PO Teacher Takes NY Post Reporter to Task

Next time use the NY Post

In our spirit of holding reporters accountable for stories they write, especially with what is left out in such a way as to taint the story one way, we present Pissed Off Teacher's  assault on

Yellow Journalism

A guy handed me a copy of the Post as I walked off the subway this morning.  It seems this rag is trying to increase readership by bombarding pedestrians in lower Manhattan with free copies.

I took one, stuck it in my bag and opened it up on the way home.  The headline AUDIT SHOWS TEACHERS REGULARLY WORK LESS THAN THEIR CONTRACT REQUIRES almost knocked me out of my seat.  

 

How dare he write teachers don't work enough?  Teachers are programmed by administrators and administrators suck every ounce of blood out of them.  If the teacher is not in the classroom, the teacher is performing some other duty, a duty that requires sometimes possibly twice the amount of time that would have been spent in the classroom.  I have seen the work teachers with comp time jobs do and, for that reason I never took one.  And, as for after school jobs, he clearly forgets to mention the adminstrators that are paid to sit around and supervise each and every per session activity, supervisors that barely leave their offices except perhaps to go out for coffee or to go home early.

Yoav Gonan is a shill of the system.  Several years ago he interviewed me.  He was doing a story on the overcrowding and trailer conditions at Packemin.  I gave him a tour of the trailer, pointed out holes in the walls, exposed outlets and sinks and thermostats that did not work.  I remember him asking me why I still taught in the trailer since conditions were so bad.  I told him that it beat working in the noisy building.  He wrote something to the effect "teacher likes working in trailer" and ignored everything else I said.  He called me again several months later with questions about something else.  I refused to speak to him.

The Post only cares about selling papers.  This headline is just another part of the yellow journalism they use to do it.  Next time, I am turning down their free paper.  It is not even fit to line a bird cage.

 

Hey, when are we going to see Reporter Data Reports published?

More on Eva Moskowitz Charter Scam by Jim Devor

Jim Devor delves further into how the SUNY Trustees handed Eva (and soon to come other charter chains) a gold mine. Or half the mine this time, the rest on layaway. The request for a 50% increase in management fees might have been a red herring to cover up the real intent: replication, which will allow charter chains with political pull to wipe out entire swaths of public schools. In the meantime, the UFT sits helpless, forced by an ideological straight jacket on charters into sitting by while Pacman charters eat the union and the public schools for lunch.

Following Jim is information posted by a group of active parents opposing Moskowitz in Williamsburg/Greenpoint from WAGPOPS.

Norm,
I think you are quite correct that the merger issues raised at the SUNY Trustees meeting was the real "beast in the jungle" (Moskowitz No Longer Even Pretends it's About Children). 
 Along those lines, I have put together an op-ed addressing that issue. 

-- Jim Devor

While the attempt by Success Academy to increase its per capita management fees by fifty percent was (for the time being) foiled, Eva Moskowitz was typically ungracious in crediting the UFT for her (temporary?) setback.  In reality, her "reversal of fortune" was clearly attributable to the blistering Daily News article by Juan Gonzalez entitled, "Public Kept in Dark about Sweet Deals for Success Charter Network Schools":
< http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/public-dark-sweet-deals-success-charter-network-schools-article-1.1066368>.   

Meanwhile, barely noticed by all (except for Lindsay Christ of NY1) was the approval by the SUNY Trustees, at the April 24th meeting, of the merger of five Harlem Success Academies.  Yet, when understood in its larger context, that decision was just the tip of a titanic iceberg.  Likewise, an even more disturbing aspect of the session was the strident advocacy by the Charter School Institute ("CSI")  of "replication" wherein "successful" Charter School operators will be allowed to create new schools with minimal administrative oversight over the application process.


But these are only components of a Master Plan.  The real horror is the overall policy laid out  in the CSI memorandum, dated March 12, 2012, entitled  "Merger and Consolidation of Existing Charter Schools" which can be found at:


<http://www.newyorkcharters.org/documents/MergerBriefingDocs-Binder.pdf>.


As that document makes clear "replication" is NOT merely about   the "cloning" of particular Charter Schools.  Rather, CSI (and hence, SUNY) intends to facilitate, for example, the creation of "feeder school" networks  which will deliberately exclude children not "lucky" or "smart enough" to have been enrolled in one of the select Charter Schools at age five.  Moreover, those networks will not only be allowed - but actually encouraged - to create specialized programs/schools geared to segregating "problem" groups like ELLs, boys and most obviously, Special Ed children.


Meanwhile, extraordinarily complex structures will be created so that different Charter operators, for instance, can consolidate their "scholars" into off location high schools simultaneously operated by differently owned and distinct entities.  As a consequence, when fully operational, no one will then be able to figure out what "Education Corporation" is responsible for which classes.


All the while, each entity will be held "accountable" for itself and itself only. This, of course, is a guarantee of a series of clusterf*&ks of gargantuan proportions.


If you think I'm making this up, take a look at the first two items on the April 17th  CSI memorandum outlining its approval of the consolidation of two sets of charter secondary school programs into separate High Schools located in Community School Districts different from those housing their feeder schools:


<http://www.newyorkcharters.org/documents/ReportonProposedActionsByInstitute.pdf>


If anyone can figure out what this means - especially in terms of the "accountability" of the respective high schools - I suggest you share with us whatever it is you have been smoking.


What this all boils down to is the creation of entire privatized school districts within public school districts.  It is this plan of "educational governance  parasites"  that is publicly endorsed by John White for New Orleans (and throughout Louisiana) and will soon be coming to a city a mere ninety miles from our shores (to wit, Philadelphia).


I have seen the future. It is a system free of pesky "politics". In a nutshell, it is for those who think Mayoral Control is too democratic.  Oh what a Brave New World!  
---------------


Jim Devor; President, CEC-15     Follow me on Twitter @JimDevor      jimdevor@gmail.com

 =====================

The “EDUCATION REFORM” Movement Primer

Mayoral Control - The entire NYC School system is governed by the Mayor and the Panel for Educational Policy (PEP). The PEP is made up of 13 members, the majority 8 of whom are appointed by the Mayor. Those 8 PEP members have NEVER voted against a single initiative the Mayor has put on the table. There is NO democratic check on Mayoral Control. 

High Stakes Testing - Students are taking more tests than ever, with tests that last well over a week for grades 3-8 and more tests promised each year. The “high stakes” of these tests have pro- foundly altered the relationship between children and their teachers, and rewarded the narrowing of curriculum to “teach to the test.” The push for these tests is coming from policy makers, not educators, including Pearson, the for profit company with a $32 million dollar contract (for NY State alone) to administer tests, plus additional profits from packaged curriculums and textbooks. Pearson is being investigated for their illegal lobbying arm. Whenever you hear about “accountability” and “core standards,” these are code words for more and more profitable tests. NYC DOE is now talking about “account- ability” and “core standards” for PreK. 

Charter Schools are privately managed public schools. Any promise a charter school makes in their proposal is meaningless as there is no public oversight for five years until their charters are renewed. NYC has an abominable rate of closing under- performing charter schools (national average: 15%, NYC average: 4%). Charter schools repeatedly promise to enroll English Language Learners and children with special needs, but in our district, we have charters with 0% English Language Learners and not a single charter school having more than 10%. Our neighborhood public schools have as many as 28% English Language Learners. Charter schools do not enroll the same population as our public schools. 

Charter Management Organizations (CMOs) reap big benefits out of public funds for students enrolled in charter schools (Success Academy just applied for an unprecendented raise to charge 15% or $2000 for each child enrolled). These are public funds going into private hands, money that does not go into the classrooms. 

New Market Tax Credits (NMTC) Established in 2000 and available only to privately managed charter schools and not public schools, NMTCs guarantee an investor an average 5% annual return on a loan for 7 years that is above whatever interest rate the charter school pays. If the rate on the loan is only 3-4%, the investor is getting 8-9% annually on a very low risk loan (funded by your tax dollars) when comparable loans out in the market are paying about 2%. The investors in charter schools may have faith in their financial invest- ment, but they don’t put their children in these schools. 

Teach for America is an organization that provides 5 weeks training for college graduates to enter the teaching force. In spite of ALL evidence pointing to experienced teachers (teachers with five and more years of classroom experience) providing the most opportunities for learning in the classroom, the NYC DOE is looking for a cheaper and non-unionized teaching force to replace seasoned teachers. More than 50% of Teach for America graduates leave after two years and more than 80% leave after three years.

Come to the next WAGPOPS! meeting
Saturday, May 12 at 3pm
Ascension Hall (Church of the Ascension) 122 Java Street
between Manhattan Ave and Franklin St

QR CODE

Join WAGPOPS! Williamsburg and Greenpoint Parents: Our Public Schools!
www.facebook.com/WilliamsburgGreenpointParents williamsburggreenpointschools@gmail.com (646) 543-4492

Moskowitz No Longer Even Pretends it's About Children

The den of thieves in action.  

Moskowitz blatant use of children as political and economic tools gets clearer and clearer.

For a long time I have been telling people who were looking at the current choices for mayor and assuming Quinn would have the backing of Bloomberg that there would be a clearer representative backed by Bloomberg money that would toss a hat into the ring. And why not Eva Moskowitz who will misuse the parents in her schools for her campaign. Will that be in the contract parents must sign? (Success Charter Family Handbook ).

NY Post: 

Longtime school reformer and former City Council member Eva Moskowitz could be the latest addition to a crowded mayoral field, The Post has learned.

Moskowitz said she is considering throwing her name in the mix of Dems likely to vie for the job to succeed Mayor Bloomberg, though she has been bandied about as a potential GOP candidate, too.

“I’m thinking about it, and it’s really a personal decision, in that I’ve got relatively young kids and a family,” Moskowitz said. “In the next month or so, I plan to decide.”

The former City Council member said her role as CEO of Success Academy Charter Schools has prepared her for the job.

“I consider myself a manager . . . and we need mayors who know how to get stuff done,” she said.

It has always been clear to many of us that kids and education are the last thing the charter school movement is about. While there are some good-hearted serious educators involved in some schools, the blatant political and economical actions of Eva Moskowitz and her Success Charter Network over the years has made it abundantly clear that in her case it is all about the adults, not the children.

Not only was her goal to build up a political shock force inside the school system to bully her way into schools but to use the parents at her schools for purposes beyond the schools so she can recreate her failed political career. 

Then there is the financial angle. Juan Gonzalez in the Daily News reported before the SUNY trustee meeting last week (see his full article below):

Eva Moskowitz’s Success Charter Network will see per-pupil fee rise from $1,350 to $2,000 if SUNY trustees give okay. Public kept in dark about sweet deals for Success Charter Network schools.

SUNY moving quickly, and quietly, to boost per-pupil fees and let network chief Eva Moskowitz retool Harlem charters, but documents withheld from parents

This exposure and the involvement of Noah Gotbaum seems to have scared off SUNY temporarily as they tabled the item - for now.

You can read Noah's comprehensive report on the NYC Parent blog April 24:

Noah Gotbaum on the SUNY charter committee's decision to table the hike in fees of Success Academy charter today

Here is a brief excerpt from Noah:

Some discussion about what would be on the agenda, prior resolutions, ground rules with O’Brien alternately praising CSI’s “great work” while repeatedly saying there would be no public discussion or comments.  After about 15 minutes, he called for an Executive Session and asked us all to leave, to which a number in our group asked “what are you hiding?” and “why are you shutting out the public?”  O’Brien then called the guards in while the counsel explained that they were discussing privileged and confidential lawyer/client information regarding the charter replication process.

Really, they're all crooks from top to bottom. SUNY ended up allowing Eva to merge her charters into a mini-district. 

This is a biggie and should receive more attention. We have been predicting for some time that charter chains would merge, thus allowing them to get over the charter cap of 200 schools. So instead of 15 schools Eva would count as 1. And the same for KIPP.

I found this almost funny given my conversation with a UFT person over a year ago who was laying out the UFT strategy on charters when I pointed out that with each charter the UFT was losing members. He said that the cap wouldn't change and the UFT could live with 200 schools and would be rigorously organizing them. How is that working out?

Here is a NY1 report: SUNY Approves Merger & "mini-district" for 5 Success Academy charters w/out any public input NY1.com - http://goo.gl/pdUua

Here is Juan Gonzalez' report:

David Handschuh/New York Daily News

SUNY trustees are rushing to approve a whopping 50% increase in the annual per-pupil management fee the state pays to one of the city’s biggest and most controversial charter school operators.

Under the plan, the Success Charter Network, run by former City Councilwoman Eva Moskowitz, will see its management fee jump from $1,350 to $2,000 for each pupil enrolled at its five schools in the Harlem area.

Moskowitz, who currently runs 11 charter schools throughout the city, has made no secret of her plans to expand that number.

The jump in her network’s management fees from 10% to 15% of total state aid per child, however, would place it nearly on a par with fees charged by the city’s few for-profit charter operators.

One study of charter management firms two years ago found that nonprofit networks averaged 9% in fees, while for-profit firms averaged 17%.

The increase for the Success Network is being carried out in a stealth manner, as is an accompanying proposal to reorganize its five Harlem schools — Harlem Success Academy 1 to 5 — under a single nonprofit corporation, even though they are located in three separate community school districts.

Moskowitz submitted a formal application in March to both the state and the city to amend her charters for the five schools, according to documents obtained by the Daily News.
But it was not until a week ago, on the evening of April 17, that the DOE informed local parents and community education councils by email that a hearing to solicit comments on the proposal would be held three days later.

“When we asked to see the actual proposal, we were told we would have to file a Freedom of Information (Act) request,” Noah Gotbaum of the District 3 Community Education Council on the upper West Side said.

“How can the public respond when we can’t even see the real documents?”
Still, New York City education official Debra Schwartzman went ahead with the hearing on Friday evening.

As you might expect, the huge auditorium at Public School 149 where it was held was virtually empty.

Only Gotbaum and Julius Tajiddin, a member of the School Leadership Team at Frederick Douglass Academy 2, showed up.

“Schwartzman told us she wasn’t there to answer questions, only to take public comments,” Gotbaum said.

Gotbaum then pointed out to her that there was no stenographer present or even a tape recorder.

Schwartzman assured him, he said, she would recall what was said.

As Gotbaum and Tajiddian took turns registering their objections, a new email arrived on Gotbaum’s iPhone.

It was a notice that the SUNY board of trustees had scheduled a vote for Tuesday at 1 p.m. on the proposal.

So you have this mockery of the democratic process where parents are asked to comment on a document they have never seen, and even before they’ve done so, the bureaucracy schedules a vote.

Asked about her proposed changes, Moskowitz said in a statement:

“These changes will allow us to serve even larger numbers of special-needs students, particularly those with more severe needs. Also, by combining our schools at the middle school level, we will be able to provide our students with more robust programs in areas such as sports and arts.”

Supporters of Moskowitz’s schools point to the uniformly high scores on standardized tests that pupils in her six-year-old network have recorded.

Opponents claim the Success Network creams the best performing students from the public schools and foments neighborhood conflicts by always insisting on more space in public school buildings where its programs are located.

As for the big hike in fees, Success Network spokeswoman Jenny Sedlis said they were justified because the organization “provides a phenomenal level of services that goes far beyond the service level contemplated under its services agreements with its schools.”
jgonzalez@nydailynews.com

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/public-dark-sweet-deals-success-charter-network-schools-article-1.1066368#ixzz1tQQkEkhn

Below is the text of the NY1 report:

The Success Academy Charter schools are among the city's highest performing and most controversial schools, as they are state-funded and housed rent-free in public school buildings, and on Tuesday a state board allowed five of these schools boards to merge under a single board of trustees. NY1's Education reporter Lindsey Christ filed the following report.
More and more city students are wearing orange, the color of the Success Academy uniform. It's spreading as quickly as the schools are growing. This fall, the charter network will have 12 schools across three boroughs, with six more in the works for 2013.
Now the schools are consolidating their leadership. Under a never-before-used provision in state law, five Success Schools will merge under a single board of trustees, with plans for the rest to follow.
"I am in support of the merger. It gives parents like myself more choices," said charter school parent Tom Perna.
These choices include allowing students to transfer between the schools.
The state board that authorizes charters voted Tuesday to allow the merger.
One board member asked if they were creating a mini-school district, and the short answer is basically yes.
"I don’t appreciate their back-door method that they’re using to monopolize education in Harlem and all the communities alike," said public school parent Michelle Chapman.
There was another proposal on the table. Right now, 10 percent of what the state pays for each student goes to the Success Network Central office to cover administrative costs, open new schools and recruit students.
Success wants that raised to 15 percent, meaning less would go directly to the schools.
That got postponed after being questioned in a newspaper column Tuesday morning. A SUNY administrator said the board needs more information.
"What happened was they got caught. They tried to increase their fee in the dead of night," said parent leader Noah Gotbaum.
One charter parent defended the 15 percent charge.
"I think that is one of the equations that makes our schools work so well, that all of that administration is centralized at the network level," said charter parent Ny Whitaker.
Though the schools are high performing, communities across the city have protested their expansion into public school buildings.
The SUNY trustees did not take any community input into consideration before unanimously approving the charter schools merger. Under state law, the meeting had to be public, but they refused to allow anyone who attended to speak.

The Enemy Within: Randi - $493,859 - the 1%, Literally

Do these 1% union officials really understand what it's like in the classroom?  Do they understand what it's like seeing miserable pay increases all going down the whole to pay for medical benefits?  Do they understand the stress of teaching to the test and giving practice test after practice test in hopes the kids will do well on the high stakes test?
-------Stanley Heller

Norm, watch the whole two hours: 8:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. of Sunday, April 29, 2012, UP W/ CHRIS HAYES on MSNBC. Randi Weingarten was one of the panelists for the whole two hours on the show.   She showed and displayed her total lack of UNION FIGHTING SPIRIT and PROGRESSIVENESS. Weingarten is positioning herself for a top state or federal education position. Norm, the way you, GEM, NYCORE and others call out ALEC, Duncan, President Obama, the UFT, NYSTU and others, it is time to do likewise with full throttle on Randi Weingarten. 

--- NYC Teacher in Harlem responding to this Ed Notes post: The Enemy Within: Warning, Ed Deformer in the House.

Stanley Heller seems shocked to see how much our esteemed national union leader makes after looking at the AFT LM-2 report. Aren't you proud that Randi tops the pack of major union leaders in total compensation?

UPDATE: I don't agree with the teacher from Harlem that Randi is positioning herself for a government position. She has so much more power and money as a union leader at the top of her own authoritarian government where she has to answer to nobody. Once in the public sphere she is open game.

Stanley should check out the UFT LM-2 for some fun reading where he can count numerous 6-figure salaries on the gravy train at 52 Broadway.

If you have some time and want to check on the UFT LM-2 go to http://kcerds.dol-esa.gov/query/getOrgQry.do and put in the UFT file number: 063-924.

And in this piece of crap Randi wrote about how much she is concerned about high stakes testing (When Randi Pretends She Was a Real Teacher), notice how she tries to give the impression she was a real teacher (only full-time for 6 months with the rest of her 6 years as a sub covering 2 classes a day -- at times.)

I'm told that in Chicago when the reform caucus CORE (Caucus of Rank and File Educators) took over a corrupt union deep in debt from a Unity Caucus style leadership, they found so many people with enormous salaries. CORE ran on a platform of reducing salaries of union officers and by the time they were finished the old politically chosen field reps who were under contract and couldn't be fired were making more than president Karen Lewis, way more I am told. The debt was reduced from deep in the red to what I believe is even (though not sure.)

(It is not an accident that the caucus forming here in NYC is named Movement of Rank and File Educators (MORE) and there even was a suggestion to call it CORENYC.)

In the meantime, here is Stanley Heller from a piece on  www.EconomicUprising.com.

There was an article on Bloomberg News revealing that lots of top labor leaders are in the top 1% of income earners. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-27/union-leaders-decrying-ceo-pay-also-in-top-1-bgov-barometer.html
 

The top ten US labor leaders took home an average salary and other compensation averaging $394,925.  The Department of Labor says an income higher than $343,927 puts you in the top 1%. 

So I took a quick look at my own union, the American Federation of Teacher via the Department of Labor website. http://kcerds.dol-esa.gov/query/getOrgQryResult.do

 

There you can see the LM-2 reports that unions have to file each year.   

It shows that AFT President Randy Weingarten takes in salary and other compensation equal to  $493,859     Vice-President Loretta Johnson gets $369,408   Secretary-Treasurer Cortese: $365,014.

Dennis Van Roekel, President of the NEA took in $460,000.  James Hoffa, President of the Teamsters Unions, took in $368,000.

So tell me, do these 1% union officials really understand what it's like in the classroom?  Do they understand what it's like seeing miserable pay increases all going down the whole to pay for medical benefits?  Do they understand the stress of teaching to the test and giving practice test after practice test in hopes the kids will do well on the high stakes test? They know, but only abstractly.

Oh yeah, some of them used to be in the classroom, but that was years and years ago. Top union officials who have rich peoples salaries, private offices and staff who work for them, who go on to work for foundations, NGO's or the Democratic Party inevitably "get the bigger view".  They "understand" the problems of administration and the appreciate the views of billionaires have made their boodle and now are gracious enough to share their immense wisdom and a bit of their loot.  It's not a matter of personal corruption of union officials, but the near inevitable change when people change working conditions and class. 

It doesn't have to be that way.  Unions could be run so that officers would be paid no more than one and a half or twice what an average worker made.  They would be expected to go back into the ranks every few years. 

Hopefully there will be a radical challenge to Weingarten and company this year and if they're interested in making a real change the insurgents will pledge to reduce top salaries 50 or 75%.

And this Arjun Janah poem in response:

It's Time for Asking Questions
Arjun Janah

There are teachers, who are teaching classes five and giving grades,

Who are checking students' work at home and doing all it takes,

But are getting for this wages that they would as daily subs,

With no benefits or summer pay or pay for holidays.

And in the schools they're teaching at, you see the ATR's,

Who're floating through and won't be hired, because, one 'leader' says,

"They're all no good, with ratings U and time in Rubber Room."

And she's the one (from Unity)on whom the staff rely!

When I had joined (in '87), I worked as sub a month,

At full-time job, with day-sub pay, but then got regular checks,

Which at the time were paltry, yet was more than daily-sub's,

With benefits and holidays and summers I could rest.

And this was in the contract, plain and clear, in black-and-white,

For otherwise the contract wasn't worth a beggar's dime!

For why would city scrooges pay the salary prescribed,

If they could hire a slave, who'd work for fourth for equal time?

She justifies the wages paid to those who work for pittance,

"At least they have a job, for there's a wage-freeze on, you know."

Is it a job or is it that they're serfs? Is the union dead?

"What happened to a decent wage?" She thinks that I'm a Red.

"I cannot argue with you now." She says, and scuttles off.

What value to a contract can there be, when this goes on,

As it has been, for years now, in schools across the city?

So schools are turned to sweatshops, as our Bloomberg squeezes budgets.

And he, and those like him, fly off to winter in Caribbean,

While teachers slave, as workers have, so Bloombergs get their sun.

But some of us are saying now, who docile were, and meek,

"It's time for asking questions. How much faster can we run?" 

 

Video: Leonie Haimson at Teacher Evaluation Forum

The more I watch these videos from the GEM/CSM/PAA forum we held on April 17, the more impressed I am  --- 2 hours packed with insights. I broke them up into sections.

In this one Leonie Haimson points out that class size has not been taken into account in Teacher Data Reports and in fact class size has an impact on teacher ratings. She also talks about differentiation of instruction and how class size is ignored. It is obvious that the ability to differentiate instruction is absolutely dependent on class size. She eviscerates Dennis Walcott on his response on gifted and talented, really pointing just how pathetic and know-nothing a shill he is. And so much more.


Teacher Evaluation Forum - Leonie Haimson from Grassroots Education Movement on Vimeo.
Sponsored by GEM, Class Size Matters, Parents Across America.

See all videos from the forum

Leonie Haimson: http://vimeo.com/40760269

Carol Burris: http://vimeo.com/40748945

Khalilah Brann: http://vimeo.com/40758701

Gary Rubinstein: http://vimeo.com/40754465

Arthur Goldstein: http://vimeo.com/40740344

Q and A: http://vimeo.com/40772352

Pineapplegate in The Wave

My April 27 column.

Pineapplegate, Or The Pineapple That Ate Pearson

By Norm Scott

Choose the best answer: a)Test  b)Teach.

It is test mania throughout the land and the natives are restless over the onslaught of high stakes standardized tests. Eighth-graders taking the state’s English Language Arts assessment had to answer six questions based on a bizarre and incomprehensible passage modified from an original Daniel Pinkwater story featuring a talking pineapple that challenges a hare to a race. The populace is wondering what the pineapple has up its sleeve. Well, every 8^th grader knows that pineapples can’t run and they should be expected to know that pineapples have no sleeves, the answer to one of the questions, by the way. Shhhhh. Don’t tell as this same passage may come up again, as it did on tests in other states. More irrelevant multiple-choice questions for which there are no right answers.

Pearson, the company that has become a mega-giant making big bucks by helping push high stakes testing on all levels was paid $32 million on this contract. For all that swag they should have included a free pineapple with every test booklet. I can understand high school kids taking important tests for college but 3^rd graders and below being subjected to this kind of pressure? This came in from a NYC parent: THIS FALL, KINDERGARTENERS SITTING FOR STANDARDIZED TESTS? Mine can't sit for breakfast. A friend of mine is 7 months pregnant and I’ve been begging her to walk around with a sign on her belly saying, “Quiet please, testing.”

People opposed to the testing dictators, or the “standardistas” as famed educator Susan Ohanian refers to them, have been having lots of fun with this while also building a case against the impact of these tests which do nothing to help teachers teach kids (since the results come back at the end of the year) but are used instead to punish students, teachers, schools and entire school systems. Rather than write a full piece describing the reaction, I’ll just let some headlines from the many blogs that dealt with this tell the story.

Accountability in the Age of the Pineapple (NYC Parents who opted their child out of the tests).

Pineapple Rebellion in full swing: Sometimes it happens that way. A single insipid test question has sparked a rebellion and shone a light, not only on current standardized testing practices, but on the whole testing industry and its leading profiteer, Pearson Publishing (Mike Klonsky).

State Education Commissioner John King Jr. defended the passage, but said that these questions wouldn’t count (Gotham Schools).

Yong Zhao, godfather of the anti-testing movement ---  “absurd, but unavoidable in standardized tests. Here is an item in the first grade Chinese language test in Shanghai -Bees, birds, rabbits, and pandas are all animals. Which one is different from the other three? If you don't know the answer-- it is supposed to be Panda, according to the test maker, because pandas need be cared in a zoo, while the other three do not.”

NYC principal opting her own children out of testing.

The Pineapple and the Hare: Pearson's absurd, nonsensical ELA exam, recycled endlessly throughout country (NYC Parent blog)

Fresh off “pineapple” episode, state identifies math exam errors (Gotham Schools)

Dear parents:  I hate to tell you, but there’s news today of more mistakes on the NY State’s 4th and 8th grade math exams. Shouldn’t Pearson, who wrote these tests, lose their $32 Million contract over this?  Given last week’s example of Pineapplegate, where ’s the accountability for Pearson and the NYS Education Department? --- Leonie Haimson

A statement has been adopted by more than 360 school boards in Texas and a dozen other national education, civil rights, parent and religious groups launched a National Resolution on High-Stakes Testing. It calls on federal, state and local policymakers to reduce standardized test mandates and, instead, base school accountability on multiple forms of measurement. 1400 NY State principals signed on to it --- http://goo.gl/CyM5K

The National Education Association signed onto the anti-testing resolution along with 80 other organizations (as of April 24). But not Randi Weingarten’s AFT/UFT. Ho hum. My union is AWOL, as usual.

I’ve been with the Grassroots Education Movement (GEM) since its founding in Jan. 2009 and we have been proud to be part of the movement to not only end high stakes testing but to find better ways to judge students, teachers and schools. We formed a committee called Change the Stakes and have an active listserve and blog (changethestakes.wordpress.com) that has attracted many NYC teachers and parents, including a brave group that have opted their kids out of the tests despite threats from some principals to hold their kids back.

Norm’s high stakes blog can be found at ednotesonline.blogspot.com. Read it or face the stakes.

Help Build a New School Governance System on May 5

 AFTER WE DEMONSTRATE OUR SOLIDARITY... ON MAY DAY / MAY 1st, THE STRUGGLE CONTINUES... ON MAY 5th!! 

                                                           *************************************************

Join the Work! 
Saturday 5 May, 2012
8:30AM
at
DC37 125 Barclay St
(at the Westside Highway)

-----Original Message-----

From: S. E. Anderson <seanderson@mail.com>
Sent: Tue, Apr 24, 2012 5:40 pm
Subject: [pubedco:8687] REMINDER: Sat 5 May -All Out to Help Launch the NYC People's Board Of Education!

The Only Way a Truly Democratic and Antiracist Public School System can come into Existence
is thru Our Collective Hard Work!

Join the Work!
Saturday 5 May, 2012
8:30AM
at
DC37 125 Barclay St
(at the Westside Highway)

The Enemy Within: Warning, Ed Deformer in the House

I listened to AFT President, Randi Weingarten at the the Education Minnesota Representative Assembly (our state Union is a merged union).  She never mentioned Philadelphia [Philly Schools Go Out of Business], but did manage to praise the president of my Minneapolis local for using AFT Innovation Grant funds to create a charter school sponsoring organization.  We can't let this happen.   ------- Rob Panning-Miler

Philadelphia Blows Up Its School District, And No One In The Complicit National Media Even Cares | Crooks and Liars

 

http://crooksandliars.com/susie-madrak/philadelphia-blows-its-school-distric

  Or the complicit AFT/UFT/NYSUT which sits by while the public school systems in urban areas are dismantled one by one (also see Detroit.) The AFT wants to get into the charter school business. Why let the hedge funders get all the gravy?

Weingarten and Steve Brill, perfect together
Check this one out on Randi's activities, appearing at an event with Steve Brill where the lowest cost ticket is $375.

SteveBrill wrote the WORST book ever; total charter porn; and he’s speaking w/ Randi on “family engagement”?  What a joke.  I would pay NOT to have to attend this fundraiser.---Leonie Haimson

So this is what Randi prioritizes.

Another parent activist commented:

375.00 ????? Yeah that's really gonna bring in typical families from NYC. It's great to know that the 1% can pay to sit and talk family engagement with Randi and Brill. Do either of them have kids? Do either of them have more than 5 minutes experience in schools?

Read Patrick Walsh's devastating piece on Randi's pal Brill.

Reflections on and Rebuttals of Class Warfare (Or Steven Brill has a Serious Credibility Problem)

Please join Learning Leaders
and our distinguished guests for a luncheon forum on the role of family engagement in education reform.

Please purchase tickets below or click here to make a contribution
PANELISTS:
Steven Brill, Author of Class Warfare and Co-CEO, Press+

Randi Weingarten, President, The American Federation of Teachers

MODERATOR:
Joyce Purnick, Veteran New York Times Journalist, Author and WNYC Radio Political Analyst

Tuesday, May 1st, 12:00 Noon
New York University Kimmel Center
60 Washington Square South
New York, New York 10012
-----------

FOLLOW-UP: Closing Philly Schools

Today they declared the end of public education in Philadelphia.

And with this crime, they have surely murdered the last hope for democracy.

First they defund the schools. Then they tell us they don't work. Then they privatize them. Pretty much the same pattern they've been using on every public service. Underfund them. Starve them. Claim they don't work. Buy them for profit. Where all our public services are going, and of what little remains of our our Commons.

The full realization of this theft... the report yesterday of the end of public education in Philadelphia (and don't fool yourself--that's exactly what it is!) has been hard to absorb... just how historically significant, --is almost impossible to comprehend. Made more difficult by the near indifference of the public.

TUESDAY, APRIL 24, 2012

Philadelphia School District announces its dissolution

 

Subject: Beyond Austerity: Philly Schools Go Out of Business

http://www.citypaper.net/blogs/nakedcity/Philadelphia-School-District-announces-its-dissolution-.html?ref=facebook.com

 

Videos of Pep 4/26/12 on the closure of 24 schools

Here is some video from Thursday's PEP where 24 more schools were closed. I did not stay for the school co-location vote as it was quite late by the time the puppets voted to close all 24 schools with no consideration to the public outcry.

This video was made on behalf of GEM (Grassroots Education Movement). Apologies for any errors or mis-spellings. They are in reverse order of the evening's proceedings.

Pat Dobosz

I was out of town so I missed it. Thanks to Pat for doing all this work.

20120426103725 PEP 4/26/12

Role call vote on the resolution by Dmytro Fedkowskyj. Votes on the 24 school closures: puppets and heroes

20120426093128 PEP 4/26/12

Manhattan representative to the PEP, Mark Sternberg and Shael Polakow-Suransky

20120426090516 PEP 4/26/12

Queens representative on the PEP, Dmytro Fedkowskyj speaks about his resolution and asks questions of Mark Sternberg, DOE Deputy Chancellor Division of Operations

20120426090205 PEP 4/26/12

Queens representative to the PEP , Dmytro Fedkowskyj: Presents a resolution to withdraw the proposals for turnaround/closure and place a moratorium on the transformation model.

20120426084623 PEP 4/26/12

A member on the Citywide Council for High Schools: The discussion needs to be on how we are going to support our schools...not on how we are going to close them.

[20120426083240 PEP 4/26/12] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utrJkWJHmYk
CPE (Coalition for Public Education) member, Akinlabi McCall calls for a People's Board of Education.

[20120426073202 PEP 4/26/12] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBkXSOMLl5Q

Parent of an Automotive High School student speaking against the closure of the school

[20120426070528 PEP 4/26/12] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxY1T68MguY

Student on behalf of Student Activists United: We're the 13%. Watch the DOE goon standing over her.

[20120426064949 PEP 4/26/12] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOGJj6IDs8Y
City Council Member, Leticia James speaks against the co-location of a fifth school at the 117 K campus.

[20120426064244 PEP 4/26/12] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDoodFnkJVE
Assemblywoman, Catherine Nolan: ...a shortsighted and damaging process...

[20120426064014 PEP 4/26/12] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pRri-nVAt0
CEC 3 member, Noah Gotbaum: The whole process is a lie.

[20120426063803 PEP 4/26/12] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UtWROE-KI8

Graduate of Newtown High School: You're decreasing the moral of the students.

[20120426063234 PEP 4/28/12] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qt3xDw-EjE
UFT Vice President, Leo Casey: This process is a sham. It's illegitimate and it has no honor.

[20120426063003 PEP 4/26/12] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtt9nE5CjJU
FDR High School Teacher, Meghan Behrent: It is the Departmenrt of Education that is failing...Panel...perpetuating crimes against children on a daily basis...

[20120426062608 PEP 4/26/12] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3K_Bpy04DE
Lehman HS Teacher:It is unfortunate that there are only four reasonable people on that panel right now...

[20120426062353 PEP 4/26/12] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCp2B8R68Ng
Graduate of Automotive High School and retired NYC worker: You can't and have not given the administration of these schools the backing they need.

[20120426061103 PEP 4/26/12] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkagV_xmxRc
Margerie Stamberg: We need to organize by understanding who the enemy is...

[20120426061034 PEP 4/26/12] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIXCnbbnTz0
We are prepping a new generation to be a lost generation.

[20120426055929 PEP 4/26/12] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EA0V-LeaL9w
CEC 14 member, Elaine Manatu: I'm here on the victimization of the kids from MS 126 and on the closure of Automotive HS.

[20120426055653 PEP 4/26/12] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SnBR1yu-iNI
IS 166 Gershwin closure and the SES program starting late

[20120426055147 PEP 4/26/12] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6H4Y1yXStQE
Paola De Kock, President of the Citywide Council of High Schools: ...shows how arbitrary and downright cruel the turnaround plan is...there is no plan, there is a model.

[20120426054918 PEP 4/26/12] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tey0-6wuD38
President of CDEC 3: Opposes the co-location of Harlem Success Charter School at PS 149 and the mistreatment of special needs children by Harlem Success.

[20120426054718 PEP 4/26/12] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fH1WpH9CAnw
CDEC 30 Representative: Nowhere in the Federal turnaround model is closure mentioned.

[20120426054421 PEP 4/26/12] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTVufJk4EjQ
CEC member/Parent speaks about how there is no proof that the turnaround model works.

[20120426054143 PEP 4/26/12] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYN2zynMclA
Representative for NY State Senator Shirley Huntley: Speaks about how the principal at August Martin High School was mis-treated and how education at the school was interrupted.-

[20120426053618 PEP 4/26/12] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOGg8L-uDW0
Councilman Jumaane Williams: Many of you are just doing his (the Mayor's) bidding...I don't know how you sleep at night.

[20120426053323 PEP 4/26/12] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHS868nTzco
The community has not been engaged about the proposal to move The Renaissance School from M99 to PS 155.

[20120426052912 PEP 4/26/12] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSaDnERf04g
Queens elected official and parent: Calls on the PEP to save the other 24 schools. We cannot afford to turn our backs now...you will be using a form of union busting.

[20120426052559 PEP 4/26/12] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCYZPlqVC5U
Brooklyn Borough President, Marty Markowitz: Stop demonizing our teachers and public educators.

[20120426050427 PEP 4/26/12] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPHjya9l_NI
Schools not jails! The puppets are introduced.

[20120426050028 PEP 4/26/12] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kNy3hH1O-A

Whose schools? Our schools!

Unity Caucus NYSUT Delegates Reject Call to End Teacher Eval Based On Test Scores and Control Standardized Testing

Many teachers associations proposed resolutions that were too strong in language for the board of directors. One wanted to add "NYSUT should stop the SED's obsession with standardized tests" which was quickly shot down. Another resolution wanted NYSUT to "end the quantification of teacher evaluation through test scores," which was also quickly shot down. Essentially, members (mostly from UFT local 2 - Unity Caucus) came and spoke in opposition and then (before anyone had a chance to rebut) someone (mostly the same person) would "call the question," and most people would vote to close the debate and that would be that.  It seemed like every time there was some debate about a subject everyone wanted the debate to end. Some of the loudest applause came when someone called the question

---- NYSUT Convention, special report to Ed Notes from a delegate

I got back Sunday night from a 5-day trip to Virginia and Washington DC where we spent a night in Winchester - and George Washington really slept there when he had an office in town in 1755 - and a night in Charlottesville and visited Thomas Jefferson's Monticello, did a drive-by of James Monroe's house and finished up with James Madison's Montpelier. I wrote on the Saturday Night Special (a new feature of Ed Notes), Bloomberg Leads Dead Presidents Society, only Madison is still alive as a school in NYC.

Spending a day with the ghosts of the guys who wrote the Declaration of Independence and and the US Constitution leads one to thoughts of democracy, which you should think about as you read the opening quote from a report of the weekend NYSUT convention, which capsulizes exactly what the 800 Unity Caucus people were up in Buffalo to do: make sure there is no stand opposing high stakes testing and ending evaluation of teachers based on test scores. Ask you Unity chapter leader exactly how he or she voted and watch the deer in headlights look.

Are you getting that the NY State Ed Department and the NYS Board of Regents that backs it are basically criminals looking to turn our public schools over to private interests? (And add the SUNY charter authorizing board to the list - but more on them later this week.)

I never fail to be astounded by the Unity Caucus sheep, especially those working in schools, who will go along with every policy that cuts the throats of the people they work with. Remember that in the upcoming chapter leader and delegate elections -- and consider running at least for delegate (not to be confused with the elections for NYSUT/AFT delegates in 2013) where you can join with other independents next year to try to put an end to the madness. (Running For Chapter Leader or Delegate? Join the MORE Support Group- Thurs May 3).

If you read this blog regularly you should realize that when we talk about the UFT, NYSUT or the AFT and their leaders, they are all one and the same. The UFT with by far the largest block of members controls NYSUT and the AFT (NYSUT is something like 40% of the AFT).

With 800 Unity Caucus members up in Buffalo this past weekend and the upcoming AFT convention in Detroit at the end of July and with UFT elections coming up in March 2013 which will elect the next batch of 800 Unity Caucus delegates to control NYSUT and the AFT through 2015, it is important for everyone to see how the blocks interlock. Watch for follow-ups this week that might help to tie things together.

This leaflet and the report below was sent to me by a NYSUT delegate not from the UFT/Unity.

There was a rally on the first day. About 30 people were there. We chanted "APPR won't raise the bar." People were very focused on APPR and seemed hesitant to change the conversation to issues around privatization, etc. Some were chanting "we are NYSUT too."  Some NYSUT leaders were in the back also participating, but staying hidden. The rally lasted about 1 hour and of course the police were out on horseback. I met a few people who were all from the Buffalo Teachers Association.

Commissioner King did a Q&A on the second day. Things were very heated. One teacher (from Syracuse) came to the mic and called for his resignation. I gave him my e-mail afterward. He said he has a newsletter and he will be sending me more information about that. It may be useful to connect with him. The Buffalo Teachers Association called for a walkout when King gave his speech. In fact, the president of the association was actually given the opportunity to address the entire body from the stage asking people to walk out and explaining why he and others would be. He ended his speech "with thank you to the NYSUT leadership for letting me do this" I later heard that the NYSUT president and the Buffalo teachers association president hate each other. In fact, the NYSUT president alluded to the walk-out several times afterward encouraging people to stay in their seats. He also asked the NYSUT  board of directors to stay (and presumably encouraged them to ask the members of their locals to stay as well). About 30 people or so walked out. Some stayed and held signs saying "our students are not a number." King was dispassionate and calm when answering all questions. He mostly talked about the common core being the answer to all problems. When asked about teacher buy in, he skirted the question. He also said that one solution to time being wasted when teachers have to leave their classrooms to grade could be solved by outsourcing grading to a testing company. That was one of the more egregious comments. The next day, king was quoted as saying something to the affect of "I think the union has brainwashed teachers into hating me."

The committee meetings were very interesting. Many teachers associations proposed resolutions that were too strong in language for the board of directors. One wanted to add "NYSUT should stop the SED's obsession with standardized tests" which was quickly shot down. another resolution wanted nysut to "end the quantification of teacher evaluation through test scores," which was also quickly shot down. essentially, members (mostly from UFT local 2) came and spoke in opposition and then (before anyone had a chance to rebut) someone (mostly the same person) would "call the question," most people would vote to close the debate and that would be that. This happened several times. It may be worth getting in touch with the authors of the non-amended resolutions (mostly teachers associations from upstate) to see where they are at. We are thinking of doing this for one resolution in particular which called NYSUT to begin a formal study of the affects of HST.

On the last day, a teacher named John Galloway (I think from Buffalo) came to the mic for a "special order of business," which was regarding the flyer I sent you. He proposed a "return to core principles resolution," which I'm guessing demanded NYSUT to stop capitulating to every SED demand. The NYSUT  president seemed annoyed (as did everyone else around me). He took a copy of the resolution and then declared that the speaker was out of order because he could have brought the resolution to NYSUT before the deadline. The entire thing was shut down very quickly. It may be worth it for MORE to reach out to him and his group.

Overall, the weekend was fairly dispassionate. NYSUT exec. vp asked everyone to stand up and scream "we're mad as hell and were not gonna take it anymore," which received a fairly staid response. It seemed like every time there was some debate about a subject everyone wanted the debate to end. Some of the loudest applause came when someone called the question

==========

SOUTH BRONX SCHOOL

The Lies, The Deceit, The Chutzpah of UFT President Mike Mulgrew

And read this one for a laugh from Randi:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/randi-weingarten/fixing-the-fixation-on-te_b_1287495.html?ref=politics

Randi Weingarten

President, American Federation of Teachers

Fixing the Fixation on Testing

 

Running For Chapter Leader or Delegate? Join the MORE Support Group- Thurs May 3

Chapter Leader / Delegate Candidate Networking Group
Thinking about running for chapter leader or delegate (or know someone who is) but need help with your campaign? Not sure what building a strong chapter would entail?

Here is a chance to connect with other folks who are running for Chapter Leader or Delegate to compare notes, get advice, and talk about how we can build stronger chapters.

Thursday, May 3, 4:45pm

at The Grey Dog - 242 w. 16th st. betw. 7th and 8th (1/2/3/A/C/E to 14th or L to 8th Ave)

==========
ISN'T IT TIME TO CHALLENGE THE UNITY CAUCUS MACHINE? CHECK OUT THE MOVEMENT OF RANK AND FILE EDUCATORS (MORE) THE NEW CAUCUS IN FORMATION, WORKING TO ESTABLISH A DEMOCRATIC FRAMEWORK FOR THE UFT. THE CAUCUS WILL NEED PEOPLE IN EVERY SCHOOL AS CONDUITS OF LITERATURE TO COUNTER THE UNITY MACHINE. YOU CAN JOIN THE CAUCUS ON MAY 12 AT THE NEXT MEETING. EMAIL ME FOR DETAILS. NORMSCO@GMAIL.COM

Must See Video: Gary Rubinstein at GEM Teacher Evaluation Forum

There's supposed to be this evil union only about the adults but they really aren't doing a good job at that. --- Gary Rubinstein on UFT/NYSUT and teacher evaluation

In a brilliant presentation Stuyvesant HS teacher Gary Rubinstein uses statistics to punch holes in the high stakes testing standardized testing program. He also finds evidence in the stats that charter schools cream better students. Then he addresses the reason why Bill Gates and Michelle Rhee opposed the release of data scores --- they knew people like Gary would be able to show how irrelevant they really were. "It's like in trying to measure temperature, you count the number of people wearing hats."

Then he addresses the issue of why a union agreed to any of this, even 20% given that under the current system almost everyone potentially can be rated ineffective. He offered the union his help to salvage the other 20% but has not heard back yet. There's supposed to be this evil union only about the adults but they really aren't doing a good job at that.

GaryRubinstein's blog: garyrubinstein.teachforus.org/ 

Event sponsored by Grassroots Education Movement, Class Size Matters, Parents Across America. See videos of other speakers posted on the Grassroots Education Movement Vimeo channel.

GEM/PAA/CSM Teacher Evaluation Forum: Gary Rubinstein from Grassroots Education Movement on Vimeo.
April 17, 2012




See all videos from the forum
Leonie Haimson: http://vimeo.com/40760269
Carol Burris: http://vimeo.com/40748945
Khalilah Brann: http://vimeo.com/40758701
Gary Rubinstein: http://vimeo.com/40754465
Arthur Goldstein: http://vimeo.com/40740344
Q and A: http://vimeo.com/40772352

Afterburn:
Michael Winerip takes on the stats in the school grading reports in today's NY Times.
================