Pearson Rally Pics

I'm putting up some text in a separate post. Here are 24 pics. What a great event.
Also see:  www.parentvoicesny.org/

Chicago Strike Threat Causing Panic: Brizard Call for Internal Union Info

“They are fishing, and we don’t participate in fishing expeditions,” said Lewis. She and other union officials made high-profile appearances at their former schools to cast their ballots.  

CEO Jean- Claude Brizard’s team asked the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board to issue an emergency order to have the union secure election material and provide the IELRB and the district access to them. The district wants 20 different pieces of material from a copy of the ballot to the “educational flyer provided to each member explaining the reasons for the strike authorization vote” to information on the messenger services retained to deliver ballot boxes.

This report below from the Catalyst gives the scoop. It shows just how effective the Chicago Teachers Union has been in a campaign that is so unusual for any union to be conducting, especially in a state next to Wisconsin. I remember when the UFT conducted some kind of strike vote over a decade ago -- I think under Giuliani -- remember him and the days when the union leadership was holding a countdown until the day he leaves? -- everyone knew it was bullshit and the DOE didn't even bother to pay attention.

Brizard was principal of Westinghouse HS in Brooklyn and then went to the Broad Academy and rose up the chain of incompetence to HS district superintendent in Brooklyn and then on to ruin the Rochester schools where he received an overwhelming vote from teachers of "no confidence" which made him highly qualified to be hired by Rahmbo Emanuel to run (down) the Chicago schools even more than Paul Vallas or Arne Duncan did.

Here is the full report from the Catalyst --go to the link to read Brizard's letter to teachers.

As teachers cast votes, CPS wants access to ballots

By: Rebecca Harris and Sarah Karp / June 06, 2012

Tags: Chicago Teachers Union

 

As Wednesday’s strike authorization vote began, a battle began brewing between the district and the Chicago Teachers Union over the voting process itself.

CEO Jean- Claude Brizard’s team asked the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board to issue an emergency order to have the union secure election material and provide the IELRB and the district access to them. The district wants 20 different pieces of material from a copy of the ballot to the “educational flyer provided to each member explaining the reasons for the strike authorization vote” to information on the messenger services retained to deliver ballot boxes.

In a letter to the IELRB, district lawyers argue that because Senate Bill 7 sets out a process for how a strike should occur, the labor relations board has the power to monitor it.
“We want to make sure there is integrity in the process,” Brizard said.

CTU President Karen Lewis countered that CPS has no right to the material. Union officials already said they planned to have local clergy observe the vote-counting and will preserve the ballots.

“They are fishing, and we don’t participate in fishing expeditions,” said Lewis. She and other union officials made high-profile appearances at their former schools to cast their ballots.

A spokeswoman for the labor board said both the Chicago Teachers Union and CPS had filed documents with the board in recent days, but she declined to make them available without a Freedom of Information Act request. Law firms for the parties involved did not respond to requests to release additional documents.

The conflict underscores the importance of the strike authorization vote and the high stakes of the outcome. Brizard walked a fine line on Wednesday, saying that on one hand, regardless of the results, CPS and CTU will continue negotiating toward the goal of reaching an agreement before school starts in the fall.

But Brizard also emphatically argued that teachers should delay the vote and allow an independent fact-finder to issue a report on July 16.

“Teachers are being asked to vote on inaccurate information,” he said. “This is a serious process.”

He added that teachers only get one vote. Once teachers authorize to strike, they can’t reverse that decision, added spokeswoman Becky Carroll. (The vote, however, does not require the union to call a strike.)

Lewis and other union officials countered that the new process for calling a strike and requiring 75 percent approval makes it critical that the vote take place before school lets out for the summer. Once teachers disperse for the vacation, it would be difficult to get enough members to participate, union officials said.

Lewis said Wednesday morning she was confident that she can get enough members to authorize the strike. Showing the union can reach that threshold and that a strike threat is real will speed up the negotiation process, not thwart it as Brizard has maintained, she said.
“We want to get there [and reach a contract settlement] before August 27. We don’t want to wait till then,” she said.

Out in schools
Early Wednesday morning, Lewis went to King High School to cast her ballot. Lewis, who taught at King before taking the helm of the CTU, was greeted with hugs from students, teachers and even the police officer stationed at the school.
Throughout the morning, King’s teachers unceremoniously picked up their ballots in the main office, filled them out, stuffed them in envelopes and went back to their classes. Students were taking finals on Wednesday.

Many of the teachers wore red shirts to show their support for the union. Social studies teacher Andrew Lambert had donned a blue shirt, but said he did vote to authorize a strike. “I am young and didn’t do the laundry,” he said. “I think that this vote is more important for young teachers because we have to live with the consequences for our entire career.”
Still, it was unclear whether King would get 100 percent participation or approval this first day. David Robbins, one of the union delegates, said that 59 of 70 members of the staff participated in a survey last month that was meant to be a dry run for the vote: 56 of 59 responded that they thought the union should reject the existing CPS contract offer.
Robbins said there’s a mix of reasons why people might sit out a vote, which essentially will mean they are casting a “No” vote.

But at other schools, delegates expected 100 percent of union members to vote in favor of the strike. CTU Vice President Jesse Sharkey appeared at Senn High School at 7:30 a.m. to cast his vote and talk with teachers. “People said, ‘What are you doing here? This building’s 100 percent (in favor). Go somewhere they need your help,’ ” he said.

At Ray School in Hyde Park, teachers were eager to cast their ballots. By 8:30, all but 15 of 60 teachers had already done so. Teachers also contributed to a pot-luck breakfast, and a table nearby was heavy with donuts, coffee and other treats.

Union delegate John Cusiack said he expects everyone will authorize the strike.
Like other teachers interviewed on Wednesday, he said that the overall direction of CPS, and education reform generally, is what teachers are voting against. He said he is against efforts such as firing tenured teachers and replacing them with new staff, which happens in turnaround schools.

“In some schools they have done that several times and it is still no different,” he said.
Therese Wasik, who is retiring from Ray this year, said she was glad she got a chance to vote.  Her first year in the district, she worked one day and then went on strike. She said she remembers being nervous that her job wasn’t safe. Because she’s retiring, she has no such concerns.

“I have been in the union for more than 30 years and I know what I would want if I were here,” she said.

At Gale Elementary in Rogers Park, Head Start teacher Maxine Gladney – who has been with the district since 1968 – said that CPS’ treatment of veteran teachers had persuaded her to vote for the strike authorization.

“It’s something we should be doing, or we’re going to end up like Wisconsin, like a lot of other places, and we’re going to have nobody to protect us,” Gladney said. “We are blamed for things we are not responsible for, decisions [CPS] makes that are not up to us.”
Joseph Hill, a special education teacher, said that he supports the vote as well. “We are the only city employees that are asked to work longer for free,” he said.

 He is not optimistic that a vote will pressure CPS to cave in to the union’s demands. “They’re not going to give us a pay raise. We’re just going to need to go on strike,” he added.

But parent volunteer Tameka Leonard, who has three children at Gale, said she was unhappy about the vote. “I think it’s too early to be talking about a strike. It’s summer break. You’ve still got time to negotiate,” she said.

And, she noted, she’s pleased with Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s initiative to extend the school day because of the number of kids she sees running around the neighborhood with nothing to do after school.

Fred Smith: Saying No to This Week’s Field Tests

Using a no-stakes test to evaluate questions for next year's high-stakes exams? This author thinks it's a bad idea.

 

http://www.citylimits.org/conversations/175/testing-before-the-test-how-to-prep-next-year-s-questions

 

By Fred Smith

Friday, Jun 1, 2012 

 

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The time has come to scrub New York’s field testing program before launch next week. The State Education Department is reverting to stand-alone field tests, an approach it acknowledged to be fundamentally flawed in 2009.
Stand-alone field tests are self-contained. Students take them so the publisher can try out new items for future use. Results, good or bad, have no direct consequences for the students.

Author

Fred Smith

About | RSS

 

SED wants to try out new questions on 488,000 students in grades three through eight at 4,078 schools statewide, including 1,029 New York City public schools. This non-mandated testing is in addition to the embedded field test questions that were planted inside April’s statewide exams.The aim is to create a pool of items the publisher, NCS Pearson, can draw upon to assemble next year’s English and math exams. The quality of next year’s exams therefore hinges on how well students in the field test sample represent the population for whom the next round of exams is being developed—not only in composition, but also in their motivation to do well on try-out questions.
And motivation is the rub.
Common sense tells us that students will not strive to perform well in June—even less so on experimental tests they know won’t count against them—having suffered countless testing drills during the year capped off by April’s grinding high-stakes exams.
Recent history sounds the alarm. In 2009, when a different company was producing New York’s exams, the results reached implausible heights. Regents Chancellor Merryl Tisch thought the scores were suspicious. “We have to stop lying to our kids,” she said. Test experts quietly observed that the underlying trouble was with separate field testing—exactly what’s happening next week—because it provided inaccurate information. Students taking the field tests knew they weren’t real and didn’t give their all. Their indifferent effort and resulting poor performance on the field tests led SED and the test-maker to see the items as relatively difficult and to underestimate the level of success students would truly reach when try-out questions went onto the real (a.k.a. operational) exams.
Duped by the data, they lowered the score needed to pass. When students took the operational exams seriously, they performed better than projected, and extremely high percentages were deemed proficient.
That sequence moved SED to adopt the “embedded field testing” approach taken in April—in which try-out questions are interspersed in the same test booklets with questions that count. Students can’t tell the difference, so they should try hard on all of them.
An SED memo to superintendents said the benefits of embedding multiple-choice questions included “a better representation of the student population and more reliable field test data.”
But SED did not embed enough items. While the exams took considerably longer to administer, they didn’t yield sufficient material from which to construct future exams.  
To overcome this deficiency, SED and Pearson have altered their five-year, $32 million agreement in order to impose many different tests next week, particularly 12 that contain reading passages with multiple-choice items.
Meanwhile, SED/Pearson has kept parents and the public in the dark. This year’s Field Tests School Administrators Manual tellingly omits a single sentence from last year’s: Parents should be informed of the dates and the purpose of the tests.
Why the secrecy surrounding these non-mandatory tests? Do they fear a backlash of resistance?
Perhaps they should. A growing number of parents have begun to see the pernicious impact testing overkill has had on education. They’re tired of hearing that next year the program will get it right. Parents don’t want to keep putting their children through the testing wringer. They are saying “Enough!” and questioning the validity of such blunt instruments in judging students, teachers and schools.
The return to stand-alone field testing only sharpens their appropriate concerns. Surely both SED and Pearson know that stand-alone field testing takes New York back to a costly, unviable exercise that cannot produce solid information because student motivation will be lacking.
An independent investigation is long overdue. It’s finally time to forcefully correct the disastrous course we are on.

Loretta Prisco

We can always count on Fred Smith to tell the truth about testing. How fortunate we are to have his voice which adds rationality and truthfulness to the testing issue.

MORE Forum:The Trouble With Accountability @ Thu Jun 7 5pm - 7pm

To be discussed on June 7:


The Death and Life of the Great American School System, Diane Ravitch

Chapter 8: The Trouble with Accountability
Chapter 9: What would Mrs. Ratliff do?

Next session will be:
Thursday, June 21st, 5 – 7pm
Unequal by Design, Wayne Au
Epilogue

The Death and Life of the Great American School System, Diane Ravitch
Last Chapter

All sessions will be at
The CUNY Graduate Center
365 5th Avenue, Room 5414
New York, NY 10016

Bring a Photo ID
Email MORE: more@morecaucusnyc.org

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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.

Parent-led Protest Against High Stakes Testing Thursday, June 7th

I will be there to tape this. And see below for notes on Pearson feeling the heat.
See Leonie Haimson at Schoolbook:

The Lessons of Pineapplegate

PRESS ALERT

Press Contacts:

Martha Foote            

Tel 347-967-8159

martha_foote@hotmail.com

Anne Stone

Tel 917-757-3618

anne.judith.stone@gmail.com

Parents in X* Schools Boycott Field Tests for High-Stakes Exams:

Fed Up With Over-Testing, Parents Protest at Pearson Headquarters

"Enough is enough - we want more teaching, less testing!"

WHAT:        Press conference and demonstration against the State Education Department, the NYC Department of Education, and Pearson over excessive and high-stakes standardized state testing.

WHEN:        Thursday, June 7th at 10:45 A.M.

WHERE:      Outside Pearson headquarters, 1330 Sixth Avenue, between 53rd and 54th Streets, Manhattan.

VISUALS:   Parents and children holding posters and giant puppets; a theatrical marching band; children in costumes.

WHY:         From June 5th to June 12th, children across the state are being forced to give up learning time solely to serve the research purposes of billion-dollar test publisher Pearson, which has a $32 million contract with the New York State Education Department. But parents in an unprecedented number of schools (number to be revealed at the press conference) are fighting back by refusing to allow their children to take these field tests and joining a protest at Pearson headquarters. 

*Number to be revealed at the press conference

Here is a comment from a NYC teacher pointing to the Pearson spin job at the Pearson site: 

In my seven years of teaching, I have written many "tests" to measure the learning of my own students. I weed out unfair questions by reading the test over carefully and revising it as needed. Sometimes I ask colleagues for suggestions about wording or presentation. On rare occasions a student raises his hand and asks for clarification about the wording of a question. If I can answer him without compromising the content I'm testing, I do. Having the ability to recognize when you don't understand something and asking a reliable person for clarification is, after all, an important college- and career-readiness skill. Apparently the test-writing experts at Pearson cannot determine the fairness of a question without subjecting hundreds of students to it first. Field testing DOES affect students; this year I had 3 students (2 with special needs, 1 an English Language Learner) break down crying during the state math test upon encountering untaught non-grade-level material that may or may not have been embedded field items. Now that teacher evaluations are going to be tied to test scores, I guess the field tests will affect me too!

Here is an internal communication about their response strategy.

Dear Colleagues, This spring testing season, we’ve seen misinformation and misperceptions on standardized assessment permeate media coverage and call into question Pearson’s role in the educational testing process. Doug Kubach, our CEO of Assessment and Information, shared information today on NEO to answer your and your customers’ questions on testing.  He also announced the launch of a new social media campaign to demystify testing for parents:  “Parents, Kids & Testing.”  Through the campaign, we will share links to education and testing resources along with information about testing in all 50 states and U.S. territories for parents and their children.  To read Doug’s full announcement, visit his blog on NEO. Regards, Shilpi Niyogi Executive Vice President, Public Affairs ---------------- Another response: Dear Colleagues: Here in our Department of Hispanic Studies at the University of Northern Colorado we have been using the texts published by Pearson.  However, in view of the company’s involvement in high stakes standardized testing and the stranglehold the regimen has on public schools, and thanks to all the information that has come through this open forum subscribers’ list, we dropped Pearson from our Spanish curricula for our Spanish 101 and Spanish 102 classes.  I summarized our rationale in the attached letter to a CEO at Pearson. In appreciation, Don Perl The Coalition for Better Education, Inc. www.thecbe.org  -------   Sandi Kirshner                                                                                                                        Executive Vice President Pearson Higher Education 75 Arlington Street Boston, MA 02116                                                                            May 23, 2012 Dear Sandi Kirshner: I appreciate your detailed response received on May 22nd to my questions regarding Pearson’s “philosophy of education.”  Here in Hispanic Studies at the University of Northern Colorado we have discussed in some depth the most appropriate direction for implementing resources for our Spanish language students.  I think a bit of professional information about me is relevant at this time.  As a middle school teacher in the academic year 2000 – 2001, I was charged with administering high stakes standardized testing to my inner city students.  I studied the issue in considerable depth and after much deliberation decided that I could not, in good faith, administer these tests and still consider myself a professional educator.  That act of civil disobedience began a journey to raise the awareness of the citizenry of the dangers posed by high stakes standardized testing.  Enclosed please find a copy of the letter dated January 16, 2001, stating the reasons for that refusal.  We started a coalition, we forwarded a ballot initiative, we have advertised on billboards on the roadways of Colorado advising parents of their rights as their children face high stakes standardized testing, and have played a part in crafting legislation to take a bit of the onus off the testing regimen. In view of this mission and our moral opposition to the dangers inherent in high stakes standardized testing, and in contemplation of  Pearson’s involvement in the creation of these tests now so ubiquitous throughout the nation’s public schools, we must look to other publishing houses to provide our students with the necessary resources for Spanish language acquisition. Sincerely, Don Perl Department of Hispanic Studies University of Northern Colorado Greeley, Colorado 80639 don.perl@unco.edu 970-351-2746 cc Seth Osburn – Pearson Publishing – 16816 South First Avenue, Phoenix, AZ 85045  ------------ Hello, In trolling on the Internet, (I Googled "field test" "New York" "2010"), I somehow stumbled on to this! http://www.fehb.org/gr38ftmatrix-1014.pdf (I've saved to my hard drive and doc is attached, in case it disappears online.) It came from: http://www.fehb.org/ Franklin Essex Hamilton BOCES (Board of Cooperative Educational Services) The embedded link to NYSED looks dead, but the info here says that each school's strand number stays the same from school years 2010-11 through 2013-14. So perhaps this is a way to predict what field test your school might be offered next year and the year after! For example, I don't know my school's strand, but from looking at this, it seems my school is "E3." This year's field test was 5th grade math; looks like  next year's is 5th grade ELA. Thanks, concerned NYC parent of a fourth grader/amateur detective ;)

Joe Nocera: Income Gap Tied to Decline of Unions

Joe Nocera must have seen the GEM film "The Inconvenient Truth Behind Waiting for Superman," the film the UFT doesn't want you to see -- but you can online) where we use graphs to make the point that the decline in unions since the 1970s is directly related to the growing income gap.  His column today in the Times (Turning Our Backs on Unions)
really nails the point that the liberals' abandonment of the union movement (think Woody Allen comment on Al Shanker destroying the world when he got the bomb) has had a major impact.

We see that in the support of even liberal Democrats and celebrity liberals supporting charters and in the general assault on teacher unions. The tone and tenor of Nocera's article is a sign that the assault has gone so far it is beginning to turn against the assaulters. But the problem from out end is the loser -- we all want to cooperate--  mentality of our union leaders. When Nocera criticizes them in his piece it is from the wrong direction -- as if they were really fighting and not capitulating enough. He misses that point by a mile.

I would ask the question about Paul Krugman, the real liberal on the Times. He has been writing about many of the same issues but blames the Republicans and lets Obama and the Dems off the hook. And he says nothing about the ed assault on teachers by both parties. Let's hope both Krugman and Nocera begin to shine a light on that, especially given that Michael Winerip may be gone from the Times.

Turning Our Backs on Unions

By JOE NOCERA

“The Great Divergence” by Timothy Noah is a book about income inequality, and if you’re thinking, “Do we really need another book about income inequality?” the answer is yes. We need this one.

It stands out in part because Noah, a columnist for The New Republic, is not content to simply shake his fists at the heavens in anger. He spends exactly one chapter on what he calls the “rise of the stinking rich” — that is, the explosion in executive pay and what he calls “the financialization of the economy,” which has enriched one small segment of society at the expense of everyone else.

Mostly, he grapples with the deep, hard-to-tickle-out reasons that the gap between the rich and the middle class in the United States has widened to such alarming proportions. How much have technological advances contributed to income inequality? Globalization and off-shoring? The necessity of having a college education to land a decent-paying job? The decline of labor unions?

That last one, I have to admit, caught me up short. My parents were both public high school teachers, who proudly walked picket lines when the need arose. My hometown, Providence, R.I., was about as pro-union a city as you could find outside the Rust Belt. But like many college-educated children of union parents, I have never been a member of a union, and I viewed them with mild disdain.

As Andy Stern, the former president of the Service Employees International Union, put it to me: “White-collar professionals tend to appreciate what unions did for their parents. But they don’t view today’s janitors or nurse’s aides in the same way.” Instead, they — or, rather, we — tend to focus on the many things that are wrong with unions, exemplified these days by the pensions of public service employees that are breaking the backs of so many cities and states. Unions seem like a spent force, and we tend not to lament their demise.

Noah includes himself as one of those liberals “who spent too much time beating up unions,” as he told me recently. (He and I are both members of the informal Washington Monthly alumni society.) His thinking began to change in the early 1990s when he read “Which Side Are You On?” It is a powerful meditation on the difficulties unions face, written by Thomas Geoghegan, a Chicago labor lawyer. Researching “The Great Divergence” reinforced Noah’s growing view that when liberals turned their backs on unions — when they put, in his words, “identity politics over economic justice” — they made a terrible mistake.

Noah places the high-water mark for unionism in the mid-1950s, when nearly 40 percent of American workers were either union members or “nonunion members who were nonetheless covered by union contracts.” In the early postwar years, even the Chamber of Commerce believed that “collective bargaining is a part of the democratic process,” as its then-president noted in a statement.

But, in the late-1970s, union membership began falling off a cliff, brought on by a variety of factors, including jobs moving offshore and big labor’s unsavory reputation. Government didn’t help either: Ronald Reagan’s firing of the air traffic controllers in 1981 sent an unmistakable signal that companies could run roughshod over federal laws intended to protect unions — which they’ve done ever since.

The result is that today unions represent 12 percent of the work force. “Draw one line on a graph charting the decline in union membership, then superimpose a second line charting the decline in middle-class income share,” writes Noah, “and you will find that the two lines are nearly identical.” Richard Freeman, a Harvard economist, has estimated that the decline of unions explains about 20 percent of the income gap.

This makes perfect sense, of course. Company managements don’t pay workers any more than they have to — look, for instance, at Walmart, one of the most virulently antiunion companies in the country. In their heyday, unions represented a countervailing force that could extract money for its workers that helped keep them in the middle class. Noah notes that a JPMorgan economist calculated that the majority of increased corporate profits between 2000 and 2007 were the result of “reductions in wages and benefits.” That makes sense, too. At the same time labor has been in decline, the power of shareholders has been on the rise.

“Say what you want about the abuses that labor committed,” says Noah. “They were adversarial. They weren’t concerned enough about the general prosperity. Some of them were mobbed up. But they were necessary institutions.”

Not surprisingly, Noah closes his book with a call for a revival of the labor movement. It is hard to see that happening any time soon. And unions need to change if they are to become viable again. But if liberals really want to reverse income inequality, they should think seriously about rejoining labor’s side.

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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.

Breaking: Charter Schools Cut School Day, Use Parents, Teachers and Kids as Political Tools

...teachers are being forced to go since it is happening during their work day, and students and parents are bribed into going via free bus transportation, and the promise of "face painters, magicians, and all sorts of fun things" upon arrival [at City Hall on June 6].

This just came in from an anonymous charter school teacher. Still unconfirmed but if it happens there has to be some violation of some ed law. But if it does take place on what would be normal school time whatever violations there are will be ignored. I know Eva and crew have lots of gall but if this actually happens on school time even I will be shocked.

I follow your blog, and was wondering what you know about the big charter school rally that's supposed to happen June 6. Apparently, Eva is very worried that a new mayor will undo all the pro-charter school policies implemented by Bloomberg over the last few years. Thus, it is my understanding that a whole bunch of charter schools are going to end school early this Wednesday so that students, parents, and teachers can attend a rally outside city hall just to create the impression that there is wide support for expanding charter schools, when in fact, teachers are being forced to go since it is happening during their work day, and students are parents are bribed into going via free bus transportation, and the promise of "face painters, magicians, and all sorts of fun things" upon arrival. The whole thing seems very fishy and manipulative to me. I'm wondering if you have any more information on this, and/or if you would be able to mobilize your networks to do a counterprotest, or at least expose the deception behind Wednesday's rally. I guarantee you there will be busloads of children going to city hall this Wednesday to "protest," since they have the afternoon off.

Since I currently work for a charter school, I'll rather remain anonymous, but I appreciate the work you do. Your blog has helped me recognize the political mess I've put myself into by working where I work, and I'm trying to get out as soon as possible.
Thanks!

This email is a sign of disaffection among charter school teachers. I would hope some of them join up with the new caucus MORE. Hmmm. Maybe a MORE charter school chapter.

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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.

Christopher Cerf: The Perfect Face of Ed Deform... and a Crook Too

Cerf/Broad/Duncan extortion racket in New Jersey

There was a twitter debate initiated by Ken Libby about civility in the rhetoric on both sides of the ed wars where he raised the question as to whether our side can also be too vicious. Read below and tell me how we can't be vicious enough.

Broad Infestation at the NJDOE

Jim Horn posts a stunning letter he received from a former employee at the New Jersey Department of Education. The letter is anonymous for obvious reasons. Take that for what it's worth, but keep in mind Jim's blog, Schools Matter, is an excellent resource with a solid track record. I'm inclined to take this at fact value:

Below is an email I received from a former NJ DOE employee whose moral fatigue forced her from a good paying job with the State. Read it and then you will know why the Eli Broad calls his kind of philanthropy investments rather than grants.
_______________________ 

I am a former NJ DOE employee who resigned recently because I could no longer be a part of the extortion and fraud that is taking part there under the Broad Administration of Chris Cerf, Penny MacCormack, Peter Shulman, Bing Howell, ad nauseum.

From Jersey Jazzman blog.

You really have to read both Schools Matter and Jersey Jazzman to get the full picture of these crooks. We have written often about now Jersey State Ed Commissioner Cerf appointed by that other crook Christie. See below for links to our posts for the full Cerf Sleaze story. This just came in from Leonie Haimson about how Cerf tried to get rid of real educators but when he couldn't he just created a new costly class above them.

A perfect analogy: Cerf head on Bloomberg body

Cerf's latest power grab

Cerf tried to illegally replace NJ supes (real educators) but when court stopped him as it did with Joel Klein, he appts new positions above them (remember regional supervisors?) made up of broadies (Eli Broad Academy grads -- the national equivalent of the Leadership Academy but for Supts.) And using title 1 funds besides. All facilitated of course by Duncan and his minions in the name of Ed reform.

http://jerseyjazzman.blogspot.com/2012/06/broad-infestation-at-njdoe.html?spref=tw&m=1

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Ed Notes

Ed Notes Online: Coming Soon From Chris Cerf: I'm Not a Crook

Dec 18, 2010

Just to keep in perspective what education "reform" means to these fellows--and to the media, Christopher Cerf, former President of Edison, the commercial outfit that has stirred up bitter controversy in 25 states, was hired in ...

Ed Notes Online: From: Cerf Chris

Feb 07, 2007

Though Cerf insisted he had no financial interest in the company, it turns out that he just sold his Edison stock yesterday – when he saw that the CPAC agenda listed him as speaking about privatization and Edison.

Ed Notes Online: Cerf and Klein, Time to Resign

Feb 09, 2007

In a photo I took at the press conference, it appears as if Christopher Cerf, one of Klein's newest appointees, might have been napping, or as the caption says on my blog, “Christopher Cerf dreams of ways to turn the NYC ...

Ed Notes Online: Update on Cerf Investigation....

Dec 06, 2008

Check out Juan Gonzalez' column in today's NY Daily News about the long-suppressed report from the Special Commissioner of Investigation on Chris Cerf, the Deputy Chancellor, as well as the NY Times story here.

Ed Notes Online: WANTED: NYC DEPT of EDUCATION

Feb 11, 2007

I'm using this space to post another incisive email on Cerf from Leonie Haimson. The question she raises about the way the press dropped the ball on Cerf is so relevant. Of cousre, I would add to this the silence of the UFT ...

Ed Notes Online: Teachers to Be Rated on Chronic Absence - parody

Oct 21, 2008

"No excuses," proclaimed his able assistant Christopher Cerf when asked about the vast differences in the numbers between the poorer and wealthier areas of the city. "Teachers have to figure out ways to get these kids into ...

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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.

Standardized Test Field Testing This Upcoming Tuesday, June 5, Protest June 7

Join this event!
Join CTS page.
Join us June 7!

https://www.facebook.com/events/342544932483288/

Visit 295 website for boycott letters to download and sign if you do not wish your child to take the field tests: http://ps295.org/English/pta/index.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/25/new-york-state-field-test_n_1546782.html   

As per Huff. Post article: “Opt-out rates for these field tests could be particularly high because the experimental nature of the tests means their results cannot count toward a student's academic record.”

From the people who accuse us of being about adults while they claim to be about children. Posted at HuffPo

A memo has recently surfaced in which the New York State Department of Education appears to encourage educators to mislead students about upcoming standardized field tests meant to "provide the data necessary to ensure the validity and reliability of the New York State Testing program."
"Students should not be informed of the connection between these field tests and State assessments," the memo reads. "The field tests should be described as brief tests of achievement in the subject."

 Nice work when the NYSED urges people to lie to children.

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Campo de Prueba estandarizada de pruebas, el próximo Martes, 05 de junio. Visite el sitio web de 295 cartas de boicot para descargar y firmar si usted no desea que su hijo a tomar las pruebas de campo: http://ps295.org/Espanol/pta/index.html

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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.

Chicago, Chicago, A Hell of a Town

Chicago is really the epicenter of the battle between the ed deformers and the real reformers. It was the birth of mayoral control in 1995, the home of key Democratic deformers Arne Duncan who ran the schools for 7 years and Obama. Duncan was preceded by Paul Vallas who after he was run out of Chicago has ruined public school systems in Philly, New Orleans and now Hartford (or is it New Haven?) Really take a look at NO and Philly and there is only devastation.

Chicago still has a fighting chance, mostly due to the reform union movement led by the Caucus of Rank and File Educators which was elected in May 2010 with Karen Lewis, who came out of 30 years of teaching chemistry to run the 2nd largest teachers union in the nation. And despite a few missteps is doing quite well. Yes to real teachers, not lawyers, running teacher unions.

The AFT convention in Detroit starting July 26 may well have the dynamic of a struggle between the Chicago TU and the UFT -- CORE vs Unity caucus. One of the early battles shaping up is over the weak AFT Resolution on Testing and their support for the Common Core. We'll keep you posted on the 800 Unity Caucus slugs who will be there to oppose the Real Reformers.

The ed deformers were patting themselves on the back for passing a law requiring the Chicago Teachers Union to have 75% support before they can strike. My first thought was "good." Who would want to strike without having 75% of the members supporting it? Better yet, how about 90%, which seems to be the kind of support the CTU is getting for a strike from its members. And there is also parent support being built by the CTU.

All it takes is a mayor who demands people work a few hours extra a day for practically no pay. Plus all the other anti-teacher and union crap.

So the showdown between the CTU and Mayor Rhambo and NYC/Rochester reject and now Chicago Supt Jean Claude-Buzzard/vulture will be coming in September. It is in our interests here in NYC and all over the nation to support the CTU politically and financially as a victory over the ed deformers would have nationwide implications. Can you imagine how Randi will react? While mouthing support publicly she will be working desperately behind the scenes for a "settlement" where she will do as much to represent the powers that be as the union. Probably more as a successful strike in Chicago would create a greater militant demand here in NYC. We don't need our leaders to be intermediaries but to stand firmly in our corner.

Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis (above at podium) announced the strike authorization voting to begin June 6, while the union's officers looked on. Left to right above: Recording Secretary Michael Brunson, President Karen Lewis, Vice President Jesse Sharkey, and Financial Secretary Kristine Mayle. Substance photo by Sharon Schmidt.

Video of Karen's speech

CTU to hold strike authorization voting beginning June 6

Sharon Schmidt - June 01, 2012
Karen Lewis and the officers and members of the Chicago Teachers Union announced at a packed press conference on Friday afternoon, June 1, 2012, that the union will conduct its strike authorization referendum during the week of June 4, with full results expected by June 8. Under the terms of the law known as "SB7" (for Senate Bill 7), the union is required to get approval from 75 percent of its members in order to move towards a strike. (Retiree members are not part of the union that participates in strike votes).


Read MORE on the story

CPS parent Matt Farmer puts billionaire Board of Education member Penny Pritzker on Trial at CTU's STANDS STRONG RALLY. 

Pritzker doesn't seem to feel it is necessary to provide other people's children with the same educational experience as hers.
http://youtu.be/IMUboOIQT48




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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.

Jaisal Noor Documentary: Neighborhood Schools: The fight for the future of American public education

I try to keep up with current issues, especially with the restructuring/destruction of the people's public schools, but now I can honestly say that I believe  school restructuring  is the carefully planned  destruction of our free society.  This radio documentary was really an eye-opener for me, and I have been doing educational research for over  thirty years. 

The NEA and AFT sold the teachers and children out years ago, so don't look for any help from the major officials of these organizations.  Check their past positions on choice.

----  From Ann Herzer comment on "Neighborhood Schools: The fight for the future of American public education."

This audio documentary and the comment below the into were passed on by Diane Ravitch from her blog post:  Should Community Schools Survive?

Reporter Jaisal Noor has created a gripping radio documentary about the fight to save neighborhood schools.

He lets the “reformers” have their say. They want to close down the so-called failing schools and replace them with new schools that won’t be failing schools, at least not for a few years. Then they too can be closed and another new school can be opened.The closing schools serve minority students. They are overcrowded and underresourced. They must be closed. So say the officials.Jaisal Noor listens to students, teachers, and parents. What a novel idea. The officials don’t hear students, teachers, or parents. They know what’s best for everyone. And what’s best is to close their school.
Diane

Diane also heaped praise on one of our own, NYC Educator, in an earlier post.

And she was on the Ed Show: Must watch! http://video.msnbc.msn.com/the-ed-show/47654288#47654288

Here is the blurb for the broadcast. Here is the link.

Memorial Day Special

Mon, 05/28/2012 - 14:38

• Length: 29:06 minutes (26.64 MB)
• Format: MP3 Mono 44kHz 128Kbps (CBR)

Neighborhood Schools: The fight for the future of American public education
In the US, the historic struggle for quality education continues to unfold as America’s public schools have become the center of an intense debate. Much of that has focused on deciding what to do with schools that are struggling.  Should they be privatized? Should there be greater accountability? More funding or more local involvement?
While federal, state and local authorities maintain a top down strategy of fixing education, some communities are pushing for a different approach.  Parents, teachers and students are demanding a say in how their schools are run. But their efforts in getting leaders to address the institutional problems behind so-called failing schools are meeting resistance.  FSRN’s Jaisal Noor examines these issues in two of the country’s biggest school districts: Chicago and New York.


This documentary was produced by Jaisal Noor. Special thanks to Kouross Esmaeli and Julia Winer.  Documentary editor is Shannon Young. Technical production at KPFA Berkeley from Jeannine Etter. Music provided by Tony Davis and Action Davis.

Ann Herzer  comments:

I just finished listening to "gripping radio documentary" and am shocked.  I knew thing were bad, and that privitazation was a means of destroying democratic principles, but frankly, I think few Americans know what is happening in communities across our nation now.
 I try to keep up with current issues, especially with the restructuring/destruction of the people's public schools, but now I can honestly say that I believe  school restructuring  is the carefully planned  destruction of our free society.  This radio documentary was really an eye-opener for me, and I have been doing educational research for over  thirty years.
From my research,  I realized that children were being dumbed down through the government's destructive experimental programs when I first saw them in the book titled "Education Programs That Work".  I was also a reader for their programs.  I became a reader so I could follow what the feds were advocating for our nation.  
I read the  legislation in Arizona and from several others states.  Concerned citizens sent me entire packets of what was happening in their states.  At the invitations of citizens, I spoke in several states against the phoney "Nation At Risk"; and everything else that followed i. e. America 2000/Goals 2000, School-to-Work and the New American Schools Development Corporation's radical design teams.   I spoke against the "radical" behavior modification programs being used on children and teacher alike.  
I used only their  documented research, not  manufactured research we see now being used to destroy public education, and yes, private and religious schools as well.  One can find research data to support any point of view, and researchers get paid big money to compile phony documentation.  They often use peer research...this means "you scratch my back, and I will scratch yours".  Uninformed politicians grasp at straws when they use undocumented research.  They often get caught as several are now being exposed and citizens are now questioning.  It's about time the American people question these snake-oil peddlers.  The next time I respond, I'll try and think of a better term for them, but it might not be printed.  
Thank you Diane for all that you are doing.  I see that you often start in the early A. M. We must also remember all our good educators  and citizens who are standing up for children and freedom.  Take care, and keep up the good fight!  You are not alone.  There are many Americans who have continued to speak out against such tragic things we heard on the video. As a History major, I find this most alarming!  
The "gripping radio documentary" should be played on every media outlet in our country, but it will not because the major media is supporting this tragedy.  This "radical political" destruction of our free society is coming not only from the so-called conservative right, but from the so-called liberal left.  
The NEA and AFT sold the teachers and children out years ago, so don't look for any help from the major officials of these organizations.  Check their past positions on choice.
You can see all comments on this post here:
http://dianeravitch.net/2012/06/02/should-community-schools-survive/#comments
Permalink: http://dianeravitch.net/2012/06/02/should-community-schools-survive/#comment-145

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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.

A former student gets in touch

I got a text the other day from one of my favorite students from the late 70's with a photo of her and her mom (also one of my favorite parents) at her daughter's graduation. Don't they both look gorgeous? I think she was in one of my looping classes (5th and 6th grades) and if she survived two years with me as her teacher she must be special.

I think the last time I saw her she was in high school. She must be over 40 now. We have been in touch over the last 5 years and this Monday we are having dinner. She has quite a tragic story to tell that is so indicative of what so many of our students go through. Her husband, also a former student of mine, was senselessly murdered 20 years ago, leaving her with 2 small children (she had 2 more later on). But she seems to have persevered. Oh how the ed deformers don't want to address these issues -- like how about Michelle Rhee using some of the millions she collects to assist students they claim they care so much about instead of lobbyists and consultants on how to undermine public schools and the support network so many of them provide in the neighborhood.

If we do get together next week I will take some pics.  The scary one on the right is the two of us at her graduation. I think I still have the leisure suit. It's got to come back one day. As for the afro --- I think not.

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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.