Joplin Schools and Western Governors University Missouri will sign a partnership Monday, June 23, which will offer a tuition discount for Joplin R-8 employees who pursue their bachelor's or master's degrees at WGU, an on-line university.
The official announcement will be made by Huff and Besendorfer during a 10:30 a.m. news conference at the R-8 Administration Building at 32nd and Duquesne.
The news conference will include a ceremonial signing of a partnership agreement and the media will be permitted to interview Huff and Besendorfer.
The partnership was explained in a media advisory issued today:
High-quality, well-prepared teachers are critical to the education of our children. The new partnership agreement will help Joplin teachers pursue graduate degrees and will help paraprofessionals become licensed teachers, without putting their busy lives on hold. Joplin Schools Superintendent C.J. Huff and WGU Missouri Chancellor Angie Besendorfer will discuss the agreement and how it benefits Joplin Schools teaching quality.
11 comments:
Oh good! Now those who are planning to sue them know where they can both be found to be served!! Thanks for that info. Hope the cameras are rolling!
Bonnie and Clyde together again! Partners in crime until the end.
Maybe the auditor better check to see who's getting money under the table from this deal. I can't imagine they'd make much. No self-respecting teacher in this district would give either of these greedy people a dime.
I'm trying to figure out how a bunch of teachers and administrators with paper mill diplomas from an invisible school will be of much benefit to our children.
Just another instance of these two idiots making cash off the system and trying to gloss it over as being "for the kids."
OOOH! They're doing interviews. Somebody please ask them for a treasure map so the district can find its missing money!!
Hmm... Ethics Commission here we come!!
Did anyone really believe she was out of the picture?
I didn't think they liked online degrees. THAT opinion certainly has changed.
There should be LOTS of investigating happening.
I think these two are more like Frank and Margaret from MASH.
That is quite a slap in the face to MSSU who also offers online degrees and has, for many years, provided a great deal of classroom, lab, and office space to R-8 (Franklin Tech) for little or no money. Maybe the new MSSU president and their Board should rethink their position on that since CJ plans to steer potential MSSU students to his buddy, Bess.
As the name suggests, Western Governors University, a private institution was founded in 1997 by the over a dozen US governors comprising the
Western Governors Association. Since that time it has earned kudos for the teaching methods it employs (ranked #1 in the nation for secondary teacher education among both online & traditional universities by a think tank--National Council on Teacher Quality--that advocates for tougher evaluations of classroom teachers) . Along with a couple of other governors not in the association Missouri Governor Jay Nixon in January 2013 signed an executive order to bring the school to their states. While Dr. Besendorfer is chancellor (I'm assuming that the decision to hire her was legitimately made), I believe the suggestion that she and Dr. Huff are in collusion is ridiculous. Why shouldn't R-8 be made aware of the opportunity to further its teachers' skills and take advantage of state grants for discounted tuition? I can speak for the quality of education in Joplin when my daughter was a student; it was atrocious. If these teachers received their education from Missouri Southen, then they didn't receive enough training. I'm glad there's hope for future students.
Given the fact that Joplin R-8 teachers are now some of the lowest paid in the state, there would be no incentive for them to remain with Joplin schools if they obtain a higher degree from WGU unless, of course, one of the incentives includes higher pay than their peers for helping Bess in her new job.
Mari Winn, maybe the fault with your daughter's lack of education belongs to your daughter.
Post a Comment