My Speech at UFT Exec Bd Urging They Take a Dive Off Edu Cliff and Not Succumb to Cuomo Blackmail - And I Get Sick From the Food as a Reward

OK. I plead guilty to breaking my own rule -- avoiding UFT Ex bd meetings. But since MORE had a meeting in the neighborhood beforehand on Monday night, I figured I might as well head over for the free dinner. And then I thought I might as well call up and ask for a few minutes of speaking time on the ed eval cliff which James Eterno talked about on the ICE blog and got lots of comments (LOOKING INTO THE CRYSTAL BALL ON THE NEW EVALUATION SYSTEM & CONTRACT).

I came equipped with research. Carol Burris (LOOKING INTO THE CRYSTAL BALL ON THE NEW EVALUATION SYSTEM & CONTRACT) and Gary Rubinstein (VAM gets Slammed: Teacher Evaluation Not A Game of Chance). A principal and a teacher who point out the junk science of VAM and the entire ed eval process. It is interesting that when you bring up the deficiencies of VAM you get doubletalk (from Randi/AFT/Mulgrew/UFT) or blank states (E4E).

Well, I'm happy to report that all I got as I spoke to the UFT Exec Bd were E4E-like blank stares. Here is an audio of what I said.



Also uploaded at: http://youtu.be/jMXcMK3Ve20

I suspect the UFT will cave, despite my attempt to buck up their spines.

I heard one report about a visit from some UFT officials who were using the Walcott/Bloomberg threat of layoffs as a wedge to weasel out of standing firm. I mean why should WalBloom have to do the heavy lifting when they have the UFT leadership to do it for them? Look for them to be in your school soon selling the same old song. RBE at Perdido St. School has a good take on these threats (Walcott's Threats To Fire Guidance Counselors And Social Workers, Cut Programs "Unconscionable") where he concludes:

I am of the opinion that the UFT leadership, having already caved to the governor last February on this crap, will cave to Chancellor Walcott come late December.
What they ought to be doing is framing the issue exactly the way NYC Educator framed the issue here - the UFT wants a fair, rigorous evaluation of teachers, not a system that is rigged, inaccurate and baseless.
Unfortunately they've been letting Walcott and the corporate reform-friendly editorialists frame the issue for them.
So I suspect they will come to the membership in a couple of weeks and say "Gee, we wanted to hold out for a better system, but we were getting killed in the papers and we just couldn't allow Walcott and Bloomberg to put through these cuts, so welcome to APPRville."

RBE's prediction is coming sooner than even he thought. Expect a visit soon to your school to soften the blow. Of course the UFT leadership has to do all this as the UFT election season is about to open, which gives me a sneaky suspicion they may use Sandy as an excuse to push the election timetable back a few months to give things time to settle while they send their Unity troops into the schools to "splain" things. I mean, do they really want ballots going out a week or 2 after the disappearance of the Feb. break?


I rarely even bother going to UFT Exec Bd meetings because talking to Unity clones is such a waste of time. But they have this time at the beginning of the meeting where any member can call in advance and get time to speak, a practice initiated by an email exchange I had about 8 years ago with Randi Weingarten where I suggested a bigger role for members at these meetings but which she turned into a basically useless exercise for people to vent at an EBrd that is not interested in listening. I was the first to use this venting time and did so repeatedly until I finally gave it up – for religious reasons - I was worried I would violate the "Shou not kill" commandment. Or I had to stay home to do my hair. At the very least, I used to get a good meal out of going to these meetings. Actually, in some sense of irony, they held their meetings on the same days that the PEP met and I actually had more fun razzing Uncle Joel than Randi, so I shifted my activities to the PEP even though you couldn't get a cookie -- and at that time was the only one from the UFT there other than a few other stray teachers.

Well, after I spoke this past Monday to zero reaction, I made sure to eat, which after all was my original purpose in going. Well, I have been suffering from some heart burn recently but the mashed potatoes and pasta went down OK, though that giant, slathered with greasy sauce rib was a bit much -- and a bit much on my shirt too (if I ever eat without getting stuff on my clothes I'm throwing a party.) I went to get dessert and the meeting ended before I came back. Did Mendel want to get home to see the giant game? Well so did I. The long trip on the train to my car in Brooklyn and the rest of the way home was fine. The Giant game was fine until it wasn't. And at the moment things began to go downhill for Eli, my stomach began to go downhill too. And then the headache came. And the chills and cold sweat and a full night of barfing -- every time I thought of that giant saucy rib I had to run off to toss. Finally I got some real sleep early in the morning and spent most of Tuesday achy and sleepy. I went to sleep at 4PM and went through the night, waking up Weds. at 8AM, real late for me. Hell, I need to be up early as I still have sheet rock to blast.

My wife is convinced something was put in my food while I was speaking and the blank stares were really smirks at knowing what I was in for. She thinks I should take a food taster if I ever go back to an Exec Bd meeting. Hmmm, I hope she isn't getting any ideas.

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Back to reality: Check out

Arthur Goldstein on Schoolbook:

No Value in Value Added

By Arthur Goldstein

Critics beat the drums against any kind of value-added metric in a final deal on teacher evaluations despite an assumption by both department officials and union leaders that some percentage of a teacher's performance review will be based on student test scores and other measurements. Read More »

Leonie Haimson:

From the invaluable Bruce Baker of Rutgers. See esp. letter from NYSED below, approving a district teacher evaluation plan but then threatening to impose a “corrective action” plan if any component of its evaluation system, either its 20% based on local “assessments or the 60% based on observation etc does not does not “correlate” highly with a teacher’s growth scores, based on the state exams.  These growth scores have already found by the consulting company that devised them to be biased against educators who teach kids with low prior scores.

In order, test scores do trump all. With this pronouncement, no rational teacher or principal should want to work in a school with a high-poverty population, or teach low-scoring kids, and/or students with disabilities. A bigger disincentive could not be devised to work in high-needs schools – exactly the opposite of the ostensible goals of the so-called “reform” movement.

schoolfinance101 posted: "This post is a follow up on two recent previous posts in which I first criticized consultants to the State of New York for finding substantial patterns of bias in their estimates of principal (correction: School Aggregate) and teacher (correction: Classro"

Respond to this post by replying above this line

New post on School Finance 101

It’s time to just say NO! More thoughts on the NY State Tchr Eval System

by schoolfinance101

This post is a follow up on two recent previous posts in which I first criticized consultants to the State of New York for finding substantial patterns of bias in their estimates of principal (correction: School Aggregate) and teacher (correction: Classroom aggregate) median growth percentile scores but still declaring those scores to be fair and accurate, and next criticized the Chancellor of the Board of Regents for her editorial attempting to strong-arm NYC to move forward on an evaluation system adopting those flawed metrics - and declaring the metrics to be "objective" (implying both fair and accurate).

Parents Opposed to Citizens of the World Charter: Hundreds, Parents in Favor: 4

The NY State Dept. would allow the Hitler Youth Charter to breeze through and not only would they authorize the Ku Klux Klan Charter School for Racial Harmony but they would wash the sheets.  -- Norm at charter hearing

I actually made it to the Hearing on the proposed co-location of Citizens of the World Charter School in JHS 126 tonight and it was great seeing so many old pals from District 14 where I spent my entire career. Citizens of the World charter is the brainless child of Eric Grannis, Eva Moskowitz husband in their attempt to take over the lucrative vigorish in the gentrified areas of Brooklyn. I've been to so many of these hearings -- this one by the useless -- actually, harmful, State Ed Department charter authorizing agent which lost its beard with the departure of Pedro Noguera could no longer defend their actions in authorizing anything. As I pointed out in my speech -- I was the final speaker -- they would allow the Hitler Youth Charter to breeze through and not only would they authorize the Ku Klux Klan Charter School for Racial Harmony but they would wash the sheets.

Video of some very good speeches is being processed, though the sound system will drown out a lot of it. I just loved the complaints of Believe Charter which co-locates IS 126 after invading 3 years ago with such arrogance but now is feeling the heat from the Moskowitz clan. They may feel they have time but they will get eaten by the bigger charter chains too. If they don't get closed by the DOE first. As I pointed out, what is being sold as choice eventually turns into no choice. But in this case we may be seeing that the Eva hold over WalBloom may influence what schools get closed. With Williamsburg being inundated with charters, close down Believe (which not only should be closed but never should have opened with its crooked leader stealing everyone blind.) You know, it is funny hearing so many people for so many years opposing co-locations but pleading that they are not against charters. Tonight councilman Steven Levin actually called for a moratorium on charters. But wait for the video tape if it comes out.

There were the usual charter chain suspects who all look like clones, with the obligatory pushy parent leading the way -- a white woman clearly who exhibits all the symptoms of being on the payroll or expect to get her kids into what she thinks is a private like school and not have to pay tuition. And then a couple of ladies who seemed earnest but programmed.

One point: the area around IS 126 always has been mostly white -- it is Greenpoint, but that demographic has shifted from conservative Polish/Italian to liberal gentrified and many of these white people, fierce supporters of local public schools and very anti-charter,  have led the fight against Moskowitz and Grannis.

Here are some more pictures with video to follow in a day or two.

Diane Reyna

The face of the crooks from SUNY

CEC14 Stirling leader Tesa Wilson

The face of Citizens of the World future parent - sends kids to private school now -- why not feed off public charter trough?

2 faces of Citizens of World -- Was Eric afraid to show?

Patrick Walsh: A Talk on Education, Democracy and Freedom: The Unspeakable Price of Corporate Education Reform

Patrick will use Pearl Harbor Day to bomb the ed deformers into submission. I went to Patrick's talk a few years ago -- and I even taped it -- when full power is back I promise to put it up. Such valuable points doth the man make.

Mary House

 

For the past two years, as part of the Catholic Worker Friday Night Lecture Series, I have given talks on the corporate and oligarchic campaign to expropriate the American public school system, corporatize all aspects of education, and obliterate the teachers’ union all in the name of “education reform.”  The campaign continues unabated.

 

This year I will be speaking on what I perceive to be the price of said “education reform” on our already anemic democracy and the unspoken motivations, ideological as well as monetary,  behind it.

 

The talk will be held at Mary House on December 7, 2012 and begin at 7:45.  It will last about 45 minutes and be followed by a Q and A.

The event is free and all are welcome.

Mary House is located at 55 East 3^rd St, NY, NY 10003 between 1^st and 2^nd Ave near the F train as well as the 4, 5, and 6 trains.

Telephone: 212 777 9617

Hope to see you there.

 

 

Hearing on the proposed co-location of Citizens of the World Charter School in JHS 126

I'm trying to make this tonight to tape. This is Eva's husband's school.

Below is a good report on the Gates charter scam from Leonie.

Hearing on the proposed co-location of Citizens of the World Charter School in JHS 126

Wednesday, December 5, 2012  6pm - 8pm (5:30 to sign up to speak) 

JHS 126 • 424 Leonard Street• (across from McCarren Park pool)

Join US Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez, NY State Assemblyman Joe Lentol, NY City Council Member Stephen Levin, NY City Council Member Diana Reyna, NY State Senator Martin Dilan, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, Community Board 1, and the District 14 Community Education Council in saying NO to the co-location of Citizens of the World Charter School in District 14!

Citizens of the World Charter School plans a large elementary charter school with enrollment targets of 55% white families.  Citizens of the World intends to open their charter elementary school in the building currently used by JHS 126 and the Believe Northside Charter High School.

Our school district has no need for more elementary schools! All of our elementary schools are under-enrolled. We have 8 magnet schools offering our families a variety of options, and 7 elementary charter schools, far more than the City average. We DO NOT NEED another elementary charter school!

Our District needs Middle Schools! JHS 126 is finally under excellent leadership and deserves a chance to grow in its current location. This school deserves the support of the community and the Department of Education, not to be forced to share its space and resources with another privately-run charter school!

This is bad planning for our school District, yet under Mayoral Control laws, the community has no real input into the decision-making process. 

Let the Department of Education know our community will not allow a privately-run charter school from Los Angeles take precious space away from our students, and enrollment away from our District neighborhood schools!

Our school buildings are a precious community resource, not free real estate for privately run charter schools! 

Please stand up and let your voice be heard- 

Wed, Dec 5  6pm - 8pm (5:30 to speak) 

JHS 126 • 424 Leonard Street• (across from McCarren Park pool)

note: even if you can only attend for an hour, please come to this hearing - children are welcome!

 

From NYC Parents blog

Charter school expansion in NYC: common ground or battleground?

Past ads for Eva's charters ((DNAinfo)

According to today's New York Times, the Gates Foundation is giving $25 million to seven cities, including NYC, to encourage charter-district “collaboration.” The Gates spokesperson claims, “It’s pretty clear there is more common ground than battleground.”  Of course, the pro-charter, pro-privatization Gates people would like to convince NY Times readers and the public at large that this is true.

Unfortunately, the Times reporter did not feature any quotes from New York City parents or advocates who might have a different perspective.  

From today’s Daily News, the relationship seems like a battleground still; though one in which the charter schools get preferential treatment from their patron, DOE.  Eva Moskowitz demands science labs for all her Success Academy charter elementary school kids; but  at-risk HS students will lose their science lab as well as their gym in the Brandeis HS building because she wants to expand her school into their territory. As a result,  students from the Diploma Plus High School are being pushed out into a leased building in Washington Heights without these facilities.

Truly, the situation in NYC is like a “Middle East war” as Eva herself put it years ago, saying "Dividing land ain't pretty”.  Especially when like Eva, you have unlimited resources, political pull, and ruthless expansionism in your sights.

 

 

E4E Roundup: Giddey-up Doggie

DFER and Gates and Whitney better ask for their money back as E4E could barely muster much of a group at their first rally. The best line from Evan Stone: we lost a few to lesson planning.

Well how much fun did the crew we helped organize for the E4E rally have yesterday? Given we did this ad hoc in 24 hours our turnout which included such luminaries as Fiorillo, Bloggers Raging Horse and South Bronx School, members of MORE and Change the Stakes, I think we had more real teachers there than E4E.

I went there with the intention (and a leaflet) with the goal of educating some of these people who I felt were duped. But upon short conversations I realized they are not duped. They are people who are out of the classroom or about to be out of the classroom.

One of our guys wrote this:

It is interesting when thinking about the event this afternoon about just how contradictory E4E's messages were. As some of their signage suggests, some of their members are craving meaningful support like the rest of us, while some of them want higher salaries and others just seem to be misguided elitists whose claims of support for unionism is so obviously ridiculous when it becomes clear that they support the erosion of due process protections and seniority rights that are basic principles in unionism.

Below the text are some photos taken by Michael Solo, who teaches photography at John Dewey HS. Michael rode shotgun with me on the way in and back.

As the speeches started with Evan Stone and I was doing some video I basically lost it when he started talking about the sad loss of the $300 million -- "Will you demand the money be used to reduce class size," I screamed, knowing full well the DFER/GATES/Students Last masters will never let E4E talk about class size, a no-no in ed deform. I did have one decent conversation with a guy who seemed like a real teacher, asking him if he felt reducing class size would make a difference. His response was right from the book: studies show that it helps in elementary schools, not as much in middle and high schools. Jeez, all they can do is quote studies or stats -- what about you and kids? If you were a high school teacher do you think it would make a difference if you had 27 instead of 32 in each class? Imagine: in 5 classes a day, 25 less kids, 25 less papers to mark, 25 less parents to be in touch with. Oh, I get it. It is only about student outcomes, not teacher workload and how that affects teaching.

I do have video but as usual am way behind others. Below the links to blogs about yesterday's events are links to videos Pat Dobosz shot. I'm heading over to a MORE meeting and then to my first UFT Exec Bd meeting in years, where I may eat enough to give me more heart burn than I need.

Raginghorseblog

The Ignorant and the Egregious: Educators 4 Excellence Hold a Rally

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South Bronx School

E4E's Eric Cartman Goes Silent on The Crack Team

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Chaz wasn't there but blogged about it.

Chaz's School Daze

The Typical Education4Excellence Member - Clueless

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Neither was RBE but here is the usual good stuff.

Educators4Excellence Group Members Even Dumber In Person

 Here are Pat's videos.

[20121202021513 Dec. 2, 2012] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfnOETdbdnw

[20121202022423 Dec. 2, 2012] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HfAApU0N9M

[20121202022759 Dec.2, 2012] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGFuk-o27V4

[20121202023143 Dec 2, 2012] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DY0vjGMMnbo

[20121202030653 Dec. 2, 2012] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LqS-LBMF1kw

[20121202030913 Dec. 2, 2012] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tgq7LCILjd4

[20121202031401 Dec. 2, 2012] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7jZCKtYVW8

Fiorillo and Walsh tag team

Who's that fat guy? Gloria is behind me.

Poor Evan looks miserable

Change the Stakes Invites You to a Conversation with Bill Ayers, Tues. Dec. 4, 5:30

I love pal'n around with Bill Ayers. Over the past few years seeing him at NYCORE events has impressed me.

There was a time when I was not a fan not because of his politics but because I heard from George Schmidt he supported some of the early tenets of ed deform (who knows, maybe because of his politics). But so did Ravitch, et al and we don't hold political grudges. You know how much I respect George's opinion and given the success of the Chicago Teachers Union with pretty much all progressive forces uniting behind them, there is a good sense of unity all around. So I am really hoping to get out of my Sandy shell and make it to this event.

Now given this Ayers' open letter to Obama, I'm concerned about how Sarah Pallin will handle this obvious break.

Please join us and share with those who would likely be interested.

In An Open Letter to President Obama, Bill Ayers writes,

“Education is a fundamental human right, not a product. In a free society education is based on a common faith in the incalculable value of every human being; it’s constructed on the principle that the fullest development of all is the condition for the full development of each, and, conversely, that the fullest development of each is the condition for the full development of all. Further, while schooling in every totalitarian society on earth foregrounds obedience and conformity, education in a democracy emphasizes initiative, courage, imagination, and entrepreneurship in order to encourage students to develop minds of their own. “

http://www.good.is/posts/an-open-letter-to-president-obama-from-bill-ayers

On Tuesday, December 4, join educational theorist, Bill Ayers, for an informal conversation about the current state of education in America, and how advocates, activists, concerned parents, teachers, students and citizens can respond.  How can those affected by the current policies and the Ed Reform agenda push back and save public education?  How can those on the receiving end of such policies organize and come together as a united force?   What is happening in other cities, like Chicago, that can be an inspiration to others?  What is a vision and a pedagogically sound alternative that will lead to a just society?  

Change the Stakes invites you to join Bill Ayers as he shares his knowledge and experience.  We look forward to discussing and creating ways to change the course of education as he has requested of President Obama.  What will these next four years look like for education and how can we help influence them?  

Tuesday, December 4 from 5.30-7.30

The Performance Studies studio @ NYU*

721 Broadway, 6th floor

(*BRING PHOTO ID)

RSVP:  changethestakes@gmail.com

E4E Astroturf Rally Today to Pressure UFT to Cave on Ed Evaluation and Not Go Over the Ed Deform Cliff

I just got a call from E4E begging me to come…they said it’s their first rally."

I got this yesterday as one of those "thousands" of supporters E4E claims. Let's see how many come today. They only got 150 to come see Walcott the other day even with the offer of free drinks and snacks. And those included some of our pals who are being careful to not ID themselves since they will be tossed in the future if they do (E4E Bans People From Walcott Event Today.) Some of us are heading over to the rally to check it out -- free coffee at 2PM and maybe do a little education on VAM.  I really hope we go over the Cuomo induced evaluation cliff. (See Eterno and Kaufman today on the ICE blog).

And despite getting help from the DOE in gaining entry into schools to put their crap in mailboxes (later I'll publish the photo ID from Washington Irving campus -- I'll take pic today so we can get a positive id.)


E4E is desperate to get people to their first rally ever today.

Do you think DFER and their other funders will call in chips if E4E can't deliver?

We are the change makers. We are the ones that turn non-readers into lovers of books, a writer of simple sentences into an essayist. We can use those same skills to be a part of this conversation and policy-making.--- Kate Schuster. E4E

OK. Don't gag.

This will he the third rally set up by astroturf orgs like Students Last and some other phony group of students from Columbia, SFER --- (betcha Bloomberg slug Mikah Lasher is involved) who marched from the UFT to Tweedle Dee the other day (see below for that joke) who are worried the UFT may let us go over the ed deform cliff in January if they don't surrender to the Cuomo threat to take away state funding if they don't, as outrageous a demand as the Republican's are making over the fiscal cliff which actually would be a good thing, especially if they dump all the Race to the Top money.

A MORE member urged people to go to the rally today with the leaflet I made up:

It is a great way to promote and inform on this issue and we might even win some converts. E4E is very slimy and dishonest. I don’t think a lot of the people who they have been able to corral really know and fully understand what they’re about and armed with this info it really lays it plain and offers a way for people to get more info at the upcoming forum.

Those from MORE who are able to attend should wear our shirts so nobody thinks we are with E4E who tend to wear those lime green shirts. My gut says this will not be that well attended by their people though FAUX News might still cover it.  I don’t want anyone thinking the counter protest is part of their rally.

A blogger wrote about the recent E4E meeting with Walcott and left a link on my post. Interesting report:
http://commonal.tumblr.com/post/36809345728/educators-for-excellences-almost-quiet-war-for

Of course when it comes to making real change for their kids E4E is absent. Well one can't have too much fun. Why should I clean out my basement when I can get a free beanie that you say Kate wearing. Kate, you convinced me and some of my pals in Change the Stakes, which is fighting for real reform and will hand out a leaflet with the Carol Burris article (Carol Burris With a Lesson for E4E and the UFT) asking some fundamental questions of E4E:

• ·      WHY DOES EDUCATORS 4 EXCELLENCE PUSH FOR A FAULTY EVALUATION SYSTEM THAT USES THE JUNK SCIENCE OF VALUE ADDED MEASURES TO MIS-JUDGE TEACHERS? 
• ·      WHY DOES E4E IGNORE THE ADVICE OF TOP LEVEL EDUCATORS LIKE CAROL BURRIS? 
• ·      SUPPORT THE 700 TEACHERS WHO HAVE SIGNED A PETITION CALLING FOR A DEMOCRATIC DISCUSSION AND VOTE IN THE UFT ON THE NEW EVALUATION SYSTEM: WWW.IPETITIONS.COM/PETITION/NEW-UFT-EVALUATION

 Well, here is Kate's missive. Love that beanie Kate.

My name is Kate Schuster, and I am an elementary ESL teacher at PS 38. Last Tuesday I attended an E4E event with over 150 teachers and Chancellor Walcott, to discuss evaluation. As a result of the event, and the urgency of the issue, I will be rallying tomorrow and I want YOU to join me. 

Here is a quote from my recent blog post about the event that explains why I am rallying:

“We are the change makers. We are the ones that turn non-readers into lovers of books, a writer of simple sentences into an essayist. We can use those same skills to be a part of this conversation and policy-making. This is why I am attending E4E’s “Move Beyond Satisfactory” rally this Sunday at City Hall. The rally is our chance to tell the DOE and the UFT that teachers want a better evaluation system administered by school leaders who are well trained to support our teaching.”

Please stand with me on Sunday. The rally will be a ton of fun and it's incredibly easy to get to. Plus you’ll get one of the sweet beanies I’m wearing in the picture above!

You’ll find a map, including all nearby subways, and the details below.

Sunday, December 2nd at 2PM
City Hall Park
Swag and coffee: 2PM
Start: 2:30PM
Finished: 3:00PM 

Hope to see you there,

Kate

There are better reports on the faux Columbia student protest than this slanted one - I saw one but can't find it so if you do leave a comment with the link. Did DFER buy off the Columbia Spectator?

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Students lead protest of Department of Education’s inaction

Stalling on the part of the New York City Department of Education could cost the city’s schools system $300 million in federal funding.

By Sophie Gamez

Columbia Daily Spectator

Published November 30, 2012

Sophie Gamez for Spectator

More

• 
• 

Tags

News, Sophie Gamez, David Brann, Sophie Gamez, Schools, Students for Education Reform

Columbia students led a crowd of 75 in a march from the United Federation of Teachers building to City Hall on Thursday, calling on education officials to act quickly to increase funding for city schools.
The New York City Department of Education has not yet come to a consensus on how to evaluate its teachers, and if it does not by Jan. 17, the schools system will be out of contention for $300 million in federal funding.
The Columbia chapter of Students for Education Reform organized the protest, which hit home hard for a number of students.
“I have three sisters that are being put through public schools. I am a project of New York City public schools, and a well-funded public school system is what we need,” Floyd St. Bernard-Springer, CC ’14, said. “I’ve tutored in Harlem. I know what it looks like—really bad schools.”
“The students need the funding that is being held up in politics. I can see what more money would mean to the students, and politics just needs to get out of the way,” Sharene Hawthorne-Rene, CC ’14, said.
In New York, 60 percent of a teacher’s evaluation is based on administrator observations, 20 percent by students’ standardized tests scores, and 20 percent is left to districts to decide a method of evaluation. The city has not yet determined what that final 20 percent should be.
Jeffrey Henig, a professor of political science and education at Teachers College, said, “I don’t put stock in the likelihood that the money won’t get here. It is partly designed as pressure on the negotiations—while it is a lot of money, it is not a lot of money compared to the size of the overall budget.”
The $300 million would be a 4 percent increase in funding for the DOE.
SFER has been planning for the night for the last month—handing out fliers, making Facebook announcements, getting permits, and tabling in Lerner Hall—all in the name of putting pressure on the DOE to make Governor Andrew Cuomo’s January deadline.
President of Columbia’s SFER chapter Benji de la Piedra, CC ’14, said, “Planning this rally took up a lot more effort than I had initially expected. Just getting in those hours behind the keyboard and putting in all of our free time—and on the side going to classes.”
As the rally wound down, the club’s leaders said it was worth it.
“There was one child talking about how he needed money in his art class and it was something that manifested itself every day in his life and he knows that we can do better, and he was there with his own handmade sign—it was just beautiful,” Leah Metcalf, BC ’14 and SFER’s general body chair, said.
Across the street from the protest’s starting point at the UFT building in Lower Manhattan, members of Student Worker Solidarity began a counterprotest.
Club member George Joseph, CC ’16, said, “I am with a grassroots protest and we are protesting against this protest because it was an anti-union protest, saying we should give into Governor Cuomo’s extortion requests.”
George said he and his fellow protesters believe that making teacher evaluations more reliant on standardized testing could adversely affect teachers’ job security in low-income areas, where test scores are lower.
But the SFER protest far outnumbered the counterprotest.
With students’ schedules so busy at the end of the semester, de la Piedra said he was heartened by the turnout. “I think it’s awesome seeing Columbia students going out into the city and doing something and getting involved in local politics on that level, going on a march, literally making your voice heard. We go to Columbia University in the City of New York, so it’s nice to see that we go to school in this city.”
“I was at the caboose and it was so exciting when people joined that we hadn’t advertised to, people walked by and cheered, a car drove by and honked—it was really great to see how people responded to our message,” Metcalf said.
news@columbiaspectator.com

Randi Bar Exam Proposal Raises a Bar to People of Color

Weingarten continues her history of joining the "it must be the teachers' fault" parade with this proposal. Randi is so desperate to come up with an idea, any idea, that she can try to sell showing she is a willing participant in deform. Actually fighting back like the Chicago Teachers Union is not in her DNA.

Very smart, and insidious, of Weingarten: she's selling it as a way to blunt TFA.  Is there any question that "the best and brightest" will be able to pass such a test? They've been passing them all their lives. -- Michael Fiorillo

I remember how the Kahlenberg bio book says one of Al Shanker's proudest achievements (other than destroying trade unionism around the world) was the career ladder for paras which brought so many people of color into the system. This is the final nail in that coffin and in essence reinforces the TFA whitening of the teacher staff as this truly extends the bar to the people from poor communities who can be great teachers (I've seen many of them) though not great test takers. Ed Notes always took the position performance as a teacher should be a major determining factor rather than a high stakes test.

Union proposes ‘bar exam’ for teachers

Carol Burris With a Lesson for E4E and the UFT

Remember when Leo Casey led the UFT/AFT assault on principals like Carol Burris, one principal I would come out of retirement to work for (see my one-on-one interview with her from May 2012) for eviscerating the ed eval deal the union made with the State Ed Department?

Here is a great piece I missed during the Sandy recovery. I put together a leaflet with this article for a handout at the E4E rally at City Hall park today at 2PM. I will follow up with more on the rally and the fast developing ad hoc counter rally in the works.

Valerie Strauss at The Answer Sheet:

The newest rhetoric on teacher evaluation — and why it is nonsense

November 13, 2012

Carol Burris is the award-winning principal of South Side High School in Rockville Centre, New York, and a frequent Answer Sheet blogger. She just underwent an ordeal as a result of Hurricane Sandy. Yet even while dealing with all of this Carol Burris still keeps writing about the negative effects of school reform. Here she looks at the newest popular rhetoric on teacher evaluation — and explains why it is nonsense. Burris is the co-author of the New York Principals letter of concern regarding the evaluation of teachers by student test scores, which has been signed by more than 1,500 New York principals and more than 5,400 teachers, parents, professors, administrators and citizens. You can read the letter by clicking here.

By Carol Burris

As a high school principal, it is my job to evaluate teachers. I take this responsibility very seriously — it helps ensure that our students receive the rich opportunities to learn that they deserve. With strong teachers, evaluation may entail reaffirming good practice, supporting innovative practice and facilitating ways for them to share their expertise with their colleagues. For novices or those who struggle, we work to improve their practice and, when necessary, to counsel them out or let them go.

It is because instruction is so important that the sweeping generalizations and false assumptions that have fueled recent teacher evaluation policies are of such concern to teachers and school leaders alike.  The waves of misinformation about evaluation undermine confidence in our schools and result in “solutions” based on opinion and gut-level hunches, not research evidence.

The recent Phi Delta Kappan opinion piece, entitled “Million Dollar Baby,” is an example of the misguided critiques that appear all too often.

Let me begin by saying that I have always been a fan of the Kappan, which skillfully takes scholarly research and makes it accessible to educators who do not have time to pore over academic journals. Despite that fine track record, the generalizations that form the argument in this month’s editor’s note cannot go unaddressed.   It is time to get the record straight and address three common fallacies that dominate the new rhetoric on teacher evaluation:

 1. Every former teacher evaluation system was the same and that unitary system was terrible. To quote from the opinion piece, “Unfortunately educators must bear the bulk of the blame for allowing such a lousy system to exist.” In reality, there was never one evaluation system nor was every system “lousy.” Rather, each school district has had its own system of teacher evaluation, and some of those have been better than others. That doesn’t mean, of course, that we don’t have substantial room for improvement. But it does mean that it’s ridiculous to start a reform discussion with the contention that all districts should abandon their evaluation system regardless of its track record. I would wager, for instance, that Kappan’s editor would agree that the Montgomery County Maryland School System has a nationally acclaimed system, and that Cincinnati Schools had a system, before Race to the Top, that has been shown to not only improve the craft of teachers but to increase student achievement. Neither system incorporated test scores. In the small districts on Long Island, most of us did an excellent job evaluating teachers—dismissing probationers who do not merit tenure, helping teachers continue to develop, working with and counseling those who needed to improve or to leave the profession, and building on the strength of even our most expert practitioners.  Among Long Island principals, you will find few fans of New York State’s new evaluation systems, based on APPR.

   2. Tenure is the problem. It is a job for life and it is unique to teaching. The Kappan editorial states that tenure is one of the “unique privileges that teachers enjoy.” But in truth due process before dismissal (tenure) is not unique to teaching. In fact, it is more difficult for a principal to dismiss a custodian due to civil service protection than it is to dismiss a teacher. Civil servants enjoy seniority rights, probation periods, salary schedules, and due process rights for dismissal just like teachers. Civil servants, who are broadly defined as those who work for government, include librarians, police officers, firefighters, transit workers,  secretaries, and accountants.  Due process should not be understood or practiced as a “job for life,” but it should remove the threat of political or arbitrary dismissals.

 There are excellent reasons for such protections. The civil service was established in the late 1800s because prior to its establishment, government jobs were given to political supporters as spoils. The protections were put into place to make sure that public employees were hired on merit and could not be dismissed on the whims of the incoming administration. This remains a concern. Public schools are run by politicians—in some cases by mayors, in other cases by elected boards of education.

 As an alternative to tenure, the Kappan editorial suggests that teachers “should receive a contract for a limited period of time, say three or five years”.  Although this may sound reasonable, consider the clear consequences. Without the protection of tenure, educators could be dismissed for not pleasing the interests of powerful parents. They could be dismissed in order to bring in friends and relatives of newly elected mayors or board members.  Teachers could be pressured to pass students who did not deserve to pass a class or be pressured to not discipline a student when warranted. Presently, there is one person in every district who works on a renewable contract: the superintendent. Nationally, the average time that a superintendent stays in a district is seven years. For an urban superintendent it is fewer than three years. And the constant turnover of superintendents does not serve students or schools well.  Tenure promotes stability and community in our schools.  Teacher turnover, even when it is the less effective teachers who leave, has a negative effect on student achievement. Likewise it has been found that churn in the principalship is not good for schools. Such instability does not  promote excellence and the courage to make the tough decisions that are not politically popular but serve the best interests of students. Again, this isn’t an argument against pursuing ways to streamline the dismissal process; it’s an argument against poorly thought through changes.

 3. High-stakes evaluations are fine as long as they do not rely on a single measure.  This is the new popular rhetoric. It is a partial acknowledgement of the many problems associated with using students’ test scores and growth models in teacher evaluations, problems that have been repeatedly documented. And yet the Kappan editor and others still insist on the inclusion of students’ test scores in teacher evaluation. Multiple measures are indeed wise, but the effects of including any given measure need to be understood. Current policies do in fact place test scores in a prominent role, one for which they are not valid or reliable and because of which school districts can expect to be (justifiably) challenged in court by dismissed teachers (as explained in another article in the same November issue of the Kappan). The troubling reality is that these policies will promote teaching to standardized tests and a narrowing of the curriculum.  

 The editorial suggests that we also include other untested ingredients, such as student surveys, in the evaluation mix. We should do this, apparently, even though there is as of yet no reliable research base to support the idea. As a high school principal, I thoroughly enjoy working with teenagers. I find their opinions to be frank and refreshing. But I do not think it is fair or wise to give 14 year olds a formal role in teacher evaluation. It is bad enough that we are undermining the student-teacher relationship by basing evaluations on those students test scores.

 The magazine’s editor concludes by asserting that “every classroom should have excellent teaching every hour of every day.” I would add that every child should also have an excellent parent who serves them excellent food and provides them with an excellent home in an excellent neighborhood. Let’s also add excellent healthcare and excellent supervision every hour of every day as well. If we could accomplish all of that, we would have the highest achieving students on earth. But the rhetoric itself accomplishes little. What we need are research-based policies supported by lawmakers willing to provide the necessary resources.

 In the meantime, while we wait for those wise lawmakers to emerge, perhaps we all could back off and allow teachers to enjoy the same humanity we seem to graciously grant to others. Teachers aren’t perfect, but I must tell you that nearly all of the teachers that I have met over the years are darn good at what they do. And the variation in their skill is no wider than the variation that I have observed in other professions whose evaluations we never seem to discuss. Let’s look to improve evaluation systems as well as other parts of our schools. But could we stay within reasonable bounds of critique based on fact and research? If we do not stop this constant drumbeat of criticism there will be no one left to evaluate with our new excellent-every-hour-every-day evaluation systems.

Rockaway Update: A Visit to The Wave, Occupy Sandy and Change the Stakes

I took a second day off from doing any work around the house on Friday. A sign that things are moving towards normal was a decision to attend the 5:30 meeting of Change the Stakes, one of my favorite groups of people which includes teachers, parents and principals (Carol Burris is an active participant on the listserve) and West Side HS principal Jean McTavish, a fierce opponent of high stakes testing.

I headed over to the offices of The Wave to pick up some copies of the paper -- the entire office was wiped out including all the bound volumes going back to 1893 -- a real tragedy. I was intending to use them for research I was planning to do on a Rockaway-based novel I started working on a few years go. I don't know how far back they digitized stuff. They had set up on the 2nd floor and it was so good to see publisher Susan Locke bustling about, so proud they were back up and running and being able to put out a 67 page issue. The Wave had published every week since 1893 until Sandy hit. It began life after a storm and fire destroyed whole areas of Rockaway back then.

I grabbed a batch of papers and headed over to the Occupy Sandy location on Rockaway Beach Blvd on that stretch between 116th and 108th right near where an entire block of stores had burned down -- The Wave reported that they left the oven on at Papa John's pizza when they abandoned ship and only the new concrete built social security office stopped the fire from spreading. Paul, my mechanic is located in that stretch near 109th and I hope he survives -- a really great guy.

The sad news is that the amazing Brown's Hardware, a Rockaway treasure on 116th St may not reopen as they lost all their inventory. This is a major tragedy for Rockaway --- in my opinion, the single most valuable business for the community. A hardware store owned and run by women -- I hope there is money out there for them to come back.

Anyway, I stopped at Occupy Sandy which has a few spaces running on generators -- they were getting ready to pour a new concrete floor. They were so busy I really couldn't stay. The guy I spoke to is good pals with Kelley Wolcott, a chapter leader who has been a stalwart of the Occupy movement, is also working with MORE. He said Kelley has been coming out on weekends.

More normal:  I headed into the city while my wife went off for her first post-Sandy mahjong game. I had to make an appointment with my doctor, Richard Mark, who I hadn't seen since June 2011. I've been avoiding him because I knew he would yell at me for being so fat and out of shape -- and my refusal to take cholesterol medication. Well, it's been a tough year and a half --- broken wrist took me out for 4 months, father's death, home renovation, two 2-week vacations, all the political activity and more. So how am I going to spend a lot of time at a gym and also eat well? But I had to go since over the past 3 days I've had severe heartburn and acid reflex --- my chest hurt like hell when I ate --- and that shrimp parm from Thursday night did not help.

While in the waiting room I got calls from a Geiko tow guy looking to find my wife's car -- good luck I told him but it seems he found it -- and a FEMA guy who wanted to know just how homeless I am. I told him "no worries" since FEMA had already sent us a check for 2400 for what I know not but it will cover 2 days of electrical work.

Dr. Mark told me right off I was going to get beat up by him for being so bad. I told him our story and he told me that he has been going out to Rockway every weekend to volunteer. The first time he tried to do some medical stuff but there was no organization so then he just came out to clean out basements. He worked with a gal from the east village wearing a Mormon vest. He was curious about Mormonism in the east village and she said she really wasn't a Mormon but since she caught a ride on a Mormon bus they gave her the yellow vest. Aha, so this vast horde of Mormons may not all be what they seem.

Finally, I was off for a bite before the Change the Stakes meeting, which was at 5:30. As usual, there was a great crowd and variety of people and a very productive 2 hours. Andrea Mata, a parent from Washington Heights,  has helped run the group so effectively. And having people like Leonie Haimson, Fred Smith and Jean McTavish among others tossing off so much info is invaluable.

CTS is involved in so many activities that I can't keep track. Coming up: This Tues at 5:30 a meeting with Bill Ayers -- yes that Bill Ayers -- see the announcement on Ed Notes tomorrow and a major event in Dec. 10 moderated by Juan Gonzalez with MORE's Brian Jones and CTS Diane Zavala on a panel with Pedro Noguera and the DOE's Shael Surakow-Polansky. Just check the CTS website for info: changethestakes.org

Tonight: Off to see Garrison Keillor and Prairie Home Companion at Town Hall followed by dinner at Havana Central where I expect to emerge with just a tinge of heartburn.