Ambrogi: No need to listen?
Last night’s meeting of the Manchester School Board showed exactly why people in general are discontented and angry with their government at just about every level.
When Ward Nine School Committeeman Art Beaudry raised the specter of having doctors Sandra Stotsky and James Milgram review the proposed Manchester Academic Standards to see if they were any good, Ward One School Committeewoman Sarah Ambrogi incredibly said of those who wrote Manchester’s proposed standards, quote: “We didn’t ask them go and come up with standards approved by anyone in particular. We charged them with coming up with the best standards for our students. We need to move forward, and we do not need to listen to three or four people who tell us we still need to go back and redo it until certain people sign off.” Stotsky and Milgram were the content specialists who refused to sign off on the Common Core national standards in English and math, despite being hired and paid by Common Core to review and validate them.
Ryan: Summaries and presentations not needed
Assistant Superintendent David Ryan, who led the standards development process, said the district spent more than forty thousand dollars on developing the proposed standards and, in response to a rather leading question by Ward 6 Committeewoman Robyn Dunphy, said that the Manchester Academic Standards were developed in a collaborative effort because the anti-Common core experts had offered their input on the district’s standards. He also basically said that Stotsky could have been more involved, but that she made demands regarding the standards the district was unwilling to meet. Oh, and as to why the administration hasn’t and won’t release a document to the public summarizing where, how or if Manchester’s proposed standards differ from the Common Core, Ryan said the district believed everything should remain in draft form until they’re vetted by the public. So, in other words, according to David Ryan, the public has to comment on a proposal that provides no differentiating information or non-Common Core aligned reviews, the school board has to adopt them, and then the administration will come and tell everybody what they just adopted. Wonder where we’ve heard that before. Not to worry, though. Ryan pledges they will ultimately be polished, adjusted and improved.
Stotsky: On the way to Wakefield
By the way, Stotsky, who offered her expert services free of charge to Manchester, will be with the Wakefield School Board today. She will give and overview of the Massachusetts standards and how they will be implemented at the Paul School. Wakefield’s school board, in search of truly superior standards, decided to adopt the Massachusetts standards that Stotsky played a key role in developing; the same standards that helped propel Massachusetts from mediocre to meteoric in just four years.
News from our own backyard continues after this.
Save cash, win a Harley!
The New Hampshire Lottery is urging players to get their entries in for a special drawing to award two Harley-Davidson Street Glide® motorcycle on the morning of Friday, July eighteenth at eleven. The drawing will be held at Lottery headquarters. The coveted Harley-Davidson® scratch ticket game allows players to submit non-winning tickets for a chance to win one of two motorcycles and one of ten five hundred dollar Harley-Davidson gift cards, along with other Harley gear. All entries must be submitted by Four P M today. The Street Glide® motorcycle package is valued at thirty three thousand bucks, including federal taxes. Players have the chance to win twenty five tote bags and twenty five suede Harley-Davidson caps at the drawing, which will also feature free food and drinks. The game boasts four top prizes of one hundred thousand dollars, all but one of which had been claimed as of yesterday.
Mara: Hosting community meeting.
The Manchester Police Department will host a community meeting tonight from 6:00 to 8:00 at the Manchester Police Athletic League-Officer Michael Briggs Community Center, at 4 0 9 Beech Street. Chief David J. Mara and members of the department’s command staff will be on hand to take comments, questions and suggestions from the audience. Unlike the public hearing being held by the Manchester School Board this Thursday night at West High on the Manchester Academic Standards, the police will answer questions and otherwise respond to citizen inquiries.
“Fr. Dan,” RIP
Rev. Msgr. Alfred A. Daniszewski, the pastor of St. Hedwig Parish in Manchester will be laid to rest today. He passed just two days after his ninty fifth birthday, a milestone his friends knew he was intent on reaching. Despite his age, Father Dan, as he was known, never retired and continued to serve mass despite injuries caused by falls and the health challenges that came with them. He served actively and continuously as a priest and pastor for more than sixty nine years, having been ordained on February twenty fourth nineteen forty five. As Pastor of St. Hedwig, he was also responsible for St. Casimir School, a place he loved dearly. Fr. Dan looked forward to masses with the school children. There will be an hour long wake starting at one o’clock today just prior to his two o’clock funeral at St. Hedwig. Our prayers and condolences go to the parishioners who’ve lost the paster and friend that’s been with them for the last thirty seven years.
That’s news from our own backyard, Girard at Large hour ___ is straight ahead!
