On Friday District 9-R's Public Information Officer (PIO) emailed a lengthy document (2127 words) to her undisclosed list of 9-R Key Communicators. In it she attempts to refute concerns raised at the last key communicators meeting, plus some "straw men" to confuse the casual reader.
Is this our board speaking or its sole employee? Whichever, the PIO's email further fuels some fires that have smoldered for years.
Consider the different ways a school district can communicate with the public.
On the one hand, a district can channel its resources in an attempt to pacify, mollify, or even confuse a public that it hopes will go away. On the other, some districts provide an honest accounting about persistent issues with the goal of increasing awareness and understanding, and strengthening the public’s ability to participate effectively as a full partner in addressing the challenges all public schools face.
Which is the pattern of the 9-R School District?
Some of us are up to our eyeballs in the first approach. We live in an engaged community looking for a different kind of accountability and we’re not going away, no matter how many emails like Friday’s that get forwarded to us.
This community looks to its elected representatives for accountability. Durango 9-R is a public school district, not a corporate machine. In terms of public school governance – is 9-R's governance the governance we want?
Consider contacting your school board members to share your perspective. I think they are listening.
NOTE: "The Straw Man fallacy is committed when a person simply ignores a person's actual position and substitutes a distorted, exaggerated or misrepresented version of that position."
NOTE: The names and phone numbers of the Key Communicators have just gone online! If you know any of them, perhaps they would carry your concern to the board!
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24 comments:
In his letter dated 18 April 2006, to Kathy Morris, the 9-R Safety Director, Tom Kaufman, our Fire Marshal, recommends that 9-R use a different assembly room with the district if the meeting is anticipated to have more than 49 people in attendance.
What a smart man. Unfortunate then, that our School Board President, didn't think to hold the board meeting at a venue (such as the High School), whereby all parents could have attended, instead of sitting there smugly waiting to deliver his punch line, by telling any parent standing that they had to leave the room.
Given the date of the letter, the President of the School Board had plenty of time to think about it, or at least, the same amount of time it took him to dial 911 to get his police protection in order.
I'm not sure why the PO wrote to the Key Communicators on 2/23/07: "On Tuesday, Jan. 30, district Safety Compliance Coordinator Kathy Morris contacted the DFRA asking what the district could do to increase occupancy to accommodate the expected protesters."
Tom Kaufman's last sentence in the letter some 10 months before already explained what the district could do, i.e. the district should use a bigger venue when "expecting" larger audiences. Given that the protesters were "expected", as written in an email by the Press Officer I can't understand why the President of the School Board didn't request a move to another venue.
In the words of Winston Churchill, certainly a great leader: "He has all of the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire."
Uroda's signature email always ends with: "Never underestimate the power of a snappy quote."
-- Sam Singer
Looking for something snappy? How about this from John Carver himself on Remaking Policy Governance: the # 1 principle:
"The board's primary relationship is with those to whom it is accountable: the general public."
Talk to us.. you might find us positive and refreshing. Don't buy the superintendent's mantra that anyone so upset that they would come to you must be written off as "naysayers" or "critics" best "handled" by her PR department.
We are not responding well to Ms. Uroda's "damage control." And we are not going away.
On Friday, Deb Uroda, the PO wrote: Key Communicators issues and answers
From the Feb. 21, 2007 meeting
Concern:
The Key Communicator program is a joke; it's not diverse enough, participants are hand picked, and the public can't participate in the discussion.
District Response:
This is a pilot program, and Key Communicators have met only three times with the board. The board will continue to assess the program's effectiveness and will make changes with feedback from participants.
=============
My Response:
The Key Communicators program needn’t be a joke, if operated in the recommended fashion; it is not diverse enough, simply because the Key Communicators were hand picked. In other districts that use Key Communicators correctly, up to 200 members of the community are Key Communicators. Everyone with passion is welcome, including critics.
There is no reason, if the public can be bothered to attend, (as we do, time after time after time), that the floor shouldn’t be offered up to us for comment. After all, we are the Key Communicators you won't allow, despite being well connected, well educated, and definitely interested in school district issues. (As shown by the fact we attend every single school board meeting for decades between us). It would only be polite. Joel offered it up to the public on the second session, and I thought that was very polite of him to do so. It is the correct thing to do. We are not silly. We know it is not a venue to vent, but a venue to add our two cents. Give us some credit.
Lakewood School District actually has a button on their district website that INVITES you, the public, to become a Key Communicator! Wow. Now there’s a difference. Lakewood obviously has nothing to hide.
Check out Building a Key Communicator Network, to find out what our school district did wrong: http://www.osba.org/commsvcs/kcnetwrk.htms
I think, when you have a Superintendent and Press Officer who try to limit the flow of information, or a member of the School Board who doesn’t agree with First Amendment Rights (cough, cough), or that you get your School Board to “voluntarily sign away their First Amendment Rights”, as told at the 9th January work session with the Aspen Group, then having a Key Communicator Network, that is hand picked, with your best friends, is just another nail in the coffin of “Open Governance”.
One member of the School Board actually said: “Show me how Renee Parsons has helped the City”, i.e. by utilizing her First Amendment Rights, apparently that makes Renee Parsons a really, “bad” person, and the insinuation that followed by this one member was that the Board should sign away their rights immediately, so that they could never again discuss the Superintendent or the District in a negative light -- never again!
Heck – if it’s broken…..what does that mean? That we voted for people willing to lie and hide the truth? Run for the hills.
Oh. You bad, bad, Board. This is America!!! People are dying every day for your/our right to practice Freedom of Speech, First Amendment Rights and Democracy.
Shame on you.
Here is a recent official District Response - from the PIO to Key Communicators. If you know what’s really going on, you’ll see through the official stories below. So read carefully and don't take it on faith.
”Concern: The presence of police officers at the Jan. 30 and Feb. 13 board meetings was intimidating. Why were they there? Will they be at all meetings from now on?”
"District Response: The district asked Durango police officers to attend the Jan. 30 meeting to help enforce the occupancy restrictions in the board room. In addition, previous meetings about the football coach's non-renewal with Durango High School administrators were characterized by personal attacks, cursing, and other disrespectful behavior that are inappropriate for a school board meeting, prompting the district to ask for police presence to help maintain a civil atmosphere."
"Police officers attended the Feb. 13 meeting, because board members and community members had been threatened with physical harm over the coach's non-renewal, and the district wanted to ensure the safety of board members and those who attended the meeting."
"Police officers will be present whenever the district believes that the safety of board members or meeting participants is at risk.”
My Response to 9-R PIO:
I think you overreacted on the first night and I have questions about the second. Sure, we all read that some of the 220 parents who had attended a DHS meeting had been disrespectful, but at the board meeting there wasn’t the slightest bit of disrespect, other than by the person running it, who, I thought, treated his community peers with a distinct lack of respect and trust – several times. The police presence only added to the tension. Bad move.
On the second night, Feb. 13th meeting, I’m not sure I believe the excuse either. For a start, the officers were bored stiff, and I’m sure they had family or work to do that would have served our community better.
When the school board went into executive session, the police got permission from the PIO to leave. Making me wonder why they were there in the first place. For example, if indeed there was a risk to a school board member, wouldn’t he/she still be in danger in the executive session. It’s still a public building and the doors still remained unlocked. Members of the public were still in the board room. All in all, this is a sad development; I suspect this may be a first for the district and/or the superintendent – needing police protection for public meetings.
Lastly, where were the police when the Key Communicators joined a School Board work session last Tuesday? They were noticeably absent. Are you only afraid of the big, bad, ugly public? Or did the Threatening Person send a note abstaining from his/her threats for the night?
The quote always used by 9-R Public Information Officer, Deb Uroda is:
"Never underestimate the power of a snappy quote." -- Sam Singer
Remember the quote from "Catch Me If You Can"?
"Ah, people only know what you tell them, Carl." --Frank Abagnale Jr.
hypocrisy: pretending to be what one is not, or to feel what one does not feel; esp., a pretense of virtue, piety, etc.
This one word embodies the bulk of 9R's public information office. The administration acts, the PIO spins, the public reacts, the PIO spins, half-truths emerge and data gets twisted to cast a favorable light where needed. It's not who you are, it's who you appear to be.
But those of us who are watching closely can see the emperor has no clothes.
Mary Barter and Deb Uroda distort the truth. They're not liars per se, they're manipulators. They hide behind weasel words and educational catch-phrases to avoid answering tough questions. They use snappy quotes!
And now our board president sits like some frumpy old monarch with a bruised ego, refusing to listen to the commoners. Let them eat cake. But Mike...we voted you in...you're supposed to represent the voice of the people...even if they annoy you.
Mary Barter must go...the ubiquitous Deb Uroda must go...the board president must resign. Only then can this wonderful school district take some positive steps forward.
"The fawning, sneaking, and flattering hypocrite, that will do or be anything, for his own advantage." Edward Stillingfleet
As a concerned parent and community member, I have observed both the administration and school board closely for the last few years. I agree with some of the concerns I see posted on this website, but I am distressed at the personal attacks made on so many people that are working hard for our kids, trying to do the best job they know how. I think the rhetoric has fallen to a second rate talk show level. I find myself wanting to distance myself from the people who respond so immaturely and destructively. I don't want my children to think this is the way civilized, intelligent people solve problems, address concerns, or manage disagreements. I agree that there is a lack of trust on all sides, but the sarcasm and petty attacks are not going to solve anything. When I talk about these issues with my friends, we are feeling increasingly frustrated with these types of responses to whatever the issue of the day is with the school administration. We want to hear mature, thoughtful dialogue about issues. I hope that the number of adults who talk this way is still a small number. For the very real issues that confront us at our schools, I will continue to work respectfully and collaboratively with district staff and administrators. While I don't agree with them on several issues, I don't believe that change can be accomplished (or at least a change I can be proud to be a part of) through the kind of character assassination, mug slinging, and petty comments I see pervasive on this website. We need all of us working together to improve our school district.
I hear you! You set a good example, but it is very hard, when your child's education has been damaged by Administrative lies to find a rational or reason to be kind about them. I know what you write is the truth, and in general, I don’t live my life this way. For two years, I did everything by the book, and nothing happened.
I have never known people in a position of educational authority to tell porkers though, (pork pie = lie) especially when the end product is your dyslexic child, or a 12th grade dyslexic student with a 4th or 5th grade reading age. It hurts. It scares you. And their lies confound and frustrate you.
I was always bought up to call a spade a spade. I’m not sure how to communicate with people who lie.
I agree, personal attacks are not appropriate, but the truth is the current administration needs to move on. We need a different administration that will listen to our concerns and work with us, not against us. How long have you been working with the administration? When you've been dealing with this for years and have tried to work with the administration and go through the right channels and nothing ever happens, in fact, you get ignored, you either withdraw your children from 9-R or give up. This could be a wonderful school district, we have so many people who could help the district, but the district doesn't want help, they don't want parents/community members getting involved, they want to run the district the way they want to run it and they want us to not be involved and they tell us that.
How can we teach our children to respect a principal that views pornography and a school board that does nothing about it? Pornography is a huge problem that causes so many other problems, yet a man in a position of trust for our children views it? That's wrong and something should've been done about it.
How can we teach our children to respect a superintendent that isn't truthful? The kids see through what she's doing--ask them, they'll tell you.
Ask the kids how they feel about Coach Voss and how he was treated. Ask them how they feel about Padraig Lynch and how he was treated. Ask them how they feel about their principal.
I think we are commenting on the choices and actions taken by people we have elected and people in positions of trust with our children. If an administrator has lied, it is appropriate to point that out. These people are around our children, they determine the education of our children, we have every right to voice our feelings. It is appropriate to call attention to wrong actions and seek to correct them.
I've witnessed these problems myself. They haven't gotten any better. Something needs to be done.
I am a parent and community member and I deserve respect, honestly and a safe environment for my children in our public schools.
This Administration is getting everything they deserve. They treat parents poorly, they ignore community involvement, they ignore the needs of exceptional children, ask a parent of a gifted and talented how much this district offers. I won't even go into kids at risk for literacy. Things have changed, we have supplied teachers with more resources and pressured the administration to offer Professional Development. We, the parents, the community. Not the Admin. When they start treating us with respect and kindness we will act the same to them. Until then, Full Court Press!!!
Anonymous is distressed by the personal attacks made on people who are working hard for our children and claims to be working respectfully and collaboratively with district staff and administrators. What exactly are the issues you are working on...and how is it going?
I am also a concerned parent and community member who has been dealing face to face with this administration for almost five years. I've been to countless board meetings, endured hours of data-laden ends policy presentations and have listened intently to concerned citizens during public participation. If Anonymous is hearing some venom leaking out from contributors to this website...I suggest it is born of frustration. I think we all try to conduct our affairs with as much decorum as possible. The "blog-o-sphere" gives anonymous people the opportunity to vent. And, yes, venting can be immature and mean at times.
The fact remains...many of us have experienced frustration and marginalization on a myriad of issues with the current administration, as well as past and present school boards. We're disgusted and disgruntled. If sarcasm imposes itsself in some of our writing, if a little mud is slung, so be it. It's all part of the discussion.
Bill Bowlby, I agree with you wholeheartedly. I think, for the most part, we have all tried to work things out. We have attended meetings, volunteered, read reports, called, emailed, begged, and pleaded and we've met the same response--no response. Nothing changes. We try to work with the administration and we get nowhere. We're tired and we're frustrated. We want more for our kids. We want better for our kids. We want to be heard and respected for our opinions. We're driven by our desire to do right by our kids, whether it's for children in need of special education or kids in the gifted program.
I'm not sure that we're making personal attacks as that we're seeing bad choices and wanting to change those choices. How can we leave out kids that don't fit in the "box" that's been created by this administration? How can we watch as kids sturggling with learning disabilities are shoved to the side? How can we stand by and see kids suffer because of choices made by the administration which are not in the best interest of the kids? We can't. We must do something. We must take back our school district and make it strong and one that will prepare our children for the future. We've tried to "work with" the administration, the administration doesn't want to work with us.
I use my name, but I think it appropriate that anonymity be given, because teachers don't have a voice for fear of retribution. Parents don't have a voice for the same reason, but some are simply not afraid anymore. After years of frustration, one wakes up and realizes they can’t hurt your children anymore than they currently are. (It does hurt, when our children are 4 or 5 grade levels behind in reading, after a while, they really can’t access the curriculum).
Do you want to know the thing I want most out of our Administration? I know it's pathetic and sad, but the thing I want most is to be a "Normal Parent".
Before I moved here in 2000, I was a "Normal Parent". I attended all school functions, and went about my merry way again. No hassle. No sleepless nights. I took great pleasure in watching a play, or musical, or sporting event at my son’s school. Life was sweet.
I didn't ask to become an advocate for dyslexic children. I am driven by the 6 years of "nothing" that has been offered to these children. Now, with the change in state law, and with the Director of Student Achievement listening to us (because she was new, and believed we COULD do something great in our district), we do have real change in our schools. Not just a fancy flyer with lot’s of broken promises written upon it.
I didn’t ask to read State law. Federal law. Wrightslaw books: “From Emotions to Advocacy” and “Special Education Law”. NCLB. ECEA from CDE. “How to Write a Better IEP” or a gazillion other books by this country’s leading experts. I didn’t plan on spending our “trip to Mexico money” on attending dyslexic conferences around the country to find out more than I ever really wanted or needed to know about dyslexia. Etc, etc.
If some in our Administration hadn’t lied, and hadn’t denied progress, then I could have been just a “Normal Parent”. I’m grateful to the Director of Student Achievement and very sorry to see her leave.
IJAM: I’m Just a Mom.
"If you're happy and you know it clap your hands....."
I'm happy. I know it. I celebrated the good news with a lunch at Ken & Sue's today.
Just read that Greg Spradling resigned this morning.
Wow.
RE: clapping hands above
9-R's claims about how much the Principal has done for the school is once again a mischaracterization from the PIO. Sure he gets some credit, but I give all the credit to staff!
Teachers are in the trenches, teachers reach our kids, teachers need our help to make their lives easier and full of resources for our children.
I applaud all the staff at DHS for putting up for the past few years with this Administration. Teachers - these are the folks we owe the debt of gratitude.
http://www.nspra.org/main_ethics.htm
The link is for the National School Public Relations Association. They do have a Code of Ethics for their members.
I won't write anymore, but I did like the Code of Ethics. It's just a shame.....you know....
I read about this web site in the Durango Herald yesterday, funnily enough the 9-R public information officer wrote about it!
She is obviously reading what the public think on this web site, and given the venom in her letter, perhaps she doesn't like not having control over all the media?
The word she used that made me sit up was "spew". I haven't heard that for a while, but knowing that it means "vomit", I would like her to know that's what we do when we read her headlines.
For the record: We (parents, teachers, and public) are not stupid.
For the person who doesn't subscribe to the Herald, here is Ms. Uroda's letter.
Letters to the editor
Durango Herald
2/28/2007
"Anonymous blogging is poor citizenship by Deborah Uroda, director of public information, School District 9-R, Durango:
The revivial of the durangoschooltalk.org blog after the nonrenewal of Durango High School football coach Shane Voss' contract in January makes for interesting reading. The blog owner and bloggers criticize Durango School District 9-R, its board, superintendent and a host of administrators for failing to honestly and openly communicate with its constituents.
Interestingly, all but a few of the blog entries are posted by anonymous writers who spew allegations of misconduct, lying and a catalog of other administrative sins without a shred of evidence other than their biased interpretation of a few Durango Herald news stories over issues that have long been resolved.
If the bloggers truly want trusting, honest and open communication, it would seem that they would do a better job of modeling the kind of behavior they want. Instead, the blog is nothing more than a textbook example of cyberbullying and name-calling from people who hide in anonymity while trying to discredit a board and superintendent who make decisions in the best interest of all children - not just the special interests of a few disgruntled bloggers. In my 30 years in Durango, I have never witnessed a poorer example of citizenship than the one that these bloggers are setting for our kids.
To a person, district administrators and board members offer an open door to any district resident who has a complaint or concern. That's how open and honest communication occurs.
In the meantime, if you want factual information about your school district and schools, log on to www.durangoschools.org.
And if you don't find the answers to your questions, just call me at 247-5411, ext. 1440. I will be happy to provide you with answers and the documentation to back them up."
Whew! That was quite a letter. Of course, for any of us who've tried to communicate with the board (past or present), with the superintendent, or even with Ms. Uroda, we know how "open and honest" it is.
I've written letters, emails, made phone calls, and attended meetings all with the same result: nothing.
No one in the administration listens because they don't have to. An area elementary school lost enrollment and teachers, not because they moved to Cortez as Dr. Barter led people to believe, but because they were tired of being ignored. We have a passionate community that cares about the kids and their education. Ignoring us doesn't work. We won't go away.
As for the anonymous posts, we all fear retribution. Why? Experience.
And, I think the claim of bullying is assigned to the wrong group. We are not bullying anyone, if anything, we are being bullied and are tired of it.
If Dr. Barter were truly concerned about the best interests of the district, she'd resign.
We need a change in 9-R.
Our school district has many channels with which to inform the public and disseminate information. These include articles in the press such as Dr. Barter's column in the Herald, press releases to the media, a monthly newsletter, weekly e-mailed 9-R Notes to which anyone can subscribe, presentations at school board meetings where the press is in attendance, flyers or letters for children to carry home, word of mouth such as through the Key Communicators, letters to the editor, end even comments on this blog (be they anonymous or not). Those are a lot of ways to get 9-R's interpretation of facts out that the administration wishes the public to believe. In each and every case it is Dr. Barter's responsibility that all information is truthful, accurate, in good taste and fair. Furthermore, the administration should never intentionally disseminate misinformation. Such are the policies to which our district should adhere whether or not 9-R is a member of the National School Public Relations Association or not. They are only the common sense of honorable people.
If you are interested, here is the first item in the NSPRA Code of Ethics:
"1. Be guided constantly by pursuit of the public interest through truth, accuracy, good taste and fairness; [emphasis added] follow good judgment in releasing information; not intentionally disseminate misinformation or confidential data; avoid actions which lessen personal, professional or organizational reputation."
(You may wish to read the entire NSPRA Code of Conduct
On the flip side, the public has two vehicles to present its perspective of 9-R activities: this blog and letters to the editor. Oh, yeah, the public can carry signs in front of the administration building which does seem to garner some press.
~Nick
When the superintendent leaves, will the new superintendent get a new PIO, change two more of the old guard, and let us get on with educating our students? There are 4 people in administration who are bringing our district down.
Scooby snack anyone?
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