| Uploaded: Wednesday, March 13, 2013, 11:56 AM ???????????????????????????????????????????? Special education director forced out ? | ||||
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Posted by Member, a resident of the Menlo Park: Suburban Park/Lorelei Manor/Flood Park Triangle neighborhood, on Mar 13, 2013 at 12:26 pm This is ridiculous. The board is supporting a superintendent's decision only because by NOT supporting they would be admitting their own failure in hiring. A quick googling of the superintendent's name brings up a host of articles about his questionable character. In fact, in this same magazine, in an article about Menlo hiring him the comments were overwhelmingly warning MP of what was to come. An they were amazing spot-on. Posted by Big Al, on May 7, 2011 "Amazing. This guy has a track record of poor judgement proven in the MV scandal. Not a shred of integrity in this guy, yet he's duped them again. Menlo Park had better get ready for a wild ride with this character whose vast experience is due to never staying in one place for too long. First he'll lay on some charm, then he'll go after long-term loyal employees that don't respond to him, and then he'll fill the district with his own yes people. Fatigue by the community will set in after a couple of years after he imposes lots of corporatisms on everyone. Good luck, you'll need it. No wonder public education is in the dumps." Read them all here and be worried about the future of MP schools: Web Link |
Posted by A parent in the DIstrict with Special Ed kid, a resident of the Menlo Park: Linfield Oaks neighborhood, on Mar 13, 2013 at 12:39 pm I think Ms Mandilk was due to leave. As a special needs parent in the District, all I have ever heard about Ms Mandilk were complaints from other special needs parents. And to judge from the list of other departures, all of whom were weak links, this is probably also the right decision. It is something to expect that a change of top leadership brings a change of senior management. It happens every time there is a new CEO in a business, etc. I support the changes that have been made and am really looking forward to more improvements. It is a shame that Ms Mandilk spoke publicly in a tone of complaint because it undercuts my opinion of her judgment. |
Posted by beta, a resident of another community, on Mar 13, 2013 at 12:48 pm To A Parent in the District, A school distrist is not a business. Maurce Ghysels is not a CEO, he is a superintendent of a public school district. This large amount of turnover in the past year and a half has left many staff confused, angry, and scared for their own job security. MPCSD is going down a dangerous path with a leader proven to be dangerous in other districts. |
Posted by Mom in Menlo, a resident of the Menlo Park: Central Menlo Park neighborhood, on Mar 13, 2013 at 12:52 pm If the board had not made up its mind in the first closed session -- after the complaining session -- I would have voted just as they did. Furthermore in her statement to the Almanac -- she was extremely unprofessional when she blantantly violated a parent and student's privacy - a central pillar of special education and any other student related issue in an educational setting. As any special education parent who is trying to learn about services knows -- it is extremely difficult to gather comparative information about challenging situations because almost every special education settlement is shrouded in secrecy -- regardless of who "won" -- decisions frequently come with the the famous gag order -- If you tell anybody about this and what services or funds you received -- then you lose all benefits. The gag order applies to BOTH sides. |
Posted by MP parent, a resident of the Menlo Park: The Willows neighborhood, on Mar 13, 2013 at 1:08 pm Change doesn't need to come with turnover. A true leader knows how to build trust in a team in order to create change. Look at the example of Hillview. Teachers couldn't have been more unhappy but Erik Burmeister has been able to make great change by building trust and making sound decisions that the teachers and parents can support. Maurice Ghysels, on the other hand, is a coward. A leader who brings change by just firing people that he doesn't like or doesn't want to work with is no leader. He takes the easy way out. True leaders know how to bring out the best in their team. It doesn't sound like he cares much about that. This district needs a leader----not a coward! Shame on you, board of trustees, for buying into his corporate jargon and actually believing in his methods. They don't work in business and they certainly don't work in education. |
Posted by Sped Mom, a resident of the Menlo Park: Suburban Park/Lorelei Manor/Flood Park Triangle neighborhood, on Mar 13, 2013 at 1:13 pm I am stunned by how unprofessionally Ms. Mandilk is handling this situation. Most people that work here in the valley in any occupation knows how these things go, many have been through it multiple times. For her to publicly announce every step of the process is outrageous. As for the reasons Ms. Mandilk was let go, she has been given plenty of reasons over the years and her personnel file is chock full of complaints and law suits. She has just chosen to ignore them. A majority of Sped kids in MP are not majorly significantly impaired. The majority have an LD such as dyslexia or auditory processing disorder, ADHD, Anxiety, and a good number with high functioning spectrum disorders. These are the families that Olivia has utterly failed. Many families such as these are unable to attend the board meetings because they are at home with their kids battling over another stack of worksheets, spelling list or diorama of the day. Or they are still driving home for the OT, SLP, Educational Therapy or other some such appointment that they attend multiple times weekly and pay for out of pocket. The less the school gives, the more we have to take care of on our own. This means we have less time to spend volunteering in our kids classrooms, participating in civic activities such as school board meetings, and more time at work to cover the expenses. I have worked with many, many schools who say, "how can we help you?" "Here are all of the things we can offer your child." This is not the majority experience for MP Sped parents. While MP has some truly outstanding teachers and sped staff, including the brilliantly gifted inclusion specialist Margie Rubin, most of the good that goes on happens in spite of Ms. Mandilk, not because of her. I know nothing of Mr. Gysels political doings, cronyism, bullying, or whatever. What I do see is that we now have amazing principals at all of our schools, Hillview has literally been turned around over night, Alison Liner has had a fantastic start as the CLO and now we are replacing a dead end sped head. It looks to me like MP is shining more brightly than ever! |
Posted by Some Guy, a resident of the Menlo Park: Downtown neighborhood, on Mar 13, 2013 at 1:15 pm I can see the parents dont get it. It isn't about Ms. Mandilk, it's about the process that Mr. Ghysels engages in to remove people who don't agree with him, and whose positions, more often than not, are filled by cronies of his. Exactly what the parents of MV warned us about. How can you NOT see this? |
Posted by Wake Up, a resident of the Atherton: Lindenwood neighborhood, on Mar 13, 2013 at 1:17 pm This is not about the dismissal of Ms Mandilk. This about the actions of the Superintendant and how is creating a workplace full of his yes men, and in the process destroying what was once a very strong district. There are very shady things going on in this district, some of which is quite un-ethical and possibly illegal. |
Posted by Mother of a Special Needs Kid, a resident of the Menlo Park: The Willows neighborhood, 23 hours ago I am delighted that this curtain has been lifted. While parents with significantly disabled kids have had appropriate action taken to improve their students education under Ms Mandilk, it's my impression that those kids who are in the mainstream classes have not had adequate services and I will put the blame squarely on the director of the program. If you graph the changes, I would expect to see that IEP's are down, test scores are up, and attorney fees are up during this director's reign for our special needs students. No, it's not that the District got better at teaching our SNKs. On more than one occassion, my concerns about my student were ignored from being denied an IEP early on (in Kindergarten) to having staff claim via testing she was at-grade level in 5th grade (in effort to reduce services), only to discover in sixth grade (just six months later) that she's in fact 3 YEARS BEHIND her peers and now is in a class full of students who need super supports due to the gap (they can't handle main-stream classes because they are too far behind their peers). Maurice, I commend you on this one. Please put someone like Eric Burmeister into this position--let's get current about this! It's estimated that a third of students in MPCSD are behind grade level. That means ALL teachers should know how to teach kids who have special needs. Let's get this started now rather than pushing our kids onward and upward while the gap grows. Maurice, you are no fool. You know change can hurt. Thank you for not being a coward! |
Posted by Concerned Parent, a member of the Encinal School community, 23 hours ago I am concerned by this story, the comments, and what I have heard is going on in the district. Whatever people's experience with Ms. Mandilk, there is clearly turmoil and serious accusations of unprofessional behavior on the part of the superintendent. Despite the quote from the board president, it clearly appears that a good number of people are NOT "fully confident that Dr. Ghysels is leading the district effectively." None of this is good for the schools, the teachers or the kids. Bad morale trickles down. At the very least, the school board needs to take note and find out what is going on by talking to district employees - particularly those who work closely with Mr. Ghysels. And if the dismissal of so many has created an atmosphere of fear and mistrust, they need to be very careful they are getting accurate information. I understand his contract was extended last year - was that based on any actual data gathering from district members about his performance? |
Posted by Personal Exerience, a resident of the Menlo Park: Linfield Oaks neighborhood, 23 hours ago Why in the world would a superintendent fire talented people who were doing a great job? How does it hurt our school district to replace weak people with strong, innovative people? Those Dr. Ghysels fired all had long histories of performance issues, and were given time and support to improve. When they didn't change or just weren't up to the task, they were managed out. For those critical of the way they were managed out, it's sad to say the Union is very powerful and supports even weak members, so outright firing is often impossible. Ms. Mandilk's surprise is an act -- her reporting structure had been changed this year so she'd have more supervision and connection with the general education program instead of operating in her own secret silo. Most Directors of Special Ed only stay in a district for 4 or 5 years tops, so she must have been pretty comfy. Now she is trying to claim that she was cheated out of her ample pension -- does this mean the district should have kept her in place to the detriment of its students to bring in more progressive practices just so she could tread water until she reached retirement age? This is our tax money you're talking about. |
Posted by Divine Justice, a resident of the Menlo Park: Menlo Oaks neighborhood, 22 hours ago It takes a bully to know a bully! Olivia has bullied special ed families for eight years and anyone who's been on the receiving end is rejoicing to see the tables turned. She's made a very public spectacle out of her venomous attack on Dr. Ghysels who can't make any comment on personnel matters but can put an end to her reign of terror. |
Posted by MVer, a resident of another community, 22 hours ago This has nothing to do with the union. The union does not support administrators and administrators don't pay union dues. Get your facts straight. The damage is done. The same thing happened in Mountain View. Ghysels is toxic, is a bully, and has no idea how to manage or lead an organization. He targets individuals because he has no idea how to work with people, or to value or develop them professionally in the interest of the students and student learning. You can be assured that a large population of district employees are not towing his line. People don't trust him and fear him. In that regard, he has failed as a leader to let things get to the point they have. He is damaged goods a second time over. It's just hilarious to watch. And the board sits by and let's it happen. He's managed to stay out of the press for almost a year. He avoids getting his name in print or tied to any story about the schools. But sure enough, he's back again with even more scandal attached to his name. He pushes his friend's administrator-level hiring consulting firm on the district for easy money, knowing full-well he's already got yes men and women lined up for the positions. He raids Mountain View for loyal followers, a principal and a secretary--a secretary that was his lover's secretary in Mountain View. This was the same secretary that covered for his favorite principal as he moved the two of them around into choice assignments. Who else to better trust to cover the dirty work. It's twisted loyalties at work here. [portion deleted.] And let's not forget these are public jobs and positions where fair and objective hiring practices are supposed to rule. Only he is capable of continually attracting such negative press attention to his name. I agree, he's a coward and not much of a man. For those that suffered his wrath, all I can say is be thankful you don't have to work with the guy any more. For those who continue to work with him, look in the mirror if you've got the stomach for it. |
Posted by Wake Up, a resident of the Atherton: Lindenwood neighborhood, 22 hours ago "Why in the world would a superintendent fire talented people who were doing a great job?" Because they would call him out on his garbage. Because he wants to use his position to elevate his friends and because she cannot stand anyone to disagree with him. The bottom line here is that no matter how you slice it there is OBVIOUSLY a problem. Perhaps all of these people that have been pushed out deserved to be pushed out (though I believe this is not the case) but at the end of the day their is never smoke without a fire, not matter how much Gysels may tell you that it is just fog and is under control. To the parents that still believe that the man is great, I challenge you to talk to the teachers and other admin staff, heck talk to the people in Mountain View, and even talk to him directly. Ask him what his plans are for the district and see how quickly he falters, stutters and answers queries in long drawn out ways that give little to no actual information. |
Posted by Nosy Neighbor, a resident of another community, 22 hours ago The MPSD dirty laundry aired out in public is making me realize that the grass is not necessarily greener in adjacent pastures after all. Systemic change in public education can be stymied for any number of reasons, and it does not sound like the approach taken by Mr. Ghysels has fostered a positive context for change within the MPSD. Ms. Mandilk also has not demonstrated the best judgement when she solicited feedback from the community. Even the most effective leaders in the underfunded and overtaxed special education system will have alienated some staff and parents during the course of 8 years managing a system that was doomed to dysfunction from the day that the federal government issued legally mandated but unfunded obligations to state and local educational entities when the laws governing special education were written in the 1970s. I do like the idea that principals should be given more of a role in supervising and ensuring the education of ALL students in their schools, irrespective of whether those students have been identified with a disability. The ultimate success of students depends on having engaged and involved adults (parents, teachers, and administrators) who support a child's education across settings and who know the children who they support as people with unique learning needs. A centralized district office-based approach to meeting the needs of the children with the greatest potential barriers to their progress does not seem to be the most effective way to meet the needs of families who have a SNK. As for the "toxic" impact of Mr. Ghysels, I can only say that I hope that he patches things up with the MPSD parents and staff and is able to ride out the rest of his career in MPSD. Those of us looking over the education fence into the Menlo Park school yard would prefer that Mr. Ghysels not drift north or south to one of the nearby districts with his divisive approach to staff hiring and firing. |
Posted by Wake Up, a resident of the Atherton: Lloyden Park neighborhood, 22 hours ago I meant to say "Because they would *not* call him out on his garbage" |
Posted by Member, a resident of the Menlo Park: Suburban Park/Lorelei Manor/Flood Park Triangle neighborhood, 21 hours ago Many readers keep coming back to whether or not Ms. Mandilk deserved to be forced out. That is a specific issue and no reader can venture a guess at that. What we can all see from this is there is a potentially serious issue with the MP school leadership. True or not, even a threat of cronyism or bullying needs to be investigated. If half of the staff reporting to the superintendent have left, retired early, quit, gone or medical leave - whatever - in a year and a half, that ALONE is worthy of investigation. I think the real question now is what plan does the board have to investigate these charges and how can they protect the remaining team and give them a chance to voice concerns so that we don't see more of his direct-reports being forced out. The general feeling in MPCSD seems to be one of general fear of repercussion. No one will willingly provide the evidence of improprieties now that they know that not only will the board not support them but they will be crucified in the press. An external agency or task team should be solicited immediately to investigate and provide their findings to the board. |
Posted by whatever, a resident of the Menlo Park: Central Menlo Park neighborhood, 19 hours ago Our MP housing prices are outrageous as usual. The number one reason we're told why is the "great schools" in the MP City School District. From what I've been, reading, seeing, hearing and experiencing over the years (and two kids who attended Oak Knoll and Hillview) - I have to say that MP home buyers have been ripped-off big time. From teachers who have no clue as to how a child grows, behaves, and develops (due in part from having no children of their own) to school board members (not all) with a lack of the basic understanding of finance, planning, no personnel savvy and even a lack in the basics of schooling, it's a wonder our kids amount to anything. Fact of the matter is we have too many folks who care more about politics and what others think of them instead of thinking about what's number one - the young students. Oh yes and how many more times is the MP school board going to renovate and tear down, renovate and tear down, ad infinitum the Hillview campus. It's time to reinstate the requirement that school districts must abide by all the local planning regulations. |
Posted by Employee, a resident of another community, 19 hours ago I like "Wake Ups" post. Maurice Ghysels has been divisive since the very beginning of his time in Menlo Park. We were assured by the Board and the recruitment team that the things we read from his time in Mountain View were "disgruntled parents and staff" and that his affair with a subordinate was "a love story". At the first district-wide meeting, he asked people to call him, tell him what they want from him and for the district and he'd respond. Well, people called and he did not respond. He tells people he wants to hear their opinion but shuts them out when their opinions differ from his. He also made a comment that Menlo Park offered him a lot of money to come on board. Great, because we didn't know that already. [Portion removed. We'd need verification for this.] Recently, he praised staff members for falling in lock step with him. These are not the words I want to hear from the leader of my beloved school district. He is a narcissist, a toxic leader and has managed to scare many staff members. I know a number of great staff who are looking for other employment to get away from this environment. The events surrounding his hiring must be questioned. I beg the Board to step up and admit that his hiring may have been the wrong decision. |
Posted by Bully or Not A Bully?, a resident of the Menlo Park: Downtown neighborhood, 19 hours ago One thing is for sure, Ms. Mandilk is certainly no coward and isn't afraid to call Mr. Ghysels a bully to his face. That requires a lot of confidence and certainty. This is not something that is done everyday on a whim. There most likely is a shred of truth in what she describes as the traumatic and hostile workplace that the district office has become. That's a pretty damning indictment of what's going on in the district office--the place from which the schools are ultimately run. I think by definition Ghysels largely is a bully. It's easy for a bully to fire people because he doesn't like them or how they think. And Ghysel's retort that sometimes it's "hard to be a leader and make difficult personnel decisions" is quite telling a response. Those are the actions and words of a bully, not exclusively a leader. It's actually much harder to be a leader who can pull a team of people together while at the same time valuing the individual qualities within the team. But those qualities, or lack there of, would then tie in to Ghysels' personal life, which has been amply documented in the press. Two divorces and an inter-office affair while in Mountain View pretty much push him into the bully camp even further. And now it's revealed his secretary, newly-imported from Mountain View, was also his current significant others' secretary from Mountain View? That also reinforces the notion of a bully, who can also surround himself with people who he thinks he can trust. Break out the popcorn. This is going to get worse before it gets better. |
Posted by MPCSD Employee, a resident of another community, 18 hours ago In response to Personal Experience Look carefully at the "right sizing" report. It's posted in the school board minutes. While you are looking through board meeting minutes, you should also look at Maurice's new contract. He negotiated (AND THE BOARD APPROVED) for him to "consult" on MPCSD time. I'm sure he managed to snow them over with how this will help the district. The only person this is helping is Maurice Ghysels and his own pocket book! Interesting that he hires a consulting firm (who knows how much that cost the district) to say that he has too many direct reports and that they need to be divided between Allison Liner and Diane White (who now apparently need additional staff to manage the new workload that has been dumped on them). I'm sure the reason for Olivia reporting to Allison rather than Maurice had nothing to do with Olivia needing supervision and everything to do with Maurice needing more time for his own personal ventures. |
Posted by Apex, a resident of the Atherton: other neighborhood, 18 hours ago It is CRITICAL that ALL Menlo school Principles and Assistant Principles stand up against this head case Superintend IMMEDIATELY, while the crack that Mandilk is wide open. If all admin staff refuse to participate with anything of Maurice, and if all teachers refuse to attend all staff meetings with Maurice, or simply walk out when he walks in, then the hard headed board will connect the dots. Maurice HAS GOT TO GO! Our kids depend upon us parents to do the right thing. |
Posted by Parent Two, a resident of the Menlo Park: Linfield Oaks neighborhood, 18 hours ago I give the Superintendent mixed marks for his actions. It seems he does engage in a fair amount of cronyism, and we knew that going in, but at the same time his principal hires at both Encinal and Hillview have been major upgrades. The family of a sped student that I trust the most had no love lost for Ms. Mandlik, so I write that one off as Maurice being responsive to the community. |
Posted by Barbara Simms, a resident of another community, 18 hours ago As a former educator in another community, I've sadly seen this all before. In this case, it was a PhD from an Ivy School who was hired by the board for her "vision." She said she wanted input, to form parnerships, to create a team of exceptional educators. Her "door was always open." And yet it quickly became apparent from her behavior that she didn't want to hear anything that challenged her positions or opinions, and that there was retaliation and vindictiveness against those who spoke their mind. People were incredibly unhappy and started to leave in droves. An excuse was "spun" for every departure. The board was kept at arm's length. She obviously behaved very differently around them - her bosses, who controlled her salary and welfare. Different information was funneled in each direction between the board and staff, all through a deceptive and untrustworthy conduit. The board hadn't a clue what was going on, and it took 4 years before she finally was offered the door. In the meanwhile, a lot of excellent people were lost, and a fantastic school was destroyed from the inside out. It was very hard for the board to admit this horrible mistake. And there had been parents on staff on the interview committee. The fact that the board alone selected the current MPCSD superintendent in a closed process makes it that much harder to see that they've possibly erred. It's human nature. Please see this as the cautionary tale it is intended as - many good people were hurt and a reputable institution was damaged by a leader few people trusted or respected. It doesn't really matter whether board members have confidence in the superintendent if the staff doesn't. Perhaps a confidence vote should be held. Education works through cooperative engagement. The current environment at MPCSD seems the antithesis of that. |
Posted by Apex, a resident of the Atherton: other neighborhood, 18 hours ago Some great comments here, [portion removed]. Everyone LOVES Olivia. Period. And everyone at the board meeting got that message. So stop posting your filthy lies about Olivia. |
Posted by beta, a resident of another community, 17 hours ago And now the comments have been locked. This is unfortunate as an anonymous forum has allowed some of us who are worried about our future in the District to voice our concerns. If he can fire Olivia Mandilk, who, by most accounts, is doing a fine job for students in the district, who can't he fire? |
Posted by Sentinel, a resident of another community, 14 hours ago (Post removed. We cannot authenticate these quotes.) |
Posted by Sentinel, a resident of another community, 5 hours ago I didn't realize that the Almanac authenticated postings by the public, particularly given the baseless, vile allegations that are posted in this thread. I posted statements made by Superintendent Ghysels to staff members. There was no commentary regarding any of his statements; just a list of statements that he has made about the Board, the Foundation, and other relevant topics. Kindly let me know what evidence you require for authentication, and I will provide it. The MPCSD community deserves to know what Superintendent Ghysels says behind closed doors. |
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Source: http://www.almanacnews.com/news/show_story.php?id=13240
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