MORE's Julie Cavanagh Exposes Eva Charter Schools

On May 21, 2011 (2 days after the premiere of the GEM film response to the ed deform film Waiting for Superman, The Inconvenient Truth Behind Waiting for Superman that Julie co-narrated, co-produced and co-wrote), Community Board 12 in upper Manhattan convened a panel to discuss charter schools.

Dennis Walcott was supposed to be on that panel but never showed up [he was as scared of Julie as Mike Mulgrew is]. Also Pedro Noguera, [former] chairman of the SUNY Charter Schools authorizing committee (which authorized both Eva/Success and UFT charter schools) and James Merriman, CEO of the NYC Charter School Center. They said their pieces and left before Julie Cavanagh got to go, clearly not wanting to hear what they were doing to undermine the public school system.

Merriman, as the charter school movement usually does, blamed the UFT for resistance, which if you know Julie, it was their LACK of resistance to a co-location of a charter in her school that activated her in the first place. In the early part of the 20-minute video Julie refutes this, showing the opposition to charters is growing from the grass roots far from being led by the UFT.

In the full presentation she presented a comprehensive case against the charter school movement (view it in full here) as she goes into details of her activation as she saw PAVE, with the complicity of Tweed, grab more and more at the expense of her school while the UFT stood on the sidelines.

Here is a short excerpt where she focuses on the inequities the Eva Moskowitz Success Academy brings into the schools.
http://youtu.be/z3XSm3b64Gk

Wild Night at CEC1 Meeting on Girls Prep Charter: Updated

Last night saw an outpouring of public school parents from many schools on the Lower East Side (district 1) opposing the DoE/Girls Prep charter to expand to include a middle school. But that is what charters do. They keep expanding until there is little remnant of the public school they occupy. If you want to compare it to a cancer, feel free to do so.

The Gotham School report on the meeting captures little of what really went on. I left this comment:

Were we at the same meeting? I think this report doesn't represent what really went on last night. It was one of the few times where a massive opposition to the way charters are placed has occurred, akin to the Marine Park protest against the Hebrew Charter last May and the PS 15 protest in Red Hook against the PAVE expansion in Sept. But that meeting was somewhat balanced between the groups. The CEC 1 meeting was overwhelmingly opposed by an extremely large number of people, while Girls Prep had little comparative representation. (They probably don't have the same resources Eva Moskowitz has to hire buses.)

The fervor of the crowd reached epic proportions of anger and condemnation of the DEO and its policies toward shared space. There were few attacks on Girls Prep reps though they were outnumbered at least 10 to 1. Almost every public school in the area was represented, with a few principals getting up and making a statement. Many teachers and parents spoke about the DEO methods of judging whether a school has space. A method that doesn't account for the realities of how schools really function. The theme of the evening was the divisive tactics used by the DOE to pit schools against each other. But that is the mantra of the ed deformers. Throw them all into the pit and see who emerges, but all along the way make sure to tip in favor of the charters. Strong statements were made by local politicians too.

Is there any question that Girls Prep, which as was pointed out yesterday moved out of PS 15 claiming they only would go to 5th grade, but is now reversing and asking to go to 8th grade. And one day will ask for more space to go to 12th grade I would bet.

The only question is which school gets caught with the hot potato. Bet on the one that had the least presence yesterday. PS 20 and PS 184 may have won a reprieve with their massive presences yesterday.

Note: I find it interesting that there is one quote from each side with the Girls Prep founder disparaging quote equating an art room with a civil rights issue being given such prominence when there were a hundred things said by opponents of all the plans that were more relevant.

Fair and balanced?

mendez
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFQSiBFINE8

gerson
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8gM53ZCvi0

Shuang Wen Parent Leader-James Lee

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gv4AcVl2tXs

staebell-ahearn

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45F0YM1hHhA

norm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gnpHI6avAk

Isabel Reyna-Torres

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EApwtWFWGHU

NY1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Lh4WGtmNvU

Note: Moaning Mona Davids, self appointed head of the charter school parents, came down from her perch in the Bronx to leaver her droppings. She told me she put on makeup for me for her video appearance. She has toned down her act. Video later.


Added 3pm:
I'm adding Lisa Donlan's comments at Gotham which demonstrate that half the girls at Girl's Prep are not from district 1.

The “demand” for Girls Prep has very little to do with the D One community.
In fact of the 263 girls enrolled at GPC on the LES only 43% are from D One.
Even in their K class, the first to actually follow the law that imposes giving absolute preference to District One residents is only 53% District One. Inother words, fewer than 27 Kindergarten students from District One chose Girls prep out of an incoming class of 698 Kindergarteners in the district.

Girls Prep, then has captured less than 4% of the current district K students, which can hardly be classified as overwhelming demand, especially given the glossy post cards mailed to every student in ATS by the Charter last spring.

The two local peer horizon schools that the DoE progress report compares GPC to had equally impressive demand and “waiting lists” in the last K admissions cycle:

Earth School had 294 applications for 60 K seats. 5:1 ratio, wait list of 234 for K alone;

Children’s Workshop School saw 212 applications for 45 seats. Nearly a 5:1 ratio and wait list of 167 in K.

if If currently enrolled students in Girls Prep are made up of only 43% in-district students, who will the expansion to middle school grades benefit?

And as the D One community made clear last night- no functioning community school should have to give up needed resources to accommodate this “request ” to grow!
Plenty of schools in our district want to grow- but we do NOT rob Peter to make a bigger school for Paul!

Yeah Norm- I was at the meeting you attended last night.

It sure seems the GS bias is showing in this report.

I hope more of the 500 or more parents, teachers, administrators and community folks in attendance last night write in to say what they saw and said, to help create a fuller, more balanced picture of the event.

Lisa Donlan

Happy Birthday, Evil Moskowitz

This evening was Evil Moskowitz' big birthday bash for Harlem Success Academy held at Roseland, with guests of honor Joel Klein, Michael Bloomberg, and Dracula.

I hear there was a loud group there to greet them. Here is a brief first report from a GEMer who attended:

PS 123 protested tonight at the HSA opening night dinner party. The picket line was predominantly made up of kids from 123. I think they may have made it a bit difficult for some of the people waiting on line to enjoy their party. They had to wait on line for a half hour listening to these kids chant and picket. I talked to one grandparent who said she was planning to leave HSA because "they never listen" to her concerns about her granddaughter's education. She said the teachers there cannot differentiate instruction.

I"ll add to this post as more pics and reports come in and I'll be following up with a piece on how HSA may be violating its charter.

When Charter Schools Hit the Wall

Ed Notes has been slightly preoccupied with the charter school issue over the past few weeks. And we will posting lots more today and in the next few days before I head to LA later this week to meet with other ed deform resisters from around the nation to share strategies for the growing resistance movement by the true progressive ed reformers.

That it has become a flashpoint was indicated by a meeting I and some of my ICE/GEM colleagues attended with teachers from a school where a charter that wanted to stay only for a short time has asked for extended time. Ten teachers from the school showed up on a rainy afternoon in July.

They feel the charter wants to push them out completely and take over the school. The entire story of how they were looking for space and couldn't find any was a crock. So for schools being sold on the same bull, watch out. They lie. And Tweed is behind them all the way and gives them info they can use to recruit your best kids and has even been known to manipulate kids out of your school so they can then claim you have so much room a charter can enter.

Similarly, people at PS 123 in Harlem which was invaded by Moskowitz' HSA, have also been coming out for protests.

But hope is on the way.

The charter school movement will be hitting a wall before long as teachers working long hours for less pay start to unionize (see today's NY Times), private funding for all those little extras like lower class size starts to dry up, and they find that they are in competition with each other to cream the best kids (see Harlem where Moskoswitz's HSA is now looking to invade District 4 (East Harlem) after charters have skimmed so many kids from central Harlem's District 5 (the largest concentration of charters in the nation - see charter map).

Now, on the unionization issue, guess who is doing the unionizing? Our old friend and now head of the AFT, Randi Weingarten (who our Washington contacts say wants to make a deal with Michelle Rhee that will give them the same ATR life we have here in NYC).

I know, I know. Better an AFT/UFT type charter than nothing.

Related:
What are the issues of contention when we talk about charter schools? Some people are only opposed to charters if they stay out of their schools. Others oppose all charters. Ed Notes will explore this issue further later.

NYC Educator takes the NY Times to the whipping shed for today's piece on unionizing charters.

In yet another shallow and superficial article, the New York Times maintains its standard as the paper that asks the fewest questions and holds the least curiosity about education. It manages to ask the obvious questions about unionization in charter schools, but doesn't bother to examine what actually happens when charters unionize.

More at: The Grand Tradition

UPDATE: Scott Stringer Video at PS 123 After Walk-Through and Answers Questions from GEMers

UPDATE VIDEOS: PS 123, Harlem, July 10, 2009
(I'm reposting this with some new material)

When the DOE ruled in HSA's favor in its invasion of PS 123 on July 9, two days after we rallied there after teachers physically prevented HSA movers from removing their stuff, we held a rally up there on the morning of July 10. Tony Avella and Scott Stringer came by.

In this new video (also viewable in the Ed Notes sidepanel) from July 10 PS 123 July 10 2009: HSA Press Release Discussed GEMers and others review the Harlem Success Press Release attacking Stringer and ACORN as UFT lackies. The release calls the failing schools "UFT schools" when in reality they are Joel Klein/Mike Bloomberg schools and have been for 7 years. The press release attacks the UFT for trying to preserve a "luxurious" teachers lounge.

Remember, Stringer defeated Eve Moskowitz for Manhattan Borough president with strong UFT support, which the press release talks about.


In this video posted yesterday (Scott Stringer at PS 123 After Walk-Through and Answers Questions) Scott Stringer emerges from PS 123 after his walk through om July 10, 2009. After a speech, members of GEM question him about the influx of charters. He tries to duck and keep it to the local situation. Some of the locals are a bit nervous at the direction this is going.

Here is JW's excellent report at the GEM blog:

GEM people asked all the right questions and made all the right points.

Stringer: "We're on the case."

Stringer: "We're going to work."

But, they haven't been on the case, and they're only going to get on it if it becomes politically expedient.

You could tell there's a long way to go after Norm Scott asked:

"If Bloomberg and Klein run the schools for 7 years, they're in charge of every school, how do they manage to push the idea of a charter school, which basically absolves them of the responsibility.

In other words, isn't that an admission of their failure if they say that public schools are failing and they need charter schools. Isn't there a contradiction in that very concept?

Stringer dodged it, claiming his purpose that morning was to see what's going on at 123 and try to figure out a solution.

Stringer: "Today's not about THAT fight."

Of course it isn't — to him. Because he and his colleagues on the City Council have watched privatization for seven years, first with the Gates money and now with the charters. The flood of no-bid contracts, non-educator corporate ideology, and inflated PR teams are not new, and it's obvious these people have bought into the process. In fact, it's in their interest to let their constituents, not to mention the entire nation, believe that the NYC school system is a model of "accountability" and "transparency," with scores going "up" and graduation rates "on the rise."

The fight that Stringer sidelined at Scott's question is the fight, no two ways about it. And it's going to have to get much louder before elected officials like Stringer get down with making quality facilities equal for all public school kids.

— JW

All videos of the PS 123 rallies on July 7 and July 10
PS 123 July 10 2009: HSA Press Release

Scott Stringer at PS 123 After Walk-Through and Answers Questions

Scott Stringer, Tony Avella at PS 123

PS 123 July 10 2009 (Angel Gonzalez and George Scmidt)

PS 123 Rally

PS 123 Harlem Parents Make Their Case Against Harlem Success

UPDATE: PS 123 Harlem Parents Make Their Case Against Harlem Success

7/10/09
Two days after this rally, the DOE ruled Harlem Success could go in and take over a swath of PS 123. Another event was held this morning that drew Man. boro pres Scott Stringer and mayoral candidate Tony Avella.

Harlem parents make a powerful statement defending their public school against the invasion of public schools by charters, in this case Eva Moskowitz' Harlem Success. They talk about the space their kids are denied, the favoritism shown to charters by the NYCDOE, the creaming, where even in the same family, only the higher scoring kids get recruited. And it's happening all over the city. They go beyond to talk about how they feel about public education in general. One of the most eloquent statements parents have yet made as they refute the charge that only white upper class parents oppose Mayor Bloomberg and Chancellor Joel Klein.

Members of GEM and ICE were there to support them, as were reps from PS 15 in Red Hook who are undergoing a similar experience.




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_aGF9n8sE8

UPDATE on Moskowitz B&E at 123: Rally on Tues July 7

I am reposting this because of the updates below.

Eva Moskowitz should be arrested and charged with breaking and entering.
The staff of 123 should call the police.

NOTE DATE CORRECTION FOR RALLY AT 123:
Tues. July 7. But I have no contact info available yet so check the sidebar for the latest before you go over there. There may be people at the Monday rally at Tweed to talk to.

MORE NEWS: Moskowitz, PS 123 Principal and possibly some staff to meet at City Hall (The Red Room) on July 8 (that was the source of the confusion on the leaflet.) This is one meeting the press should check out.


Gonzalez just about says it all. Kudos to the teachers and parents at PS 123. Assume the DOE is lying. They wanted Moskowitz to wait till no one was there to catch them.

Graphic by David B.

Harlem Success Academy expands further into P.S. 123 in Harlem

Juan Gonzalez, Daily News

Friday, July 3rd 2009, 4:00 AM

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/education/2009/07/03/2009-07-03_charter_schools_bad_move_workers_break_into_classrooms_as_moskowitz_seeks_more_s.html

Simmons/News

Classrooms being packed up without teachers or principals knowledge at P.S. 123 in Harlem.

No one was expecting the moving men when they arrived Thursday morning at PS 123 in Harlem.

Not Principal Beverly Lewis, nor any of her staff, nor any of the school's parent leaders.

"These strangers suddenly appeared, went up to the third floor, removed the cylinder locks from a bunch of classroom doors and started moving out all the furniture and computers, and piling everything up in the gym," said one teacher who was conducting a summer school class when the men arrived.

The tense confrontation that followed reveals why Harlem has become Ground Zero in a growing neighborhood resistance to mayoral control of schools.

It is a wakeup call to the politicians in Albany not to give Mayor Bloomberg a blank check to run roughshod over parents and teachers.

The moving men claimed they had orders to empty and refurbish all the school's third-floor rooms to make way for an expansion of the Harlem Success Academy.

That's the charter school operation run by former City Councilwoman Eva Moskowitz. The same one Schools Chancellor Joel Klein routinely praises as Exhibit A for educational reform. Moskowtiz's program currently uses a few third-floor rooms at the school.

The teachers at Public School 123 are no ordinary bunch. They and the parents have opposed the unilateral decision Klein made in May to turn over more of their valuable classroom space to Harlem Success.

Theirs is not a failing school and they were told talks were continuing over how to divide the space.

They saw the sudden arrival of the workmen Thursday as a signal that the discussion was over. So several of them rushed upstairs to confront the strangers, blocked the doorways and occupied the rooms.

"I told them, you're not taking my books and furniture out of here," said one teacher.

Police were called in. After an hour-long standoff, an official from school headquarters called to say that no one had authorized Moskowitz's movers to be in the school.

The workmen then vacated the building, leaving furniture and boxes strewn in the hallways and piled high in a corner of the gym.

Afterward, Harlem leaders labeled it a sneak attack.

"This is mayoral control run amok," said State Sen. Bill Perkins. "Eva Moskowitz has been treated with such privilege by the mayor and Joel Klein, she acts as if she doesn't need any authorization to do things."

"We had an agreement with DOE that no construction is to begin in the school until there is another meeting with all sides to work out space needs," said a spokeswoman for City Councilwoman Inez Dickens.

DOE officials conceded there was a "mistake in communications."

"As soon as we were made aware of the situation today, we told the charter school to stop," DOE spokeswoman Melody Meyer said.

Moskowitz denies impropriety.

"There is a space allocation agreement that the DOE has clearly, repeatedly, consistently and in writing said would become effective on July1," Moskowitz said.

The renovations of the new rooms for Harlem Success can't be delayed, she said, because classes at her school begin on Aug. 12 - weeks earlier than the regular public schools.

"Dr. Lewis and the [teachers' union] are deliberately taking steps to prevent us from renovating these rooms," Moskowitz said.

Lewis declined to comment.

Bloomberg recently made some bizarre remarks about possible "riots in the streets" if Albany doesn't renew mayoral control.

Well, the teachers and parents at PS 123 sent a very different message Thursday: In Harlem and all over this city, parents and teachers are getting fed up with mayoral dictatorship.

jgonzalez@nydailynews.com

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/education/2009/07/03/2009-07-03_charter_schools_bad_move_workers_break_into_classrooms_as_moskowitz_seeks_more_s.html#ixzz0KCVUft4W&D

Brooklyn Dreams: DOE Tries Again to Push a Charter into South/Central Brooklyn

PUBLIC HEARING JULY 16 at SHELL BANK MS
(NOTE CORRECTED DATE)

Where do they get these charter school names? Brooklyn Dreams?

Ed Notes covered the Battle of Marine Park (Norm in The Wave on Marine Park Protest Ramifications of The IS 278 Victory) where the IS 278 community brought out masses of people to defeat the DOE attempt to force the Hebrew Language Academy charter school, the brain child of another scion of a billionaire Bloomberg buddy (a BBB). Questions were raised as to how the IS 278 community would respond if an attempt was made to shove a charter into a different school in the neighborhood.

This massive email went out about a hearing on Thurs. July 16 at 7 PM. Should be interesting.

(Shell Bank MS is across the street from Sheepshead Bay HS, one of the few large comprehensive HS in that area of Brooklyn that has not been closed down.)

PLEASE ATTEND THIS IMPORTANT HEARING. IT SEEMS THE DOE WILL ONCE AGAIN BE TRYING TO FORCE A CHARTER SCHOOL INTO ONE OF OUR LOCAL PUBLIC SCHOOL BUILDINGS!

Charter Applicant Hearing
I.S. 14 – Shell
Brooklyn, New York 11235
(Between Avenue Y & X) Accessible buses: B36, B44 & BM3 OR call MTA travel directions at 718-330-1234

A public hearing is open to anyone interested in learning about the proposed charter of:

Brooklyn Dreams

Speaker comment is welcomed. Written comments will also be collected on the day of the hearing and can be submitted via e-mail to: charterschools.nyc.gov

Included on the agenda will be time for public comment on a newly proposed charter school in New York City. The following schools will Pursuant to Education Law 2857(1), the New York City Department of Education is required to hold a public hearing to solicit comment from the
Community in connection with any proposal for a charter school.

Report From PS 15 in Battle With PAVE Charter School

Ed Notes has been in touch with the PS 15 community over the issue of the PAVE charter school which was supposed to leave the school is not and is demanding more space.

PAVE is another example of the child of a billionaire who contributed to Bloomberg getting a school to play with at public expense. We previously reported on the Michael Steinhardt's (donor to NYU and Brooklyn Botanic Garden) daughter's (Sara Berman) involvement in the Hebrew Language Academy, which resulted in massive protests by the IS 278 community in Marine Park.

In this case it is the son of a billionaire, Spencer Robertson, who is behind PAVE in Red Hook.

Our first report was on June 13. Here is a follow-up:

There has been an article in the Daily News, which the CHARTER SCHOOL arranged for, so their side of the story could get out. In fact, they let the reporter in the building (which is a no-no, but since she was already there, our PTA president found her and spoke with her at length. We didn't realize the charter school directors were using the article to break the news about their request for an extension in our building. Furthermore, the article did NOT take our real concerns in consideration I guess we were lucky to get any quotes in, but it doesn't really help us. Here is a link: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/education/2009/06/12/2009-06-12_charter_eyes_a_fair_share.html

After our PTA meeting we held in the library, we got an article in a free paper, the Carroll Gardens Cobble Hill Courier, which was, like most are,full of mistakes and misquotes making us (teachers/staff/parents) look hysterical and making the charter school directors look like reasonable calm people. This one made my blood boil!

http://www.yournabe.com/articles/2009/06/19/carroll_gardens_-_cobble_hill_courier/news/carroll_gardens_-_cobble_hill_courier_newsboujwnv06192009.txt
(If is doesn't work, just go to www.yournabe.com and search this headline "A schoolhouse divided".)

One of the directors of the charter school found out about the meeting and confronted our principal, (who did NOT know about it) and basically told her to bring it...not in those words, though. Then the charter school directors brought in NONUNION construction people to consult for work they want done on the new rooms they get for next year! Our custodial staff had to let them know that was NOT going to happen in a union building!

Background articles from NYDailyNews.com (read with a grain of salt)

Charter eyes a fair share

A Red Hook charter school that had agreed to limit its stay in a public school building to two years has kicked up more controversy by asking for additional time.

Billionaire's son opens school, is he qualified?

The son of a billionaire who contributed more than $10 million to Mayor Bloomberg's school projects opened a new charter school this year, despite questions about his qualifications. Spencer Robertson founded the PAVE Academy.

PAL kayos Red Hook charter school bid

A bid by Red Hook public school parents to keep a charter school out of Public School 15 has apparently failed.

City charter school plan for PS 15 is put on hold

City officials have agreed - at least until meeting with neighborhood leaders next week - to hold off on the plan to house the PAVE Academy in PS 15's Sullivan St. building for the next two years.

Charter School War at PS 160, Co-op City

Grassroots Education Movement (GEM) members Angel Gonzalez and Pam Garrison went up to Co-op City to support the parents and teachers at PS 160 who are fighting off the imposition of a charter school in their building. The original application for the charter was for District 11, which does not have as much of a middle class population to draw from as District 12 with Co-op City. So they are trying to switch horses in midstream. Talk about creaming.

Equality Charter School at P.S. 160, Bronx

by Pam Garrison
June 11, 2009-- A Equality Charter School revision meeting took place at P.S. 160 in District 11 - Bronx where changes to its charter proposal for its placement at this Co-op City zoned elementary school were to be discussed. Equality Charter School plans to open with 132 sixth graders and eventually would become a 6th-12th grade secondary school with a total population of 414 students. Instead of a discussion on the proposed revisions, the meeting, with close to 100 people including young students, generated a raucous and sometimes hostile exchange over whether this Charter Middle School should be placed at PS 160 at all.
The announcement of the placement of the Equality Charter at PS 160 caught many off guard and has divided the community as well as the PS 160 PTA. Its co-president, Mona Davids, who now also heads a newly created Citywide Pro-Charters Parent Association, rallied speakers in favor and an audience who displayed pro-Equality Charter signs whenever opposition voices spoke. Co-president Sebastian Ulanga, has organized against this siting of this Equality Charter here and spoke along with others against the lack proper consultation, misinformation (Equality had been processed for District 12), the negative impacts of middle school youth on PS 160 younger elementary and the special education students. While the pro-charter speakers voiced excitement about the expected higher attention, resources, and smaller class sizes with the Equality Charter there, opposition speakers expressed anger that the projected benefits would not be for the entire school population and create disparity.

Grassroots Education Movement member, Angel Gonzalez, spoke about the need to fix instead of privatizing our schools with charters. “We need to support quality and democratic processes for all public schools. Charter schools, such as Equality Charter, split communities and sow inequality instead. They ‘cream the best students’ and evidence shows that charters service fewer percentages of the neediest of students such English Language Learners, Special Education and the poorest of the poor. We need to organize a citywide fight-back against the mayor’s undemocratic imposition of these charters that take away resources from public schools. Charters union-bust and undermine the necessary unity parents and teachers against government’s failure to properly provide for all public schools.”

Jeffrey Litt, the Superintendent of this Carl Icahn Network of Charter Schools (which includes Equality Charter), expressed his support for the placement of Equality Charter at PS 160 while simultaneously engaging in a tense verbal exchange with an audience member who opposed the charter and Mr. Litt’s assertions. Mr. Litt claimed that Icahn schools do service the poor and are not exclusive, but PTA’s Mr. Ulanga interjected that any entry-lottery process for selecting students are exclusive.

Revisions to Equality’s Charter were presented at the beginning of the meeting. These included some administrative and staffing changes along with its placement now in District 11 instead of District 12. At the end of the meeting, many audience members were unable to determine the actual revisions that were being proposed – they were never restated for many who had arrived late. The meeting, which was adjourned in a particularly abrupt manner, appeared to do little to alleviate the fears, concerns and questions of many audience members. The rift, that this Equality Charter School has spawned, left many confused with many unanswered questions.

Ramifications of The IS 278 Victory

There are a lot of angles to study in the recent rare victory of the IS 278 community in fighting off the insertion of a charter school into their building in the Marine Park area of Brooklyn. Contrasts to other protests like the one in Co-op City in the Bronx are stark in terms of the numbers, if not the spirit. School closing rallies can be spirited, as they were at PS 72 in East NY, Brandeis HS or at PS 150 in Brownsville.

There were certainly some unique circumstances:

• The ability to pull out a thousand people.
• The politicians jumping on board, including Anthony Weiner and Bill Thompson.
• The community is mostly white (and Irish Catholic.)

It is rare that charter schools are inserted into schools in white communities. Many speakers pointed to the fact that the charter school law calls for them to be placed in areas where there are "failing" schools and that in that context the Hebrew Language Academy charter school makes no sense. I mean, don't expect HLA to go to Bed-Stuy, despite the fact that there are thousands of parents who want their kids to learn Hebrew.

But you know something, if they did place it there people would line up for the two teachers in the room, the low class sizes and the other goodies. But we know that will never happen because the true purpose of HLA was to serve the Russian Jewish population in southern Brooklyn and the so-called diversity their speakers bragged about was not in evidence other than some token speakers and they have been unwilling to provide exact figures.

Now, I don't agree with the argument that charters should go into only certain areas of the city. I and another GEM speaker were the only ones who opposed the concept of charters as undermining the public schools and challenged Steinhardt's daughter Sara Berman and her supporters to fight for low class sizes and two teachers in a room for every child in the city.

Where was the UFT?
One thing was very clear in the IS 278 situation: The UFT played no role. How could they oppose the placing of a charter in a middle school when they did exactly that at George Gershwin MS in East NY - IS 166 - (my Alma Mata)? And they also have one in an elementary school. Ed Notes and ICE have opposed the UFT charter schools.


Commenters touched on issues race and power.

Ira Goldfine
The scary part of this is that it may be a victory for IS 278 but its going to be a defeat for some other school when they try to dump this charter elsewhere. I hope the people in the long neglected poorer part of Distict 22 are watching out for their schools because I wonder if those same politicians will defend them the same way they defended IS 278.

Anonymous
The politics of this is very uncomfortable. Although this is a great victory for IS 278. Why haven't other schools been able to win this kind of battle? Why all know the answer to this question & it is very disturbing.

LQuinlan replied

First off, HLA will now be leasing their space, most likely from the Diocese of Brooklyn, so no other public school will have to fight. This is what they should have been doing from the beginning but they no doubt preferred the free ride they were getting from the DOE.


Secondly, I don't know what anonymous was implying about why this campaign was so successful. I tend to think it was the outpouring of the community: Nearly 1000 people attended the hearing, thousands of calls were received by 311 and over 6000 signatures were collected on petitions from the community. Show me another school that put forth that kind of effort and maybe then you can compare the outcome. I think we succeeded because it was a well thought out, well-executed plan and believe me when I tell you, more was planned for the future. Don't turn it into something it's not.

HLA was wise to make the decision that they did. I wish them luck even though I do not believe in their mission. I hope Klein and the DOE will recognize that this community deserves a voice in the future of 278 and that we'll never have to deal with that smug, condescending John White ever again.

There's a load of implications in this interchange. Do politicians favor white communities or do they respond to the numbers? LQuinlan points to a remarkable organizing effort. I was told 200 press releases were sent out. Only Ed Notes and Channel 5 responded and you saw almost no press coverage of the event. And there still seems to be news blackout of what I think was one of the most remarkable outpourings of opposition to the arrogance and power of BloomKlein.


HLA may have been the trigger - there are some whispers that if it was not a Hebrew charter the opposition would not have been as great - but I do not get the impression that anti-semitism was at play and there would have been vigorous opposition to any charter.


Calls of "This is America"
There were other issues. When a translator got up to announce in Spanish that translation was available, there were shouts of "Speak English" and "This is America." You could just imagine what was going through the minds of the HLA supporters and the DOE officials. And the progressive ed reformers who came out in support. This certainly didn't come from a majority of people, but that was not a pretty sight. Someone with guts (not me) should have asked for a Hebrew translation.

Certainly this was a volatile crowd and when the HLA people got up to speak it was raucous at times. The DOE people got a taste of what teachers face running an auditorium program. It was the organizers who kept the crowd under control. They not only knew what they were doing in organizing this event but their political instincts are right on.

Would they support other schools in other neighborhoods or even schools in Marine Park that are forced to take a charter? GEM tried to make the connection when we spoke. When people came over to thank us for speaking, we did raise the issue that people in Harlem are in the same position and we hoped they would be there for them.

I do think some of the organizers are part of the bigger battles on mayoral control now that they have seen the power exercised and fought off "successfully."

Did the DOE lose?
I put "successfully" in quotes for a reason. When people asked at the meeting if it was a done deal, the response was that Klein would hear what people said and make a decision. Sure. I told the DOE guy I would bet him it was a done deal and no matter what happened that night, BloomKlein wouldn't back down.

Raymond commented:

Happy to hear that HLA is withdrawing its request for a charter school at IS 278 This is Great news the middle class Marine Park neighborhood finally wins one for the community and the kids. Cheers for all that showed up at the meetings and showed their support. Great Job everyone. PS I was wrong the decision was not made. Glad to be wrong on this one.

I'm sorry to bust the balloon.

The decision was made. Klein would have ruled in their favor. The DOE did not back off. HLA withdrew. You just had to watch the look on their faces (I did take video of their reactions but the weather has been too nice for me to get to it) to see that they realized that if they went into the school in September, these kinds of protests would never end and it would all end in a fiasco of unimaginable proportions. Give them credit for understanding that much.

The DOE still holds the cards

Remember, John White from the DOE was suddenly offering IS 278 the high school they were fighting for for the past few years in exchange for accepting the charter school. Will that deal be pulled off the table? Will there be other ways to retaliate against the IS 278 community so the fever doesn't spread? (In some other schools that resisted the DOE, the principal came under attack later on. Remember,in DOE-ville, the school leader is supposed to put a stop to these things.) The standard tactic of totalitarian mentalities is to punish as a lesson for others.

There were enough speakers who went beyond the charter school issue to attack the mayor's control of the school system in a community that he counted on for votes and support. That is a warning sign to BloomKlein that even after they get mayoral control renewed, there will be another sunset provision and the battle will continue.

People are inspired

Triple3 said

This is amazing. I am so happy for this community and applaud the huge efforts that were made. My name is Elva Croston and I am a concerned parent with a child who attends PS 160 in Co-op City in the Bronx. The DOE has already approved a middle school/high school charter to be housed in this "tiny" elementary school. Although, some parents are divided on this issue, the majority of parents are saying "NO". We had a march today to oppose this which can be seen on Bronx news 12. Another hearing is set for June due to a technicality on the charters original application. Apparently, the charter was already approved and set to open in District 12 but then the DOE decided to place them in District 11 without notifying the community first. The biggest mistake we made as a community is listening to those who think this move would be a good idea. The DOE is standing their ground to open the charter in September. But guess what.... so will the parents!

LQuinlan said...

Elva, I wish you and your community the best of luck. It's time to wrest the power away from the mayor and get it back where it belongs- the educators and the parents.

See excellent videos and comments at http://www.gerritsenbeach.net/

PS 160 Protest vs. Charter School - Co-op City, Bronx - May 29- Video

May 29, 2009 - AFG Press

PS 160 of Co-op City, The Bronx, NY protested the dictatorial imposition of a charter school by Mayor Bloomberg & Chancellor Klein. Over 100 students, parents, residents, & teachers protested the inappropriate placement of a middle school "Equality" Charter in their elementary school. As customary with mayoral control, again the community was not consulted. This Equality Charter will encroach on the already limited space needed for their special needs students, to reduce class size and for its specialized classes. The parents are organizing against this outrage and have filed a grievance against the City.

Rather than promote "Equality" [a misnomer for any charter], these privatized charters in public schools only serve to divide and generate tensions. Charters provide disparate, unequal and preferential treatment with reduced class sizes, more resources and monies. These monies should be targetted for the benefit of all public schools. Julie Woodward of ICE/UFT said, "It is government that causes public schools ‘to do poorly’ by failing to provide the necessary resources, monies, and supports! Charters and school closings are not the answer."

Not surprisingly, UFT officials were absent from this important protest. The UFT can not represent its members against these charter intrusions and union-busting maneuvers of the City because the UFT has shamefully supported charters and the disastrous mayoral control of schools. GEM seeks to reverse such negative policies of the UFT/AFT which allow the private-corporate sectors to appropriate our public school dollars for their profiteering and to discredit teachers for "poorly" functioning schools. Privatization via charters only serves to undermine, underfund and union-bust our public schools. The complicity of OUR UFT must be stopped.

Unite with our communities and GEM in our Citywide fight-back!

Click to see GEM's video on Protest:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i862TC2IIUs&feature=channel_page

GEM issues include: stopping school closings & privatization with charters, democratic control of our schools, restoring teacher seniority transfer UFT-contract rights, smaller class size, ending high stakes testing, stopping teacher harassment, and more.

We defend equal & quality fully-funded neighborhood public schools.

Please forward.

Angel Gonzalez,
for GEM