MY FIRST FINANCIAL FILING

It was easy reporting. You see I know how to make ZEROES.  They must be hard of hearing in that ELECTION OFFICE. I had to tell them a number of times.

NO TREASURER
NO MONEY IN
NO MONEY OUT

I'll earn my votes, not pay for them.

TONIGHT''S MEET AND GREET WAS SWEET

Tonight was the SPED-PAC initial meeting of the year. Things appeared to be off to a good start and was surprisingly well attended for being so early in the year.Along with some new faces, PARENT LIAISON FRANCES MARTINEZ providesd some SPANISH translation for some of rge parents DR. MENINO , head of SPECIAL ED and JESSICA MCLAUGHLIN, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR (or some oyjer high flutin title) both were there.

Honestly the meeting might have been better attended if the doors to Commercial Street where the TIGER'S DEN was hadn't been locked and had to be propped open with a trash can.Future meetings eventually will be held in the new administration building at BENNETT STREET. The SPED offices are going to be relocated there from their current locations at BROAD STREET.

A special training is going to be held next month, stay tuned for future details, A resource fair is planned for sometime in the spring. Regular meetings will be held on the first Monday of the month at 6 pm at a location to be determined later. I'll let you know where.

ELECTIONS WILL BE HELD AT THE NEXT MEETING

THE FIRST DAY OF THE REST OF THEIR EDUCATION

Went to FORD SCHOOL to observe the first day of the KINDERGARTEN busing business. Went there in particular because was closest and hey, I'm walkin here.

It seemed well organized on the FORD end. Mothers with their babies all went to one place. Some initial problems I did see was a little traffic tie p and cars going around the parked school bus. There was no CROSSING GUARD and the bus never left until almost time for school to start at FORD.

By the time they got to the new K-center and got to class, I feel sure they lost at least a half-hour time-on learning. At the end of the day it is likely to be the same.

So kindergarten kids going to the other schools are getting an hour more a day of INSTRUCTIONAL TIME.. Want to bet the disparity shows up later in MCAS? These initial years are most critical in learning.

SPED-PAC TO START

Please join us tomorrow night Monday September 9th at the Tigers Den 90 Commercial St at 6:00pm for our start of the year Meet and Greet.

Hope to see you all there!

PAC

TIGER TALK

I figure something similar goes on at the other high schools but this is my blog and so I am going to talk TECH. My son brought home the first edition of TIGER EXPRESS fir the year. I really can only speculate on the content of future editions will include but what a great start. Very informative listing the name and photo of the principal and  the guidance counselors.

Students were informed of the available activities and given who to call. Of course, I can’t e mail them myself but you know how that goes, I look forward to future publications.

ESPECIALLY BECAUSE THEY ARE ACTIVELY SOLICITING POETRY.

YOU SAY THAT NOW

‘It’s a good, relaxed place’

Most mall stores are like that before they open. Let's take a tour during the Christmas shopping season and watch the checkout lines. Things get a little crowded when the traffic increases. New shoes are always shiny before the soles get scuffed.

I sure hope we get a follow-up story in a few weeks. I'd love to be wrong about what I'm thinking, I'm sick that way sometimes. How  else can you explain someone getting married FOUR times?

MORE INCLUSION OF EXCLUSIONS

In  a bold political move sure to win the MAYOR popular move sure to win her popular support and almost certain re-election foregone the foreclosure fiasco and readied a remedy that was first foreshadowed in the MARSHALL mortgage mishap.Thanks to to a veto this vixen was vilified.

We will reconfigure the refinancing by including an exclusion of debt done diligently to the extent where the intent was to pacify pretentious apprehensions about the pain provided over what was owed. Homeowners can get help with their house payments by simply renaming the litany of the libelous loans.

STIFF SUPPORT

Some interesting developments are starting to come out of the WOTRING campaign for LYNN SCHOOL COMMITTEE. It seems the first car to beep at him while the driver waved and screamed, was driving a long black Hearst. Before you dismiss this anecdote as just plain CREEPY, consider for a moment WOTRING'S famous  OFFICE is just across the street from PINE GROVE CEMETERY.

Does make you wonder just how WOTRING got his nomination signatures. No one has been able to confirm if any cemetarians signed the papers probably because......

DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES.

WHO'S GUARDING THE CROSSING?

I have been told of and I have watched a few instances of my own of crossing guards only half heartily performing their critically important task. As we approach opening bell for school the traffic at some of these intersections can get congested an as such quite dangerous. I would home there is some continual reassessment of job capabilities and I also feel we need a little closer monitoring of performance. Traffic can be horrible both around arrival and dismissal,

We had a couple incidents last year and still not much has changed. If it has I think it's safe to say "not everyone got the memo". Do we need a fatality to get action>

BEFORE K IS NOT ALWAYS PRE-K

Go and ask questions!

Marshall Middle School Project LAST MEETING | AUGUST 7, 2013 | 10 AM The Thurgood Marshall Middle School project benefits the entire Lynn community by improving amenities, increasing property values, and enhancing the educational program our students. DOWNLOAD Marshall Public Forum Presentation #1 7

Lynn Public School's Job Application Information Vacancy announcements for administrative opportunities are posted throughout the School Department and on this website. Please visit our webpage for the latest job postings, employment guidelines and more. Click here to visit the Human Resources page 8

Superintendent Announces Acting Assistant Director of Curriculum and Instruction for ScienceSuperintendent Catherine Latham is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Richard Held as the Acting Assistant Director of Curriculum and Instruction for Science. Mr. Held has worked in the Lynn Public Schools for the past sixteen years as a grade 5 teacher and as a science and technology specialist, most recently at the Aborn School.  He has an in-depth knowledge of the science curriculum and extensive experience with educational technology.  Mr. Held has done comprehensive work preparing science lessons integrated with technology for all grades at the elementary level, and he is currently preparing additional lessons and professional development activities that will address the upcoming implementation of the Next Generation Science Standards.  Read details on this and other recent appointments 1

Open House at the new Early Childhood CenterDear Parents and Guardians, We cordially invite you and your child to an Open House at the new Early Childhood Center on Friday, September 6, 2013 at 9 AM.    Buses will be waiting at your neighborhood schools (Brickett, Ford and Tracy) at 8:30 AM to transport you and your kindergarten child to the new center. Should you choose to drive to the center, it is located at 90 Commercial Street.  There is a parking lot available on the Summer Street side of the building. Please enter the door at 90 Commercial Street and proceed up to the second floor. The staff is looking forward to introducing you and your child to the new Early Childhood Center. Sincerely, Marilyn Mahoney, Principal 2

Important Parent Notice Concerning Translation Parents Notice of Interpretation and Translation Services Aviso Para Padres Sobre Servicios De Interprete Y Traduccion 4

Current State Report Cards and 2013-2014 School Improvement Plans Posted It is each District’s responsibility to annually disseminate to parents and guardians aDistrict and Individual School Report Card which reflects the results of MCAS testing.  Those documents along with links to the latest School Improvement Plans have been posted. To view the District and your School Report Card, School Improvement Plans and more, please click on "Our Schools" tab then select your school. The Report Card and SIP links are under the"About Our School" tab near the page bottom. 5

I'D LIKE A WORD WITH YOU

And that word is NET.It is true, you may not see any NET change in the taxes you pay with the passage of the BOND but then again that doesn't mean you don't. It is my understanding that we have some old debt we will soon be retiring. Since we no longer have to pay for it soon, we will redirect and reallocated the money we used to service it will be used to service the MARSHALL BOND.

Seamless and painless right?

That is when you passed the old bond you weren't planning on paying forever. There is a slight difference between sacrifice and torture.

These people are good with words. I am jealous. By just telling you there are no new taxes they can lie (okay twist the truth) with a straight face and make you think there doing you a favor. If they throw the word NET in there, well that requires some explaining. All that ringing in your ears leaves you with a bad taste in your mouth.

While we are talking about WORD GAMES what is this DEBT EXCLUSION business? I mean think about it, if there really was an actual exclusion surely there would be no debt, right? Funny, we got to BOND $92 MILLION DOLLARS of EXCLUSION.

Seems like there's DEBT to me.

Now I'm not against going in debt. I have many times. (We won't talk about the results). What I am against is the trickery with the transparency. Show us what we need to do and let's put all the HOCUS POCUS into

                                 FOCUS!

YOU GOT THAT RIGHT

Latham: Space a challenge

http://www.itemlive.com/news/latham-space-a-challenge/article_bdd036f4-15dd-11e3-b2d4-0019bb2963f4.html

On this we can agree. Where we disagree is on the solution. I am not convinced the answer is to throw good money after bad. That good money comes in the amount of $92 MILLION DOLLARS for a NEW MARSHALL. It is not that that is too much money, it's a lot but what better place to spend it than on the education of our future? Maybe we should spend more and don't worry you will.

In fact the EARLY CHILDHOOD CENTER is going to end up costing a few million for most likely a temporary fix for warehousing some of those same kids that will be filling that new school.

We keep trying to solve tomorrow's problems with yesterday's solutions. The answers we need have fallen in our laps if we just remove the blinders from our eyes. You would think those MATH people would be ecstatic because the world seems to have gone digital with discrete identifiable pieces of data. Perhaps those blinders are the failure to appreciate the poetry of application.

Knowledge is communicated through bus rides or by commuter rail.

IS BREED GETTING SINKING FEELING?

If CLASSICAL wasn't enough, I have heard BREED had a problem installing the new windows MSBA paid for in fact someone said they couldn't install them or part of them. I sure hope somebody chimes in here to set me straight.

That would be awful if it is true, that would mean poor construction on the last two new schools we built and the promise of stability problems at the newest potential construction.. You know what that means, MORE MONEY and it’s not the REIMBURSABLE kind.

DON’T WORRY. they told you your taxes won’t raise. 

Now I have a real estate investment you might be interested in.

WHERE DO YOU WANT YOUR MONEY TO GO?

Well we hire a new head of the Science curriculum. Isn't that special?

Now before there was poetry there was science. Then I went to college with some smart people cracked a few eggs, had my brain scrambled, and got hung up on that chicken and egg contravention. I was a Chemistry man, I never liked Biology anyway (you wouldn't know that with my string of marriages). I always said,"If you accept Darwin then ya got nothing left. you're done, Boring!

So I was a wondering why we made this move before we got MCAS results on how well the KNOW ATIM experiment made out? Remember there was this grant or grants to pay for it's implementation in a FEW schools which was met with GREAT results. Unfortunately they said it was too cost prohibitive to roll out in all the schools and it was quashed.

Not so fast, MARIA came to the rescue and suddenly the money was found and there was the assumption the money that had been set aside for this position was re-targeted for the McScience-in-a-box. KNOW-ATOM program. \

I have two questions:

1). hOW'D WE DO?

and

2). ARE WE DOING IT AGAIN?

Let me explain something about THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD for those administrators in their new clubhouse on BENNETT STREET.

First you make a hypothesis. In this case that would be that this KNOW ATOM will work wonders. Okay then you run the experiment and get the results, in this case MCAS scores. Once you have the data (I  know you love that word) then you rework your hypothesis to try and get the desired result.

It looks like here we decide to go for a second hypothesis before we knew what the results of the first one were. I hear underground rumblings that the program was pretty successful. I know it is expensive but I would rather spend money on kids than salaries that are often payback for political purposes.

READING ABOUT RICK

An Education: LSC 2013 Q & A: Rick Starbard

uneducacion.blogspot.com

Even though RICK and I disagree on a few things, most notably the Big Bond Bomb about to be let Blast on the city, there is NO DOUBT in my mind where his sincerity  lies and while he may be wrong on some things he does respond well to training. It's good to have healthy debate and this may come as a surprise, I'm not always right. (Of course I am, I just had to say that to make RICK feel better about himself. Remember the training part? It's all in the module.)

LET'S GET STARTED

1). RICK'S background and experience does give him a unique and important perspective on all the issues that come up. Even wrong answers help bring the right ones into sharper focus. Often he actually has the right answer. He even has somewhat of a Math mind, I mean he doesn't rhyme like me and for now I have more hair. However about Math, he sort leans like toward APPLIED GEOMETRY. I can deal with that.

2).Here we go. I agree with him on the EARLY CHILDHOOD thing but he is just wrong about how the EARLY CHILDHOOD CENTER was brought together. Sure there was a need but what they come up with was not the right solution. We are going to find out soon if what I've been screaming about is true or maybe I'm just a brain damaged fool.

3). RICK has a firm grasp on his duties as a School Committee member and to whom he owes allegiance. From DAY 1 he has been pushing for a better evaluation system for the Superintendent, not to get rid of her but for an objective assessment of her accomplishments. Here is where he draws on that business background.

4). RICK is very involved in the community and at after school meetings. This I know because he often gives me rides. RICK and CHARLIE GALLO are easily the most hooked up of the current school  committee making it easy to interact with them.

5). For more information about him you can hit up those websites he has listed or you can just ask me.

I'M NOT ALWAYS ALONE

Lynn candidates look to kick campaigns into high gear

Even though this is an extremely important election with the 92 Million Dollar Bond on the ballot, my fellow challengers got snubbed when it comes to coverage in this story. Not only me but no mention of LORRAINE or MELISSA either. I know they are NEW MARSHALL zombies so at least they could have been mentioned without too much risk to the steam train. What happened to fair and unbalanced? What happened to OBJECTIVE JOURNALISM? At least I tell you I'm nonobjective and well okay, downright opinionated. You know some CITY COUNCIL challengers got mentioned, I'm just a sayin.

While I got my dander up there's another thing I want to speak at. This here PR firm they gots to hiring, well they ain't done too good a job promoting things. We are getting close to election time and I've not seen the kind of promotion for the bond you would expect for something so big and important. I hope they didn't throw in the towel. Maybe they were just the runt of the litter.

What's worse, and since I am from WV I am somewhat an expert on the subject, is all this INBREEDING. I'm talking about the guy and his firm they hired "to get the word out" used to be editor of the ITEM, you know that paper that won't waste space on my candidacy.

GOING OLD SCHOOL ON A NEW SCHOOL

Announcing a new blockbuster COMING OF AGE novel from those creative minds at LPS, it's called:

FIFTY SHADES OF RED

This book details the district's attempt to bring an age old plan to old, aging buildings. Read how administrators and community followers disguised as leaders turn green into red all in an attempt to put test scores in the black.

Never has such a bold fairy tale been written since the one about

SPINNING STRAW INTO GOLD!

Yes CLOUDS are gathering over our fair queendom and they're not the ones that rain APPLES.The road to tomorrow's education is not paved with BRICKS for a BUILDING but will be caught with

NETS without WIRES!

HOW MUCH WERE YOU PAID FOR YOUR LAST SCHOOL COMMITTEE VOTE?

I bet it was more than I'm gonna pay you. When I pulled papers (that sounds so official) in the accompanying literature they estimated candidates would spend at least $5000 bucks. I had one incumbent tell me he or she (don;t want to name names - I would neva do that) spent about $15,000 to get elected. How much does this job pay again?

Anyway if you are working on your shopping list for the monies I's is gonna pays yous -

  FORGET ABOUT IT!

Not only do I not have any money, I refuse to tarnish the sanctity of the position by participating in a raffle for our educational future!

You see, that's the difference between a principle and a princiPAL.

PRESS TO RELEASE PRESS

Dear Editor,

Please explain to me why there has been no article published announcing my candidacy for Lynn School Committee yet and there is less than three weeks left until the Primary election? My fellow challengers have each enjoyed a customary announcement. Granted I do have a somewhat elevated profile because of my widely read blog, Lynn School Watch but I feel that it is only fair and ethical that I deserve equal exposure in your newspaper.

I have twice before sent press releases to you editors and I even one to the school beat reporter. Even though there is a large amount of my writing on the subject on the Internet I sent you an announcement weeks ago and to my knowledge there has been no coverage. I still have not published this release on my blog to insure you had original material.

Your continued refusal to provide me with equal coverage will necessitate my reporting this unethical campaign lack of reporting to the appropriate authorities.

HERE'S THE RELEASE THAT NEVER GOT RELEASED, YOU KNOW "ITEMIZED"

At first, Lynn School Committee candidate Stan Wotring was reluctant to run for office.“I felt I could have more influence outside of office writing,” Wotring maintained. He writes the often controversial blog Lynn School Watch. The Watch is a mixture of poetry, fiction,  and up to date information about the schools and education that readers have a hard time finding anywhere else.

Wotring has attended almost all of the school committee meetings the past year, usually occupying his familiar seat in the front row of the audience. He also attends Meetings for the Highlands Coalition, The New Lynn Coalition *both of which he serves on the Board of Directors), he has been involved with SPED

-PAC and was a volunteer librarian at Ford School for a year. Wotring also helped to start the newspaper at Ford.

With the help of current committee member Donna Coppola, Wotring brought together GM Bill Terlecky of the North Shore Navigators and LPS Superintendent Cathe Latham who organized a special School Day where some 1800 fifth graders from all across the city were bused to Fraser Field on June 6 to watch a special exhibition game.

Back in West Virginia Wesleyan College in 1981, Stan was left in a coma for eleven days after a car accident. Undeterred by his new found disabilities, Stan received his bachelors four years  later, not even missing a year of school. His career path has taken some twists and turns over the years but he has always kept focused on the need to help others.

After retiring on disability from the Department of Developmental Services, three years ago Wotring[i] served a year in an unpaid capacity as the first chairman of the newly formed Lynn Disability Commission. Wotring resigned after a very successful first year because he felt he could better serve a wider range of people than only one community.

Wotring brings that passion to his fight to see that everyone is getting a quality education. “I have made overcoming challenges my life’s work and I hope to bring that skill set to the Lynn Public Schools. Heavens knows, we got challenges”.

To learn more about his candidacy, Wotring suggests going ti his blog, Lynn School Watch where he hopes you will both be informed and entertained. Life is too serious to always be serious,” he maintains.

“Still, everybody needs to be accountable.”

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