In February of 2012, recorded by the Dallas Observer, at http://www.dallasobserver.com/news/mayor-mike-rawlings-gives-dallas-isd-board-central-staffers-a-lesson-in-marketing-101-7104526,
is an article titled "MAYOR MIKE RAWLINGS GIVES DALLAS ISD BOARD, CENTRAL
STAFFERS A LESSON IN MARKETING 101."
It helps explain why Mike Miles
supporters pulled out the statistical fabrications from Education Research
Group (ERG) and their analytics to help provide deniability for the failures
that are obvious in DISD achievement data since 2013. See the preparation for
such tactics in the description of this February meeting in 2012:
"Before the night was through, Blackburn would introduce "one of my
special buddies," Mayor Mike Rawlings, who asked to remove his
"mayor's hat" before delivering a lengthy monologue on ways to polish
DISD's rotten apple. But before that, Blackburn turned over the floor to Merrie
Spaeth -- the same woman who captained the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth's
branding campaign and who served Craig James's accomplice, for lack of a better
word, in getting Mike Leach fired at Texas Tech. Much of her presentation
consisted of a series of ads and viral video clips intended to remind the board
that "negative words" are bad because they're "memorable"
and "positive words" are good because they're .... positive? Said
Spaeth, if you use "positive words," well, then, "People will
hear what want them to hear." (All of which sounded very, very
familiar.)"
Does the use of the complex unauditable ERG algorithms sound like the same type methods that guided the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth's branding campaign? All they had to do was create a minimally credible "hook" for Mike Miles' defenders and alleged "reformers" to hang their hat on. But they will never meet in a public forum to discuss the issues!
The Dallas Morning News article "Fact check: Was the DISD miracle real?" was exceptionally mild in pointing to the manipulations by ERG, but did not swallow it all either. See www.dallasnews.com
DISD massive achievement failings since 2013 have been hidden by a deniability campaign probably directed by the exact same people who ran the original Swift Boat Veterans for Truth campaign.
How does that help our students?
See the ERG web site at http://educationresourcegroup.com/ and study it closely.
