Cheating in Missouri Schools! But it's Not from the Students! The Sunday Education Weekly Reader 3.18.12

Welcome to the Sunday Education Weekly Reader for 03.18.12.  Instead of twitter tidbits, we are linking a story (Missouri Fails to Check for Standardized Cheating) published this morning in the St. Louis Post Dispatch.

Missouri has its own version of teacher cheating recently discovered in other states...tests being changed, students given answers by teachers before the tests were given, etc.  The state spends $8.4 Million to administer the MAP test to schools, however, none of that money is spend on test fraud detection services.  A familiar refrain is in this article....Missouri conducts no such investigations (fraud detection), giving school districts that sole responsibility.  

In other words, it's not DESE's fault.  Nope.  It's the fault of the school district.  If the district doesn't catch the cheating, DESE should not be implicated.  Here is DESE's response on the cheating:

Regardless of whether a district investigation confirms test fraud, Missouri education officials take the district's response as the final word. And when cheating is confirmed, the state issues no penalties, other than invalidating the affected students' scores. But the numbers of tests, the grade level and subject area involved are not easily available to the public.

"I know that feels to you like that's not really a penalty," Hoge said. But, "I would rather partner with districts in trying to take care of this than try to become the police."

What exact purpose does DESE serve?  It washes its hands of possible cheating scandals, citing budget restraints, yet DESE signs districts onto federal mandates that are severely underfunded and never brought to the taxpayer for a vote:

• signed proposals for Race to the Top estimated by DESE to cost the state $400,000,000 in 2010 
• just recently signed onto a Pre-K Race to the Top program estimated to cost $1,600,000,000.  

So while DESE is putting districts and taxpayers into more and more debt and foisting onto them unfunded financial burdens, DESE defends itself in not providing test analyses made available by the vendor, McGraw-Hill because of budget woes:

State education officials say looking for red flags would add thousands of dollars to the testing contract at a time when the state has cut department funding.

"There is a cost to that," said Sharon Hoge, an assistant commissioner at the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. "We have tried to rely on self reports in our districts in Missouri. I'm not telling you that means there are not things possibly that are going on that we don't know about."

DESE uses the argument it can't fund the observers in the schools (which it had in the past), so perhaps The Missouri Association of School Administrators (MASA) should use the same argument with DESE and refuse to give the tests for MAP (and perhaps the assessments mandated by Common Core).  Districts shouldn't have to give tests for which there is no funding to fully administer and ensure testing integrity.

It's insulting and criminal  to parents, taxpayers and students when school districts, the state educational agency, teachers and administrators cheat and/or pass the blame of ineffectiveness of education on other agencies.  The article doesn't have one individual or agency accepting any blame for this problem.   If the ineffectiveness stems from

• the sheer amount of control from the Federal and/or state mandates, then MASA should refuse to comply with the mandates
• poor teaching, the teachers should be fired
• lack of oversight from DESE, priority of funding to protect the integrity of the testing should be implemented immediately, and RTTT type of programming should be shelved due to the enormous amount of money needed to implement and fund testing oversight

With the increased scrutiny on teachers and teacher accountability determined by test scores, there will be many more stories in Missouri and other states about teacher cheating.  Is this the legacy of NCLB and RTTT?  Teachers cheating to save their jobs?  State agencies washing their hands of any complicity in cheating scandals?  

The bottom line is if this is what public education has been reduced to...assessments to determine accountability for students, teachers and administrators, set by the Federal Government, it's time to take your child out of this system.  It's a system that exists only to sustain the system, not your child. If no agency takes the credit for teacher cheating, what lesson is that teaching you?  Are these "professionals" in education the type of individuals who should be trusted to provide your child with a "quality education"?

More cheating scandal in St. Louis schools can be found here. 

 

Vision For Missouri Public Schools Report - Just More of the Same

The News Leader reported today about the Vision for Missouri Public Schools project, which has just released their report that outlines a comprehensive plan for Missouri public education. From their website:

"The Missouri Association of School Administrators and the Missouri School Boards’ Association are undertaking a joint effort to develop a “Vision for Missouri Public Education.” This joint effort will involve school board members and school administrators across the state in developing a comprehensive vision for Missouri’s public schools.

MSBA and MASA represent those charged with legal responsibility for governance and executive leadership of Missouri public schools. The two groups each have developed positions for which we advocate each year, but the groups have not developed a comprehensive vision for public education. The shortfall of state and federal dollars has legislators and state leaders looking to our organizations for leadership and the financial support for public education likely will get worse before it gets better. In the absence of any vision and/or plan, proposals such as vouchers, open enrollment, tuition tax credits, etc. will be seen as alternatives."

They claim to be doing this because there is a lack of such clear vision for the future of education and therefore the attainment and distribution of funding for education is at risk. The News Leader reported their plan was to develop "a proactive platform and make districts less vulnerable to contrary proposals that come up in the General Assembly."

We at the Watchdog do not believe there isn't a clear direction for public education, and from the looks of their report, The Missouri Vision Project didn't believe it either.  Read through their report and see if you don't see dozens of familiar terms, phrases and goals that have come from DOE, Bill Gates and others. From the preamble on their report:

“In order to perpetuate democracy for its citizenry and build a competitive workforce, the State of Missouri will engage every child in a rigorous, world class learning system to make each student career- and college-ready."  This could have been lifted directly from the UNESCO document. 

"The system will consist of effective teachers, school administrators, and boards of education who establish high expectations for students with the objective of developing a mastery of literacy and numeracy." Reading and math are currently the only subjects assessed by the Common Core Cooperatives.

"Common core standards, rooted in a culture of innovation and continuous improvement and technology, will be the foundation for learning." Common Core and a focus on STEM courses.  Nothing new here.

With parent support, every child will enter kindergarten ready to learn." This will be achieved first by optional early learner programs and eventually by compulsory preschool, just as compulsory education in general was introduced in this country. Note that parents only play a supporting role in this vision.

"Students will be accountable for their learning and demonstrate mastery of the curriculum as they progress through the learning system." And assessments will be modified until they do this.  Note that we no longer have an education system, but rather a learning system.

"Acting on behalf of the citizenry, school boards and local, state, and federal governments will be accountable for supporting every child’s learning.”  At least they recognize where their mandate comes from.

The Committees, which look at seven different areas, tell a similar story.

• Teaching, Learning, And Assessment Committee
• Early Learning And Student Success Committee
• Climate, Culture, And Organizational Efficacy Committee
• Human And Organizational Capital Committee
• Governance, Leadership, And Accountability Committee
• Physical Resources Committee
• Financial Resources Committee

I can't help but also note that Lois Weiner, a professor of education at New Jersey City University, who spoke to Democracy Now, lamented that the current education reform movement was attempting to deprofessionalize the teaching profession. The Missouri Vision falls right in line with that critique as they continue to refer to teachers and staffers as "capital."

MSBA, MASA and DESE (who had an advisory role in the plans development) are going to try to make us all feel like local control is being fought for and held with this document. Knowing that it came from local education specialists makes statements like, "Missouri students must experience schools capable of equipping them with the knowledge, skills, and character traits required for their future," so much more comforting.

"Action expresses priorities" -- Mohandas Gandhi

Ghandi wrote, "Action expresses priorities". What priorities do you think are in the "Vision for Missouri Public Education"? We've written on the transformational plan put forth by the Missouri Association of School Administrators (MASA) and the Missouri School Boards' Association (MSBA). The goals of this ambitious plan are to make every student ready for college and with the new curriculum, our students will become globally competitive. This is from the "Teaching, Learning and Assessment" group vision:

Schools must prepare all children for many choices through providing them the tools and attitudes to contribute meaningfully to our democratic society and to enable them to live successfully in a rapidly changing world. Students must be prepared to think critically, to solve problems, to collaborate, to foster relationships, to be flexible, to adapt to change, and to communicate effectively. Schools must be places where all children succeed, feel safe, and have their curiosity cultivated. Experiences must be customized to meet the individual needs of every student. Standards must be clear, attainable, and high enough to ensure that all students are intellectually challenged. Learning must be at the profound level.

These educational priorities are laudable goals and sound reasonable. How they are to be attained (the action) causes concern. There is an emphasis on attaining these goals via the "new digital learning environment". Translated that means we must spend billions on longitudinal data systems to track students' physical, mental and academic progress. We've questioned if the intrusion of government into documenting the personal lives of students is constitutional. These goals are also to be met through common core standards, which violate state sovereignty and are financially unsustainable.

I was somewhat surprised to read this sentence in the plan:

Experiences must be customized to meet the individual needs of every student.

I am curious to understand how this can occur as the standards are mandated and addition and/or subtraction to common core curricula is prohibited. "Individualized mandates" is an oxymoronic phrase. You can't factor in the individual in an equation when the formula is mandated and unchangeable. If you were truly interested in the individual needs of a student, you would throw mandates out the window, and allow curriculum that was truly tailored to a student.

As we've previously written, common core standards and "Vision for Missouri Public Education" are failures in terms of empowering local school districts and the state board of education. This plan takes control from the state and we are thrown into a grouping of other states to set curriculum. It can't possibly accomplish its goal of providing individualized instruction with the plan as written.

What can we learn from Gandhi that can be applied to the authentic goals of public education? Ed Kaitz in American Thinker writes:

On his recent trip to India, President Obama was lavish in his praise for Mahatma Gandhi. Obama maintained that Gandhi's message of being "the change we seek in the world" was instrumental in inspiring his own journey from community organizer to President of the United States. "I might not be standing here today," said the president, had it not been for the Great Soul's influence.

Knowing, however, that Gandhi's political philosophy included highly persuasive polemics against big government, the welfare state, foreign aid, affirmative action, identity politics, divisive rhetoric, and malice toward one's opponents, it's hard to imagine the president devoting much time as a student in quiet and humble contemplation with the great guru's writings.


Kaitz argues Obama has a profound misunderstanding on Gandhi's true guiding principles; one is freedom, and what drives that freedom. This administration is intent on controlling more and more aspects of our lives-even our educational system-but Gandhi feared increase of the state's power:

I look upon an increase of the power of the state with the greatest fear, because although while apparently doing good by minimizing exploitation, it does the greatest harm to mankind by destroying individuality, which lies at the root of all progress.

Review the "Vision for Missouri Public Education" and determine for yourself if it creates more power for the state and if so, then how can the state can truly offer "individualized needs of every student"? In a situation of increased governmental control, the individual's needs are not protected; protecting the system's structure is paramount. The proposed educational structure will tremendously expand in terms of size and power. Do you believe the individual will have a louder voice in a larger system?

Do you agree with Gandhi's wisdom and vision or do you trust the policies of MASA and MSBA? If a powerful state does indeed destroy individuality which allows progress, what does the Missouri Vision provide to students?

What is the most "transformational" sentence in the "Vision for MO Public Education" plan? (hint: it's not new taxes)

Cato Institute writes about school choice and true innovation:

Douglas County School District officials say an unexpected level of interest in a retreat exploring school choice today and Saturday is forcing them to add an overflow room and a video feed to allow the public to watch the discussion. The school board is investigating a voucher program that would allow students to use public money to help with tuition at approved religious schools and other private ones. The two-day retreat will discuss the findings of a school-choice task force that has been mulling several issues, including vouchers.

The board will officially discuss the school-choice recommendations at a meeting Tuesday night, during which the public will be allowed to comment. No Colorado school district has a voucher program.

This might actually be a school board interested in transformation in the truest sense. Close your eyes, take a deep breath, and revel in the thought: Taxpayer money (translation: YOUR money) can be used for non-public schools. Tax money is in the control of the taxpayer, and the taxpayer is free to use it at schools the taxpayer chooses to send his/her child. What a novel idea! The taxpayer has control over the way his/her money is spent to educate his/her child! The parent is the authority in choosing an educational placement for the child and can use the money he/she has paid into the educational system. This is the ultimate empowerment of parents/taxpayers and the true transformation of education.

I have a suggestion for the school board personnel and superintendents assembled in the seven task groups for "Vision for Missouri Public Education": ditch the platform of Missouri Association of School Administrators (MASA) and Missouri School Boards' Association (MSBA) and do something that will truly empower children and taxpayers, NOT the lobbying groups. As Cato writes:

Keep your fingers crossed that Douglas County officials resist special-interest groups that are seeking to thwart this reform. The teacher unions have been vicious in their efforts to stop this kind of development. If Douglas County succeeds in putting kids first, this could break the logjam and lead to better education policy across the nation.

Why don't the taxpayers in Missouri have the "vision" of putting kids first instead of unions and lobbyists? Why isn't DESE resisting special-interest groups instead of having them draft educational policy? Why aren't the legislators reviewing a conflict of interest in lobbying groups setting policy for a state agency? As the home page in "Vision for Missouri Public" Education states:

"In the absence of any vision and/or plan, proposals such as vouchers, open enrollment, tuition tax credits, etc. will be seen as alternatives."


This sentence is the most transformational sentence in the entire plan in the Missouri vision. Let's take that sentence on face value. Cancel the workshops and stop trying to figure out way to raise revenues for mandates and more control over curriculum. Give parents and students a real choice....the alternatives. THAT'S the "vision" DESE needs to adopt.

Question to DESE and State Legislators: Is there an Ethical Issue with Educational Lobbying Organizations Setting Educational Policies?**Updated!

Check out this copy of the Columbia Tribune's article announcement of DESE's "Vision for Public Education". According to the reporter, this was an important day for DESE, the Missouri Association of School Administrators (MASA) and Missouri School Boards' Association (MSBA). "Transformational change" is to come to Missouri schools according to one spokesperson:

“One thing we will not tolerate is business as usual,” MSBA President Dave Wright said. “We are dedicated to developing ideas that will literally transform public education in our state.”

What has happened to all that excitement and pride for the program? DESE had a pdf file on its website dated August 30, 2010 entitled "Missouri Education 2020 entailing the vision for Missouri schools". This is what currently appears when you search "Vision for Missouri public schools"; a link labeled Missouri Education 2020 appears:

File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - View as HTML Aug 30, 2010 ... Our Vision. Missouri public schools: the best choice . . . the best results! Our Mission. To guarantee the superior preparation and ... dese.mo.gov/news/2010/documents/Nicastro_2020.pdf

DESE loved the plan in August...it was labeled "the best choice...the best results!" This vision was to "guarantee superior preparation". Try to view it as HTML. It's been pulled by DESE. It is no longer listed on their website. Why would DESE pull the link? What's happened to those promises to the public?

Here is a press release from MASA and MSBA about the intent of these two groups to craft a plan for public education from the MSBA site (we have a copy in case it gets pulled as well). Note the first paragraph:

More than 100 school board members and superintendents gathered in Jefferson City on August 30 to begin a project designed to define the vision for public education in Missouri for the coming years. The "Vision for Missouri Public Education" project is a joint effort of the Missouri School Boards' Association and the Missouri Association of School Administrators. Its goal is to develop a plan outlining a vision for the state's public schools by October 2011.

The MSBA and MASA are defining the vision for public education for the coming years. These two groups are lobbying groups. Here is information on MASA (we'll focus on MSBA in subsequent posts):

The Missouri School Administrators Political Action Committee (MSAPAC) was originally formed in 1991 and now includes the:

• MAESP (Missouri Association of Elementary School Principals)
• MASA (Missouri Association of School Administrators)
• MASSP (Missouri Association of Secondary School Principals)
• MCCTA (Missouri Council of Career and Technical Administrators)

Here are MASA's legislative priorities for 2010-11:

http://www.masaonline.org/pages/uploaded_files/LegislativePriorities2010-11.pdf

The platform states we are in a revenue shortfall, but Missouri needs to not cut any money from public education during a recession, rather, it needs to address shortfalls via these venues:

MASA is committed to working in collaboration with other educational groups, the Governor, the General Assembly, and DESE, to seek revenue solutions for long-term sustainable funding for public education in Missouri. We believe the state should consider revenue enhancements such as a sales tax on Internet sales, tobacco taxes, alcohol taxes or a general sales tax to provide long-term funding for Missouri public schools. We also firmly believe that policy makers much do everything possible to eliminate any further erosion of local property taxes which are vital to preservation of basic educational services.

MASA, a lobbying group which protects its own special interests, is developing the educational blueprint for Missouri children. It wants to raise taxes to pay for this vision. It is important to remember through this discussion and subsequent discussions on "Vision for Missouri Public Education", MASA and MSBA are lobbying groups. Why should lobbyists be crafting legislation and why has DESE acquiesced its duties to lobbyists?

Let's look further into these legislative priorities and note what MASA opposes. We'll list those items in terms of what it opposes and then what it supports:

• Opposes: Diverting state funds from the public schools by any means including tax credits/vouchers; translation: no school choice for parents and taxpayers via tax credits/vouchers, even though more and more taxpayers and parents are demanding school choices for their children;
• Opposes: Mandating open enrollment of students; translation: students must stay in a failing school system if it is within their district boundaries;
• Opposes: Eroding public school funding by expanding Charter schools; translation: no support for Charters even as public schools are continuing to produce flat achievement scores;
• Opposes: Mandating programs without appropriating the necessary funds to implement and sustain the programs; translation: mandates must be funded with additional new taxes (see above);
• Opposes: Imposing property tax reductions, freezes or limits; translation: even if your house falls dramatically in price, your taxes owed on that devalued house would stay level or not go below a preset amount;
• Opposes: Transforming the early childhood special education program from a required program to a voluntary program; translation: early childhood special education programming should remain as a requirement.

MASA is a lobbying group and has no legislative power. Remember however, this is one of the two groups presenting the plan to DESE, the Governor, and the legislators for adoption. Who is paying MASA and MSBA for the work necessary to draft such a far reaching plan?

Note the last sentence of this press release:

Information on the progress of the "Vision for Missouri Public Education" project will be posted on www.visionforMOpublicschools.org.

Don't bother to try to access that site. It's been pulled from several sites on the Internet the last several days. But many of us have complete copies of information from the site. We'll be posting excerpts from this plan and the seven areas of transformation during the next few weeks and months. Here is a description of the planning groups:

The board members and administrators involved in the project are divided into seven groups: Teaching, Learning and Assessment; Supports for Early Learning and Student Success; Human and Organizational Capital; Governance, Leadership and Accountability; Climate, Culture and Organizational Efficacy; Financial Resources; and Physical Resources.

We'll write more in the next few weeks and months about MSBA, MASA, the participants in the plan, and the disappearance of the documents DESE was so proud of in August 2010. Perhaps one of your superintendents is on one of the seven planning committees and you can contact him/her on exactly what this transformation will entail for children and taxpayers since we can't access it on the internet any longer.

If these groups are so proud of the transformation they are planning for your children, why is this information being pulled from public scrutiny? It started out with such celebration and has now disappeared. What is happening in Columbia and Jefferson City between DESE, MASA and MSBA? Do the legislators know that policies are being drafted by lobbyists to be presented to DESE, the governor and the Legislature for adoption? Are there conflicts of interest in this plan by the groups crafting this "transformational vision"?

We don't know the answer to these questions, but we'll let you in on their vision for Missouri public education. Follow along with us the next few weeks and months as we examine MASA's and MSBA's plans. We'll publish the policies of these groups and you can make the decision if you think it is in the best interest of children and taxpayers; or the lobbyists themselves.

**Update as of 11:05 PM. I found the vision plan posted on the DESE website. It has apparently been put back up after being taken down from the Internet on Friday and Monday. It had been previously password protected or the URL had disappeared. Check out this site from DESE and I hope you can access it:

http://www.visionformopublicschools.org/

You can now read for yourself the vision.

Taxpayers Need Superman's X-Ray Vision (and a Password) to Access this Public Education Project information.

Yesterday we blogged about the disappearance of information about "Vision for Missouri Public Education". We had previously read the plan and it contained language reminiscent of what is contained in Race to the Top.

We wondered how the plan was coming along so we searched the website where this information was contained. Accessing the site, we discovered it had been taken off the internet. When you access the link, you are taken to this. The logo appears as well as a login box for your username and password, with no instructions on how you can access any further information about the program. We questioned why it was now password protected as it had a glowing report in a newspaper article.

Searching further today, I was able to find a cached copy of the original document from the Missouri Association School Boards' (MASB) and Missouri Association of School Administrators (MASA). Now you, dear taxpayer, can see what these organizations and DESE have in mind for your students and schools. Here are some excerpts:

• To build trust and support for public education.
• To create a unifying vision and transformational principles around which coalitions will form to change the education culture in the state.
• To provide guidance to local school districts as they develop strategic improvement plans for improving educational opportunities in their communities.
• To provide a world-class educational experience for all of Missouri’s students.
• To ensure our students are competitive in a global economy.

Let's compare that to the main goals of Race to the Top:

• Adopting standards and assessments that prepare students to succeed in college and the workplace and to compete in the global economy;

• Building data systems that measure student growth and success, and inform teachers and principals about how they can improve instruction;

• Recruiting, developing, rewarding, and retaining effective teachers and principals, especially where they are needed most; and

• Turning around our lowest-achieving schools.

I suggest many of the goals listed in our state program encompass the more specific goals of Race to the Top. Look at the second goal in the Missouri plan: "To create a unifying vision and transformational principles around which coalitions will form to change the education culture in the state".

What could that mean for your student and your school? Whose vision and transformational principles are they going to apply? The vision and transformation contained in Race to the Top? I believe this is the plan the state is intending to implement as Chris Nicastro, the Commissioner of Education stated in our state's first proposal for RTTT funding on page 40:

"Implementation of the reform plan described in this proposal will not stop if the state does not win Race to the Top funding...In the absence of Race to the Top funding, the state and its partners would continue moving forward but will do so over a longer time-period and, in some areas, will have to adopt a more incremental approach".

"Vision for Missouri Public Education" is that incremental approach. Ms. Nicastro has made her intentions perfectly clear. This is the vision she has for our state.

This vision is costing millions of dollars (funded by stimulus) consisting of teacher and superintendent training. New standards are being drafted and teachers and administrators need to be trained. Are these goals set forth by MSBA and MASA underfunded? How much are these implementations going to cost? The Race to the Top programs were underfunded to the tune of $150 Million. I don't see anywhere on this page how much the projected cost will be. This will be expensive; look at the number of groups involved in setting the vision for the students:


To accomplish this task, there will be seven groups working on various segments of public education. They will include:

• Teaching, Learning and Assessment
• Supports for Early Learning and Student Success
• Human and Organizational Capital
• Governance, Leadership and Accountability
• Climate, Culture and Organizational Efficacy
• Financial Resources
• Physical Resources

No wonder the MASA, MASB and DESE don't want you to know what they are planning and how they are spending tax payer money. We'll research if we can legally get them to start posting their updates on a site accessible to taxpayers. After all, it's our children and our money.

Missouri Education Watchdog has some ideas on how to save money and deliver quality schools to students that will accomplish the first goal in "Vision for Missouri Public Education":

To build trust and support for public education.

We'll talk about that tomorrow. And it won't cost millions and billions of dollars and it won't relinquish educational control of our children to Chris Nicastro's idea of reform:

The Race to the Top has provided an unprecedented opportunity for Missouri to bring its citizens together, to identify common goals and to develop a plan for a decade of educational reform designed to give Missouri’s children a competitive edge in tomorrow’s international competition. Our vision for reform embraces the notion advanced in the book, Nudge, where Thaler and Sunstein outline the need for “choice architects” to subtly steer choices toward positive results while leaving people, districts and schools “free to choose.” We know that if Missouri’s public schools are to be the best choice for our citizens, they must produce the best results. This Race to the Top competition has provided the “nudge” Missouri needed to pick up the pace.

We are being "nudged" to "choices" we don't want. The PARENTS are the "choice architects" for their children, NOT the Federal government, Race to the Top mandates, Vision for Missouri Public Education goals, Chris Nicastro, DESE, MASA and MASB. It's time to "nudge" back. We'll start tomorrow.

I'll give you a hint of our educational plan. The word "parent" actually appears in our vision for students. Now THAT'S transformational.

( GNJC657FWGFB )

Blink. What Happened to the Transformational Education Plan for Missouri? UPDATED!

Is there something the State Board of Education,
Missouri School Boards Association (MSBA) and Missouri Association of School Administrators (MASA) are hiding from the taxpayers and parents of Missouri?

Earlier we reported on the failure of Missouri not receiving Race to the Top funding. After accessing the MO DESE website late summer, we discovered "Vision for Missouri Public Education". We blogged about this new, transformational plan for schools and the language which mirrored Race to the Top language. We stand by our statements we previously made:

I can answer the question "Vision for Missouri Public Education" poses underneath its logo..."why are we undertaking this initiative"? Chris Nicastro has made it clear from November 2009 that she always intended to adopt Race to the Top goals, even if no funding would be made available by Arne Duncan. She has always intended to cede state sovereignty. That is why she signed common core standards. The state has received separate funding for charter schools and funding to ostensibly hire back laid off teachers. Why does Missouri need Race to the Top funding? State control is already gone.

I hadn't read much about the new plan lately so I thought I would see what the educational professionals were planning for our Missouri students. The plan had received coverage (from the MSBA's news site) when it was first unveiled late summer:

More than 100 school board members and superintendents gathered in Jefferson City on August 30 to begin a project designed to define the vision for public education in Missouri for the coming years. The "Vision for Missouri Public Education" project is a joint effort of the Missouri School Boards' Association and the Missouri Association of School Administrators. Its goal is to develop a plan outlining a vision for the state's public schools by October 2011.

MSBA President Dave Wright told the gathering, "The one thing we will not tolerate is business as usual. We are interested in developing ideas that will literally transform public education in our state."

Among the speakers at the event was Missouri's Commissioner of Education Dr. Chris Nicastro who said Missouri ranks in the middle in most measures of student achievement and that needs to improve. She said, "A clear vision and a few very focused, high-impact goals will be critical to drive the improvement efforts necessary to bring about world-class results." She also highlighted the critical importance of early childhood education as a key component of any vision for our schools.

Note the last sentence in this article:

Information on the progress of the "Vision for Missouri Public Education" project will be posted on www.visionforMOpublicschools.org.

In fact, this the link where we received the information on the transformations ahead for our students and our schools.

I wonder if DESE, Missouri School Boards Association, and Missouri Association of School Administrators didn't appreciate our blogging on this plan of which they were so proud . I went to the website I previously visited for updates and information and the site has been taken down for updates or revisions and is password protected. Pick a username and password...try it. You'll receive this message: Username and password do not match or you do not have an account yet. Silly me. I just can't seem to find anything on the screen that directs me on how I can open an account.

Why is the information about the plans for our students and schools now hidden from the taxpayers? MSBA and MASA are funded with state and/or federal funds to transform our schools. They want to "literally transform public education in our state." Those are the exact words from MSBA President Dave Wright. These are plans for public educational facilities. If I am not mistaken, public schools are funded by the taxpayer, and as such, plans for the transformation of these schools should be transparent and available for review by the public.

Why have these plans been taken off the internet and password protected? Perhaps a Sunshine Request is in the making to access this information. The plan is to be revealed to us in 2011 and is being paid for by tax dollars for public education. I would like to know what the public servants (paid by tax dollars) have in mind for our students.

Aren't you tired and fed up of being considered an "inconsequential conduit" that channels money away from public schools? Blink. Better catch that coverage on the meeting while you can. I'll wager that's the next item to disappear. Thank goodness for screen shots.

UPDATE: I received a question on who to contact about this decision about the information disappearing. I would suggest you contact MASA. This is the contact information from the news release:

• © 2010 Missouri School Boards' Association
• 2100 I-70 Drive Southwest, Columbia, MO 65203

• 800-221-MSBA (6722)
• fax: 573-445-9981
• info@msbanet.org

Let us know at Missouri Education Watchdog what you find out!