In tomorrow’s paper, you will see a story by Tawnell Hobbs about a DISD Office of Professional Responsibility investigation into how my daughter got into pre-K at Hexter Elementary — or, as Hobbs calls it, “the Rogers situation.” Read Hobbs’ account for a fuller explanation of what went down. I think she did a pretty fair job of laying it all out. But here’s the gist: DISD’s pre-K is run with federal and state funds. The program is designed to serve low-income and at-risk kids. But state law allows tuition-paying parents to enroll their children if spots remain open after those first two groups of children have been accommodated. My daughter got one of those open spots at Hexter this year. An investigation into how that came to pass revealed that no rules were broken. The investigation also revealed that the admissions process for pre-K in DISD is more complicated and abstruse than I ever knew.
Want to know the best part? FrontBurner started the investigation. In the comments to this post about a new charter school downtown, I mentioned that my daughter was enrolled in pre-K at Hexter. That prompted longtime FrontBurnervian Louisa Meyer, a noted DISD supporter, to send an e-mail asking some folks on the School Board for clarification on how the pre-K program works. The board members forwarded Meyer’s request to DISD’s chief of staff. From there it went to the Office of Professional Responsibility. The chain of events is chronicled in the OPR’s report, which you can find attached to Hobbs’ story.
The central question is: did I pull strings to get my daughter a spot at Hexter? The short answer is no. In fact, the OPR says that not only was there no violation of state or local policies, but in September, there were still two open spots in pre-K at Hexter. In other words, my daughter didn’t take a needy kid’s spot.
But there’s a longer answer, too. The OPR report goes on for 90 pages. The report includes e-mail correspondence between me, my wife, and the spokesman for DISD, Jon Dahlander. In working with Dahlander over the years on DISD stories, I’ve come to know him as more than a bureaucrat. Like, I know he’s a gifted pianist, for instance. We’ve had long discussions about public education and about how this magazine and other media outlets cover the district. So when the district incorrectly told us there was not an open spot at Hexter, contradicting what we’d been told earlier, I expressed my frustration to Dahlander in an e-mail. And I asked for some more information about the pre-K program. Was it possible, for instance, that no-shows at the start of the school year might yield open spots at a later date? But I never asked for any favors.
In fact, my wife wrote to Dahlander: “[We] certainly do not expect any favors to slide us in. … Before we jump to another school (where [our daughter] will likely end up staying through elementary school), we just want to make sure there is absolutely no other way or possibility that she might get in.”
You ever see anyone work so hard to get their 4-year-old into a public elementary school — just so they could then pay tuition for the privilege? I know. It’s nuts. But our son graduated from Hexter. It’s our neighborhood school. It’s our home. We love it.
Moving on. None of this, I suspect, would have yielded a story in the paper (and I hear there’s a CBS Channel 11 truck parked up at the school right now). Except the woman in charge of the entire district’s pre-K program, Beth Steerman, told the OPR investigators that Hexter’s principal, Jolee Healey, told her that I “threatened to do an exposé about Hexter and the pre-K program” and that Healey “seemed very concerned and upset about the possibility of an unflattering article forthcoming.” That sounds like a story, doesn’t it?
Except it’s not true. Healey’s son and my son used to play on the same soccer team. I’ve spent a lot of time with that woman on soccer field sidelines talking about school and our kids and all the rest. That I’d threaten her with an exposé is laughable. Healey did not tell the OPR investigators that I threatened her, and she told me that she never said that to Steerman. I’m not sure how Steerman became that profoundly confused.
This whole “Rogers situation” would be nothing but a gas for me except for the fact that Jolee Healey now has to fend off Jack Fink and his TV cameraman. This woman is beyond reproach and, as the OPR report shows, repeatedly asked Beth Steerman for guidance because she wanted to do everything aboveboard. My heart goes out to her.
And one last thing: Go, Hexter Hawks!
Update: Go here to read about how Tawnell Hobbs withheld important information from her story.
75 comments
Thanks Tristen!!!!
Tim,
It’s not so much about what you did or did not do. I do not see you or your wife doing anything but trying to get your child into a nearby and familiar setting for preschool.
The problem is that someone in the district admitted that they allowed your daughter in to “avoid bad press.”
That’s called favoritism and it’s wrong when my tax dollars are involved.
Teachers have been speaking out about the corruption and the fraud that goes on in the district routinely, but the D Magazines of the world do not seem interested in protecting the money intended for 150,000 very poor children.
The firestorm is warranted because we as taxpayers should not be forced to keep giving our money to corrupt, broken, favorites-playing systems like DISD.
It looks like corruption and it smells like corruption, regardless of how petty the stakes were.
Teachers experience this favorites-playing all day long, except their jobs and livelihoods are at stake.
And D Magazine does nothing.
Another e-mail of mine, not in the OPR, was sent almost a year ago on February 24th to DISD and is worth sharing here:
I’m told part of Dealey [Montessori's] appeal and the reason folks camp out to seek a precious spot there is that the PK program is full day and open to English speakers who are not economically disadvantaged. Instead of turning these folks away, could we offer them the same PK program at another campus or more? I’ll bet we can and would like to suggest priority for such a program be given first to Pershing, then Gooch and maybe even Dan D. Rogers. To my knowledge each of the campuses I suggested are under capacity and could handle another section or two of PK. If we act quickly, we can offer parents a spot at Pershing in the same correspondence they’ll receive next month rejecting them from Dealey. Now wouldn’t that be a win/win? It’d be a shame to turn people away from a public school option. If they’re willing to camp out for a spot, imagine what they could do for a school in need of some volunteers.
When Tim made his post, I asked the question of DISD again with the desire that the program be expanded.
I am sorry that my question has caused all these fine people so much grief.
Its on the DMN website now. How much did you guys pay for this advertising and is D planning on implementing subscriber content any time soon? I’m totally interested in this, but not really enough to pay the DMN on Tuesday.
You dare to question the hatchet-job The Dallas Morning News does on DISD every day (for the last few decades) so I’m not surprised they would retaliate.
Look what they did to the Dallas Times Herald. They leveled the building after they destroyed (I mean ‘acquired’) the paper. It’s still a parking lot next to the DART line. And now they are keeping the Herald archives away from the public.
Bellicose Belo hits below the belt. The real tragedy is that they also slander all the good schools, dedicated teachers and excellent students who are achieving great things in our city every day. Then they dare to imply ‘some poor kid’ got left out. Colossal gall!
FWIW, I believe Tim’s version of events. Nobody, not even Tim, is stupid enough to threaten an “expose” of Hexter Elementary if his daughter doesn’t get in. How transparent would that be? He’d be vilified. And while I sympathize with DISD Teacher, what exactly would she have D Magazine do? I think there have been plenty of articles in D about problems at the DISD.
And most importantly, “The Rogers Situation” would be a great name for a band.
@DISD Teacher: You did read the part where I mentioned that the OPR report found that there were still two open spots at Hexter in September, after school had started, right? My daughter did not displace a poor child. And I pay $450 per month in tuition. I’m not using your tax money.
The Dallas Morning News loves to roblet their readers about DISD. Happens when they are desperate for a good scandal.
Louisa, if Gooch and Pershing are underpopulated, why then are some of their kids being zoned to the new Bush Elementary? Could it be DISD didn’t need that fancy new geothermal building for any reason other than to get out the vote for Flores-Troy?
The funniest part of this whole situation is the thought that Tim Rogers could “pull strings” in the first place.
Criminey: Tim couldn’t arrange a winning hand at my kids’ Go Fish tournament.
To imagine the money that was probably spent by the DISD staff pursuing this action is simply appalling. It’s no wonder that so may of us view the DISD Administration as a Train Wreck Perpetually Unfolding In Slow Motion.
@Tim,
My tax dollars do pay the person in charge of the Pre K system in DISD.
My tax dollars do pay part of the funds used to provide Pre K to the eligible children.
My tax dollars are, in fact, used by DISD. Since that is true, the system must not play favorites.
I never said your child displaced a poor child. I explicitly stated that I didn’t think you were in the wrong to pursue a spot. No need to get all defensive with me.
My point is that rules matter and no one in the system can play favorites.
From the article: “the popular progam designed to give at-risk kids an academic boost in a structured program led by certified teachers” – Maybe DISD should try that after Pre K as well.
@ DISD Teacher…i pay taxes and a lot of them. I don’t agree with the fact that a student who lives within a certain school district and is willing and able to pay to attend the pre-k program might not have the chance to attend. Unfortunately, how i feel about that doesn’t matter as poor and at-risk children are routinely afforded opportunities that many middle class children are not. Do i think that policy leads to good things…yeah, i think it can but i still don’t totally agree with it. I’m just saying that you point out that as tax payer, you think what happened in the “Rogers situation” is wrong…well, as a tax payer myself, i think the current policy is wrong. There are as many opinions about how to run a school district as there are tax payers…you are just one and there are many who disagree with you.
@DISD Teacher – You can’t step away so easily from your original accusation and extremely negative tone:
“The problem is that someone in the district admitted that they allowed your daughter in to “avoid bad press.”
That’s called favoritism and it’s wrong when my tax dollars are involved.”
I believe all the facts quite clearly show that no one allowed anyone’s kid in to avoid bad press. Apparently there’s a person who has made that accusation, but just like tons of accusations that involve the DISD, there doesn’t appear to be a basis in fact.
If nothing was found wrong, then move on people. Besides, Tim’s family is paying double; Property tax (which goes to the DISD) and tuition to the DISD. That sounds like a win/win for a school system with huge deficits.
even if they let tim’s kid in because they feared an expose in d magazine, that’s not tim’s problem, as long as that wasn’t threatened. and if the school is in fear of an expose, then what in the hell do they have to hide?
Yeah! Tim finally made it onto the front page of the DMN! Now he just has to get his portrait hung in the Hall of Mayors.
Everyone still upset by this “scandal” please call the Tea Party.
Honestly, the first thing that came to my mind as to why Belo would do this is for sheer revenge as this blog (and D) dares to criticize the DMN (for example, their ridiculous and relentless bashing of Parkland Hospital). I find Frontburner and D 100% more relevant to my daily life in Dallas than the DMN.
I don’t know Tim from Adam, but I’ve been a loyal reader of this blog from the beginning, (and also a former CPS cheerleader so I’m biased), and I truly don’t believe that Tim Rogers would be dumb (or unethical) enough to try and get his way for a personal issue by threatening an expose.
I just heard the guys on the Ticket raising a good point — is it your fault if someone decides to give you something if they fear bad coverage in D? If you didn’t threaten or intimate bad coverage, I would say no.
I do not always agree with Tim but one thing his has going for him is his support of at least Hexter in the district. In a day where so many parents are seeking other places to educate their children rather than DISD, it is refreshing to see where so many are trying to get their child in a certain school. I wish the same effort would be applied to the Jr. High and High Schools. When parents stick together and support a school good things happen in that school. When parents choose to send their children to “other schools” the school that is avoided suffers! It is my wish that the passion and effort that is displayed at Hexter would be payed forwarded to other DISD schools in the area!
About four hours ago, at 3:44 PM, I posted on the DMN site what is at the end this posting about Booker T. Washington Arts Magnet. I suggested it may be related to the the story at Hexter Elementary. I no longer think that. After reading the many pages at the News and above, I find the two situations are very different. Mr Rogers appears to be the type of advocate that DISD needs by the thousands! Maybe he would like to verify this BTW situation posted below:
========================
3:44 PM on January 14, 2011
… The average DISD student has an 88% probability of coming from a family of poverty who qualifies for free or reduced lunch. Such excellent DISD students are normally replaced at the Booker T. Washington Arts Magnet by more affluent students who have not attended DISD before, but want to get into BTW due to its national reputation and recently completed new building. Less than 26% of the current BTW students are on the free or reduced lunch program, the lowest such percentage of any school within Dallas ISD, probably also the most prestigious school within DISD. Low income, often minority, students may be eliminated from BTW as the reputation of the school rises.
It appears that more affluent children from private schools with private dance/music/acting lessons are being able to push out students who excelled within DISD but cannot afford the private lessons. Students who excel within DISD should have an advantage within the BTW application process. Should a public school be allowed to be manipulated by those able to afford private tutors in the admissions process?
Anglo non-Hispanic students have been the largest group within BTW for many years. For the first time, however, last year they were over 50% of those accepted into BTW. Only 4.6% of DISD students are Anglo non-Hispanic. Over 65% of all Anglo non-Hispanic applicants were accepted while less than 40% of minority applicants were accepted. Does it bother anyone that this leads to the over-representation of Anglos in this one DISD school, the one with probably the most glowing national academic reputation, by a factor of over 1,000%?
A preference for long-time DISD students could easily be placed into the formula used for accepting new BTW students. Maybe a certain number of “points” in the audition scoring process can be given for each year an applicant has already attended a DISD school, with extra points for all 8. It is justified and would eliminate the need for any formula using race. Are not the magnet schools supposed to provide motivation for DISD students to work and excel?
I recently had a conversation with someone fairly high up in Belo’s television side – let’s just say someone on the revenue-generating side of things. I asked about the upcoming DMN paywall, and this person said the TV folks think it will be an epic disaster, perhaps one from which the paper will not recover.
Anyway, Tim, I thought I would pass that along in case it makes you feel any better.
DISD Parent,
You write about the joy of seeing Tim’s effort to get his child into a DISD school and say: “I wish the same effort would be applied to the Jr. High and High Schools.”
I agree!
The regular, non-magnet DISD schools are improving. Most of my DISD middle school students attend probably the most improved school in DISD, Sunset High School in North Oak Cliff. It has gone from a 23% graduation rate for the Class of 2000 to one of 61% for the Class of 2010. A 70% graduation rate is anticipated by the time the Class of 2013 graduates, if not much sooner! DISD high schools are all improving! Just watch the news, if they will write about it. Record graduation rates will be achieved, year after year, for a minimum of the next 4 years, and hopefully thereafter until we are even within shooting distance of a 90% graduation rate. It can be done! I am certain. But only if DISD does not slow down, and if they study the success at Sunset, and replicate it.
The White-flight agony of the 70′s and 80′s must be replaced with the bumps and grinds of a city coming back together, working for the same goal, the best world possible for all our children. I hope today’s agony is part of that coming back together progress.
Hang in there, Tim. The district is under serious pressure to perform, and this is clearly a diversionary tactic. Officials needed an example to demonstrate the kind of challenges they face to justify low performance.
While the majority (54%) of DISD schools are rated either “exemplary” or “recognized” by the Texas Education Agency, 2010 ratings include 85 campuses rated only “academically acceptable” and 14 campuses rated “academically unacceptable.” (Hexter is rated “exemplary:” http://j.mp/g3t5ay)
The students are the ones who lose when mediocrity becomes the accepted standard, and when underachievement is ignored. The district must address its problems directly, deploying manpower and financial resources to improving teacher performance measured through student success. Finger pointing plays no constructive role in that process.
I’m sorry you and your family are being targeted in this way.
@Tim, re: DISD Teacher comment…yes, Tim, you daughter did displace a poor child. I just read the DMN article, attachments, and reports online. The Code states that all eligible students on the waiting lists should be placed before tuition-paying students. There are *many* students still on the waiting list. So, yes, no matter how you look at it…you may not have verbally or in written form threatened folks. However, there was certainly intimidation and strings pulled with the people you know within the District.
Frankly, it doesn’t matter if your paying tuition into the system. The fact is that you are taking a slot when there are clearly eligible children on the waiting list whose parents just may not know about the openings at Hexter. That’s just shameful on an ethical level whether or not your doing it to benefit your own child.
@TR- wait $450 per MONTH. Damn my wife and the 20k/year I am paying for pre-k so my kid can eat rocks. Where’s DMN to do an investigation on this injustice?! I demand a full inquiry. I demand justice (preferable the gilded kind)
BTW, if those e-mails = seeking preferential treatment, you should see the things people do to get into pre-k’s everyday in Dallas. I personally have seen offers of cash, scholarships, vacations, and any number of other favors to get kids into the right pre-k…it’s crazy out there.
I would like to point out the use of the word “roblet” in my above post. Bonus points. DISD rocks.
@Neal: DMN Paywall = :CueCat = Hindenberg = Titanic I’m looking forward to seeing the movies.
Gotcha news hand in hand with reality television does a Mark Davis one more time.
I strongly suspect that this time when it all shakes out both DISD and the Rogers clan will come out as the good guys in this. At least I hope so.
This is pathetic and it is unfortunate that deserving children who would benefit from this program are being turned away due to someone using their perceived influence to gain personally. That is the issue here. Shame.
Tim, your response to the article is certainly selective with regards to facts. No where do you mention your comment to Dahlander that you were considering “bailing on Hexter” – a threat which, however mild, is still a threat.
How about you print the full text of every email you sent or received to/from everyone in DISD on this matter? That would certainly offer us the ability to judge things more clearly, wouldn’t it? Yep, thought so.
If the DMN article is even partially correct then it’s obvious that your personal relationship with a government official enabled you and Christine to enroll your child in Hexter’s pre-K program after initially being denied admission. Sorry if that fact makes you uncomfortable but it is a fact. And while one is welcome to create one’s own opinions one is not welcome to create one’s own facts.
It would be helpful to know if Tim’s emails were sent from a personal email (as concerned parent) or his work email (as editor of D Magazine).
@Mike Ramsey: Let’s call the movie “The Smartest Guys in the Room II”
@Tim: Good for you for getting out in front of the story I guess, but it does mention a couple of things you didn’t address and probably should:
1. From the article:
“Rogers wrote [in the email to Dahlander] that Healey ‘had been uncharacteristically unhelpful in providing guidance.’ He ended the email stating that his family was thinking about ‘bailing on Hexter.’
‘And that makes me sad.’
Dahlander responded in email the next morning that he would do what he could. He forwarded Mr. Roger’s e-mail to Healey and asked her to give him a call. Healey told investigators that Dahlander asked for no favors during the call. She wrote in a statement that Mr. Rogers’ description of her in the e-mail concerned her.”
I can see how Healy might feel intimidated (or as she put it, “concerned”) when you effectively went over her head to Dahlander and called her “uncharacteristically unhelpful”. That a pretty underminey thing to do to someone you purportedly like so much and, now, your “heart goes out to”. Your thoughts?
2. From the article: “‘I believe [Mr. Rogers] thought I had been unhelpful because I was emphatic about the guidelines, and didn’t make an exception for his daughter as he wanted me to,’ Healey wrote. Roger’s [sic] wife would later apologize to Healey for her husband’s email to Dahlander, Healey told Steerman in a Sept. 16 email.”
Did this apology happen or not? If it did, then maybe Healey’s alleged concerns about your intentions had some merit? Otherwise, why would your wife have apologized to her?
I do agree that Steerman is probably (at best) overstating things when she claims you threatened Healey with some sort of expose. If you had, Healey would have said so herself in her statement to the investigators.
Frankly, I am not sure it matters where you go to school in the DISD, Hexter, Dealy, Gooch or elsewhere. The curriculum is the problem–it doesn’t prepare kids for thei future. I’ve been in the black hole, waited for hours in the middle of the night in 32 degrees at Dealy–two years of it. Cried my eyes out because I thought I was failing my kids.
Oh, and ask board member Edwin Flores and other DISD employees how they got their kids into Dealy. Tim Rogers, can you find out how many DISD employees’ kids are in the “vanguard” or preferred schools? By the way, when we applied to Dealy from Marsh Middle School and Withers Elementary, not one NOT ONE piece of work my kids had done for six months qualified to be included in the application’s portfolio section. What does that tell you. We had to ask teachers to grade the creative and critical thinking work we did at home. Sad for the kids in the DISD, all of them.
Am I the only one surprised that a staff member at a local lifestyle magazine has the clout to influence the school district? I mean, I like D as much as the next Dallasite, but…really?
Tim has longer hair in his picture on his Facebook page. Clearly, the DMN was trying to humiliate him with the picture they chose for the article.
What’s more troubling, though, is the e-mail that they reproduced for the article. I note that Jon Dahlander uses two spaces after the period and before the start of the next sentence, but Tim uses only one. You would think that the Executive Editor of a city magazine for a major Metroplex could at least get that grammar rule right.
Is Tim the only parent district-wide that in this position to have a tuition-paid PK spot? Because they are all in the same boat, right? Ruthlessly ripping the opportunity out of the grasp of needy tots?
If there were open spots at Hexter going unfilled as stated, move along folks. Report found no wrong. Why is this news? The real lede = parents going out of their way to get into a DISD school? Laughable investigative story. If I was still a subscriber, I’d cancel now.
Why did Mrs. Rogers feel compelled to tell Hexter if they did not get in, they would likely be leaving for good. Not a threat, they have every right to go wherever they like, but I think it was an attempt to wield their influence.
This story is nothing more than an attempt by the DMN to strike back at Tim because of his warranted criticism of the paper.
Does that mean that a reporter like Steve Blow, often the target of Frontburner, pushed for this? Of course not.
But it is a reminder that you must think twice before picking fights with people who buy ink by the barrel.
I thought the “Rogers Situation ” was a reference to Tim’s abs. Dang wielding influence …threatened expose blah blah blah…
How much did the DISD spend on that 92 page investigation?
Tim – not as an admission of guilt or anything like that – but you need to immediately withdraw your daughter from Hexter and find her another preschool to enroll her in for the remainder of the year (and I’m sure some preschool will be happy to take your child and money for the next 4.5 months). Then DISD needs to identify the next child on the waiting list willing to travel to Hexter and enroll that child at the school.
DISD policy says any tuition paying student can lose his/her spot at any time during the school year should any at-risk child need it. Well, we all know now there are at-risk kids who need the spot. This policy alone should deter any tuition paying parent from considering DISD’s pre-k program. Each day could be your child’s last day at school and that’s no way to live.
I’m not saying you did anything wrong, Tim. People are free to ask for whatever they want, but it’s up to the other party to say Yes or No. DISD caved to you because of real or imagined fear and DISD shouldn’t have. It’s their problem to figure out. But the right thing for you to do is give your spot to an at-risk child right away.
So, your family is out of Hexter for a year, or 4.5 months, but that’s okay. You can still support the school until your child is truly eligible.
hexter would be better off without the neighborhood mr. rogers and his wife, with their abundance of interferring emails, who methinks protest too much. nothing like pulling rank over ‘needy kiddos’ to make parents good examples for the child whose future apparently depends on a particular pre-k.
Tim can clear this all up pretty quickly:
1. Did Tim contact Dahlander after the child was not admitted to the pre k program?
2. In any contact with any district official/employee, did Tim use the terms “uncharacteristically unhelpful”?
3. In any contact with any district employee did Tim use the terms “bailing on Hexter”?
Tim can’t answer this next question, but the district can:
Did the principal in fact send an email stating her unease that the child had been admitted?
This would prove that even the principal recognized that something was not right.
I don’t care if we’re talking about $5 or $50,000 or who has a grudge against who: this cannot be allowed.
Many posters on this site seem to have the idea that since they don’t deem it a big deal, it isn’t.
Tim can clear it up pretty quickly.
Just answer the questions or post the emails.
Also, DISD wouldn’t need to investigate and spend money on an investigation if there wasn’t a big red flag waving in their face.
Instead of wondering how much DISD had to spend, why don’t we wonder why this stuff goes on?
This is one more reason why DMN writer (and DISD Dad) Kevin Sherrington should be covering the district. He gets it, and he would be asking far more valid questions about how these issues should be handled.
When these “flaws” in DISD are brought up by the DMN, they never question how these same situations are handled in other school districts, what does C/FB, Austin or San Antonio do? It adds perspective to the situation.
This is yet another shallow attempt to tie a “scandal” to a high profile Dallas person, without providing a more expanded view. It leads one to believe that the problem exists only within DISD, and it fails to reconcile the question of how do you “feed” the middle-and-upper-class-income kids with the low income kids when they are all sharing the same plate. A few years ago the subject was the ASP college readiness program, and the DMN used the superintendent’s child as a target. My son was a part of the same program, and it took NOTHING away from a lower income student.
And Julie, respectfully, your view does not further the image of the possibility of a good education for kids coming from economically stable households. I can attest that a great education can be obtained at many elementary, middle, and high schools, and it’s not tied to income. Our son will be graduating from University of Missouri in 3 years because of the AP tests he passed in high school. He was not in the top 10 of his class, but was in the top 10%. In the top ten were many low-income kids who received full scholarships to private and public universities.
I commend the Rogers family for being part of the Dallas community as a whole, it’s an enriching experience that soon will be behind me. Where else would I have received training in how to put on a homecoming parade? Where else would I have had the opportunity to walk 14 young boys through the back woods of Harry S. Moss park, their disbelief at still being in the city absolutely delightful? Where else could I have had the opportunity to hand paint t-shirts for an entire class saying “First grade, here I come”? Where else would I have had the opportunity to sew (with 2 other moms ) 29 matching gold dresses for a single musical number in the high school play?
Thank you DISD, and the parents, and children who have made my adult life far more richer for being a part of yours.
No laws were broken because there never was a clear cutoff date – No matter what you do, you would never break a law in this situation. Why stop with one child, you can admit twenty more and still not break a law. How nice to know that. Always easy to play with words and splits hairs and not take responsibility.
Someone here messed up – either the school management who admitted the child knowing that there were others who needed the seat more (financially and otherwise) OR someone who influenced the decision even if it was via subtle intended/un-intended pressure.
And if DISD permits folks to pay to get it, then it likely means that there are more seats in the program than needed. What you have here folks then, is a daycare run by DISD. Perhaps, we are better off reducing the costs associated with this over supply of pre-K seats and diverting it to areas which are starved for funds.
Surely, the smart folks at DISD, D Magazine and DMN can understand that…..using the excuse of ‘No laws are broken’ ensures no one gets punished, the news gets stale and everything is forgotten. Congratulations to all for being the responsible citizen, parent, administrator, educator…..Bravo!
Tim: I feel sorry for you and your family. After reading the e-mails–which, @ThatOneGuy, are available to read in full on the DMN’s website http://dallasisdblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2011/01/d-magazine-editors-child-enrol.html — this appears to be a total DMN hack job. Tim advocated for his child, and that worked. There isn’t anything wrong with that. If school administrators actually did want to avoid bad press by subverting the applicable rules, that’s their decision and responsibility.
Did Tim threaten the school with negative publicity? Based on the e-mails published by the DMN and the DMN’s own story, it looks like Beth Steerman’s claim about Tim’s threats is flatly false. Tim, you are very polite to call Beth “confused.” Sounds to me like she “lied” to “cover her own A.”
Plus, the suggestion that the school felt it had to cave to Tim in order to avoid bad press is flat-out silly and counter-intuitive: had D published negative material about Hexter, the school easily could have brought to light that it had rejected his child for admission because she did not meet the requisite criteria. Tim and D would have looked like the bad guys, and the public would have applauded the school’s efforts to appropriately place students. Instead, DISD is in the rather uncomfortable position of having to explain why they bent the rules. Heaping blame on Tim and his position with a local magazine only serves to underscore the school administrators’ own short-comings and poor decisionmaking.
And what about the “bailing” comment that DMN printed? In the context of the actual e-mail, Tim is basically expressing how much they love Hector and how disappointed they are to have to consider sending their child somewhere else. Doesn’t seem unreasonable or like a threat to me. Pretty standard sentiments for any parent in the same situation, no?
The DISD investigation found that no law/policies were violated. So, what’s the real story? Maybe the headline should have read, “Local Magazine Editor Gets Under Failing Local Newspaper’s Skin with Local Blog Read Mostly by Local Nerds.”
@RAB: I hope you’re being facetious. http://www.slate.com/id/2281146/
Let’s hijack this discussion and start discussing the merits of two spaces versus one. Anybody feel particularly strongly about it? I’m a two-spacer myself, but that’s because I’m a trained monkey when it comes to hitting the space bar twice after a period. It would require significant effort to break this habit, and I am lazy.
thanks, ‘also wondering,’ you nailed it. do share the detailed reply i am sure you will receive.
AHA! I knew it! That sneaky Rogers couple had been planning this pre-K takeover since before their daughter was even born. I knew there was an ulterior reason they gave so much time and personal effort to that school. The earth-shaking expose by the DMN gave me the real reason why the Rogers mom spent so much time on starting the Home Tour which gave funding for the arts and equipment in the classrooms. And why she continued the countless hours for years after, working to continue the Home Tour. And be on the PTA board and work every event that school had (and still is doing it). And why Tim was, is, so active with the Dad’s Club. And why he was consulted in the past whenever there was negative pr (from guess which medium). And how they were (are?) such advocates of public education. And how they brag about Hexter all the time.
THEY WERE JUST WAITING TILL THEY COULD SNEAK THEIR LITTLE KID INTO PRE-K AND PAY BIG MONEY TO DISD FOR AN OTHERWISE EMPTY SPOT! AND BE HAPPY TO SEE DISD SPEND BIG MONEY ON THIS EXTENSIVE REPORT!
(Thanks to that other DISD teacher for being so well-informed. Just like kerry l.)
@ Bill Bentzen – the entire Tovar family is one of DISD’s hidden gems. Grandpa T. works the Friday night football games at Franklin Field, and he and his wife came to every one of their grandson’s baseball games.
Amy, you are correct. Tony Tovar, as the principal of Sunset for the past 5 years, has led a school that used to be one of the worst former “dropout factory” high schools in Dallas forward so strongly that it is now probably one of the best non-magnet high schools in Dallas, and heading higher!
The graduation rate graph comparing Sunset rates with the DISD graduation rates over the past decade is posted at http://schoolarchiveproject.blogspot.com/2011/01/sunset-high-school-made-dallas-isd.html
This graph tells the story well. Without Sunset DISD would not have made a 20-year graduation rate record with the Class of 2010 (using the number of diplomas given as a percentage of the full 9th grade enrollment 4 years earlier as the graduation rate calculation.)
On Saturday morning, 1-8-11, I for the first time heard Tony Tovar speak in front of a large group. He was amazing! It is obvious he loves his job! I now believe more firmly than ever that he is the main reason for the Sunset progress. I had been told that often, and now I have seen the evidence in person. He is the type leader within DISD who they must pay much better than they do. If he remains the principal at Sunset for the next decade it is certain we will obtain graduation rates even 35% higher than the wonderful Class of 2010 achievement.
It is very sad that issues such as the “Rogers Issue” are fabricated to cast DISD in a negative light, and then get all this press coverage. Meanwhile, wonderfully positive progress, such as that at Sunset, get no press. Why?
@I’madisdteacher 2,
sigh.
In which post did I say the Rogers were wrong?
Why don’t you reread my post on Jan 14 at 4:43 pm? I hope to God you’re not a reading teacher because you are not a very good reader.
How about my post at 5pm where I reiterate that I don’t think the Rogers are wrong to pursue a spot?
You are a good cheerleader, maybe. An astute, careful reader? Not so much.
In which post did I say the Rogers were waiting to sneak in and steal a spot?
If you really could read, you would see that I DID say that since DISD collects tax dollars, DISD cannot play favorites and that DISD shouldn’t have made an exception for anyone.
We in the US count on equal treatment regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, or wealth.
And just so you know, I am well informed. Very well informed. And I know what’s up when I see it. So did Healey or she wouldn’t be quoted saying the things she said after the fact.
You don’t seem to be well informed.
You don’t seem to be able to read blog posts.
Just because I am not, unlike you, trying to score points with the Rogers doesn’t mean I hold them responsible for the district person’s actions.
Grow up and get some discernment.
As a parent of Hexter (10 years, in fact)…the first time I ever met Tim and his wife was at the school carnival when their son (now in middle school) was in kindergarten. They were decorating their class booth…then they worked the entire carnival..since no one else had signed up to help then they stayed to clean up. Over the years, they have spent countless hours of their time volunteering at Hexter and they have helped raise thousands of dollars for this school helping to make it the “gem” it has grown to be. I would even go as far to say that the Rogers family probably puts more time and effort into their school than probably 99.9% of most DISD parents. As a an active parent at Hexter I also realize that probably 90% (probably more) of those “disadvantaged” parents never step foot in the doors of Hexter unless they are just there for a performance. I think it is a total shame (and desperate) that the Dallas Morning News finds this story even news worthy. I love our little school and I just feel really bad for the Rogers family and especially Ms. Healey (and staff!!) who work so hard for our wonderful Blue Ribbon school…Surely there is more important news in our city than trying to bring down a school that has worked so hard to be where they are.
@downtowner:
If we can still have a mile and an inch and a yard in the face of meters and liters, then by God we can still have two spaces after our periods.
If a typewriter was good enough for Shakespeare, then two spaces is good enough for D Magazine.
To Comrade DISD Teacher:
Get a life! Do some lesson plans!
@I’madisdteacher2 – DISD Teacher has a life – it is about hating DISD. And I suspect if you scratched further, you’d find he/she hates the parents, the students, and probably 90% of his/her coworkers.
“we as taxpayers should not be forced to keep giving our money to corrupt, broken, favorites-playing systems like DISD.”
Fine, PUT YOUR FEET WHERE YOUR MOUTH WALKS and QUIT YOUR JOB, because I really don’t feel good about my tax dollars going to pay for your salary, insurance and pension.
May I point out: these comments are moderated by D Magazine’s staff. It says volumes about Tim and D Magazine that they were willing to host this very personal discussion.
Tim: I hope this weekend’s unpleasantness means everyone will have gotten this out of their systems. I hope these last comments mark the end of this issue for your family’s sake. All the best to you and yours.
just another lefty who is guilt ridden and now gets the light on them
The world is filled with idiots, and it appears a lot of them post comments on the DMN website!
@DISD Teacher – I sure hope you aren’t an English teacher! I believe the term for I’madisdteacher 2′s post would be “hyperbole”
And as for RAB – Don’t even get me started on the two spaces after a period! As a designer, I spend HOURS deleting that extra space when importing Word docs sent to me from… well… should I say “older folks” who apparently think they are still using typewriters and haven’t quite moved into the current century.
Anyone posting here read the OPR report? The initial email Rogers sent Dahlander is titled “pissed at Hexter”. Does that sound like he thinks the world of her? And on page 12 and 14, and in other references to phone chats between Steerman and Healey and Rogers,who knows what “threats” were implied about forthcoming unflattering articles, since the phone conversations aren’t part of the record. Looks like a decision was made to throw Steerman under the bus for “making up” these stories. This investigation isn’t very complete. A few unanswered questions here.
@PR
I agree that the DMN’s article is mostly retaliation by the DMN against D Publishing. I also do not believe that Tim threatened to write an expose. DISD has been championed by Wick partly as a counterpoint to the DMN’s harsh and warranted coverage of the failing school district. Even though Tim has already taken one of his kids out of public school, if would not look good if he pulled both kids out of DISD.
Regardless, Tim has once again publicly displayed immature decision making. An email titled, “Pissed at Hexter”? Threatening to pull your kids from DISD because you cannot get into a program for low income kids? D Magazine may be a “lifestyle” magazine, but its blogs and print products are followed by Dallas’ powerful most influential people. (They say so, right?) Clearly, the admins at DISD felt threatened by the power of Tim’s pen.
Unlike Tim’s other public transgressions in the last 2 years, I’m pretty sure Wick will not punish him for this one. And that makes me happy because he does not deserve a demotion in this case.
Tim, what you did was wrong on many levels. You’re a hypocrite for pretending to support the principal and going behind her back to central office. You should have “manned up” and sat down with the principal face-to-face to discuss your concerns. If you still disagreed with her, you should have contacted the principal’s supervisor. Jon Dahlander does not supervise campus administrators. There is a chain of command in any operation, and you deliberately circumvented it. You were trying to use your “clout” as one of D’s editors. Now you have created a stressful situation for the remainder of the time that you are a Hexter parent. Behind the scenes the teachers will be praying that your child is not assigned to their classroom. Do not be surprised if your superlative principal decides to transfer to another school or another district so that she will not have to deal with a parent who volunteers at the school for selfish, personal reasons. How much you have volunteered at Hexter is about as relevant to this issue as your praise for Dahlander’s abilities as a pianist.
Tim that’s why DISD has special schools to keep people like you in the district.The justification for using Federal funds is “At Risk Low Income students”.The way most kids get in is same way yours did,call who you know in Front Office,you would not have called them if you had not expected special consideration.
All I know about this is what I read in the paper. And here. But I’ll toss this in:
1) Anybody who thinks DMN reporters give a fly fart, such that it would affect their professional judgment, about whether or not D or anybody in it has criticized the paper hasn’t ever met anybody in the newsroom. Not saying there’s never been any schadenfreude between the two staffs, but revenge on D? Puh-leeze.
2) The most amazing thing to me is that a DISD official would express fear of a D mag “expose” by someone who 98% of Dallas residents have never heard of. That’s not a knock, Tim. I am *totally* impressed you carry that clout…1:-{)>
3) No kidding: Where the real scandal lies here is likely not in Rogers’ attempt to get a slot, unless he actually did imply a threat. (Though working through Dahlander was probably not your best move. In a “Caesar’s wife” world, that whiffs of trading on your professional relationship with the head PR guy at the district even if that’s not so.) The scandal would be that people in the district would be so frightened of bad pub that they’d be willing to tilt the machine. If they were willing to do so for Rogers, who ain’t exactly top of mind outside of these here parts (sorry, Tim), are there others who have had rules bent for them?
4) Anybody who puts two spaces after a period should be tarred and feathered with Wite-Out and Post-It Notes.
Why can DISD talk about these private matters and release emails or records pertaining to a student? Isn’t it a violation of FERPA to release information referring to a child?
Christ on toast I was bored one paragraph in and I still think DISD stinks on ice.
@Me: I would assume the DMN made a request for documents related to the investigation (including Tim’s e-mails) under the Texas Public Information Act. Government entities are required to disclose information under the PIA except in limited circumstances. If you look at the e-mails, DISD blacked out the family’s names, pronouns that would have identified the gender of the child, and some other information, such as references to how long the Rogers’ son was at the school.
@downtowner: I saw that the documents were redacted, but there was a large portion of one of the blog posts (on frontburner, I presume) that would allow someone to confirm the identity. Presumably the DMN knew with some level of confidence who the documents referred to. If there was enough information for someone to be able to infer the identity of the child, then FERPA is an issue in my opinion. I’m not a lawyer, but I’d consult one if I was Tim. It’s pretty crappy for DISD to feed this issue. Either there’s a problem, in which case DISD has responsibility for not following its rules, or there’s not a problem and DISD should have told the DMN that. To leave Rodgers, his wife and daughter in the uncertainty zone just because they are public figures is unfair. Why should the child suffer because her parent is a public figure? How can anyone be criticized for fighting for the best for their child? DISD is the only one that could be at fault in this situation, and the DMN for wasting time on this when there are so many other issues at DISD that deserve their attention.
Tim, it’s Monday morning, and as a number of commenters have pointed out, there are a few unanswered questions still hanging out there that you have yet to address (going over Healey’s head to Dahlander, calling her “uncharacteristically unhelpful”, the “Pissed at Hexter” email, your wife’s alleged apology, etc.)
You’re the one who opened the door and brought this silly little drama to our attention. I for one would have been completely unaware of the “Rogers Situation” if you hadn’t mentioned it. It would be a shame if your calculated attempt to get out in front of the DMN story ended up wrecking your credibility.
I am surprised nobody’s jumped on this stupid post from Momof2:
“…you are taking a slot when there are clearly eligible children on the waiting list whose parents just may not know about the openings…”
So then therefore it is up to the rest of Dallas to make sure that every single parent within the DISD knows everything that they should know about all the rules, etc., before what? We all have the same resources whether you like it or not. If some parent doesn’t “know about the openings” then that’s that parent’s problem, and not ours!
the real tragedy here is that an entire investigation was launched, with accompanying 90 page document. for all you taxpayers on here crowing about waste – try adding up all of the resources and hours that went into this joke. some poor kid could probably have had full tuition for a few years for what all of this has cost you.
“Go Hexter Hawks!”
Wow, that is about the pinnacle of sorriness.