Teacher-blogger-author Mercedes Schneider has written several posts contending that State Superintendent John White lacked the necessary qualifications for his job. The law requires five years of teaching experience, but Schneider uncovered documents showing that White had not taught for five years.
Attorney Amy Lafont of Louisiana posted the following comment on the blog last night:
“For my friends interested in public education and accountability:
“After a detailed examination of the claims made by the Bayou Brief (BB) in their attempt to discredit and diminish the Louisiana state superintendent’s licensure issue and Dr. Mercedes Schneider, I have determined that their assertions are without legal or factual bases.
“For the public record, I was in no way solicited by anyone to get involved in this discussion. As an attorney I felt obliged to step in, where I saw an attempted political hit masquerading as legal analysis. Something is not legal analysis just because someone says it is, any more than White’s teaching experience existed just because he says it did. I am familiar with both the Bayou Brief and Dr. Schneider as a regular reader and as long-term colleagues in advocacy. I read the BB’s initial post with interest, to see what they could contribute, fact-wise, to answering the questions Dr. Schneider and others have raised.
“I was disappointed by the lack of facts and disparaging tone of the BB post, so I asked the “Editorial Board” to provide the factual and legal bases for each of their conclusions. They responded with a great deal of flippant attitude, shifting reasoning, and hubris. Instead of addressing my questions in a forthcoming manner, they ultimately deleted my comments and blocked me from further posting on their facebook site.
“The substance of BB’s post challenging Schneider’s (and a great many others’) conclusions was stated as follows:
“In our judgment, none of these allegations are true, and they are based on a (i) fundamental misapprehension of the law, (iii) a creative interpretation of the requisite qualifications for certification (in which only teaching experience in a public school is sufficient), and (iii) a misunderstanding about the ways in which states grant reciprocity to teachers certified elsewhere.” (numeration added.)
“Over a series of facebook comments, I attempted to draw out of BB their rationale behind each of the three conclusions above. After much back and forth, I am satisfied that there is no credible evidence in the possession of The Bayou Brief that undermines Dr. Schneider’s conclusions.
###
“BB: “(i) fundamental misapprehension of the law”
“BB has not shown how the law is misapprehended. When asked piece by piece which sections of law they felt were misapprehended, only one hypothetical was given. This comment by BB hypothesized that something like after-school SAT tutoring would have qualified as “years of teaching experience in an area of certification.” They argued that the language of the requirement was so vague as to permit interpretation that way, without offering any legal justification or support whatsoever for that interpretation, except that ‘the courts would defer to BESE.’ Perhaps the BB misunderstands how our three branches of government work in check and balance of each other. BB should readily state where their interpretation is supported in existing law.
If BB wants to publish an article stating that Dr. Schneider fundamentally misapprehends the law, they should be able to say precisely how. Instead, she has cited the section precisely:
§ 708. Educational Leader Certificate Level 3 (EDL 3) [Formerly §709]
A. This certificate is required in order to serve as a school system superintendent or assistant superintendent.
Eligibility requirements:
…
b. five years of teaching experience in his/her area of certification;
…
“BB now asserts that the language above means other than its plain meaning, and that it should be interpreted to include such things as after-school SAT tutoring, without providing any justification for that interpretation. And yet they assert that we are wrong to understand it to mean full-time classroom teaching, again, without citation or explanation. This argument fails.
“BB: “(ii) a creative interpretation of the requisite qualifications for certification (in which only teaching experience in a public school is sufficient)”
“Here BB argues that the issue with the certification requirements pertains to the question of public/private. After being challenged, BB asserted that the misunderstanding was that “one does not need successive, public school experience in order to obtain the certification.” This is a diversionary or simply incorrect argument. Dr. Schneider did not say that there were two years of experience that did not qualify because John White taught either non-successively or at a non-public school. She said the years never existed.
“Among other materials, she posted Mr. White’s Louisiana leadership certification applications, which include an employment verification letter on TFA letterhead, which states:
“John was employed by Teach For America from July 1st of 2002 through February 4th of 2007. During that time he held the title of Executive Director of our Chicago Region. He earned a yearly salary of $126,499.92.”
“The Bayou Brief parrots White’s assertion that this same period of employment should somehow also qualify him for two years towards his “five years teaching experience in an area of certification,” because his spokesperson says so. Like White, the BB declines to provide any documentation whatsoever in support of their demand that we give these terms other than their plain meanings.
“They never disproved Dr. Schneider’s assertion, nor did they ever demonstrate how Dr. Schneider was factually or legally incorrect in her interpretation of the qualifications for the challenged leadership certifications.
“BB: “(iii) a misunderstanding about the ways in which states grant reciprocity to teachers certified elsewhere.”
“This statement implies that the Bayou Brief believes that John White was in compliance with reciprocity rules.
“However, deutch22.com demonstrated in detail, through communications with relevant Illinois professionals and related licensure materials, that John White could not have taught in an area of certification in Illinois without formally converting his NJ certificate to IL. Bayou Brief does not claim that White secured an IL certificate. They claim that the rules do not require that the certificate be issued from the same state wherein the teaching occurred. This indicates a misunderstanding on the part of Bayou Brief, not Dr. Schneider. Dr. Schneider set the processes and requirements forth correctly.
“Further, and egregiously, Bayou Brief cannot show that John White ever even sought reciprocity, or had an Illinois teaching certification at the time he was supposed to be earning his “years of experience teaching in an area of certification” in Chicago.
Inter alia, Bayou Brief argued that White’s “Certification didn’t expire”, “He has been certified in English since at least 1999”, and that he would have been able to teach in an area of certification in Illinois with an un-transferred New Jersey certificate. These claims were disputed and unresolved.
“Over the course of our discussion, Bayou Brief ultimately claimed that John White taught in an area of certification (English) in Chicago Public Schools, without being an employee of CPS, and without Illinois certification.
###
“None of the Bayou Brief’s “legal arguments” survived basic scrutiny. For every three or four paragraphs of response by one of their board members, only one paragraph contained actual legal argument, and these were sloppy, lazy, and incorrect. The remainder of the verbiage was hot air and hand waving.
“Of the posts that purported to offer a substantive rationale, it was stated clearly that that person, Clayman Clevenger, a board member and private attorney, was commenting only in his personal capacity, but he adopted and defended the BB claims. The members of the “Editorial Board” did not answer the specific questions raised by their ‘exclusive/editorial,’ nor would they disclose the membership of the board. The Bayou Brief has previously lauded the hire of Ms. Katie Weaver as bringing serious bona fides to the paper, however, she declined to respond to this issue. In a private message, a board member told me that she is merely their spelling and grammar secretary.
“After ample opportunity to provide solid facts and argument in support of their conclusions, the Bayou Brief stands disproven on the record. Their story completely unraveled.
“Finally, the Bayou Brief’s repeated refusals to support their claims with facts, their repeated diversionary and straw-man arguments, and their repeated changes in rationales tend to show a pretext in motive for publishing the piece.
“I call upon the Bayou Brief to retract its story and issue a prompt apology to Dr. Mercedes Schneider.”
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Can anyone indicate if: “§ 708. Educational Leader Certificate Level 3 (EDL 3) [Formerly §709]
A. This certificate is required in order to serve as a school system superintendent or assistant superintendent” only applies to Louisiana, and/or all public schools in US territories?
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Hilary Bailey: Are you wondering the same thing that I am wondering… (ie: how many other public schools are in violation of this same certification?)
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Yes, you are correct M. I have a Supt, Ass. Supt and Deputy Supt for HR who only have a certification in Leadership, which gives them the doctoral title, and among the three they have ZERO years experience at teaching in a public school setting.
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Utah’s legislature passed a bill a few years ago that does not require ANY teacher certification or experience to be state superintendent. Our last superintendent, a failed lawyer (and a Chief for Change), was a terrible example of that.
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What a surprise…. an unqualified administrator who has never PRACTICED the PROFESSION of PEDAGOGY (HOW THE HUMAN BRAIN ACQUIRES GENUINE SKILLS and thus, has no idea what it is that All teachers know–> after eperience in the classroom PRACTICE shows them–>WHAT LEARNING LOOKS LIKE.
I attended seminars given my the LRDC, (University of Pittsburg Ph’d arm)) staff developers. http://www.opednews.com/author/author40790.html During my tenure as theNYC COHORT for the Pew National Standards research in NYC: which set out to prove the thesis* (*Lauren Resnick at Harvard) , “The 8 Principles of Learning, by studying the practice of 20,000 teachers across the nation.
WHAT DOES LEARNING LOOK LIKE,(WLLL is my acronym) WAS THE MANTRA for the entire 2 years I spent attending seminars ABOUT LEARNING, during which time Harvard filmed my CLASSROOM PRACTICE, in order to discover why my students were so successful by all standards. I was at the time, The NYS Educator of Excellence.
You see, when a medical PRACTICE is appraised, those who do the appraisal ARE PROFESSIONALS who know what a good practice looks like, and what merely appears to be medical savvy. People do not want a trained medic to diagnose or treat them, except on the way to the hospital! Nor should they want a TFA certificate to stand for COMPETENCE in running a school!
But in education everyone who went to school, has AN OPINION of WLLL.
IF A CLASSROOM LOOKS quiet and neat, and has nice bulletin boards and some computers, then they assume learning is ongoing… except perhaps for Johnny and Vanessa who have learning problems,
Magic ELIXIRS http://www.opednews.com/articles/Magic-Elixir-No-Evidence-by-Susan-Lee-Schwartz-130312-433.html are sold by teach companies, and ‘online learning’ is the new money maker, but LEARNING IS NOT OCCURRING.
It is so easy for the EDUCATIONAL INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX
https://greatschoolwars.files.wordpress.com/2015/10/eic-oct_11.pdf to bamboozle the people with educational gobbledygook!
http://www.opednews.com/articles/BAMBOOZLE-THEM-where-tea-by-Susan-Lee-Schwartz-110524-511.html
As legislatures the over public schools, the people on their boards, and too many superintendent and principals are charlatans who are clueless about WLLL.
You go Mercedes!
And Thanks Diane for explaining how these charlatans hire shysters to fool the people as they subvert the national conversation about learning.
http://www.perdaily.com/2011/08/subverting-the-national-conversation-a.html
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“The Bayou Bluff” ( aka Bayou Brief)
Bayou Bluff
Is all it is
Empty fluff
And cheesy whiz
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Not UNbelievable. Turds, who have a lot to lie about, are in charge.
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A noble act in pursuit of justice by Amy Lafont to protect the valor of Mercedes. Goodness ‘n gracious!
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All people should be concerned if there is a blatant disregard for EEOC guidelines evidenced by no search committee, no verification of applicant credentials and subsequently, a waiving of written, required job specifications. The process for high level appointments in state bureaucratic positions should be exemplary. Public funding demands public trust which is characterized by fair opportunity, not back room deals for appointees who may have agendas that serve the richest 0.1% on Wall Street and in the tech industry.
If Louisiana’s media and BESE are not above reproach, they are guilty of undermining American democracy.
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The Bayou Brief is an example of what happens when Trolls launch an alternative media site. They were trolls when they launched Bayou Brief and they are still trolls.
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Walton heirs and Gates glommed onto the “progressive” label… trickle down.
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These pirates and more have hijacked a lot of labels and redefined them while pretending that they are not changing the meanings behind these words.
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I am glad that the investigative work of Mercedes was so thoroughly found to be meticulous and sound by a person well-qualified to do that. I agree that the newspaper owes an apology and should call for the ouster of the fraudster.
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In this whole fiasco, the Bayou Brief is clearly arguing that the earth is flat.
On John White’s application to work as an administrator in Louisiana, when John White listed “Chicago Public Schools”(CPS) as his employer during his Chicago years — explicitly claiming that CPS was the entity that hired him and that paid him and had its name printed on White’s paychecks — he lied. PERIOD
As clearly shown in documents and evidence produced by Mercedes Schneider, John White’s employer during his Chicago stint was “Teach for America” (CPS). That’s the entity that… once again … hired him and paid him and had its name printed on White’s paychecks.
If not, then White should be able to produce copies of his paychecks from those years with “Chicago Public Schools” written on them.
Let him name the Chicago Public School(s) where he worked and the Chicago Public Schools principal(s) under whom he worked.
Let him produce his employment contract with Chicago Public Schools.
Let him provide the names of Chicago Public Schools teacher colleagues with whom he worked — the teacher next door, the teacher down the hall, etc.
He can’t do any of those things, because during his Chicago years, he worked for Teach for America, which means his claim that he worked as a teacher in the Chicago Public Schools system was a lie.
BOTTOM LINE:
In his application, John White falsified his work record. PERIOD .
Furthermore, Mercedes Schneider procured and posted the CPS contract with TFA, where CPS is subcontracting TFA to do work for CPS. In that legal agreement, it explicitly states that any and all TFA employees or staff involved in TFA’s work performed for CPS during the course of this contact MUST NOT, IN ANY CONTEXT, REPRESENT (i.e. mis-REPRESENT) THEMSELVES AS EMPLOYEES OR AGENTS OF CPS, OR IN ANY, CONTEXT, CLAIM THAT THEY ARE OR — AFTER LEAVING — WERE EMPLOYEES OR STAFF OF CPS:
quoting from the contract:
“Agency (TFA) agrees that neither Agency nor its employees (i.e. including John White, JACK), staff or subcontractors shall represent themselves as employees or agents of the Board (CPS).”
That’s a pretty clear and unambiguous prohibition against doing exactly what John White did — again, in his Louisiana application, list “Chicago Public School” as his employer of record during his years in Chicago
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John White is less qualified (based upon his experience) that a “seeing eye dog” accompanying its owner to a classroom is.
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If a guy attends one of the most expensive schools in D.C, St. Albans, why wouldn’t his sense of privilege carry forward, leading to self-anointment as a Chief of Change? It’s fully expected that entitlement guarantees a position like the management throne for a state’s schools. The two shames- the middle class and poor taxpayers have to pony up for this “privilege” and, at the same time, democracy is undercut by the spending.
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The way these people work is make claims without evidence and then bully anyone who disagrees.
It’s the school deformer way.
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