Looking at the DPI
One of the big elections next year will be for the Secretary of the Department of Public Instruction. WEAC has had that office locked up with its supporters for decades.
The good news is that there appears to be a very strong candidate in the wings who looks to be ramping up to challenge the incumbent.
Rose Fernandez, currently President of the Wisconsin Coalition of Virtual School families will be leaving her post later this month. She will be running as the reformer candidate for Secretary of the Department of Public Instruction. Fernandez is not a Republican or associated with the GOP in any way. She’s an advocate for school reform, which is exactly what the DPI needs leading it.
The formula of GOP legislator/operative v. WEAC-sponsored candidate has resulted in losses for educational reformers for years. The press always turns it into the GOP versus the Teachers. With Fernandez’s entry into the race, that all changes.
Here’s a little background on her. :
As the leader of a grassroots’ parent-student-teacher coalition, Rose has taken on the education establishment…and won an impressive victory for public school children and teachers. When public cyber charter schools, otherwise known as virtual schools, were threatened by a WEAC-backed lawsuit, Rose Fernandez led the counter attack. Together with her fellow coalition members, she mobilized a legislative, legal and public relations strategy that saw the union and the education bureaucracy crushed by a rare feat in Madison, a bipartisan legislative compromise.
Rose was educated in both private and public schools. She later graduated with University Honors and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing with a Minor in History from Northern Illinois University in 1979. Rose passed her Wisconsin state nursing board examinations on her first try and began her career in an inpatient medical unit at Milwaukee Children’s Hospital. Fernandez completed her thesis work by the spring of 1989 and earned a Master of Science in Pediatric Nursing degree from UW-Madison. In February 1990, Rose was promoted to Patient Care Manager of the Emergency Department Trauma Center of Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin.
She runs a small business with her husband of 17 years, Javier, who is a firefighter in Waukesha. Their five kids attend both private (Waukesha Catholic Memorial) and public (Wisconsin Virtual Academy) schools.
This is a golden opportunity. She’s the best shot to shake up the status quo at DPI we’ve had in several decades.
Goodness knows DPI needs a shake-up. Too many years of nobody ever having the nerve to say no to them.
Here’s hoping that Fernandez can find the kind of money she’ll need to go up against the WEAC machine. Otherwise, we can all quietly hope that someday we can find the support to change the DPI head to an appointed position.
Posted by Recess Supervisor on November 14, 2008 at 1217 hrs
Her chances:
snowball = Fernandez
vs.
hell = challenging WEAC
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on November 14, 2008 at 1414 hrs
So, what qualities does a nurse have to run the DPI and execute educational policy for the state? I will say that Owen’s intro intrigued me. I had not heard of Rose Fernandez before, and I thought, given her relationship to the virtual school movement, she’d be a good shake-up candidate. As a teacher, I don’t view the prospect of a DPI shake-up with any fear. I think it’d be fine. I just see no qualifications of Ms. Fernandez’s that would recommend her for the office. I’ll have to keep looking into her. Any help here??
Posted by Mike on November 14, 2008 at 1648 hrs
Considering the exceptionally poor showing of Wisconsin schools in general under the leadership of DPI, I’d say someone with no qualifications might be an improvement.
The Democrats thought that would be ok for President.
Unfortunately, the Machine will crush her like a bug.
Posted by Steve on November 14, 2008 at 1757 hrs
Well, a non academic for DPI Superintendent. I would vote for her even if she had a criminal record. Academics are the most ineffective in running anything. This positon needs someone who can walk the walk and not talk the eduspeak.
Now I am sure all of you keyboard conservatives will put money and campaign effort toward her election. Guys? Hello? Anybody out there????
I suspect nobody here will do anythng except bitch after the election how nobody can compete against WEAC. It would then become truth because nobody put there money where there mouth is except WEAC. To the victor goes the spoils.
WEACs major power is from the laziness of conservatives and the apathy of the rest.
Godspeed Ms. Fernandez. You will need it if you are to be elected, but you will need it more if you are elected.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on November 14, 2008 at 1825 hrs
Van Mobley is also interested and says that he has money. At least $250,000.
The GOP in their incredible intelligence has never looked at this office as something worht fighting for. Graber told me that eduction was not that important to his people. They were only interested in money offices.Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on November 14, 2008 at 1834 hrs
Rose Fernandez has been a crusader for the Virtual Charter Schools from the beginning in Wisconsin, and I would suggest that people check out the Wisconsin Coalition of Virtual School Families site to see how much work that she and others in the coalition have done to keep VCS open.
Posted by hsgbdmama on November 14, 2008 at 2111 hrs
I’ve met Rose a few times. Good person. Good candidate. But unfortunately I think she’ll get “Palin-ed” by the Madison crowd since she doesn’t have a Harvard teaching doctorate and 20 years of studying “education”.
Also, Rose won’t be able to draw the “money” from the conservatives to pull this off, again because she is a grass roots type and not a career politician type (Maybe John Gard could run for this office (sarcasm)).
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on November 14, 2008 at 2345 hrs
Burmaster gives us a dose of our DPI:
Over the past four years, I initiated several programs that relate directly to LGBT issues, the genesis of those programs coming from my long-time education experience at elementary, middle, and high schools. As a high school principal, I discovered that many people were unaware of the destructive and debilitating effects that bullying and harassment have on students, including LGBT students. Based on those experiences, I initiated the Department of Public Instruction’s development of the training program to implement the “Sticks and Stones” curriculum resource that focuses on anti-bullying strategies and ways to prevent harassment
Question: How would you include education about LGBT issues and people in the students’ curriculum and staff trainings to increase sensitivity of our diverse society?
HER ANSWER:
Even though the local school board ultimately determines what constitutes the district’s curriculum, the Department of Public Instruction influences the content through materials development, grant availability, resources, and personnel. Because topics under human growth and development are sensitive, I encourage communities to enter into discussions regarding the inclusion of these topics in the curriculum, seeking to build support and consensus.We feel the ramifications of DPI influence far and wide. I would have to agree with John’s statement:
....a non academic for DPI Superintendent. I would vote for her even if she had a criminal record. Academics are the most ineffective in running anything. This position needs someone who can walk the walk and not talk the eduspeak.
As conservatives, we need to be visible, financially supportive and outspoken, both at the state level AND the district level. This includes taking it to the street to get the word out. If we don’t do the work AND pay the price, we get what we get. From the DPI, right down to the local school boards.
Posted by GAMazy on November 15, 2008 at 0013 hrs
While school boards around the state were facing some of their toughest challenges in years. Libby wanted to mandate that every community with an Indian logo or mascott change them. Fortunately there were enough people on our school board to tell her to go to hell or fix the stuff she was elected to fix. We need more of that.
The more eduspeak the less effective the organization. Take a look at your CESA boards. Read their web site and then try to figure out what they do beside suck up $14 million of your tax dollars…
Education is much too important to be run by people with education degrees.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on November 15, 2008 at 1113 hrs
Alright, I guess I understand the whole throw the bums out approach typified by John Galt’s and Steve’s comments. But why insist on someone with no qualifications? I get that you both appear to have big issues with academics who you seem willing to bunch all together in a fairly bigoted way. But why then not take an extremely well qualified reform minded administrator, or someone else with the expertise with which to run such a bureaucracy? Michele Rhee from DC comes to mind. I think she came up elsewhere on this blog recently. While she has a better position than WI DPI chief, there must be someone like her out there that conservatives could get behind. A nurse seems like a McCain style choice for the GOPers out there. Learn from your mistakes already!
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on November 15, 2008 at 1712 hrs
My only point is that the status quo isn’t working. Try something else.
Posted by Steve on November 15, 2008 at 1721 hrs
And you think this won’t be more about WEAC v. the GOP? This will be worse. They will portray it as WEAC v. the Radical. Rose Fernandez has done good work on behalf of her constituency, and that is good for education in Wisconsin.
But as much as Virtual Schools are a wonderful innovation, we need a candidate who will focus on the bigger picture. A candidate who has academic credentials and can bring a dose of reality to the discussion.
Van Mobley has announced his candidacy, has already raised money, and can reach across the aisle. He is fiscally conservative, but he also has kids in public schools and has ideas. More importnant, he is not another educrat.
I ran for the Assembly as a conservative. I am as conservative as anyone who writes here. But I also recognize that, in this environment, we need a candidate who can work with the other side.
Owen, if conservatives want innovative change in this office, they need to coalesce around a candidate who will not be instantly rejected by mainsteam soccer Moms and the MSM. Doing otherwise is simply giving in to the status quo and announcing that we do not want to win, we wnat to make a point.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on November 19, 2008 at 2231 hrs
Yes, Ronald Reagan, Paul Ryan and others were immediately rejected? What you do is run positive on education change tht will improve eduction by different methods.
We do not do well in many areas in this state with the present structure.Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on November 19, 2008 at 2248 hrs
Van will do that. But running on a single issue platform, or being percevied as a candidate who would jeopardize those things that are good in education (and there are some good things in Wisconsin education), does not work. Virtual schools, choice and charter schools are all good, but Moms and Dads in small towns in Wisconsin (where those concepts have some less immediate relvance) want to be sure that their schools will not be jeopardized> Likewise, parents in school districts such as Nicolet and Mequon want to be sure that their schools are not the proverbial baby thrown out with the bathwater.
It is important that Wisconsin does not elect an educrat such as Tony Evers. Mobley is the one person running who might be able to keep that from happening.
Mobley is a reformer. In the partisan sense, he is like Paul Ryan, and Fernandez will be branded, rightfully or wrongfully, as Ron Paul. She can’t win.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on November 19, 2008 at 2350 hrs
You have to sell better education to the people with better achievements instead of being locked into the WEAC model. You can’t scare the parents. We have to sell accomplishment. The only thing that WEAC has had to brag about are the SATs and the ACT tests. We hav had good results cause the teachers discouraged everyone from taking them except the smartest people.
Only a few people took the SATS, the ones heading for the east coast, about 10,000. We have done very well cause only the smartest people have taken them.
Now that more people are taking them the results have plunged.
Check Milwaukee Magazine in February a couple of years ago and they expalin it.Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on November 20, 2008 at 0800 hrs
Bob, I agree it is a disaster. That is why it is imperative that we have a new direction in that office. The questions is who is the messenger and how is the message delivered.
People on the left who believe they can get rid of the QEO are nuts, but likewise people on the right who believe they can somehow change the system altogether overnight and get rid of WEAC are nuts. Fundamental positive change occurs when people find a way to be accepted by the majority and work from the inside (e.g. Ronald Reagan and Paul Ryan) rather than suggesting that we are going to radically throw out the current system.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on November 20, 2008 at 1452 hrs
I have been trying to change the system for ovr 30 years. Came close three times but no banana.
If Van is proplery financed he could do it, he is not threatening. The race has to be run positive, point out how he can improve education for everyone with priorities, not just more money.
We spend more money than anyone in the world and get less for it.
To me reading is first priority and the poor perfomring areas are priority.Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on November 20, 2008 at 1819 hrs
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