Standard-Examiner: Utah SAGE Test Results Illuminate Math Struggles - Updated

Hoping that State Schools Superintndent Brad Smith does not lead the state system to the same horrible results he has achieved in Ogden

By: Blackrulon:

The results of statewide testing of schools (SAGE) has been released. Ogden School District posted results of 28.1% in Language Arts, 20.3% in Mathemetics and 26.8% in Science:

• Utah SAGE test results illuminate math struggles

The State of Utah has selected former Ogden school District Superintendent Brad Smith to lead education in Utah. I only hope that he does not lead the state system to the same horrible results he has achieved in Ogden.

Update 10/29/14 8:30 a.m.: Interesting story from the Salt Lake Tribune, reporting that Utah Charter School SAGE test performance was merely on par with that of Utah public schools:

• Charter schools match state performance on SAGE

Click the link below to find out how your children’s specific schools performed:

• Utah Department of Education SAGE Results Database

Standard-Examiner: Non-renewed Ogden Teachers Question the System

It's time for a thorough Ogden School Board "house-cleaning," wethinks

Eye-opening Becky Wright story from the Standard-Examiner, profiling the plight of former Ogden High School chemistry teacher Jennifer Claesgens, "one of 17 provisional teachers who received notices from Ogden School District that their contracts would not be renewed." Here's the lede:

Jennifer Claesgens’ resume boasts a Ph.D. in science and mathematics education, with an emphasis in chemistry, experience teaching high school, and four years as an assistant professor at Northern Arizona University’s Center for Science Teaching and Learning. When she married a man from Ogden, Claesgens left the university to become the new chemistry teacher at Ogden High School.
Before the school year was over, Claesgens received notice that her contract with Ogden School District was not going to be renewed for the coming year. She was stunned.
“I actually looked at them and said, ‘This is the first I’ve heard that there was a problem,’ ” she recalled, thinking back to a meeting with her principal and other district administrators. “I asked, ‘What’s the basis of this?’ and they said ‘goodness of fit.’ ”

Check out the full text and embedded video here:

• Non-renewed Ogden teachers question the system

Our take-away concerning academically well-qualified Ms. Claesgens’ sudden blind-siding by the Ogden School District Administration?

"Toe the line (and keep your mouth shut.)"

In our view, today's story is symptomatic of the greater problem in the Ogden School District, of course, where OSD Schools Superintendent Brad Smith has ruthlessly dismantled much of the previously existing OSD personnel infrastructure over the past few years.

Happily, there will be a remedy for the OSD's heavy-handed treatment of Ogden school teachers coming up in November, O Gentle Ones, as all three Ogden School Board incumbents who will stand for re-election in our Ogden School Board races face well-qualified challengers, who are poised to change the Superintendent Brad Smith-centric culture of the Ogden School Board:

District #2 - 4 year term
Steven L. Marker - Incumbent
Douglas B. Barker - Challenger

District # 4 - 2 year term
Jeffrey Heiner - Incumbent
Dori Stauffer Mosher - Challenger

District #7 - 4 year term
Joyce J. Wilson - Incumbent
Aaron G. Garza - Challenger

Our advice for Ogden residents concerning in the upcoming 2014 Ogden School Board Elections?

Write this down so you don't forget it, folks!

It's time for a thorough Ogden School Board "house-cleaning," wethinks.

Standard Examiner Crackpot Guest Op-ed:We Need Highly Effective Teachers in the Classroom

The day of reckoning is coming on hard and fast, as the 2014 General election approaches

Seems we're seeing the first few volleys in the 2014 Ogden City School Board race As one of our   soon-to-be ex-Ogden School District Board member, Joyce Wilson, delivers this Steaming Load of Guest Op Excrement:

• We need highly effective teachers in the classroom

Write this down so you don't forget it, O Gentle Readers, as these nitwit Ogden School Board incumbents, who bow down to the evil Ogden Schools Superintendent  i.e,. Brad Smith, erringly try to advance his mindless Crackpot Tea Party Theory, and are about get their comeuppance.

The day of reckoning is coming on hard and fast, as the 2014 General election approaches.

Standard-Examiner Guest Editorial - Tea Party-type Shane Story Sez (With a Totally Straight Face): "Ogden District Making Progress'"

The time to fix the problems with the Ogden School Board happened yesterday...It's WAY past time to get seriously moving on this, folks

Humdinger of a guest editorial in the Standard-Examiner, wherein soon to be un-elected Ogden School Board Chairman Shane Story finally comes out of hiding, and responds publicly to the crushing series of recent revelations in re the Ogden School District, including, but not limited to Fired Librarians, Volunteer Reading Coach "kill-offs", "snuffing" Adult education, Flunking politically important tests, committing gross fiscal malfeasance and now the distressing news that Ogden School District teachers are fleein' in droves, whew!

And the latest insult to Ogden school system "management" (so-called), to which Mister Story finally responds publicly, after a long silence... to yesterday's strong Standard Examiner editorial, perhaps?

• Our View: Teachers' departures a concern

Alternatively and/or collectively however, it might have also been this hard-hitting and troubling S-E reportorial piece which brought soon-to-be ousted dimwit Ogden School Board Chairman Story outta his shell:

• Standard-Examiner: Ogden School District Teacher Departures At 7-year High 

Finally, after these harsh Standard-Examiner slams, our little "tea-party-style" Ogden School Board "pipsqeek," Mr. Story, finally steps into the fray, and tries to esplain away why, even under his brillliant "leadership," the Ogden City School District still doesn't still quite "cut it" yet:

• Ogden district making progress

Added bonus: Check out the S-E comments section, wherein a stunning variety of actual Ogden City school-teachers set the record straight.

Too bad that they can't all post under their own true names, lest Mr. Story and Superindent Smith might "render them" into involuntary retirement.

Mark your calenders, folks.  The Ogden City School Board election comes up in a mere 12 months,wherein this constant Weber County Forum meme has never been so true:

Bottom line, here's what we expect to be the result in the upcoming 2014 Ogden School Board Elections, despite Mr. Story's self-serving spin, and assuming that the heretofore "sleepy" Ogden Lumpenproletariat get off their derrieres and come up with more than a few decent replacement candidates:

The time to fix the problems with the Ogden School Board happened yesterday.

It's WAY past time to get seriously moving on this, folks, say we.

Standard-Examiner: Ogden School District Teacher Departures At 7-year High

"Let us hope the trend of uncommonly high departures extends to school board incumbents at the next election"

Via comment board heavyweight Bob Becker, we adopt this pointed and concise comment, which we'll shamelessly incorporate as our morning article lede:

Interesting article that finally puts some hard numbers to the many comment-board rumors of experienced teachers bailing on OSD. It seems they are, in unprecedented numbers.
Props to the reporter for not simply repeating the Supt's speculations as to the causes, and tracking down teachers who fled to ask them why. Good work.
Let us hope the trend of uncommonly high departures extends to school board incumbents at the next election.

Read the distressing full Standard-Examiner story here:

• Ogden School District teacher departures at 7-year high

And where does "the buck" stop, O Gentle Ones?

Mark your calenders, folks.

The 2014 Ogden School Board Elections are coming up a mere 366 days hence.

Deseret News: The Top 50 Elementary Schools in Utah According to the Utah Comprehensive Accountability System

Approaching the 2014 Ogden School Board elections with a new resolve, as seven Ogden elementary schools again "finish" at the bottom of the heap

Eye opening material provided this morning by another sharp-eyed and alert WCF reader:

"The stats are in, and it doesn't look good for Ogden School District. According to an article in the Deseret News, Ogden School District is not doing nearly as well as represented at [recent] board meetings":

• The top 50 elementary schools in Utah according to the Utah Comprehensive Accountability System

Here's the nitty-gritty:

"Ogden elementary schools that made the lost of 30 lowest in Utah for accountability":

#10 Odyssey at 42% proficient
#6 TO Smith at 42% proficient
#2 Dee at 33% proficient
#1 Madison at 31% proficient

"Both Ogden high schools made the list of 50 lowest in Utah":

#36 Ogden High School 75% below proficient
#19 Ben Lomond 58% below proficient.

"Ogden elementary schools that made the list of the lowest 30 in Utah
for test scores":

#47 Bonneville Elementary 58% below proficient
# 33 Heritage Elementary 50% below proficient
#13 Gramercy Elementary 42% below proficient

Weber County Forum has attempted in the past to generate interest in Ogden School Board elections without much success. Last go-round, we even made candidate recommendations, which were (unfortunately) mostly ignored:

Ogden School Board District Precinct 1:
Don Belnap ☠☠☠
David Tanner ☝
Allen Smith ☝

Ogden School Board District Precinct 5:
 Shane Story ☠☠☠
 J. Scott Handy ☝☝
Clark Hogan ☝
Jim Hutchins ☝☝☝

In view of these latest dismal scores, (which reflect,  we think, what happens when when non-educators are "given free Ogden School Board reign,") we're newly resolved, when Ogden School Board elections roll around again in 2014, to double down on our efforts to oust non-professional educators from positions of school board authority, and replace them with professional educators - you know - experts who actually have a clue what they're doing?

Can we see by a show of hands how many of our gentle WCF readers will join us in this?

And please -- pretty please with sugar on it -- don't let the cat get your tongue in re this pressing issue.

Standard-Examiner 2012 Election Special

The staff of the Standard has been working their tails off putting this all together folks; and the effort shows

As we edge to within 10 days of the November 6, 2012 election, we'll direct our readers' attention to a robust collection of articles from this morning's Standard-Examiner Election 2012 Special Edition. The staff of the Standard has obviously been working their tails off putting this all together folks, and the effort shows. Read up, folks:

• Senate 19: Medical professionals battle for senate 
• Senate 20: State Senate District 20
• House 7: State House District 7
• House 8: State House District 8
• House 9: State House District 9
• House 10: State House District 10
• House 11: State House District 11
• House 12: State House District 12
• House 29: State House District 29
• WC Commission: Economy top issue in (Weber) commission
• OSB1: Ogden School Board 1 
• OSB5: Ogden School Board 5  
• SSB1: State School Board 1 
• SSB4: State School Board 4  
• WSB4: Weber School Board 4

Amidst all the above information pieces, The Standard also makes its first 2012 endorsement on this morning's editorial page, concerning the 2012 U.S. Senate race:

• Standard-Examiner editorial: Our View: Scott Howell for U.S. Senate

Many of us have been saying for years that it's time to put Senator-for-Life Orrin Hatch out to pasture, and it's encouraging, we think,  to see the Standard leaping aboard that bandwagon.

For further information about these candidates, and some others that the Standard left out, check out our Weber County Forum 2012 General Election Roster, which is also available in our right sidebar.

2012 Utah Primary Election Real-time Tallies - Updated

Grab your Orville Redenbachers' and pull up your Barcalounger easy chairs, as the Lt. Guv's website "scoreboard" begins to light up!

It's 8:00 p.m., and the polls are now closed.  If you'd like to follow real-time election results as they roll in this evening, click the link below, which will take you to the Utah Lieutenant Governors website.  Here's the Lt. Guv's main website link, for those readers who'd like to roam around and check out all Primary Election results, state-wide. Navigate the main menu in the left sidebar to view real-time tallies in every race in every jurisdiction around the state, from U.S. President to local school board :

• Utah Election Results - 2010 General Election Preliminary Results

For our WCF readers' convenience however, we'll cut to the chase. Here are the Lt. Guv's individual vote tally pages for the specific Weber County ballot races and issues which we've been closely following for the past few months:

• US Senate (GOP)
• US House of Representatives District 1 (Democrats)
• Governor (Constitution)  
• State Attorney General (GOP)
• State Auditor (GOP)
• Utah House District 29 (GOP)
• Ogden School Board District Precincts 1 and  5, etc.

Please take note that the latter link includes tallies on the $65 million Weber School District bonding proposal which evoked a fair number of reader comments under our WCF writeup just yesterday.

Alternately, WCF political wonks might want to try County Clerk/Auditor  Ricky Hatch's Weber County Election Office website.  We've been tracking this site over the years, and sometimes it's a little more timely than the Lt. Guv's above-linked pages, especially when the Lt. Guv's site gets overwhelmed:

• Weber County Elections 2012 Primary Results

Grab your Orville Redenbachers and pull up your Barcaloungers, folks, as the Lt. Guv's website "scoreboard" begins to light up!

Update 6/26/12 8:15 p.m.:  Patience, folks.  After seven years linking vote tallies in seven (countem 7) previous elections, we've learned that it often takes a half-hour or more to get the Lt. Guv's online voter count software moving to display the "real-time" vote tallies, (so called).

Final, Final, Final 2012 Utah Primary Election Reminder

Stay tuned for tomorrow evening's WCF article, where we'll reveal the results of tomorrow's 6/26/12 Utah Primary Election in real-time, as is our 7-year WCF custom

In advance of tomorrow's Utah Primary Election, we'll once again reiterate the Utah Primary Election data which we set forth in last Saturday's (6/12/12) WCF post, mercifully in even more brief form.  Here are your 6/26/12 Utah Primary Election candidates, folks, digested to the most possibly simple and basic format.

Just so's you'll get a feeling for the relative strength of our WCF preferences in regard to these primary candidates, for what it's worth, we've also taken the effort to attach little tell-tale emoticon icons below:

US Senate (GOP):
Orrin Hatch
Dan Liljenquist ☠☠☠

US House of Representatives District 1 (Democrats) :
 Ryan Combe ☝
 Donna McAleer ☝

State Auditor (GOP):
 John Dougall ☠☠☠
Auston Johnson ☝☝☝

Governor (Constitution):
Kirk D Pearson
Brandon W. Nay

State Attorney general (GOP):
 Sean Reyes ☝
 John Swallow ☠☠☠

Utah House District 29 (GOP):
Brad Galvez
Lee Perry

Ogden School Board District Precinct 1:
Don Belnap ☠☠☠
David Tanner ☝
Allen Smith ☝

Ogden School Board District Precinct 5:
 Shane Story ☠☠☠
 J. Scott Handy ☝☝
Clark Hogan ☝
Jim Hutchins ☝☝☝

Still a mite foggy about the issues involved in tomorrow's primary election?  Here; read this then:

• Weber County Forum Primary Election Writeups

The polls open at 7:00 a.m. tomorrow (6/26/2012), and close at 8:00 p.m.

Stay tuned for tomorrow evening's WCF article, where we'll reveal, around 8pm, the results of tomorrow's Utah Primary Election in real-time, as is our time-honored 7-year WCF custom.

Standard-Examiner: Pay, Teacher Morale Issues for Precinct 5 Ogden School Board Candidates

In truth, there are several great choices in the Precinct Five race, none of whom answers to the name Shane Story

The Standard-Examiner is "firing on all cylinders" this morning, with this pre-Primary Election story, putting the spotlight on Ogden School District Precinct Five, wherein School Board incumbent Shane Story faces three challengers in the primary election — J. Scott Handy, Clark Hogan and Weber County Forum favorite Jim Hutchins:

• Pay, teacher morale issues for Ogden School Board candidates

In truth, there are several great choices in this race, none of whom, in our never-humble opinion, answers to the name Shane Story, however.  And in keeping with the theme of our earlier article this morning, wherein we touted the benefits of electing school board members who actually know a little something about public education, we'll remind our readers that Jim Hutchins is an actual professional educator too.

So who'll be the first to throw in their own 2¢?

The floor's open, O Gentle Ones.

Standard-Examiner: Don Belnap Challenged for Place on Ogden School Board

Novel Concept: Howbout electing a professional educator like David Tanner to "financial planner" Don Belnap's School Board slot?

As I reviewed the past performance of the school district in Ogden, I felt a little frustration. My feeling was that maybe they were not making decisions based on educational foundations. There isn’t, in fact, an educator on the Ogden School Board at all, and there are in Davis and Weber. I’m running because it’s time for an educator to step up to the plate and take the lead.

David Tanner - Precinct 1 Ogden School Board Candidate
Don Belnap challenged for place on Ogden School Board
June 21, 2012

To our considerable delight, the Standard-Examiner provides more information on Tuesday's upcoming  Ogden School Board Primary Election races, with the below-linked story focusing on the Ogden School Board’s Precinct One seat.  Read up folks... looks like it might come down to a two-man race, inasmuch as School Board challenger Allen Smith apparently doesn't believe its important to return S-E reporter Nancy Van Valkenburg's phone calls:

• Don Belnap challenged for place on Ogden School Board

Our take? Vote for anybody except board incumbent Don Belnap. This morning's S-E story informs us that, wonder of wonders, "David Tanner, 45, is a Weber School District educator, teach[es] fifth grade at North Park Elementary in Roy. "

Howbout this for a novel concept, folks? Howbout electing a professional educator like David Tanner to properly fill "financial planner" Don Belnap's School Board slot?

Just a thought.

Standard-Examiner: Primary Competition Should Raise Interest in 2012 Elections

Special invitation to those readers among us who are fully up to speed on Ogden School Board politics to chime in with your comments, informing us who are your School Board candidate favorites and which candidates don't cut the mustard, in your own ever-savvy opinions

As we advance to within ten days of the 2012 Utah Primary Election, the Standard-Examiner carries a timely Dave Greiling column this morning, highlighting a few of the contested races which will appear on Top of Utah primary ballots, published with the obvious journalistic intention of heightening reader interest in the upcoming June 26 Primary Election balloting:

• Competition should raise interest in 2012 elections

For the sake of clarity, we'll pick up where Dave left off, and summarize those contested races coming up on June 26, including both the races which Mr. Greiling highlighted, and also the ones he missed.  For the sake of simplicity, we've limited our summary to those races which will appear on Weber County Primary Election ballots only. In those instances where candidates have taken the trouble to publish campaign websites, we've also provided those live links:

US Senate (GOP): Orrin Hatch and Dan Liljenquist

US House of Reprentatives (Democrats) District 1: Ryan Combe and Donna McAleer

State Auditor (GOP): John Dougall and Auston Johnson

Governor (Constitution): Kirk D Pearson and Brandon W. Nay

State Attorney general (GOP): Sean Reyes and John Swallow

Utah House District 29 (GOP): Brad Galvez and Lee Perry

Ogden School Board District 1: Don Belnap, David Tanner and Allen Smith

Ogden School Board District 5: Shane Story, J. Scott Handy,  Clark Hogan and Jim Hutchins

We hope all Weber County Forum political wonks took action to make sure you were registered to vote on June 26, by beating last Monday's Primary Election voter registration deadline. Mr. Greiling also hits the nail on the head, wethinks, when he says, "[i]t will be interesting to see if the number of contested races this time around spurs more voters to go to the polls."

And what about these Ogden School Board races?  Except for Board incumbents Don Belnap and Shane Story, and one of your blogmeister's favorites, District 5 candidate and frequent WCF contributor Jim Hutchins, most of these School Board hopefuls are generally unknown around these parts.

In that connection, we'll issue our special invitation to those readers among us who are fully up to speed on Ogden School Board politics to chime in with your comments, informing us who are your School Board candidate favorites and which candidates don't cut the mustard, in your ever-savvy opinions. The same applies to any other candidates on the June 26 Primary Election ballot roster, of course.

The floor's open O Gentle Ones.

Who'll be the first to throw in your own ever-savvy observations and remarks?

Standard-Examiner: Full Slate of Candidates in Weber County

The Standard-Examiner is front and center in reporting on the upcoming 2012 Utah General Election this morning, with a story reporting on the "full slate" of candidates who've filed in Weber County for the various offices up for grabs this election cycle:

• Full slate of candidates in Weber County

Notably, for the first time within recent memory, no Weber County incumbent will stand unopposed this go-round, the Standard reports:

Two Utah House incumbents, Richard Greenwood, R-Roy, and Gage Froerer, R- Huntsville, looked to be unopposed for re-election until literally the last hour Thursday.

But their respective House District 12 and District 8 races drew Democratic challengers just before the close of business Thursday, said Weber County Elections Administrator Jennifer Morrell.

In the aftermath of Tuesday's highly-attended Democratic Party caucuses, it would appear that Weber County Democrats are approaching the 2012 election races with an encouraging new vigor.

Notable among those candidates who came in under the wire for yesterday's filing deadline is former Ogden City police Chief and "retired" one-term State Senator Jon Greiner, whose Commission candidacy we predicted in last week's WCF article. With three public "retirements" now already under his belt, Greiner is poised to become a "quadruple dipper," as he readies for the April 12 Weber County Republican Party Nominating Convention, where he'll attempt to battle it out for Craig Dearden's soon to be vacated Weber County Commission Seat against veteran County GOP warhorse Matt Bell, the current Weber County Republican Party Chairman.

We'll also make note of an important development in the Ogden School Board race, where Weber County Forum reader and past contributor Jim Hutchins has thrown his hat into the ring for the District 5 School Board seat.

Over the course of the next 233 days remaining until the November 6 General election, we'll be closely following the Ogden City School Board races. In recent years, the Ogden City School Board has suffered considerable mission creep, putting what should be the main object of providing robust education to Ogden's City's school children on the back burner, while recklessly sacrificing direly-needed tax increment dollars to equally reckless Ogden City economic development projects. In that connection, we'll be closely following and touting Mr. Hutchins' school board candidacy, and the candidacies of any other Ogden City School Board hopefuls who are likely to exhibit the necessary intelligence, energy and dedication toward restoring as a first priority the goal of excellence in the Ogden City School System .

Keep your eyes on our right sidebar 2012 Election Module, by the way, folks, where within the next day or two we're planning, if all goes well, to begin displaying the full array of election articles, websites, candidate profiles and all other information necessary to assist Weber County voters in making wise decisions for all contested offices in the 2012 Utah General Election races.