Resumes, as promised

Some of you loyal Gradebook readers have asked to see the resumes and letters backing the candidates for Pinellas superintendent. Here you go.

Below you will find links to download the documents for each of the 35 candidates that we know to this point. A couple more might have beaten the mailing deadline and trickled in through snail mail since we got these. If we have more to add, we'll do that.

Without further ado, read on for the information you wanted.

Dennis Bruno
Joseph Burke
Alberto Carvalho
Dennis Deardon
Christopher Dunning
Sandra Ellis (document removed because it included social security numbers)
Stephen Evans
William Frank
Chris Fulton
Nicholas Gledich
James Habel
Henry Hastings
Roy Higgins
James Hoover
Aquine Jackson
Julie Janssen
Barbara Jenkins
Annette Knox
Michael Livovich
Rebecca Lowry
Brenda Magee
Sherrie Nickell
John O'Sullivan
Melindo Persi
John Pertner
John Phillips (document removed because it included social security numbers)
John Russell
Robert Schiller
Joseph Selch
Arthur Wayne Stellar
Maritza Tamayo
Ralph Teran
Edward Warnick
Willie Watts
Nancy Young

Comments

[OCPS Employee]

Working for Orange County for some 12 years, Pinellas County would gain from 2 of the 5 finalists; Barbara Jenkins and Nick Gledich. They are both more than qualified, professional, and work with the board, schools, and the community.

I do not know each candidate personally, but I have attended many school board meetings and watched them in action.

Pinellas would be very lucky to have either candidate.

[Frans van Haaren]

Any opinions on any of the other candidates? I am all in favor of looking outside the district as district personnel has had ample opportunities in the past to fix what has been broken for a long time (abominable progress in reading, math and science, deplorable graduation rates, never changing racial gap). I know, teachers and administrators would be able to do so much better of they only had better students that came from better families. That not being the case, one could ask whether or not there are better curricula and/or management strategies that would make a difference. Has anyone ever looked into that?

[joker]

11:52
if everyone does such a swell job as you allude to, why is Florida public education on life support and why are we considered one of the worst states for K-12?
think about that while you and your school district buddies continue to line your own pockets at the expense of teachers, students and school employees!
what's the old saying about "paybacks are a 8itch?
bad Karma my friend, that's the reason things are falling apart. If you guys had done the right thing none of this would be happening. But since you decided to get greedy some of us had to find ways to ensure you got what's coming to you.

Dear 9:44 a.m. (terminator),

You have now called Miami-Dade the most incompetent, mismanaged and corrupt district in the state. Previously, you have attacked virtually every superintendent and district. I asked you on another string to name just one superintendent, one school board member and one district that was well managed and well intentioned. You can't or won't do this.

I can name dozens of good people that work for the local teachers unions and for the state organization. I can also tell you that the vast majority of school administrators (at least the same percentage as the rest of the workforce for schools including teachers) really care about doing their very best at their jobs and take doing the right thing very seriously.

I am again very sorry to say that you are just a small sad person who believes (although you are delusional) that you are the only one who cares about public education. The terminator moniker should be changed to the Joker.

[Frans van Haaren]

I know it isn't required, but it would help the conversation if we were to sign our names to our comments.

for great education:
Thank you Mr. Carvahlo for the self-supporting recommendation.
You obviously must no longer be a teacher in Miami-Dade because if you were you wouldn't think Mr. Carvahlo and his mentor/buddy Rudolph Crew were such great guys since they would have already made off with your raise which they previously negotiated and agreed to (do you believe in the sanctity of a contract)?
Also, I don't think one who calls himself part of the inner circle and "superintendent" when the real superintendent is out of the office (which happens frequently in Miami-Dade)and can't pay their employees what was promised because they were too busy driving the school board budget into the ground through egregious administrative salaries and pork barrel projects such as the School Improvement Zone is the kind of person one wants running their school district (unless you're a fatcat administrator looking for a six figure golden parachute at the expense of teachers and school employees).
Everyone in the state of Florida knows the Dade district is the most incompetent, mismanaged and corrupt school district.
They will soon be forced into filing for financial urgency after having run deficit budgets the previous two years and are the target of a state oversight board due to financial irregularities as identified by the state auditor general.
Also, I know you are a liar and full of it when you proclaim Mr. Carvahlo "created" the Parent Academy.
The Parent Academy was the brainchild of a former Miami-Dade teacher of the year and former school board candidate, Mrs. Anita Meinbach.
Carvahlo's slick, I'll give him that but he sure isn't fooling any teachers down in Miami-Dade, I can assure you.

[Ryan]

Thank you, Jeffrey! Your hard work on this blog is unparalleled.

Chris Fulton's application is direct, clear, and concise! How refreshing to hear from someone who isn't a long winded egotist!! Pinellas needs Mr. Fulton to cut through the crap and straighten out our school system!

I read over Carvalho's resume and supporting documents. What is online looks really good but perhaps there was a problem when the documents were scanned because it looks like a few pages might be missing. It would be great if this could be corrected. I Googled Carvalho and he seems like the real deal. From a recent article it looks like he even managed a win over FPL in Tallahassee. Sounds like a great advocate for children. I would certainly expect to see his name as one of the finalist.

[For Great Education!]

Carvalho is a Real Leader!

The poster who took it upon themselves to attack Alberto Carvalho obviously has some personal ax to grind!! I taught in Miami-Dade Schools and I can tell you that the teachers of Pinellas County should be very lucky to get a man like Carvalho here in this community. He has been a teacher and holds the profession in the highest regard.

Further, he actually respects parents and strongly encourages families to participate in the educational process along with the children. He has worked to create “family-friendly” schools. The parent engagement program known as “The Parent Academy,” was largely created by him, has received national acclaim and is now being modeled in cities like Houston and Boston. Far from creating a bloated administration, Carvalho is well known for running a tight ship with a few highly competent and committed staff.

As for the charge leveled by the earlier anonymous poster, that “Carvalho must have had a ‘Padrino’’ because he rose through the ranks of the school system over the course of 15 plus years, that assertion just sounds like the snake envy raising its ugly green head. When you look at the letters of recommendation that are attached to Carvalho’s resume, you get a cross-section of the community. I was impressed when I clicked on the link above and found glowing letters not only from the Miami-Dade School Board Chair and the Superintendent, but also from a Mayor, a parent leader, a business person, and a charitable organization in the United Way. Carvalho is exactly the kind of leader that Pinellas needs to build bridges within the community and build up our school system.

[Observer]

In response to Mr. Carvahlo's nameless slanderer, in the words of Shakespeare's Queen Gertrude, "The lady doth protest too much, methinks."

[Observer]

In response to Mr. Carvahlo's nameless slanderer, in the words of Shakespeare's Queen Gertrude, "The lady doth protest too much, methinks."

[Frans van Haaren]

Thank you. I ma sure you will let others know where to find this information. Should make for an interesting (and hopefully, civilized) discussion.

Dear terminator (12:19 p.m.),

Mr. Carvahlo is a fine man and a great leader. I don't know if he is right for Pinellas, but I can tell you that he is easily in the top five candidates.

The Miami-Dade budget is somewhat of a political mess right now, but the union there is a part of the problem (partially because they do not have great credibility with their members and their is an alternative group trying to organize). Even though the politics there are awful, there are many, many good people trying to make things better. Feel free to blame each of them individually for serving a community of some of the poorest children in the country while Marco cuts the budget both by redistributing the DCD money to Hillsborough, Orange and Duval and by cutting the total GR funding available to all of the districts by over 16% in two legislative budgets.

While continuing to bash every superintendent, every school board, and every district in the state as being corrupt and bloated, you have still failed to identify a single superintendent, school board or district where the leaders are really doing good work for the students. You are a small sad man who needs a "big name" to mask a small wee-wee. You need to retire. You need to move to Tennessee. You need a life. The union and public education in general would be served if Andy would just buy you out. We could start a collection on this blog right here.

www.paytohavetermiemovetotennessee.com
(fake web address)

TEACHERS: YOU DON'T WANT CARVAHLO!!!!

while his resume may look good to the non-informed, Carvahlo would be poison for the districts teachers and school employees.

currently, the district Mr. Carvahlo trumpets his stewardship of (Miami-Dade) is on the verge of a financial meltdown and will soon be filing for financial urgency after running budget deficits of $66 million and $44 million the past two years.

It is also the same district that this year stole teachers and school employees already contractually negotiated raises although they employ 400 administrators who make over $150K per year!

He mentions the innovative School Improvement Zone but doesn't mention the district poured $107 million into the three year program and after a Superintendent commissioned study found "little to no improvement" in student FCAT scores fired the entire office necessary for commissioning the report (that will teach em to be objective)!

Lastly, Carvahlo was never a school Principal and somehow rose from classroom teacher to a AP at Jose Marti Middle School in Hialeah to head of the school district's government relations office downtown (like we say, he had a padrino somewhere).

If you want a butcher who will radically increase the size of Pinellas administrative hierarchy and their bloated salaries and a guy who will crap on teachers and school support personnel, go ahead and recommend him.

Oh, I almost forgot, all of the high schools in the Zone received D's or F's, and no middle or elementary schools got above a C.