Jackson Jambalaya

There's plenty of blame to go around in both parties.

But, I would point out that one important element of fully funding pre-K is to get some children out of bad neighborhoods and to expose them to a better environment and higher expectations!

If you don't want a ghetto mentality to develop, get them out of the ghetto for most of their waking hours sooner!

Of course. It's always about more money. Forget that there are stupid parents who never read to their children or even encourage their children to read. Forget that the reading programs at some schools include books that are, in essence, nothing more than "picture books" (yes, I have witnessed this at the junior high level). We need more money. It's ALWAYS about spending more.

Moak can't possibly blame republicans for this problem. The majority of people in this state that vote republican cannot read themselves, so how do you expect them to advance education?

It explains why they vote against their own interests. It makes a ton of sense to vote republican when you earn less than 30k a year.

I wouldn't piss on any damn one of the Moaks if they were on fire.

Nor would they waste piss on you, you piece of shit.

Perhaps Bobby Boy should review who controlled our state legislature until recent years, including himself.
He is a big time whiner without a substantive idea, unless you count giving blank checks.

Obamacare, common core

I might be willing to invest more money into public education if school districts would stop being employment agencies for relatives.

Head Start is a program based on democrat-liberal thinking. Education in Mississippi is the same. Both are liberal messes that became employment agencies decades ago. And the current State Department of Education head is a liberal making over 300k a year to bring us Common Core. You won't see Moak with her at Tico's but you can bet Aunt Claudie's draws they meet somewhere, regularly.

And on a related note, that Department/Agency spent more on entertainment and meals at casinos last year than any other state agency. I've not seen any agendas but will bet Moak has been on more than one.

If you have kept up, all of these children have 2 chances after the initial test to attempt passing again. This should help children who feel pressure and do poorly on test. I spoke with a teacher who had two fail on the first test and both passed the second time. And, there is a third time to come! Don't buy into the sensationalism of the press and others who are not focused on children but on money.

PS; I am totally against social promotion at this level. They will gain much more by repeating a grade than they will with doing the way we have been doing. Give even the children with poor backgrounds a chance to learn to read. It will pay back hugely for them and for society.

WAITING FOR SUPERMAN

Why don't we use the Baltimore funding policy and see what it gets us. They spend second highest per student of any large city in country. Even progressives realize that system is a colossal failure. Failure in public school systems goes way deeper than teachers and money. Look at money spent on "war on poverty" and see where that has gotten us.

Anything the government feeds with money grows in costs!

Does more government funding lead to higher student achievement? I'm on board with more public education funding if theres a return on investment.

The sad thing is that the retards that keep voting for people like Moak time after time really believe these lies. Obama and his merry band of idiots have run this country into a ditch and now they want to blame Republicans? really?

The retards are in Bogue Chitto where they actually believe that Moak lives there.

"The sad thing is that the retards that keep voting for people like Moak time after time really believe these lies. Obama and his merry band of idiots have run this country into a ditch and now they want to blame Republicans? really?"

Yep.

Standard operating procedure for the "progressives".

12:53, but the Republicans will stop all the abortions and protect our guns.

Hopefully you are right, 9:33. Thanks for weighing in.

I'm just trying to think of a snazzy line so I can be the winner of this thread!

Now's not a good time to be a democrat, Bobby. Did you not see all of your coven run from the spells of the warlock in chief in 2014?

Now you are seen as a mere extension of a crypto muslim regime who's only mission is to expand the size of government, piss on the lives of christians and the tea party, and cede US sovereignty to multinational corporations who do business in muslim theocracies.

( hell, Texas thinks it's being invaded by the current administration)

And to top it all off, you're blasting a policy that makes sense that is completely seperate from the funding issue.

Ever since the recession, we've all learned to do more with less and I figure in the name of equality the teachers/ schools can do the same. No more trophies for everybody. No more kwanza revisionist kumbaya kool aid.

The 90's are long gone- get used to it.

Good grief!
The comments above, by and large, is exactly what is wrong with education.
Both parties are wrong about some of what they support and right about some of the problems they identify. And, the Tea Party apparently applauds ignorance and intuition over rationality!
Yes, the education system became a way to move into the middle class in the same way textile mills once did. And, they became places where families helped each other get employed.
Let's not pretend that doesn't happen in business and politics and professions where successful relatives help find jobs for less than stellar kinfolk!
Let's not pretend that there aren't schools that are falling apart and need money while schools in wealthier districts are doing just fine.
Let's continue to pretend that all children are literally born with an equal ability to learn and that schools can serve children with special needs, emotional problems and genius so that " one size fits all".
Let's' pretend we pay teachers enough to attract the kind of competence in education we had when it was one of the few jobs available to women and that those bright women haven't gone for the money.

We're the annoying married couple down the street in a neighborhood where the neighbors take sides and thus egg them on. And, like that neighborhood, we'll feign surprise when one of them kills the other and the entire family falls apart!

Actually THIS is what's wrong with education (taken from the post of 7:46):

1) Comments is (improper subject-verb agreement).

2) Let's' pretend (a very odd possessive form of let us).

Otherwise, what the hell is he saying?

7:46. The irony in your first sentence is rich. The rest is a dumpster fire of nonsense.

Let's ignore the Harpy @ May 25, 2015 at 7:46 AM.

All the venom in this thread demonstrates the point that many/most here in Mississippi are still blind of the real issues, including the need for accountability at the teacher level. But, our government does not prioritize educating its populace either. Instead, government dollars will go to the business sectors that lobby the most for tax dollars. Much of the money that finally does go towards education is wasted on unnecessary supervisors, who make as much or more than many CEOs (easily $100,000-250,000), and their lackeys for administration jobs in under-performing districts, and on contracts with third parties that are suspect. At the classroom level, it's abysmal where so called "teachers" can't read or speak to their students, much less "teach" their students, at an elevated level because the college system in Mississippi graduates too many people with a degree in "education", just so that the college can justify its education department and the "graduate" can find a job in Mississippi. Those "degreed" educators then go on to populate our public schools as "teachers", although many are not qualified to teach -- not even qualified to teach third-graders. The cycle repeats with continually lesser educated students going on to get a college degree in education at a Mississippi college, knowing less than the pitiful educators who taught them, and then they also become teachers who go through the motions of teaching the kids in public school their own reduced understanding of knowledge, including reduced knowledge of English and simple grammar. And it goes on and on. Not enough money for education, AND not using what money that's spent on education in a manner to produce good results.

Most people would be shocked to learn how much administrators are paid, especially the superintendents. The teacher salary scale is posted on most district websites, but you won't find administrators' salaries posted. There's a very good reason for that practice. Is it surprising that our central offices are, in most districts, top heavy?

Moak blames Republicans for cancer!

8:46; Pray tell, where are these imaginary supervisors in education making $250,000. And where is that imaginary CEO making that little?

PS: You don't know jack-shit about the education core-curriculum in Mississippi's colleges.

Hello 10:16. Google is your friend.

http://archive.clarionledger.com/assets/pdf/D066254317.PDF

"Teaching In The Trenches" at 6:00, since you appear to be a teacher, one would certainly expect you and others in the MS education system to protect your position in the feeding trough. But, you really should "educate" yourself before trying to defend education's spot on the government teat. Your top boss in MS, the Superintendent of Education, made $276,000.00 in 2013. If you want to know about the salaries of other MS education superintendents and administrators, follow these links and read up: https://mississippipep.wordpress.com/2013/07/28/school-superintendents-salary-dwarfs-that-of-governor-other-state-execs/; http://www.mde.k12.ms.us/docs/state-superintendent/superintendent-annual-report-2014.pdf?sfvrsn=2. Also, take a look at Kingfish's own published list from the past at http://kingfish1935.blogspot.com/2012/12/jj-looks-at-superintendent-salaries.html. Public schools in MS are top heavy, paying way too many administrators too much money for pushing paper. If you are truly trying to educate children, then the money should be spent in the classroom on "quality" teachers who are paid based upon measured results, instead of spending the money on administrators and teachers who don't know that "jack shit" should not be hyphenated.

Thanks for the links, 6:12 and 7:44. Does anyone know why administrators' current yearly salaries are not easily accessible to the taxpayers...as they are for teachers' salaries? More importantly, has anyone ever met a superintendent who deserves his/her salary?
Teachers received a $2,500 raise spread over two years. (That's less than $1 an hour before taxes IF teachers worked eight hours a day. Righhht.)
Our superintendent received a $5,000 raise last year-one year.

D-Jackson Academy ? ... Typo

11:08 If you're too dense to recognize sarcasm you should probably skip this blog. We wouldn't want you to strain your brain.

Reinstitute the 3 "R's."

8:40, that's a good question. We know that school superintendents wield great power over teachers and employees in their school districts, just as county supervisors have power over their employees. As such, the superintendents have a lot of influence, direct and indirect, over whom their many teachers and employees, and their families, vote at the polls to fill governmental offices, including State Auditor. If you were a $120,000 per year superintendent of a school system in which 30-60% of your third grade students couldn't read, then you probably wouldn't want your salary easily accessible either. The Mississippi Association of School Superintendents ("MASS") is a very powerful political organization.

Your tax dollars at work...or not.

http://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/2015/05/13/rankin-pay-raise-employees/27236967/

...the last three paragraphs of the article...

In nearby districts, Madison County's school board voted to award its superintendent a three percent raise last fall but the superintendent declined the raise. Clinton's Phillip Burchfield received a $5,000 increase, capping his salary out at $180,000, in 2014.

Jackson Public Schools Superintendent Cedrick Gray received a $5,000 increase when his contract was extended another year, making his salary $205,000.

Each district's school board determines the salary level of its superintendent, who is evaluated yearly. Boards are not required to use evaluation as part of the salary determination.

7:50, you mean that $205,000.00 per year is paid for someone to act as Superintendent of the Jackson Public Schools? The last I heard, the JPS schools don't perform well, and most everyone wants to send their child anywhere BUT to a JPS school, if there is any other option. Too bad that the $205,000.00 salary doesn't reflect the Superintendent's product in the school's classrooms. The people of Jackson deserve better for the money that is being paid to the Superintendent.

Equally astounding (according to the article) is that superintendents are evaluated yearly, but school boards "are not required to use evaluation as part of the salary determination." The only reason to "evaluate" must be to negotiate a raise. Gee, I bet teachers would like that little perk.
What teachers get is constant evaluation and the threat of non-renewal. No wonder a lot of Mississippi schools are experiencing top-heavy administrative offices.
But, I guess if they were transparent about their salaries, their argument that there's not enough district money (to hire more teachers to teach kids to read) would make them seem, well, transparently disingenuous.