Norm Gets Interviewed by Daniel Alicea on Talk Out of School - Part 1 and The Skinny Awards - Contribute to Leonie

Tuesday, June 11, 2024

 

I was a guest for a two hour interview about my teaching and activist career in the NYC public schools as a student and teacher on the June 9th edition of Talk Out of School which Daniel Alicea hosts along with Leonie Haimson - a dynamic duo. I've been a UFT member since 1967 and participated in 3 strike. I became active in the UFT in 1970. In part 1 I recount the years through the 1995 contract. For me it was a good way to review and recall 57 years of work in the union and defending public education through groups like

 

Here is the link:  https://wbai.org/archive/program/episode/?id=50740

Part 2 will be on in a few weeks.

 

By the way, June 12 is Leonie's annual Skinny Awards. I haven't missed one yet over a dozen years and I won't miss this one either. I was a recipient of the Award, as were so many other UFT activists like James Eterno, Arthur Goldstein and Julie Cavanagh. 

 

Support Class Size Matters even if you can't attend.

 

  This year’s annual Skinny awards will be held on Wed. June 12 at 6 pm.   Come celebrate and honor six independent parent members of the Panel for Educational Policy, who have valiantly spoken up for the interests of our students, and who despite great odds, have maintained their eloquence,  intelligence and persistence in striving for better policies in our public schools. Not to mention, Class Size Matters really needs your support! Food and wine will be served. Here is the link for more information and to purchase your tickets..

 

Skinny Awards Honor Jamaal Bowman June 28 - support Leonie Haimson Class Size Matters

Leonie sure knows how to put on a party. Imagine: Diane Ravitch and Deborah Meier (one of my ed idols since the early 70's) bridging their differences in person with Eduwonkette Jennifer Jennings. And her mentor and co-blogger Aaron Pallas, alias Skoolboy, also present. With superb satirist Gary Babad (who read us an "email" from Klein). And Patrick Sullivan. And of course, that force of nature, as Diane put it, Leonie Haimson....

Ed Notes on First Skinny Award, May, 2009, Class Size Skinny Awards Attracts Rock Stars of Education

 

Leonie has been our champion for class size, way more than our own union. I do not believe there would even be a class size law - even if ignored by Adams - if not for Leonie's work. Even if you can't make it consider a contribution. And despite sniping from the anti-squad left which is almost right wing, I'm very happy Jamaal Bowman is the only person I actually know who is in Congress. The only one to actually get the evils of standardized testing. And Leonie informs me that Eduwonkette, Jennifer Jennings, a first year recipient, may be attending. 

I've attended every dinner.

 

I was honored in 2018: I'm a Skinny: Honored to be honored by Leonie Haimson along with the Great Danny Dromm and Fred Smith

 

2011: Julie Cavanagh and James Eterno

2013: Arthur Goldstein, Gary Rubinstein

2015: Class Size Matters Celebrates Opt Out, Proponents of Real Reform at Skinnies

Please come to our Skinny Award Dinner on June 28!

June 20, 2023

Eight days from now, on Wed. June 28th, we will be holding our annual Skinny dinner in honor of Rep. Jamaal Bowman, a former NYC principal and a great force for change in the US Congress.

Rep. Bowman has sponsored two terrific bills that would change the face of education in NYC and nationwide: The Green New Deal for Schools, and the Less Testing, More Teaching Act. Moreover, he has spoken out eloquently and forcefully against the right-wing groups who are promoting censorship in our schools, enabling the continuation of gun violence and school shootings, and undermining our freedoms and our democracy in so many ways.

If you appreciate what Jamaal Bowman is fighting for, as well as our advocacy in helping to get the new class size law passed and now pushing DOE to follow through and implement it correctly, please purchase a ticket today to the Skinny Awards. If you cannot attend, please contribute to our organization instead.

It will be a great evening and you don’t want to miss it!

Thanks — Leonie

 

Support Class Size Matters: "Skinny award" dinner June 27, 2022

I've been to almost every one and was a proud recipient a few years ago. There is no more consistent fighter for the public education community than Leonie Haimson.
See you there!

 

 

lso news update on city budget

Dear folks-

Class Size Matters would like to invite you to our “Skinny Award” dinner to be held Monday, June 27 at 6 PM. This our first fundraiser in three years, and especially important this year as we have something really momentous to celebrate: the passage of a new state law that will require NYC schools to lower class size to much smaller levels.

We are honoring the groups and individuals who made this happen, and thus gave us the real “Skinny” on NYC schools:

• The Alliance for Quality Education, for leading the successful battle to provide full Foundation aid to NYC schools at last;
• State Senator Robert Jackson and Assemblymember Jo Anne Simon, for introducing the original bills requiring our schools to lower class size;
• Assembly Education Chair Michael Benedetto and NYC Senate Education Chair John Liu, for shepherding the class size bill to passage this session;
• A special "Parent Visionary" award to Johanna Garcia, education advocate and Chief of Staff to Sen. Jackson, for her persistent and passionate advocacy over many years to achieve the goal of fully equitable class sizes for NYC children.

Wine and light food will be served!

For more information and to purchase tickets to attend either in person or remotely, please click here. If you’d like to contribute to the organization without attending, you can do so here.

2. Sadly, despite all our advocacy, briefings and testimony, and all your emails and calls, the City Council agreed to a budget deal with the Mayor that did not restore any of the $215 million cuts to school budgets for next year; a deal that will be voted on tomorrow night. It is likely that in many schools, this will force class sizes higher and/or cause the loss of critical services, and I urge you to work with your School Leadership Teams to try to ensure that your school's core teaching staff is protected as much as possible.

Clearly, Mayor Adams and Chancellor Banks have no intention of obeying the will of the Legislature to require them to lower class size, and instead are thumbing their nose at them, as I say here. Which makes it even more critical that Governor Hochul to sign the class size bill as soon as possible, which will give us legal leverage to stop these cuts or at least minimize their damage.

So please, call the Governor at 518-474-8390 , and message her here. Tell her: Please sign the class size bill as soon as possible so that NYC class sizes do not increase and instead, our students are provided with the same smaller classes that kids in the rest of the state already receive. We have also posted a petition that you can sign here.

I’ll be in Albany on Thursday, and if we get enough signatures, I’ll try to deliver it personally to her and/or her staff.

Hope to see you on June 27!

Leonie Haimson
Executive Director
Class Size Matters
124 Waverly Pl.
New York, NY 10011
leonie@classsizematters.org
www.classsizematters.org
Follow on twitter @leoniehaimson
Subscribe to the Class Size Matters newsletter for regular updates at http://tinyurl.com/kj5y5co
Subscribe to the NYC Education list serv by emailing NYCeducationnews+subscribe@groups.io

Support Class Size Matters - Skinny award" dinner - Wed. June 19 at 6 PM

Leonie has been our champion for class size, way more than our own union. Even if you can't make it consider a contribution. See you there!

1. Just a quick note to remind you all that our annual "Skinny award" dinner honoring NY Attorney General Tish James and NYC Kids PAC is this Wed. June 19 at 6 PM. Please reserve your ticket now and enjoy a three-course meal, a glass of wine and great conversation and camaraderie.

2. The city budget deal was announced. It included more funding for social workers and Title 9 coordinators; it did not include dedicated funding for class size reduction, an increase in fair student funding, or pay parity for preK teachers - though the Council said the Mayor agreed to reach an agreement on the latter by the end of the summer. More details here as to what the deal means -- and doesn't mean -- for our public schools.  

Regardless of the fact that our elected leaders did not agree to do one of the very few things we know for sure would help NYC kids succeed by providing them with smaller classes, you can count on us to press forward.

Support us in this battle for our children's right to an equitable chance to learn - please join us on Wednesday or contribute here.

Thanks as always, Leonie

Leonie Haimson
Executive Director
Class Size Matters
124 Waverly Pl.
New York, NY 10011
212-529-3539

Skinny Awards - Wednesday June 19 - Support the important work

Last year I was joined by Fred Smith and Danny Dromm as winners of the award.  I'm a Skinny: Honored to be honored by Leonie...The year has gone by very fast. I expect to attend this year's event - I haven't missed one since Leonie began giving out Skinny's as an antidote to the Broad Awards.

Save the date! On Wednesday June 19 we will hold our annual Skinny award dinner at Casa La Femme on 140 Charles St. The honorees will be Attorney General Tish James for her steadfast and courageous leadership in supporting public school students and parents over many years; and NYC Kids PAC, the only political action committee that rates candidates on their positions on public education. Please reserve your ticket now — for a delicious three course dinner with wine and great company besides!

June 19 - I'm a Skinny: Honored to be honored by Leonie Haimson along with the Great Danny Dromm and Fred Smith

Hey folks -- here is your chance to see me be Skinny - and to contribute to the amazing work Leonie Haimson does for all of us.

And I can't think of better people to be honored with than Danny Dromm and Fred Smith. And the anticipation of the mystery honoree. Past award winners have been James Eterno, Arthur Goldstein, Julie Cavanagh, Diane Ravitch, Patrick Sullivan and so many others.

Last year our pals from CPE1 were honored. It was a wonderful evening and I'm thrilled to be included this year. 

Former teacher Danny Dromm has been a force for change on the city council. 

 

And Fred Smith -- who has done so much work for the opt-out movement. I remember hearing from Fred about 10 years ago, asking to come to an ICEUFT meeting to talk about the tests and trying to enlist people. Fred was there when GEM took positions on testing and was one of the founders of Change the Stakes. His research has been crucial. And let's not forget his other job as a statistician for the NY Jets, which and turn out to be more frustrating than dealing with the DOE.

Ten years of skinny awards and a way for Leonie to continue her amazing work. So even if you can't come, consider contributing to class size matters.

I've attended very one of Leonie's Skinny (Not (Eli) BROAD) Awards. It is always the most fun events of the year where the major people battling ed deform gather -- sshhhhhhh - don't tell or they will drop a bunker bomb on us.

Even my wife, who should be sick of ed talk after almost 50 years of it, wants to go.

If any of you Ed Notes readers are going let me know at normsco@gmail.com.

From Leonie's announcement.

Please reserve your seat now for our Annual Skinny Award dinner on Tuesday June 19. We will be honoring four tremendous individuals who have given us the "real skinny" on NYC public schools:

• Council Member Danny Dromm, Chair of the Finance Committee & former Education Chair

• Norm Scott, retired teacher and blogger/videographer extraordinaire

• Fred Smith, testing expert and critic

• And a surprise honoree who will be announced at the event!

Join us on June 19, 2018 at 6 PM at Casa La Femme, 140 Charles St. in Greenwich Village, for a delicious three course meal with a glass of wine and great company! 


This is always one of the most joyous events of the year, where we celebrate our victories and gain strength for the challenges to come. Buy your tickets today.  


Even if you can't make it, please consider making a contribution at the above link in honor of these terrific awardees, and to support our work going forward. 
 

2. Starting on June 8, the State Education Department will hold hearings on student privacy, to hear from parents how they would like their children's sensitive data to be protected and what an expanded Parents Bill of Privacy Rights should include. NYC DOE chronically violates student privacy by making children's contact information available to charter schools without parental consent. Also, contrary to state law, the DOE does not post the current Parents Bill of Privacy Rights on its website nor does it include it in the contracts it signs with vendors when they are provided access to personal student information. The full schedule of hearings is here, starting on June 8 in the Bronx, June 11 in Brooklyn, June 12 in Manhattan and June 18 in Queens. Here are some additional talking points you can use in your testimony.

Hope to see you at the Skinnies, and thanks! Leonie 
 
Leonie Haimson
Executive Director
Class Size Matters
124 Waverly Pl.
New York, NY 10011

Here's the Skinny - Where World Class Ed Deform Resisters Gather

Yesterday I was walking east on 43rd Street on the way back from seeing a matinee performance of the soon to close Sweat -- a wonderful play that pretty much explains the Trump victory -- when I felt a tap on my shoulder. The guy looked familiar. "Thanks for all your help," he said. And I realized he was one of the amazing CPE1 parents who were honored Tuesday night at the Skinny Awards dinner (he wasn't there so I at first had a hard time placing him but he was at most of the hearings for Marilyn Martinez). It was the 9th Skinny Awards event and I've been at every one. Just a random slice of the remarkable crew from CPE1.

Arthur Goldstein has an excellent comprehensive report on the Skinny Awards run by Leonie Haimson to raise money for Class Size Matters. So I won't repeat all the honorees he lists but you should read his report: At the Skinnies.

And note that the draft beers we had were at a Happy Hour and all 3 beers (Fred Smith was with us) cost the same as that $14 beer Arthur bought me at the Hilton during the 2014 NYSUT convention. Maybe I'll get to buy him what will probably be a $20 beer at 2019 NYSUT.

We planned to sit together but since Leonie had to find a new restaurant 3 days before the event, sitting was a bit convoluted. Gloria Brandman and I ended up at the table with the CPE1 parents and teachers and had a blast. Catlin Preston, freed rubber room detainee after a year and a half, was at the table. I sat next to a young lady who just completed her first year of teaching at CPE1. She was one of the teachers hired by deposed principal Garg who stood with the teachers and parents who fought her, thus risking her career if Garg had remained. The vet teachers at CPE1 say she is developing into a super teacher.

Partying with the CPE1 crew made the evening even more special than usual.

Leonie of course is the heroine of so much of the resistance to ed deform over the past 15 years and though not publicized enough, her husband and major backer, Michael Oppenheimer, is one of the leading voices on climate change, often appearing on PBS and quoted in the NY Times. Read his Wiki and imagine what a power couple he and Leonie are. It is always great to touch base with Michael, even if once a year. (I did invite him to come visit Rockaway while it's still there.)

Lawyer Arthur Schwartz who was one of the honorees had a previous engagement but did make it there near the end of the evening, just as the belly dancer came out --- you sly guy Arthur.

The Townsend Harris super student journalists were award winners too -- how interesting that 2 of the 4 winners were related to abusive principals.

Dianne Ravitch was there as usual and she told me about her joke tweet urging Trump to drop a super bomb on North Korea and how seriously some took it. So she took it down. Jeez. Sometimes I get the annoyance over political correctness and how it riles people.

Regent Chancellor Betty Rosa was there and just think of that --- Meryl Tisch's successor came to the Skinnies -- she was honored a few years ago, along with Cathy Cashin.

Here are a few pics I took. I do have video of the belly dancer but I leave that for private viewing.

Photos below

Leonie Haimson Skinny Awards - June 20, 2017 - A Must Event

I've attended every one and intend to go back again this year, where the CPE1 parents will be among the recipients, along with the Townsend Harris students, both instances of revolts that led to the removal of abusive principals. And people who fight the charter industry and also battle Cuomo budget cuts. An all-star lineup.

Show you support for the amazing work Leonie has been doing - well - it seems forever. You never know who you will run into there. click here

Oh, and why are they called Skinny Awards? Why to counter the deformer Broad Awards.

Dear friends,
It's that time of year again! Our 2017 Annual Skinny Award Dinner will be held Tuesday, June 20 at 6:30 PM at Il Bastardo/Bocca di Bacco, 191 Seventh Ave., in Manhattan.
We will be serving a three course dinner with wine, and will honor those individuals who gave us the real "skinny" on NYC schools, including :

• The Parents of Save CPE1, who through persistent protests and organizing saved their progressive school from a principal who tried to undermine it;

• Mehrose Ahmad and Sumaita Hasan, the student-editors of Townsend Harris HS newspaper The Classic, and their faculty adviser Brian Sweeney, who by telling the truth unseated their abusive principal;

• Laura Barbieri and Arthur Schwartz of Advocates for Justice, who have persistently fought the co-location of charter schools, and this year were victorious in court by ensuring that School Leadership Team meetings would be open to the public;

• Wendy Lecker and David Sciarra of Education Law Center, who won funds for struggling schools when Gov. Cuomo tried to withhold this aid.

Just click here to reserve your seat. Please join us to partake of good food and great company, to celebrate these victories and gain inspiration for the battles to come! If you cannot attend, you can also make a contribution to Class Size Matters to honor these intrepid individuals and support our work.

Hope to see you at the Skinny awards!

More soon, Leonie



Leonie Haimson
Executive Director
Class Size Matters

Skinny Awards, June 9: Support Leonie's Work and the Leaders of Opt Out - and go to a great party too

If there is one event you should support, this is it. I've been to every single

Skinny (Not Broad) award dinner. I intend to be there to celebrate with my colleagues in Change the Stakes and NYC Opt Out and our allies in NYSAPE. And a freak'n 4 course dinner too.

Class Size Matters 7th Annual “Skinny” Award Dinner

Leonie Haimson and Diane Ravitch,

Patrick Sullivan and Monica Major

Emily Horowitz, and Cynthia Wachtell

invite you to

Class Size Matters 7th Annual “Skinny” Awards Dinner

When: Tuesday, June 9 at 6:30 PM
Where: Il Bastardo/Bocca Di Bacco
191 7th Ave (21st St)
New York, NY 10011

A fundraiser for Class Size Matters

This year we are honoring the NY leaders of the Opt-Out movement:

Change the Stakes

NYC Opt Out

New York State Allies for Public Education

Please join us for an opportunity to enjoy a four course dinner to celebrate three organizations that led a historic movement resulting in 200,000 students refusing to take the NY state tests this year.

Ticket Information:

http://www.nycharities.org/events/EventLevels.aspx?ETID=8217

$250 – Defender of Public Education

$150 – Patron

$75 – Supporter

Thank you for your support and we hope to see you there!

If you can’t attend, please consider making a tax-deductible donation to Class Size Matters, to help support our work

SUPPORT LEONIE HAIMSON CLASS SIZE MATTERS BY ATTENDING SKINNY AWARDS DINNER

Time out from contract vote reporting for a word for a worthy cause.

OK. It's time to ante up for Leonie and the great work she does in all our interests. And to support the awardees - the great Patrick Sullivan who  single-handedly fought the evil forces in all his years on the PEP. And to honor great principals everyone wishes they could work for - Carol Burris and Liz Phillips.

If you are going stop by and say hello - I'll be sitting with Change the Stakers and any MOREistas who show.

Six days from now, on Monday, June 9 we will be holding our annual “Skinny” award dinner, to honor three extraordinary individuals who have given us the real “skinny” about our public schools. 

Our honorees this year are Liz Phillips, principal of PS 321 in Brooklyn, Carol Burris, principal of South Side HS on Long Island, and Patrick Sullivan, former Manhattan representative to the Panel for Education Policy. 

Liz and Carol are leaders in one of the most exciting developments of this or any year  --principals who are speaking out against the high-stakes and low quality of the NY State exams.

Patrick stood up for NYC parents and consistently challenged the DOE to justify their damaging policies during the Bloomberg years.   Diane Ravitch will be there as well, our Superwoman, fighting to protect and strengthen public education and against the forces of corporate reform. 

Please buy your tickets now, to reserve your seat for a four course dinner with wine at Bocca Di Bacco at 191 7^th Ave (at 21^st St).

If you cannot attend, please donate to our organization if you would like to support our work on student privacy, parent rights, and class size, or simply to honor these three heroes who have courageously spoken out,  when others remained silent.

Our annual dinner is always one of the most enjoyable evenings of the year, and one that you will not want to miss. And this year,  with the demise of inBloom, we have something special to celebrate.

Thanks,

  Leonie Haimson
Executive Director
Class Size Matters
124 Waverly Pl.
New York, NY 10011
212-674-7320
 

Video: Great NYC Bloggers Honored at Class Size Matters Skinny Awards

For too many years Americans have had no choice but to suffer with ineffective reporters accountable to nobody .... blogs are the charter schools of the education reporting - minus of course the cheating and embezzlement .... 

Gary Rubinstein at Skinny Awards dinner, June 18, 2013

The huge turnout at last night's 5th annual Skinny Awards dinner for Leonie Haimson's Class Size Matters is an indication of how important the work Leonie does has become. Parent and teacher activists from New York City and beyond cheered the efforts of Leonie and her two blogger honorees, Francis Lewis HS chapter leader Arthur Goldstein (NYC Educator) - who inspired my blogging efforts - and Stuyvesant HS teacher Gary Rubinstein (Gary Rubinstein's Blog), a more recent convert to educational activism through blogging.

I got to sit with the fabulous ladies (and Fred Smith) of Change the Stakes. This is one crew I want to parteeee with and being District 6 (Washington Hts) based they invited me to join them in post CEC6 celebratory events where I am sure I will have trouble finding the A train for the 2 day trip back to Rockaway. (NEXT CTS MEETING: JUNE 28 - CUNY). Robert Jackon, running for  Manhattan borough president (I would vote for him if I lived there) showed up later after I had put the camera away -- the CTS D. 6 crew are BIG fans of his so he was right in his element.

Below is the entire half hour plus of comments from Diane Ravitch and Patrick Sullivan along with Leonie's introduction of the honorees and an explanation of why she named the awards the "skinny" awards.

I extracted a 2 minute segment of Gary's speech in a separate must watch video of his satire on the state of education reporting -- he better bring a food taster to the next Gotham Schools party.


Gary Rubinstein Satirizes Education Reporting at Skinny Awards 2013 from Grassroots Education Movement on Vimeo.

And here is the full monte - a fun half hour of viewing -- excuse the waiters getting in the way and some of my usual shaky video -- thanks to Prudence Hill for forcing me to use her tripod.





AFTERBURN:
I made sure to chat with Leonie's husband, Michael Oppenheimer, a famous environmental scientist who I invited out to Rockaway before it disappears under the sea --- he is not optimistic for the long-term prospects for my ability to avoid having a salt-water swimming pool in my house.

Get the Skinny From Leonie

So many people have thanked Leonie Haimson for 10 years of spectacular work in exposing the ed deformers with on target research and thoughtful analysis. Now it's payback time. She is having a fundraiser next week on June 15 and giving the Skinny (not Broad) award to some of our favorite people and allies: Julie Cavanagh who was a major cog in creating our film along with all her other amazign work in defense of public education and Jamaica HS Chapter Leader and former presidential candidate in the UFT James Eterno. I'll be there. Will you?

We are holding our annual “Skinny Award” Dinner a week from today, June 15 at 6 PM, honoring four teacher-warriors.  The dinner will be co-hosted by Diane Ravitch and other parent leaders.

Please check it out and RVSP on our FB page at http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=173774066009105

Diane will be making an exciting announcement at the dinner that concerns Class Size Matters.

Class Size Matters works hard trying to ensure that in NYC and throughout the country, children get the smaller classes they need for a better chance to learn. 

The four teachers we are honoring have done stellar work, defending their schools and all NYC schools from damaging closures and co-locations that threaten to make things worse.

Please come and show your support.

For more information or to buy tickets, go to http://www.nycharities.org/events/EventLevels.aspx?ETID=3672

A Skinny Awards invitation you can forward to your friends and colleagues is below.

Hope to see you there!

Thanks, Leonie

Leonie Haimson

Executive Director

Class Size Matters

124 Waverly Pl.

New York, NY 10011

212-674-7320

leonie@classsizematters.org

www.classsizematters.org

http://nycpublicschoolparents.blogspot.com

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/leonie-haimson

Follow me on twitter @leoniehaimson

Leonie Haimson, Diane Ravitch, Patrick Sullivan, Monica Major, Khem Irby and

Emily Horowitz invite you to the third annual Skinny Awards

A fundraiser for Class Size Matters

Please join us for a special evening where we will honor four stellar teachers fighting to save our schools:

Jackie Bennett of Edwize

Julie Cavanagh of PS 15K and a producer of “The Inconvenient Truth behind Waiting for Superman”

James Eterno of Jamaica HS in Queens

Christine Rowland of Columbus HS in the Bronx

A rare opportunity to enjoy a three course dinner with wine while celebrating four heroes, battling to defend our public schools .

Please RSVP on the FB page here: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=173774066009105

For more information or to buy tickets, go to http://www.nycharities.org/events/EventLevels.aspx?ETID=3672

Thanks!