Rockaway Update: Power Rumors - Tues. Nov. 13

I hear The Wave is operating online (www.rockawave.com) so check it out for what should be good local storm coverage.

One thing I knew the morning after Sandy's visit - 2 weeks ago today though it seems like months - as the waters receded, with one look at muddy grit and grime on my 2 electrical boxes - one in the garage and one in the basement - was that no matter how long LIPA took to turn on power I wasn't going to turn on nothin' until these boxes were replaced. Oh, I did shoot fresh water into them to try to flush out the saltwater but even if they "worked" I am told corrosion could cause issues, including worst case scenario electrical fires. So I decided not to wait for LIPA to send someone by to tell me that but to do a preemptive strike and get them changed. Given rumors of a month or more before we get power I was willing to wait for the electrician I wanted. But now I hear we could have power soon and getting Ken over here is getting more urgent. He said maybe wed or thurs. I liked that he asked me to send pics of the boxes.

I didn't turn off the main power - we still had lights as the water started coming in - and there are stories of people drowning in their basements trying to do so as the water surged - possibly that is what happened to Rick the neighbor who lived behind my house. When we started smelling smoke Monday night at around 8pm with waters rising and no escape we experienced moments of terror thinking we were on fire because I didn't turn off the power - until I opened the rear door and realized the smoke was coming from elsewhere. I didn't find out till the next morning that 130th st, 4 blocks away, was burning.

Many watched the fire from their windows fearing the flames would start jumping. One couple and their neighbor grabbed the cat and dog and waded in thigh high water across the street to a neighbor's house.

------
60 minutes did a segment on Belle Harbor and my wife heard it on the radio - I was sleeping at 6:30 pm on sunday and didn't get up till 4 in the morning. I was wondering why cbs had a satellite truck outside Rick's house all day. When we get power, followed by a new hot water heater and heating system and then track down verizon to get us phone, internet and TV back, I'll get a chance to watch it - maybe during Hillary Clinton's second term.

-------
Thanks to Anna from Teachers Unite and her friend Chris for stopping by on their way to heavy duty volunteering work in Rockaway. Chris offered to help schlep the formerly gleaming washer and dryer from garage to curb, not a lite task given the Atlantic ocean sloshing around inside.

Sammy, the rock'n Moroccan who was part of the crew who we hired to clean out the basement, stopped by to load the machines in his truck. He does the anti-fungus and asestos removal for his company which is based in the Danbury Conn area - they drive here every day. Sammy pointed out that many basements are being cleared by friends, family and volunteers and if there's asbestos that is a considerable danger. Just another bunch of oy veys for Rockaway.

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

Patrick Sullivan Report from PEP: Mayoral Bloc Rejects Call for Delay in Charter School Co-locations

Demand the UFT call for end to mayoral control and will actively oppose any candidate who continues to support it.
Of course I'm joking since this will never happen. So read Patrick's report and weep as to why parents like Patrick do more to defend our interests than uft leaders do.

Original Message-----
From: Patrick Sullivan
To: nyceducationnews <nyceducationnews@yahoogroups.com>

All,

Here's my account of Thursday's PEP.  

On the blog as well at http://nycpublicschoolparents.blogspot.com/2012/11/peps-mayoral-bloc-rejects-call-for.html

Patrick

Thursday's Panel for Educational Policy meeting at Frank Sinatra HS started forty minutes late as Vice Chair Freida Foster waited for enough mayoral bloc appointees to ensure the mayor's super-majority was in place to approve resolutions.

Deferral of Co-Location Votes or "The People's Business"

Brooklyn representative Kelvin Diamond introduced a resolution to defer co-location votes from the rescheduled December PEP meeting to January.  Diamond cited the losses and disruption caused by Hurricane Sandy as obstacles to holding public hearings where the affected communities could weigh in on the decisions.  Chancellor Walcott spoke against the resolution citing the need to proceed with "the people's business".  I joined the Queens representative in supporting the Brooklyn resolution.  The resolution failed as the Staten Island representative joined the mayoral bloc in dismissing our concerns about the ability of the public to focus on these hearings and the larger privatization effort underway in the aftermath of the hurricane. Of the ten proposals in question, six of them are to place schools privately managed by the Success Academy Network in public school buildings. Gotham Schools has a good account of the discussion.

Budget Vote and Rules of Order Skirmish

Next up was an $8 billion budget vote, the aggregation of actual school budgets for approval.   Chair Freida Foster recognized me to ask questions and make comments.  I asked why the budget had been delayed and then imposed under the Chancellor's emergency powers, a highly unusual event.   The response was Mike Tragale, the DOE CFO was sick.  I remarked upon the inconsistency in how the DOE decided to defer the budget vote when one person was sick but proceed with the Success Academy co-locations when hundreds of thousands were distracted.  I was about to raise a concern about the poor fiscal management practices that place so much importance on a single person when I was interrupted by a member of staff, Courtenay Jackson-Chase, the DOE's general counsel and  secretary to the PEP.   I explained that she had not been recognized by the PEP chair, had no standing to interrupt me and was not even a member of the Panel.  Chancellor Walcott began lecturing me about bullying.   I noted that he had not been recognized to speak either.   Eventually after criticizing my comments and questioning by prerogative to even pose them he relented and I went to my next question, about the record number of budget appeals requested by principals and granted by the DOE.

The episode underscores how the PEP is merely a vehicle for the imposition of the mayor's agenda.  The legislature stripped the Chancellor of his chairmanship of the Panel along with his vote.  Yet nothing has really changed.  The Chancellor routinely interrupts or speaks without any regard for decorum or rules of order.  The Panel secretary, Jackson-Chase (previously Mike Best) sits next to the Panel Chair, always a malleable mayoral appointee, delivers instructions on how to conduct the meeting and cuts off speakers, both Panel members and members of the public alike. 

Proposals for Co-locations and Expansions

A proposal related to the Brooklyn College Academy failed for lack of votes.  The mayor typically has three appointees associated with CUNY on the PEP.   These CUNY-affiliated members generally keep quiet and rubber stamp the mayor's proposals.  In this case these members abstained due to conflict of interest. 

The principal of PS MS 15 in the Bronx spoke against the expansion of another public school in her building citing the loss of three classrooms currently serving children with special education needs.  The DOE dismissed her concerns because her school would still be "at footprint".  The action will result in severe overcrowding in the building with an estimated utilization between 116% and 132%.  I was joined by the Brooklyn and Queens representatives in refusing to support the change.  There is currently no Bronx appointee to the Panel.  The proposal passed 8-3.

A Success Academy co-location was approved by an 8-3 margin with the mayoral bloc and Staten Island member opposed by Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens.   This vote was premature as the school in question is asking us for public school space to serve middle school students despite not being authorized by the grantor of its charter to do so.   The host building will go to a utilization of 113% to 138%, an increasingly typical level of overcrowding for Harlem schools subject to co-location with privately managed charter schools.   I asked the mayoral bloc Panel members why we could not instead provide this space for the excellent public school in the building, PS 175, to expand as it previously requested.   Only Ian Shapiro responded, criticizing me for challenging the DOE experts who decided a charter school would better serve this community than growing a successful public school. 

Contracts

We had an absurd discussion about "in-sourcing" the Galaxy budgeting system by paying the consultants who run the system $23 million over the next five years.  The deal reminded me of the contract with Future Technology Associates (FTA).  In both cases the DOE similarly bundled three or four discrete pieces of work together for the incumbent rather than keeping them separate so multiple firms could bid.  And DOE offered the same argument to defend the consulting contract - "only the consultants know how to run this system".  Let us all hope this one turns out better than our deal with FTA.  The principals of FTA ended up with indictments following an investigation that revealed widespread fraud.

A contract for a tutoring firm discovered to have committed multi-million dollar over-billing errors was considered.  One of our new student representatives, Ilan, pointed out that either the firm stole from us or was so incompetent as to make massive billing errors.  Either way we shouldn't want them tutoring our students.   Despite this display of sagacity so rare at PEP meetings, the contract was approved 8-3.

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

Rockaway Update - Things to Be Thankful For, Sunday Nov. 11

Is Walcott still Chancelor or has Cathie Black been bought back by Bloomberg? I've been a little out of touch.

Thanks to----

The horde of firemen and the crew that came down with a big crew from New Haven and set up a barbecue on 139th and Cronston with all sorts of goodies including the largest and meatiest burgers I've ever seen.
--------
The mob of volunteers from all over the nation. There looked to be hundreds mobilizing in front of PS 114 on my corner. There are 7th Day adventists, Americore, and I hear Mormons from California are roaming the neighorhood.
And kudos to the AFT relief efforts in Coney Island where Kombiz Levasny tweeted he was going all day.
I feel increasingly guilty that I don't seem to have it in me to make some time to volunteer myself.

-------
Being able to get gasoline without waiting on line on Sat nite at 11PM on an even day even tho I'm odd (no jokes).

Our wonderful friends Mark and Peggy who invited us to dinner in Oceanside last night. (They also gave us the use of an apartment in Brooklyn to use). To drive out there or not became a big decision given we are down to less than a half tank of gas (we were full thanks to cousin Danny's delivery from Jersey of 10 gal last Sunday.) But we can't just sit in the dark starting at 5pm so we decide to go (we can't leave till after 6 - see below) and there on Atlantic Av and Long Beach Road is a Gulf with few people at pumps. But we decide to wait until after the delicious dinner and company (and showers and laundry and charging) to take a shot despite being odd. And YES, we are full with food and gas and can try to escape the dark again tonight.
Driving at night in Rockaway is positively surreal.

-------
Great friends like Ira and Sheila who have offered house, car, food, showers, laundry and charging in Brooklyn. They enticed us away from the cleanup Friday afternoon to go see Lincoln (Spoiler alert: he dies at the end) followed by a feast at a Chinese rest across from Eva Moskowitz HS in Irving Place.
--------

The flood insur adjuster who showed up around 5pm Saturday just as we were closing down the day's cleanup. He and his dad spent an hour working in the dark - not optimal but getting past this has been crucial as we now can throw out more stuff - like our 2 month old washer and drier.

And the other adjuster from our regular insur just called to say he will be out on Nov 19 - they only cover non-flood damage - damn those locusts.

--------
Matt, the wonderful contracter who did our bathroom in Sept (upstairs and undamaged) and our laundry room (which has a 4-5 ft water line and has to be gutted again- all inner walls contaminared by sea water have to be removed - something about fungus.) A call to Matt, who is from Argentina, is always reassuring. Ignore that 6 grand est from the demolition crew from Missouri (yes they are pouring in from all over) he tells us. He will send in a crew next Saturday. I guess I have to miss the MORE meeting but anyone not being demolished that day should go.
------

The nyc sanitation crews who work all day and night in what seems to be an organized military op. Also to the numbers of police and fire crews and national guard and goodness knows how many others. There are so many vehicles, leaving Rockaway bet 5 and 7 is insane as backups stretch for miles. Same with coming in in the morning.
-----

And most important, my wife Carol who has been a partner in every way in sharing all the important stuff we have to do. We made a decision to try to get even the tiniest thing done every day.

-----------
Today's jobs: draining each of the 3 zones in my heating system and cleaning out the garage (which is part of my house and had 5 ft of water --- the ins adj told has to have the walls removed. Oy!

And if there's time, looking for a car -- we have the loaner from our friend who left town due to her building being damaged and won't be back till after thanksgiving.

No thanks to
LIPA

Maybe thanks to FEMA - we finally registered last night -

Here's hoping I can give thanks soon to a plumber who will install a new hot water heater and boiler and an electrician who will replace the flooded elec panels and certify us when LIPA turns on the power sometime in 2015 - actually just heard it might be coming this week but useless to me without the boxes. Major decision - wait for the electrician I really want or get it done quicker with an unknown?
Sooner, later, sooner, later....

Why do I feel like Hamlet trying to decide?

Well, this is a warm week, so as long as we can get gas and get out of here in the evenings we'll be ok.
Does TV and the internet still exist?

When's the next PEP? Give Cathie Black my regards.

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

Rockaway Update - Thurs Nov. 8 - Who Needs Light and Heat

Found out my regular home insurance covers locusts, frogs and muraine but not floods. Except if flood occurs during week of Passover and we can prove water came from the Red Sea.

I slept 12 hours last night for the first time in my life. Blame it on darkness, cold and a lot of wine.

Thurs, Nov. 8, 6pm: 10th day without power or heat. Or more importantly, internet or TV.

Lots to tell about look of war zone here but another time.

I intended to keep a daily diary but with only spotty phone internet access and having to save laptops for powering the phones and with all the stuff we have to do during the day and the depressing darkness at night - now starting at 5pm since Sunday.

"Look how little it takes now to make me happy." ----- My wife upon finding the new lantern/flashlight we just bought at Home Depot is better than anything.

Gee, almost makes me wish for regular floods.

One of best stories for us: finding phone mssge from alarm comp from around 7pm Monday, Sandy night, that our basement water alarm to detect floods went off. Gee, thanks. It goes off if we get 2 inch of water. How about 7 feet?

Let me point out so no one feels sorry for us, we are the top 1% in terms of how much better off we are than most and able to deal with all of this. The 80 year old woman who lives behind us comes knocking on our door at least once a day in a semi-state of confusion. We offer as much help as we can but not sure exactly what to tell her other than to calm down - she has an apt in the city - just go there and wait it out. Her response - the worst thing is seeing everyone else getting things done while she marks time.

And I get that. Our pals J&S had their contracter install a water heater and they can take showers. I'm adding that task to my loooong list.

Sorry I haven't compiling this info daily so I could remember things better. I'll try to backtrack. One day at a time.

So, the key to dealing with all this is to get something done every single day and celebrate whatever it is, no matter how trivial, as a major victory.

Today was a biggie.

-reached Ken the electrician who had asked me to send pics of our 2 power boxes that were under water. We don't intend to wait for boobs at LIPA (yes Rockaway is only area of nyc in their zone) to tell us we need to replace them. We're going for a pre-emtive strike so when they show - sometime in January - we are ready for them. Ken says maybe by end of next week. Maybe. That doesn't mean power from lipa which I hear can take 2 months but I've put this task as current top priority.

-Brian the tow truck guy who thankfully lives on my block sent guys to tow my 3 month old Honda CRV out of my neighbor's garage. He towed my wife's car out of our garage last Friday (nov. 2 which seems like a year ago) as a big favor so we could have space for the crew we hired (at an outrageous price) to clear our disaster of a basement. Well maybe not so outrageous. Now we just have to get that damn Geko out here to look at them.

-Called Geiko, Flood insur adjuster, Matt our fab contracter, Barry our alarm guy. Matt says he can send demolition crew week from Sat. That's nov 17. Jeez.

-The apartment we were offered by our friends in Trump Village (not Towers) in Coney Island - we went over to check it out, took showers and charged computer and phones. We may use it to sleep there - imagine being able to actually read in the evening - but right now we intend to live out here until it is too cold. Moving cats is a big issue - you know their comfort is more important than ours.

Timeout: wife curses that fuckn Cuomo and says she will never vote for him - blames him for gas and Iipa situation. How does he make Cristie look good?

I saw one LIPA truck on Monday - only one in all this time driven by a guy from Suffolk who drove 3 hours. "You won't have power for 2 months. They pulled me from areas where I could actually be getting people back up so I could drive around here doing nothing other than showing lipa has a presence. Political crap."

So yes we will need that apartment.
Admission: I miss TV. And the internet. I may have to do mi-fi.

Then off to check out a car, eat lunch and go to Home Depot.

Stop off at J&S with sandwiches and big push broom and back home to find first mail delivery in 11 days.

Do victory lap around pile of mail for small sign of normalcy. damn bat running down. Bi

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

Vincent Wojsnis on "Why I Joined the MORE Caucus, UFT"

Vincent points to an interesting trend: people who up to now stayed out of union internal politics believes he can not longer sit on the fence. He has not only joined MORE but become an active participant in building the organization, a key component if MORE is to grow.

Why I Joined the MORE Caucus, UFT by Vincent Wojsnis

Anyone who knows me knows that among the things I really care about are teaching social studies and working for the United Federation of Teachers*. I am a New York City teacher but I am also a union activist and for me, the struggle to defend public education and trade unionism are one and the same. As a teacher, I believe a good, free public education, available to all, is a goal worth fighting for. I also realize that belonging to a strong union allows me to advocate for my students as well as for our members. 

I've been a chapter leader, a delegate, an arbitration advocate. In 2009 I joined other UFT members to help organize teachers for the AFT in Texas. My union activity was recognized by the union leadership later that year when I was received a Trachtenberg Award as well as a UFT Partnership Award that I shared with my former principal. I am proud of it all. The roots of my activism began when the NYC Department of Education decided to close my former school, MS 399 in the Bronx, a school where I worked for nearly a decade. From that point on, I decided that I would "fight back" by doing what I could to build this union. 

Until recently, however, to anyone who'd ask me to which caucus I belonged I would simply say, "UFT." So-called "in fighting" within the union, it seemed to me, was factional and counter-productive. I no longer feel that way. The extreme agenda advanced by the so-called "education reform movement" and our union leadership's weak (often questionable) response to it has made me a partisan. Earlier this year, concerned over the direction that the union leadership was taking both in New York and nationally, a group of UFT members joined together and formed the Movement of Rank and File Educators (MORE) as an alternative caucus within the UFT. I joined the MORE Caucus because I believe that union has to go in a different direction. 

For more than fifty years the majority Unity Caucus has controlled the UFT leadership. And while it is true that under Unity, the union has won significant rights and benefits for our members, the unprecedented, persistent assault on our union by the right wing in both major political parties has led to an erosion of those rights and benefits. Their so-called "reforms" include attacks on tenure, seniority and the right to due process. They have sought to undermine our pensions. Their new evaluation process overwhelmingly and unfairly relies on data derived from standardized test scores. 

The MORE Caucus calls for fair and improved contract, without givebacks, that protects and preserves our rights and benefits. We are calling for a union-wide discussion and vote on any agreement on a new teacher evaluation process. We reject any agreement that would include a test-based evaluation. Moreover, we believe that the fight for a fair contract begins now by mobilizing our members and not solely relying on the courts or waiting for a new administration to take office.

 The so-called "reformers" have cynically misrepresented their efforts by proclaiming that it is all in "best interests of children," but nothing could be further from the truth. Their so-called "reforms" would increase in class sizes, where no child would get the kind of attention they deserve. Their special education reforms have reduced services for those students who most need them. By placing a disproportionate emphasis on reading and math scores they have narrowed the curriculum by eliminating or greatly reducing a curriculum that includes social studies, the arts, physical education and extra-curricular activities. 

As the social justice caucus of the UFT, MORE stands with our communities against the corporate takeover of our public schools. We oppose the theft of public space and resources by privately-run charter schools co-located in public school buildings. We call for an end to high-stake testing and the restoration of a broad and robust curriculum. We advocate for our students by demanding smaller class sizes and that every child with special needs receive the services that they need and deserve. 

Mayoral control under Michael Bloomberg has been a disaster for NYC children. How obscene is it for the mayor to undermine the very school system he was entrusted to protect? Though it has sought to modify the state law that gives the mayor total control of the public schools, under Unity, the current UFT leadership supports mayoral control of the public schools. As a former District Rep once told me, "mayoral control was here to stay because no mayor would give up that much power." If it has proven anything, after more than a decade of mayoral control under Bloomberg, it is that it is too much power to be held by one mayor. Yet, in school districts across the country, school boards are still elected by members of the community for candidates (mostly parents) who seek to have a voice in education policy. This is particularly true in affluent, suburban, mostly white school districts. Meanwhile, school districts in big cities (New York, Chicago, Detroit, etc.) have been placed under control either by the mayor or an "educational management organizations" made up of business people with little or no stake in the schools they govern. Are not parents of urban, less affluent communities of color entitled to the same rights as affluent suburban communities? 

I joined MORE because MORE calls for an end to mayoral control of the public schools and the restoration of popular control through democratically elected school boards. 

Under mayoral control hundreds of qualified teachers have had to re-apply for jobs they've already had. Through school closings, the elimination of programs and a narrowing of the curriculum, these teachers have been placed on the Absent Teacher Reserve. The difficulties many have had finding permanent positions have had less to do with their qualifications and more to do with their age, their salaries and whether or not they are tenured. 

The mayor, the chancellor and media have maligned these colleagues as "bad teachers" and "overpaid subs." Anyone of us could be an "ATR" tomorrow. A union resolution passed last spring called for providing assistance and training to help excessed teachers but the resolution fell far short of resolving the real problem which is the current system that keeps qualified teachers in a kind of institutional "limbo." There is no reason that any qualified teacher should remain in excess especially when there are positions available in any school. 

I joined MORE because MORE calls for an end of the so-called "free market" system that is the ATR along with the creation of a sub-class of teachers whose rights are routinely violated as a result. 

To achieve these goals we deserve a union that is democratic and transparent. We intend to fight for these goals by running our own candidates in the upcoming UFT elections in the spring. These are the main reasons I joined the MORE Caucus. I urge you to join us and support our candidates and platform. To learn more about MORE go to the following links: 

http://morecaucusnyc.org/mission-statement/

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/new-uft-evaluation/

 I also recommend you see the film, The Inconvenient Truth Behind Waiting for Superman - Now Online at: http://gemnyc.org/our-film/

Fraternally, 

Vincent C. Wojsnis, UFT Chapter Leader, Antonia Pantoja Prep. Academy

Jonathan Kozol event at the Grad Center Friday CANCELLED

Folks,

I'm sad to report that Jonathan Kozol is too sick to come to NYC this week.

The wet and cold has made it worse, and now his doctor is forbidding travel.

Thus, the event we were planning at the Graduate Center with him this Friday is cancelled.

Hopefully, we will be able to reschedule when he is feeling better.

I can't recommend his new book, Fire in the Ashes, enough.

http://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/books/2012/08/26/review-fire-ashes-jonathan-kozol/FU0YEhIhUf4X7IUKaZEFqI/story.html

Best,

Brian


--
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

Jonathan Kozol & Brian Jones (MORE) Fri, Nov 9th, : Fire in the Ashes: Victims and Survivors of Apartheid in New York

Two postings in a row with the leading MORE candidates in the upcoming UFT elections. Brian is running for UFT Secretary which is the second in command position in the UFT, a position Randi and Tom Pappas held.

Julie and Brian make for a power house pair to lead the MORE ticket.

Friday November 9, 5pm

 

Fire in the Ashes: Victims and Survivors of Apartheid in New York

Jonathan Kozol and Brian Jones


Returning to the scene of his prize-winning books Rachel and Her Children and Amazing Grace, Jonathan Kozol shares insights of twenty-five years in New York’s poorest neighborhood’s public school system in conversation with teacher, activist educator Brian Jones. Together they will explore the urgent issues that confront our urban schools – a devastating race-gap, and a pathological regime of obsessive testing that prioritizes exams over rich curricula that excite a love of learning. Why do certain children rise above it all, graduate from high school and do well in college, while others are defeated by the time they enter adolescence? How can we organize and mobilize educators, parents, students, and our communities against the corporate and government policies that underfund, undermine, and privatize our public school system?

Co-sponsored by (In)equality Matters,Advanced Research Collaborative, Rethinking Schools, Save Our Schools, Change the Stakes, Haymarket Books, PhD programs in Urban Education and Critical Social/Personality Psychology, Center for Human Environment, and Public Science Project

 

 

Free and open to the public. All events take place at The Graduate Center, CUNY 365 Fifth Ave btw  34th & 35th. The building and the venues are fully accessible. For more information please visit http://centerforthehumanities.org/  or call 212.817.2005 or e-mail ch@gc.cuny.edu

Also from Brian:

Racism, Class and the Attack on Public Education: A Talk by Brian Jones

Still Separate, Still Unequal: Racism, Class and the Attack on Public Education, with Brian Jones from N Alexander on Vimeo.

Cavanagh and PS 15 Teachers Relief Efforts in Red Hook While DOE Treats Them Like Shit

P.S. 15′s staff remained uncertain about where they would be reporting once classes resume on Monday. While they were at Red Hook Initiative on Wednesday, they learned Mayor Bloomberg had announced that they would be expected to show up for work on Friday to prepare for the challenging circumstances.

“Where are we supposed to go?” asked Marie Sirotniak, another P.S. 15 teacher.

Late Thursday evening, an answer was still not clear. P.S. 15′s principal instructed teachers to meet at the school’s network offices in Bay Ridge. Department of Education officials had promised to release alternate locations for teachers working in severely damaged schools by Thursday afternoon, but did not do so until nearly midnight. Teachers from P.S. 15 were instructed to report to South Shore High School, more than eight miles away in central Brooklyn. --- Gotham Schools

Good piece by Geoff at Gotham on the work Julie Cavanagh and other staff members at PS 15 are doing. Julie also sent out this missive on Saturday:

1. At PS 15K, we will meet on the playground from 10 (and will work until 3, or the job is done) to coordinate classroom materials to be boxed and organized for transport to our temporary location (we are still awaiting truck transport information). Our principal will be on site for this effort.  71 Sullivan Street

2. Volunteers from the PS 15 playground who can be spared there will be deployed to Calvary Baptist Church for donation efforts for Red Hook school-based families as needed.

3.  We will try to coordinate with Red Hook Initiative for any overflow of volunteers to help with their amazing efforts (I left them a message already and will do further outreach, but we can also just walkover/send folks there if we do not hear anything).

Julie is the chapter leader and the MORE candidate for UFT President. True social justice unionism. I know there are readers out there who scoff at these type of activities by teachers. Beyond basic humanitarian issues (and Julie is one of the great humanitatians I know) if you just think of things selfishly --- you want community and parents behind teachers? Earn it with some sweat and blood.

In battered Red Hook, teachers struggle to connect with families

by Geoff Decker, at 1:07 pm

Julie Cavanagh and her husband prepare to pass out supplies to Red Hook residents affected by the storm.

City teachers were told to stay home from school this week until today because of damages and disruption wrought by Hurricane Sandy. But staff working in one of the city’s worst-hit areas showed up anyway.
A group of teachers and aides from P.S. 15 in Red Hook met on Wednesday, just a day after the storm ended, hoping to distribute supplies to residents from the nearby Red Hook Houses, a sprawling campus of public housing where many of the school’s students live.
“P.S. 15 has always kind of been a hub for the community and in the absence of that hub, we wanted to try and do something,” said Julie Cavanagh, a special education teacher who invited families via email to meet at the school on Wednesday afternoon.
Cavanagh bought $200 worth of supplies — water, food, batteries, and even som Halloween candy — at Costco that morning, and said her plan was to give it away at the school, which was also badly damaged from the storm that flooded the rest of the neighborhood on Monday night.
But few people showed up at the scheduled meeting time on Wednesday. Some families had likely evacuated, and Cavanagh said she knew of some co-workers and families who stayed put but weren’t able to receive calls or emails.

Cavanagh ended up giving some food and water to passersby outside of the housing project, including one P.S. 15 parent of three students.
Alys Lugo, a P.S. 15 paraprofessional who lives in the houses, took a gallon of water and tuna up with her. She said she was traumatized by scenes from the storm.
“I saw the water coming up, into the park and the streets,” said Lugo, who watched the storm’s surge quickly blanket surrounding blocks from her apartment in one of the tower’s top floors. “There was water everywhere.”
Chancellor Dennis Walcott told reporters on Thursday that most schools would not get a complete picture of how their families were affected by the storm until Monday, when students are expected to return. But the efforts by P.S. 15 teachers was one example of where teachers showed a greater eagerness to reestablish communication while schools were closed.
“It’s a horrible feeling to be disconnected from the kids we see every day not knowing where they are or if they’re alright,” Cavanagh said. “Folks feel a sense of urgency to get reconnected with students and families.”
Cavanagh and her colleagues eventually drove their supplies to Red Hook Initiative, a community-based organization that had quickly became a central meeting place in the neighborhood for hot meals and volunteer coordination. Cavanagh said she saw many P.S. 15 families at the center and thought the donations would be better put to use there.
P.S. 15′s staff remained uncertain about where they would be reporting once classes resume on Monday. While they were at Red Hook Initiative on Wednesday, they learned Mayor Bloomberg had announced that they would be expected to show up for work on Friday to prepare for the challenging circumstances.
“Where are we supposed to go?” asked Marie Sirotniak, another P.S. 15 teacher.
Late Thursday evening, an answer was still not clear. P.S. 15′s principal instructed teachers to meet at the school’s network offices in Bay Ridge. Department of Education officials had promised to release alternate locations for teachers working in severely damaged schools by Thursday afternoon, but did not do so until nearly midnight. Teachers from P.S. 15 were instructed to report to South Shore High School, more than eight miles away in central Brooklyn.

Update from Rockaway

I've been getting lots of requests for info on how we're doing (much better than most) and tho have some cell serv phone bat runs down fast so I'm posting a short version tho I've been trying to keep a diary.
I've barely been off my block so only know of devastation as u get closer to beach thru stories.

Had mountain of debris from basement and den covering 2 house lengths. Wonderful sanit guys sent here from Kew Gardens spent an hour loading truck as I tried to help best I could. Loads of volunteers coming by all day. One of neighbors sent a few over to help load truck. Big relief to clear that out. They are using Riis park lots to dump garbage so trucks get back quickly. Sanit has done amazing job.

For us - Lots of water and scary moments Mon nite as water rose an inch short of main floor. When we smelled smoke we thought we were done but it was from massive fires 4 blocks away. That was in add to breezy pt fires. Loads of stories but no time for details.

We're doing ok and getting things done. No warmth or elect. Elect panel boxes were under water so have to be replaced even if power does come on. Using stove for some heat. Cousin Dan came from jersey w 10 gallons of gas last night so can use one of borrowed cars to get around. He also brought 2 giant subs so plenty to eat.

May try to get apt for a few months or go to florida in dec.

Mostly cleaned up. Paid a company lots of dough but expect fld ins to cover. One car towed and one more to go.

Today will finish cleanup hopefully.
Many neighbors had to leave esp older people. One gave us a check to pay cleanup crew.

Neighbor behind my house drowned in basement. We saw them take body out through my back window on tues nite. We both moved in at same time in Aug 79. His wife was pregnant at time. Didn't know him well. Saw daughter next day. In midst of this they have to clean up.

Hearing other stories of people going down to retrieve something and getting caught in surge. I actually did go down to den twice to get ice chest and a few things as water rose. So lucky.

Water reached top of basement and as it dries main floor hardwood floors may buckle. That will be fun to watch.

Basement and den - areas most damaged were a catastrophe before Sandy. Wife always said it would take an act of god to get me to clean them up. Now u can eat off basement floor tho I wouldn't advise it.

Damn phone bat running down. Gotta run.

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

Fire Fiorillo's Ass for His Political Views

Kyle Olson on Michael fiorillo political views on blog comments he made: fire him to keep him away from your kids. Would Olsen say same if a right wing teacher called Obama a socialist?
Olson actually thinks Democrats are left-leaning which puts him on the creepy right wing fringe.
______________
Union Activist Says Obama, Booker 'Genetically Engineered to Divide and Negate Black Political Energies'   

·       Kyle Olson
 

Nov 04, 2012

It's becoming more obvious by the day that many teachers union activists are on the creepy radical fringe of American politics. They're proudly on the outside and far to the left of the left-leaning Democratic Party.

How else can one explain the angry reaction of so many union activists when Democratic politicians endorse or accept a few government school reforms?

Take United Federation of Teachers activist Michael Fiorillo. He takes no prisoners when it comes to his analysis of those Democrats, like President Obama and Newark Mayor Cory Booker, who call for more accountability for public school teachers. He recently wrote:

"Corey [sic] Booker, neoliberal puppet and certainly one of the most insipid and insufferable politicians who has ever lived. Both he and Obama share many attributes, and seem to have been genetically engineered to divide and negate black political energies in the interests of The Overclass, while making b*llshit white liberals feel good about themselves. An evil, albeit fascinating, dynamic."

Obama, of course, remains the darling of his party and may very well win a second term in the White House next week. Booker is a rising star in Democratic circles. They are both very liberal, but obviously not loyal enough to Big Labor for some teachers.

An increasing number of mainstream Democrats like Obama and Booker are tiring of the teachers unions and their self-serving ways. They see little political payoff in siding with unions that are willing to sacrifice the best interests of American students to get their way at the collective bargaining table.

That means radicals like Fiorillo are running out of friends in high places. If they continue to turn on everyone who dares to question their motives and agenda, they will soon be largely isolated in the American political scene.

That will be their own fault, and nobody will mourn their demise.

But there is one other concern that parents should be thinking about. Fiorillo and many like him are public school teachers, and have a great deal of influence on impressionable children five days per week.

Does anybody really want their kid to learn from someone who considers Barack Obama too conservative and a traitor to his race? These people are off the chart, and in a perfect world they would be kept as far away from students as possible.

 
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

Ohanian update

Finally getting some cell service back but keeping phone charged is big factor. In the absense of power posting a new update from Susan Ohanian is is good as gold. Our big achievement today? Getting massive cleanup of basement done by pros. You can eat off the floor. I did warn one of the guys using the toilet in the den to watch out for sharks.

Susan speaks:
I have another denunciation of Smarter Balanced. My plan was to make the one at Daily Censored national and the one in Vermont Digger 'local.' Even though you don't live in Vermont, I think you'll find plenty of meat:

VT Digger
http://vtdigger.org/2012/10/31/ohanian-putting-a-test-on-computer-doesnt-make-it-up-to-date/

I plan to send this to officials at the Department of Education and to every member of the legislative education committee. Then I'll revise it and try VT print media, who seem singularly disinterested in education policy. VT Digger is much more politically attuned.

I'm not posting these two pieces on my site yet because I hope people will read them where they appeared first--to let those folks know this is an important issue. Both sites encourage comment.
Eventually, I'll post them on my site--because I like to keep track of things. But meanwhile, please go to VT Digger and Daily Censored.

Daily Censored:
Snookered by Bill Gates and the U. S. Department of Education

http://www.dailycensored.com/2012/10/28/snookered-by-bill-gates-and-the-u-s-department-of-education/

I would remind you there are 343 pieces about what's wrong with the Common Core on my site:
http://www.susanohanian.org/core.php

The point to keep in mind is that the Common Core exists so we can have a national test. And Smarter Balanced is so rotten, everyone should be concerned.

Take a look at the cartoon. It is something each of us could do:
http://www.susanohanian.org/cartoon_fetch.php?id=692

My husband is making progress but yesterday he was told 'six more weeks of quietude.' I don't have a word for what that means for the wife.

Susan

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
To the editor
Multiple authors
Wall Street Journal
2012-10-30
http://susanohanian.org/show_letter.php?id=1479

Letters responding to the division between the 'practicality' of science and the humanities

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
To the editor
Stephen Krashen
Cincinnatti Enquirer
2012-10-29
http://susanohanian.org/show_letter.php?id=1478

This is a good answer to a corporate-oriented article implying that if third graders only read better, job crisis would be solved.

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
New PA Study Shows Full-time School Librarian Boosts Student Achievement
Press Release
Education Law Center
2012-10-23
http://susanohanian.org/show_research.php?id=499

There are lots more reasons schools should have qualified librarians on staff but certainly it is significant that the presence of qualified librarians improves the test scores of <i>all</i> students.
----------------------------------------------------
Order the CD of the resistance:
"No Child Left Behind? Bring Back the Joy."

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

All OK with Us

In Brooklyn for a few hours. Thanks for all your concerns. We stuck it out and water came within an inch of our main level -- flooded basement, den, garage and laundry room but we and cats are ok. Both cars shot.

Our end on the bay side did not do badly considering the bay met the ocean over the sea wall so that every house was surrounded by 5 or more feet of ocean water -- truly part of the sea. Beach side devastated I hear with some houses totally gone. 

No power or cell service -- I had more connectivity in New Zealand and Portugal. Lots of cleanup to do so I will not be on very often until we get it all straightened out -- need new cars, heating system, etc.

Keep up the fight.

Washington Irving Anti-Eva Moskowitz Rally, Part 1

The campus is united as the DOE is handing over one of the prime real estate buildings to Moskowitz.

http://vimeo.com/52407393


Anti Eva Moskowitz Rally at Washington Irving Campus from Alex Binda on Vimeo.

The Real Perfect Storm

For those who read my last post (A Perfect Storm: Ed Eval, a Contract and ATRs as Unity Shill Peter Goodman Floats (Sellout) Trial Balloon, no, we did not leave Rockaway. And thanks everyone for all your concerns and invitations for us and the cats to come stay. As soon as I told them that due to probable loss of power and/or storm damage we would probably be staying for 3 months I could hear just a bit of waning enthusiasm.

My garage - water came up to the bags this morning at high tide

My new car - water recedes around 10:30AM

We took a walk to the beach at noon and I took some pics and video. We stopped at someone's house who was worried about her car with the surge. I started to panic over my car (above) since we put my wife's in the garage. I felt my car is higher but maybe not high enough. So I raced back home when I realized my next door neighbors left yesterday and their garage has room for my car. Well it is tucked away but if the surge gets in there we are in big trouble -- in terms of our house which could take a long time to be back to normal.

I'm as worried about the bay a half block away as the ocean 4 blocks away. We have a sea wall about 6 feet high. In Hurricane Donna in 1960 the wall wasn't there and the ocean met the bay. It could still happen tonight at high tide. One seeming good thing is that the storm is moving faster and should hit land a few hours before high tide. But we still do have a full moon. I will be howling at it as my basement and possibly higher levels fill with water.

I made a little iphoto slide show with some shaky, bakey video.



Around 12 noon, Monday. Water at high tide around 8AM almost reached the bay, about 4 blocks. By 10:30 it was receding. Next high tide is 8PM tonight, the big one where we expect to take in some water. The idea is to turn my basement into a swimming pool.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUt4Y0L9oTg&feature=youtu.be

A Perfect Storm: Ed Eval, a Contract and ATRs as Unity Shill Peter Goodman Floats (Sellout) Trial Balloon

Chancellor Tisch was optimistic, more than optimistic that a teacher evaluation plan agreement will be reached by the mid-January deadline. The Chancellor is either a glass half full type of person, has her ear at the door, or a little bit of both. If an agreement is not reached the city faces the loss of $300 million, and, the union the wraith wrath of that guy living in sin in the executive mansion in Albany. --- Peter Goodman, Ed in the Apple blog

Call the Goodman post a triple play. There's some red meat by hinting that the UFT won't walk away from the $300 million penalty for not agreeing to the ed eval in mid-January which according to some points of view (see below) by law must be tied to a contract which will be tied to an ATR agreement that both Bloomberg and the UFT leadership both so desperately want. You know, like the joint agreement to end the rubber rooms -- as long as you can't see them. Maybe they will come up with a salve to turn ATRs into invisible men and women.

Goodman (and the union) pushes the Bloomberg threat of layoffs which he used to get the union to agree to give up the ATRs to weekly rotations. And he believes the governor when he says there is no need to amend last in, first out, which we know is a target for ed deformers. They may not have to once ed eval is in the door.

The negotiating gulf is significant but not huge. I frequently hear cries – “Why do we have to agree at all? Let’s give up the money; the City Council will fill in the lost dollars.” Well, there is no guarantee and thousands of teachers would be laid off, and, let’s not forget the governor’s 70 plus percent approval rating. The governor has taken the position that there is no need to amend the seniority layoff laws (“last in, first out”) due to the teacher evaluation law which, in theory, will rid the system of incompetent teachers. No agreement, the “last in, first out” may be gone – including the ATR pool – it could mean excess = layoff. The union leadership must be nimble.

Goodman fiercely defends the UFT deal on evaluations being tied to test scores as being fairer than the current system. He points to the 90% loss rate by the UFT on U ratings. That is because the UFT is incapable and unwilling to provide teachers under attack any support until it is too late. Principals have no fear of the UFT in any way anymore and have been allowed to gut the contract.

Now look at how Goodman addresses the ATR situation -- that the solution is a separation agreement (forced or voluntary?) in which he calls an ATR mess --- while not mentioning that the UFT helped create this mess in the 2005 contract:

The ATR Mess: The city and the union have, once again, been discussing some sort of separation incentive, a lump sum payment to encourage retirement or irrevocable resignation. I know teachers ask why not a buy-out – allowing teachers to retire before they have accumulated sufficient years or age – that type of  settlement probably requires approval by an outside actuary and legislative action.

Oh, did I tell you that Goodman's son Drew is amongst a horde of ATR supervisors whose job it will be to set up the conditions for forced separation, especially if they are on the high end of the salary? Note how Goodman poo-poohs the retirement incentive option. And what about the coming horde of new and younger ATRs as more schools are closed? I see the Chicago situation in the tea leaves. Sure, defend a gutted LIFO for teachers who are not ATRS but put them in a separate category.

Finally, the long-lost contract. Goodman defends the UFT decision to go to fact-finding and almost thumps his chest at the fact that they did so. He uses scare tactics to soften us up. "These are perilous times for teachers and their unions." WHY? Because the suck-up sell-out union leaders have given up without a fight. (But watch how Mulgrew and Goodman sell the Chicago story as a "special case.")

The fact-finding process, very quietly, has begun. Months, many months, down the road, absent an agreement in the interim the panel will produce a fact-finding report which is not binding but in the past has provided a framework for contract settlements.
The cynics argue: don’t go to fact-finding, wait for the next mayor. Who is to say the next mayor will open the city coffers? Who is to say that by January of 2014 the nation is not in a “double-dip” recession? Or, a Romney presidency will sharply reduce dollars to education and to states driving the city to draconian cuts in funding and services?
Remember little things like health plans for active and retired members are negotiated separately from the contract and currently cost over a billion dollars a year. In other words, once again, the union leadership must be smart.
In Albany there is growing pressure to amend the Triborough Law, which requires that expired contracts remain in place until the successor agreement is in place.
These are perilous times for teachers and teacher unions.

Wait Peter. You mean the vaunted UFT political machine can't stop them from amending the Triborough Law? In essence Goodman is admitting that the UFT is toothless. If the scuzzball politicians the UFT supports actually do so, just watch Goodman defend the UFT leadership's failure with, "the union leadership must be smart." Or at the very least, Vichy.

James Eterno and Jeff Kaufman point to the state law:

James: 3012-c is the part of state law that talks about the Highly effective, effective, developing and ineffective ratings and the percentages used for each.  The clause below is down at the bottom of the section.  I think this little bit of the law gives the UFT leverage in contract talks but they don't talk much about it. 

Jeff:  the provisions don’t go into effect until there is a new agreement. This is because the law made the evaluation process a mandatory subject of bargaining. The DOE can’t alter the current arrangement unilaterally.

Here are the provisions:

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, rule or regulation to the
contrary, all collective bargaining agreements applicable to classroom

teachers or building principals entered into after July first, two thousand
ten shall be consistent with requirements of this section. Nothing in this
section shall be construed to abrogate any conflicting provisions of any

collective bargaining agreement in effect on July first, two thousand ten
during the term of such agreement and until the entry into a successor
collective bargaining agreement, provided that notwithstanding any other

provision of law to the contrary, upon expiration of such term and the entry
into a successor collective bargaining agreement the provisions of this
section shall apply. Furthermore, nothing in this section or in any rule or

regulation promulgated hereunder shall in any way, alter, impair or diminish
the rights of a local collective bargaining representative to negotiate
evaluation procedures in accordance with article fourteen of the civil

service law with the school district or board of cooperative educational
services. 

----------- 

Goodman's entire post is below the break for those who don't want to make the extra click on their slow cell phones. 

http://mets2006.wordpress.com/2012/10/29/will-a-teacher-evaluation-agreement-be-reached-in-nyc-a-contract-an-atr-agreement/

CTU launches Website to Educate Public about School Closings

Let's see the UFT do something similar school closings or need I remind you that at the AFT convention in Detroit this past summer, the Unity Caucus 800 opposed a Chicago resolution calling for a moratorium on closing schools.

NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                              CONTACT:             Stephanie Gadlin

October 29, 2012                                                                               312/329-6250                                                                                                                                                                                        StephanieGadlin@ctulocal1.com

CTU launches Website to Educate Public about School Closings

MoveChicagoSchoolsForward.com is a new online resource for parents, activists and students

CHICAGO – In the ongoing battle with the Chicago Board of Education to give students, parents and teachers the resources needed to strengthen public education and stop school closings, the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) today unveiled a new online advocacy campaign which provides education justice and labor allies the tools designed to influence the ongoing debate about what’s best for Chicago’s students.  

The MoveChicagoSchoolsForward.com website offers a wealth of information and resources for tackling the complex issues around school reform tactics being used in Chicago.  The campaign was born out of CTU’s advocacy efforts with parents groups, community-based organizations, faith-based institutions, education justice activists and labor leaders which culminated in the first teachers’ strike in 25 years. The site is intended to be a comprehensive resource for neighborhood leaders who seek to engage the public and policy-makers and important issues such as school closings, the campaign for an elected school board and how to strengthen neighborhood schools.

Features include:

• Content organized based upon the ground-breaking “Schools Chicago Students Deserve,” research report which outlined a 10-point plan for school improvement
• Research-based content including studies, news articles, essays and white papers for education justice leaders.
• “Hot Seat” profiles on out-of-town education reformers and other politically-connected individuals and groups who seek to privatize and profit off the backs of public school students and their families.
• A Frequently Asked Question portal which allows the public to ask questions and exchange ideas with seasoned educators and education justice activists around a variety of issues impacting public education in Chicago.
• Links to community-based organizations currently engaged in the fight for better schools.
• Access to videos, interviews and broadcast-quality content featuring opinion leaders and activists who are engaged in the education justice fight.
• Free downloads of community organizing materials in the PDF format.

In addition, MoveChicagoSchoolsForward.com will eventually include a dynamic, new database feature which allows the user to compare neighborhood schools to charter operations and determine whether or not the campuses lack critical resources needed to improve student learning. The database, which is currently under development, will also allow users to determine if their neighborhood school has enough resources and teaching personnel such as counselors, social workers, psychologists and nurses who offer vital wrap-around services.

According to CTU President Karen GJ Lewis, “Today’s students have suffered from years of experimentation as CPS closed, turned around and consolidated their schools. These unproven “fixes” have nothing to do with our children and more to do with real estate transactions and rewarding politically-connected for-profit charter operations with school buildings.  MoveChicagoSchoolsForward.com is an initiative focused on informing the public about how to get involved in the ongoing fight for more resources and support for our students and educators.

The website is located at www.movechicagoschoolsforward.com and is now live.

###

The Chicago Teachers Union represents 30,000 teachers and educational support personnel working in the Chicago Public Schools, and by extension, the more than 400,000 students and families they serve.  The CTU is an affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers and the Illinois Federation of Teachers and is the third largest teachers local in the United States and the largest local union in Illinois.  For more information please visit CTU’s website at www.ctunet.com .

SG:oteg-743-tr

Susan Ohanian: Snookered by Gates on Common Core

They are all drinking the Kool-Aid being passed around by Bill Gates.... I read the released items in English Language Arts/Literacy, and I wanted to vomit... we’ve all been snookered by the U. S. Department of Education, working in cahoots with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, but the release of the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium sample assessment items makes the flimflam obvious ....

Twenty-three states belong to the other testing consortium–Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC), which received $186 million of your tax dollars from the U. S. Department of Education as part of the Race to the Top scheme. -------Susan Ohanian

Susan sent this message along, along with a few cartoons:

It would be good if you'd go read it and recommend it to Twitter and Facebook. These recommendations act as counters--and let the world know something is important. If we could ever get a huge count, someone might listen. As it is, education items remain in the pathetic category, with the same few people taking note.

So go forth and read it at the Daily Censored or below and like it on FB and retweet.

Attention people who care about children in Alabama, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming.

You’ve been snookered.

The truth of the matter is that we’ve all been snookered by the U. S. Department of Education, working in cahoots with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, but the release of the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium sample assessment items makes the flimflam obvious to people in the above states. Their leaders gave promissory notes to the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium.

U. S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan says the new assessments will be “an absolute game changer in public education.” Translation: They’ll rob you blind, ruin your curriculum, and turn your children into test-taking drudges.

On Oct. 24, 2012, the Vermont State Department of Education issued an enthusiastic  press release trumpeting these sample test items. Acting as an echo chamber for the U. S. Department of Education, Vermont Education Commissioner Armando Vilaseca says, “These sample items will provide Vermont teachers with an early look into the rigor and complexity students will see on the Smarter Balanced assessments.”

It’s sad to see an ed commissioner who actually has a lot of experience working in schools act as a megaphone to power, but certainly it’s no surprise that the U. S. Secretary of Education, a man with no teacher experience,  employs exclamation points to voice his enthusiasm for the new tests. After all, Arne Duncan is the one who handed out $361 million taxpayer dollars to the testing consortia: Smarter Balanced and PARCC.

There are two to avoid accusations of politicos forcing a National Test on public education. By the way, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, who financed the development of the Common Core as a delivery system for these tests and many millions to outfits ranging from the PTA to ASCD to promote it, kicked in another $743,331 “to support capacity building” at Smarter Balanced.

State Departments of Education across the country echo Vermont in  urging teachers to use these Smarter Balanced test items “to begin planning the shifts in instruction that will be required to help students meet the demands of the new assessments.” Bring on ugly, brain-numbing skill drill worksheets on apostrophe use.

Linda Darling Hammond, professor of education at Stanford University (which is well rewarded by the Gates Foundation) as well as senior research advisor for Smarter Balanced, said this: Performance tasks ask students to research and analyze information, weigh evidence, and solve problems relevant to the real world, allowing students to demonstrate their knowledge and skills in an authentic way. The Smarter Balanced assessment system uses performance tasks to measure skills valued by higher education and the workplace–critical thinking, problem solving, and communication–that are not adequately assessed by most statewide assessments today.

Indeed. I read the released items in English Language Arts/Literacy, and I wanted to vomit.

Smarter Balanced showed their capacity for coming up with new, innovative assessments by hiring CTB/McGraw-Hill to deliver 10,000 test items–bland passages with no authors and no voice–and lots of items requiring copy-editing skills. Now I  know why these Smarter Balanced released items look so familiar: CTB/McGraw-Hill has been selling this stuff since 1926.

I wrote the Smarter Balanced Help Desk, asking why they offered students so many items with no authors and no voice. They replied, “Authors write the items. For passages, internal authors write some of them and others require external permissions.” They invited me to ask any other questions I might have.

The “authors” are work-for-hire freelancers who aren’t allowed to exhibit personality. These Smarter Balanced items don’t qualify as fiction or non-fiction; they are simply test tommyrot. Putting such artificial passages on tests sends a terrible message to teachers, provoking the use of tons of workbook paragraphs–to get kids ready for an ugly test.

In addition to the antiquated copy-editing chores, Smarter Balanced ignores research on how children acquire new vocabulary and asks testees to use context clues to figure out the meaning of words. I summarized the research refuting this notion in a book chapter: Context Clues: Cure-All or Claptrap? Research shows that when students read for pleasure they experience multiple encounters with new words–and it’s those multiple encounters that result in significant vocabulary growth.

Twenty-five states have signed on to this boondoggle.
The examples of  “innovative, technology-enhanced items that take advantage of computer-based administration to assess a deeper understanding of content and skills” provided by Smarter Balanced are hilarious. Here’s one: Highlight the part of the text. . . . Highlighting as innovative technology? Should taxpayers in the Hendrick Hudson School District pay $1.5 million to upgrade their computers so students can highlight text on a test?

In math, the testee sees a silhouetted swimmer’s animated legs before getting to a question that requires rounding swimming times to the nearest 10th, something kids who know anything about racing know would never happen in the real world. In another problem, the testee is instructed to make use of technological innovation to drag a juice bottle into a grocery bag. The Main State Education Department calls this “innovative, technology-enhanced items that take advantage of computer-based administration to assess a deeper understanding of content and skills than would otherwise by possible with traditional item types.”

They are all drinking the Kool-Aid being passed around by Bill Gates.
Twenty-three states belong to the other testing consortium–Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC), which received $186 million of your tax dollars from the U. S. Department of Education as part of the Race to the Top scheme. A few states belong to both consortia and five states–Nebraska, Minnesota, Texas, Utah, and Virginia–belong to neither.

I hope people understand that this is much much more than just a quarrel over curriculum preference, but  I’ll get to the penultimate concern of the taxpayer: What does all this cost? After the initial infusion of cash from the U. S. Department of Education’s Race to the Top grants, the claim is that most states can expect to spend less on Smarter Balanced assessments than they do on current assessments. But even taking this claim with a truckload of salt doesn’t make it believable. According to an Oct. 28, 2012 article in www.loud.com, the Hendrick Hudson School District estimates that it will cost “$1.5 million to upgrade its computers and infrastructure to comply with the Common Core mandates.” This is for the three elementary schools, one middle school, and one high school attended by the 2,845 students in the Hendrick Hudson School district.

That’s just computer compliance–to get started.  Gene Wilhoit, Executive Director, Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium, makes it clear that states that have signed on for the tests have agreed to pay annual administrative fees associated with the tests. Vermont school administrators were told recently to budget $300 per pupil for each year hereafter to buy the computer platforms to deliver the tests and other technology. That’s just the technology. Nothing said about administrative costs, test prep costs, test tutoring costs, and so on and so on.

There are 50 million schoolkids out there in K-12. You don’t need any innovative, technology-enhanced, computer-based highlighting to do the math. What you need is the grit and stamina to say “No!”

Below the break are the last 2 Ohanian reports which are loaded with common core stuff. Click her links and get some of her great commentary. And Never Forget: Our national and local union leaders support Common Core which shows you exactly where they are at --- can you spell V-I-C-H-Y?