I posted a comment earlier from a reader in Indiana who said that the State Board of Education was set to strip State Commissioner of Education Glenda Ritz of the authority and powers of her office. Other readers from Indiana have contacted me to say that negotiations are underway between the board and State Commissioner Ritz to reach a reasonable settlement that does not destroy the powers of her office and that respects the will of the voters.
Let’s see how this turns out.
In the meanwhile, feel free to contact members of the Indiana state board and urge them to work collegially with the woman who won election fair and square.
Tony Walker – tony@walkerlawgroup.biz
Dr. David Freitas – drdavidfreitas@comcast.net
Cari Whicker – cwhicker@hccsc.k12.in.us
Sarah O’Brien – sobrien4cd@yahoo.com
Andrea Neal – aneal@inpolicy.org
Dr. Brad Oliver – brad4education@gmail.com
Daniel Elsener – delsener@marian.edu
B.J. Watts – bj.watts@evsc.k12.in.us
Troy Albert – talbert@wclark.k12.in.us
Gordon Hendry – education@gordonhendry.com
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Support Glenda and public education by sending a strong message to the Indiana board members.
Here’s The New-Look Indiana State Board Of Education — And Here’s What It Means
http://indianapublicmedia.org/stateimpact/2013/06/13/heres-the-new-look-indiana-state-board-of-education-and-heres-what-it-means/
Response from Brad Oliver,
Tim,
I fear you are the recipient of some very bad information. Board members, including Glenda Ritz, have been working with NASBE to refine our meeting procedures to improve our ability to complete work collegially. There is no conversation of removing her as the Chair; and besides, this would require a legislative effort of which Governor Pence and legislative leadership have already rejected. Everyone’s time would be better served focusing on Indiana’s children and making certain we accomplish the critical work that will lead to a stronger system of education.
Respectfully,
Brad Oliver
What was the text of your communication? Can you please post it here?
I am writing you to remind you that I, as well as 1.3 million others, voted for Glenda Ritz because we expect her to be the Chair and lead education policy maker in Indiana. Attempting to strip Glenda Ritz of her duties is a flagrant stab at our Democracy!
Tim,
I understand your position but I cannot parse his remarks without knowing to what he is responding.
Duane
Sorry Duane, but the post above 12/18(8:22) is what I wrote to Brad, the post 12/17 (9:37) was his response.
I see it now. I thought you were responding to me with that post. And it appears what you got was a canned response, eh!!
I received the same canned reply. He is responding to what he thinks is an accusation that the board will try to remove Glenda Ritz as chair, and his response implies that they tried that and it didn’t work because they would need legislative action that has already been denied.
He doesn’t deny that the board is working to strip some of her powers. This was reported in the NYT article of Dec. 8 and elsewhere recently.
From NYT article, “Last month, the confrontation grew when board members sought to vote on a resolution that would have given their staff at C.E.C.I. a larger role in evaluating academic standards that will be adopted next year. Ms. Ritz, who said it was her department’s job to evaluate the standards, declared the resolution “improper,” saying it violated state statute, and ended the meeting abruptly.
The state attorney general has since said the resolution passes legal muster; board members said they intended to consider it again at the next scheduled meeting on Dec. 20, if not sooner.”
http://transparentchristina.wordpress.com/2013/12/17/breaking-news-delaware-state-secretary-of-education-joins-nations-most-right-wing-pernicious-ed-reform-organization-period-democratgovernor/
This should never have come to pass and never would if Tony was still there. It’s all so political–like closing a bridge in NJ.
Yes… let’s see… I’m wary.
You are going to love this one. Gallup and Purdue are going to measure college outcomes. Here’s a quote from Mitch Daniels…”As it finally did in K-12, an accountability era has begun for higher education,” said Mitch Daniels, President, Purdue University. “Students and their parents deserve to know with confidence whether a college they are considering has a trustworthy track record of developing successful, engaged, and fulfilled graduates. Businesses and other employers are eager for better tools that tell them at which schools their recruiting is most likely to yield top new associates. The Gallup-Purdue Index aims to help answer these two critical and appropriate sets of questions.”
Please can somebody send Mitch a copy of Diane’s book to let him know what the “accountability era” has done to K-12 education?
Diane is probably on the same list as Howard Zinn.
and Naomi Klein!
and Noel Wilson!
Engineering schools, like most professional schools, often have close relationships with the employers of their programs. At my institution the engineering program meets with employers annually and adjusts their curriculum based on the feedback the employers provide. I think Purdue is just making this dirt of information public and adding a post graduation survey to report on student satisfaction.
The response from Brad Oliver is the same response that numerous people received- word for word, except for changing the name (mine being misspelled). It did not address the content of my message whatsoever- I made no mention of removing her, as this reply would lead one to believe.
A few of those email addresses tell me everything I need to know. tony@walkerlawgroup – gee, I think he’s a lawyer, not an educator. education@gordonhendry? Even worse – he’s an education “consultant”. brad4education???
Getting the same verbatim response as posted by Tim. From multiple board members, it seems they’re using the same response, just changing out words for a synonym here and there. My gut says that since this wasn’t able to fly under the public’s radar, they’re coming out and saying it’s bogus, but had it not come out it would’ve been all systems go to proceed.
Brad Oliver is the assistant director of educational leadership with Indiana Wesleyan. Here is my email to him this morning:
Brad,
I appreciate your service at the state level in working with Glenda Ritz on the State Board of Education. I’ve also read your letter being shared by different newspapers throughout Indiana, and I personally commented on the one published by the StarPress in Muncie.
I’ve also met with Glenda Ritz and have followed the educational-political struggles transpiring in Indianapolis as a direct result of Gov. Mike Pence establishing the CECI via executive order. As a conservative, your first remarks should have been directed toward the governor for building yet another layer of expensive bureaucracies within Indiana which stink of crony capitalism and removes money from our school systems, yet I’ve not read any letters from you about this.
Muncie is unable to provide bus transportation to our kids because the state slashed funds, but apparently we can afford a duplicate education department for former Tony Bennett employees to carry out education reform which Hoosiers have clearly stated they don’t want by electing Glenda Ritz in a formal election. Are you going to write a letter about this travesty as well?
As someone who has run for a political office, I’m sure you grasp how democracies within this state and country operate. Unlike you, Glenda Ritz defeated her opponent based on her vision and leadership. Hoosiers support her vision and we’d appreciate you working with Supt. Ritz, instead of being an obstructionist for the governor who appointed you to a seat at the table.
I’m sure your role as educational leadership director at Indiana Wesleyan has taught you that a leader must learn how to follow when required to do so. Well, this is one of those times for you.
If you find yourself in conflict over your position on SBOE, you can always resign your position, and let someone less honorable be the obstructionist for Gov. Pence. We’d certainly understand.
Here is a pertinent article published on Muncie Voice: http://muncievoice.com/9683/glenda-ritz-is-the-right-leader/ I thought you might enjoy.
I’ll leave you with the wise words of Pope Francis from his Apostolic Exhortation written this year:
“In this way it becomes possible to build communion amid disagreement, but this can only be achieved by those great persons who are willing to go beyond the surface of the conflict and to see others in their deepest dignity. This requires acknowledging a principle indispensable to the building of friendship in society: namely, that unity is greater than conflict.”
Thank you for posting your thoughtful and thought-provoking letter to Mr. Oliver. While your letter is completely respectful in tone, it does not let him off the hook for past actions.
The remaining members of the board should receive similar letters with a similar message.