Gary Solomon: B3's Babysitter

It's amazing what happens when reporters are able to investigate stories instead of reviewing Bruce Rauner's talking points for inclusion in any and all editorials. Such is the case with the excellent investigations the Sun-Times continues into the ceaseless connections between City Hall and its contractors. In this week's installment, readers  learn about Gary Solomon: SUPES CEO and B3 "conduit." 

Solomon's emails to Beth Swanson, Emanuel's then-deputy chief of staff for education issues were so frequent that Swanson described him in an interview Friday as, "Barbara Byrd-Bennett's conduit--an extension of her team who pushed for her hiring."

Conduit seems like a polite word for someone who, according to the article, complained on B3's behalf that she was kept out after midnight by high-ranking CPS officials (waah!), lobbied the Mayor's office for her "Wish List" (all charters please!), and negotiated how exactly how many days B3 could be counted on to be physically present in the district (zero!) though she would be serving as the CEO. Aside from k being a "serial networker who emailed constantly," Solomon served as nanny-in-chief for Triple B.

Solomon's judgement is questionable--and kickback likely steep--for him to proclaim Bennett would "nail" the top post in CPS. She nailed it, right out of the district and into a Federal investigation as a result of SUPES. Chicago taxpayers and anyone employed by CPS is still getting nailed thanks to the $20.5M contract Bennett and Solomon are now infamous for.

CPS officials, when asked about the glaring conflicts, answered with variations on the theme of huh?

31 & Done: B3's Long Haul

Buh-bye, B3

Barbara Byrd-Bennett, October 12, 2012: "I'm not sure if it's 8 years, it could be 10, it could be 12, but I'm here. I don't intend to go anywhere. I don't know what you do, other than sign in blood. I mean, I'm here and I am not going. I'm here for the long haul."

Barbara Byrd-Bennett, May 29, 2015: "I write to submit my resignation from the position of Chief Executive Officer of the Chicago Public Schools...effective June 1, 2015."

***

Rahm Emanuel, October 12, 2012: "Most importantly, she [B3] understands the essential quality of accountability in the system...she needs to institute a culture of accountability."

Rahm Emanuel, June 1, 2015: "I am saddened by the circumstances that have led to Barbara's resignation and I wish her well."

***

In these reform-y times, WCT doesn't know what constitutes "the long haul," but 31 months seems short even by the staunchest reform-y standards. Then again, when one presides over a litany of school closings, awarding of no-bid contracts, and the proliferation of charter schools, maybe 31 months is an eternity.

Who's up for some cornholing?

Although the kind folks at CFE probably meant to say "toasting and bean bags," there are a few other people who aren't offering any beer with their cornholing.

 BBB has been effectively cornholing educators and taxpayers nation-wide for years, along with Deb Quazzo and her gang of thieves, SUPES big shots, Aramark head honchos, and a wide variety of hedge fund managers, charter profiteers, vendors, philanthro-capitalists, and kick-back artists.

We're baaaack.

Much like meaningless edu-acronyms, buildings with cockroaches a-creepin',  and babble from Rahm & B3, WCT is back!

Blaine's principal Troy LaRaviere proudly states in a SunTimes article that neighborhood schools aren't has-beens, "Public school students learned far more in one year than charter school students did." He helpfully provides our mayor with some next-steps, "In the face of these results, the mayor’s next press conference on schools should be much different from his last. He should announce that CPS will cease its effort to divert funding from public neighborhood schools into his failed charter experiment. An immediate surge of investment in public neighborhood schools should follow." We couldn't agree more.

It's a good thing we didn't spend our weekend waiting for such an announcement. Instead, B3's bleh email arrived to our inboxes this morning with this rousing fact: "Their [teachers] success in the classroom is evidenced by a slew of recent data, including improved NWEA scores, rising attendance levels, and a District-high graduation rate of X percent, all of which moves us closer to our goal of preparing every student for success in college and beyond." X percent? That's quite a feat!

Further, we were informed of, “...the investments we have made in your schools, including facility upgrades, increased technology, and expanded programs like STEM and IB will provide you with the supports you need to rase [sic] the bar higher and help students thrive.” WCT has heard of lots of malfunctioning copiers, computers, and unusable facilities, all in time for the first day. That must be what B3 means when she issues this spoiler alert: “It [teaching] requires maximum effort and can be fraught with daily challenges. Yet the rewards are staggering…”  We hope to be around to see such staggering rewards if only CPS let’s us do our jobs correctly in the first place.

To the teachers who succeed in the face of all that’s happening in CPS: right on! It’s good to see you in the hallways and classrooms again this year!

Beware the Zombie Ideas

In Sunday's New York Times Paul Krugman talks about zombie ideas: "an idea that should have been killed by evidence, but refuses to die." While Krugman's op-ed is about an overstated skills gap in the American workforce, his point fits perfectly with CPS's current obsession with ideas that refuse to die. 

Some of these ideas are:

• B3's insistence in her latest From the Desk of the CEO that the school closures over the past year have been successful, "Data is encouraging and trends are promising." As our Thought Partners are wont to demand, "Show us the day-ta!" B3's newsletter is a little spotty on the, ahem, numbers.

• AUSL knows how to staff schools better than currently employed teachers, administrators, support staff, and maintenance crews. In fact, AUSL was just recommended to be the manager of three new turnarounds closings. This, despite a study from the organization Designs for Change which states that schools with democratically-led governing systems outperformed turnarounds. While we know Rahm and his ilk are likely to say, "Democracy, shmasocracy," this study shows how school-based democracies can be effective.

• Teachers created the pension crisis. Wrong again. The CTU lays out some facts and figures which illustrate the consequences of "successive pension holidays" between 1995 and 2005.

Zombie ideas are everywhere, arm yourself properly!

Thanks Karen, Again.

Last week, in typical CPS fashion, B3 issued a statement angering many parents and teachers. B3 kinda, maybe said parents could choose to opt their kids out of tests. That is only if parents talked to the principal and realized that by opting out they'd damage their child's future and the school's ranking. And probably make those testing companies less profitable with a bunch of unused tests sitting around. 

Some would call B3's statement an exercise in false choice, we'd agree. 

Less than a week later, Karen Lewis and the CTU have responded to Bennett's threatening, huffy email with good sense and logic for parents choosing to opt their kids out of tests:

• "The ‘low stakes’ test is administered over the course of eight days in all elementary schools. Formerly used to help qualify 7th grade students for selective enrollment high schools. The district recently issued a memorandum to teachers stressing the value of “rigorous, high-quality assessments,” in measuring student progress. The ISAT, however, is not aligned to any CPS curriculum, and in Chicago, it is no longer used to measure student progress, school performance, promotion, or for any other purpose."

CPS demands students use over a week and a half of school days to take a test that isn't aligned to any CPS curriculum nor will be used for measurement of any sort? Shocking. Good thing CTU provides the money trail for us:

• "Illinois paid over $18 million this year to Pearson Corporation for the ISAT. The portion attributed to CPS is roughly $3.4 million, impacting over 171,000 students. The total cost of administering the tests are the untold hours of preparation for the exam, and the loss of valuable instructional hours that could be spent on real learning."

$18 million dollars would certainly provide real learning opportunities in the form of smaller class sizes, adequate staffing so teachers can provide meaningful help to students, and quality materials with which to teach.

Thanks again Karen for standing up for the families of CPS.

Gettin' Testy!

WCT thinks we hear the distant sounds of trumpets in the air and the hounds a-barkin'. Yes, B3's system-wide email today with the tell-tale words, "rigorous" and "increased expectations" heralds the beginning of "testing season," and what a season it will be--if parents choose not to opt their kids out.

Uh-oh, looks like B3 is suffering from test anxiety:

• "Students must score at or above the 24th percentile on NWEA MAP to qualify to take the selective enrollment exam.  I know that questions regarding opting out of NWEA MAP have been raised, so let me be clear: CPS students without an NWEA MAP score will not be eligible for selective enrollment or promotion in grades 3, 6, and 8. In addition, SQRP ratings will suffer for test participation rates of less than 95%."

Gee, it seems like B3 is trying to intimidate parents. Dangling grade promotion over parents' and students' heads is mental warfare. Also, B3 shows she's firmly in Camp Arne by giving parents--the people to whom a child's welfare is entrusted--no credit for making the decision to opt their child out of one of the 10 tests (down from 25!) that are given. This memo puts principals and teachers in the roles of enforcer issuing the not-so-gentle-reminder that a school's performance rating will suffer if test participation lags below 95%. Not only must the principal now serve as chief truant officer and miracle-worker on testing days, they must also force participation. Where's the choice love, B3?

And then:

• "Parents requesting to have their children opt out of the NWEA MAP must first have a conversation with the principal to discuss the consequences to their children. If after this conversation they still wish to opt out, they must make their request in writing.   Parents should be informed that there will be no alternate instruction given during the assessment and that children who are not being assessed will be required to engage in a silent, self-guided activity while their peers are being tested."

Parents must? Of all the things parents must do, talking to the principal about a decision they're making, is not one of them. Most parents would say they must: keep their kids safe and healthy;  listen to their kids; pay the bills; provide their kids with food, clothing, and shelter; and save for college. Nowhere on this list is making an appointment for a stern talking to by a principal.

B3 must be awfully nervous that the $4,003,553.00 contract (cha-chiiiiing!) CPS has with NWEA will go to waste if enough parents choose to opt out. Or that without sufficient standardized testing CPS will not be able to deem schools as failing and close them. Or that parents, teachers, and principals may have had enough.

Parents and teachers, what do you think? Leave a comment or send an email to wct.tips@gmail.com.

You Did Great...No You Did!

Rahm Emanuel and his righthand gal B3, as he affectionately calls her, spent Monday congratulating themselves for their hands-on absentee response to  ChiBeria.

We don't need to remind anyone about Chicago's descent into the Arctic. However, for most of the weekend it appeared nobody at CPS knew what they were doing. Only after Karen Lewis logically, rationally, and rightly called for schools to close did anything happen. If B3 did have a plan, she kept it as well-hidden as she was.

It's common knowledge that Rahm, Karen, and B3 don't get along. Today's press conference proves again just how little Rahm & B3 think of Karen Lewis, CTU members, and CPS families. PR managers we're not, but WCT has some tips for the people who run our schools:

1. Thank the people (Karen Lewis and those who took to social media) who finally forced your hand and saved you from a PR nightmare of Bilandic proportions.

2. Pretend the decision was a team decision between CPS and CTU instead of giving zero credit to the lobbying CTU did on behalf of the families they serve.

Some of the other doozies from today's press conference include:

• Rahm punting the first question about closing schools to B3. Her lingo got away from her as she referred to the "veracity of the winds" and being "in consultation with our cross-functional teams." She also managed to call the public liars for thinking that CPS publicized schools being open on Monday as early as Friday.

• B3 pulling the old amnesiac routine when asked if the CTU campaign to close schools had any influence on her decision. She looked thoroughly baffled as she muttered, "Teachers...teachers..." before telling a big whopper and stating she was not aware the CTU even issued a statement, and further, such a statement didn't matter to her. We're curious to know if B3 is aware unions represent the working class, who also happen to vote and occasionally like to feel they matter.

• Rahm's condescending and irritated response to questions of where he was as this was happening. He did admit he was on "holiday" with his family, but came off rather spoiled when he said he was in contact with his advisers so frequently that his family would question whether he was really vacationing. Oh, the plight of a working dad!

• Rahm admitting he knew the Lab Schools his kids attend were closed before he knew CPS was. He used this as an opportunity to tout the fact preparations for an event such as this "don't just develop," but instead have been in the works since August. Really? If so, then you'd think closing the schools would have been a no-brainer on Saturday or Sunday morning, rather than Sunday evening.

• Rahm & Co. charging off the stage as questions about CTA staffing and the timing of the school closing announcement persisted.

We have a hunch that somehow all of this is going to come back and bite teachers in the ass. 

Undoubtedly, Rahm and B3 found the real protestations over student safety to be just another plea from teachers who they value little and view as selfish and whiny. No matter what will be said later, our organization spoke up loud and long before CPS leaders did.

What's your take on the press conference and the city's handling of CPS's closure? Leave a comment or email wct.tips@gmail.com.