How far will CEJ bend?

Last Update: Nov. 12, 12:30PM

That's the "Coalition for Educational Justice" for those not aware. CEJ is the group that got good vibes for leading the rally that closed down the Aug. 16 PEP meeting. (I'm in too much of a hurry to get you the links but you can find it by searching this blog's archives.) Now I'm getting bad CEJ vibes when I read this in the WSJ:

Cathie Black isn't expected to take the helm of the country's largest school system until next month, but the battle lines are already forming.

Ms. Black is garnering some leeway from critics of her predecessor even as she faces resistance from other key stakeholders in the city's sprawling educational bureaucracy.

Zakiyah Nasari, a parent and member of the organization Save Our Schools, says she is giving Ms. Black, the head of Hearst Magazines, the benefit of the doubt. The group—which has adamantly opposed many of the initiatives of Ms. Black's predecessor, Joel Klein—wants the Department of Education to roll back the use of state tests in school report cards and do more to help those students deemed not proficient, issues that the teachers union agrees with.

Ms. Nasari's organization, a coalition of community groups that has also fought school closures, was created after new state test scores showed that only 42% of city children are proficient in English and 54% proficient in math.

"We hope Ms. Black will be an ally to move forward and really open a dialogue and include us as key stakeholders in decisions," Ms. Nasari said. 

So, will CEJ join the growing "Stop Cathie from getting a waiver movement?" I'm doing an over under on that one. Though it is Rupert's WSJ and they have an interest in highlighting possible support for Black. Is this an attempt to create splits in the opposition to Black. Will CEJ jump?

Luis Reyes wrote to the listserve:

As a member of the SOS coalition, I know I was never asked, though the article implies that she speaks for the whole coalition. It also spells her name wrong, consistently.

NOTE: CEJ jumped back in April 2007 after the St. Vitas church outpouring of hatred toward BloomKlein (look it up in the Find box) - the only time BK blinked - but in essence CEJ and others led by Randi Sellout led them away from militant action, which after all is what the UFT does. People tell me the UFT funnels money to CEJ, a subsidiary of the Annenberg Inst. I can probably find out but I'll leave that to journalists. Muckrakers can just be lazy.

Hmmm. BloomBlack - BB or BlackBloom - BB or as one retiree emailed me "leaving the kids, teachers and schools Black and Bloom after they're gone."