The More Things Change….

Updated (thanks to DB for finding typos.)
I wrote this column for the upcoming special edition on education in The Wave due out August 24.

So this email comes in from Wave editor Howie Schwach asking for a column for the Wave’s “Back to School” special edition. Back to School? It’s not even the middle of August. And then I remembered - teachers have to go back in August. Two days before Labor Day. Oh, The humanity!

Some have told me of all the indignities of the 2005 contract this may be the worst. Those daye last week before school began and coming back on Labor Day are gone. Some people now feel they have to go in two days before the two days to set up their rooms, as the other two days will be used for professional development, which obviously, every teacher need globs of. The little butterflies that used to start to gnaw away in mid August now show up a week early and grow bigger as the month goes by till they turn into dragons. (By the way, the only way to conquer these dragons is Twinkies, lots of them.)

Well, off to the task at hand. Howie wanted something on how schools are opening without supervision from districts or regions or whatever. All new school years begin with a review of old material. So let’s see what you remember. There will be a high stakes test at the end of this column where your car will be confiscated if you don’t pass, so pay attention kiddies.

In 2002, new Mayor Michael Bloomberg led a charge to give total control of the system to the mayor, a practice that has been growing nationally. This effort was supported by the UFT. Joel Klein, a lawyer without any experience as an educator (other than a supposed 6 month teaching stint in the late 60’s when the draft board was breathing down his neck – my reason for getting into teaching too) was appointed Chancellor joining the national trend to choose non-educators to head large urban school systems. The smell was in the air: Don’t trust educators to make basic decisions about education. What’s next? Having bureaucrats at HMO’s make medical decisions?

In a major move, BloomKlein changed the name from the BOE to the DOE. There was no more BOE. This was replaced by the PEP (Panel for Educational Policy – mostly appointed by the Mayor). In a major reorganization, all districts were combined into 10 regions, some even crossing boroughs. The special ed district was kept intact. All power emanated centrally.

The result? Disaster! Disaster beyond anyone’s imagination as teachers and parents were totally shut out of the system (previously they had been only 90% shut out but it was by people supposedly trained to some extent as educators) no matter how bizarre the decisions coming down from central. I won’t go into the gory details since they require a multi-volume book. Let’s just say experience as an educator didn’t count. And the Klein lawyer/MBA whiz kids types were now in charge. Massive changes in curricula and teaching methods were forced down everyone’s throat as the baby was thrown out with the bath water. Even great ideas were mangled in translation. I won’t even get into the immense amounts of money that was thrown down the tubes as privateers flocked to the DOE. To sum up: almost universal incompetence as everything they touched turned to doo-doo.

Witness the latest exercise: the implementation and follow-through of the Kahil Gibran International Academy with the predicted resignation of the respected educator Debbie Almontaser, who had run interfaith healing meetings after 9/11 and the appointment of a Jewish successor – to run an Arabic language school. We won’t even get into the discussion of whether such schools should exist. But for those people out there who like to jump on anything related to Arabic or Muslims (i.e., the NY Post), someone should check out what’s been going on in Williamsburg for the past 35 years where there have been bi-lingual Yiddish classes in public schools with all Hassidic teachers and kids. Guess the Post is not all that bothered by the concept.

Come 2006, guess what? Bloomberg and Klein (forever joined at the hip in these columns as BloomKlein) decided to reorganize again. Regions were out, districts back in. High schools were now out of the local districts and back into five borough districts, which is how they have been organized from say, 1890 ‘till 2002. The more things change….

But there were some major twists as BloomKlein institute a management system that has not been used anywhere. (If Bloomberg ran his business this way he would probably have ended up working as a clerk. Or maybe teaching 4th grade.) All power now resides in the hands of individual principals with supposedly little oversight from above – unless something goes wrong.

All principals were required to choose a support network from the following: Four networks led by former regional Superintendents (including Region 5’s Kathy Cashin), a centrally managed Empowerment Zone - a network of over 300 schools, or from a list of 9 private support agencies. How do you spell M-E-S-S?

Schools will now be giving 6 tests a year to prepare them for the BIG ONE. It is all about data and outcomes, saith BloomKlein. And outcomes do not mean that a teacher manages to do wonders with a difficult child in terms of their behavior. Or hold kids in an oversized class in check. Nada. Outcomes mean solely the results of these tests. Schools will graded from A-F and principals with an F will be fired (but probably recycled into some other bureaucratic job.) Attempts will be made to use the outcomes on these tests to evaluate the performance of teachers. Results will be used by principals to deny teachers tenure and U-rate teachers with tenure as being incompetent because Johnny can’t move from a Level One to Level Two. The UFT (who are they again?) will put on a show of objecting. But only a show. They will tell teachers to file grievances which will take a year to be heard. And teachers that are fired will not be recycled but blacklisted from ever working in the system again.

District superintendents will function mainly to evaluate schools based on the results of tests and will have no role in support. Just in evaluation.

I spoke to Leonie Haimson of Class Size Matters who has the best handle on what is happening in Tweedledom. “The separation of support from evaluation is a model that has not been tried in any educational system I know of, and from what people tell me, not even the corporate world. Usually, the person evaluating is also responsible for helping to fix what is wrong.” District Superintendents will not even be evaluating schools in their own district and will not know the specific needs of the schools they should be most familiar with.

“The $80 million IBM Aris system will be inputting and spitting out data. But the data will be severely circumscribed and will not include factors such as class size or overcrowded conditions. Principals are supposed to be able to manage them. Haimson pointed to Murray Bergtraum HS, one of the large schools that have been affected by the closing of other large schools and the placement of small schools in their place. It is 125% over capacity, with triple shifts and maximum class sizes, with many more needy kids pushed out of closed schools, while the favored small schools and charter schools have lower class size limits that allow Tweed to brag about higher grad rates (don’t get me started on how these numbers have been arrived at.)

“Their strategy of fixing problems by shutting down schools and opening new ones rather than actually providing these schools with a chance to improve demonstrates the emptiness of their vision of school reform,” Haimson said.

“They only push problems from school to school. Their refusal to cap enrollment at large schools at least as a start to fix these schools instead of closing them is an admission they do not know how to do it. They absolve themselves of responsibility when they refuse to go beyond the idea that all it takes is proper management of a school and good instruction. In other words, failures are the fault of principals and teachers, not systemic. They claim they have changed the system from bad to good. To get to great all they have to do is unleash the entrepreneurial spirit of individual school leaders. It is the wild west.”

It is also the free market and competitive system brought to the schools, which will prove to have the same impact as if it were brought to firefighting (a bonus to the first fireman up the ladder?)

Haimson points to some obvious outcomes based on principals’ fears of being fired or the incentive to earn bonuses if “successful.” Poor performing students will be forced out or discouraged from attending the school in the first place. Cheating on tests and pressures on teachers to pass failing students to inflate the graduation rates will be rampant. Since schools get grad credit for kids passing the much easier GED (about an 8th grade level) students will be channeled in that direction. Things will appear to look much better. In reality, the more things change…

(Note: While the outer surface of the system may have been changed mucho times, for the overwhelming majority of students, the long-term results will not be much different.)

Additional material:

Historical background
Until circa 1968 schools were centrally controlled but with some oversight by a board of Education. But it was pretty much under the control of the mayor. There were districts for managerial purposes and superintendents appointed centrally.

In 1968, power over K-8 schools was taken over by locally elected school boards divided into 32 geographical districts. These boards had to hold public meetings every month. Nobody cared. Few voted. Few attended unless there was a pressing issue. The performance of the districts varied greatly depending on – guess what -- the abilities the kids brought to the table when they entered school. Duh!

High schools remained under central control divided into roughly 5 districts. There was also a centrally controlled special ed district though local districts had their own special ed operations. Geez, I’m tired already.

There was some hanky panky in some districts that resulted in demands for more oversight at the central level. In the late 90’s, some power was given to the Chancellor (did I say there was a revolving door for this position?) to choose the district superintendents. There was a different level of hanky panky in the centrally controlled high schools but no one bothered to mention this.


Demonstration supporting Debbie Almontaser at Tweed, Aug. 21

NYC Grad Rates Rising?

Samuel Freedman's column in today's NY Times (posted here) finally touches on the source of DOE claims for rising grad rates. Of course the DOE attacked the teacher (unfortunately there were a few negatives). I raised these issues in my 2 minute presentation at the July PEP meeting. Teachers have been reporting grade inflation, being told to mark the exams of their own students (with a wink), enormous pressures to pass kids who are failing, etc.

The state ed department has a hand in all this to make sure everyone all around looks good - easier exams, shady rubrics (if the kid fogs a mirror, PASS.)

A column I wrote in The Wave and on this blog called "Indecent Exposure" back in December touched on these issues:
Inflated test scores and cover-ups of massive cheating scandals in addition to scores being pumped up by constant test prep. “Test-mania fuels cheating at many schools, teachers say,” said just one headline that is just the tip of the iceberg. The overwhelming majority of school personnel will remain silent due to fear. (Maria Colon, the union rep at JFK HS in the Bronx, was persecuted because she exposed her administration, which has gotten off Scot-free.)

Teachers toe the line, especially newer, inexperienced teachers. The attack on senior teachers (anyone with about 7 years in today's world) is not just about money, but compliance in solidifying the sham BloomKlein are pulling.

At the end of my presentation at the PEP I pointed out that we can see even higher grad rates once the principals get their hands on the bonus money.

Going up, anyone?

UFT: Masters of Deflection

The UFT response to teachers asking for help has been “Wait till September.” It could be a song:

Wait till September
We hope you won’t remember
Just how much you’ve been screw-ew-ed.

Even when people get some attention, they often don’t realize the UFT leadership tries to deflect people from taking action either on their own or even worse (for the leadership), in concert with others. It takes some people years to realize this. The goal is to stop anything from getting organized and if the threat is serious enough they may actually do something (or give the impression they are doing something.)

Remember the supposed Age Discrimination suit? The entire purpose was to deflect people from taking action on their own. When people inquire about it with the UFT’s Sherry Boxer, she says she has no info and refers them to the EEOC. Call the EEOC and they tell you Sherry Boxer knows exactly what is going on. If you try to get added on the case, they say “NO Dice.” Of course, why would the UFT want hundreds and maybe thousands of people listed? The might actually win and then how would they explain it to Bloomberg?

A conversation with a regional DOE official…
"We couldn't believe it that the the union signed off on this thing." And later: "Before when a teacher was excessed, we could freeze the vacancies til the teacher could be placed. Now we can't do that anymore."

Without this agreement, many of the DOE reorganization plans would have been blocked. Certainly, the ability to hold schools accountable for teacher salaries could not be implemented.

So, when you get the attention of the UFT, keep an eye out for

THE MASTERS OF DEFLECTION

DOE to Schools: Class Size Go Blah!

The DOE had a press release on reducing class size today. Thank goodness we have Leonie Haimson to decipher the gobboly gook for us.

Okay, what many of us were breathlessly waiting for turned out not to be worth waiting for at all.

There is nothing that Tweed submitted today that resembles a real class size reduction plan, and it clearly does not comply with the state mandate.

Moreover, they appear to think that they can charge $40 million for the interim assessments, including “data inquiry teams” and the Senior Achievement Facilitators (SAFs), to the state-funded contracts for excellence and the CFE funds; this doesn’t fall under any of the categories set out by state law – as even their own summary reveals: http://schools.nyc.gov/Offices/ChildrenFirst/CFE/ContractProgramAreas/default.htm

Instead of adding to instructional time, the interim assessments further diminish it.

More real analysis soon, particularly of their totally inadequate class size reduction proposal, or what they are trying to package as such.

Meanwhile for those who are interested, some highly tendentious and debatable documents are here:

http://schools.nyc.gov/Offices/ChildrenFirst/CFE/ContractProposal/default.htm

http://schools.nyc.gov/NR/rdonlyres/219D42DE-28DB-4531-8935-ED47A53EAC1C/23819/FairStudentFundingandtheContractsforExcellence.pdf

http://schools.nyc.gov/NR/rdonlyres/358C31A7-2EC8-43CD-9B40-4838FADC361C/23890/NYCDOEClassSizePlan.pdf

I hope that all of you will come out to the hearings in each borough next week; save the dates and locations that are below. I will supply talking points for those who would like them.

Thanks,
Leonie Haimson
Executive Director
Class Size Matters

leonie@att.net
www.classsizematters.org
http://nycpublicschoolparents.blogspot.com/

Okay, Leonie, as you know I am not new to this issue, but can you play devils advocate and tell us is there any conceivable reason why the administration would not support a real lower class size initiative. During all my years it was always a goal in our schools and in our district to bring down class size where we could scrape together the funds to do so. So why, what is the reason, that the bloom/klein team don't want to do it. Something so simple that everyone seems to believe would be a real boon to education in NYC there has to be some reason why they don't want to do it.

dorothy

region 6 hs

I get asked this question all the time and I usually refuse to answer on the grounds that I would be speculating.

But between us, I would guess the following: It doesn’t fit their game plan; they don’t care/think it matters much, and they don’t want to have to bother to build enough schools to make it happen throughout the city. They have never been educators so they have no idea how difficult/impossible the job is when you have 28 or more needy students. They believe it’s just a matter of getting the right sort of teacher.

Of course they would never consider depriving their own kids of smaller classes…but you get the idea.

It is no longer a lack of funding. They would just rather spend the money elsewhere – on consultants, ARIS, more testing, data inquiry teams, school achievement facilitators, SSO’s and PSO’s, charter schools, small schools, etc.etc. You get the idea.

And so it’s our job to fight like mad, and to try to make sure that all the CFE funds don’t get wasted.

Leonie

I would add to Leonie's answer to Dorothy that class size reduction has many ramifications: many more schools, many more teachers, and the bureaucratic structure to support it. These are long-term solutions and they are only interested in short-term answers so they can make their political points in the limited time they are in power.

Everyone knows that top suburban schools and elite private schools have low class sizes. But the Bloom/Kleins, Eli Broads, KIPP, Green Dot, etc -- those phony reformers of the public education system -- envision a very different education for the inner city -- and they want to do it on the cheap: use narrow standards and narrow tests to create a narrow level education to prepare whatever kids come out "successfully" for the narrow job market that will be available to them -- a very different job market than available for the graduates of the elite schools where kids get a very different education. Check out blogger jd2718's post on two separate education systems for some good analysis related to the small schools.

The Cashin Lobby Lives - The Wave

by Norm Scott
Education Editor, The Wave
June 15, 2007
www.rockawave.com
(The Wave, published since 1893, comes out weekly in the Rockaway Beach area of NYC.)

Education historian Diane Ravitch, who was Assistant Secretary of Education and Counselor to Secretary of Education Lamar Alexander under President George Bush the First from 1991-1993, writes on a listserv:
“[Kathleen] Cashin's ‘Knowledge Network’ will be training principals to teach the Core Knowledge program, which includes the arts, science, history, geography, literature, and other subjects in every grade, beginning in kindergarten. Many of the teachers don't know what they are expected to teach. The professional development is absolutely necessary to make sure that everyone knows the program. PD is provided, I believe, by the UFT Teachers Center. From my perspective, this is the richest, most coherent program that any of the LSOs have to offer--not just a smorgasbord of disconnected programs, but a coherent, sequential, developed curriculum that adds up to a rich liberal education for all kids.”

At a recent right-wing think tank Manhattan Institute luncheon attended by educators from around the city honoring US Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings where Reading First’s Reed Lyon and Ravitch served on a panel, the moderator, conservative writer and education critic Sol Stern made a point of praising the program being offered by Cashin and urging schools to adopt it.

The NY Times had a major article focusing on Cashin in December 2006:
…with studies showing little progress in narrowing the achievement gap between minority and white students, the question of how best to improve schools in places like Region 5 is the most critical issue in American education. And Dr. Cashin has the numbers to stake a claim as the best turnaround artist in town. In 2003, 33.2 percent of her students in grades three to eight could read on grade level and 34.6 percent were proficient in math. Today, 50.6 percent read on grade and 56.9 percent are proficient in math. No other region starting below 40 percent has crossed the halfway mark in either subject. “We are relentless,” Dr. Cashin said in a recent interview. “The secret is clear expectations. Everything is spelled out. Nothing is assumed.” She provides her principals, for instance, with a detailed road map of what should be taught in every subject, in every grade, including specific skills of the week in reading and focus on a genre of literature every month.”

Of course, if you talk to teachers you get a different picture, pointing to Region 5 as not being much different than the rest of the city – lots of test prep and rigidity.

The Times went on to praise Cashin for going against the grain of BloomKlein by preferring traditionally trained principals over Leadership Academy grads and by cooperating with the UFT - the UFT charter schools have space in Region 5. And note who will be doing the training in the Knowledge Network – UFT Teacher Centers, (proving the UFT IS a business.) The Times pointedly pointed to how few of the schools in Region 5 signed up for Klein’s Empowerment schools, his baby.

Despite all the praise, Cashin had the least number of schools sign up with the Knowledge Network, gathering only 7%, while Region 3 Queens Superintendent Judy Chin, got 27%. Chin has been portrayed as the anti-Cashin because she has shown a lot of flexibility in dealing with the schools. Most of Cashin’s schools came from Brooklyn (55) and only 35 from Queens. “You have to be kind to people,” Cashin said in the Times article. “If people feel they don’t have a voice, they are going to strike back at some point.” Hmmm!

Talking to some teachers, they said basically about the Cashin program, “been there, done that.” Overly rigid programs quickly lead to boredom on the part of teachers and kids.

Cashin fans Stern and Ravitch have been amongst BloomKlein’s strongest critics, so there’s certainly some interesting stuff lurking beneath. But worry not! You have Uncle Normie to explain it all to you.

In the Times article, there were signs of sniping at Cashin’s record from some Tweedles. But she was still chosen as one of the four Region heads to lead a Learning Support Network (as chronicled in my alphabet city column a few weeks ago where I listed the acronyms of the millions of options offered to schools). When I attended a press conference at Tweed where Klein introduced the “winners” amongst all the organizations trying to get a piece of the action and told them they all they now could compete, Cashin and the others looked like they were making a hostage tape.

The BloomKlein team has received accolades from around the nation for disrupting the school system and basically ending the power of the UFT at the school level (but don’t feel sorry for the union leaders, as they are doing very nicely leading an organization with a head but no body, while fueled by a massively regressive dues structure.) The withering criticism directed at BloomKlein coming from parents and educators here in NYC has generally been ignored nationally and by the local Ed press. Ravitch has criticized BloomKlein from A-Z as part of Class Size Matter’s Leonie Haimson’s wonderfully informative listserve, consisting of some of the sharpest parent/activists in the city. Led by Leonie, they have been on top of BloomKlein’s every misstep.

But Ravitch’s major focus has been on the BloomKlein supposed “progressive” curriculum. (Using the word “progressive” in the same sentence with any reference to anyone at Tweed takes the non-sequitor to new heights.)

Now keep following the bouncing ball. Ravitch’s web site states, “She led the federal effort to promote the creation of state and national academic standards.” Some high stakes test resisters refer to her Ravitch a “standardista” as they feel slavish devotion to a narrow range of standards help put us on the road to testing mania. Progressive educators are certainly not happy with the role she has played.

Now what do I mean by “progressive” educators? Generally, that philosophy of education has come from the Bank Street/Teachers College at Columbia U where the web site proclaims, “The Bank Street approach, also known as the ‘developmental-interaction approach,’ focuses on child-centered education and improving the quality of classroom instruction.” It often includes non-traditional ways of teaching (the anti drill and kill), whole language, which has evolved into balanced literacy and various workshop models. To implement these approaches adequately one needs small class sizes and critics say that this approach only works with kids who are not struggling academically and is a disaster with kids who are behind.

Manhattan’s Tony District 2 under former Chancellor Anthony Alvarado and Park Slope’s District 15 were the leading lights of this approach - not surprising looking at the neighborhoods. When anointed Chancellor, Klein meet with Alvarado who was in San Diego destroying that school system and adopted Alvarado’s program almost totally, including the Leadership Academy, which was run by Alvarado’s then girlfriend and future wife at a quarter of a mil a year. The “progressive curriculum was then regressively forced down the throats of the entire school system by Klein’s educational guru Diana Lam (who was forced out in disgrace) who was followed by true believer Carmen Farina, the former Superintendent of District 15 and then Region 8 after reorganization #1 (who was told by Tweedles she didn’t have the skill set for the job). Can you guess that the Farina and Cashin educational philosophies were just a bit diametrically opposed? Farina has taken the wrath of critics who I call “The Phonics Police.”

When the counter revolution and the discrediting of the progressive curriculum which was implemented by Lam and Farina in such an insane manner takes place in the wake of BloomKlein’s departure, we will never ever see it again. And it is critics like Stern and Ravitch (and our esteemed editor Howie Schwack) who are leading the attack, unfortunately, for all the wrong reasons. But I believe they will prevail.

Thus, enter, or re-enter, Kathleen Cashin, who still has influential people like former Chancellor Frank Macchiarola who was her guardian angel and should exert some behind the scenes influence in the power vacuum of BloomKlein’s departure. There are loyalists among some leftovers in her old District 22 (south/central Brooklyn), District 23 in Brownsville, plus some of the people she brought over to Region 5 with her from Brooklyn, many of whom did sign up with her more out of loyalty than to devotion to the concepts of the Knowledge Network. And fear of her relentless vindictiveness may have played just a tiny role.

As we move toward the end of BloomKlein, expect to see the Cashin lobby’s voices, aided and abetted by the UFT’s cozy relationship with her, grow louder and the possibility of Cashin as a future Chancellor will loom. The Sterns and the Ravitches may see the educational value of the Knowledge Network as the reason, when in reality it will be all about politics, as usual.

Never a fan of Cashin, that I feel a sense of relief at the prospect of having a chancellor who actually taught and ran a school indicates the depth of alienation created by the non-educator Tweedles. I guess it’s the old “devil you know” thing.

Meet Martine

In response to the Feb. 28th '07 anti BloomKlein rally, on that very day, the cynics at Tweed appointed Martine Guerrier, former PEP (the phony replacement for the old DOE) rep from Brooklyn, who had been billed as a critic of BloomKlein (way, way overrated in that characterization) as the CEO of Parent Engagement at $150,000 a year. No, this does not mean she runs parties when parents get engaged. But she might as well.

We predicted Martine, who we've always thought very highly of, would disappear into the jaws of the Tweed PR machine in our "Say It Ain't So, Martine" post back in March. And so she has. Her coming out party took place at Brooklyn Tech HS Saturday in a "Meet Martine" event. Parent Eugene Falik, a Rockaway resident, posted this report on the nyceducationnews listserv.

Well, it was a standard Education Department show.

Department employees flagrantly violated the "no cell phone" policy which prohibits faculty and staff, as well as students, from bringing such contraband as cell phones and iPods into school buildings.

Parent Engagement staff allowed the police ("School Safety") people and custodian staff to run the show.

Questions were censored, by requiring them to be submitted on index cards.

Brooklyn Tech, as usual, had a host of fire code violations. Requests to Parent Engagement staff as well as Deputy Chancellor Grimm to correct the violations, and render the building safe for the invited public, were met with stony indifference.

Attempts to warn potential attendees of the danger were blocked and shouted down by the NYPD employees. It's easy to see how students confronted with this behavior would lose their cool. It's also a good justification for cell phones because requests to Ed Department staff for assistance, and compliance with the laws requiring the owner of a telephone to make it available for assistance calls had no result; only threats of punishment, including arrest, and assault.

The one good thing that came of the day is that there is now a paper trail that will require the SED to close the school until it is brought into compliance with the fire code.

Eugene Falik

The Wave - School Scope Column

-- will appear in the June 1st edition

DOE To Eliminate Job Of Principal

As reported by Gary Babad (Gadfly News): In a stealth announcement, the NY City Department of Education today released the news that it will be eliminating the position of principal in all of its schools by the start of the 2007-2008 school year. Schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein, weekending in an undisclosed location in East Hampton, released the announcement in Dan's Papers, a Hamptons-based give-away publication. Reached on his beach cell phone by this reporter, Chancellor Klein elaborated on the decision. "In every single one of our schools, principals draw the highest salaries. Eliminating those salaries will allow us to get the funds directly back into the classroom where the money belongs. It's a clear, simple business strategy: cut out the middle man."

How exactly will this new plan work? As Chancellor Klein explained, teachers will be able to choose from a menu of Supervision Support Organizations. "Some," he said, "called Big Bucks Supervision Organizations (BBSOs), will be funded entirely by Bill Gates. We're in discussion with him about that right now. Another option, which we're calling Throw Them A Bone Supervision Organizations (TTABSOs), might be offered by former principals. Some of our exiting principals might want to take advantage of the Memorial Day holiday to throw together a plan and submit it to us first thing Tuesday morning. And the third choice on the menu will be our Up The Creek Without A Paddle option (UTCWAP). Those teachers who opt to go the UTCWAP route can choose their Supervision Supports a la carte."

Gary does this regularly on the NYC Public School Parents blog (http://nycpublicschoolparents.blogspot.com/). But BloomKlein provide oh so much material.

People not directly involved in public education tell me they can make no sense of my columns. That it’s like trying to read another language. Aside from my natural tendency to be confusing, writing about the NYC DOE under BloomKlein is like a trip through the fun house in an amusement park. Well, at least for us retirees. For people still working in the system, it’s more like Nightmare on Elm St. So what about all those SSO’s, PSO’s, ESO’s, and LSO’s? This is NOT a joke, for all you civilians who happened to accidentally wander into this column, most likely never to emerge.

Okay, okay. If you’re trapped and can’t get out, let me try to explain it in one sentence. BloomKlein destroyed the structure of the school system not once but twice and every school is now a free agent (the Yankees were bidding on one of the PSO’s) and can choose amongst all these acronyms. If you insist on knowing what all this stuff stands for –

There are three types of SSO’s (School Support Organizations):
Empowerment Support Organization (ESO): schools choosing this option will join other schools in a network and choose how to receive support
Learning Support Organization (LSO): four organizations to be led by former regional superintendents
Partnership Support Organization (PSO): non-profit groups under contract to provide services

And the winner is...

Empowerment (35% of the systems almost 1500 schools).... and amongst the LSO’s, former Region 3 Superintendent Judy Chin making a spectacular showing at 27%. Spectacular compared to the other three LSO’s. Region 8’s Marsha Lyles (12%), Laura Region 2’s Laura Rodriguez (8%) and our own Region 5’s Kathleen Cashin (7%).

Now mind you, these four gals (where have all the men gone or does Klein have a problem) were the big winners in the sweepstakes over all the other regional superintendents and were then sent off to compete with each other. (An interesting sidenote is the ethnic breakdown of the fab four: Asian, Hispanic, African-American and White.)

Had enough? Sorry, there’s more. Chin’s network is called the Integrated Curriculum and Instruction LSO, or ICI. Got it? And the others? Lyles (Community), Rodriguez (Leadership) and Cashin (Knowledge Network.)

Oy vey! Can I get out of this column? Now! Sorry poor readers, I have to take a stab at breaking some of this down.

Other than Empowerment which may be coming from the newer principals, especially the Leadership Academy trained attack dogs without deep political ties to the old districts or regions, the home boroughs of Chin (Eastern Queens), Lyles (North Brooklyn) and Rodriguez (East Bronx) broke out as expected.

Cashin was the anomaly with a base in southeast Brooklyn and southwestern Queens. She got 55 schools in Brooklyn and only 35 schools in Queens, 4 from Staten Island, 2 from Manhattan and 0 in the Bronx. What explains her poor showing? Having received favorable press for going against the grain of BloomKlein with a more structured curriculum, cooperation with the UFT hierarchy and being the darling of the right-wing critics of BloomKlein (the phonics police) one would have expected a better showing. The NY Times article made the point of how few of the schools in Region 5 went for Klein’s Empowerment Zone baby last year. Was she sabotaged from within? Or did some of Cashin's constituents vote with their feet? Who can wend their way through the Byzantine DOE system?

I wouldn’t count Cashin out in the long-term. After the deluge of BloomKlein, when the Thermidorian Reaction (the revolt in the French Revolution against the excesses of the Reign of Terror) takes place, Cashin may well find herself as the Chancellor when the bobsey twins are out of office.

Judy Chin's team ran a great campaign (this IS all about the kids, right?) She has a reputation as the most benign Superintendent who gave her people the most leeway and the least hassle. Most of Region 3 probably stayed put. She made the popular Superintendent of Region 4, Charles Amundson, a deputy and a lot of Region 4 went with her. (Amundsen was a major backer of the robotics program that I worked for in the region and is one of the most pleasant mucky mucks I have met.) Amundsen also has a base in Staten Island and Chin got almost half of the schools in that borough.

All the LIS’s and PIS’s and who knows what from the former districts/regions and now back to districts who are still looking for jobs (think any of them are going back to the classroom?) will gravitate to Chin, who will have tremendous hiring power over all the others.

New Vision led the non-profits with 5% but they have been tabbed as extortionists in the past as they steal entire schools when large high schools are closed. Being the bag people for the Bill Gates money certainly helps New Vision.

Changes at the UFT Too

Randi Weingarten, BloomKlein’s Consigliore, also announced changes, moving the affable Michael Mendel from Staff Director to Executive Assistant to the President and elevating attack dog Jeff Zahler to staff director to ride herd over the staff and to stamp out any opposition while Weingarten traipses away to Washington as president of the AFT, most likely in July 2008 or 2010.

Weingarten’s goal is way bigger than AFT Presidency. A national merger with the much larger NEA would put her in position to head the massive combined union that would be the largest in the nation and set her up to head the entire AFL-CIO, a unique position for a woman, especially from the non-trades.

Who will replace her in the UFT? The betting has been that it will be former Rockaway resident and long-time Wave reader Michelle Bodden, currently UFT Vice-President for Elementary School. Many UFT staffers who are tired of Weingarten’s act are hoping for the change, as Bodden is extremely popular both in the union and in the schools.

But the UFT is just as Byzantine as the DOE and the changes announced are indicative that Weingarten, following in the footsteps of her predecessors Sandra Feldman and Al Shanker, will not give up the UFT presidency when she goes to the AFT. The AFT president has little real power but lots of prestige. Power resides in the locals and the UFT is the big enchilada in the AFT. To hand over her power base even to a hand-picked successor is a risk. When Feldman elevated Weingarten there was friction between them as Feldman felt she still had the right to tell Weingarten what to do. Weingarten was quick to purge certain Feldman loyalists who did not go along with the program, but most switched in a heartbeat. Would Weingarten fall into the same trap?

The recent UFT election was very important to Weingarten in that the lack of ability of the opposition to make a real dent gave her free reign to get away with holding both the AFT and UFT positions and I'm convinced she will run for UFT President again in 2010 even if she is in Washington and will fly in to run Delegate Assemblies and put out fires.

Both Shanker and Feldman had obvious lines of succession in place so they were able to give up the UFT Presidency at some point. For instance, as far back as the late 80's it was clear that Weingarten was going to take Feldman's place and they quickly moved to get her a teaching license and put her part-time in a safe school. Weingarten has not been as far-sighted, a deep level of paranoia being one of them. But hey, absolute power corrupts absolutely and all that crap. Experienced observers of the UFT know all the signs that will point to a successor.
And the successor is..... no less than Randi Weingarten herself.

And the winner is...

Empowerment (35%) ....

....with Judy Chin's (region 3) "Integrated Curriculum" network a close second (27%) followed by Marsha Lyles (region 8)(12%), Laura Rodriguez (region 2) (8%) with Kathy Cashin (region 5) (7%) bringing up the rear for the LSO's.

New Vision let the PSO's with 5% but they have been tabbed as extortionists in the past as they steal entire schools when large high schools are closed.

Many decisions are political. It will be interesting to see the brough breakdowns based on where the 4 former regional supt came from.

Other than empowerment which may be coming from the newer principals without deep political ties to the old districts or regions...

Queens R 3's Judy Chin's team ran a great campaign. She also has a rep as the most benign Supt. Most of R 3 probably stayed put. She made the Supt of R 4 Charles Amundson a deputy and a lot of R4 went with her. She may have captured a bunch of region 5 schools that did not go with Cashin. Did some of Cashin's constituents vote with their feet? Or is there some factor working here considering the Times article on her made the point that she did not follow Tweed dictums lockstep and so few of her schools in R 5 went empowerment last year.

Marsha Lyles probably got most of region 8 - north Bklyn execpt for the R 5 Brooklyn schools which might have gone to Cashin. It will be interesting to see where Staten Island and south Brooklyn went. Also Manhattan. Laura Rodriguez with access to the Bronx was expected to do better than 8%.

Outside the territories of the 4 Regional Supt, a breakdown of which schools went where will be an interesting study. People looking for jobs have been waiting for the breakdown and now Chin will have tremendous hiring power over all the others.

See more on this at http://nycpublicschoolparents.blogspot.com/2007/05/schools-choose-their-partners.html

....where you can download an excel spreadsheet of all schools. If I get time, I'll update this post and put the spreadsheet directly on Google for direct viewing for those without Excel.

(Updated May 19, 9am)

The top 10 reasons to hold a rally to oppose the DOE reorganization

The latest ICE leaflet handed out at the Delegate Assembly on May 9th in support of the Manhattan high school chapter leaders resolution calling for a rally. The attempt failed but garnered enough votes to make the union leadership take notice. A more complete report of the DA, which saw a Deputy Mayor and all kinds of Tweedle Dees and Dums making presentations will be posted later. Email if you want to be sent a pdf of the leaflet to share with your colleagues.

Number Ten: Privatization –
The reorganization moves us towards the privatization of public education by allowing outside companies to increasingly manage and provide resources to our schools.

Number Nine: Schools continue to be measured by high stakes tests instead of a wide range of criteria and there will be more testing than ever –
Interim assessments (more tests) every 6-8 weeks will take away teachers’ ability to assess their students’ needs, instead allowing private companies to decide what each student should be working on. Design Your Own (DYO) schools will not receive additional funding giving little incentive for schools to design their own assessments. Testing every 6 weeks that will take up even more instructional time and cost enormous sums while teachers will be bogged down in accumulating data that will be 95% useless in terms of really assisting children.

Number Eight: Continues one-way accountability –
No accountability at the top for massive errors at Tweed as everyone is assessed but themselves. Grading system of accountability dumps the buck on principals. The accountability will likely force many principals to make decisions based on not getting a D or F rather than what is best for children’s education. Principals’ jobs will be based on test scores (85%) and only a little on graduation rates (and fake ones at that). This will give even more incentive to principals to punish teachers who they feel are not testing to the max and suspend, discharge, transfer, and get rid of low-performing students any way they can to bring up their grades and save their jobs (and get a nice bonus too boot.) None of those outcomes – and none of the missing students – will be measured anywhere on the school report cards.

Number Seven: Reorganization without evaluating effects of previous reorganizations –
The 3rd reorganization since Bloomberg/Klein took over the schools with no assessment of previous reforms will lead to another round of disruption. Instead of lowering class size and instituting programs that will improve conditions in the classroom, money will continue to be diverted into the hands of privateers lining up to feed at the public trough. From districts to regions and back to districts – U-turns – but this time with the twist that each school is an island that will be judged (harshly) based on a narrow range of data accumulated in a heartless and inhumane way by an $80 million boondoggle contract given to IBM for the Aramis system that even computer experts denigrate. As parent leader Tim Johnson and historian Diane Ravitch have said recently, when you make constant U-turns you end up going around in circles.

Number Six: Small schools push at expense of large schools –
Small schools will still not be equipped to handle the most at-risk students – causing overcrowding in the large schools and their subsequent closings. While creating small schools is not a bad thing, no matter how many small schools are opened there can never be enough to make a dent on the massive numbers of students in NYC. Solutions to problems in large schools must be found, which involves making an investment in hiring enough teachers, guidance counselors, social workers, etc to create a small school atmosphere in the context of a large school.

Number Five: Special education needs continue to be ignored –
Who will be responsible for making sure students are provided with services? Where do parents go to get assistance?

Number Four: The reorganization actually expands the bureaucracy –
Does anyone believe bureaucracy is being cut to put money into classrooms? Check the number of superintendents and deputies and other bureaucrats under this reorganization and it is clear that when added to the enormous cost of their multiple experiments and unproven schemes, these claims are no more than outright lies. As are the claims that schools will not be micromanaged.

Number Three: Parent/teacher surveys distributed without mention of class size, high stakes testing, and other crucial issues – and will be minimally taken into account.

Number Two: Funding formula even as modified harms higher salaried teachers –
There is no advantage for schools to hire teachers other than those at the low end of the salary scale. Full impact of Fair Funding Plan is only postponed. Even the modification of the fair student funding formula is a big loss for teachers with mid-high salaries as well as teachers at the top salary levels. A 6th year teacher contacted us with the following question: He doesn't want to leave his school just yet, but might one day. He has all his credits and is making around 60K. Beginning to understand the implications of the revisions in the budget and the UFT basic agreement to accept the Tweed plan (the school keeps the money if a senior teacher leaves but the principal can hire a new teacher and can use the difference to buy a 50 inch plasma TV for his office) he realizes that as his salary goes much higher, he is in danger of being stuck at his school for eternity. Or until a new administration comes in and decides to harass high salaried teachers no matter how good they are. Or if his school closes. With the UFT-touted Open Market System and all its flaws, the teacher is in a quandary. "Do you think I should make my move now even though I don't want to?" he asks. “What worries me is when I am in the salary range where they can get 2 new teachers to replace me.” Answer: He should be worried. Very worried.

And the Number ONE reason to hold a rally to oppose the DOE reorganization -–

MAYORAL CONTROL MUST BE FOUGHT AND HOLDING A RALLY AT THIS TIME WILL SEND A POWERFUL MESSAGE TO THE 3 P’S – PUBLIC, PRESS, AND POLITICIANS.

What do we gain from holding a rally?
The Mayor got what he wanted: to kill the momentum building toward the May 9th rally – a rally that would have exposed the Bloomberg/Klein “reforms” as a sham to the entire nation with little support among parents and teachers just as Bloomberg is gearing up to run for president on the backs of the educational community. For the first time we could have wrung real concessions and killed or severely maimed most of the schemes to turn the public schools into a playground for privateers. The Mayor put some crumbs on the table and unfortunately, they were snapped up.

Educators, Parents, Community Activists, and Concerned Friends of Public Education will have a chance to demonstrate the deep-seated opposition to the Bloomberg/Klein destructive overhaul of the system. It will build momentum towards an end of mayoral control. An opportunity was lost when May 9th was cancelled. Can we still reverse the reorganization? We have nothing to lose.

Reorganization + Co-optation does not equal Education

Say It Ain't So Martine

Martine Guerrier has been appointed "chief family engagement officer" at Tweed

(I'll give a report on last night's raucous anti-Klein meeting later in the day.)

I read recently that BloomKlein, upon taking over the DOE bought off every potential parent who could emerge to oppose them in local areas with parent coordinator and other jobs. We basically heard the sounds of silence for quite a while. Certainly there was little or no parental presence at PEP meetings (except for special occasions), the one place where voices of protest could be raised publicly.


As a coalition of parent and community voices began to be heard again (and I give an enormous amount of credit to Leonie Haimson and her list for helping to bring some of these voices together) BloomKlein seems to be trying another round of the "buy them off" tactic.

I like and respect Martine Guerrier and I'm sure she feels she can do more on the inside, a classic error people make. She has (had) been the one voice on the PEP that seemed to question (gently) some of the actions of BloomKlein. She was often one of the only ones to question Klein on a number of issues. I haven't attended PEP meetings regularly but some of Martine's votes on controversial issues increasingly were tied to the politics of Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, an ally of Bloomberg. I used to like Markowitz since his student activist days at Brooklyn College, but not after his sell-out so Ratner City and total suck-up to Bloomberg. (Hey Marty, fuh-ged-about-it!)

Naturally, one would expect this since Martine owed her position on the PEP to Markowitz' appointment. Her one big vote against the promotion policy when Bloomberg fired the PEP who opposed him ( he couldn't fire Martine because she was a borough appointment) was the highlight. Markowitz apparently gave her free reign on this, while the Staten Island borough Pres, fired the SI rep at that time.

I don't remember all of her votes, but I do remember an unsettling pattern of support for Klein's policies seemed to be emerging. And Klein always bent over backwards towards her. She does command a great deal of respect with her demeanor and intelligence.

But Martine is not the first person of this ilk to be co-opted and will now be drawn into the maw of the DOE, joining people who had a rep for integrity like James Leibman, forced to sit in as an acolyte at Klein press conferences, in the midst of buzzing Blackberries, never to utter her own thoughts again without filtering through hordes of press agents. In other words, the sounds of silence.

See original post from Leonie Haimson to her listserve and email from DOE here.

Travels to a Distant World

by Norman Scott

They say traveling to far away places can be broadening. But sometimes the longest journeys are not measured in miles.

An invitation to attend a luncheon sponsored by the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research required preparations worthy of a trip to the Himalayas.

Generally perceived as being right wing supporters of privatization efforts and often leading the attacks on public schools and teacher unions, their mission statement is “to develop and disseminate new ideas that foster greater economic choice and individual responsibility.” The lead quote on their web site is by Rudy Giuliani. Better get the full battery of shots.

The luncheon featured Christopher Cerf, the Deputy Chancellor for Organizational Strategy, Human Capital, and External Affairs for the NYC Department of Education. That mouthful of a job description tells you a lot. As an educational writer I have criticized and satirized Cerf, the former CEO of Edison Schools, a for-profit company that milks money from the public schools. Cerf has been featured recently in the press for all kinds of fun things, like trying to hide not selling his stock in Edison and only doing so surreptitiously when it became clear this fact would be revealed. I had published a photo on my blog of Cerf seeming to be dozing at one of Joel Klein’s press conferences. Klein is his boss. I better bring a food taster.

The luncheon was being held at the University Club on 5th Ave. and 54th St. Always prepare for journeys by reading your travel guide. Mine said:
“Designed by Stanford White this is the city's grandest clubhouse. With its deep rustication, grand proportions and superb craftsmanship, it is the city's finest Italian Renaissance palazzo-style structure. As impressive as its exterior, the interior of the building is splendiferous with rich marbles, gilded columns, fine woods and excellent murals by H. Siddons Mowbray. The three most impressive rooms are the reading lounge on the elevated first floor overlooking Fifth Avenue, the magnificent third-floor double-height dining room that stretches the length of the building's side street frontage, and the enormous, vaulted library. In 1987 the club admitted women.”

Hey! Change takes time in far away places. I better get a 2nd set of shots.

I dressed carefully. Digging out my best and darkest corduroy jacket, I desperately searched for a pair of matching corduroy pants that would give the rough impression I was wearing a suit. I found something. It was black. Sort of. I put on a black button down shirt worn over a black tee-shirt with white lettering that said “Quantum Samurai Scorpions” given to me by the robotics team at Aviation high school. In case of violence, I would rip off my jacket and shirt and use the scorpion on my shirt to back them away. But I would be helpless if they resorted to blowguns that shot voucher darts. I added black sneakers disguised as shoes for quick getaway and I was ready to go.

On my way down the street, my feet began to slip on the ice from the storm the day before. Back to the house to change into my tan-with black-border waterproof hiking boots that I had bought for last year’s trip to Costa Rica but hadn’t worn since. I could kick my way out of there if attacked. My outfit complete, I was off to the B train with a change for the V at 47rd St. I practiced my moves in the subway.

I approached the University Club with stealth, searching for a way in. I used my passport to get past the outer-borough-denizen filtering system. Then past the next six doormen — after a brain scan designed to seek out alien thoughts — like any inclination to oppose the conversion of every public school in Manhattan into condos.

I approached the next barrier, a man in a red jacket whose first words were, “You need a jacket and tie,” looking at me like I had just been scraped off his shoe. I opened my coat and said, “I have the jacket. One out of 2 ain’t bad.” He didn’t smile. “The invitation didn’t say anything about a tie,” I whined. “We have ties in the back,” he said, looking down at my hiking boots.

I was going to ask him where I could change money since I heard they used a currency I was not familiar with — millions. I’m pretty much a ten and twenty man. I thought better of it.

I went to the cloakroom to check my dark, down coat, which left feathers clinging to my corduroy. I tried to cover up the ketchup stains still lingering from last night’s fries. The guys at the checkroom sent me to the back to pick out a tie from a rack of rejects. I chose a lovely school tie – blue field with yellow markings, some of which looked to be moving. I made the tie in the mirror in the lobby while sneering people passed me by. Finally, I was ready for combat.

The Manhattan Institute luncheon was on the 7th floor, not one of the three grand rooms, but c’est la vie — maybe next time. I got off the elevator and approached the lady at the entry desk sitting with a pile of nametags in front of her. I expected mine wouldn’t be there, sure the people from the Department of Education, who’ve have been tracking my every move, would try to keep me away. But there it was. It had a safety pin on the back. I looked around to see where other people attached their tags so I wouldn’t make myself stand out by having a nametag out of place. For a moment, I thought of showing my defiance by putting it where it was guaranteed to get noticed. Not a good idea. Damn safety pins.

I entered the room. Lots of wood and twenty-foot ceilings with painted angels hovering over clouds, looking down with looks on their faces like they had to pee. I was one of the first ones there even though it was 12 o’clock. I forgot to be fashionably late. There was a table with drinks. Wine. A glass of red would calm me down and then I could stand in the corner and observe the species, getting in touch with my own Jane Goodall. Mingling was not going to be happening for me today.

The lady in front of me asked the server what the white wine was. “Chardonnay” was the response. She snorted and said, “I’ll take red.” “Red for me too,” I echoed. She turned and smiled. I said, “I really want Merlot but am afraid to ask since that wine movie trashed the Merlots.” “I like Merlot too,” she laughed. We spoke about wine and schools for the next ten minutes. Turned out she was also a fugitive from NYC schools, but had risen considerably higher than I, becoming one of the rulers and shakers before she retired to become CEO of a company setting up charter schools nationwide. We exchanged contact info and I was off to my corner to listen and observe. I heard lots of breathless, “We’re just waiting for the charter schools cap to be lifted.” The public Ed gravy train will be long indeed.

I become a mingler after a glass of wine on an empty stomach takes effect. I floated around looking at nametags. There was the former CEO of one of the major financial firms in the world. Dismantling public schools is hot with the corporate types — they can say they served humanity. I saw two reporters I knew. Someone tapped me on the shoulder. “Norm, good to meet you. I feel like an alien.” It was JB. We knew each other from a common listserve we are on but it was the first time we had met. There were other aliens whose names I recognized. It turned out there were more people there for the free lunch than I imagined. We banded together like Custard’s army at the Little Big Horn.

Finally, we were called to lunch. Chicken and dessert. And a roll. Not top shelf. The wine had gone to my head. I sat at a corner table with someone I knew from years before. Cerf made his outrageous presentation to much clucking from the audience. I disagreed with 99% of it. When the question period came, I raised my hand in vain. Just as I was about to rip off my jacket and shirt and start using Quantum Samarai moves, I got called on for the last question of the day. Needless to say, there won’t be a next time.


This article was originally written as a travel piece for the LostWriters web site and can be accessed at: http://www.lostwriters.net. It also appeared in print in The Wave on Feb. 23, 2007.

From: Cerf Chris

Note: Cerf will be holding a talent search, tap dancing included. Isn't amazing that they all need a chief of staff. Anyone been near a classroom?

From: Cerf Chris
Sent: Mon 1/29/07 5:53 PM
To: &All Central HQ
Subject: Departmental Announcements

Dear Colleagues:

Over the last two weeks, I have been fortunate to begin to learn more about the impressive talent and expertise that resides within our human resources department and the exciting initiatives that are underway. I am looking forward to working with the leadership of the organization, including the Directors of our Centers of Excellence, to continue to develop our strategy related to "human capital" as well as to build the most service-oriented, customer-centric, principal-focused organization possible.

While there is certainly a great deal still for me to learn, I did want to make you all aware of a few staffing changes, some of which you may already know about.

Elizabeth Arons will be serving as a Senior HR Policy advisor. Betsy will be supporting critical initiatives on teacher quality. Previously, Betsy served as the CEO of Human Resources.

Larry Becker will be serving as the Acting Chief Executive Officer of Human Resources. Previously, Larry served as the Chief Operating Officer of DHR.

Doug Jaffe will be serving as the Director of Restructuring, Human Capital. In this role, he will be responsible for coordinating all HR-related issues pertaining to organizational restructuring. He will also continue in his critical role supporting the strategic direction and implementation of Project Home Run.

Amy McIntosh will be serving as Chief Talent Officer. In this role, she will work across the DOE to shape a comprehensive strategy and lead key initiatives for recruiting, induction, ongoing development and performance management for talent at all levels of our organization: teachers, principals, leadership.

Most recently, Amy was Executive Director of the NYC Partnership for Teacher Excellence, an initiative linking the DOE with NYU and CUNY to create a new model for preparation of shortage area teachers. She will continue to oversee this important work which will now be directed by Audra Watson, reporting to Amy.

Joel Rose will be serving as my Chief of Staff. Previously, Joel served as a strategic consultant at the Fund for Public Schools where he coordinated the opening of school, supported last year's expansion of Empowerment Schools, and helped to launch several accountability-related initiatives.

Antoinette Kulig will be serving as our team's administrative assistant. Previously, Antoinette supported Michele Cahill's team and has also served as the administrative assistant to two previous NYC Chancellors.

Dan Weisberg will continue to serve as Executive Director, Labor Policy. Dan has done a masterful job guiding our organization through the negotiation and implementation of our collective bargaining agreements. I am looking forward to ensuring his work is effectively integrated into the larger organization.

I am also looking forward to working with Sandra Stein and the staff of the NYC Leadership Academy so that, together, we can ensure that their work is effectively aligned with our overall human capital strategy.

Chris Cerf