Schools director began contract talks before starting job #PerformanceMatters #JackRSmith #NoBid

Montgomery County Public Schools spent $1.5 million on a no bid Performance Matters contract in FY18.  

MCPS Superintendent Jack R. Smith brought in a no bid Performance Matters, LLC contract along with a consultant connected to Performance Matter, LLC.   

Two MCPS administrators were on Shawn Joseph's (Nashville) transition team. 

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Metro Schools Director Dr. Shawn Joseph began talks with a Utah-based technology company about a potential no-bid contract two weeks before he formally took command of the Nashville school system, emails uncovered by NewsChannel 5 Investigates reveal.

The emails, obtained through the Tennessee Public Records Act, show that Performance Matters had discussions with Joseph about how to “extend our partnership,” suggesting the company’s contract with Shelby County schools could be a “purchasing vehicle” for Metro Nashville Public Schools.

That process, known as “piggybacking,” allows companies to get government contracts without having to compete with other vendors.

“We may be able to discuss a pilot this year [if] the costs are right!” Joseph said in a follow-up email two weeks after he became director of schools.

Instead, less than six months into Joseph’s tenure, MNPS signed two no-bid contracts with Performance Matters, totaling $1.8 millon.

As a result of questions raised by NewsChannel 5 Investigates, the district admitted this week that it broke state law in awarding a $1 million, no-bid contract with Performance Matters for a student assessment platorm, piggybacking on a contract with Orange County, Florida, schools.

State law only allows piggybacking on in-state contracts.

The district signed a second, $845,000 contract with the company that was piggybacked on the Shelby County contract, although Metro changed the terms. Experts say that also violates state law...

...In a written statement, Metro Schools suggested that the Performance Matters contracts originated in 2016 after “a transition team made up of local, state and national experts shared that Nashville needed to focus on student achievement – with a sense of urgency.”

Joseph’s transition team did not release its final report until February 2017...

https://www.newschannel5.com/news/newschannel-5-investigates/schools-director-began-contract-talks-before-starting-job?fbclid=IwAR1NktNHmZ1Bo_ZKtfeDJJZK-UAkTPmahLjAp8R2aPdsqctG_nX6AzZ92qo

Alert! $75,000 for Starr buddy at BOE Retreat Today! Another No-Bid Procurement!

At today's off-camera Board of Education (BOE) meeting the BOE is being told how to run the school system by a Panasonic consultant.  Panasonic claims to be providing educational consultation to schools as a way of saying "thanks".

But, today's consultant also owns his own side consulting business. And, the BOE is paying that consultant directly for his services.

That's right, the "thanks" from the Panasonic foundation is that taxpayers get to pay this outside consultant $75,000 for one day's work.

This was another no-bid procurement for the BOE!

And, by the way, the consultant with the BOE today was also a consultant for Superintendent Starr when he was the Stamford, Connecticut superintendent.

Is MCPS now the full employment for Superintendent Joshua Starr's friends public school system?

The Broken Keys

...

The first three keys provide goals based on:

— TerraNova, an elementary reading test, which is no longer used;

— The Maryland State Assessments, which will soon be replaced by Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers assessments, or PARCC assessments, and;

— The current mathematics pathway, which will change under [PEARSON] Curriculum 2.0.

...

http://www.gazette.net/article/20121207/NEWS/712129999/1124/montgomery-schools-seven-keys-to-change&template=gazette

No Comment on Marks showing up as Associate Superintendent?

Superintendent Joshua Starr rehires a former Weast Associate Superintendent and the response to a request from a reporter for a statement is no comment?

MCPS has a sizable public relations office.  Couldn't someone in that office have explained how former MCPS administrator Susan Marks showed up back on the MCPS webpage as an Associate Superintendent after her 2 years as a superintendent in Connecticut? Associate Superintendent's are making what these days...$250,000?

The Hour:  Marks Showing Up in Montgomery County

Breaking News: Starr Hires Pal, No BOE Vote?

MCPS is sporting a new Associate Superintendent! The MCPS Office of Shared Accountability  website shows that Susan F. Marks, recently in Norwalk, CT, recently on Superintendent Joshua Starr's Transition team, and previously in MCPS working for Superintendent Jerry Weast, is the new Associate Superintendent for that department.

But, when did the Board of Education vote on this appointment?  Maybe, Board votes aren't really that important and Starr has decided to just skip that step? 

UPDATE: The MCPS website has now been edited since the screen shot from this morning that is shown above in this blog posting.  
When you click on the MCPS link to the Office of Shared Accountability, we have no idea what will be shown.  
Our screen shot shows the page the way it existed this morning. MCPS may continue to edit the page as the day progresses.

Former Weast Admin. Quits Norwalk after 2 Years

Susan Marks quits as the Norwalk, CT Superintendent amid a major budget crisis.  But, not without bringing MCPS no-bid contractor Wireless Generation to Norwalk.  
Susan Marks was on Superintendent Joshua Starr's transition team.  Norwalk, CT is right down 95 from Stamford, CT.  Is Marks heading back to MCPS to be one of Starr's administrators? 


Norwalk Citizen:  Marks: 'It's been a privilege to be here'

..."It's been rumored that she would take a leave of absence...so it's not exactly a surprise. On the other hand, the timing of it is absolutely shocking," said Barbara Smyth, a former Norwalk teacher who has been organizing rallies to show support for the schools before BOE and BET meetings the last couple of months.
"As someone who has been involved so much in the last couple of months, I feel deeply concerned," Smyth said. "I feel concerned because of what we are dealing with right now, in terms of this profound budget crisis. And in addition needing to move forward with looking deeply into accounting practices and things that have been problematic that need to be fixed. There is so much work to be done and to think about moving forward without a leader is quite scary."
The $4 million deficit was caused by overruns in the insurance and other post-employee benefits...
..."We brought in over a million dollars worth of public-private partnerships for programs and initiatives," Marks said. "We are on the cutting edge of the Common Core State Standards... . I think we have raised the focus on ensuring that children are college ready. We've given the PSAT for the first time to all the 10th and 11th graders. We brought in the wireless generation automated system for assessing literacy in two of our schools, and it will be extended to a third school."...

The Hour:  Dr. Susan Marks resigns as Norwalk Public Schools superintendent

... “Personally, I think it was the lack of being able to do some things,” she said.Norwalk Federation of Teachers president Bruce Mellion was not surprised by Marks’ resignation and said she did not have the support of teachers, with 70 percent giving her a D and 30 percent an F in a May 2012 survey.
“She was over her head before she even started. The one compliment I’ll give her is she tried to get out to the schools to see what was happening,” he said. “At the end of the day, we have nothing to show for the 25 months we were here and we’re further behind than we were when we started.”
Mellion said Marks picked the wrong battles and worked with the wrong people.
“She shot her mouth off about things. She picked battles that she shouldn’t have had and she didn’t listen to people who have been here. She was really, really lost,” said Mellion, adding that Marks did not respond as well to the needs of the city’s 11,000 students. “I think she pandered to the mayor and the Board of Education and the Board of Estimate.”...

Gazette Exposes Starr's "Transition team"

In today's Montgomery Gazette the public learns about Superintendent Starr's "transition team." Thanks to Gazette reporter Andrew Ujifusa the public now knows who is on this "team." Why didn't Superintendent Starr tell the public that this team was formed and who was on it? From out of state news sources we know that the "team" has been in existence since before Superintendent Starr's July 1st start date. 

The next question is who is PAYING for this team? Anyone want to take a guess since Superintendent Starr hasn't been interested in being transparent about this? Did the Board of Education trade after-school sports for this entourage? 

And the final question is, why didn't the Board of Education hire someone who could come in and start to work immediately without outside consultants? 

Montgomery’s schools chief turns to New England brainpower on advisory teamTwo-thirds work or worked with county school systemby Andrew Ujifusa, Staff Writer

The transition team for Montgomery County schools’ new superintendent includes the former director of a Harvard graduate school program, the executive director of a corporate foundation dedicated to schools and a former top official with the school system... 

...Larry Leverett 

Since 2006, Leverett has been executive director of the Panasonic Foundation, a nonprofit organization based in Secaucaus, N.J. The organization’s mission, as stated on its website, is “to break the links between race, poverty, and educational outcomes,” echoing the key themes of Peterkin’s Urban Superintendents Program.
Like Starr, Marks and Peterkin, Leverett has education leadership experience in the Northeast, having worked as superintendent of Plainfield, N.J., and Greenwich, Conn., public schools prior to joining the Panasonic Foundation, a Grantmakers for Education biography states. Starr has worked in public schools in Connecticut and New Jersey, as well as New York City.
Leverett has his own connection to another member of the transition team. He also has served on the advisory committee to Peterkin’s Urban Superintendents Program...

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Wednesday August 10, 2011

Montgomery's schools chief turns to New England brainpower on advisory team

by andrew ujifusa , Staff Writer

The transition team for Montgomery County schools’ new superintendent includes the former director of a Harvard graduate school program, the executive director of a corporate foundation dedicated to schools and a former top official with the school system. A group of 15 people is helping Superintendent of Schools Joshua P. Starr take over the reins of Montgomery County Public Schools. Ten of them work or formerly worked in the school system, including long-time Weast deputies Larry Bowers, chief operating officer, and Frieda K. Lacey, deputy superintendent. A focus on educational equity is a major theme among the non-school system team members, one highlighted during former superintendent Jerry D. Weast’s tenure. There also are several links to the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Several of the members also have backgrounds in education leadership in the Northeast.

Those employed or formerly employed by the school system include Kathy Gemberling, former deputy superintendent; Vera Gaines, co-lead consulting teacher; Susan Marks, superintendent of schools in Norwalk, Conn. and a former community superintendent in Montgomery County; Ruth Musicante, a professional growth consultant with the school system; Frank Stetson, chief school performance officer; LaVerne Kimball, community superintendent; Scott Murphy, principal; and Brian Edwards, chief of staff.

Rebecca Thessin  Thessin has strong ties to Starr, having worked for him as director of school performance and professional development when he was Stamford Public Schools superintendent. She authored an article earlier this year with him about the development of Professional Learning Communities at Stamford. Thessin is an assistant professor at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. She specializes in preparing students to be school principals and other leaders in educational settings. She is an academic adviser in the university’s master of arts in Education and Human Development program. She holds an educational doctorate from the Harvard Graduate School of Education’s Urban Superintendents Program. Thessin previously worked as an aide to a deputy superintendent in Boston Public Schools, and has classroom teaching experience.

Robert Peterkin From 1991 until last year, Robert Peterkin was director of the Urban Superintendents Program at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, where Starr was one of his students. The program focuses on producing school leaders who strive for educational equity across racial and socioeconomic lines. Peterkin previously served as superintendent in Cambridge, Mass., and Milwaukee public schools.In an April 2010 interview with the graduate school’s magazine, Peterkin described what makes a good superintendent. “First, someone has to commit to a vision of equitable education for all. And I mean a real commitment, like, ‘I’m willing to get fired over this.’ The second is theory of change. It’s not enough to talk a good game and inspire a community. You have to have the wherewithal to get it done.”He added that both of these qualities required courage to work. Starr specifically thanked Peterkin for his help during his first Board of Education meeting last month.

Larry Leverett Since 2006, Leverett has been executive director of the Panasonic Foundation, a nonprofit organization based in Secaucaus, N.J. The organization’s mission, as stated on its website, is “to break the links between race, poverty, and educational outcomes,” echoing the key themes of Peterkin’s Urban Superintendents Program.Like Starr, Marks and Peterkin, Leverett has education leadership experience in the Northeast, having worked as superintendent of Plainfield, N.J., and Greenwich, Conn., public schools prior to joining the Panasonic Foundation, a Grantmakers for Education biography states. Starr has worked in public schools in Connecticut and New Jersey, as well as New York City. Leverett has his own connection to another member of the transition team. He also has served on the advisory committee to Peterkin’s Urban Superintendents Program. The transition team also includes Brian Osborne, superintendent of schools, School District of South Orange and Maplewood, N.J.; and John Kim, chief executive officer, District Management Council.aujifusa@gazette.net

Joshua Starr to have transition team of 12!

Just a little question...who is paying for this? Because you know a "transition team" is going to need supplies, expenses, and lunches for starters...


And, oh...who ELSE is on this "transition team"? Maybe the Stamford Times will report more on this! 

The Stamford Times: Norwalk school administrator to help transition of Stamford superintendent

STAMFORD -- The outgoing superintendent of Stamford Public Schools has recruited the superintendent of Norwalk Public Schools to help him transition this summer into his new job. 
After six years in this city, Joshua P. Starr announced last month he would resign to become the leader of Montgomery County Public Schools -- the same district where Susan Marks spent three decades before she moved to Norwalk last summer to lead city schools. 
"She has a unique knowledge of the system and has stepped away in the past year, so I am confident she would provide some really good insight into the teaching and learning environment, the culture and context and the operations," Starr said. 
His transition committee will be comprised of nearly 12 people, he said. No work has begun yet...

Another MCPS administrator leaves

In this tight budget year do all of the MCPS administrators that are leaving MCPS need to be replaced? 


Suzanne Maxey is currently in the MCPS "Leadership Development Team" office. She is leaving for Alexandria's Public School system. Does her position need to be replaced in MCPS? Not replacing her position could keep 2-3 teachers in classrooms for the 2010-11 school year.

The Washington Post: Alexandria names Suzanne Maxey principal of T.C. Williams

...Suzanne Maxey has more than three decades of experience in Washington area schools. In the past 10 years, she was principal at Bowie High School in Prince George's County and Seneca Valley High School in Montgomery County. Since 2008, she has worked as a mentor to middle school and high school principals in Montgomery County...

MCPS PR Director moves to Houston

Another MCPS administrator leaving. Should MCPS find replacements for these positions or are classroom teachers more important in this fiscal climate?  Maybe these high priced administrative positions should be left vacant in favor of keeping teachers in classrooms? 

And MCPS needs a $10 million public relations department because...?

HISD NAMES NEW COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER

... In an effort to take district communications to the next level, board trustees today approved Aggie Alvez as HISD’s new Chief Communications Officer.

Ms. Alvez is currently the Director of Communications and Family Outreach at the Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) in Rockville, Maryland...

... During her nearly sixteen years at MCPS, Ms. Alvez was responsible for the development of internal and external strategic communications, including crisis communications and coordination of media relations and parent and community outreach. She managed an office with eighty-nine employees, a ten million dollar budget and led the district to win more than ninety local, national and international awards during her tenure. She also elevated the use of video, social media and the web in key aspects of school system operations and conceptualized and managed multi-media campaigns to increase awareness of school system initiatives and generate community support...

Grier names new chief communications officer

...Alvez's salary was not available because the school board won't approve her contract until next week, said district spokesman Norm Uhl. Vela's $167,475 salary will be reduced in his new role, according to Grier.

Schools official: Algebra for all a 'mistake' in Montgomery | Washington Examiner

Schools official: Algebra for all a 'mistake' in Montgomery | Washington Examiner

The comment came as a surprise to many parents accustomed to the school system's defense of the algebra initiative -- important enough to be fourth on its touted Seven Keys to College Readiness.

"Hallelujah," said Gordon Brenne, a PTA vice president at Kensington's Albert Einstein High School, when told of Marks' comment.

Brenne has publicly criticized the algebra push even as he has supported other county initiatives, calling it based on "loosey-goosey logic" and not realistic for the Kensington area's highly mobile student population. Hundreds of students arrive at the middle schools and high schools without the proper background in math, Brenne said.

His concerns have gone largely unrecognized by top officials under Superintendent Jerry Weast.

This story was first broken by the Parents' Coalition blog reporting on video remarks of an MCPS Associate Superintendent. The quote and video can be found here. 

MCPS Administrator Finalist for Another District's Superintendency

Susan Marks chosen as finalist for Norwalk superintendent - Norwalk News - The Hour - Norwalk's Newspaper

Susan Marks, currently an Associate Superintendent for Human Resources in Maryland, has been chosen as a finalist for Norwalk's superintendent position.

In a statement released Thursday, the Norwalk [Connecticut] board of education said Marks will be visiting the city Monday and Tuesday of next week to tour the schools and meet with various members of the staff....

Previous posts on interviews for Newton, MA superintendent position here.

Newton MA reports MCPS Assoc Sup salary at $250,000

Three finalists vie for Newton superintendent job - Newton, Massachusetts - Newton TAB

...Scott [MCPS Associate Superintendent, Office of Shared Accountability] has been in his current job since March 2008, earning about $250,000 a year...

and Susan Marks, currently MCPS Associate Superintendent for Human Resources salary is also revealed:

...She’s held her current job since July 2006 and now earns about $200,000 a year...

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According to MCPS salary information obtained by the DC Examiner in 2006, Susan Marks was listed as making $146,354.

In 2006, Associate Superintendents were paid $146,354. However, according to the information obtained by this Newton, MA news service, current MCPS Associate Superintendent Stacy Scott is paid $250,000.  

MCPS' Susan Marks and Stacy Scott vie for MA Superintendent position

Two out of the three finalists for the position of Superintendent of Newton, Massachusetts schools are MCPS administrators. Readers of this blog may recall that Stacy Scott was also a recent finalist for the position of Superintendent in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

3 finalists named to lead Newton schools - Newton - Your Town - Boston.com

Three finalists to become Newton's next superintendent of schools were named by the search committee today. They are David Fleishman, superintendent of schools in Chappaqua, N.Y.; and Susan Marks and Stacy Scott, both associate superintendents for the Montgomery County Public Schools in Rockville, Md...

...Consultants Debbie Raizes and John Connolly from the firm Hazard, Young and Attea assisted with the search...

...Dr. Susan Marks—Dr. Marks is currently the Associate Superintendent for Human Resources in the Montgomery County Public Schools, Rockville, MD. Before that, she was a Community Superintendent for five years in Montgomery County where she led the instructional programs in 30 schools. She has also served the Montgomery County Public Schools as Chief Information Officer, and as Principal of two elementary schools. Dr. Marks received her Ed.D from the University of Maryland. Dr. Marks will be visiting the district on February 24, 2010.

Dr. Stacy Scott—Dr. Scott is currently the Associate Superintendent for the Office of Shared Accountability in the Montgomery County Public Schools, Rockville, MD. Prior to that, he was the founder and President of the Center for Understanding Equity, an organization that coaches school districts on data management, accountability and equity. Earlier in his career, Dr. Scott was a middle school Math and Spanish teacher. Dr. Scott holds an Ed.D from the Harvard University Graduate School of Education. Dr. Scott will be visiting the district on February 23, 2010.

Each of the candidates will spend an entire day in Newton. The School Committee will convene in open session at 8:30 am on February 26th to deliberate on a finalist for the position. All sessions will be televised on NewTV and open to the public...