Disqus - Latest Comments for steveterrell

Re: Daily Home - High numbers of Sylacauga students reporting illnesses

steveterrell — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 15:05:22 -0000

Good job Brandon!

I applaud Mrs. Riggins and everyone else in the system for working with what they have; their hands are tied, however. More active involvement by the local government and school board is needed; there seems to be a lot of stalling going on at that level.

How can children wash their hands when there is no soap and paper towels in the restrooms? Is hand-sanitizer alone the answer? Personally, I wouldn't want a kid who has just sat on a toilet coming into my classroom and asking for sanitizer!

Second, has anyone been to the high school recently? There are rooms with 25 to 28 desks in a room built for probably 18 to 20; this doesn't include the teacher's equipment, desk, bookcases, etc. How can kids keep three feet apart from one another when they're basically sitting in each other's laps? We need a new high school. I’m tired of politicians telling me why we can’t do it; tell me how we can.

Speaking of the high school, has anyone gone and looked around in there lately? I don't know which is sicker - the children or the building itself. The infestation of mold there cannot be contributing to the good health of the children, staff, administration and faculty. At least, if they’re going to keep SHS as it is, clean it up.

Third, we're hearing that 4.5% of the kids absent from the high school have the flu, 33% at Nichols-Lawson (I think that's a typo in the article; it says Pinecrest twice); 22% at Pinecrest and 5% at Indian Valley? Does that distribution make any sense at all? Aren't these kids representing the same families at different age levels and schools? I think "these numbers may go up" is an understatement at best.

Fourth, everyone is looking forward to the vaccine but that bothers me. First, researchers have yet to determine whether it will take one or two injections to combat a pandemic flu. Second, no one is sure when it will come out; September or October. Third, even after the immunization, it takes a period of time for it to become effective.

I could go on but hopefully the point is made. Come on school board; if you need to, close the building for a week or two and wait for this to pass; if you don't, you run the real risk of it getting far worse. While it's closed, clean it up so they don't walk back into the same virus.

Steve Terrell

Re: Daily Home - Marble Festival for 2010 is moved to March 24-27

steveterrell — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 09:36:54 -0000

Darn it; I just noticed that I cut myself off before I was finished.

Being on the technology planning committee for Sylacauga Schools, I know that we have a severe lack of high-quality computing technology for our kids. We run the very real risk of graduating students who are so technologically behind their peers from other schools, it's embarrassing. This is especially true of our students from lower socioeconomic families who don't have the same computing resources at home as their more affluent classmates.

Having said that, perhaps the use of Skype can be a win-win situation for all involved. The festival organizing committee can raise or procure funds for technology to use the Skype software and, after that, the equipment can be donated to the schools.

Our admin, teachers and students are doing the best they can with what they've got; they just don't have a lot to work with.

Re: Daily Home - Marble Festival for 2010 is moved to March 24-27

steveterrell — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 08:40:14 -0000

I use Skype quite frequently in teaching distance education classes. It is a wonderful tool but the audio/video combination only works well if you have a high-speed Internet connection and up-to-date technology with which to run it; see the bottom of this page for technical requirements:

http://www.skype.com/downlo...

The software, itself, is free but the hardware and ancillary items such as Skype-quality headphones, web-cams, etc, can be very expensive. This isn't something that one just hears about and puts into place; especially on a wide scale.

Re: Daily Home - SHS gets donation of paper from churches

steveterrell — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 10:01:40 -0000

Uh, and Deb, you might want to read the last paragraph. They want to give to Comer - call them.

Re: Daily Home - SHS gets donation of paper from churches

steveterrell — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 09:54:24 -0000

Deb - I don't have anything to do with the paper the churches gave, but I can tell you this. There are those of us who are constantly begging anyone and everyone for supplies for our kids in Sylacauga.

The parents have to get out and make some noise; you can't sit back and wait on someone to bring it to you. Look at the site:

www.adoptaclassroom.org

We've already set up Sylacauga Schools on there and are contacting thousands of graduates, businesses, etc, to get them involved. The money is slowly trickling in; any donation is better than no donation.

You can do the same; just go to the website, enroll Comer and everything you need to start raising money is there.

Steve

Re: Daily Home - Mayor authorized to apply for more than $1 million to improve airport

steveterrell — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 11:02:27 -0000

Stacy - I'm still waiting to see your name appear on adoptaclassroom! Come on, are you talking crap or are you going to help out? st

Re: Daily Home - Mayor authorized to apply for more than $1 million to improve airport

steveterrell — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 23:37:48 -0000

Thanks, you're right on target. I realize those grants cannot be used for purposes other than those they are designated for. My problem is that it seems the city government, the school board, etc, aren't looking for the grants that can help the majority of the people. The high school needs to be replaced but I hear there is no money; what are the other communities in Alabama with new high schools doing that we're not? The answer - looking for money in the right place.

Here in our own back yard, we have Talladega and Winterboro getting money/contributions for technology; what are we doing? I've gone so far as to provide them with a 40 page document of grant opportunities from the National School Board Association but to no avail - they want to pay a stipend of $15K to a "grant writer"; that's not a part time job!

I feel bad for the administrators, students and teachers in Sylacauga; no one is watching out for them.

Re: Daily Home - Blue Bell continues to help Sylacauga

steveterrell — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 23:29:54 -0000

A big thank you to Bluebell for their generous contribution to:

www.adoptaclassroom.org

Their money goes directly to the classroom and benefit the students of SHS!

Re: Daily Home - Schools ready for swine flu

steveterrell — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 19:56:03 -0000

Sounds like their might be a flu outbreak in Sylacauga already. Too bad they don't have soap and paper towels in their restrooms.

Re: Daily Home - Indian Valley puts emphasis on reading

steveterrell — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 19:53:58 -0000

This is a great program! Let's get behind these teachers with tax-deductible donations that go directly to the teacher and can only be used to buy supplies and tools for their classroom.

www.adoptaclassroom.org

Search for Sylacauga and then choose a teacher to send a donation to. Again, this is 100% tax-deductible and the money can only be spent by the teacher you name.

Re: Daily Home - Mayor authorized to apply for more than $1 million to improve airport

steveterrell — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 18:59:23 -0000

BG -

Let's see if Stacy can put her money where her mouth is.

Stacy,

First, name the company that chose not to relocate here because of the airport.

Second, you called me out, I'm calling you out:

www.adoptaclassroom.org

Re: Daily Home - Mayor authorized to apply for more than $1 million to improve airport

steveterrell — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 18:54:44 -0000

Hi Stacy -

I'll write this describing what I've done and then I'll be watching for your efforts to improve this town.

First, check out www.adoptaclassroom.org

Find Sylacauga schools and then select a teacher to contribute to. I set this up for the schools. At last count, we have well over $500 in there - funds that go directly to the teachers. I donated money there and I have also personally donated several hundred dollars worth of supplies. I have contacted over 1000 people and am begging for donations; it's not below me to do whatever I can to help kids.

Second, grant writing is a skill I don't have. Having worked at a university for 25 years, I have seen plenty of grant writers and the good ones are worth their salary. I do know that you can't just say, "here, write a grant in your spare time" - it takes hours and hours of focused effort to write a good grant. I serve on the technology advisory board in Sylacauga Schools; I've supplied them with a list of potential grant sources - hopefully they'll follow up.

I was the keynote speaker at the opening of the schools here and told the teachers we need more technology, better technology and the time to effectively integrate it into the learning process; I'm willing to help. I've spoken all over the United States re that; hopefully we can get something done here. If you want to see a partial list of what I've done and who I've worked with, go to:

http://www.scis.nova.edu/~t...

In short, I don't just talk, I act. Having said that, I'll be waiting for you to stop talking and help: www.adoptaclassroom.org; please choose one of the elementary or middle school teachers, they need it.

Thanks in advance for your contribution; I'll post here and dog you bad unless I see it, LOL!!

Steve

Re: Daily Home - ACCESS a bright spot in Alabama education

steveterrell — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 10:51:33 -0000

Hi lbaily -

Your brother's situation isn't surprising; online programs like ACCESS aren't for everyone. All students have a preferred learning style and his may not have matched the environment that ACCESS offers. Some folks need the face-to-face interaction of the classroom.

I've published quite a bit in this field; you might want to read this journal article. It deals with students in graduate school but the underlying ideas about learning style are the same regardless of the level:

http://www.westga.edu/~dist...

ACCESS is a wonderful tool. In my opinion it's a bit under-used locally but that can always be remedied.

Steve Terrell

Re: Daily Home - Mayor authorized to apply for more than $1 million to improve airport

steveterrell — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 21:35:39 -0000

Sorry, the second link didn't post:

http://www.nsba.org/Seconda...

Re: Daily Home - Mayor authorized to apply for more than $1 million to improve airport

steveterrell — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 21:33:48 -0000

As long as I'm ranting, let me make an analogy:

I lived out West for some time. Right outside of El Paso there were literally thousands of miles of desert; as far as the eye could see. We could have spent a billion dollars and built the most beautiful bridge in the world but, guess what? When anyone got to the end of the bridge they found a desert!!! There was no other reason to go out there!!

The same could hold true for Sylacauga; we could build the best airport in the world and what would it get us? Nothing! People have to have a reason to fly somewhere; let's make Sylacauga a "destination". We could start by providing one of the best school systems in Alabama.

I know, some people are going to scream, "We made AYP!" and that's true. Remember, however, that the "A" in AYP stands for "Adequate". Our kids deserve more than adequate; we have to give students and teachers EVERYTHING they need in order to be successful; working in a sick building with no supplies doesn't get them very far. It all boils down to "NO Child Left Behind"; notice the emphasis is on "NO".

Just for starters, governmental officials, here are two documents filled with grant opportunites:

http://www.alsde.edu/html/g...

http://www.nsba.org/Seconda...

STEVE TERRELL

Re: Daily Home - Mayor authorized to apply for more than $1 million to improve airport

steveterrell — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 20:38:03 -0000

OK, so they improve the airport; who the hell is going to fly into there? The guy that parachuted out over Harpersville? Give me one reason that any big business would relocate here just because we have an airport with more hanger space. WAKE UP - business is leaving here; it's going to take more than this to lure them back!

There are far more important grants they could apply for; if they can't find them, call me because I can point them in the right direction. For example, Microsoft has over $1 billion available for technology improvements for schools. The National School Board Association has a 40-page document filled with hundreds of other educationally related grant opportunities - right on their web-site!! It doesn't take Albert Einstein to find these things; just a grant writer (which they apparently have) to get motivated about something other than lining the pockets of a priviledged few.

Our high school has no soap and paper towels in the bathrooms; $28 thousand could fix that problem, at least temporarily! Given the swine flu scare, I would much rather have healthy kids than an airport that no one is going to fly into!

WAKE UP folks! SHS is filled with mold; it keeps growing every time it rains because the roof leaks! The same building has NUMEROUS other problems; if you don't believe me, ask the Daily Home to print some pictures; I'll be glad to supply them. People are getting sick from it!

Our government needs to quit applying for grants for the airport, sidewalks and a school cafeteria; they need to quit even thinking about rebuilding EHHS when SHS has so many building violations that the inspectors would be there for days! They need to focus on building educational facilities that are fit for humans to work and study in.

If you're worried about putting people to work in Sylacauga; rebuilding SHS would give a lot of folks jobs!

Our kids are the future of Sylacauga; our leaders need to quit paying lip service and start acting like it!

Here's my name in big gigantic letters!

STEVE TERRELL

Re: Daily Home - Ready or not ... school begins Monday

steveterrell — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 14:41:04 -0000

Hey Jim - it's good to hear from you!

I think, first and foremost, we have to continue congratulating the faculty and administration for the hard work they're doing despite the lack of necessary tools and supplies. From Mrs. Riggins on down, they are working with their hands tied.

There are so many ways to improve. For example, one of the grants that the NSBA mentions is the ability to get "used" technology from the government; heck, anything is better than nothing! The schools are mandated to use technology but, like I said, around here it's like planning a road trip and figuring out afterwards that you don't have a car!

I think a lot of folks are fed up, we just need to band together. The school board needs to serve, not sit.

Steve

Re: Daily Home - Ready or not ... school begins Monday

steveterrell — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 12:33:38 -0000

Thanks Larry.

I ran into about 8 or 10 teachers/administrators at church this morning who told me how much they appreciated what I said on opening day. I told them my wife has tenure now, so I can say whatever I need to - it's all about the kids.

I also ran into one school board member and I told him they need to step up to the plate; the bathrooms at SHS don't have paper towels or soap; he said he would order some - he just doesn't get it.

I had to explain to him that the big picture is more important; our kids, teachers and administrators need to be supported if they expect to continue meeting AYP or, better yet, surpassing it - remember, the ultimate goal is to reach "No Child Left Behind". This ranges from something as small as soap to better technology and ultimately, a new high school. For those who haven't been in SHS recently, it needs to be torn down and replaced. There's no sense in putting money into refurbishing East Highland, or any of the other silly projects that the City of Sylacauga supports, when ALL of the children of the community need better than they have.

They'll be hearing a lot more from me.

Steve Terrell

Re: Daily Home - Ready or not ... school begins Monday

steveterrell — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 09:07:53 -0000

Patrick Littleton is right on target; Sylacauga schools face a lot of challenges. Unfortunately, so many of them come from the board and local government. Here's what I wrote in response to another article.

...I spoke at the opening of Sylacauga City Schools and am very impressed with their AYP. The people to congratulate are the teachers and administrators; unfortunately they have nearly non-existent support from the school board and local government. The teachers have very few supplies and are spending their own hard-earned money to buy even the basics – including soap and paper towels for the restrooms! Pipe dreams such as better computing technology and a state-of-the-art media center are just that - dreams.

I pointed out to the audience that the National School Board Association (NSBA) expects local school boards to hold school systems accountable, but that is a two-way street. The teachers, school administrators and public need to hold the school board accountable as well.

For example, the administration of Sylacauga Schools is charged with developing a technology-plan. As I told the audience, in our case, that's somewhat akin to planning a road trip to Seattle and then figuring out you have no car! Sylacauga Schools need more and better technology and the board can help by allowing the schools to hire a full-time grant writer. The NSBA's web-site has a 40-page document showing currently available grant money from literally hundreds of sources (e.g., Microsoft's $1 billion for school improvement). Why hasn’t the board hired anyone to go after it? They need a professional grant writer whose job it is to go after money; it shouldn’t be just someone who does it “in their spare time” – they don’t have spare time!

As I've already pointed out to the board in a public forum, their plans for adding a new cafeteria to SHS is a complete waste of money! They may have gotten those funds for that purpose but they don't have to use them; get money for a new school!

One thing is to sit on a school board; another is to serve. They should be serving and working for the kids!

The government in Sylacauga is too busy wasting money on statues for the front of city hall, a marble festival that very few attended and have the audacity to even suggest refurbishing East Highland School when the current high school is in horrible shape! I heard a lot of officials giving lip-service to supporting the schools but I'm not seeing it happen. Let’s go government, step up to the plate!

I have enrolled Sylacauga City Schools at www.adoptaclassroom.org. Let me encourage all teachers to enroll their classes and for everyone to consider a tax-deductible donation. All money from this program goes directly to the teachers and they’re able to buy discounted supplies from companies working with the program.

My closing thought to the audience on Thursday was this – "it’s all about the kids". The teachers and administrators already know this. The board and local government need to figure that out.

Steve Terrell

Re: Daily Home - Progress made at area schools

steveterrell — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 22:26:25 -0000

I spoke at the opening of Sylacauga City Schools and am very impressed with their AYP. The people to congratulate are the teachers and administrators; unfortunately they have nearly non-existent support from the school board and local government. The teachers have very few supplies and are spending their own hard-earned money to buy even the basics – including soap and paper towels for the restrooms! Pipe dreams such as better computing technology and a state-of-the-art media center are just that - dreams.

One thing is to sit on a school board; another is to serve. They should be serving and working for the kids!

My closing thought to the audience on Thursday was this – "it’s all about the kids". The teachers and administrators already know this. The board and local government need to figure that out.

Steve Terrell