The Enemy Within

With all the problems facing NYC public schools perhaps the biggest is the enemy within - the very people running the system are anti-public school ed deformers who favor certain politically connected charters (hint: a touch of evil). District 3 (upper west side) CEC President Noah Gotbaum illuminates us.


Question: What do the three schools being targeted for closure in District 3 – Wadleigh Secondary, Frederick Douglass Academy II Middle School, and Opportunity Charter School – have in common? 
If you answered failing schools on the most recent progress reports you would be wrong.

The correct answer is that they are all being proposed for closure solely to provide Eva Moskowitz and two of her Harlem Success Charter schools with additional co-located space.

Given their past performance and the populations which Wadleigh, FDAII, and Opportunity Charter serve, these schools should be lauded and supported rather than threatened with closure.  Instead, the DOE has been starving the 6-12 public schools Wadleigh and FDAII, which traditionally have received strong progress reports and have seen both their programs enrollment improving.  Despite this, and a first time poor progress report grade this year, the DOE is recommending them for closure.  Same holds true for Opportunity Charter which, while no paragon for having tried to prevent its teachers from unionizing and also having had some disciplinary problems, consistently has received high progress report grades and for years has been held up as a model by the DOE for charters since it educates predominantly special needs kids.  On no account is OCS failing, and received a B on its last 3 progress reports including this year. The DOE even went so far as to recommend last year to SUNY that Opportunity Charter get its charter renewed.  Now, however, they are calling for its closure because it is failing?!  Please explain DOE…

I will provide much more detail in the coming days on this incredibly sad and sordid example of how the DOE is undermining the 99.5% of schools which serve all students simply to advantage and provide phony examples of Eva's "high performing" charter schools "beating the odds."   Unfortunately, however, we are scrambling at the moment to plan for the DOE's "Pre-engagement" meeting with FDAII parents scheduled for 5:30 today – which we first found out about on Friday afternoon!

Again, more to come on this but in the interim anyone who can break away from the Occupy the DOE meeting at 5 to join us please do:  Wadleigh/FDAII Auditorium, 114th between 7th and 8th Avenues.  5:30 pm tonight.  Thank you!

noah

Subject: [nyceducationnews] 21 NYC HS and 6 charters on possible closure list
In addition to 20 elem & middle schools already identified; some of them did not get the low grades thought to trigger the process.

Meanwhile, at least 2 charters w/ failing grades authorized by DOE but are NOT on poss. closure list: Bronx Lighthouse and Fahari Academy; http://goo.gl/qbFRe.

The high schools  include three schools receiving federal "transformation" funding; http://gothamschools.org/2011/11/02/city-adds-high-schools-charter-schools-to-possible-closure-list/
Many new small schools, including 2 "College Board" schools also on list: Academy For Scholarship And Entrepreneurship: A College Board School (Bronx) Brooklyn Collegiate: A College Board School (Brooklyn).

Whole list (exc. Charters) are here: http://www.ny1.com/content/news_beats/education/150076/doe-officials-mark-total-of-47-schools-for-closure
http://www.nytimes.com/schoolbook/2011/11/02/21-high-schools-identified-as-struggling