Today's Take Away From Yesterday's Walkout

As I revealed on this blog yesterday, and picked up today by Bernie O'Hare in his posting, Michael Frassetto has a reputation of being an excellent teacher. Never the less, a comment from Bernie's post yesterday states;

The students who fell for the charlatan Falsetto's insane rantings were simply looking for a reason to cut class. Pure and simple. None of them were serious students, just like their Pied Piper was a lousy teacher and got dismissed from a charter school position where even the worst teachers survive.

Frassetto was not a lousy teacher, and taught at Roberto Clemente several years, where he started United Youth Party. Until yesterday, that organization was only associated with positive work, involving youth participation in several notable projects. Many teachers at the charter schools are excellent educators. Likewise, I'd bet that some of the kids partaking in the walkout are indeed good students. It's easy to generalize and spout off like Bernie's anonymous commentator, but in addition to being misinformed, it can be counter productive. Frassetto certainly does has a flaw, he's too much an activist for the comfort of the administrators above him. However, to totally dismiss an action involving so many students, can only further alienate them. Although I totally reject the protester's formal demands, and many of them may indeed be underachievers, it is therefore even more incumbent upon Allentown to somehow make this experience more than just another negative for the district.

UPDATE:  I've been informed that the 3th walkout, for today Wednesday Sept. 30th, has been cancelled.

The Academy of Vindictive Arts

A rather ugly picture is emerging about the demonstration at the Allentown School Board meeting Thursday evening. From a report by Jacqueline Palochko of The Morning Call, we learn that protest leader, Michael Frassetto, was coaching kids for the protest during school time at the Medical Academy Charter High School, where he teaches. In trying to explain away distasteful videos on his facebook page, he clearly indulges in double talk. The article mentions that Jose Rosado is CAO of the that school, but omits Rosado's background. He was terminated by the Allentown School District as principal of it's alternative high school, and subsequently filed a lawsuit, claiming that minorities were unjustly sent to the alternative school. Minorities are the majority in the Allentown high schools,  so why not in the alternative school?  I have an issue with these discrimination type lawsuits.  Truth be told, minorities have a leg up getting hired, but never complain of discrimination on that end of the contract. If Rosado is the CAO, Abe Atiyeh might be the Provost, in that he apparently owns all the buildings housing the charter schools. Frassetto, rejected by employment by the Allentown School District, defends his coaching as a teachable moment, and Rosado claims that he wasn't aware of Frassetto's protest coaching. One would think that in a small charter school, that he should be aware of most everything.

Some have speculated that the demonstration and walkout scheduled this week are a concerted business effort to lure students away from the school district and into charter schools. My guess is that it's concerted vindictiveness,  against the Allentown School District. What is apparent is that the Medical Academy is a controversial place of learning. Some of the characters promoting the walkout actually have aliases, criminal records and pending charges.  This is what Frassetto also regards as a teachable moment? I was going to end this post by writing how ironic that parents looking for alternatives, end up sending their children to a place staffed by rejects from the public system, but there's a disclaimer necessary.  I heard that Rosado's trouble with the Allentown administration began because he complained about teacher's speaking despairingly about students.  Even more complicating to my narrative, I heard from a reliable source, that Frassetto is indeed an excellent, dedicated teacher. I conclude that Michael Frassetto has a problem separating his personal activism from his teaching. He's entitled to believe that the Allentown District has issues, but encouraging students to walkout for five days is not in any way educational.

photo of Michael Frassetto by Harry Fisher/The Morning Call

Armstrong On Demonstration At School Board

A lesson in anger and fraud was on display at tonight’s school board meeting. District students, offered free food if they showed up, were then riled up by an adult charlatan protest leader and directed to focus their energy and anger on the supposed injustices perpetrated by the Allentown School District, its board, and superintendent. This, they proceeded to do with great dispatch, banging on the Administration building’s picture windows and chanting very loudly. It was real sound and fury. The press and police were there in force. The leader of this group, who was clearly hoping to make a name for himself, was allowed to address the board. He used the opportunity to make thinly veiled threats and present himself as a great leader. I heard this from the hall as I was unwilling to be part of his audience. He is an opportunist, but the opportunity was created by Mayor Ed Pawlowski and his agents who discredited the district as part of their campaign to gain control of the board. With the FBI’s focus on the mayor, that plans seems to be in jeopardy, but the damage has been done to the district and yes, to the city itself. This protest is bad news for who, in the suburbs, will watch this and say, yes, let’s move our family to Allentown. Well done, Ed Pawlowski and all those who participated in his scheme to selfishly besmirch the ASD. Tonight was the first fruit of that effort.
                                   Scott Armstrong

ADDENDUM: The above first person account of the last night's school board meeting is by Scott Armstrong,  current board member and candidate for reelection in November.  Accounts of the meeting by the Express Times ,  WFMZ and The Morning Call paint a rather raucous event.  Protest organizer and charter school teacher, Michael Frassetto, would better serve students by encouraging them to go early, and stay late, rather than participate in his scheduled walkout.  It appears as if teacher union leader Debra Tretter could have separated her lack of contract grievance more from the other protest.  Likewise, former board member Holly Edinger appeared to put a political agenda ahead of the student's best interests.

Allentown News and molovinsky on allentown

Today, I was going to do another Yom Kippur post, this time on the 1973 war in Israel. On October 6th, Yom Kippur in 1973, 500 Israeli soldiers defending the Sinai, were attacked by 80,000 Egyptians. Instead, I'm going to write about a really surprised and outnumbered group, the Allentown taxpayers. Although, I would prefer to concentrate on the progress of the baby ducks at Cedar Park, Bernie O'Hare and Bill White compel me to indulge in this political stuff, as Emma of Allentown's past would say.

Today, O'Hare at Ramblings, writes about the NIZ not being accountable, if he only knew to what extent. In my recent sit down with Alan Jennings, he had the same complaint, and he's on the NIZ board. With passing through over $30 million in state tax dollars each year to J.B. Reilly, that amount exceeds the budget of many Lehigh Valley municipalities. It's ironic that the ethics of Kathleen Kane are being are scrutinized, when the state has neither a budget, or one responsible representative in Harrisburg. To heighten the irony, we have the largest full time statehouse in the country, or in other words, the most crooks.

While all this is going on, Bill White is emailing me, that my comment to his recent article, about how good the Morning Call coverage of the NIZ is, must have been deleted by an automatic program, which hunts and deletes inappropriate words. I suppose that telling the truth about Allentown's Revitalization is inappropriate.

So my friends, you are truly under served by me, who prefers to write about the WPA walls in Lehigh Parkway. You are also left uninformed by the Morning Call, which insists that it's cheerleading for Reilly's empire is actually hard news.

Yom Kippur 1965

Scott Armstrong, Magnet For Controversy

Of all the candidates running for Allentown school board in November, and there was perhaps the largest primary field in Allentown's history last May, none is more controversial than Scott Armstrong. The irony is that none of the candidates are more plain spoken and straight forward than Scott. In a city dominated by liberal Democrats, a conservative Republican becomes a lightening rod. Armstrong actually criticizes the teacher's union for their contract demands, and defends the superintendent. Here's a sample of the current frenzy worked up about Armstrong.

I think that fellow incumbent Scott Armstrong is a right-wing extremist who is not only racially divisive but an obstructionist to getting anything done by the rest of the board. He creates such a toxic environment at school board meetings that I cringe just being in the same room with him. He is not only not a part of the solution, but also he is a big part of the problem on the ASD Board, and he has to go.

The above slur appeared on facebook. For two terms now, defeating Armstrong has actually been a campaign theme for some candidates. As an writer on Allentown, and politically independent, I could endorse no better candidate than Armstrong. He's a home owner near Allen high, sent his kids there, and has been involved in every aspect of Allentown School District for the last decade.

It's going to be a knock down race this November. Ce-Ce Gerlach has developed nothing less than a grass roots machine. Charlie Thiel, first part of the Pawlowski chosen slate, has been positioning himself for the post Pawlowski period in the local Democratic machine.  But only Armstrong, truly represents the taxpayer with no ambition beyond the school board.

Readers of this blog know that in addition to addendum's and updates, I also do unannounced rewrites. Consequently, the post you read at 7:30 AM, may be quite different than the version at 5:30PM. This post may well become part of that category.

Allentown's Deluded Of The Month

I'm not sure who's more deluded this month, Mayor Ed Pawlowski, or Morning Call columnist Bill White. Since Pawlowski got visited by the FBI, he can't get enough of the little people. He's been attending little hispanic churches and posing with center city children. Two months ago, he was dining in NYC, and bending arms for campaign contributions. Ed's fall came from simple greed. Years ago he spend over a $million in taxpayer money to make City Hall user friendly. This year, he and his campaign manager instead conspired to sell access to him and city hall, quite a difference. Truth be told, Pawlowski and Fleck had nothing to do with the arena and that NIZ $billion of taxpayer money, so they went for their own little taste.

Bill White is offended because the blogs have reported that both he and his paper have been lite on scrutiny of the mayor and Allentown's Revitalization. Although he wrote an article detailing his and the paper's articles, he didn't mention these blogs by name. When I filled in the names of those blogs, he deleted the comment. Another truth be told, there has been nothing written or revealed of substance about the NIZ, which did not appear first on this blog, including information provided by others in my comment section. The paper was even officially comprised by having their building included in the NIZ, when it was the only property on north side of Linden Street included. Now, that would be something for Bill to write about.

ADDENDUM: Bill White states by email that he did not delete my comment on mcall.   He states that there is an automatic program, which deletes comments which contain offensive words. There were no such words in my comment, and it was deleted, within 24 hours.

screen grab from Pawlowski's facebook page, which is now a study in humility. 

A Fib and A Truth In Allentown

In a recent piece, Bill Kitten White explained that although the paper may have fibbed once or twice about Mayor Pawlowski, they are telling the truth about the NIZ, and it's wonderful. As if on cue, today's paper states that the Reillyville restaurants are preparing for the 10,000 Men Unity Conference at PPL Center on Saturday. After getting past the headline, and reading the article, Shula's better hold off on ordering more steaks, but perhaps Chickie's and Pete's might need a few more hot dogs, but I doubt even that. We find out that 3,000 tickets have been distributed, but the organizers are hopeful that more men attend. It's intent is to encourage men to fulfill their obligations, in regard to family and children. As if the restaurant bull wasn't enough, the article explains that a number of rooms at the new Renaissance Hotel have been set aside. Since they go for about $200 a night, those men would be better off saving that money for their children. Did I forget to mention that Ed Pawlowski is going to the event. He said that "It's important to take a step back from all the distractions in our lives...". Wonder what's distracting him?

ADDENDUM: Bill White's piece does NOT concede any fibbing about Pawlowski,  and defends it's coverage of the NIZ. It does take molovinsky and Ramblings to task, (but not by name) for our  criticism of the Morning Call coverage. Although White claims that the paper broke numerous stories, he omits the fact that his paper has never given attribution to this blog, for the stories broken here.  I found  White's version of the paper's coverage so distorted, I must have hallucinated that he admitted fibbing.

ADDENDUM 2: At the carnival, when you spin sugar fast enough, it becomes cotton candy. Likewise, when the paper indulges in spinning an event, especially to an absurd degree,  (such as this Unity event,)  it does become a fib.

UPDATE: Bill White deleted my comment off his mcall article,  criticizing him for not mentioning this blog by name.  Furthermore,  today(September 20th), a year late, the Morning Call finally gets around to reporting that the Allentown Arena was the most expensive arena ever built.