WALTER DANSBY - FROM STOP 6 TO THE SUPERINTENDENT

“What a difference a day makes and the best is yet to come,” Ernie Horn

FORT WORTH, TEXAS - You could feel there was something special about to happen as you entered the doors at the Villas of Eastwood Terrace as red, white and blue balloons were hanging everywhere. The media, ministers and members of the community gathered on this special day to hear from the Fort Worth Independent School District’s new yet familiar face of Superintendent Walter Dansby. Growing up in the historic Stop 6 community, this son of an African Methodist Episcopal Church minister did not disappoint the crowd in the community center at the senior retirement complex located in the East Fort Worth neighborhood where he grew up.

Members of the World of Wisdom Ministry, a “seasoned” saints outreach ministry of the Friendship Rock Baptist Church, the Black, Brown and Tan Caucus, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), Score a Goal in the Classroom and the United Educators Association of Texas (UEA) came together to host the Independence Day of Jubilee celebration to honor and support Dansby in his new role.

“What a difference a day makes and the best is yet to come,” said Ernie Horn, with Score a Goal in the Classroom as he opened the event with a powerful prayer.

The sweet spirit in the Villas was filled with prayers, praise and promise as people of all ages came together to congratulate Mr. Dansby on his historic appointment. Mr. Dansby is the first native son of Fort Worth and African American to be appointed to the top education leadership position at the Fort Worth school district.

“I have known Walter Dansby since our days together in high school and he has always been a great leader,” said Dr. Frank Lawson, pastor of the Harmony Missionary Baptist Church in East Fort Worth. “I worked with him and he has taught my children. He is the right man to lead our school system today,” Pastor Lawson said.

Larry Shaw president of the United Educators Association of Texas (UEA) shared a stirring story about his days as a teacher at an all black high school when Texas first integrated in Beaumont.

“Children do not care how much you know until they know how much you care,” Shaw said. He then went on to challenge the community to “re-dedicate to educate” all children within the district.

“Teachers have to sign a re-dedication commitment letter and I believe parents, students and the community should sign re-dedication commitment letters as well,” Shaw said to the affirming crowd.

Justice of the Peace Lisa Woodward encouraged the community to rally behind Mr. Dansby and supports his agenda to improve the academic performance of our children.

“We all have to do our part to help our children succeed,” Judge Woodward said.

Mr. Dansby gave an impassionate challenge to the entire community to come together to help educate all of the children within the Fort Worth Independent School District.

“No one person can do this alone. We need everyone involved. If it takes more to educate some of our children then we will give those children more,” Dansby said.

The crowd received his inspiring message with a standing ovation after he finished and most believe he deserves the permanent job.

Ms. Carmelita Pope Freeman with the US Department of Justice Community Relations Services leads the community in an exercise in how to turn C.O.N.F.L.I.C.T. into Commitment, Opportunity, to Negotiation, with Fairness, Love, Integrity, Compassion and Trust. Everyone enjoyed the exercise and Ms. Freeman has agreed to continue to work with the Fort Worth community to help foster greater peace and tranquility.

“Let me be clear. Mr. Walter Dansby deserves to be superintendent,” say Rev. Kyev Tatum, president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

“We believe he deserves the job, not because he is a black man, not because he has spent 37 years in the district as a teacher, coach and an administrator. Walter Dansby deserves the job as Superintendent because he is the right man at the right time to help FWISD turn its academic failures into academic achievement and success. It only takes five votes from the School Board and I believe we have the five votes we need to give him the permanent job,” Rev. Tatum said.

The group has agreed to begin a movement to bring the entire community together to help improve the quality of life for everyone in Fort Worth.

“We are One Fort Worth and now is the time for us to come together and make sure everyone is treated with equality and dignity, that everyone can gain access to economic prosperity and be allowed to peacefully participate in the political process,” Rev. Tatum said.

For more information on how you can join this One Fort Worth effort contact the SCLC at 817-966-7625 or email: sclctarrantcounty@yahoo.com

FORT WORTH ISD IS THE WORST URBAN DISTRICT IN TEXAS

40 SCHOOLS RATED UNACCEPTABLE WITHOUT EXEMPTIONS

Preliminary TAKS Scores Do Not Bode Well for FWISD

by Betty Brink

The Fort Worth schools’ preliminary rankings on the 2011 Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills, otherwise known as TAKS, have been released by the Texas Education Agency — and they are not good. Twenty-two schools have been ranked “academically unacceptable” this year. Fifty-seven came in with the next to lowest rank, “academically acceptable,” 33 got a “recognized” status, and only six achieved the highest rank, “exemplary.”

The district is ranked “academically acceptable.” With an asterisk: The ranking is based on the district meeting a “required improvement or exception standard.” “This means that when schools or districts are below the standard for passing but have moved up toward it by a sufficient number of percent points, usually about four percent, in the last year, they reach that mark,” Trustee Ann Sutherland said. “Notice that the district as a whole is not academically acceptable unless this yardstick is employed.” Eighteen schools that were ranked academically acceptable also had the asterisk, which means that at least 40 schools actually failed. By the time the final results are released in July, any of these schools, as well as the district, could fall into the unacceptable category if the TEA determines that the benchmark was not met.

The scores “tell us that there is much work to be done,” said Sutherland, who has been one of the sharpest critics of Superintendent Melody Johnson’s administration, pointing out that when Johnson arrived here to assume the post in 2005, Fort Worth ranked second from the top academically among the state’s six urban districts, FW, Dallas, Houston, Austin, San Antonio and El Paso. Today, it ranks second from the bottom, and the results of this year’s TAKS scores could drop it to the bottom.

(The other district’s scores have not been publicly released so comparisons will have to wait. Fort Worth has also not released these rankings to the public. However, Johnson, who has had the results since mid May, sent them to be board late on Friday, June 3, after Sutherland, Juan Rangel and Carlos Vasquez demanded at last week’s board meeting that she release them.)

“I am very disappointed that we have so many low performing schools,” wrote trustee Carlos Vasquez in an email. ”Dr. Johnson’s Vision 2010 and strategies have not worked. She has taken most of the instructional leadership away from our principals. Principals cannot chose what programs they have in their schools. … There seems to be a disconnect between our Central administration and our schools. You can’t blame the principals or the schools when they can only do what downtown mandates. We need to empower our principals, shift Title 1 monies back to the campus level and let them lead and not just manage.”
Johnson, in a move that surprised her board, submitted her resignation on May 19, effective September 19. While she has said only that she is leaving for family reasons, her mother is ill in California, it is significant, these trustees say, that Johnson submitted her resignation the day after she is alleged to have received the preliminary test results. Compared to last year’s scores, the district seems to be in deep trouble. However, those scores, which Johnson and her staff touted at the time as the result of her abilities to bring high academic achievements to the district, have been found to be highly misleading.

In 2010, the district showed only five academically unacceptable campuses, while 62 were ranked academically acceptable, 37 recognized, and 12 achieved the coveted exemplary status. However, last year’s scores were based on a questionable formula churned up the Texas Education Agency that has since been thrown out by the commissioner of education as an illegitimate way to rank Texas schools. Called the Texas Projection Measure, it was discarded after Democratic state representative Scott Hochberg from Houston exposed it as a misguided attempt to make Texas kids look better against their national peers by manipulating test scores. Briefly, what it did was add “helpers” to many schools, raising them up one rank, according to Sutherland, who called the system “a fraud.”

That year the state applied the formula that, simply put, allowed failing children to be counted as having passed the TAKS based on an assumption that these kids would one day pass the tests because other children whose test scores fit the same pattern eventually passed. The TEA called it a “growth measure.” Yet as columnist Rick Casey wrote in the Houston Chronicle last year, “To most of us, that would imply that [the TPM] looked at how a child did this year compared to the last.” But, Casey wrote, Hochberg brought out in a legislative hearing, that TPM doesn’t measure an individual child’s growth. It looked only at previous years’ scores of all students and, based on a formula devised from thousands of prior results, projected that children who pass reading or math were “likely” to pass other tests in future years. The now discarded formula, Casey pointed out, allowed half of the 1 million students who failed the TAKS being transformed into passing test takers, the number of unacceptable schools cut in half, while the number of “exemplary” schools doubled. The result: an artificially high ranking for most schools across the state, including Fort Worth.

“Now we are in the real world,” said one teacher.

“We need to analyze what part of the drop is due to the TPM and what part is due to us and districts need to ‘raise hell’ with Austin over this nonsense.,” Sutherland said. .

Many teachers and others, including the three trustees who pressured Johnson to release the scores, say that the 22 failing schools are the major reason Johnson has submitted her resignation. She leaves the district on September 19, unless – as is likely to happen – the board votes this coming Tuesday night to hire Deputy Superintendent Walter Dansby as an interim super allowing her to leave early.

One of Johnson’s most vocal critics said today that these latest results show that those who are “heaping praise” on Johnson as an innovator and great superintendent “have forgotten the unwarranted, unimaginable and unforgivable failure rate of the children in the Fort Worth public school system, especially for our black children. … The bigotry of low expectations has come true,” said Kyev Tatum, a minister and president of the Tarrant County chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

The low-performing schools, many with high minority populations, are: Dunbar High School; Eastern Hills HS; Polytechnic HS; Western Hills HS; O. D. Wyatt HS; Forest Oak Middle School; Dunbar 6th Grade; Handley Middle School; William James MS; McLean MS; Meacham MS; Meadowbrook MS; Morningside MS; Monnig MS; Leonard MS; Maude L. Logan Elementary School; Meadowbrook ES; D. McRae ES; AM Pate ES; Versia Williams ES; Atwood McDonald ES; and Woodway ES. The vast majority failed in either reading, math and science or a combination of the three. Versia Williams failed only the writing test and Dunbar 6th Grade and Meadowbrook Elementary failed only reading.

Schools receiving exemplary status were the Young Women’s Leadership Academy, in its first year; Riverside Applied Learning Academy; Burton Hill Elementary, George C. Clark ES; Tanglewood ES; and Van Zandt Guinn Elementary.

LEADERSHIP: WILL FORT WORTH NAME THE FIRST AFRICAN-AMERICAN MAN SUPERINTENDENT?

The entire community is invited to attend the Fort Worth ISD Board Meeting on Tuesday, June 7, 2011 at 5:30p.m. to witness history being made. The question is, will the district leadership do the right thing an appoint Mr. Dansby Superintendent? In these bad economic times we do not need to spend over $100,000 to look for new leadership. We need to give our "Fort Worth Born and Bread" an opportunity to lead. Two thing we know for sure about Mr. Dansby: He has the experience in the district and he "LOVES FORT WORTH AS MUCH AS WE DO." -Rev. Kyev Tatum

FORT WOERTH STAR-TELEGRAM STORY

FORT WORTH -- Trustees with the Fort Worth school district are likely to name Walter Dansby as interim superintendent next week and approve a separation agreement with outgoing Superintendent Melody Johnson.

A majority of board members have indicated support for naming Dansby, who is currently deputy superintendent, to the interim position at a called meeting Tuesday.
School board President Ray Dickerson acknowledged that having an interim superintendent is necessary because the search for a permanent replacement will likely take a few months, given that Dallas is also looking for a superintendent from a small pool of qualified administrators.

Dickerson said previously that he hoped to have a permanent replacement by the time Johnson's resignation took effect Sept. 19.

"It may take a bit longer than 31/2 months to find a new superintendent," Dickerson said. "So we have to have contingency planning in place and know where we're going."
Trustees are also expected to vote Tuesday on authorizing a superintendent search.
Details of a separation agreement with Johnson have yet to be determined, Dickerson said.

"We will be talking about the whole process," Dickerson said. "My view is that need to come to whatever settlement and arrangement and go forward so there's clarity on who's doing what and focus on the superintendent search."

Some trustees have said they would like to see Johnson leave before September, including her harshest critics, Ann Sutherland and Carlos Vasquez. Johnson, who has been with the district nearly six years, cannot be reassigned to another position in the district without her written consent, according to her contract. On May 19, she announced her intent to resign.

"We can't have an interim and Johnson still on board," Vasquez said. "I thank her for her service, but it's imperative that she close the year off and let us start the year with a new superintendent."

Johnson issued a statement saying she plans to stay until September unless an agreement with the board dictates otherwise. Johnson is expected to have 84 unused vacation, personal and sick days accrued by the end of June. She would be eligible to receive a cash payment for the unused days, which are valued at $115,269.98.
Dansby, who currently oversees the bond program, appears to have support from a majority of the nine-member board, according to informal polling of trustees by the Star-Telegram. He has not said whether he wants the post.

Dansby began his career in Fort Worth 37 years ago as a teacher and coach. He has held various administrative posts but does not have superintendent certification from the state. Dansby said he has completed all coursework for the certification but has not taken the test.

However, the state can grant up to a three-year waiver for the certification, Texas Education Agency spokesman Suzanne Marchman said. For example, former state Education Commissioner James Nelson received the waiver when he later became superintendent of Richardson.

Last week four trustees called for a special meeting as they pushed to name Dansby interim superintendent. But the five other trustees did not show, so the meeting was canceled because the board lacked a quorum.

Some said the lack of quorum was a sign that those absent did not want an African-American as the district's leader.

But Dickerson said it is not a racial issue and he has told Dansby that he supports him being named interim superintendent, which Dansby confirms.

Dickerson said he did not attend Friday's meeting because four trustees indicated that they could not attend because of other conflicts during the holiday weekend.

Eva-Marie Ayala, 817-390-7700


Read more: http://www.star-telegram.com/2011/06/03/3126770/fort-worth-trustees-expected-to.html#my-headlines-default#ixzz1OJPYii1d

FIVE FORT WORTH SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS NO SHOW FOR HISTORIC VOTE.

Statement from the President of Fort Worth Chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference

“Tonight, the city, state and country witnessed the Fort Worth School Board historic cowardly act of extreme resistance to appointing the first home-grown African-American male Superintendent Walter Dansby. The FWISD has now become the Prince Edward County VA School District of the 21st Century,” says the Rev. Kyev Tatum, president of the Fort Worth SCLC.

History of Prince Edward County VA Schools link: http://www.vahistorical.org/civilrights/pec.htm

Fort Worth school board meeting canceled after trustees don't show up
Story by Eva-Marie Ayala (eayala@star-telegram.com) of the Fort Worth Star Telegram

Fort Worth Star-Telegram Story link:
http://m.star-telegram.com/star/db_108360/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=6I2q5ylJ&full=true#display

FORT WORTH, TEXAS - The division on the school board was visible tonight when a majority failed to come together to hold a special meeting. Trustees were to debate and possibly name an interim superintendent tonight, but the nine-member board needs five trustees to make a quorum.

Those who asked for the meeting were visibly upset saying their colleagues intentionally sabotaged the meeting to avoid naming Deputy Superintendent Walter Dansby as interim, some of them indicating race was a factor.

"It’s shameful," trustee Carlos Vasquez said. "Shame on my colleague's for not taking the time to come to do what's important for the future of our district."
Vasquez and trustees Juan Rangel, T.A. Sims and Ann Sutherland pushed for the meeting with the goal of naming Dansby interim in the wake of superintendent Melody Johnson announcing her plans to resign effective Sept. 19., Vasquez said. Sutherland asked for the interim superintendent item to be placed on last Tuesday’s meeting. When it was not, the four requested the special meeting. Board policy requires at least four trustees to call a special meeting.

Board president Ray Dickerson said earlier this week that the meeting wasn't necessary because there was no need for an interim. He said Tuesday that he hoped the board could name a permanent replacement before her departure and if not, an interim could be named later.

About 50 attended the meeting before the holiday weekend. Many in attendance also voiced their frustration at the cancellation. Some signed up to speak at the meeting, and Sims wanted to allow them to speak anyway. But after consulting with the school district's attorney, Rangel said he wanted to be cautious on having the appearance of a meeting, which would be against state law without a quorum.

Vasquez and Sims said they worried the other trustees aren't supporting Dansby because he is black. Four of the five trustees who did not show up are white and one is black.

Is It Because HE IS A BLACK MAN?

"I know that's why," said Dr. T.A. Sims, Fort Worth Board Trustee, who is African-American. "Right now, it's all about power. In the 1990s, they didn't want a black superintendent, and now they've moved to where they don't want a minority superintendent, including a Hispanic. It might happen one day, but it should have happened today."



FORT WORTH -- Four trustees were blocked in their effort to name an interim school superintendent Friday evening when the rest of the nine-member board did not show up for a special meeting.

It takes five trustees for a quorum. The four, who were also the ones who asked for the meeting, were visibly upset. Some said their colleagues intentionally sabotaged the meeting to avoid naming Deputy Superintendent Walter Dansby to serve as interim superintendent.

"Shame on my colleagues for not taking the time to come to do what's important for the future of our district," Fort Worth Trustee Carlos Vasquez said. "We needed this meeting to get our affairs in order for our students. My question is: Why are they scared of Walter Dansby?"

On Tuesday night, the board accepted the resignation of Superintendent Melody Johnson, effective Sept. 19. At the time, Trustee Ann Sutherland said she had asked that the naming of an interim superintendent be placed on the meeting's agenda. It was not.

During the meeting, Sutherland, Vasquez, and Trustees Juan Rangel and T.A. Sims made clear their goal of naming Dansby to the role.

Afterward, the four requested that a special meeting be called for Friday. Under board policy, a meeting can be called if at least four trustees ask for one.

The absence of the five board members Friday proves that hidden politics are still at work, Sims said.

He and Vasquez said they worry that Dansby doesn't have support from other trustees because he is African-American.

"I know that's why," said Sims, who is African-American. "Right now, it's all about power. In the 1990s, they didn't want a black superintendent, and now they've moved to where they don't want a minority superintendent, including a Hispanic. It might happen one day, but it should have happened today."



Dansby attended the meeting but did not speak.

Four of the five trustees who did not show up -- Ray Dickerson, Judy Needham, Norm Robbins and Tobi Jackson -- are

Anglo. One -- Christene Moss -- is black.

Other plans

When contacted later Friday evening, Jackson said that she had planned to attend but that conflicts arose and she notified her colleagues on the board. Race is not a factor, she said. The board needs more time to consider its options and shouldn't rush a decision, even for an interim superintendent.

"We have to make a decision on what we want, but we as a board have to get together and discuss that," Jackson said. "We can't be reactive. But right now we're radioactive, and we can't be that."

Robbins said he had a long-standing commitment with his wife and had asked that the special meeting be rescheduled.

Dickerson, Moss and Needham did not return calls Friday evening.

Dickerson, who is board president, said earlier this week that the meeting wasn't necessary because Johnson will be on the job for about four more months.

He said he hoped the board could name a permanent replacement before she leaves. If not, an interim can be named later.

He also noted that the four trustees did not consult with the rest of the board to make sure Friday was a good day to meet.

About 50 people showed up for a meeting. Some had signed up to speak, and even after it became clear that there was no quorum, Sims wanted to allow them to speak anyway. But after consulting with the school district's attorney, Rangel, who is vice president of the board, said he wanted to be cautious about having the appearance of a meeting, which would be against state law without a quorum.

Eva-Marie Ayala, 817-390-7700

FORT WORTH SCHOOLS OUT OF CONTROL

From the pen of award winning Journalist Betty Brink of the Fort Worth Weekly in response to Brother Eddie Griffin's attack on my civil rights advocacy against the mistreatment of children within the Fort Worth Independent School District. In my humble opinion, Dr. Melody Johnson is one of the worst Superintendents in the nation, especially in relations to urban poor and children of color.

Eddie Griffin:

I suggest you read the series of stories I have written about AHHS and the district. They begin on August 11, 2010, and run thru this week. You can find them all simply by doing a search on our web site www.fwweekly.com

Type in Betty Brink and you'll get more than you bargained for.

This is not about five days of absences and 255 students, Eddie, it is about deeply troubling corrupt practices at Arlington Heights that were uncovered -- not by me -- but by Joe Palazzolo and about a dozen or more teachers at Heights who had been trying to get something done for years. The district's OWN internal investigation upheld the majority of the accusations including the fact that the principal Neta Alexander admitted to ordering her staff person NOT to report seniors, juniors and "students of color" to the truancy court during 2010 in order to -- her words -- keep her completion rates high at the school. This is all documented in internal documents from the district's own investigator Mike Menchaca. A female coach and an assistant principal were found guilty of attendance fraud by Menchaca, they had falsified attendance records in order to allow at least 21 students to graduate who should not have because of chronic truancy. They were also having an affair and involving students in their liaisons. There were too many other violations of law and district policy at that school to go into in an email, including sexual harassment, all of which were ignored by the principal, but were well known to at least one board member, Judy Needham. It was reported that Melody Johnson was aware of the conditions there as well. And Chuck Boyd resigned, after admitting that he had protected one of those who were falsifying attendance documents and sexually harassing students and teachers. You have been around the block a few times as I have, Eddie, but I believe even you would be shocked at the language this coach was using in front of students, telling in graphic detail of her sex exploits. The principal, the female coach and her lover were also forced to resign, but no other action was taken against them, in spite of the fact that they were found guilty by the district itself of violations of state and federal laws. And a DA is investigating misuse of booster club funds. These are serious matters, and I suggest they are the demoralizing factors in this district, not the stories that I write based on facts and substantiated by documented evidence.

I suggest again that you read the series of stories. I do not write untruths, Eddie, nor do I write something I cannot back up with facts. I have spoken to dozens of teachers, counselors, nurses, data clerks, coaches, all of whom backed up the corruption at that school and the very difficult conditions that they have to work under in this district at other schools as well. The Connects story spells that out as well. And my series is not over. I am now working on legal fees paid out by this district to outside firms and I think you will be shocked when you read it. Especially when they are laying off folks who are needed and who need the work.
Take a deep breath, Eddie, and read the whole story. As for Kyev Tatum, the civil rights division is now sending in investigators and that isn't done lightly you know that.

Kyev is also fighting in the trenches as you are. I would hope that you would withhold judgment until the civil rights folks do their investigation. Respectfully Betty Brink

GROCERIES NOT GUNS WALMART!

Walmart faces opposition in plan to expand gun sales
by CHRIS HAWES
WFAA-Dallas/Fort Worth
Posted on April 27, 2011 at 10:20 PM
Wal Mart faces opposition in plan to expand gun sales
FORT WORTH — Guns are returning to hundreds of Walmart stores nationwide, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.

The news has brought a tough response from some local religious leaders.

The Southern Christian Leadership Conference is questioning the decision by the retail giant, believing greater access to weapons could lead to more violence.

Five years ago, Walmart stopped selling shotguns and rifles at many stores. Today, however, a spokesman told the Wall Street Journal that hundreds of stores will get them back.

About one-third of Walmart stores had carried the firearms, according to the newspaper. About half of Walmart's 3,600 stores will now offer rifle and shotgun sales.

"Walmart had appeared to be a responsible corporate entity, but I guess with the recession they're trying to find any way feasibly possible... but at what expense?" asked Rev. Kyev Tatum, who heads the Fort Worth chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

Out of more than 40 Walmart stores listed in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, News 8 found only two that currently sell rifles and shotguns. It is unclear how the company's decision will affect the North Texas, but Rev. Tatum is not waiting to find out.

"We're going to oppose it," Tatum said. "Hopefully we'll get an opportunity to speak with someone with Walmart at some point in time. This is still early in the game for us. They didn't ask us, but we're encouraging people not to buy the guns."

According to the Wall Street Journal report, Walmart decided to restore gun sales after realizing they were a bigger draw for some customers than had first been realized.

Walmart says gun sales will still generally be sold in its more rural locations.

E-mail chawes@wfaa.com