Tweed Slime, Part Umpteenth

Recently we posted a story about former principal - and current high level DOE appointee Elif Gure-Perez who went after AP Christina Villavivencio for not giving poor ratings to African-American teachers --- The Slime Still Oozes at Tweed....
Villavivencio went through trials and tribulations in 2 schools before landing on her feet at principal of PS 197 out here in Far Rockaway. I gave her credit for doing so. 

And then these comments started surfacing. 

If true, can slime grow on slime? And someone asks where is the union? They must mean the Queens and District 27 UFT, one of the more "collaborative" union units - they never met a principal they didn't want to defend. 

And by the way, bully principals don't exist due to the DOE alone but are enabled by the UFT.

AnonymousWednesday, January 14, 2015 at 11:33:00 PM EST

What's amazing is that Villavicencio, the "victim" in this case is 10x worse than Gure-Perez. She is running 197 into the ground, taking it from an A school to an F. In her short term as principal of that school she has run out 30-40 highly rated teachers who had been at that school for many years, 99% conveniently white! One veteran teacher even died after being hospitalized and coming back to work to being severely harassed by this woman, causing her so much distress that she died of a heart attack. The real person who needs to be investigated is Villavicencio. The former chapter leader, is her "right hand man" who buries teachers' along with the principal, in exchange for her hiring his sister in law, as well as non-existent schedule and a job as the AP, which has since been rescinded, with no knowledge of why. The list of her wrong doings goes on and on! Falsifying records, changing IEPs, calling 311 on her own teachers, bribing parents with food, etc.... She has been reported numerous times to the union and the superintendent. Nothing was ever done! Nepotism is also alive and well at this school. All new hires are friends of hers, the chapter leader, or people in the network that she's friends with! No interviews for any positions, such as cluster or coaching, IEP teachers, etc.. have ever been posted; they were just handed to these people.

All anyone has to do is investigate this fraud! Check how many times 311 was called on her. Ask her how many teachers left that school under her tyrant rule? Unfortunately I'm one of the "unlucky" ones; I'm still there! It is an awful place to work!
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Anonymous Friday, January 16, 2015 at 9:49:00 PM EST

I heard about that chapter leader at 197, Herrera, I think his name is. He is some piece of work. He elected himself after being pushed out and then the newly elected chapter leader was illegally excessed so that the principal wouldn't have to deal with him. This left the door open for him to become chapter leader after nominating himself. He is known to have turned on his teachers, telling the principal everything they said to him privately and pushing her agenda, to rid experienced "white" teachers. This was done in exchange for hiring his sister in law, who was not even licensed and giving him a non-existent schedule (maybe 2-3 classes per week.) . She worked under a sub license, which in turn left the school with no subs. I heard that every time a teacher was out, the classes were split. Unreal! He gives the union a bad name. How does this go on when everyone knows about it, meaning the union and the superintendent.
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Where is your Union? 197 needs help! on The Slime Still Oozes at Tweed as Racist Fomer Principal, Elif Gure-Perez, Holds Onto Job
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I heard that the principal at 197 chases away her APs, they never stay. on The Slime Still Oozes at Tweed as Racist Fomer Principal, Elif Gure-Perez, Holds Onto Job

After a day watching sleazy DOE legal in action, I need to take a shower....

.....sordid, corrupt, immoral, unsavory, disreputable, shady sleazoids. I'm sure I haven't used up the full range of synonyms.

.... attempted intimidation of witnesses for the defense and other funnies - like bringing in reinforcements. So naked and semi-competent, I at times had to hold my hand over my mouth to keep from bursting out laughing. Thank goodness for an extremely competent NYSUT attorney, who I would want defending me.

DOE legal in action

 On second thought I just may not take that shower.

Teaching and Policing: Showdown and Slowdown - Norm in The Wave

Published Friday, Jan. 16, 2015 at www.rockawave.com

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Teaching  and Policing:  Showdown and Slowdown

By Norm Scott

For the two decades of the Giuliani and Bloomberg administrations, there was no group of public employees more vilified and disrespected than teachers, often with overwhelming approval of the press and politicians and with much of the public going along – though polls did show that public school parents overwhelmingly supported the teachers at the schools their children went to. My friend Arthur Goldstein, the chapter leader at Francis Lewis HS, one of the most well-read and respected bloggers, wrote:   

“[I]t's perfectly fine to vilify teachers, to stereotype us based on shoddy evidence, and to deprive us of due process based on a handful of sensationalized cases. We should trust in the good graces of folks like Mike Bloomberg and Dennis Walcott, and we should disregard the fact that they are fanatical ideologues with no regard for evidence or truth. Is this because teaching is a profession dominated by women? Is it because time and time again our union leadership has compromised with folks like Bloomberg, embracing mayoral control, charter schools, colocations, two-tier due process, and things that looked very much like merit pay? Is it because the job of educating our children must always take second place to the importance of enriching the likes of Pearson, Eva Moskowitz and Rupert Murdoch? ... Why is there one standard for police, and a very different one for teachers? Why is it so widely accepted by the media?” http://nyceducator.com/2015/01/the-police-and-teachers.html

So, imagine a scenario at a high school graduation where Bloomberg or NYCDOE Chancellors, the universally despised Joel Klein or almost equally despicable Dennis Walcott, were the invited speakers and during the ceremony, masses of teachers turned their backs. Or a student tragically dies and at the funeral teachers turned their backs? Oh, the fallout, especially from the Murdoch press: FOX News, NY Post and Wall Street Journal. And there would have been repercussions beyond the press. Teachers who were identified might expect a drop-in observation and an ineffective rating for “embarrassing the school.”

Daily Howler Doesn't Quite Use the C-word - WAPO Malpractice in Ed Reporting on Effects of Test Prep

Did test prep really produce those “huge gains?” Tomorrow, we’ll look at the rest of the (possible) story—a possible story the Post has worked to avoid down through these long pitiful years. Even after the scandals under Rhee—even after the scandals in Atlanta—the Washington Post still refuses to go there! Could it be that something other than test prep lessons produced those soaring passing rates?... The Daily Howler (WHO CARES ABOUT SCHOOLS: Even after Rhee and Atlanta!)

We take a break for a musical interlude:



Hey, we all know that the Washington Post has engaged in a coverup and in deliberate misleading over the Rhee cheating scandals in Washington DC, as John Merrow has found out:

A Story About Michelle Rhee That No One Will Print ... Michelle Rhee lobbies across the country for greater test-based accountability and changes in teacher tenure rules. ... One editor's rejection note said that Michelle Rhee was not a national story.)

Michelle Rhee and the Washington Post

takingnote.learningmatters.tv/?p=6374

May 15, 2013 - by John Merrow on 15. .... It's not too late for the Washington Post to insist that the City Council put Dr. Sandy Sanford, former Chancellor Rhee, ...

John Merrow: Shame on the Washington Post for Refusing ...

dianeravitch.net/.../john-merrow-shame-on-the-washington-post-for-refu...

May 17, 2013 - But Merrow reserves his greatest ire for the editorial writers at the Washington Post, who were cheerleaders for Michelle Rhee and who ...

Today and yesterday, The Daily Howler - Bob Somerby --knows something about education, having taught for some years in inner city Baltimore schools --- addressed WAPO article on testing, while not openly using the C word.

Good God! After those passing rates “plummeted” in 2013, third-grade teachers at this school swung into action. As described in the passage above, they “devised a strategy for the following fall” which included extensive “test preparation.” To us, the problems with that behavior start right at the top. In theory, if a state offers statewide standardized tests, the state should also prescribe standardized test preparation. Here’s why:

Does extensive “test prep” of the type described really change scores...?.....

In theory, if test formats are so confusing that “test prep” substantially changes scores, then those formats are too confusing. You need better tests.

Let's suppose that such test prep does change test scores on the SOLs. If so, the value of the SOLs is severely undermined if School A provides extensive test prep and School B does not. If passing rates can virtually double based on test prep lessons, then it’s pointless to compare passing rates of various schools from around the state, and it’s pointless to compare some school’s passing rates to those of the state as a whole.

Beyond that, if test prep lessons change scores that much, it makes no sense to use the tests to determine “proficiency” at reading or math. Student A may know just as much math as Student B. But Student A has not been provided the test prep lessons, so his math score may be much lower.

One is “proficient,” the other is not, even though they both know the same math!

If test prep really affects scores that much, then (at the very least) test prep needs to be standardized. Having said that, a very basic question must be asked:

Does test prep affect test scores that much? Does that six weeks of test prep lessons really explain the way passing rates “soared” at this low-income school?

We don’t have the slightest idea why passing rates went up at that school. We do understand the possible scam the Washington Post still refuses to discuss, even after Rhee and Atlanta.

Tomorrow: Even after Rhee, even after Atlanta, the Post refuses to ask

Read the full piece: The Daily Howler (WHO CARES ABOUT SCHOOLS: Even after Rhee and Atlanta!). Looking forward to tomorrow when we may actually see Bob use the C word.

And our final video of the day:

Fighting Back In Your School - MORE Chapter Leader Election and Support Workshop - Jan. 24

I see a lot of complaints about a lot of things going on in education but often these complaints are not attached to the problem with the union. Nothing will change until the union changes. And that change starts at the school level. I will (reluctantly) shlep down to the Delegate Assembly to watch more shoveling of bullshit - the only reason I'm going is because I'll be in the neighborhood for the 3020a hearing. It is so obvious that so many people are left out in the cold by the UFT -- and it makes it worse when it's 10 degrees.

New post on Movement of Rank and File Educators

Fighting Back In Your School by morecaucusnyc

Now, more than ever we need a revitalized union that involves and mobilized all its members. You can do this by getting active in the upcoming UFT chapter leader and delegate elections. All schools (chapters) will have an election this spring.

Our tenure rights, pensions, our very jobs are coming under attack from politicians on both sides of the aisle and the corporate billionaires who fund them. Schools have become places of fear; teachers are scared of losing their jobs, students are afraid of tests, administrators who lack classroom experience violating our contractual rights. Teachers were once highly respected members of society who dedicated their lives to making the world a better place. Now we face attack after attack from those who have an economic interest in destroying the public education system. The plan is simple; close down our public schools, destroy unions, drive down wages, and increase their profits.

How do we fight back, how do we defend public education while advocating for the children we serve? Unions are the answer! You need to start in your school. Revitalizing your own chapter is where you start.

This is where MORE can help. We have to start from the bottom up. We have to organize ourselves, get people in our schools involved in the fight and educate parents and community members. The best way to do this is during the upcoming chapter elections.

Start with your chapter, if your chapter leader is not responsive or not interested in calling chapter meetings or seeking input from members then it is time for a change. Luckily it's the right time, get in touch with MORE, we can set up a local meeting near you, help you run, offer support, and workshops. MORE can put you in touch with nearby UFT members who are facing the same challenges you are.

Our long time chapter leaders can advise you on best practices for winning elections and how to defeat the incumbent. MORE members can help in getting your staff involved in taking back our schools from the culture of fear. Our vision of unionism is one where UFT members in the schools work together, empower each other, get mobilized, have each others back, and then build alliances with nearby schools and communities.

No UFT member should ever be left alone! We ARE our union. Our working conditions are our students' learning conditions.

Come to MORE’s January workshop to learn how to build a stronger and more active chapter.

January 24th 12:00-2:30pm
CUNY Graduate Center
365 5th Ave at 34th st NYC room 5409
Free childcare is available - please email more@morecaucusnyc.org to reserve.

We will be serving free pizza and soft drinks during our post workshop meet and mingle from 2:30-3:00pm.

If you can not make this workshop email: more@morecaucusnyc.org  to set up a meeting near you

3020a Hearings Reveal Insideous Campaigns Against Teachers

I wonder at times of there isn't a secret bounty/bonus to principals for every tenured teacher they manage to chop. Maybe a check mark for future promotion.

Some MOREistas and ICEers have been attending various 3020a termination hearings - I am about to head off to the Peter Zucker hearing now. These are run like real trials except that the hearing officer functions like judge and jury. I tell people on trial that this person is the only person in the room you have to care about impressing. Forget the DOE legal people (mostly nasty slugs) who try to make you look like a mass murderer.

Fellow retiree David Dobosz has been attending a different 3020a hearing of a high school teacher. He sent this report yesterday:

What I am learning in the 3020A hearing of a (school and teacher name redacted) teacher, includes a bombshell of revealing connections. Th actual hearing record is bearing out the fact that school budget cuts are behind the senior teacher gotcha terminations and, by extension, ATR eval terminations. Between the teacher's adversarial AP and the UFT chapter leader who witnessed on behalf of the teacher and blew the whistle on the admin, all was exposed. 

Meanwhile,  the DOE has no strategy to deal with funding, increasing school segregation, curriculum dumbing down and allowing teaching or administrating out of license, all of which results put additional stress on schools to keep barely functioning. Using financial starvation incrementally destroys a quality public education for all through policies that result in dysfunction.

The UFT is silent and pretty much a non-entity - teachers are entitled to a NYSUT lawyer, some of whom have been vilified unjustly, leading some teachers to spend money on their own representation. I always say -- go NYSUT first until you feel that is not working out for you - and have backup just in case. 

 

PUBLIC HEARING ON THE RENEWAL FOR MANHATTAN CHARTER SCHOOL IS TONIGHT!

The charter gold rush into gentrifying neighborhoods like the Lower East Side goes on, supported by SUNY.
See the full 2 hour plus video of last week's forum on Eva invasion, nee cancelled hearing. Sorry I can't make it to tonight's hearing.


https://vimeo.com/116592016

PUBLIC HEARING ON THE RENEWAL FOR MANHATTAN CHARTER SCHOOL IS TONIGHT!

PS 142 AMALIA CASTRO

100 ATTORNEY STREET

SPEAKER SIGN IN IS AT 5:45

Here’s what you need to know:

· The CSD1 community has not received adequate notification of this hearing on the proposal to double MCS by adding middle school grades.

· There has been no analysis of the impact of the MCS Proposal on CSD1 schools and community.

· CSD1 residents and stakeholders deserve the opportunity for authentic input into a renewal that is in fact an expansion and a potential merger.

· The MCS PROPOSAL DOES NOT MEET THE DOCUMENTED NEEDS OF THE CSD1 COMMUNITY

· The D1 community has devised a number of building blocks via a collaborative process that should serve as the basis for any new school in the community.

· Lack of oversight and regulation of charters causes increased inequities among school communities. Particularly different enrollment practices result in different demographics and increased inequities

· The MCS Proposal fails to meet the NYS Charter School Act standards and requirements for a charter renewal.

MCS serves almost no ELLS because its programmatic offerings do not support ELLS which is out of compliance with federal guidelines

· SUNY CSI documents that MCS2 does not offer adequate programs to serve ELLS

· Despite these programmatic design failure the MCS model was replicated by SUNY in defiance of clear federal standards for providing FAPE to English learners, students with disabilities

· The MCS Board and administration has a history of demonstrated bad faith in D1

• Long history of complaints about MCS outreach efforts and colocation partnership.

· Many of the members of the Board of Trustees and top administration responsible for the creation and operation of Manhattan Charter School belong to the elite network of privatizers and education reform insiders at NYC DoE, SUNY CSI and vendors to MCS, demonstrating serious conflicts of interest.

· Yet the mission of Manhattan Charter School is based on practicing and modeling honesty, integrity and respect as part of educational efforts and social interaction

· School quality cannot be measured by mere test scores, and not without controlling for inputs

· Colocating charter schools in public school space takes important resources away from local public schools

· D1 schools are already suffering from over- crowding and rising class sizes

· There is no demand for additional charter school seats in D1

Current charters schools in D1 already attend local enrollment fairs and are included in the DoE’s enrollment directories yet are still under enrolled despite additional independent marketing and recruiting.

· Charter school wait list are artificially inflated

· MCS does not fill their seats after the 2nd grade

· Although there are no formal wait lists, there is demand (often undocumented) for local public schools in NYC and in D1

· Based on phony wait lists and supposedly superior test scores, DoE engineered and justified the colocation of MCS 2 at JHS 56

· In a letter from Elizabeth Rose (now Interim Acting Deputy Chancellor of Operations), DoE claimed there would be no harms to the 3 high needs schools sharing the Corrlears Complex at JHS 56:

However, the current colocation of MCS2 presents serious issues of inequity and threats to the school quality environment in JHS 56

· MCS has on-going issues with compliance with even the very limited regulation imposed by charter authorizers

Community Education Council for District 1 (CEC1)

2013-2015 Members:

Lisa Donlan/Arnette Scott/Daniel Becker

Moses Seuram/Marco Battistella/Latesha Moore

Olivia Rychter/Fatima Baba/Luke Henry

Stephanie Thompson

PS 20 Anna Silver School

166 Essex Street

New York, NY 10002

Cec1@schools.nyc.gov

(212)353-2946 (p)

(212)353-2945 (f)

http://cecd1.org/

The Slime Still Oozes at Tweed as Racist Fomer Principal, Elif Gure-Perez, Holds Onto Job

Elif Gure-Perez, who was named in June as an executive director in the DOE’s Office of School Improvement, created a “hostile, race-based work environment,” a Manhattan federal court found months before her appointment.

“From the moment Villavicencio refused to file false reports on these African-American teachers, Gure-Perez started a campaign to terminate Villavicencio’s employment as assistant principal,” Manhattan federal Judge Jack Weinstein wrote in a November ruling. The case is set for trial on Jan. 27. 

Gure-Perez, the former principal of PS 316 in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn, called one staffer the N-word to her face; referred to an African-American teacher as “Shining,” an insulting term for a shoe shiner; and spoke of buying a bright orange blouse to wear to school “since I know black people like loud colors,” witnesses testified.... In her new post, Gure-Perez is assigned to support 14 high schools in the mayor’s $150 million School Renewal Program for struggling schools, according to DOE spokesman Will Mantell. Her salary is $144,195. Asked why Chancellor Carmen Fariña promoted Gure-Perez in light of the complaints, the DOE had no comment..... 

Thanks to the reporting of my former editor at The Wave, Howie Schwach at his OnRockawy site and the Sue Edelman report in the NY Post. Note that the court found Gure-Perez guilty "months BEFORE she was appointed by Farina to a $145,000 job. I'm sure she brings special skills to the job that transcend her racism.

In March, a Manhattan jury found Gure-Perez liable for civil damages, awarding Lovejoy $110,000, which the city is paying.

So what's a measly 100 grand and after other law suits expect that number to grow. If you're a principal you can do pretty much anything and still rise up the ladder. What is interesting about this case is that other supervisors are making the charges, including a current principal, Christina Villavicencio, of Rockaway elementary school, PS 197. Good for her, making a comeback like this, though discontinued teachers don't seem to have much chance.

For those who disbelieve teachers who charge that they come under assault by vicious bully principals, Villavicenio's story should be a model.

Principal Gure-Perez instructed Assistant Principal Villavicencio to “aggressively supervise ‘older staff members’ at PS 316 to shake them up.” All of these staff members were minorities, and all but one was African-American. The principal directed Villavicencio to re-observe two African-American teachers whom Villavicencio had rated “Satisfactory” because Gure-Perez “wanted these teachers to be rated Unsatisfactory . . . because they were ‘old’ and African Americans.” She instructed Villavicencio to use “fear” and “intimidation” against a third teacher in order to “make her retire.”

I used to tell Joel Klein that supporting slug principals like this undermines any legitimate attempt to remove really bad teachers because you never know. PS 316 is in Crown Heights, District 17, a district with a lot of African-American teachers, many of them older. Reports have been coming in about other schools where they are under assault by abusive principals, many of whom are black themselves (PS 399K Principal Marion Brown Accused of Running School With Concentration Camp Mentality). Is there some element of racists working out of Tweed? (I know of one recently appointed Superintendent who was a former principal and had black teachers at that school tell me she was.)

In March 2009, Gure-Perez started to “create a false paper trail to get rid of Villavicencio from PS 316,” criticizing her for not clocking in for the month of November and telling Villavicencio that she did not have a “backbone to write up teachers.” In a single day, March 17, 2009, Gure-Perez placed seven disciplinary letters in Villavicencio’s file. On March 26, 2009, Gure-Perez gave plaintiff the first “Unsatisfactory” rating of her career, together with a notice of discontinuance of her probationary service as assistant principal. 

Villavicencio's life in hell continued when she was demoted and sent to a school run by a friend of Gure-Perez, PS 191 run by Principal Elsi Capolongo who is still there. Both are thugs. Let's see how she treated Villavicencio.

A few days after Villavicencio started working at P.S. 191, Capolongo told Villavicencio to come to her office with a United Federation of Teachers (“UFT”) representative because the meeting could lead to disciplinary action. The UFT chapter leader advised Villavicencio to leave the school because “[Capolongo and her friends] are after you.” The plaintiff alleges that because of her refusal to discriminate as directed, Gure-Perez terminated her position as assistant principal when transferring her, resulting in a salary reduction. Further, the experiences with Gure-Perez and Capolango led Villavicencio to take medical leave due to anxiety and depression. Villavicencio was prescribed medication and therapy for her condition. 

These people are the DOE version of rogue detective Louis Scarcella (New York City Settles Three Brothers' Wrongful Conviction Cases for $17 Million) and should be in jail for their blatant misuse of their positions.

We have maintained that tenure protects teachers from racism, though it is clear that racists will find a way. But tenure forces them into creating a paper trail, aided by DOE Legal, where you can find a crew of Black lawyers helping them do the dirty work. You wouldn't have found these people marching over a bridge in Selma.

Our Pals in -- THE Republican Senate?

While the Democrats screw us, here is something to cheer in the Republican takeover of the Senate.

The administration's position comes amidst growing anti-testing sentiment fueled by an odd alliance of parents skeptical of standardized tests, teachers unions who say using test scores to evaluate teachers and schools has warped education and conservatives who argue the federal government should play a much smaller role in local education.

In case you don't remember, Diane Ravitch served as under secretary with Lamar Alexander in the first Bush administration in the early 90s. Who would have thunk they would one day come around to similar positions on the opposite side of the spectrum they were once on?

Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., a former education secretary, university president and governor who took control Monday as chair of the Senate education panel, said he is weighing whether to ditch the federal requirement to test.

"Every parent, every teacher in 100,000 public schools is asking the question 'Are there too many tests?"Alexander said. "I don't know the answer. I'm asking the question. And the United States Senate ought to be asking that question as we think about No Child Left Behind."

Alexander said the federal requirement appears to have created a cascading effect in states and local school districts, most of which now regularly test students during the course of the school year to make sure they are on track to succeed on the federally required exam at year's end. And this year, as most states prepare for new tests aligned with the Common Core State Standards, the testing debate has gained new urgency.

"It's a good, healthy discussion that the country is having," said Alexander, who has scheduled a Jan. 20 Senate hearing on testing and set an aggressive timetable to move a bill to the full Senate for a vote by late February.

At this point, the Obama administration can't disappear fast enough.

Obama administration draws 'line in sand' over education testing

The State Journal-Register

By Lyndsey Layton
Washington Post News Service

Posted Jan. 9, 2015 @ 5:38 pm

WASHINGTON — As a new Congress gets to work to rewrite the 2002 federal education law known as No Child Left Behind, the Obama administration is drawing what Education Secretary Arne Duncan calls his "line in the sand": The federal government must continue to require states to give annual, standardized tests in reading and math.

In a speech scheduled for Monday at an elementary school in Washington, Duncan is expected to insist that any new law retain the trademark of No Child Left Behind, requiring that every public school student be tested annually in math and reading in grades 3 through 8 and once in high school, and also be tested in science at three points during those years.

The current law is about 600 pages long and spells out how the federal government sends roughly $25 billion annually to states to help educate poor and disabled students.

The National Education Association (NEA), the country's largest teacher's union, wants to kill the annual testing requirement and replace it with age span testing, which calls for students to be tested once in grades 3 to 5, once in grades 6 to 8 and once in high school.

"We need to cut back on testing and build a smarter accountability system," said Becky Pringle, NEA vice president.

---

Differentiation - Blah, Blah Gobbledygook - Turn and Talk -- to My Hand

It seems that, when it comes to differentiation, teachers are either not doing it at all, or beating themselves up for not doing it as well as they're supposed to be doing it. Either way, the verdict is clear: Differentiation is a promise unfulfilled, a boondoggle of massive proportions... James R. Delisle, Differentiation Doesn't Work, Edweek

I'm attending the Peter Zucker 3020a hearing and have had to listen to 3 days of testimony of a droning robotic principal blabbing about differentiation - and this is for an elementary cluster position where the teacher has 200 kids a week, with classes coming once or twice a week for 45 minutes at a time. What a crock. I do not believe in many of the tenets of differentiation or the workshop model and all its jargon in the NYC public school system with class sizes of 30 or more - so it was good to see the article below sent out by Murry Bergtraum Chapter Leader John Elfrank-Dana with the following  comment:

I wonder if anyone who got an Ineffective and had lack of differentiation in the lesson as one repeated reason for a low MOTP could bring this article and others in their defense?

I wanted to scream when Peter's Principal (there's a joke hiding here, but really think about it) spent 3 days worshiping at the feet of the Workshop Model - you know, teach for about 12 minutes and then break into small groups where the kids teach each other - a system that I would like - if I had about 15 kids in my class.

This Weds we should see Peter's Principal being cross-examined. I wonder it articles like this and other critiques of the Workshop Model are fodder.

I know I sound retrograde-Neanderthal, but I as a teacher I had stuff to say to kids. Lots of stuff. And I knew stuff they didn't. Taking away my right to share my knowledge by just talking to kids as a whole group is a denial of services I have to offer.

Yes, I am defending "chalk and talk" which has come under attack as being the reason kids don't learn - or get bored - or behave badly. Sorry, if kids weren't listening because I was boring then it was up to me to deliver what I had to deliver in a more engaging manner. But to abandon it totally?

I am a product of a regressive education system - elementary school in East NY Brooklyn from 1950-56 where I had to memorize dates and geographical locations - and while I'm sure many of my fellow classmates may have been bored to tears, I flourished in these subjects and even today can give you a timeline of important dates in American history. By being "subjected" to this style of teaching, I found my interests -- a form of differentiation I guess. So, today, I have a total sense of the flow of history and can put events into context.

But I was not a regressive teacher - I was an oddball in being willing to try all sorts of progressive ideas in the 70s. It is interesting that the article below begins with:

Let's review the educational cure-alls of past decades: back to basics, the open classroom, whole language, constructivism, and E.D. Hirsch's excruciatingly detailed accounts of what every 1st or 3rd grader should know, to name a few.

Yeah, I know. I tried them all -- but never abandoned chalk and talk.

Differentiation Doesn't Work

http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2015/01/07/differentiation-doesnt-work.html?cmp=SOC-SHR-FB

By James R. Delisle 

Teacher Slams UFT Partner, New Visions Network

It's been rumored that the onerous networks will be gone by July 1 and the old district-based Superintendencies reinstated to their former "glory."  The NY Post has a story:

http://nypost.com/2015/01/10/de-blasio-and-farina-plan-to-shift-power-from-principals-to-superintendents/

The network rats are racing for jobs in the districts or as school leaders. Th correspondent is happy due to the bad experience recited below with New Visions network (and charter school operator) which has partnered with the UFT/Unity Caucus leadership in driving a giant screw(ing) into the teaching force. Randi is on the Board of Trustees, as is Ernie Logan, head of the CSA. I'm glad to see the networks go for too many reasons to elucidate here. But too many Supt are god-awaful (one of the ones Farina recently appointed was the terror who ran my old school for 5 years) so don't expect much better - other than the advantage (or disadvantage) of working out of a geographical unit.

FDNY was originally started in relation to the Fire Dept. What it is now is anyone's guess -- but they closed down my alma mater, Thomas Jefferson HS, to put this in.

FDNY HS (on the Jefferson campus in East New York) is a New Visions network school.  The principal, who has been under investigation for years, is an incompetent with little teaching experience when he was appointed principal a number of years ago.   Rumor is that he had a close relative in Bloomberg’s office so that even after the staff as a whole and individually reported many, many contract violations, testing/grading irregularities and cheating, transcript tampering, special education violations, he remains unscathed to this day. 

As to New Visions: when the teaching staff united to report and complain about the principal to the DoE, the Superintendent and New Visions mucky-mucks, New Visions ignored our petition and enabled him to continue to harass teachers, especially those who were the whistle blowers against him.

New Visions provided a single part-time AP for English, social studies, etc. He was a retired DOE English AP receiving a full pension plus a salary from New Visions.  Since he was considered a consultant for New Visions and not an employee of the DoE, he was able to double dip. That is how these retired APs and principals are able to take these positions.He was in our building for a single afternoon once a week, some weeks not even there at all, never walked the halls, only observed classrooms to do write-ups, refused to teach demonstration lessons when asked, was never present for professional development of any kind, etc.  He was clueless about the environment of the school he was working with.

The immense amount of unnecessary and redundant paperwork required of teachers was mandated by New Visions despite much of it being in violation of the contract.  The professional development that New Visions provided was irrelevant and insultingly time-wasting.

New Visions also runs charter schools, which to my mind is a definite conflict of interest.

Is Eva Success Academy Charter Withdrawals Due to Staffing Issues?

Is Eva having trouble staffing up her schools for next year? She sent emails to recruit teachers as far away as CT and NJ...  Leonie Haimson

The height of ed deform coincided with one of the most severe recessions in history - akin in some ways to the 30s when Phds had to teach in NYC schools. TFA and charters had droves of applicants and replacement parts in spite of the high staff turnover rates.

Eva's goal for 100 schools and a school system of her own nested inside the NYC school system, clearly faces problems in getting teachers to work at her schools for long periods of time. Turnover is high. At some point one of their unregulated and unlicensed people will do something so dumb as to get lots of press and scrutiny. It is inevitable. She knows how disastrous that would be and she is smart enough to try to assure some quality control - not as educators but in finding people who are sane - not so easy - I can tell some stories of people I saw working over the years.

Now that the economy is improving and the word is also out so publicly that there is an assault on teacher rights and their job securities - anti-tenure law suits, Cuomo-like attacks, etc from all over the place -- the teacher as enemy.

Are the chickens coming home to roost?

Postscript: I will have video up from last night's Anti-Eva forum on the Lower East Side.

A Day at the Rages UPDATED - Did Moskowitz Back Down or Did the DOE Do a Deal Behind the Scenes?

UPDATED: DNAInfo- Lower East Side Success Academy Delayed for 2 Years, Officials Say

Chalkbeat: http://ny.chalkbeat.org/2015/01/08/success-academy-cancels-its-plans-to-open-new-schools-in-2015/#.VK_gxydZhOd

Deferred Success

The Success Academy charter school network has abandoned plans to open four schools in the upcoming school year, following negotiations with the city last month in which Success secured public space for 10 schools in 2016.

• Chalkbeat,
• DNAinfo

Even after news got out that Success Academy was scraping its plans for next school year, Lower East Side parents and elected officials went ahead with a hearing to oppose a new Success charter school in District 1.

• Chalkbeat

 

Megan Moskop comment at Chalkbeat • 

I'm really glad Chalkbeat covered this event. Thank you! As someone present at the event though, I think use of the word "makeshift" is an unfairly derogatory choice to describe the well-organized and persistent activism of LES parents. This article neglects to mention that though many went home early, perhaps due to family responsibilities, the auditorium was initially full of community members. Yes, the posters were home-made, and the speakers wore sweaters, not suits, but that's what real activism (not the well-funded Success Academy kind) looks like. It was inspiring to hear from the parents, teachers, and students who made it out last night to demand quality public schools for all the students in their district, not just their own children, and their efforts should be lauded, or, at least reported using more objective terms.

Raging Horse Blog report:

Insulted at such cavalier treatment, CEC 1’s fearless President Lisa Donlon decided to hold a public forum in its stead in which members of the Lower East Side community could speak their mind about Moskowitz and her ever expanding charter empire.
This they did. Fervently. Angrily. Passionately.... Speaker after speaker told horror stories about dealing with Success Academy and while there was a sense of relief at the DOE’s announcement, there was no misunderstanding the fact that Moskowitz and her hedge fund backers would be back when they sensed the time was right.....The crowd of about 200 people included parents, principals, and teachers, including a contingent from MORE. It was refreshing to witness such a display of rebellious intelligence and community.

MOREistas in the house - I counted about 10-a dozen all told

The coldest day turned into the busiest day. First up was Peter Zucker's (South Bronx School) 3020a hearing. I thought today the principal would be cross-examined but it turned into another half day of listening to her drone on. I have dozed off at every one of her appearances. Can we bottle tapes of her to replace sleeping pills? We went to lunch and when we came back we were waiting around for some documents to be turned over.

Done for the day and I headed over to the Lower East Side for the event being held to replace the cancelled Success Academy hearing by Community Education Council plus politicians and other community leaders, led by City Councilwoman Rosie Mendez and CEC1's Lisa Donlan. After a stop at Patrick Walsh's apartment for some coffee, we headed over to PS 20, where I taped over 2 hours of testimony and comments. Success had to drag a parent down from Washington Heights to try to make some case - only one other person spoke favorably for charters. Funny, but a UFT rep got up and while opposing Eva said she was not against charters -- toeing to the line for the UFT.

Here is Raging Horse's take: Moskowitz Backs Down (For the time Being)
and some photos -- video tomorrow or Saturday.

Rosie Mendez, one of the leaders of the band

Lisa Donlan and Rosie Mendez

MORE's Alexandra Alves comments

And Jia Lee too

DOE Suddenly Cancels Success Academy Hearing Tonight - Community to Hold Own Forum

Like McDonalds, SACS simply assumes that they can open their franchise and sling their burgers anywhere... Liz Rosenberg

...at 6:38 p.m. on Wednesday, January 7th, the Department of Education sent an e-mail stating: “In light of the fact that the DOE is not planning to site a school in District 1 tomorrow’s hearing has been cancelled.”  To date, Success Academy has not rescinded its request to change its application to School District 1. If elected officials do not receive said written notice before the scheduled press conference, community leaders will hold a forum to allow parents and community residents an opportunity to provide their comments.

Nothing surprises us when it comes to the machinations going on around Eva and Success Academy. Was it too itty bitty cold tonight? I'm going to be there and I'm old and cold.

Since SACS [Success Academy Charter Schools] switched locations virtually overnight, it had no language in its proposal specific to District 1; it failed to make the case that District 1 has “limited options” or had a “compelling need” for it. Like McDonalds, SACS simply assumes that they can open their franchise and sling their burgers anywhere. But of all the districts in the city, District 1 is even more sure than most that they do not want or need a Success Academy. ...comment at NYCpublic.org

Below the announcement I've included a great article called: District 1 Deserves A School That Matches Their Vision (Not Success Academy) by Liz Rosenberg

***MEDIA ADVISORY*** WITH LESS THAN 24 HOURS NOTICE, DOE CANCELS SACS PUBLIC HEARING

January 8, 2015 mendezrosie

Advisory_ SACS_ 1 8 15

MEDIA ADVISORY                                                                                   January 7, 2015

Contact: John Blasco [Councilwoman Rosie Mendez] 212-677-1077, jblasco@council.nyc.gov
Lisa Donlan [President, CEC1] 212-353-2946, lisabdonlan@hotmail.com

WITH LESS THAN 24 HOURS NOTICE, THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION CANCELS PUBLIC HEARING ON SUCCESS ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOL’S APPLICATION FOR A “NON-MATERIAL” CHANGE

With Little To No Notice to Community Residents and Elected Officials, Department of Education Cancels Long Awaited Hearing.Community To Move Forward With Its Own Forum

WHAT:          Press Conference immediately before the scheduled and now cancelled public hearing on Success Academy Charter Schools’ application for a “non-material” change to move its charter application from School District 2 to School District 1.
WHEN:          Thursday, January 8^th, 5pm
WHERE:       In front of P.S. 20, the Anna Silver School (166 Essex Street between East Houston & Stanton Streets)
WHY: Success Academy Charter School was previously approved by the SUNY Board of Trustees’ Charter School Committee for a new charter in School District 2, but has since applied for a “non-material” change to move their charter to School District 1. Under current SUNY policies, there is no public hearing required before this “non-material” change, since it takes place within the same borough. However, following advocacy by Council Members Chin and Mendez, SUNY has now agreed to take public comments from the School District 1 community before deciding whether or not to approve Success Academy’s “non-material” change.
However, at 6:38 p.m. on Wednesday, January 7th, the Department of Education sent an e-mail stating: “In light of the fact that the DOE is not planning to site a school in District 1 tomorrow’s hearing has been cancelled.”  To date, Success Academy has not rescinded its request to change its application to School District 1.
If elected officials do not receive said written notice before the scheduled press conference, community leaders will hold a forum to allow parents and community residents an opportunity to provide their comments.

####

http://www.nycpublic.org/impactory-2/successcomments/my-two-cents-on-sacs-in-district-1/

District 1 Deserves A School That Matches Their Vision (Not Success Academy)

On January 8th the New York City Department of Education will hold a hearing regarding the Success Academy Charter School slated for District 1 in Lower Manhattan. The school was approved despite clear community opposition and despite an eleventh-hour application change that many see as a violation of the charter proposal process. I will be delivering the following testimony at that hearing.
It is not news that Success Academy Charter Schools (SACS) is slated to open 14 new schools in NYC over the next two years, but it is news that one of those schools will be in New York City’s District 1. At the last minute, SACS asked the State University of New York (SUNY), one of two New York state charter authorizers, to change the location of the school it had originally stipulated for District 2. This might not sound like a big deal, but in New York charter applications specify that the applicant demonstrate that “the proposed school is located in a community with limited options” and that the proposal shows “a compelling need for the school.”^[1] Since SACS switched locations virtually overnight, it had no language in its proposal specific to District 1; it failed to make the case that District 1 has “limited options” or had a “compelling need” for it. Like McDonalds, SACS simply assumes that they can open their franchise and sling their burgers anywhere. But of all the districts in the city, District 1 is even more sure than most that they do not want or need a Success Academy.
With anger directed toward the Success network coming from many places across the city, how can I make such a strong statement about District 1? Because, unusually, Community Education Council 1 has invested much time and energy in understanding what type of school program their community would like to see.
Last January, District 1’s Community Education Council partnered with my organization, NYCpublic, to hold a “Community Engagement Lab.” (You can see the lab in action here.) Participants in the Lab, whose stated purpose was to determine what the community might want in a new school, came from progressive and traditional schools, from the co-ops and from the public housing developments and middle-income Mitchell Lama buildings nearby. They included representatives from central NYCDOE, local teachers and administrators–and, of course, parents.
By the end of the one-day lab, which consisted of guest-speaker-hosted “learning sessions” and highly structured brainstorming exercises, participants had come to consensus around and developed a set of “building blocks” that should be inherent in any future district school. These “building blocks” addressed:

• Configuration – Lab consensus was for a pre-K-8th grade Spanish-English dual language school, with tracks for both general education and dual language. There would be options for middle school (6th grade) entry also.

• Community Integration – Lab participants wanted a school that would be integrated with the community, providing the community with a sense of ownership. The school would act as a community hub, sharing its gym (in a neighborhood with precious few), parent center, and health clinic. It would engage local community-based organizations for after-school programming and other supports and partner with local organizations, museums, and institutions to offer programs in school and via field trips.

• Leadership – The selection of the first instructional school leader would happen early in the process of planning, designing, and building the new school to ensure that the building, instructional curriculum, teachers, and school community reflect community values. District 1 residents and parents would be part of selecting the school leader in a participatory and authentic process.

• Curriculum – Lab participants asked for a curriculum that would create opportunities throughout the year, at all grades, for multidisciplinary, integrated instruction; would develop forward-thinking skills, such as STEM/STEAM; would prominently feature social-emotional learning; would prioritize play at all grade levels; and would provide students with a real opportunity to influence what and how they learn.

• Teaching Staff – Participants were eager for a school which would support and cultivate master teachers and give those teachers some say in the allocation of budget items.

• Student Assessment – Lab attendees looked forward to a school that would allow students to demonstrate their mastery of content through non-traditional evaluation (exhibits, portfolios, discussions, presentations, etc.), in the process bolstering confidence and independence.

Most of these “building blocks” are the polar opposite of Success Academy’s school design. Via the Community Engagement Lab, District 1 has created a model for a school that will support all of students in the district, including a dual language program and social emotional curriculum. Success Academy, on the other hand, has a well-documented history of not meeting charter school enrollment requirements for English Language Learners and special education students. They are known to counsel out poor testers, or students who struggle to meet their rigid code of conduct. They do not refill their seats once those students have left. (This is one of the reasons that SACS is now being audited by the comptroller.)
Success Academy Charter Schools are cookie-cutter versions of the same school, each with the same pedagogical model. They are not responsive to the community-based organizations and cultural institutions in their midst, something that District 1 residents clearly prize. Test prep is a huge part of the curriculum at Success Academy–yet this community is asking for a school that focuses on alternative methods of assessment and a deep rich curriculum that may or may not align with standardized tests. Further, the school that District 1 envisions supports teachers and makes sure that they feel empowered as essential leaders in their school. Success Academy has a famously high turnover rate and a reputation for a dictatorial leadership style.
The list of incompatibilities could go on and on, but there is one more reason why Success Academy is wrong for District 1. This reason goes far beyond this one network of schools. We tax-paying New York City residents deserve to have a say in what public schools come into our communities. SUNY’s rubric for approving charter schools allots one point out of 64 total points to community engagement. Given that Success’ District 1 proposal was written for District 2, there is no way that they should get even that one point on this topic.
Though some District 1 parents might welcome a Success Academy, those same parents might also welcome the school envisioned by their fellow community members. This week our fight is to assert one District’s right to determine what types of schools are planted in its community.
Let this week’s hearing continue NYC public school parents’ fight to control which schools get planted in our communities. The broken process for approving charters, one that would completely discount a community process like the one described here, must be stopped.
The District 1 community wants much more for their kids. Sign their petition now. You can also go to this page to write to charter approver SUNY about why you do not want to see a Success Academy in District 1. Even better, you can share what you would rather see grow in your community instead.

Liz Rosenberg
^[1] From the SUNY Preference Scoring Rubric in their January 2014 RFP

PS 147: My Old School, Now So Cool

PS 147’s Japanese DLP featured in DNAinfo!
http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20141117/upper-west-side/what-you-need-know-before-sending-your-child-dual-language-program#

ニューヨークDOEの奨学金授与が決定しました！　PS 147’s Japanese DLP is Awarded the DOE Grant!

After nearly a year’s efforts in bringing the first-ever Japanese DLP to the NYC DOE, we are thrilled to announce that we have been awarded the dual-language grant by the Office of ELLs! We are one of the 40 DLPs approved to open this fall as an initiative to promote biculturalism and bilingualism amongst NYC public school students. We will be getting more information about enrollment procedures this week and will provide updates as we get them. Thank you for your support in our vision to bring this program to fruition!
Please see Chancellor Carmen Farina’s efforts in opening DLPs in the city:
http://www.timesledger.com/stories/2014/52/chancellor_tl_2014_12_26_2014_q.html

The Grimm Reaper of Closing Schools Leaving the DOE (Finally)

Ding dong, the Grimm Reaper of closing schools is gone.
It was a close call between her and John White - but she blinked every so often.

Why was someone who did so many horrible things allowed to stay on for a year in the new administration? unless they didn't think she'd done horrible things? ... Comment on NYCParent listserve

I got sick watching sycophantic Grimm still at the DOE, sitting on the stage a year after Bloomberg left, after years of watching her bloodlessly staring blankly at children, parents and teachers pleading to save their schools. She committed educational war

Grimm with her uberfuhrer

crimes and never had to pay for them -- there should have been a Nuhrenberg like trial for these people where they could have bleated - I vus just following orders.

I have so much video of her grimmly reading the death of their schools to the audience. At what I thought would be her last meeting of the Bloomberg era I called her The Grimm Reaper of Closing Schools.

Here is Carmen's - ugh- letter of praise.

From: Chancellor Carmen Fariña
Sent: Wednesday, January 07, 2015 2:32 PM
To: Chancellor Carmen Fariña
Subject: Announcement

Dear Colleagues,

It is with deep personal regret that I announce a leave pending retirement of Deputy Chancellor Kathleen Grimm, an esteemed colleague who has worked tirelessly to create safe, nurturing environments in which all of our students can learn and thrive.

Those of us who have had the privilege of working with Deputy Chancellor Grimm over her more than 12 years at the DOE know her as highly committed and ethical; one of her most outstanding qualities is her loyalty. No matter the task, she works collaboratively to build bridges to all of our constituencies, from the custodians’ union to the School Construction Authority to food service operators, and beyond.

Most importantly, she embraces new challenges; upon my arrival as Chancellor she willingly took on new departments, folding them seamlessly into her already substantial portfolio. As a senior member of my leadership team, Deputy Chancellor Grimm has provided a strong foundation for our most critical initiatives, including Pre-K for All, Community Schools, and our expanded school support and safety services. I know that principals, parents, and of course students have benefitted from her meticulous attention to detail and her responsiveness to their needs.

Please join me in thanking Kathleen Grimm for her indelible career and uncompromising devotion to the students of New York City, and in supporting Elizabeth Rose in her role as interim-acting Deputy Chancellor while we undertake a formal search process.

It is comforting to know Kathleen is just a phone call away.

If you would like to contact Kathleen directly, please email her at: DeputyChancellorKathleenGrimm@schools.nyc.govDeputyChancellorKathleenGrimm@schools.nyc.gov>.

Warmly,

Carmen