by design | Jul 21, 2014 | Absher, Columnist
By Sally Absher It has been two decades since the first public charter school opened in Minnesota, conceived as a laboratory where innovations could be tested before being introduced into public schools. Now, 42 states encourage charters as an alternative to...
by design | Jul 21, 2014 | Absher, Columnist
By Sally Absher In the lazy month of July, when teachers should be relaxing and taking a well-deserved break from thinking about school, a record number of KCS teachers are racing to meet the July 21 deadline to file grievances with Knox County Schools. Why? Record...
by design | Jul 14, 2014 | Absher, Columnist
By Sally Absher Imitation is the most sincere form of flattery… unless it is AstroTurf. Artificial, orchestrated copycatting, especially when it is done for political reasons, is offensive. Last October, Halls third grade teacher Lauren Hopson’s speech to the School...
by design | Jul 13, 2014 | Absher, Archived Editions, Archives
Click here to view this week’s Focus. Race to the top Part 4: Data Mining By Sally Absher By Sally Absher sallyabsher@gmail.com A particularly troubling aspect of the RTTT scheme is the emphasis on massive data-collection on students, and the sharing of that...
by design | Jul 7, 2014 | Absher, Columnist
By Sally Absher The planning was extensive and high level. Fifth District BOE member Karen Carson listed the numerous public opportunities to talk about where KCS should go in 2020 (see sidebar) during the Wednesday night meeting and then added, “But until you put a...
by design | Jul 7, 2014 | Absher, Columnist
By Sally Absher On Monday, the Board of Education spent over 40 minutes debating the dubious merits of Board Policy BCBI, “Appeals to and Appearances Before the Board.” The policy says that an employee may come before the board after they have exhausted the normal...
