"This is not a UFT chapter meeting." ----Dennis Walcott to Queens UFT Borough head Rona Freiser at PS 215 hearing, Jan. 20.
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| The word doesn't match the image |
The NYCDOE holds a closing school hearing for PS 215Q on a Friday night at 6pm. Chancellor Dennis Walcott is, surprisingly, present. There was a lot of anger and anguish amongst parents, teachers and UFT officials from the Queens office.
The first person I ran into was Queens PEP rep Dmytro Fedkowskyj.
"Did you hear my statement?" Sorry. It must have been a wowser. Later I asked if he categorically supported keeping PS 215 open. "I'll examine the facts." Okay. Examine what? Either you view the Tweedies in good faith or bad faith. No examining necessary when it comes to the failed policy of closing schools other than in the most outrageous cases like Williamsburg/Believe Charters.
Lots of teachers and parents and union and politicians were there. At the end of the video that's local City Councilman James Sanders getting booed. (Some people view him as one of the worst CC people.) He jumped in to save what looked like his pal Walcott but I did not include his silken words designed to distract people in the video --- he gave the impression he would assess the situation but we know the score --- he will do nothing. If he feels community heat he just might say a few words in favor of PS 215 but won't put any political capital behind it.
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| Hey Walcott, there ARE NO MORE DECK CHAIRS LEFT |
Quite an interesting evening and I put together this 12 minute clip of a few highlights.
NOTE THE BAD BLOOD BETWEEN THE UFT - QUEENS BOROUGH UFT HEAD RONA FREISER ASSISTED BY DERMOT SMYTH AND WALCOTT. ALSO NOTE MY INTERVENTION IN SUGGESTING THEY USE 'MIC CHECK" TO GET THEIR MESSAGE ACROSS AND HOW JUST USING THOSE WORDS STOPPED WALCOTT'S INTERFERENCE --- I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE MIC CHECK USED AT A UFT DELEGATE ASSEMBLY.
And one more point. I felt the Rona showed some insensitivity in bringing up the 33 schools and how it was unfair to close a school that went from C to A while at a hearing to close PS 215 which got an F. If we are disputing the grading system as unfair we should be consistent.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOuvml9CXPA
Side note:
I got there late even though it was in Rockaway and I live 15 minutes away. Anna Phillips of the NY Times borrowed one of their cars to make the trip -- I told her PS 215 was impossible to find, especially at night, and I get lost every time I go there during the day and if she came out early I would treat her to a Rockaway dive dinner and drive her there. But she got delayed at the office and then got trapped in a bad lane on the BQE so dinner was out the window and we did a rush over to the school. I dropped her off and had trouble finding a spot -- a sign of a big crowd. I parked blocks away (I won't go into details of the post-meeting senior moment when I couldn't find my car) and could hear cheering coming from the auditorium.
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Check out Norms Notes for a variety of articles of interest: http://normsnotes2.blogspot.com/. And make sure to check out the side panel on the right for important bits.
8 comments:
What can one say about Rona Freiser, and Dermot Smyth?
Dermot doesn't return phone calls when UFT members contact him. Rona Freiser has candy gift baskets all over the place. That's the UFT, give em a snack and they'll be happy.
This was such a shame and brought tears to my eyes as I watched this. My entire family grew up in Far Rockaway (mostly Bayswater and Edgemere areas). I have tons of Rockaway roots. It is such a shame because it does NOT have to be this way. Far Rockaway HS used to be one of the top high schools back in the 60's and early 70's..and look what the city turned the school into.
Also, for those who are interested in seeing Mayor Bloomberg's "revitalization of the Rockaways", I took pictures last year of certain areas to show the changes and what Bloomberg 'thinks' will work.
https://picasaweb.google.com/105589868212559562968/ArverneAndRockawayBeach
(Oh, and my grandparents house is around the corner from 215. The Far Rockaway area can be very difficult to navigate through. I am fortunately lucky to know the Rockaway area, mostly because I used to drive my grandparents around for their errands when they needed assistance).
Norm-I actually watched this whole thing. I have one question-no, it is actually a comment. The UFT person, HOLY SH*T-what a friggin' moron!!! -no wonder the union is so powerless. If that is a representative of a Union official, then how in the world is anyone to take issues seriously. I am truly sorry to be so nasty, but c'mon now!!!
There are TONS of stories about D27 Superintendent, Michelle Lloyd-Bey. I had 2 leave replacements in the now-no more PS 225 (was closed in 2009) on B 110 Street. Lloyd-Bey micromanages EVERYTHING..MORE SO IN THIS DISTRICT, than in other places. I also had the experience of teaching in district 1. District 1 had little micromanagement compared to how Lloyd-Bey runs 27.
Lloyd-Bey is known to be evil, just like the rest of the Tweedies.
Lloyd-Bey is not evil. she is no different than any of the other Tweedies-SHE IS JUST KEEPING HER JOB! Do you really think that these people actually think/feel that they are doing the right thing? They are all aware [except for the Mayor], that the policies of the Bloomberg administration are detrimental to the NYC Ed system. Like most of us, they need and want that paycheck. If she stood up and agreed with the folks at P215, she would have gotten her walking papers the next day!! believe me when I say that she is both smart and kind-yes kind!!
Anyone in the bureaucratic system with the DOE can not be completely kind..Knowing how the DOE conducts business and what they want their bureaucrats to do, one can not be kind or humane!
So...if Walcott says they are closing 215 because they got an F...why not point out that even when they give schools A's and B's they still close them?
its so sad that my school is closing down. IfWE JUST HAD THE PRUPER RESORCES WE WOULD HAVE A A+ , BUT SINCE WE DON'T OUR SCHOOL IS LACKING , I HAD SOME GOOD MEMERIES IN THIS SCHOOL. P.S.215 JUST NEED SOME MONEY AND NEED TO DO BOX TOPS TOO. OUR SCHOOL IS A GOOD SCHOOL I LOVE IT. I AM A CURRENT STUDENT AND GRADUATING THIS YEAR TO. I HOPE THIS SCHOOL THE BEST.
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