Written and edited by Norm Scott:
EDUCATE! ORGANIZE!! MOBILIZE!!!
Three pillars of The Resistance – providing information on current ed issues, organizing activities around fighting for public education in NYC and beyond and exposing the motives behind the education deformers. We link up with bands of resisters. Nothing will change unless WE ALL GET INVOLVED IN THE STRUGGLE!
Evil was in the house last night with loads of the HSA gang. What a good time for this story to come out on the day after. The Daily News did a Freedom of Information (FOIL).
Klein helped Evil get a million bucks from Eli Broad. Must have come in handy last night for the buses and pizzas. Charters who cry they don't get the same money as public schools always seem to have bus and food money.
Eli also gave Randi a million for the UFT charter school. Did Klein also help his friends out too? Can someone FOIL the Randi/Klein emails?
Here is a link to the must read Gonzalez piece. Photo from the DN web site enhanced by Bellel.
Read the email exchanges between Eva Moskowitz and Joel Klein.
The emphasis on Joel Klein as the culprit and not on Bloomberg (one of the biggest misleading roles the UFT has played) is dangerous in that Klein could disappear and nothing will change or things will get worse - he plays the role Paul Vallas played in Chicago from 1995 through 2001. Who replaced Vallas - the slicker and less offensive Arne Duncan who is leading the Obama attack on public schools.
The problem is mayoral control and the national attack on public education not Joel Klein. There is a version of Joel Klein in every big city under attack. Let's keep our eye on the prize.
Klein may be on the ropes due to the pounding he is beginning to take from the Black and Latino/a community (teachers' voices as critics don't count.)
Let's not be fooled if they pick what looks like a benign educator. They did that in LA where Ramon Cortines is doing exactly what Klein is doing here.
Sort of reminds me of how many people are getting fooled by Randi's hand picked successor whose differering style plays better but we will see as time goes by, with the same results. Unfortunately, he will be able to skate by through this UFT election cycle. Don't you love those cute "militant" UFT ads running at the cost of millions?
In this 3:37 second extract, Patrick Sullivan chastises David Chang after mics are turned off from speakers from the NAACP.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bR0eHLefS5k
Excuse video quality: Lousy location to shoot from - constantly having to move around to avoid blocking isles, bad lighting, cheap camera and downsized quality for faster processing.
Our pals at CAPE have been monitoring communications between Joel Klein, PEP member extraordinaire Patrick Sullivan, and parent activists - CEC 1 president Lisa Donlan and CEC 15's Jim Devor. Both were at the fantastic parent conference sponsored by Leonie Haimson's Class Size Matters yesterday (Sat.) I have 3 hours of delicious tape. Norman Siegel wowed them all, as did all the others.
I also want to say a few words about the amazing people at CAPE, who are holding a rally in Red Hook on Tuesday at 4:30 on the corner of Richards and Sullivan followed by the Public Hearing (same day 1/19) which begins at 6, sign ups to speak begins at 5:30. If you can make it show them your love for they are standing up for all. I will be there to tape it.
CAPEers have been willing to put themselves on the line. Amazing when we hear about the fear teachers have. Julie, a CAPEer, was one of the signers of the document that led to the court ruling that gave us the right to walk a picket line this Thursday at Bloomberg's residence. It was wonderful to hear Norman Siegel tell her at a meeting Thursday night, "You have me for life for doing this. If there is one hint of retaliation I will be there for you."
I can't tell you how many people contact me with complaints about the union and the DOE but are paralyzed by fear. What does it mean for a 10 year teacher with a long career ahead to take such action? It means the kind of guts and moxie that has been missing from all too many of our colleagues and certainly from our union.
Also, kudos to GEM and ICE member and 11 year teacher Seung Ok for signing on as a contact person for the rally. It was Seung who followed a parent at Maxwell's lead and proposed the demo at Bloomberg's in the first place. Ironic since the Unity Caucus slugs at Maxwell are urging administrators there to "go after" Seung. (Mark my words. Mulgrew will turn out to be as big a thug as any leader in the past.) Whenever I offer to keep Seung's name out of it, he says, "I'm not afraid." There are times his passion causes him to "lose it" at the DA, but there are few people I've met in the last few years who I have more respect for. He is running on the ICE/TJC slate for VP of Vocational Schools (Mulgrew's old position).
The emergence of Julie and the other CAPEers and people like Seung has provided strongly needed rank and file leadership to THE RESISTANCE. Give us even a hundred people like them and we have a game changer.
CAPE says:
What were you doing on Friday night? PEP member Patrick Sullivan, Joel Klein, CAPE members from PS 15, Lisa Donlan from CEC 1 and Jim Devor from CEC 15 were having a lively discussion regarding the forced co-locations and extensions of charter schools in our public schools beyond the agreements made to their respective communities while knowingly, over crowding, shrinking, and undermining, successful community schools.Please take note as to how Mr. Klein completely ignores the parent letters and voice in this discussion. His narrow view of the issue, and lack of attention to any real substance, only highlights the Orwellian nature of the destructive school policies he and his boss propagate across our great city. The public, Borough Presidents and PEP members should take note of the Chancellor's disregard of stakeholder voices. We should all question BloomKlein and their policies, particularly the school closures-charter invasions-drive to privatize movement that they blindly seek to implement. The time is now! Enough is Enough! We must fight to protect public education, the pillar of our democracy. WE are in this for ALL children. The full transcript is below. Friday Night Fights!
The NYC so-called rubber stamp Board of Education is known as the Panel for Educational Policy (PEP). Most are appointed by Mayor Bloomberg. Five are appointed by the borough presidents. Patrick Sullivan is the Manhattan borough rep and until recently has been the lone voice truly representing parents. At the Dec. PEP meeting held in the north Bronx, Patrick again led the charge, but this time he had some support. A bus company that has been convicted of bribes and a contract for software for prof. development are challenged by Patrick. The crowd responds and Klein, Michael Best, David Chang and the other rubber stamps look nervous. If they want to be rubber stamps let's not let them be comfortable about it. Will future PEP meetings ever be the same?
You know that Der-ick Je-ter chant at Yankee Stadium? When you're done watching this video, chant Pat-rick Sull-i-van, Pat-rick Sull-i-van.
That was some meeting last night and as usual, there is so much to say and so little time. At least three reporters were there: Gotham's Anna Philips, the Times' Jennifer Medina, and the Daily News' Rachel Monahan so we will be getting reports from them I assume. Thanks to all three for helping guide and escort this old man partway home after the meeting on the #2 train from so far north in the Bronx I thought I was in Canada. They really need to hold a PEP meeting in Alaska where Klein can declare, "I can see data from here!"
One interesting thing was the number of young teachers, some from TFA and the TF programs who stood up for their schools. It wasn't just the older teachers who are outraged. These are the very people the ed deformers were counting on to be their shock troops. I was with some of the reporters on the way home and we ran into one of the teachers, a 3rd year TFA who remained after her commitment to stay at her school. Her school in the first year also closed. She said she wanted to stay in the NYC system and now that is doubtful. BloomKlein first went after the older teachers and now are eating their own young.
There is a lot more to report. The crooked bus company contract. The contract for professional development. And the space allocation bull. Patrick Sullivan was even more magnificent than usual, joined at times by Bronx rep Anna Santos. For the first time we saw the Bloomberg/Klein rubber stamps crack a bit as they tabled some of the issues. The Jan. 26 PEP will be a doozie as the passions and anger are running rampant. No more easy street for this gang.
The number of people defending their schools was awesome. Even Leo Casey wasn't bad, though he always sounds like one big whine. I do find it disingenuous for Casey to complain that closing schools is just a real estate grab (Ed Notes, ICE and GEM should have copyrighted the idea) when the UFT is engaging in its own real estate grab with two charter schools occupying space in public schools.
There was one candidate for UFT president present and it wasn't Mulgrew. James Eterno was there. He didn't bring his 6 month old last night as he did to the Jamaica HS rally the night before. Kara is becoming one serious activist. (See the link on the sidebar to the pics posted on the GEM blog.)
The piece resistance goes to GEM's Angel Gonzalez who took over the meeting as James Eterno and another ICE member held up the ICE/NYCORE banner we used in a demo last year. That video will be coming soon.
GEM and CAPE and others are discussing holding a rally at chezBloomberg or City Hall on Jan. 21 as a warm-up to the rubber stamps on the PEP. Imagine staff and students from all the closing schools paying Bloomie a personal visit! Let's hope it happens.
Here is the first video I made of a student, teacher and the principal giving a magnificent defense of Columbus HS. Go get em gang!
Leonie put up this video made by the staff of Columbus on the NYC Education News blog.
A wonderful piece of work and I urge other schools on the closing list to do the same.
Leonie writes: I hope everyone reads Christine Rowland's excellent piece on the unfair and destructive proposal to close Columbus HS at GothamSchools and then joins the Facebook group to Save Columbus.
ReadDOE's totally inadequate "education impact statement" calling for the school's closure, and send in your comments to the DOE. Be sure to email them as well to all the PEP members (their addresses are to the right).
Then come to the PEP meeting where the school's closure will be voted on, along with more than thirty other closings and changes in school utilization, at Brooklyn Tech on Jan. 26, and make your voices heard!
Middelhoff, Joel Klein's former boss, laughing at the joke of a NYC School system he helped bring about through his promotion of Joel Klein.
AT COUNTERPUNCH
Inside the New Print Edition of Our Subscriber-Only Newsletter!
New York Times Director Probed for "Breach of Trust"
To the Sulzberger family that controls the New York Times he has been the ultimate Good German. High-flying Thomas Middelhoff took New York by storm, buying Random House for Bertelsmann, invited onto the NYT board, a member of its compensation committee. Read Eamonn Fingleton’s exclusive on how Middelhoff has crashed to earth and how the NYT has buried the story.
Who is Thomas Middelhoff? He hired Joel Klein at Bertelsmann and when Middelhoff was forced out in a scandal, with his protector gone, Klein was thrown the NYC schools as a lifeline and we ended up stuck with him.
If anyone tracks down the article send it along.
From Wicki on Middelhoff: On June 5, 2009 several media reported that the German justice minister Brigitte Zypries had recommended that the state prosecution service look into allegations of fraud against Middelhoff, based on the fact that he and his wife allegedly held shares of an investment fund, which bought real estate from Arcandor and then leasebacked it to for unusually high rental fees. [3
On another front, check out this article, especially for those people who think removing Joel Klein or Mike Bloomberg would set things right in education in NYC. The key to the nationwide onslaught has been the governance issue as a first step so as much public insight could be removed as possible.
Thus the key is to forget all the attacks on what went on in pre mayoral control years and figure out some way to design a system to take power over education away from these forces. Even if there were millions in the streets against them these forces would desperately cling on - (Clingons?). Expect them to point machine guns at the crowds.
And to return to a popular theme: the only organized force that was capable of resistance were the NEA and AFT/UFT. They didn't and they won't. Thus, the battle for public education must also include internal battles within the urban union locals to force a change in policy.
Neoliberalism, Charter Schools and the Chicago Model Obama and Duncan's Education Policy: Like Bush's, Only Worse
It was a fun afternoon around Chambers Street yesterday. The press conference at City Hall was a highlight. (Photo from Epoch Times.)
I went over to the press conference at City Hall after spending some time at the David Pakter hearing (what a hoot!) across the street and taped most of the speeches. There was lots of disdain on the faces of DOE people and many reporters (CBS' Marcia Kramer was priceless) as the much disparaged State Senators Hiram Monserrate and Pedro Espada led the parade in calling for more parent power with a large crowd behind them on the steps of City Hall.
But there were also good speeches by very reputable state senators Shirley Huntley, Bill Perkins and Eric Adams. GEM's Brian Jones and PS 123 parent activist Bill Hargreaves also spoke. I'm working on putting up videos of the non-scoundrels. The Epoch Times has a report with a quote from Brian and a counter quote from the UFT:
Brian Jones, who has been a teacher in Harlem for six years, said that the states’ allocation of funding to create and remodel charter schools is an attempt to privatize education. He is a member of the Grassroots Education Movement (GEM), which seeks to “save our schools from privatization,” said a flier.
Ron Davis of the UFT denied the threat of privatization posed by charter schools by saying that charter schools are public schools that have specialized programs.
City Councilman Charles Barron had a different angle, despite the fact his wife, Assembley woman Inez Barron joined the others:
Barron On Amigos' Mayoral Control Battle: 'A Front' And 'A Fraud Charles Barron talked to Elizabeth Benjamin at The Daily Politics:
"accused the amigos of trying "to undermine black leadership," adding: "We should have left their behinds over there (with the Republicans)."
"I'm down with stopping mayoral control; I'm not down with Espada and Hiram Monserrate and Kruger and Diaz," Barron continued. "They betrayed the cause for them to go over and try to empower Republicans until they got their little personal agenda satisfied."
"This ain't about mayoral control for them; it's not about decontrol, vacancy decontrol. It's not about the people's agenda. He finally got, Espada, a position he should not have had, and Hiram probably cut some deal somewhere, too. This was never about what they're trying to front about now...It was about Hiram's agenda and Espada's agenda...This is a fraud."
What do you do when you get a call from a top official at the New Haven school system, as I did two weeks ago, asking your opinion on the NYC ed reforms?
You let it fly.
At least until he reveals they are thinking of hiring Garth Harries, whose appointment as Deputy Superintendent in New Haven was announced on June 8. Harries is one of Joel Klein's chief non-educator/business characters. The New Haven official ran across my Education Notes blog and wanted to know what we thought of Harries. Asking the editor of a digital rag his opinion? I must be living in an alternative universe.
"Hmmm," I think, "Klein always talks about he urges principals to stop passing on teacher lemons to others. Here's an opportunity to pass along a Klein lemon."
Of course, there are Klein lemons spawning all over the place: Washington, Baltimore, Delaware and who knows where else? They're like the swine flu virus.
"Nice guy I hear," I say. "Very personable. Smooth. Doesn't know all that much. Doesn't think class size is important. Often uses the lame expression, ‘Research shows that teacher quality counts more than class size, but when challenged to cite the research, says, I'll get back to you with that.'" Sure, in another life.
"What he actually knows is not important," the official says. "We have a reform movement already that focuses on the classroom and he won't get to impact much on that, but there is thinking here that if we tie into the Joel Klein reform effort by hiring one of his top people, we'll have a better chance of getting some of that stimulus money. And Yale University, who we partner with, is very interested in that aspect."
“In that case, Garth Harries is the perfect guy for you. Great for public relations," I say.
If they wanted a DOE connected guy for PR, they could have done better with PR chief David Cantor for much less money.
Harries was recently put in charge of special ed in NYC despite knowing nothing about it. Nice time to leave in the midst of reorganization.
Related: I referred the story to a parent activist who knows more about Harries than I do who said she would also help pass the Klein lemon by praising Harries to the sky.
Ed Notes had this story for 2 weeks but sat on it out of courtesy to the caller.
The bad economy has accomplished what rallies and UFT ineptness has not. The NY Times is reporting Joel Klein has ordered principals to hire ATRs before any new teachers. Thanks for listening Joel to the demands of the Grassroots Education Movement a week before our rally. Now it's time to restore teacher seniority rights. We'll send you a list of our other demands. Or just look outside your office next Thursday.
The rub in the Times report is this statement:
Anticipating significant budget cuts to New York City schools in the coming year, Chancellor Joel I. Klein ordered principals on Wednesday to stop hiring teachers from outside the system, a move that will force them to look internally at a pool that, according to an independent report, includes many subpar teachers.
The report, released last year by the New Teacher Project, which recruits and trains educators for school systems, estimated that the pool cost the city $81 million over two years.
Independent? The New Teacher Project is independent? What are people at the NY Times drinking? Have they looked at the funding sources of the New Teacher Project, founded incidentally by anti-union attack dog Michelle Rhee? Did the Times think to report on the amount of contracts the NTP gets from Klein to train new teachers, funding they may now lose if there are no new teachers to be hired? Is there just a tad of a conflict of interest with this "independent" report?
Timothy Daly, who runs the New Teacher Project, said he was worried that principals would no longer be able to find the best fits for their schools. “Schools are going to have great teachers who they would like to hire, who they won’t be able to hire,” Mr. Daly said. “It can’t be best for kids.”
Sniff, sniff. I'm weeping. Sure Tim. It's all about what's best for the kids.
Shame on reporter Javier Hernandez and the editors at the Times and for tainting 1100 ATRs. But we always knew they had a dog in this race.
Maybe GEM should march on to the NY Times after finishing up at Tweed on May 14.
UPDATE from Eduwonkette posted at Gotham Schools:
A point of clarification on this point from the New Teacher Project’s report that you cited, i.e. “By September 2007, unselected excessed teachers from 2006 were six times as likely to have received a prior “Unsatisfactory” rating as other New York City teachers.”
If you read the footnotes in their report, 81 percent of teachers in the ATR have never received an Unsatisfactory rating. Only 6 percent of all teachers in the ATR - about 14 teachers - have received an unsatisfactory rating more than once in their careers.
Beyond these facts, I have no idea to what extent this pool represents great or terrible teachers, and the important point to remember is that no one really knows. It’s not reasonable or fair to indict the entire group based on the very misleading “six times” TNTP sound bite. If someone else applied this kind of statistical discrimination to other groups - for example, by establishing the probability of an outcome like incarceration or welfare receipt by gender, class, or race and characterizing the entire group - we would all be up in arms.
Following the machinations of Joel Klein and the NYCDOE last week turned out to be more fun than a dull Final Four end to March Madness.
Klein responded to the UFT/NYCLU law suit on closing zoned schools in Brooklyn's Brownsville -PS 150 and Harlem's PS 241 with a letter to parents saying the schools will remain open, while openly urging them NOT to send their kids to these schools. Call it closing by starving them of kids. (See my posting of Klein's letters- Tweed Undermines Law Suit "Win" on Zoned Schools, Klein Letter to PS 150 Brownsville Parents)
While it is OK to go to court if you have the resources, if that is all you do, you can only win a moral victory but lose the battle - and the war. But that is the way of the UFT.
We know what the DOE game is: force struggling schools that you are responsible for into closing by shifting the blame on them and open up charter schools in those buildings that will cream off the best kids, while forcing the struggling kids into neighboring schools which will then fall in a domino effect. By the time they all fall and the majority kids are under served, you will be out of office – and responsibility.
Use the Harlem Success charter school political operation (some of them will even admit this is all about politics, not education) to make it look like parents want the zoned schools shut. (Harlem parents say they want their local schools shut down)
NYC parent Steve Koss made a powerful indictment on the NYC Parent blog:
Why is this rush toward charters not seen for what it really is: a broad-scale indictment of Chancellor Klein’s failed tenure? If after seven years at the DOE’s helm, the best he can offer is an escape from the very schools he has failed to improve, isn’t that effectively a statement of surrender on his part? Or is failure the goal, part of a localized “shock doctrine” program that paves the way for a back door public school privatization program that would never have been approved by public referendum?
NY State Assembly members Nolan and Odonnell, two of the most responsive and critical of the DOE members of that often corrupt body, sent Klein a letter in response:
Obviously the support offered by DOE prior to this point has been insufficient for a school with such high percentages of English Language Learners (22.2%), students receiving special education services (22.8%), and students who qualify for Title 1 funding (80.9%).
Although it is not entirely clear from the above mentioned letter, we hope that DOE’s goals are to strengthen P.S. 241, improve its ability to prepare students, and prevent future phasing out. We would like you to specifically describe how DOE will increase its support of P.S. 241, including a targeted strategy to increase achievement, allocation of additional resources, and meaningful consultation with the school community about its needs.
Angel Gonzalez of ICE and the new coalition of groups being formed, now known as the Grassroots Education Movement (GEM) wrote in response:
Definitely an excellent letter to Mr. Klein. However, those insidious machinations of BloomKlein, who undermine our neighborhood schools and who cloak themselves in progressive civil rights rhetoric, need to be countered by increased pressure from below. We will continue to support the efforts of the Harlem & District 3 community as well as those of other school communities of our city. Our organization(GEM) believes that this campaign to defend and improve neighborhood schools must be a citywide effort. The DOE by installing the smaller schools & charters with smaller class sizes & greater resources creates these disparate situations in the neighborhood schools that precipitate tensions and a downward spiral in school performance.
This DOE sabotage of public education continues in all our communities, particularly in our Black and Latino communities. We are committed toward building that necessary groundswell of pressure to force the DOE to heed our demands. In the process, we will be pushing our UFT to take up to demonstrate aggressive leadership on our community/teacher/student/parent demands.
Some of our demands: Stop the School Closings - Fully Support Quality Neighborhood Schools. Smaller Class Size Now(in our UFT contract). Stop High Stakes Testing. Guarantee excessed (1700+) ATR Teachers their seniority right to permanent jobs. No Mayoral Control - Democracy Now.
We also invite the PS 241 and the District 3 community to join us on our May 14 Protest Against NYC School Closings. The planning is in the works and soon you will receive more info. Our next planning meeting for May 14 is April 21, Tues at the CUNY Grad Center(34& 5thAv) - Rm 5409, 5pm.
Keep us posted on your next meetings so that we too can attend and support D3 efforts.
In unity, Angel Gonzalez, Grassroots Education Movement (GEM)
Breaking News: New Grassroots Education Coalition to hold Save Our Public Schools rally and march up Broadway to Tweed on May 14 at 4:30 PM. We will pass by UFT headquarters and ask them to come out and play.
Make sure to check the side panel for updates and other important information.
This ad produced by Education Notes for the March 28 conference to save public schools at John Jay College in NYC, is a prime example of the manipulation of the community by charter school advocates. The Harlem Success Schools led by Eva Moskowitz has pushed its way into public school spaces with the support of the NYC Department of Education. The push by Bloomberg and Klein to support charter schools is an admission of their failure to solve the problems that exist in public schools.
Trevor Cobbold of Save Our Schools has been in touch. They have followed up on Klein's recent visit. Leonie Haimson sent out this excerpt of their report. (See below for links to full document.)
Click to enlarge (page 1 only)
Check out the latest report from the Australian organization Save Our Schools. Here is an excerpt from "Klein Lied to the National Press Club":
New York City Schools Chancellor, Joel Klein, was exposed as a dissembler at his National Press Club address in Canberra last week. Under forensic questioning from The Canberra Times’ education reporter, Emma Macdonald, Klein resorted to lies and deceptions to justify his claims of increases in student achievement in New York City schools.
Macdonald challenged Klein on his claims by citing national reading and mathematics assessments which show that there has been no improvement in student achievement in NYC since 2003, except for 4th grade mathematics. She questioned him on whether the grades given to schools in this year’s school progress reports had been manipulated by reducing the cut-off scores to achieve an A or B.
Klein denied both charges. He said that Macdonald was wrong on both facts. His response was to falsely assert that the cut-off scores for school grades had not been reduced, falsely claim that New York State tests were a better measure of student achievement than the independent national assessments, and to selectively cite evidence about the success of African-American students.
Check out the entire document, complete with bibliography.
The Melbourne newspaper, The Age, reports on Joel Klein's visit this week. Australia's Ed Minister Julia Gillard Agrees with Rupert Murdoch, who possibly wants to be the Aussie Bill Gates, who has criticised Australia's schools. The first stage of the corporate takeover of education is to undermine public confidence in the schools. A Nation At Risk started the ball rolling in the US 25 years ago. (UFT/AFT President Al Shanker's signing off on it also started the ball rolling on teacher union complicity in the corporate attack.)
This article punches some big holes in the entire scheme. Here's an excerpt:
The only qualification that Murdoch has to judge our schools is that he owns about 70 per cent of capital city daily newspaper circulation. When billionaire media magnates speak, the rest of us listen.
The same cannot be said for the other American citizen, New York schools chancellor Joel Klein, who Gillard has brought to Australia, "impressed" by his education reforms, especially school league tables, which had produced "remarkable outcomes".
Rubbish. Internet comments on the test results show the improvement in school performance measurement comes from manipulating the tests by prepping students. Klein also makes claims about the results that cannot be supported by any fair analysis. Statisticians [Eduwonkette] who have examined the results say they can be explained by random error.
Klein, a corporate lawyer and political apparatchik, is here to spruik the virtues of Gillard's wacky plan to publish a rating system for schools. Critics point out that the system, based on experience in Britain and the US, "names and shames" poorly performing schools whose output is predictable based on socio-economic background and lack of funding.
The scheme's great political virtue is that it allows governments without any real commitment to raising the standard of poorer schools to appear to be doing something.
Norm, Thank you for the nice run you gave SOS today. I hope we can deliver some uncomfortable moments for Joel. We have done a lot of work briefing several journalists who will attend his address to the National Press Club here in Canberra next Tuesday.
The right wing the Centre for Independent Studies (which is funded by major Australian and international corporations) published a report here yesterday supporting school reporting and league tables (see http://www.cis.org.au/). It is an appallingly slipshod report.
It is interesting how much publicity a large well-funded organisation like this can get for basically shoddy work while a substantive report like the SOS study of NYC results goes unreported. Yesterday, the Sydney Morning Herald gave the CIS report's author, Jennifer Buckingham, space for an opinion piece. Yet, SOS has been unsuccessful in its request to have an opinion piece published on NYC.
I reported on Monday's Panel for Educational Policy meeting the other day.
Read Patrick Sullivan's accounts on the budget cuts (Tweedies put them into buckets) and Klein Stiffs Special Ed Parents on the NYC Public School Parent blog. Patick did his usual great job as the Manhattan PEP rep raising questions. Why is he the only borough rep, all of whom have to be parents, to do this while the other 4 sit there like statues? (Contact your borough President and ask that question.)
I was sitting a few feet away from Joel Klein while one person after another used their 2 minutes to hammer him. Special ed parents were so angry (and poignent) after Klein cancelled the special ed agenda item so Jim (Drone) Liebman could deliver his ARIS presentation. (Remind me if I am ever on death row not to hire Liebman.) Klein also had angry ATRs and rubber room people to deal with. And had to answer questions from people connected to Jeremy Garrett's rubber room movie, at one point saying something like, "Ok already, I know you're making a movie."
Well, did sit there an take it and was looking pretty pale. I had an interesting interchange with Klein which was illuminating (to me) but will report on that another time.
I told him to enjoy his trip to Canberra, Australia next week where the government seems to think Klein and Bloomberg have done a great job and are considering a similar system of school grade accountability. (I always ask this, but doesn't Klein have a massive school system to run instead of racing to every single opportunity to propagandize?)
One of our internet buddies, Trevor Cobbold and "Save Our Schools" are awaiting Klein with a 12-page report called New York is Not Working. Email me if for a copy or sign up at the SOS site. Some of the headings are:
No improvement in average student achievementNo reduction in achievement gaps Misleading and inaccurate data
An SOS press release states:
The Federal Education Minister is bringing Klein to Australia this month to tout education reforms which she wants in Australia, such as reporting individual school results, but which are clearly not working.
National tests in reading and mathematics show that student achievement in New York City schools has mostly stagnated under the reign of the City’s Schools Chancellor, Joel Klein. The less reliable state tests show a mixture of small increases and declines, a pattern which is similar to the four years preceding Klein.
Average scores have not improved and the large achievement gaps between different groups of students have not reduced.
Average scores in reading and mathematics in Grades 4 and 8 in New York City have mostly stagnated since 2003, with virtually no improvements for Black, Hispanic and low income students.
There has been little or no change in the difference in average scores between Black and White students, Hispanic and White students and low income and other students in New York City since 2003. The achievement gaps remain as large as they were when Klein took charge.
Mr Cobbold said that the Federal Education Minister and her advisors have been much too uncritical of Klein’s claims of success.
The SOS research reveals that the NYC Schools Chancellor resorts to several artifices to claim success for his reforms.
For example, he often uses the 2002 results as the comparison benchmark instead of 2003. The 2003 tests were conducted 6 months prior to the implementation of his reforms, so this is the appropriate comparison point. Using 2002 exaggerates the impact of the reforms because there were significant increases in student achievement from 2002 to 2003, but this was well before Klein’s changes were made.
He refuses to report the margins of statistical error on test results, which is vital information for interpreting changes in test results. He generally uses the less reliable state test data instead of the independent national results.
