So let me get this straight:

1) English thinks that giving principals authority is, to quote you quoting her, "A train wreck getting ready to happen."

2) Gittings is the head of the union that represents principals. Wonder what he thinks about English's assessment of his fellow union members...

3) Gittings is mad because AAA wants to make something more professional and doesn't want to spend time listening to him cry about his socks or whatever

4) English is mad because all teachers will have jobs and in fact some might actually get to mentor new teachers.

5) Gittings is so hurt that he quit a few weeks ago.

So basically what they are really pissy about seems to be 2 things:

a) That they are no longer running the show and able to push people around

b) That they think AAA is taking credit for the rising test scores. I haven't read that anywhere - Sara, is that something that he said in some press release? What I believe he knows is that this gives him room to complete some much needed reorganization.

I wonder what they would be saying if test scores went down? Would they blame him and his moves to remove the dead wood from the system?

I once saw a great interview with the union head in Philly. When asked who would get credit for a class of kids getting great test scores and making a lot of progress in a single year. He said, not surprisingly that the teacher. When asked who would get the blame if those same kids had done poorly and not made good progress - to this he said that there were lots of factors but that the teacher was not the cause. While I get his point that there is more than one factor at play when kids perform or don't, the point is that all of us - parents, community members, teachers, administrators and school board members have responsibility here.

Get a grip Gittings - we are at 13 minutes and counting...

So we have class sizes over 30 and can barely make instructional requrements on the standing budget but we're going to double up? Who's going to pay for that?

Well as a displaced person from the current BCPSS Administrative decision making, I have decided to leave my professional home of working with BCPSS of the past 8 years.

It has been too much of a roller coaster ride for too many years. As a product of BCPSS as a child and professional, it saddens me that I have to do such.

But the roller coaster can do without me, as I have decided to leave my home town and further my Professional Career without the unpredictable decisions of the Board, CEO, Union etc. etc.

I believe Alonso is moving too fast and he's not getting enough buy in by the teachers, prinicipals, and unions. However, I think Alonso is absolutely brilliant and he has an amazing ability to bring resources into the system. He's starting many new schools that focuses on emotional/behavioral problems, career, and college readiness. He has mitigated the shortfall in budget and downsized central. Quite honestly, central office was enormous and those of us in the schools did not know what they were doing anyway. We didn't get the support we needed and now that AAA is here, there's more funds in the schools and more support from central.

Gittings doesn't seem to ever make any coherent statements and constructive comments at board meetings. A lot of his statements aren't even factual. Alonso has not attributed to the rise in test scores to himself PERIOD. He's done quite the opposite.

At best the higher test scores were seen due to the emphasis on high stakes testing, due to NCLB and MSDE. And years ago, the Thornton law brought in more funds for Pre-K and early education. As a result test scores increased everywhere in the state.

What we need is for Alonso to be given a chance; I'm impressed with his focus on teaching urban kids and providing the opportunities and services geared towards their needs.

As for Gittings and Eric White (maybe English but I don't know her well enough b/c I don't really see her at board meetings or any other citywide education meeting), they need to realize that the city school system needs a shake up and if people loose their cushy jobs for the benefit of kids, then that's what is needed.

The Unions have missed the wave that has been growing for years. Local Government has been putting in place in larger urban districts hard hitting dictatorial leaders for the better part of a decade in hopes of pushing through reform. In those districts where unions have worked with the new leadership - not sold out but have worked with them in a collaborative way teachers and their issues have been addressed and as a result you have seem improvements for teachers but in those districts where the unions have fought against the new leadership and put them in a place of opposition their influence has diminished. Reform has happen anyway and teachers and their respective unions have been left to deal with change that they have had no say in. Here in Baltimore the BTU has created such an acrimonious relationship that they can longer negotiate in good faith for teachers and in the end the teachers of this city will suffer because of it's union. The leadership needs to go and I felt when I was part of the union that the membership should sue for their dues back because the union does so little for teachers. It protects poor teachers and gets in the way of reform. So to hear the union leader cry means nothing - and will do nothing. The BTU is not respected by it's membership (many of whom join to secure free legally protection should they be sued by a parent) and do not have the respect of the Executive Leadership of The School System or the School Board. So who do they represent? Who do they support? What change can they really promise?
No one, Themselves and no change - a path to success for sure!

Marietta English is so far out of touch with reality that you really have to wonder why anyone cares what she says or thinks. The union and the North Avenue insiders have used the system and turned it into a paycheck for life with no accountability for far too long.

So now Alonso is telling these people to pull their weight or get out. They are naturally threatened and have their backs up in an attempt to freeze the awful status quo forever.

Well, the parents are sick of it. Alonso is doing what must be done, and in this case that means forcing useless administrators to either make a contribution or get out. He is forcing teachers who should have been gone years ago to respect the needs of Baltimore's children. If that means getting out, then get out.

As for the argument that Alonso "is moving too fast," it's the classic whining of the malingerer. Don't like being accountable? There's the door.

As my name suggests, I am a mid-level bureaucrat at North Avenue. Central Office is most definitely a bureaucracy (and a rather large one at that), so, like any large bureaucracy, there are some deadweights, slackers, lazy people scamming the system, people so dumb that it makes you wonder how they can manage to get themselves dressed in the morning – you name it. Yes, it can be frustrating to have to deal with that as an “outsider” – it’s frustrating for those of us who have to deal with it on the inside. Yes, there needs to be accountability in the system. Yes, there need to be changes made so that we can begin to address the numerous very real and very serious problems in this school system. The kids deserve it, their parents deserve it and the community deserves it.

But c’mon people. I am really getting sick and tired of those of you who paint ALL of us here with the same broad lazy brush: “I don’t know what THOSE people DO all day”. Well, I am here to tell you that there are also many dedicated, hard-working, smart, CARING people here at North Ave. Gasp, surprise – yes, many of us are trying our best under difficult circumstances, and we DO care. We are the ones who are expected to put all of those reforms into action – for OUR schools and OUR children. We want the reforms to succeed, but we also want the tools to be able to help those reforms to succeed and those tools are not always there for us. The changes have come at us fast and furious. And quite honestly, everyone’s acrimony toward our role and function really hurts morale and makes it that much harder for those of us who do care to do just that. Every time I read this blog it upsets me that there is SUCH an “us vs. them” attitude. We are all portrayed as a bunch of lazy idiots, or worse, as the enemy to conquer. Is THAT what you think Dr. Alonso’s vision is for the system as a whole?

So to everyone out there in the schools and the community…let’s make a deal. Those of us left around here have been given a mandate to assist you; to help you to become more autonomous and to run your schools as you best see fit – all in service to the kids. I am more than happy and willing to do my part to help you achieve that. How about you give us the same courtesy and stop thinking of all of us in Central Office as the #1 enemy all the time. Because there are many of us here who are rooting for Dr. Alonso and for you, and therefore the kids, to succeed.

Unfortunately, North Avenue Bureaucrat, I have to agree with you that there are both good and bad people in your offices just as there are in schools and every other place of work. I think what upsets "outsiders" the most is that, unlike the corporate world, educators do not always respond to the supply-demand equation. I have often said that, if we were a public corporation, we would have gone belly up years ago. I work with many fine teachers who want their students to be successful and try their best to see that happens. What is most frustrating for those of us right now is that Dr. Alonso has failed to clearly articulate what his vision is for the school system to those of us in the trenches. So far, all we have seen is chaos, changes for change sake and decisions that appear to be made on a whim without consultation with those who must implement them. All institutions need to houseclean regularly and, if that is what Alonso is doing, great! But share the information and be specific. Even reading the budgets posted on the BCPSS website doesn't tell you what a principal actually has to spend. One would have to understand all of the technical budgetary terms in order to make that happen. Central Office had some dead wood; unfortunately, quite a bit of it remains because these folks fly under the radar. Appointments are still being made by who you know not what you know or can do. Until Alonso sorts that out also, those of us in the field will remain distrustful.

BTW--To Baltimore Parent (last week) I do know how to spell "veteran"; I choose to not do so for a personal reason. Thanks for not understanding the sarcasm.

NAB: Of course you are correct - some of those I have dealt with are actually trying to do their jobs and trying to support schools and trying to push the reforms that Dr. A is putting in motion. Just as there are good teachers in every school and good principals in every system. Having said that, cutting 300 positions at North ave as opposed to that same number at the school level seems like a good place to start. Along with that, having people have to really work to support schools as opposed to being in the complience mind set that has for so long (and in some major places still) been the norm is also a good thing. How many times are we at the school level stopped in our tracks to either attend some meaningless meeting or provide information for some one in an office who could easily get that same information themselves? Way to often. Even now, we are getting requests to attend things or provide information from some in central office who seem to have no idea what it's like in a school building.

I have worked closely with some great people at North Ave. Those people still have their jobs and are not worried about loosing them. The people who have lost their jobs or who worry about such should think long and hard about if they are there to support or for complience. I know no one gets into a job to make things worse for others, but when the mid set has been that people need to get others to get them things so their job looks vital, it's time to think about moving on.

Having said that, Gittings and English offer nothing that moves conversations or better yet, education, forward. their days as power brokers are over and I for one am glad.

Thank both of you for your remarks...just to have people out there in the trenches acknowledge that there are a few competent good people at North Ave means a lot!

I do want to clarify that I agree with you veteran teacher that the changes have been chaotic and often confusing, even to us here. I've been frustrated, because I WANT change and believe that it's necessary...but many of the changes have left me puzzled and worried that things aren’t going to be any better…only different. I liken a lot of what’s happening to when you get a new computer system. Would you just unplug your old system and plug in the new one without running the two systems simultaneously for at least a little while so that you can figure out the glitches? My fear, and the fear of many of those who are complaining about the speed of the changes, is that we are left to try to make things work in that kind of chaotic environment. We are the people who actually have to make those lofty ideas WORK. Please remember that, those of you who have to deal with us here. We’re trying to figure it out too.
However, Dr. Alonso is here to stay, at least for now, so I do plan to do my best to support him and his reforms.

But Sara, perhaps you could mention that not only is Jimmy Gittings not invited to speak at the "back to school event" tomorrow, Central Office professional staff are also not invited, for the first time in at least 5 years (how long I’ve been with the system). Only “Directors” are to attend. Hmmm, makes it a little bit harder to get behind the vision when we’re not privileged to be in attendance to hear it…

Glad to finally see that enough of you on North Avenue are will to express your true feelings about what is going on there. I thought I was the only one willing to put the real issues out there despite the sugarcoating that the media and yes even the CEO has been displaying to those who are not on North Avenue on a daily basis having to deal with what has been happening there these past months.There are a lot of people who are in limbo still not knowing what to expect from one day to the next.The media is told one thing, we see something else.

To NAB and Cal:

Of course, as I said earlier, there are good people working at North Ave - people who want to make things better for schools, who offer support, not just compliance and who are willing to assist schools as they do the job of moving students forward.

But, there are also a lot of people, and let's be honest about it, who make it even harder for principals and teachers to do their jobs - people in HR who loose applications which means that teachers who apply need to resubmit things and principals need to take time out of their day to re-deal with hiring, people in facilities who sit on work orders for years so that our schools look tired and old and neglected, people who are in area offices (well, formerly although I am sure some still exist in the new re-org) who ask for, nay demand, that principals send reports for which those in central office already have access to the information, the list goes on and on. With each example, school leaders who are supposed to be focused on improving instruction have to deal with facilities, hiring, and so many other things that go beyond where they should have to go. Every meeting, report, and phone call a school leader has to deal with is time away from the classrooms and the kids and parents. Again, my belief is that this is a mind set of "the schools are here to support the work of central office" which is what Alonso is trying (in my humble opinion) to do away with. The schools are the clients of the central office and the students are the clients of the schools.

And to be fair, there are principals who are guilty of not being up for the task any more than some in central office. That's an excuse that seems to me to be in the final days of being useful. If people cannot do the job they should not be there - where ever there is.

I had a principals once who said that what she wanted was for everyone - kids, parents, teachers, bus drivers, central office and so on, to DO THIER JOBS. I agree with this idea. If you are supposed to get people through the hiring process, DO IT. If you are supposed to help the schools get the walls patched DO IT. If, well, you get the idea. And at the school level, if you are supposed to be the instructional leader, DO IT - lead. What I believe AAA is saying is that we all have miles to go before we should be satisfied that we have done a good, let alone a great, job.

So, to those at N Ave who are supporting schools by making their jobs easier, I applaud you (and if you know who I am, you know who you are). To those who continue to think that the schools serve your needs, the clock is ticking and either a change in attitude is needed or it's time to go.

And as for Gittings, stop the noise. You can challenge me to whatever you want. Your 13 minutes have slipped to only 9. And if you are really that out of touch with the idea of 15 minutes of fame (yes, I heard your challenge to me my friend) check out this link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/15_minutes_of_fame

Tick tock. And it's not a threat (again, read the info at the link provided), it's my dream.

Wait, that's down to 8 1/2 minutes...