| Some board members disappointed with superintendent candidates Saturday, March 29, 2003 NAPLES NEWS www.naplesnews.com/03/03/naple By RAY PARKER, brparker@naplesnews.com Benjamin Marlin, an educator not from Florida but familiar with the state, is the third candidate competing to become the next school superintendent of Collier County. The former Palm Beach County superintendent, whose name was revealed Friday afternoon, will join educator Vickie Markavitch and businessman Jeffrey Friedel in the first round of interviews today. But even before the candidates arrive in Naples, some Collier County School Board members were upset with the process. "I'm disappointed at the quality of candidates and I wanted to know more about who was eliminated and why," board Chairwoman Linda Abbott said Friday. During Thursday's workshop, consultant William Attea presented the board with two names, Markavitch and Friedel, and said another candidate, who turned out to be Marlin, would be forthcoming. That's not what board member Steve Donovan expected. "I expected a higher caliber of applicants or more of them," he said. AT A GLANCE Today's interviews will be held at the Administrative Center, 5775 Osceola Trail, and are open to the public. The schedule will be: 12:12-2:15 p.m. board interviews Markavitch; 2:30-4:30 p.m. interviews Marlin; 4:45-6:45 p.m. interviews Friedel; and begins deliberations at 7 p.m. But board members Pat Carroll and Dick Bruce noted judging someone on paper can't measure up with interviewing that person. "I trust Dr. Attea (on these candidates)," Carroll said of the president of the search firm, Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates. Board member Kathleen Curatolo defended the job the search firm has done so far for the district. "I think Attea is doing a great job in guiding us through the process," she said. Of the three candidates, local education activists are already questioning Markavitch's background. During Thursday's workshop, Joy Jirik asked Attea about his relationship with Markavitch. In the mid-1990s, both Attea and Markavitch were superintendents in neighboring districts in Illinois. But Attea said his relationship with her was just professional, and that he may have seen her in the last eight years or so, but that they are not close friends. "Absolutely not true," he said of their past having any influence on his presenting her to the board. Markavitch began as a special education teacher in 1969, and she then spent the next 32 years rising up the educational chain at various districts in Michigan and Illinois. She held the top job in both Skokie School District 73½ and Niles Township District 219, which are both located in Skokie, Ill. In 1998, she left Niles Township with at least $74,000 in additional retirement benefits that were not included in her employment contract, according to a published report in the Skokie Review. The newspaper reported that board member Sharon Deemar said, "To be honest, I kind of felt we were held hostage." She did not elaborate. Markavitch has been a superintendent finalist recently in at least two other districts, in Grand Rapids, Mich., and Salt Lake City, Utah. The Salt Lake Tribune newspaper reported Markavitch withdrew her name from running the 24,300-student district because of a "a low salary package." For the past five years, she's headed the Penn-Harris-Madison School Corp., a district with more than 10,000 students. Markavitch was unavailable for comment Friday. Friedel of Baltimore has a nontraditional background with experience in the military and business worlds. He has worked to improve various districts through a private company called 4GL School Solutions in Baltimore. Marlin is a retired administrator who worked nearly 30 years in the Montgomery County Public Schools in Rockville, Md. He ended his career there as an assistant superintendent and became the interim superintendent for 18 months in Palm Beach County. It's the 14th largest district in the nation with more than 150,000 students. Today's interviews will be held at the Administrative Center, 5775 Osceola Trail, and are open to the public. The schedule will be: 12:12-2:15 p.m. board interviews Markavitch; 2:30-4:30 p.m. interviews Marlin; 4:45-6:45 p.m. interviews Friedel; and begins deliberations at 7 p.m. Here are the other applicants for the Collier County school superintendent job: n Ted Adams, superintendent, Ogden, Utah n William Bainbridge, president, Blacklick, Ohio n Craig Bangtson, superintendent, Leichfield, Ky. n Steven Caples, superintendent, North Canton, Ohio n Ron Ciranna, superintendent, Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich. n Steven Constantino, principal, Manassas, Va. n Daniel Curry, superintendent, Parkersburg, W.Va. n Phyllis Edwards, assistant superintendent, Palm Coast, Fla. n Nicholas Fischer, superintendent, Newark, Del. n David Gee, superintendent, Centerport, N.Y. n Gail Gerry, no title provided, Jupiter, Fla. n Jean Atkin Gool, superintendent, Canadensis, Pa. n Kendra Johnson, associate superintendent, Shawnee Mission, Kan. n Joseph Joyner, area superintendent, Apopka, Fla. n Lorraine Lang, assistant superintendent, Roanoke, Va. n Mary Linton, superintendent, King & Queen, Va. n Carips Lopez, director bilingual education, Detroit, Mich. n Thomas Maher, superintendent, Lancaster, Ohio; n Nylajean McDaniel, superintendent, Cleveland Heights, Ohio n Constance Moss, assistant superintendent, Buffalo, N.Y. n Hilda Ortiz, chief education officer, Rochester, N.Y. n Kathleen Reynolds, superintendent, Hull, Mass. n Karen Sarkisian, superintendent, Haverhill, Mass. n Gary Smith, consultant, Little Rock, Ark. n Janice Solkov, principal, Dresher, Pa. n Lynn Spampinato, special assistant to CEO, Philadelphia n Andrea Taylor, district coordinator, St. Joseph, Mo. n Dennis Thompson, director, Nashville, Tenn. n Larry Thompson, principal, Belmar, N. J. n Otho Tucker, director charter schools, Sanford, N.C. n Louis Wangberg, CEO, Plantation, Fla. n William Weitzel, superintendent, Oklahoma City, Okla. n Richard Werlin, deputy superintendent, San Diego. |
| (Richard Werlin was not chosen for this position.) Mukilteo pares school chief slate to eight By Lukas Velush Herald Writer Published on: 3/20/2003 MUKILTEO -- The Mukilteo School District has narrowed to eight the list of candidates to replace former superintendent Gary Toothaker. "I feel pleased that we've attracted some interesting and seemingly well-qualified people," said Geoff Short, Mukilteo School District board president. "I'm looking forward to interviewing them." The school board asked Toothaker to resign last October after he allegedly had an affair with a high school principal he supervised. Candidate Marci Larson is the only woman on the list, which was winnowed down from 24. She's also the only in-house candidate. Only three women applied, and one dropped out voluntarily. Short said he is pleased that the list includes out-of-state and in-state candidates, superintendents and nonadministrators, and representatives from big and small districts. Candidates will be interviewed before the public on March 25 and 26. The interviews will be held at the district's headquarters at 9401 Sharon Drive, Everett. The district expects the list to be narrowed to three people after a March 27 executive session. Interviews, which will be conducted by school board members, teachers, district staff, parents and community members, are taking place at 3:30, 5, 7 and 8:30 p.m. each days To be interviewed on Tuesday are: Ted Adams, superintendent of the Ogden City School District, Ogden, Utah. Richard Werlin, deputy superintendent of the Chula Vista Elementary School District, Chula Vista, Calif. Richard Gregory, assistant professor of educational administration at California Lutheran University, Thousand Oaks, Calif. Marci Larson, executive director of teaching and learning at the Mukilteo School District. To be interviewed on Wednesday: Jim Busey, superintendent of the Lake Chelan School District, Chelan. Rick Schulte, superintendent of the Oak Harbor School District, Oak Harbor. Jerry Wilson, superintendent of the Hermiston School District, Hermiston, Ore. . Tom Kelly, chief operating officer for the state Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction in Olympia. Reporter Lukas Velush: 425-339-3449 or lvelush@heraldnet.com. @3@3 www.heraldnet.com/Stories/0 3/3 |
| Richard Werlin has spread his special brand of employee discipline to California's Bay Area, creating another trauma for children and another embarrassment for his employers. Werlin was able to keep his name out of the paper. All the blame, as usual, went to people below him. But this time the employers weren't able to keep themselves out of the paper. |
| Werlin talks the talk of a nice guy who cares about kids: even his license plate claims this. But he doesn't walk the walk. He is abusive to kids and teachers, and protects no one but union leaders, the school board, and their cronies. |
| Richard Werlin was an understandable choice for Assistant Superintendent of Human Relations West Contra Costa County Unified School District, the district that clamped down on the Downer Five. |
| Richard Werlin, former asst. supt. CVESD and WCCSD (Richmond, CA) |
| The warnings given on this website about events at Chula Vista Elementary School District proved prophetic. |
| Richard T. Werlin spins another school district (WCCCUSD) out of control. |
| These school districts dodged a bullet |
| Obviously, there are bullies at Sheldon Elementary, but not all of them are children. The adults involved are very reminiscent of the adults involved in the Maura Larkins case in Chula Vista, CA. In fact, two individuals were involved in both cases! They are Richard Werlin and Pixie Hayward- Schnickele. |
| CTA director Pixie Hayward-Schnickele, who is, co-incidentally, a teacher in Jenny Mo's district, approved the actions of CTA in covering up violations of law, including crimes, in Chula Vista. (Or maybe it's not a co-incidence that Werlin came to Pixie's district? Maybe Pixie was influential in Werlin's hiring? Often there are teachers on the interview committees for administrators. Pixie helped cover up Rick Werlin's (and CTA's) crimes and other violations of law committed in Chula Vista Elementary School District from 2001-2003. See: CTA lawyer Hersh tried to trick court regarding Obstruction of Justice in the Maura Larkins case.) |
| No, the problem is not Richmond schools in particular, although the superintendent of West Contra Costa County Unified School District, Bruce Harter, apparently disregarded this site when he hired Werlin in 2006. He flunked Google. (Or maybe Rick Werlin was exactly what he wanted???) |
| He did the same thing at Castle Park Elementary in Chula Vista Elementary School District. Fortunately, the teacher in Chula Vista was at home, so the police left empty-handed. Werlin's testimony under oath has been contradicted by teachers on more than one occasion. To put it simply, Werlin has a habit of making foolish decisions, then making up false stories to justify his decisions. |
| In January 2007, Richmond, California second-grade teacher Jenny Mo was arrested in front of her students when she spoke out about children bullying other children at the school, and then refused to be silenced by Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources Rick Werlin. Does the name Werlin sound familiar? To readers of this site, and people in an assortment of school districts across the country where he has worked, Mr. Werlin's name is indeed familiar. |
| Werlin most likely got an okay from Gail Mendez before he took action against Jenny Mo. Gail Mendez is known for her attacks on teachers who speak out. |
| Recently, parents have been asking if those in charge of Richmond, California schools have gone" nuts." |
| Richard Werlin seems to have developed a habit of telling principals to call the police when a teacher even threatens to go to the media. |
| Richard Werlin and the arrest of 2nd-grade teacher Jenny Mo at WCCCUSD |
| How does he get rehired? First, because anti-teacher board members and superintendents think people like Werlin are just what they need--apparently even though his actions tend to result in legal bills costing hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars. But let's not forget the enormous help Werlin gets from California Teachers Association. CTA works with people like Werlin to protect CTA leaders from responsibility for wrongdoing. Werlin received an enormous amount of help from the California Teachers Association when he was covering up wrongdoing by himself and a small group of politically-connected (politically-connected means connected to the union) teachers in Chula Vista Elementary School District from 2001 to the present. Apparently the first thing Werlin did when he got to WCCCUSD was to cultivate union president Gail Mendes, who had a personal relationship with Werlin that included calling him on his cell phone during vacation. |
| Rick Werlin, who has been pushed out of district after district (in Texas, New York, and California), always seems to get rehired. |
| This teacher went "off message" when she talked to outsiders about bullying at her school. Just as happened in Chula Vista, Jenny's fellow teachers were just as interested in silencing her as the district was. CTA does not take kindly to teachers who speak out. |
| (contd. from above) A remarkable characteristic of the Downer group is their willingness to speak out: Rigid drive for literacy burdens some teachers Teachers Stand Up for Professionalilsm Update on Downer 5 Struggle by Eduardo Martinez The Downer 5 has now increased to the Downer 10. This time administration has decided to intimidate the Downer staff by using the evaluation process. Six teachers who have supported the Downer 5 in staff meetings and who are being evaluated this year, have received unsatisfactory with recommendtions to not be rehired. I am one of the six who got a bad evaluation. The union will fight these evaluations, mostly on technicalities, ignoring the real issues. Unfortunately for me, the administration followed the timeline more or less. Fortunately for the issues, the union will focus on harrassment when dealing with my evaluation. Below is an example of the nonsense this district has put me through. The following, written the day after it happened, is my remembrance of what transpired at an Open Court unit planning meeting held for me and me only. I had meant to send it out at the time it happened just because it was such a bizarre experience, but I send it out now to help illustrate how my evaluation is part of a punitive campaign to silence my advocacy for my students and my school. In my unsatisfactory evaluation this incident is referred to in the following recommendation for improvement: "Mr. Martinez neds to maintain a professinal tone of voice and manner when discussing issues with his peers (Make up Unit Planning Session 2/10/06)." I must add that Ms. Melodia, my evaluator, was not at the unit planning nor did she ever talk with me about the incident. I am also the only teacher that was given a special two-literacy-coaches-for-one-teacher make up unit planning session although several other teachers have missed these sessions. Comments in brackets are added for clarification. ************************************************ [The times are approximations, but very close to the exact times.] Fabulous Friday, February 10, 2006 As many of you know, I missed an Open Court unit planning session because I had a doctor�s appointment. To make sure that all the fifth grade teachers were �on the same page� and knowing that the fifth grade teachers could not possibily retain and pass on the information imparted during the in service, the literacy department or my principal or the head of personnel, someone (although administration wants accountability, no one has been able to tell me who is responsible for the whole or even a part of the Downer situation) decided that I was worth the extra money and that my students can do as well with a sub for a day. My day started with an observation of my ELD lesson. The principal, an administrator from downtown, my substitute and my vice-principal showed up in my room even before the morning announcements began. I was finishing up with directions for a sponge writing activity so I could do my usual morning paperwork. Before the announcements or the pledge, everyone but the sub walked out. I was a bit confused since I was told that I would be observed for my ELD lesson. Later in the principal's office, I learned that the downtown administrator thought that my sponge activity was my ELD lesson. I was lucky to have had a chance to talk to her before she went back to the downtown office. At 11 AM I went to the library to for my Open Court training. I showed up with my video camera, but without my Unit 3 teacher�s edition. [I brought a camera as a imparital observer. The literacy coaches had been rather heavy handed with their Open Court propaganda and were not inclined do discuss pedagogy. I just waned to insure that any attempts to have real discussions would not be twisted into the negative statement that it has become. Also the principal had come into my classroom during instruction time to inform me that I WOULD BE HAVING AN OPEN COURT UNIT PLANNING SESSION! Her tone of voice and the fact that she interrupted my lesson to inform me, led me to suspect that this might be more than a simple inservice, that it might be a test of my commitment to stay in the classroom with my students. Unfortunately for my students, fortunate for me, I capitulated. The inservice was to be on that very same day but they could not get a substitute, so it ended up taking place on Friday.] 11 - 11:20 I sit alone in the library waiting for someone to come start the inservice. Finally one of the literacy coaches comes out of her office an notices me. She tells me that I need my Unit 3 and >that the inservice will take place in a room off the library. 11:20 -11:30 I go to my room to get my Unit 3 teacher�s edition. My students delay me with questions. 11:30 - 11:40 The literacy coach tells me that session will be only the two of us since the other coach had a medical emergency. Pleasantries are exchanged and we begin the inservice. (I decide that I don�t need the camera as witness since there is only one of them. I keep my camera in its case.) I immediately begin taking notes to capture all the wonderful information which will be shared with me. The first tidbit I start to copy down is a testimonial of a second grade teacher who is amazed between the fantastic improvements in the students from the year before and the current students. This teacher doesn't know if it is the fact that the current group of students is the first cycle of "totally trained on Open Court kiddies" or....what else could it be??? She begins to give me a couple of more testimonials, but notices that I am taking notes, (Maybe it's also the fact that I am asking her to repeat certain parts so I can write it down correctly.) and blurts out that I can�t quote her on anything that she�s said. I don�t understand why I can�t quote what has been said to others before me and ask her. Because I don't want you to. Why wouldn't you want me to qu... It's none of your business. If I don't want to be quoted, it's my right to not be quoted. If I'm attending an inservice in a public place on school time, I can quote anything I hear. You're making this a hostile work enviromment and I don't have to be a part of it! She walks out of the room and leaves me by my lonesome. 11:40 - 11:55 I wait for someone to continue the inservice. 11:55 - 12:10 She returns. I ask if she is ready to resume. She says yes and sits down. Immediately after, the second literacy coach shows up like the calvary to the rescue. We exchange pleasantries about her family and I begin to take out my camera. (Now there are two of them). I try to explain to them that I will be filming their inservice, but before I have a chance to finish my explanation, the newly arrived literacy coach, firmly says NO! I insist that I must and she says, �Read my lips...NO!� at which point I state that we have a problem. She says that she doesn�t care what my problem is and that I can go talk to the principal if I like. I tell her that I would like to very much so and walk to the principal�s office. 12:10 - 12:45 In the principal�s office, I explain the situation, asking for an impartial observer. Ms. Uribes agrees to find one for me and has me wait in her office while she goes search for one. 12:45 - 1:05 The principal returns with someone from the ELD office. I begin asking her questions to see whether I can trust her to be an impartial observer. She tells me that she did not come to be interviewed, >but to be an impartial observer. I tell her that I >need to ask the questions I am asking to feel assured that she is in fact an impartial observer. She understands my position and lets me continue with my >questions. The questions lead to a discussion of pedagogy and I am assured that she will be a fair observer. We return to the site for the unit planning. 1:05 - 1:15 The observer announces herself and her role. Everyone agrees that this is okay. Before we can get into anything of substance, the coach who arrived late (family concerns kept her away from school) announces that she hasn�t had lunch and it is now time. She suggests that we take 45 minutes for lunch. I accept. She stands in doorway looking at me. I stay in my seat. She repeats that we are having lunch and I have to be back in 45 minutes (not in a pleasant tone). I say okay. She continues to stand in doorway. I continue to remain seated. She informs me that whether or not I want to take lunch, she is going to take hers, then she leaves. I turn to the observer and ask her if she can figure what that exchange was about. She says she will speak to the literacy coach. 1:15 - 2:00 I do not want to go to my room and disturb the classroom. I go to the teachers� lunchroom and sit. 2:00 - 2:10 The observer and I wait for the literacy coaches to show up. 2:10 - 2:40 We begin the inservice with a discussion of my successes and challenges in the classroom using Open Court. By the time I finish sharing what I do in the classroom, the literacy coach announces that it is the end of the school day and thanks me for coming. I thank the impartial observer for her help and leave with all the invaluable information gleaned from this special inservice. — Eduardo Martinez 2006-04-20 from Susan Ohanian's blog http://susanohanian.org/outrage_fetch.php?id=396 |
| WCCCUSD and the Downer Five |
| The Downer Five Eduardo Martinez, Elizabeth Jaeger Michael McDonald Thomas Prather Linda Prairie |
| The Downer 5 has now increased to the Downer 10 [Note: This article is from Susan Ohanian's website. Susan Ohanian won the 2003 NCTE George Orwell award for distinguished contribution to honesty and clarity in public language.] Ohanian Comment: I have posted several items about the mistreatment of the Downer Five. The story continues. Of course the behavior of the school personnel is reprehensible. But the union's refusal to respond to the attack on teacher professionalism is also reprehensible. When teachers are punished for standing up for pedagogy, their punishment should not be treated as a technicality. Teachers who remain silent in the face of pedagogical assault lose their professionalism. (contd. below) |
| [Note from Maura Larkins: It should be noted that Susan Ohanian is outraged when teachers are attacked for promoting her special pet project, getting rid of standards and standardized testing, but Susan seems to think that CTA's abusive and illegal tactics are fine at other times. Susan wants to keep CTA in control, but she clearly wants to control CTA. Susan doesn't appear to be interested in making CTA a democracy, nor is she interested in demanding that CTA obey the law.] |
| Bruce Harter, Superintendent of West Contra Costa County Unified School Districtin Richmond, California, seems to have flunked Google when he hired Richard Werlin. |
| Who Should be allowed to talk about school reform? Apparently only people who agree with Susan Ohanian and CTA. |
| Werlin at CVESD |



