Comments on: Erik Sten Doesn’t Get It, Part II

By: Zarwen

Zarwen — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 06:47:56 +0000

Sounds like business as usual!

By: Humboldt parent

Humboldt parent — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 09:45:37 +0000

Steve,
Thank you so much for your letter to Eric Sten. I am stunned about how far removed from reality Sten and company are on this issue. At the school board meeting on Monday, they announced that they’ve been talking to some leaders and are really excited about a Schools, Family, Housing grants that will be awarded to support Humboldt. But when I asked around, it seems that no one connected with Humboldt has been involved in these discussions.

By: Steve

Steve — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 04:37:47 +0000

Steve B., I think your “bad” reputation is that you are a straight shooter. These guys are very busy waving their hands around, and they can’t have somebody who knows his stuff distracting the audience.

I think they’ve actually convinced themselves this program will make a difference in our schools.

So we blow a million dollars a of city general fund money on marketing the mess that the PPS school board has created. But instead of just taking out ads, we’re going to do what Wacky Mommy said: “hand out money to try to get somebody to tell somebody that hey, maybe if someone else told someone that if parents volunteer, whoa, wouldnâ€™t that be great?”

Flippin’ brilliant. Meanwhile, my neighborhood high school still doesn’t have much in the way of electives, much less that International Baccalaureate program we’ve been promised for quite some time now.

By: Zarwen

Zarwen — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 04:21:04 +0000

Steve, did you copy this letter to the press?

By: Wacky Mommy

Wacky Mommy — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 03:55:32 +0000

What’s ridiculous is that the Foundation will only hand out money to try to get somebody to tell somebody that hey, maybe if someone else told someone that if parents volunteer, whoa, wouldn’t that be great? (Volunteering is great. It is not enough.) But Foundation dollars won’t go for teaching positions, to buy playgrounds, pay for computers and maintenance, etc.

And honestly — you don’t need money to do word-of-mouth, you just need people who are fierce and proud of and about their schools and their programs and what their kids are discovering and learning. Our parents in PPS are not “spreading the good word” because our kids are not getting their needs met.

Day before yesterday I talked with a mom, who was asking me about the schools in our neighborhood — she has a kid who is going into kinder, she’s thrilled and excited, they’ll be at our school, won’t that be great?

My girlfriend who was with us hooted and said, Yeah, it’s great if you want lice!

Me: “Uh. What she said.”

And to have to tell her, don’t count on this, expect this, best wishes, here’s my phone number, but this is why we’re transferring out — it was a sad experience, for both of us. It was awful, honestly.

She did say thank you for the eye-opener, and she’s off to observe classrooms and interview principals. She may not be attending our school, all because she ran into me.

No, Steve B., you are not ridiculous. Not in the least. Thanks for the work you do, and for being relentless.

By: Steve Buel

Steve Buel — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 03:16:25 +0000

I called Rich Rodgers in Sten’s office and told him that having the Portland Schools Foundation administer this grant was akin to having the Republican party administer poverty funds. He laughed at me and told me I was ridiculous and what I was saying was absurd. He was incredibly rude. I suggested he put me on a committee to work on the administration. He told me my reputation was too bad for him to do that. I asked him what reputation was that, the one that I work hard trying to improve things for poor kids in Portland schools? Obviously someone in that office doesn’t get it.