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| Ms. Burnworth's blog is a bit confusing. If I understand correctly, she wants the Jedi, of whom Libia Gil would apparently be a prime example, to be in charge of our schools. Sadly, Libia Gil can't seem to get a job as a superintendent since she was pushed out of CVESD in 2002. She has apparently started her own business, Targeted Leadership Consulting (see bottom of page). |
| Site-Based Management 2 opposing viewpoints |
| M. Burnworth: It's the hope of the future (in our galaxy, at least). |
San Diego Education Report by M. Larkins
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
Lowell Billings wants to save face
At the Chula Vista Elementary School District Board
meeting last night, Superintendent Lowell Billings
talked about helping fired principal Tim Suanico "save
face."
Billings wants to put a band-aid on a serious culture
clash.
Filipino principals routinely run into problems at
CVESD. I believe the reason lies in the conflict
between a traditional culture which requires a lot of
respect for authority figures, and the American culture,
which requires a lot of respect for employees--at least,
if they have a union, and the union bosses support
them. Assistant Superintendent Tom Cruz is either
unable or unwilling to help.
The problem surfaced for Tim Suanico last December,
when eleven teachers at Heritage Elementary School
in Otay Ranch wrote an anonymous letter to the
district complaining about Suanico.
That was when Billings should have acted.
But he didn't. Since Libia Gil came and established her
phony "site-based management" in CVESD, the district
has turned its back on problems at schools, preferring
to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars yearly to
lawyers to cover up the illegal actions the district takes
when problems have spun out of control.
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
Lowell Billings wants to save face
At the Chula Vista Elementary School District Board
meeting last night, Superintendent Lowell Billings
talked about helping fired principal Tim Suanico "save
face."
Billings wants to put a band-aid on a serious culture
clash.
Filipino principals routinely run into problems at
CVESD. I believe the reason lies in the conflict
between a traditional culture which requires a lot of
respect for authority figures, and the American culture,
which requires a lot of respect for employees--at least,
if they have a union, and the union bosses support
them. Assistant Superintendent Tom Cruz is either
unable or unwilling to help.
The problem surfaced for Tim Suanico last December,
when eleven teachers at Heritage Elementary School
in Otay Ranch wrote an anonymous letter to the
district complaining about Suanico.
That was when Billings should have acted.
But he didn't. Since Libia Gil came and established her
phony "site-based management" in CVESD, the district
has turned its back on problems at schools, preferring
to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars yearly to
lawyers to cover up the illegal actions the district takes
when problems have spun out of control.
| M. Larkins: It was part of the reason CVESD became so dysfunctional in 1993 |
Burner Blog by M. Burnworth
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Whole-System Change Does it Work?
Chula Vista Elementary School District was one of the
participants in a research study by Learning First
Alliance in 2003, who looked at how they approached
whole-system change. According to the case study,
"Decentralization and System Reform", by Wendy
Togneri and Lisa F. Lasarus, the school board
hired Dr. Libia (Libby) Gil as superintendent in
1993, hoping to stimulate change and promote better
performance through inspiration and support (Togneri
and Lasarus, 1993).
This change was based on the theory of decentralizaion,
and included decreasing the district level staff and
projecting a new sense of purpose. The Ball Foundation
was one of the consultants that they used to improve
their literacy achievement.
* Built a collective vision among stakeholders
* Developed a district-wide system of accountability to
insure that measurement tools to assess goal outcomes
were consistent.
* Set expectations to support principals as key to school-
level reform.
* Began school-level reform.
The research study explains how they developed a
systemic redesign process to support principals,
teachers, and students. But I wanted to know how it is
going now? Do they evaluate their system? What
progress and benefits do the stakeholders see as a
result of the redesign?
I chatted with my friend and former colleague, Christyn
Pope, an Instructional Focus Specialist at Chula Vista
Learning Community Charter School (CVLCC), about
how the district changes benefit her learning community.
She discussed how the district currently re-evaluates
and continually improve the system. They work with
Targeted Leadership Consulting and The Ball
Foundation to ensure that the coaching and strategic
planning reflect the districts goals and evidenced-based
instructional practices. Chula Vista Elementary School
District currently employs a Community of Practice
Cohort which ensures that communication bewteen the
schools and the district is reciprocol and that
collaboration and support is valued.
Leadership teams within schools include the principal,
administrative leads, and grade level representatives.
These teams have open lines of communication. The
teams are organized into school leadership teams, which
meet in cohorts monthly. The cohorts meet to foster
communication through professional development,
standards based planning, networking, and developing
action plans for schools. These cohorts allow for
continual evaluation of their system and foster motivation.
Christyn seems satisfied with the way the district works
now. As a former San Diego City Schools administrator,
who worked under the top down iron-fisted redesign in
early 2000, she appreciates the consistency of language
and goals that CVESD has and the management system
allows cross-level communication. She said that many of
the stakeholders, teachers, students, parents, principals,
board members, are encouraged and value the change
in the schools.
If the current SDUSD were to develop a district-wide
change policy, they should look to their neighbors,
CVESD, for inspiration.
Posted by mburnworth...
Profile of the author
* Industry: Education
* Location: La Mesa : CA : United States
Please describe how you could take the peel off an apple all in
one go:
I would start with a sharp knife at the top of the apple and carfully
peel it off in one piece. I've actually done this!
[Maura Larkins' note: you didn't tell HOW you'd do it. Would you
cut a strip around the apple, moving downward in a spiral? I'm
afraid that you also failed to describe the whole Libia Gil fiasco
at CVESD.]
Interests
* Fishing * snowboarding
* hanging out at the beach * reading
Favorite Movies
* Star Wars * Pirates of the Caribbean
* Harry Potter * The Wedding Singer
Favorite Music
* rock * ska * 91x
Favorite Books
* Harry Potter & the Inkheart series..
Monday, June 15, 2009
A New Hope
The educational bureaucracy is like The Republic and I,
and a few of my Jedi comrades, try to bring technological
balance to the educational Force. We, Jedi strive for
what we know is right, engaging students and promoting
creativity and learning, as the video “A Vision of K – 12
Students Today” communicates. Educational Jedi are
guardians of peace, justice, and using “engaging
technologies in collaborative inquiry-based learning
environments” (Nesbitt, 2007). There are colonies in far
reaching systems that are effective. Look what
guardians of quality education are doing in Kansas
There, teachers and administrators have the funding
and the Republic behind them. They teach the
Padawans (technological Jedi in training) and support
them along the way.
However, many of us live in the realms of Republics
where the empirical bureaucracy resists change. What
ever the reasons, lack of funding, lack of knowledge,
lack of motivation, change still needs to happen. If 76%
of teachers have never used a Wiki (Nesbitt, 2007) how
can us Jedi encourage, support, and inform our
Padawans. Society has changed from appreciating
sameness (clones) to learning about and valuing
differences. Our educational system needs A New Hope.
Jedi are not in control of systems, they support and
protect them. Therefore, if technological Jedi are
passionate about their tools, sites, and powers, they will
need to take Younglings and Padawans under their wing
to train and support them. Adding more Jedi to the Force.
Posted by mburnworth at 10:33 PM
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Whole-System Change Does it Work?
Chula Vista Elementary School District was one of the
participants in a research study by Learning First
Alliance in 2003, who looked at how they approached
whole-system change. According to the case study,
"Decentralization and System Reform", by Wendy
Togneri and Lisa F. Lasarus, the school board
hired Dr. Libia (Libby) Gil as superintendent in
1993, hoping to stimulate change and promote better
performance through inspiration and support (Togneri
and Lasarus, 1993).
This change was based on the theory of decentralizaion,
and included decreasing the district level staff and
projecting a new sense of purpose. The Ball Foundation
was one of the consultants that they used to improve
their literacy achievement.
* Built a collective vision among stakeholders
* Developed a district-wide system of accountability to
insure that measurement tools to assess goal outcomes
were consistent.
* Set expectations to support principals as key to school-
level reform.
* Began school-level reform.
The research study explains how they developed a
systemic redesign process to support principals,
teachers, and students. But I wanted to know how it is
going now? Do they evaluate their system? What
progress and benefits do the stakeholders see as a
result of the redesign?
I chatted with my friend and former colleague, Christyn
Pope, an Instructional Focus Specialist at Chula Vista
Learning Community Charter School (CVLCC), about
how the district changes benefit her learning community.
She discussed how the district currently re-evaluates
and continually improve the system. They work with
Targeted Leadership Consulting and The Ball
Foundation to ensure that the coaching and strategic
planning reflect the districts goals and evidenced-based
instructional practices. Chula Vista Elementary School
District currently employs a Community of Practice
Cohort which ensures that communication bewteen the
schools and the district is reciprocol and that
collaboration and support is valued.
Leadership teams within schools include the principal,
administrative leads, and grade level representatives.
These teams have open lines of communication. The
teams are organized into school leadership teams, which
meet in cohorts monthly. The cohorts meet to foster
communication through professional development,
standards based planning, networking, and developing
action plans for schools. These cohorts allow for
continual evaluation of their system and foster motivation.
Christyn seems satisfied with the way the district works
now. As a former San Diego City Schools administrator,
who worked under the top down iron-fisted redesign in
early 2000, she appreciates the consistency of language
and goals that CVESD has and the management system
allows cross-level communication. She said that many of
the stakeholders, teachers, students, parents, principals,
board members, are encouraged and value the change
in the schools.
If the current SDUSD were to develop a district-wide
change policy, they should look to their neighbors,
CVESD, for inspiration.
Posted by mburnworth...
Profile of the author
* Industry: Education
* Location: La Mesa : CA : United States
Please describe how you could take the peel off an apple all in
one go:
I would start with a sharp knife at the top of the apple and carfully
peel it off in one piece. I've actually done this!
[Maura Larkins' note: you didn't tell HOW you'd do it. Would you
cut a strip around the apple, moving downward in a spiral? I'm
afraid that you also failed to describe the whole Libia Gil fiasco
at CVESD.]
Interests
* Fishing * snowboarding
* hanging out at the beach * reading
Favorite Movies
* Star Wars * Pirates of the Caribbean
* Harry Potter * The Wedding Singer
Favorite Music
* rock * ska * 91x
Favorite Books
* Harry Potter & the Inkheart series..
Monday, June 15, 2009
A New Hope
The educational bureaucracy is like The Republic and I,
and a few of my Jedi comrades, try to bring technological
balance to the educational Force. We, Jedi strive for
what we know is right, engaging students and promoting
creativity and learning, as the video “A Vision of K – 12
Students Today” communicates. Educational Jedi are
guardians of peace, justice, and using “engaging
technologies in collaborative inquiry-based learning
environments” (Nesbitt, 2007). There are colonies in far
reaching systems that are effective. Look what
guardians of quality education are doing in Kansas
There, teachers and administrators have the funding
and the Republic behind them. They teach the
Padawans (technological Jedi in training) and support
them along the way.
However, many of us live in the realms of Republics
where the empirical bureaucracy resists change. What
ever the reasons, lack of funding, lack of knowledge,
lack of motivation, change still needs to happen. If 76%
of teachers have never used a Wiki (Nesbitt, 2007) how
can us Jedi encourage, support, and inform our
Padawans. Society has changed from appreciating
sameness (clones) to learning about and valuing
differences. Our educational system needs A New Hope.
Jedi are not in control of systems, they support and
protect them. Therefore, if technological Jedi are
passionate about their tools, sites, and powers, they will
need to take Younglings and Padawans under their wing
to train and support them. Adding more Jedi to the Force.
Posted by mburnworth at 10:33 PM
| CVESD board Nov. 2008 (Friends of the Jedi????) |
| ("Learning First" Alliance?) |
Site-based Management
Libia Gil
Experts in Education:
Amalia Cudeiro is in
business with the
subject of her
"research"
Libia Gil
Experts in Education:
Amalia Cudeiro is in
business with the
subject of her
"research"
CVESD Reporter by M. Larkins
Monday, April 14, 2008
It was obvious all along that Lowell Billings didn't
believe in site-based management
Chula Vista Elementary School District's
Superintendent Lowell Billings apparently watched
closely and learned from his predecessor Libia Gil,
who promoted a system she called "site-based
management." Billings continues to promote the
system.
But the system as implemented at CVESD always
involved top-down decisionmaking, never
democracy at the school site.
It also involved laziness and neglect. So things
would often get out of hand at various schools, and
then the district office would swoop in and fire
people, or, if they were political allies, bring them
back to the district office for their own protection.
But now Lowell has a new problem. The school that
is trying to make its own decisions is a charter
school. They don't seem to think that principal Erik
Latoni should make all the decisions.
Once again, Lowell wants to swoop in and take
control. He is threatening to to terminate the charter
of Feaster Elementary School because the people
who run the school actually work at the school.
Instead of "site-based decisionmaking," this is now
being called "a conflict of interest" by Mr. Billings.
It's not ideas that matter at CVESD, it's words. And
the meaning of the words changes whenever the
people in charge feel it's necessary.
It's probably worthwhile to note that CVESD recently
rehired Daniel Shinoff of Stutz, Artiano Shinoff &
Holtz. Apparently the board was impressed with
Shinoff's work at MiraCosta College. I notice a
striking similarity in the arguments used to attack
Feaster Elementary and the arguments used to
justify the actions of the majority-bloc of trustees at
MiraCosta.
Posted by Maura Larkins at 9:08 AM
Wednesday, December 05, 2007
CVESD has two bullying programs: the one they
talk about, and the one they don't
Chula Vista Elementary School District boasts
about its program that solves students conflicts by
talking them through.
CVESD has a different program for adults. It
involves strict silence. The target of the bully isn't
told about secret attacks. She never hears the
allegations. No one ever asks for her side of the
story. And she is usually one of the best and
brightest teachers in the district. At the same time,
incompetent and dishonest teachers remain in their
positions.
Top district administrators and the school board
don't ask what the truth of the matter is. They
simply dismiss the victim of the attack from
employment. And then their lawyers spend tax
dollars to defend the indefensible, instead of paying
those tax dollars to the people who should get
them: employees and students.
Today is the final day of arguments in San Diego
Superior Court in the Danielle Cozaihr case, a case
that fits the mold perfectly. Superintendent Lowell
Billings testified yesterday, making clear that he
makes no personnel decisions himself, and then
turning around and saying that he is responsible for
the decisions. He sounded like an uninvolved
figurehead who thinks he's among the highest paid
public employees in the county simply because he
goes around being seen (apparently without seeing
anything, or at least not remembering what he
sees.)
Five years ago, it seemed that Superintendent Libia
Gil and Asst. Superintendent Richard Werlin were
the problem. They were pushed out, and replaced
with new faces.
Now it's clear that Lowell Billings and Tom Cruz,
their replacements, are equally incompetent and
mean-spirited.
How can this be? CVESD has a board of trustees
consisting of five clones of George W. Bush: they
all try to stay as ignorant as possible, and they
think they are so morally superior that no matter
what they do, God will approve.
This may be something that the "Christian" board
members haven't thought of, or haven't cared
about: they have been given very specific
instuctions: "Thou shalt not bear false witness
against thy neighbor." This is an admonition that
Pamela Smith, Cheryl Cox/David Bejarano, Bertha
Lopez, Pat Judd, and Larry Cunningham disobey
everytime they pay their lawyers to perpetrate a
fraud on the court.
Monday, April 14, 2008
It was obvious all along that Lowell Billings didn't
believe in site-based management
Chula Vista Elementary School District's
Superintendent Lowell Billings apparently watched
closely and learned from his predecessor Libia Gil,
who promoted a system she called "site-based
management." Billings continues to promote the
system.
But the system as implemented at CVESD always
involved top-down decisionmaking, never
democracy at the school site.
It also involved laziness and neglect. So things
would often get out of hand at various schools, and
then the district office would swoop in and fire
people, or, if they were political allies, bring them
back to the district office for their own protection.
But now Lowell has a new problem. The school that
is trying to make its own decisions is a charter
school. They don't seem to think that principal Erik
Latoni should make all the decisions.
Once again, Lowell wants to swoop in and take
control. He is threatening to to terminate the charter
of Feaster Elementary School because the people
who run the school actually work at the school.
Instead of "site-based decisionmaking," this is now
being called "a conflict of interest" by Mr. Billings.
It's not ideas that matter at CVESD, it's words. And
the meaning of the words changes whenever the
people in charge feel it's necessary.
It's probably worthwhile to note that CVESD recently
rehired Daniel Shinoff of Stutz, Artiano Shinoff &
Holtz. Apparently the board was impressed with
Shinoff's work at MiraCosta College. I notice a
striking similarity in the arguments used to attack
Feaster Elementary and the arguments used to
justify the actions of the majority-bloc of trustees at
MiraCosta.
Posted by Maura Larkins at 9:08 AM
Wednesday, December 05, 2007
CVESD has two bullying programs: the one they
talk about, and the one they don't
Chula Vista Elementary School District boasts
about its program that solves students conflicts by
talking them through.
CVESD has a different program for adults. It
involves strict silence. The target of the bully isn't
told about secret attacks. She never hears the
allegations. No one ever asks for her side of the
story. And she is usually one of the best and
brightest teachers in the district. At the same time,
incompetent and dishonest teachers remain in their
positions.
Top district administrators and the school board
don't ask what the truth of the matter is. They
simply dismiss the victim of the attack from
employment. And then their lawyers spend tax
dollars to defend the indefensible, instead of paying
those tax dollars to the people who should get
them: employees and students.
Today is the final day of arguments in San Diego
Superior Court in the Danielle Cozaihr case, a case
that fits the mold perfectly. Superintendent Lowell
Billings testified yesterday, making clear that he
makes no personnel decisions himself, and then
turning around and saying that he is responsible for
the decisions. He sounded like an uninvolved
figurehead who thinks he's among the highest paid
public employees in the county simply because he
goes around being seen (apparently without seeing
anything, or at least not remembering what he
sees.)
Five years ago, it seemed that Superintendent Libia
Gil and Asst. Superintendent Richard Werlin were
the problem. They were pushed out, and replaced
with new faces.
Now it's clear that Lowell Billings and Tom Cruz,
their replacements, are equally incompetent and
mean-spirited.
How can this be? CVESD has a board of trustees
consisting of five clones of George W. Bush: they
all try to stay as ignorant as possible, and they
think they are so morally superior that no matter
what they do, God will approve.
This may be something that the "Christian" board
members haven't thought of, or haven't cared
about: they have been given very specific
instuctions: "Thou shalt not bear false witness
against thy neighbor." This is an admonition that
Pamela Smith, Cheryl Cox/David Bejarano, Bertha
Lopez, Pat Judd, and Larry Cunningham disobey
everytime they pay their lawyers to perpetrate a
fraud on the court.
Targeted Leadership Consulting
Senior Partners
Jeff Nelsen
Amalia Cudeiro
Senior Executive
Bonnie McGrath [a principal at CVESD when Libby Gil was
there]
Senior Consultants
Sara Exposito
Shirley Stiles
Laserik (Las) Saunders
Pamela Rubin
Sonja Brookins Santelises, Ed.D
Richard Spero
J. Chris Coxon
Ana Lopez-Rosende
Connie Smith
Jean Stiles
Superintendents Emeritus
Bob Hill
Libi Gil
Thomas W. Payzant
Operations
Karen Waggoner
Director of Publications & Outreach
Nicole Moore
Director of Business Development
Luis Santelises
Brand Manager / Graphic Artist
Danny Tellers
Affiliations
The Third Mile Group
Organizational Services, Inc.
downloaded 06-18-09
Senior Partners
Jeff Nelsen
Amalia Cudeiro
Senior Executive
Bonnie McGrath [a principal at CVESD when Libby Gil was
there]
Senior Consultants
Sara Exposito
Shirley Stiles
Laserik (Las) Saunders
Pamela Rubin
Sonja Brookins Santelises, Ed.D
Richard Spero
J. Chris Coxon
Ana Lopez-Rosende
Connie Smith
Jean Stiles
Superintendents Emeritus
Bob Hill
Libi Gil
Thomas W. Payzant
Operations
Karen Waggoner
Director of Publications & Outreach
Nicole Moore
Director of Business Development
Luis Santelises
Brand Manager / Graphic Artist
Danny Tellers
Affiliations
The Third Mile Group
Organizational Services, Inc.
downloaded 06-18-09
January 13, 2011
'An Insidious Twist' on Budget
Cuts
Posted on January 13, 2011
by Emily Alpert
The teachers union president calls the new
budgeting in San Diego Unified, which allows schools
more power over painful budget decisions, "a
particularly insidious twist."
The district is "using the budget to inspire panic and
division among educators and parents," Bill Freeman
said.
In a letter last week to teachers, he wrote:
Under the democratic-sounding "site-based
budgeting process," educators and parents are being
directed by the District to choose which jobs and
programs to cut, placing [union] members in the
position of determining which of our brothers and
sisters to effectively toss out into the street.
Freeman later said teachers shouldn't be put in the
position of deciding which jobs to cut.
"They don't see the bigger picture of the school
oftentimes," he said. But he didn't say that the central
offices should be deciding everything. School
administrators should come up with the cuts and then
give them to school committees of employees and
parents to review, Freeman said...
comment by obmomm:
I come from a pro-union background and family. I
understand the value of unions. My issue is not with
the union, it's with the leadership. I'm sorry to see Mr.
Freeman wanting to have his cake AND eat it too. If
these were flush times he certainly wouldn't want the
administrators making the decisions. I have issues
with the "passing the buck" move admin and the
board have pulled too, but this is the opportunity for
the union to speak about supporting each other as
members and making tough decisions on a
bargaining basis, not to spew the familiar "this isn't
fair" whining we've come to expect from these
leaders. I feel like the leadership of this union does
what makes them look good among union leadership,
not what's good for the community and the kids, and
the membership at large. How many people know that
there is only 10% voter participation for union
leadership? Is the union working to remedy this lack
of involvement by membership? I've made it a side
project to question teachers about their desires in
this budget crunch. By far the answers have been to
reopen bargaining and share the burden. When was
the last time the union surveyed it's members and
when was the last time they listened to the people
doing the work at the sites? Come back to the table
and spare your members having to make these
hideous decisions!
'An Insidious Twist' on Budget
Cuts
Posted on January 13, 2011
by Emily Alpert
The teachers union president calls the new
budgeting in San Diego Unified, which allows schools
more power over painful budget decisions, "a
particularly insidious twist."
The district is "using the budget to inspire panic and
division among educators and parents," Bill Freeman
said.
In a letter last week to teachers, he wrote:
Under the democratic-sounding "site-based
budgeting process," educators and parents are being
directed by the District to choose which jobs and
programs to cut, placing [union] members in the
position of determining which of our brothers and
sisters to effectively toss out into the street.
Freeman later said teachers shouldn't be put in the
position of deciding which jobs to cut.
"They don't see the bigger picture of the school
oftentimes," he said. But he didn't say that the central
offices should be deciding everything. School
administrators should come up with the cuts and then
give them to school committees of employees and
parents to review, Freeman said...
comment by obmomm:
I come from a pro-union background and family. I
understand the value of unions. My issue is not with
the union, it's with the leadership. I'm sorry to see Mr.
Freeman wanting to have his cake AND eat it too. If
these were flush times he certainly wouldn't want the
administrators making the decisions. I have issues
with the "passing the buck" move admin and the
board have pulled too, but this is the opportunity for
the union to speak about supporting each other as
members and making tough decisions on a
bargaining basis, not to spew the familiar "this isn't
fair" whining we've come to expect from these
leaders. I feel like the leadership of this union does
what makes them look good among union leadership,
not what's good for the community and the kids, and
the membership at large. How many people know that
there is only 10% voter participation for union
leadership? Is the union working to remedy this lack
of involvement by membership? I've made it a side
project to question teachers about their desires in
this budget crunch. By far the answers have been to
reopen bargaining and share the burden. When was
the last time the union surveyed it's members and
when was the last time they listened to the people
doing the work at the sites? Come back to the table
and spare your members having to make these
hideous decisions!
San Diego
Education Report
Education Report
| Con Pro |