The APS Scandal As Cast Of Harry Potter

Let’s take a cue from The New Republic and re-cast the Harry Potter series with players from the APS cheating scandal! The New Republic did this same exercise with Murdochgate. (It’s a must-peruse.)

Here are some suggestions:

• Alan Judd – Harry Potter
• Heather Vogell – Hermione
• Mark Winne – Ron Weasley
• Richard Belcher – Neville
• Bev Hall – Voldemort
• Cheating teachers – Dementors
• Sam Williams – Cornelius Fudge
• Renay Blumenthal – Wormtail
• Mayor Reed – Lucious Malfoy
• Tamara Cotton – Umbridge
• Mike Bowers – Dumbledore
• Ryan Abbott – Mr. Longbottom
• Richard Hyde – Snape
• Kathy Augustine – Nagini
• Shirley Franklin – Belatrix
• Vincent Fort – Mr. Weasley
• Jeff Dickerson – Filch

The above could use fleshing out with a brief explanation, as The New Republic did with each of their choices, but as I’m an unpaid blogger and not a paid journalist I’ll have to crowd-source out the rest of this fun job.

APS Embraces Social Media. Finally.

I’ve been watching everything the Atlanta Public Schools (APS) social media person has been doing with their social media outreach via their Twitter/blog/Facebook over the last few critical weeks.

I even met the APS social media person at the governor’s press conference to announce the results of the state’s investigation the other day. We set-up media shop next to each other, coincidentally. 

And WOW what an amazing transformation their social media game has undergone! Just in the last two weeks alone.

Suddenly, they are very responsive to the world around them. To their community here in Atlanta. They’re even dabbling in transparency and straight-up honesty too.

The live Tweets from @APSUpdate during a public forum with the new super Davis last week were very candid. And full of helpful and useful information.

• The APS blog is here.
• Facebook here.
• Twitter here.
• YouTube channel here.

What a difference a criminal investigation can make, eh? But the thing about social media, as any serious practitioner can tell you, social media is a garden; it only produces when meticulously tended.

Let’s watch and see. And participate, cultivate, in this transformation too.

Social Media and the Growing APS Mess

This particular social media swirl is playing out on my territory, and promises to challenge me to TRY to keep up! But you know I’m the woman for that job.

So, let’s over-simplify until I can do a full (video) report on this matter: Atlanta Public Schools (APS) is in a big brewhaha of a mess. It’s a two-prong mess. I won’t go into full mess details here, as that’s the AJC’s job. But first is the CRCT cheating scandal, and second is the APS board’s probationary status.

All could come to a lovely head of face-to-face steam at tomorrow’s APS board meeting, open to the public at 4:30pm, FYI. At APS. (Stay tuned for that live eventing. I may live-stream here. Haven’t decided yet if I want to venture out from behind the laptop yet though. And come early to sign-in. Who knows what APS might do about the posted times.)

What’s fascinating, in that horrible fascinating way, is being able to watch the social media tactics and approaches (I’m loath to call them *strategies* as it’s all rather amateurish right now) present… almost in real time. Even I may not be able to follow it all. But I’m sure gonna try.

Let’s explore, with a handy scoring system, where we are so far:

1.) APS social media scorecard – 1. And they get a score of 1 (out of 10) only because they have at least established a Twitter feed for their sunny-side-up bits. Sorry, APS. But you haven’t even touched your Facebook page since the summer of 2009. Not much going on your website. And APS Superintendent Beverly Hall’s letter explaining the accredidation probationary status APS is now operating under arrived at homes via the Backpack Network. Call Hermione for a better spell soon, APS. Or you’ll be overwhelmed. If you’re not already.

2.) A Facebook Group called Atlanta School Board: Step Up or Step Down already has 266 members, and was pointed out to me by an APS teacher, so seems some APS teachers are banding together with APS parents. And heating-up neighborhood discussion boards and email chains and petitions. That’s good. I give ’em a 6. They’ve got a’ways to go to keep up with this other group that’s sprung from the PR mess though.

3.) ReCallAPS, so far, is posting fewer Facebook friends than the above group, but I’m certain they will catch-up and surpass. They’ve got a blog going already, and a Twitter feed; Twitter being what will fuel the fires the fastest. Their message seems wishy-washy though, so I’m just giving them a 5. For right now.

For what it’s worth, social media is everyone’s field to play in for communications – crisis or otherwise. Have at it. Make it work for you. Just know it’s a game you don’t want to be on the sidelines merely watching.

Less Snakes, More Interactive Whiteboards In Atlanta Public Schools

Help E. Rivers Elementary have less snakes and more interactive whiteboards! These whiteboards are terrific teaching tools. I’ve had the chance to see how kids react to them and use them in several APS schools, and they really are remarkable.

Teachers love using ’em too. More info about the white board tools are at the link… and how you could help the PTA at E. Rivers in their fundraising drive to get more boards into all E. Rivers Elementary classrooms. Every little bit of donation helps.

And yeah, who wouldn’t want to own a company (Promethean World) where PTAs and school systems everywhere were clamoring to raise money to buy your product? They’re that good.

Watch a video about the interactive whiteboards here.

Atlanta Public Schools Turn To Print When Everyone Else Goes Digital

The above photo displays the dubious fate of a brand new newspaper suddenly being produced (at what cost?) by the Atlanta Public Schools (APS) system. It was taken 4-21-09.

This Vol. 1 newspaper product lists a two-page directory of APS administration names in the back – yet not a single e-mail address is included in that contact information.

Yet APS has spent millions of dollars on technology over the last few years – with some of those seeking technology-related contracts now in jail. More on that issue here:

http://www.usdoj.gov/atr/public/press_releases/2008/240669.htm

The dubious method of distribution for this new paper product? Kids’ backpacks.

Could this be another example of wasteful contracting in the Atlanta Public Schools? FYI… I put in a call to the (Boston/NY) company contracted (was there a bidding process?) to produce this paper product for APS, and a call to the Communications Dept. for APS. No one has returned my calls as of 4-23-09.

And if there’s a Spanish-language version of Atlanta Educator, I’ve yet to see it.