I believe Mr. Klein was an English teacher at Blair back when my son was in the magnet. He was an excellent teacher and I hope that he will continue to do a good job as magnet coordinator. Mr Ostrander was absolutely outstanding in that role so he has big shoes to fill.
While I am personally sad to see them mess with the Blair magnet program, which was so formative an experience for my kid, I am more hopeful now that they are selecting qualified people to fill these positions.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If he's being promoted into that position, that means the regional program model is pretty much guaranteed to move forward and that the vote in March is purely performative.

Votes aren't performative, they are perfunctory.

You shouldn't want a major change to pass or fail with a divisive vote. You should want a consensus to be reached.

Any objections to the plan should be resolved and publicized well before the vote.

Sometimes I might agree with that, but on the whole, that means the deliberative work of the board happens outside of the public view and I generally don't like that. So no, I don't believe objections tot he plan should be resolved and publicized before the vote because it cuts the public out of the decision making process.

The board is still waiting to obtain data promised to them for months by Taylor. He has promised it to them by March, so they will have no time to consider it. In the meantime, Taylor is making full use of his power to remake current programming by moving staff.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ostrander won't get replaced at Blair in all likelihood and he is leaving at the end of January. Since high schools are forecast to get one program coordinator each, it's likely that Sarah Filman, the CAP coordinator, will take over for Ostrander.

Just announced:

Blair Assistant Principal (half of 9th grade) and former English Teacher and coach, Chris Klein taking over Magnet Coordinator role "permanently" (not a temporary acting appoitment).

Seem like a demotion to go from AP to magnet coordinator....

Anonymous wrote:At least it is someone who understands challenges when building quality magnet programs. Maybe he will explain to them that they will need to hire good teachers first.

+1

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ostrander won't get replaced at Blair in all likelihood and he is leaving at the end of January. Since high schools are forecast to get one program coordinator each, it's likely that Sarah Filman, the CAP coordinator, will take over for Ostrander.

Just announced:

Blair Assistant Principal (half of 9th grade) and former English Teacher and coach, Chris Klein taking over Magnet Coordinator role "permanently" (not a temporary acting appoitment).

Oh wow. So, content knowledge is no longer needed for the position. Is Klein also remaining in his position as assistant principal?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If he's being promoted into that position, that means the regional program model is pretty much guaranteed to move forward and that the vote in March is purely performative.

Votes aren't performative, they are perfunctory.

You shouldn't want a major change to pass or fail with a divisive vote. You should want a consensus to be reached.

Any objections to the plan should be resolved and publicized well before the vote.

Sometimes I might agree with that, but on the whole, that means the deliberative work of the board happens outside of the public view and I generally don't like that. So no, I don't believe objections tot he plan should be resolved and publicized before the vote because it cuts the public out of the decision making process.

Anonymous wrote:If he's being promoted into that position, that means the regional program model is pretty much guaranteed to move forward and that the vote in March is purely performative.

This has always been the case.

What a loss for Blair. Fillman is no Ostrander, that’s for sure.

Anonymous wrote:Ostrander won't get replaced at Blair in all likelihood and he is leaving at the end of January. Since high schools are forecast to get one program coordinator each, it's likely that Sarah Filman, the CAP coordinator, will take over for Ostrander.

Just announced:

Blair Assistant Principal (half of 9th grade) and former English Teacher and coach, Chris Klein taking over Magnet Coordinator role "permanently" (not a temporary acting appoitment).

Ostrander won't get replaced at Blair in all likelihood and he is leaving at the end of January. Since high schools are forecast to get one program coordinator each, it's likely that Sarah Filman, the CAP coordinator, will take over for Ostrander.

I wonder if his role will also involve overseeing the middle school and elementary school academic programs too?

Did this position exist previously, does anyone know? Or is it new?

We have one Blair magnet alum and one currently in the magnet program. Mr. Ostrander is absolutely great. A big win for the Central Office. I think he deserves the credit in hiring and retaining the great Blair magnet teachers. Hopefully, he will still put effort in maintaining the quality of Blair magnet from central office as well. Besides everything else, I will also miss his sense of humor. Always loved the way he casually inserts jokes in the middle of sentences.

our kid is in the magnet and we love mr ostrander. he is very experienced, knowledgable, and down to earth. not a career climber but someone who actually cares.

I haven’t decided, yet, what to think about the Regional model, but the face that Mr. Ostrander is being put in charge is an excellent sign.

My kids were in the Blair magnet and Mr. Ostrander always impressed me. We may not have always seen eye to eye, but he was reasonable, knowledgable, and cared a great deal about the quality of the magnet program. I believe he also had a teaching background, and certainly seemed more sensible about academics and what goes on in a classroom than most central office staff.

Anonymous wrote:Blair Magnet Coordinator Ostrander appointment to Supervisor of Academic Programs, effective Feb 2026

Will support the regional magnet programs.

Central office figured out that they were clueless on program development and Ostrander has been educating them. This is good for central office and not so good for Blair. I think Mr. Ostrander will find central office a depressing place to work.