Commentary on Cavanagh Students - Campbell Brown and Mona Davids Want Her Fired

You can have a conversation with Julie Cavanagh on any topic but nothing lights her up more than talking about her students, two of whom are heading off to college. Julie has taught special needs children and what a joy to see these kids break out of that mold. Read her email (Julie Cavanagh Former Students Head For College - Help Them Out) and head over to GoFundMe to help them out at Herkimer College, a SUNY school upstate.

I know I'm taking some privilege in turning this appeal for funding into a political message and Julie will probably be pissed at me, but I can't help it.

There is little that makes a teacher happier than seeing former students on the right track, especially elementary school teachers like Julie Cavanagh who see these outcomes years later. (Seeing my former 10-11 year old students as adults with their own children is one of the fruits of teaching younger kids - some of my favorite stuff on Facebook.)

Julie doesn't go deep into the support that she and her husband have been willing to provide her former students - Julie has always pointed out - and did so in our film - that one of her teachers helped find a college for her - Indiana U - and drove her out there almost 20 years ago. And Julie and Glenn are paying it back by doing the same with these students this week. But Julie is careful to point out she is no heroic teacher taking over the lives of these students, telling me "they came to us with a the plan and the school, we just helped cross the t's and dot the i's."

Think about how the parents of these kids feel. There must be some joy at seeing the kids going to college, but also some apprehension given recent events in Staten Island and Missouri. Will some cop in a small town upstate get the wrong idea? Teachers (and especially police), need to also think like social workers and and we need to have deep conversations about what our students face and how we as educators have a role and a responsibility in fighting for racial, social and economic justice.

Which forces me to make this point - which I will over and over again. Kids of color face more danger from bad police than from tenured teachers. Where is the Moaning Mona Davids and Campbell Brown lawsuits to hold police and their unions, which stand up for anything cops do, accountable?

Teachers like Julie continuously put themselves at risk with their activism on so many levels. As was pointed out in my post yesterday about parents supporting teacher tenure - Why Parent Leaders Should Join Court Intervention in Support of Tenure.

I remember when Jeff Kaufman in 2005 helped out one of his students at Rikers by smuggling college prep materials into him and Jeff then spent months in the rubber room and would have been fired if the Moaning Mona and Brown suits are successful.

If we had a union that really wanted to defend tenure they would be making these cases every single day - even threaten to punch people in the face for daring to put people like Jeff and Julie in jeopardy.

I have such outrage at these bogus lawsuits, but especially at self-serving Moaning Mona Davids, who was befriended by Julie and knows as well as anyone the kinds of risks Julie took over the years to stand up for students, parents and teachers - like signing on as one of 2 teachers (the fab Seung Ok was the other) in the suit to hold a demo at Bloomberg's house, which Moaning Mona was happy to support. (And then blew up a year of Julie's work when she vindictively destroyed our film's website - I wonder how much she tried to extort from the ed deformers for doing that.)

Does anyone think it impossible under certain conditions (outspoken teacher as target) to be brought up on charges by a vindictive principal for taking former students into her car, even if to college - also note the Jeff Kaufman/Rikers story above? And how many teachers are so fearful of consequences of not having tenure that they will think twice before getting involved?

Yet Moaning Mona wants to put the protections teachers like Julie and Jeff have in danger.

Campbell Brown may be a slug but Moaning Mona Davids should not be able to look at herself in the mirror.

Julie Cavanagh on Common Core in Daily News, Major Contrast to Mulgrew

Julie Cavanagh won't punch you in the face if you support common core as she makes a clear and concise statement in her article in the DN that is way more powerful than what we hear coming out of our union leaders.

As Mulgrew's opponent in 2013 election she is quite a contrast to Mulgrew as she makes similar points Chicago teachers made at the AFT convention in that debate on the floor and in committee where Unity slugs used thug tactics.

• AFT Convention Update: Chicago CC Reso Goes Down O...Posted Fri 5PM
• #AFT14 Report - Common Core Debate - Epic Battle B...

You heard none of Julie's points made at the convention by even one of the 800 Unity Caucus loyalty-oath pledged delegates who were elected in that winner take all election, thus disenfranchising the thousands of teachers who agree with Julie. The use of the Unity horde to distort and tilt and control the common core debate on the city, state and national levels is what has allowed the ed deform movement to gain such a strong foothold. Leo Casey's attempt to brand CC opponents as tea party influenced is one example (video). Leo can be assured that Julie is no tea party advocate, as he full well knows since he knows Julie.

That is why I put time into building MORE in the belly of the UFT/Unity Caucus beast. Because nothing will change with the unions unless we make those changes here in NYC. And Ed Deform cannot be defeated until the teacher unions become more Chicago-like -- willing to spit in the face of the deformers and use their resources in organizing opposition. Having powerhouses like Julie Cavanagh committed to this goal makes the work

Cavanagh: Common Core testing creates a narrative of failure

Last year, our students were assessed for the first time according to the new standards. State Education Department officials predicted a steep drop, and scores plummeted. This year, small gains were predicted, and that’s what happened, to the astonishment of no one.

BY Julie Cavanagh

SPECIAL TO THE NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Friday, August 15, 2014, 1:32 AM

Siegel.Jefferson Julie Cavanagh (center) is a special education teacher and chapter leader at Public School 15 in Red Hook, Brooklyn.

Four years ago, a group tied to testing and publishing companies, and bankrolled with Bill and Melinda Gates’ money, brought us the Common Core Learning Standards.
Cash-strapped states that wanted to win federal Race to the Top dollars had to adopt the standards, and more than 40 states, including New York, did so.
Last year, our students were assessed for the first time according to the new standards. State Education Department officials predicted a steep drop, and scores plummeted. This year, small gains were predicted, and that’s what happened, to the astonishment of no one.
Predictions are easy to make when you define what constitutes proficiency.
There will be an attempt from all factions to spin the results: The state will say the reform agenda is working, the city will argue the scores show the need for pre-K, and charter schools will claim they show their importance as high-quality alternatives.
Let’s get off the hamster wheel.

Siegel.Jefferson 

The truth is, these tests were designed to create a narrative of failure, and the trends are not so different from those we saw on the old tests: we are failing our children with special needs, our English language learners, our children who live in poverty, and a disproportionate number of black and Latino pupils.

It is no surprise that the results mirror the struggles and deep flaws in our society. Of course, the goal was never to actually fix our schools — there are no profits in doing that. There are no profits in providing small class sizes, experienced educators and services like counseling, tutoring and family support — proven reforms that would benefit all students.
Instead, the focus is on unproven standards and the tests that supposedly measure our student’s competency — written by the very people who profit from their use.

Julie Cavanagh is a special education teacher and chapter leader at Public School 15 in Red Hook, Brooklyn .

Julie Cavanagh Video at MORE Press Conf and at WNYC: Here's Why NYC Teachers Should Reject Labor Contract

Union members have been without a contract for more than five years. We, along with the communities we serve, have faced a tidal wave of attacks on our neighborhood schools. A new contract has the power to right these wrongs....Many teachers I know would have happily conceded some financial compensation in favor of a greater improvement to teaching and learning conditions. Given this contract extends beyond the next mayoral election, it wrongly surrendered a great opportunity for meaningful improvement... Julie Cavanagh, MORE

While Julie takes on the financial issue, she also tackles the other issues that are not being talked about in this article published on the WNYC web site.

But first watch this video of Julie at the MORE press conference after the DA.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOgFQ28xBgg&list=UU9iVb99ewF1omA6LbPUWEOg&feature=share




http://www.wnyc.org/story/opinion-wait-fair-contract-isnt-over/

Opinion: Here's Why NYC Teachers Should Reject Labor Contract

Thursday, May 08, 2014

By Julie Cavanagh

(Stephen Nessen/WNYC) 

 

The proposed new contract for New York City public school teachers highlights the current mayor's commitment to collaboration and communication between the United Federation of Teachers and the city after years of deteriorating learning and working conditions.
It includes some steps forward in rebuilding respect for educators, including parents more and improving conditions for students and teachers. But I have serious concerns about several aspects of this proposal.

For example, the proposed contract would divide educators into several tiers. Once we destroy union solidarity, we destroy our union. Career ladders are nothing more than a merit pay scheme with a different name. Teacher leadership is critical to the success of schools but dividing teachers by salary is not a way to achieve this goal.

Due process, job security, and fair evaluations for all educators are the foundations of any teacher’s union contract. There cannot be two sets of rules for educators. Those who were excessed through no fault of their own and were placed in the Absent Teacher Reserve (ATR) pool should not be held to a different standard than their fellow union members.

I also hoped this contract would address pay parity. Occupational and physical therapists, who are essential to the success of the children we serve, make considerably less than their educator colleagues. Paraprofessionals also deserve consideration in this contract, as they are underpaid for the important and challenging work they do.

While I commend the effort to address the needs in hard-to-staff schools, I believe a different path should be taken. Wraparound services, reduced class size, additional nurses, librarians, social workers, counselors, healthy food initiatives, after-school and weekend academic programs, and extracurricular activities are all proven formulas for success, not $5,000 bonus pay. Simply, I feel this money would have been better spent on direct services to children.

I also commend the additional time for educators to work in teacher teams, engage in meaningful professional development, and complete the monumental tasks that we frankly do not have the time to complete. However, I am concerned that the change leaves our children behind, because, with the information I have seen thus far, there will be no efforts to replace targeted intervention for students.

UFT members are dedicated professionals and although we didn’t become educators for the money we do have families to raise and financial obligations to meet. I am a teacher, a wife, a mother, and a New Yorker; I want to live where I work and provide my son with every opportunity, including doing my part to improve our schools and society for him and all children and their families.

This proposed contract would have members accept raises, worth less than 2 percent each year between 2009 and 2018. This does not keep up with the rate of inflation. Salaries around the country have fallen behind, which has caused terrible income inequality for many families of the children we serve. Every working man and woman deserves a living wage and fair annual cost of living increases. If our union does not take this stand, who will?

If we accept this deal, other union members may be forced to accept similar bad contracts. Politicians now have the green light to refuse to negotiate in good faith and force pay freezes for workers, deferred raises and a contract below the rate of inflation.

Union members have been without a contract for more than five years. We, along with the communities we serve, have faced a tidal wave of attacks on our neighborhood schools. A new contract has the power to right these wrongs. I believe the path to real change must be traveled together. Only through the active involvement of our members, parents, and with respect for all students can we achieve the promise of public education.

Many teachers I know would have happily conceded some financial compensation in favor of a greater improvement to teaching and learning conditions. Given this contract extends beyond the next mayoral election, it wrongly surrendered a great opportunity for meaningful improvement.

 Julie Cavanagh 

• Julie Cavanagh is a special education teacher at P.S. 15 Patrick F. Daly in Red Hook, Brooklyn. She is also an active member of the MORE caucus, a group of public school educators.
    
  
  Below is the longer version published on the MORE site.
  

  The Wait Isn’t Over

  by morecaucusnyc
  
  By Julie Cavanagh
  Teacher/Chapter-leader P.S. 15k
  A shortened version of this was published at WNYC/NPR Schoolbook 

Carmen Farina Introduces Diane Ravitch at PS 15K Community Library Opening

Yesterday was a big day for the PS 15K community in Redhook with two red hot ed superstars, Diane Ravitch and rumored next chancellor Carmen Farina, in attendance. Actually in my book, 3 superstars if you count Julie Cavanagh, PS 15 chapter leader and one of the event organizers.

Carmen Farina has been the chair of the "Friends of PS 15 Committee" for 3 years and helped get the school a new library out of the ashes of co-loco battle with PAVE charter.

Today being the first book talk to introduce the new library as a community space, the Committee thought it fitting to  invite Diane Ravitch, who graciously accepted.

Farina in introducing Ravitch, talked a lot about PS 15 and connected the struggles there to Diane's book. Carmen complimented Diane's work, pointing to her travels around the nation as she visits schools and programs and listens to what people have to say.

She made the point that there is plenty of room for agreement and disagreement but informed discussion should be at the center and Diane's work is an important part of that.

Diane said during her talk "Every community needs a great neighborhood public school like PS 15.... We need to be citizens, not consumers, when it comes to public education."

Carmen closed by saying we need to stop focusing on what "they" – the corporate reformers – are doing and focus on what we are doing, echoing Diane. We need great public schools in every neighborhood.

Afterburn
I'm not sure exactly what Farina was trying to say here but I agree with this point: That we are beyond focusing on the outrages and should work on organizing. How to do that effectively is another story.

John Yanno on The Work Julie Does and the UFT Doesn't

Mulgrew may have been at the DA but he wasn't in the trenches fighting for rank and file teachers and public education. Here, John Yanno provides a microcosm of Julie's work and why so many people who have worked with her are thrilled she is running for UFT President.

Julie highlighted a lot of her education activism in her response to the anonymous comments on the ICE blog (read Julie’s reply here - http://morecaucusnyc.org/2013/03/25/cavanagh-defends-her-record-and-asks-mulgrew-to-debate-his/). But one thing she didn’t mention was that when I was having a problem at my school, it was Julie and not the UFT who came to help us.

In 2010, the NYC DOE proposed housing Millennium Brooklyn in the John Jay High School campus where I teach. While Millennium Brooklyn is not a charter school, many of us at the John Jay campus were opposed to the co-location because of the scarce space in the building. 

There was also the problem of the DOE failing to release promised funds to the school (outrageously, they told us that allowing Millennium Brooklyn in would release those much-needed funds for our crumbling building). 

I knew Julie from the Grassroots Education Movement (this was way before MORE) and her fight at PS15. 

After telling her about what was happening at my school, Julie attended a joint parent and teacher meeting at my campus to help explain what would happen next after the proposal and what steps we could take to prepare for the hearing and the PEP. 

Julie also attended the hearing at my school and spoke powerfully both to the DOE from the microphone but also privately to at least one CEC member about the failure of the DOE to fund the schools at John Jay. Again, this was before there was any MORE, before Julie was running for any office. Julie, a true activist dedicated to education justice, came and said what the UFT leadership didn’t.

Julie Strikes Back

What matters is leadership. What matters is vision. What matters is the philosophy by which one will govern and represent the membership. I believe in a union that is member led and member driven. When I, or a candidate from MORE caucus, become president of the union, you will not have to attend a DA and sit idly and listen. The DA will be yours. When we take over leadership of our union, we will organize, support and build fighting chapters at the school level with elected district representatives who are trained organizers.  When we run the union, leadership and staffers will make salaries equivalent to the teachers we represent — there will be no extra perks, no double pensions.  When we lead our union, you will not go more than three years without a contract, at least not without organized job actions and a fight.

When Unity’s stranglehold of the leadership of our union ends, the members will have representation that believes in solidarity with other unions and in the power of our collective action. You will have a union that educates, mobilizes, and organizes our members and the public and who organically partners with parents and young people. You will have a leadership that truly understands that our working conditions are our students’ learning conditions, that a harm to one is a harm to us all, and that we must stand side by side with deep roots in the communities we serve to fight for social, racial and economic justice in our schools, in our city and across the country.

 ----Julie Cavanagh responding to Unity Caucus attacks at MORE blog.

The attacks on Julie as being unqualified to run the UFT remind me of the Republican/Pallin attacks and derision of Obama for being a "community organizer" given Julie's work in the community around her school, the basics of grassroots organizing.---- ed notes

In the midst of dealing with a sick child and getting ready for a few days of breathing room from working as a full-time teacher, mother, chapter leader, presidential candidate, school and neighborhood organizer, best friend and supporter to too many people to count, Julie Cavanagh found the time to respond to the Unity hack/slug attacks while Mulgrew hides under the table.

Listen, I actually happen to like Mulgrew from what I see of him, but if he had to face a debate with Julie and answer tough questions about UFT policy he just wouldn't hold up. And she would. So it is funny how the Unity people claim she would cave while backing Mulgrew's refusal to debate.

Duck, Mulgrew, duck.

So I don't blame Mulgrew for ducking. That doesn't make him a bad person and maybe it means he is smart to not want to debate Julie, knowing full well her capabilities and his weaknesses. (Randi was willing to debate the late Michelle Malkin representing PAC, a tiny caucus, in 2001).

Mulgrew bears responsibility for Unity attacks

But then the Unity attacks on her qualifications in such a coordinated manner means he must bear responsibility for them and that means he is condoning them while the anonymity of the commentors provide cover for people who are clearly amongst the leadership, allowing Mulgrew to say, "who me?" It happened to Kit Wainer in the 2007 campaign when thousands of teachers received an mailing at home attacking Kit. Randi claimed she didn't know. Sure. Can we expect a similar mailing with the same type of attack on Julie this time?

I'm not speaking for MORE here but let's challenge any of the Unity hacks/slugs or anyone else in Unity to debate any people in MORE in a public arena. Watch them duck this one too. Let any of the commentors on the MORE, ICE, and Ed Notes blogs come forward and stand up for what you say you believe. How about Emil and Camen debating Gloria on what exactly happened with the UFT governance committee instead of using the DA to beat Gloria up? No guts, no glory.

New Action, inaction
And watch New Action in all this. They will probably issue some inane statement about keeping the election process clean. Then watch some of them go over and schmooze with Julie after the election and commiserate. I try to tell Julie and other MOREs that New Action is worse than Unity. They know they can never contend for power and have no intention of doing so but will do Unity's bidding in making sure a CORE-like caucus will not get traction in NYC. They really are despicable. Just look at their leaflet taking credit for the sun shining and making it look like they are criticizing Unity while burying the fact they are running Mulgrew at the top of their ticket -- and don't think Unity people are not helping them get their stuff into schools -- Leroy Barr killed a potential lower level debate between MORE and Unity over including New Action -- they like 2 against 1.

Attack on Julie will come back to bite Unity and New Action after the election

One of the major miscalculations on the part of Unity is their basic ignorance of Julie's stature in and beyond NYC. And all the people she has worked with. They live in their insular box. All they are worried about is the election results this time. As more teachers get to know Julie over the coming years, these attacks will resonate with them.

You know my interest is not in the election but in building a core group of activists with a wide reach and the election was seen as a way to do that. The very fact that Julie has chosen to work with MORE, given her wide range of options, is a sign of change that is a real threat to Unity. Thus these attacks.

That is the only way to challenge Unity and if MORE stops doing this after the election only to come back in 3 years it is wasting its time. The attacks on Julie and her response will go far and wide for a long time. If it were up to me I would put it out as a leaflet to stuff in the boxes. (I will put together a pdf for anyone who wants to share with their staff.)

You can read Julie's response at the MORE blog and at ICE where James Eterno, the ICE-TJC 2010 Presidential candidate and an avid Julie supporter along with his wife Camille (which given their long activism should mean something -- would they be willing to turn the UFT over to someone unqualified?) added this comment:

As John Kerry found out in the 2004 presidential campaign, mud sticks so you better fight back fast and that is what MORE Presidential candidate Julie Cavanagh is doing.  She will not be "swift-boated" by Unity. Here is her response on the ICEUFT blog to the viscous Unity attacks on her fitness to lead the UFT .  It will also be on the MORE blog.

http://iceuftblog.blogspot.com/2013/03/more-presidential-candidate-julie.html

Please read and comment but don't forget we still need to work hard on the ground game to get out the vote as ballots will be mailed as soon as we come back to school.

James

And a MUST READ is NYC Educator:

Is UFT's Delegate Assembly a Forum for Candidates' Debate?

Should Working Mothers With Sick Babies Attend the DA?

 If you don't get to MORE or ICE, Julie's entire statement is below:

Cavanagh Defends Her Record and Asks Mulgrew to Debate His

25 Mar

By Julie Cavanagh

Wow. While having breakfast with my husband and almost nine month old son (who is finally on the mend after more than a week of a fever ranging 102-104 every day, during the same time my best friend’s 18 month old daughter was in the hospital, who by the way, is also a teacher and a single mother of two young children), I picked up my phone to see a mention on Twitter from Arthur Goldstein (teacher and chapter leader in Queens). I frankly couldn’t believe what I was reading. Usually a mention from Arthur has me in stitches. Not this time.

Now instead of relaxing while my baby takes a nap, I am writing this in response to comments on the ICE and MORE blogs attacking my commitment as a unionist and chapter leader and questioning my worthiness as a candidate for UFT President. All of this because I, and the caucus I represent, had the nerve to insist that Michael Mulgrew engage in a forum or debate with me so that our members can be fully informed and engaged when it comes to their voting choices in the upcoming election.

First let me say that I do not feel I need to defend my role as a chapter leader. Nearly every UFT member in our school, signed my petition for UFT President, and many of my colleagues are actually running in this election with MORE.

Second, I certainly do not need to defend my attendance at Delegate Assemblies. While I do attend, often, DAs are not a democratic forum. As I am sure the commenters on the ICE and MORE blogs know, and as all Unity folks know, the room is not even large enough for all of the CLs and delegates to be seated and when you do go and sit, you listen to Mulgrew practice his stand up routine for an hour or so, after which you *might* have the chance to ask a question or bring a resolution to the floor if Mulgrew recognizes you. Regardless, it is an effort in futility because it really doesn’t matter what you say, ask or bring to the floor; the ruling Unity caucus will disagree with it or vote it down, since they control the DA. If the UFT leadership actually held Delegate Assemblies each month that were informative and provided fair and ample time for discourse and discussion, I would be there in a New York Minute. As this is not the case, I attend as many Delegate Assemblies as I can, but sometimes other events such as a childcare issue, my son being ill or an important meeting in my community to bring a new partner into Red Hook to service children and families with disabilities will take precedence. I do not need to go to the delegate assembly to prove who I am or that I am committed to my union; I act every day in a way that highlights why I should be president of the UFT.

I am a mother and a teacher. I have been a teacher for thirteen years, and have been working with children with special needs and their families for even longer. I have stayed in the same community and school since moving to NYC in 2001, because I am committed to the process of leading school change and improvement from the school level. I became chapter leader at the request of my colleagues a few years ago and have worked hard with them, our parents, and our principal to make sure our children and our teachers have the best learning and working conditions possible. I fought for my school during the dictatorship that my union handed to the mayor, during a co-location of a charter school in my building that my union didn’t adequately help fight (which is difficult since the UFT leadership chose to co-locate its own charter), while our class sizes rise steadily and our budgets are slashed, while teacher’s choice was eliminated and insultingly reinstated to cover no more than a few boxes of pencils, while ATR’s rotate in and out of my building- some of whom  have approached me on the brink of tears desperate for someone to listen to their struggle, during a time of a tidal wave of assaults on our children, our schools, and our profession.

Throughout this time, I not only worked in my own school community, I worked with parents and union members across the city and the country to fight back. You can find links to some of my work here, but I will list a few highlights: I co-wrote/edited/produced/and narrated a film that stood up to corporate education reform, a film that has been seen by hundreds of thousands of people in every state and on every continent (except Antarctica); I have appeared on several TV and radio programs and written several articles where I have spoken out forcefully against corporate education reform and for the schools our children deserve – and I was invited or asked in every single case to participate, so while those in Unity caucus pretend to not know who I am or what I have done (but yet ”know”, falsely, that I am not at DAs) apparently the national media does; I have also worked with other union members in the city and nationally – I helped organize a conference, and attended and facilitated, in Chicago in the summer of 2011 with other teacher union members; I helped lead the solidarity efforts with Verizon workers at the end of that same summer. I have sued, with a parent and a student, Mayor Bloomberg for the right to protest school closings and co-locations on his block and successfully organized and co-led that protest. I was the only teacher petitioner in the effort to stop and overturn the appointment of Cathy Black and also recently the only teacher on record to join with parents in sounding the alarm of student and teacher data privacy issues regarding SLC/inBloom data systems (Randi Weingarten, by the way, sits on inBloom’s advisory board). I say all of this not because I think anything that I am or that I do is so special, I share this information to highlight the outlandishness of the attacks from people whose usual line is there should be no attacks on union folks because we are under attack from outside forces and therefore need ‘unity’. I also share this because these are the things the president of a union should do.

Beyond of all of this, if Unity caucus can attack me for the number of times I went to the DA (this year I believe I have been to four DAs), the number of grievances I have filed (none), the number of UFT trainings or committees I have attended (none), then I wonder why they nominated Randi Weingarten as their presidential candidate, since she never attended a DA as a chapter leader, was never a chapter leader, and therefore never filed a grievance, attended the trainings, etc.

I personally do not think any of those things are what makes someone qualified to run our union. What matters is leadership. What matters is vision. What matters is the philosophy by which one will govern and represent the membership. I believe in a union that is member led and member driven. When I, or a candidate from MORE caucus, become president of the union, you will not have to attend a DA and sit idly and listen. The DA will be yours. When we take over leadership of our union, we will organize, support and build fighting chapters at the school level with elected district representatives who are trained organizers.  When we run the union, leadership and staffers will make salaries equivalent to the teachers we represent — there will be no extra perks, no double pensions.  When we lead our union, you will not go more than three years without a contract, at least not without organized job actions and a fight.

When Unity’s stranglehold of the leadership of our union ends, the members will have representation that believes in solidarity with other unions and in the power of our collective action. You will have a union that educates, mobilizes, and organizes our members and the public and who organically partners with parents and young people. You will have a leadership that truly understands that our working conditions are our students’ learning conditions, that a harm to one is a harm to us all, and that we must stand side by side with deep roots in the communities we serve to fight for social, racial and economic justice in our schools, in our city and across the country.

I am more than ready to share who I am with the members of the UFT and I am happy to answer their questions. In fact, that is precisely the reason I sent the email below to Michael Mulgrew. I believe a union membership with a less than 30% voter turnout needs to be engaged and exposed to open discourse and conversation between the two people who seek to represent them.

Mr. Mulgrew, I am still waiting for a response.

***

Sent: Mar 14, 2013 8:01 PM

Michael,
I hope this email finds you well.

While we have differences and disagreements concerning education policy and union democracy, we both are committed to our union and the children we serve. In that spirit, we should be able to engage in an open conversation during election season so we can ensure our fellow members are informed and engaged.

To this point you have ignored outreach regarding your participation in a debate or question and answer town hall with me. I would like to directly and formally ask you to participate in such an event.

I believe that our members deserve the opportunity to ask questions of their presidential candidates and I strongly believe this kind of open and honest discourse strengthens our union: an educated and engaged membership that is listened to and participates makes us stronger.

There is precedent for an event such as this between presidential candidates during election season.  As you know, Randi has participated in presidential debates in the past: one in 1999 and again in 2001.

I am open to a debate format with a third party moderator or a town hall question and answer event with the membership. My only specific asks are that the event be filmed and/or livestreamed so that we can maximize member participation, that the date, which I am open to any, be agreed to a few days in advance, so that I can secure child care and that the date be as close to April 3rd as possible, so that we provide a fair amount of time for members during the election timeframe.

I look forward to your response.
In solidarity,
Julie Cavanagh

Video: Julie Debates E4E on Seniority...

UPDATED:

...and presents a defense of seniority and LIFO Mulgrew and the UFT don't seem to want to touch in this March 3, 2011 TV debate, a fine birthday present for me. Julie makes the point that seniority is still the fairest method and adamantly defends the idea that experience really counts. The E4E person says teachers don't get better after 5 years. Watch her try to dance when the moderator talks about TFAers who leave after 2 or 3 years.

Julie's key point in this debate and in our movie is that tenure gives teachers the protection they need to advocate for their children. And since all levels above teachers are a much greater threat to children's interests and benefits, this makes total sense.

Then when the layoff question comes up and the moderator says some schools may lose a good chunk of their young staff, Julie points to the policies that give principals incentives to hire younger, cheaper teachers. And her defense of ATRs too. All of what Julie did here 2 years ago, when she was relatively new to union activism, is an impressive performance and gave many teachers out there hope that here was a voice that talks for them.

Meanwhile, E4E is left with bragging that Syndey got a quote in the Gotham piece on UFT retirees voting, another outrage by Gotham, going to these slugs for a quote (maybe funding is contingent on this?) instead of calling MORE for an opinion.

https://vimeo.com/61814925

Video: Julie at Murry Bergtraum HS - Roots of Her Activism

Julie describes the process that led her to become an activist beginning in 2009. From the invasion of the charter school, helping lead the fight against it, seeing the bigger picture and helping organize and lead the demo at Bloomberg's home, to her understanding of the role the UFT was playing and not playing in the ed deform movement to becoming the unanimous choice to run for President on the MORE ticket.

What she doesn't say is that in just a few short months of activism she took this city by storm, winning parents, teachers and community activists over to the cause of defending public education. One prominent perceptive non-educator/leader said to me early on before Julie became interested in the internal union stuff that she should run for UFT president, which was the first inkling I had of Julie's potential to reach way beyond the parochial union internal crap.

Then we did the movie and that made her a national figure. Not only did she make the movie as a narrator but she drove so much of the engine, even doing massive work in organizing our premiere and recruiting Diane Ravitch to be our keynote speaker. Everyone who has contact with Julie on a day to day basis just loves the experience, even when she is a pain in the ass.

Watch both the short version (5 minutes) and the full version (52 minutes) and you will see she wasn't chosen just because she is a pretty face or has a cute baby (though both did enter my devious mind). I became a fan from the first 10 minutes I met her in July 2009 despite the fact that we immediately clashed over my outsized criticism of the Unity leadership, which she contended was and is at times off the wall. Guilty! While she has become my teacher in many ways with her enormous wisdom, I still rebel against someone half my age and young enough to be my daughter. Some say that other than my wife, she is the only one who has found a way to bring me under control. For that alone she deserves your vote.




http://youtu.be/4Wl0CKFVq3A

The full 52 minute version is on vimeo as Julie takes on some tough questions and answers them with intelligence and style, all of which is missing from the Gotham piece. Watch it at the link below as I don't want to slow up this site any more than it is already.

https://vimeo.com/61162249


Julie's activism story is a companion piece to Assailed Teachers powerful blog on the roots of his activism even more recently than Julie's.

MY GROWTH INTO A UNION ACTIVIST: A TRAGEDY IN THREE ACTS

This is so strong I have reread it a few times to absorb all the complex points he is making. What a fascinating guy Assailed is. We are both historians of a sort and I could talk history with him hours.

And see Why I joined MORE pieces at the MORE blog.

I consider these people game changers in terms of the growth of resistance to Unity and the growth of a movement. They went from awareness to a high degree of activism so quickly. And they bring such a high skill set to the table.

The fact that MORE is being built by people like this is a sign of optimism. We just need more of them.

There are two types of activists inside the opposition.

The on the job converted -- I call the rank and file. My root of activism.

and

The politically active people on the left who would be active in any union and in fact purposely go to work in a setting that allows for their activism to operate. They are often key organizers. But their numbers are so low that if we relied on them alone we would be marking time.

And in fact that is where the opposition has been for much of the last 40 years. A combo of left along with some on the job converted. (Though I often wonder that with probably hundred or even thousands of teachers out there who might describe themselves as leftists and are active in some causes outside the union, why aren't they working with MORE?)

MORE will not go far unless the rank and file emerges and merges into MORE -- and the election campaign has certainly activated a portion of the membership that has not been active before and the real victory in this election would be keeping these people active and grow their connection to a post-election MORE. If MORE fails to do that it may find itself back in the same position as other caucuses that began life with a fire and ended up as a flicker.

Just sayin' to my MORE pals.

Look for my follow-up of pics of the new faces of the opposition coming up soon.

=====
The opinions expressed on EdNotesOnline are solely those of Norm Scott and are not to be taken as official positions (though Unity Caucus/New Action slugs will try to paint them that way) of any of the groups or organizations Norm works with: ICE, GEM, MORE, Change the Stakes, NYCORE, FIRST Lego League NYC, Rockaway Theatre Co., Active Aging, The Wave, Aliens on Earth, etc.

Cavanagh Defends Seniority Rights in NY 1 Debate With E4E, UFT and E4E on Same Page on Ed Evals

Julie Cavanagh for UFT Prestident! She actually lit a fire in my chest and brought a tear to my eye. This is exactly the type of fight we need to bring to the media! ---Alex Torres in response to appearance on NY 1 debating E4E March 4, 2011 at 10:25:00 PM EST

....our union leadership must be responsive to its membership. Our membership and the parents we serve overwhelmingly support Seniority Rights. Seniority is the ONLY research-based method for laying off educators and hiring them back. Seniority is the ONLY objective method for lay-offs, and it protects educators so that they are not the targets of arbitrary firing or are otherwise a target b/c of race, sexual preference, or their advocacy for children. ---- Julie Cavanagh, March, 2011 in comment on Ed Notes in response to E4E

For those Unity slugs out there, point to some statements from MulGarten with as rigorous a defense of seniority rights as Julie has made. And of course there is the UFT/E4E commercials calling for the same thing.  Not so strange bedfellows, it seems.
 
See Julie in the March 3, 2011 debate with an E4Eer on NY1.

Leonie Haimson was hosting an event for Diane Ravitch's appearance on John Stewart the same night (my birthday -- and I dragged my wife over there after a great dinner at my fave B-day place, One if By Land) and I was at the party to tape as Julie appeared on the NY 1 report at 10PM and we all watched it together. Al Shanker's wife Edie was in the room along with Ravitch and Julie became a star that night. (I do have some tape somewhere of their reactions to Julie.)

Which is why Julie's candidacy is a major threat to the UFT as she transcends narrow UFT internal politics of the past -- as one Unity caller told me and said was voting for Julie. Even some New Action people have been jumping off that bandwagon. In the election there are 3 caucuses but only 2 choices for President.

I put up this report on Ed Notes and note the comments 2 years ago calling for Julie to run for UFT president. Who knew?

Julie went to the NY 1 studio by herself while the E4E was accompanied by Evan and Sydney who were giving Julie the once-over (this was before we released our film so Julie was not yet as well-known.) MORE is thinking of challenging E4E to a debate since Mulgrew won't do it (Randi did debate in 2 elections - 1999 and 2001). Since E4E and Unity are on the same page on teacher evals -- did they recycle the UFT commercials? -- they might as well be on the same team. But to paraphrase Lincoln, if A=B and B=C than A=C. Thus on ed deform eval E4E=Unity/UFT/AFT.

 Here was my March 4, 2011 report.

Diane Ravitch and Julie Cavanagh Kick Butt

Last Update: Friday, March 4, 10:45 PM

I was at the viewing party last night for Diane Ravitch's appearance on Jon Stewart with Diane as the guest and we all enjoyed not only watching her appearance but Stewart's wonderful defense of teachers and take down of the ed deformers.

We were also treated to GEM's Julie Cavanagh's kicking of an E4E member's butt from one end of the NY1 studio to the next on "Inside City Hall". And all the while doing it with civility and grace.

Here is the link to Julie:  http://www.ny1.com/?ArID=134963

Let me point out that Julie did what the UFT won't do: defend LIFO and seniority in a strong and well-thought out way. Was that the best E4E has? She contradicted herself time after time.

Here's a link to Ravitch on Stewart show. But watch the first part of the show too where Stewart lays out the ed deformers in a brilliant way.

From Leonie to those who attended the viewing party (I have some tape). (Yes, we survived by B-day celebration at One if by Land, a wonderful meal and headed uptown after I sobered up.)

Thanks to all of you who came last night to our viewing party, at such short notice, especially Diane, for being our hero and working so hard every day to advocate for rational policies in public education. 

The conversation and company was terrific and it was great to share it with all of you. 

I have posted links to all of yesterday’s shows on the NYC parent blog, including Inside City Hall with Julie Cavanagh about LIFO, the Daily show with Diane, and the NPR radio show that Diane and I were on yesterday here:

http://nycpublicschoolparents.blogspot.com/2011/03/yesterday-was-great-day-for-real.html

Julie Cavanagh told me today that Errol Louis , the host of Inside City Hall, had a print out of our Parents Across America fact sheet on “why experience matters” in front of him during her debate.

http://parentsacrossamerica.org/how-teaching-experience-makes-a-difference/

If you haven’t yet subscribed to our Parents Across America newsletter, please do on the website at www.parentsacrossamerica.org

Thanks so much, and pl. keep in touch!

Leonie Haimson

12 comments:

1. 
   AnonymousMarch 4, 2011 at 1:42:00 PM EST

   Julie Cavanagh for UFT President!!!
   
   What a tremendous job done on NY1...
   
   -John
2. 
   AnonymousMarch 4, 2011 at 4:06:00 PM EST

   Wow Julie Cavanaugh was absolutely fantastic. I want to thank her so much for such a wonderful debate. She kept her cool and just was terrific. No link on GS. It figures.

   
   
3. 
   Alex TorresMarch 4, 2011 at 10:25:00 PM EST

   Absolutely! Agreed with John. Julie Cavanagh for UFT Prestident! She actually lit a fire in my chest and brought a tear to my eye. This is exactly the type of fight we need to bring to the media!

   
   
4. 
   ASTRAKAMarch 4, 2011 at 10:41:00 PM EST

   Julie Cavanaugh,
   PLEASE run for UFT president. You care for our children and for our teachers.
   
   You have my vote already!

   
   
5. 
   AnonymousMarch 4, 2011 at 11:25:00 PM EST

   Julie Cavanaugh cited incorrect research, please cite your peer reviewed study! So what does Julie think is the way to dismiss an ineffective teacher? what criteria do we use. The anti accountability folks like to poke holes in all efforts for accountability but don't propose real alternatives.

   
   

   
   
6. 
   J. CavanaghMarch 5, 2011 at 9:22:00 AM EST

   First, let me thank Stephane Barile and Liza Campbell, two young teachers from NYCORE and GEM who had the courage to put together an amazing letter for teachers w/ less than five years in support of seniority rights. That form letter, if you haven't signed it, can be found on the GEM site. They were contacted by Inside City Hall, couldn't do it, and passed the opportunity on to me- thank you ladies!
   
   Second, to the very flattering comments above. Thank you, and I will simply say this: our union leadership must be responsive to its membership. Our membership and the parents we serve overwhelmingly support Seniority Rights. Seniority is the ONLY research-based method for laying off educators and hiring them back. Seniority is the ONLY objective method for lay-offs, and it protects educators so that they are not the targets of arbitrary firing or are otherwise a target b/c of race, sexual preference, or their advocacy for children.
   
   Finally, to the corporate reformer above: the reasearch is clear, Jane and Mr. Louis spoke to it. There is a great fact sheet which includes much of the research I cited on the Parents Across America site found right in this post. And, if you are saying my research is incorrect (which of course it is not), than why do you need me to cite it?
   
   I did offer a solution which closed out the piece.
   
   Finally, I am not "anti-accountability", I am anti-attacks-aimed-at-undermining-public-education-and-dismantling-public-sector-unions. Most importantly, I am FOR KIDS. The only way we know, acccording to the research, to serve kids best is to give them small class sizes and experienced educators... let's do just that.

   
   

   
   
7. 
   AnonymousMarch 5, 2011 at 10:22:00 AM EST

   Julie Cananagh, give me a break with your lies, lies lies.
   In our school I'm on the hiring panel and we invited over six ATRs to open positions not one called or had the courtesy to let us know they were not showing.
   
   Julie lied and said Mayor tells schools not to hire ATRs.
   Big Lie they are given financial rewards to hire ATRS. Why would someone want my workload of teaching five classes a day, calling parents, counseling kids, attending meetings and conferences when it is much easier to sub all day or work in an office. The vast majority of us teachers work hard day in and day out and my union keeps catering the to lowest common denominator. We will never be a union of professionals until we stop defending the unprofessional.
   
   Teach as if your own kids are in the class.

   
   

   
   
8. 
   Leonie HaimsonMarch 5, 2011 at 12:57:00 PM EST

   The fact sheet that shows teacher experience matters for up to 20 years of more that Julie refers to is posted here:
   
   http://parentsacrossamerica.org/how-teaching-experience-makes-a-difference/
   
   It has charts and links to peer-reviewed studies. It also reveals how smaller class sizes and teacher experience are the only two objective factors correlated with better student outcomes. Sad the way the mayor is trying to undermine both.
   
   Secondly, if E4E really cared about kids they would focus on preventing layoffs, not using layoffs as an opportunity to attack experienced teachers.

   
   

   
   
9. 
   PogueMarch 5, 2011 at 1:19:00 PM EST

   Come on, E4Anonymous, give it up. No one attacked teachers till budget-cutting, pro-privatization Bloomberg came along. This "best and brightest" and "do it for the children" scam is getting old.
   
   The education field welcomes new teachers through natural attrition and retirements. As far as the code words, "bad teachers", that's a principal's job to help, handle, and hew, if need be. (fairly, mind you).
   
   Now, get back over to your web site. Arne, Mike, and Bill want their latte's refilled.
   
   P.S. Julie, Leonie, and Diane Ravitch were fantastic. Congratulations.

   
   
10. 
    AnonymousMarch 5, 2011 at 3:16:00 PM EST

    Don't be so sure it is E4 and not a Unity slug.
    
    And E4 = Wall Street's Poodles...ruff ruff

    
    

    
    
11. 
    forthekidsMarch 6, 2011 at 5:16:00 PM EST

    I watched the show with Diane Ravitch, and I too appreciated John Stewart's raw wit in presenting his viewpoint of the ongoing debate on teachers today. As a teacher for almost 20 years I have decided to do what I can to reach the politicians who are making decisions regarding our schools. Teachers need a voice. VIVAteachers is a place where a teacher's voice is beginning to reach the political realm. We need teacher involvement!

    
    
12. 
    MarkMarch 6, 2011 at 5:19:00 PM EST

    Ravitch's, Stewart's, and Cavanaugh's conversations are well-timed to capture a resurgence of awareness in the nation that something is wrong in the current superficial discussions of teacher effectiveness (the absence of the terms "equity" and "poverty," for starters).
    
    Meanwhile, back at headquarters, Cuomo is making nice with Bloomberg in private phone conversations. Check out the NY Times article:
    
    http://nyti.ms/i2Kxzb
    
    Another example of how politics trumps policy in education almost every time. Some teachers and myself created a set of policy recommendations to advocate for teacher perspectives on teacher evaluations, but we have been getting little response. Read our report and help us to advocate for policies that better address contexts within schools and the idea of professional collaboration:
    
    http://bit.ly/gGYZGK

UFT Delegate Assembly/MORE Announces Election Candidates

MORE chooses Julie Cavanagh, Brian Jones, Camille Eterno and Marissa Torres to head slate in UFT elections with more candidates to come.

The first UFT Delegate Assembly of the year, and the last one for many new chapter leaders and delegates will take place this afternoon. I have been at these meetings since 1972, with over a decade hiatus in the 80s through '94 when I became chapter leader and resumed going to the meetings. Ed Notes has been a regular since 1997. See my late August post (on the 6th anniversary of the ednotesonline blog): My Path from Ed Notes to MORE Through ICE and GEM Part 1 of 4. (Okay, okay, so I never did do the other 3 parts -yet.)

Before I get to the news of the MORE candidates (check the MORE blog - morecaucusnyc) –

Today is a special DA that takes place every 3 years. Let me explain.

Elections for chapter leaders and delegates take place on a 3-year cycle (2009, 2012, 2015) and the October DA following the previous spring election is the first one the newly elected will attend. With enormous turnover in these positions in so many schools, expect a vast new crop of people to show up. (Portelos as the only CL ever elected from the rubber room should be there -- I'd love to see him live stream the DA but that would get him more severe penalties than he is getting from the DOE -- imagine, being put in a UFT rubber room.)

And once these newbies experience the level of control exerted over the meeting by the Unity/leadership, many often never return. Though do expect a batch to have already been recruited into Unity -- they know not what they do.

I should point out that with over 1700 schools and at least one delegate and chapter leader in each, plus extra delegates in the larger schools, plus the potential 300 Unity caucus retirees and assorted other delegates, the potential audience could be 3700. But the main room only holds 860, with the overflow sent to overflow rooms so they can watch on TV. (Hope they show reruns of the Simpsons instead of Mulgrew pontificating and laughing at his own lame sense of humor.)

What does that tell you about the interest in the leadership in holding meaningful meetings?

Over the years I've seen up to 1500 people show up at these triennial meetings, the highest total over the 3-year period. Expecting these numbers in the past, the meetings were often held at a major hotel to give at least a semblance of interest in a democratic process (and those macadamia nut cookies at the Brooklyn Marriott were oh so delicious). But that has long been abandoned by Unity, so expect a very crowded and often unruly crowd jostling in narrow spaces. Some will turn around and just go home in disgust.

MORE chooses Julie Cavanagh, Brian Jones, Camille Eterno and Marissa Torres to head slate in UFT elections with more candidates to come. 

Well, this is getting long enough and I will wait to do my own personal tribute to Brian, Camille and Marissa later on. But just a few words.

How interesting that Brian has a 3 or 4 year old, Camille a 2 and a half year old and Julie a 14 week old. And Marissa is so young. Truly a mixture of an old and new generation of teacher/parent leaders.

I love working with Marissa on any project we have worked on --- I'm sure many will get to know her well.

Camille is one half of the wonderful power couple with her hubbie James. Just amazing long-term activists who broke away from New Action in 2003 when they sold out and helped found ICE.

On November 9 Brian will be doing a one on one at Cuny with the great Jonathan Kozol -- what does that tell you about the enormous respect there is out there for the work he does? And his work on our film has made him a national figure.

I don't have to tell you how much I have admired Julie since I met her a little over 3 years and have been proud to call her not only a political colleague but a true friend (and I don't always make many) --- you know, the kind you feel perfectly comfortable calling in the middle of the night if you need help (and she has promised to visit me in the home). I wanted to do a film for so many years and Julie was the key to making that happen, the kind of partner I so desperately needed to work with. I am eternally grateful.

I truly believe Julie has the same leadership potential as Karen Lewis --- interesting that both did not have extensive involvement in union politics until the ed deform crunch hit them and their kids head on. Both truly organically (Julie's favorite word) grown activists. I know Karen knows and admires Julie very much. As do teachers and parents and activists around the city and all over the nation who have worked with her and seen what she can do.

But Julie really does not want this election to be about her and she will probably be pissed at me for even writing this.

Anyway, I look forward to assisting with the installation of the nursery in the president's office at 52 Broadway.

Support the MORE slate in the 2013 UFT elections

Julie Cavanagh for President.

Julie is a UFT chapter leader who has been teaching in Red Hook, Brooklyn since 2001 and contributed extensively to the fight for public education. In 2009-2010 Julie, alongside a NYC parent and student, sued Mayor Michael Bloomberg for the right to protest school closings and charter schools, and later she joined with parents as the only teacher petitioner in a lawsuit to fight the appointment of then NYC Schools Chancellor Cathy Black. Since 2009 Julie has worked with various grassroots groups to organize protests and forums in an effort to educate and engage the public to challenge the corporate education reform movement and to promote real reform in our schools and communities. Much of this work can be seen in the film she co-narrated and co-produced, The Inconvenient Truth Behind Waiting for Superman. Her writings have been featured in the Huffington Post, Daily News, Labor Notes, and Public Sector Inc and she has appeared on MSNBC’s Up with Chris, Fox and Friends, and Inside City Hall.

Brian Jones for Secretary.

Brian has taught elementary school grades for nine years, and has organized teachers and parents to challenge budget cuts, charter co-locations and the high stakes standardized testing. Brian faced off against Michelle Rhee and Geoffrey Canada on national TV, and co-narrated the film, The Inconvenient Truth Behind Waiting for Superman. Historian Diane Ravitch has called his writing about public schools "brilliant". Brian has contributed to several books on education, and to publications as diverse as SocialistWorker.org and the New York Times.

Camille Eterno for Treasurer. 
Camille has been an English teacher in New York since 1996. In her second year as a teacher, she was elected to be chapter leader at the Queens Gateway to Health Sciences. As chapter leader, Camille won grievances that even the UFT leadership said were not winnable. She helped organize her chapter into an activist force that was a major presence at many union rallies. As a leader in the Independent Community of Educators, she was instrumental in the nearly successful battle against the giveback laden 2005 contract. Camille developed a well deserved reputation throughout Queens High Schools as a chapter leader who was not afraid to stand up to management when they wrongfully abused UFT members. She is currently serving in her third term as a teacher delegate from Humanities and the Arts High School in Queens.

Marissa Torres for Assistant Treasurer




Marissa has been an elementary school teacher and a union activist since 2002. She taught ESL students in West Harlem where she served as Co-Chapter chair and organized teachers and parents to challenge budget cuts and co-locations. She now serves as a delegate for PS261 Brooklyn. She is committed to the fight for public education and is excited to be a part of a caucus that wants to build a broad social justice movement with parents, students, and teachers.

Julie Cavanagh: The Truth Behind Won't Back Down

The leadership of our national and local unions do not help when they call for "solutions" and collaboration with deformers instead of calling for teacher unions to lead real reform and collaborate with actual stakeholders.  ----Julie Cavanagh

Julie talks about teachers and parents fighting back in real life, as we did in making our film. See her companion piece on the battle of PS 15 over the PAVE charter invasion: We fought the invasion of PS 15: a real-life "Won't Back Down" Story...


Julie sent this out:

The piece talks about our film, The Inconvenient Truth Behind Waiting for Superman, being filled with real "Won't Back Down" stories and highlights the one truth in the film; that it is imperative for parents, educators, young people and community to authentically work together.  It amazes me (though at this point it shouldn't) that the deformers gain the national microphone on education issues, particularly parent empowerment, while they promote policies that result in the exact opposite.  The leadership of our national and local unions do not help when they call for "solutions" and collaboration with deformers instead of calling for teacher unions to lead real reform and collaborate with actual stakeholders.  

Here it is in full from Huffington Post blog: I highlighted a section in blue.

The Truth Behind Won't Back Down

by Julie Cavanagh, special ed teacher, Red Hook, Brooklyn
 
This week a film partially funded by Walden Media, which is owned by entrepreneur and conservative Philip Anschutz, will be released in theaters. 

The film, Won't Back Down, is a work of fiction but claims to be based on real life events and tells the story of a teacher and a parent in a 'failing' school who join forces to 'save their school.' Walden Media also funded Waiting for Superman, which was billed as a documentary on education and chronicled the stories of several families navigating the educational landscape intermixed with commentary from journalists, economists, philanthropists, and business folks who surmised the troubles of public education today. These two films differ in style, but their substance is aligned and their conclusion is the same: teacher unions are the obstacle to student achievement.

When Waiting for Superman was released, a group of parents and teachers, of which I was a part, responded to that film with our own documentary, The Inconvenient Truth Behind Waiting for Superman. We highlighted the myths we believed were propagated in that film, shining a light on the corporate education reform movement, and called on parents, educators, young people and community members to demand real reform. Since then, the national conversation regarding education reform has gained more prominence. When we were making our film, the idea that there were forces attempting to privatize our public education system and that they aimed to use teacher unions as a scapegoat while citing poverty as an excuse rather than an important factor we as a society must address, was controversial. Today it is fair to say this conversation is accepted on national television. 

Even though the national consciousness has been raised regarding issues related to education and folks are more engaged and informed than ever before, the efforts to misinform, malign, and muddy the truth remain. Won't Back Down takes its viewers on an emotional roller coaster ride and clearly pushes the perspective that teachers and their unions prevent progress. While I have my own views about an alternate vision for teacher unions, I am a proud union member, and know that teacher unions, regardless of their flaws, are committed to progress and student achievement; I also know they are all that stands in the way of the sale of our public education system to the highest bidder and that is precisely why they are being attacked.

In our film, we featured several parents and teachers who actually took a stand against the corporate reform movement. Whether it was parents and teachers who joined together to stop a charter school from being forced into their building against the will of the community, or to fight budget cuts that were ravaging their school, to beg the powers that be to stop the closing of a beloved neighborhood school that was long under-resourced and undermined, or begging for policy makers to prevent ballooning class sizes or stop wasting precious funds on high stakes testing when they could be diverted to culturally relevant and rich curriculum; they all shared real, true, authentic stories about how they, together, would not back down. There are thousands of real won't-back-down stories out there (I have shared my school community's here and you can too), not based on actual events, but are actual events. Most of them involve fighting the very forces folks like Philip Anschutz fund. 

There is at least one thing however that Won't Back Down gets right; it does take parents and teachers and young people working together to make our schools great. Unions are not obstacles in this and in fact are positioned to lead the collaboration. One must only look to Chicago to see a real won't-back-down story where the cast of characters include not lazy unionized teachers, but educators who together with parents, young people and community members are fighting for the schools they deserve. 

I hope the folks who choose to see Won't Back Down return to their communities energized with the spirit of collaboration, not demonization, and together fight for real reforms for our schools.

 

Follow Julie Cavanagh on Twitter: www.twitter.com/juliecavanagh15

Teacher Julie Cavanagh and Parent Lydia Bellahcene: A Real-Life "Won't Back Down" Story

Our story doesn't fit into simplistic narrative that the makers of “Won’t Back Down” would like to portray:  that teacher unions are the main obstacles to school reform.  We don’t believe that closing public schools and opening charters are the answers to any of the problems that public schools face.  Our fight is against the billionaires and hedge fund operators who are intent on undermining our public schools in their fierce campaign to privatize the system. Sad to say, our story won't be the subject of any Hollywood film, and it does not have a Hollywood ending, but it is real and should serve as a cautionary tale for parents, educators and all others who believe in fighting to preserve and strengthen our public schools as the centerpiece of our nation’s democracy.

Parent Lydia Bellahcene and teacher Julie Cavanagh, a member of Movement of Rank and File Educators, tell their own "Won't Back Down" story fighting a charter invasion in their school on the NYC Parent blog, a story a told in the film "Inconvenient Truth Behind Waiting for Superman".

I met Julie in July 2009 after her group contacted GEM for assistance in their fight. Julie joined up with GEM soon after and has become one of the most dynamic voices for the Real Reformers, in addition to proving to be a supreme organizer with a high level of leadership skills. Over the past year she was involved with organizing the new MORE caucus in the UFT. She gave birth 10 weeks ago to her son Jack.

We fought the invasion of PS 15: a real-life "Won't Back Down" story

Lydia Bellahcene and Julie Cavanagh

The following was written by Julie Cavanagh and Lydia Bellahcene, a teacher and a parent at PS 15 in Brooklyn.  This is their real-life “Won’t Back Down” story, unlike the Hollywood version featured in the film of the same name that will open nationwide on Sept. 28.  You can also check out my review of the movie.  If you are a parent or educator and have your own real-life Won't Back Down story you’d like to share, please send it to us at info@classsizematters.org  Thanks!

 

The movie “Won't Back Down” is a work of fiction but is said to be based on real life events.  It tells the story of a teacher and a parent in a 'failing' school who join forces to 'save their school'.  The tale is a powerful one and some viewers may find themselves rooting for the protagonists.   We too identify with the film, but not because we belong to a poorly performing school.  Instead, we have fought to save our successful public school from the invasion of a charter school, which is not a story that the pro-privatization producers of the film would be likely to tell.

Full story at: http://nycpublicschoolparents.blogspot.com/2012/09/we-fought-invasion-of-ps-15-real-life.html