Chicago Teachers Give 10-Day Strike Notice, Boston TU to Block New Eval System

Michael Mulgrew, president of the United Federation of Teachers in New York City, captured the mood when he said [12], "You come after one of us, you deal with all of us." But the union's policies of collaboration, highlighted earlier in convention proceedings, undermined that call to action.  -- Lee Sustar, Socialist Worker

All union politics is not just local. Many of us have been in regular touch with the Chicago crew at CORE (the 4 year old caucus that runs the CTU now). Sarah Chambers (who we got to hang out with last summer in Chicago) and is on the CORE steering committee was in town for a night 2 weeks ago and some MORE people got together with her for some lunch and a drink. Sarah sent along the photo (jeez I'm fat) with this message:

Things are heating up  here.  The executive board and bargaining team are meeting tomorrow to set a strike date, which we will bring to the house of delegates.

Here is a bunch of news from various sources. It looks like there will be a strike in 10 days. Watch carefully what Randi and the AFT does -- we're hoping for some inside reports if there is any backstabbing.

And let me point out again and again: the best way to defend the school workers in NYC is to build a viable alternative to Unity Caucus. Join MORE.

Like us on Facebook: Facebook.com/MOREcaucusNYC

Follow us on Twitter: @morecaucusnyc

Check out MORE’s website: MOREcaucusNYC.org

Email us at: more@morecaucusnyc.org

Chicago Teachers Union to file 10-day strike notice

The Chicago Teachers Union plans to file a 10-day strike notice later today, meaning a teacher walkout could begin after the majority of the city’s students finish their first week of school, sources said.  -- Read more

Lee Sustar who writes for The Socialist Worker gives us some great background. I sat with Lee in the press section at the 2010 and 12 AFT conventions and he has deep insight, especially his analysis of the AFT convention and just how far Randi will go to support the CTU which is acting so counter to what she has been preaching. (See my blog from yesterday - Will Randi and AFT Join Rahm Emanuel in End Run Around Chicago Teachers Union?

Chicago teachers draw a line

Lee Sustar looks at the battle shaping up in the Chicago Public Schools--and the national implications for teachers and the struggle for public education.
 
That question looms large--not just for the city's teachers, students and their parents, but for the entire labor movement. Because while both private- and public-sector unions are taking a pounding across the U.S. with layoffs, pay cuts and pension rollbacks, the CTU is gearing up for a showdown with America's most politically connected mayor, Rahm Emanuel--and it will come to a head in September.

At a time when most union officials are shamefacedly selling concessions as "the best we can do," Chicago teachers are defiant. Just ask anyone who encountered the giant inflatable rat that accompanied the spirited CTU picket outside the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) offices August 22 a few hours before a school board meeting.
 .....

That question looms large--not just for the city's teachers, students and their parents, but for the entire labor movement. Because while both private- and public-sector unions are taking a pounding across the U.S. with layoffs, pay cuts and pension rollbacks, the CTU is gearing up for a showdown with America's most politically connected mayor, Rahm Emanuel--and it will come to a head in September.

At a time when most union officials are shamefacedly selling concessions as "the best we can do," Chicago teachers are defiant. Just ask anyone who encountered the giant inflatable rat that accompanied the spirited CTU picket outside the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) offices August 22 a few hours before a school board meeting.
 ........
In recent weeks, the CTU has been holding public meetings in neighborhoods around the city to receptive audiences. Community alliances forged by CORE to fight an earlier round of school closings years ago laid the basis for a strong CTU alliance with key community organizations in African American and Latino communities. A CTU float at this year's Gay Pride march got big cheers. The union has also backed the effort by Communities Organized for Democracy in Education [10] to replace Emanuel's handpicked school board with an elected one.
........
WHILE THE CTU is resolved to do what it takes to win--including a strike--questions remain over the role of its parent union, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT).

The AFT convention in Detroit held in July gave a powerful statement of solidarity for its members in Chicago. Delegates also gave backing to AFT teachers in Douglas County, Ariz., where school authorities have imposed a contract on the union, as well as Detroit, where an emergency financial manager unilaterally cut pay by 10 percent on top of previous rounds of concessions and job losses.

Michael Mulgrew, president of the United Federation of Teachers in New York City, captured the mood when he said [12], "You come after one of us, you deal with all of us."

But the union's policies of collaboration, highlighted earlier in convention proceedings, undermined that call to action.

For example, the AFT affiliate in Cleveland worked with anti-union Republican Gov. John Kasich to craft a contract eliminating seniority protection in layoffs [13] while backing legislation that allows charter schools to compete with traditional schools for taxpayer dollars. Instead of pointing to the agreement as a disastrous setback, AFT President Randi Weingarten portrayed it as a gain in her opening speech. [14]

In fact, Weingarten, who two years ago proposed a strategic retreat for the union by announcing a partnership with school reformers like Bill Gates, now finds herself presiding over a rout of the union in some of its historic bastions, such as Philadelphia [15], where the mayor and school officials are in the process of turning over the entire school system to academic institutions and charter school management organizations.

As a result, the convention proceedings veered between sober recognition of the scale of the assault and the high-production videos and feel-good presentations typical of U.S. unions at their stage-managed meetings--crowding out any lengthy discussion of the major issues facing teachers.

READ LEE'S ENTIRE PIECE HERE.


-------------

Solidarity Message to Chicago Teachers Union from French Teachers' Union Federation FNEC FP FO Dear Colleagues, We just became acquainted of your present struggle for public education against privatization and for your rights. We would like you to know that our federation, the FNEC FP FO, completely support your claims and the ones you underline in particular: -for employment safety, -Against extension of working days and school periods, -Against teacher’s evaluation based on students’ and pupils’ results. We have moreover read with great interest in a 31th july statement of the International Education Committee that this was more and more rejected all over the United States. -For the protection of the trade unions , of the trade union rights ,of the rights to strike and for the rights to negociate. We are facing in France the same issues : almost 13 000 teaching posts are to be suppressed for school beginning in a few days and this we can’t accept . We just succeeded together -with almost all trade unions- to have the teachers’ evaluation suppressed , which would have put an end to our collective guarantees in terms of careers and salary progressions, in order to introduce indivilualization and promotion on merit. The new minister wants to start discussions on this matter, he also started a concertation to review our status and all our guarantees in this range. It is out of question for us to change anything and that is why we are being careful. Together with our confederation cgt-FO, we insist on keeping our independence against any governments, this guarantees the best defense for our claims. The European Union insists on having ratified a treaty that has already caused wreaks in Greece and Spain: wages lowered, massive unemployment, and drastic cuts in education and health budgets. Our government wants to propose the ratification of this treaty to the deputes and senators at the beginning of October. With our confederation, our federation has statued against this ratification and denounces the austerity plans and the structural adjustment plans imposed by the IMF, the EU and the ECB to the governments. The workers in the education sector and in all sectors do not have to “share the efforts” in order to reduce a debt that is not theirs; on the other hand, the trade unions do not have to cope with the austerity plans. Therefore we wish you full success with your struggle and the strike you’re preparing with 98% of the teachers in Chicago; Education is an imprescriptible right , stop the suppression of the teachings posts , stop the dismissals, stop schools’ closing, and privatization, respect of the statuses and of the collective conventions… Respect of all social achievements Respect of the trade unions rights, of trade unions, respect of the right to strike and of all rights defined by the conventions and decisions of the ILO. Cordialement, Hubert Raguin, secrétaire général Jacques Paris, secrétaire fédéral chargé du secteur international

======

Boston Teachers Union says it will block new evaluation system

The Boston Teachers Union notified the School Department today that it intends to block a unilateral implementation of a new teacher-evaluation system for this school year, the latest flashpoint in the increasingly contentious negotiations over a new contract.

In a letter to the School Department, the union’s attorney Matthew E. Dwyer said school officials lacked the legal authority to impose the new system on Sept. 4 without reaching an agreement with the union.

“We are dismayed that BPS is abandoning the statutory process in favor of unilateral action,” Dwyer wrote.

If Sex Were Like Standardized Tests

 

http://www.smbc-comics.com/?id=2717

New DOE Policy? Force Top-Salary ATRs Into Schools for Death Sentence

This is the 2nd case I heard of a top salary teacher being sent back to a school with a principal who will put a target on their backs before they walk in the door. If you have info leave comments. I also sent it to the MORE chapter leader and delegate support group which has loads of experienced chapter leaders.

(If you are a CL or Delegate (or even not) or know some people have them send an email to more@morecaucusnyc.org and ask to be added to the CL listserve.)

An ATR just received a letter from the DOE stating that they were "assigning" her back to her original school. She doesn't know if this happened to other ATRs.

 

They (the DOE) are putting her in an ICT kindergarten class because she has a special ed license. Last year she worked at another school in a self contained special ed class, but the assignment was not permanent. The principal at this school does not want her there because she doesn't know her and she is at top salary (she could retire if she wished). She is afraid that this principal, who is not a nice person, is ready with a "U" rating before she even begins. This principal also wanted to know why she did not accept a permanent assignment at another former school a year ago  She has not formally accepted or turned down the position, but is concerned that she's damned if she does and damned if she doesn't. She has been given no other choice.The UFT has been no help to her in the past and she is reluctant to contact them again so I thought I would run this by you. . Doesn't an ATR have the prerogative of accepting a placement or not, just as a principal can let an ATR go? I don't know what the current "rules" are for assignments. If you have any ideas of how she should proceed or to whom she can go, it would be most appreciated.

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

Will Randi and AFT Join Rahm Emanuel in End Run Around Chicago Teachers Union?

Emanuel to use "senior people" [from AFT?] to negotiate ---- or is this a red herring attempt coming from Emanuel camp to sow divisions between local and national?

Early next week, sources said the mayor plans to step it up a notch by having a "second level of negotiations with more senior people" away from the same cast of characters currently at the bargaining table.

The second tier of negotiations is likely to include Beth Swanson, Emanuel's point person on education, and " someone from Washington, D.C., who is a more moderate, outside senior level" expert capable of "driving this home," sources said.

"People who've been in those meetings for weeks have war wounds. It's hard to break through that," the Emanuel confidant said.  --- Chicago Sun Times

Given some history of how the UFT and AFT have acted in the past this is certainly believable. And so it begins. What is a second tier of negotiations that doesn't include "People who've been in those meetings for weeks have war wounds"?

Yeah, war wounds. People who have been chopped to bit and won't take it anymore. And who could this be? "someone from Washington, D.C., who is a more moderate, outside senior level" expert capable of "driving this home."

People who are more moderate. Randi? Leo? They can explain to the CTU that they can't win and should compromise. Watch this one very closely.

Chicago Mayor Emanuel to 'ratchet up' his role in preventing teachers strike

http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/14682523-418/mayor-emanuel-to-ratchet-up-his-role-in-preventing-teachers-strike.html

Mayor Emanuel to 'ratchet up' his role in preventing teachers strike
BY FRAN SPIELMAN City Hall Reporter fspielman@suntimes.com August 24, 2012 1:02AM

Mayor Rahm Emanuel, pictured Thursday at an unrelated event, is preparing to 'ratchet up' teacher negotiations in a bid to get schools to start on time. | Brian Jackson~Sun Times

Schools to start on time; union won't file strike notice today

Updated: August 24, 2012 8:25AM

Mayor Rahm Emanuel is preparing to "ratchet up" negotiations with the Chicago Teachers Union to seal a deal needed to guarantee an on-time Sept. 4 opening of Chicago Public Schools and preserve his signature plan for a longer school day and year, City Hall sources said Thursday.

"He owns this anyway, and he's gonna need to ratchet it up to close it," said a mayoral confidant, who asked to remain anonymous.

Emanuel is already visiting several schools a day to drive home the point that 140,000 kids have already started school and cannot be left in the lurch by a teachers strike.

Early next week, sources said the mayor plans to step it up a notch by having a "second level of negotiations with more senior people" away from the same cast of characters currently at the bargaining table.

The second tier of negotiations is likely to include Beth Swanson, Emanuel's point person on education, and "someone from Washington, D.C., who is a more moderate, outside senior level" expert capable of "driving this home," sources said.

"People who've been in those meetings for weeks have war wounds. It's hard to break through that," the Emanuel confidant said.

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

Defend the Harbor School From Charter Invasion at Public Hearing Aug. 30

This came in from Harbor PTA president May Taliaferrow, one of the former charter parents who was so eloquent in our film.

Check out what Lisa North (MORE/GEM/ICE) said about charters at a recent hearing.

Support the Culture of New York Harbor School, share this link with Friends and relatives and other parents that may not be on the P.T.A Site.http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/supportnyharborschool/

Currently our students attend school peacefully on the Island, a charter school hearing is scheduled for August 30th, for a charter school to be co-located immediately next to our school.

This school will be a middle school (6th graders) and presents potential conflicts for our children, especially since the it is a zero tolerance school.

If you cannot attend and speak out at the meeting please sign our petition, all comments are welcomed.

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/supportnyharborschool/

If you can attend the Public Hearing  August 30th :

LOCATION: 333 7th Avenue , District 2 Office , 7th Floor New York NY10001

Speaker Sign IN : 5:30 PM

May Taliaferrow

P.T.A President NY Harbor School

"A spirited mind never stops within itself; it is always aspiring and going beyond its strength." -- Montaigne

What If Parents and Teachers Call for Publishing of Tests

I've requested to see my son's fourth grade ELA test, responses and item scores. --- a nyc parent

If I am to be held accountable as a teacher based on a test, I want that test in the public domain. --- a nyc teacher

Parents and children protest at PearsoPinsin NYC, June 2012

 What an idea that has been floating around. To request the materials. And if they don't give them, then go to court. How can they rate a teacher based on materials that may be flawed? Every parent we can get involved and every teacher should be asking for copies of the tests.

Here are some emails from parents and teachers:

No agency of the government has the right to compel a minor child to perform *any* task the results of which a parent is not allowed to witness. Quite aside from the fact that denying access to a test after it's taken means it can have no educational value for the child, our fundamental right as parents to oversee all aspects of our children's upbringing is violated by keeping the tests secret. All parents whose children did take the standardized tests should demand to see them.

Note that the state-mandated academic tests are quite different from voluntarily taken psychological tests, for example, whose exact contents are not revealed to patients in order to preserve the integrity of research. Such tests are never forced on children against the wishes of parents.

They are also completely different from tests like the SAT, taken voluntarily by children who are almost of age and already assuming
responsibilities like driving (and therefore able to judge for themselves whether the benefits of taking the test outweigh the disadvantage to them of not being able to review the results in detail), and different from professional licensing exams, entered into voluntarily by full-fledged adults. In all these cases there is no coercion.

---------------

Parents need to see that the material being used to judge and punish children, teachers, and schools is complete and utter trash. Poorly written, dull, confusing, inane "passages" on the ELA test. Deliberately confusing, awkwardly worded, "trick"y math problems. I imagine a flood of requests would gum up the works, but I'm curious to see how high up the burden goes. Will it inconvenience the school administration or the state ed department?

----------------

What parent is not interested in seeing how their child "performed" on this overly determinative test?   Im interested both for him and on behalf of his incredible fourth grade ELA teacher. My son certainly decreased her value added score this year and he had the best ELA year ever, creating work (for the first time) that sugnificantly moved him in the direction that I value: a rigorous, critical and impassioned thinker and writer.

UPDATE: Read a similar commentary from a NYC teacher and parent:
http://lkell00.blogspot.com/2012/08/join-anti-testing-movement-why-high.html

News From an ATR

I just got this from one of the ATRs on the GEMATR listserve (which you can join by sending an email to gemnyc@gmail.com.

I just want to put it out there especially for the ATRs-  a very reliable higher up told my fellow ATR that guidance counselors will be moving around to different schools each week starting the new school year.  If this is true, they will not be held to different standards as the teachers although nothing has been said about ATR secretaries and ATR paras.  My fellow ATR met two ATR paras and  they did not move around.

Secondly, this ATR was told by the HR people at the network that they do not care about teachers teaching out of license- Licensure is not important- seems only salary is.  So, I was thinking a good thing to get out to the public is that parents check the licenses of their children’s teachers.  If there are problems, we should file a complaint at someone in DOE- at least a paper trail would be in place.

 

Thirdly,  the reliable higher up  mentioned that the network organization will go back to boroughs in January,  Thus, this shuffling of network leaders into principal positions.  Not sure what this reorganization would look like. Would all these network leaders be part of the ATR pool?

 

Just some info.

 

Have a good rest of the day.

Also see Chaz' post on ATRs: Mayor Bloomberg Can Minimize Layoffs Of City Workers By Placing ATRs In All Existing Vacancies)

 

and the great stuff from

EXCESS'D - A Teacher Without a Room

They're Already Here!

And the 4 part saga (so far) of Mr. Letgo. Here is the link to

Excessed Part 4

 

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

E4E Buys Its Way Into Schools Using Tweed Contacts

A NYC Principal says: [E4E] is a very dangerous, corporate sponsored bunch of anti union elitists.  Most of them are not committed to staying in a classroom and actually teaching kids which is what this business is really all about. 

How much help is Tweed giving E4E in spreading their message?

They have organized "in school" networking events such as bringing in breakfast or lunch for an entire school staff and they facilitate focus groups on pertinent topics. ---- former network official

The email below was sent out by a retired high level official with a network to a list of principals in the network -- see list of schools below so you can be aware if they show up. Warn your principal of who these people are and what their intentions are. Or just print out the wonderful response of this principal.

ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!!
-------  I love you. This group,  however, is a very dangerous, corporate sponsored bunch of anti union elitists.  Most of them are not committed to staying in a classroom and actually teaching  kids which is what this business is really all about.

I do not wish to receive any more emails about this.  I also STRONGLY encourage everyone I work with and / or represent to do their own  research into this organization.  I am sure these two ladies are lovely and first class educators but however well intentioned they are they are working for a group that will undermine and destroy everything unions have worked to obtain for our communities...

Count me out on this one IN CAPITAL LETTERS!!!!

With much love,

Principal x

I received the email from multiple sources who object to the E4E message. One said that the person who sent it is a sweetheart and is just being duped by E4E.

Here are some of the schools whose principals were sent the email:

(14K110), (02M529), (20K445), (13K046), (14K250), (15K131), (13K044), (15K261), (15K094), (14K031), (02M489), (32K086), (14K132), (31R450),(13K509), (14K319), (15K088), (17K544), (17K352), (20K227), (32K383), (14K582), (32K403), (03M076), (17K394), (02M580), (14K059), (14K050), (05M154), (15K443), (16K308), (14K071), (13K133), (02M408), (16K040)

Note how E4E gains entry to schools by bringing in food for the entire staff and even being allowed to run events in the school. Imagine if NYCORE or MORE or GEM tried to gain entry to talk about focus issues.

I'm sure all these groups would join with the UFT in getting all our people in the schools to urge their colleagues to reject the E4E message.

The UFT seems to be OK with this but just watch during the election when MORE tries to get into schools to campaign.

Here is the original email from the retired network leader.

In my daily travels I often meet people who I think are really committed to public education and developing school communities. Recently I met with Lauren Goldberg and Courtney Morgan from Educators 4 Excellence <http://www.educators4excellence.org/>  (E4E).(I do not work for this organization. After meeting them I did become a member of the group) Their organization works to ensure that the voices of educators are included in the decisions that affect our profession and our students.  E4E hosts weekly events for individual schools and large monthly events for educators from across the city.  Lauren and Courtney collaborate with Principals in many ways. They have organized "in school" networking events such as bringing in breakfast or lunch for an entire school staff and they facilitate focus groups on pertinent topics. They also host larger events, like speakers, panel discussions, and movie screenings. Principals often accompany their staff to these events and then continue the conversation back at their schools. There is no charge for participation. Lauren and Courtney would love to meet to discuss all the opportunities. They can be reached at LGoldberg@educators4excellence.org or CMorgan@educators4excellence.org and at (212) 279-8510  ex. 18.  They look forward to hearing from you!

Fondly,

---------

---------------

E4E: New York Advance Screening of "Won't Back Down"!

Location:

TBD

When:
Thursday, Sep 13 06:00PM

Duration:
3 Hours

Description:
Join us for an advance screening of the new movie, "Won't Back Down".  There will be a panel discussion following the screening.

Cute Cat Pics

You'd have to torture me to get me to admit exactly how much time I spend observing and playing with cats. So, what happens when your kitten is now 10 months old and a close friend and neighbor from a few blocks away was feeding a cat family of 3 -- mom, a male and a female, now known as Penny the Runt. Yes, we took it so now we have two.

Now of course, Bernie, a solid black cat who we found as a 5 week old in a bush on a divider on E. 17th St. just off Foster Ave. a few nights before Halloween, is now big and king of the hill, even though only 10 months old. I don't think Bernie even remembered what another cat looked like while Penny who was estimated at 3 months old but was a tiny, rickety size of a 2 month old because she had to fifht her double size brother for food, is a feral cat.

Bringing 2 strange cats together requires the highest level of diplomacy worthy of middle east negotiations. Over the past 3 weeks there has been some growling and spitting from Bernie, none of which fazed Penny, which totally confuses Bernie.

Here was a milestone I captured on Friday. Really, I could do this all day (and I often do).

MORE Chicago Solidarity Update

Thursday  night there was a great turnout for the MORE Chicago Solidarity event -- SRO.

See Sean Ahern's report at Substance.
http://www.substancenews.net/articles.php?page=3533&section=Article

And I'm editing a video of the event which I will put up.

Some brief numbers:  around a hundred  attendees...over $650 raised for CTU solidarity fund (contribute here if you haven't already)... 

Kim Bowsky and Al Ramirez on Skype

Sean proudly wears the CTU shirt

Here's more on the Chicago story:

Chicago teachers hold practice strikes (video and story) at HuffPo.

Members of the Chicago Teachers Union hold an informational picket outside Willa Cather Elementary School, calling attention to ongoing contract talks with the Board of Education on Monday, Aug. 20, 2012 in Chicago. The union says it is still trying to reach an agreement on wages, health benefits, and job security. (AP Photo/Sitthixay Ditthavong)

Here is a good report from Fred Klonsky:

CTU’s ten-day strike notice

When the House of Delegates of the Chicago Teachers Union met yesterday at Lane Tech, they voted to file a ten-day strike notice. CTU President Karen Lewis told the reporters in the parking lot next to Lane that the leadership was given authority to choose the date of a strike if one becomes necessary.
I think the vote sends three messages:

• It is a legal requirement.
• It puts pressure on the board, CEO JC Brizard and, of course, Rahm Emanuel.
• It says that the interim agreement, signed several weeks ago on the longer school day, is not working as promised.

Frankly, when I read the interim agreement I took note that it did not specifically say that the teachers that were to be rehired were to be music, art or PE teachers. It seemed to me then that the agreement required and would be a sign of whether there was honest intent on the part of the board and the Mayor.
That question has been answered in the negative.
If the longer day was to be a better day, than CPS has had ample time to demonstrate that with the opening of E-track schools.
Lewis made clear that the board has failed.

Lewis gave a litany of grievances at this morning’s press conference including that the interim agreement on a longer school day has not meant a “better day” but instead was rolled out “haphazardly and ridiculously.” For example, part of the deal is that CPS would give jobs to 477 recently laid off teachers. But the union says they are in the dark about this hiring process.

CPS is also allegedly ignoring matters dear to CTU like a reduction in class size and a desire for more social workers. “We have in this city 400,000 children and 370 social workers,” Lewis says. “No one in the city should think this is tolerable.”

http://youtu.be/j7QGOzfEL4w

Wed Aug 22, 2012 at 12:40 PM PDT

Tea Party Opportunist Attacks Chicago Teachers for Exposing His Anti-Union Work with Mayor

 

 

Ravitch Suggests Dem Convention Screen "The Inconvenient Truth Behind Waiting for Superman" Instead of "Won't Back Down"

Which film do you think the UFT is boycotting? "Won't Back Down" or "The Inconvenient Truth Behind Waiting for Superman"?

What wonderful symmetry! Both the Republican and Democrats showing "Won't Back Down" at their conventions as we reported here (Democrats (and Republicans) to Show Parent Trigger Movie at Convention) and Diane Ravitch reports: You Can See “WBD” at Dem Convention Too.

Now Diane has a great suggestion (though she gets the exact title wrong - which I corrected):

The Film That Should Be Screened at Dem Convention

by dianerav

When the Democrats hold their national convention, this is the film that should be shown:

During the Democratic Convention, I'd like to be invited to a viewing of the documentary, The Inconvenient Truth About Waiting for Superman. I'd like to see a similar panel of Democrats speaking afterward against privatization of our public schools and on behalf of teachers and students.

What a great idea! "The Inconvenient Truth Behind Waiting for Superman" was produced by teachers and parents in New York City.

It was made by the Grassroots Education Movement, whose symbol is an RR (Real Reformers).

Can anyone out there set up a screening for real Democrats who support public education and oppose privatization?

Here is the invite for "Won't Back Down". If you just happen to be in Charlotte.

http://www.studentsfirst.org/page/s/dnc-signup

Join Us for a Screening of Won't Back Down at the DNC

You and your guests are cordially invited to a pre-screening of Won't Back
Down at the Democratic National Convention sponsored by Democrats for
Education Reform, Parent Revolution and StudentsFirst. The film will be
followed by a panel discussion with Michelle Rhee, Ben Austin, Joe Williams, Mayor Kevin Johnson and others.

Where: EpiCentre Theaters - 210 E. Trade St., Charlotte, NC 28202
Date: September 3, 2012
Time: 1:00 - 3:00pm

Social Networking - with FDR

I wore my FDR button at the Chicago solidarity event (Why Support Chicago Teachers at MORE event Thursday?) and someone told me "FDR was not your friend."

FDR was the worst president in history. -- A former leftist, now a right wing ideologue supporting the efforts to bring down every aspect of the New Deal.

In case you think putting out this crap is all I do, I actually have a social life. Sort of. Let's see now, what did I do recently? Oh yeah, we went with another couple on a day trip to FDR's home in Hyde Park, about a 2 and a half hour drive. I was glad to put my 2 month old Honda CRV with its cool nav system on the open road.

I wore my FDR button at the Chicago solidarity event (Why Support Chicago Teachers at MORE event Thursday?) and someone told me "FDR was not your friend." Well, we could certainly use FDR right now -- remember when he laughed in the faces of the Republican critics who were so similar to the right wing clowns we have today. And the Dems are not much better.

When Obama was elected I wrote in this article (Election Whoopee)
right around election time:

Will Obama turn out to be a great president or a failure? An FDR or a Herbert Hoover, who had an even lower approval rating than W? It could go either way. When you think of great presidents, they seem to emerge only in times of crisis. Think there are just a few lurking? FDR ran for president with a very different agenda than he ended up enacting due to desperate times. He showed the kind of flexibility that was needed. Policies that had a major impact for generations. 

Oy! Who would've thunk it? Well, I did write in that article:

The only thing we have to fear is fear of Obama's dependence on the same old, same old Clinton people, who come out of places like Goldman Saks when we need some truly radical thinking. Bill Ayres, where are you when we need you?

 Double Oy!! Not the only think I guess. One thing I didn't expect: the total Obama assault on public education.

Well, after spending a day last Tuesday immersed in FDR stuff and comparing him to the political dreck we have out there today, I'm sorry, but I'll take FDR right now.

This is the last known photo of FDR standing on his own at a boyscout camp in New Jersey which is where he probably contracted polio which paralyzed him a week later. The year was 1921.

A very nice garden holds the gravesite.




 

Gotta run to the gym and get ready for a 5:30 wedding today but will be back later with cute cat/kitten pics. Did I tell you how much time I spend just watching and playing with cats?

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

Eva Moskowitz' Harlem Success Academy Trashes School Books and Supplies

Neethgie Ohfour on Facebook
http://bit.ly/HarlemSuccessAcademythrowsawaysnewbooksandsupplies

What a waste! While nearby schools and children's organizations budgets are cut and are struggling to survive. Harlem Success Academy on117th and 118th on Malcolm X Blvd. in Harlem is throwing away tons of new books and school supplies today. It is sad that they would not donate these needed resources to other schools and organizations in the neighborhood.

Luckily neighborhood children and parents were able to dig through the discarded educational material and grab valuable supplies. 

One child said she found almost all the school supplies she needed for September-pencils, paper,markers, gluesticks, rulers - even a new Harlem Success drawstring bookbag! New math, reading and science books, new clipboards, notebooks, science supplies, scissors were thrown away. Paper, art supplies, furniture, pc cables, wifi routers, looseleaf notebooks, folders, reading lamps, globes, maps pens, markers and many other new items were also discarded. 

Eva Moskowitz, the founder of the school just asked for more money per child, from $1350 to $2000 for her school. I guess she can afford to throw away new supplies. As of 10pm they were still throwing things out. If you are looking for school supplies, I suggest you get out there tonight between 117th closer to Lenox Ave. . Shame on you Success Academy. I guess you are doing better than we thought with charter schools.

Democrats (and Republicans) to Show Parent Trigger Movie at Convention

The Democratic Party has committed the gravest of insults by permitting Rhee's Astroturf group to air the parent trigger film "Won't Back Down" at the Democratic National Convention. SHAME!

Check out my post on StudentsFirst's September 3 screening of the film at the convention.

And: Rhee has also advised Republican Governor Rick Scott:

see how she has advised Republican governor Rick Scott.

No surprised that DFER's Joe Williams, the charter school promoter, is there for the DNC screening of "Won't Back Down."

From:  NY_I has left a comment on your post "Parent Trigger in Adelanto, CA":

Below I have links to Schmidt and Strauss.
In particular for Valerie: It’s really about the principals
Yes it is about principals and on the whole you can't get much worse than NYC.
 Three ed reforms parents should worry about most -- 
One of the great principals Carol Burris is at it again. What a voice for all of us ( and don't forget how Leo Casey attacked her.)

And Rita Solnet: ‘Won’t Back Down’: Realities the movie ignores
 
Substance and Strauss links below the break.

Worth Reading: Charters, Chicago, Tenure, Testing

Lisa North reports: A rep from the NYC Charter School Center came up after and asked why NO UFT reps EVER come to these meetings! As I was walking away I realized it was because they can't talk against charters as they SUPPORT them! I think it is time for the UFT to have a different position on charter schools. They could say that they have run their own charter schools. From that experience they have learned that there is NO silver bullet to improve student learning. It takes resources to help struggling students like smaller class sizes, programs for parents, social supports for students and families, in school intervention programs, and high quality after school and summer programs, to name just a few. The UFT could call for a stop to all new charters and instead for the resources to be used for our struggling public schools. No one is blaming the current charter school teachers who mostly want to help students, it is just that the charter school experiment has NOT worked.

----Lisa North presented the case against charter schools, and for fully funding public education, at a hearing in Brooklyn on Tuesday -- reprint from the ICE blog.

Lisa works with GEM/ICE/MORE. James Eterno posted her complete report on the ICE blog:  TEACHER ACTIVIST LISA NORTH SPEAKS OUT AGAINST CHARTER SCHOOLS

Tuesday Lisa did the work the UFT should be doing. Really, that is why MORE/ICE/GEM/NYCORE exist -- to pick up what falls off the back of the UFT truck.

I could do a list of great stuff to read every day but there are people like Larry Ferlazzo doing an amazing job at Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day and also his best of 2012 so far.  I recently started checking Larry's work out and you can spend all day following the links.

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BREAKING from New York City Eye
8/22/12: CTU House of Delegates OKs Lewis Give 10 Day Strike Notice Capping a Week of Nasty Leaks From CPS
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Ed Notes is an education blog (duh!) but I don't have to worry about doing all the educating (that sounds arrogant -- I prefer "sharing").

Jim Callaghan Says Weingarten Suspended Him Without Pay When He Circulated Pro-Obama information in 2008

Jim Callaghan, former NY Teacher ace investigator commented at NYC Public School Parents on this post:

Jim writes with some irony here, given that I bet lots of teachers probably would have preferred Hillary and in retrospect think Randi was right, but I'll let you draw your own conclusions:

Is Randi Weingarten of the American Federation of Teachers going to lend Obama a hand like she did in 2008?

She suspended me for two days without pay on Election Day, 2008, because I had distributed a pro-Obama article to about 100 United Federation of Teachers staffers via email- something I and others routinely did.

The article was written by Larry Hanley, now president of the Amalgamated Transit Union in D.C. and was about why whites should not be afraid to vote for Obama. He based his piece on the 1989 Dinkins for Mayor campaign, which I co-managed on Staten Island. We got a mainly white union Local to endorse DInkins and to hit the streets for him.

Hanley called me "one of the keenest minds in New York City."

I distributed because it had been part of my job to be on the lookout for such press clips and also because several of my co-workers said they were sending it to their undecided friends in toss up states. One founder of the union (from 1960) emailed me a letter of praise.

Weingarten, who was still bitter that Obama defeated Hillary Clinton, hit the roof and ordered five of her top bosses to call me to a two-hour meeting on Election Day to suspend me -all without due process that Weingarten is always whining about (for teachers -not her staff).

Weingarten also prevented her 150,000 members from voting on the 2008 race.
She had internal polling showing that Obama was the clear favorite but she announced the UFT endorsement before any member voted!

The members never had a chance.

My suspension was the FIRST time in the history of the union that a staffer was punished for doing his/her job about press clips or for letting UFT officers read something about a UFT- endorsed candidate.

She did the same thing to other black candiates: Bill Thompson for mayor in 2009; (she sat out the Bloomberg-Thompson race because he allegedly told her he was going to use public monies to bribe her with two, four per cent raises in return for her silence. Four years later, the members are still waiting for the raises.

She knifed state comptroller Carl McCall for New York governor (she endorsed Pataki, the right wing Republican) and Latino Freddy Ferrer for mayor in 2001- the clear choice of the membership after he received a rousing standing ovation from 20,000 members at Madsion Square Garden. She, not the members, backed her close friend City Controller Alan Hevesi- who is now in jail for looting a pension fun.

Weingarten also fired four consecutive black female writers; one of them won an NLRB case, was awarded $150,000 and got her job back. Weingarten was trying to break the union.

She also admitted to a group of UFT leaders that she had passed over a black man, Ron Davis, "too many times" for press secretary.
-Jim Callaghan

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

Pearson’s plan to control education

Susan Ohanian included this in her daily update:

Don't miss the research on Pearson's intent to conquer the world. This research was commissioned by the British Columbia Teachers Federation. Where are our unions? The AFT is making model lessons for the Common Core.
http://www.susanohanian.org/show_research.php?id=494

Pearson’s plan to control education
Donald Gutstein
Report to the BC Teachers Federation
2012-06-30
http://susanohanian.org/show_research.php?id=494

Read this Report to the BC Teachers Federation. It is thorough; it is scary. It is critical information.

And here is some good news from Susan:

Schools That Change Communities

Susan Notes:

Schools That Change Communities a film by Bob Gliner 58 minutes Watch the trailer and order the film here
by Susan Ohanian
Rejoice. Here's a film about good things happening in schools.
A celebration of place-based education, Bob Gliner's film will lift your hearts--and your will to combat the regimented, standardized offal that Bill Gates has bought for the schools.
From primary graders in the Mattapan section of Boston learning about their neighborhoods to high schoolers in Watsonville, California documenting their community, these kids don't have to ask, "Why am I learning this?" They know. And so do their communities, which become such a vital part of the education exchange. That's the whole point, really, getting schoolkids connected in very real ways to their communities.
When high schoolers in Howard, South Dakota decided to take on the issue of getting people to spend money at home rather than traveling elsewhere, one girl wrote Senator Daschle for help. Everybody was amazed that he came in person. What astonished the student was "He took the time to listen."
It's a poignant moment, one I replayed several times. Students aren't used to anybody listening.
The whole school reform movement could be turned on end if people would listen more. Really listen.
People in Howard, South Dakota took the students' words to heart--because all the subject area teachers participated in this place-based learning effort to reinvigorate the town. And some of the results turn out to be "cutting edge" technology.
In Cottage Grove, Oregon, students at Kennedy Alternative High School are involved in the sustainability of the surrounding environment, and in Watsonville, California they are interviewing people in the town--migrant workers, the Salvation Army, the mayor, and lots of others--trying to learn about the economic problems and what they can do. As one student says, "There is a problem and we need to help fix it."
Cottage Grove students spend a few days out in the field and this experience energizes their studies back in the classroom. As an administrator says, "These studies aren't easier; they're different." So when students are learning math skills through their work on a wetland mitigation project, they see real problems, not just textbook math problems.
A profound comment made in Watsonville, where 50% of the population do not have high school diplomas: Teachers discover they have a voice ... seeing themselves as people who can effect change in the system.
And how many teachers do you know who have said that lately?
"The neighborhood" is a common curriculum theme for primary graders, but in Mattapan children learn that "a neighborhood is not just where we live." Learning about civic engagement and "not to be a bystander" is an essential part of the pedagogy. Children interview adults, learning that "everybody has a story." At the end of the year the children create a professional quality radio program.
This film is about how schools can--and should--be critical parts of the surrounding communities. It is about students and teachers learning they have value. It is about students and teachers getting up from their desks and doing important work.
My advice is to buy two copies of this film, one for your local school board and one for your PTA. Write a letter to your local paper, advocating that they see the film as a first step to getting place-based learning in your community.
Write and tell members of the House and Senate Education Committees about it. We have schools doing good things, and this film highlights a few of them.

— Susan Ohanian, film review
docmakeronline.com

http://www.docmakeronline.com/schoolsthatchangecommunities.html

AFT innovation Priorities Show Feet Firmly Planted in the World of Ed Deform

Including merit pay, a longer day, common core, time during the day for data analysis and if you dig a little, all sorts of other goodies lurking behind ed deform.
Instead of redefining the debate into terms that would involve real learning, we get this.

Download the pdf below and leave any comments as you parse.
http://www.aft.org/pdfs/about/
IF_priorities2012.pdf

In case you think we have it bad here. Coming soon?

Lois Weiner

9:53am Aug 22

From Bogota, Colombia where I'm teaching for a few weeks: The Colombian teachers union is preparing a two-day strike for early September. Their primary demand is to push the government to stop the death threats (and assassinations, of which there have been many) against teachers.

Why Support Chicago Teachers at MORE event Thursday?

If you don't see the Chicago Teachers Union battle against all the forces arrayed against them as a seminal event in not only teacher union history, but in the entire labor movement, you are missing an essential point. Yes, Virginia, the success for failure of the CTU if they should strike will affect every single teacher here in NYC and nationally. Full information is a key ingredient for an active union and unionists.

Parent Trigger in Adelanto, CA

How did the Parent Trigger law originate?  The Parent Trigger was first conceived by a LA-based organization called the Parent Revolution, founded by a charter school operator and funded by the Broad, Walton and Gates Foundations.  The legislation was introduced in California by then-State Senator Gloria Romero, who now heads the California branch of the pro-privatization organization, Democrats for Education Reform. ------ NYC Parents Blog (FAQ re the movie “Won’t Back Down” and the Parent Trigger)

With the publicity surrounding "Won't Back Down" parent trigger laws are in the news. This story from Adelanto Ca will prove to be a hot one. As Leonie points out above, these are not grassroots movements as depicted in the film, which turns it into science fiction. While I pointed out in my recent post that I at times have mixed feelings about local bureaucracies (Supporters of Parent Trigger Film "Won't Back Down" Come Under Attack), I found myself rooting for the Adelanto school board in this one.

UPDATE: Aug. 22, 10PM from Ravitch:

President of the Adelanto School Board Challenges “Parent Revolution”

A few facts about this one, again from Leonie:

operatives trained and paid by the Parent Revolution urged parents at the Desert Trails School in Adelanto CA to sign two different petitions: one calling for smaller classes and other positive reforms, the other demanding that the school be turned over to a charter operator.  After the organizers submitted only the charter petition to the authorities, nearly 100 parents asked to withdraw their signatures.  Yet a judge has ruled that parents could not rescind their signatures and the conversion to a charter school should go forward. Even Gloria Romero, the author of the Parent Trigger law, has criticized the organization’s tactics, and said that presenting Adelanto parents with two different petitions to sign was “needlessly confusing.” 

So when it turns out that enough parents were manipulated into signing a petition where they were asked if they wanted to lower class sizes but found out they were being used to trigger a charter and then wanted their names removed which would have untriggered the trigger, the judge ruled against them. But the school board may have done an end run around the push for the school to be replaced by a charter. From Charters and Choice blog

California 'Parent-Trigger' Effort Thrown Back Into Turmoil

A California school board has approved a plan to restructure a school at the center of a closely watched "parent-trigger" dispute, but it's not the plan that a group of parents wanted—and it's not the plan they say a judge ordered put in place.
The Adelanto, Calif., school board voted Friday to accept a petition circulated by a group of parents seeking to become the first in the country to use a parent-trigger law to overhaul an academically struggling school. But the panel rejected the parents' preferred option, which was to convert Desert Trails Elementary into a charter school, the board's president, Carlos Mendoza, told Education Week in an e-mail. The board instead decided to move forward with a form of "alternate governance," he said, which would result in a longer school day, improved technology and other changes to the school.
But whether that plan will ever take effect is anything but certain.
The Adelanto board's actions drew an immediate, angry reaction from the parents seeking to change the school, who said the panel has run afoul of the letter of an court decision issued by a judge last month, which in their view clearly calls for the creation of a charter.
"They've violated the plain language of the order of the court," said Ben Austin, the executive director of Parent Revolution, a group that has helped the parents with the trigger effort. "The district seems to want to hold onto power, no matter what. ... There is no ambiguity about the judge's order."

How nice to see Ben Austin vexed. He will go back to court to force the charter on parents who choose not to have a charter. Now note this big lie in the article to make it appear that parent triggers are a slam dunk without mentioning that Florida turned it down.

A growing number of states have either approved or considered parent-trigger laws, policies that typically allow parents to revamp the operations, leadership, and personnel at academically struggling schools, if a majority of parents agree to those changes. Lawmakers aren't the only ones drawn to the idea. A movie titled "Won't Back Down," which tells the story of a fictionalized attempt at a school takeover, will be released next month.

[Superintendent] Mendoza pointed to the language of the judge's order, saying that school board has done nothing to interfere with allowing the parents to begin sorting through charter school proposals. "We have never stopped them from soliciting applications," he wrote to Education Week. The board simply voted to pursue another option, he said.
"I believe that the alternative governance is closer to what the Desert Trails Parent Union [has] been claiming to want than a charter school," Mendoza argued. The parents "now have a choice," he said. "They can partner with the district through the alternate governance plan and transform the school or they can continue to partner with Parent Revolution to further rob our kids with lawsuits."
Austin, however, scoffed at the board's reasoning, saying the judge had been clear that the school is to be converted to a charter.

Ben Austin wants parent choice, as long as it's limited to charters.

The school board took an option that Leonie point to:

But are there other ways to provide better “choices” for parents?  There are many ways that districts can provide more and better choices within the public school system, by creating magnet schools and specialized schools that unlike charters, do not drain resources from public schools, privatize public buildings or take decisions out of voters’ hands. Why should a public school built with taxpayer funds be given to a private corporation just because 51% of current users signed a petition?  If a local firehouse was ineffective in putting out fires, or a police station in fighting crime, would we choose to hand these public services over to a private company, or would we demand that our elected leaders improve them?

Leonie gives us some more history:

The first time the “parent trigger” was tried, Parent Revolution sent operatives into Compton CA, to ask parents to sign a petition saying that their local elementary school should be turned into a charter school. Some parents who signed the petition later said they been misled,  the effort was mired in lawsuits and ultimately fizzled. 

What does the Parent Trigger law call for?  If 51% of parents at a school can be persuaded to sign a petition calling for any of a narrow set of options – either firing all the teaching staff, closing the school, or privatizing the school by turning it over to a charter operator, this must occur.  None of these options has any track record of success.

How did the Parent Trigger law originate?  The Parent Trigger was first conceived by a LA-based organization called the Parent Revolution, founded by a charter school operator and funded by the Broad, Walton and Gates Foundations.  The legislation was introduced in California by then-State Senator Gloria Romero, who now heads the California branch of the pro-privatization organization, Democrats for Education Reform.  

How can we fight back?  Last spring, Florida parent groups, including Parents Across America, banded together to fight Parent Trigger legislation that had been introduced in the state legislature. By holding rallies and press conferences, calling their elected representatives, and speaking out about how the Parent Trigger is a ruse devised by corporate reformers to benefit charter operators rather than children, Florida parents prevented the legislation from being passed. 

Parents Union support the movie

A website, developed by The Protea Group Inc. called Parents for "Won't Back Down" supports the movie. Website is sponsored by:

Connecticut Parents Union, New York City Parents Union, Ohio Parents Union & the Texas Parents Union

Website Developed & Administered by The Protea Group Inc.

If you follow the links you will find direct and indirect attack on Leonie Haimson and Parents Across America.

Gwen Samuel, President of the Connecticut Parents Union closes her press release with this statement where she accuses people opposing the movie with trying to bully parents.

So, again, I ask, what is the big fuss and why would anyone bully parents to not watch a movie that will inspire parents to be more active in their child’s educational journey?

Oh, la di da, it's only a movie - and I neglected to mention that the movie is backed by the very people attacking teachers, unions and public education. 

Really, who is doing the bullying here?