Just now there was an NPR news brief (yes, I'm a nerd, I listen to the classical music station at work) saying there was a massive Cabinet change underway. Resigning Cabinet members include John Ashcroft (I knew that already), Colin Powell, and Rod Paige (Education secretary, formerly of Houston ISD). I wonder what's up with all this?

<a href='http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4170163' target='_blank'>http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.p...storyId=4170163</a>

lauramac Wrote:I wonder what's up with all this?

None of this is strange, honestly. Most cabinet members don't carry over. Usually they are tired of being in the limelight or just want to go back to the private sector where the real money is.

Ah. Thanks for the info!

lauramac Wrote:Just now there was an NPR news brief (yes, I'm a nerd, I listen to the classical music station at work) saying there was a massive Cabinet change underway. Resigning Cabinet members include John Ashcroft (I knew that already), Colin Powell, and Rod Paige (Education secretary, formerly of Houston ISD). I wonder what's up with all this?

<a href='http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4170163' target='_blank'>http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.p...storyId=4170163</a>

Well, all the advancements that Rod Paige was credited for in HISD were exposed as frauds and down-right sleazy methods to keep the worst scoring students from taking the tests that mattered.

...students who dropped out (there are MASSIVE #'s of them in Houston) were listed as "transfers"...

...students were held in 9th grade for several years and then promoted to 11th grade (or they would "transfer") so they could avoid the 10th grade test that counted in the performance statistics...

I'm not surprised that he's not sticking around.

99Tiger Wrote:Well, all the advancements that Rod Paige was credited for in HISD were exposed as frauds and down-right sleazy methods to keep the worst scoring students from taking the tests that mattered.

So they "transferred" to "home-schooling" or something, eh? I never knew about that. (I guess I was up in CT when all this started coming out? I usually only read the sports page of the Comical online.)

I was already glad I was in Aldine ISD and never went to an HISD school -- now, even more so!