Tuesday, June 24, 2014

For Their Eyes Only - UFT Leadership Loves New Tone at Tweed -

UFT President Michael Mulgrew took a student awards ceremony Monday as a chance to praise the union’s partnership with the Department of Education. READ MORE -- Chalkbeat
Oh, the Unity/UFT leadership is qvelling like a pig in shit over the new tone at Tweed. You see, pre-Bloomberg, the UFT was part and parcel of running the DOE - partners in crime even if the teachers and kids and parents were getting screwed. All that changed with Joel Klein who shut them out completely. Their whining was all about them not having a say or access -- it wasn't about the rank and file at all.

So now they have access - and it's still not about the rank and file, especially those suffering under hundreds of bully principals, many out of the leadership academy. Farina won't address the issue and neither will the Unity/UFT leadership.  We'll get into specific cases in future posts.


Monday, June 23, 2014

PICNIC

Jia, moi, Gloria

What a nice afternoon at the MORE/CTS picnic.

Diana posted a batch of photos on fb: https://www.facebook.com/diana.zavala.50/media_set?set=a.10203290341072258.1021851444&type=3

Wednesday evening CTS is going on a Korea town eating binge led by Jia Lee, who will be heading home to California to her parents place outside LA for the summer -- and she will be joining us at the AFT convention. Parteeeee. 

Beating the Tweed Bureaucarcy? Do an End Run - Small Schools Athletic League WINS -

This just in from Dave Rosen after what must have been a successful rally today (All Kids Deserve Right to Play Sports - Rally Monday for Small Schools Athletic League).

For background read previous Ed Notes coverage (NYC Teacher David Garcia-Rosen Battles) on how Tweed/PSAL bureaucrats did little to assist the small high schools without sports teams, while Dave took action. Instead of supporting the League, they offered Dave a job, figuring that ought to shut him up. It didn't.
Dear Students, Coaches, Administrators, and Allies,

Comments From the Steps of City Hall Today 

Thank you Council Member Andy King and thank you to all the coaches, student-athletes, administrators, elected officials, and community allies who have worked so hard on behalf of our student-athletes.

This is a historic day for the student athletes of New York City and the future of high school athletics both here and across our nation. 

Mayor de Blasio and the City Council have made it clear with this budget that they will no longer accept a city where students go through our high schools without the opportunity to play high school sports.
This first of its kind investment is not simply an investment in sports, it is an investment in transforming the lives of our students through the power of sports.

The Mayor and City Council have provided the Small Schools Athletic League with the funding needed to continue building a high school sports program that is quickly becoming a model for the nation. The SSAL A PLUS model uses sports to turn drop outs into graduates, depressed students into leaders, and suspensions into celebrations.

New York City is now the first city to have a high school sports league that includes tutoring, mentoring, and life coaching for its student athletes. Our life coaches will work closely with our student-athletes to make sure their victories on the field, translate into victories off the field. They will make sure that all of our youth remember that they are a student first and an athlete second.

New York City is investing in a paradigm shifting sports league that uses sports to transform the lives of our most at risk students. The moments when traditional sports leagues kick students out, are the moments when we use sports to bring them back in.

Mayor de Blasio and the City Council have made it clear that High School sports in New York City will never be the same again. The High School Sports chapter of the tale of two cities is now on the fast track to being solved.

This is only the beginning and we will not stop fighting until every high school student in New York City has the right to play high school sports.

Thank you to the City Council! Thank You Mayor de Blasio! Thank You to all of our incredible allies in New York City and beyond. You saved the Small Schools Athletic League and you Let Them Play! 

Sincerely,#NYCLetEmPlay,
David Garcia-Rosen
Founder/Director Small Schools Athletic League
845-553-5626(C)    718-292-1372(F)

WWW.SSALSPORTS.ORG
 
Small Schools Athletic League
42 SMALL HIGH SCHOOLS, THOUSANDS OF STUDENT- ATHLETES,
ONE MISSION  
INTERSCHOLASTIC SPORTS OPPORTUNITIES FOR ALL STUDENTS IN NYC

Neo-Liberal Wayne Barrett, Pseudo-Progressive Anti-Union Charter School Lover

It's remarkable that someone as "progressive" as Barrett fails to comprehend the corporate influence on the modern Democratic party... NYC Educator
You sound like a shill for privatizers. I too am critical of the UFT for not advocating class size reduction and addressing poverty. .. but tenure is hardly the boogie man here, hence my skepticism. In Europe, especially Scandinavia, teachers enjoy tenure protections and hassle-free careers where they’re not observed in the scheme of relentless scrutiny that the UFT has agreed to. They have the most progressive systems on the planet. I know, I have been there many times to see firsthand. Yes the UFT is run by a corrupt political machine. And they have done more to advance what you think is needed. but anyone calling for the abolition of tenure or just gradually dismantling it as the UFT has been doing can't call themselves "progressive"... John Elfrank-Dana responding to Wayne Barrett anti-union diatribe

The most telling bit of information comes after his piece: Barrett is an investigative journalist. His wife is an aide to Gov. Cuomo. One of the things his wife, Fran Barrett, was put in charge of was Cuomo’s initiative to ensure that non-profit CEO’s don’t have salaries above $200K – esp. whose organizations that get more than 30% of their revenue from the state. Unfortunately, they never appeared to apply that rule to charter schools... comments on NYCEDNEWS listserve
Former Village Voice writer and charter school lover Wayne Barrett spent his 10 minutes in the classroom before becoming a so-called "investigative journalist" who can't seem to investigate why over 50% of the kids disappear in Eva's Success Academy and in the KIPP chain - See Gary Rubinstein: The time KIPP was booed off the stage at TFA:
[See below for the numbers -- maybe Wayne might bother to do a little investigating.]

Wayne (who has not been missed since he left the Voice), a self-described "progressive," joined the other whining neo-liberal ed deformers in attacking the UFT [leadership] - which of course he doesn't separate from the rank and file. Arthur took a nice shot at him:
NYC Educator Wayne Barrett Is Shocked, Shocked - It's important to Wayne Barrett that you know he is progressive. *I am a progressive, * How can you argue with that? After all, that's clear.
Barrett's piece is so inept it could qualify for one of those rotten strawberry awards they give to bad films. I met him twice -- at my childhood friend Marty Needelman's wedding in the 70s. Before that I worked with him and his wife Fran in the District 1 local school board election c. 1971 or 72. Supt Louis Fuentes was a target of the vicious UFT assault to remove him and radicals/liberals came out from under the woodwork to work in the campaign for Fuentes. So I guess I can get Barrett's anti-UFT stance. But how narrow can he get? Focusing his anti-UFT venom and directing it at teachers rather than a leadership with its own narrow agenda? Did the investigative journalist miss all the support the UFT gives to the charter movement, overt and covert, while at the same time trying to put up a militant face to the members that they have their backs.

Back to Arthur:
Wait a minute. Is Barrett stating that the United Federation of Teachers represents the interests of (gasp!) teachers? Now I'm shocked too! But what Barrett also does here is advance the meme that the interests of teachers are counter to those of students. Why aren't we out rallying for more work for less pay? After all, isn't that what the children of America need? Despite Barrett's boast of how amazingly progressive he is, teacher v. student is precisely the argument you'll hear from Michelle Rhee, Scott Walker, Jeb Bush, Bill Gates, Chris Christie, and virtually all other supporters of corporate reform.
I am shocked, just shocked that anyone actually would declare the UFT represents the interest of teachers.

Gary runs the numbers on KIPP below the break.

Sunday, June 22, 2014

The Wave - Memo From the RTC: Gypsy Update - They Call me Mr. Goldstone



Published in The Wave, Friday, June 20, 2014
(www.rockawave.com).


Memo From the RTC: Gypsy Update - They Call me Mr. Goldstone
By Norm Scott

I’m a process person – fascinated by the nuts and bolts that go into just about anything. I have a “how is it made” mentality. So getting beyond the surface of the dynamic productions at the RTC is quite a treat. At that rehearsal they were blocking a long scene and I don’t come in until the end, so I saw how the sausage is made when I attended a rehearsal last week of the Rockaway Theatre Company’s production of “Gypsy” opening July 18 and running for three weekends (plus a Thursday). Not being much of a theater person, but having seen “Gypsy” revivals on Broadway, I am still surprised when a song pops up at rehearsal that I’m familiar with. The most famous is "Everything's Coming up Roses" – with the memorable and overwhelming Ethel Merman voice belting it out. So I’m sitting at rehearsal when up pops this famous song to close Act 1. And Louisa Boyaggi, playing the lead – Rose - the Ethel Merman role - just lets it all go and we’re all sitting there in awe,  just wowed. And everyone suddenly breaks into spontaneous applause when she is done. And this is freak’n rehearsal in front of about 20 people – who have been involved in the play. Jeez, Louise(a), I got goose bumps. Still do when I think about it.

I’m learning lots of new theater words, like, “blocking.” I have a tiny part but had to be there to be “blocked” – how I enter the scene, where I stand in relation to others, etc. This process takes a lot of time and thought and working out kinks. When we see a play as a finished product we don’t appreciate the “choreography” that goes into making sure people don’t end up crashing into each other as they enter or exit a scene or as they careen around the stage. My turn came. Director Susan Corning gave me instructions. I play Mr. Goldstone, a booking agent for a chain of theaters. My job is to be led in, put into a chair and sit and look stone-faced while people sing, dance and hand me stuff. I don’t have to say a thing. My wife wants me to play Mr. Goldstone at home.

Wikipedia says: “Gypsy has been referred to as the greatest American musical by numerous critics and writers, among them Ben Brantley ("what may be the greatest of all American musicals...") and Frank Rich. Rich wrote that " Gypsy is nothing if not Broadway's own brassy, unlikely answer to 'King Lear.'" Theater critic Clive Barnes wrote that " 'Gypsy' is one of the best of musicals..." and described the character of Rose as "one of the few truly complex characters in the American musical.... It is frequently considered one of the crowning achievements of the mid-20th century's conventional musical theatre art form, often called the "book musical".

The 1959 play, starring Ethel Merman as “Rose”, the penultimate stage mom (with revivals starring amongst others, Angela Landsbury, Tyne Daly, Bernadette Peters, Patti Lupone with Rosalind Russell in the film version) is based on the memoirs of her daughter, Gypsy Rose Lee, who turned striptease into an art form (played in the RTC production by one if our faves, Kim Simek – I can’t wait to attend the striptease rehearsals). Just look at that list above of actresses playing Rose, one of the giant female leads in Broadway history. There were even rumors that Streisand was going to star in another film version, but that never came about. And here in Rockaway we have our own Louisa Boyaggi who can stand toe to toe with many of them.

Gypsy Preview at Fort Tilden Art Fair, June 29
The Wave reported there will be previews of Gypsy plus more RTC activities as part of this gala event, maybe some even outdoors.  I’ll leave it to our fearless leader, Susan Jasper, to elaborate in an email she sent: “The National Park Service has decided to make Fort Tilden more accessible to the public. They, along with the Rockaway Artists Alliance have secured a grant from the Museum of Modern Art for a big fair and Arts show on the grounds of Fort Tilden where our Theater is located and we have been invited to participate. There will be food vendors, entertainment, etc. for the public to enjoy. We will be doing mini- shows in our theater that day. We would like to present the “Brotherhood of Man” number from “How to Succeed…”.  I need to know who can join us for this very important gig. If you have plans – BREAK THEM.  You are all essential!  If you are … in a foreign country or foreign state…COME HOME IMMEDIATELY.”  Susan wouldn’t hesitate to call an astronaut down from space. And he would come. Or wouldn’t dare not to.

-NOTE - We will be reprising some of our performances at the theater in Fort Tilden on Sunday, June 29th throughout the day as that day is the opening of a major summer arts initiative at Fort Tilden with a free concert by Pattie Smith, who owns a home in Rockaway.

===
Hey, wanna come see a play?

All Kids Deserve Right to Play Sports - Rally Monday for Small Schools Athletic League

Ed Notes did a story on May 14 on Dave Rosen and the Small Schools Athletic League he founded: NYC Teacher David Garcia-Rosen Battles ...

Here is an update with a rally on Monday at 11AM at City Hall.

Please join Council Member Andy King and student-athletes from all over the city to urge the Mayor to make sure every high school student in New York City has the right to play high school sports!

BE THERE FOR A HISTORIC ANNOUNCEMENT ON THE FUTURE OF HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS IN NEW YORK CITY!



#NYCLetEmPlay,
David Garcia-Rosen
Founder/Director Small Schools Athletic League
845-553-5626(C)    718-292-1372(F)
WWW.SSALSPORTS.ORG
Small Schools Athletic League
42 SMALL HIGH SCHOOLS, THOUSANDS OF STUDENT- ATHLETES,
ONE MISSION  
INTERSCHOLASTIC SPORTS OPPORTUNITIES FOR ALL STUDENTS IN NYC

Johannah Chase, Farina Choice for Special Ed: Kipper and TFA

People are saying "same old, same old" -- keeping the old BloomKlein crowd around - people who defended some of the most horrific policies we've seen. Do they mean to say there is not one NYC current or former special ed teacher or supervisor qualified for this job? It really is a slap in the face of every special ed teacher and supervisor to appoint Chase to this job, even if she is wonderfully competent. It sends a message - the same message BloomKlein and other ed deformers have been sending for 15 years -- that experience doesn't really count.
HER ONLY LICENSE IS EXPIRED --In researching this report, the Department of Education was asked the specific questions listed below. The DOE's first response did not answer any of them directly. The public information office was given a second chance to respond, but did not. The agency also did not respond to the reporter's formal request to speak directly with the chancellor or the CEO.

1 -- Was the chancellor and DOE aware (of the appointee's) lack of licenses or special ed experience when they appointed her in March, as the DOE release says, to be the person "responsible for the overall leadership and day-to-day management" of special ed?

2 -- Is there a reason why she has no current license in education at all?

3 -- How can she be the person in charge of the chancellor's special ed reforms without a license or any experience in the field?

Staten Island Advance

I'll have some commentary from parents on this tonight as I gather some of the complaints. Here is Chase's resume -- jeez, how fast can you make a run out of the classroom? Didn't Farina say that principals should have a certain amount of years teaching? How about SOMEONE RUNNING SPECIAL ED?

Johannah Chase
Chief Executive Officer, Special Education at NYC Department of Education
Background
Experience
March 2014 – Present (3 months)
2012 – March 2014 (2 years)New York, New York
February 2011 – December 2012 (1 year 11 months)
2008 – January 2011 (3 years)
2007 – 2008 (1 year)
Teach for America
May 2007 – August 2007 (4 months)
2005 – 2007 (2 years)

The Staten Island Advance delved into the story:


Special ed CEO lacks credentials; Department of Education defends choice

By Diane C. Lore | lore@...
on June 20, 2014 at 12:01 AM, updated June 20, 2014 at












Johannah Chase is chief executive officer for the Department of Education's Office of Special Education.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Special education staff, parents and advocates complain that resources are scarce.
Parents say their children are not being served.
Some say their child's individualized education plan (IEP) isn't being followed.
Those responsible for delivering services to students in need complain they are mired in bureaucratic paperwork, hampering their efforts.
In short, the borough's special education system is a mess, and Staten Islanders -- ever passionate about the cause -- are not shy about expressing their displeasure.
Schools Chancellor Carmen Farina -- who has heard complaints from all sides during her visits to Staten Island -- has made special ed reform one of her priorities since she was appointed by Mayor Bill deBlasio in January.
Soon after she took the position, Island parents of special-needs children showed up in force at a public forum to tell the chancellor that Island public schools are not meeting the needs of their children, calling for more programs, as well as better training for teachers and support personnel.
"Here on Staten Island, nearly a quarter of our students have an IEP. We need to take a really hard look at the services being offered to see if they meet the students' needs," said Community Education Council (CEC) member Laura Timoney.
The Department of Education has begun to implement its initiatives for reforms, ambitiously titled "A Shared Plan for Success."
But the DOE's choice for the person in charge of implementing reforms has no state license in supervision or administration and no classroom experience in special education.
Classroom experience with special-needs students is a "must," said special ed parent and activist Laura Timoney.
In fact, while the position does not "require" specific credentials, Johannah Chase doesn't have a valid teaching license.
A DOE announcement of Ms. Chase's appointment in March described her position: "The chief executive officer of the Special Education Office is responsible for the overall leadership and day-to-day management of the SEO," as well as serving as "the lead and key point on all issues related to special education," under Deputy Chancellor Corinne Rello-Anselmi, an educator with more than 30 years' experience in the schools as a teacher and administrator.
THE AMBITIOUS REFORM PLAN
The special education office is in charge of day-to-day management of the system that serves more than 200,000 students; involves supervising teams at 13 sites in all five boroughs, with more than 800 field staff; overseeing the administration of federal and state grants, and ensuring compliance, implementing services to children and working with parents, advocates, community members and union officials.
A central policy shift in the "Shared Plan for Success" reform is "home-zoning" of special education students.
In the past, a student with a particular special need would often be placed at a school with the resources best suited to meet that need.
Under the reform, the student remains at his or her zoned school and the school is now responsible for providing the service.
While the intended benefit is to keep students close to home, problems frequently surface when the school does not have the needed programs or staffing in place. The reform is aimed at "home zoning" all students, except the most extreme cases, which are shifted to an appropriate District 75 special education school.
ADVOCATE CALLS EXPERIENCE 'A MUST'
Commenting on the personnel decision, Mrs. Timoney, the CEC member and special ed advocate who is also a parent of a child with an IEP, said classroom experience with special-needs students is a "must."
"Special education reform is a huge undertaking. As a parent and advocate, I would hope that the boots-on-the-ground person in charge would at least have some experience with the special-needs population and people who work with them in the schools," she said.
One veteran Staten Island special ed employee with the DOE said part of the problem is that the reforms were rolled out without adequate planning: "The special education reforms were put in place with schools ill-equipped to handle the needs of all the special education students now remaining with them. Having special education leadership at the top lacking special education experience has translated into placing unrealistic expectations on schools ... and students pay the price."
"Special education reforms are a work in progress. It's an issue of accountability to our students," declared Laura Kennedy, a long-time advocate for special needs children and an Advance Woman of Achievement.
"The question that needs to be asked is whether the right people are being put in the right position to carry out these reforms successfully," added Mrs. Kennedy, who serves as director of the Staten Island Early Childhood Direction Center.
UNANSWERED QUESTIONS   
In researching this report, the Department of Education was asked the specific questions listed below. The DOE's first response did not answer any of them directly. The public information office was given a second chance to respond, but did not. The agency also did not respond to the reporter's formal request to speak directly with the chancellor or the CEO.
1 -- Was the chancellor and DOE aware (of the appointee's) lack of licenses or special ed experience when they appointed her in March, as the DOE release says, to be the person "responsible for the overall leadership and day-to-day management" of special ed?
2 -- Is there a reason why she has no current license in education at all? 
3 -- How can she be the person in charge of the chancellor's special ed reforms without a license or any experience in the field?
HER ONLY LICENSE IS EXPIRED
State Education Department records show that Ms. Chase has only a certificate to teach middle-school math, which was issued in 2006, and expired in 2009.
Her DOE profile shows she joined the school system's central administrative staff in 2008.
Prior to that she taught eighth-grade English at Harlem's KIPP:STAR Charter School for a year, and was a 2005 Teach For America corps member, teaching eighth grade math at The Essence School in Brooklyn.
She began her career in education as a recruiter with Teach For America in Southern California.
She holds a master's degree in teaching from Pace University, and bachelor's degree in government from Cornell University. Before being appointed to her current position in March, she was chief operating officer for DOE's division of students with disabilities.
DEFENDING THE DECISION
In response to a detailed e-mail seeking answers to a list of concerns and questions, including a formal request to speak with the chancellor and Ms. Chase, the agency's office of public information issued a general statement defending the leadership decision.
In the response, Deputy Chancellor Rello-Anselmi said she works as a team with Ms. Chase and staff, who report directly to her.
"The chief executive for special education is a managerial position," she said in the  statement. "Johannah manages a strong team that includes special education policy and instruction experts. Johannah's track record of success makes her ideal for this role."
She said her team, including Ms. Chase, is currently working to create more choices for Staten Island parents of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). "Given the needs of the Staten Island community, this will continue as we increase the availability of seats in these programs by 23 percent for the 2014-2015 school year."
After receiving the statement, the DOE was asked again to address the specific questions that were posed in the initial email. The public information office has yet to respond or agree to have the chancellor or Ms. Chase speak on the record.
lella.jpg"My position is that anyone at the top level in a supervisory or administrative position in special ed should have three qualifications,'' said special education advocate Andrea Lella, who went on to outline what they should be.Staten Island Advance
Special education advocate Andrea Lella, of Families Helping Families, said lack of classroom and field experience in special ed, and lack of licensing and certification is a reoccurring problem she's encountered.
"My position is that anyone at the top level in a supervisory or administrative position in special ed should have three qualifications: An adequate level of classroom experience of at least five years; a proven and successful track record of at least two to three years in special ed supervision and administration, and most importantly, have a passion for special education, for dealing with the kids, the parents, the teachers and professionals, and the problems they face," Mrs. Lella said.

Sunday, Sunday Picnic - Join MORE/Change the Stakes Today at Brooklyn Bridge Park


... and check out MORE's 3rd Annual Summer Series...
View this email in your browser

OUTDOOR GATHERING SUNDAY!

According to Sunday's weather predictions, we're looking at a pretty perfect day on the water's edge of Brooklyn! 
 
The Movement of Rank and File Educators and
Change the Stakes
invite you to celebrate
the beginning of summer by
eating with us in the open air!
 
Outdoor Gathering
Sunday, June 22: 12 - 3 pm
Brooklyn Bridge Park
Empire Fulton Ferry/Jane’s Carousel
 
MORE will provide:  Chicken, baked beans*, potato salad*, cole slaw*
watermelon*
Drinks: Water and iced herbal tea
* vegan and gluten-free
We also encourage you to bring a dish to pass or your own meal.
Bring salads, desserts, appetizers or your favorite recipe to share!
Bring your own blanket.
 
**In the event there is rain, we will post to FB and listservs by 9 am if we will CANCEL.
MORECaucusNYC.org  @morecaucusnyc  fb.com/morecaucusnyc ★ more@morecaucusnyc.org

Saturday, June 21, 2014

Your "choice" really is my business - Lorna F.

Why free-market economics lead to nothing but harm in our public education system....Two recent articles that prove why free-market economics lead to nothing but harm in our public education system.
Thanks to Lorna, a Brooklyn public school parent for sending this. I've gotten into discussions with charter school parents who rigorously defend their right to "choice." I ask them what about the choice of parents who do not want a co-located charter in their schools?  Then I bring up the end game of the charter school movement -- the abolition of public education - when they will have no choice other than charters. So they say there will be competition and I say the end game will be like the phone company - charters will be forced to combine into conglomerates like Success and KIPP --- as things mature and there are no public schools to attack and scam kids from, they will start to scam from each other and the losers will be closed or absorbed.

The many negative effects of co-location in NYC schools.
http://www.tc.columbia.edu/i/a/document/31783_Co-location_and_SBE_6.3.pdf

Moody's downgrades yet another public school district because of ballooning charter costs.

Moody's places the Philadelphia School District's (PA) Ba2 rating on review for downgrade

Susan's Saturday Special

Ok, so Ohanian sent this out on Thursday. Why quibble? Lotsalinks for weekend perusal. And isn't today the longest day of the year? And I'm registered for a hot yoga class in Times Square with a few thousand people. I just me skip that one and stay home and read Susan's stuff.

A startling thing happened in the grocery store yesterday. I had the four pieces of fruit (at $3.99) a pound that I treat myself to once a year year. Gold dust. The clerk said, "Can I ask you what those are?"

I was so stunned in the moment about having to define apricots that it didn't occur to give one to the clerk. I mean, everyone should taste an apricot once in her life.

Thanks to Eric's good efforts, cartoons are back.

Universal Critical Thinking
http://susanohanian.org/cartoon_fetch.php?id=940

Ad in USA Today Trashes Teachers
http://susanohanian.org/cartoon_fetch.php?id=939

The other good news is that school is out, the weather is beautiful, and free reading abounds. Kids are finding books at the town library that they WANT to read. And I'm there to shelve the returns. Richard Allington's research shows that kids need access to 15 books of their choice over the summer to keep up their skills. Don't you wonder where kids in poverty are going to find those books? It would be a lot cheaper--and more beneficial--to give them those books than force them to go to summer remediation.

The Jindal item below has a slam on Arne Duncan than you probably won't read anywhere else.

Susan

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U.S. education secretary criticizes Gov. Bobby Jindal's Common Core turnabout, TV station reports
Danielle Dreilinger
Times Picayune
2014-06-17
http://susanohanian.org/core.php?id=716

Arne Duncan puts his foot in it, Petrilli attacks him on Twitter. And more.

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Over 80 PERCENT Of New York Residents Say Common Core Is A Disastrous Failure
Eric Owens
Daily Caller
2014-06-17
http://susanohanian.org/core.php?id=715

A poll shows a whopping 82 percent of New York state residents wanting to abandon the Common Core Standards Initiative.

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'Sit and Stare' to Prepare for Democracy?
John Merrow

2014-06-18
http://susanohanian.org/show_commentary.php?id=1176

I take it as a hopeful sign that a mainstream reporter comes close to supporting those who opt out of testing.

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Seniority, Tenure and the Vergara Decision
Jack Gerson and Andy Libson

2014-06-18
http://susanohanian.org/show_commentary.php?id=1175

In discussing the Vergara decision, the authors insist that the situation is long past the time when people should be calling for 'calm.'

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To the editor
Shlomo Groll
Wall Street Journal
2014-06-18
http://susanohanian.org/show_letter.php?id=1690

The Wall Street Journal publishes a letter that takes them to task.

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To the editor
Stephen Krashen
Taiwan News
2014-06-18
http://susanohanian.org/show_letter.php?id=1689

A terrible New York Times article is reprinted in the Taiwan News, and Krashen takes them to task.

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To the editor
Stephen Krashen
The Guardian
2014-06-17
http://susanohanian.org/show_letter.php?id=1688

Good respond to an incredibly awful article.

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To the editor
Joseph Mugivan
New York times
2014-06-06
http://susanohanian.org/show_letter.php?id=1687

The author points out that kids spend a lot of time using grammar workbooks but not much time actually using that grammar in their own writing.

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Students of much-touted Success Academy charter school score too low on entrance exam for top city high schools
Juan Gonzalez
New York Daily News
2014-06-18
http://susanohanian.org/outrage_fetch.php?id=1827

Shocking statistics from Harlem Success Academy 1.

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The Internet of very dumb things
Mark Morford
San Francisco Chronicle
2014-06-17
http://susanohanian.org/outrage_fetch.php?id=1826

Morford posits all the app crap as  high-fructose corn syrup of the Internet.

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U.S. Warning New York State on Teacher Evaluations
Leslie  Brodie
Wall Street Journal
2014-06-18
http://susanohanian.org/outrage_fetch.php?id=1825

The US Department of Education is threatening New York State over teacher evaluations. Your tax dollars at work.

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Tying high-stakes tests to teachers is harmful
Mark Henry
Houston Chronicle
0000-00-00
http://susanohanian.org/show_yahoo.php?id=857

Here's good news: a superintendent willing to speak truth to power.

Friday, June 20, 2014

NYSAPE Parents Outraged at Cuomo/NYSUT Eval Deal, NYC Parents Anger at UFT on Contract Schedule Changes

Look at the 2-year moratorium and when it expires. Right after the 2016 UFT elections. So Mulgrew has some cover before the shit hits the fan. Does anyone think the UFT played NO ROLE in this deal? NYSAPE appears to think so. Or is playing politics by trying not to offend the elephant in the room.
The deal reached today by Governor Cuomo and the New York State Legislature regarding minimizing the impact of Common Core test scores on teacher evaluations is a slap in the face to parents across the state who have implored them to reduce the amount of testing that children are subjected to and to improve the quality of these exams and the learning standards.  ... NYSAPE Press Release
No mention of the UFT/NYSUT. I know there will be some blow back on this post as I get "Norm, the UFT is NOT the enemy." Sure. Just like Vichy.

I am getting weary of parent groups that give cover to the UFT, or make excuses for them -- in essence, they are enabling the UFT to make these backroom deals and not be held accountable. I can't tell you how many emails I get from parents who want ME to expose the UFT hierarchy but don't want to go public because they have dealings with them. In essence they are playing the same "seat at the table" game the UFT plays. It will get them nowhere - as you can tell about these deals the UFT made on evals and in the contract that screw parents. Did the UFT consult ANY of their so-called parent partners on this? Hey -- where is CEJ (Coalition for Educational Justice)/Annenberg which goes silent when convenient?

The UFT uses the same tactics Bloomberg used to buy silence. [I remember when the so-called parent advocate, Moaning Mona Davids, was silent for a time when she was "working" with the UFT. I actually felt sorry for the UFT for even putting their foot in that cesspool. Someone should check LM-2 from c. 2010-12 to see if any money changed hands. Hey, Mona, how much would it cost to get you to support tenure? Well, we can't compete with the hedge funders - are they smart enough to not go there, given they have so many other places to go to kill tenure than Moaning with Mona?]

Isn't it funny how NYSAPE, a great group of parents, put the sole blame on Cuomo and the State Legislature but don't mention the responsibility of the UFT controlled NYSUT? Mulgrew was crowing about this deal. Just last week at the DA he was talking about how the Vergara decision makes it clear how much we have to work with parents and how proud he is of the work the UFT does with parents.

And gee, the AFT/UFT/NYSUT tandem has made whiny statements about how they are opposed to the testing regimen.

But you know the drill -- watch what do, not what they say.

By the way - look at the 2-year moratorium and when it expires. Right after the 2016 UFT elections. So Mulgrew has some cover before the shit hits the fan. Does anyone think the UFT played NO ROLE in this deal? NYSAPE appears to think so. Or is playing politics by trying not to offend the elephant in the room.

This follows on the outrage of parents in schools around the city over the contract that forces changes in school schedules, as I reported the other day: UFT Contract Toxic PD Spillover: Parents Unhappy -...

That post triggered this email from a parent.
6/19/14
Hi Norm,
    Just want to confirm what you said that the parents did not really understand what the new contract means for their school in terms of school hours.  NESTM had a 8:20-3:10 day.  Next year they are going to default 8:00-2:20 day.  The parents are enraged because this is a commuter school so the commutes need to get earlier and then the other problem is the very early dismissal.  The PTA is  calling all parents to go to the Parent Teacher meeting this morning and they sent out a survey about how many parents what this earlier schedule. I will keep you posted.  I am sure that this is not only happening at at our school.
The NY Times touched on this today: New Contract for Teachers Is Altering Schools’ Hours

There is a lot of commentary on the eval deal from teacher bloggers:

Eterno at ICE: COMMON CORE TESTS ALONE FOR GRADES 3-8 WON'T KILL TEACHERS FOR TWO YEARS -

RBE: New York State's Teacher Evaluation System - And Its Governor - Continue To Lose Credibility

Here is the complete NYSAPE Press Release:

Parents Outraged by APPR Albany Deal that Ignores the Children

"Flowers for Algernon" Author/Teacher Daniel Keyes - and My Tenuous Connection

UPDATED
Daniel Keyes, the author of “Flowers for Algernon,” the story of a man with an I.Q. of 68 who temporarily becomes a genius after surgery — a book that inspired the film “Charly,” starring Cliff Robertson — died on Sunday at his home in South Florida.  He was 86.... NY Times
--- 

He told the Japanese newspaper The Daily Yomiuri in 1999 that the character of Charlie occurred to him while he was teaching a special needs class; a student approached him at the end of the period and asked to be transferred out of the “dummy’s class” because he wanted to be smart.
---
“I thought: My education is driving a wedge between me and the people I love,” he wrote in his memoir, “Algernon, Charlie and I” (1999). “And then I wondered: What would happen if it were possible to increase a person’s intelligence?”
I've always been fascinated by Daniel Keyes' science fiction story - initially because he taught at Thomas Jefferson HS when I was a student there from 1959-1962. I never had him as a teacher but I did have one communication from him. He was the adviser to the Jefferson literary magazine. In the 11th grade, my English teacher was Mr. Certner - one of the oddest of teachers -- but for me inspiring. It was in his class that through his encouragement, I found I could write. He urged me to submit some of my work to the literary mag and soon after received Keyes' nicely put rejection notice that my work didn't quite fit the style. Jefferson was loaded with talented kids who went on to top colleges, so I was not surprised. Shortly after, he became famous for his best seller and I took note when there were stories about him or the novel.

The book and the movie are really powerful and worth checking out.

Think about the concept. A drug that will wipe out learning difficulties or reverse the effects of brain injuries - which if you think about someone with an IQ of 60 - isn't that a brain injury of some sort? Or on the other end - Alzeimers. Everyone an Einstein?

Daniel Keyes scary science fiction story opened up the possibilities and the downside - what if it doesn't last or you can't get the drug and you reverse direction?


Thursday, June 19, 2014

Randi Influence Over NYSUT and Cuomo Endorsement? Peter Goodman vs Mercedes Schneider

Not endorsing is not the same as opposing and the majority of NYSUT local presidents oppose Cuomo.... Beth Dimino
There are some interesting posts up at Education Bloggers Network Central (bloggers plugged into the Ravitch network).

Mercedes Schneider, a Randi Weingarten critic based in Louisiana, blogged about Randi's support for anti-teacher, ed deform Conn. Gov Malloy:

AFT’s Weingarten Supports Malloy, and Likely, Cuomo

On June 16, 2014, I wrote a post in which I wondered what American Federation of Teachers (AFT) President Randi Weingarten would say on June 17 at the official AFL-CIO endorsement of the re-election of blatantly-anti-teacher, Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy.
Here is what the Connecticut Mirror had to offer by way of Weingarten’s participation in endorsing an undeniably public-education-destroyer Malloy:
Randi Weingarten, national AFT president, makes a plea for Malloy.
Randi Weingarten, national AFT president, makes a plea for Malloy.
[Jim Horn at Schools Matter also has a piece on this: Given a Real Choice, Weingarten Goes With the Proven Corporate Education Stooge)].

UFT/Randi/Unity Caucus shill Peter Goodman had me in stitches with his follow-up post where he claimed Randi could not possibly influence all those independent-minded local NYSUT leaders - so independent that until this year there had never been an election in the 40 year history of NYSUT. He particularly pointed to noted left-leaning PSC leader (CUNY) Barbara Bowen, who supported the Randi/Mulgrew Revise Slate.

I point to a possible reason in the comment I left:
The NYSUT situation is complex but Peter leaves out oh so much. The root of the NYSUT contentious election was Cuomo - the incumbents said flat out they would not endorse. The so-called insurgents led by the UFT (and instigated by Randi) which holds over a third of the votes objected and claimed the incumbents should have been more amenable to dialogue with Cuomo. So let's look at this point: "To claim that Weingarten will determine the gubernatorial endorsement in New York is absurd." Randi was bad-mouthing the incumbents to people and her hand-appointed successor at the UFT, Mulgrew, joined in. Peter is right - that many local presidents were independent -- over 200 smaller locals opposed the Randi/Mulgrew takeover of NYSUT. But many are not independent. They rely on Randi and Mulgrew for "stuff." Thus Barbara Bowen gains the ability to put forth her pet resolutions at AFT conventions in exchange for supporting Randi.
Her deal has always been with Randi. So to say Randi doesn't influence things is not true.
But Mercedes may also be wrong on whether NYSUT will endorse Cuomo -- if it does the supporters of the incumbents who lost -- and are forming the first statewide opposition caucus in NYSUT would be handed a lot of ammunition for the next election. Behind the scenes the story was that Randi was worried that the incumbents in NYSUT if they had won would be able to stop a state AFL-CIO state endorsement of Cuomo which was a No-No in Randi's world of having a seat - or a tiny stool at the Democratic Party table -- the UFT/NYSUT/AFT complex is woven into the fabric of the Party. Well, mission accomplished -- AFL-CIO endorsement in the bag. So the actual NYSUT endorsement is no longer important and in fact would get so much flack raised at the Weingarten/Mulgrew crew that run NYSUT now, my guess is they will back off.
So Peter is right that NYSUT may not endorse - but due to the independence ot the locals and not to the control of Randi? That's a laugh.
My friend John G replied:
I am pretty sure there will be a NYSUT endorsement of Cuomo. As Norm alluded, the Union is fairly well insulated from its angry rank and file members and, honestly, could care less how we feel about their endorsement our about them.
Yes, John. Insulated from the rank and file, but not insulated from the insurgent Stronger Together union presidents who are forming a statewide caucus in opposition - remember - they may have lost this round but received between 33-46% of the vote in what was viewed as a slam dunk, given that the big 5 cities were arrayed against them. If the new caucus does its due diligance and some of the Big 5 are pulled in, things can get dicey next time and a Cuomo endorsement will come back to haunt them. So my guess - and from what I am hearing - is that they won't go there - just let the Working Party, AFL-CIO, et al carry the load. But Cuomo doesn't need NYSUT -- in fact I bet big blocks of teachers vote against Cuomo in a primary or go Green with Howie and Brian in the general election.

Mercedes followed up with:

Re: Will the New York State United Teachers (NYSUT) Endorse Cuomo for Governor?

Let me be clear as to what I am saying about NYSUT and Cuomo:

If NYSUT "abstains" from supporting Cuomo, given their position in the AFL-CIO endorsement, they are supporting him.

If NYSUT openly votes for Cuomo, they are supporting him.

From Port Jefferson Station Teachers Assn President Beth Dimino-- a comment posted to Ed's piece:

Just to help you understand Weingarten’s influence… She was the UFT president and the aft president at the same time at the beginning of her tenure as aft president… She directly manipulated the recent NYSUT elections… At her direction the aft is paying the salary of the NYSUT transition person, Alan Lubin. Lubin was the UFT appointed Nysut EVP who retired from NYSUT because he could not get along with Iannuzzi…. Nysut says that their local presidents make the endorsement choices at their August conference but that is not entirely true… Nysut has already made endorsements and the presidents have not met yet for one and I don’t believe there is one president that supports Cuomo but NYSUT will not come out against him and has not found anyone to run against him…NYSUT also “allowed” it’s largest local, the UFT, to manipulate the WFP endorsement of Cuomo… Bowen like the other ” big five” locals were promised more perks for their locals if they threw their votes to the revive slate…. I don’t know what Bowen got, but one of Ahern’s perks was that he got a seat on the Nysut board.. Nysut may not endorse Cuomo, but they won’t oppose him either because the UFT needs a relationship with him and the current NYSUT leadership and Weingarten care more about a relationship with the UFT than they do the rest of the NYS locals because without UFT’s votes they can’t get elected… Not endorsing is not the same as opposing and the majority of NYSUT local presidents oppose Cuomo…. July is a big month for Weingarten because she’s up for reelection at the aft convention…


Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Eva Moskowitz and Success - Not So Successful: 56% Did Not Survive to Graduate, 0% Pass Test for Top HS

Distance from K to 8 at Success can be a downer
Students of much-touted Success Academy charter school score too low on entrance exam for top city high schools.... The founding class of Harlem Success Academy 1 graduated on Friday. The class started with 73 enrolled first-grade students in August 2006, but 32 students were at graduation. None of the 32 grads, however, will be attending any of the city’s eight elite public high schools, even though Harlem Success Academy 1 ranked in the top 1% on state math tests this year and in the top 5% in reading ... Citywide, some 26,000 eighth-graders took the specialized high schools test in the fall of 2012, and 20% were offered a seat. So you’d expect a minimum of five or six students from Success 1 to score high enough to get into one of the elite schools.... if Harlem Success students had matched even the 12% admission rate for black and Latino students who take the test, you’d expect at least three of the Moskowitz students to have been admitted.
Juan Gonzalez, NY Daily News... http://nydn.us/1jxExpu
The longer Success Charters are in business, the more they get exposed. This one is big. I'm sure the remaining 32 kids out of the 73 who began 8 years ago are fine. Does anyone know what happened to the 41 kids who were not there to graduate? Would a study of those kids be worthwhile as a check on Success claims of success? They will argue that kids move around in public schools too -- but most end up in other public schools. Did the missing 41 end up in other charters or mostly public schools? And how about this? If Eva's schools are so great an attraction - and we know people choose places to live based on schools - why did they just disappear? We also know that she is allowed wide leeway in the neighborhoods they can draw from. One would expect if parents really found Success such high quality you would see more than 44% stay around. Eva can answer some of these questions by making the data on the missing available - names and number please. (Can someone FOIL this given their claim they are public schools?)

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Wednesday, June 18, 2014, 12:36 AM
There was Eva Moskowitz, head of this city’s fastest-growing and most controversial charter school network, giving a fiery commencement speech Friday morning at the first graduation of her chain’s flagship school, Harlem Success Academy 1.

“As the founding parents of the founding school, you have made history,” she told the audience of beaming eighth-graders in their caps and gowns and their cheering relatives.
Days earlier, Moskowitz had stunned many in this town by asking the state to grant her 14 new charter schools, thus potentially catapulting her network to 46 schools.

The first Success graduating class, for example, had just 32 students. When they started first grade in August 2006, those pupils were among 73 enrolled at the school. That means less than half the original group reached the eighth grade. And just 22 of Friday’s grads will be moving on to the new Success Academy High School of the Liberal Arts, which is set to open this fall, while 10 opted for other high schools.

None of the 32 grads, however, will be attending any of the city’s eight elite public high schools, even though Harlem Success Academy 1 ranked in the top 1% on state math tests this year and in the top 5% in reading — a fact Moskowitz herself proudly highlighted.

“We are incredibly proud of our eighth-grade graduates . . . who are proving that zip code does not have to determine destiny,” Moskowitz said in a written statement.

A network spokeswoman confirmed Tuesday that 27 eighth-graders took the Specialized High Schools Admissions Test last fall, but none scored high enough to be offered a seat at one of the elite high schools that rely on the test, like Stuyvesant, Brooklyn Tech or Bronx Science.

Citywide, some 26,000 eighth-graders took the specialized high schools test in the fall of 2012, and 20% were offered a seat. So you’d expect a minimum of five or six students from Success 1 to score high enough to get into one of the elite schools.

That test, though, has long come under fire for the low number of black and Latino students who make the cut each year — and all of the Harlem Success graduates are blacks and Latinos.

The first class of Success Academy shrunk from 73 first-graders in 2006 to 32 graduating eighth-graders in 2014.
Still, if Harlem Success students had matched even the 12% admission rate for black and Latino students who take the test, you’d expect at least three of the Moskowitz students to have been admitted.

“We were shocked that none of our students was offered a seat in a specialized high school,” one parent told the Daily News.

Asked about those results, a network spokesman said:
“Our eighth-graders had challenging coursework in math, history, writing, science, humanities and drama, robotics and debate. They also had to take the challenging state tests this year. . . . We are proud that 22 are going to Success Academy’s highly rigorous high school and 10 are going to other schools, among them highly selective schools.”