The Adams administration was “pleased” that the cuts — which the mayor has said were necessary because of falling student enrollment — could be reinstated, according to Amaris Cockfield, a City Hall spokeswoman....“School starts in a few weeks. Our students do not need a drawn-out court fight,” said Michael Mulgrew, the president of the United Federation of Teachers. “The answer is for the mayor to restore the cuts.” - NYT Aug 8 - https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/10/nyregion/school-budget-cuts-new-york-city-appeal.html
I covered the Aug. 4 rally with a tepid UFT presence -
(Oh, and before you start cheering over the big bill just signed wait for my post taking a deep dive into what's really going on -- a bigger win for corporations than working people.)
Pay careful attention. This is how a manufactured crisis is developed. This isn't how you manufacture a crisis per se (that's because the folks who are trying to manufacture this particular crisis are clumsy and clueless. They underestimated the strength of community and parent and teacher groups and, frankly, they didn't do their fiscal or demographic homework before they tried to run this play from the ol' Edreform playbook). But you and I are getting a very good look behind the curtain in real time about how to create one. This is the work of edreformers. They are running the same (boring) play as they did back in 2007-2013. It may be hard to see because the play is still in its infancy but this is how they do it. This is how they get their new charters and no bid contracts for their favorite private sector buddies and cuts to protections for educators of all backgrounds. This is how it begins. They manufacture a crisis inside of the schools. Only "private sector" ingenuity and "workforce efficiency" will be able to save us. In the meantime, parents see the results from all the manufactured and determine to move their children to private or charter schools. ....A Manufactured Crisis, The DOENUTS Blog
DOENUTS lays out the full scenario which in a follow-up he will compare to the Post office privatization moves. What he doesn't address is the UFT role in all this which he may well yet do. Just think of this -- the current charter schools situation in NYC has reduced potential UFT membership by big numbers. Imagine if they break the cap -- the UFT will wither away over time.
I would say if we look beyond 2007, the game plan began to be sketched out in the 80s. And our own union under the Shanker leadership initially, played handmaiden thoughout the ed deform movement - get with it DOENUTS -- there's no reform in the corp version.
It dovetails with others' analysis that this is an attack on the public school system and a move to create favorable political situation for privatization. There is so much there I could post the entire piece -- and I may do so yet -- but go read A Manufactured Crisis.
He promises in part 2 to connect the strategy to the post office privatization moves -- make it so ineffective by starving it people beg for UPS. Maybe we can see a Part 3 on the medical world privatization where Medicare is at risk -- including the actions of our own leader pushing privatized MulgrewCare. Also see the video I posted from a newly elected Ex bd member.
Let me say this once and again -- while there is a plan lurking behind the project - the implementers are inept.
And then look at this one -- if they are cutting because we lost kids, how about 4k new migrant kids with more to come -- keep em coming Gov Abbott - you are undermining ed deform in NYC>
NYC Education Dept. scrambles to enroll influx of migrant kids as school year approaches
New York City’s Education Department is facing a logistical nightmare as the start of the school year approaches: registering potentially thousands of recently-arrived asylum-seeking kids for school in less than a month.
City officials estimate more than 4,000 migrants from Central and South America have sought refuge in New York and filled city homeless shelters in recent weeks — many on buses sent by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.
For the city’s school system, that means identifying, enrolling, and securing additional services for hundreds, maybe thousands, of newcomers with no knowledge of U.S. schools, unstable housing and limited English proficiency — all by the start of classes on Sept. 8.
Education Department officials said they’re training partner agencies and shelters on how to support the migrant children’s educational needs.
Making matters more complicated, many of the kids may need specialized services that not offered in the closest school, advocates say.
All city public schools are required to provide “English as a New Language” services to students who need them. But not all schools have “dual-language” programs, where teachers alternate between English and Spanish, or bilingual social workers and counselors who can provide mental health support in another language.
If kids end up in schools without the appropriate services in September, it’s likely to cause more headaches for everyone, advocates said.
“It’s not fair to families or schools to have this rush of kids enrolling in programs where there’s not sufficient supports available to only to have kids transfer a few weeks later,” Pringle said. “No one wants that.”
Still, many educators are doing all they can to ensure the newcomers feel welcome next month.
In Manhattan’s District 2, where officials are expecting between 100 and 200 new students, schools are holding in-person registration drives, giving out backpacks and adjusting the schedules of their English as a New Language teachers in preparation, district superintendent Kelly McGuire told families.
For one migrant family, Education Department outreach has already made a big difference.
Nestor Enrique Torrealba, who arrived in New York with his wife and two daughters last month after a grueling journey from Venezuela, thought his kids weren’t eligible to attend school because of their immigration status — until DOE staffers showed up at the family’s shelter and explained their options.
And then this one - let's cut teachers and hire more safety agents.
A push to hire school safety officers awakens an old debate - Gothamist
https://gothamist.com/news/a-p
