Turtleboy Investigates

Both the Mass Association Of School Superintendents And School Committees Wrote INSANE Letters Mocking Andover Hockey Parents And Endorsing Corrupt Superintendent Shelley Berman 

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The Andover High School hockey scandal gets more and more insane by the day. Today, out of nowhere, both the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents and the Massachusetts Association of School Committees sent letters to Andover School Committee Chairwoman Susan McReady – a steadfast supporter of corrupt superintendent Shelley Berman – offering their support for her and Shelley.

This is Glenn Koocher:

And he’s the executive director of the Massachusetts Association of School Committees. Here’s the email he sent:

From: glenn koocher <gkoocher@masc.org>
Date: Wednesday, February 7, 2018 at 12:47 PM
To: Susan McCready <SMcCready@aps1.net>
Subject: Andover and Hockey
 
Ms. McCready:
 
Please forgive the delay and the possible impertinence of my communicating with you on the issues related to the Andover hockey situation.  I have been at the NSBA winter advocacy meetings and returned this morning to review some of the e-mails and news reports and saw the report on the situation and responses that have come in.  I also saw that a letter written by Superintendent Berman had two years ago, unrelated to the most recent suspension of the hockey coaches, had been reprinted in the newspaper.
 
This was a painful and emotional reading for me, as I experienced similar situations personally as a student athlete and as a parent of a child who competed in sports.  In addition, “I have seen this movie” too many times to allow simply sit by.  My comments are directed exclusively to you, but you may share them if you wish.  I do not intend to do so but I do not consider my e-mail correspondence as “off the record” to the recipient.  I also responding on my own out of a sense of outrage. 
 
Finally, I do not want to interject myself publicly into what should be (and legally must be) a confidential process, so I do not expect that you could even respond to me on this matter, but I feel the need to do so privately.
 
I am disgusted by several elements of the Andover hockey story and the response of the “jock-ocracy” in response; and I would encourage you to review some of these issues with your school committee.  
 
First, the experience of coaches berating players, holding them in uncomfortable circumstances on the bench or in the cold, or withholding breaks is sadly not unusual. Whether or not the allegations are accurate from whomever the complainants are, we should leave to the investigators to determine.  However, once it is concluded, the school committee might be well advised to review how your coaches are evaluated, who conducts the evaluations, and whether more than a won/loss record is the basis for the assessment.  
 
Second, the glorification of the ungovernable ambition of some of our coaches is also a common thread.  Many coaches work to help develop successful adults through competitive sports.  I cherish my own former high school and college swim teammates even today, and remember fondly the victories and even the defeats.  We all grow from this.  But for some, it’s about needing to win, satiate egos, and even use kids as their vehicle for self-glorification.  In my days as a Cambridge School Committee, I proudly demanded and secured the dismissal of a few coaches who exploited students, humiliated them, or mistreated them.  [I particularly remember a situation when the football coach, fighting the reduction of two of his twelve assistant coaches, using a student as a pawn during a public hearing on the budget and explaining how this kid came from a home with no father, a drug addicted mother, and a juvenile record and how it was Mr. _____, the assistant coach who was about to be laid off, who turned him around to keep him out of jail – all the while as the student stood there embarrassed in front of a room full of people.  Needless to say, we made the cuts.] 
 
Third, I do hope that you as the school committee chair address the inexcusable and illegal release of a strictly confidential but appropriate letter that the parent (I am going to assume that it was Superintendent Berman writing as a parent and not as superintendent) sent to the high school principal regarding his concerns about the hockey coach.   I note that the letter was actually written two years ago and isn’t related to the current situation, except that someone obviously decided to bring it up through an illegal leak.  There is absolutely no reason, nor is there any possible excuse, for that parent, the family or the student in particular to suffer the humiliation of exposing themselves to public knowledge of this most sensitive situation, especially when the letter was obviously written as a private citizen to the appropriate administrator over the program.  I am personally concerned that someone leaked that letter and since very few people had it, it could only have come from one or two sources.  It is a most egregious violation of an attempt of a parent to deal with a student’s situation discreetly.  The leaker should be referred for prosecution to the district attorney.  
 
Fourth, and not within your jurisdiction, is the response of the coaches’ association in support of one of their members and in the disrepute that they attempted to bring upon the complainants of the student hockey players to the state child protective agency whomever they are.  As a school committee, I would encourage you to bring this to the attention of the MIAA and its Hockey Committee. 
 
I want to commend Andover for its excellence and the school committee itself as an exemplary group of advocates for children and families. I further commend you for dealing with this issue in the appropriate way knowing that the privacy rights of children and families – and even the potentially offending staff – were at stake.  I know that you anticipated none of this, nor do you probably want the attention.  I also realize that in a public media frenzy, things can get out of control and take on lives of their own. 
 
If we can be of any assistance to you, or provide any statement in support of you and the school district, please feel free to contact me.  Otherwise, you won’t hear from me again on this.
Glenn Koocher
Executive Director
MASC

How smart does this pretentious douchecanoe think he is? Try to sound more scholarly in an informal email. You can’t. But we’re all wicked impressed about your erudite vocabulary.

First of all, he calls supporters of the coach a “jock-ocracy.” Because he’s an elitist Cambridge resident who looks down on people who enjoy blue collar, gritty sports like hockey. But in fact this is a “helicopter parent-ocracy.” Not a “jock-ocracy.” When he says that he is mocking concerned parents in Andover who want their kids to have their coach back.

Secondly, this statement right here – The experience of coaches berating players, holding them in uncomfortable circumstances on the bench or in the cold, or withholding breaks is sadly not unusual – is treating the baseless allegations against the coach as if they are fact.

Thirdly, he basically is suggesting that Coach Kucher is a self serving egomaniac who will do anything to win when he said this – But for some, it’s about needing to win, satiate egos, and even use kids as their vehicle for self-glorification.

Fourthly, the anecdote of the Cambridge football coach attempting to save an assistant coaching position by bringing a kid from a troubled from a troubled background, whose life was saved by the assistant coach, is one that tugs at the heartstrings. Obviously then this heartless jackwagon acted like the coach was the one victimizing the kid, and proudly bragged about cutting 2 coaching positions that directly impacted children – “Needless to say, we made the cuts.” What a badass.

Fifthly, he actually has the nerve to not only defend the outrageous, inappropriate 6 page letter that Shelley Berman sent to the principal about Coach Kuchar, he also had the audacity to say this: “I am going to assume that it was Superintendent Berman writing as a parent and not as superintendent,” and this, “the letter was obviously written as a private citizen to the appropriate administrator over the program.”

No. Absolutely not. Just a reminder that Shelley Berman said the following things in that letter

“His coaching style is not aligned with the larger interests of the Andover Public Schools.”

When you mention the “larger interests of the Andover Public Schools” you are not speaking as a parent, you’re speaking as a superintendent.

“It was a game in which I had indicated to Principal Conrad that everyone on the bench needed to play in that game so that everyone felt included.”

Parents don’t tell principals that everyone on the bench “needs” to play in a game, because parents have no authority. Superintendents do. He was speaking as a superintendent. And if that wasn’t clear enough there was this –

“As a father AND A SUPERINTENDENT I can’t let this kind of behavior go unaddressed.”

Couldn’t possibly be any clearer. This arrogant, conceited, lifetime HACK, used a bunch of big words in a vain attempt to prove he’s the smartest guy in the room. But his reading comprehension skills aren’t even good enough to pass the MCAS.

Sixthly, this – I note that the letter was actually written two years ago and isn’t related to the current situation.

It’s 1,000% related to this situation. It’s the same coach Shelley Berman CLEARLY has an obvious bias towards. It’s also the EXACT SAME BEEF that Shelley Berman had – one kid’s parent is mad that his kid isn’t getting ice time on varsity. Shelley Berman is probably kicking himself for not anonymously calling DCF like this asshat did.

Seventhly, this moron also wants the coach or parent or whoever the hell put this letter out there (which has been out there for years and dozens of people sent us) to be arrested and tried in a court of law!!

I am personally concerned that someone leaked that letter and since very few people had it, it could only have come from one or two sources.  It is a most egregious violation of an attempt of a parent to deal with a student’s situation discreetly.  The leaker should be referred for prosecution to the district attorney

What the hell is wrong with this nudnik? We’re not gonna address the outrageous things in that letter? We’re not gonna address how the superintendent of schools shit all over a 14 YEAR OLD, and even NAMED HIS FREAKING NAME, in an attempt to get his son ice time over this CHILD? Instead we’re gonna focus on who put the letter out there. A letter that there was ZERO expectations of privacy about, since it was written AS A SUPERINTENDENT and sent to two other administrators. These people LOVE secrecy and hate the fact that we are exposing them like the cockroaches they are.

Then he goes on to blame the hockey coaches association for backing up a great coach, and asks that they be reported as well. In a letter from the SCHOOL COMMITTEES ASSOCIATION, backing up a superintendent. The irony is strong with this one.

Finally this is a joke:

I want to commend Andover for its excellence and the school committee itself as an exemplary group of advocates for children and families.

If they cared about children and families they would let these kids have their coach back and attempt to finish off a normal season. Instead the kids are suffering so that Shelley Berman, who oversaw a school district where a football player DIED in 2008 and the coach was not reprimanded, can get his sick, perverted revenge.

This is Thomas Scott, the Executive Director of the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents:

He also wrote a letter supporting the superintendent and Andover School Committee that is enabling him:

Same bullshit. “He wrote the letter as a parent.” Wrong. That’s not even remotely believable and everyone who read the letter is insulted that you think we’re that stupid. We’re not stupid. You’re stupid.

And once again, if Shelley didn’t want this letter being made public then he shouldn’t have written it. If he were only a parent it would be one thing. I’d still want those made public because parents like him should be embarrassed and humiliated for their disgusting, enabling behavior. But the fact that he’s in charge of the schools means that nothing he writes to the principal can ever be truly private.

Whatever you do, DO NOT contact this guy and give him a piece of your mind:

That email he wrote should’ve stayed private!! Why should people be accountable for things that they put in writing?

34 Comment(s)
  • Paul
    February 11, 2018 at 11:21 am

    Tommy boy, it is hard for us to respect our elders when you go and stick your head up an idiot’s ass and act like that was the right thing to do.

  • Dave
    February 10, 2018 at 8:48 pm

    How do lying frauds like this look themselves in the mirror?

  • Well, No Shit
    February 9, 2018 at 3:14 pm

    So, the next two dipshits in the Hierarchy of Shame have chimed in. Who’s next?

    Maybe the “in my feelz” Democrat Representatives like Frank Moran, or Diana DiZoglio? Should Senators Kathleen O’Connor Ives, or Barbara L’Italien weigh in, perhaps?

    This just keeps getting more and more ridiculous.

    All of these idiots need to fuck off.

  • Dan
    February 9, 2018 at 2:54 pm

    Tom Scott needs a reading comprehension tutor.

  • Mary Dick
    February 9, 2018 at 2:19 pm

    The epitome of the old boys network.
    F U Tom Scott
    F U Glen Koocher
    F U Shelly Berman
    Get ready to be buried in the Turtleboy graveyard.

  • Joe
    February 9, 2018 at 1:26 pm

    Tom Scott looks like a guy who hasn’t seen the inside of a classroom in more than a quarter century. Why would anyone look to him for advice? This letter proves that he has no concern at all for children and only exists to exonerate his cronies in the superintendent world. Someone really has to shut these people down.

  • AHS Player from Last Century
    February 9, 2018 at 11:41 am

    A partial accounting of the situation:

    1) Andover townie high actually has a good enough program that some of the kids might stick around and play for it, rather than go off to a catholic school or a prep school for a shot at Div 1.

    2) Mary Shelley blows a gasket as a parent because his kid isn’t good enough to play top 6 on the team. But he’s not a garden variety parent. He’s the supe. He writes a letter that the principal and AD can’t blow off as yapping from a parent…because he’s the supe.

    3) Nothing happens, but Mary and the rest of the limp-wristed school system leadership now have their sights set on a…a guy who actually brought Andover a winning program, after DECADES of mediocrity at best.

    4) They nail the coach on allegations that turn out to be 100% bogus. Worse, they get a state agency known for fucking up people rightly or wrongly – the DCF – involved. All for this: running a winning hockey program the way a winning hockey program should be run.

    5) Instead of backing down and hoping this thing goes away quietly, ruffled feathers smoothed over, the school committee soviet doubles down, and now more Revenge of the Nerds heroes are weighing in with all their school committee power because they, too, were wedgied by the “jock-ocracy” when they were school kids themselves.

    6) Their big beef? This prima facie retarded argument that it’s possible to compartmentalize behavior as a “parent” and behavior as a “school committee bigwig.”

    My God. This is precisely why we can’t have nice things, and this is precisely what happens and will continue to happen as long as we allow the “esteem first” administrators to run our public schools. Liberalism / progressivism is a mental disorder.

  • Mitch
    February 9, 2018 at 11:32 am

    Glen Koochie Koo has no idea how real life works. He says “”The leaker should be referred for prosecution to the district attorney.” Are you sh!$$!ng me? If the superintendent was so stupid that he put his pitiful head full of pissieness on paper and gave it to numerous people, there will be no way possible to identify “the leaker”. For all we know, Shelly himself may have leaked this because he sure as heck thinks his side is the right side. The people of Andover need to show this haughty joke of a leader the door and hire someone who wants no affiliation with cover-up patrol of Glen Koocher and Tom Scott. I question the ethics of this entire motley crew.

  • Wtf
    February 9, 2018 at 10:49 am

    It isn’t a “leak” , it’s a whistle blower. It’s such a sad world that intelligent people who point out corruption, flaws or inconsistencies get in trouble if known. Wtf

  • jojo
    February 9, 2018 at 10:01 am

    Serious question: Isn’t the letter from the superintendent to the AD and principal public record? Couldn’t this be subject to public records request? Even if he is a parent, he is still and always the superintendent.

  • Andover MA
    February 9, 2018 at 9:44 am

    Sorry, why would anyone care what these two nudniks have to say?

  • TortugaNino
    February 9, 2018 at 9:21 am

    what scares me most is the amount of errors in that first letter…someone this high up in the education system you would think could proof read his diatribe before hitting send. Moron.

  • Jack Straw from Wichita
    Jack Straw from Wichita
    February 9, 2018 at 8:28 am

    Impertinent. What a pretentious douche. Who does he think he’s writing to, Jane Austen?

    • Finn
      February 9, 2018 at 8:41 am

      Hahahaha – this just made me lol.

      🙂

  • Paulo
    February 9, 2018 at 8:13 am

    Holy Shite. What kind of ethical low must you hit to have high profiles like these two and deem it a good idea to go to bat for Sheldon? How stupid do these two think the rest of us are?

  • Nan
    February 9, 2018 at 8:00 am

    The people of Andover’s money pays the MASC and MASS dues. Why are the people of Andover paying for the heads of these organizations to subvert the truth in this matter? Pull the plug on funding these two groups now.

  • Some Guy
    February 9, 2018 at 7:45 am

    Hahaha, Kooch fondly remembers his time as an “athlete” on the swim team. That pole smoker thinks his time spent mopping up jellyfishes in the shower after a swim meet counts as his athlete experience. Is there anyone that seriously thinks his athletic experience was anything more than that and cleaning up dirty towels and shit-stained jocks? Fuck no.

  • GroundHog
    February 9, 2018 at 7:20 am

    After about the age of 14, it is almost always about the wins and who can be placed on the field or court to get a win.

    Being on JV doesn’t mean you are a bad person. You are either too small, too short, too inexperienced. If coaches are so focused on wins, why would they bench or send a player to JV if everyone “knows” the player is a stud?

    I’ve got a nephew in Div 1 College football, previous top 25 national ranked team, conf. champs, full scholarship. When he graduated High School they retired his #. All state in a state that goes much crazier for HS football than Mass., blah, blah.

    In High School he got shipped down to JV because at the time he didn’t have the skills needed to help the team win as there was someone playing his position better than him. JV gave him playing time to make him better. Kids know if they have it or not and whether they are one of the studs on a team.

    In college he was now on a team full of studs. On that team he rides the bench a lot because there was someone better than him. I tend to agree, one player ahead of him was a NFL 2nd rounder last year.

    He started half the games last year and acquitted himself well (though I’m biased). He played those games because the starter got hurt, next player in line got in, fucked up on the 1st play, that player got pulled, nephew went in and stayed in.

    • Hugh Jass
      February 9, 2018 at 1:33 pm

      No one cares about your dufus neice.

  • for the children
    February 9, 2018 at 7:00 am

    Andover hockey is cancelled because of a coach? Would math class be cancelled because the teacher did something wrong? No, they’d hire a substitute. Is it out of line to expect that a substitute coach would be selected to allow the student-athletes to continue their season?

  • Anonymous school committee member
    February 9, 2018 at 6:53 am

    Shame on you Tom and Glen for bringing scandal upon all whom you are supposed to represent. Your failure to acknowledge the truth of this case is an insult to all.

  • Shelly Sucks
    February 9, 2018 at 6:23 am

    Gloves off Turtleboy. Both of these bozos live off of the public dime. Certainly they do it behind the veil of private organizations but both are funded almost entirely by public dollars sent to them by public school districts for their “services”. Apparently composing letters that attempt to justify improper behavior by rogue superintendents and appalling actions by school committee members who want to shield crappy behavior by superintendents is among these “services”. Many people who work in these organizations collect their public pensions and, beyond retirement, continue to take excessive public dollars in addition, ensuring that their friends live the good life. If you think the MIAA is bad then you should look into the funding of these two organizations. You would have a field day and might even find that you need to dig a plot under Novick to bury them in the TB graveyard.

  • Hugh Jass
    February 9, 2018 at 5:45 am

    This is why I am on section 8, ssi, EBT, and MassHealth: my hs coach didn’t give me enough playing time. Or any. But anyway thanks to you all for working your second jobs so I can live a life of leisure… Suckers. Snicker.

  • Fat sweaty netty
    February 9, 2018 at 4:38 am

    This is what happens when you’ve been a loser your whole life. You grow up a loser

  • fordsnharleys
    tngsucks
    February 9, 2018 at 1:03 am

    Whoever leaked this confidential information should be prosecuted.
    Is he supporting the anonymity turtleboy is berated for?

  • Brian
    February 9, 2018 at 1:00 am

    The athletes judging the hockey coach we’re swimmers and fencers

    • Kevi
      February 9, 2018 at 9:44 am

      Don’t be hating on swimmers, sword handlers, or twinks in general for that matter!

  • Steven Stover
    February 9, 2018 at 12:08 am

    Glenn Smoocher or whatever his name is is a Cambridge clown that got participation trophies so he wouldn’t cry. In layman terms we would call him a sissy.

  • February 8, 2018 at 11:18 pm

    Your kid playing jv might as well be playing on the special Olympics.

  • Investigate Berman!!
    February 8, 2018 at 11:03 pm

    Elitists and Leftists circling the wagons. They know if Corrupt Shelley Berman goes down they are all at risk. The commoners see the king is nothing more than a small dishonest man, a pied-piper of bullshit and not worth his paycheck. Masshole officialdom and elected royalty are scared shitless of commoners waking up.

    “I Would Rather Be Governed By the First 2,000 People in the Telephone Directory than by the Harvard University Faculty”

    Those desirous of power should never be trusted with power.

    • True Reality Speaks
      Public Education is a Scam
      February 9, 2018 at 7:29 am

      Yup. Typical Democrat trying to deflect from the real issue, and supplying a false narrative (that Berman wrote the letter as a parent and not as Superintendent). Kinda like how the Dems attempted a coup against a sitting president and now are trying to say Trump obstructed an illegal investigation. Wonder why you don’t hear the Dems spouting off about Russian collusion anymore? Could it because they are the ones that worked with the Russians to try and discredit Trump?

      Just another example how shit rolls downhill, and how the totalitarian Left has subverted every level of government.

  • Beavis
    February 8, 2018 at 10:53 pm

    Lol Koocher.

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