From the ICE Mailbag:
I am scoring the ELA tests every day after school and Sat. and Sundays as well for two more weeks. I've already done it for nine days. There must be hundreds of teachers involved in this important task of making sure that as many kids as possible score as many 4's and 3's as possible irregardless of the quality of their work. Lots of money is being spent on this activity which is probably why the DOE is cutting 100 million from the school budgets.
Teachers rally at unsafe public school
BY JESS WISLOSKI DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Teachers and parents picketed a Far Rockaway school Wednesday to protest what they said were increasing outbursts of violence in the school.
I am scoring the ELA tests every day after school and Sat. and Sundays as well for two more weeks. I've already done it for nine days. There must be hundreds of teachers involved in this important task of making sure that as many kids as possible score as many 4's and 3's as possible irregardless of the quality of their work. Lots of money is being spent on this activity which is probably why the DOE is cutting 100 million from the school budgets.
Email from Time Out From Testing:
Last night the DOE slashed $100 million from school budgets. No discussions, no input from those working in schools. This morning principals woke up to find how much had been removed from their school budgets for THIS SEMESTER. Without any prior discussion; what an outrage!
Time Out From Testing would like to propose that each one of us write Chancellor Joel Klein, with copies to City Council Member Robert Jackson, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, and Jennifer Medina at the NY Times arguing that if there must be a $100 million cut, it should not be taken from instruction, but from the interim assessment contract (Acuity costing $80 Million and ARIS ($80 million), the system now in place to track every students' personal information. Those two contracts cost the DOE $160 million. That would leave $60 million for the schools to invest in teaching and learning.
In addition, we should DEMAND a listing of all those who work at TWEED along with their salaries.
Time Out From Testing would like to propose that each one of us write Chancellor Joel Klein, with copies to City Council Member Robert Jackson, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, and Jennifer Medina at the NY Times arguing that if there must be a $100 million cut, it should not be taken from instruction, but from the interim assessment contract (Acuity costing $80 Million and ARIS ($80 million), the system now in place to track every students' personal information. Those two contracts cost the DOE $160 million. That would leave $60 million for the schools to invest in teaching and learning.
In addition, we should DEMAND a listing of all those who work at TWEED along with their salaries.
Teachers rally at unsafe public school
BY JESS WISLOSKI DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Teachers and parents picketed a Far Rockaway school Wednesday to protest what they said were increasing outbursts of violence in the school.
3 comments:
My principal and I sat dumbstruck in front of our budget this morning. I called my DR, and even he hadn't been made aware of the cuts.
This is a very worrying state of affairs. We shaved every line item we could, but it was a slaughter. I have never been so deeply disturbed in my teaching career in NYC as I was this morning.
Senior teachers in phase-out schools will face the wrath of this. We currently have no idea how we will possibly staff our school for next year.
How utterly disgusting. Children First? My ass.
I had the misfortune of once teaching, or attempting to teach in PS 42. It was very dangerous even then, as the children were out of control. There was no recourse from the administration. The students would run in the halls, making noise and destroying bulletin board displays.
If I would call home to advise parents about their childrens' poor behavior, they'd be in denial.
Parents feel they are never to blame, which is why their children act like this in school.
Of course, the powers that be in the tweed building didn't do their homework when they decided to bring older kids into buildings such as this one. Students in this school and schools like this one need consequences, otherwise things will only get worse before they get any better.
I am also scoring the ELA.. You are right about the big bucks that this process is costing. Yes also to the fact that we are trained on a rubric and then the next thing you know the rubric goes out the window and we are being told to give threes and fours and absolutely no 0's. Why bother learning the rubric when the DOE has its own?
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