The Council of the Great City Schools Fall Conference coming to APS

APS Supt Winston Brooks has a monthly Journal column.  This morning, link he wrote about the upcoming national conference of the Council of the Great City Schools.

His column is called "From the Top" and, in an interesting aside;

during his deposition, Brooks made it clear that he actually believes the Kevlar reinforced dais; the raised platform at the front of the John Milne Boardroom behind which he and the board hide during school board meetings, is in fact called a "deity". 

He said it three times; it wasn't a slip of the tongue.  Freudian slip, wikilink, or ...?

In any case, the CoGCS conference is coming to town, link.

Brooks wrote;

I am very proud to help bring some of the most respected and influential thinkers of our time to Albuquerque for the purpose of creating better public schools.

Brooks argues that the conference will provide;

• the opportunity to network,
• exchange ideas,
• share challenges and
• problem solve

in both intimate and large public discussions empowering participants to

"deliver the best possible education for the 6.8 million students we collectively serve".

And in the final analysis,

"... it’s our students in the long run who will benefit from this gathering of the minds."

If after the conference, anyone asks Brooks what exactly are the benefits that students received, or what exactly he learned, that he didn't already know, he will not answer, link. 

He can't.

There is nothing, that will profoundly affect the outcome in public education, that is new to learn.

There is no magic.

If there were magic, teachers should be invited to hear it
first hand from the magicians.  Why filter the explanation
through the likes of Brooks and APS Executive Director
of Communications Monica Armenta?


In the end, Brooks and Monica Armenta will enjoy the warmth
of the limelight for about a week and that's about it.

Brooks invites you to "Send comments or questions to
superintendent (at) aps.edu.

He won't read them, but he does encourage you to send them.
It's another way of his, to stay in touch.




photo Mark Bralley