Parents point out why they are taking this drastic step. One goes after DOE for trying to break a school with an integrated, diverse parent and student population -- "they don't want integrated schools," she says.
https://youtu.be/cJ5ArgeJsco
Written and edited by Norm Scott: EDUCATE! ORGANIZE!! MOBILIZE!!! Three pillars of The Resistance – providing information on current ed issues, organizing activities around fighting for public education in NYC and beyond and exposing the motives behind the education deformers. We link up with bands of resisters. Nothing will change unless WE ALL GET INVOLVED IN THE STRUGGLE!
Tuesday, May 9, 2017
Monday, May 8, 2017
Welcome Paul Ryan to Eva's Success Academy - Tuesday 11:30 AM
City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito called on New Yorkers to protest Success Academy CEO Eva Moskowitz and House Speaker Paul Ryan during the GOP lawmaker’s planned visit to a Harlem charter school on Tuesday.
Ryan will visit the Harlem Success Academy on West 118th Street on Tuesday, according to Politico and the New York Daily News at the invitation of Moskowitz, whom President Donald Trump briefly considered appointing Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education. That role ultimately went to billionaire heiress Betsy DeVos, another proponent of publicly funded, privately run learning.
“So when Speaker Ryan comes to New York City, we let him know what we think about his agenda, right?” Mark-Viverito said during a panel discussion about the city’s plan to close Rikers Island this afternoon. “And we should be denouncing and holding Eva Moskowitz responsible and accountable for bringing him here to our community.”
If you'd like to welcome Speaker Paul Ryan to NYC, please come to 34 W 118 st tomorrow by 11:30 am.
https://www.dnainfo.com/new-
Paul Ryan to visit charter school in Harlem: sources - NY Daily News
www.nydailynews.com/.../paul-ryan-visit-charter-school-harlem-sources-article-1.31478...
7 hours ago - House Speaker Paul Ryan plans to visit a Harlem Success Academy ... The high-NYC Council Speaker Slams Charter School CEO for Inviting Paul ...
observer.com/.../council-speaker-mark-viverito-eva-moskowitz-paul-ryan-success-cha...
2 hours ago - "We should be denouncing and holding Eva Moskowitz responsible and ... Speaker Slams Charter School CEO for Inviting Paul Ryan to Visit.
House Speaker Paul Ryan To Visit Harlem Success Academy ...
https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/.../central.../success-academy-charter-paul-ryan-visit
6 hours ago - CEO Eva Moskowitz reportedly invited Ryan to visit the W 118th St. charter school Tuesday.Paul Ryan to visit Success Academy school in Harlem - Politico
www.politico.com/.../paul-ryan-to-visit-success-academy-school-in-harlem-111879
19 hours ago - House Speaker Paul Ryan is planning to visit a Success Academy charter ... Success CEO Eva Moskowitz was briefly on a short list to serve as ...
Paul Ryan To Visit Success Academy In Harlem: Reports - Harlem, NY ...
https://patch.com/new-york/harlem/paul-ryan-visit-success-academy-harlem-reports
MORE Action on Abusive Principals at Tonight's UFT Exec Board Meeting
From the first Ex Bd meeting this school year, the newly elected MORE/New Action members (Jonathan Halabi is the lone returnee), there has been an emphasis on raising the issue of abusive principals, superintendents and DOE officials, including Chancellor Carmen Farina and the general lack of response on the part of the union. The idea is to keep the issue front and center and hold the leadership accountable. Bringing people to these meetings to speak during the 10 minute opening period before the meeting and having the EB members raise questions has been part of the process.
I've been covering the Central Park East 1 situation, which is unique due to the massive parent involvement in defending their teachers. Note that while Mulgrew at the last EB meeting said a law suit would be filed (just keep waiting) and an order of protection (keep waiting), they have not yet called for Garg to be removed. As for an article in the NY Teacher, we don't want to interfere with the all is sweetness and light mantra.
Behind the scenes, de facto High School president James Eterno, who got the most high school votes for UFT HS President but can't serve because the Unity leadership has rigged the election to have non high school members vote for VPs, has been working with people, especially in Queens, to defend their rights. Some have even asked James instead of the UFT reps, handle their cases in grievances.
Tonight, teachers from one of the schools James has been working with are coming to the meeting to press their case. Their principal had been the AP at one of the key MORE schools, so our people know this guy real well.
The CSA is getting nervous about the pressure as we call on the UFT to abandon its consideration of the CSA as another they cannot attack. We say bullshit to supporting our enemies.
Yesterday James wrote (CSA DRAWS SYMBOLIC LINE IN THE SAND WHILE UFT WILL NOT CONDEMN ADMINISTRATORS WHO ABUSE OUR MEMBERS) about our post (CSA Calls Abusive Principal Garg "an outstanding educator" While Revealing Farina Role in Hit Job at CPE1 For High Opt Outs) on the CSA defense of CPE1 principal Monika Garg and they included Dewey principal Elvin, Towsend Harris' Jahoda and Clinton's Taveras Santiago -- as principals worth defending. Ugh! What a farce. They should be policing their own incompetent principals instead of defending them.
Garg apparently threw Farina under the bus by telling the CSA that Farina herself asked Garg to do a wipe out at CPE1, which the CSA letter emphasized in calling for her to defend Garg at any cost.
Today, James talked about tonight's EB meeting and posted the following at the ICE blog:
I've been covering the Central Park East 1 situation, which is unique due to the massive parent involvement in defending their teachers. Note that while Mulgrew at the last EB meeting said a law suit would be filed (just keep waiting) and an order of protection (keep waiting), they have not yet called for Garg to be removed. As for an article in the NY Teacher, we don't want to interfere with the all is sweetness and light mantra.
Behind the scenes, de facto High School president James Eterno, who got the most high school votes for UFT HS President but can't serve because the Unity leadership has rigged the election to have non high school members vote for VPs, has been working with people, especially in Queens, to defend their rights. Some have even asked James instead of the UFT reps, handle their cases in grievances.
Tonight, teachers from one of the schools James has been working with are coming to the meeting to press their case. Their principal had been the AP at one of the key MORE schools, so our people know this guy real well.
The CSA is getting nervous about the pressure as we call on the UFT to abandon its consideration of the CSA as another they cannot attack. We say bullshit to supporting our enemies.
Yesterday James wrote (CSA DRAWS SYMBOLIC LINE IN THE SAND WHILE UFT WILL NOT CONDEMN ADMINISTRATORS WHO ABUSE OUR MEMBERS) about our post (CSA Calls Abusive Principal Garg "an outstanding educator" While Revealing Farina Role in Hit Job at CPE1 For High Opt Outs) on the CSA defense of CPE1 principal Monika Garg and they included Dewey principal Elvin, Towsend Harris' Jahoda and Clinton's Taveras Santiago -- as principals worth defending. Ugh! What a farce. They should be policing their own incompetent principals instead of defending them.
Garg apparently threw Farina under the bus by telling the CSA that Farina herself asked Garg to do a wipe out at CPE1, which the CSA letter emphasized in calling for her to defend Garg at any cost.
Today, James talked about tonight's EB meeting and posted the following at the ICE blog:
UFT MEMBERS READY TO FIGHT BACK AGAINST PRINCIPAL ABUSE SEEK UFT LEADERSHIP BACKING
There were family functions that took up most of the time this weekend but almost every spare minute (except for some baseball) was spent fielding questions to help UFT members who want to step up to assert their rights. One of the sources of reluctance is they have little faith that UFT President Michael Mulgrew and the rest of the UFT leadership will give more than token support for their efforts to stand up for their rights.
One school will take their case against an abusive principal to the UFT Executive Board tonight. Another is planning on appealing to a prominent politician in addition to the UFT. Others are organizing as well. The common theme is they want UFT leadership to help them but aren't sure they will receive strong support.Ground-up organizing is the way to go. The MORE-NEW ACTION high school representatives will continue to publicly support the rank and file. All of us can then continue and expand the pressure on Mulgrew/Unity Caucus to publicly endorse the movement against abusive administrators and not just negotiate behind the scenes.My guess is there are many principals from hell out there in NYC but members are not confident that they can succeed in fighting back. Many won't come forward because they are fearful that UFT leaders will leave them hung out to dry. It's time to organize anyway.Supervisors are concerned that the sleeping giant just might be waking up.The UFT will be compelled to climb on board and pick up the fight if there is a loud roar from the schools instead of just a buzz.
Sunday, May 7, 2017
Video: CPE1 Strike Rally - Zakiyah Ansari and Cordell Cleare
I will be posting short videos as they are processed. About half the students were kept out of school on Friday.
https://youtu.be/kGqiQgvwnY8
Zakiyah Ansari of Alliance for Quality Education makes a strong statement of support, as does Cordell Cleare.
I've seen Zakiyah at so many events over many years. She was one of the leaders of the takeover of a PEP meeting in August 2010 - forcing them to cancel the meeting. It was the first day Julie Cavanagh and I began shooting (https://theinconvenienttruthbehindwaitingforsuperman.com/watch-the-film/) and we caught some great footage that evening. She has been a consistently strong voice for justice.
We met Cordell Cleare in the summer of 2009 when we (GEM) went up to Harlem to take a stand against Eva Moskowitz. Cordell was State Senator Bill Perkins' Chief of Staff and she offered us space in Bill's office to hold meetings. In the spring of 2010 Bill Perkins held 10 hours of hearings on charter schools, which inflamed the charter industry and led them to running Basil Smikle against Bill Perkins (Political Strategist Basil Smikle Will Challenge Harlem State Sen. Bill ...)
in the fall of 2010 - Bill smashed him. Smikle is the NY State Director of the Democratic Party - just goes to show how much in bed the Dems are with the charter industry.
Excuse the poor sound. It was raining and I had to cover the camera.
https://youtu.be/kGqiQgvwnY8
Zakiyah Ansari of Alliance for Quality Education makes a strong statement of support, as does Cordell Cleare.
I've seen Zakiyah at so many events over many years. She was one of the leaders of the takeover of a PEP meeting in August 2010 - forcing them to cancel the meeting. It was the first day Julie Cavanagh and I began shooting (https://theinconvenienttruthbehindwaitingforsuperman.com/watch-the-film/) and we caught some great footage that evening. She has been a consistently strong voice for justice.
We met Cordell Cleare in the summer of 2009 when we (GEM) went up to Harlem to take a stand against Eva Moskowitz. Cordell was State Senator Bill Perkins' Chief of Staff and she offered us space in Bill's office to hold meetings. In the spring of 2010 Bill Perkins held 10 hours of hearings on charter schools, which inflamed the charter industry and led them to running Basil Smikle against Bill Perkins (Political Strategist Basil Smikle Will Challenge Harlem State Sen. Bill ...)
in the fall of 2010 - Bill smashed him. Smikle is the NY State Director of the Democratic Party - just goes to show how much in bed the Dems are with the charter industry.
Excuse the poor sound. It was raining and I had to cover the camera.
Saturday, May 6, 2017
CSA Calls Abusive Principal Garg "an outstanding educator" While Revealing Farina Role in Hit Job at CPE1 For High Opt Outs
The DOE must support Mrs. Garg, who is an outstanding educator, as she comes under undeserved fire for doing the job she was asked to do.... Clem Richardson, CSAThe statement by Clem Richardson of the CSA is a laugh riot. Really, Clem, show us one example of Garg's history as an outstanding or even a semi-competent administrator. Her history working for the racist Minerva Zanca where all black teachers were targeted (Garg praised Zanca as a mentor recently).
{It you need to catch up on the school Garg was an AP at --
That's CSA head Ernie Logan to right of Mulgrew |
But this comment in the CSA call for Farina to stand by Monika Garg is the most revealing:
We repeat: Chancellor Farina PERSONALLY asked Mrs. Garg to “right the ship” at CPE by helping it remain a beacon of progressive education, but one with standards, accountability and measurable outcomes. ... Statement from CSAWe knew it all along. That Farina ordered a hit job on CPE 1, as she's ordered on a number of schools, at times making Joel Klein's and Bloomberg's tenure look benevolent. Why else put in a high school person into an elementary school with a culture so out of sorts with Garg's history? Because they knew Garg would be ruthless -- her career track is to be a Supt and she will step on anyone to get there.
But let's parse this comment a bit. Can you remain a beacon of progressive education ... one with measurable outcomes -- meaning testing -- when the very process of gaining such outcomes degrades progressive education? One would ask why the elite private schools which offer progressive education don't stress measurable outcomes -- and parents pay up to 50 grand a year for that type of education.
In Garg's first weeks as principal she put forth the idea that the progressive education offered at CPE1 was not appropriate for poor children of color. So we know that the intent was not to maintain CPE1 as a beacon of progressive education but to degrade the very idea.
Let's be clear --- there were issues at CPE1 before Garg came on board. The solution would have been to put in a principal with a background in elementary schools and in progressive education, not a hit woman.
The Daily News article on the boycott had this quote affirming the line coming out of the DOE:
But Education Department spokeswoman Toya Holness said officials have met with families to discuss specific concerns and solutions. “We are committed to delivering a high-quality, progressive education with academic rigor, and doing what’s best for CPE 1 students,” Holness said.Rigor? That's the buzzword used by ed deformers. More like rigor mortis.
The CSA and DOE are lined up in the attack on progressive education at CPE1 -- and their "freewheeling ways", which in the culture of that school, is necessary for democratically based progressive education.
In the world of oppressive top down administration, teacher/parent control - and often student centered decision making on what they will learn - is "freewheeling." Now I know many teachers are not comfortable with this idea, which is why only certain types of teachers - and parents -- would enter a school like CPE1. Thus teachers who had basically been helping to run the school since its inception had to conform to the new top-down or be gone.
As to CPE2 -- its offshoot also founded by Debbie Meier - principal Naomi Smith has changed the culture of that school to conform to the DOE demands and has supported Garg all the way - in fact her daughter is a parent at CPE1 and also is among the few parents who support Garg - and all of Smith's grandkids go to CPE1. (We'll deal with Smith and her personal vendettas another time.) But do note what Deb Meier, founder of both CPE1 and 2 posted tonight on FB:
Let NYCs mayor and school chancellor know that what they've allowed to happen to Central Park East (CPE) I, one of the first progressive democratically governed public school-opened in 1974-is an education crime. A vindictive and authoritarian principal placed in the school almost two years ago continues to threaten teachers and parents alike. They need to hear from the world. A petition signed by two thirds of the families, rallies, sit ins, reports by neutral observer's and much more has had no effect except to create an untenable educational climate. As one of the original founders of the school watching this happen breaks my heart.two very vulnerable children's families have been banned from the school because of their protests. Thanks for any help you can give them.
Note the schools Clem Richardson mentions -- Dewey, Harris, Clinton -- all with cheating, lying principals, who alienated their entire staffs. The CSA believes, along with Farina, that destroying a school by any means necessary is OK,
Here's the complete CSA Statement - go have a good laugh.
The DOE Must Not Abandon CPE Principal Monika Garg!!
New York, NY – May 5, 2017 –
For Further Information contact:
Clem Richardson, Of: 212-823-2052, Cell: 718-207-2260
Email: clem@csa-nyc.org
We’ve seen what’s happening to Central Park East Elementary School Principal Monika Garg before.
John Dewey High School. DeWitt Clinton High School. Townsend Harris High School.
Mrs. Garg is a proven leader who, like the besieged former principals of those schools, is being scapegoated by the Department of Education.
CSA knows that Chancellor Carmen Farina, who asked Mrs. Garg to take the CPE job, understands that leaders are often required to make unpopular decisions because that is what leaders need to do.
But leaders attempting to orchestrate change need to be supported in the face of criticism, not abandoned.
The DOE must support Mrs. Garg, who is an outstanding educator, as she comes under undeserved fire for doing the job she was asked to do.
School leaders expect and deserve more.
“The DOE recruits principals to take on tough assignments, then abandons them at the first grunt from affected teachers, staff members and an antagonistic press,” said Council of School Supervisors and Administrators President Ernest A. Logan
“How can a school leader change a school without making changes? And how can Chancellor Farina ask educators to take on tough assignments then look the other way when they come under attack?”
The Chancellor appointed Mrs. Garg to run CPE in 2015 to right a school that was not meeting the academic needs of all students.
Disgruntled CPE teachers, staff members and parents who disagree with Mrs. Garg’s methodology have since made it their mission to disrupt the educational process for all CPE students, first by occupying the school auditorium overnight and on Friday by holding a boycott which disrupted the school day for dozens of students.
We repeat: Chancellor Farina PERSONALLY asked Mrs. Garg to “right the ship” at CPE by helping it remain a beacon of progressive education, but one with standards, accountability and measurable outcomes.
And that is what Monika Garg has tried to do.
CPE1 Update: Half the Students Stay Out of School Today
I'm still in the city but wanted to get this out before heading back to Rockaway to process some of the tape I got at the rally/press conference this morning outside CPE1 where over 50 parents and supporters rallied in an often driving rain. No one from the UFT was present - I will address the UFT tepid response in another post and it is addressed in the upcoming MORE DA newsletter coming out May 10.
Ninety students, about half, were kept out of school and housed at a local community center where they had day care take care of them while the parents were at the rally.
There was press present - WNBC, WINS, NY1 - the wonderful Lindsey Christ still covering ed for so many years - first time I'd run into her in years. She and her camerawoman did interviews and I am looking forward to seeing how she deals with the story. In giving Lindsey some background info it was clear that she knows the history of CPE1 and all about Debbie Meier -- the benefit of hiring former teachers like Lindsey to cover education. The press feels they have to give both sides of a story even if one side is distorted so I imagine conventions will be followed with the DOE side - which is pretty funny-- like there is another group of parents who like Garg -- yes-- a tiny group but in DOE reports they make it sound equal.
Matt, one of the parents standing in the rain, called into Brian Lehrer to talk to de Blasio -- who gave a bullshit response but Matt wasn't allowed to counter -- listen - Matt is 2nd caller -
http://www.wnyc.org/story/askthemayor-about-affordable-health-care-act-vote-pontes-getaways-and-fair-fares ---
I love Brian Lehrer but not when it comes to covering ed deform -- very unbalanced.
I have so many blogs to write on ed deform, the Democrats, the left, social justice unionism, etc. but the CPE1 story has so many complexities that I haven't even touched on yet, I can't shake it.
Here's a section of the press release this morning:
Friday, May 5, 2017
CPE 1 Parents to Wage Strike Demanding Mayor de Blasio Remove School’s Principal
Scores of Students to Stay Home Friday as Protest Against Monika Garg Escalates
The logical next step. Watch the DOE goons charge parents with neglect for keeping kids out of school. With a day of bad weather we'll see how this tuns out. Ed Notes will be there.
Monday, May 1, 2017
CPE1 Update: Evil Monika Garg Bans Two Active Parents - Sign Petition to De Blasio
Garg makes mockery of process for dealing with parents and teachers.
Just woke up at midnight from a 5 hour nap after spending part of Sunday at the big anti ed deformer film shoot. Before I go back to sleep, I wanted to get this lingering story up and running. Not a lot of people get my "evil" designation (I'm considering Naomi Smith, the principal of CPE2, who supports Garg.)
The CPE1 story gets uglier and uglier. Really, you have to question Garg's sanity at this point, given the flimsy excuses for limited access letters, considering that the major purpose of these letters is to address parents who might be physically dangerous to staff. And don't forget the charges against Catlin Preston and Marilyn Martinez, Delegate and Chapter leader at the school. Catlin has been in the rubber room for a year and his hearing completed months ago. Marilyn was yanked from the school in February 2017 before the mid-winter break and brought up on 3020a dismissal charges just weeks after, unheard of in the DOE. The charges against Marilyn (Catlin too) are so flimsy - in her case based on admission of a child to the school - even if she did goof on procedure, when does that lead to 3020a unless there is a political vendetta? When someone talks about teacher tenure, bring up Marilyn, Catlin and Peter Lamphere who got 2 U ratings from the equally evil Rosemarie Jahoda at Bronx HS of Sci -- (I wonder where Jahoda will land next?)
People above Garg's level at the DOE are claiming they didn't know this was going to happen. Does anyone believe that? Does anyone believe that apparatchik principals don't check with DOE legal before making a move? Or Farina, who is very close to getting the Ed Notes "evil" designation herself - (which I may just throw down at her at the May 17 PEP meeting.) Farina has said that the parents at CPE1 must be punished for their outspokenness.
There comes a point where it is clear that what Garg and the DOE are trying to do is make the school such a toxic environment for the kids, that the active parents will pull them out of the school. With the strategy of driving out the tenured teachers, the school will be left to be run like the DOE wants -- a clone of a charter school.
The alternative at this point may be some kind of boycott with retired and inactive teachers volunteering to work with the kids during the school day offsite. I am ready to join in if called upon.
Here's the skinny from the Save CPE 1 crew.
Monika Garg |
Jen was accused of recording on her cell phone in the school. However, she was not videotaping. Instead, she took photographs of hallways to document the absence of mandated materials about the Department of Education's anti-bullying program. There is no stated policy against filming or taking photographs at the school and many parents have done both. The day after Jen was banned from the school, the mandated materials were finally posted, two months before the end of the school year.Petition: https://www.change.org/p/bill-deblasio-let-banned-parents-back-in-their-childrens-school?recruiter=2143683&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink
Kaliris was accused of bringing press onto school property without authorization. The person in question was a graduate student who represented herself to Kaliris as conducting a school project. Kaliris arranged to meet with the student offsite but took her to the school briefly when she needed to drop off her son’s glasses. She signed in a presented ID to security. Visitors frequently tour the school. When alerted to concerns about this visitor, Kaliris accompanied the student to the exit.
Just woke up at midnight from a 5 hour nap after spending part of Sunday at the big anti ed deformer film shoot. Before I go back to sleep, I wanted to get this lingering story up and running. Not a lot of people get my "evil" designation (I'm considering Naomi Smith, the principal of CPE2, who supports Garg.)
The CPE1 story gets uglier and uglier. Really, you have to question Garg's sanity at this point, given the flimsy excuses for limited access letters, considering that the major purpose of these letters is to address parents who might be physically dangerous to staff. And don't forget the charges against Catlin Preston and Marilyn Martinez, Delegate and Chapter leader at the school. Catlin has been in the rubber room for a year and his hearing completed months ago. Marilyn was yanked from the school in February 2017 before the mid-winter break and brought up on 3020a dismissal charges just weeks after, unheard of in the DOE. The charges against Marilyn (Catlin too) are so flimsy - in her case based on admission of a child to the school - even if she did goof on procedure, when does that lead to 3020a unless there is a political vendetta? When someone talks about teacher tenure, bring up Marilyn, Catlin and Peter Lamphere who got 2 U ratings from the equally evil Rosemarie Jahoda at Bronx HS of Sci -- (I wonder where Jahoda will land next?)
People above Garg's level at the DOE are claiming they didn't know this was going to happen. Does anyone believe that? Does anyone believe that apparatchik principals don't check with DOE legal before making a move? Or Farina, who is very close to getting the Ed Notes "evil" designation herself - (which I may just throw down at her at the May 17 PEP meeting.) Farina has said that the parents at CPE1 must be punished for their outspokenness.
There comes a point where it is clear that what Garg and the DOE are trying to do is make the school such a toxic environment for the kids, that the active parents will pull them out of the school. With the strategy of driving out the tenured teachers, the school will be left to be run like the DOE wants -- a clone of a charter school.
The alternative at this point may be some kind of boycott with retired and inactive teachers volunteering to work with the kids during the school day offsite. I am ready to join in if called upon.
Here's the skinny from the Save CPE 1 crew.
======== | |
|
Labels:
Carmen Farina,
central Park East I,
CPE1,
Monika Garg
Tuesday, April 25, 2017
Hawaii Teachers Union Strikes Deal: 4 Years, 13.6% Pay Hike
The union is run by a former reform/opposition caucus- Amy Perruso is the secretary of their union, and part of UCORE.
Teachers’ union reaches 4-year contract deal with state
By Nanea Kalani
April 22, 2017
Hawaii public school teachers would see multiyear pay raises totaling nearly 14 percent under a tentative four-year contract deal reached with the state today.
The Hawaii State Teachers Association’s board of directors unanimously voted to recommend the proposal to its 13,500 members for ratification next week.
The pay raises — which HSTA says would amount to 13.6 percent — include a combination of pay grade step increases and across-the-board 3.5 percent raises in alternating years.
The average annual salary for a 10-month teacher for the current school year is $58,959, according to the Department of Education.
“I am pleased that after nine months of negotiations, the state and the HSTA have reached a tentative agreement on a contract that will benefit Hawaii’s teachers and their students. … This raise will help stabilize the teaching force, which we know will improve teaching and learning conditions,” HSTA President Corey Rosenlee said in a statement issued Saturday night. “This package is the best we could do for our teachers, in spite of the state’s difficult fiscal outlook.”
Under the deal, Rosenlee said, the state also would increase its share of health insurance premiums. Currently the cost split varies among plans for teachers, but under the most popular health plan, the state covers 59 percent of the premium.
Rosenlee added that the tentative deal allows for HSTA to renegotiate health plan contributions and professional development in years three and four of the contract.
The proposed deal is significantly higher than what state negotiators had proposed in earlier rounds of contract talks. The state had offered teachers annual 1 percent lump-sum bonuses that would have been paid out in October of this year and next year.
The union had balked at the earlier offer, which would not have amounted to a raise because the bonuses wouldn’t be rolled into teachers’ base pay. HSTA said at the time that the average bonus would have been approximately $500.
Rosenlee credited Gov. David Ige’s involvement in negotiations for the more generous offer.
“The governor really worked hard to make this contract happen,” Rosenlee said in a phone interview Saturday. “He was working with us late at night and I think it really showed that education is a big priority to him.”
By comparison, under HSTA’s existing 2013-17 contract, the union secured annual raises of at least 3 percent, with alternating step-ups and 3.2 percent across-the-board raises. The union used what’s known as a re-opener clause to negotiate additional compensation for the final two years of that contact, including a one-time $2,000 bonus and a 1.8 percent raise that will kick in June 30, when the contract expires.
If a simple majority of teachers — 50 percent plus one vote — who vote on the proposed contract Thursday approve the agreement, the contract will begin July 1. A successful ratification vote would allow for the Legislature to fund the settlement by its April 28 fiscal deadline.
=====
The deal will also increase the state’s contributions to teachers’ health insurance premiums.
http://www.eiaonline.com/intercepts/2017/04/24/new-hawaii-teachers-contract-4-years-13-6-pay-hike/
Teachers’ union reaches 4-year contract deal with state
By Nanea Kalani
April 22, 2017
Hawaii public school teachers would see multiyear pay raises totaling nearly 14 percent under a tentative four-year contract deal reached with the state today.
The Hawaii State Teachers Association’s board of directors unanimously voted to recommend the proposal to its 13,500 members for ratification next week.
The pay raises — which HSTA says would amount to 13.6 percent — include a combination of pay grade step increases and across-the-board 3.5 percent raises in alternating years.
The average annual salary for a 10-month teacher for the current school year is $58,959, according to the Department of Education.
“I am pleased that after nine months of negotiations, the state and the HSTA have reached a tentative agreement on a contract that will benefit Hawaii’s teachers and their students. … This raise will help stabilize the teaching force, which we know will improve teaching and learning conditions,” HSTA President Corey Rosenlee said in a statement issued Saturday night. “This package is the best we could do for our teachers, in spite of the state’s difficult fiscal outlook.”
Under the deal, Rosenlee said, the state also would increase its share of health insurance premiums. Currently the cost split varies among plans for teachers, but under the most popular health plan, the state covers 59 percent of the premium.
Rosenlee added that the tentative deal allows for HSTA to renegotiate health plan contributions and professional development in years three and four of the contract.
The proposed deal is significantly higher than what state negotiators had proposed in earlier rounds of contract talks. The state had offered teachers annual 1 percent lump-sum bonuses that would have been paid out in October of this year and next year.
The union had balked at the earlier offer, which would not have amounted to a raise because the bonuses wouldn’t be rolled into teachers’ base pay. HSTA said at the time that the average bonus would have been approximately $500.
Rosenlee credited Gov. David Ige’s involvement in negotiations for the more generous offer.
“The governor really worked hard to make this contract happen,” Rosenlee said in a phone interview Saturday. “He was working with us late at night and I think it really showed that education is a big priority to him.”
By comparison, under HSTA’s existing 2013-17 contract, the union secured annual raises of at least 3 percent, with alternating step-ups and 3.2 percent across-the-board raises. The union used what’s known as a re-opener clause to negotiate additional compensation for the final two years of that contact, including a one-time $2,000 bonus and a 1.8 percent raise that will kick in June 30, when the contract expires.
If a simple majority of teachers — 50 percent plus one vote — who vote on the proposed contract Thursday approve the agreement, the contract will begin July 1. A successful ratification vote would allow for the Legislature to fund the settlement by its April 28 fiscal deadline.
=====
New Hawaii Teachers Contract: 4 Years, 13.6% Pay Hike
http://www.eiaonline.com/intercepts/2017/04/24/new-hawaii-teachers-contract-4-years-13-6-pay-hike/
Harlem Charter Sues DOE Over Closure Citing Misuse of Data - Where R U UFT?
Let's do as charters do.
We have found that putting a stake in the heart of a charter school is tougher than killing off Dracula. While the UFT dilly dallies over what to do about JHS 145 whose closing this June was announced at the March PEP meeting, charters that are closed resist.
The charter is making many of the same arguments JHS 145 and other schools being closed made. See more on the JHS 145 story
We have found that putting a stake in the heart of a charter school is tougher than killing off Dracula. While the UFT dilly dallies over what to do about JHS 145 whose closing this June was announced at the March PEP meeting, charters that are closed resist.
The charter is making many of the same arguments JHS 145 and other schools being closed made. See more on the JHS 145 story
- JHS 145 Hearing: DOE Incompetence Exposed as Crowd...
- Leonie: The egregious failure of DOE's Renewal pro...
Charter School Marked for Closure Can Still Host Enrollment Lottery: Judge
By Dartunorro Clark
HARLEM — A judge is allowing a charter school that serves students with learning disabilities to move ahead with its enrollment lottery, after the school sued the city in response to its decision to shutter the charter due to poor performance.
Mulgrew Promises Action to CPE1 Parents (some with children) Who Flood UFT Ex Bd Meeting
Mike Schirtzer—MORE--Resolves to remove resolution on CPE 1 from table.
No debate.
Voted down on party lines [Unity Party voted it down, only MORE in favor]..... NYC Educator, UFT Executive Board April 24th, 2017 CPE 1 in the House -
CPE1 Parents in shock at Apr 24 UFT Ex Bd as Unity refuses to take reso of support off the table. |
The UFT Exec Bd meetings, moribund for so many years, have turned into high drama at times this year as MORE/New Action have teamed with various groups to bring their grievances directly to the UFT Ex Bd meetings, often using a combo of the pre-meeting speaking time for non-EB members and the question and motion period by the MORE/NA high school reps.
Last night was another remarkable event, made so by the largest group of parents yet to show up --- as Arthur wrote after the MORE meeting on Saturday - "I have sat with some of the most intelligent and persuasive people I've ever met, and I'm persuaded that this school was created with a mission that's being perverted by its current leadership." Amen.
As a skeptic about the worth of winning these EB seats - after all, you are speaking to Unity Caucus - I must say that the MORE/New Action reps have made these meetings worth attending again. Real debate has taken place, which you don't see at Delegate Assemblies. And the leadership has been responding, sometimes in positive ways. Our crew pre-meeting an hour before the EB meeting gets everyone ready - these pre-meetings are open to anyone and there is lots of back and forth.
A key has been Arthur Goldstein's blogging full minutes of the meetings, often within hours, the first time where an open airing is taking place. (This is tedious work and kudoos to Arthur -- I once tried to do it and gave up.)
Another aspect has been doing what ICE began to do a decade ago -- bring various constituencies to these meetings -- sign up for speaking time and have our people ask pertinent questions or bring up resos -- all turned down, severely modified or tabled by the leadership --- see Arthur's great blog post: Contrary where he points out that our people have supported almost all Unity resos while they automatically turn down ours -- sort of like the Republicans saying they won't give Obama any victories.
But nothing has galvanized these recent meetings until large numbers of CPE 1 parents began to show up, some with very young children. Now let's say right out that they have been treated with the utmost respect and courtesy by union leaders. The other angle has been bringing current and former CPE1 teachers to sign up for the 10 minute pre-meeting speaking time (parents as non-UFT members don't get to speak). In fact, UFT Secretary Howie Schoor who chairs the meeting gave people 18 minutes to speak yesterday. Howie has shown a lot of sensitivity and flexibility. EB meetings have (mostly) remained civil.
I believe the fact that Mulgrew only shows up to give his report and then leaves has made these meetings more civil. But in response to the CPE1 parents and teachers yesterday, Mulgrew spent some time chatting with them before and after his report. Whether he will take action is up in the air but they were very happy to have some conversations with him. After the meeting Leroy Barr remained to talk to them for some time.
A group of current and former CPE1 parents spoke before the meeting last night and were very effective.
But one of the most unusual was a speech by a teacher from another school who worked under Garg when she was an assistant principal at Pan American HS and repeated a list of admin atrocities. She told me she has proof of every one and I hope to publish some of them. She told me she never speaks in public but once she heard stories about Garg as principal of CPE1 she felt she had to speak out. She had never expected Garg would rise to the level of principal. Before reading what Garg has been doing, she assumed Garg's actions were based on following orders by the horrible Pan American HS principal Minerva Zanca, who by the way is still working in the DOE as a guidance counselor. She said she had to speak out to stop people like Garg.
By the way, at the SLT meeting, Garg said she worked for great Principals and learned a lot -- from Zanca she sure learned how to play the race card and divide people.
Check out Garg's mentor:
In Lawsuit, U.S. Says Queens School Discriminated Against 3 Black ...
https://www.nytimes.com/.../in-lawsuit-us-says-queens-school-discriminated-against-3-bl...
Jun 9, 2016 - Pan American International High School, in the Elmhurst neighborhood of Queens, where a federal lawsuit claims that three teachers suffered a ...Queens principal targeted 3 black teachers for poor reviews - NY Daily ...
www.nydailynews.com/.../queens-principal-targeted-black-teacher-poor-reviews-article-...
Jun 10, 2016 - The civil rights unit Bharara's Manhattan office filed the lawsuit accusing ... Pan AmericanInternational High School in Queens, where Zanca no ...Deb Meier, Jane Andrias, Two Former CPE1 Principals Question Farina/DOE on Intentional Destruction
While Meier soared, Farina soured --- into a Joel Klein flunky.
Does Farina hate Deb Meier for her success and national and international recognition over the same time period Farina was an active educator and yet Farina never received similar accolades?
Or is it just that Farina can't stand the idea of democratic governance of a school? Then we hear that Farina knows full well how awful Monika Garg is but hates the parent activists so much she believes they (and their kids) must not be allowed to get away with winning this and must be punished. After all, what if other parent groups spring up?
Even if Farina goes out on a legacy of forcing most of the parents out of CPE1 and turns it into a charter clone, those parents who remain in the public school system at other schools around the city may just bring their level of activism along with them.
This comment was left on the Diane Ravitch blog when she posted a link to Unsafe at Any Speed at CPE 1:
Does Farina hate Deb Meier for her success and national and international recognition over the same time period Farina was an active educator and yet Farina never received similar accolades?
Or is it just that Farina can't stand the idea of democratic governance of a school? Then we hear that Farina knows full well how awful Monika Garg is but hates the parent activists so much she believes they (and their kids) must not be allowed to get away with winning this and must be punished. After all, what if other parent groups spring up?
Even if Farina goes out on a legacy of forcing most of the parents out of CPE1 and turns it into a charter clone, those parents who remain in the public school system at other schools around the city may just bring their level of activism along with them.
Unless the unstated intent of the recent failure to end the turmoil of these past few years has been to close CPE1 so the space could be used for other purposes, it’s clear that we now face a choice between either replacing the principal or replacing the students, families and the school’s mission. ... Jane Andrias, Deb Meier, former Principals of CPE 1Unless you understand the unique culture of democratic decision-making at CPE1 over 40 years, the attack on the school by Farina and henchcrew seems to fall into the usual DOE attempts to drive out vet teachers. But there is something different going on here - it is the style of education at the school that is under attack. And maybe something personal.
This comment was left on the Diane Ravitch blog when she posted a link to Unsafe at Any Speed at CPE 1:
Jane Andrias
April 24, 2017 at 7:45 amDeborah Meier has been having difficulty with her vision and is now dependent on voice activated devices for reading and writing. As a result an earlierresponse to the blog was incomplete.
In early April, Deborah and I wrote a response to Kate Taylor’s article in the NY Times on the conflict at Central Park East 1 (“CPE1”). The letter was not published. Taylor’s article raised many of the right questions confronting the institution but failed to explore why there has been no constructive solution to address the continuing conflicts within the school community and restore the safe and supportive learning environment for children and adults, which had been the hallmark of the school.
CPE1 was founded in 1974 as part of an East Harlem initiative to show what could be possible in what was at that time one of the poorest and educationally deprived communities in the city. The then District Superintendent, Anthony Alvarado, invited us to start a small, progressive and democratically governed school. Over the ensuing 30 years the school developed a national and international reputation for success in educating its children while maintaining a democratic culture. Faculty, staff, families and children all felt respected and heard even in times when internal differences or external policy changes challenged the integrity of the school’s core beliefs and highly developed practice. All important decisions were made collectively. One of the most notable features was the relationships that developed among staff, families and children, many of which last to this day. This continued and flourished long after Deborah left the school in 1985 under the leadership of the two principals who succeeded her.
While many of the attributes of the school have been threatened over the last decade, a third principal, who was the choice of the school community, succeeded in supporting the school culture and mission until she left to form her new school based on the principles and practices of CPE1.
The next principal who followed was also recommended by the school community but was not a strong enough leader to sustain and build on the mission of the school and the school began to erode. Three tenured teachers left the school at the end of her last year. Monika Garg was then appointed as the principal without the input or support of the school community. During the past two years with Ms. Garg as principal, the school’s mission has been totally undermined. Three more tenured teachers and one promising new teacher left the school at the end of last year.
A community that was once built on trust, compassion, the power of ideas and democratic process of decision making has become too distracted by controversy to function as a united and safe learning community for children and adults alike. Unless the unstated intent of the recent failure to end the turmoil of these past few years has been to close CPE1 so the space could be used for other purposes, it’s clear that we now face a choice between either replacing the principal or replacing the students, families and the school’s mission. We have made efforts over the past two years to join with the DOE to identify leadership that would build on the foundation of the past and restore the school’s excellent educational and democratic principles and culture. We are disappointed by the resistance of the DOE to take the necessary steps to constructively resolve this unrelenting and destructive conflict at CPE1.
Deborah Meier-1974-85-Founding Teacher/ Director, MacCarthur Award Winner
Jane Andrias-1981-2003 Art Teacher and Principal
Monday, April 24, 2017
Free Market Deformer Heartland Institute Reviews Book Smashing Common Core
I found this link on the Weekly update from The Great Lakes Center - which is a minefield of ed deform and very highly funded by Betsy DeVos. But I always find interesting stuff in it and here is one worth sharing as it faults Bush, Obama, Gates, etc - now the propaganda arm puts the fault at leftists when in fact it was the left that resisted the most -- see Susan Ohanian and George Schmidt in the 90s. And it was Leonie Haimson, not people on the right, who led the push back against data mining. So do read this with a skeptical eye.
Common Core: A Clandestine Disaster
By Jay Lehr
Review of The Education Invasion: How Common Core Fights Parents for Control of American Kids, by Joy Pullmann (Encounter Books, March 14, 2017), 280 pp.; $24.72 on Amazon.com: ISBN-10: 1594038813, ISBN-13: 978-1594038815
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