Things really have not changed have they? There are still people outContinue readingthere who believe they can force their will on the people regardless of the circumstances. I still cannot believe that we are here. Consolidation, Unification, where did this come from? What mind first came up with this idea and what is the real motive behind it?
Eight months ago when I heard that Rusty Griffin and his merry band of followers were once again trying to force unification down peoples throats, I never thought it would catch on and would just fizzle away. Oh, how wrong.
Over the months this consolidation issue that I thought would never gain steam is now on the ballot and could possible pass this Nov. 8th.
I have seen this thing divide friends, families, co-workers and even
Tag Archives: CUEE
Why We Oppose Consolidation —Lowndes County Schools
Lowndes County Schools will be hosting a forum entitled Why We Oppose Consolidation on October 4, 2011 at 7:00pm in the Lowndes High Cafeteria. All community members invited to attend.Some people have been confused by LCBOE’s image version of this meeting announcement:
The meeting starts at 7PM on the fourth of October, which is Tuesday.
They’ve also put the LCBOE resolution
online in plain text.
Here’s the earlier LAKE transcription from our
video of Supt. Smith reading the resolution.
Here are
videos of that entire LCBOE meeting,
including
the unanimous vote to adopt the resolution.
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Consolidation has nothing to do with improving our children’s education —Etta Mims
I know that there are many “newcomers” to the area which supported consolidation until they connected the dots and realized this has nothing to do with improving our children’s education.
See also Valwood, CUEE, and the Chamber.
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Steven H. Prigohzy, All-Star and Best-Paid Educator!
A Sun Life Financial press release of 26 February 2011, Exceptional Students & Nonprofits, All-Star Team of Pro Athletes, Corporate & Education Leaders Tackle Lagging High School Graduation Rates at Sun Life Rising Star National Summit,
Well, that sounds like the Steve Prigohzy of CSAS in Chattanooga, whose Public Education Foundation advised the consolidated school system there.“Steven H. Prigohzy, education advocate and developer of one of the country’s first open magnet schools.”
What about this, is this just a coincidence of names? Empire Center for New York State Policy put out a press release of 8 October 2009,
According to the data, the highest paid non-professional school employee (outside New York City) was Steven H. Prigohzy of the New York Institute for Special Education, who was paid $230,000.It turns out it’s not a coincidence. In a paid death notice in the New York Times, BLOOM, FRANCES R., 18 January 2005, Continue reading
Results of PEF’s plans for Chattanooga/Hamilton Co. schools?
First, let’s look at PEF’s own History webpage,
Interestingly, Prigohzy is no longer listed as board or staff with PEF. Maybe we should ask them why….In 1994 Chattanooga city voters voted to turn responsibility for education over to the county, requiring the two systems to merge. At the request of the Hamilton County School Board, PEF surveyed 3,300 area residents and convened 135 community members – educators, civic and government leaders, residents, parents and students – to help shape the vision for the new school system. When the newly consolidated system emerged in 1997, the partnership with PEF continued.
So, what came of all this consolidation in Chattanooga? It must be great, considering PEF’s Board Approved 2005-2010 Strategic Plan for Great Public Schools,
In the years 2005 – 2010, Hamilton County Public Schools will meet or exceed national benchmarks for excellence with continuous, measurable improvement in reading, mathematics, and in the numbers of students who progress smoothly from grade to grade, graduate from high school and go on to college or career-path jobs. Because of this sustained progress, Hamilton County will be recognized among the very best mid-sized public school systems in America. The community will be justifiably proud and more and more people will understand and support the investment necessary for great public schools. The Public Education Foundation will be instrumental in these achievements as a champion of school transformation and will devote its expertise and fundraising capabilities to the Hamilton County Public Schools as a catalyst for bold ideas that create real and positive change.Sounds great!
But an outside study shows a different result. Kontji Anthony wrote for WMCTV, 23 January 2011, Study offers glimpse at possible impact of school consolidation, Continue reading
Steve Prigohzy, guru of Chattanooga-Hamilton Co. school consolidation
Continue readingA month after the election, the board voted to ask the Public Education Foundation to help frame the new system. The move was partly on the advice of educators in Knoxville, who faced a raft of problems after consolidating rapidly with Knox County eight years ago.
The foundation, one of the wealthiest local education foundations in the country, has worked closely with educators in both the city and county. Its president, Steven H. Prigohzy, is a dynamo with a clear vision of where he’d like to take education in the new system.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for a county
Videos by LAKE of CUEE school unification meeting 27 Sep 2011
![](http://i2.ytimg.com/vi/ysDMSu0hxxc/default.jpg)
Videos by LAKE of CUEE 27 Sep 2011
School Unification,
Forum, Community Unification for Educational Excellence, Inc. (CUEE),
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 27 September 2011.
Videos by Gretchen Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.
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Sports teams won’t change (Tom Gooding) my sports team changed (Ronnie Mathis) @ CUEE 27 Sep 2011
First,
Tom Gooding said sports teams won’t change (until there’s a
newly elected Lowndes County school board, which of course can do
whatever it wants to; read the fine print as he speaks).
Then Ronnie Mathis said he’d been through “unification” elsewhere,
and his sports team changed from Vikings to Bobcats.
Oops!
Maybe this is why CUEE won’t post videos of its own meetings. But LAKE has, so you can watch this for yourself.
Here’s Part 1 of 2: Continue reading
Valwood, CUEE, and the Chamber
“The members of the CUEE, they send their children to private schools.”Beyond what Alex Rowell pointed out, that several CUEE board and supporters are Valwood trustees or donors. The Chamber is also closely tied to Valwood.
The Chamber and Valwood are actually even more tightly coupled than the graphic indicates. According to Valwood’s own website:
Valwood Board Elects Officers and TrusteesNow let’s look at the Chamber’s board. Tom Gooding is the Chamber’s Chair, and Terri Lupo is on the board, and is the Chamber’s immediate past Chair. That’s right, Gooding and Lupo just switched spots (Chair and past Chair) with both the Chamber and Valwood.
May 27, 2011Valwood’s Board of Trustees is pleased to announce that it has elected the following officers who, along with Tom Gooding as Immediate Past Chairman and Dutton Miller as “Chairman’s Choice,” will serve on the Board’s Executive Committee for the coming school year:
Terri Lupo – Chairman of the BoardAlso, the Board of Trustees has re-elected the following Trustees to 3 year terms beginning July 1:
Billy Tidmore – Vice Chairman/Chairman Elect
Jack Henry – Treasurer/Chairman of Finance Committee
Jim Godbee – Secretary
Brooks Akins Laura Perlman Mike Godwin Sally Querin Tom Gooding April Scruggs Bill Peeples
Plus as the above graphic points out, there are further intersections between the Chamber board and CUEE supporters. So the Chamber, CUEE, and Valwood are tightly intercoupled.
It seems we have a group of private school supporters trying to take over both the local public school systems. Does that seem right to you?
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Steve Prigohzy’s magnet school
After reading Barbara Stratton’s piece about Steve Prigohzy screening a movie about magnet schools, I wondered, who is this Steve Prigohzy, anyway? CUEE never showed us his resume, as near as I can tell, and they’re a private organization, so they don’t have to. But his tracks are all over the Internet.
Cynthia M. Gettys and Anne Wheelock wrote for The New Alternative Schools in September 1994, (Volume 52, Number 1, Pages 12-15) Launching Paideia in Chattanooga,
They must have liked him, because he was hired as its principal, according Jessica Penot and Amy Petulla in Haunted Chattanooga, Continue readingWith the board’s approval and support from the Lyndhurst Foundation, a committee outlined the necessary steps to develop a Paideia school for Chattanooga students. First, the group hired Steve Prigohzy as the school’s planner, promoter, and educational leader. Prigohzy looked for teachers who were lifelong learners themselves. “I would ask teachers to talk to me about a book they were reading that I shouldn’t miss. I wanted people who were acting out their curiosity about the world,” he said. Prigohzy also sought teachers whose appreciation for discourse would sustain the school as a community of learners. Limited public confidence, especially in the city’s middle schools, influenced the planning.