Duval County Schools Superintendent Joseph Wise just said good-bye to the system's roughly 160 principals, saying this is likely his last day.
"I can't imagine that after today you will still be working with me," he told them.
In about an hour, the School Board will begin meeting to discuss his contract. Wise's rift with the board has been expanding for several weeks, but for many the last straw was a letter he wrote Friday to board member Brenda Priestly Jackson, his most vocal critic, demanding her resignation and accusing her of living outside of her district.
It is probably a coincidence that today's mandatory principal's meeting falls on the same day the board may terminate Wise. The meetings were called around the same time, but the principals meeting's true mission, which got underway after Wise's remarks, is to address paperwork issues and other concerns raised by teachers.
Wise spoke briefly, urging principals to continue the work they began under him and noting their accomplishments over his two-year tenure.
"There's not a system in America in two years that got the kind of breakthrough that you achieved," he said.
He alluded to his decision to address what he considers ethical issues among board members, saying he feels that is the only way to ultimately address the equity issues in public education. He told the principals to keep moving the system forward and to contact him if they ever need him.
"Don't let this thing go back to idle speed," Wise said. "That would be an absolute tragedy."
Remember to check here for continuous updates. The special board meeting begins at 9:30. Please leave your thoughts in the comments section.
Blogging live all morning,
Tia
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
22 comments:
GOOD RIDDANCE!!! Per several of my teacher friends, there will be dancing in the streets of Jax tonight should Dr Wise's prediction hold true...
It sounds like Dr. Wise would prefer to be fired rather resign so he won't look like a quiter. Could it be the job has become more that he can handle?
Dead Man Walking!
He is a self-centered control freak that has the same MO every place he has been. He needs to go back to Delaware and face the charges and punishment for what he did there...He needs to be gone FOREVER.
It is believed in the business world that it is better to be fired than to resign. One way to go about doing that is to frustrate your boss to the point where they don't have a choice. It sounds like Dr. Wise has created his own firing procedure in order to be bought out of his contract. Of course we will never know the whole truth.
Whether he was always right or not, I do not know, but in the political climate of today it's a breath of fresh air to see someone stand for his convictions.
Adieu! Farewell! Auf Wiedersehen! Goodbye!
As the first poster said: Good Riddance!
I suppose the school board hired someone they thought would be a puppet. But when Dr. Wise started shaking up their little self-serving apple cart by holding members accountable for their actions,it got uncomfortable. I want to know why the allegations (other than residency) against Ms. Jackson are being ignored, especially her calling him a racist when he vetoed her illegal and unethical requests? If she did indeed call him a racist, what was her basis for her alleged slanderous action? Simply because he told her "no"? And why does the NAACP feel entitled to tell Dr. Wise how to do his job? I would think they would have their hands full with their own problems found in the culture within the black community that have contributed to the problems found within the school system. I still have yet to hear the exact charges against Dr. Wise. What has he done that is so derogatory to the school system??
To the 10:02am poster - you need to take a very hard look at who's been funding all of Joey's travels since he's been here before you even begin to consider the board member's action. It's why an Auditor should be on staff reporting to the board, not the Supt. Dig deeper before you reply.
I hope we can keep any good things he may have done, learn from his and our board's mistakes and consider broadening our school board structure to include some appointed positions of persons with credible experience in educational programs and systems to help us move forward with development of a successful program for as many students as possible.
This is to the anonymous person who suggest that the NACP tend to the black community.Jacksonville is a multidiverse community. And as far as Mrs.Priestly Jackson is concerned why don't you check every school district member address. Including yours. There is no such thing as a black community. It is people like you that cause more problems with statements like this. Education is multi-cultural free to everyone, their are many races with problems. Black kill blacks, whites kill white and blacks and their self mostly. Because they can not handle the struggles. As for Dr. Wise his steps are ordered and wherever he should be that is where he will end up.
IT'S ABOUT TIME WISE, GO HE DOES NOT NEED TO BE HOLDING ANY SUPERINTENDENT POSITION. SINCE IT SEEMS HE MAKES A MESS EVERY WHERE HE GOES MAYBE HE SHOULD FIND ANOTHER CAREER THAT'S WHAT HE DOES WHEN HE IS TIRED HE GETS HIMSELF FIRED ON PURPOSE AND JUST GO TO ANOTHER STATE AND DOES THE SAME THING. IT SHOULD BE ABOUT THE KIDS THAT OUR FUTURE. AND NEXT TIME THE BOARD SHOULD DO A VERY GOOD JOB ON BACK GROUND CHECK. I THINK HE LOVES THE ATTENTION. WHEN THE FOCUS SHOULD BE ON THE KIDS.
I am very happy that Dr. Wise is leaving. I have been living in Jacksonville since 1960 and I have never seen anything like what has taken place. I say we should not stop with Dr. Wise. We also should get rid of the principals that are abusing their positions. We need accountabilty for all administrators. We need to realize why we are working in this school system and that is to give the best education we can for the kids. The kids are #1.
Sincerely,
a frustrated teacher
School boards are advisory. Superintendents are responsible and accountable for their job of running a district. Residency IS A LAW, not a nebulous idea. FIRE THE BOARD MEMBER AND MAKE HER PAY HER BILL??? Of course not its a free ride and the community reflects the board members ethical bar. Pretty low. Sick of the manure in JAX
I sincerely hope no one's buying into the list of "achievements" Wise likes to credit himself with... like increased (read: mandated) enrollment in AP classes, and narrowing the achievement gap (read: chipping away at high-achieving schools' infrastructure).
As a direct consequence of the changes he touted, my dean's list student now hates high school, backed out of dual enrollment after getting A's in class then --like most students--flunking the test, and talks about graduation in terms of "getting out" of Duval public schools and into a "real school."
I am very upset about the School Board's decision to terminate the Superintendent's employment. Joseph Wise made mistakes. However, he developed a vision, goals, and action plans to make revisions to his mistakes. When Wise came to Duval county in 2005, the school board developed no vision for the Superintendent. He was left to "figure out" things for himself.
Kris Barnes was absolutely right: the board is guilty of micromanaging this school system. Wise challenged the school board and stood up to them. This is the type of relationship they should endorse. It's not the board's job to run this school system; it's their job to govern. We must draw a line between governance and management.
As a resident of District IV, which happens to be Brenda Priestly-Jackson's district, I am disappointed that nothing has been done about her. The issue that remains at large is that the Priestly Jackson is not visible in the community and does nothing for the community. She is not a servant to the community and should not be a part. it's funny how she puts on the hat of a soldier on the battlefield when she has a camera and an audience; when she returns to the community, abruptly, that soldier has departed.
School Board member Betty Burney is nothing but a follower in everything that Priestly Jackson initiates. I've never seen her actually have her own opinion about something that was different from that of Priestly Jackson's.
School Board member Tommy Hazouri needs to get an "F" hisself. He is only worried about financial issues. I've never heard him make mention of the students. What about the damn students? Don't they matter?
I must applaud Kris Barnes and Jim Williams for stepping up to the plate and making an effort to save the Superintendent's job. I have never met the Superintendent, personally. However, I know that the school board is not the easiest to deal with. They think they run things.
I hope that the next person that comes will challenge the school board member more than Wise. Maybe this will finally paint the picture that it is not their job to be in control.
REMOVE ALL SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS, ESPECIALLY BRENDA PRIESTLY JACKSON.
I totally agree that Dr. Wise was the right person for the job here in Duval County. Before my move to Florida, I was an educator in the New York City School for over 30 years. I have never witnessed such a micromanaging school board throughout my entire career.
The school board is eqaully responsible for everything that has taken place in this school system. One thing that I noticed is that Wise gave African Americans opportunity to become leaders and principals in this school district. He too was passionate about the education of all students.
I too am a member of District IV and I feel as if I have been misrepresented by Brenda Priestly Jackson. I noticed that someone said that she is a "soldier" on television, but drops that attitude once she's returned to the community. I strongly agree with that statement. I have yet to see what she's done for this community. She is the center of all this "drama" and should not be allowed to get away with her dishonesty and non-loyal acts.
The school board needs to re-think firing Wise. I think he would have turned this district around within the next 2 years.
I have a solution to the problem facing the school district and the community. Firing Joesph Wise may not have been the right decision. Maybe Wise should have fired all of the people he brought from Delaware. It seems to me they received all of the promotions and top positions. I don't understand what Dr. Wise did wrong in this school district. He challenged the school board, so what? He deserves every right to do so as Superintendent. I do think that Brenda Priestly-Jackson is the cause of all this mess; she's the one who should be gone!
SERIOUSLY, I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY THE SUPERINTENDENT WAS FIRED. THE SCHOOL BOARD SHOULD BE HELD MORE ACCOUNTABLE. THEY ALL HAVE ACTED LIKE CHILDREN.
Interesting article, added his blog to Favorites
I have to thank you for the efforts you have put in penning this website.
I am hoping to view the same high-grade content from
you later on as well. In truth, your creative writing abilities
has motivated me to get my own, personal blog now ;)
my web page :: registry Cleaner Software
ӏ am actually plеased tο glance аt this
wеb sitе posts ωhісh carгies
plenty of useful infoгmаtion, thanks for ρrοviԁіng thеse kinԁs of ѕtatiѕtics.
Feel frеe to surf to my wеb sitе: reputation management
Post a Comment