Category Archives: Confidence in God

A furious storm.

storm-500x500

Matthew 8:24

‘Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat.’

– Have you ever felt like this?
– Like a storm has come from nowhere and has overtaken you?
– God can use the storm to work within you and equip you for service.
– So don’t despise the storm, but look for His purpose in it all.

PRAYER: Lord, when we face the storms of life, it is not always easy. But we know that even in the storm You are there and You are working things out for our good. Amen.

Enjoy the weekend.

###

Montgomery teacher starts petition against MSA.

1207montgomery

A petition started by a Montgomery County Public Schools teacher calling for the state not to administer the Maryland School Assessment tests this school year has gained hundreds of signatures from around the state.

Tiferet Ani, a social studies teacher in the Quince Orchard cluster, said that with the county — and state — implementing the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness of College and Careers test and no longer looking to the MSA tests to track student progress, she thinks it is a waste of time and resources to administer the annual test to elementary and middle school students this year.

PARCC, which aligns with the Common Core State Standards, will be fully implemented in the school system next school year.

As of Friday afternoon, about 400 people had signed the Moveon.org petition titled “Cancel the MSA.” >>> Read More Gazzette

>>> Attend Common Core protest at MSDE…on November 18, 2013. Call your elected officials now and the media. Demand changes due to Maryland State Board of Education leaders involved in corruption and abuse of power. (video)

###

 Dr. Lillian Lowery, Dr. Charlene Dukes time to get a clue!

And the rest of the parents, teachers, and TAXPAYERS of Maryland – after you’ve signed the petition, contact your lawmakers, the state board of education, and the governor. This is a waste not only of time but of YOUR tax dollars

###

untitled

imagesca1d2dt3

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

Dukes

In our opinion, We aver and therefore believe 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 during her tenure.

###

Pr. George’s school leaders…

…need to keep faith with parents

untitled

Pr. George’s school leaders

By Keith Harriston, Friday, September 20, 11:29 AM

Here’s some unsolicited advice for the Prince George’s public schools chief executive, Kevin Maxwell: Let those who work for you in central administration know that misleading parents is bad policy.These days, parents with children at Judith Hoyer Montessori think that deception is school policy. (For transparency: I have a child at the school.) Why?

In late 2011 and early 2012, the school district held public meetings to discuss new school boundaries. The plan included moving Judith Hoyer to the former Oakcrest Elementary building about four miles away. Such a move to a larger facility, officials told Judith Hoyer parents, would allow the school to expand to include grades seven and eight. That would leave families in central Prince George’s with a full kindergarten-through-eighth grade Montessori program and put them on equal footing with public school Montessori programs that serve families in northern and southern Prince George’s. >>> Read More Washington Post

ANALYSIS

Traditional liberal concepts of democracy and citizenship rely on an informed citizenry to hold governments accountable. If they do not contribute fully because of their disappointment with government failings, and as a result withdraw from the political and democratic processes, some Politians might like it. When citizens withdraw, it is not the politicians that suffer but rather the people and their fellow citizens that do. While politicians might play the political game merely to win an election, this does great harm to their communities and nations all over the world. In this case, this how former county Executive Jack Johnson  was able to pull off through a reign of terror for many years without accountability. We should never let such a scenario revisit itself  here in this county. On this note, we applaud the parents of Judith Hoyer Montessori for demanding transparency. Parents in the other schools should do the same thing. This is the only way to keep the leadership in check.

“Winning elections only matters if the governing that follows progresses the county and the nation. The nation only progresses where citizens as a group are better off after the elections than before.”

Whether citizens are better off or not, it is a matter of judgment on the part of citizens and not necessarily what political factions assert. In the end, in an open democracy, the wisdom of the citizenry wins out.

We believe trust in government will not be restored by what citizens expect but by what they inspect within their local governments. There is a great need for politicians, at both the national and local levels and especially here in Prince George’s County, to be forced to submit themselves to greater inspection, scrutiny and accountability.

Politicians, should be scrutinized both before and after they are elected. Parents needs to get involved with parent teacher Associations (PTA) in their neighborhood schools.  They need to subject their leaders to rigorous scrutiny as to their thoughts about governing and their conduct in the governing process. The issue is to get at the heart of their policy content, intent and execution.

Only an alert, attentive and active citizenry can ensure this level of inspection. It is much to ask of people caught up in their everyday lives and the burdens of making ends meet, but when politics matters to the quality of everyday life, then involvement is mandatory.

While an active change in governing structure is important, the media cannot do it alone:  “It is not enough to leave the media to this inspection alone.  The media must play its rightful role, but an active media and active citizenry can make for a powerful inspection mechanism for politicians. If you want to make an inept politician shake, tell him or her that both the press and his constituents are demanding to speak with him or her and have some tough questions to ask.”

Sleeping voters and a passive media are an ill-intentioned politician’s dream.

As articulated before, Mr. Rushern Baker’s biggest test is creating a smooth transition within the schools, but 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.

If PG County is to attain its aspirations for modernity, its politicians must see value in balancing county and national drivers of growth. This way, they can create enabling environment for Businesses to flourish while embracing other groups as part of the county system.

Our world needs drastic improvements in governance structure especially here in PG County under County Executive Rushern Baker III. If any improvement is to come, alert, attentive and active citizens must rise up and demand for it. The more alert, attentive and active, the greater the improvement is likely to be. Schools in the county are not going to progress if we do not get involved in the process and demand accountability. It’s our moral duty.

 pgcps_logo

jhheader

###

“The collapse of good conscience and the absence of accountability and public scrutiny have led to crimes against humanity.” ~Nelson Mandela.

ASASP Lawsuit in Greenbelt Federal Court Dismissed.

ASASP

ASASP Union Case Terminated.

Reform Sasscer Movement for Prince George’s County “Movement” has established that, law suit filed in Federal court last year, (See details here ~~>asaspunion-complaint) has been dismissed. Many members of ASASP and others within the county system expressed dismay since as it turns out, the suit was more of a cover up than anything else. Following our explicit account almost two years ago, previous President Mr. James Smallwood resigned but then was replaced by his friend Mr. Dwayne Jones who is engaged in the same diabolical conduct at Laurel High School. Mr. James Smallwood still sits in the same Board of Association of Supervisory and Administrative School Personnel (ASASP) and has been calling the shots behind the scenes in retaliation.  Mr. Smallwood’s name is not published in ASASP Website in order to deceive members that he is no longer a member of the Board of Directors but he is. Something needs to be done to create a strong accountability mechanism on these guys. On this note, Someone needs to ask them to do the right thing and step aside to allow proper investigations to occur. The above lawsuit appears it was more of a publicity stance and concealment of illegal activities by Dr. William Hite, Ms. Monica Goldson, Mr. James Smallwood and their conspirators committed while in Prince George’s County Public Schools (PGCPS).

The time has come to demand accountability from these same Unions which appear to have lots of money to dupe innocent members while paralyizing the school Disctrict for their own personal motives. We have had enough with the corruption involving unions here in PGCPS and other entities who might be benefiting from the same. The cycle of corruption must be eliminated or minimized somewhat. We therefore should never rest easy.  In our own considered view, the suit was never intended to fix any problems whatsoever other than cover up the bad guys. Enough is enough.

Time has come for new leadership involving ASASP and other Unions in PGCPS engaged in wrongful conduct which includes bribing attorneys in conspiracy with the Thatcher Law Firm and other players. We must demand an end to these shenanigans and other pranks within our PG county system ASAP! We hope the Board members and other government officials will look into the activities of these selfish individuals with a view to making proper changes for the benefit of the communities and future generations. We cannot be a butt of all manner of jokes without taking action against the fire!

As articulated before, Corruption flourishes when someone has monopoly power over a good or service; has the discretion to decide how much you get or whether you get any at all, and where transparency and accountability are weak. So, to fight corruption we must reduce monopoly, reduce discretion, and increase transparency in many ways. (see ~~> ~~> Reduce corruption ~~> Audit and Accountability)

Corruption = Monopoly + Discretion – Transparency

Enhancing accountability means many things, and creative leaders use a remarkable variety of methods. One way to improve accountability is to improve the measurement of performance. Leaders can work with their employees and clients to create new systems for measuring the performance of agencies and offices—and then link rewards to results.

Accountability is also increased by inviting outside agencies to audit, monitor, and evaluate.

What about ethics and morality? Successful leaders set a good example. They sometimes create training programs for employees and citizens. Nonetheless, in the success stories I have studied, what might be called “moral initiatives” are not the key feature of the long-term reforms. The keys are systems that provide better incentives for imperfect human beings to perform in the public interest—and to avoid corruption.

Subverting Corruption

When corruption has become systemic, it resembles organized crime. It has its own parallel system of recruitment and hierarchy, of rewards and punishments, of contracts and enforcement. This parallel system has some inherent weaknesses. For example, in no country of the world are bribery and extortion legal. Therefore, they must be kept (somewhat) secret. The money gained must be hidden. One cannot openly recruit new members. The mechanisms for enforcement are illicit.

How can these corrupt systems be subverted? Obviously we cannot count on members of organized crime to clean themselves. Instead, we must analyze the corrupt systems and ask, “How might they be destabilized?” Who is “we”? It can be a new president and his or her team, or a new mayor or head of a public enterprise. But it can also be you and me as members of civil society. Around the world we see new examples of citizen activism, of business groups entering into “integrity pacts,” of intellectuals and journalists and religious leaders going beyond lectures and sermons to analyze corrupt systems and work together to subvert them.

Finally, according the FBI, Public corruption poses a fundamental threat to our national security and way of life. It impacts everything from how well our borders are secured and our neighborhoods protected…to verdicts handed down in courts…to the quality of our roads, schools, and other government services. And it takes a significant toll on our pocketbooks, wasting billions in tax dollars every year.

###

If you and I are not part of the solution then we are simply part of the problem. ~ Anonymous

Judge’s order ~> show_temp.pl

ASASP’S ~> voluntary dismissal

Management analyst – Lyn J. Mundey tapped to fill BOE vacancy.

imagesCA0BJEDE

Ms. Lyn J. Mundey

Reform Sasscer Movement “RSM” has learned and pleased that County Executive Baker filled the vacancy on the Board of Education for District 7 previously held by Board member Carlletta Fellows who resigned in June 2013. We look forward to working with Ms. Mundey to ensure accountability and transparency initiatives are implemented fully and  the county meets the needs of the students, parents and teachers in District 7.

Above all, we look forward to engaging in the process with the County Executive Rushern Baker and the Board members as the County Executive Baker prepares to fill another vacancy on the Board created by the resignation of Donna Hathaway Beck, of District 9.

Under House Bill 1107, passed by the Maryland General Assembly last spring, the Prince George’s County executive has the authority to make an appointment to a vacant seat for the remainder of the term, should a seat become vacant.

Mundey is a 2000 graduate of Bowie High School, has a daughter in the seventh grade at Benjamin D. Foulois Creative and Performing Arts Academy in Suitland and is an active member of the school’s PTA.

Baker education adviser Mr. Christian Rhodes was quoted as saying, Ms. Mundey brings a unique perspective to the board.

“Because of her multiple connections to the school system, first as an alumna and now as a parent, tracking her daughter as she’s moved up through the school system, she’s able to see the school system from a very different perspective,” Mr. Christian Rhodes said.

Mundey has a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Maryland, College Park, and a master’s of business administration degree from Strayer University. She is employed as a management analyst at the U.S. Government Accountability Office, overseeing the agency’s operating policies and privacy program. (Read more Press release, Gazette)

###

Greatest General of his day – Gen. Bonaparte.

imagesCAE8O2EL

Gen. Napoleon Bonaparte – Emperor of the French.

Napoleon Bonaparte was the greatest general of his day and one of the greatest of all time. He was also an astute politician with an unconquerable will to win. Above all, Bonaparte revolutionized military organization and training, sponsored Napoleonic Code,instituted lasting reforms in higher education, established a tax code, road and sewer systems, and established the Banque de France (central bank). He negotiated the Concordat of 1801 with the Catholic Church, which sought to reconcile the mostly Catholic population to his regime. It was presented alongside the Organic Articles, which regulated public worship in France. Later, Bonaparte became President of the French Academy of Sciences and appointed Jean Baptiste Joseph Delambre its Permanent Secretary.[57]His goal was to rule the world and he seemed well on his way to achieving that goal.

History records how he boasted, “Russia next, then Britain, and Napoleon shall rule the world.”

When leading his army en route to conquer Russia, one tiny snowflake fell on Napoleon, “Then another, and another, and another, and they kept on falling until Napoleon’s proud army was reeling back, broken and defeated” not by an enemy’s army nor even a single shot, but by a mass of tiny snowflakes. Napoleon’s response? “God almighty was too much for me.”

Later on in his own country  of France, the unarmed masses rose against him and toppled him despite having a strong army! The will of the people is powerful.

Likewise, as we have seen events of the last few years here in Prince George’s County, we have had Union bosses, school system officers and the Thatcher Law firm which has millions from questionable sources hell bent on wrecking havoc for employees by engaging in the following:

  1.  Making false statements of fact or law to the courts and presenting false evidence to the judges that they know to be false.
  2. Further, the same law firm is engaged in criminal or fraudulent conduct related to the proceedings.
  3. In representing a client, a lawyer shall not use means that have no substantial purpose other than to embarrass, delay, or burden a third person, or use methods of obtaining evidence that violate the legal rights of such a person.
  4. Misconduct. It is professional misconduct for a lawyer to:  (a.) engage in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation (b.) engage in conduct that is prejudicial to the administration of justice; (c.) harass a person on the basis of sex, race, age, creed, religion, color, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, or marital status in connection with a lawyer’s professional activities;

 We have seen public  school funding outsourced to State officers for the sole purpose of racketeering conspiracy in order to defeat justice. Yes! There  has been money to bribe specific people rather than fight a clean war in the courts and a shame the devil.

As we approach 2014, we must remain vigilant and help create a society which cares for one another and not one which is driven by malice, a hostile work environment, racism, retaliation, nepotism, professional misconduct and corruption. Prince George’s County is bigger than a few individuals and we must never rest until we have seen proper changes in our society.  We pray that the new leadership together with others, will scrutinize each and every diabolical acts committed in the County these last few years. It is our hope that the grievance system will be respected in the future. As things stand now, everything is disarray.

As we have said before, It is our hope that the accounts that follow, highlight qualities of school system leaders who will guide the county forward into the future.  It is our sincere believe that the issues that we highlight concerning racism, professional misconduct, discrimination and nepotism within PGCPS system and elsewhere , not only captures your attention, but motivates you to proactively fight for a better America. By holding our county government and elected officials accountable, We can continue to build and promote an inclusive culture that encourages effective workforce performance not cover-ups! State and county employees, guardians over the public trust, must be able to pursue the missions of their organizations free from discrimination, racism and retaliation.  Public servants should not have to operate in fear of retaliation for reporting workplace, program or policy abuses that are racially discriminatory.

If we work together with all our stakeholders around the world, we could change the status quo of doing business especially in schools. Children are suffering around the world not just in Prince George’s County alone. It will be a wake up call for many of you, not just for those who live  and work in Prince George’s County. Anyone with time could pay a visit to the juvenile court in Upper Marlboro, Maryland to see for yourselves how vulnerable youth are faring.  A close look will show that sometimes, the docket is full with about 90 cases a day. If every family, teacher, administrator etc played their part, life could be much more meaningful. With our new CEO, let us see how much more we can do to change the status quo.

In the end, It’s comforting to know that God is in control no matter what, and that this world and the life of each of us who put our trust in Him are in his hands.

###

napoleon-bonaparte

Napoleon at the Battle

Call your elected representatives now and demand changes to this criminal behavior involving justice to the Highest Bidder. We must demand action this year to create accountability within the legal system. Unless we take action, Maryland as a state will be going to the dogs in the future. Take time and call your elected leaders for action is now. Let us demand changes.  

PGCPS board member Carletta Fellows resigns.

cfellows2ndboepage2

Carletta Fellows

Reform Sasscer Movement has learned that Ms. Carletta Fellows accused of charging more than $700 of personal expenses to her board-issued credit card has resigned.

According to Prince George’s County Public Schools, Carletta Fellows announced her resignation Thursday. She was elected to the board last year to represent District 7 constituents. During her short tenure in the Board, she worked very hard and created a strong accountability check on previous Board Chairperson Ms. Verjeana Jacobs until Ms. Jacobs lost her position through the legislature by the way of HB1107. Even though she is leaving the Board of Education, this woman of God should be supported even in retirement. If she made a mistake, it’s because she did not know. The fight against corruption must continue ~ A luta continua!

Fellows was the only board member who supported County Executive Rushern Baker’s plan to take over the school system. (Read more Washington post)

###

worship of false gods in PG and elsewhere.

No other

You shall have no other gods before Me…

We worship false gods when our heroes are determined not by their values but by their financial worth. We idolize people of wealth – and so we pursue lives that will fill our bank accounts and leave our spirit barren.

We impress upon our children the goal of success – and then define it in ways that will leave them spiritually unfulfilled.

We compare the salaries of our educators and our spiritual leaders to the titans of Wall Street, the stars of the sports world and the famous entertainment figures and we have no trouble discerning what the world round about us most reveres.

To believe in God requires us to reject all the false gods of our society that seek only to still the voice of our conscience and the stirrings of our soul.

###

The Older

Spiritual strength and courage are needed in PGCPS.

Spritual

Spiritual strength and courage are needed for our spiritual warfare and suffering. Those who would prove themselves to have true grace, must aim at all grace; and put on the whole armour of God, which he prepares and bestows. The Christian armour is made to be worn; and there is no putting off our armour till we have done our warfare, and finished our course. The combat is not against human enemies, nor against our own corrupt nature only; we have to do with an enemy who has a thousand ways of beguiling unstable souls. The devils assault us in the things that belong to our souls, and labour to deface the heavenly image in our hearts. We must resolve by God’s grace, not to yield to Satan. Resist him, and he will flee. If we give way, he will get ground. If we distrust either our cause, or our Leader, or our armour, we give him advantage. The different parts of the armour of heavy-armed soldiers, who had to sustain the fiercest assaults of the enemy, are here described. There is none for the back; nothing to defend those who turn back in the Christian warfare. Truth, or sincerity, is the girdle. This girds on all the other pieces of our armour, and is first mentioned. There can be no religion without sincerity. The righteousness of Christ, imputed to us, is a breastplate against the arrows of Divine wrath. The righteousness of Christ implanted in us, fortifies the heart against the attacks of Satan. Resolution must be as greaves, or armour to our legs; and to stand their ground or to march forward in rugged paths, the feet must be shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace.

Ephesians 6:12

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

###

eagles

Baker introduces new PGCPS schools chief.

PGCPS SUPER

Homecoming is the theme for Prince George’s County Public Schools new CEO Dr. Kevin Maxwell. (Pictured above)

Anne Arundel County School Superintendent Kevin M. Maxwell returned to North Western high school in PGCPS where he served as principal more than a decade ago to be formally introduced Friday by Prince George’s County Executive Rushern L. Baker III (D) as the new schools chief.

“Welcome home,” said Baker, to applause. “Dr. Kevin Maxwell may not have started in the mailroom, but he did start in the classroom…he has learned every facet of school system operations in his journey, a journey which brings him back to Prince George’s County.”

Dr. Maxwell, who was lauded for his work in Prince George’s, Montgomery and Anne Arundel counties, will take the helm of Maryland’s second-largest school system after seven years leading Anne Arundel schools. (Read more Washingtonpost) (Read more Hyattsville patch)

In attendance were several senior delegation including  Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown, Maryland Senators, Delegates, Board of Educations members and senior county officials. Lt. Gov Brown praised Baker’s selection of Maxwell to take on the county school system. He said, “This is the right choice at the right time to lead the Prince George’s County school system to new heights.”

On his part, Dr. Maxwell said “I cannot do this by myself. I need every one of you,” he said to the crowd. “For every one of you who asks what are you going to do, I turn around and ask what are you going to do to help?” He further stated that,  “I’m here for the long haul,”. “I’ve lived here my whole life, I certainly expect to have my contract renewed in four years, and I expect to be here a good while.”

We at Reform Sasscer movement are very thrilled by the selection and look forward to supporting him and our other leaders within the county. Dr. Maxwell seems very articulate in several aspects and seem to understand what has been going on.  He brings a wealth of exeperience. Kudos to the County Executive Rushern Baker and his team!

See video of the event here

 Ceremony in Pictures

Lt. Brown -speaking

lt gov

Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown praised Baker’s selection of Maxwell

BAKER

baker

County Executive Rushern Baker Introducing Dr. Maxwell

Board Chair

Board chair

Segun C. Eubanks, Ed.D. ~ BOE Chair speaking to the invitated Guests.

Mr.Rhodes

Mr. Christian Rhodes  ~ Education Policy Advisor at Office of the Prince George’s County Executive.

50f3af16cacfdd2ec26366b871e9ade8

From left, Dr. Segun Eubanks, chair of the PGCPS Board of Education, Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown, New PGCPS CEO Dr. Kevin Maxwell and Prince George’s County Executive Rushern Baker.

NEW ss

super

 Prince George’s County Public Schools new CEO Dr. Kevin Maxwell speaking.

Board Chair 3 Lt. Gov BROWN & OTHERS Board Chair 3 Board m Board Members Board members2 BOE -Members4 BOE County staff Curtis Lt. Gov BROWN & OTHERS Lt. Gov1 Lt. Gov-Brooks Lt.Gov Mingling- PG Mingling2 New Board Chair Rhodes Senators

County, State Leaders Welcome New Prince George’s Schools Chief in Pictures.

###

It is better to lead from behind and to put others in front, especially when you celebrate victory when nice things occur. You take the front line when there is danger. Then people will appreciate your leadership. ~ Nelson Mandela