Feeney and Burris: APPR Update

These are the principals you want to work for. They are the same people Leo Casey attacked for being self-serving. You decide.


Here is a link to a half hour interview I did with Carol Burris in her office:
https://vimeo.com/41595569

Here is some video of Sean Feeney at a high stakes testing forum at the Brooklyn New School
Part 1 https://vimeo.com/38901880
Part 2 https://vimeo.com/38919400

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "New York Principals"
Date: 26 Sep 2012 18:50:15 -0700
Subject: NY Principals APPR Update: 26 September 12

Dear Friends:

You are receiving this message because you have indicated your support for the New York State Principals' Open Letter Regarding the NYS APPR Legislation (http://www.newyorkprincipals.org/). We thank you for your support and would like to provide you with an update on activities since this new school year began. As always, the most recent version of the APPR Position paper (with all signatures) is available at: http://www.newyorkprincipals.org/appr-paper. Given that the paper with signatures is over 142 pages long, we have also created a separate link for the four-page paper alone.

As of the beginning of this new school year, over 1510 New York State principals have signed the letter: that's over one-third of all principals in NYS! We have nearly 7100 total supporters right now. Be sure to check out our website for the most current information.

Some articles to consider:

1) APPR and Teacher Scores

The year began with many New York State teachers and principals receiving "student growth scores" from our State Education Department. A cursory look at the research reveals all of the problems and damages related to attempts to provide such scores; quite frankly, it is shocking that they are still being used and considered!

Sean wrote a piece about Ashley, a star teacher in his school who received a very low score from the state. You can read his piece at: http://wapo.st/NqleD2

2) The New York Times and the Chicago Teachers Strike

Many readers of the New York Times were startled to read its "Chicago Teachers' Folly" editorial published on September 11th. Clearly, the editorial page is welcome to its opinion; what was surprising was the rationale for its position and its lack of any attempt to cite research to back its views.

Fortunately, Carol and Diane Ravitch wrote a response to this editorial. Be sure to read this piece on Diane's terrific blog: http://wp.me/p2odLa-22k

3) Voice Your Concerns about Changes to Teacher Education

In the previous update, I wrote about the situation involving Professor Barbara Madeloni from UMass. Some of our university colleagues are organizing a pushback against the impact the policies of NCLB and RTTT are having on teacher education. The changes being imposed are altering the teacher education programs created by professionals with experience. The bottom line is that Pearson Corporation, not teacher education professors, will have final say in certifying teachers; and teacher education programs will be assessed, in part, on the basis of the test scores of the students of their graduates. Please read the linked petition for details and please consider signing, writing to officials and sharing: https://sites.google.com/site/educatorsconcerned/

4) Would Your Principal Send Home this Letter?

One of our New York colleagues (and early supporter of our Position Paper), sent home a parent letter that has received a lot of attention recently. You can read Dr. Sternberg's letter through the following link (be sure to explore the SchoolLeadership2.0 website after you read it): http://goo.gl/sCl82

Have a terrific end of the week!

Sean and Carol

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scfeeney@newyorkprincipals.org

Principal, The Wheatley School
Old Westbury, NY  11568
follow my blog: http://www.thewheatleyway.org
follow me on Twitter: @scfeeney