Is the NYC Parks Department Racist?

One would certainly think so given the fact that small, insular, wealthy communities (full disclosure - I live in one of them) get lifeguards - lots of them while the poorer east end Rockaway communities get zilch.

More evidence that Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who has compared himself to Martin Luther King as a civil rights activist, supports closet racist policies that have lead to more segregated schools, the disappearing black teacher, and entire beach communities of people of color who do not have lifeguards and are threatened with summonses and arrest by Parks Dept. police if they should venture to put a toe in the water.

Message from NYC Parks Dept. head Adrienne Benepe:
Hey people of color: OK to sit on a crowded beach, but don't go in the water.

Here is an excerpt from a letter to Parks Dept. head Adrienne Benepe by Jeanne Dupont, who leads the Rockaway Waterfront Alliance:

The population in these areas are polar opposites; Neponsit has a population of .02% minorities, where Far Rockaway has a 98% minority population. This cannot continue, as this is racial discrimination and could put the Parks Department in serious danger of legal action if it were investigated further.

Here's Jeanne's entire letter:

Please register your complaint that Far Rockaway needs its lifeguards every day, not just on the weekends. Visit 106 Headquarters for Lifeguards at Beach 106th Street on the boardwalk, call (718) 318-4000 extension 0, or call 311.

From Beach 75th Street on up, there are lifeguards every 100 yards. The outright neglect of our neighborhood is abominable, so please make yourself heard.

You may also want to write to Adrian Benepe, the NYC Parks Commissioner. Attached (and below) is a letter that Jeanne DuPont of Rockaway Waterfront Alliance sent today.

Thank you.

July 8, 2008

Mr. Adrian Benepe

Commissioner

NYC Department of Parks & Recreation

The Arsenal

16 West 61^st Street

New York, NY 10023

Dear Commissioner Benepe,

As you know, Rockaway Waterfront Alliance has been working to encourage the public to use their waterfront through programs and activities that are so desperately needed in the Rockaway community. But it is difficult to watch as much of our work is undone by PEP patrol officers who chase the public off their beaches in search of an ‘open’ beach with lifeguards.

Last year in our local paper, you ‘Pledged a Commitment’ to the Rockaway community. But since that time little has changed and we still have no “Learn to Swim” or local “Lifeguard Training” programs anywhere in the Rockaways and the lifeguard recruiting process does not seem to be getting the numbers of lifeguards required to keep our beaches safe.

As it stands now, certain beaches are extremely well staffed for the privileged few, while other beaches in Rockaway are extremely underserved; putting the public at risk and overextending the lifeguards themselves.

For the past two weekends the beachfront at Beach 25^th Street in the Rockaways has had well over 500 people each day, and no lifeguard at all during the week. This beach is adjacent to one of the largest populations of people on the peninsula, exceeding 25,000 residents and yet there is only 1 lifeguard stand for miles of public waterfront all the way to Beach 74^th Street.

This seems extremely unjust given the fact that areas on the far western end of the Peninsula like Neponsit, have more than 21 lifeguards; 7 stands, 100 yards apart for less than 2,000 residents in an area with no public boardwalk, parking by permit only, and no access to public transit. This would seem to be a “private beach” paid for with public resources that are required to serve seven miles of public waterfront.

There is a drastic contrast in services provided between City Council District 31 and 32; two districts that lie adjacent to one another along the same waterfront. City Council District 31 presently has only 4 lifeguard stands from Beach 9^th Street to Beach 54^th Street, while City Council District 32 has over 72 lifeguard stands from Beach 74^th Street to Beach 149^th Street, every 100 yards apart.

It is also important to note that the population in these areas are polar opposites; Neponsit has a population of .02% minorities, where Far Rockaway has a 98% minority population. This cannot continue, as this is racial discrimination and could put the Parks Department in serious danger of legal action if it were investigated further.

To address the present shortage on the Eastern end, I would ask that the Parks Department in the very least, have lifeguards all week long at the 1 stand at Beach 25^th Street and consider designating more stands along the beaches from Beach 25^th Street to Beach 38^th Street, to ensure the publics safety and emergency back up for the lifeguards that are stationed there.

Additionally, NYC legislation should to be revised, as it is in all other US coastal states to have a “swim at you own risk” policy. By doing this the city would reduce their risk of lawsuits and could use the funds, presently used for PEP officers to hire certified lifeguards, so we can have more ‘open’ swimmable beaches and less harassment to the public who deserve the right to use their waterfront.

I would be interested in speaking with you further about these issues. If you would like to meet to discuss how some of these things might be resolved, I can be reached 917 975-5623.

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Jeanne DuPont

Director

Rockaway Waterfront Alliance

cc:

Councilman Joseph Addabbo

Steve Cooper, Frank Ave Civic of Edgemere

Richard George, Beachside Bungalow Preservation Assoc.

Phil Karmel/ Bryan Cave LLC

Congressman Gregory Meeks

Les Paultre. Rockaway Beachside Neighborhood Assoc.

Assemblywoman Audrey Pheffer

Stephanie Samoy

Councilman James Sanders

State Senator Malcolm Smith

Barbara Smith, Deerfield Civic Assoc.

Assemblywoman Michele Titus

Joel and Michelle Have Fun in the Sun (Valley)

http://normsnotes2.blogspot.com/2008/07/joel-and-michelle-have-fun-in-sun.html

Wendy Kopp Blows Up the Bridge on the River KIPP

"What Have I Done?" - Colonel Nickolson (Alec Guiness), says in Bridge on the River Kwai.

You know the story. Brit Nickolson drives the building of an important bridge for the Japanese war effort in a test of wills with the Japanese commandant of the prison camp. When the British send a team to blow it up, Nicholson realizes what he's done as he falls on the dynamite fuse that blows up his loving creation.

So, one day when Nirvana has been reached and every school in America is a KIPP school and every 2 years a corps of millions of Teach for America teachers storm into urban schools as replacement troops for the old guard, some of whom have reached the mandatory 25 year old age limit for teachers, it will dawn on Wendy Kopp that the achievement gap is no closer to being closed.

And she will shout, "What have I done," as she falls on the plunger that will blow up every KIPP school.

And some chronicler will end this updated version of the movie, tentatively titled, "Bridge on the River KIPP," with the comment, "Madness! Madness ... madness!"

Hot Items Worth Checking Out

UPDATE:

Flattening the Great Education Myth
Over at Susan Ohanian's place, David Sirota goes after Tom Friedman's happy talk about a flat earth - or is it a flat economy - or is it a flat tire?
Sirota points out that there will be no jobs even if the the achievement gap is closed. And Friedman and the ed reform gang know that. Which leads us to KIPP and training kids to snap to when Walmart comes a-call'n.

Russo's TWIE has a piece on TFA. All is not glitter in the land of gold.

Titans Seek New York Mayor in Bloomberg's Mold
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/07/nyregion/07mayor.html?ref=nyregion&pagewanted=all

Leonie Haimson comments:

The business community is apparently looking for another corporate type to succeed Bloomberg – while claiming that the administration has been nonpolitical, which is entirely mistaken. His regime has politicized education like never before – spending a huge amount on PR, for example, while running it like a fiefdom.

The Bloomberg administration is considered an ally to many corporations, especially developers. Rezoning projects under his watch have opened large swaths of the city to new construction. And Mr. Bloomberg, especially, travels in the same orbit as many of the city's elite; he goes to their functions and they to his; he gives to their causes and they reciprocate.

Clearly, they want someone who will run the city according to their interests – and since they don't send their kids to NYC public schools, they have no interest in promoting the candidacy who will work to actually improve classroom conditions.

Followed by Diane Ravitch:

Leonie,

You don't understand. If the mayor acts on behalf of developers and major corporations, that is "non-political." If he acts on behalf of unions or ordinary parents, that's political.

Education Summit in Rockaway

Back in April, a supposed education bloggers summit was held in Washington – on a school day when most teachers couldn't attend.

The idea of having a NYC Ed bloggers summit of people who actually teach was hatched. When is the best time? Why during the summer when teachers are most available.

An influential community of educational activists and powerful voices from the blogosphere has grown in the NYC area. This has been an exciting development. But some of these pockets of activity are isolated from others. And those that are in touch all too often people see each other at meetings but have little opportunity to socialize.

I thought it would be a good opportunity to get together in a relaxing environment for an afternoon and evening of socializing (and socialization).

If BloomKlein had dropped a net from a helicopter and lifted off, they would have removed a major source of criticism
So, yesterday, I invited around 60 education activists (and some friends) out to Rockaway to chat, chew and hang out. I could have asked a hundred but my deck would have sunk into the sea. (Sorry, I know I missed some people.)

Forty five showed up and the day turned from cloudy and muggy into the spectacular afternoons and evenings we have out here so often. Many took the 3 block stroll to the beach. On the way back they could see the Manhattan skyline lurking in the background at the end of my block.

Truly multi-generational
People with a 40 year age gap from NYCORE, Teachers Unite, ICE, ICOPE, parent advocates from the NYC Education listserve, assorted independents and UFT activists. And a bunch of bloggers, many anonymous (they were invited to wear Joel Klein, Randi Weingarten or Eduwonkette masks.) Some who were online friends, met for the first time.

People asked if Eduwonkette, the subject of Elizabeth Green's piece in yesterays' NY Sun, was around. Maybe she was. How would we know? She's anonymous.

"Why didn't you invite Randi Weingarten," some joked.

Sorry, we only asked activists.

Filmmaker Elizabeth Rodd joined us to do some interviews for her film on NYC education.
What did they talk about? How do I know. I was busy grilling, moving trash, and generally making sure the person known as NLSW (Norm's Long Suffering Wife) wasn't going to make me sleep under the deck.

Dave B. put up a panorama shot here.

Elizabeth Green on Eduwonkette's Impact

Green does it again with today's article on Eduwonkette, proving Green is the only ed reporter in NYC, and maybe the nation, with her finger on all the buttons.

Note Rotherham's usual attack about allowing an anonymous blogger. "I don't think this is going to be remembered as Ed Week's finest hour."

Andy, this isn't going to be remembered as your finest decade.

Interesting that Eduwonkette blogged for over 3 months and was already having a major impact before Ed Week came calling - exactly why they did. And on her first day of blogging, Rotherham promoted her blog - I guess it was seeing his head on that chorus line gal's body. Maybe he still holds a grudge.

But ed notes had the scoop as we were the first to promote the blog on the first day it appeared. The Wonkette talked about my favorite topic that entire first week - teacher quality. In addition to all her other skills, she's quite a photoshopper.

Rotherham talks about Eduwonkette as "having skin in the game." Do you know one of his major points of proof? She once used me as a stringer to cover a panel that Rotherham was on.

Green writes:

"Call me old fashioned and curmudgeonly, but I can't stand it when the wonks break out in a 'research shows' chorus with no references," Eduwonkette wrote in one post. "If research so valiantly and definitively shows it, you should be able to tell us whose research shows it." Then she quoted a top city administrator, Garth Harries, as speaking at an event about research showing that teacher quality has a greater effect on student learning than class-size reduction and yet, upon questioning, not being able to cite any studies to demonstrate it.

I was the one who challenged Garth Harries at the event mentioned in the article when he put out the usual "research shows" story on teacher quality since no one has figured out exactly how to make that judgement. Klein (and Weingarten, unfortunately) often say the same thing.

But, holy cow, when it comes to Eduwonkette, both Randi and I agree. But wait till the day comes when Wonkette takes as close a look at the UFT as she does the DOE. Where is the research on union ineffectiveness? Oh, I forgot. The 2005 contract and its aftermath.

Here is the link to the NY Sun article.

Teach for America: The One That Got Away

I've been attending a July 4th party out here in Rockaway for about 30 years. I've seen my friends' kids and all their friends grow up - from 10 years old to 40 today - yikes. Their son has kept in touch with many classmates as far back as kindergarten.

Some of the best conversations I've had over the past 15 years has been with Eric, who has taught at an elite Manhattan private school for the past 12 years.

"The year I graduated was the first year for Teach for America and I went to one of their presentations. I saw immediately the idea was not for me. Six weeks to become a teacher? Of the most needed kids? No way!"

Eric fit the TFA profile. Ivy League, accepted at medical school, but wanting to try his hand at teaching even though he had taken no ed prep in college. Coming from a family with 3rd world roots, he would have been an asset to TFA to pump up their poor statistics in recruiting people of color.

Eric chose another route: two years as an assistant teacher in early childhood classes in another city. The obligatory MA from Teachers College and a full-time teaching job in kindergarten at an elite Manhattan private school, which he has been at for 12 years. Even ended up marrying the woman who was his assistant teacher and she is teaching there too.

Top private schools insist that teachers do a year or two of apprenticeship before turning their kids over to them. Anything hinting at a TFA model would be laughed at.

"But you're comparing apples and oranges," you might say.

The point is that all the very people claiming that closing the achievement gap is a civil rights issue, promote a program that provides a very different educational experience to the kids most in need. We hear the term "quality teacher" bandied about all the time. Yet none of these people advocate a plan that would train teachers to the point where they would actually be ready to go in and teach effectively. They use the TQ issue to engage in witch hunts for supposed "bad" teachers - which in their parlance means failure to demonstrate high test scores – rather than try to come up with a permanent solution that might cost, say, a fraction of the money used for wars or corporate bailouts.

But that wouldn't fit the very different models the corporate supporters of TFA and other schemes have.

The wealthy and suburban kids get skilled teachers and a broad based curriculum that prepares them to take a leadership role in the workplace.

The urban poor kids of color, except for the top performers who are skimmed off, are handed over to people trained for 6 weeks. Teachers are deskilled and expected to teach a narrow, test-driven curriculum which will prepare those kids who manage to get through high school for a job in data entry - basically handling the cash register at the local drug store.

See Under Assault's excellent analysis of Wendy Kopp's "selling" of TFA.

We Get Lettters

Mr Scoot,

How are your ? Can you remember me? I'm the girl who has cried because her team failed in the match in FLL. I'm busy with my study, so I touch with your so late. I feel sorry about it.

I wanted to watch your blog, but I can't find it in the Internet. I just want to see the photo about you and me. Because you said you would put it in your blog.

My summer holiday is coming,what about your? Will you come to China to watch the Olympic Games? I hope to see you in China.

Keep touch with me if you have time. I'm eager to receive your letter.

yours

Serena

Okay, so at the Asian FLL Open in Tokyo in April, when I and my co-ref (a strong-willed college kid from Tokyo - thank god - because I would have caved in a minute) took 40 points off because their oil barrel was touching the water, the kids on the Chinese (mainland) team argued vehemently, claiming the rules translated into Chinese did not include this provision. Their chief lawyer, a 16 year old boy who I would want representing me anytime, finally said, "Well, give us half. We'll settle for 20." Sorry, no can do. At which point Serena started to cry, saying it was all her fault. I gave them all my card and told them to come to NY to help us with our tournaments. The next day they came around to take pictures.

Note the pandas on their heads.

Oh, and if there are any grammar police out there, excuse me for not marking up Serena's wonderful attempt at English.

And feel free to call me Scoot.

NYC Chancellor Joel Klein, Esq.'s Dirty Secret For Purging Teachers

The New York City Board of Education's Infamous "Rubber Rooms"
by David Pakter
guest column

A highly respected commentator's remark about stopping by the Chapel Street Rubber Room recently certainly brought back many memories for me. I cannot refer to them as "bitter-sweet". Those heady days three years ago when I was stationed there (which now continues, somewhere else, by the way), defy placing any sort of understandable descriptive term to them, at least to the non Rubber Room detainee or graduate.

Like the Lotto, "You have to be in it- to win it", or at least comprehend it. Surrealistic, bizarre, self-contradictory, humorous, pathological. One or even all of these terms, alone or fused together in any which way one chooses, hardly can convey what it means to experience the process of being placed and then "surviving", in one of Chancellor Joel Klein, Esq.'s Rubber Room gulags.

During all the decades I taught, now approaching four decades, I, as all teachers were aware that from time to time a fellow teacher in a school would suddenly, as often occurred during Argentina's darkest years, be "disappeared".

Suddenly there is that "Space in the Air", as Jon Silkin once described it in a powerful poem, an empty vacumn, where a colleague, perhaps respected and/or beloved, once stood but stands no more. Wherever did he/she go?

Even thirty years ago teachers were from time to time suddenly "disappeared". But most teachers did not give it that much thought, at least not in the way they do today. Of course for a few days we all shared and passed on the ridiculous and predictable gossip and preposterous rumors that inevitably spread around the school when something out of the ordinary happens.

"Maybe Mr. Jones was caught kissing Miss Baker in the store room of the school Library"

( Note: The term "Ms." had not yet been invented.)

Lions and Tigers and Bears-oh my!

We imagined, so very long ago, that poor Mr. Jones was sitting in some district office at an empty corner desk next to some pathetic looking wilting potted plant, near the window, under the watchful eyes of some grey suited Assistant Superintendent, awaiting his well deserved Fate.

Obviously such types of fraternizing as "kissing" in a public building, no less a school, could not be tolerated.

What if children actually realized that grown adult human beings were capable of having real feelings? What would the world come to?

But certainly no teachers imagined that people were "disappeared" due to some dark and malevolent grand scheme hatched by high ranking school officials meeting behind dark oak paneled doors in Board of Education conference rooms "downtown",wherever"downtown"was supposed to be.

But now fast forward a few decades. And what a difference a few decades can make. As the years passed and the world continued to turn and change, things in the city's schools became quite different.

The frequency with which teachers became "disappeared" increased, at first slowly and then escalating ever more quickly, into a steady drumbeat. In schools where a teacher was at one time "disappeared" once in a blue moon, say once in ten years, it became once in five years, then once in two years, then every six months and then, was it even possible, once in three weeks.

Was it possible some virus had arrived on our American shores, that was suddenly causing so many teachers to start sneaking clandestine kisses in Library storage rooms. Or was the blame to be placed on all the spores of dust on those old library books, extolling the achievements of Christopher Columbus who had supposedly "discovered" The New World. Though I never quite figured out how you "discover" a place where people have already been residing for thousands of years.

But now here we are in the present. The newest age of Enlightenment in which whatever is sufficiently old- is now magicly "new". If the tactics of the Spanish Inquisition were good enough for the friends of Christopher Columbus, then they are surely good enough for we who live in these "modern times".

And thus "my friends", (if I may borrow a term from my friendly neighborhood library, often employed by a man who is convinced he is qualified and prepared to become President of the United States of America), behold the latest reincarnation of the largest urban school system in America.

Can anyone be surprised that so many more teachers are being "disappeared" at a time when the person appointed to be the Chancellor of the School System is a former Federal Prosecutor whose job was to- surprise of surprises-"prosecute" people.

And so any person, reporter and/ or curious visitor who happens to visit the now famous detainee center known as the "Chapel Street Rubber Room" cannot be surprised that this very large and long room, in spite of its generous dimensions, is bursting at the seams with its continuously ballooning prisoner population of "disappeared" former educators.

How ironic that when, from time to time, these "disappeared" teachers look out their prison windows, they find themselves staring down at an old historic Brooklyn Church whose claim to Fame is that a Pope once visited that ancient House of Worship. An engraved plaque next to the entrance says so.

"Get thee there to that Chapel, all ye teachers, with all due deliberate speed and ask, perhaps beg, for Forgiveness. And for all ye former educators who may have a tinge of guilt upon your Souls for having offended Mr. Chancellor/ Prosecutor and his countless stooges, lapdogs, lackeys, and assorted hatchet people, may the Good Lord, in his Mighty Mercy, have pity on your sinning Souls.

"There is yet time to repent of your Sins. Grovel and search for Redemption if ye have it in you to still do so, for you have sorely offended the New York City Board of Education."

And let us now bow our undeserving heads, and pray.
_______________________________________________________________________

David Pakter, M.A., M.F.A. (Artist and Instructor of Medical Illustration)

Decorated by former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani in New York City Hall
as "Teacher of the Year" for Exceptional Achievement in Education

contact at: david@OldMasterPortraits.com

Schmidt on RICO Investigation of CTU and Substance Coverage of NEA

Substance is putting up reports from the NEA convention written by Jack Gerson of Oakland. Many people have met Jack over the years, and he needs no introduction from me. I think that for NEA there will be multiple sources of information, and that will be good for all of us.

So starting late tonight or early tomorrow, you'll be able to read Jack's reports from NEA at www.substancenews.net.

Then, beginning next Thursday, you can read our staff reports from AFT on the same site.

Thanks again to everyone who convinced AFT that it was a good idea to let Substance cover the AFT convention.

We just got work yesterday that the feds are conducting a RICO kind of investigation into the recent silliness inside the Chicago Teachers Union. While these factual realities make great grist for Antonucci, we've got to be careful how loudly we cheer. If AFT gets through the Chicago convention without some major blowup based on Chicago's local stupidities (that's a huge plural), it will be a miracle.

At least we got our press credentials for the Substance team coverage. Janet Bass asked that we try to be "complete" and "accurate" and I promised her that's what we intended from the beginning. Accuracy doesn't mean that we agree with what we're reporting, but merely that we will begin with the facts and double check the main ones. For example, that RICO fact I report in the first paragraph of this e-mail is well sourced. Anyone who cares about Randi and our strength as a union (factions aside) might let her know that's brewing here in the host city of the upcoming convention. She's going to have enough headaches running AFT without having to deal with Chicago's sandbox stupidities.

By tomorrow night, we should have out Web updates well in hand, testing he functions on our newly re-coded site (it should be about five times faster) the next couple of days with Jack Gerson's reports from Washington, D.C. and then providing daily coverage from July 10 through July 15 from and about AFT.

George N. Schmidt
Editor, Substance

www.substancenews.net

ICE Analyzes Rubber Room Deal

Read this great post at the ICE blog.
Just more public relations- allows Tweed to deflect criticism that so many people are getting paid while giving the UFT it's PR with the people and press it is courting - " see, we are a progressive union looking to expedite getting rid of teachers" while trying to sell the membership the idea it is it doing it for the teachers.

The Daily Howler Howls at Rhee

The Music Man opened tonight at the Rockaway Theater Company. I saw the dress rehearsal last night and was reminded of the old flim flam being pulled on the public schools in this country.

So I was a little deja vued when I read the Chancellor's New Clothes' great post on Wendy Kopp taking her tenure test which included a link to this wonderful year old Daily Howler link to the Michelle Rhee bullshit story (as retold by Kopp and unchallenged by "journalist" Charlie Rose) of performing miracles in her short teaching career.

A not to be missed expose of the flim-flam men and women driving education into the ground. We're still waiting for Joel Klein to tell us how he performed miracles in the classroom in his 6 months of teaching before he hit the draft lottery that allowed him to escape. Don't you just love all these people who couldn't wait to get out of the classroom telling everyone how it's done?

Go read both posts in full, but here are some delicious excerpts:

From CNC:
What cognitive skills should a child of ten years be able to perform?
Kopp: Wow. Good question. Let me just start by telling you that after teaching for two years, Teach for America members really understand that all kids really can learn. I was talking to Joseph, a corp member from the Bronx, who really thinks this.

From DH
For years, Rhee has been telling a pleasing story. She performed an educational miracle at Harlem Park—and she “earned acclaim” in the national media for this brilliant success. Our reaction? Speaking frankly, her claim about test scores is so extreme that we would regard it as suspect on its face. Now, there also seem to be a question about the “acclaim” which she says she earned. But once again, the big problem here is the Narrative of the Miracle Cure—the pleasing tale that routinely takes the place of serious talk about low-income schools.

Rhee’s narrative is deeply inspiring—and the things that she learned were highly convenient. It was all about the quality of educators, Rhee was quickly able to see. Driven by this helpful insight, Rhee quit the classroom, set up a non-profit, and paid herself big bucks for a decade, as she peddled this load of bull to a generation of hopeful black parents.

In our view, that’s a pleasing, music man’s tale; it has taken the place, in the past forty years, of serious thought about low-income schools.

In our own thirteen years in the Baltimore schools, we came to regard that pleasing tale as the hallmark of hustlers, con men and do-dos. (For the record, we were inclined to believe it too—before we spent time in the classroom.) It substitutes for serious thought—and wins big pay-days for its adherents.

MUSIC WOMAN: By the way, parents—listen up! The ability and potential of your children is endless!

And not only that! Rhee possesses a magic wand which makes root beer come from the sprinklers.

Follow Rhee Doins at the Educational Rheeform blog.
Photoshopping by DB/Sol/Sal

UFT Staff Changes: Mulgrew is the Boss

Mulgrew the big winner; Sprung, Engler rise

AFT Staffers beware. This is what you have to look forward to when you get your new boss next week.

A new structure in the UFT pretty much ensures that Randi Weingarten will stand for re-election in the 2010 UFT elections.

Mike Mulgrew will be the Chief Operating Officer and strong man of the UFT. This seems to be a newly created position that will enable him to function as Randi Weingarten's surrogate when she is out of town. Michael Mendel has been playing this role, and this seems to push him out of the way. Too bad. Many of us view him as the most capable person. (It looks like I win my $10 bet with Ellen Fox, who claimed he would be the next UFT Pres.)

People have predicted this for Mulgrew, the fast-rising power in the UFT, who just a few years ago was the chapter leader of Grady Vocational HS. We have predicted he would play the Tom Pappas role. But do not look for him to be UFT president in the near future. I'll give reasons why in future posts.

Here is one Mulgrew anecdote. After John Powers made his GHI/HIP resolution at the June DA, Mulgrew was telling people to vote against it. John called up to Randi telling her a UFT VP was trying to tell people how to vote.

The Staff Director, traditionally the seat to power in the UFT - it was held for a long time by Sandi Feldman who appointed Tom Pappas when she became UFT President and he continued in that job for years under Randi - will now be divided between Leroy Barr, Gary Sprung and Elie Engler.

After many years of stability, in the last 3 years we have had: Liz Languilli, Michael Mendel, Jeff Zahler, Leroy Barr, and now a troika. And of course we had the resignation of Michelle Bodden as elementary VP, a story we broke. We said at the time that Barr was a surprise appointment to create an African-American alternative to Bodden. Now, 6 months later, it seems Randi is not happy. By the way, the staff director job pays a lot of money. Will all 3 earn this high salary?

Elie Engler is fairly popular (ironically, an ICE founder has a long-time connection to her.) But Sprung, Pappas' hatchet man, is an old face. There has been no Unity Caucus member who seemed more despised by his fellow Unity Caucus brethren (they used to whisper in my ear) over the years, though he seems to have mellowed a bit - but reports do flow in as to how incredibly nasty and disrespectful he is still capable of being. (I saw him in action when he did that to a friend of mine at a DA who was helping me with ed notes - ironically, it is she who has the connection to Elie Engler.)

Sprung is extremely hard working and capable (he has made sure the Executive Board meetings are well stocked with great food.) Not a guy who seems comfortable up front, look for him to be the main force behind the scenes as staff director - a strong arm guy who doesn't care who he offends - excecpt Randi, of course.

Sprung and I almost got into a fight at a DA when he threw 500 copies of Ed Notes in the garbage can. Pappas came over and had us make up after I embarrassed them by raising a point of order at the beginning of the Delegate Assembly about 10 seconds after Randi began to speak (this was just after she became UFT President and I was able to push for rules that protected the distribution of critical literature, which has been eroded since the UFT moved into 52 Broadway.) Randi ordered them to give me my own table for Ed Notes.

Since then, Gary and I have gotten along - on and off. I used to list him as the real power behind Ed Notes, hoping some Unity hacks would take it seriously. Some actually gave him grief for talking and joking with me. We've shared a few laughs over the years as Gary doesn't mince words about his likes and dislikes. Too bad I can't share them.

Gary spends lots of time at a beach near me in Rockaway. If you hear of a drowning, I have an alibi.

Stories of the Day

Updated 7/4/08

Rubber rooms: UFT makes deal with DOE
Check out the ICE analysis of the deal which comes up smelling of public relations
One would ask why there had to be a deal to hire more arbitrators to speed cases as an alternative to letting people rot in rubber rooms when it seems it would be in the interest of the DOE to get these things done as quickly as possible. So why haven't they? Is it due to the numerous cases of people being railroaded by principals with vendettas? Has the DOE been using the rubber rooms as holding pens to support principals who wanted to keep political opponents or people who were "negative" when they tried to push programs that looked ridiculous to educators? Knowing full-well that many of these cases would not hold up, they chose to pay people. Maybe the political pressure grew too great.

By the way, when I made a suggestion to do this at an Executive Board meeting back in 2005, Randi Weingarten attacked me. And when Jeff Kaufman called on the UFT in June 2006 to hire people to do independent investigations, he was similarly attacked.

It was ICE people that consistently drove the UFT to take action on the rubber rooms, which they did not want to know about until we raised it and began bringing people to Executive Board meetings to speak out. What we ended up with was a useless UFT SWAT rubber room team where the infighting is worthy of Kabuki theater.

Michelle Rhee Targets Seniority, Tenure
Rhee wants to bribe people with high salaries to give up seniority and tenure and be willing to undergo a yearly review, based on the ability to raise test scores. People in it for the short term might take the deal, as might people near retirement (bet these people get reviewed out of the system in a heart beat.) Anyone looking for a teaching career in Washington DC better not be tempted.

And here's a good one because of some old friends:
Miami/Dade County Teachers locked in battle with district
They want to cancel promised raises due to budget cuts. So NYC teachers who expect automatic raises should be aware that this can happen. It did to us back in the 70's and 80's (I think.)

Former NYC Chancellor Rudy Crew (forced out by Giuliani) is the Miami superintendent and former long-time NYCDOE personal director Howie Tames is a labor consultant.

Labor consultant Howard Tames said the district hoped to reach a compromise with the teachers. ''It's the district's position that all employees are important and we want to give money to them,'' Tames said. "But by law, the budget gap has to be filled before we can give out the raises.''

Crew said he will not take his raise either. Crew and Tames still look like gold compared to the crew we got at Tweed.

Howie was a former chapter chairman Unity Caucus member in District 14 who rose quickly though the ranks at the DOE in the mid -70's to head the DOE personnel department, becoming a mainstay and dominant figure through multiple chancellors. Howie knew everyone and knew which buttons to push and he did a lot of favors for a lot of people. He didn't fit the corporate model and was purged under BloomKlein (though he will deny it.)

Howie is also one of my fraternity brothers. We went through some rough times in the 70's when the opposition group "Another View in District 14" (members were amongst the founders of ICE a generation later) battled the local political gang and city-wide Unity Caucus machine. Some of my colleagues still have resentments but Howie and I buried the hatchet a long time ago. Bet he has some fun Tweedle stories. Can't wait for him to write his memoirs.

Questions on NEA/AFT Merger Prospects

While many in NYC speculated Randi's support of Hillary was aimed at procuring a cabinet position, I never bought into it. Randi's real ambition I believe is to lead the labor movement. A precursor of that would be a merger of the 1.4 million member AFT with the 3.4 million member NEA.

But is there any way Randi could end up leading a merged organization when the AFT is so much smaller?

We know there are significant differences - the NEA has term limits while the AFT has had only 4 presidents in 35 years.

The AFT is tightly controlled and has little democracy, with the UFT's Unity Caucus in NYC exerting control over the entire AFT through the Progressive Caucus, the national version of Unity. The NEA/AFT merger in NY State (NYSUT) has created a 600,000 bloc in the AFT and potentially the NEA.

Though I often disagree with Educational Intelligence Agency's Mike Antonucci, I respect his knowledge and opinions. (We spent a couple of days chatting in the press section at the AFT convention in Washington in 2004 - Mike though based in California, is originally a Bushwick guy from Brooklyn.)

With the ascension of Randi Weingarten as AFT president due to take place next week, I was wondering how strategies towards an NEA/AFT merger will emerge, so I sent him these questions:

Mike
I'm looking forward to your coverage of the NEA. Are you doing the AFT too? I cannot make it (I'm going to a Zombies concert in NYC and would rather see those zombies than the Unity drones in Chicago.)
.
One of the issues of interest is how a merger will play out with Randi leading the AFT and I hope you might touch on some of these issues.

Can she emerge as the head of a merged union? Will she be at the NEA convention and play a prominent role?

We know that the AFT/UFT model has resistance in the NEA but can a Unity Caucus-like machine be implemented state by state?

What role does the 600,000 member NYSUT play? Is this a strategy to take the NEA from underneath? What about other merged states?

What role will the UTLA play - will their more militant/left political orientation emerge as a counter to Weingarten's collaborative model that has so set back the teacher union movement in NYC?

There are groups meeting in Chicago working on the peace and justice caucus and some people from ICE will be there.


Hi Norm:

I won't be in Chicago for a number of reasons, but I've noted your stories about George Schmidt and his struggles to get a credential. My getting one was never a slam dunk either, and would have been particularly difficult this time.

You ask a lot of good questions, but I can only definitively answer a few. First, yes, Randi could emerge as the head of a merged union, but only under term limits. Any merger would probably lead to a tacit agreement to alternate presidents - first Van Roekel, then Randi. But timing is everything. A merger attempt would have to get started almost immediately, because I guarantee Randi wouldn't stand a chance against Lily Eskelsen, who is much like Randi, only vastly more popular.

Also, I find it highly unlikely that a caucus system would ever catch on in NEA. Some states might try it and like it, but it would take ages for it to spread.

As for NYSUT and the merged states, the thing to watch for there is any attempt at NEA to change its representation rules for the merged affiliates. As you probably know, though NEA claims all the NYSUT members as NEA members, NYSUT only pays NEA dues and has voting representation rights for the former NEANY members. It's the same in Minnesota, Montana and Florida. But Minnesota, for example, has been merged for almost 10 years now. Eventually there could be a move for full representation. If that happens, the merged states would provide a huge voting bloc for national merger and could conceivably squeak it through.

We can all speculate, but that would be the trigger. Because I don't think NEA has any more votes for national merger today than it did in 1998.

Unless something amazing happens, there is only one thing to watch for at this NEA convention, and that's Van Roekel's acceptance speech on the last day. No one has any idea what he'll do as president, and he may not do anything. But if he has an agenda, we'll get the first hint of it then.

It's too bad you're not going to Chicago. I wanted you to say hi to Leo for me. : )

Regards,

Mike

Catch Mike's coverage of the NEA Convention starting today.

The Charlie (Rose) and Wendy (Kopp) Show

UPDATED:
I'm sure people will find their own favorite moment in her appearance but mine was when Rose asked her what percentage of Teach for America recruits are still teaching and her answer was 65% - are involved in education, some as lawyers doing some work connected to education.

I was waiting for his follow-up:
"I didn't ask you that. What percentage are still teaching kids?"

I'm still waiting.

Questions he could have asked, but didn't:

What would you say is the average time TFA's spend in the classroom - these committed people who have high expectations, which apparently is all you need? Why not look to see what it takes to keep these people in the classroom? Do they leave because of money? Burnout? Does Kopp think paying these people merit pay would make them better, or work harder, which is the mantra of the business community?

Why not put teachers who spend a decade or more in inner city classrooms on the show so we can talk about real ways of solving the problems instead of Kopp's smokes and mirrors?

As one who spent 3 decades, I agree with Kopp that we can really make a difference - I never entered a classroom thinking I couldn't. But I also learned that there was a lot more needed to have a long-term impact. It's not just about teaching, but about getting involved in the political struggles necessary to bring the same resources into classrooms as goes into wars.

Kopp just told anecdotes. I was thinking that in my 2nd year of teaching I also got kids to grow 2 years in one - and that happened to some kids numerous times.
Reforming the system is so not just about that.
She was right when she said all these gains disappear when they go to a lousy junior high - but it was her ad for her husband's KIPP.
When she talked about the difference in the way TFA's (high expectations, hard work) and traditional educators (kids motivations, parental involvement, etc.) see the way to solve the problems - note not one mention of class size reduction or other resources as a worthy goal.

Oh, if only all teachers could be TFA's- Rose was sort of trying to go there to see if that would work - but she slipped away.

It was like when I asked Chester Finn if we made every school a KIPP school, would we eliminate the achievement gap - and he slipped away on that one but did claim we would close it by half, an admission that it was not all about goals and low expectations.

Noel (a parent activist from Manhattan's lower east side)'s comment:

It was frightening to me how enthusiastic she was about the teachers being 100% "goal-oriented", doing "whatever it takes" to get those scores up. And I thought it was very telling that she simply could not, no matter how many times Charlie Rose asked her to, describe what in particular this fabulous teacher Gillette (?) had actually done to help kids. It all came down to sheer, monomaniacal focus on The Goal. Utterly sickening.

More of Noel's comments among others at this PBS site.
Add your own and demand that Rose have real teachers on to present the other side - which is reality.

Substance Gets AFT Credentials

George Schmidt left a message a few hours ago that the AFT has given Substance press credentials to cover the AFT convention July 9-14. Check the convention schedule here.

Maybe George will get some nice footage of our Unity Caucus brethren shopping and spending your dues on meals.

I can't tell you how many Unity members say they only join the Caucus for the freebie trip every 2 years - oh, and the 2 days off, all expense paid NYSUT convention in March. Did you know that even though Unity people live in the NYC, they get free hotel rooms at the Hilton. What a life.

By the way, ICE voted at its meeting today to make a counter offer (see picture.)

Mugabe Hires UFT as Consultant

UPDATED
Ed Notes News reports:
Robert Mugabe, suffering in the wake of bad publicity over his recent election where he was the only candidate, has hired the UFT/Unity Caucus publicty machine to clean up his image.

A Mugabe spokesperson said:

We were very impressed with their operation and how they almost pulled off running Randi Weingarten for President of the UFT in 2004 unopposed by offering New Action, the opposition party at the time, a deal where they would run a slate to give the appearance there was an opposition but leave the presidential spot open so Weingarten could run without opposition, just as Mugabe did, but with lousy PR.

It was a brilliant concept, that was only foiled when TJC decided to run and ICE came into existence to do the same. But did that stop them? In the 2007 election, they went even further by cross-endorsing candidates with New Action and though only 22% of the active teaching staff voted, they proclaimed it a great victory even though only 15% of the working teacher corps voted for Unity Caucus.

Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant. We expect the UFT/Unity PR campaign to lead to Robert Mugabe being proclaimed one of the great democrats of our time.

His backup plan in case things go wrong is to become chancellor of the NYC school system.

Guess What? "Bonuses Are Us" Tweed/UFT Plan Lead to Cheating

...DOE alchemists turn a 4 into a 1.

Elizabeth Green's piece in the NY Sun on how South Bronx principal John Hughes got great scores by urging teachers to give a little bit of help, is more prevalent than is imagined. That was the modus operendi in my school for 25 years. Just as in this article, teachers at the school we fed into used to laugh themselves silly when they saw the scores. That the school just happens to be a bonus/merit pay school is gravy, but the bonuses are a new thing and will only exacerbate a problem that has existed for a long time.

The covert and overt cheating - and I look at the artificial pump of test prep as part of this - goes a long way to explaining how kids' scores drop dramatically from the 4th to the 8th grade.

Hughes tried to solve the problem by moving up from the feeder to the fed school - IS 301, where he immediately alienated teachers, including a TFA who refused to "help" the kids in the way Hughes wanted and was driven from the system while TFA supported the principal - naturally. TFA apparently believes in closing the achievement gap by hook or crook.

The big problem facing all the Regressive Ed Reformers is to figure out a way to get the same level of cheating in the 8th grade, where kids will blab more freely than younger kids.

If you want a reality check, have teams go into randomly selected schools in mid-September to give tests. Assume a summer loss drop but I bet it will go way beyond that.

The perfect example, as Green wrote:

"These kids didn't know how to write, they didn't know how to add," a math teacher at M.S. 201 who is leaving the school, Elizabeth Cano, said. "How could they be getting level 4?" Ms. Cano said the discrepancy would be clearest when the teachers gave pre-tests in the first week of school. "They used to all get a level 1," she said.

AFT Denies Press Credentials to the NY Teacher

Ed Notes News (ENN) is reporting that the AFT's Janet Blair, in charge of press credentials for the upcoming AFT convention in Chicago (July 9-14), has denied credentials to the UFT's house organ, the NY Teacher. Citing the fact that the paper slavishly parrots the policies of the UFT leadership and the Unity Caucus without allowing any dissent or opposing points of view, the AFT has classified the NY Teacher as illegitimate press.

The press pass on the right has been issued instead and the NY Teacher will be covering the convention from Algeria.

Tweedies Choose Leadership Academy in Competetive - ahem - Bidding

As the press releases from Tweed get more and more bizarre, this one announcing the Gestapo-inspired Leadership Academy as the winner of a $50 million 5 year contract to train principals is one of the best.

"The NYC Leadership Academy was selected from among multiple vendors through a competitive procurement process and will begin providing services to the Department of Education (DOE) on July 1, 2008."

The rejected bidders included the CIA - water boarding division and a consortium led by Osama bin Laden. "The didn't demonstrate the kinds of advanced techniques in the treatment of teachers we were looking for," said a Tweed spokesperson.

Leonie Haimson said:
This is perhaps the most absurd press release I've ever seen come out of the land of Tweed-- DOE's version of competitive bidding! Gary (Babad) are you sure you didn't take a job at Tweed after all?

Gary responds:
If you'll remember, GBN News has the sole distributorship rights to DOE
press releases. I don't know who these impostors are, but not to worry - if it doesn't say "GBN News" on the press release, it's not authentic.

Can School Administrators Be Accused of Murder...

....if a teacher dies and stress from harrassment can be shown to be a factor?

A guidance councellor who has been under severe attack by administrators at Bayard Rustin Educational Complex in Manhattan collapsed and died of a heart attack at the school's end term party. If you are going to go, what a way to go. Make some people think about rotting in hell.

A union with a bit of aggression would put together a portfolio of what has been done to her and charge adminstrators involved with homicide, if just to make a point.

WANTED!!!

Joel Klein Also Speaks Out of Both Sides...

On race: More segregation under Klein

On not treating teachers as "fungible" - survey says teachers feel more fungible* than ever.

On school choice: there's less

Dan Jacoby in The Daily Gotham.

*(esp. of goods) being of such nature or kind as to be freely exchangeable or replaceable, in whole or in part, for another of like nature or kind.

Weingarten Gives Credence to the BloomKlein Testing Myth

12PM UPDATE

Ed Notes has been pointing out for over 10 years that the UFT/AFT is for the testing craze and it extends back to Al Shanker's jumping on board the Nation At Risk Report in 1983. That is why they speak empty words about NCLB which they supported. Ed Notes brought resolutions to the Delegate Assembly and wrote extensively on this issue from 1996 on. At one DA I spoke about the evisceration of the curriculum in elementary schools, especially in science and social studies and the place broke into applause - and that was a year or more (my memory sucks) before BloomKlein came on the scene.

From the June 27 NY Times article on the teacher surveys:

Ms. Weingarten conceded that it had been “a good year in terms of academic success for kids.” Indeed, on Monday, she stood by the chancellor’s side to celebrate the striking gains the city’s students had posted on state math and reading exams. But on Thursday, Ms. Weingarten used the survey to suggest that climbing test scores were not enough. “Let’s focus on educating the whole child, not simply on test results,” she said.

Was Weingarten focused on educating the whole child when she supported and lobbied for a merit pay plan than does the exact opposite by funneling money to teachers based on test scores?

You do see the game she plays. Say one thing and do another. Stand next to Klein when he gets the bogus Broad prize or brags about phony test scores and try to claim some credit, but then turn around the next minute and say, "oh my, all those tests." Weingarten says one thing to teachers and parents - "too much testing, too much time practicing, it is the curriculum, "etc. but stands next to Klein to help legitimize the sham.

It's all about obfuscating the issues to confuse people.

Call this playing both sides against the middle - which is where the interests of teachers who see first hand the testing sham that is going on. Why didn't the UFT survey ask whether teachers believed the test scores were real? Did they think it was easy? Relaxed rubrics? Full-time practice that could pump up scores? How about giving a random sampling surprise test the 2nd week of September to check on what was retained?

Expect more of this obfuscation on the national level - she will use carefully parsed language to give the impression she agrees with you but then do something to totally contradict herself. Watch the role she plays and what she ultimately accepts when NCLB gets discussed again. As long-time Randi watchers, the Ed Notes crew can pretty much write the speech now.

What will never take place is a democratic discussion in any official body of the UFT as to what the position of the UFT/AFT should be.

Substance Response to AFT's Janet Bass

Previous posts on AFT censorship here and here.
Read Alexander Russo's take at the Chicago District299 blog.

Watch the sidebar where we will keep a running account of the story.

In a message dated 6/26/08 8:41:40 AM, jbass@aft.org writes:
AFT will not be able to give your organization press credentials. We only provide credentials to legitimate news organizations.

6/28/08

Janet:

The American Federation of Teachers has not been authorized to determine in the United States today what does or does not constitute "legitimate news organizations."

It's been more than two days since you sent me the silly and unprofessional response to my request for Substance press credentials quoted above.

I asked you to tell me how you (or AFT) determines what constitutes a "legitimate news organization" and to date I have not received your response.

Until you provide me with that information, I can't even begin to know how to respond to those two Orwellian sentences you e-mailed to me on June 26 at 8:41 AM. Please do so immediately, so that we can provide you with any information necessary to assuage your prejudices and assure that our staff can cover the upcoming AFT convention in Chicago with the same rights as all other members of the press.

My preference will be to have this matter resolved quickly, so that I could send you the list of the names of the people we will have covering the convention. However, if you have chosen an alternate route (as seems to be the case), we will have to discuss this further, in any number of contexts.

George N. Schmidt
Editor, Substance

www.substancenews.net

My school applauded itself last week

A Brooklyn elementary school teacher writes:

My school applauded itself last week when we got back the ela and math scores. I even felt somewhat proud of one of my 5th grade SETSS kids who has an extreme math disability. For the first time in her school testing career, she received a Level 2 on the math test. Maybe all of her (and my) hard work paid off. Hours of practicing counting by 2's and 5's. Great Leaps for math facts, manipulative's for number work, mnemonics to remember when to regroup and how to round numbers to the nearest 10's and 100's, etc.etc.

So I asked her to do some review work and gave her a few subtraction problems. Guess what. She forgot when to regroup.Then she did some number rounding. She could do it after I reminded her how.

I still am proud of my student because she tried very hard and has learned a lot this year. She knows the importance of doing what you believe is right and not falling prey to peer pressure when it will have a negative outcome. She is beginning to think about what it means to "grow-up" from a little girl to a 'teenager". Her taste in reading has widened and she enjoys spending time with books more then ever before.

But she still can't subtract with regrouping even if she got a Level 2.

A Very Gneiss Blog

There's no blog out there that gives a better feel for how schools really function - the loves, the hatreds, the joys, the sorrows, the daily, hourly idiocies of the NYC school system than Have a Gneiss Day. A tough gal with a tender heart, Gneiss expresses all the frustrations and excitement of teaching. She's the kind of teacher most NYC principals look askance at because she sees through the bullshit. As a critic of BloomWeinKlein, she falls into the small camp of voices that see the world the way it really is. She would be called a status quoer by the Joel Kleins, Al Sharptons and their band of merry makers, but if I were going to start a school she would be at the top of my list. Actually, I would sit back, put my feet up and let her run it. No Ms. Wannabees here. Yesterday she said goodbye to her favorite kids.

Protest AFT Censorship: Tries to Exclude Substance

Is this how Randi Weingarten will allow her stewardship of the AFT to begin?
I'm betting she won't. But I'm not betting a large amount.

To Janet Bass, (jbass@aft.org) AFT:

I was informed of your attempt to keep Substance from covering the AFT convention, claiming it is not legitimate press. You seem to have shifting rules about what constitutes press coverage.

I find that ironic since I was issued press credentials in 2004 for my work for The Wave, a local paper in New York and Education Notes, which is similar to Substance. I sat next to Mike Antonucci from the Educational Intelligence Agency, which the AFT considers legitimate press.

Substance has covered education in Chicago - ask Mayor Daley and CTU chief Marilyn Stewart. Even the White House issued press credentials to Substance when George Bush came to Chicago.

How sad that the AFT is more restrictive than George Bush.

Substance will have a presence at the convention in some way and it will not serve the AFT in a positive manner if the question of how the AFT issues press credentials becomes an issue.

I am CC'ing Randi Weingarten, the next president of the AFT, who despite enormous disagreements with Education Notes, has always been open and supportive of my attempts to cover events in the UFT.

Norman Scott
Editor and Publisher
Education Notes
http://ednotesonline.blogspot.com/

Education Editor
The Wave
www.rockawave.com

If you agree that Substance should be given press credentials to the AFT convention, email Janet Bass (jbass@aft.org) and cc Randi Weingarten.

Read George Schmidt's full explanation and scads of examples on how Substance is legit press at Norms's Notes.

Here is George's email exchanges and more examples of the work Substance does.

Colleagues and Friends:

As I suspected, the bureaucracy of the American Federation of Teachers under president Ed McElroy is trying, again, to exclude Substance from the AFT convention. The last time they did this was at the New Orleans convention in 1999, when Sharon and I went to New Orleans only to be told by Mr. McElroy, personally, that we were not a "legitimate news organization." As I told you when we began working to get press credentials, I suspected they may try to exclude us again, and now they are doing so.

Below is my exchange with Janet Bass, who is handling media set up for the AFT convention (which convenes in Chicago in two weeks). Please protest yourself and utilize any contacts you have -- especially AFT members -- to protest on behalf of Substance as well.

By this morning, we had seven people who were going to be covering the AFT convention, and Danny was working so that we could provide daily Web updates on the convention during the convention. We will not let them get away with this (after all, I'm still carrying that "White House Press Pool" pass Joe, Jackson and I were issued in January; who is AFT to say what a "legitimate news organization" is?), but it would be useful if the outcry causes them to simply
correct this mistake before we have to go to court about it.

Those with a sense of humor might also contact CTU President Marilyn Stewart and ask her to confirm to AFT that we are a "legitimate news organization."

Thanks for taking your time to begin responding to this promptly. Please cc all materials you send to AFT (and any AFT responses) to me here at Substance.

Sincerely,

George N. Schmidt
Editor, Substance

BELOW IS THE EMAIL EXCHANGE THAT IS TAKING PLACE THIS MORNING WITH AFT

In a message dated 6/26/08 8:41:40 AM, jbass@aft.org writes:

<<>>

June 26, 2008

To: Janet Bass, American Federation of Teachers, Washington, D.C.

From: George N. Schmidt, Editor, Substance

Re: AFT attempt to censor coverage of the 2008 AFT convention in Chicago by excluding Substance reporters and videographers.

Dear Ms. Bass:

Before this goes any further, please inform me what a "legitimate news organization" is according -- to the AFT definition. I'm afraid we've been down this road before, and it's time that AFT stopped trying to censor Substance. Now.

Although I had once had a discussion of this matter with Mr. McElroy (years ago, in New Orleans), I thought AFT had matured since then. If you can quickly correct the misinformation under which you are currently laboring, this matter
can be resolved quickly.

Hopefully, the following information will help you in your pursuit of the facts so that your policy and praxis in this matter improves, although my staff and I resent even having to discuss it with you.

Please note the following:

1. Our staff has covered professional events involving members of the teaching profession for decades. During the past five years, we have covered conference and conventions of educators including the American Educational Research Association (AERA), the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE), the National Council for the Social Studies and others. We have also covered other major political events both for print and new media. For example, last summer I covered "Yearly Kos" here in Chicago and during that time we interviewed or questioned several of the (then) Democratic Party presidential candidates.

2. Locally here in Chicago, we regularly cover the news pertaining to education, including the monthly meetings of the Chicago Board of Education (one of which I covered yesterday). We have also covered labor union news on a regular
basis going back decades.

3. This summer, we will have reporters covering the major conventions, including the National Education Association. We intend to cover AFT in the same manner, albeit with more staff so that we can better serve our growing
readership, both in print and on line.

4. As I've noted to you, our publication appears in print monthly and has been publishing continuously for 33 years. You can locate PDFs of our back issues from 2002 onward at www.substancenews.net (or linked to
www.substancenews.com).

5. We regularly publish Web updates on the Web at www.substancenews.net. We are currently updating and enhancing our web site so that we can provide daily updates from the NEA and AFT conventions. Any attempt by you or others in power at AFT will cause us to suffer loss to our business and will certainly qualify as a violation of our First Amendment rights.

6. Our staff regularly blogs at www.district 299.com.

7. We have covered news in Chicago for more than 30 years (education primarily, also other) and all of our regular staff carry press passes issued by the Chicago Police Department, which issues such passes for those covering regular news and "spot news."

8. In January 2008, we were cleared to cover the White House visit of George W. Bush to celebrate the anniversary of "No Child Left Behind" here in Chicago. Although we were not part of the "Pool" (which only included the regular
traveling pool and four local reporters), we were part of the larger press corps that covered the activities of President George W. Bush during his Chicago visit. This included the landing of Air Force One at O'Hare Field, the external
coverage of the visit of the President to Chicago's Greeley Elementary School, and the President's speech on the economy at the Union League Club.

I could add to this list, but I hope this will suffice to clear up any ambiguity so that we don't have to discuss the misinformation that you are laboring under further. Please RSVP me satisfactorily on this matter so we can proceed
with the arrangements.

Since I have to continue making arrangements for both our coverage of AFT and for our Web presence at various events this summer, I will need to hear from you promptly once you have reconsidered this matter and resolved it to the satisfaction of the Bill of Rights and our mutual interests.

If you have further questions for me, please feel free to call me at 773-725-7502 so that we can resolve this before it goes much further. By your response you have forced me, as you can see, that I now have to take a few additional
steps in defense of our right to cover the news on our beat without censorship from the bureaucrats of AFT or any other entity. We have defended these rights in the past and, I promise you, we will continue to do so into the future.

Thanks for your kind consideration in this matter,

George N. Schmidt
Editor, Substance

www.substancenews.net

Congrats to NYC Teachers....

... on completing the longest school year in the history of the universe.

The last day of school, is one of the glorious days and one of the things I miss about teaching - the sense of completion, the free feeling that lasts until you wake up the next morning and say, "Damn, 65 days and I have to go back."

Enjoy!

The UFT Survey Says...

When Joel Klein was appointed as Chancellor and even though he had zero ed background, the UFT cheered instead of taking a stand and calling on the state Ed department not to grant a waiver (something ed notes, by the way, called on them to do.)

In the early years of BloomKlein, when it was clear these people had no clue about education, many of us called on the UFT to hold a vote of "no confidence" in Joel Klein as Chancellor. Nadaa!

The UFT wanted to continue to play nice. Now, with the sun about to set on BloomKlein, the UFT does a survey. Jeez!

The survey on Joel Klein and the Tweedles is out and guess what? Teachers are unhappy with the Klein administration.

I'm pretty disappointed about the only 80-something percent, as I thought it would be in the mid-90's, demonsrating that the CEO of the DOE has no support, a big would be a big no-no in the corporate world the Tweedles want to play in. Still. Klein's numbers rival George Bush's. How about Bush for next Chancellor? He was the "education" president?

The UFT took out a full-page ad in the Times (see below). But so what? Does the public really care if teachers are unhappy? They think it is a good thing and a sign Klein is doing a good job.

The UFT might as well dig a hole and throw the money in. The money wasted on PR. There will be a couple of short articles in the press for a day or two and it will all be forgotten. Jeez!

So is the survey just another public relations stunt with no real follow-up? The UFT dies at the chapter level as principals get stronger, using techniques they get from some kind of training. Their first priority is to make sure they do not have the "wrong" kind of chapter leader. Instead of organizing to defend their chapter leaders, the UFT worries more about having a Unity Caucus loyalist in these positions and uses its machinery to undermine chapter leaders who are critics.

Here is part of the UFT statement:
.....our attempt at 360-degree accountability that holds the DOE responsible for its role in student achievement and school improvement. An impressive 61,257 educators filled out the confidential evaluation. The key findings include:

• 85 percent of members do not believe that Chancellor Klein provides the supports and resources they need for success in the classroom
• 82 percent say that the chancellor and the Department of Education are not focused on educating the whole child and 85 percent say his emphasis on student testing has failed to improve education in their schools.
• 80 percent say that the chancellor is not doing enough to promote order and discipline in schools.
• 80 percent say the chancellor fails to prioritize the learning needs of all students, including English Language Learners and special needs students.

Go here to see the complete survey results.

Go here to read the full press release.

Go here to download the New York Times ad.