I have been and continue to be frustrated by Baltimore City Public Schools (Yes, the district's name has been changed). Dr. A has said, "It is not about people, it is about students." This mindset has given him free reign to eliminate, transfer, promote, overwork, use, and/or scapegoat both underperforming and capable people in the school system as he sees fit. He has become a dictator, bigger even than the position he continues to redefine. Dr A doesn't acknowledge that an organization is a collection of people, and he assumes people will dedicate their lives to this district without condition, and this is not necessarily the case.

Dr. A has also said, "If you are comfortable with the changes, they are probably not happening fast enough." Flawed drastic changes continue to be made because: 1) Those who must implement the changes and who know best the ramifications are not consulted in the process 2) Ramifications are not adequately thought through before decisions are made, leaving those effected to perpetually perform in crisis-management mode within the wake of chaos 3) The communication process, both vertically upward and downward within the district, is incredibly disjointed and city schools employees often hear about changes after they have been made and from an outside source like the Sun. These flaws in the decision making process continue to limit the success of the reform effort, and have created a climate of disorder and distrust in the schools and at central office.

Dr. A's cornerstone change, fair student funding, is textbook smoke-and-mirrors. Principals have more autonomy in the eyes of the parents, but smaller actual budgets with added responsibilites and less resources. The same principals/schools/students are still set up for failure, that much has not changed. At least we in the system gain a certain satisfaction from being in the same boat, burning-out in our professional lives and frustrated with the new way Baltimore City has found to repackage a broken educational system for another go-round.

It is interesting to note that although a number of the coaches are very qualified individuals, at least 1 has only been a principal for a year and wasn't a very good one.

So doe the 'finding' of 22 million mean no more lay-offs next fiscal year or should I continue my job search? It's hard coming to work day-to-day not knowing if you will have a job next year. I have a family to think about Dr. Alonso.

While I sympathize with Question, when did the system become an employment agency? If you are doing a great job and helping schools it's hard to believe you will be fired. Yes, there, I said it.

As for Inside, you say that "who know best the ramifications are not consulted in the process" Really? I frankly don't believe that in most cases. There are plenty of chances for those inside and outside to make comments. And from a school level perspective, the changes are all good. Principals DO have more control. And as for claiming that most have had to make drastic cuts, show me the numbers before you make such statements. If a few schools had their budgets cut and there is more equity in the funding model overall I am all for it.

Sorry IO…while I agree with you often and on many topics, I don’t agree with your blanket dismissal of many of IP’s statements. What IP said is true for me as well: “Flawed drastic changes continue to be made because: 1) Those who must implement the changes and who know best the ramifications are not consulted in the process 2) Ramifications are not adequately thought through before decisions are made, leaving those effected to perpetually perform in crisis-management mode within the wake of chaos 3) The communication process, both vertically upward and downward within the district, is incredibly disjointed and city schools employees often hear about changes after they have been made and from an outside source like the Sun. These flaws in the decision making process continue to limit the success of the reform effort, and have created a climate of disorder and distrust in the schools and at central office. “

Many of the changes have resulted in such chaos on the operational level that I can’t believe careful planning went into those decisions. Plus, I regularly learn about actions that directly affect my day to day job through this blog. Is that what you would call effective governing?
And I really would like to believe that I won’t loose my job because I am truly in a position that can help schools. I can honestly say that by any measure my department is very effective and we are really good at what we do (I can not speak to the budget process because I am not involved in accounting…I’m not in HR either!) But given what I see around here on a day to day basis, I’m not sure that your statement that I won’t get fired is true. I’ve seen too many questionable decisions being made to have that kind of confidence. I’ll repeat…I was very UNHAPPY with the status quo and I was very HAPPY when Dr. Alonso came on board promising sweeping change. We need it. I just hope that we can survive the changes that we are dealing with now, and that it somehow gets sorted out so that his vision and desire for the kids is fully realized. Quite frankly, given the fallout from some of his decisions, I’m not so sure it’s not different day, same you know what!
I guess we'll all just have to wait and see what transpires as the school year progresses. I can say that I wish all of you teachers, principals and school-based staff good luck, and I hope that you have a great year.

make that "...that I won't lose my job..."!

Its not about doing you're job. Just ask Sarbanes, I'm sure he is very qualified for his position. I could go on but what is the point really?

Question: I have no idea what that statement/question/insinuation/assertion means? Honestly. I don't know if it was any of those four. Will you clarify?

Hey Question, the point is, if you believe that Sarbanes is qualified for his position, you must have worked for him when he was campaigning for city council. It seems as though most of those in his office are from that arena. He breezed into the BCPSS with visions of grandeur. Get the real count on the number of active volunteers he recruited. They say 700+. When have we ever seen 700+ volunteers in our school system? Should 1 day volunteers be counted in that 700+, I think not. Most of the JHH volunteers stood around on their day of volunteering doing nothing (they sent about 300). Is that what makes a good volunteer in our schools? In order for our schools to improve, we need volunteer presence all the time. Call Sarbanes' office, and see how long it takes for someone to answer the phone. Or will you get voicemail? Sarbanes is working off of his experience in politics. He has no regard for our inner city school parent. How many of our schools has he visited since he gained his position, and spoken with parents? You must recruit our inner city school parents as volunteers for schools that their children attend, not volunteers from middle class neighborhoods that don't have a clue as to what our children experience on a daily basis just to make it to school safely. I need a volunteer that won't keep saying "oh, I don't believe that happened" when a kid says "I saw a guy shoot a man last night". Parent involvement is what gets students involved.

I was being sarcastic. Safe to say Alonzo is thinking of the (his) future with that appointment.

Land of Oz:: Thank you, Thank you. I have been stating what you say and more, it is people like Bill who have not been around and work on North Avenue to see the destruction of Parent Involvement that has been allowed to happen since Sarbanes and his political enterage came aboard. The phones are to be before the 3rd ring, that was the rule when Parent Involvement under LaVerne Sykes was in place. The staff did their best to help the schools and parents whenever they called or just dropped by. Now, no one knows what is going on, if you get a person, they can not answer the questions because they were not around for the past two years when Ms. Sykes had a staff that was willing to work and help out, keep parents and schools informed. Sarbanes came here for totally political reasons and unfortunately it will be the schools, parents and children who suffer. As for the extra money that Alonso mentioned, that is Title 1 money and must be used in Title one schools for Parent Involvement activities (workshops, trainings etc. for parents) If the State does not check out what this man is doing all of North Avenue will be turned over to the State. And no there have never been 700 people who signed up as volunteers let alone a quarter of that amount being accepted. Politics as usual. Hold on Baltimore, It's gonna be a bumpy ride.

Question - how about Sarbanes also thinking about his future when he runs for mayor in the next city-wide election. What better way to win an election than to have "all of your ducks in a row", when you start out. He already has his cabinet in position.

Calamity - Most people aren't comfortable with change, but change needs to happen in the BCPSS for our children to succeed. We all have visions of grandeur when it comes to our own children, but who is standing for those children that don't have a concerned adult at home. Right now the administration at North Avenue is not standing for any of our children, because we all know that they are only a number. Check out any office in the BCPSS and all of our children are counted as numbers. Numbers for federal funding, title 1, state funding, city funding, juvenile justice system numbers, etc. Let's just count them as children. Wouldn't school be a much better place if we just provided what our children need, and stop worrying about the cost. What about all of the brand new books that are laying around, that have never been cracked open, still in boxes. Are they being counted? No. But our children are.