Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Brooks admits years long (deliberate) deception of the public

In a surprisingly candid,
forthright and honest statement
in his monthly Journal column,
APS Supt Winston Brooks

admits to deceiving stakeholders
for years by misrepresenting the
truth about the districts "magnet"
schools.

The statement, quoted in significant
part, is not taken out of context or
misrepresented in any way.

Brooks admitted to the (deliberate) deception of the public
in order to enhance APS' image in the community.

The subject of his column was "choices" offered within the APS. He wrote;

"For years, we told you (the community) we had "magnet"
schools, when in many cases, our offerings weren't all
that different or special ..."
I cannot begin to imagine what prompted him to tell the truth about that deception. He certainly hasn't given any indication that he, or anyone else in the leadership of the APS, is prepared to be as candid, forthright and honest about other important issues;
  • spending at 6400 Uptown Blvd, or
  • the corruption in the APS Police Department, or
  • APS' obfuscation of public records requests, or
  • the ethics and accountability scandal and the need for an independent standards and accountability audit in the leadership of the APS, or
  • the denial of due process to more than 200 whistle blower complaints, or
  • the abdication of the leadership of the APS, as role models of the APS Student Standards of Conduct.
Perhaps it was no more than an inadvertent slip of the tongue.

The Journal, likewise, has not given any indication that it intends to investigate or report candidly, forthrightly or honestly, on even one of these other issues. This even in light of the Journal's obligation and responsibility to fully inform voters in anticipation of the upcoming School Board Elections.




photo Mark Bralley

2 comments:

michelle meaders said...

And he implies that students in Charter schools aren't tested and don't have to meet the same standards as at regular schools. I don't think that's true: their test scores are listed with the other schools every time.

He gives away the real reason he doesn't like charter schools, though, when he describes some new magnet schools as, "under an APS umbrella that will report to me just like, say, the Principals of Eldorado High or Valle Vista Elementary School do."

ched macquigg said...

It would appear that the purpose of the oligarchy has morphed from education to maintaining the the oligarchy; even at the expense of education.