button and join the discussion. Get Active, Stay Informed, and Be Unruly. Layoff on the layoffs already: A Planetarium falls to an administrative achievement gap?At the June 19th board meeting a group of supporters gathered outside the East Side Union High School District Office with beautiful posters, personalized t-shirts, and planetary paraphernalia. They came to tell the board to save the Independence High School planetarium, one of the many line items district officials have recommended for elimination due to state-level budget cuts. However, not shortly after the planetarium speakers left the building, the Board of Trustees proposed the creation of a new administrative position — the achievement gap administrator. This district-level position would cost about the same amount as maintaining the planetarium, begging the question of how a school district that cut classified staff, virtually eliminated librarians, and laid off a slew of personnel only to hire them back a few weeks later could conscionably create a new administrative position replete with secretarial support and an ample six-figure salary with full benefits all in a three month period? |
Program Improvement or Program Impediment?No Child Left Behind—the dreaded legislative nom de guerre driving policy decisions at all levels of public education governance. Because this punitive attack on public education is tied to Title I funding, school districts across the nation are scrambling to develop and adopt instructional battle plans in attempts to keep hold of the dwindling resources tied to and affected by NCLB mandates. Program Improvement, or PI, is the official umbrella under which these plans fall. There are also two flavors of Program Improvement: school-level PI, which targets individual schools, and district-level PI, targeting an entire district. |
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