Category Archives: Child Abuse in PGCPS

20

Oct. ’13

Prince George’s Schools CEO…

…names transition team and serious concerns emanate

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Kevin M. Maxwell, the Chief Executive Officer of Prince George’s County Public Schools.

Prince George’s County Schools Chief Executive Officer Kevin Maxwell has selected a transition team to analyze the school system and offer recommendations on how to move the struggling system forward.

The 32-member panel, which includes local and regional educators, is scheduled to hold its first meeting on Monday.

“This transition team will help me to determine the needs for the district and the appropriate next steps as it relates to key areas of school operations,” Maxwell said in a statement.

The committee will review data, conduct interviews, determine the district’s strengths and identify areas the need additional attention. It will also focus on teaching and learning, communication, how to use resources and the organizational structure.

Maxwell became the district’s eighth school superintendent in 14 years in August. He took over the system following a contentious debate over the future of the county schools.

Earlier this year, County Executive Rushern L. Baker III (D) asked the General Assembly to approve a bill that would give him control over the school system. Under a compromise bill, Baker received the power to select the schools chief, name three members to an expanded school board, and choose the board chair and vice chair.

The team members are:

Maryland Superintendent of Schools Lillian Lowery; Prince George’s Deputy Superintendent Monique Davis; Prince George’s County Community College President Charlene Dukes; Douglass Anthony, the executive director of the school system’s Human Capital Management; Maritza Gonzalez, the school system’s Latino affairs officer; Max Pugh, the school system’s acting communications officer; Pamela Shetley, the director of Human Capital Management; Frederick Douglass High School principal Rudolph Saunders; Oxon Hill Middle School principal Wendell Coleman; Cesar Chavez Elementary School principal Jose Taboada II; Gladys Noon Spellman Elementary School principal Susan Holiday; Albert Lewis, the 2013 Teacher of the Year; Earnest Moore, the president of the county’s PTA Council; Kenneth Haines, president of the Prince George’s County Educators’ Association; Shirley Adams, president of AFSME (Local 2250); Carnell Reed, president of SEIU (Local 400); Dwayne Jones, president of the principals’ union; Rukayat Muse-Ariyoh, the student school board member; Betty Morgan, the former Washington County school superintendent; Lethia Jackson, who works in the computer science department at Bowie State University; Diane Lee, the vice provost and dean of Undergraduate Education at the University of Maryland in Baltimore County; Linda Ferrell, the former deputy chief of teaching and learning for the District of Columbia Public Schools; Joe Hairston, the president of Visions Unlimited and former Baltimore County school superintendent; Aggie Alva, vice president of product marketing and communications at Discovery Communications; Leslie Fenwick, the dean of the School of Education at Howard University; Shawn Joseph, the superintendent of the Seaford School District in Delaware; Zakiya Lee, assistant to the senior vice chancellor at the University System of Maryland; Pat Martin, assistant vice president of the College Board; Christian Rhodes, Baker’s education policy advisor; Susan Marks, the former superintendent of the Norwalk School District in Connecticut; Donna Wiseman, dean of the University of Maryland College of Education; Bob Wise, the former West Virginia governor of president Alliance for Excellent Education.

The transition team is scheduled to finish its work in December and submit a report to the Board of Education. >>> Read more Washington Post

OPINION

Reform Sasscer Movement for Prince George’s county is challenging Prince George’s county citizens to be prepared to make sacrifices for their county and to protect the gains already achieved while they seek for more. We must make sacrifices to build on the gains achieved so far and learn from America’s experiences especially in the field of protection of rights and decentralization of power and resources.

Martin Luther King Jr., George Washington and others who fought for freedom knew that freedom is not given; it must be won through struggle, persistence and faith in the future.

As we have mobilized political leaders, we have been a witness to history. In our own small way, we have contributed to the history of our county. We have been a witness as the tide of history turned in our county as a model for others. As participants in some of the events that changed our county school system. As residents and workers we have pushed forward toward freedom and we can tell you nothing comes easy, and surrender cannot be an option at this time.

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Dr. Lillian M. Lowery Maryland State Superintendent  of schools has been criticized for showing very poor leadership skills in various ways and received an F grade for Common Core meetings so far.

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Maryland State Board of Education President Dr. Charlene Dukes shown here has demonstrated a culture of corrupt leadership style and continues “an integrated pattern of pay to play” and manipulation.

Now this brings us to the raging debate on why an appointment was made of such a large group (32) to review an issue which led to the appointment of Dr. Kevin Maxwell as the CEO of Prince George’s County public schools. Before he interviewed and accepted the job, we had already identified “the top priorities“. So what happened?   In our honest opinion, this appointment of two of the top leadership (Dr. Lillian Lowery and Dr. Charlene Dukes) to run the affairs of the county is dishonest, misplaced and hypocritical. First, Charlene Dukes who served as a previous Board member during a time of high levels of corruption should be viewed with a lot of suspicion.  Why would any leader thrive in the suffering of his or her people who either freely elected him or her or surrendered all authority to him or her to govern? What was the purpose of appointing the expanded Board of Education and their supposedly expertise of some of the new members? If a grievance arose of such a group who will resolve it given Dr. Lillian Lowery and Dr. Charlene Dukes are supposedly neutral of which they are not? Isn’t what they are doing illegal and creates a conflict of interest? Why appoint someone and then follow him to throw your power/ weight around? Where is the outrage?

The current group led by Dr. Charlene Dukes and Dr. Lillian Lowery is comprised of a bunch of people without a clue of what has been going on. While some of them are good men and women, How are they going to make recommendations to solve a problem within the county they do not even understand or believe in themselves? The people of Prince George’s County needs a chance to come up with their own solutions. Top of their list should be eliminate the current group (32) which has their own selfish agenda to derail the progress made so far. The Unions need to be reformed first, we do not expect them to shoot themselves on their feet. Do you? How about Mr. Dwayne Jones (President ASASP) mentioned in our blogs? Does anyone in their right mind expect him to reform the principal’s union? Mr. Jones does not even have time to add a message to his followers on the website. We do not think so…

The Washington post article mentions that, “The transition team is scheduled to finish its work in December and submit a report to the Board of Education.”  The poor unfortunate Prince Georges children and their parents deserve better than this. Take a look at some of those names on the “team”. Same people with the same philosophy. This is the ultimate definition of insanity. This was never about anything but raw political power to some of these people.

Power, they say, does not flow along the lines of an organization’s organograms; power is fluid and often asymmetrical.

Access is power, those who have unlimited access to leaders often tend to have more power and influence on decision-making processes than elected leaders holding seemingly powerful positions.

As political historian Hedrick Smith writes in his book, The Power Game – HowWashington Works’ access to a president means involvement in major decisions and actions of the State. Smith writes the most vital ingredients of power are often intangible. Information is power. Visibility around the president or his deputy is power and so is access to the inner sanctums of government.

The fear of political manipulation and arbitrariness in Prince George’s County Board of Education duties has led several Board members to question the new order of doing Business. They are correct.  The HB1107 did not create space to include such a large number of personal friends to investigate themselves.

A great deal of criticism should be directed at the Maryland state Board of Education by various parties as a result of several errors committed by the state agency in managing the affairs of the county and Maryland as a state.

In our view and consistent to those expressed by many others, beyond seeking justice, we must entertain self-preservation as a key motive of the Maryland state Board of Education. The Maryland state Board of Education must demonstrate results to funding county Boards and various interest groups. This motive raises the probability of miscarriage of justice and selective prosecution as is quite apparent in the several cases lately.

Under the current structure, Maryland state Board of Education is likely to continue losing support. Its scope of powers and especially the office of the Attorney General is too broad and wide open to political manipulation that it would be irrational to expect fair adjudication of justice.

Unless serious reforms are undertaken to ensure Maryland state Board of Education can be trusted to execute justice fairly, it will continue digging its own grave and in the process undermining justice.

In essence, Folks, there’s no more doubt. Maryland state Board of Education is its own worst enemy and living to the claims of a state agency. It does not have the capacity and the expertise to do what is right for the children of the state of Maryland.  The time to act is now.  We have got a runaway state board of education with no oversight, not subject to election, and doing reforms not subject to legislative review.  All without citizen input nor consent.  And wielding a billion dollar budget. The future of Maryland state Board of Education is either radical reforms or a funeral. We must say “NO” to the latest shenanigans.

When you see us pushing for these things, we hope you will understand where we are coming from. We have seen freedoms taken away and opportunities frustrated and killed and we have learnt that if we sit back, nobody will apologize and say sorry. The powerful just move on while the poor and the weak suffer.

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Posted by . Categories: Accountability, ASASP UNION, Child Abuse in PGCPS, Corruption in Education, Embattled Superintendent, Lawlessness, Lilian Lowery, Morally dead situation, New era of school governance, PGCPS Audacity to squander, Pgcps corruption, Pgcps Mess, Protest, Rot that is PGCPS Sasscer, Union corruption, Union henchman threatens Beloved Maryland Senator.. Tags: , , , , . 4 Comments

30

Sep. ’13

PGCPS Board of Education partners…

…with Panasonic Foundation

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According to Washington Post, The Prince George’s County Board of Education, facing a rocky start in a new era of school governance, has entered into a short-term agreement with a corporate foundation to help ease its transition from an elected board to a hybrid board with government oversight.

Board Chairman Segun Eubanks said the school board voted Thursday night during a closed session to partner with Panasonic Foundation, which works with urban school districts to implement education reforms. He said the partnership is designed to “move [the county’s] agenda forward. “Reports reaching reform Sasscer Movement  according to Mr. Edward Burroughs (District 8), said,  “the new structure has created a situation where there is no accountability to the board because board leadership is appointed.” He said, “for example, that a member of Baker’s administration received a presentation from Panasonic, but most board members were excluded. Still, the board was asked to vote on the agreement.”  Further Mr. Edward Burroughs’s District 8 lost substantial funding due to recent corruption in which money ($1.4 Million) was sent back to Annapolis.  Reform Sasscer movement is against side deals being conducted at night and away from the public. This is the reason why we lobbied lawmaker to create the current Board with a great hope things were going to turn out for the better >>>Read more Washington Post

OPINION:

Without mass media, openness and accountability are impossible in democracies. Our prayer is to make sure that, what we advocated for is a dared to within the school system. We want the medium to be transparent to vision so that we can accurately view what is on the other side. As articulated before, Mr. Rushern Baker’s biggest test is creating a smooth transition within the schools to include transparency and avoid appointing leaders from the old regime who caused problems in the first place. However, if he wants to pass this test, he must persuade every single PG County citizen that he has sincere intentions that transcend his own political interest, for the wellbeing of the County to include other groups into the change management with the New CEO. One can well understand why politicians would want to divert attention from information that is detrimental to their interests as open expressed by Mr. Burroughs and others recently. Our interest as media blog is very different as we are interested in transparency and accountability issues on behalf of everyone.  Indeed, the media’s interests are quite different from those of politicians. Nevertheless the media’s collective efforts also subvert the political values of transparency, even – and perhaps especially – when media and politicians view each other as adversaries.  BOE members who caused problems in the first place must be encouraged to resign to create a smooth transition.

Most individuals have only limited time and attention to devote to public issues. Political values of transparency do not demand that citizens spend all of their time on public subjects. Rather, they make information available to individuals so that they can use it if they so choose. But when there is too much information, filtering necessarily occurs. This filtering occurs both in terms of what media decide to cover and what individuals decide to watch. Media companies must pick and choose among hundreds of possible subjects to discuss especially as we move forward in the new era of accountability. Individuals must choose among thousands of hours of potential coverage of public events and we plan to do this in the future.

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Mr. Edward Burroughs whose district is affected by corruption.

Posted by . Categories: Accountability, Child Abuse in PGCPS, Corruption and cover up Report in PGCPS, Corruption in Education, Fight Racism, Lawlessness, New era of school governance, Pgcps corruption, Pgcps Mess, Protest, Rot that is PGCPS Sasscer. Tags: , , , , , . Leave a comment

28

Sep. ’13

Federal judge allows ADA lawsuit…

…to go to trial in November 2013.

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Violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA): Failure of Prince George’s County Public Schools to Accommodate

GREENBELT, Maryland — Judge Alexander Williams of the U.S. District Court of Maryland’s Southern Division denied motions for summary judgment filed by Thatcher Law firm on behalf of the Board of Education for Prince George’s County recently.  Information reaching Reform Sasscer movement indicates that after a careful analysis, the judge allowed the case to proceed for the jury deriberations this fall.

Plaintiff William Wilson an algebra teacher who possesses Maryland special education certifications faced a number of discrimination conduct within PGCPS.  During the 2011 – 2012 school year, Mr. Wilson was employed by Prince George’s County Public Schools and assigned to Dr. Henry Wise High School.

Mr. Wilson suffers from a permanent neuropathy in his left foot.  He experiences severe pain if he stands or walks for extended periods.  His leg pain is chronic and constant.  Mr. Wilson had surgery to relieve his leg pain, however, the surgery was unsuccessful.  Mr. Wilson has a “Virginia Permanent Disabled Parking Placard”.

In early November 2011, Mr. Wilson complained to his immediate supervisor, Dawn Brodus-Yougha, about the foot pain he was experiencing due to his disability.  Dr. Brodus-Yougha said to Ms. Wilson, “if you have a disability I need to see a doctor’s note.”

Mr. Wilson provided Dr. Brodus-Yougha with a note from his doctor, dated November 11, 2011, which said, “Pt will need frequent episodes of sitting and minimal standing”.  Dr. Brodus-Yougha then instructed Mr. Wilson to give a copy of his doctor’s note to Principal Carletta Marrow.  Mr. Wilson provided Principal Marrow with a copy of his doctor’s note.

Nonetheless, Dr. Brodus-Yougha ordered Mr. Wilson to stand in front of his classroom each morning  for hall duty, which meant 20 minutes of continual standing.  Dr. Brodus-Yougha would not allow Mr. Wilson to sit down during hall duty, even when he complained about pain.

Mr. Wilson’s foot pain became so unbearable that he began to experience panic attacks, he could not sleep at night, his blood pressure rose to dangerous levels, and he began throwing up before school.

Doctor’s notes that restricted Mr. Wilson’s standing to five minutes continued to be ignored.  On February 14, 2012, Dr. Brodus-Yougha ordered Ms. Wilson to stand outside the school at the end of each day and escort his students to their buses.  The task involved 30 to 45 minutes of additional standing and walking.

On February 26, 2012, Ms. Wilson informed PGCPS officials that the constant standing and walking was so harmful to his health that he was resigning from his $90,840 a year position. PGCPS_-_Wilson_Complaint_filed_July_13_2012

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Posted by . Categories: Accountability, Child Abuse in PGCPS, Corruption and cover up Report in PGCPS, Corruption in Education, Fight Racism, Morally dead situation, Outrageous BOE Featherbedding, PGCPS Audacity to squander, Pgcps corruption, Pgcps Mess, Rot that is PGCPS Sasscer, Union corruption. Tags: , , , , . Leave a comment

19

Sep. ’13

PGCPS finally hears our cry…

….concerning high suspension rates and outlines new disciplinary policy in student handbook to address the concern.

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In Prince George’s County Public school system, there were 15,615 suspensions in the 2011-2012 school year and 13,951 in 2012-2013, a drop of 1,664.

Prince George’s County schools (PGCPS) have a new discipline policy that officials hope will reduce the number of suspensions following our expose in corroboration with Washington post and keep students in school. The PGCPS school district has done a good thing by improving their disciplinary code for students. Enforcing too many days of suspension leads to students falling behind on their homework and many never catch up again. Since many students are punished for misbehavior, in many school districts around the country, this is a good improvement for sure. Zero tolerance should not be a base for disciplinary codes.

According to Washington post, …”The policy, outlined in a handbook recently distributed to the county’s 123,000 students, reduces the number of offenses that could include suspension as a punishment and places a maximum number of days a student can be kept out of class for a specific offense.”… >>Read more Washington post

Many schools across the nation report increases in the use of punitive disciplinary methods (e.g., suspension). As a result, many students on suspension become a problem to our society. The need for these disciplinary practices to address serious student misconduct is undisputed. However, what research has questioned is why some students seem to be suspended more often than others, what effects suspension has on students, and whether or when alternatives to suspension might be more effective practices than suspension itself.

In general, African-American male students are suspended at higher rates than are other racial/ethnic groups. While the reasons for the connection between race and school discipline is not clear, this relation likely occurs because of an interplay among many factors that cut across student-, teacher-, administrative-, policy-, institutional-, and community-level factors. Research suggests that school systems that incorporate comprehensive schoolwide practices that are positive, consistent, collaboratively regulated, and culturally sensitive are much more likely to have lower rates of suspension than schools without such practices. School systems that incorporate such comprehensive proactive policies are also much more likely to enhance their students’ current and future academic achievements as well as their broader life successes.

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We are like farmers. We plant seeds of thought and emotions in our lives. That which we plant will produce effects in which we must live. There can be no effect without a cause. The cause is what we believe, how we act and react to what we experience. The cause lies within us. It is the essence of our being, our spirit. ~ Iyanla Vanzant

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Posted by . Categories: Accountability, Child Abuse in PGCPS, Corruption and cover up Report in PGCPS, Corruption in Education, Education Forum, Embattled Superintendent, Homeless youth, Lawlessness, Morally dead situation, Outrageous BOE Featherbedding, PGCPS, PGCPS Audacity to squander, Pgcps corruption, Pgcps Mess, Protest, Rot that is PGCPS Sasscer, Trust in God. Tags: , , , , . Leave a comment

22

May. ’13

Washington Post Presents…

State of Education in Prince George’s County Town Hall

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What kind of school superintendent does Prince George’s County need right now? What will be the results of this spring’s dramatic change in which County Executive Rushern Baker will select the superintendent and the chairman and vice chairman of an expanded Board of Education? Join The Washington Post for a discussion of these and other hot-button school issues in Prince George’s during the second installment in a three-part Behind the Headlines discussion series on the state of education in the Washington area. The series launched in the District on April 24 at The Post and will conclude on September 18 at Fairfax High School in Fairfax County, Va. 

Robert McCartney, Columnist and Former Assistant Managing Editor, The Washington Post will moderate the forum.  The panel will include Del. Jolene Ivey (D), Chair, Prince George’s House Delegation, Maryland General Assembly; Verjeana M. Jacobs, Chair, Prince George’s County Board of Education; Earnest L. Moore, President, Prince George’s County PTA Council; Christian Rhodes, Education Policy Adviser, Office of the Prince George’s County Executive; and Ovetta Wiggins, Prince George’s Education Reporter, The Washington Post. 

Date:  Thursday, May 23 
Time:  6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.  Doors open at 6:00 p.m. 
Location: Prince George’s Community College 
                 Largo Student Center – Community Rooms A, B, C 
                 301 Largo Road, Upper Marlboro, MD  20774 
                 Free parking will be available. 

Admission: FREE (Seating is limited, so please arrive early)                                           
                                                               
To RSVP and submit a question for the panel, please e-mail behindtheheadlines@washpost.com.  All questions and RSVP’s must be submitted byThursday, May 23 at Noon. 

Go to www.washingtonpost/education for the latest coverage and analysis of schools, home school and education policy for DC, Maryland and Virginia.

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Posted by . Categories: Accountability, Child Abuse in PGCPS, Corruption in Education, Embattled Superintendent, Morally dead situation, Outrageous BOE Featherbedding, PGCPS, Pgcps corruption, Pgcps Mess, Rot that is PGCPS Sasscer. Tags: , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

11

May. ’13

WHY WE NEED TO REFORM EDUCATION IN PGCPS NOW.

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 Education a breeding ground for corruption

The Prince Georges’ County Public Schools (PGCPS) unflinching commitment to conduct that antagonizes the rightfully prevailing winds of wisdom and decency ensures a dark chapter in this country’s history of education.

We are optimistic that the injection of new Board leadership will put a long overdue end to that period. While Board of Education chairperson Verjeana Jacobs’ self-resignation would have had considerable value, the community will settle for any end to her reign of terror.

The task of ousting the current Board of Education has been compared with “…scraping a sticky wad of chewing gum from the bottom of one’s shoe.” Like any other corrupt regime, the Board of Education for Prince George’s County, is deeply rooted and plentiful with regard to resources.  The character of the Board of Education makes the task of cleansing its corruption a difficult task.  The said Corruption started earlier with the former superintendent Dr. Andre J. Hornsby, who commanded the regime. It is no surprise that the former superintendent is now incarcerated. Despite the end of the former superintendent, the reigns of corruption were merely continued in light of the appointment of the current Board Chair person Ms. Verjeana Jacobs. Under the leadership of Ms. Verjeana Jacobs and her trusted cohort PGCPS chief legal counsel, Dr. William Hite Jr, labor relations Director James Whattam, Synthia Shilling and other conspirators. The corruption marely intesfied.

Given the seriousness of the regimes’ practices and the policy of the command in protecting themselves and covering up their crimes, Reform Sasscer movement calls for the reforms as articulated in our earlier post in the blog (Here).

Frantic and very Discouraging Endeavor

Corruption-Your-No-Counts-300x149“What gets us furious and terribly frustrated is that these people have spent huge sums of taxpayer money on shenanigans that have little or nothing to do with children or their education.” (Read more) Washington Plaza fiasco. ( Board Retracts Lease for Headquarters) We also have the Board of Education’s endorsement of sex molesters, some of whom coincidentally are colleagues of Ms. Verjeana Jacobs.  A previous Board member was caught molesting children within the school system. The pimps of the Prince George’s County school system, which include athletic coaches and others, that Prey on young children manage to evade proper scrutiny directly as a result of their political affiliations. The union leadership is compromised in all four unions in PGCPS District in order to continue benefitting illegally from the fraud.  There are many cases of this nature some which have been reported in the media this year alone. (Read more) (Read more). The list goes on and includes Bus drivers who appear drunk and involved in the same with full knowledge of the current administration.

We agreed/agree with our teacher friend. “Due process” is a tool that often times is manipulated by public corruption.  Thus, Due process must be identified and harnessed in a fashion that was contemplated by the Constitution, and not private corrupt entities.

At the time of writing this post, Mr. Rushern Baker, our County Executive for Prince George’s County, was poised to appoint the new Board Chairperson, Vice chairperson as well as additional Board members to the Board as a result of Bill HB1107. We are supportive and very confident that the general Assembly in Annapolis did the right thing in making these changes.

The current chair of the Board Ms. Vejearna Jacobs has some atonement to make, for it was egregiously wrong in giving the PGCPS district a clean bill of health when Superintendent Hite was at the helm. The fact that the state agency could not smell even one rotten fish is beyond belief, in light of the pungent odor of corruption emanating from the PGCPS. It is such a disgrace to lead an organization that constructively prides itself on having the most corrupt Unions in the universe and costing the Maryland tax payers lots of money with impunity. The PGCPS situation is not very different in many aspects to Baltimore jail scandal aided by Union politics. The same elements of dirty politics and inadequate response to serious issues have manifested themself in PGCPS (Read more).

But that is another matter, altogether.

The more important question to ask  is this: What is it about our Prince George’s county and its citizens that attracts corruption and criminal enterprises?

At times, it has seemed to us that the raison d’etre of the law enforcement community is to combat corruption in PG County.

Corruption and criminal behavior in public places are as old as the hills. What is striking, however, is that the educational milieu has started playing host to more and more schemers and charlatans in many parts of the United States, starting with PG County, Georgia, El Paso, New Orleans etc.

So, what is it with public education and corruption? Who are the people sitting on school boards and managing multibillion-dollar enterprises? What qualifications do they bring to their jobs, and have they been vetted, at least to a reasonable degree, to ensure that mismatched ambition, mediocrity and opportunism are not opening a back door to malfeasance? The Washington post article on November 4th, 2012 was very clear and correct in their assertions. After the said Washington post article appeared, PG County citizens decided to change directions and elected two more members with college degrees bringing the number to four. An anonymous employee rightfully said that “We deserve board members who are enlightened to educate our kids and manage the money without corruption.”

Everybody knows that PG County schools rank second to none only to Baltimore City schools with regard to having the worst school system. How is it that we can expect children in PG County to succeed when the leadership itself hasn’t even attained the most basic levels of professional education? What kind of leadership can we logically expect from someone who has only a High School Diploma? I’d reconcile that we’d get what we’re getting……subpar schools. Read more: We posed these questions to our teacher friend.

“The education field is a very safe place for a crook. It offers excellent sanctuary,” she said. “We expect there to be corruption on Wall Street. We expect bankers and corporate CEOs to be motivated by greed and profit margins.

“But a school District anywhere in the US is like a church. Good things are supposed to happen there. Who would want to suspect a teacher, a principal, a superintendent, a lawyer, Chief Financial officer, Chief Human resources officer , a school-board member of underhanded doings and a Board chair of suspected fraud?

“So, a few ne’er-do-wells hide in the public’s trust and do a lot of damage.”

“What blame, if any, does the public bear?” We asked.

“A lot,” she said. “School-board elections are important ones, and yet, it is like pulling teeth to get people to vote in them. A sleepy County like Prince George’s may be a good place for retirement, but it is a bad place for honest politics.” Just look what Jack Johnson (johnsonjackindictment) and his wife  Leslie Johnson did to the county. She added. In addition, it’s wrong to have communication Director brought in for the sole purpose of covering up the corruption.  This person continues to bad mouth the county’s leadership, while purposely misidentifying the inadequacies of the county.

“You can hood an ass here with reverend purple,” one member in the movement said, borrowing from Ben Jonson.

“Sad, but true,” agreed our teacher friend.

Anytime you introduce the possibility to deviate from the lowest sealed bid, you introduce the opportunity for influence, favoritism, possibly fraud, possibly corruption. The PGCPS status quo of continuous unabated corruption, conmanship, gerrymandering and professional misconduct involving the Sasscer adminstation with the support of the unions and other conspirators etc is not the answer!

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Reform Sasscer Movement for Prince George’s County

reformsasscer@gmail.com

“Ideas are not set in stone. When exposed to thoughtful people, they morph and adapt into their most potent form.” ~ Sir Ken Robinson

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Posted by . Categories: "Ashes to ashes", Child Abuse in PGCPS, Corruption and cover up Report in PGCPS, Corruption in Education, Divorce in PGCPS, Embattled Superintendent, Fight Racism, Morally dead situation, PGCPS, Pgcps corruption, Pgcps Mess, sex in the school premises, Union corruption, William Hite & His women, workplace bullying. Tags: , , , , , . 1 Comment

06

May. ’13

1st Homeless Shelter for Youth Opens in PG County.

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Senator Joan Benson, County Executive Rushern Baker and others pictured above

An emergency homeless shelter for the Youth in PG County opened on May 2, 2013 in Capital Heights this last Thursday, many thanks to Senator Joan Benson, County Executive Baker, other elected officials, volunteers and donors etc. who advocated and donated supplies for the 20 Bed youth shelter. We at Reform Sasscer Movement are thrilled to see this actuality here in PG County. It’s something we advocated for and have always wanted to see for a long time.joan benson

As County Executive Rushern Baker said during the ribbon cutting ceremony, “This initiative represents several years of dedication and hard work from so many committed individuals,”. “I have to commend those who worked tirelessly to ensure that this “safe haven” for youth has become a reality. It is important that we provide all the necessary resources to support those youth that are vulnerable in our County—for that, I thank you.”

Funded by local, state, federal and private dollars, the shelter’s goal is to partner the homeless youth with a caring adult in their lives as soon as possible, though they can stay in the shelter for up to 21 days. This shelter hopely will help solve some of the problems we highlighted earlier because of high suspension rates. (Read more)

The youth shelter has 20 beds and is open to homeless youth ages 12 to 21. All youth should contact the Homeless Hotline at 888-731-0999. If they are in trouble.

We hope PGCPS Board of education members, the school superintendent, principals, teachers etc will help in disseminating the vital information to all students in the county in order to create awareness of the facility for those homeless youth or those in transition!

(Read more), (Washington post)

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Posted by . Categories: "Ashes to ashes", Accountability, Child Abuse in PGCPS, Corruption and cover up Report in PGCPS, Corruption in Education, Homeless youth, Inspector General, Lawlessness, Morally dead situation, PGCPS, Pgcps corruption. Tags: , , , . 7 Comments

04

May. ’13

TOP PRIORITIES FOR PGCPS BOARD.

TOP PRIORITIES FOR NEXT PGCPS SUPERITENDENT IN CORRABORATION WITH THE NEXT BOE CHAIRPERSON

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TOP PRIORITIES FOR THE INCOMING BOARD OF EDUCATION MEMBERS IN PGCPS AS OF JUNE 1, 2013.

  1. Restore sanity to Prince George’s County Public Schools’ (PGCPS) discourse (Addressing corruption, nepotism and professional misconduct at Sasscer Administration Building).
  2. Evaluate unprofessional relationships between previous Dr. William Hite and various unions representing employees, as well as with some young female Principals.
  3. Review activities of previous Chief Legal Counsel Mr. Roger Thomas and previous Chief Human Resources Officer-Synthia J. Shilling (formerly Deputy Legal Counsel) and current labor      relations Director Mr. James Whattam. These three individuals were solely responsible for the school system incurring millions of dollars of liability.
  4. Create a strong anti-discrimination and harassment policy in PGCPS.  Obey state and federal laws. The PGCPS District system continues to be a willful violator of the laws.
  5. Access certification credentials held by senior management, including Ms. Monica Goldson etc.
  6. Limit the purchasing power of school personnel. Dr. Williams’ unauthorized purchase of school system merchandise demonstrates the necessity of this regulation.
  7. Find ways to address and help reduce high suspension rates throughout the PGCPS District. Suspended students become a problem to the community. There is a close link between the homeless youth in Washington DC and the ones in Maryland.
  8. Closely examine all contracts over $10,000 signed off by Dr. William Hite Jr. and Ms. Verjeana Jacobs, who currently serves as the BOE Chair).
  9. Consider the following points as they impact the entire school District.
  • A.) Implementing stricter campaign finance regulation rules to avoid repeats of the Thatcher Campaign Donations Fiasco.
  • B.) Lobbying the County Council and the County Executive (Rushern Baker) to appoint an Inspector General (IG) to address waste, fraud, and abuse issues for all county agencies at Baker’s Office (including School Board). (These steps are necessary because an I.G. has not been appointed and there are an abundance of attorneys). Yes we can!
  • C.)Enforce the existing Codes of Ethics for all central office employees. Report infractions that go unpunished to MSDE.
  • D.) Reporting all concerns to MSDE.  For the purpose of injecting accountability on the part of State Department with regard to enforcing state laws and policies at the local level.
  • E.) Justifiably inquire about the relationship between Ms. Elizabeth Davis and Tony Liberatore. Credible sources assert that Mr. Liberatore’s wife witnessed intimate kssing between Mr. Liberatore and Ms. Elizabeth Davis at Sasscer.
  • Ms. Davis does EEOC hearings/mediations. In light of her low morals, what are her qualifications and credentials for that role?  What connection did she have with Ms. Synthia Kucner and now with labor relations Director?

10. Consider rules and regulations by federal, state and BOE policies.

  • A.) Abide by state law with regard to Hite’s contract. The state law is on the BOE webpage. see the attached link.
  • B.) Establish more precise criteria for the purpose of acquiring a better leader. Filtering out the unqualified candidates for the purpose of attracting qualified, traditional candidates. The candidates should be diverse and not limited to Broad Group and other such organizations.
  • C.) Elect and select BOE members who will supervise and express the concerns and potential of the governed, rather than fraternize with the Superintendent.
  • D.) Complete THOROUGH background checks, for the purpose of avoiding embarrassment, which includes incidents like Deasy’s questionable doctorate.

11. Close and thorough examination of the personnel appointments

A.) Examine the growing number of personnel in PGCPS, which include Jim Whattam, Esq., and other appointees, who have extensive ties to Prince George’s County Educator Association (PGCEA). Provide fair and impartial review of all unions. An investigation about Mr. James Whattam the previous attorney for MSEA attorney with extensive ties to AFSCME Local 2250 and PGCEA needs to be investigated and exposed.

B.) The serious allegations of misconduct by previous Superintendent Dr. William Hite Jr. and some female employees necessitate investigation. The concerns need to be put directly in writing to the BOE members.  Investigation needs to be launched right away. A Copy needs to be forwarded to Mr. Rod Rosenstein’s office if the BOE does not act. Dr. William Hite Jr. actions proved to be more detrimental to the interests of the community than Dr. Hornsby.

12. Dr. William Hite Jr. should be held accountable for his appointment of less qualified, non-credentialed personnel, in light of the fact that they did not comply with state law. BOE should supervise the future Superintendent and force HR compliance. The record demonstrates that Dr. Hite typically advised the BOE.  That custom was/is unacceptable.

13. Review the following deals:

  • A.)Washington Plaza, lobbyist ties and campaign donations
  • B.) H-1B
  • C.) The 27 administrators currently in arbitration
  • D.) Lack of due process among ALL employees for hearings, terminations, etc under Mr. Roger Thomas, Synthia J. Shilling, and Mr. Jim Whattam
  • E.) OIA number of lawsuits and EEOC complaints. There are a myriad of EEOC complaints.  The excess of complaints has necessitated their distribution to other field offices      throughout the country.
  • F.) Review overlap of Legal Department for attorney duties with regard to waste.
  • G.) The Thatcher contract was a no bid contract, which totally opposed BOE policy. It needs to be cancelled.
  • H.) The $90 million surplus budget left over from Dr. Hornsby’s term has been squandered.
  • I.) A proper investigation needs to be launched ASAP to follow the money trail involving Dr. William Hite Jr., Roger Thomas, Mr. Matthew E. Stanski, Ms. Synthia J. Shilling also known as Ms. Synthia Kucner, and other co-conspirators.

14. Contact state and federal officials (FBI, DOJ) about the broken laws, policies and procedures.

15. Demand information regarding credentials and licensure. The State Department is already doing an audit. Go to Dept of Labor, MSDE, EEOC and any other organizations like NAACP, Casa de Maryland and La Raza about discrimination and hiring.

16. Involve the media. Report any information to Miranda Spivack or Ovetta Wiggins of the Washington Post or NBC4 Prince George’s County Bureau Chief Tracee Wilkins so they may do a story on misappropriation of funds. (After the incident with Dr. Hornsby occurred, BOE policies/procedures were implemented to prevent a reoccurrence. These procedures have yet to be followed.

17. Stop empowering Principals who harbor strong biases and manipulate the system for the purpose of destroying teacher credentials in order to remove teachers who don’t share in their interests and/or beliefs. Test scores rise because of teachers and not because of the principals. Administrators should be receptive helpers and not feared executioners.

18. Implement earned income raises for PGCPS staff. Income raises have not been implemented for the PGCPS staff for a considerable period of time. These teachers work very hard usually without adequate compensation. Compare to Montgomery county public schools (MCPS) and others.

19. Investigate Office of Constituent Services, which acted as a campaign tool for Dr. William Hite.  The Office of Constituent Services continues its services to Dr. William Hite even after his discontinuation with PGCPS.  This office does very little to promote the interests of the PGCPS. The said office was only created to promote William Hite’s personal agenda.  There was an illegitimate disbursement of funding; the Office of Constituent Services’ staff was paid merely for the purpose of neutralizing controversies involving Dr. William Hite. Superintendent William Hite granted several staff members significant raises without justification. In this regard, IT Help Desk and Constituent Services need to be merged to avoid duplication of duties.

20. Investigate IT Department and its relationship with some BOE members connected to fired IT Director Mr. Pierre Dickson. Verify what damage caused by the said Director and his lover Ms. Shanita Anderson.

21. Investigate nepotism involving with Dr. William Hite’s office for the following reasons;

  • A.) The Director of communications Mr. Briant K. Coleman is a close family member to second in command Dr. Coleman Porter.
  • B.) Several Instructional Directors have spouses who are either Principals or administrators within PGCPS.
  • C.) The previous Director was fired to create room for the current Communication Director, who is related to the Deputy Superintendent.
  • D.) Previous Director of Communication was unjustly terminated in pretext for raising a discrimination issue.(see attached ~> Breedon vs PGCPS Bd. of Ed Hite)
  • E.) Investigate, reprimand and or fire the current Director of Communications for disrespecting the County Executive and other stakeholders for being involved and directing  the manufacturing of unnecessary misleading communications while using various tools on the job, including the Washington Post. (See attached PGCPSLies)
  • F.) Investigate Ms. Monica Goldson, Chief Operating Officer (COO). She has several relatives in high level positions beginning at Sasscer – HR and in various schools. As the chief operating officer (COO), she controls millions of dollars and reports that are disbursed to the chief executive officer or the superintendent of schools. She is also responsible for the PGCPS’s day-to-day operating activities, including revenue and sales growth; expense, cost and margin control; and monthly, quarterly and annual financial goal management etc. What did she do for/to Dr. Hite to get the job without qualifications? Why did she suddenly drop her husband and put him through divorce proceedings through the court system for years? See attached Monica-Goldson-Divorce.   Is this part of Dr. Hites “Italian lover” syndrome? This bed hoping love rat needs to be investigated for the countless marriages he has ruined together with others examples, Mr. Pierre Dickson, Shanita Anderson, Union leaders etc.

22. PG County Chapter of NAACP needs to stand firm on its principled and justified stance against discrimination of any form or kind within PGCPS. Sitting on the fence is very uncomfortable and unprincipled. Take a stand and support the county Executive. We need you!

Investigate, investigate and change things immediately.

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“Change will not come if we wait for some other person, or if we wait for some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.” – President Barack Obama

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Posted by . Categories: 90 million Jury, Accountability, ASASP UNION, Child Abuse in PGCPS, Corruption and cover up Report in PGCPS, Corruption in Education, Divorce in PGCPS, Embattled Superintendent, Fight Racism, Inspector General, Lawlessness, Morally dead situation, Pgcps corruption, Pgcps Mess, sex in the school premises, Union corruption. Tags: , , , , , , , . 35 Comments

27

Apr. ’13

Dr. Alvin L. Crawley Resigns.

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Dr. Alvin L. Crawley – above – The right thing a little too late for innocent victims.

Prince George’s County Public Schools (PGCPS) superintendent and the Board members are reacting to our expose yesterday. The Board has now sent out an email to all Staff that Dr. Alvin L. Crawley will be resigning as of June 3, 2013. (See News release).

Such changes are what we would love to see and there are others. Kudos to interim Superintendent Crawley and the Board of Education for responding to these needs. We just hope that the Board of Education for Prince George’s County supporting the County Executive Baker will properly scrutinize the next Superintendent who will come in the school District and help fix the issues identified by our group in corroboration with other stake holders within the school system.

Potential replacements for Dr. Crawley include up and coming prospective candidates such as Daryl V. Williams – Chief of Student Services or Lisa D. Price, PMP, CGPM – Performance Officer for PGCPS to act as interim superintendent in case of a delay in selecting the next superintendent of Schools by June 1, 2013. Both individuals are competent leaders with proven track records in their areas of expertise.

Director of Communication Mr. Brian Coleman, who has been on our radar lately for bad behavior including disrespect and cover ups at Sasscer Administrative Building (Board HQ), sent out the attached email at the bottom of this post to cover up as usual.

People would expect a bit of self-circumspect considering what has transpired under Dr. Alvin L. Crawley’s watch. These emails demonstrate what is wrong with the culture of impunity in PGCPS. One is bound to think Dr. Crawley is leaving under normal circumstance. Why do we shed tears for perpetrators and conspirators? Who is sad for the poor defenseless little children who were molested by the brutes during this man’s watch? Please let us be more reverend and repentant.  These are not normal times. Let us not “normalize” the abnormal.

The sentiments expressed in the end are very revealing and expose the Business as usual lesfaires attitudes in PGCPS School District.

There is no smoke without fire! The gentleman had two and half months to go before resigning. What doesn’t he want us to find out? Dr. Crawley is a clear manifestation of a man who forgot his mission and disregarded the 21 commandment he went to uphold and implement from our blogs. He can only blame himself for the calamity which has befallen him!

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From: Prince George’s County Public Schools <PGCPS@public.govdelivery.com>
Date: Fri, Apr 26, 2013 at 8:38 AM
Subject: Statement from the Board of Education regarding the earlier departure of Interim Superintendent of Schools Dr. Alvin L. Crawley
To:

Statement from the Board of Education regarding the earlier departure of Interim Superintendent of Schools Dr. Alvin L. Crawley

April 26, 2013

For Immediate Release

CONTACT:

Office of Communications

301-952-6001

communications@pgcps.org

On Thursday, April 25, Prince George’s County Public Schools Interim Superintendent of Schools Dr. Alvin L. Crawley notified the Board of Education of his intent to resign effective June 3, 2013. The Board has accepted Dr. Crawley’s resignation.

Statement from the Board of Education regarding the earlier departure of Interim Superintendent of Schools Dr. Alvin L. Crawley: “We are saddened by Dr. Crawley’s decision to leave early; however, due to the passage of the recent legislation changing the governance structure of our school system, we fully understand. We regretfully accept Dr. Crawley’s resignation and express our gratitude and appreciation for his consistent dedication to student achievement.”

Statement from Interim Superintendent of Schools Dr. Alvin L. Crawley: “It is with mixed emotions that I submit my letter of resignation effective June 3, 2013. I have enjoyed my tenure as Interim Superintendent of Schools and appreciate the support of our Board, staff, parents, students, and members of the community. I am very proud of the accomplishments we have achieved during my tenure.”

Background: Dr. Crawley was hired in August of 2012 under a contract that was set to expire on June 30, 2013. Maryland House Bill 1107, which passed on April 9, 2013, significantly changes the governance structure of PGCPS by giving the County Executive the authority to appoint the Superintendent of Schools as well as the Chair and Vice Chair of the Board of Education.

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Posted by . Categories: Accountability, Child Abuse in PGCPS, Corruption and cover up Report in PGCPS, Corruption in Education, Embattled Superintendent, Fight Racism, Morally dead situation, Pgcps corruption, Pgcps Mess, Protest, Public Rally, Union corruption, workplace bullying. Tags: , , , , , . 8 Comments

27

Apr. ’13

Outrageous Petition Drive in PG County.

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Today we received news through the Washington post that Shameful display of misplaced sympathies and loyalties are in play with some few individuals who want to maintain the status quo within PG County schools. Where is the outrage when it is needed the most to defend “helpless kids and staff” who are not popular or connected to these self-rightious groups?

The papers are stone dead and quiet when the same system has subjected its students and staff to abuse and conditions which are unfathomable in other school districts such as MPCPS, Carvert etc.  Why do we have to be on the wrong side of righteousness? Let us try something new, which can bring accountability to this madness in PGCPS school District. Enough is enough. We can no longer hide under the banner of democracy. Democratic society requires strong protection, but also carries with it equal responsibilities and creates accountability measures.

We support Mr. Rushern Baker and we will be watching developments as well as providing unsolicited advise during his tenure. We are not going give anyone a blank check. However, let us give a chance and try something new. Everyone in the Board of Education have had their chance, it is Mr. Baker’s chance now.

The question we are asking the critics is this, What are the motives of these groups and persons opposing the new school governance structure?  Who is standing for the poor students and staff members? The PG County chapter of NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) should not adopt the tactics and bad attitudes of some corrupt Unions with some hidden agenda. We will not let a very good organization be high jacked by a few misguided individuals who are out to rubble rouse some naive elements in PG County.

Instead of these organizations trying to defend the power brokers with ill gotten wealth, they should be fighting for the less fortunate instead of trying to maintain the status quo. The only thing constant in life is change. Unless they learn to adopt, they are destined to obsolesce .

Lastly, there are people and cases which are beginning to be derailed for lack of representation in various forums. The Unions are not performing their rightful roles and keeping the PGCPS management accountable. We must say “NO” to such misplaced allegiance and false solidarity.

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Posted by . Categories: Accountability, Child Abuse in PGCPS, Corruption and cover up Report in PGCPS, Corruption in Education, Embattled Superintendent, Fight Racism, Inspector General, Morally dead situation, PGCPS, Pgcps corruption, Pgcps Mess, Pierre Dickson Bullying ways, Protest. Tags: , , , , , . 1 Comment