Three Takeaways From the East Nashville United Town Hall Meeting and East Nashville meeting on schools gets heated

Three Takeaways From the East Nashville United Town Hall Meeting  

By Steve Cavendish on Mon, Nov 10, 2014, The Nashville Scene -Yesterday, a town hall-style meeting at East Park Community Center — hosted by East Nashville United, the parents group that opposes MNPS director Jesse Register's plans to change the setup of East Nashville schools — brought together concerned parents with Register, members of the school board and other elected officials for a sometimes heated gathering. The exchanges often broke along the charter debate that seems to embroil every Nashville school decision of late. Here are three takeaways from the meeting: (read more)

East Nashville meeting on schools gets heated

by Tom Wilemon, The Tennessean, Nov 9, 2014 - School board member Elissa Kim got put in the hot seat during a public forum Sunday about whether she was being forthright with her constituents regarding proposed campus closures in East Nashville — until Jesse Register came to her rescue.

In a meeting that grew heated and emotional, the director of schools rose from his seat and defended Kim.

"I'm not trying to take the meeting over," Register said. "I just think it's wrong-headed."
Kenny Byrd, the moderator of the meeting organized by East Nashville United, a group that opposes closing schools, had peppered Kim with several questions about a series of emails. The emails dealt with the reorganization plan and referenced someone with her first name. (read more)

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School Board approves Charter School for Donelson-Hermitage area in contentious meeting. (Updated Report)

Last night was a victory for school choice! This one-hour-and-twenty-minute meeting is devoted solely to consideration of the approval of a charter for STRIVE Collegiate Academy. This is one of the most interesting Metro School Board meetings I have ever watched. Ellissa Kim shines in this meeting and Will Pinkston looks like an ass.

A few months ago the school board adopted a policy that said new charter schools would only be approved if they were taking over failing schools or it they relieved overcrowding.  A couple months ago a new school applied for a charter from the School Board to open a school in the Donelson-Hermitage area and it did not meet one of those criteria. The School Board turned them down. They reapplied and last night were approved. Had they been turned down, they would have been the first charter to appeal and apply for approval under a new state authorizer provision.

Mr. Alan Coverstone, the Executive Director of the Office of Innovation, tells the board that a decision to deny would most likely be overturned on appeal (See time stamp 8:56). School Board member Jill Speering argues to reject the application (10:26), her main point being that in conformity with Roberts Rules of Order, the board should follow an established police. Speering is followed by Elissa Kim who makes a passionate argument (15:06 -22:54). She says she is not an expert on Roberts Rules but when only 30% of third graders can read on grade level that "overwhelms everything" including the finer points of Robert's rules. She says, "I'm excited by this application." She points out that of 18 schools in Metro cited by the state as being superior schools, seven of them were charter schools. That is 39% of the best schools are charter schools, yet charter schools only make up 12% of the schools. 

Will Pinkston appears obviously angry at Coverstone and Register. He puts Dr. Register on the spot and makes his state his position on the application.  Previously Register had not stated a position but he says he recommends approval. Pinkston  attacks Coverstone and Register for recommending approval saying the Board policy was developed with their input and something happened to change their mind. He says he is thinks he knows what it was but is not going to cast aspersions today, he will wait for another day. (see 1:11:00) I don't know what he means by that and wish he would have explaining himself. When one says they are not going to cast aspersions, they are casting aspersions.

Anti-school choice zealot Amy Frogge makes essentially the same argument as Jill Speering but with more hostility. "This entire process has seemed very dishonest to me. I've lost trust in our administrators," she says.

Departing Board Member Michael Hayes speaks in favor of approval saying, "charters have elevated our scores as a district" and, "this is an opportunity to bring in an incredibly high performing school."

The final vote is 5-3 for approval with Elissa Kim, Michael Hayes, Jo Ann Brannon, Anna Shepherd and  Cheryl Mayes voted in favor and Will Pinkston, Amy Frogge and Jill Speering voted against it.

Below is the Tennessean's report on the meeting:

Metro school board OK’s charter for Donelson-Hermitage

by Joey Garrison, August 21, 2014 - STRIVE Collegiate Academy received the go-ahead Thursday to open in Nashville after the Metro school board decided a new school option in Donelson-Hermitage outweighed the board’s stated priorities on where new charter schools should locate.

The board, after spirited debate, voted 5-3 to approve STRIVE’s revised charter on appeal, just two months after it had unanimously rejected the school’s initial proposal.(link)

Here is the Nashville Scene's report on the meeting: School Board Approves STRIVE Charter On Appeal

               

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Nashville's traditional public schools are to be held to the same standards as Charters.

This is the school board meeting of Tuesday August 12, 2014.


On the Saturday before the above meeting there was a four-hour committee meeting which was not televised. According to news reports, at that meeting, the board’s Governance Committee voted for a policy that would require that all of Nashville charter School publish financial documents, including a disclosure of the source and amount of any private funds that supplement public funds. The committee also voted to require the same of each public school. That policy was adopted at the August 12th MNPS Board meeting.

Anti-school choice zealot Amy Frogge led the effort to require this new policy and pro-school choice advocate Elissa Kim successfully argued that the same standard apply to charter public schools and traditional public schools.

Here are the Tennessean's report on this issue. Charter school financial transparency to mirror all Metro schools.  Charter school policy meant to promote transparency.

Here is the Nashville Scene's story included tweeted play-by-play of yesterday's meeting: School Board Mints New Charter Transparency Policies.
 
I have not watched the above video. Caring for my ill wife is a greater priority than blogging or engaging in political activity at this time, so I am cutting back on some of the things I have been doing. If you wish to watch this two-hour video, you can watch it in half the time, if you double the speed. I can usually watch videos of meetings in double speed and still get all of the content. If the video does not give you the option of watching in fast speed, here is a link that will show you how to do that. Rod

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MNPS blame budget woes on Charter Schools, Seeks More Funding. Workshop video of Special Meeting

Below is the video of the special joint MNPS and Metro Council Budget and Finance Committee meeting and the Metro Council Education Committee meeting that occurred last Thursday night.

When students leave a traditional school and enter a charter school the Metro and State per pupil funding of $9,100 follows the student to the charter school. MNPS officials argue that even though they no longer have to educate that child they still have "fixed" overhead cost and that causes the school system to be financially burdened.

Watching the workshop you will learn that the average annual school enrollment growth rate is 4% and only 5% of all Metro Public School student are in charter school. So, the number of students in traditional  public schools are continuing to increase. Charter schools are suppressing the rate of growth of new students in non-charter schools but still, more students are entering the non-charter schools system every year than are being siphoned off to charter schools.

I think the argument that charter schools are a drain on the school budget is bogus. MNPS should be able to absorb a student growth that is less than it would have been if not for charter schools without facing a severe financial hardship. An organization as large as the MNSP should be able to cut overhead. Overhead is not fixed. Watching this workshop you will learn that despite twelve school located in North and East Nashville being at below 70% capacity, the School Board is not considering closing or consolidating any school. 

I can't help but speculate what the argument of the MNPS would be if all of the students in charter schools were suddenly put in traditional schools. I would bet the argument would be that they need more money. They would argue that the additional students created a cost to the system greater than the $9100 per pupil increase in funding.

School Board member  Elissa Kim makes the point that of all Metro Schools, only eleven are classified as "excelling" and four of those are charter schools. Thirty-six percent of all "excelling" Metro Public schools are charter schools, she points out and yet charters make up only 11% of Nashville public schools. (For Elisha Kim's excellent comments see time stamp 1:11:18.)

Instead of scapegoating charter schools, the MNPS should be learning the lessons of charter schools, cutting the bloated bureaucracy, and embracing excellence in education. This is disappointing.

Below is The Tennessean's report on this meeting:

Metro school officials continued pointing to the rising cost of operating charter schools 

Thursday, but this time they had Metro Council members to their side as the two parties began a dialogue on a projected $23 million shortfall. The message from Metro Nashville Public Schools didn’t change: the expansion and increase of charter schools — 22 will be operating in Nashville next year — is expected to place a $62.2 million burden on the 2014-15 budget, up from $4.6 million just five years ago.(link)

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New Charter School approved. Special Called MNPS Board Meeting video of 08/20/13

This meeting is slightly less than an hour long. The only item on the agenda is, "Approval of

Recommendation for Explore  Community School Charter Appeal."

 

The charter school is approved with by a 5-3 vote after a passionate appeal for approval from school board member Elissa Kim.

 

Voting to approve was Elissa Kim, and four other board members.

voting against approval was Jill Speering, Amy Frogge and Will Pinkston

 

Below the the Tennessean's report on the meeting.  

 

Metro approves new charter school in East Nashville

“How can we not bring this opportunity to my kids in East Nashville?” Kim asked. “To me, it’s about justice.”

 

East End kindergarten students perform better in math than 96 percent of the kindergartners in the nation, Kim said, and in  reading they outperform 84 percent of their peers nationwide.
“This is life-changing,” she said. (link)

 

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Video, Summary and Commentary on the School Board meeting of 6/11/2013

"Balanced" calender and Policy on Academic Excellence dominate the meeting.

This meeting of the school board is two hours long. For anyone wanting a clear understanding of what the school board is doing, I suggest you follow along on the agenda as you watch the video. The School Board produces great agendas.  One can see all of the documents that School Board members see.  This agenda is 170 pages long. You can download your copy here: Agenda..



Public Comments:
During the public comments section  of the meeting (starting at 5:30 in the video), Chris Moth a parent of a child at J.T more speaks about the positive things happening at J. T. Moore  and  criticizes Boy's Prep Charter School in particular for their marketing which disparages regular public schools and, he criticizes charter schools in general and says it is time to take a breather from charter school proliferation.

Other parents speak out against the massive number of test children are required to take and ask for more information about which test are given and when test will be given.

The Budget:
Will Pinkerton gives a brief overview of the budget. To see a copy of the final school budget go to page 32 in the agenda.

A "balanced "calender:
Starting at 22:50 in the video there is a presentation and a discussion about the 2014-2015 school calender. This topic takes about 50 minutes. Part of the discussion focuses on "intersessions," which is  the spring and fall breaks designed to give struggling students extra instruction, so they can catch up. Instead of intersession, the School Board may add extra school days for everyone. Board member Michael Hayes asked if the board may add additional teacher work days without additional salary. Dr. Register says they may, but he would not recommend it.

Board member Elissa Kim makes a great point about the policy of greater school autonomy and how it relates to the school calender. "This is were the rubber hits the road," she says.  She ask if schools can adjust the calender to fit their own needs.  They cannot. She says that needs may differ drastically from school to school and she believes schools should have more autonomy to make those decisions. "I do not believe charter schools should be the only ones with autonomy," she says. "The needs of the schools are so vastly different that trying to manage it as a monolithic entity is just ...tough." I am really impressed with Ms Kim. To see her comments, see 53:09 in the video.

To see how The Tennessean covered the calender topic, follow this link: Nashville schools may drop intersession breaks.

Board Policy on Academic Excellence:
The Board adopts a resolution proposed by Board member Will Pinkston that establishes Board Policy on Academic Excellence. Board member Michael Hayes argues the standards are not nearly ambitions enough.  "I hope we can push ourselves and set the goals higher," he says. One of the goals which he argues is not high enough is that "upon or before the conclusion of the 2017-18 academic year, 50 percent of MNPS high-school students score 21 or higher on the ACT assessment of college readiness."  To see a copy of the resolution go to page 155 of the agenda. To see the discussion in the video see1:03:22 to 1:28:55.

Technology: There is a presentation on a technology plan for the classroom. To view the video presentation go to 1:29:17 and to see the handouts and learn more go to page 157 in the agenda.

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Update: What happend at the Oct 23rd School Board meeting?

This school board meeting is less than an hour long and most of it is devoted to the conflict between the State and Metro over the failure of the Board to follow the State's directive to approve the Great Hearts charter application and the subsequent State withholding of $3.4 million.
 
At the start of the meeting a delegation of educators from Juan Joe (Yang Hoe?) China are introduced and present gifts to Director Register. I learn that this is an educator exchange that has been going on for several years. Principals from Nashville schools have visited their schools and they visit ours. I would like to know who pays for it?  Does the associated university, which is Vanderbilt?  The State Department? Or, Metro Schools?  If paid for by the State Department or Vanderbilt, I think that this is just dandy. I hope Metro is not paying for this. If anyone knows how this is funded please let me know. This is not asked or explained.

At 8:15, there begins a discussion of Metro's loss of $3.4 million in BEP state funding following their denial of a Great Hearts charter school application.  A week earlier Metro School Board members held a special closed door private meeting with an attorney to discuss the issue. This is first public meeting since that secret meeting. Metro receives annual BEP funding in ten installments. The October receipt from the state reflected the loss of state funding. Dr. Register says that because of increased sales tax revenue the school system will not experience a cash flow problem due to the loss of state funding.  At this point in time, the school board will not have to cut funds. There are no plans to cut staff says Dr. Register. As of today, says Register there is no impact on the budget. However, the technology budget can't be increased as much as he would like.

School Board Chairman Cheryl D. Mayes summarizers her recent meeting with Education Commissioner Kevin Huffman and says they agreed to disagree on certain thing, one being that Mayes says the MNPS Board did not act unlawfully in denying the Great Hearts charter application. She says they are at an impasse on how to move forward. Huffman offered no solution for moving forward and restoring the $3.4 million. 

Ms Frogge (see 19:43-30;00) is adamant that the withholding will affect children and the withholding is "an extreme punishment." She is critical of the Chamber of Commerce's position on the issue.  She says we did not break the law and the state acted improperly in withholding the money. Frogge said, "I am ready to take this to court because that is what courts are for." She said if the board is not ready to litigate, some parents are she says. She wants to Board to hire their own attorney, but is told she will have to bring that as a motion at the next Board meeting. After more discussion she provides a summary of the motion she plans to bring (34:07). 

Board member Will Pinkston says folks in his district are weary hearing about this and it is time to move on and months or years of costly litigation is not the right approach to take. He says, "like it or not local school boards are creatures of the state. What the State giveth the state can taketh away."

Board member Elissa Kim (47:55) said. "It is not about rolling over or giving up but being strategically sound."  "It's a painful thought thinking about spending many more hours of our valuable time discussing this issue and wallowing in potential litigation when we have much bigger challenges to take on."

Chairman Cheryl Mayes concludes the meeting saying it is time to get back to the work we were elected to do.

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Kim wins School Board race

Winners Declared In Tight School Board Races

Candidates in two of the most heated Metro Nashville School Board races battled for votes on election night with the winners of the races defeating the opponents by a very small margin.more>>

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Elissa Kim in the last lap of the race continues to be encouraged

Friends,

We're in the last lap of the race and continue to be encouraged by what is happening on the ground: 

• Peter's personalized emails combined with his offer to drive to the polls led to 4 more votes on the last day of early voting; none were in our targeted pool of voters i.e., he convinced the non-voters to vote!
• Hunter talked with a voter living with his very sick father; the voter was so touched by the personalized postcard they received from us that he began to cry on the doorstep.
• Thanks to 26 different volunteers over the last three days alone, we wrote and talked to 
  hundreds of voters who at some point said they were for us. Objective?  Get 'em to the polls on Thursday.
• At Ugly Mugs on Monday, a woman named Anna introduced herself to let me know she was voting for us. Then a guy named Todd chased me down- he's now voting for us, too.  When I got home to review Emily's must-call list of 'undecided' voters (nothing gets done around here without Em Master B directing me), Anna and Todd were both on it.  Serendipity!

At the same time, broader dynamics in the race make me pause and keep me and others working hard with only hours left:

• While over 1300 people voted early in our district, we need *higher* turnout on Thursday.  High turnout = gooooood.  Low turnout = baaaaad. On a scale of 1-10, I would put my satisfaction level with early voting turnout at a 5.  Ehhh.  We can get to a 9 or 10 this week!  
• To state the obvious: we are up against an incumbent.  It’s a crowded field of four. 

What next?  

• Join Tim, Rebecca, Casey, Janna, Todd, and 40 other superhero volunteers who are working 4-hour (or more) shifts at the polls.  We need SEVEN more people to work the 3-7 (ish) slot, our most critical need!
• Wear your shirt all day Wednesday and Thursday.  Walk and smile down the runway. Its haute couture time. 
• Join Rob, Andrew, Tiffany, Will, Sara Beth, James, Stacie, and Greg and VOTE
• Channel your inner general; your voting troops are waiting for you to rally them! Even if they don't know it! 

Let's make the next 48 hours count, friends.
Elissa

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My endorsements for School Board

District 1: Sharon Gentry
As a result of redistricting, the District 1 school board race pits two incumbents against each other: Sharon Gentry and Edward T. Kendall. I do not see a whole lot difference between the candidates.  However, if I lived in this district I would probably vote for Sharon Gentry. Kendall has been on the board for 27 years and that is long enough. Also, I am concerned about the legal scandal that tainted Mr. Kendall although he may be guilty of nothing more than being the father of the person involved in the scandal. Also, Mr. Kendall got the endorsement of the SEIU.  All things being equal, I would prefer not to support a candidate endorsed by the SEIU. To see the District 1 candidates forum click here.

District 3: Jarad DeLozier

The three candidates are Jarod DeLozier, Fred Lee, and Jill Speering. Both Lee and Speering are former teachers. Jarod DeLozier is an east Nashville small business owner and has received the endorsement of both the Chamber of Commerce and the pro-charter school Great Public Schools group. I am supporting Jarad Delozier.  To see the District 3 candidates forum click here.






District 5: Elissa Kim
This is the District race that I am really excited about. The District 5 race pits current Metro School Board Chairman Gracie Porter against three challengers, one of which is Elissa Kim. Kim is the executive vice president of teacher recruitment for the national Teach for America organization. Teach for America recruits and trains teachers to teach in urban classrooms across the country.

Kim taught for Teach for America in New Orleans where she taught in one of the poorest districts in the nation. She created unprecedented success in an area where many thought there could only be failure.

Kim has received the endorsement of the Great Public Schools PAC and the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce. I have sent her a contribution. If I lived in her district, I would have her yard sign in my yard. To see the District 5 candidates forum click here.


District 7: Will Pinkston
Three candidates are vying for the District 7 school board seat: Will Pinkston, Alan C. Sharp, and Hillard Al Wilkins. Will Pinkston is by far the best qualified of those running in this district.  He has a lot of experience in education policy including serving as director of the State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE), a nonprofit nonpartisan group founded by former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist. He has the support of the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce and the Metro Nashville Education Association. This is the district I live in and I will be voting for Will Pinkston. To see the District 7 candidates forum click here.

District 9: Margaret Dolan
The 9th District School Board race is a crowded field with five candidates seeking the seat and several of them are well known. The candidates are Bob Bogen, Eric Crafton, Margaret O. Dolan, Amy Frogge and Ronnie Osborne.

In an earlier post, I had indicated I was supporting my friend Eric Crafton. While I did not support Eric in his English-only effort, I did support Eric in his race for the office of Juvenile Court clerk. As I said in that earlier post, "I know Eric to be a good, honest, caring person who has a passion for children. He is fiscally and socially conservative and is well-educated, has a sharp mind and has a thorough command of the issues." I still feel that way about Eric, but we have another good candidate in this race. That other candidate is Margaret Dolan.

As I have learned more about the candidates and as people whose opinion I respect have said complementary things about Margaret Dolan, I have taken a second look. Being a strong advocate of school choice, I think my views are more closely alined with those of Magaret Dolan on this important issue.

I am concerned about Ms Dolan's advocacy of the recent tax increase to fund increases in teacher starting salary. Our teacher starting salary was already the second highest in middle Tennessee. Only Murfreesboro city schools had a higher starting salary. I do not think a tax increase was justified and do not think the higher starting teacher salary will do anything to increase the performance of our schools.  I have concern that if Ms Dolan is on the Board, she will be an advocate for greater tax increases. I know Eric Crafton would not.

I differ with Eric Crafton on the issue of the Memorandum of Understanding issue. I support Register on that issue. While there may be merit to Eric Crafton's position that the solution to school performance is tutoring, I would not embrace tutoring at the expense of the academies and other reforms. On balance, I think Maraget Dolan would be the better choice for this seat. 

Margaret Dolan, is the vice president of community relations for Ingram Industries, has a lengthy record of volunteerism, has the endorsement of the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce, the teachers union (MNEA) the pro-charter schools group Great Public Schools, Mayor Karl Dean, Vice Mayor Diane Neighbors and several other council members.

To view the District 9 candidates forum click here.

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Nashville Schools need Elissa Kim

Matt Nemeth

 by  Matt Nemeth

Metro Nashville Schools are a mess.  Testing has found that fewer than 30% of third grades read at a proficient level.  Graduation rates are abysmal yet metro plans on spending $723 million dollars for this upcoming school year!  

Who can honestly say that they are satisfied with the current state of Metro Nashville Schools?

One person who aims to change this is Elissa Kim.  As an educator and resident of Nashville, Kim as seen the tragic effects that a poor school system has on students.  After graduating from Northwestern University, Kim joined Teach For America and was sent to New Orleans.  Placed in one of the poorest districts in the nation, Kim saw the toll that bureaucrats take on students.  Instead of offering solutions with the money they have, the school boards would simply politicize the underachieving students as a way to gain more money for their failing system.

Elissa Kim changed this.  By working hard to teach students and make sure they were learning, she created unprecedented success in an area where many thought there could only be failure.  The focus she gave her students changed their life and hers.  Foregoing plans to attend law schools, she joined Teach For America's leadership team full time.  As head of recruiting, she found people from all walks of life who would make great teachers and changed the lives of students forever.

Elissa Kim

Nashville can use a disciplined person like Elissa Kim to sit on the school board.  Her focus and dedication to the students first allows her to stand above the status quo.  She supports charter schools to offer competition to our failing system.  When elected, she will also use her recruiting power, through Teach For America, to bring top educators here to Nashville.

For the first time in decades, we stand to elect a leader who will not be satisfied with subpar results and will always put our children first.  By offering competition through charter programs and recruitment, we will see the needed change we have fought for.  We will finally be able to say that our children are getting the education they deserve.

Elect Elissa Kim for Metro School Board District 5!

Matt Nemeth is a Republican activist and the former host of one of Nashville's Republican  Breakfast groups.  Matt works as a salesman and currently lives downtown with his dog, Sam.

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