Parents Uniting for Nelson - Part 2

I struggle with the decision on when to break an active thread and start a "Part 2" but when I have to scroll through five screens totaling 90+ comments my indecision subsides.  If you have not read the whole of Part 1, do that first.  Once you are caught up on your homework, you can rejoin the conversation here since I'm sure it will continue because:

Mr. Nelson’s transfer from BHS to Aragon is on the District Board’s agenda for approval next Thursday night, March 24th. The meeting starts promptly at 7pm if you want to come and voice your support for Mr. Nelson during “Public Comment” which is right at the beginning of the meeting.  We each have an opportunity for “public comment” and up to 3 minutes each to speak.

I have pasted the 91st comment as the first comment of this Part 2 since I found it particularly on point.

Photo added April 16.

Comments

[Editor]

This is the bottom comment of 91 on Part 1 of this thread that you can find here: http://www.burlingamevoice.com/2016/02/parents-uniting-for-nelson.html

Laura writes:

I've been following this all since the beginning and as a BHS Alumni, it sickens me to read what has happened at BHS. What kind of a teacher stocks students for the sole purpose of using that information against students. What kind of teacher purposely tries to destroy a students future and what kind of school board, superintendent and principal helps to keep it covered up!! None that I would want around any child that I know!! I sure hope that when it comes time to vote this board out of office that the citizens rise up to do so. This type of behavior by the administrators needs to be stopped and stopped now. Those with information on this need to yell it from the rooftops so all can hear as destroying children's futures is unacceptable!

[Glenn Mendelson]

Citizens for Mr. Nelson and a better BHS!

I just learned from Dr. Skelly that we are to comment on Mr. Nelson’s transfer during Item N.1. on the agenda, not at the beginning of the meeting, now that it an "action" item on the agenda.

Public comment at the beginning of the meeting, is only for items not on the agenda.

Please pass this on and see you all Thursday night at 7pm.

United we stand!

Glenn Mendelson
cell: 650-759-5802

[CommunityConcerned]

Reading more of the document.

Murphy is working with another teacher- Karshan to get information on student . WTF is going on in that English Department?

[[email protected]]

When City, County or State law enforcement agencies are required to investigate "White Collar Crime" the FBI/Federal Government become involved.
To a casual observer, the this "Culture of Discrimination," by the Board of Education-(Race, Sex, economic status, not being a factor) make for a very difficult case to prosecute.
Once a San Mateo Board of Education Member, decides to come forward with conformation of these accusations that will eventually come out, then we can put this very "Weird" verifiable misconduct behind us.

[Kevin L]

Hello

I am tired of all of this, so there is change , get over it, lets move on.

Lets kill this thread!

Cheers
Kevin

[Glenn Mendelson]

When I went to BHS it was an excellent school with excellent teachers.

Great public school teachers are getting harder to find these days...particularly teachers who inspire students, encourage students to think for themselves and who act as advocates for the students.

Many in our community consider BHS worthy of such passion and effort in order to keep every exceptional teacher we have.

Glenn Mendelson BHS Class of '73
Citizens for Mr. Nelson and a better BHS!

[Glenn Mendelson]

Mr. Nelson’s transfer from BHS to Aragon is on the District Board’s agenda for approval tomorrow night, March 24th. The meeting starts promptly at 7pm if you want to come and voice your support for Mr. Nelson. Now that it is an "action" item on the agenda (N.1.), the public will only be allowed to speak when that item comes up. We will each have an opportunity to speak but it may be limited to less than 3 minutes. It may be our last opportunity to show our public support for Mr. Nelson. So please try to come. Let's fill that meeting hall and let our feelings be known!

United we stand!

Glenn Mendelson BHS Class of '73
Citizens for Mr. Nelson and a better BHS!
Cell: 650-759-5802

[BHSTruth]

The (Almost) $40,000 question

New document moving around shows that the SMUHSD
spent over $26,000 to investigate the teacher conduct problems. I guess real problems cost real money.

Do teachers get fired for lying and costing the taxpayers money?

They also show that the SMUHSD spent $13,000 in legal fees to defend Di Yim for making false allegations in a disciplinary letter against Nelson.

The document also show that Dr. Skelly refused to sustain Yim's letter and allegations so the $14,000 was a complete waste of money.

The costs of the screw ups of the teachers and principal at BHS are adding up and will most likely cost even more.

[Mom]

Where can I see this document?

[BHSTruth]

Skelly and the Board announced the existence of the "silent" teacher opposition at BHS.

Friedman called issue a triangle with Yim, Nelson, and the teacher opposition group on the three corners.

This is the first time the teacher opposition group has been given public acknowledgement. It sounds like they have been creating problems and blaming others for a while.. Skelly and the Board refuse to give the names or comments of this small group of teachers who are at the core of the infection at BHS.

These teachers must have really done something bad if they want Nelson gone.

https://www.facebook.com/kevin.nelson.3954/posts/10209178009109821?notif_t=like

[Glenn Mendelson]

For those of you who would like to see Mr. Nelson's comments at the SMUHSD Board meeting on Thursday night, please go to the following Facebook account. It's worth seeing and hearing. You will better understand why the BHS community appreciates him.

https://www.facebook.com/Citizens-for-Mr-Nelson-and-a-better-BHS-1582875205372968/

More to come!

United we stand!

Glenn Mendelson
Citizens for Mr. Nelson and a better BHS!
Cell: 650-759-5802

[Glenn Mendelson]

For those of you who would like to see Mr. Nelson's speech at the SMUHSD Board meeting on Thursday night, please go to the following Facebook page. It's up to over 3,000 views. It's worth seeing and hearing. You will better understand why the BHS community appreciates him.

https://www.facebook.com/Citizens-for-Mr-Nelson-and-a-better-BHS-1582875205372968/

More to come!

United we stand!

Glenn Mendelson
Citizens for Mr. Nelson and a better BHS!
Cell: 650-759-5802

[[email protected]]

This is like the recent OJ Simpson "Docudrama" on TV.
From day one, OJ was guilty.
Like the OJ trial, there was only one obvious verdict.
Unfortunately, like the OJ thing, white people defending other white people, that has nothing within the case to do with "discrimination" becomes a "Hot Potato" for all the Elected Board of Supervisors.
The entire Board of Supervisors should be recalled.

[CommunityLeadersandContributors]

Why is Yim still making decision at BHS?.

Despite the statement of the Board and its Superintendent of the failures of the leadership at BHS, Di Yim is still making decisions and creating new disasters at the school. Yim has been left in place to construct next year's schedule, hire new staff, and continue to enforce failed policies she made up.

Yim is the reason that Nelson is being transferred and now she gets to hire his replacement.

Great leadership Board!

Many Burlingame parents have already experienced the poor teachers hired by Yim and now there are more to come as she exits the building.

The Science Department has had enough and blocked Yim from selecting or interviewing ANY new members of the department. Any parent who had to experience the last chemistry teacher know the type of person Yim hires.

Parents get ready to fork over more money for tutors, leaving Yim in place to destroy a school she hates will be her parting shot at Burlingame.

[Glenn Mendelson]

Just wanted to let you all know that we submitted our request to the San Mateo County Civil Grand Jury to investigate the facts and events that led up to Mr. Nelson’s transfer as well as some other related issues that we prefer not to discuss at this time. We will let you know if we hear back from them.

More to come.

This story has legs.

[CommunityLeadersandContributors]

Bruce from a post on the pool....

"BHS should secede from the district anyway due to the mis-management issues with Yim-gate and Mr. Nelson and would be far better served to be controlled by and interests directly alighted with the Burlingame and Hillsborough communities."

"YimGate" Deepthroat takes on a whole new meaning....

[CommunityLeadersandContributors]

The saga continues...

The word coming out is that BHS can't find a principal. Dr. Skelly threw out the first round of finalists which included an elementary and middle school principals.

WTF- How does an elementary school principal make it to the final stage.

Are the same people picking the principal that have been influencing the decisions over the past few years?

We can only hope that the members of the community on the Selection Committee have a better sense than to select another "false leader."

The entire search committee who selected Di Yim (teachers and staff) left the school in just two years. This is an example of how bad a selection she was.

Bruce.... are you available?

[Bruce Dickinson]

Listen, fellas, ya know, Bruce Dickinson indeed has become a precious resource of late, but I would be remiss if I didn't say that the search committee should consist of parents of BHS, as they know the issues best. However, I will give some advice on the selection of a principal, as the principle of hiring a principal, no pun intended, is the same for any leadership endeavor, even at the very upper echelons of success.

Guys, it took me about 20 years before I could fully hone my skills as a hiring manager that could spot talent. After that, my hit rate in choosing those to work for or with me, was incredibly high and the rest, as they say, is legend. This was cultivated through maneuvering the corporate matrix at Columbia, where trust me, it was a sea of sharks, as well as really listening to what a band wanted out of their sound and enable them to get there. Not to mention, I had to play traffic cop between bandmates themselves and company execs and make sure everyone worked in a collaborative fashion. So yes, it comes as no coincidence that Bruce Dickinson can give such valuable advice to the community, including this website.

So here is my advice for the parent selection committee on selecting a principal

1. Emphasize street smarts over book smarts, check with those who know how he/she worked with others. Dig in the dirt, as it were. Sounds like the prior principal was all show in terms of credentials, but no go in terms of judgment and decision making.

2. Present various hypothetical conflict resolution problems that exist outside of education. Getting them to apply principles of solving problems/conflicts outside the academic/school setting to any setting will reveal much more about their ability to judge and make decisions.

3. Hire one that is an advocate for the parents and community, first and foremost. While this person will be on SMUHSD's payroll, try to select someone that doesn't really need the money/paycheck. That way, key decisions will be made without regard to career, politics, posturing, etc..no vested interest in perpetuating tenor just for the sake of job security.

4. Work well with teachers, but really represent the community more than anything else. Teachers have their own agendas, similar to #3 above, and you want someone to be above the teachers' lounge fray, inspire firm leadership, work with the district (but not afraid to push back) and really listen to the parents' concerns. Most of these schools forget the adage "know your customer". The customers are the children and their parents.

5. Ask how that person will establish trust with parents, students, teachers, and the district. There are certain trust building elements that will come out and I don't want to give interviewing advice to a potential principal, but you'll know it when you see it.

6. Hire someone with a lot of emotional intelligence, who can read others, understand needs, empathize with people and solve problems in non-dictatorial or confrontational ways.

So there you have it, my friends. McKinsey & Co. would charge you a pretty penny for the advice I just gave, but Bruce Dickinson gives it to the community, free of charge. Folks, wealth is measured not only by your bank account, but by the knowledge you can contribute for the benefit of all.

Accept no substitutes!!!

[Joe]

BD, this is an excellent list and I approve with one minor edit, if I may. #2 "Present various hypothetical conflict resolution problems that exist outside of education". One well-established successful interviewing technique which has worked in my modest (compared to BD's) career is called Behavior-based Interviewing.

Rather than a hypothetical conflict situation (or any other situation, for that matter), ask the candidates how they have solved specific situations in their past. If they can spout something analogous to the situation presented and offer an approach they have used, you are getting something closer to the real deal.

[Glenn Mendelson]

We just wanted to let you all know that the Citizen's for Mr. Nelson and a better BHS are still working to keep Mr. Nelson where he belongs. We believe that what he has to offer our students and the BHS community is worth fighting for. Please read the front page of yesterday's Daily Post or go to our Facebook page "Citizens for Mr. Nelson" to read all about it. Also, more to come in an edition of next week's Daily Journal. Please keep your eyes open for it.

United we stand!

Best always,
Glenn Mendelson BHS Class of '73
Citizen for Mr. Nelson and a Better BHS!
cell: 650-759-5802

[Joe]

Thanks, Glenn. I picked up the Post last night so I have added a photo of the front page article above. Keep up the good fight.

[Glenn Mendelson]

The Citizens for Mr. Nelson and a Better BHS have placed a public notice in tomorrow's Daily Journal. Please take the time to read it and let us know your thoughts. I appreciate the Burlingame Voice for providing a forum for everyone to express their views.

United we stand!

Glenn Mendelson
Citizens for Mr. Nelson and a Better BHS!

cell: 650-759-5802

[Joe]

A source is indicating that the new BHS Principal is Paul Belzer who is the current Mills Principal. The source is reliable, but let's wait for the official announcement.

[Ian]

Email from the superintendent this evening:

Introducing Mr. Paul Belzer - Your BHS Principal Starting July

Dear Burlingame Community:

It is with great pleasure that I inform you that I will be recommending the appointment of Paul Belzer to be principal at Burlingame High School effective July 1, 2016 at the next school board meeting on Thursday evening.

Mr. Belzer came to the San Mateo Union High School district in 2002 as an assistant principal at Capuchino High School. After four years of assistant principal work, he became the principal of Mills High School, a position he has held for the past ten years. The Mills community has thrived under Mr. Belzer's leadership with student achievement consistently increasing. In addition, the school has developed a culture with a strong focus on student social-emotional health and well-being.

As superintendent I have been impressed with Mr. Belzer's vision of high school life, his focus on building a positive school culture, his work empowering others to take ownership for community success, and his upbeat, warm personality. I believe his skills and disposition match the characteristics parents, students, and staff identified as important in the next Burlingame principal in our input surveys and group discussions. You and your student will enjoy Mr. Belzer enormously and appreciate his leadership style.

I would like to thank the parents, teachers, staff members, and district administrators who served on the principal selection committee, as well as those who reviewed the applications of potential candidates. I cannot envision a more positive outcome for the school.

Sincerely,

Kevin Skelly, Ph.D.
Superintendent

[Mom]

Will he have the power to overrule the stupid idea of moving Mr. Nelson to Aragon?