Jackson Jambalaya

These people are only interested in preserving their own power, or money, or both. No one in their right mind would defend the status quo.

The C-L has a story today that claims only 4% of 9th-graders will get a college degree. If you passed a law mandating that African-Americans were forced to attend public schools with a record as dismal as JPS's the black community would be outraged, yet they out up with it as it currently stands.

57% of revenues goes to salaries while 48% of total salaries goes to only 7 people. AND the Senior Organizer gets paid as much as the President and more than the CFO. Then you have a request for a filing extension because of a "computer crash". Right.

Looks like little more than another back door political employment agency that proudly works with the other groups forming the left butt cheek of the Mississippi Democratic Party.

No transparency needed here Cecil.

"working to empower the African-American Community
through an inter-generation model of community organizing."

What's so damn funny is that nonsensical grouping of words actually sounds like something so important to many in "the community" .

Looks like the familiar Donkeycrat approach to spending over there at non-profit Southern Echo.

2010
====
TotRev = $2.0+m
Loss = ($75,468)

2009
====
TotRev = $1.7+m
Loss = ($490,261)

2008
====
TotRev = $1.9+m
Loss = ($599,374)

Some interesting maps available on their website KF. Here is Grad Rates and here is Accountability. Some UGLY data there from areas staunchly opposed to charters.

Will be fun to map out the votes of House Members versus this data.

Be careful, community organizers are presidential material, The chosen one didn't get elected all my himself. Besides, you have to find something to do with a degree in African studies other than work in the fast food industry. This reminds me of a game called bullshit bingo I use to play in meetings with management.

According to the US Census

Only 20% of Mississippians hold a batchelor's degree

The good news is from 1990 -2009 our college attendance rate among high school grads jumped 20%

Our high school graduation rate in 2009 is the same as for TX, TN,and UT at 51.5% with 15 states lower and Alaska at the bottom. Kentucky,Georgia,Florida,North Dakota,Alabama,Montana,South Dakota, Oklahoma,West Virginia, Idaho, Hawaii, Arkansas, Louisiana,New Mexico, Nevada and Alaska have worse rates in that order.

In 1970 US Census data only 4% of the women in MS had attended even 1 year of college.

These stats could well mean that those other 15 states have really screwed up their educational systems ( let's not do whatever they are doing) but seems to me the US Census data is our least bias source of information.

So what is your point?

"..working to empower the African-American Community through an inter-generation model of community organzing."

This hollow and utterly meaningless phrase reminds me of the times 25 years ago when we'd pay a consultant to take us offsite to an undisclosed, really neat location, preferrably with trees and a pond...And we'd spend two or three days eating boxed lunches and catered BBQ, enjoying the log-cabin motif, pasting large pieces of paper on walls or flipping charts (and yawning) in order to come up with the perfect Mission Statement to have framed and put on at least one wall in each room throughout the corporation.

I challenge anybody to tell me those catchy slogans ever made an extra dime for the company. If it's not too late, someone needs to recommend 'inter-generation' be changed to 'inter-generational' in the above, equally useless, buzz- phrase.

Shadowfax: they have to spend the grant money they receive on something. Why not a spend a few days eating boxed lunches, flipping charts, etc. Its a joke - the new welfare system. It would be interesting to find out exactly how they "Empower the African-American Community through an inter-generation model of community organzing".

My first point is that perhaps our education system is not quite as horrible comparatively as some seem to think and has actually improved.

My second point is that unbiased facts can be awfully inconvenient for those who cherry pick to support their political agendas and prejudices.

My third point is that more than 4% of Mississippi's women would have attended more than 1 yr of college if the educational system prior to integration had been all that good.

And, finally, when one cherry picks facts and makes decisions based on existing bias and prejudice, it will be a bad decision most of the time.

Charter schools will not be the solutions it's being touted to be. Just as it's not in the states that have charter schools. And, it's going to be pricey.

See it was easy to expose your own biases and your defense of the status quo.

I don't defend the status quo. And, as for bias, I am biased in favor of good decision making based on actual facts and not nostalgic myths.
I'm opposed to throwing out what works along with what doesn't as we seem to be consistently doing these days. I'm opposed to " one size fits all" approaches to problem solving. I'm opposed to decision making being driven by extremists and political strategists on both sides of the aisle who don't give a rat's behind for accurately identifying the problems much less solving problems. I'm bias against those who exaggerate and put out misinformation for political gain.
And, I certainly can't abide a status quo where the end justifies the means, money is the only consideration, and pragmatism is a word no one seems to understand anymore.
And, I think you ought to know how something works before you take it apart and try to re-build it.
It's WAY past time for Mississippians to take a cold blooded, dispassionate look at what has been good and bad in education here. There's a helluva lot wrong with the status quo starting with disgraceful inefficieny in the use of limited resources , a lack of co-ordination and a lack of co-operation. Consolidation has been a dirty word here and we can't seem to find an alternative way to take advantage of economies of scale. Then someone's buddy wouldn't get his little piece of the pie or have his little fiefdom.
Charter schools aren't a new idea. They are in operation all over the country. Actually seeing how they function, what the selection process varies ,how the systems vary in all the critical details, which plans to model, and how much it costs over time from place to place seems rather essential to me.
I'm perfectly willing to support charter schools WHEN there is a well thought out plan tailored to the needs of this state but we are being given a concept not a plan.
Decisions based on inadequate information or misinformation or anecdotal experiences and without an assessment of potential consequences and costs vs benefits are seldom good decisions and why we are in the mess .

... meanwhile thousands of children spent yet another year in failing schools because March 6, 2012 2:02 AM wanted to play Harvey Johnson and study it some more ...

www.postsecondary.com reports 8% of kids growing up in low income communities will graduate by the age 24.

www.opportunity.org in its 2006 report stated that American men are worse off than they were in 2001 and worse off than they have been in the last 60 years while 70% of folks living in extreme poverty are women. However, the Microfinance industry provides loans, savings, insurance and training to people living in poverty .

Most successful charter schools only hire teachers who are recent college graduates with two years of training from www.teachforamerica.org the organization founded in 1990 by Wendy Kopp that she proposed in her undergraduate thesis at Princeton University.

This state has school buildings already. Some will be converted to charter schools in an effort "To improve student learning by creating high-quality schools with high standards for student performance" (HB 888, pg 2.)

So, then, why do these existing schools need to be coverted to charters when the legislature can implement this same principle?

Why is the religious Gulen Movement so interested? They've already influenced the state legislatures to pass at least one bill on their behalf, Senate Resolution No. 562. Lines beginning at 46 are worthy of noting

Why would any legislator, say, for instance, Gary Chism, have an affliation with the secretive operations of ALEC?

You're now slamming Teach for America and playing the race card. Is that the best you can do?

Now the troll is posting garbage here directly from the Cottoncandyassblog.

March 6, 2012 8:29 AM the troll is here because nobody is reading over there. Little wonder why as the few people who dare comment in disagreement there get treated like shit by that vituperative jerk Eichelberger.