Juan Gonzalez Exposes Sham Dewey Principal Kathleen Elvin Grad/Credit Recovery Schemes

How do those phony Bloomberg grad rates look? Let's explode the bullshit whenever the press puppets the story that Bloomberg raised grad rates from 50-67%. Three quarters of that is based on lies like the Dewey case. Every time Chalkbeat talks about the rise in grad rates under Bloomberg, leave a comment saying "Bullshit credit recovery -- and other slick tricks".

Ed Notes readers are well aware of the John Dewey story and Kathleen Elvin. There has been a lot I have not been able to talk about in order to protect my sources at the school - we've been waiting for this DN Gonzalez piece. One thing we do know is that Tweed and Carmen Farina have been told what is happening for almost a year and have done nothing. It is much worse than credit recovery, as there has been a general assault on teachers by the administration, especially the nontenured. One story is that they have to give Do Nows and mark then and enter the grades every day. Farina was informed of this waste of time 6 months ago. Her recently installed superintendent is as big a shit as the one he replaced - Amy Horowitz who was given an even bigger job at the DOE.

By the way, the investigations at Dewey have been going on forever and somehow nothing gets resolved. How about expedited investigations of principals instead of teachers?

Let's keep an eye on the teacher with guts, Wade Goria, and how the vindictive admin comes down on him. I'm betting they will find a reason to rubber room him -

Gonzalez: Protesters eye bogus classes used to boost graduation rates

Last spring, a teacher at John Dewey High School in Brooklyn was assigned to oversee 16 students in a single class who were seeking credit for subjects they’d previously failed. The topics included Earth science, global studies, trigonometry and English — 14 in all — yet the teacher was only certified as a math instructor.
A second teacher became her own virtual high school.

Records obtained by the Daily News show she was put in charge of a course titled Project Graduation. Students in the course had failed 35 different subjects, including U.S. history, geometry, living environment, Earth science, global studies, algebra, art and Spanish. But the teacher’s license was for special education.

How is it possible to teach so many subjects simultaneously — all outside your expertise?

Well, it’s not. Pupils assigned to Project Graduation simply had to show up and fill out individual “course packets,” according to several teachers who were assigned to the course.

It was part of a brazen scheme by the school’s administrators to inflate graduation rates by manufacturing bogus “credit recovery” — a practice now being probed by the school system’s office of special investigation.

Just as test prep has overwhelmed elementary schools, with the politicians demanding higher standardized test scores, “credit recovery” will likely be the next big high school scandal.

At Dewey, The News obtained class rosters, individual student records and school emails, and interviewed a dozen teachers who claim sham credit recovery has gone on for years.

The documents show teachers were often assigned to grade students out of their expertise, supervisors altered failing grades to passing without consulting the original teacher, and students were passed without even attending class, all in violation of state and city education regulations.

What’s happening is incredibly fraudulent and criminal,” said Wade Goria, a social studies teacher at Dewey who is about to retire. Goria was willing to be quoted, but many of his colleagues who gave evidence to investigators asked not to be identified for fear of reprisals. 

The News asked Goria about a student of his who graduated last year despite receiving a failing grade in a government course — one required for graduation.
“The student was absent more than half the time and had no idea of what was going on,” Goria said. “In no way, shape or form could I justify passing him.
“The next thing I knew, the boy was on the graduation line,” Goria said.

School records obtained by The News show that on July 1, a few days after graduation ceremonies, Goria’s student received a 65 in government from a supervisor as part of credit recovery.
“No one came to me about him,” Goria said.
“There was no discussion whatsoever. He just passed.”

As you might expect, Dewey’s graduation rate soared since Principal Kathleen Elvin took over in early 2012. It was 61% in June 2011, and 74% last June.
Elvin declined to comment and referred all questions to the Department of Education.

“The integrity of our academic programs is of the highest importance and the Department of Education takes any allegations of this sort extremely seriously,” said Devora Kaye, spokeswoman for Chancellor Carmen Fariña. “This matter is under investigation.”

Records obtained by the Daily News show a teacher was put in charge of a course titled Project Graduation. Students in the course had failed 35 different subjects, but the teacher’s license was for special education.

Bryan Pace/for New York Daily News

A teacher at John Dewey High School in Brooklyn was assigned to oversee 16 students in a single class who were seeking credit for subjects they’d previously failed.

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/education/gonzalez-protesters-aim-classes-boost-grad-rates-article-1.2202945