Mike Klonsky remembers Deborah Gist. I do too. http://michaelklonsky.blogspot.com/2018/04/remember-deborah-gist.html
Gist is currently Superintendent in Tulsa. She was quoted sympathetically in the Washington Post yesterday, expressing solidarity with the teachers of Oklahoma.
In 2010, Gist was Commissioner of Education in Rhode Island. She backed the superintendent of tiny and impoverished Central Falls, who wanted to fire the entire staff of the high school because of low scores. Arne Duncan saluted Gist for her courage in pushing the massfiring of every adult in the school. President Obama echoed Duncan. TIME magazine hailed Hist as one of the nation’s leading educators, all because of her desire to clean out the staff at Central Falls.
I had my own run-in with her. Gist wanted to bring charter schools to Rhode Island. The then-Governor said he wanted to meet with me before making a decision. I came to Providence to lecture at one of the local universities and had an hour on the Governor’s calendar for a private conversation. Gist insisted on sitting in on the meeting. We never had a private conversation.
The teachers in Rhode Island were outraged by the treatment of their colleagues at Central Falls. She was no friend of teachers then.
Has she had a change of heart?
Diane Ravitch's blog 
This is why the reformsters want to get rid of veteran teachers. We old heads remember. We have institutional knowledge.
LikeLike
Older, Christine, older! Not old! 🙂
LikeLike
Nah, I’m good with old, Duane. After all, in my other language, “la vieja” is a sign of affection, esteem and respect.
And I guess you need to be an old head to fully enjoy this:
LikeLiked by 1 person
This was when Obama stated teachers contracts should be abrogated for challenging Gist’s arbitrary increased work load for teachers without compensation. Apparently the “sanctity of contract” Obama used to justify the multi-million dollar bonuses bansters awarded themselves on the tax payers dime didn’t apply to teachers.
LikeLike
Talk about the “dance of the lemons!” These superintendents just keep turning up in other states, stinking them up (& not with a “lemony fresh” scent).
“Change of heart?” Funny you should use that phrase, Diane, because she’s quoted in Mike’s post that the OK situation “…hurts my heart.”
How can someone have a change of or hurt heart when that someone has NO heart in the first place?
While you’re out there, OK teachers, urge the public to get rid of Gist, as well.
LikeLike
I may be wrong, but I always leave open the possibility that someone has learned the error of their ways. I hope we hear from Tulsa teachers.
I’m very excited by the possibility that teachers are taking their fate into their own hands and threatening to close down the schools unless their pay goes up and working conditions improve.
First, West Vorginia. Then, Oklahoma? Then Arizona? Kentucky?
LikeLike
Dearest Dr. Ravitch:
You have an empathetic soul and you easily forgive an intentional “cruelty” from “CORRUPTED” MIND in materialistic people and corporate.
I need to remind myself that many “gullible” and empathetic” Vietnamese regional leaders and commanders went to concentration camp and died for empty words or promises WITHOUT any redemption in action from cruel liars.
Therefore, I would suggest that you could add “through recent action to redeem their bad deeds,” then, I would agree with you according to your sentence:
[start sentence]
“…, I always leave open the possibility that someone has learned the error of their ways.”
[end sentence]
I respect and love you for everything you write. I feel that I need to voice my own observation through my living reality with corrupted people in a communist country = we neither doubt nor TRUST all materialistic people of any communities including my own family members.
Very respectfully yours,
May King
LikeLike
A change of heart/mind takes (a) a show of action to prove one’s sincerity and (b) a long time of said action to be believed/forgiven. If Gist (or any other reformer) has truly had a change of heart/mind, I need to see a book or some like explaining this change. I’d suggest a title something like, “The Life and Death of the Great American School System,” but I believe that’s been taken….
LikeLike
Umm NO she has not changed.
She hired a 2014 Broadie as her chief learning officer which requires a M Ed. Problem is he got it from Broad and they weren’t accredited at the time.
A revolving door of teachers and principals. 35% turnover last year.
Data, Data, Data that what its all about. Principals have weekly meetings with every teacher to go over the data.
Relay Graduate school.
Teach to One Math
Amplify
TFA
Tulsa’s version of TFA
CT3
Boston Consulting Group.
Charter schools are expanding.
Schools are being closed and consolidated while Charter Schools are expanding.
Next being Tee’d up XQ and Laurene Powell Jobs. Gist tried to do something similar in RI but left before the train got to town but she was looking for money through Jeb Bush organization.
Her heart breaks because it only funded teachers and they have already started clawing back 1/3 of the funding and the funding sources goes back to other sources after 1st year.
Her heart breaks because she needs more funding for more de-personalized learning and her over paid administration.
And of course all the other failed reforms coming to town like its the best thing for education since a chalkboard was introduced.
And who is really running the district?
Gates Money.
Broad Money.
Walton Money
Wallace Money
Schusterman Money
Kaiser Money
The rest of us don’t know what the hell we are talking about.
Oh then there is this feeling…
“”I hope that they can come up here and say thank you on Monday and go back to the classrooms,” said Gov. Fallin.”
http://www.news9.com/story/37833430/senate-passes-historic-funding-bill-for-teacher-pay-state-employee-raises
LikeLike
“The Gist of it”
One way mirror
Little help
For finding error
In oneself
LikeLike
Sorry.
I misspelled “Gi$t”
Gi$t gets paid $240k per year to be “The Decider” (a term coined by George Dumbya Bush, with whom she has a great deal in conman)
LikeLike
“Mirror Mirror”
One way mirror on the wall
Who’s the fairest of them all?
First on every “fairest list”
Has to be the one named Gist
Fairest next is surely Fox*
Next would be the Man who Walks**
Next would be the Man who Don’t
Never will and simply won’t***
Next would be the One with Broom****
Sweeping teachers from the room
Fairest list goes on an on
Fairest list is veRhee long
*Fair and Balanced
**Wisconsin governor Scott Walker
***Barack Obama, who once promised (but failed) to don his comfy shoes and join union workers in the picket lines.
*****Michelle Rhee, sole mate of the One named Gist, The Man who Walks and The Man who Don’t
LikeLike
Gist and Central Falls are a microcosm of Deform.
In that one event, Obama Broad-cast his intentions for unions, public schools and charters. (To Broad-cast: to speak like Eli Broad)
It’s got all the elements of the massive train wreck that was Obama’s education policy.
https://socialistworker.org/2010/03/08/axed-at-central-falls
LikeLike
Ed reformers did absolutely nothing when all these states were gutting education. In fact, they were thrilled because at the same time these states were expanding charters and vouchers.
This “movement” doesn’t care about public schools. They do absolutely nothing to benefit public school families.
No one in the “movement” recognized that waging a 20 year battle against public schools would entail collateral damage to kids IN public schools? This is news to them?
How did they think it would end up? Kids IN public schools would somehow benefit from this huge group of powerful people lobbying against public schools?
The ed reform track record on PUBLIC schools is atrocious. Which should matter. Because we’re talking about 90% of students. They neglected to consider 90% of students while “winding down” public schools and eagerly privatizing. Just not on their radar.
Thank goodness for these teachers. They are the ONLY people advocating for public school families. How 90% of kids somehow became political orphans is beyond me- the only explanation is political capture.
LikeLike
We really need a lasting Hall of Infamy, Diane. Separate wings for politicians, donors, and media.
LikeLike
Might have trouble figuring out who gets into which wing,eh!
LikeLike
Here’s Arne Duncan denying what happened to public schools on his watch:
“Some have taken the original idea of school choice — as laboratories of innovation that would help all schools improve — and used it to defund education, weaken unions and allow public dollars to fund private schools without accountability.”
He backed all of it. Other than 6 weeks before an election when they needed teachers unions in critical states, the Obama Administration did absolutely nothing for public schools. They couldn’t be bothered with the unfashionable “government” schools that the vast majority of people attend. They were too busy “reinventing education” to notice that public schools were under attack in 30 states.
LikeLike
So, who’s writing “The War on American Public Schools”?
LikeLike
JOHN B., I did. Read “The Death and Life of the Great Snerican School State” and “Reign of Error.”
LikeLike
I was a long-time teacher at the RI School for the Deaf (as were most of my colleagues) when Gist began her tenure as RI Commissioner of Ed in 2009. She came in smiling when she met with our faculty early in her time–she was a teacher herself and commended us for our hard work–she understood us! Oh, really?? Well, One may smile and smile and be a villain. Broad-trained, Chiefs for Change Gist was loathesome, and poisoned the RI Dept. of Ed. as well as the Board of Education with her hench-people. She caused so much harm, particularly pushing Common Core/PARCC, high-stakes for standardized testing, and Race to the Top. And then there was: Just because you’re highly qualified, doesn’t mean you’re highly effective. I’ll never forgive her for labeling the RI School for the Deaf a Persistently Lowest Achieving School and putting us through the trauma of choosing one of the four Obama/Duncan draconian measures to “turn the school around.” The liason between RIDE and RISDeaf actually thought that they could find a charter management company that could work with our population! (which of course didn’t happen) That turmoil had a huge impact on my decision to retire earlier than I had planned. Gist may agree that teachers deserve higher pay, but I can’t imagine that any of her other misguided ideas have mellowed in her home town of Tulsa.
LikeLike
A change of heart is possible, but a change of tactics to confuse the opposition is more likely.
LikeLike
No!
LikeLike
Perhaps higher pay for teachers will give her more money to run charters. She may have trouble recruiting teachers for charters. The charter won’t make up the difference.
LikeLike
She isn’t pro-union she is pro wage hike because 1. they will be more cooperative in other areas 2, she can get and keep better teachers to look good 3. more than likely her salary is some percentage of either a teacher’s salary or her budget. This woman fights any way that is effective to get what she wants and what she want is the greater glory of MS Gist.
LikeLike