Palast Slams Obama on Debate

Mr. President, if you can't explain why you are the Commander-in-Chief in this class war against the billionaire bandits attempting to seize our government, then get off the horse and let someone in the saddle who can ride.----greg palast

Glad I was far, far away and missed this one.
-----------
What the hell happened?

Thursday, October 4, 2012
by Greg Palast for The Mudflats.net

What the hell happened?  Did Barack have a fight with Michelle? Was it nicotine withdrawal?  Do really rich guys just scare you, Mr. Obama?
 
Dear Mr. President:  As a journalist I don't take partisan sides, but I do take America's side.  And as Commander-in-Chief, you simply cannot fall asleep in the saddle.
 
I mean Commander-in-Chief in the Class War.  The war of the billionaires against the rest of us.
 
You were asked, "What is the role of government?"
 
You seemed stumped.  Lost.
 
Well, here's three, Mr. President:
Issue Social Security checks. Checks for cash money.  Not some bullshit voucher.
Save General Motors and Motor City.
Kill Osama.
Maybe you should have written those on your palm.  

When Mr. PBS Bumblebrain asked you the difference between your views and Gov. Romney's on Social Security, you said, "You know, I suspect that, on Social Security, we've got a somewhat similar position."
 
Really, Mr. President, REALLY?
 
Romney says that if you're 38 or 54, it doesn't matter that you've paid into Medicare and Social Security all your life, you don't get the insurance you paid for.  You get some stinking voucher, some coupon that says, "Here's a hundred bucks kid, go buy a gold watch."
 
Who exactly is going to take a voucher to provide health insurance to a 72-year-old with asthma, in a walker and prostate problems?  
 
Governor Romney said, with that smirky, smarmy grin, "I'd assume I'd rather have a private [health] plan."  Gee, Mr. Romney, could you give me the number of your insurance company and tell them to take my "voucher"?
 
Mr. President, you gabbled on about the Cleveland Medical Clinic and its "best practices."  Who the hell cares, Mr. President?  There are people bleeding out here, LITERALLY BLEEDING, who now can get health coverage because of ObamaCare.  For all its failings, it saves lives, saves homes from foreclosure caused by insane medical bills – only recently, the number one cause of foreclosures in America.
 
Can't you even defend the one thing that's worth a damn and has your name on it?
 
Romney's wife has MS.  That's sad.  But what's tragic is that there are millions in America with MS who couldn't get insurance because they have this prior condition—and are not married to an investment banker demi-billionaire.
 
I don't care that you couldn't seem to defend yourself tonight, Mr. President.  That's a Democratic Party headache.  What I resent, what gets me furious and angry, is that you didn't defend ME.  Me and my family.
 
When Romney says he defends small business, let me tell you, I have a small business.  I don't need a tax break – hell, like most small businesses, we don't make money.  We need health insurance.  We need government loans.  
 
When Romney says government never does anything cheaper than the private sector, Mr. President, don't you know that it was government mortgage agencies that funded America's middle class homeownership? That's what government did – and licked Hitler to boot.
 
When mortgages were privatized, we were thrown at the mercy of the Banksters.  
 
(And why the hell did you, Mr. Obama, bring up that right-wing canard that banks just gave out mortgages to people who couldn't afford them – blaming sub-prime predatory mortgage crimes on the victims. Sounds like you agree that 47% of Americans are leeches.)
 
Maybe it's true that you, Mr. President, are actually just a hollow man, a creation of PR consultants and rich donors, a Ken-doll of repeating lines about "Hope," "change" and "this country thrives when the middle class thrives."
 
The truth is, you were ready to raise the retirement age for Social Security and cut back-room deals with drug companies. Maybe in the end, progressive policies are just a marketing niche you've found to cover aimless ambition and a yearning to compromise.  
 
If someone drilled a hole in you, could we blow in and play you like a flute?  Or is there some substance, some hard core of principal that couldn't break out tonight because it was imprisoned by advisors who told you to play it safe, play it in a coma?
 
Mr. President, if you can't explain why you are the Commander-in-Chief in this class war against the billionaire bandits attempting to seize our government, then get off the horse and let someone in the saddle who can ride.
 
Greg Palast is the author of the New York Times bestsellers The Best Democracy Money Can Buy, Armed Madhouse and Vultures' Picnic.

Palast's brand new NYT bestseller Billionaires & Ballot Bandits: How to Steal an Election in 9 Easy Steps, is available from Barnes & Noble, Amazon or Indie Bound and on the NOOK and Kindle.

Author's proceeds from the book go to the not-for-profit Palast Investigative Fund for reporting on voter protection issues.

Donate and can get a signed copy of the book or make a contribution of any amount to support our work.

Cheers,
Norm Scott

Twitter: normscott1

Education Notes
ednotesonline.blogspot.com

Grassroots Education Movement
gemnyc.org

Education columnist, The Wave
www.rockawave.com

nycfirst robotics
normsrobotics.blogspot.com

Sent from my BlackBerry

MORE's Fred Arcoleo Serenades Chicago Teachers

Fred, a former Chapter Leader and currently a delegate sent this to the MORE discussion list:

I was honored to be able to sing one of my songs for the Chicago teachers while I was in Chicago during the last days of the strike. They were taking a break from the picket line and intensely discussing the contract offer. You'll see me with my brand-new MORE T-shirt and hear at the end of the song how I talk about MORE and what we're trying to do. One of the teachers caught it on video and sent it to me. 

I had the honor of visiting Chicago teacher strikers this weekend and spent the day at the picket line outside Carson Elementary School in Chicago. During a later discussion about the strike, I played this song, "We Are the Ones," dedicating it to the strikers and their valiant efforts to combat attacks on students and teachers nation(world)wide. Thanks to Kwan Fong, a teacher at Carson, for taking the video.

"We Are the Ones" in Chicago on YouTube

http://youtu.be/no-9HNJKSgo

I hope to make music part of our movement!

Here's how to connect to Fred's work.

Fred Arcoleo

Rally Folk Records, NYC

Oh, won't you "like" my music on Facebook? Fred Arcoleo Music. Most of my CD is here for listening.

Award Winner! 2012 Connecticut Folk Festival Song Competition
"Don McLean meets Phil Ochs." - Pat Lamanna, People's Music Network

Fred's first, award-winning CD, "SEEDS"
17 tracks of revolutionary rally folk! Alive and growing at...
http://www.reverbnation.com:80/fredarcoleo
http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/FredArcoleo
Also on iTunes and Amazon

The Portelos Case: A Basic Rights Issue of Our Time

Tell Walcott he's full of bullshit when he claims he wants quality teachers. Start with 2 names: Portelos and Lamphere. Where's the press on these stories of political persecution?

From James C:
The plight of Mr. Portelos is another example of retaliation by a vindictive principal. In addition, the former Chapter Leader was working against Mr. Portelos as the principal's confidant.
 
 Mr. Portelos' wows began after he contacted me about School Leadership Team issues in Dec. 2011. It was clear that his SLT Team, of which he was a member, was not in compliance with CR A-655 and State Educational Law.It was a Team of untrained members dominated by the Principal.When he learned about what the Team role was, he began asking about school budget and CEP issues that weren't being done by the SLT in a collaborative manner. The attacks were fast and furious. Additional conflicts also developed that resulted in charges being made against him. In addition,the principal is being investigated for financial discrepancies regarding her per session activity.
  Despite being removed from the school (you can read about the fifteen absurd charges on his website), the staff elected him Chapter Leader last June. However, he is not allowed to enter the school, which hinders him from conducting UFT business. He is also not allowed to attend SLT meetings.The DOE has not formally charged him as of yet but has banished him to a "rubber room" in their District Office in Ozone Park ( He lives in Staten Island). He and the few other teachers that are there are isolated from each other.In addition, he is not allowed to use his computer.
 
  Mr. Portelos has a federal lawsuit against the DOE which you can also read about on his site.The Judge recently refused the DOE's attempt to dismiss the case.
 
 I admire Mr. Portelos for refusing to let the DOE destroy his career without a fight and for publicizing all the underhanded actions of the principal and DOE.
 
 There have been two or three articles in the NY Post about this matter.
 
 If anyone can be of assistance to Mr. Portelos, you would be involved in a worthy cause in helping to vindicate a quality teacher while sending a message to principals and the DOE that they will not be allowed to get away with this shameful behavior against teachers..  
J.C. 

Leonie picks up the case from Francesco:
 
From: Leonie Haimson <leonie@att.net>
To: nyceducationnews <nyceducationnews@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Wed, Oct 3, 2012 3:54 pm
Subject: [nyceducationnews] Portelos' plight: Squeezed into a paragraph

 
From: Mr. Portelos [mailto:mrportelos@gmail.com]
Sent: Wednesday, October 03, 2012 3:48 PM
To: undisclosed-recipients:
Subject: Squeezed into a paragraph
 
I managed to squeeze the story into a paragraph, but with links.
 
 My name is Francesco Alexander Portelos. I am a parent and educator of Staten Island's North Shore. I was teaching technology at Berta Dreyfus IS 49 for 5 years after I left a 7 year career in the Environmental Engineering/Inspection field. My record, as a teacher and school community member, was stellar. After I became a new father in the community, my focus transcended past my praised classroom and I looked at the issues at the school as a whole. A school that my son would be going to in just 10 short years. As I brought attention to matters, such as discipline, budget and school goals, a hostile work environment was suddenly created around me. Principal Linda V. Hill began calling me a "hindrance to the community" and questioning my classroom instruction that was previously praised. It did not stop me as I knew something was going on and I pushed forward starting investigations on potential financial misconduct and educational neglect. I submitted the allegations on January 26, 2012. Starting on January 30, 2012 18 allegations were made against me, 3 disciplinary letters were placed in my file in just 10 days, I received my first unsatisfactory classroom observation and I was ultimately removed from school on April 26, 2012. I now sit in exile, at an empty cubicle (Rubber Room), 20 miles away at 8201 Rockaway Blvd waiting. Waiting for what? The investigations on the administrators back at Berta Dreyfus 49? The in vestigations on me? My Federal lawsuit? The completion of the 50th Anniversary Celebration?
Now if you have time, and a bowl of popcorn, read the more detailed version of the saga… http://protectportelos.wordpress.com/the-story/

 
--
-Mr. Portelos
IS 49 UFT Chapter Leader
Parent
Educator
Protectportelos.org
Mrportelos.com
 
"In the end, we will not remember the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends." -Martin Luther King Jr.
 
Cheers,
Norm Scott

Twitter: normscott1

Education Notes
ednotesonline.blogspot.com

Grassroots Education Movement
gemnyc.org

Education columnist, The Wave
www.rockawave.com

nycfirst robotics
normsrobotics.blogspot.com

Sent from my BlackBerry

Winerip pulled off NY Times ed beat still finds a way

My guess Winerip pulled by ny times was to make sale attractive to Bloomberg.

Leonie writes:
Mike Winerip is back (in a new boomer column, alas not specifically about education). He's writing about the courage of anti-testing dissenter Barbara Madeloni
 
http://shar.es/5sJbo
 
Cheers,
Norm Scott

Twitter: normscott1

Education Notes
ednotesonline.blogspot.com

Grassroots Education Movement
gemnyc.org

Education columnist, The Wave
www.rockawave.com

nycfirst robotics
normsrobotics.blogspot.com

Sent from my BlackBerry

Feeney and Burris: APPR Update

These are the principals you want to work for. They are the same people Leo Casey attacked for being self-serving. You decide.


Here is a link to a half hour interview I did with Carol Burris in her office:
https://vimeo.com/41595569

Here is some video of Sean Feeney at a high stakes testing forum at the Brooklyn New School
Part 1 https://vimeo.com/38901880
Part 2 https://vimeo.com/38919400

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "New York Principals"
Date: 26 Sep 2012 18:50:15 -0700
Subject: NY Principals APPR Update: 26 September 12

Dear Friends:

You are receiving this message because you have indicated your support for the New York State Principals' Open Letter Regarding the NYS APPR Legislation (http://www.newyorkprincipals.org/). We thank you for your support and would like to provide you with an update on activities since this new school year began. As always, the most recent version of the APPR Position paper (with all signatures) is available at: http://www.newyorkprincipals.org/appr-paper. Given that the paper with signatures is over 142 pages long, we have also created a separate link for the four-page paper alone.

As of the beginning of this new school year, over 1510 New York State principals have signed the letter: that's over one-third of all principals in NYS! We have nearly 7100 total supporters right now. Be sure to check out our website for the most current information.

Some articles to consider:

1) APPR and Teacher Scores

The year began with many New York State teachers and principals receiving "student growth scores" from our State Education Department. A cursory look at the research reveals all of the problems and damages related to attempts to provide such scores; quite frankly, it is shocking that they are still being used and considered!

Sean wrote a piece about Ashley, a star teacher in his school who received a very low score from the state. You can read his piece at: http://wapo.st/NqleD2

2) The New York Times and the Chicago Teachers Strike

Many readers of the New York Times were startled to read its "Chicago Teachers' Folly" editorial published on September 11th. Clearly, the editorial page is welcome to its opinion; what was surprising was the rationale for its position and its lack of any attempt to cite research to back its views.

Fortunately, Carol and Diane Ravitch wrote a response to this editorial. Be sure to read this piece on Diane's terrific blog: http://wp.me/p2odLa-22k

3) Voice Your Concerns about Changes to Teacher Education

In the previous update, I wrote about the situation involving Professor Barbara Madeloni from UMass. Some of our university colleagues are organizing a pushback against the impact the policies of NCLB and RTTT are having on teacher education. The changes being imposed are altering the teacher education programs created by professionals with experience. The bottom line is that Pearson Corporation, not teacher education professors, will have final say in certifying teachers; and teacher education programs will be assessed, in part, on the basis of the test scores of the students of their graduates. Please read the linked petition for details and please consider signing, writing to officials and sharing: https://sites.google.com/site/educatorsconcerned/

4) Would Your Principal Send Home this Letter?

One of our New York colleagues (and early supporter of our Position Paper), sent home a parent letter that has received a lot of attention recently. You can read Dr. Sternberg's letter through the following link (be sure to explore the SchoolLeadership2.0 website after you read it): http://goo.gl/sCl82

Have a terrific end of the week!

Sean and Carol

---
scfeeney@newyorkprincipals.org

Principal, The Wheatley School
Old Westbury, NY  11568
follow my blog: http://www.thewheatleyway.org
follow me on Twitter: @scfeeney

Where's the Value-Added? WBD worst opening weekend EVER for movie in wide release

Is there a rubber room for truly incompetent film directors? ---Fred Smith
  
Despite the millions spent promoting the film by CBS, NBC, advance screenings by the distributor (Murdoch), and through TV ads (by producer Anschutz), "Won't Back Down" had the WORST opening for ANY film in wide release (2500+ theaters) in at least thirty years, or since data is available.   
 
http://shar.es/5sj06

Leonie Haimson

Steve Koss:
So then, according to the strict accountability measures so beloved of the ed deformers, we should see:

a. At least one studio executive fired for earning such an obvious "F" on his/her movie Report Card;
b. At least one script writer demoted to copyist;
c. A director removed from movie-making responsibility and placed instead in a senior studio management position (a la standard DOE practice);
d. At least one studio executive blasting the Screen Actors Guild and the related movie industry unions for placing their self-interest ahead of the entertainment enjoyment of the American public and calling for elimination of unions from the film industry;
e. The entire movie cast fired from their positions with the requirement that they must apply to be rehired at half their prior pay; and 
f. Rush Limbaugh publicly calling Maggie Gyllenhaal a "slut." 

Sorry, that last one wasn't serious. 

Steve Koss (Mathman)

Fred Smith writes:
Mathman, you nailed it.
 
Seems like we should also expect a few of the backers and mega-talents who made We Won't Back Down to move up.  If they can't get another film gig, they can always be tapped as school leaders. Michael B. DeMillions can surely find openings for them.
 
The less gifted among them can be put on some high school's audio/visual squad (I'm dating myself) where they can learn their craft.
 
Is there a rubber room for truly incompetent film directors?  Or an Oscar category for outstandingly bad movies? 


Cheers,
Norm Scott

Twitter: normscott1

Education Notes
ednotesonline.blogspot.com

Grassroots Education Movement
gemnyc.org

Education columnist, The Wave
www.rockawave.com

nycfirst robotics
normsrobotics.blogspot.com

Sent from my BlackBerry

TEP: Hey, Buddy, Wanna Teach for 125 Grand? Maybe Not

Yikes!  TEP still hiring, one month into the school year! ---Susan C

Where's 60 Minutes and NY Times with follow-up stories after such glowing stories when TEP started?

Remember- teachers in the ed deform myth do it for money. One would think they should be breaking down the doors of Zeke's castle - er - trailer.

Remember a year ago at Education Nation at the premiere of American Teacher celebrated Zeke and TEP, which had lured a Harvard grad teacher away from Jersey who ended up being a low rated teacher based on flawed val-added? Not her fault in the real reform world but if u jump at the money u take a hit.

Meanwhile Jamie Fidler the real hero of AM Teacher is still teaching in a pub school in bklyn and is part of the MORE activist community which not only celebrates all teachers but joins in the social justice battle against poverty.

Susan C. sent this to nycednews:

Yikes!  TEP still hiring, one month into the school year!  Must be doubling up classes after all! Either that, or hiring lots of subs at way-below $125,000/yr. rate, one would assume.  Who gets to pocket the difference?

Open Teaching Positions (Below):
TEP is currently accepting applications for the open teaching positions listed below. While TEP has filled the majority of its teaching positions, we are looking to bolster our current staff by adding teachers in the subject areas listed below.

Social Studies Teacher
English Language Arts Teacher
Special Education Teacher [Learn more about Special Ed Positions]
Mathematics Teacher
Science Teacher
Physical Education Teacher [Learn about PE Positions]
Music Teacher – All music positions have been filled. [Learn more about Music Positions]
_________

From: Leonie Haimson

Video of Cenk Uygur from Current TV on WBD propaganda film & producer Philip Anschutz; nice!
 
http://shar.es/5sUT2
 
Including interview clip of Pam Grundy of Mecklenburg Acts
 
Cheers,
Norm Scott

Twitter: normscott1

Education Notes
ednotesonline.blogspot.com

Grassroots Education Movement
gemnyc.org

Education columnist, The Wave
www.rockawave.com

nycfirst robotics
normsrobotics.blogspot.com

Sent from my BlackBerry

TEP: Hey, Buddy, Wanna Teach for 125 Grand? Maybe Not

Yikes!  TEP still hiring, one month into the school year! ---Susan C

Where's 60 Minutes and NY Times with follow-up stories after such glowing stories when TEP started?

Remember- teachers in the ed deform myth do it for money. One would think they should be breaking down the doors of Zeke's castle - er - trailer.

Remember a year ago at Education Nation at the premiere of American Teacher celebrated Zeke and TEP, which had lured a Harvard grad teacher away from Jersey who ended up being a low rated teacher based on flawed val-added? Not her fault in the real reform world but if u jump at the money u take a hit.

Meanwhile Jamie Fidler the real hero of AM Teacher is still teaching in a pub school in bklyn and is part of the MORE activist community which not only celebrates all teachers but joins in the social justice battle against poverty.

Susan C. sent this to nycednews:

Yikes!  TEP still hiring, one month into the school year!  Must be doubling up classes after all! Either that, or hiring lots of subs at way-below $125,000/yr. rate, one would assume.  Who gets to pocket the difference?

Open Teaching Positions (Below):
TEP is currently accepting applications for the open teaching positions listed below. While TEP has filled the majority of its teaching positions, we are looking to bolster our current staff by adding teachers in the subject areas listed below.

Social Studies Teacher
English Language Arts Teacher
Special Education Teacher [Learn more about Special Ed Positions]
Mathematics Teacher
Science Teacher
Physical Education Teacher [Learn about PE Positions]
Music Teacher – All music positions have been filled. [Learn more about Music Positions]
_________

From: Leonie Haimson

Video of Cenk Uygur from Current TV on WBD propaganda film & producer Philip Anschutz; nice!
 
http://shar.es/5sUT2
 
Including interview clip of Pam Grundy of Mecklenburg Acts
 
Cheers,
Norm Scott

Twitter: normscott1

Education Notes
ednotesonline.blogspot.com

Grassroots Education Movement
gemnyc.org

Education columnist, The Wave
www.rockawave.com

nycfirst robotics
normsrobotics.blogspot.com

Sent from my BlackBerry

Students aren't guinea pigs

The parent anti-testing movement grows. I have lots of stuff to post on pearson field tests from Fred Smith and our chgange the stakes listserve and will try to do so soon.
In the meantime check out our change the stakes blog.

Albany Times Union letter re field testing

Letter: Students aren't guinea pigs

To the editor

Published 7:58 p.m., Saturday, September 29, 2012

Recently, I received a memorandum from the state Education Department informing school districts that students must participate in an additional round of field tests this fall.

For those unfamiliar with field tests, let me explain: The Education Department has a $32 million contract with Pearson to design its state standardized tests. To do that, Pearson embeds "field test" questions in the test given each spring. Students in grades 3-8 take tests over three days, three hours each day, in English/language arts and math for a total of 18 hours over two weeks.

These new field tests are separate, stand-alone tests that will be given to the same students this fall. In other words, our children are being used as virtual guinea pigs by Pearson to develop the state tests.

When I inquired whether an "opt out" clause would be offered to parents so they could allow their children to be excused from the field tests, I was informed by Ken Wagner, deputy education commissioner, there isn't one. This bothers me as an educator and as a parent of four children.

Perhaps I will take the lead of Dr. John King, state education commissioner, whose children won't be in a school where this field testing will occur because they go to private school. Maybe I'll keep my children home.

Actually, I may be on to something. I did a little research, and it appears I am far from the only critic of Pearson, the "high stakes testing" or the use of our children. Groups like "Change the Stakes" and "ParentVoicesNY" are speaking out and boycotting these tests.

In a recent commentary by Dr. King ("Give students their moment," Sept. 5), he writes of the so-called "education reform agenda" including teacher evaluations and the Common Core Standards: "These changes will be felt in every classroom in the state." This statement is not true, as private schools are not subject to these mandates and are therefore exempt. Besides the obvious hypocrisy, it seems patently unethical to not allow an "opt out" clause for the field tests being foisted upon students attending public schools.

TIM FARLEY

Kinderhook

Read more: http://www.timesunion.com/opinion/article/Letter-Students-aren-t-guinea-pigs-3905545.php#ixzz280BQRymK

----------------- 
Help spread the word.

The Niagara Regional PTA passed an emergency resolution to submit at the New York State PTA convention this fall. The resolution, see link below, calls for  a move away from 3-8 testing and the elimination of teacher and principal evaluation by test scores. Press release attached.  If local PTAs would support this resolution and send out press releases about it, it would be huge.

Link to the Resolution:
http://roundtheinkwell.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/ptaresolution2.pdf

This is the link to the press release
http://roundtheinkwell.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/nrptapressrelease-1.pdf

A great article that refers to the resolution:
New teacher evaluations start to hurt students

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/new-teacher-evaluations-start-to-hurt-students/2012/09/29/f6d1b038-0aa6-11e2-afff-d6c7f20a83bf_blog.html#pagebreak

Cheers,
Norm Scott

Twitter: normscott1

Education Notes
ednotesonline.blogspot.com

Grassroots Education Movement
gemnyc.org

Education columnist, The Wave
www.rockawave.com

nycfirst robotics
normsrobotics.blogspot.com

Sent from my BlackBerry

Chapter Leader / Delegate Happy Hour - Friday October 5th at the Grey Dog near Union Square

**** Please Forward Widely **** 

Chapter Leader & Delegate Happy Hour
Are you a chapter leader or delegate (or know someone who is) and want to get advice and strategize with others? Want to build a strong, active chapter but not sure what that would entail? Or are you not currently in a union position at your school but just interested in UFT structure, chapters in general, the responsibilities of chapter leaders and delegates, etc?

Here is a chance to connect with other folks who are Chapter Leaders, Delegates, or just thoughtful union members to compare notes, get advice, and talk about how we can build stronger chapters.

 

Friday, October 5, 4:30pm

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

Diane Ravitch reported this a few days ago. Worth keeping in the news. Note how Rhee on Education Nation or NPR is not asked about any of this or allowed to slide if it does come up.

Rhee’s Teacher Evaluation Program Bombs in DC

September 26, 2012 //

21

This is a stunning article about the teacher evaluation system that Michelle Rhee put in place in the District of Columbia. The article was written by Ben Nuckols of the Associated Press. He is not usually an education writer, but he dug deeper than many education writers.
Rhee fired about 1,000 teachers during her time as chancellor.
Since her evaluation system was put into place, 400 teachers have been fired.
Since the evaluation system was put into place, the federal test scores for the District went flat.
Some teachers get big bonuses. One teacher, at the end of the article, says she is rated “highly effective” and she turned down the bonus.
As Mary Levy, a long-time analyst of the DC school system, says in the article: We have gone from a system where almost no one was terminated, no matter how bad, to the other extreme, where good teachers as well as bad are terminated,” said Mary Levy, an attorney and a longtime analyst of city education policy. “The latter is probably more damaging due to the stress and demoralization it causes.”

Advocates of merit pay and test-based evaluation claim that it will strengthen the teaching profession because teachers will be drawn to the chance to earn a big bonus or higher salary.
This isn’t happening. As the article says, “But many teachers aren’t sticking around long enough to enjoy the higher salaries. The district has one of the highest teacher turnover rates in the nation. Half of new teachers leave the system after 2 years, according to Levy’s analysis, compared with about one-third nationwide. Levy recently began examining individual schools and found two-year turnover rates as high as 94 percent at one elementary school and 66 percent at a high school.
Tim Daly of the New Teacher Project, founded by Rhee, says it is too soon to judge the evaluation system. Give it 5 to 10 years, he says.
Question: Why are we foisting on the entire nation a method that has not been proven successful anywhere? Why not give it 5-10 years and see what happens before making it a national mandate, imposed by state legislatures at the behest of the Race to the Top?

Critics and audiences agree: "Won't Back Down" a tremendous flop; Stop Co-location at PS 202K

Per the NY Times "Arts Beat" column's weekend wrap-up of the national movie box office results:

Walden Media’s “Won’t Back Down,” an education reform drama starring Viola Davis and Maggie Gyllenhaal, bombed, selling about $2.7 million in tickets in wide release.

Sometimes there IS a little justice in the world. Really a shame that two such respectable actresses could fall for such propagandist claptrap, and judging from the critics, incredibly poorly written to boot.

Steve Koss
---------
As I wrote on the blog today, the film made an unbelievably low $82 per screening in its opening weekend.

NYC Public School Parents Critics and audiences agree: "Won't Back Down" a tremendous flop 

Only question is how long Murdoch and Anschutz can keep it going; esp since Anschutz also owns regal cinemas, the largest movie theater chain in nation.

Leonie Haimson

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

HELP! Co-Location at Public School 202

Public School 202
982 Hegeman Avenue
Brooklyn, New York 11208

SAVE OUR SCHOOL!!

STOP

CO-LOCATION of a Charter School in PS/IS 202
Your Voice Needs to be Heard!

Emergency Parent Meeting

Monday, October 1, 2012
3:00 P.M.
Auditorium
Please forward to all to attend!  Thank you!

Counterpunch: The Meaning of the Chicago Teachers Strike

Cowardly and complicit union leaders—American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten being exhibit A—have gone along with this BS until blaming the teachers has become the default position of much of the country....The CTU now had a leadership and program not willing to play ball with the Democratic Party or the union bureaucracy....
This union leadership knew the first step in their counteroffensive was to engage their rank-and-file. They went school by school and teacher by teacher, to involve them in their union....they valued input from the ranks.  Next, they went to the communities. They were there when the parents protested for a library in the Pilsen neighborhood and they were there to protest every school closing that came up. They were on the offensive. This leadership also understood the importance of solidarity. I remember marching behind their banner in Madison. They were there for UNITE-HERE, they solidarized with the postal workers, they solidarized with the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) workers.
.......
don’t confuse the strike with the contract. The strike was an overwhelming huge victory which I will explain. The contract, on the other hand, is a small victory for the teachers. In another period, it would have to be portrayed as a major concession. But, we are not in another period, rather, we are in a period of deep neoliberal attacks.
....
By the 1990s they had the private sector union movement small enough to drown in Grover Norquist’s bathtub. The labor union bureaucracy didn’t want to live to fight another day, but merely to stay on life support.
By this time phase three was in full assault mode. Go after the last bastion—the public sector.
....
The wealthy class never reconciled itself to the Progressive Era, The New Deal, or the Great Society. These were times of gains for us and, therefore, as they viewed it, losses for them.  --- Guy Miller

What a great analysis by Guy Miller. He nails what made the CTU strong -- a class conscious leadership willing to stand up to the ruling class. You know this sounds radical. Well, our union leaders have made the word "strike" a dirty word. I was in Chicago with a bunch of GEM folks in July 2009 with about 200 other union activists from around the nation. We held a march and rally and visited one bank after another that had been raping the Chicago schools. Know your real enemy.

http://www.counterpunch.org/2012/09/26/what-really-happened-in-chicago/

September 26, 2012

The Meaning of the Chicago Teachers' Strike

What Really Happened in Chicago

by GUY MILLER

First, there was Madison, a welcome flash of lightning awakening us from the long, quiet night of labor passivity. The events came fast and hard and thousands flowed into the capital square and were ready for a showdown.
But, with a vacuum of street leadership, it only took a few weeks for the Democratic Party and the union bureaucracy to channel this potential energy into a moribund recall Governor Walker effort.

Half a year later came the Occupy Movement, involving tens of thousands of new activists, in a brave stand against Wall Street’s plan of austerity for us, and profits for them. Again, lack of leadership and direction slowed this movement to a crawl and provided an opening for the forces of repression to step in.

Building on these fight-backs, the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) was preparing to confront Mayor Rahm Emanuel and his billionaire cronies in a fight for public education. I was a participant in the Chicago Teachers Solidarity Campaign, an organization formed to support the CTU during the strike, and these are some of my observations.

To begin with, don’t confuse the strike with the contract. The strike was an overwhelming huge victory which I will explain. The contract, on the other hand, is a small victory for the teachers. In another period, it would have to be portrayed as a major concession. But, we are not in another period, rather, we are in a period of deep neoliberal attacks.

We are in a world where the rich class has had its way for over thirty years, with a working class and trade union movement so timid and on the defensive that all they seem to want is to hide and not be noticed. A trade union movement, whose answer to every question is to cling to the outside of a lifeboat with “Democratic Party” stenciled across its bow. There they cling, frightened of sharks, dehydration and drowning.

Since the middle of the 1970s, a very organized and coordinated attack has come down on the working people of this country. Phase one was to establish a narrative of greedy workers and put-upon management. Phase two was to begin chipping away at the private sector unions. Here, of course, they had a couple of advantages—outsourcing and downsizing.
Slowly, they either moved jobs out of the North to the South or sent them overseas, or forced those remaining industries to accept less and less.

By the 1990s they had the private sector union movement small enough to drown in Grover Norquist’s bathtub. The labor union bureaucracy didn’t want to live to fight another day, but merely to stay on life support.
By this time phase three was in full assault mode. Go after the last bastion—the public sector.

At the same time, they increased the ideological fight against “big government.” The wealthy class never reconciled itself to the Progressive Era, The New Deal, or the Great Society. These were times of gains for us and, therefore, as they viewed it, losses for them. They regrouped, no longer willing to tolerate interference with their heightened need to accumulate capital in this long period of increased international competition.

The public sector seemed to be as easy pickings as did the private sector. Again, the wealthy class didn’t try to be a python and absorb the whole meal at once.

Instead, they initiated an ideological campaign backed by think tanks, foundations, and the media. Here, the lynchpin was, and is, the teachers’ unions across the country.

It is not an accident that the richest of the rich have been in the forefront of this narrative of failing schools, failing kids and failing teachers.
Start with Bill Gates, who has moved from mosquito nets to charter schools, testing and union busting as his idee fixe.

Next the Walton Family, who never saw a union they didn’t want to bust. The Kochs. The Pritzkers. Almost all the hedge fund managers, bankers and other CEOs are united in their hatred for public education.

Here, it must be pointed out that both the Democrats and Republicans have bought into this “reform” story. Arne Duncan, Rahm Emanuel, and Barack Obama buy totally into this approach, and they ain’t Sarah Palin.

Over the last ten years or so these people have had their way. Cowardly and complicit union leaders—American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten being exhibit A—have gone along with this BS until blaming the teachers has become the default position of much of the country.

No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top are two sides of the same coin. Flip that coin and the problem is—the teachers. Not poverty. Not lack of childcare. Not crumbling infrastructure or adequate funding, just greedy teachers and their obstructionist unions.

No one, nowhere, has challenged this vicious cycle. Then along comes the Caucus of Rank-and-File Educators (CORE) victory, electing Karen Lewis to the CTU presidency in 2010, and with it a whole new ballgame.

The CTU now had a leadership and program not willing to play ball with the Democratic Party or the union bureaucracy. This is a leadership with many experienced class struggle people who understand what must be done—Say no to Rahm. Say no to the Gates and Say no to the Pritzkers. Say no to a corporate agenda for the schools. Say no to a vision of the future where children are drones taught just enough to become cogs in their machine.

This union leadership knew the first step in their counteroffensive was to engage their rank-and-file. They went school by school and teacher by teacher, to involve them in their union. Unlike the Vaughn and Stewart union administrations before it, they valued input from the ranks.

Next, they went to the communities. They were there when the parents protested for a library in the Pilsen neighborhood and they were there to protest every school closing that came up. They were on the offensive.
This leadership also understood the importance of solidarity. I remember marching behind their banner in Madison. They were there for UNITE-HERE, they solidarized with the postal workers, they solidarized with the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) workers.

This leadership kept the membership mobilized. Town Hall meetings. Mass demonstrations at the Auditorium Theater. Labor Day rallies. And more. They did not run and hide.

This leadership fought against racism. They stood for ending the disproportionate firing of African Americans teachers. This leadership stood for libraries, smaller class sizes, art teachers, music teachers, gym teachers, nurses and counselors.

When Rahm and his arrogant school board came with their one-sided proposals and their insulting refusal on the four percent raise, they thought they could roll right over the CTU and have their way.

After all, didn’t Rahm get his way as Obama’s-Chief-of-Staff ? Didn’t he get his way as Chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee? Antiwar Democrats? Irrelevant. Progressives? Fucking retards. Yes, he had his way until he ran into Karen Lewis and the class-conscious leadership of the CTU.

The CTU stayed visible. The CTU engaged allies; other unions, the community and students (the Voices of Youth high school students were really inspiring). They did not fold up at the first sign of adversity.
So my evaluation is—the strike was a huge success. It serves as a template and a model of how to fight the seemingly invincible juggernaut. The juggernaut that thinks it controls the future.

Long Live the CTU! Long Live solidarity!

Guy Miller is a 66-year-old native Chicagoan. He worked for 38 years as a switchman on the Chicago Northwestern and Union Pacific Railroads, a proud member of local 577 of the United Transportation Union before retiring in 2008. Currently, he works in a Chicago supermarket and is a member of the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 881.

Won't Back Down II: The Sequel

Charter Manager: Oh, Jamie, I'm sorry to tell you this, but all you did with the trigger was force a change. No one said you would have any say in what that change would be. No one made clear who would make the decisions about how the school would be structured or who would run it. No one had a procedure to appoint a board of directors. I'm sorry Jamie, but when you allowed this school to be converted to a charter, you gave up many of your rights as both a taxpayer and as a parent.

Jamie: Well, I'll go the local school board! They'll force this charter school to have parental involvement!

Geoffrey: My dear Jamie, you didn't think this through, did you? Charter schools offer you "choice"; they do NOT offer you "involvement." If you don't like the way we do things at KSSA, you can "choose" to leave; that's what school "choice" is all about. But your local district, even though it must give us money to run the school, has no say in how we run the school. We are, in effect, our own district now.

Hilarious must read as Jersey Jazzman skewers KIPP and WBD.

http://jerseyjazzman.blogspot.com/2012/09/wont-back-down-ii-sequel.html?spref=tw

---------
UPDATE FROM LEONIE:

Illuminating radio show from Education Radio: the Truth about #parent trigger http://shar.es/5pc0k

It’s longish but well worth listening to.  Includes interviews w/several parent activists incl. me; most fascinating interview w/ CA parent telling what really happened in Adelanto where parents were tricked into signing petition by Parent Revolution who told them, among other things, it called for cleaner bathrooms! 

When they learned the truth, parents weren’t allowed by the judge to take their signatures back.  Any law that calls for radical changes to be made through signing petitions alone is one that cannot be supported, no matter what it calls for.

My interview was done over the summer before I’d seen the movie; I regret that I said that I’d heard it was well-written etc. when this is far from the truth.  I was unfortunately relying on 2^nd hand accounts.  Lesson learned: never comment on the quality of anything until you’ve seen it yourself!

Leonie Haimson

Executive Director

Class Size Matters

GEM ITBWFS Movie Screens at Washington Irving HS Campus as Part of Fightback Against Eva Invasion

A campus wide screening of the the GEM movie on Tuesday, at 3:15 in Room 845.

Planned:  October 18th morning Press Conference.

Lisa Featherstone Reviews "Won't Back Down" at Dissent

“Be the change you want to see!” Jamie crows to a throng of cheering parents—but democracy is the enemy. Getting rid of representative government and calling in a private entity to handle things, in our current Opposite Day political moment, represents a glorious triumph of people power. The “parent trigger” invites parents to use their vote to give up their vote—that is, to be enormously powerful for one short moment of direct democracy, which they will use to dispose, in the long run, with the “public” part of public school, and thus with any actual power over their children’s education.----Liza Featherstone, a real, not fictional, NYC public school parent.

according to data from National Center for Education Statistics, there is no correlation between teacher dismissal rates and union membership. In Massachusetts, where almost all public school teachers belong to a union, the firing rate for experienced teachers is nearly twice that in North Carolina, where just 2.3 percent of the teaching force is unionized.

Oh Liza, those pesky facts just get in the way of the message.

"Empowerment" Against Democracy: Tinseltown and the Teachers' Unions

Liza Featherstone - September 26, 2012

“You know those mothers who lift one-ton trucks off their babies?” says Jamie Fitzpatrick, a working-class mom (played Maggie Gyllenhall), in a confrontation with a corrupt union rep in Daniel Barnz’s edu-drama, Won’t Back Down. “They’re nothing compared to me.”
It’s a “you-go-girl” moment. But real moms can’t lift trucks. And just about everything in this movie is as wildly fantastical as that image.

Fed up with her daughter’s horrible public school, Jamie learns about a law that allows parents and teachers to “take over” a failing school. Against the odds, she organizes the powerless and wins over the naysayers. The movie is inspired by real-life “parent trigger” laws, which are pushed by right-wing groups like ALEC, but backed with equal enthusiasm by progressive urban mayors nationwide. The laws allow a charter takeover if 50 percent of the parents agree to it. Charter schools are mostly non-union, and democratically elected officials have little control over them.

Won’t Back Down is liberal Hollywood’s second blast of gas on what was once a bugbear of the Right: the badness of public schools and teachers’ unions, and the magic bullet of hope offered by privatization. The first was Davis Guggenheim’s documentary Waiting for Superman. Barnz’s movie, featuring great actresses Viola Davis and Gyllenhall, is far more watchable than Guggenheim’s, but the fantasy world it inhabits is exactly the same. Its release, just on the heels of the Chicago teachers’ strike, feels eerily timely, as its anti-union talking points are just the same as those of Rahm Emanuel and the monied interests of Chicago.

The film’s presentation of the social context is heartbreakingly accurate—poor kids like Jamie’s daughter, Malia, don’t get the education they deserve. But otherwise, the movie presents a Mad Tea Party view of urban education, and of social change itself. In Won’t Back Down, and in the bipartisan neoliberal fairytale that passes for education reform, teachers and parents are good, but the institutions that represent them—unions, the state—are bad. “Empowerment” is desirable, even ecstatic—“Be the change you want to see!” Jamie crows to a throng of cheering parents—but democracy is the enemy. Getting rid of representative government and calling in a private entity to handle things, in our current Opposite Day political moment, represents a glorious triumph of people power. The “parent trigger” invites parents to use their vote to give up their vote—that is, to be enormously powerful for one short moment of direct democracy, which they will use to dispose, in the long run, with the “public” part of public school, and thus with any actual power over their children’s education.

Jamie leads the fictional takeover because her daughter, who is dyslexic, can’t read. Yet not a word is said in the movie about the need for more services and teachers for special needs kids. The school is depicted as depressing and shabby—what about the need for more resources? What about all the extra support poor children need? We see kids acting out and falling asleep in class—where are the social workers to help those kids?

Never mind those wonky details. The problem, we’re repeatedly led to believe, is the teachers’ union. But if unions were to blame for failing schools, wouldn’t unionized public schools in Princeton or Scarsdale also suck?

Hollywood hasn’t been known to let logic get in the way of a good story, and neither do education reformers. Facts are similarly irrelevant. In the movie, Malia’s teacher—a repellent timeserver who locks the little girl in a closet as punishment—can’t be fired because of the union. There are more than a few problems with this scenario. Outside of Tinseltown and the corporate reform imaginary, union members do get fired. In fact, according to data from National Center for Education Statistics, there is no correlation between teacher dismissal rates and union membership. In Massachusetts, where almost all public school teachers belong to a union, the firing rate for experienced teachers is nearly twice that in North Carolina, where just 2.3 percent of the teaching force is unionized.

Despite scapegoating teachers’ unions, Won’t Back Down is not an anti-teacher movie. Most of the teacher characters—especially Nona, played by Viola Davis—are heroic. That’s because one of the film’s messages is that busting teachers’ unions is better for teachers. In one scene, a meeting to discuss the possible takeover, Nona argues that losing the union will be worth it, “because we’ll be able to teach the way we want.” (The movie is vague on Nona’s pedagogy and why the union prevents it. In real life, charter teachers certainly don’t have any more control over curriculum than public school teachers do.) It is a ruling-class wet dream: workers who are happy to help destroy their own institutions. By giving up the organization through which they wield power, the fictional teachers reason, they will gain more power.

We have wandered deep into the swamp of Upsidedownlandia. Yet the same paradox colors the film’s view of parent power. The movie celebrates parents rising up and taking control of their children’s education—in order to rid themselves of all representation. Though the film does not discuss such pesky governance matters, a “takeover,” in real life, usually means that the school is run by a private organization with limited accountability to the public. While the state does decide ultimately which charters to shut down, there is no oversight by the school board, nor the city government, and certainly not the parents.

Of course, democracy and its institutions are horribly flawed. But to conclude that, therefore, dictatorship would be empowering is just weird. It’s not the first time that idea has been presented in film. Daniel Barnz is no Leni Riefenstahl, of course—he’s not as skilled a filmmaker, and there’s nothing racist or hateful in this movie—but the emotional experience of Won’t Back Down is, for the viewer, not unlike that of the best propaganda. As we cheer for Jamie and Nona, we are rooting against ourselves, against our own capacity for self-governance.

Liza Featherstone is a contributing writer to the Nation. She also writes about education for Al Jazeera English and Newsday, as well as the Brooklyn Rail, where she is the author of the “Report Card” column.

Portelos Won't Back Down

Dear parents/guardians of IS 49,
    This email list originated back when I was the STEM teacher of your children during the 2011-2012 school year. I apologize if you are receiving this in error. Please reply and I will take you off future mailings.

     Most of you know that I was removed as your child's teacher, 157 days ago, after I raised questions pertaining to how money was spent at Berta Dreyfus IS 49. For months they attacked me at school and in the media. They went after my colleagues and made your children's learning environment a hostile setting. What they didn't plan on was going up against the worst opponent... a intelligent, resourceful and very upset parent. The worst part for them is that I have a backbone of steel and no matter how many DOE officials, DOE lawyers and administrators they put up against me my convictions to help this community are unwavering. 

     After beating me down, causing me stress beyond belief and sending me 20 miles away to an empty cubicle in Queens I have picked up more speed and momentum that anyone could have imagined. I uncovered horrible financial misconduct that directly affected your children and have been sharing the play by play saga online at www.protecportelos.org <http://www.protecportelos.org> . I shared allegations,pictures and video of a staff member mishandling students <http://protectportelos.wordpress.com/warrengate-files/> . I have a federal lawsuit, smalls claims law suit for the personal items they won't return to me and a NY State PERB complaint. I've been fighting alone, but I have been fighting big.

Now for the next phase....YOU. YOUR NEIGHBORS. YOUR FAMILIES. www.occupywarrenstreet.org <http://www.occupywarrenstreet.org>

    Instead of repeating everything that I have listed on the site, please see the new site that has been set up for this new movement. I'm not sure I can change the community alone. Please view site and if you agree share and share again. I can assure you that what has been happening at Dreyfus 49 over the years would not have been allowed in some other neighborhoods. Are our children not worth the fight? If we don't fight now, we can fight in a year if they decide to close and still lose as we did in PS 14.

    I have a 16 month old and my wife is about to give birth to my second son soon. We have approximately 10 years before they attend Berta Dreyfus and change takes time. Currently Berta Dreyfus is ranked 939th out of 1,124 middle schools in NY state. That is unacceptable! NYC DOE has a budget of $24 billion dollars and if they will it they can do anything to fix a school. 

Please see www.occupywarrenstreet.org <http://www.occupywarrenstreet.org> and attend the first meeting on October 8, 2012 at 8PM
Vanderbilt Avenue Moravian Church YMCA center
285 Vanderbilt Avenue
Staten Island, New York 10304
Tel: (718) 447-2966

Sincerely,--
-Francesco Portelos
Parent
Educator
Protectportelos.org <http://Protectportelos.org>
Mrportelos.com <http://Mrportelos.com>

Portelos: Warrengate Files -Unleashed

while I was holed up in a basement copy room of 8201 Rockaway Blvd, Ozone Park, Queens I witnessed a man shred countless time cards right in front of me. This is the home of my school’s Network CFN 211 office. I believe that is where time cards are sent for approval, but I could be wrong. What are the chances that the same cards I was waiting for were shredded right in front of me? --- Francesco Portelos

Posted at
https://protectportelos.wordpress.com/warrengate-files/

I'm going to sit back and let Portelos tell his story:

On January 26, 2012 I, Francesco Portelos, teacher at Berta Dreyfus Intermediate 49 of 101 Warren St. SI, NY had ZERO unsatisfactory ratings, ZERO disciplinary letters and ZERO investigations on me. On that day I informed the Special Commissioner of Investigation (SCI) that I had reason to believe that Principal Hill, of my local school community, may be engaging in financial misconduct. It was believed that she was double dipping and getting paid for two different programs at the same exact time. If true, it would be of public concern and affect every American taxpayer.

On January 30, 2012, just 4 days later, I had at least THREE investigations started on me and TWO Disciplinary Notices written. Another ONE Disciplinary Notice came soon after as well as another FIFTEEN additional investigations and ONE unsatisfactory observation a month later. On April 26, 2012 I was removed from school. Principal Hill, as well as others who are alleged of wrong doing, continue to remain in the school building with direct access to students and taxpayer funds.

Here is what I uncovered for the fellow hardworking, taxpaying American.

From 2009 to 2010 Linda Hill apparently sat in and was paid for both School Leadership Team as well as the Achieve Now Academy (DANA) at the same time. Findings from an internal audit conducted by the NYC Office of Auditor General in January 2011 also found about $40,000 in financial discrepancies.
See gallery below:

R U Going to UFT Chapter Leader Training this weekend?

Download the MORE membership toolkit and print a few copies to help spread the word and recruit your fellow new chapter leaders to MORE.

Open distribution of caucus literature will be quickly shut down, but there will be plenty of one on one opportunities for conversations.

 

View from the Right: EIA on Chicago TU, Strike and Karen Lewis as AFT President

Mike Antonucci comments on Chicago story:

The stars aligned when CTU members elected Karen Lewis and her CORE slate to power. Lewis stood for genuine union militancy at a time when previous regimes were considered to be sellouts.

I wrote back then that "Lewis's election may have large implications for the Chicago Public Schools. Her politics are significantly to the left of the machine Democrats who run the city and the school system. 'What drives school reform is a single focus on profit. Profit. Not teaching, not learning, profit,' she said in her post-election press conference."

I believed that Lewis would join a long list of union outsiders who quickly became insiders. I was wrong about that. Oh, she almost did, but she learned that her muscular activism filled a niche left empty by Illinois and national teacher union leaders. She may be AFT's most well-known local president. [OVERSHADOWING MULGREW]

We all forgot - including me - that Karen Lewis and her slate were elected in 2010 by less than 60 percent of CTU members in a run-off, after she managed to unify all the opposition against incumbent president Marilyn Stewart. By all accounts, the members and various union factions have all been united behind Lewis during the strike, but some fissures appeared over ending the strike. An NBC-TV affiliate reported some infighting, but even if the story is overblown, the House of Delegates did not meekly acquiesce to Lewis' wishes, and that opposition had to be organized by someone.

 ----Mike Antonucci, Education Intelligence Agency.

I look forward to Mike Antonucci's take at EIA on things even though I often disagree. But  the insights deserve a debate. Mike did a number of posts regarding the Chicago strike, some with a little snarkyness.

He also covered the victory of CORE and distinguished them from the Randi Weingarten crew right away. And he gets that Unity Caucus controls the AFT -- I can't tell you how many local and national ed reporters have asked me to explain.

He gets a lot right and when he is wrong he says so. Mike assumes there were some organized forces behind the resistance to agreeing to a settlement at the Sunday House of Delegates meeting. Interesting point. CORE is selling that as allowing democracy to flourish. Maybe CORE is so democratic it allows for internal debate, something that seems outside the pale for people used to reporting about the control exhibited by strong arming union leaderships. (I was hanging with one national ed reporter at an AFT convention who couldn't quite get how CORE could have its people running both with and against Randi's caucus.)

I do want to remind everyone that of the last 4 Chicago elections since 2001 only one incumbent was elected (Marilyn Stewart in 2007). Remember there were 5 caucuses in 2010. With former reformist president Debbie Lynch retired where does that leave her caucus? What about the Unity-like UPC that CORE defeated? And the offshoots of that caucus? Debbie Lynch lost her 2004 re-election partly due to a much-criticized contract in 2003 by the very people in the UPC who had been signing sweetheart contracts. Would you be surprised to see the UPC remnants that had cooperated with the deformers swing into attack on CORE for not getting enough in the contract?

And I will make this point again and again: every ed deformer and maybe even AFT people want CORE out. Would you be surprised to see a Student First/DFER supported group pop up with loads of money to undermine CORE?

I've had these EIA reports saved for a few weeks but thought it worth sharing, especially since anti-Randi people have been pushing the idea of Karen challenging Randi for AFT president (no way). So let's tackle this one first with this post from Mike's Intercepts.

Karen Lewis for AFT President? Numbers Don’t Add Up

Analysis: NEST+M Teachers Meet With Mulgrew

The UFT brought out the entire crew. There were almost as many of them as us...... Attendee at meeting of NEST+M teachers with Mulgrew & core of advisors

With the story hitting Gotham Schools, Mulgrew now, out of nowhere, wants to meet with the entire staff.  My guess is that they are furious with the chapter because the teachers did all of what they did, without any backing of the people at the Manhattan Borough Office.  The Manhattan Borough Office, though, has always felt that because the teachers at Nest don't have the serious issues other D1 schools have they should just be happy and not complain about anything.  Therefore, they have done very little over the years to get through to Livanis.  Well, the pressure has been building for six years and has finally blown.  I think they need you, and the organizers of MORE, to help and guide them through the no man's land between UFT and DOE. --- Anon source

If you haven't been following the story at NEST+M you must get over to Gotham and read the story and the comments. Many parents support the teachers.

Simmering tensions at NEST+M boil over on Curriculum Night

Teachers at a school where hundreds of parents signed a petition against the principal this summer continued the protest today by boycotting Curriculum Night. Teachers at New Explorations in Science, Technology, and Math, or NEST+M, announced the boycott via email this afternoon, telling parents that Principal Olga Livanis had not soothed relations with the staff after she surprised several of them with “unsatisfactory” ratings. -- Gotham Schools, Sept. 20, 2012

Teachers took action by boycotting curriculum night (which they have never been paid for in the past), not an easy thing to do but given the background of the deteriorating relationship with principal Olga Livanis, their frustration came out. Most of this is fleshed out in the Gotham comments where teachers, parents and students (and me and others) have been commenting. They tried to meet with the principal to discuss some arrangement where they would get some comp time for showing up -- really, as a show of faith on her part that she was willing to work with the teachers and show them some respect -- but she rejected, insulted, abused, etc.

Apparently, Livanis is so socially inept, she makes Mitt Romney look like a  smoothie.

As always, I'm interested in what the UFT did and didn't do both before and after the teachers took their action and it went public last week which led to Mulgrew asking the teachers to meet with him, which 20 of them did on Monday night (Sept. 24) with about 10 union officials, an indication of the level of crisis mode the UFT was viewing this.

The union promised to get more involved and become more of a presence in the school. The key person on the ground for the UFT has been the District Rep who many people at NEST+M seem to like but feel her hands may have been tied from above, with some blaming the Manhattan Borough chief for ignoring the situation.

I get two types of stories. One is that the District Rep did what she could do, arranging meetings with higher ups, etc. And another that she and the union did not do enough. She does get credit for helping turn back a Discontinue for an untenured teacher but might have done more on the U-ratings.

Someone left a comment at Gotham about the principal's treatment of the Chapter Leader - disrespectful and practically abusive. To me that should be a call for a press conference. But that is me.

7 U-ratings in one year at a top schools should raise a red flag

Principal Olga Livanis gave out 7 U ratings and a Discontinue to a non-tenured and popular teacher last year, in addition to driving at least one top notch fed-up teacher into resigning. The D is a career-ender (vs a U which would have allowed the teacher to remain in the system), a vicious act on the part of any principal --- how the UFT allows the handing of a loaded gun to every principal is outrageous. Even if a principal wants to hire a Discontinued teacher, they couldn't, so this amounts to perpetrating an act of murder on a teacher's career. The clearly unfair D outraged teachers and parents to the extent that the union did make some arrangement with the Superintendent to overturn it. So give the union a plus for that  – though I can tell you loads of D people who got fired and not a peep from the union, which throws up its hands. It does show you that it takes enormous pressure on the union, mostly when things threaten to go public, to get them to pressure the DOE when it wants to.

Reasons for U-Ratings a joke

When you hear the reasons for the U-ratings Livanis gave out, even in today's world of lunatic principals, you have to be astounded. Like if a child complains about you once, BAM, you get a U for the year. Just to remind people -- the U means frozen salary steps, no after school or summer jobs, and an inability to transfer. It is a career threat subjecting you to attacks on all sides, including the press and slugs like E4E leaders. Yet Livanis seems to feel, oh, la-di-da, what's the big deal? She's a real lune, with the social skills of an --- I hate to insult them - an ardvark.

Parents support teachers

Not the least of angles here is that most of the NEST+M parents, especially the most active ones who work with the teachers and see how much they give every day, support them. They feel almost all the U's were ridiculous. They are a potentially powerful political source of support for the teachers. This may be one politically interesting case.

Imagine if they actually pulled the Parent Trigger and removed the principal. Hmmmm. One interesting event to watch is the level of parent unhappiness with the possible cancellation of many sports teams because U rated teachers who handle the sports cannot work after school. This may turn out to be a serious flashpoint.


Teachers invited to meet with Livanis - sort of

Last week, Livanis invited the staff to come to a staff meeting, ostensibly to "solve problems together." Words like "we're a family" and "keeping the story inside" and "we'll get professional help to solve our problems" were supposedly used.

Instead they sat through a 40-minute presentation on special ed. Only after that meeting did things open up -- naturally, on the teachers' own time. 75% remained for another hour of venting. Teachers talked about fear of taking school trips because if the slightest thing happened they might be U-rated. They told Livanis if she was unhappy with a teacher they should be told early on so they could make changes, instead of telling them the last week of school they were getting a U. They called on Livanis to revisit the files of the 7 U-rated people.

Interesting point: the UFT people are saying that all Livanis has to do is make a call and the U would be rescinded. Is this true? Hard to believe it is but not hard to believe that some people in the UFT have their heads up their asses.

What does the UFT really want?

So, immediately upon the publication at Gotham, the UFT contacted people at the school that Mulgrew wanted to meet with them. Eyebrows were raised since they had been petitioning the UFT for some higher level of support for some time, but the teachers were happy that they finally were getting a response. Again, there is a feeling in the school that the UFT ignored them because they get top students and even with a lousy principal, compared to the chaos in other schools, the union views them as having things relatively easy.

Monday night, 20 teachers went over to 52 Broadway to meet with what one source said was about 10 UFT officials -- the UFT brought out the house to deal with this crisis. And don't think that the UFT doesn't view this as a crisis -- for them. (It has been a crisis for the teachers for a long time.) It is a public relations crisis for the union because

• a) they feel actions like this hurt the image of teachers -- and they are not wrong here, but most important 
• b) they are exposed on a number of grounds -- ineffective in protecting teachers and not caring enough to even try doing something serious about it.

So a major goal of Mulgrew is/was to shut down the public debate -- create a black hole where the only thing coming out is what the union wants to come out -- not necessarily in the interests of the NEST+M teachers, but of the UFT.

As often happens in these type of situations, the teachers feel relieved - initially -- wow, the UFT is finally going to get involved. They will be coming to the school. OK. I don't want to shoot down their bubble, but let's see where things stand in a few months. Maybe an article with loads of pics of in the NY Teacher showing how much Mulgrew cares.Will the UFT lead rallies and protests and help organize parents to call for the removal of Livanis? Don't be on it.

My guess is the UFT wants to bury this story as much as the DOE and the principal does. Why, because it exposes the UFT as

• a) weak 
• b) neglectful 
• c) doesn't give a shit until it goes public  
• d) all of the above

Here is an edited email from an anonymous source regarding the UFT:

With the story hitting Gotham Schools, Mulgrew now, out of nowhere, wants to meet with the entire staff.  My guess is that they are furious with the chapter because the teachers did all of what they did, without any backing of the people at the Manhattan Borough Office.  The Manhattan Borough Office, though, has always felt that because the teachers at Nest don't have the serious issues other D1 schools have they should just be happy and not complain about anything.  Therefore, they have done very little over the years to get through to Livanis.  Well, the pressure has been building for six years and has finally blown.  I think they need you, and the organizers of MORE, to help and guide them through the no man's land between UFT and DOE.

If the call for MORE was a trigger for UFT sudden involvement then MORE is doing its job just by existing.
 
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NEST+ Background

The K-12 NESt+M, on the lower east side, has been one of the most coveted schools by teachers and parents. An old friend of mine out here in Rockaway, used to drive his 5-year old grandson into Manhattan every day just to go there. There was some controversy about the school years back when Joel Klein tried to shove in the Ross Global Charter run by a millionaire but was turned back by the founding principal who organized parents. Klein got even by finding some dirt on her (she was no angel), forcing her to resign, and installing Livanis, who was an AP at Stuyvesant. I posted - (Ross Launches Missile and Goes Ballistic and urged people to read the great Jeff Coplon piece in NY Mag about the history of the school – (NEST+m: An Allegory). I met Jeff, not an education writer, and told him that was one of the best education pieces I've read.

TFA and New Teacher Project Condemn Loss of Irreplaceable NFL Officials in Settlement, Walden Media Announces New Film

The New Teacher Project condemned the settlement of the dispute between the National Football League owners and its locked out experienced union-based Officials which will lead to the removal of the replacements.

"Research by the Broad and Gates Foundations shows that these replacement Officials have not only performed admirably, but even better than the old status-quo supporting Officials," said a NTP spokesperson.

The New Teacher Project issued a report called The Irreplaceables which documents the NFL Officials crisis in America’s professional football stadiums: a failure to retain the right officials. "Clearly, these replacement Officials have shown the American spirit through their willingness to undermine a union supported seniority system and their dedication to the children of America who love to watch football."

Teach for America through its subsidiary, FOFA - Football Officials For America, received a contract from the NFL to set up a 5-day training program for the strike-breaking Officials who will now lose their jobs. 

"What a shame these amazing and dedicated replacement Officials have come under attack," said Wendy Kopp. "FOFA's 5-day training program has proven more than adequate to handle the challenges of NFL officiating. Years of experience is an unproven and overrated commodity in proving competence to officiate a simple football game. And yes, that was a touchdown catch Sunday night. Green Bay just has a sore loser mentality."

In preparation for the next the owners attempt to break the union the NFL has announced that it will give FOFA a 5-year contract to develop a 5-week training program that will lead to top-notch officiating.

"This dispute was about the adults ignoring the interests of children who love their football," said Michelle Rhee in a statement issued through Students First. "The old NFL Officials only want to maintain the status quo," she said. "Students First was ready to pour hundred of millions of dollars in support of the NFL owners. Unfortunately, they cracked. Really, even worse than Rahm Emanuel's caving in to that scummy teacher union. I'm very disappointed in both the NFL owners and Rahm Emanuel."

Walden Media immediately announced a new film about how fans and football players team up to use a football trigger law to take over an NFL team and replace it with a charter. "Football fans in each city suffer from a monopoly and need a choice of football teams. We do understand that New York City has two teams, but really, one of them is the Jets, so that doesn't  count," said a spokesman for Philip Anschutz and Rupert Murdoch who backed the film "Won't Back Down." The new film, tentatively titled, "We Will Not Back Down From Those Slimy NFL Referee Bullies," will star Jake Gyllenhaal as a hunky referee who graduated from FOFA's accelerated 5-hour referee training program.

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Diane Ravitvch and Jersey Jazzman have posted on the NFL Officials story.

I was watching Morning Joe yesterday and Joe Scarboro, who couldn’t get enough of trashing the teachers in Chicago last week, was up in arms over the greedy NFL owners refusal to pay for experienced refs.

 Governor Scott Walker says it is time to bring back the referees’ union so there will be competent referees on the field. Why is it more important to have experienced referees in NFL football games than to have experienced teachers in our nation’s classrooms?

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