The Wave: Mulgrew Mania

This hopefully is my last post on the Mulgrew story. It will appear in published form in The Wave this Friday, May 25, 2012. Today is an emergency DA -- to deal with endorsements of useless politicians who will sell us out. Watch them endorse ed deform darling Hakim Jeffries over Charles Baron, while not my favorite either, at least stands up to the ed deformers. Given the outcomes, we might as well dig a giant trench and dump our – excuse me – your – COPE money into it. I'm sure the Unity faithful will give Mulgrew a standing O and we'll see a lot of (well-deserved) NY Post bashing. I'm probably skipping this and heading right up to the much MORE interesting Movement of Rank and File Educators Planning Committee meeting. First I have to head outside an smoke a stogie and listen to the Mets game.

NOTE: See my disclaimer below about the fact that the lunacy expressed here is not reflective of the policies of any of the groups I work with. But just watch the underhanded campaign by Unity and New Action slugs to paint views by people like me and Jeff Kaufman as "policies" of MORE and ICE when in fact we are expressing individual points of view, something totally anathema in the Unity ant hill.

Mulgrew Mania
By Norm Scott

Name a school where a sex act never took place and I'll show you a religious school. Wait, I take back that last part.

In case you didn’t hear, the NY Post’s hit girl, Susan Edelman, did a story about UFT President Michael Mulgrew’s alleged affair with a guidance counselor at his school when he was a teacher there after a recent law suit was filed by a teacher with poor ratings. The suit claimed they were caught in the act in 2005 and it was covered up by the union and the DOE in a blackmail deal to force the union to give away numerous teacher rights in the 2005 contract and beyond. Ergo, that is the reason the teacher is facing potential termination. A Hail Mary pass to save his job. What rubbish! The blackmail, I mean. And probably the “caught in the act charge”. As to the affair, I had heard something about it years ago, but, who cares? As I said above, name a school where a sex act never took place….

The idea that the UFT had to be blackmailed to sell out the teaching corps is ludicrous when we know it is in their DNA to give away decades of hard won rights and pieces of the contract, whole chunks at a time. The interesting part of the charge was that Mulgrew took his supposed lady up the ladder with him to a juicy full-time patronage job at UFT headquarters. But really, does anyone expect people in power to function differently? Corporate leaders, government leaders, union leaders and just about anyone running anything always bring their lovers and pals along for the ride. I mean, why else do you want to come out on top if not for perks like that?

Well, the questions being asked on many of the blogs and in school lunchrooms is, did he or didn't he? If he didn't he has a hell of a libel suit against the Post and the teacher and lawyer spreading the charges. But really, who cares?

My basic take it that it will be a hill of beans. How can it be proven? In today’s world what difference does it make if Mulgrew had a relationship with someone in the school other than the fact she got a full-time union position? The UFT is top-loaded with political patronage people feeding at the union dues trough what’s one more? They used to say the same thing about Al Shanker and Sandy Feldman, who he tapped as his successor. She only worked one year as a teacher before going to work for the union. Rumors floated around for many years. If it was true, which I doubt, really, how quaint to think it wrong for union leaders to put their lovers on the payroll?

The court case will go nowhere. I totally disagree that there was any blackmail involved in getting the Unity Caucus leadership to sell us out. Selling out has been in their DNA since the early 70's --- you should see the materials we put out in those years. Like nothing changes. Why would a party like Unity Caucus with absolute power after running the UFT into the ground for 50 years worry about actually fighting the ed deformers when there are loads of opportunities for a union hierarchy to jump on the gravy train sucking money out of public ed and putting it in private hands?

Will the scandal affect the Unity/Mulgrew team in the UFT elections in March 2013? I doubt it. I’m working with a new group, Movement of Rank and File Educators (MORE), which has announced it is running a slate against Unity/Mulgrew in the elections. MORE put out a statement that said: “MORE is committed to democratic, activist unionism and accountable leadership. Our members have devoted years to challenging the Unity leadership's pattern of bargaining away our rights and calling each give-back a victory. We have also opposed the undemocratic functioning of the Unity leadership which has marginalized opposition voices and discouraged membership activism. At the same time we will not join with the New York Post in its crusade against teacher unionism because it is a campaign not just against Michael Mulgrew but against all New York City educators. The recent scandal to which the Post has dedicated at least two days of coverage is typical of the journalistic standards one would expect from a Rupert Murdoch publication.”

Many bloggers, even internal critics of the union leader, have jumped all over the sleazy NY Post owned by the out and out criminal, Rupert Murdoch. (Did they hack Mulgrew’s phone?)

One of my fellow MORE members, Michael Fiorillo, commented: “John Kenneth Galbreath said that all revolutions are the kicking in of a rotten door, and we all know the UFT structure is rotten, despite the presence of decent, hard working people in the union. That's the destiny of every entrenched, single party state, and that's the potential significance of this story: at a certain point, the superstructure is so internally compromised that it can no longer support itself, and crumbles before a gust of wind.” Well, I’m not so sure it is about to crumble, at least until a group like MORE can convince enough people to support them.

Blogger South Bronx School wrote: “We as teachers and UFT members in this time of constant change and attack from the outside must not let our petty little sh-t to get out, especially in the New York Post. The only method to remove Mulgrew and his ilk are to educate the teachers on how we can affect change from within and take ownership of the power many of us yet to realize we have.” -- Shame on Joy Hochstadt and Andrew Ostrowksy).

NYC Educator said: “I don't need to recount the stories about the UFT President. The Post has done a fine job of that, demonstrating it does not discriminate between lowly teachers and union leaders. It's willing to convict any and all of us without a trial, without a hearing, without conscience, and without reservation.”  --(Trash Teachers! Sell Papers!)

My guess is the Mulgrew story has a shelf life of about 10 minutes. The one-sided role the Rupert Murdoch faux press plays will leave a lasting after taste that hopefully will continue to discredit and undermine his entire agenda. And hopefully take Joel Klein, his BFF – at least until one or both of them are doing perp walks – with him.

Norm blogs daily (and sometimes twice daily) at ednotesonline.com

Afterburn
Does anyone have Randi's comments on the Mulgrew story? I need a few laughs today.

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

PRESS RELEASE - Change The Stakes Demands Full Disclosure of School Testing Program

 The primary purpose of the June stand-alone testing period is to allow Pearson, the State’s education testing contractor, to perform research for operational exams it will then sell to the SED.  The State is on record as stating participation in field testing is “not mandatory,” yet schools and parents in New York City have been kept in the dark and not advised that they have a choice about whether or not their children should participate.

-----Excerpt from Change the Stakes Press release

UPDATE: Read Gotham Story: With field tests approaching, parents are reprising protests

One of the beauties of working with the groups I've been involved in has been watching as each groups shows the flexibility to spin off other groups that manage to find their own niche. Thus ICE spun off GEM which became a separate group that evolved into something quite different from what was intended --- a focus on the defense of public education and to battle charter schools, very different from the ICE focus on the UFT. Then GEM spun off a committee called Change the Stakes to focus on high stakes testing (which ironically, was one of the original goals of GEM but got lost in the shuffle somewhat).

What a pleasure to see the CTS group evolve from teacher dominated to parent and teachers working in concert as it attracted many amazing parents, some active for the first time, who were objecting to their kids being subjected to high stakes tests.

I've followed the evolution of this press release for the past 10 days and the work put in has been remarkable. Painful at times, but remarkable. And I think a remarkable outcome. I mostly stayed out of it ---- there were so many quality points made and the democratic debate taking place, so far away from anything going on in the UFT, makes me kvell.

I'm a little late in getting this up so I just copied and pasted from Leonie's blog. More on this coming tomorrow based on the wonderful work being done by our testing expert, Fred Smith. And more coming from two other groups, Parent Voices NY and Time Out From Testing. All of this is an opening salvo in what promises to be a major movement in this city and nationally to fight back against high stakes testing, which will hopefully include a new film by GEM/Real Reform Studios on HST. And yes, expect the UFT, while making an occasional squeak about the evils of the tests, to remain on the sideline.

Elementary and middle schools in NYC will be administering field tests in June.

Do you know which grades in your school will be tested?

Read our press release

Click on your school’s borough to find out which grade and subject will be tested in your school.

Take a stand against high stakes testing!

MANHATTAN SCHOOLS

BRONX SCHOOLS

BROOKLYN SCHOOLS

QUEENS SCHOOLS

STATEN ISLAND SCHOOLS

CITYWIDE SPECIAL EDUCATION SCHOOLS

COMPLETE CITYWIDE LIST of SCHOOLS

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Change the Stakes demands full disclosure of testing program, including field tests in June

Unbeknownst to most parents, the state is imposing yet another round of standardized testing in June. You can check to see what grade your child's elementary or middle school is field testing here.  High schools are also field testing the Regents; more more information here and here.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                     Contact: changethestakes@gmail.com                                                               

May 21, 2012                                                                         

                                                

CTS Demands Full Disclosure of School Testing Program

Calls Pearson’s June Field Tests a Waste of Time and Money

 New York City – Change the Stakes, a coalition of parents and educators in New York City, announces its opposition to the latest round of standardized testing, the stand-alone field tests that are scheduled to be given in June.  Over a thousand (1,029) public elementary and middle schools in the city are scheduled to participate in this additional statewide testing.  Last week, science field testing took place in 116 other New York City schools.

The price tag for this extra developmental testing is conservatively estimated to be $3 million. It comes on top of the six days (540 minutes) of regularly scheduled English Language Arts (ELA) and math exams administered just last month, when the items being field tested were embedded within the state-mandated tests.  This doubled the amount of time needed to complete the exams. 

The New York State Education Department (SED) and test publisher, NCS Pearson, Inc., have not provided advance notice to the public about the June field tests nor sufficiently explained why they are necessary. Moreover, testing experts regard stand-alone testing as a dubious practice at best, and virtually useless when conducted so very late in the school year.

“June is a terrible time of year to test children—be it operational or field testing,” asserts Fred Smith, a test specialist formerly with the city Department of Education (DOE). “The expectation that children will be motivated to perform at their best near the end of the year doesn’t even rise to the level of wishful thinking,” stated Mr. Smith.  He also points out that stand-alone field testing by SED was discredited for yielding misleading data on which to develop new tests. “In 2009, SED’s test advisers acknowledged this approach was problematic because students who took the exams knew they were experimental.”

SED’s elementary and intermediate school field tests will be administered between June 5th and 15th.  Most schools will test only one grade between 3rd through 8th; however, 259 (23%) of the schools are being asked to give the experimental exams on two grade levels.  (Change the Stakes is providing user-friendly information about all field test school and grade assignments broken down by borough at changethestakes.org. Parents can visit the website to find out what tests are due to be given this June in their children’s schools.)

The primary purpose of the June stand-alone testing period is to allow Pearson, the State’s education testing contractor, to perform research for operational exams it will then sell to the SED.  The State is on record as stating participation in field testing is “not mandatory,” yet schools and parents in New York City have been kept in the dark and not advised that they have a choice about whether or not their children should participate.

“Our kids are being used as guinea pigs for the financial benefit of Pearson, to the detriment of their own educational experience,” said Deyanira Ruiz, who has a daughter in a grade that has been selected for field testing.  “They’ve already lost untold hours to test prep and the April math and literacy exams, reducing the amount of time devoted to art, physical education, social studies, and languages,” she added. 

Some teachers are questioning the use of valuable class time for field testing. Lauren Cohen, a teacher in Manhattan, is fed up. “Far too many of us teach in schools that already face enormous pressure to dedicate an excessive amount of classroom time to test preparation between September and April.  My school received a notice, on Pearson letterhead, informing us that we must also give an ELA field test to 3rd graders in June,” she said.  “Field tests supply no useful information to teachers or educational benefits to children. My students are burnt out on testing, and this meaningless drudgery will take away valuable learning time,” stated Ms. Cohen. 

Fueling a rebellion among parents against the upcoming field tests is the disclosure to date of roughly 30 errors, along with some questionable content, on the tests administered in April. The state forbids the disclosure of test items, further undermining parent confidence in the exams themselves. Diana Zavala, parent of a 3rd grader in Manhattan, contends, “Transparency and accountability should also apply to the corporations making the tests. If we are to believe these tests are worthwhile and that the company is making ‘better tests,’ we should be able to examine them.” She added, “but what we really want is more teaching, less testing, and assessment that is more connected to the actual learning that takes place in the classroom.”

Change the Stakes is Calling for the Following Regarding June Field Testing:

        

1. The DOE should immediately disclose specific information about the stand-alone field tests, explaining their nature and purpose and notifying parents of children in the 1,029 field test schools about the dates the tests are scheduled to be given.
2. Pearson and the SED should address the claim by independent testing experts that the timing and format of these tests make it unlikely they will generate reliable data needed to develop valid operational exams.

3. SED and DOE should allow parents and entire schools to opt out of participating and only administer field tests to students in schools/grades for whom explicit parental consent has been granted.  The need to obtain authorization to test their children from parents or guardians should extend to all testing when the main objective is to support research and development for commercial testing products.
4. Non-participating students in schools and grades undergoing testing should have a meaningful educational alternative activity during the testing period.

To schedule interviews with parents or teachers, please contact Andrea Mata @ changethestakes@gmail.com. Testing expert Fred Smith can be reached at fjstats@aol.com

###

Change the Stakes, a committee of the Grassroots Education Movement, was formed to expose the damaging effects of high-stakes standardized tests. We are a group of parents and teachers working to build and unite opposition to high stakes testing in New York City. Our membership includes a group of parents who refused to have their children tested during the regular State exam period in April 2012.  We believe high-stakes testing must be replaced by more educationally-sound and balanced forms of student, teacher, and school assessment.  

See our online petition demanding that New York State develop a non-punitive process by which parents concerned about the impacts of high-stakes testing on student learning can opt their children out of standardized tests.

Change the Stakes collaborates with other groups working to challenge high-stakes testing in New York, including Parent Voices NY and Time Out From Testing. 

More Mulgrew

Name a school where a sex act never took place and I'll show you a religious school. Wait, I take back that last part.

UPDATE: See update below with link to the NY Post article featuring Jeff Kaufman of ICE.

There has been all kinds of speculation and comment about the Mulgrew story. Did he or didn't he? Well if he didn't he has a hell of a libel suit. My basic take it that it will be a hill of beans – unless the custodian who supposedly caught them speaks, how can it be proved? And really do you care if Mulgrew had a relationship with someone in the school other than the fact she got a full-time union position? Do you know what they used to say about Shanker and Feldman? She only worked one year as a teacher before going to work for the union. Really, how quaint to think it wrong for union leaders to put their lovers on the payroll.

I don't think the court case will go anywhere and I totally disagree that there was any blackmail involved in getting the Unity Caucus leadership to sell us out. Selling out has been in their DNA since the early 70's --- you should see the materials we put out in those years. Like nothing changes. Why would a party like Unity with absolute power worry about actually fighting the ed deformers when there are loads of opportunities for a union hierarchy to jump on the gravy train. (Really, some ambitious reporter should look into the ways the union can make some money off things like Common Core, charter schools, testing, professional development, etc.)

Will the scnadal affect Unity/Mulgrew in the UFT elections next March? I doubt it. I can't see the people running against Unity/New Action making it an issue and New Action will endorse Mulgrew even if he is a serial killer in order to gain those precious 8 Exec Bd seats handed to them by Unity. But I would expect the issue of Unity patronage to be brought up by groups REALLY running against Mulgrew. We always have been bringing it up. But maybe this time the story will strike a chord with the rank and file.

Or not.

The story seems to have come out from more than one direction, not surprising given that there were a lot of people talking about it at Grady. While the Post "broke" it -- and there have been all sorts of charges as to why --- as some ed deform plot to discredit union leaders --- certainly true --- but in fact it was teachers/co-workers who leaked it.

As Michael Fiorillo commented on my earlier post on the Mulgrew Story

John Kenneth Galbreath said that all revolutions are the kicking in of a rotten door, and we all know the UFT structure is rotten, despite the presence of decent, hard working people in the union. That's the destiny of every entrenched, single party state, and that's the potential significance of this story: at a certain point, the superstructure is so internally compromised that it can no longer support itself, and crumbles before a gust of wind.

Yes, the state of rot and sense of betrayal by the people running this union runs deeper and deeper. So people have talked. While I barely know or have much contact with Mulgrew, what I see when I go to a DA is someone who at first seemed like a breath of fresh air compared to Randi, has begun to rot like a house guest who stays too long. A wise guy who  thinks he's the cat's meow, making snide jokes and nasty little comments, even to his own people.

You know he stepped on some toes along the way and seems to have more than a few enemies he made at Grady. Or maybe –  you think Randi ratted him out to make herself look good?

Aside: I once wrote something along the lines that Mulgrew would be more popular than Randi and she actually said something to me like, "not true." So don't put anything past her.

I was called by some reporters today and I think I spoke on the record for some of it so you may see some quotes in the papers (I hope they are accurate and not out of context but if they are you will hear about it here.) And I did  speak to one reporter at the Post who I have some respect for. So did Jeff Kaufman. I'm not sure if Jeff and I totally agree on the ramifications but we do agree that the key is the misuse of a union job, though unless the allegations are proven true, how can we prove it? [UPDATE: Jeff's take is quoted below -- I don't totally agree but will comment separately].

I told the reporter that so many union jobs are political -- District reps, DUH. These 40 or more -- who's counting --- are the plantation overseers used to manage the chapter leaders so naturally Randi eliminated elections in 2002 just as I was retiring and considering running in District 14. Hope it's not my fault.

How about Ron Isaac at the NY Teacher, the notorious Redhog who was rewarded with a $62k job for humping the 2005 contract? Try to find something Isaac has written at the NY Teacher recently. He IS the invisible man.

And Betsy Combier for I think $55k -- I really don't recall if I or she wrote about that story but it is a good one where she FOILed the DOE for some info on a top UFT official and Randi panicked and offered her a job, despite telling people she despised her. In August 2010 Mulgrew fired Betsy around the same time he fired Jim Callaghan, 2/3 of the so-called SWAT ATR team (Isaac was the third). So I am sure that Mulgrew has some anger being tossed his way.

Here is one theory floated today by a core ICE member. Call it blackmail not by the DOE but by union powers that be.

• Mulgrew caught with Mendez at school.
• Principal, DOE, union, and newspapers cover up, despite fact that people at school knew.As Unity faithful Mulgrew could have just been transferred to a low profile union job but instead was placed in stepping stone position as union vice president.
• Cover up continues. Mulgrew goes through apprenticeship showing what a good fit he is to do Unity's bidding.
• Mulgrew handpicked by Weingarten and DOE to be union president not despite but because of his vulnerability.
• That's how they can control him.

and in a separate email by a GEM person :

Ponder this:

• How many times have folks asked/wondered where the hell Mulgrew came from and why the hell he is president?
• Could it be that Randi chose him because she had the perfect thumbscrew on him; she did him and his lover a huge favor and they have a secret to keep; what better way to have a figurehead that you can control? Straight out of the laws of power.

I didn't totally buy this analysis especially since the story was bound to come out and made this comment in response:

It was known by too many people. I knew years ago. So now it comes out, which it inevitably would, does Randi lose her control over Mulgrew? I think not. She is not stupid. She didn't pick someone who would screw her. (careful here).
One explanation is that Mulgrew was sent into teaching like Randi was and was tapped from day one-- he was the chosen one coming from some place like the carpenter's union ----a  farfetched idea but we did talk about how the machine just wouldn't hand over the union to a basic unknown. If Mulgrew was groomed as a possible successor earlier than we thought, then they would really have had to scramble to protect him and then all this might make sense. But I think not. Unity Caucus doesn't need to have anything on anyone to keep them in line. Anyone who became president would have been vetted to follow the line. Maybe Randi tossed Bodden because she couldn't be sure --- too much self respect on Bodden's part, perhaps.
Do they need something on Leo Casey for him to do what he does?
The important story is how they can use the patronage machine on our dues to put people in jobs. I believe that this makes it an election campaign issue -- no matter who they ran for president.

My friends replied:

[Randi] Having this kind of leverage over someone makes a huge difference in dynamics and decision-making and I don't think it should be taken as coincidence.

I think that having a leader who is known by those around him to have been corrupted and then moved may be part of the package. If people see that you can do all kinds of stuff and be caught and still move up this is a lesson in union politics for those close to the situation at the school and within the union. We know that across the board people in the union have learned that whistle-blowing gets the wrong people in trouble.

It reminds me of books by Greg Palast and John Perkins about the role of the US government agencies and corporate ambassadors in corrupting, bribing, entrapping, blackmailing, threatening, and if need be eliminating government leaders throughout the world. Not only does this control the leaders themselves, but also those around who see what the deal is.
I still would like to see someone get information about the history of the UFT and Mulgrew's father's Carpenters' union that was supposed to have some role in launching the UFT. But that just sets him up as a good candidate, someone with the right ideology. Making a mistake that puts him at the mercy of the higher ups is what insures that he will not stray. This is mafia politics.

-------
There were some questions raised as to why I never published the story. Here is some background.

I first heard I think in 2008 or 2009 with a call from someone who told me the story but gave me the name of someone to call who was closer to it. I really wasn't all that interested even though my contact was urging me to use it in the 2010 election. I laughed it off -- true or not true, name a school where a sex act never took place and I'll show you a religious school. Wait, I take back that last part.

After a few months of not doing anything I received a call from the other person who had all the dope - supposedly. I remember I was driving and couldn't talk. Her number was private and didn't show on my cell phone and I didn't pursue it any further because doesn't everyone have sex in school? I thought it was in the contract: Article SXd5.

(Some of my esteemed colleagues used to tell me which classrooms they did which sex act in, though not with whom. And we had a gym teacher at one time who had an office with a cot.... well, I won't go on. All I know is that I was left off that team, but wasted a hell of a lot of time trying to figure out who matched up with whom.)

There has even been some speculation about why if I knew I didn't publish the story. There was a hint that maybe I didn't know and am just making it up, though why I would do that makes no sense. In fact there were actually some conversations within ICE about the story in terms of the 2010 election. I don't remember if we heard about being caught in the act on school property -- we really didn't think it that important a story. What would we do --- engage in the kind of low-life actions as Unity would? (Remember the red baiting in the 2007 election). If we wanted to be like Unity we'd join them. I seem to remember possibly some reporter from the Post asking me about this not long ago and of course I wasn't giving that up, especially to the Post.

Here are some interesting comments on Perdido St School blog by Chaz who makes a great point.

ChazMay 20, 2012 7:34 PM

I agree with Ednotes that the Mulgrew-Camacho affair had nothing to do with the sellout 2005 contract. However, what annoys me more is how the top Unity leaders were silent on the vilification of 16 teachers, one being me, in the news media only a month ago and then complain that we should blindly support our union leaders without a full accounting of the story on how Emma Camacho-Mendez got her union job.

reality-based educatorMay 20, 2012 9:14 PM

Chaz, you're right.

They threw the Daily News 16 under a bus.

They did little to nothing to defend you.

But now they'll expect your undying devotion to Mulgrew.

It's hypocritical and shitty and the only satisfaction I get out of it is this: if it's an untrue allegation, now Mulgrew knows how it feels to be smeared as a "perv" in the press.


Afterburn
And then there is the lady who cuts my hair whose good friend was once married to Mulgrew. But that's another story for another time.

UPDATE: NY Post May 21
I don't know how much of what Jeff said was used in the story but the emphasis here on whether the UFT traded off givebacks to suppress the story is nowwhere I would go. Jeff told me he talked about the patronage system but that didn't make the story. I have been more involved with MORE than Jeff has and my sense is that they are not going to focus on this issue but will issue a statement soon that will clarify where MORE stands. Look for it on Ed Notes and the MORE web site.

‘Sex coverup’ with counselor should force UFT President Mulgrew out: foes

An outraged UFT chapter leader yesterday called on union boss Michael Mulgrew to step down if he traded away his members’ rights to school officials who hushed up his alleged classroom affair with a guidance counselor.
The startling accusations came in a federal lawsuit filed in Suffolk County that names Mulgrew, the United Federation of Teachers, Mayor Bloomberg and Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott.
Jeff Kaufman, a union chapter leader at Aspirations Diploma HS in Brooklyn, said he and other teachers “would expect him to resign’’ if he’s guilty.
Kaufman, an outspoken member of a faction that opposes Mulgrew, said, “We have an election next year, when a group of us will be mounting a battle to unseat him, and if we find there’s anything suggesting any proof to the allegations — that he gave up something to suppress the story — we’ll be all over him for it.
“The question is whether stories like that were suppressed and something was given for it.’’

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/uft_boss_is_under_fire_BP7z4Cl99Jj59iAr8oPC0H#ixzz1vYteXIq3

Sign the Open Letter from Teachers: We Support the Field Test Boycott

The Change the Stakes high stakes testing arm of GEM has been working on this for weeks, led by the always awesome 4th year teacher Liza Campbell (who, sniff, sniff, is leaving us and moving to Seattle where the people battling ed deform will be lucky to get her).

We started this committee almost a year ago and lots of parents have joined us along with some teachers. But too many teachers even though under the gun of HST which drives the ed deform movement aren't making all the connections, especially with the UFT/AFT being passive, with our ability to create a movement to challenge it. Note how much the failure of high stakes testing have been in the news, from the flawed teacher data reports to pineapplegate. Some of that has been due to the work of groups like Change the Stakes along with a new group based in Brooklyn called ParentVoices/NYC led by Michael Ravitch (Diane's son) and the venerable Time Out for Testing (TOFT) which has been doing this stuff for a long time. Lots more coming over the next few days.

One more thing. Some people objected to petitioning Walcott -- calling it "begging" or going around the UFT. There is a political point in doing this --- no one expects a result. It is about teachers, who are really helpless in many ways, showing support for our parent allies who will be doing the heavy lifting in boycotting both tests that "count" and these useless field tests. This is a political action, not a plea to Walcott.

One GEMer made these points

The idea that we should not "ask our oppressor" for anything is not something I would ever agree with... The act of "the asking" is not actually about "asking", its a way of publicizing and using our voice and educating-- "we have to do this against our will, but we don't want to, here is why and you shouldn't make us and if we had a stronger union, maybe we wouldn't  have to"-- there are numerous benefits to getting this message out there.  The beautiful letter Liza wrote was not about asking permission, it was making a point, educating others.

To sign, simply click the link at the bottom of the page which will take you to the MORE site where the letter is posted.

May 2012

Chancellor Walcott and the New York City Department of Education
52 Chambers St
New York, NY 10007

Dear Chancellor Walcott and the New York City Department of Education,

We, the undersigned educators of the New York City schools, are writing to respectfully request that teachers across New York City not be required to participate in or proctor the Pearson stand-alone field tests that the New York State Education Department plans to administer in most schools this month and next. Our reasons for reaching out to you with this request are many-faceted, and while we will comply with any decision that is made, we would ask that you please consider our concerns with the field tests before coming to a decision.

To begin, many parents have become increasingly frustrated by the use, nature and abundance of standardized tests in our schools. We have seen this personally, in conversations with parents who express their concerns to us as their children’s teachers. And we have also seen it as a city-wide movement, which recently included a group of parents who refused to have their children sit for the New York State ELA and Math exams.  This effort by parents, organizing alongside concerned educators through the Grassroots Education Movement’s Change the Stakes committee, was supported by many more parents who said they would like to remove their children from the state exams but were concerned about the consequences. In explaining their reasons for choosing to boycott parents wrote that the increased focus on improving scores has forced teachers less time focussing on “inspiring a love of learning, fostering creativity, or encouraging critical and interdisciplinary thinking.”

Additionally, hundreds of parents organizing  with groups such as Time Out from Testing, Change the Stakes and ParentVoicesNY have now submitted letters to principals in schools across New York City stating that they “respectfully request that the school not give the [stand-alone field] tests at all, and that all students benefit from a day of instruction rather than waste yet another day on test-taking.” In the letter, parents cite concerns such as wasted instructional days and the use of their children as guinea pigs for the research purposes of “a for-profit corporation without [their] consent or permission.” We feel that as teachers it is our responsibility to be responsive to the concerns of the parents whose children we serve, and we would like to support this most recent parent effort around the stand-alone field tests.

Secondly, as teachers we agree with parents that excessive testing is damaging to our students. Indeed, the use of standardized tests to make high-stakes decisions about children, teachers and schools has been repeatedly documented by researchers to have negative consequences on children and on their education.  We have witnessed worrisome anxiety in the children we are charged with educating as the increased pressure to perform on the state exams affects them. We have seen – and in many cases been forced to comply with – a narrowing of the curriculum and the neglecting of non-tested subjects. We think that the use of time for test preparation as well as the number of days taken up by tests and practice tests is unconscionable. Considering all this, we cannot in good faith subject our students to additional testing days in May and June without at the very least requesting permission to recuse ourselves from this practice on moral grounds.

Finally, we feel that the form and use of the stand-alone field tests are inappropriate for their stated purpose, and we lament the intended long-term strategy of increased “accountability based on tests” of which these field tests are a part. The use of stand-alone field tests for the purpose of norming state exams has been repeatedly criticized by experts. In fact, the NYS Education Department itself blamed stand alone field-testing in part for the need to re-calibrate the cut scores on the 2009 state exams that moved thousands of students across the state from passing to failing.  We also know that the field tests are meant to pilot various questions for exams that will then be used as part of the new New York State teacher evaluation system. We feel that the use of test scores in any form to evaluate teachers is inappropriate. The Board on Testing and Assessment of the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences has warned that so-called “value added models” based on test scores cannot be considered fair or reliable enough to make operational decisions about teachers.  But even if such models were improved, the consequences of using tests to evaluate teachers will be damaging to students’ education for reasons mentioned previously, and will also have a negative effect on school culture. The money spent on contracts with Pearson and other for-profit companies to develop, field-test and administer these exams should instead be spent on increased resources for classrooms and on supporting the educational and non-educational needs of all children, in particular children living in poverty.

In conclusion, we would like to assert that our request is in no way intended to be insubordinate but instead to raise concerns about the field tests and to respectfully request that educators across New York City not be mandated to participate in tests to which we have moral objections. Teachers need to be empowered to stand up when we recognize injustices done to our students and ourselves, and we need unions that support teachers in taking on such challenges. Indeed, teacher protections and the ability to take collective action against injustice help us protect children. We hope that you will consider our request, and we thank you for your time.

Sincerely,
Concerned teachers of the New York City Schools
Endorsed by Movement of Rank-and-file Educators, the social justice caucus of the UFT

http://morecaucusnyc.org/open-letter-from-teachers-we-support-the-field-test-boycott/?blogsub=confirming#blog_subscription-2 

Ed Notes Sat on Mulgrew Story for Years

For those of us who are challenging his leadership for NOT battling the ed deformers and protecting teachers, this story is meaningless other than it exposes the level of Unity Caucus corruption and how they protect their own while leaving most teachers to hang.

--------UPDATED with comment from Michael Fiorillo

I agree with Norm that UFT collaboration with Bloomberg predates Mulgrew, and is predicated on much deeper corruption and deception, which also includes the self-deception of the leadership and its patronage recipients.

 If the UFT/AFT didn't already accept or agree with the outlines of the neoliberal project on education, would this (alleged) tawdry episode be enough to maintain it? Not likely.

On the other hand, John Kenneth Galbreath said that all revolutions are the kicking in of a rotten door, and we all know the UFT structure is rotten, despite the presence of decent, hard working people in the union. That's the destiny of every entrenched, single party state, and that's the potential significance of this story: at a certain point, the superstructure is so internally compromised that it can no longer support itself, and crumbles before a gust of wind.

If this is that gust of wind (doubtful in my mind, but you never know), the question then becomes, who will benefit from the resulting crisis: an invigorated rank and file fed up with years of lies and abuse, or the Overclass, which seeks to use it for its own avaricious ends?

Michael Fiorillo

Additional comment
Yes, Michael is right. The real story is the rot within from a one party system controlled by Unity Caucus. And blame New Action for part of this by taking 8 useless exec bd seats given by Unity to basically shut them up. They abdicated their responsibilities as an opposition to expose the rot but instead became part of the structure. And New Action as a merger of 2 caucuses around 1990 had lots of infrastucre which has gone to waste. ICE and TJC tried to pick up the slack but Unity and New Action used their infrastrcture to beat us back, in particular going after ICE because we really hit them both very hard. Now let's hope MORE can take what ICE and TJC have built and expand and run with it.

Original post

Ed Notes had the story in 2008-9 when it was becoming clear that Mulgrew would replace Randi from someone who wanted ICE to use it in the election campaign of 2010. Everyone at Grady knew about it. Stories were coming our way about how the principal was running rampant on harassing teachers and we could have made that connection to the Mulgrew story. We felt it was too sleazy to use in an election campaign. And besides, the UFT was allowing all principals to run rampant. Interesting that the Ostrovsky law suit claims the DOE was blackmailing Mulgrew into putting up such a weak fight. I don't buy that since Randi also went along. Do you think Bloomberg had dirt on her?

See New York City Eye

Why Post-Scooped Mulgrew Sex Story has Political Relevance

I had inklings The Post had that story for a while but no one would talk on the record. I guess the lawsuit allowed them to pull the trigger. But given the Post, there are probably political reasons to discredit Mulgrew with the battles coming up.

For those of us who are challenging his leadership for NOT battling the ed deformers and protecting teachers, this story is meaningless other than it exposes the level of Unity Caucus corruption and how they protect their own while leaving most teachers to hang.

Notice how the union protects sell-out chapter leader Richard Candia while letting Francesco Portelos hang. (UFT/Unity Chapter Leader Richard Candia Attacks Staff While Backing Principal).

The scandal for union members is the patronage job and Randi coverup. Remember the Hewlett-Packard story Mark Hurd's Stumble May Also Trip Hewlett-Packard where the CEO had to resign for doing much less? How ironic to find more ethics in the corporate world than the union world. Maybe a good explanation why unions in this nation are in so much trouble.

Why Mulgrew's back aches

Remember those 2 women teachers at New Utrecht HS who came back to school tipsy for an evening event and were caught and disappeared into a rubber room?

If this were 15 years ago can't you see a Post story revealing a "scandal" involving Randi Weingarten's being gay?

But the real story here would be Randi's relationship with Hilary Rosen who is tied into the ed deformers. See Apr 13 Ed Notes: Randi and Hilary (Rosen) and Michelle Rhee and  Joel Klein.

Here is the full Post story below the jump:

GEM Response to Waiting for Superman Available Online Today

Date:  May 19, 2012     

Contact:

Lisa Donlan, Parent and President CEC1:  917-848-5873

Julie Cavanagh, Teacher PS 15, GEM/CAPE: 917-836-6465

Brian Jones, Teacher PS 30, GEM: 646-554-8592

Now online: The Inconvenient Truth Behind Waiting For "Superman"

One year ago, The Grassroots Education Movement premiered a new documentary, written and directed by New York City public school teachers and parents, created in response to Davis Guggenheim’s highly misleading film. Waiting for "Superman" would have audiences believe that free-market competition, standardized tests, destroying teacher unions, and the proliferation of charter schools are just what this country needs to create great public schools.

The Inconvenient Truth Behind Waiting For "Superman" highlights the real-life experiences of public school parents, students and educators to show how these so-called reforms are actually hurting public education. The film discusses the kinds of real reform – inside schools and in our society as a whole  – that we urgently need to genuinely transform education in this country.

Harlem Premiere Featured Special Guest, Diane Ravitch

The film premiere was held May 19^th, 2011 at the Assembly Hall of The Riverside Church in Harlem and featured historian Diane Ravitch as the honored guest. Since then, we have offered the DVD free of charge and encouraged viewers to make their own copies to distribute. Today, an estimated 15,000 copies are in circulation. Requests have come in from all 50 states and 6 continents. Various unions, parent groups, college professors, public libraries and community members have organized screenings all around the country. We’ve also had news of screenings in India, Turkey, England, New Zealand and Australia. Demand has been so great that we are currently working on a Spanish language version of the film.

The full version of the film is now online at vimeo: https://vimeo.com/41994760

Today, on the first anniversary of the premiere, GEM and Real Reform Studios are making the film available online at https://vimeo.com/41994760. We invite everyone to hold screenings, download and burn copies of the movie.

For more information about the film, visit: 

www.waitingforsupermantruth.org

To order an “official” free dvd with the Real Reform Studio logo go to: http://www.waitingforsupermantruth.org/?page_id=343

UFT/Unity Chapter Leader Richard Candia Attacks Staff While Backing Principal

Is Staten Island UFT assisting in the sell-out of teachers at IS 49 SI due to a cozy relationship with abusive principal Linda Hill?

In order to leave the building the principal has to sign you out. So, a long line forms and 15 minutes after the day is over teachers are still on line. Does that happen in any other school? ---- conditions at IS 49 SI [WHERE IS THE UFT? - SEE BELOW]

I refuse to let him [Porteles] ruin what WE work so hard for each and everyday.

-----IS 49 (Staten Island) Chapter Leader Richard Candia to Principal Linda Hill who has been harassing teacher Francesco Portelos since he raised issues as to how school grant money was being spent.

They said like 3/4 of the staff is supportive of him and that they want him to be chapter leader.  It was reported to me that many were very supportive and very outspoken in their support of Portelos.  ---- Chapter Leader Richard Candia to principal Linda Hill, Jan. 2012

Linda Hill answered this plea for help from chapter leader Richard Candia afraid of losing his job because Francesco Porteles is running for chapter leader -- from the rubber room, where he has been sent on trumped up charges by Hill to get him out of the school before the election against chapter leader Richard Candia.

This letter alone should get the UFT to call a press conference and go to a judge asking for an immediate injunction to get Portelos back into the school. But it won't and will let Portelos languish in the RR forever. They were so threatened by Portelos they even had him removed from a Staten Island RR out to Ozone Park in Queens at the corrupt Network 211. Imagine the costs Portelos has been subjected to with the bridge and gas bills? What does the UFT do? "Look into it." Really pathetic.

We know many chapter leaders are more partners of the administration than of the teachers they supposedly represent. But this Candia guy takes the cake. In this communication to the principal he gives up 15 teachers who support Portelos. It is not often that they get their comeuppance but Candia looks like a deer in the headlights as he loses staff support.

That Richard Candia is a supposedly a member of Unity Caucus, the party that has ruled the UFT for 50 years, is a further indictment.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Richard Candia To: Linda Hill
Date: Sun, Jan 29, 2012 at 12:48 AM

A close friend in the building that doesn't get involved with absolutely any BS called me tonite after checking their email and said the buzz around the building was that I was totally wrong by not letting Portelos speak and that the staff has no voice in the building. I guess they feel that someone is effective if they are confrontational with the administration...not my style.  I'm so disappointed in so many staff members that I have spent countless hours talking to at night and helping each and every day.  This person is a true professional and never gets involved with anything negative and they are always totally honest with me.  They said like 3/4 of the staff is supportive of him and that they want him to be chapter leader.  It was reported to me that many were very supportive and very outspoken in their support of Portelos.  The Portelos supporters included [Candia NAMES 15 Teachers listing degree of support for Portelos].  They are clueless.  I tried to mediate this on Thursday and he went nuts so how was I going to let him discuss this in front of 60 people..not the forum.  I spoke to the staff..I took questions..Then when the meeting was just about over he stood up and went to the front of the room and started his BS..totally degrading Susanne in front of the whole staff when we had left the room.  I keep getting calls and texts from staff members as they receive this letter that he sent to the whole staff.  Im thoroughly embarrassed by these emails.  He is not going to stop harrassing people.  I am thoroughly committed to our school community and I refuse to let him ruin what WE work so hard for each and everyday.

See: http://www.protectportelos.org/

and Ed Notes - Portelos Story

Before I was tenured

Posted on April 13, 2012

Many have told me “Good thing you are tenured.” and also “You would never open your mouth if you weren’t tenured.” That last one is absolutely not true at all. I admit I was against tenure when I received it in 2010. I thought it got in the way of getting rid of ineffective teachers. I mean teachers who were not only poor at their job, but more importantly had no intention of improving and were able to stay in the system.
Of course now I am happy to be tenured,

Political Persecution of Teachers With U-Ratings and DOE Protection of Abusive and Incompetent Supervisors MUST Be a UFT Priority

Updated: 9PM - see ATR comments below.

I am not going to go through all the stuff flying around about Walcott's announcement today. Mulgrew's response is totally inadequate.

”While no one wants to protect teachers who are not doing the job, the more important issue is the thousands of good teachers who leave the system every year because of substandard pay, bad teaching conditions and lack of support from their superiors,” Mulgrew said.

I posted the Portelos Story this morning.

This just came in from a CL:ATR Horror Story:

My school had an ATR last week who told me she was observed at her previous assignment in a 2nd grade class after having been with this class for only 20 minutes. Needless to say, it did not go well.  The following week when she was in my school, she came to me practically in tears  and told me that the supervisor who had observed her (an ATR Principal, I believe) was at the school and was demanding that  the ATR  immediately sign the observation that she had just been given. I accompanied her to the office and told this supervisor that my member did not have to sign this observation now; she had two days to do so. She tried to bully me but eventually she walked out in a huff, with the observation. 20 minutes later she returned, gave the ATR the observation and returned in two days  for the signature and rebuttal that the member had attached to the report. Horrible!

 We know what this is about. They will try anything to harass ATRs out of the system so they can close more schools. Many of them are not eligible for a buyout and Walcott will spend a fortune to hire supervisors to observe teachers to give them U ratings.

More as this develops. The best defense teachers have is to throw out Unity chapter leaders and delegates who back Mulgrew and join MORE. The stronger an alternative to Unity grows the more we can box in the leadership. Will we win a general election where Unity takes all? Not right away. But we MUST build up the forces from the school level on where we can win right now. Make your voices heard in the elections. Already Unity has lost at Brooklyn Tech, the largest school in the city and at FDR. Keep the ball rolling.

ATRs follow-up emails to GEM ATR listserve

I just caught a news report in which our leader ignored the truth to vilify ATRs.  I and hundreds of other ATRs attended recruitment events where school recruiter tables were vacant, or staffed with people  with no decision making authority, and/or did not advertise openings in our license areas.  The city is out of compliance for providing services for ESL students, were are the open ESL teacher positions???
As an ATR I have been ignored by principals and assistant principals, used as a 'substitute' - "not a real teacher" according to students- out of my license area.  Ignored, insulted and cursed at by students simply because I asked them to sit in their seats, give their names so attendance could be taken and do the usually ineffective absent lesson left by their regular teacher.
I have observed that the mini high schools  I have been assigned  in Brooklyn have the same discipline problems and low performance as the students in the comprehensive school whose phase out left me an ATR.  They also all have at least 4 times the technology and a school culture that treats the students like infants.
 ------

Hiring Fairs were mandated for ATRs. I attended them all with resume in hand. At least half of the schools were no shows by looking at all the empty tables.
Just as important, the media will be destroying ATRs as losers that taxpayers will have to bail-out to get rid of....I just saw it on WNBC-TV at 5:20PM today. Try to find it later on their website. I hope Mulgrew and company have a media plan....can't wait to see the Daily News and Post headlines tomorrow. I'm sure they will turn the public against us. In terms of a buyout I think there would have to be an early retirement incentive for those close enough and a cash payout for others. This was hinted at in the Times when it said something like....each teacher would have to negotiate a deal....go figure!
------

The union handling of ATRs is a disgrace. They are so in bed with Bloomberg even though on the outside it doesn't look that way.
Are teachers still allowed to sign "under protest". And should be "attach" something or write the rebuttal under the signature? Do you really think this principal will not throw out the attachment.

See more:

 http://jd2718.wordpress.com/2012/05/16/tweed-finds-new-way-to-harm-teachers-flag-them-for-principals/

Catching Up: ATRs, Portelos Story, GEM Film Screens Today in Brooklyn

Dear Taxpayer,
I am very sorry, but apparently I am robbing you. It’s not on purpose though. You pay your taxes and in turn I should educate the students of New York City. I think I was doing a pretty good job for 4.5 years so your money was probably well spent. Today I still get paid with our tax dollars but instead of educating the children in the classroom, I am in the Rubber Room with other educators awaiting charges and an explanation of why we were removed. Most of us sit there for weeks or months without knowing why we are there. So imagine this….we are getting paid, the substitutes covering our classes are getting paid, the investigators investigating our cases are getting paid, the lawyers working against the teacher and for the teacher are getting paid, the arbitrators hearing the cases are getting paid and  all with your tax dollars! Each case may cost the taxpayer tens of thousands of dollars. ----Francesco Portelos, rubber roomed teacher, IS 49 SI

UFT chapter leader Richard Candia, threatened by Portelos' run for chapter leader, sells him and rest of staff out.  --- ed notes, below

These comments finally got me off my duff (An Absence Note) though I'm officially declaring that I am on overload. Too many obligations and too little time. Yes, boys and girls, the older you get the more befuddled you become. I started going through the list of things I have gotten involved in and was frightened. I must be on 12 listserves and have 9000 emails in my inbox from just the past 2 months.

I'm so far behind I don't know what to post first. Still busy with lots of gardening, wife care, other obligations, but here are a few nuggets:

Screening of Inconvenient Truth Behind Waiting for Superman today in Brooklyn
Date: May 17th
Time: 5-7:30pm
Location: 317 Hoyt Street, Brooklyn NY

I think this is being shown through some DOE network people. Strange. Funny if there are DOE people showing our film while the UFT boycotts.

By the way -- just got a $200 check from the New Zealand Post Primary Teachers Association. Check out their web site: www.ppta.org.nz. And we got $50 from Bank Street. The dough is rolling in as we just manage to balance our costs or producing the dvd and mailing it out. Look for our coming release online on the anniversary of our premiere on May 19.

You can contribute through pay pal if you'd like: http://www.waitingforsupermantruth.org/
Or send a check to Ed Notes Inc, 518 Beach 134 St, Rockaway Park, NY 11694

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


Gotham posts link to Francesco Portelos Horror Story - but it gets worse as UFT chapter leader Richard Candia, threatened by Portelos' run for chapter leader, sells him and rest of staff out.

Dear Student, Parent, Taxpayer….I’m sorry but I’m trying.

The Francesco Porteles story hopefully will go viral. Read the above link in full to get the full flavor. Lurking behind all this is the perfidious behavior of IS 49 Chapter leader Richard Candia who, his cozy relationship with principal Linda Hill and the threat posed by Portelos' run for chapter leader, conspired to undermine Portelos and assist Hill in harassing his supporters. I will post Candia's shocking email to principal Hill in a special. Is Candia being protected by his Staten Island UFT buddies? There are reports he is a member of Unity Caucus. This is not the first time a person challenging Unity control has been sent to a rubber room with the cooperation of the Unity Caucus machine to keep a possible voice of opposition out of the school (it happened to an ICE member years ago which led to 6 months in the rubber room and the basic destruction of the teacher's career.)

Here is a short selection from Portelos' post and I'll tell you why below:

"On March 16, 2012 I returned to work after being out for 4 days for jury duty. I found my room a mess. My first period back Mrs. Joanne Aguirre and Ms. Sharon Mahabir of CFN 211 walked in with clipboards. Since I always received Satisfactory ratings (even up until December ’11 before budget talks) and students and parents loved my class, they had to try to get me really off guard. The special education students still learned about engineering principles despite the interruptions made by the observers. The 90 minute observation led to my first ever Unsatisfactory in 5 years of teaching. It was very poorly written and anything positive was strategically omitted by Ms. Aguirre.

The DOE henchpeople and the scum at CFN 211 should be investigated. How disappointed was I to see the name  of one of the persecutors, Sharon Mahabir, who like Portelos, was once a dedicated robotics coach who I knew from 10 years ago. So sad to see good people forced to engage in these actions. Sharon is good people who is doing PD for the network. Even Francesco says good things about her.

By every report, AP Joanne Aguirre is scum and should be investigated for her behavior. One thing is clear. They picked on the wrong guy this time. Despite having an 11 month old baby and another on the way, plus 7 years working as en engineer and the promise he can always have his job back, Portelos is ready to take this case to the extreme. We are developing a support network for him since the UFT does little or nothing or even is a minus. Did you know that Portelos was denied the right to go to the school to pick up his property and was told to "make a list." Instead of demanding he have the right to go to the school -- even after everyone is gone to get his property, the UFT Staten Island officials went right along and told him to make a list. If you were in a school for 5 years and told to make a list of your property sight unseen, could you do it?

---------

Marjorie Stamberg at the UFT Delegate Assembly challenges Mulgrew on ATRs

At last night's delegate assembly, I raised the issue of the union's cyncial "solution" to the UFT's disenfranchisment of ATRs in the union elections. Many ATRs had no place to vote in teh union elections as they trudge from school to school on a weekly basis, where they are treated as non-people until they move on the next week. This week-to-week trek was agreed upon by the union and the DOE last spring, as part of the deal that there be no teacher layoffs. Last fall, I and others put forward motions for the ATRs be accorded their full voting rights with their own chapter. We have been fighting for this for several years, and it has always been brushed off with the excuse that their situation is only "temporary."

Last week, the UFT leadership announced a "solution" -- with chapter elections upon us, they decided, ATRs would vote at the school where they are for the week the elections are held. This is outrageous -- how can ATR teachers effectively advocate for their needs when they are "here today, gone tomorrow," and the chapter representatives are not accountable to them.

Yesterday, when I raised this issue in the question period at the delegate assembly, Mulgrew refused to let me get a sentence out, interrupting me, harassing and yelling, "What's your question," "Make it a question," "That's not a question!" Following his lead, a passel of Unity delegates obediently picked up the jeer. Over the din, I was finally able to get out, "My question is, how do you justify this outrageous cynical disenfranchisement of the ATRs' right to vote?" and saying "the ATRs need their own chapter."

Mulgrew answered with a time-honored evasion: The union is in arbitration, he said, because the DOE has not kept to its commitment to place ATRs in open positions, and long-term vacancies. Until this arbitration is settled, the union is doing the "best it can" to give ATRs voting rights. He was silent on the fact that the weekly trek of ATRs is happening with the consent of the UFT leadership, which agreed to it as part of the deal on layoffs last spring.

Don't worry, I will keep on raising this issue. With more schools closing than ever, there will be a huge swelling of the ATR pool next fall. As we all know, "If you're not ATR, you could be soon." The fight for rights of ATR teachers is everyone's fight.

-----
Article on Philly destruction of public ed --- where is the union?
http://www.alternet.org/story/155416/the_remaking_of_philadelphia_public_schools%

3A_privatization_or_bust?page=entire

An Absence Note

Updated: Weds. May 16, 10 AM.

About 20 days ago the google counter, operating since July 2009 topped one million page views. Other counters from the early days of the blog in 2006 show different results based on numbers of "unique" visitors, a term that might indicate "weirdos."

Anyway, who's counting? One think I know it that when you don't post, readership drops. When I broke my wrist last July 14 and could only do minimal blogging for weeks, there was a major drop that lasted for months. I guess once unique weirdos get in the habit of going to certain blogs is lost it is easy to forget.

Well, this is probably the longest stretch of my non-blogging since I started in August 2006. Four days. Even during vacations, including New Zealand with little internet access, I managed to schedule something go up at least every two days. This time I even received some emails and phone calls of concern from some readers wondering if Unity Caucus or their sometimes cohort, WalBloom, had not bumped me off. But it seems the last 4 days have been either crammed with things to do or I've just been avoiding it. Maybe a sign of sorts that I should lay off more often before this becomes a chore rather than fun.

I guess one of the reasons for the reluctance to jump back in were the number of choices of issues to post about. Don't tell WalBloom and the ed deformers, but too many choices paralyze me. I've tried to keep up and often don't get to blogging because I am reading all the other great blogs and twitter feeds. There is so much information that I can't make up my mind what to share.

So instead of writing about all the enormous issues out there, I'll leave you to peruse the Daily Blogs on the blogroll. Instead I'll ignore them all and just give you facts, ma'am, just the facts.

Bernie at 5 weeks when she thought she was a he.

One of the shocks of the last 2 weeks was the discovery that Bernie the cat was really Bernice. Two independent vets had told us he was a boy but I kept telling my wife that at 7 months of age there were still no signs of the expected male flotsam and jetsam. Two weeks ago we finally took Bernie to the vet and confirmed the news and Bernie underwent a hysterectomy. I think he is handling her new status pretty well, though we are still adjusting.

I guess I feel a need to make this into an absence note of sorts. We have been busy with projects around the house with a focus on finding a contractor for redoing our 1960 era pink bathroom. Since my dad claims he is feeling so good at 94 due to the daily one hour hot baths he takes, one of my main goals is one of those air jet bathtubs where I can sit for hours blogging on a waterproof  ipad.

And then there is the intense gardening over the last two weeks starting with my annual stint at the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens plant sale - I think I've been doing that for 30 years. There has been lots of work to do in the garden at my house and I'm amazed I can walk around upright after scratching around in the dirt after buying loads of plants at the sale and at a few visits to garden centers.

My wife keeps reminding me that I owe her for taking care of me when I smashed up my wrist last July (this week is 10 months and I am still not back to normal without some pain) so I have lots of chores. And a pretty large garden for a city plot. (I have some pics but an too lazy to go up and get the cable to hook up my phone.)

Last Friday afternoon there was an ICE meeting which started at 4:30 at the diner but for some reason I didn't get home until after 10:30. How did that happen? Well, we sat around talking for hours. ICE meetings never officially end. The conversation just keeps flowing until I'm the only one left, talking to myself. Oh, and I had to stop by my 94 year old dad's apartment on the way home to make sure he was doing his training for the triathlon.

Despite a short night's sleep I woke up early on Saturday intending to go to the teacher data report seminar where Leonie Haimson was on a panel at Bank Street College from 8:30-12, but just couldn't get that together, especially with a MORE Caucus meeting at noon which I did attend. I want to do a separate post on what has been going on with MORE. The meeting, unlike ICE meetings, actually ends on time so I was home before 5, in time to once again lament the passing of Pete Fornatale whose Mixed Bag ran between 4 and 8PM.

Sunday was a hot yoga morning, after which I feel like doing nothing -- mentally and physically but did do some gardening for the entire afternoon. I bought a large Knockout Rose with yellow/white flowers --- the only knockout that has fragrance. It was a bit of a chore planting that sucker. I only had time for a quick shower before we headed out to Long Island for take-out Chinese dinner at our best friends' house. Then back for Sunday night TV with The Killing and Madmen.

Monday was back to my dad where I spend a good part of the day fixing some lamps for him. We were supposed to go to the retina specialist for our twice a year visit but when I got there he wasn't feeling up to the trip. So it was home in the afternoon to work in a light drizzle on one of the planting boxes which was falling apart and I had to use a sawzall to cut some spike-like nails down to size before I could start fixing it up. A prize crape myrtle was planted in the box last year so I want to make this spot look as good as that baby, which last year bloomed for 2 months with white flowers on purple leaves. Nothing like working with power tools in the rain. I still have to go back and cut a 6x6 beam to size with the sawzall, one of the best tools ever. I can''t wait to turn that sucker loose on some thick branches. I think a Sawzall can cut Tweed down to size.

So, here we are on Tuesday. My wife had a minor medical procedure this morning and I am told I sill have a lot of ground to make up for her care during my wristology adventure. I have a whole lot of owing, so I may not be back for months. Honey, what is it you want? Sorry, gotta go.