Capital NY Ed News Worth Sharing: Cuomo Contradictions on Ed Policy and Mulgrew Goes One Step Beyond Tweeting

Here’s a strange aside: Cuomo spent last year distancing himself from New York’s implementation of the Common Core standards. He supported legislation that now bans school districts from including scores from Common Core-based tests in students’ permanent records. Districts are also banned from emphasizing test scores when making student placement decisions. So test scores are not reliable enough to evaluate students—but the very same scores should be used to determine the fates of teachers?” 
Gary Stern, http://lohud.us/1yiH8d1 as reported in Capital NY Ed News

Lots of little nuggets in these reports. UFT also holding emergency DA -- the last DA was full of urgent tweeting. What is the next step? I would tell teachers to start an opt-out blitz and make a stand the UFT will defend teachers' right to free speech if they do so. Imagine getting thousands of parents to deny the data? Eterno has a piece on this at the ICE blog: WE MUST STARVE THE DATA BEAST NOW TO SAVE PUBLIC EDUCATION IN NY

It won't happen from the UFT until they are pulled kicking and screaming into it ---and I'll get into this more later - when I take shoveling breaks - to delve into UFT/AFT opt-out positions which became clearer when they faced the horror of having MORE/CTS teacher Jia Lee testify on a national stage -- I imagine Randi hoped to be the one to testify and oh my, a real teacher she supposedly represents who opposes her. Randi pulled every string she had to get a teacher on the panel more amenable to AFT policy. Knowing how they coopt the opposition, if MORE begins to get some traction on the opt-out story from rank and file teachers they will try to misdirect the movement.

U.F.T HOLDING ‘EMERGENCY’ MEETING ON CUOMO PROPOSALS—Capital’s Eliza Shapiro: “Michael Mulgrew will host an ‘emergency meeting’ Tuesday evening to respond to Governor Andrew Cuomo's new education proposals. According to an invitation the U.F.T. blasted to parent advocates and clergy on Friday, the meeting will include a discussion of ‘how to respond to Governor Cuomo's attack on public schools.’ 

“With Cuomo's plans for education reform now clear, and with Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver's arrest on corruption charges throwing the opposition's plans into disarray, the U.F.T. is officially gearing up for a tough battle this legislation session. ‘Here comes the governor with the same ideas [former New York City mayor] Michael Bloomberg wanted to do’’ Mulgrew said Friday in an interview with Capital. ‘It's like, here we go, how do we coordinate and organize.’ Mulgrew said the U.F.T. has been ‘flooded with calls’ since Cuomo's State of the State address from advocates and parents hoping to organize against the governor's proposals.” [PRO] http://bit.ly/1xLQTBo
 
OPINION: CUOMO’S TESTING FOCUS—Journal News’ Gary Stern: “Cuomo’s plans to break what he calls the state’s public education ‘monopoly,’ as outlined in his State of the State address, would only raise the profile of standardized tests. Educators and parent advocates I’ve heard from since then can’t believe he is so out of touch. … Here’s a strange aside: Cuomo spent last year distancing himself from New York’s implementation of the Common Core standards. He supported legislation that now bans school districts from including scores from Common Core-based tests in students’ permanent records. Districts are also banned from emphasizing test scores when making student placement decisions. So test scores are not reliable enough to evaluate students—but the very same scores should be used to determine the fates of teachers?” http://lohud.us/1yiH8d1

HOW BAD ARE NEW YORK SCHOOLS, REALLY?—New York Times’ Kate Taylor: “Cuomo, in his State of the State address [last] week, exhorted lawmakers to make significant changes to New York State’s education system. He painted a picture of a system in crisis: only a third of students reaching proficiency on state math and English tests, less than 40 percent of high school students prepared for college, hundreds of thousands of mostly minority students condemned to failing schools. ‘Our education system needs dramatic reform,’ Mr. Cuomo said. But how bad is New York, really? Relative to other states, experts say, not that bad. But not that good, either.” http://nyti.ms/15zmxdI

ENDING BRIEF TRUCE, SUCCESS FILES LAWSUIT AGAINST CITY—Capital’s Eliza Shapiro: “Officials from two Success Academy charter schools filed a lawsuit against New York City [Friday], claiming the Department of Education has denied the schools pre-K classrooms. Success is arguing the pro-charter law passed last March ensures space for all new and expanding charter schools, including pre-K space. But the city claims it hasn't even begun awarding pre-K seats for September and therefore has not denied Success any space. The lawsuit ends what appeared to have been a brief truce between Success and the de Blasio's administration, after the city granted school space for eight Success schools in December.” http://bit.ly/15nEvzF

CRUCIAL MOMENT FOR TURNAROUND PLANS—Buffalo News’ Sandra Tan: “The fate of four public schools in Buffalo will likely be decided this week. Student performance at East, Lafayette and Bennett high schools, as well as at Martin Luther King Multicultural Institute, an elementary school, has been so poor that the state has demanded that district leaders come up with plans to transform these schools or phase them out of existence. Their decisions will affect nearly 2,000 students. The School Board is supposed to make final decisions regarding the four plans Wednesday.” http://bit.ly/15JolBN