How is Danielson Being Used at Your School? MORE Calls for Reports From the Field

Ah, that's it! Monkeys are using the framework. The monkeys in question are the Bloomberg-era administrators who have spent no more than three years in an actual classroom. A framework crafted by a non-educator to be used by non-educators in order to judge actual educators. This makes perfect sense in the crazyland that is the NYC DOE. This is part and parcel of the deskilling of education. Not only are teachers in danger of being deskilled by being subject to Danielson but principals now are being deskilled by mindlessly ticking off a checklist. It seems as if many administrators are embracing this deskilling. -- Assailed Teacher

And UFT and DOE agree on Danielson (see below).

More from Assailed Teacher:

And never forget who helped to bring Danielson into our schools. It was our union and their Unity leadership who allowed Danielson to be used in 33 "struggling schools". When administrators in other schools started using it, the union cried and complained. Why did they complain? When you open the window you shouldn't be annoyed when flies get in.

From the MORE Blog

Calling All Teachers!

Help us file our “Reports From the Field” on MORE’s blog next week!

How is Danielson being used at your school? On your colleagues? On you?

We are hearing alarming reports about how Danielson is being used against our colleagues all across the city. While we anticipated this occurring, we’re still very concerned with what we are hearing. We are interested in hearing from you about how you have experienced the Danielson Framework being used in your classroom or your school.

Send us you testimonials! Help us make your experiences as public as possible! Click here to send us your testimonial. It will only take a moment and the experience you share can help colleagues all across the city.

Here is one "testimonial" I just received.

Not only is Danielson being used against teachers, so is the faux reading and writing program from Teachers College. Elementary teachers are slaves to this HORRIBLE excuse for a reading and writing program that has left our students ILLITERATE. Then we are BLAMED when our students do not succeed.

I recently made a presentation. People were genuinely unaware of the horrors of what's been going on in our schools. I brought up how NYC public schools for the most part DO NOT have curricula for reading, writing and math. And completely unqualified admin have been hired who either didn't know or didn't care of the harm being inflicted

But the fact is that inept admins were hired in order to remove coherent curriculum from our schools, then USE Danielson and TC and even that awful Everyday Math program to target teachers. UFT has not exposed this. But THIS is at the heart of the matter in my opinion. UFT looking the other way while teachers are being stripped of their ability to teach effectively. A total set up for failure for both students and teachers.

Talk about this and I believe you will really reach all the teachers.

Teachers are tired of not being able to teach.

Most of us (above age 30) at elementary level are sick about this. These kids are not being educated!!!! No content is ever taught. Kids learn it on their own through independent reading or partner work.

Then you have a wretch like my principal claiming she "loves" the TC "philosophy". BULL SHIT - she loves that there are so many avenues she can use to target a teacher since it's so lacking.

The UFT and DOE has just come to a deal regarding the use of the Danielson framework for observations prior to an agreement over evaluations. There doesn't seem to be anything new here but the understanding between the two parties is a bit more formalized now. Of course, any deal on evaluations will supersede this. Before you read the email sent out by the UFT, note this comment from a MORE chapter leader which indicates what total bullshit the UFT tosses at people:

No 6 in the Stip [See jpg below]. says that no reference to Danielson is allowed in formal obs. YET, when an AP wrote up an post ob of a member of mine and gave her a U, the post ob included cut and paste sentences from the Danielson rubric. The UFT said they will NOT pursue my grievance for this member to Step 2. 

Why?

Why indeed? Good question to ask your (formerly) friendly District Reps when they visit.

Dear Colleagues,

 

Attached is a copy of an agreement between the UFT and the DOE concerning the use of the Danielson rubric for both pilot schools and non-pilot schools.

 

This stipulation was a result of an Improper Practices Charge brought to PERB against the DOE.

 

I will summarize:

 

      1. For all schools, pilot or not, Danielson ratings of Highly Effective, Effective, Developing or Ineffective (known as HEDI) cannot be used or linked to any official rating, tenure determination or disciplinary proceeding.

 

    2. No observation for pilot or non-pilot school can be placed in the official file using the HEDI rating scale.

 

    3. Classroom observations for the file cannot include any reference to Danielson's rubric or a HEDI Rating.

 

    4. For pilot schools, no observation using the Danielson rubric can be placed in a teachers official file.

 

    5. For non-pilot schools, observations reports cannot contain verbatim language of any Danielson rubric or the language of the Danielson's Framework for Teaching or any HEDI rating. (In other words, it shouldn't be used at all!)

The stipulation outlines a complaint process that is a little different than our regular grievance process.  [ISN'T THIS A CHANGE IN THE CONTRACT THAT SHOULD BE VOTED ON BY THE MEMBERS?] So, read it carefully and share this information with your members.

 

Please make sure that you bring this document to the attention of your principal, especially the ones that insist on seeing everything in writing.

Parents Support MORE Too

Yes Virginia, building a social justice caucus aligned with parents is part of the game plan. MORE is forging parent and even college student liaison groups -- there was quite a nice crew at the MORE meeting on Saturday -- the MORE counterforce to the phony no-nothing Student First anti-teacher crew from Columbia. Here is a great letter sent out from parent activist Janine Sopp.

Dear Parents, Teachers and Friends,

You may already know about the Movement of Rank and File Educators, a new caucus of progressive educators who will be running in the 2013 UFT elections. As a parent working on issues of high stakes testing, increasing class sizes, charter school invasions and budget cuts, it thrills me to see another option and new energy stir within the teachers in our schools. Watching the events unfold in Chicago a few months ago and now in Seattle, our teachers can make a tremendous difference in changing the landscape of our public schools, especially in the face of those who seek to create systems that will unfairly rate our teachers, our schools and our children.

I am reaching out to see who would be willing to distribute the MORE leaflet in your school, placing them in the mailboxes of mailboxes of teachers, paras, secretaries, guidance counselors and anyone else who might like to know about this. Some of you are connected to a larger network and in this case could be very helpful to this grassroots effort to share this information. Please consider helping by distributing to your contacts. It shouldn't take more than a few minutes to do and would help get the word out with this very important opportunity. Simply email me back with the school(s) you are connected to and I will find out if this school is in need of a distributor. I will find the best way to get the leaflets to you. Your support is greatly appreciated. Feel free to visit MORE's website to learn more, and help spread the word, morecaucusnyc.org/.

Thanks and hope to see you soon. Below, the specifics from MORE.
Janine


Dear friends,

The Movement of Rank and File Educators is running in the 2013 UFT elections. We are very excited about our prospects but our task ahead is daunting. We need your help! Can you help us distribute campaign literature in schools in Brooklyn? It will help us if you can put our campaign literature in the mailboxes in your school. It will help even more if you can put campaign literature in other schools nearby. Finally, if you can get friends or co-workers to help us that will be a great help too!

If you are able to help please reply to this email. If you know of specific schools to which you can get campaign literature please let me know. If you just know of a zip code or district within which you can help let me know that and I'll let you know which schools we still need covered.

Thanks again,

Kit Wainer
KitWainer@yahoo.com

Hey Bud, Wanna Go to a Unity Caucus Meeting?

They need to discuss the elections and how to keep MORE info out of their schools. People should go and stand outside and ask these people why they support junk science. This is right after the Feb. 6 DA. So they will use this meeting to get their petitions signed. Someone should go and stand outside and do a head count to see just how many slugs there are. I'd go but would probably be shot.

One interesting point here is that Unity Caucus meetings timed to follow DAs often bring out a high number of Unity people to the DAs. Is there any connection to a possible agreement that will be "sprung" on people, leaving the opposition little time to prepare a response? 

Unity member,

There will be a general meeting of Unity Caucus on Wednesday, February 6th beginning at 6:30PM. We will meet at:

Fashion Industries High School, 225 West 24th Street, NYC, between 7th and 8th Avenues.

We need to discuss the general UFT elections taking place this spring. It's important that everyone is in attendance.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Fraternally,

LeRoy

LeRoy Barr, Chair

Obama's Education Legacy: The Worst President Ever?

The end of almost 200 years of public education, the end of the concept of the neighborhood school, the promotion of charters no matter how crooked and self-serving, the destruction of teaching of a profession, the wipe out of teacher unions which even with their problems have often been the major bulwark defending schools and the students in them, the enormous waste of public monies into bogus reforms... we can go on -- and feel free to add on.

With so much talk about Obama's legacy and his concern with what it will be one day -- and it may take a decade for the full impact to be felt --- some honest journalist/historian will take a look back and judge Obama very harshly and his "legacy" will pay a big price. Good for him.

Now people like Mark Naison think in the 2nd term the worm may be turning as Obama begins to realize his ed policies are turning into a disaster----

There is now major push back against Obama Administration Education policies on four fronts-School Closings, High Stakes Testing, Teacher Evaluations, and Favorable Treatment of Charter Schools. There are small signs the Administration is listening- among them Secretary of Education's silence and or neutrality during the Chicago Teachers Strike and the current teacher rebellion against the MAP test in Seattle. Keep the pressure up! Participate in local protests against these policies, sign relevant petitions, and if you can, come to Occupy DOE 2.0 in Washington April 4-7
http://www.facebook.com/events/298659770235984/?fref=ts

I'm not so sure given Obama's insulation from outside voices. Here is an interesting article on Lincoln’s School of Management from Sunday's NY Times business section where we can gleam both sides -- that Obama will not veer or that he will turn course --- think Lincoln's racist views on slavery where he wanted to export all people of color and even at one point before the Civil War broke out offered the South a deal where they could keep their slaves for 40 years until 1900 -- really horrifying if you think about it.

as President Obama embarks on a new term and business leaders struggle to keep pace with a rapidly changing global economy, the lessons of Lincoln seem as fresh as ever. They demonstrate the importance of resilience, forbearance, emotional intelligence, thoughtful listening and the consideration of all sides of an argument. They also show the value of staying true to a larger mission.

how he gathered advice and information from a wide range of people, including those who did not agree with him. This is important in building a business because you have to listen to customers, employees, suppliers and investors, including those who are critical of what you are doing.

 Which will Obama be? The Lincoln who listened to all sides and was able to modify his views on slavery or the Lincoln who didn't vary from his longer vision and while listening sticks to where he was coming from?

The full article is below.

COME TO TWEED ON TUESDAY TO SUPPORT STRIKING BUS DRIVERS

ATU Local 1181 is still on strike and they need our support.

The picketing at Tweed Courthouse/DOE Headquarters has been extended and the strikers will be out there next week from 8:30 am-5:30 pm.

Come out on Tuesday, Jan. 29  and walk the picket line with the Bus Drivers, Matrons and Mechanics as they demand job security for the workers and  safety for the students as they ride the buses to and from school! The Mayor would like to break their union just as he is working hard to do the same to ours!

When: Tuesday, Jan. 29

Where: Department Education, 52 Chambers Street

Subways: City Hall-N, Chambers- J,Z,  Brooklyn Bridge- 4,5,6,  Park Place- 2,3 Chambers- A,C

Time:  3:30-5:30pm

Bring signs that say: (suggestions)

Teachers/UFT support ATU Local 1181

Teachers support the Bus Drivers!

DOE: Safety Before Profit! Keep the EPP

We demand experienced Drivers and Matrons for our students!

Union busting NO! EPP YES!

(Add: MORE/UFT to the bottom)

Bring cameras!

For other picket locations, see:

 http://nysaflcio.org/strike-supportpicket-locations/

And here’s an update from PIST( Parents To Improve School Transportation)

http://www.pistnyc.org/

It is still on, the mayor is pretending the discussion needs to be between union and companies but union and even companies are saying talks are pretty pointless without the city being at the table.

Meanwhile buses are going out without properly certified matrons.  Parents are still PIST.  We are emphasizing that transportation is a related service on the IEP legal contract, a right,  not a privilege.

We have a leafleting campaign and other strategies but also there might be an outdoor action next weekend with solidarity squads from out of town, specifically the Boston school bus drivers.  

Eva Violation: Using Parents of Success Cheater Schools Funded With Public Money for Political Operation

The Success Charter outrages continue. It is time to call for an investigation of the use of schools to create a political operation. If they were private without feeding at the public trough, gey gezunt. But not with OUR money. Imagine if a public school principal organized parents to picket mayoral candidates and used school resources to do so. Of course they won't be picketing Christine Quinn I guess. And where is the UFT on this one?

Parents,
Last week the teachers union and several mayoral candidates called for a halt on all co-locations.  As you know, we depend on underutilized space in public school buildings to educate your child.  As your children grow and their younger siblings start school, we are going to need more space.  Without co-location, we won't be able to get it.  

This opposition to co-location is not about doing what is best for children.  It is about trying to please the teachers union.  Please take a look at the following link to learn more: http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/mr-mulgrew-pupils-article-1.1247
073

We can't let this happen.  We must take a stand.  On Thursday morning, parents from several of our schools in Harlem will be picketing outside the offices of the mayoral candidates who came out against co-location.  If you are interested in joining them, please contact Norah Cooney at norah.cooney@successacademies.org for more information. 

We are going to need all of our parents to show up for similar events in the future.  This fight is just beginning, and we will need your help!  It's time that mayoral candidates start listening to what parents want, and together we can make that happen. 

Warmly,
Eva Moskowitz

Jersey Jazzman and Fiorillo Blame Weingarten Over Impact of Newark Deal

In this post, Aftermath of the Newark Teachers Contract, JJ gives Randi the benefit of the doubt as negotiating the best contract she could. But he doesn't know Randi like we do here. Michael saved me the trouble of commenting as he points out why a certain segment of the UFT/AFT that we represent put the leadership squarely in the category of being on the other side of the fence -- that is when they are not straddling it as a way to try to convince the members they are on their side while the daily outrages against teachers pile up. Michael is of course just skimming the surface in this casual comment and doesn't even mention the role they played in the open support, lack of response to the charter invasion.

Michael Fiorillo said...

Giving people the benefit of the doubt is fine when there is a limited track record to judge them by.

That is hardly the case with Ms. Weingarten, who has persistently demonstrated her willingness to accept the premises of corporate education reform (empty sound bites for membership consumption and misdirection notwithstanding) and "collaborate" (her term, not mine) with those undermining the public schools and teachers.

As for evidence, look no further than

- her persistent support for mayoral control of
urban school districts, including unilateral
support for continuing it NYC in 2009, against
recommendations by her own governance
Governance Committee.

- her silence when Michael Bloomberg bought an
illegal third term, and her de facto endorsement
of that third term in 2009.

- her negotiating the catastrophic 2005 contract,
which eliminated seniority transfers and opened
the door to the epidemic of school closings
door to the epidemic that followed.

- her close relations with Eli Broad (who has
spoken of her as an "investment") and Bill Gates.

- her sponsoring of workshops featuring for-
profit opportunities in education at the oligarch-
dominated Aspen Institute.

- her successor and protege's agreeing to
teacher evaluation laws based on statistically-
unstable Value Added measures.

I'm sure many teachers who work in districts where Ms.Weingarten has helicoptered in and foisted contracts based on Broad/Gate policies could add to this list.

How many sell-outs are needed before we stop giving her the benefit of the doubt?

In fact, here is no doubt, Randi Weingarten is one of Them.

Here is a pertinent section of Jersey Jazzman's post:

There is, however, no doubt that the merit pay system will use standardized tests to determine who gets the bonuses. Which makes it even more amazing, to my mind, that the leadership of the Newark Teachers Union and their national umbrella organization, the American Federation of Teachers, supported the use of merit pay in the contract.
Because Randi Weingarten, president of the AFT, has gone on record denouncing the use of tests to measure teacher effectiveness as "junk science." She's right - but she still supported its use to determine merit pay bonuses in the Newark contract. She even went so far as to tacitly agree with Chris Christie that the contract was a model for other districts - even if those districts don't have a California internet billionaire willing to drop a pile of money into their district.
So now Paterson's teachers have to reap what Weingarten has sown. What's worse is that the local - like the vast majority of locals in the state - is affiliated with the NJEA, and not the AFT. So Paterson's teachers have to live with the consequences of deal negotiated by labor leaders they didn't even elect.
I said this back when the members of the NTU were considering whether to take the deal that Weingarten and NTU's president, Joe Del Grosso, negotiated for them: despite my many misgivings, I can't blame any teacher in Newark for taking the deal. Those educators had worked without a contract for years, and a big pile of money was put in front of them, albeit with strings attached. I'm willing to give Weingarten and Del Grosso the benefit of the doubt that this was the best deal they could get, and I think it was fine to put the deal in front of the members (although a little more engagement with the teachers opposed to the deal would have gone a long way to help unity).

UFT Election Nuts and Bolts, Revised

The UFT election committee met this past week and even though these dates and numbers have to be officially ratified at the Feb. 4 UFT Executive Board meeting, it is expected that the official election campaign will begin with petitioning at the Feb. 6 Delegate Assembly when petitions will be available. On Feb. 7 they will be available in the borough offices. {if there are any changes I will update this post.}

The daunting task of petitioning forces anyone serious about running to join a slate. There are expected to be 3 slates: MORE, New Action and Unity.

Excuse the last post as the send button betrayed me.

Here are the crucial dates and deadlines:

Petitions available - Feb 6 at DA
Due - March 6

Someone counted 18 school days to get all this done. It would have been less if there was a full mid-winter break --- and be sure to remind people on those days why they are in school.

The tediousness of petitioning really hurts opposition groups since so much of their energy goes into getting the signatures needed to get on the ballot. Note that signing a petition is just helping get on the ballot, not an endorsement of vote. Thus many Unity people trolling for sigs will sign MORE and vice versa. The important thing is to get this crap out of the way so resources can be devoted to campaigning and lit distribution.

The sigs needed: 900 for the top officers, 100 for everyone else. Sounds easy? Not easy when trying to manage hundreds of candidates. It takes a total mobilization to get this done. (At the Feb. 9 MORE meeting we will be holding a petition signing party where everyone can sign all the petitions. So put that date on your calendar if you can come out and help.)

Ballots are sent out to the homes on April 3 and must be in the hands of  American Arbitration no later than April 24. The vote count will take place the next day at a hotel in Manhattan on April 25. The vote count is public and any UFT member may attend. What a fun day that is.

It is in this 3-week period right after the spring break (which takes away a week of campaigning) that the ground game of get out the vote must be played by MORE members and supporters to get people to return their ballots.

Some people think just reminding people is enough but UFT elections are not high on the agenda and the ballot often gets lost in a pile and thrown out. Some ground game players urge people to bring in the ballots to school and people mark them and the mail goes out en masse. The more schools that play the ground game the higher the vote totals for the MORE slate will be as most non-voters would tend to vote anti-Unity. Don't forget, 75% of the working members do not vote.


Well over 90% of the voters just check the slate box on the top page of the 20 page ballot and ignore all the names inside. The few who pick and chose candidates have no real impact -- you will see some people vary by no more than a few hundred votes, inconsequential.

Now for the confusion -- I tried to explain some of this at the MORE meeting and people were nodding out -- was it me or the material?


Here are the breakdowns of the new numbers on the executive board.

Ad Com grows from 11 to 12 with the addition of a VP for non DOE employees -- ie the home day care workers, nurses, etc. All UFT members vote for them and they appear on every ballot.

Ex Bd - 90 (up from 78) [Add the 12 Adcom who are defacto EB  members for a total of 102.]

Here is the breakdown:

EB at large - 48 (up from 42) -- All UFT members vote for these positions (including retirees)  and they will appear on every ballot. [This tactic gives Unity guaranteed control of the EB by making more at large than divisions - confusing, I know, but trust me].

Level -based - 42 (up from 36). People running for these positions will only appear on the ballots in the divisions they run in.

Elementary  - 11 -- only elementary school teachers may vote for them (not secretaries, guidance, social workers, etc.) If you are an elementary school teacher just checking the MORE box on the ballot is a vote for all 11. (We have a star-studded cast running for these slots -- great teachers, great union activists and even a movie star -- Jamie Fidler (star of American Teacher). There are about 35,000 elementary school teachers - pretty sad they get only 11 seats.

Middle School - 5 -- only middle school teachers may vote for them (not secretaries, guidance, social workers, etc.) If you are an middle school teacher just checking the MORE box on the ballot is a vote for all 11. We also have an amazing group running for these positions, including the always amazing Francesco Portelos. Last election there were about 12,000 in this category which is narrowed to traditional middle schools which are disappearing -- K-8 counts as elem and 6-12 as hs.

High School  - 7 (up from 6) -- only high school teachers may vote for them (not secretaries, guidance, social workers, etc.) If you are an high school teacher just checking the MORE box on the ballot is a vote for all 11. We also have an amazing group running for these positions: from the old ICE/TJC guard - Kit Wainer, James Eterno, Peter Lamphere -- as knowledgeable a group as you can find -- and the new guard: Emily Giles, (CL)  Rosie Fraschella, Seku Braithewaite and Nicole Reilly (CL).
There were about 19,000+ in this division in 2010.

*****In other words, the 70,000 Plus teachers get only 23 out of 102 seats on the EB and that folks is the basic underlying undemocratic nature of the UFT election process.

I feel MORE has the best shot at winning the high school EB positions but has to beat the Unity plus New Action totals, not impossible of there is a ground game in the high schools where an estimated 5000 out of 19000 people voted last time. A few more thousand votes would put MORE into these positions. Why would 7 out of 102 be meaningful? Let's leave this issue for another time.

Functional - 19 (up from 14). This massive division (over 50,000) , including all non-teachers --- retirees, social workers, psychologists, para, etc is where Unity has enormous strengths and will win this division overwhelmingly due to the retiree vote, but also to the absolute lock Unity makes sure to have over each functional chapter --- in case you don't know, paras have their own chapter leader and Unity keeps a lock on all these chapters -- which they use to also keep control of the DA.

I could point out that if MORE won even 60% of the actual teacher vote in elem, ms and hs they would only get 23 out of the 90 seats on the EB -- thus why there are 48 at large (retirees vote) plus 19 functional (retirees vote) and only 11 elementary, 5 middle and 7 high schools. In addition the elementary, middle school and hs veeps would all go to Unity too (retirees vote for top officers).

If you want to see the true undemocratic nature of the UFT just look at the paragraph above.

BUT -- if MORE captured the majority of the working teacher vote even with the 23 seats that would be a massive game changer in that MORE would have control at the school level and that would mean big changes at the DA. That is the long term goal of MORE -- not to win a few seats on the EBoard and be satisfied as New Action is from getting the gift from Unity but to fight for real changes in the UFT.

Do I think that over 75 people showed up yesterday at the MORE monthly meeting on an ice cold Saturday in January is a sign of something brewing? You bet I am. But if people out there just gripe without doing anything about supporting MORE in an active way, things will move very slowly.


====================
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.

The Rise and Fall of the UFT by Former UFT VP John O' Neill

Note how O'Neill talks about the very early days of the UFT as being as social justice and democratic a union as one could get -- some do not agree --- and that it was Shanker who took what was already a very successful operation under Charlie Cogan and Dave Selden and undermined it. Especially see page 178 for more on this. Shanker later -- 1974 undermined his mentor Shelden by running against him for AFT president and moving the AFT rightward.

https://uftrg.files.wordpress.com/2021/03/hughes1970.pdf

I was going through some old materials on my computer desktop and almost tossed this chapter of Annette Rubinstein's book "Schools Against Community Control." I'm sure there are historians with some knowledge of the split between O' Neill and Shanker over the 68 strike. O' Neill's interpretation here is one commonly accepted by the left. As one who did not cross the picket lines in 68, though I really had no clue as to the political forces I am always ambivalent about a bunch of issues. Some friends on the left do believe the Ford Foundation (under former Vietnam hawk McGeorge Bundy I believe) was out to divide the union from the community. Certainly an issue worth exploring again and again as those times were so important. Maybe when things settle down -- like in the summer -- MORE can do a series of discussions on this issue.

Note the analysis of the 1969 contract which I always used to say was the last good contract we got.

The Rise and Fall of the UFT by John Oneill 

http://www.scribd.com/doc/122373089/The-Rise-and-Fall-of-the-UFT-by-John-Oneill

================
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.

Brooklyn Parents in Williamsburg/Greenpoint File Suit Against SUNY Charter Board

The crooks at SUNY would authorize a KKK charter without even asking if the sheets were washed. Eva Moskowitz and husband Eric Grannis with his Citizens of the World Charter are handed swaths of public school buildings. Our pals at WAGPOPS are not standing still for it and have found some real goodies and possible violations of state law.

Check out the details here http://www.scribd.com/doc/122236115/WAGPOPS-lawsuit-against-SUN where you can download and read at your pleasure.

D'Amato, Randi Mastro Back Thompson as Stalking Horse for Lhota

Former Comptroller Bill Thompson’s list of bundlers includes Randy Mastro, a former deputy Mayor to Rudolph Giuliani, who has raised about $60,000 for Thompson. Supporters also include lobbyist and fomer U.S. Senator Alfonse D’Amato, who bundled some $48,000 for Thompson primarily from developers and people in finance. And Richard Nasti, an executive lawyer for H.J. Kalikow — the real estate firm run by former Metropolitan Transportation Authority chair Peter Kalikow — raised another $19,800 for the candidate.

The info above was gathered by Ira Goldfine.

Remember how Bill Thompson ran an awful campaign and almost won against Bloomberg? It came out later that Bloomberg had been funding a museum being organized by Thompson's wife --- he was Bloomberg's choice for mayor. So now he is running to help divide the democratic ticket to make it easier for Lhota, who they want badly -- watch the NY Times pump this guy up as much as they can. And some pumping for Thompson as the Bloomberg/Giuliani people idea race would be Lhota/Thompson.

Ira responds to Randi's comment that Mastro is not a Bloomberg fan. But this is not about Bloomberg but making sure Lhota is the next Mayor. Does D'Amato really think Thompson is a winner? What a joke.

This is bigger then Bloomberg - this has everything to do with Lhota - check out this piece from the Daily News and to me its clear that this is about electing Lhota on behalf of the people that truly rule this city.

 

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/former_deputy_mayor_under_giuliani_9C4qNAV2ORSZ57AvQsGZ2K

Accuse and Remove: DOENuts on Portelos

Great post from DOENuts blog on Francesco Portelos, who is running with MORE for UFT Executive Board, Middle Schools. It is the article I had hoped to write but never could get my head around all the info involved and this is a real service to all.

There is so much involved in this case. I really got the full story from Francesco at last year's citywide robotics tournament on a Sunday in March 2012 at the Javits convention center where he gave up a Sunday to bring his robotics team there -- on that day Sue Edelman had written a piece in the NY Post that did not cast him in a favorable light I thought. I called her up livid about why the Post wasn't at Javits to show the kind of work he did. She said she'd send a photographer but never did.

What DOENuts did here is take this complicated story and put all the nuts and bolts in place with links to other stories. Really a comprehensive piece of work. And he even manages to bring my favorite topic, Hitler, into it.

He has been treated almost as shabbily by the UFT as he has by the DOE. And that story has not been fully told yet. Imagine him on the UFT Exec Bd where he'd be adding some much-needed spine.

Francesco has a TV show from the rubber room. http://protectportelos.org/dtoe-talk-show. Here is a link to Friday's broadcast where Francesco interviews MORE and changethestakes.org member Diana Zavala.

 I'll get you started then click the link to finish at the blog.

"Accuse and Remove" and Francesco Portelos

He is an experienced, qualified teacher of Science, Engineering Technology and Math (STEM). He is a former environmental engineer. He has written successful grants for his school, giving his students access to some of the best technology on the market today and he is one of the few city teachers who  has been celebrated in the newspapers (for adroitly retrieving the stolen iPhone of a colleague using online learning.).

And yet he is the typification of  persona non grata for the New York City Department of Education. In fact, some might say he is the persona non grata of the New York City Public Schools.

His name is Francesco Portelos. He's the Staten Island middle school teacher who televised himself from the rubber room back in October just to prove that the rubber rooms still exist (and that he was languishing in one of them). As of this writing, he has been there for 275 days (and counting!) 

In the almost full year since he has been taken out of his classroom, for what the department would only describe as "serious allegations", he has made himself famous, sued his employer for harassment and accused  his principal of misconduct.

And yet those "serious allegations" haven't amounted to much. Through numerous department investigations, he has not been found to have committed one act of employee misconduct (not one), and his Federal case, which accuses the department of violating federal whistle-blower law, has moved to its discovery phase -a clear indication that the presiding judge believes it to be a serious, evidence based allegation of employer harassment.

And that principal accusation? It provided evidence that she had committed theft of services at the school.

For the record, Mr. Portelos has been formally under investigations by SCI  (the mere mention of which strikes fear into the heart of most DOE employees) over twenty times during the past 361 days (and counting!). And although the accusations against him keep rolling in, it must  be noted that not one of these accusations has yet to materialize into a substantiated charge (NYCDOE speak for a formal conclusion of employee misconduct).

In other words, they haven't found any infractions!

And yet each day, for almost a year, he has left his home in Staten Island and reported for work in a rubber room in south Queens, where he carries out his duties: Nothing. 

Sounds messy, doesn't it? 

Portelos' story might make more sense when set against the backdrop of the last twelve years of policy in New York City's education department. That's the backdrop of a long running chancellor who aimed to give the city's principals as much leeway as they needed as they ran their buildings and it is the backdrop of a mayor who has been obsessed placing the label of "bad" upon as many teachers as he possibly can, with the hope of ridding the system of them.

Against this backdrop, we can clearly see the unintended consequences of the policy, first championed by former Chancellor Joel Klein, of supporting principals.

It was partially that policy that helped to produce the type of  principal that Linda Hill, of IS 49 of Staten Island, is. She allegedly committed the corrupt act of "double dipping" (paying herself hourly overtime from one budget line, while doing the same thing for the other) and allegedly committed what many would say is the more corrupt act of misusing the department's investigative resources (resources intended to ensure employee compliance of rules) so that she could go after a subordinate who threatened her position of power within her school.

While the first act is pedestrian in nature (somewhat akin to punching in at your second job while you're still punched in at your first) many identify the second act -more akin to Senator McCarthy accusing Murrow of being a communist because Murrow's show had challenged him and made him angry- as being far more vicious and destructive, as it has no other intent but to destroy the professional by following the course of defaming the person.

The defaming of Francesco Portelos the person began in December, 2011, after Portelos the professional, a member of his School's Leadership Team, discovered that the principal had submitted a budget without the input or consent of the SLT.

More at
http://nycdoenuts.blogspot.com/2013/01/hannibal-ad-portas.html

And links to some of Francesco's blogs:
'Don't Tread on Educators' and 'Educator's Survival Guide' 

TODAY: Come to the 1st MORE meeting of 2013!

Movement of Rank & File Educators

Weekly Update #41 - January 24th, 2013

Friend on Facebook Follow on Twitter Forward to a Friend Upcoming: General Mtg Sat 1.26    12-3pm / 224 w 29th 14 fl Democracy & Dignity In Education Forum     Sat 2.23 / 3-5pm    365 5th Ave. rm 5414 Planning/Election Cmte     Mon 2.4.13    Cosi - 55 Broad St. General Mtg Sat 2.9.13 Planning/Election Cmte        Thurs 2.21.13

Come to the 1st MORE meeting of 2013! 12:00-3:00pm, Saturday Jan 26th 2013 224 West 29th St. btwn 7/8ave NYC 14th floor During the recent evaluation negotiations, MORE fought for democracy within OUR union. MORE believes that members should have direct input into all major decisions. Evaluations are just one of many issues MORE is organizing around: closing schools, forced co-locations, over-testing and underfunding, ATRs, denial of tenure, mounds of paper-work, Danielson, common core, special ed violations, and the continued attempt to destroy unions (as in the current school bus strike)…. The time is now! Come build a positive alternative that challenges the UFT/Unity Caucus leadership. Join us at our general meeting Saturday 1/26.  We will discuss why we have been successful in growing this democratic movement and what our strategies will be moving forward. Come find out how to work with MORE in the upcoming UFT elections… including opportunities to run, petition for signatures, leaflet, and raise funds. There will also be an opportunity to discuss proposals for an elected MORE leadership body - reply to this email for details, or to join our discussion list. If you have sold raffle tickets bring money and/or unsold tickets to meeting, please contact us if you can't make it.

Solidarity with the Bus Driver's Strike! MORE proudly supports the Drivers, Matron-Attendant Escorts, and Mechanics of Local ATU 1181-1061 as their strike enters its second week to. They are fighting to protect their jobs as well as the safety of the students they drive to school. We implore the Mayor to bargain in good faith to ensure that our students continue to ride to school in safe buses with trained professionals.  We, the teachers of these students, demand no less! Check out Parents for Improved School Transportation for more info. Reply to this email for picket line locations to visit and show solidarity.   Call the Mayor’s Office at 1-888-833-7428 and Sign The Petition Today.   Important Updates Seattle Superintendant threatens test-boycotting teachers with suspensions. [Call or Email Supt. Banda - (206) 252-0180] Teacher Editorial: Why Seattle Teachers are boycotting the test. Jacobin Magazine on Lean Production in Education A Potent Mix of Politics: MORE and the Evaluation Negotiations Karen Lewis in Rethinking Schools Video on How to Defend Unions What happened in the evaluation deal?   While we applaud the UFT leadership for standing their ground, the MORE Caucus has no intention of giving up the fight to prevent our teachers and students from being given over to the standardized testing regime. We know there will be efforts in the future to convert our schools into low-level thinking factories and our teachers into low-skilled, low-paid bureaucratic functionaries. So, why did the evaluation deal fall through? Read MORE's post-mortem on the deal... Check out the new redesigned MoreCaucusNYC.org

Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire - Norm in the Wave on Teacher Evaluation

Published January 25, 2013 at www.rockawave.com


Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire
By Norm Scott

Kevin [Boyle, editor] tells me I only have 700 words, and I better hurry. Here’s the skinny: Deadline for teacher evaluation agreement based on test scores between UFT and DOE: Jan. 17, an artificial deadline imposed by thug governor Cuomo using extortion/threat of loss of $250 million in state aid (much of which will not go into classrooms but into the pockets of high priced consultants) with additional loss of $200 million in grants. Result: no agreement and bye, bye, $birdie.

Now State Ed Department head junior thug John King, who learned his thug spurs during the few years he spent managing a charter school chain known for thug-like harsh punishment of mostly African-American students – threatens the loss of another billion bucks if there is no agreement by Feb. 14, King’s Happy Valentine Day to the children and parents of New York City. Ahhhh, King loves the smell of jumbo class sizes in the morning.

It was wonderful to see the Daily News crying about high class size if the money is lost given the DN never gave a fig that under Bloomberg NYC schools have amongst the highest class sizes. Read the thug-supporting tabloids and the NY Times it is clear the UFT is totally irresponsible for wanting to avoid having teachers be held accountable for (fill in the blank) with anything you choose to blame a teacher for and then charge every teacher as an accessory responsible for all crimes committed by former students – using some holy data like former student test scores. If only those teachers did not make excuses or if they stayed after school until midnight to tutor the future criminal, the crime might have been averted.

Well, it turns out as the story emerged regarding the failure of the negotiations there were just a few twists and turns. As I was heading over to a rally outside the UFT building at 52 Broadway where a Delegate Assembly was taking place on the afternoon of the 17th, a meeting where I expected UFT President Michael Muldrow to cave to pressure and have an agreement ratified – I was loaded with almost 2000 leaflets urging people to vote NO on ANY agreement – word came through that there was no agreement. Oh, da trees murdered in the noble attempt of myself and my colleagues in the Movement of Rank and File Educators (MORE) UFT caucus to deflect the union leadership from folly of agreeing to use the failed model known as “Value-Added Measures” (VAM) to rate teachers. VAM has been so discredited in so many quarters it has been termed “junk science.”

So I dumped the leaflets and someone quickly created and printed another with the headline: RANK AND FILE MUST HAVE A SAY IN ANY AGREEMENT! END TO “COLLABORATION” with REFORMERS! You see, UFT leaders denied a MORE attempt in December to require them to hold a membership vote on a change in the contract claiming changing the way teachers are rated is not a contract change. Huh? (Mulgrew spent the entire meeting trying to convince everyone that the junk science of VAM was good medicine for them – liar, liar, pants on fire.)

So anyway, Mulgrew, painting himself a hero, held a 3PM press conference calling Bloomberg a liar, one of the few truthful things Mulgrew said. In fact, Mulgrew and Tweed made a deal the night before – though Chancellor Walcott (liar, liar….) echoed his liar, liar… boss and said there was no deal --- in other words, Mulgrew was willing to sacrifice teachers and their protections on the alter of faulty high stakes tests but was saved by Bloomberg. It seems that one of the provisions of the deal, not only in NYC, but in 90% of NY State was a one year sunset provision where this vast experiment bound to fail would be given another look. But Mulgrew, being generous, gave Bloomberg two years to get rid of high salaried teachers. But here comes Bloomberg to save Muldrow’s ass from himself – TLJ kills the deal – he no like sun set on deal given the real intention is not to get better teachers, just cheaper ones. TLJ claims Mulgrew is liar, liar… but turns out the principals had the same deal with a one year sunset and TLJ blew that off too. They back the UFT story – Bloomberg rechristened TLLJ - The Little Lying Jerk.

You can read more Norm – who wishes his lovely wife a Happy Birthday today - if you can stomach it – at his blog, ednotesonline.org.

Change the Stakes: Backing the Seattle Teachers

There's been a wealth of support for the test boycotters and now the Superintendent is threatening the teachers. I don't have time but I'm sure you an google the links as loads of email is flowing into the Superintendent. Here is a letter of support written for the teachers by Change the Stakes and MORE member Diana Zavala for our NYC based Change the Stakes Group. Diana is also a parent opt-outer for her kids.

Dear Superintendent Banda,

It has come to our attention that you plan to discipline teachers in the Seattle Public Schools who refuse to administer the MAP test in the Seattle school districts despite the unanimous support that their action has had across the nation, which has inspired all of us resisting the damage that high-stakes, standardized testing that for the past 10 years has negatively affected schools, communities (school closures, charters), and students (achievement gap, segregation/apartheid, drop in college preparedness) and teachers (high teacher turn-over) alike.

We firmly believe you are making a grave mistake in taking any punitive action against these brave individuals who acted (finally) for the benefit of the students. Like the teachers in Newton, Conn. who risked their lives to protect the children, the teachers in Seattle are living heros and an inspiration to parents and teachers everywhere. The overuse and abuse of testing has had damaging consequences for students for whose curriculum has been narrowed, whose needs are forced to fit a one-size fits all model of instruction, and who have been robbed from an evaluation process that is an informative tool that demonstrates genuine growth and predicts future success. Money spent on test production, scoring, test prep material, and software has been cut from classrooms and resources in favor of private pockets such as Pearson, LLC.

Please reconsider your actions and stand on the right side of the issue for the benefit of the Seattle students, schools,and the teachers. Their action should be a moment where school officials in your city take stock of the role testing in shaping instruction and consider whether you are doing grave damage to the quality of Seattle public schools by using student test scores to assess teachers.

Change The Stakes is a New York based organization made up of parents, teachers, principals, professors/scholars, and concerned residents who are part of a larger, and growing national movement against excessive testing.

We applaud the teachers in your district you propose to penalize. They are providing a powerful example for teachers throughout the nation

Sincerely,

Change The Stakes
NYC

Heckuva Job Mikey: RBE Writes MORE Campaign Lit

That's a heckuva job this union leadership has done selling you out and making sure your job is in jeopardy, you have lots more work to do, and your salary has stagnated.-- RBE at Perdido St. School

Really, this piece by Reality Based Educator should be printed and go into every teacher mailbox in the city. Or emailed out to every contact you have. Want to help organize for MORE? Gather ye colleagues' emails and send stuff like this out to them on a regular basis.

It is so good I am printing it in its entirety.

Thursday, Jan. 24, 2013

Mulgrew Brags In Daily News How APPR System Is His Baby

Mulgrew has an opinion piece in the Daily News that attacks Bloomberg for not wanting to come to an agreement on a teacher evaluation deal.

He says Bloomberg was the one who blew up the negotiations and points out that both the principals union head and NYSED Commissioner John King have backed the UFT up on that.

Then he notes the following:

To me, all this is evidence that Bloomberg may have decided that it is not in his interest to have a new teacher evaluation system in place when he leaves the political scene at the end of this year.

But that isn’t true for the UFT, which went to Albany and Washington to lobby for the creation of such a system and has been working toward one even as the Education Department has not.

King has said that the city’s Education Department “has not prepared effectively for implementation of the evaluation system.” To meet that need, which we discovered when we surveyed teachers earlier this year, the union has on its own sponsored briefings in the new evaluation methods for hundreds of both teachers and principals.

We are now working on a framework of best practices that the Education Department can use as part of the training system it must outline to King by Feb. 15 if it wants to avoid the loss of even more state and federal funds.

And we are willing to sit down to negotiate the new teacher evaluation system by the governor’s new Sept. 1 deadline.

The UFT is not the obstacle here. We believe the current evaluation system is inadequate. We want a new one that provides educators more nuanced ratings that give them the chance to grow on the job — and, yes, remove those who consistently underperform.

But if we are going to be successful, we will need people on the other side of the table who are interested in creating a system that will truly help teachers improve, not in leaving a legacy of blame.

UFT members, please note that Mulgrew is taking credit for going to Albany to lobby for a teacher evaluation system that uses tests scores, value-added measurements, growth models and the Danielson rubric with the 57 page checklist.

UFT members, please also note how the union leadership wants to see teachers fired under the new, "more nuanced ratings."

UFT members, please note how the UFT leadership is bragging about both of these facts in the NY Daily News.

So next year, when you get Student Learning Objectives that start on September 1 and you must keep folders with standardized assessments and standardized rubrics for students all the year through so that you can be graded on your performance, please know who to thank for that.

And next year when you get a new Teacher Data Report based upon the "state assessments" with a high margin of error and wide swings in stability, as the NY State value-added measurement model is sure to have both of these, please know who to thank for that.

And next year, when you are observed without notice by your APPR with her/his 57 page checklist and you are found to be ineffective because you didn't get a check on 3 of the 57 pages of the list, please know who to thank for that.

It's Michael Mulgrew and the leadership of the UFT who have brought you these "more nuanced ratings" in the form of evaluations based upon tests scores, value-added measurements, growth models, Student Learning Objectives and a classroom observation rubric with a 57 page checklist.

And all this work come with no raise, no salary increase - in fact, you didn't even get the 4%-4% that the other unions got as part of the pattern without having to give any concessions back.

That's a heckuva job this union leadership has done selling you out and making sure your job is in jeopardy, you have lots more work to do, and your salary has stagnated.

I am amazed that Mulgrew is bragging about this in public.

Sounds like he wants to be the ed deform movement's second favorite labor leader (Weingarten of course being the first.)

The sell-out is coming.

MORE Pres Candidate Cavanagh in NY Times

"The ‘bad teacher’ narrative as a way of explaining what’s wrong with our school system gets really old,” says Ms. Cavanagh. “Our union has taken a stance that we will collaborate and compromise and that is shortsighted when the other side seems bent on destroying you." -- Julie Cavanagh in NY Times

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/01/23/scorn-for-unions-threatens-mayors-educational-legacy/

Anything Michael Powell writes is worth reading, though one must pity his passion for the Mets (I didn't tell him Julie is a Phillies fan) and I think the Jets. Now I don't know if he knew Julie is running against Mulgrew and I also know that Julie tends to downplay putting herself front and center but what an interesting sidelight to this article that Julie as President along the Karen Lewis mode would be Bloomberg's and the ed deformers' worst nightmare.

Gotham Extra January 23, 2013, 6:43

Scorn for Unions Threatens Mayor’s Educational Legacy

By MICHAEL POWELL

Teachers Julie Cavanagh and Adam Stevens listen to the mayor pour boiling oil on their union, to his talk of imposing more tests and using the scores to draw a stringent measure of each teacher, and they wonder what world he inhabits.

Gotham Extra

Michael Powell on government and politics.

Ms. Cavanagh, 34, teaches at the highly rated Public School 15, in the working-class Brooklyn neighborhood of Red Hook. She already loses 16 days each school year to our mania for federal, state, and city tests. (I write “our mania” but this noun rarely applies to the $40,000 per year private schools attended by the children of the mayor and many education reformers, where the emphasis is on essay writing and the “whole child,” and a distrust of standardized testing prevails.) 



“Our school has never been about churning out day after day of test prep; we try hard not to be that narrow,” Ms. Cavanagh says. “Slowly but surely, though, the definition of success becomes based on a test score.”

As for Mr. Stevens, 38, he teaches history with much-admired passion at one of the city’s nationally ranked public high schools. “I love teaching history,” he says, “but I don’t want to find myself pushed to the curb in ten years because some of my kids didn’t do well on a test imposed on us by administrators who have set us both up to fail.”

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg styles himself an education revolutionary. He can claim accomplishments, and many rebuilt schools. Like many of that self-assured breed, however, he can sound deaf to the observations of his best front-line troops. Twelve years in, he risks making purism his trademark.

Last week he went to war on two fronts, and neither was very successful.
He took on the school bus owners and union drivers and attendants, who each day take more than 150,000 children to school. The mayor insisted that only competitive bidding for bus contracts – which could eviscerate union contracts – would yield the dollar savings he desires. His adherence to the religion of competitive bidding is wobbly; his administration came to the precipice of disaster in 2007, when consultants holding a no-bid, multimillion dollar contract recommended new bus routes that made very little sense.

Former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, a true negotiating carnivore, was threatened with a school bus strike years ago, but backed off after the companies and unions gave back tens of millions of dollars in savings.
(Comptroller John C. Liu also noted last week that the mayor’s education department planned to hand a no-bid, $10 million contract to track test scores to a company run by the former New York City schools chancellor, Joel I. Klein).

But it was the mayor’s failure last week to reach an agreement with the United Federation of Teachers on a new evaluation system that poses a real threat to his educational legacy.

The teachers union, aware that teachers chafe at being tied tight to the wheel of test scores, reluctantly agreed to a two-year trial run for a new evaluation system. Mr. Bloomberg would hear nothing of it; he insisted that an agreement must extend for perpetuity. The mayor took the same line with the union representing principals and administrators.

Each negotiation foundered as a result, in the final hours.
The mayor mounted his horse of indignation afterward, suggesting that the teachers union wanted only to kill the evaluations. The teachers union is no team of angels; it can be a stubborn, frustrating negotiating partner.
But the mayor’s account trips over inhospitable facts.

State education officials said that the Bloomberg administration had indicated early on that it was open to a two- year deal. More than 90 percent of school districts statewide agreed to deals with their unions that lasted either one or two years.

The Bloomberg administration’s hard line carries a price tag: It now risks losing hundreds of millions of dollars in federal and state aid.
The mayor has claimed that the teachers union’s leadership is out of touch with its members. He is perhaps half right.

Rank and file anger swells, some of it directed at the union itself. But trust in Mr. Bloomberg is an hourglass that has run out. Many teachers say the mayor has humiliated them, offering no raises since 2009 and last year releasing a database ranking 18,000 teachers based on student test scores. Mr. Bloomberg enjoys talking of bringing business practices to the public sector, but it’s hard to imagine top law and financial firms handing out evaluations of its partners to potential customers.

Ms. Cavanagh adores her Red Hook school and her children, 90 percent of whom come from families poor enough to qualify for free lunches. But she feels the walls of the system closing in.

“The ‘bad teacher’ narrative as a way of explaining what’s wrong with our school system gets really old,” says Ms. Cavanagh. “Our union has taken a stance that we will collaborate and compromise and that is shortsighted when the other side seems bent on destroying you.”
Her words speak to a revolution in peril.

UFT Elections: The Game is ON

I guess the UFT leadership feels they have a good election window given the breakdown of negotiations and Mulgrew coming out of it looking enhanced with Bloomberg clearly being proven as a liar.

So finally, at last night's UFT Executive Board meeting, an election committee was formed and expected to report back to the Feb. 4 EB meeting where the recommendations for ground rules will be voted on. That will probably kick off the petitioning campaign beginning at the Feb. 6 Delegate Assembly, usually a 6 week process, followed by a few weeks of campaigning, followed by roughly 3-4 weeks of balloting -- they are sent to the homes and returned by mail. So by my estimate, we are about 3 weeks behind previous elections, so expect April balloting with a count in the neighborhood of May 1. Just my guess.

MORE and New Action each get a rep on the election committee along with about 20 Unity people. Amy Arundel will head the committee. Thank goodness Ellen Fox relieved me of this task. I'll keep you posted on how this breaks out given the expansion of the Exec Bd.

Consider the spring break coming in the middle of balloting (if I am right about the time table) as a negative for MORE given that they will have free access to all school mailboxes during the election and will lose a week of campaigning. Unity will have its chapter leaders and District reps where they have no chapter leader stuff every mail box in the city with slick Unity lit a few times while New Action will send out its mostly retiree crew to do the same. While I used to do a lot of this too, I am mostly taking a pass this time  -- I will probably be doing my hair.

Though I am not always a fan of the traditional opposition tactic of spending the election running around from school to school stuffing mailboxes with lit, it is pretty much what will happen once again. My experience in the past was that we didn't get enough results out of this tactic but maybe times are different.

And as I am fond of saying, the Einstein definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. But what do I know? I'll leave it to the next gen MOREs to figure this crap out and learn for the future.

One other thing each caucus gets is a 2-page spread in the NY Teacher for two successive issues. Since few people bother to even read the NY Teacher (me included) the opposition gets few results from that too. But lots of anxt-time spent worrying about it. Again, I'll take a pass.

The only thing that works is having someone on the ground in as many schools as possible --- and I don't mean a passive person, but a reasonably active MORE supporter who is aware of the issues and able to articulate a response to the Unity line of malfeasance.

It mostly takes a ballot return ground game since 75% of the working teachers don't vote --- many just toss the confusing ballot. So if you are unhappy with Unity MORE would need people in the schools to remind people to send back the ballot, hopefully with the MORE slate checked off. Not just remind people -- but even set up a "voting day" where everyone who didn't vote brings in their ballots and all get mailed out together.

If people actually voted --- say double the vote -- Unity would feel heat and in fact could lose some Executive Board seats which they desperately want to avoid, preferring to hand 8 seats over to their pals in New Action.

And another thing people in the schools can do is explain exactly who New Action is and what they are doing in this election --- the bidding of Unity to split the opposition vote -- and do not forget many of the New Action people are on the UFT payroll -- sort of reminds me of Bill Thompson's wife who had her museum receiving Bloomberg money while her husband was running against him. Thompson ran the worst campaign in history.

No wonder New Action made such a big deal about supporting Thompson last time and maybe they will again this time since Thompson seems to have a lot of money coming in from -- hmmm, think Bloomberg is abandoning  Quinn and supporting Lhota but pumping up Thompson, who will run another awful campaign again?

Coming UFT slogan: Only 12 more years of Lhota.