Ed Deform Erodes: Eva and Front Group Families for Excellent Schools Allies Resort to Race Baiting, Community Reacts

FES is resorting to naked racism to promote their September 30 rally attacking de Blasio. People are calling on them to take it down. But then where would they put their half a million bucks? Not in the schools, pray tell. I pray tell they leave that ad up for the public to see.

You know, so many teachers are also attacking de Blasio from the other side for not reversing many of Bloomberg's policies and also attacking the UFT/Unity leadership for not doing enough to pressure him for changes because they want to be a partner (ie, stool at the table.) I keep thinking if we would be better off with the alternative - Eva or someone of that ilk - like Hakeem Jeffries who would savage teaching core and put a charter in every pot. They are going to knock off de Blasio and we will not end up with a more teacher friendly mayor -- but maybe that's better - to have a clear enemy to battle.

I reported on the Success Charter leaked memo on how to force parents into bringing their children to the upcoming Sept. 30 Charter school rally by closing down her schools and leaving them without child care, forcing many of them to take off from work that day: Eva Moskowitz Sept. 30 Rally.

Charters force march parents and students

Eva's version of the Bataan death march.

On the surface it seems as if Eva is winning. But with every outrageous act skepticism grows among the public and press. Imagine of FES has put their millions into supporting, not degrading schools?


Someone emailed me about doing something the day of the rally to protest. My response was that FES and Eva closing schools and holding a naked political rally only helps in the battle of ed deform.

Here are reports on the racist FES ad from Schools Matter and Capital NY:

Schools Matter via the Observer

NY Charter Movement Calls Mayor de Blasio Racist for Not Supporting Apartheid Charters

from the Observer:

“The rhetoric of this ad, and the people and money behind it, are part of the problem,” she said.

Luis Garden Acosta, the founder of El Puente Academy for Peace and Justice and the father of a child who attended a charter school, said FES was “race-baiting.”

“‘Race baiting’ like ‘red baiting’, exploiting the values and legitimate concerns of our city’s communities of color, for whatever political purpose, is abhorrent and posits a dangerous and expanding wedge in a city all to segregated by class, color and community,” Mr. Acosta stated, noting that Roberto Perez, a City Hall staffer, encouraged him to speak out. “It is abhorrent that a movement that emerged as a demand to tell the truth is used to obfuscate, divide and attempt to denigrate New York City’s progressive agenda”.

While Mr. de Blasio is enlisting surrogates to fight back on his behalf, his office was a bit less hostile, though it called the ad “crass.” “Our students and our families need solutions, not another crass political ad. That’s why Mayor de Blasio and Chancellor Farina are focused on ensuring that every child, in every classroom, has a future that isn’t limited by their ZIP code,” said Wiley Norvell, a spokesman for the mayor.

Since failing last year to halt the expansion of Success Academy Charter Schools, run by his old political foe Eva Moskowitz, Mr. de Blasio has softened his rhetoric toward charter schools, even as his liberal allies continue to seethe. Democratic elected officials aligned with the city and state teachers’ unions see charters as a thinly-veiled, well-moneyed effort to erode job protections for teachers.

“These folks have figured out a way to make profit off the same kids that they disdained for years and years. As far as I’m concerned, its predatory education, subprime schools,” Ms. Lewis said. “Eva Moskowitz and none of them wouldn’t be doing this if it wasn’t making enormous profit. To then turn around and say, ‘Oh black people, I’m trying to save you from the big bad white man, the mayor, who wants to put you in a failing school’–that’s racist.”

A spokesman for FES declined to comment.

Critics call new charter school ad ‘racist’

http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/city-hall/2015/09/8577871/critics-call-new-charter-school-ad-racist

A coalition of elected officials, community organizations and union-allied groups criticized a new Families for Excellent Schools ad Friday, accusing the pro-charter group of "race-baiting" in order to advance its political agenda.
The ad, first reported by POLITICO New York, is called "Tale of Two Boys" and argues that Mayor Bill de Blasio is forcing minority students into failing schools. It began running Friday, though it was not publicly promoted by FES.
The ad buy will cost FES about half a million dollars this week and will become a multimillion-dollar ad buy over the next few weeks, according to a source.
The ad contrasted the educations of a young white boy and a black boy in New York City, saying the white child would attend a good school and go to college while the black child would be trapped in a struggling school and never make it to college.

Bertha Lewis, the president of the Black Institute, called it "the most racist ad I've seen in my life."
"They found a way to make money and profit off little black boys and girls," she said. "They act as if they are here to save us."
Zakiyah Ansari, the advocacy director of the Alliance for Quality Education, made a similar argument. AQE is partially funded by city and state teachers' unions.
"They are using a black face to push their political agenda, and they make the assumption that all black people are poor," she said. "They used our children in a race-baiting commercial."
Some called on FES to remove the ad on Friday.
Brooklyn Assemblyman N. Nick Perry called on FES to "do the right thing" and pull the ad. Perry — who is also the chairman of the New York State Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic and Asian Legislative Caucus — said he was "incensed over the use of blatant race baiting tactics to advance the agenda of FES."
Other elected officials also took issue with the ad.
Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer accused FES in a statement of helping to "divert money, resources and space from our public schools ... into increasingly unaccountable private empires. The rhetoric of this ad, and the people and money behind it, are part of the problem."
New York City Council education committee chair Danny Dromm called the ad "highly divisive and harmful."
Representatives for three of New York's largest charter networks — KIPP, Uncommon, and Achievement First — did not respond to requests for comment about the ad.
A spokesperson for FES declined to comment.

Eva Moskowitz Sept. 30 Rally Prelude to her Mayoral Campaign: Using Kids, Parents and Teachers Paid With Public Funds

Leaked Success Academy memo: tell parents rally is not political... Upcoming charter Sept. 30 anti-de Blasio rally is blatant misuse - theft of public funds.

Success administrators are also strongly encouraging parents to attend the rally and march even if it presents hardships for them in terms of arranging for child care or taking time off from their jobs.

Meaning they have to take off from work - and if they don't want to attend the rally they have to arrange alternate child care ...

The majority of Success Academy students — 77 percent — are eligible for free or reduced price lunch, meaning their families live at or below the poverty level.  For parents who feel they cannot take time off from work, employees are asked to respond, "parents took off work to stand up and make sure that you have this great school option for your family. What if they hadn't shown up and taken the day off work?"

And they will be "tossed" if they don't attend:

Staffers are also encouraged to suggest that parents with children in Success' elementary school may not have middle or high school options if they do not help further the cause of school equality by attending the rally....
"You don't want to be in a situation where we can't get middle school or high school space for your scholar's school, and you are wondering if you could have done more."

Daniel Dromm, chairman of the City Council's education committee and a teachers union ally, has accused Success of using its students as "pawns" to advance the network's political agenda and the stature of its controversial leader, Eva Moskowitz.

Is Danny Dromm the only politician with any guts?

FES is known to inflate the size of its protests. Organizers said 21,000 people attended a New York City event last October, while police estimated the crowd was about 8,000 to 10,000. 

All Success teachers also attend the rallies

This is blatant theft of public funds as teachers are being paid on the public dime to attend a political rally.

Success Academy to parents: Upcoming rally ‘not political’

http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/city-hall/2015/09/8577425/success-academy-parents-upcoming-rally-not-political

Today: Press Conf Demands Eva Return $8 Million as Hedge Hogs Rape Puerto Rico and Attack Public Schools for More profit - And give to Eva

PR crisis, like Katrina in New Orleans, is another disaster capitalism opportunity to destroy public education. When will Arne Duncan say: The Puerto Rico default is the best thing to happen to PR?

[Major Success Academy supporter] Paulson & Co. was one buyers of Puerto Rico's record $3.5 billion sale in March 2014. 
of the largest

Hedge Fund Economists Want Puerto Rico to Lay Off Teachers to Fix Debt Crisis... Time

Puerto Rico can avoid a costly default by upping taxes, cutting teacher jobs and closing schools, a group of hedge fund economists proposed in a report released on Monday, offering a controversial solution to the island’s “unpayable” $72 billion debt crisis. The report, commissioned by hedge funds holding several billion dollars of Puerto Rico’s bonds, highlights the island’s rising education expenditures against the backdrop of countless school closings and waves of poor families fleeing to mainland America.

Gee, hedge hogs killing an economy and targeting public schools and teachers. Can someone connect the dots for us?

It would, in particular, be a terrible idea to give the hedge funds that have scooped up much of Puerto Rico’s debt what they want — basically to destroy the island’s education system in the name of fiscal responsibility... Paul Krugman, NY Times

I saw this little tidbit in the Krugman piece on Monday on the Puerto Rico debt crisis. But Krugman, as usual when it comes to education, doesn't connect the dots -- that the PR crisis, like Katrina in New Orleans, is another disaster capitalism opportunity.

This morning at 10AM some dots will be connected.

Success Academy Pressured to Return $8.5 Million Hedge Fund (Dirty Money) Donation

PRESS ADVISORY

Success Academy Pressured to Return $8.5 Million Hedge Fund Donation
The charter school chain in New York City should not accept any money tied to the suffering of Puerto Rican children and families, many of whom already live in poverty

WHAT: Advocates will call on Eva Moskowitz and Success Academy to return an $8.5 million donation of “tainted money” from controversial hedge fund manager John Paulson. In Puerto Rico, where many New Yorkers and Success Academy families have roots, Paulson is profiting from the debt crisis. He is linked to austerity measures that may lead to deeper cuts in school funding and wages for workers that will harm Puerto Ricans. Success Academy’s expansion should not benefit in any way from the suffering of Puerto Rican children and families.

Fifty-six percent of Puerto Rican children already live in poverty, and now hedge fund managers like Paulson want to threaten access to educational opportunity just to make bigger profits.

WHO: Education advocates, parents, community leaders, and concerned residents of New York. Leaders and members of the Hedge Clippers, Alliance for Quality Education, New York Communities for Change, Make the Road New York, Strong Economy for All, Citizen Action New York.

WHERE: Steps of City Hall, Lower Manhattan, NYC.

WHEN: Today, August 5, 10 a.m.

MORE BACKGROUND: Paulson has focused on transforming Puerto Rico into a low-tax, high-luxury playground for the wealthy. As a Bloomberg News headline put it, “Paulson’s Paradise Lures Rich Fleeing Taxes.” He has purchased $120 million of Puerto Rico’s debt. Like other hedge fund managers, he is looking to collect massive profits from his investments – even if it means drastic austerity measures like cuts to public education funding and wages that will destroy the lives of families and children. Paulson’s paradise is a nightmare for Puerto Ricans.

John Dewey Scandal as Farina Protects Principal and Video: Norm at the April PEP confronts Carmen Farina on double standard and describes Success Charter Schools

Fifteen months later, the schools chancellor hasn't addressed massive grade fixing at Brooklyn's John Dewey High School...

That was the headline last Friday as Juan Gonzalez did another piece on the John Dewey HS credit recovery cheating scandal, asking the golden question:  When will Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña address the massive grade fixing scandal at John Dewey High School in Brooklyn?

In this video I confront Carmen Farina about her double standard for principals like Kathleen Elvin and teachers after NYCLetEmPlay teacher David Rosen was sent to the rubber room while the principal of John Dewey HS has been under investigation for many months but still allowed to run the school.

My theory is that Farina loves cheating principals like Elvin who keep her grad rates up the the cheating standards established under 12 years of BloomKlein. Imagine if Farina ran an honest ship -- the phony Bloomberg grad rates would drop like a stone and the press and ed deformers would go nuts attacking the shit out of Farina and de Blasio. So I get it - that for self-survival, Elvin despite a 15 month investigation, stays and great teachers and student advocates are pulled from their schools within hours.

 In my PEP speech I also addressed the issue of Success Charters with a game of "Guess the school" where I ask "what schools have lots of extra underwear for kids who are prevented from going to the bathroom? (Hint: someone named Eva runs them). There's nothing like smashing away at Eva than having her minions in the audience. (And she also dropped in.)

And I did it in a nifty 2 minutes - you can boil your egg while watching this.

https://youtu.be/eH8YblzFbSM




When will Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña address the massive grade fixing scandal at John Dewey High School in Brooklyn?
Teachers there began registering complaints in February 2014 that their administrators were creating phantom classes for failing students and secretly inflating grades to boost the school’s official graduation rate.
Eight teachers even gave testimony in early December to the School District’s Office of Special Investigations about the bogus scheme. Some claimed their names were attached to courses they never taught, others that they were ordered to instruct and grade students in subjects for which they had no state license..
The teachers provided investigators hard evidence: copies of faculty rosters, individual student schedules, internal emails, even audio tapes of conversations with superiors.
But 15 months later, the Department of Education is mum.
Among hundreds of Dewey records obtained by The Daily News is the transcript of a single student who graduated last June.
His name was redacted from our copy, thus we refer to him here simply as King, for he just might be the “king” of credit recovery.
Under state regulations, students who fail a subject required for graduation can make it up in one of three ways: either attend summer school, repeat the course, or take “targeted credit recovery” -- a class where they get remedial work for their specific weakness.
But the state spells out strict limitations on credit recovery. It cannot be offered to students who were frequently absent from their original course. The student must be taught by a teacher licensed in the subject matter. And after taking the remedial work, the student must demonstrate “mastery” of the subject.
Most importantly, students cannot receive more than three credit recoveries in core academic subjects for their high school career.
Well, student King’s transcript shows he passed 11 credit recovery courses in the spring of 2014, the semester before his graduation! Seven were in core academic subjects.
That’s not just breaking regulations, that’s smashing them.

In one course at John Dewey high school last spring titled Project Graduation, a single teacher was assigned to 35 different subjects to 63 students, including some of those seen on this partially redacted document: Geometry, Health, Living Environment, Earth Science, Global Studies, Economics and a Math Elective.

Even more amazing, King appears to have passed those 11 remedial courses while carrying a regular load of nine other classes.
He received, for example, got credit for five courses during Period 0, before the start of school. Two of those, 9th grade global studies and health, list the teacher only as “Panel 111.” That’s the room number of Principal Kathleen Elvin.
King also managed to take Earth science 2, environmental science 2, and physcial education during the same period, and he received the same grade for all five courses -- 65.
Then, after a full day of regular classes during Periods 1 to 8, King got credit recovery for six additional courses after school. They included Writing Across the Curriculum, US History 4, Algebra 2, Earth Science 1, 10th grade Global Studies, aand another gym class..
Principal Elvin declined our request to discuss credit recovery practices at Dewey or even what kind of early morning instruction occured in her office. She referred questions to officials at Tweed..
“It wasn’t credit recovery, it was fraud,” one veteran Dewey teacher said.
That teacher said many on staff got assigned to a course called “Project Graduation,” into which hundreds of failing students were placed.
Emails reviewed by the News show some declined to give grades in subjects outside their expertise, and others questioned why their names were listed for classes they never taught. But most followed orders.
More than a year after a few brave teachers risked their careers to blow the whistle, nothing has happened.
Why the delay in the face of such overwhelming evidence?

Eva Raises $9 mil for Success, Half to Go to Buy Pampers

Video of Eva Bund Rally, NY Times Piece on Eva and Success, Massive failure of Albany charter schools a sign of future

Perdido Street School:  One of the big takeaways from a NY Times report on Eva Moskowitz and Success Academies that went up today: Send your child there if you want them to experience stress, misery and sitting in their urine.   

The Times piece by Kate Taylor finally gets down to the essence of the Eva plantation system. Go and comment to counter the Eva trolls.

And check out this video I shot in March, 2009 of an Eva Moskowitz bund rally in a Harlem armory -- I did it as a commercial for a Save Public Schools conference on March 28 -- an event that made the future GEM into a viable organization.  Look at our message exactly 6 years ago -- we hit every current theme from high stakes tests to ATRs to school closings to charter schools. In some ways this little video was a precursor to our full length movie (I seemed to have lost the almost one hour of footage I shot -- Bloomberg, Klein, Walcott and all the rest of the Tweed thieves were there.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEp7rg_L5JI




Albany charter scams fall apart
I've always maintained that over time the charter movement scandals will reach a crescendo. The Albany story may be a first shot as a sign of systematic failure. Four years ago, my wife, brother-in-law and sister-in-law were invited up to stay with relatives in Albany -- her cousin, a very sharp woman in her early 80s out of the blue started railing against the charters in Albany as an outrageous scam -- she was not an educator but as a citizen. My brother-in-law knew nothing about charters and was incredulous at the scam being pulled off. Albany had the first influx of charters in the state and the scam is finally falling apart as reported in Capital.

THE EDUCATIONAL EXPERIMENT THAT FAILED—Scott Waldman for Capital magazine: “A few blocks from the Capitol, a cluster of vacant buildings testifies to the rapid rise and quick retreat of Albany’s charter school sector. Once heralded as a new beginning for children living in grinding poverty and stuck in a long-troubled school district, Albany’s charter system has so far failed to live up to that promise. Five of the 12 charter schools that opened in the last decade have already closed, and others are being skeptically eyed by state officials. The failures of Albany’s charter sector reflect some of the significant questions that surround Cuomo’s push to expand the state’s charter sector in this year’s budget.” http://capi.tl/1EHr4oR

 YES!!!!!!!

Eva's shamefull admission of incompetence and inexperience -- Almost 800 students in Moskowitz Creamed Schools suspended - How many are expelled?

We’ve had third-graders offer to perform sexual acts on their teachers and fellow students using language that you’d be shocked to hear on HBO.... Eva Moskowitz in WSJ

What are they teaching kids over at Eva's schools?  
 

Recess at Success Academy Charters

 There must be a serious discipline problem in Success Academy schools.

In my 18 years of teaching self-contained grades 4-6 and a decade of cluster teaching computers (with 200 kids a year) in one of the most poverty stricken neighborhoods (East Williamsburg) I never had a child suspended and if my principal had tried I would have fought her.

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Teachers Unite Slams Eva Moskowitz on Restorative ...":

Student A was suspended for four days for calling his teacher a fucking bitch. When he returned from his suspension, he called another teacher a fucking bitch. Suspensions work like a charm Eva. Expulsions work better. You should know Eva.

You think that maybe, just maybe, all those inexperienced teacher replacement parts may, just may, not have a handle on how to discipline WITHOUT suspending kids?

Last year at Success Academy Charter Schools, which I founded in New York City in 2006, we suspended 11% of the 7,000 students in our 22 schools, a rate higher than the 4% average for the city’s district schools. Yet strict discipline has not dissuaded parents. This year there were more than 20,000 student applications for 2,688 spots.  

Oh, my, Eva. Why don't you just show is that list of 20,000 people dying to get onto your plantation. 11% of your creamed kids behave poorly enough in your plantation-like institutions to require suspension? That's about 800 kids suspended in 22 schools - that's an astounding 30+ kids per school.

That reflects poor administration and inexperienced teachers.

Eva's Chopping Block: Boy expelled from Harlem Success Academy charter after 'ambush' kangaroo court

Throw them back to public school

So two weeks before this year’s state reading and math exams — Megginson was frantically trying to find a public school to accept her son.

Make the scores count against Eva.

Boy, 9, expelled from Harlem charter school after an 'ambush' disciplinary hearing, mother claims

Juan Gonzalez, Daily News

Third-grader Storm McCraw was expelled from Harlem Success Academy 2 on Friday, after a disciplinary hearing that resembled a kangaroo court.
Prior to the boy’s ouster, administrators from the Success Charter Network had suspended the boy an astonishing 15 times this school year. Among the allegations against him: throwing chairs and books, kicking a principal in the leg, and biting an assistant principal. On Feb. 27, the school even called 911 and had an ambulance take him to Mount Sinai Hospital’s emergency room.
“An ambush” is how the 9-year-old’s mother, Tynetta Megginson, describes the hearing.
Success officials, she claims, have been violating her son’s rights since he failed state reading and math tests last April, prompting them to retain him in third grade for another year.
“It’s sink or swim at Success Academy,” Megginson said. “If you don’t get the lessons, you get ostracized.” She kept resisting pressure to transfer her son out, she said.
The Success network of 32 charter schools, often touted for its high test scores, produces far higher student suspension rates than regular public schools.
Network chief Eva Moskowitz has denied allegations her zero-tolerance policy pushes out low-achieving or special needs pupils.

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/education/gonzalez-boy-expelled-harlem-charter-ambush-article-1.2169154?cid=bitly

The (White) Face of Eva Moskowitz Success Charters

Clearly meant to recruit White middle class kids on the upper East side.

Let's bury the sham of claiming they are trying to reach poor kids.

Time for De Blasio to Close the Entire Public School System on March 4 for UFT Lobby Day

--- use school buses to get as many of the million kids in the school system up to Albany - and also their parents. After all, Eva is doing it on March 4 and we are told all the time we should replicate her successful strategies. Using kids for political reasons should not be ruled off the table for replication. Call it a civics lesson.

Is Eva Success Academy Charter Withdrawals Due to Staffing Issues?

Is Eva having trouble staffing up her schools for next year? She sent emails to recruit teachers as far away as CT and NJ...  Leonie Haimson

The height of ed deform coincided with one of the most severe recessions in history - akin in some ways to the 30s when Phds had to teach in NYC schools. TFA and charters had droves of applicants and replacement parts in spite of the high staff turnover rates.

Eva's goal for 100 schools and a school system of her own nested inside the NYC school system, clearly faces problems in getting teachers to work at her schools for long periods of time. Turnover is high. At some point one of their unregulated and unlicensed people will do something so dumb as to get lots of press and scrutiny. It is inevitable. She knows how disastrous that would be and she is smart enough to try to assure some quality control - not as educators but in finding people who are sane - not so easy - I can tell some stories of people I saw working over the years.

Now that the economy is improving and the word is also out so publicly that there is an assault on teacher rights and their job securities - anti-tenure law suits, Cuomo-like attacks, etc from all over the place -- the teacher as enemy.

Are the chickens coming home to roost?

Postscript: I will have video up from last night's Anti-Eva forum on the Lower East Side.

A Day at the Rages UPDATED - Did Moskowitz Back Down or Did the DOE Do a Deal Behind the Scenes?

UPDATED: DNAInfo- Lower East Side Success Academy Delayed for 2 Years, Officials Say

Chalkbeat: http://ny.chalkbeat.org/2015/01/08/success-academy-cancels-its-plans-to-open-new-schools-in-2015/#.VK_gxydZhOd

Deferred Success

The Success Academy charter school network has abandoned plans to open four schools in the upcoming school year, following negotiations with the city last month in which Success secured public space for 10 schools in 2016.

• Chalkbeat,
• DNAinfo

Even after news got out that Success Academy was scraping its plans for next school year, Lower East Side parents and elected officials went ahead with a hearing to oppose a new Success charter school in District 1.

• Chalkbeat

 

Megan Moskop comment at Chalkbeat • 

I'm really glad Chalkbeat covered this event. Thank you! As someone present at the event though, I think use of the word "makeshift" is an unfairly derogatory choice to describe the well-organized and persistent activism of LES parents. This article neglects to mention that though many went home early, perhaps due to family responsibilities, the auditorium was initially full of community members. Yes, the posters were home-made, and the speakers wore sweaters, not suits, but that's what real activism (not the well-funded Success Academy kind) looks like. It was inspiring to hear from the parents, teachers, and students who made it out last night to demand quality public schools for all the students in their district, not just their own children, and their efforts should be lauded, or, at least reported using more objective terms.

Raging Horse Blog report:

Insulted at such cavalier treatment, CEC 1’s fearless President Lisa Donlon decided to hold a public forum in its stead in which members of the Lower East Side community could speak their mind about Moskowitz and her ever expanding charter empire.
This they did. Fervently. Angrily. Passionately.... Speaker after speaker told horror stories about dealing with Success Academy and while there was a sense of relief at the DOE’s announcement, there was no misunderstanding the fact that Moskowitz and her hedge fund backers would be back when they sensed the time was right.....The crowd of about 200 people included parents, principals, and teachers, including a contingent from MORE. It was refreshing to witness such a display of rebellious intelligence and community.

MOREistas in the house - I counted about 10-a dozen all told

The coldest day turned into the busiest day. First up was Peter Zucker's (South Bronx School) 3020a hearing. I thought today the principal would be cross-examined but it turned into another half day of listening to her drone on. I have dozed off at every one of her appearances. Can we bottle tapes of her to replace sleeping pills? We went to lunch and when we came back we were waiting around for some documents to be turned over.

Done for the day and I headed over to the Lower East Side for the event being held to replace the cancelled Success Academy hearing by Community Education Council plus politicians and other community leaders, led by City Councilwoman Rosie Mendez and CEC1's Lisa Donlan. After a stop at Patrick Walsh's apartment for some coffee, we headed over to PS 20, where I taped over 2 hours of testimony and comments. Success had to drag a parent down from Washington Heights to try to make some case - only one other person spoke favorably for charters. Funny, but a UFT rep got up and while opposing Eva said she was not against charters -- toeing to the line for the UFT.

Here is Raging Horse's take: Moskowitz Backs Down (For the time Being)
and some photos -- video tomorrow or Saturday.

Rosie Mendez, one of the leaders of the band

Lisa Donlan and Rosie Mendez

MORE's Alexandra Alves comments

And Jia Lee too

DOE Suddenly Cancels Success Academy Hearing Tonight - Community to Hold Own Forum

Like McDonalds, SACS simply assumes that they can open their franchise and sling their burgers anywhere... Liz Rosenberg

...at 6:38 p.m. on Wednesday, January 7th, the Department of Education sent an e-mail stating: “In light of the fact that the DOE is not planning to site a school in District 1 tomorrow’s hearing has been cancelled.”  To date, Success Academy has not rescinded its request to change its application to School District 1. If elected officials do not receive said written notice before the scheduled press conference, community leaders will hold a forum to allow parents and community residents an opportunity to provide their comments.

Nothing surprises us when it comes to the machinations going on around Eva and Success Academy. Was it too itty bitty cold tonight? I'm going to be there and I'm old and cold.

Since SACS [Success Academy Charter Schools] switched locations virtually overnight, it had no language in its proposal specific to District 1; it failed to make the case that District 1 has “limited options” or had a “compelling need” for it. Like McDonalds, SACS simply assumes that they can open their franchise and sling their burgers anywhere. But of all the districts in the city, District 1 is even more sure than most that they do not want or need a Success Academy. ...comment at NYCpublic.org

Below the announcement I've included a great article called: District 1 Deserves A School That Matches Their Vision (Not Success Academy) by Liz Rosenberg

***MEDIA ADVISORY*** WITH LESS THAN 24 HOURS NOTICE, DOE CANCELS SACS PUBLIC HEARING

January 8, 2015 mendezrosie

Advisory_ SACS_ 1 8 15

MEDIA ADVISORY                                                                                   January 7, 2015

Contact: John Blasco [Councilwoman Rosie Mendez] 212-677-1077, jblasco@council.nyc.gov
Lisa Donlan [President, CEC1] 212-353-2946, lisabdonlan@hotmail.com

WITH LESS THAN 24 HOURS NOTICE, THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION CANCELS PUBLIC HEARING ON SUCCESS ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOL’S APPLICATION FOR A “NON-MATERIAL” CHANGE

With Little To No Notice to Community Residents and Elected Officials, Department of Education Cancels Long Awaited Hearing.Community To Move Forward With Its Own Forum

WHAT:          Press Conference immediately before the scheduled and now cancelled public hearing on Success Academy Charter Schools’ application for a “non-material” change to move its charter application from School District 2 to School District 1.
WHEN:          Thursday, January 8^th, 5pm
WHERE:       In front of P.S. 20, the Anna Silver School (166 Essex Street between East Houston & Stanton Streets)
WHY: Success Academy Charter School was previously approved by the SUNY Board of Trustees’ Charter School Committee for a new charter in School District 2, but has since applied for a “non-material” change to move their charter to School District 1. Under current SUNY policies, there is no public hearing required before this “non-material” change, since it takes place within the same borough. However, following advocacy by Council Members Chin and Mendez, SUNY has now agreed to take public comments from the School District 1 community before deciding whether or not to approve Success Academy’s “non-material” change.
However, at 6:38 p.m. on Wednesday, January 7th, the Department of Education sent an e-mail stating: “In light of the fact that the DOE is not planning to site a school in District 1 tomorrow’s hearing has been cancelled.”  To date, Success Academy has not rescinded its request to change its application to School District 1.
If elected officials do not receive said written notice before the scheduled press conference, community leaders will hold a forum to allow parents and community residents an opportunity to provide their comments.

####

http://www.nycpublic.org/impactory-2/successcomments/my-two-cents-on-sacs-in-district-1/

District 1 Deserves A School That Matches Their Vision (Not Success Academy)

On January 8th the New York City Department of Education will hold a hearing regarding the Success Academy Charter School slated for District 1 in Lower Manhattan. The school was approved despite clear community opposition and despite an eleventh-hour application change that many see as a violation of the charter proposal process. I will be delivering the following testimony at that hearing.
It is not news that Success Academy Charter Schools (SACS) is slated to open 14 new schools in NYC over the next two years, but it is news that one of those schools will be in New York City’s District 1. At the last minute, SACS asked the State University of New York (SUNY), one of two New York state charter authorizers, to change the location of the school it had originally stipulated for District 2. This might not sound like a big deal, but in New York charter applications specify that the applicant demonstrate that “the proposed school is located in a community with limited options” and that the proposal shows “a compelling need for the school.”^[1] Since SACS switched locations virtually overnight, it had no language in its proposal specific to District 1; it failed to make the case that District 1 has “limited options” or had a “compelling need” for it. Like McDonalds, SACS simply assumes that they can open their franchise and sling their burgers anywhere. But of all the districts in the city, District 1 is even more sure than most that they do not want or need a Success Academy.
With anger directed toward the Success network coming from many places across the city, how can I make such a strong statement about District 1? Because, unusually, Community Education Council 1 has invested much time and energy in understanding what type of school program their community would like to see.
Last January, District 1’s Community Education Council partnered with my organization, NYCpublic, to hold a “Community Engagement Lab.” (You can see the lab in action here.) Participants in the Lab, whose stated purpose was to determine what the community might want in a new school, came from progressive and traditional schools, from the co-ops and from the public housing developments and middle-income Mitchell Lama buildings nearby. They included representatives from central NYCDOE, local teachers and administrators–and, of course, parents.
By the end of the one-day lab, which consisted of guest-speaker-hosted “learning sessions” and highly structured brainstorming exercises, participants had come to consensus around and developed a set of “building blocks” that should be inherent in any future district school. These “building blocks” addressed:

• Configuration – Lab consensus was for a pre-K-8th grade Spanish-English dual language school, with tracks for both general education and dual language. There would be options for middle school (6th grade) entry also.

• Community Integration – Lab participants wanted a school that would be integrated with the community, providing the community with a sense of ownership. The school would act as a community hub, sharing its gym (in a neighborhood with precious few), parent center, and health clinic. It would engage local community-based organizations for after-school programming and other supports and partner with local organizations, museums, and institutions to offer programs in school and via field trips.

• Leadership – The selection of the first instructional school leader would happen early in the process of planning, designing, and building the new school to ensure that the building, instructional curriculum, teachers, and school community reflect community values. District 1 residents and parents would be part of selecting the school leader in a participatory and authentic process.

• Curriculum – Lab participants asked for a curriculum that would create opportunities throughout the year, at all grades, for multidisciplinary, integrated instruction; would develop forward-thinking skills, such as STEM/STEAM; would prominently feature social-emotional learning; would prioritize play at all grade levels; and would provide students with a real opportunity to influence what and how they learn.

• Teaching Staff – Participants were eager for a school which would support and cultivate master teachers and give those teachers some say in the allocation of budget items.

• Student Assessment – Lab attendees looked forward to a school that would allow students to demonstrate their mastery of content through non-traditional evaluation (exhibits, portfolios, discussions, presentations, etc.), in the process bolstering confidence and independence.

Most of these “building blocks” are the polar opposite of Success Academy’s school design. Via the Community Engagement Lab, District 1 has created a model for a school that will support all of students in the district, including a dual language program and social emotional curriculum. Success Academy, on the other hand, has a well-documented history of not meeting charter school enrollment requirements for English Language Learners and special education students. They are known to counsel out poor testers, or students who struggle to meet their rigid code of conduct. They do not refill their seats once those students have left. (This is one of the reasons that SACS is now being audited by the comptroller.)
Success Academy Charter Schools are cookie-cutter versions of the same school, each with the same pedagogical model. They are not responsive to the community-based organizations and cultural institutions in their midst, something that District 1 residents clearly prize. Test prep is a huge part of the curriculum at Success Academy–yet this community is asking for a school that focuses on alternative methods of assessment and a deep rich curriculum that may or may not align with standardized tests. Further, the school that District 1 envisions supports teachers and makes sure that they feel empowered as essential leaders in their school. Success Academy has a famously high turnover rate and a reputation for a dictatorial leadership style.
The list of incompatibilities could go on and on, but there is one more reason why Success Academy is wrong for District 1. This reason goes far beyond this one network of schools. We tax-paying New York City residents deserve to have a say in what public schools come into our communities. SUNY’s rubric for approving charter schools allots one point out of 64 total points to community engagement. Given that Success’ District 1 proposal was written for District 2, there is no way that they should get even that one point on this topic.
Though some District 1 parents might welcome a Success Academy, those same parents might also welcome the school envisioned by their fellow community members. This week our fight is to assert one District’s right to determine what types of schools are planted in its community.
Let this week’s hearing continue NYC public school parents’ fight to control which schools get planted in our communities. The broken process for approving charters, one that would completely discount a community process like the one described here, must be stopped.
The District 1 community wants much more for their kids. Sign their petition now. You can also go to this page to write to charter approver SUNY about why you do not want to see a Success Academy in District 1. Even better, you can share what you would rather see grow in your community instead.

Liz Rosenberg
^[1] From the SUNY Preference Scoring Rubric in their January 2014 RFP

Retro Video: Eva Moskowitz Success Academy Bund-Like Rally - March, 2009

This ad for a March 28, 2009 conference to save public schools at John Jay College in NYC, illustrates a prime example of the manipulation of the community by charter school advocates. The Harlem Success Schools led by Eva Moskowitz has pushed its way into public school spaces with the support of the NYC Department of Education. The push by Bloomberg and Klein to support charter schools is an admission of their failure to solve the problems that exist in public schools.... Ed Notes, March 26, 2009

Almost 6 years ago this was a scary event - chanting and hectoring - the future of the death of public schools.



http://youtu.be/fEp7rg_L5JI

I taped this event and made this ad on for a conference we were planning the eve of the founding of the Grassroots Education Movement - in fact, this conference was the event that made GEM a viable organization. Kudos to the amazing Angel Gonzalez whose organizing abilities came to the fore.

Angel and I went up to Harlem for a rally Eva was holding where they were giving away food and prizes and it drew a thousand people, including the corporate and political scum like Joel Klein and Bloomberg and Walcott.

At this point the group that turned into GEM was still an offshoot of a committee ICE had formed to address the issues of ATRs, high stakes testing, closing schools and the charter invasions - the 4 basic pillars upon which GEM was built. This group was the first time people from various NYC ed orgs like ICE and NYCORE had worked together. And we can't forget ISO (International Socialist Organization) which jumped on board early on and whose members helped organize meetings and events.

I had a lot of footage but in the process of switching computers seemed to have lost it. Luckily I salvaged this bit for the ad. 

Success Academy Bensonhurst Golden Plunger Award/Info on Phony Signatures

Another reason to love Eva

I have seen it for myself. They walk around and get signatures. They recently asked me and gave me a flyer in front of my house. I know for a fact, that application workshops were set up in Brighton Beach Private Prek's for success academy in bensonhurst. Many of the children currently attending SA Bensonhurst are from these private mostly Russian daycares..... A Parent

And then this gem came in - the facebook page was taken down
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https://www.facebook.com/SABensonhurst

Success Academy Bensonhurst

September 12

Today we launched our Golden Plunger Award. Each week, the boys or girls will have a chance to win the Golden Plunger Award for keeping the cleanest bathrooms! The weekly winners will have the award displayed by their bathroom as a reminder of all their hard work!

We want to make sure that our bathrooms are clean and sanitary for your scholars all day long. Please speak with your scholars about putting toilet paper in the toilet, flushing the toilets after use, washing their hands completely after use, and throwing the paper towels in the wastebaskets. Hygiene and cleanliness are extremely important for keeping healthy!

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ISIS And Eva Moskowitz Join Heads on her 10-year, 100-school plan

Given the difficulties poor besieged Eva Moskowitz expects to face in getting space from Mayor deBlasio, she search for space for her ambitious 100 school plan has led her to an agreement with ISIS for space in Syria, Iraq and who knows where else?

"Eva is a perfect fit for us," said an ISIS (ISIL, IS) spokesman - "you didn't expect a spokeswoman, did you" he said? But while we were on the subject we reminded the ISIS (ISIL, IS) representative that - shhh - Eva is a woman. "She won't even have to wear a burka. For our compadre, Eva, whose tactics we study religiously, everything is possible. But we need to move fast as Kim Jon-un is also hot on the trail with a serious offer. His only condition is that she must stop calling herself 'Jon-un Maximus' when she stops by to visit."

======================"

Eva Moskowitz on her 10-year, 100-school plan

Moskowitz at American Enterprise Institute. (AEI)

Capital NY:

http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/city-hall/2014/12/8558199/eva-moskowitz-her-10-year-100-school-plan 

 

Leonie Haimson on Success Charter Audit

What about the hundreds of teachers and students who leave her [Eva's] schools each year?  Perhaps that’s why she and the charter lobby fears the transparency that  a performance audit would achieve... Leonie Haimson

“Our critics,” Ms. Moskowitz said, “should speak to the tens of thousands of families who send their children to our schools, or are on waiting lists, and to the thousands of teachers who apply every year to join our magical educational community.”

These are phony waiting lists. Success can't even fill all its seats. Show us the waiting lists. Leonie posted some comments.
Note that Eva ran a PR visit to a Success School on the day the audit was announced.

Here's Leonie's comments.

More on Success Charters and audit

Two new articles about tours of Success charters offered to principals to share their “best practices”.  Both make clear the exceedingly strict discipline and penalties for students: 

Students who are not sitting correctly or who fidget are asked to change their posture in front of the class, and at least one student got a “check mark” for bad behavior for not keeping his hands folded in another classroom. (Three check marks result in a time-out, five in a written letter of apology, and so on.)
Students were often instructed to “sit like a professional.” A sign on one wall read “$cholar dollar fines” and noted the monetary charges for various misbehaviors: $1 for an untucked shirt, $5 for “not loud and proud,” and up to $10 for talking during a “zero” noise period. (Success students are called scholars.)

http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/city-hall/2014/10/8555766/success-academy-exposes-methods-outsiders-close?top-featured-image

Does anyone know if these are real dollars or some sort of symbolic ones?

http://ny.chalkbeat.org/2014/10/30/district-leaders-look-under-the-hood-of-a-success-academy/#.VFOhDsm2Wk0

Makes clear that the intensive approach requires lots of staff time, including an asst. teacher in every classroom.  How is this to be replicated in NYC schools unless the DOE provides the budget for this?

See also in relation to the Comptroller audit, Eva claims her schools spend less that per student average for DOE schools.  Hard to imagine w/ two teachers in a classroom , plus her huge advertising and marketing budget.

In a statement released today, Moskowitz said, "Success Academy spends less per student than district schools..”

http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/city-hall/2014/10/8555751/stringer-begins-charter-audits-including-success

The NYT features a disagreement over whether the Comptroller has the right to do a performance/operational audit as well as a financial one. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/31/nyregion/city-comptroller-to-audit-success-academy-charter-network.html

The chief executive of the New York City Charter School Center, an advocacy organization, quickly sent out a statement that Mr. Stringer was overstepping his authority, which the executive said was limited to auditing the finances of charter schools, not their overall operations.

The comptroller’s office “does not have auditing power over charter school operations,” the executive, James D. Merriman, said. “Those matters are overseen by our state’s charter authorizers.”

The disagreement appeared to stem from a difference of opinion about where Mr. Stringer derived his authority to audit charter schools.

A spokesman for Mr. Stringer, Eric Sumberg, said it came from the City Charter, which gives the comptroller broad auditing powers.
But Mr. Merriman pointed to state law, which, in a change made by the State Legislature this year, gives the comptroller the power to audit a charter school “with respect to the school’s financial operations.” Mr. Merriman said that state law superseded city law, and that the state law clearly limited Mr. Stringer’s authority.

Eva also critiques the critics by calling her schools “magical”:

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/31/nyregion/city-comptroller-to-audit-success-academy-charter-network.html

“Our critics,” Ms. Moskowitz said, “should speak to the tens of thousands of families who send their children to our schools, or are on waiting lists, and to the thousands of teachers who apply every year to join our magical educational community.”

What about the hundreds of teachers and students who leave her schools each year?  Perhaps that’s why she and the charter lobby fears the transparency that  a performance audit would achieve.

Support the LES Community - STOP the Evafication of District 1 (Lower East Side) - Sign the Petition

Please help support D1 against Evification by signing the petition below. This new SAC school is the one approved for D2 but bait-and-switched to D1 at the last minute. We are now getting official notification, petitioned by Eva and her army, and maybe even a hearing, (even though none is required), thanks to the mobilization of parents and electeds. So the fight begins!... Lisa Donlan, CEC 1.

Petition Against Success Academy In D1 - PLEASE SIGN

Success Academy Charter Schools in D1!!

http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/no-need-for-success-academy?source=c.em&r_by=11493424

One day soon, you might be stopped on the street and asked to sign a petition in support of "great new public school option coming into the neighborhood." At the top of the petition, you will also see the words "Success Academy Charter Schools." 

Here in District 1, we want our schools to reflect our values, cultures, and diversity. Given rising class sizes, rampant overcrowding and inadequate funding, who wouldn't want another great public school? But the Success Academy claim is very deceptive. Success Academy Charter Schools take resources and space from our public schools. What’s more, Success Academy Charter schools do not serve the same number of high needs students as do our district schools. Our schools, which will lose resources to Success Academy, will enroll even more at risk students that Eva's schools will not take. 

Standing up to say no to Success Academy can help protect and support the community schools we already have in District 1. 

By signing this petition you are telling Eva Moskowitz and Success Academy that we are a strong, united community dedicated to supporting schools that truly serve our needs. 

Dear Success Academy, 
THANKS, BUT NO THANKS! 

(click the link to sign the petition)

http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/no-need-for-success-academy?source=c.em&r_by=11493424