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diablorio
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Posted: Sun Apr 27th, 2008 02:28 am |
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who cares? I was just happy I could wear my jeans and keep my dollar.
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spincycle
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Posted: Sun Apr 27th, 2008 02:16 am |
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Surprise_teacher wrote: (For non-district employees: every employee was at Surprise Stadium this morning for a 45-minute 'pep rally'. IMHO, it was a complete waste of time.)
Sounds like a blast! LOL!
"And Remember! Next Friday is Hawaiian shirt day!" Bill Lumbergh-Office Space.
Attachment: badguy5.jpg (Downloaded 35 times)
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Surprise_teacher
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Posted: Sun Apr 27th, 2008 02:11 am |
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Personally, I'm not sure. I wasn't paying much attention since I couldn't hear what was coming over the PA system clearly, nor did I really attempt to. The singing was pretty good, and it was impressive to see the scroll on the stadium screen showing people who have worked for the district for 5/10/15/20/25/30/35+ years...but I can't tell you much beyond that. Oh - one thought I did have: the mascot for Valley Vista has a smile that looks like he's on some really good drugs.
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SaveOurDysart
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Posted: Sun Apr 27th, 2008 12:58 am |
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Is it true that booing occurred during the event?
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LTNS
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Posted: Sat Apr 26th, 2008 07:34 pm |
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With the exception of the young man who sang the Star Spangled Banner, I agree. You have to admit, he was amazing!
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techteacher
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Posted: Sat Apr 26th, 2008 06:13 pm |
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| The "pep rally" did feel like a waste of time
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Surprise_teacher
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Posted: Sat Apr 26th, 2008 05:14 am |
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Today's big get-together was shorter than I expected...then I realized we didn't have the honor of hearing from Mr. Otterman. Perhaps they were up late preparing a presentation for all of us and overslept?
(For non-district employees: every employee was at Surprise Stadium this morning for a 45-minute 'pep rally'. IMHO, it was a complete waste of time.)
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MrsF
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Posted: Fri Apr 25th, 2008 01:48 pm |
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| Has anyone asked them to report back what the Ottermans learned at their big conference in New Orleans? They've had plenty of time to put an answer together. If it was truly valuable, they should have tons of information to report back and should have reported back immediately. They've been back for 6 weeks and I don't know about any of it.
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SaveOurDysart
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Posted: Thu Apr 24th, 2008 06:24 pm |
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The survey results are in. Here is how the numbers (approximated) stack up.
4,074 = Number of responses received (actual number).
750 = Number of responses received from parents.
450 = Number of responses received from teachers.
2,500 = Number of responses received from students.
200 = Number of responses received from Dysart staff, admins.
80 = Number of resposnes received from "other" community members.
60% = Of all responses received, the percentage that came from students.
18% = Of all responses received, the percentage that came from parents.
11% = Of all responses received, the percentage that came from teachers.
24,000 = Number of students enrolled within Dysart USD.
10.5% = Percent of student population that responded to the survey.
130,000 = Total population living within the Dysart Unified School District.
1.15% = Percent of total population that responded to the survey (This includes teachers and admin who may live outside the district).
Any outcomes, results or directives that come out as a result of this survey will therefore be based on the feedback of a majority of students and only 1.15% of the total population.
Last edited on Thu Apr 24th, 2008 06:27 pm by SaveOurDysart
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mkoestm
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Posted: Thu Mar 27th, 2008 10:02 pm |
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That "inexperienced" Superintendent sure took a nasty slap at Mr. Lipscomb's valid questioning of this faulty process. I'm glad he called her on it. Her snide comments were totally uncalled for.
I almost laughed myself silly at the selfserving paen certain board members made to themselves in a clumsy and unsuccessful attempt to justify their use of taxpayers money to finance their spring break jaunt to meet with like egos! I expected them to leap up singing and dancing in their outpouring of praise and congratulations on themselves. Farcical!
It was interesting to note that the majority of the board followed the usual bureaucratic process of using a thousand words when 20 would suffice. And I never saw so much justifying of job situation in one place at one time! Incredible!
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DysartDude
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Posted: Thu Mar 27th, 2008 06:43 am |
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I'm certainly not jumping out to throw myself on the district's sword or anything, but I know this is an example of the challenges of the digital age. How do you conduct a survey that is secure and valid? No matter what method the district or contractor chose to identify parents of students, there would be some way to challenge the privacy of the individuals answering the survey. You have to have some way to at least give SOME effort to trying to isolate your respondents or you risk someone off the street skewing the data by answering as a parent however-many times when they should be maybe answering as a community member once.
I know there is the capability on the back end to separate the demographic information (whether it has the potential to identify someone or not) from the survey data and I've heard of that being done so many times I kind of assume it's a standard practice. That said, I'm more comfortable that a contractor is crunching the numbers and that the district will only (allegedly) see an aggregate of the information.
What really cracks me up about this is Dr. Pletnick's quotes in this article. Save money? Oh, must be because they're now spending thousands more to fund a new communication director II position with a job description that included the same duties as the former PIO had ... except they're now all written down to make it look like it's a "bigger" job deserving of more pay. (I won't even get into the topic of HER paycheck and how it relates to other superintendents in the state...)
And then there's the rush to get those 20,000 cards printed, too ... the district didn't know they were going to do a survey as part of the strategic planning process?? And how long does it take to generate random pass codes? Well, I haven't taken a programming class in years but am confident that in less than an hour I could put together a little program to do the job. I'm sure a company that specializes in this type of thing could have done it much quicker ... If the district paid them to do it.
Anyway, this doesn't do much for my opinion of the district's "transparancy" ...
That said, I still don't think the district really means to do anyone harm by using the student ID codes, I just think an inexperienced superintendent
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bouche
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Posted: Sat Mar 22nd, 2008 10:06 pm |
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Well deuce, you sure struck a raw nerve with Magnum P. I. and mkoestm. Given the ire and invective they spew, it says more about them than you. Oh, and by the way, I detected some sarcasm in you post that flew right over their heads.
Last edited on Sat Mar 22nd, 2008 10:11 pm by bouche
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mkoestm
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Posted: Sat Mar 22nd, 2008 12:14 am |
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Well now, Deuce, this is such an intelligent and well reasoned response! Not! Are you a garbage hurler by trade or just in anonymous blogs? What's your beef with the City Council and/or with the DUSD and are you stepping up to the plate to run for any of these offices to implement changes you would like to see? There are several on both bodies up for election this year.
IMHO using the student ID #'s, the teachers names in the URL, asking residents for their names and addresses all come together to allow at least a modicum of skepticism a to the fairness and anonymity, not to mention the motives of Pletnick etal. Maybe no conspiracy but ineptness in operation states it pretty well and is par for their course.
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Magnum P.I.
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Posted: Sat Mar 22nd, 2008 12:14 am |
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All those naysayers aren't sitting around here behind some anonymous name criticizing everybody and everything. What are you doing to better your community? Oh yeah, being a naysayer on here. Looks like the people of Surprise served a useful purpose and cleaned house with the council. Looks like DUSD will be next. Gumming up the works or getting the gum out of the works?
Oh and one more thing I forgot to mention. If you want to put a gag in the mouth of all those naysayers and such there is one reeeeeeaaaally simple solution. Do things right and get rid of the incompetence. Then all those naysayers wouldn't have a pot to piss in if the council and dusd board weren't so incompetent and egotistical.
Last edited on Sat Mar 22nd, 2008 12:17 am by Magnum P.I.
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deuce
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Posted: Fri Mar 21st, 2008 11:52 pm |
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Lipscomb is naive, but he's right there's is no conspiracy here. . . even Sobelman recognizes that. All we have to do in this "burg" is get rid of the DUSD Board and Superintendent and the City Council t and all our probems will be disappear. Sure! What should we do with all the self proclaimed activist do-gooders and naysayers? Do they serve a useful purpose or gum up the works? One thing is sure, they provide Matt with copy.
Last edited on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 11:57 pm by deuce
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Surprise News Editor
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Posted: Fri Mar 21st, 2008 11:38 pm |
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By Matt Loeschman
Independent Newspapers
Not only are Dysart Unified School District students, teachers and stakeholders answering questions on a district strategic planning survey, some are asking their own questions regarding the survey itself.
The survey, billed by the district as completely confidential, is under scrutiny after it was discovered student identification numbers and teacher e-mail addresses are being used as pass codes and links to access the online questionnaire.
Save Our Dysart founder David Sobelman, a parent of DUSD students, first posted his concerns at the Surprise Public Issues Forum, http://www.newszapforums.com/forum8.
“I am not saying that the district plans to link people to their answers, but all we know is what we are told by the survey company or the district,” Mr. Sobelman said. “I see this as a public trust issue. They are saying there is complete anonymity but there exists the possibility that this link could occur.”
DUSD Superintendent Dr. Gail Pletnick said no names or other information will be linked to any survey answers.
“None of those surveys will ever come back to us at all,” the superintendent said. “All we will receive is aggregate data. There is no way for us or the company to track the survey answers to individuals.”
According to a DUSD press release, “no answers will be connected to any other information that can identify a person. The survey information will be used solely as part of the strategic plan process.”
DUSD Board Member Bill Lipscomb was concerned about public perception on the confidentiality issue.
“Trust is so vital in this process,” he said. “This is such a delicate issue that these answers have to be strictly confidential so teachers especially have no fear of retribution. That’s my main concern.”
The board member said the intergrity of the process should not have been compromised.
“I can see where that could have prohibited some people from taking the survey,” Mr. Lipscomb said. “And that would be a shame – I honestly don’t think there is any conspiracy here – it was just a misstep in the process. We can learn some lessons, too.”
Students accessed the survey by entering a single letter followed by the individual student’s ID number.
Dr. Pletnick said the code was used to save time and money printing labels on about 20,000 cards sent out by the district.
“We had to generate those labels quickly,” she explained. “That was the thinking behind using that ID number.”
The links sent by the district to DUSD teachers include the teacher’s name in the URL, prompting concerns their responses may not be completely anonymous.
Two blog posters were fearing the worst.
“Before, I just felt they really didn’t want my opinion because their minds were already made up but they had to go through the motions of asking,” one poster stated. “Now it appears they may want to know our opinions but they also want to know who thinks what. (It) just confirms why I will never do any survey in this district.”
Another response echoed those same thoughts.
“It looks like they are trying to find out who’s on board for their pet programs and who isn’t, doesn’t it? I’d hate to think that my job security is based on whether or not I participate in a survey or worse yet what answers I give if I do participate in an allegedly ‘anonymous’ survey,” the poster wrote.
Additionally, surveys undertaken by community members without children in the district included a question asking for last name and address.
“That’s another concern for me,” Mr. Lipscomb noted. “Why is that information even needed?”
District officials said the question was included to confirm those survey participants are actually living within DUSD boundaries.
Last fall, DUSD partnered with the community, including parents, staff, students, volunteers, government, civic and business leaders to create a framework of skills needed to prepare students for the 21st century. The next step in the process is forming a strategic plan and offering surveys to gather information for the future. The survey process began March 3 and ended March 21.
Parents, students, business leaders and staff were sent invitations to participate in the survey.
While parents were mailed a postcard to access the survey on the Web, staff members and members of the business community received email invitations with links to the survey.
The survey was conducted by Progress Education, an independent organization. There have been more than 2,000 responses so far, Dr. Pletnick said, and the district hoped to double that number in the past week.
Mr. Sobelman said even though he believes there was no ill intent, people might have been hesitant to participate.
“Something about it just didn’t seem quite right,” he explained.
Mr. Lipscomb said there was a simple solution.
“We should have generated random pass codes,” he said.
Post your opinions in the Public Issues forums at http://www.newszap.com. News Editor Matt Loeschman can be reached at 623-445-2871 or mloeschman@newszap.com.
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