NYSAPE Parents Outraged at Cuomo/NYSUT Eval Deal, NYC Parents Anger at UFT on Contract Schedule Changes

Look at the 2-year moratorium and when it expires. Right after the 2016 UFT elections. So Mulgrew has some cover before the shit hits the fan. Does anyone think the UFT played NO ROLE in this deal? NYSAPE appears to think so. Or is playing politics by trying not to offend the elephant in the room.

The deal reached today by Governor Cuomo and the New York State Legislature regarding minimizing the impact of Common Core test scores on teacher evaluations is a slap in the face to parents across the state who have implored them to reduce the amount of testing that children are subjected to and to improve the quality of these exams and the learning standards.  ... NYSAPE Press Release

No mention of the UFT/NYSUT. I know there will be some blow back on this post as I get "Norm, the UFT is NOT the enemy." Sure. Just like Vichy.

I am getting weary of parent groups that give cover to the UFT, or make excuses for them -- in essence, they are enabling the UFT to make these backroom deals and not be held accountable. I can't tell you how many emails I get from parents who want ME to expose the UFT hierarchy but don't want to go public because they have dealings with them. In essence they are playing the same "seat at the table" game the UFT plays. It will get them nowhere - as you can tell about these deals the UFT made on evals and in the contract that screw parents. Did the UFT consult ANY of their so-called parent partners on this? Hey -- where is CEJ (Coalition for Educational Justice)/Annenberg which goes silent when convenient?

The UFT uses the same tactics Bloomberg used to buy silence. [I remember when the so-called parent advocate, Moaning Mona Davids, was silent for a time when she was "working" with the UFT. I actually felt sorry for the UFT for even putting their foot in that cesspool. Someone should check LM-2 from c. 2010-12 to see if any money changed hands. Hey, Mona, how much would it cost to get you to support tenure? Well, we can't compete with the hedge funders - are they smart enough to not go there, given they have so many other places to go to kill tenure than Moaning with Mona?]

Isn't it funny how NYSAPE, a great group of parents, put the sole blame on Cuomo and the State Legislature but don't mention the responsibility of the UFT controlled NYSUT? Mulgrew was crowing about this deal. Just last week at the DA he was talking about how the Vergara decision makes it clear how much we have to work with parents and how proud he is of the work the UFT does with parents.

And gee, the AFT/UFT/NYSUT tandem has made whiny statements about how they are opposed to the testing regimen.

But you know the drill -- watch what do, not what they say.

By the way - look at the 2-year moratorium and when it expires. Right after the 2016 UFT elections. So Mulgrew has some cover before the shit hits the fan. Does anyone think the UFT played NO ROLE in this deal? NYSAPE appears to think so. Or is playing politics by trying not to offend the elephant in the room.

This follows on the outrage of parents in schools around the city over the contract that forces changes in school schedules, as I reported the other day: UFT Contract Toxic PD Spillover: Parents Unhappy -...

That post triggered this email from a parent.

6/19/14

Hi Norm,

    Just want to confirm what you said that the parents did not really understand what the new contract means for their school in terms of school hours.  NESTM had a 8:20-3:10 day.  Next year they are going to default 8:00-2:20 day.  The parents are enraged because this is a commuter school so the commutes need to get earlier and then the other problem is the very early dismissal.  The PTA is  calling all parents to go to the Parent Teacher meeting this morning and they sent out a survey about how many parents what this earlier schedule. I will keep you posted.  I am sure that this is not only happening at at our school.

The NY Times touched on this today: New Contract for Teachers Is Altering Schools’ Hours

There is a lot of commentary on the eval deal from teacher bloggers:

Eterno at ICE: COMMON CORE TESTS ALONE FOR GRADES 3-8 WON'T KILL TEACHERS FOR TWO YEARS -

RBE: New York State's Teacher Evaluation System - And Its Governor - Continue To Lose Credibility

Here is the complete NYSAPE Press Release:

Parents Outraged by APPR Albany Deal that Ignores the Children

The deal reached today by Governor Cuomo and the New York State Legislature regarding minimizing the impact of Common Core test scores on teacher evaluations is a slap in the face to parents across the state who have implored them to reduce the amount of testing that children are subjected to and to improve the quality of these exams and the learning standards.

“The deal does nothing to protect students or to address poorly constructed tests, abusive testing practices or concerns about the Common Core,” said Jeanette Deutermann, Nassau County public school parent and founder of Long Island Opt-Out.

“While protecting teachers, this does nothing to protect our children who will continue to be subjected to the stress and damage from inappropriate curriculum, standards and exams,” said Anna Shah, Dutchess County public school parent.

In light of this misstep, it is not surprising that Governor Cuomo and Commissioner of Education John King have lost the confidence of New Yorkers. The recent Siena poll shows that only 9% of respondents say they “completely trust” Governor Cuomo to act in the best interests of our students, and only 4% completely trust Commissioner King.

“Governor Cuomo and Commissioner King have made it clear they will not heed the concerns of millions of outraged parents across the state. Their arrogance is dangerous and will only continue to hurt our children, our teachers and our schools,” said Nancy Cauthen, NYC public school parent and member of Change the Stakes.

Many New Yorkers have expressed dismay that Governor Cuomo continues to ignore the growing number of unfunded mandates, insolvent schools, and increasing poverty that public schools face, while promoting excessive and developmentally inappropriate testing practices and flawed learning standards.  He has also put the interests of his wealthy contributors who support charter schools that rob public schools of resources.  “Neither testing nor the Common Core will help close the achievement gap or erase the inequitable funding and inadequate conditions that plague our public schools,” said Marla Kilfoyle, Long Island public school parent and General Manager of BAT.

“Let’s not forget that according to King and Cuomo, eight year old children will continue to sit for almost seven hours of testing over the course of six days, tests that no one can see or critique. Parents will not be fooled by token changes that do nothing to protect students from these abusive practices. Unless a moratorium directly reduces or suspends testing for students, our children will continue to suffer,” said Bianca Tanis, Ulster County public school parent.

Katie Zahedi, Dutchess County principal at Linden Avenue Middle School said, “As long as the NYSED and Cuomo's education office are run by non-experts, beholden to forces bent on dismantling public education, our students will continue to be subjected to bad policies.”

“It's time for a Governor that supports the priorities of parents, evidence-based teaching practices, and REAL learning for the students of New York,” said Eric Mihelbergel, Erie County public school parent and co-founder of NYSAPE.

NYS Allies for Public Education (NYSAPE) is a coalition of more than 50 parent and educator groups throughout the state.