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Thursday, August 8, 2013
Network for Public Education News, August 8, 2013
NYSED APPROVES TROJAN HORSE PROJECT FOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Struggling to fill seats, drum up false demand and justify hollow, multi-million dollar marketing campaigns, charter schools have come up with an ingenious TROJAN HORSE strategy in which they will poach students from popular public schools -- and get paid to do it!" .... Lorna F, parentThis story in the DN the other day inspired the comment above.
NYSED charter schools getting $4.5 million state grant to teach regular public schools - Daily News
Parent Lorna F is pointing out that State Ed is helping undermine a popular trusted school using the Trojan Horse charter.Top city charter schools will teach regular public schools how to better educate students in a new initiative funded by a $4.5 million state grant, Education officials said. Eight high-performing charter schools in the Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn and Manhattan will share instructional techniques with traditional district schools starting in September.
The copy for this should've been:
"NYSED APPROVES TROJAN HORSE PROJECT FOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Struggling to fill seats, drum up false demand and justify hollow, multi-million dollar marketing campaigns, charter schools have come up with an ingenious TROJAN HORSE strategy in which they will poach students from popular public schools -- and get paid to do it!"
I say this because this passage in the DN article is most telling:
"But PS 85 is a popular neighborhood school with a community of devoted parents, and the charter school wants to build its own connection to local families. So PS 85 Principal Ted Huster will help the charter school develop programs to draw in parents, and the charter will help Huster bolster student literacy."
The New York Times fails the latest tests! - Daily Howler on NY Times coverage
Howler goes into some depth so I'm cross-posting. Link is here.
Interlude—Death in life: Intellectual paralysis grips the heart of our nation’s upper-end “press corps.”
You might think of this state as “death-in-life.” The New York Times announces this paralytic condition with the headline which banners page A19 in today’s hard-copy Washington Edition:
“Scores on Math and English Tests Plummet After State Adopts New Standards”
The headline serves to create excitement, a condition typically sought by the dead-in-life. They obsess about sex to make dead blood flow. They seek the enervation of “scandal.”
Sadly, this news report appears at the top of page A1—the front page!—in this morning’s New York Edition. In that location, it is accompanied by a thrilling trio of headlines.
That headline creates excitement! It also creates tremendous confusion, a trademark of the modern Times. So does the excited start to the newspaper’s news report, which appears at the top of page 1 all over the state of New York.
Posted: 08 Aug 2013 06:41 AM PDT
THURSDAY, AUGUST 8, 2013Interlude—Death in life: Intellectual paralysis grips the heart of our nation’s upper-end “press corps.”
You might think of this state as “death-in-life.” The New York Times announces this paralytic condition with the headline which banners page A19 in today’s hard-copy Washington Edition:
“Scores on Math and English Tests Plummet After State Adopts New Standards”
The headline serves to create excitement, a condition typically sought by the dead-in-life. They obsess about sex to make dead blood flow. They seek the enervation of “scandal.”
Sadly, this news report appears at the top of page A1—the front page!—in this morning’s New York Edition. In that location, it is accompanied by a thrilling trio of headlines.
That headline creates excitement! It also creates tremendous confusion, a trademark of the modern Times. So does the excited start to the newspaper’s news report, which appears at the top of page 1 all over the state of New York.
Understanding Test Results as Shock Doctrine While UFT Spins a Different Tale
The new Common Core exams and test scores are politically motivated, and are based neither on reason or evidence. They were pre-ordained to fit the ideological goals of Commissioner King and the other educrats who are intent on imposing damaging policies on our schools.... Leonie Haimson, NYCPSP blog , five reasons not to trust the new scores
That the head of the NYC teachers union should accept these tests, and the standards that provide their springboard, is so much worse than pathetic, since it shows their continuing complicity in this shameful process... It's beyond the beyonds that Mulgrew would lament, not the vicious deception of this entire process, but the lie that "our children are far behind where they should be." Our children are far behind in many things - after all, we do have the highest child poverty rate in the developed world - and too many of them are behind academically, but these exams reflect none of that.
...Michael Fiorillo, ICE-Mail
I can't express it any better than Fiorillo did. Further proof to me that the union is on the other side and functions as an agent to control the labor force. It is why the Chicago TU presents such a danger to the ruling class and to the traditional labor movement -- they refuse to play that role. (I and a dozen MOREs are heading to Chicago tomorrow to talk about all that with educators from around the nation-- more on that later).
How did John King know the results of the test before it was given? This was the set-up.... they designed the tests so hard that the public would react the way they wanted --- Carol Burris, NY State Principal of the Year [paraphrased].And how do they want the press and public to react? Seeing schools as failures and in need of more deform, not a reversal in direction. Carol, whose Washington Post piece The Answer Sheet:
What big drop in new standardized test scores really means, is reverberating around the internet (Jeff Bezos can't wait to hit the delete button) in a comment on Arthur Goldstein's piece quotes King from an April 2013 pre-test interview at the Albany Union: "It's the fault of the adults that we have a system that leaves 65% of students who start 9th grade unprepared." Of course the adults don't include Bloomberg or Klein or Tisch or King himself. So what adults is he talking about? Guess?
The WSJ says it openly: “There may be some who would try to use today’s results to attack principals and teachers." -Janine Sopp, parent activist with CTS asks: who might "they" be?
While the UFT won't call a spade a spade, Leonie and Carol Burris, with an unparalleled reputation as an educator get it. It's all a scam. Some call on the UFT to wake up but I think they are completely awake and know what they are doing. With unions under attack, they are making sure the rulers will keep them around as managers of labor.
The most shameless response has come from the UFT leadership, handmaidens and enablers of deform. Instead of calling for a reversal of ed deform and pointing to common core as crap, the UFT is casting blame on the DOE for not providing the tools to shovel the crap around in a better way.
Mulgrew: Poor test results show Common Core curriculum was rushed
------
Just a sliver of things to read:That WSJ article had this statement:
Charter schools in the city generally serve more impoverished students than the overall city school district but fewer students who have learning disabilities or who are still learning English.I wrote to the reporter that claiming charters serve a poorer population is totally wrong -- I would bet my pension that every single charter has parents with higher incomes that the surrounding schools. She agreed and is changing it.
Don't Worry About Your Test Scores by Peter DeWitt
Fred Smith (on right back with CTS sign) commented:
It makes so many good points about the mess we're in and the shameless "leaders" who got us there.I just saw an interview with chancellors Tisch and Walcott on Channel 5. They gave out the current lines about raising standards, the pain involved in taking this bold step, their concern over the achievement gap, the 21st century, and late in one of her raps Tisch said that the way forward with the common core would require teacher preparation and "parent training."The latter point about parent training jarred me. Her level of condescension is galling. To my ear it sounded like paper training--you know, housebreaking pets.If anything, parents should be toilet training Tisch for pooping in the halls of education for 17 years and Walcott for fouling up our schools during his short tenure. They are arrogant beyond words.
carolburris18 minutes ago
This is exactly what the "set up" was. They designed tests so hard that folks like you would react just as you did. Read this
"It's the fault of all the adults that we have a system that leaves 65 percent of students who start ninth grade unprepared," King said. Albany Times Union in April before the tests.... So, how did he know the result, before he gave the test??
"It's the fault of all the adults that we have a system that leaves 65 percent of students who start ninth grade unprepared," King said. Albany Times Union in April before the tests.... So, how did he know the result, before he gave the test??
Arthur Goldstein: I couldn’t and shouldn’t give a test that most of my students would fail. (Daily News)Here in Bizarro World Massive Failure Is Good News
I just read at Diane Ravitch's blog that Mayor Bloomberg has joined fellow know-nothings Joel Klein and Arne Duncan in hailing the massive failure on Common Core exams as a good sign. I'm rarely at a loss for words, but I don't know precisely what to say to this.
This is exactly what the "set up" was. They designed tests so hard that folks like you would react just as you did. Read this
"It's the fault of all the adults that we have a system that leaves 65 percent of students who start ninth grade unprepared," King said. Albany Times Union in April before the tests.... So, how did he know the result, before he gave the test??
"It's the fault of all the adults that we have a system that leaves 65 percent of students who start ninth grade unprepared," King said. Albany Times Union in April before the tests.... So, how did he know the result, before he gave the test??
- UFT chief Michael Mulgrew: The low scores show that teachers needed more support. (Daily News)
- Parent leader Zakiyah Ansari: The scores show that schools need a new direction. (Daily News)
Shock Doctrine: five reasons not to trust the results of the new state tests -
She suggest reading the following:
For an eloquent critique of the callous thinking at work, please also read Carol Burris, NYS principal of the year, in today’s Washington Post, and Diane Ravitch, on the political motives of the people who are setting these standards.
Here is the NYT on the decline in scores, the NYSED press release and slides, and the district and school-based aggregate results.
And from David Dobosz:
One of the commenters to Diane Ravitch's fine article on punishing kids for adult supervisional failures makes reference to Clarence Page's 2011 excellent article on how the corporate world is trying to make failure look chic and the mother of success and innovation.Of, course, the whole point is spinning a cover-up to justify and legitimate corporate greed, corruption and the accompanying financial disaster unethical behavior can produce.Below is the link.It is time for folks to put Page's excellent analysis beside the outrageous spin around the low test scores. The state and local honchos are engaging in an incredibly abominable exercise of self-justification over their disaster at our children's expense. Instead they should be expressing regret and changing course. Sadly they are too scared and cowardly to do so. So they hide behind a tacky front of fake arrogance. Would you please distribute this widely?Thanks,David
Wednesday, August 7, 2013
Joel Klein: The Good News in Lower Test Scores. HUH? Plus NY State Ed Cwies Bitter Tears
Shock doctrine at work. 26 percent of students in third through eighth grade passed the state exams in English, and 30 percent passed in math. Only 5% of students in Rochester passed. Statewide, only 31 percent of students passed the exams in reading and math..... Leonie Haimson
Is this the same Joel Klein who ran our schools for 10 years and was constantly taking bows for increased test scores and winning the praise of the mayor? He must have little respect for the public's memory or critical thinking skills. ... Loretta Prisco
The irony is that Joel Klein used to say every year that the NAEPs were not reliable since they didn’t show the same improvement in scores that the state tests did for NYC – during the test score inflation era. Now he is claiming in the NYP that the new scores are to be trusted b/c they match the NAEPs! ... Leonie H.
Joel Klein
I would hate for people to think these ed deformers know not what they do. That they somehow goofed. Or that they allowed Bloomberg to be caught without clothes.
What they are doing is, after almost 15 years of ed deform failure starting in Chicago and here in NYC 11 years ago, is buying more time. They are not saying their deforms didn't work but that there were still too many obstacles -- mostly due to bad teachers and union obstructionism -- in the way. So now they are putting a system in place that will allow them to get rid of "bad" -- read, higher salaried -- teachers, close down more public schools and open up charters in their place. What will be their excuse in another decade if unions are gone? Which leads me to our pals at the local hangout at 52 Broadway, who I believe will never be gone, though with a reduced membership.
As the UFT withers away from the base, the Unity people on top will maintain their little slice of power by offering themselves to the deformers as managers of the teachers to make sure things never get too far out of hand through militant action -- ie, controlling a group like MORE to constrain its growth for instance. Do they mind that tenured teachers get rooted out of the system? Not at all. The disappeared must be replaced by newbies at much lower salaries -- not only does the DOE get 2 for 1, so does the UFT -- 2 dues payers for one (think: collect $2000 a year in stead of $1000). A win-win for the deformers and the UFT.
More comments on the Change the Stakes listserve:
If I see the words "compete in a global economy" one more time I am going to throw up. Has anyone checked the global economy lately? Do they really want to be at the top of that heap? ... Ruth S.Not to mention the student debt our college bound kindergarteners will be saddled with for life.....or is that the plan? .. Janine SoppThese tests are not internationally benchmarked. And we do not know what the questions are.The DOE's testing regime is akin to throwing darts blindfolded.This idea comes up every year, but--perhaps we should challenge the mayoral candidates to ask to take the tests.... Edith B.
And NY State Ed issues some drivel. Here is Leonie's comment:
See especially talking points document , letter to parents, and press release w/ below quotes. The PR battle begins. Interesting no supportive quote from Duncan or Walcott. I don’t know about you, but I’m really impressed by that quote from Kentucky!Click below at your own risk of barfing.
Parents and Educators Reject Official Explanations for Dismal State Test Scores
Here is a follow-up to my earlier post:T-Day: For Deformers, Mission Accomplished.Call for full transparency in state testing program and an end to the use of standardized tests for promotion, teacher evaluation and closing schools... Change the Stakes
By now the scores have come out and they are a disaster. Some great comments floating out there but they will wait for another followup post later.
First the entire CTS press release this morning and then the
UFT front groups will never stray far from the mother ship by openly declaring against common core and calling for parents to boycott the tests as Change the Stakes does. Being on the CTS listserve I observed how this was developed by some teachers and parents working together and as a grassroots org the process was so democratic which leads to a depth and richness in the outcome.
Following that is the press release from NYGPS for their press conf this morning at Tweed which is getting some good press. CTS was there supporting and taking part -- I just saw David Dobosz holding up a CTS sign.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEContact: Jane Maisel (917) 678-1913, Janine Sopp (917) 541-6062August 7, 2013Parents and Educators Reject Official Explanations for Dismal State Test Scores:Call for full transparency in state testing program and an end to the use of standardized tests for promotion, teacher evaluation and closing schools
New York City – In anticipation of today’s public release of results from this year’s controversial math and reading exams, state and city education officials warn that scores will drop precipitously. Attributing the lower scores to tougher standards, officials are under fire from parents and teachers who contend this year’s tests were horribly flawed. After initially dismissing calls for the tests to be open to public scrutiny, education officials now say they plan to release selected questions. But this token gesture toward transparency is unlikely to allay concerns about the quality of this year’s tests. Nor will it quell the growing movement of parents and educators fighting to end the use of standardized tests for high-stakes purposes.
Teachers and students reported a variety of troubling problems with this year’s April exams. A 5th grade teacher from Brooklyn, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of reprisal, remarked, “The directions I had to read aloud for the ELA [English Language Arts] exam were so confusing that even I had a hard time understanding them. Some of the multiple choice questions had more than one possible right answer. And some of my students were crying because they simply ran out of time.” Her concerns were echoed by many, many others.
According to Fred Smith, a nationally recognized testing expert who spent his career working for the city’s Department of Education (DOE), “The tests were too long to be completed in the allotted time. For the ELA, there was an overall decrease of 7% in time per item as compared with last year. For math, the average time allocation dropped by 13%, ranging up to a 26% decrease in grade 3.” That kind of pressure on children should be cause for concern.
The flaws in this year’s state testing cycle extended beyond the exams themselves to how they were scored. Although teachers who scored the tests were forbidden to talk about the process, some felt compelled to speak out. “Many of us scoring the tests were troubled by the questions and scoring rubrics,” said a third grade teacher from Brooklyn who requested anonymity. “A number of questions were so poorly worded that even though some students clearly understood the concepts, they were not always given full credit.” She added, “Scoring the extended responses broke my heart. Besides being confused by the wording, many students didn’t have enough time to finish.”
Despite widespread calls for full disclosure of the tests, the State Education Department (SED) has refused to release them, citing the need to reuse questions in future years. Without being able to see the tests, and given the multitude of complaints about test quality, time allocation and scoring, parents and teachers alike reject the notion that dramatic declines in scores are a result of the new Common-Core-aligned exams being “harder.” With the complete lack of transparency regarding how the tests were scored and proficiency levels determined, an increasingly skeptical public is left to wonder whether test scores rise and fall year-to-year simply to suit the latest political agenda, as when Mayor Bloomberg, seeking a third term, exploited artificially inflated scores.
Parents are fed up with the seemingly arbitrary ups and downs of scores that affect their children’s promotions to the next grade and admissions to middle- and high-school. Desiree Hardison, a Staten Island parent of a 5th grader, says, “My son has been an excellent student in the past. Now with testing and the Common Core, my son’s grades dramatically dropped. With so much riding on these scores, we deserve to see the tests and understand how they’re scored.”
Kelly Goff, parent of a 7th grader in Manhattan’s District 2, was outraged to learn that her daughter’s promotion to 8th grade was in jeopardy because of her score on the math test. “My daughter is a strong math student. She did not fail her math class; she simply didn’t pass the state test. Math is her best subject. We plan to fight hard to stop test scores from being the determining factor for promotion.” New York City is the only locality in the state that uses test scores for this purpose.
For students with failing test scores and those without scores, schools can prepare a portfolio of work to demonstrate a student is ready to move to the next grade. But instead of empowering the child’s teacher to make that assessment, the district superintendent makes the final decision. Andrea Mata’s 4th grade son was performing at and above grade level all last year, but since she opted him out of the state tests, the school assembled a portfolio and the principal recommended promotion. “But his promotion is now at risk because of misguided policies that empower district administrators to have the final say about students they don't even know. Something is terribly wrong when recommendations from a child's teachers are routinely disregarded with no oversight and accountability,” said Mata, who is a member of Change the Stakes.
The parents and teachers of Change the Stakes call on SED and DOE to release the contents of the April 2013 math and reading tests and to provide full transparency about how student scores were determined. More importantly, however, we call on federal, state and local policymakers to end the use of standardized tests for making high-stakes decisions about students, teachers and schools. As Dr. Isabel Nuñez, a policy professor at Concordia University, argues, “High-stakes tests may effectively measure a small set of knowledge and skills, but they do not measure higher-order thinking skills and a broad set of knowledge, and consequently, offer a very narrow picture of what students have learned and how well teachers have taught.”###
Change the Stakes (changethestakes.org) is a group of parents and educators working to reduce the harm caused by high stakes-testing, which we believe must be replaced by valid forms of student, teacher, and school assessment.
ggg
Parents to Rally Against DoE Misuse of Tests as Scores Hit Rock Bottom
**TODAY, Wednesday, August 7, 10AM Outside of DoE HQ, 52 Chambers St. Downtown Manhattan**
WHO: City Council Education Committee Chair Robert Jackson; Parents; Advocates from New Yorkers for Great Public Schools.
WHAT: Following the botched roll out of new Common Core standards by the Dept. of Education (DOE) that failed to engage parents, equip students and prepare teachers, New Yorkers for Great Public Schools will demand that these tests are NOT used to influence any high-stakes policies or decisions, such as school grades, school closings, admissions decisions and student promotion.
As the test scores, expected to nose-dive dramatically, are announced today, New Yorkers for Great Public Schools will also call on the next mayor to conduct a full audit and investigation into questionable claims of progress made under the Bloomberg administration.
WHEN: Wednesday, August 7 at 10AM
WHERE: Steps of the Dept. of Education, 52 Chambers St.
T-Day: For Deformers, Mission Accomplished
Today is lousy test score reveal day (LTSR) for the tests given this past school year. Let me get this straight. You spend an entire year prepping for a test given in May and don't get the results until half the summer is over, making them absolutely useless for diagnostic purposes so you can try to fix what might be wrong?Shouldn't these tests that get students career and college ready be prevalent for students of high school, not little 9 year old boys and girls in 3rd grade? Parents of NYC, you are all being played!... South Bronx School
There are a two very important comments up today, both from people connected to our Change the Stakes grassroots parent group, which issued this statement a few minutes ago.
Parents and Educators Reject Official Explanations for Dismal State Test Scores
NY State Principal of the Year Carol Burris:
What big drop in new standardized test scores really means
I'll do a follow-up later parsing both of the above to point out how many of us differ in our criticisms -- not claiming as the UFT does that teachers weren't given the tools -- basically supporting testing but only doing it right -- vs calling for an end to the use of tests in a phony accountability system.
Well, we know what the testing game is all about and it ain't children. It's about using tests to go after teachers, close schools, end tenure, de-unionize the teaching force so they can lower salaries, and create massive turnover in a temporary teaching force so they will never have to pay pensions.
Is that enough of a mouthful for you?
So will all the sturm and drang over the "failures" of the Bloomberg admin I would disagree. Bloomberg has accomplished exactly what he intended. Sure he may take a temporary hit over the low scores but he can manage the media well enough while keeping his eye on the big prize: undermine public schools (these low test results will provide some assistance) so people will want to leave in drives and head to charters which will glom onto the higher performing students and toss the remains back into what is left of the public schools.
And I don't trust one mayoral candidate to truly resist this trend, even Di Blasio or Liu. Neo-liberalism reigns.
There has been so much good commentary I can't keep up with it all. So don't miss checking in on my blogroll.
One of the best today is from our old pal SOUTH BRONX SCHOOL (Beware the Testpocolypse in New York State), who despite his personal battles has been getting back to what he does best: scathing political commentary.
Reality-Based Educator at Perdido St School asks:
Will Teachers And Schools Be Shown The Same Mercy The Tweedies Are Begging For?
Common Core--Being Reformy Means Never Having to Say You're Sorry
Tuesday, August 6, 2013
A Little Andy Borowitz Humor for a Warm Summer Day - Enjoy
Mr. Bezos said he had been oblivious to his online shopping error until earlier today, when he saw an unusual charge for two hundred and fifty million dollars on his American Express statement.
Amazon Founder Says He Clicked on Washington Post by Mistake
Read more at newyorker.com
UFT History, Early Years from "City Unions", Chapter 8
We bought a few copies of this book which covers some fascinating early history of the UFT and pre-UFT with lots of detail on the political machinations and Shanker's consolidation of power. There is so much info packed into these 19 pages I have to read it again. The UFT did a great series by Jack Schirenbeck that covers some of the same ground but somewhat cleansed, as you would imagine. This lays out some of the internal battles that took place in the 60s and the formation of Unity Caucus even earlier than I thought, with details on the early strikes from the high school teachers refusing to work in night school through the early 60s.
If you go over to the MORE site there are 4 videos of last week's UFT Friend or Foe event where some history is also laid out, in particular in Ira Goldfine's video and text.
NOTE: I'm pulling the embedded pdf because it seems to slow up this site.
Get it here: http://www.scribd.com/doc/158371024/City-Unions-chapter-8
If you go over to the MORE site there are 4 videos of last week's UFT Friend or Foe event where some history is also laid out, in particular in Ira Goldfine's video and text.
NOTE: I'm pulling the embedded pdf because it seems to slow up this site.
Get it here: http://www.scribd.com/doc/158371024/City-Unions-chapter-8
Monday, August 5, 2013
Newark Teachers Union Update: President Del Grosso Boycotts Ex Bd as Attempt to Bar Newly Elected Fails
Even when you win they try to make you lose. For those that aren't aware, NEW now controls a majority of seats on the EB and Del Grasso only won by 9 votes. Good for NEW Caucus for handing this professionally. Two background reports from Ed Notes:
NEW Caucus Shakes the Union Election Tree in ...
I hope to meet some of our NEW colleagues in Chicago this weekend.
NEW Caucus Shakes the Union Election Tree in ...
Jun 25, 2013
And this: GREAT piece written by our friend Lois Weiner (author of The Future of Our Schools:
Teachers Unions and Social Justice) a co-authored by a few rank-and-file teachers.
All,THANK YOU to all who came out last Tuesday (July 30) to the NTU Executive Board meeting.At least 15 NTU members showed up, and a number actually spoke up and participated, sharing both feelings about the NTU, and offering suggestions and proposals for change.This was GREAT! We hope MORE will come out and participate in the future. The more NTU members come out, pay attention, and get involved, the stronger we will be.
Details:The meeting was both tense and productive at the same time.President Joe Del Grosso, after calling the meeting in early July, attempted to cancel it on the morning of July 29. But the majority of Executive Board members convened anyway.President Del Grosso did not attend the meeting, and some NTU staff attempted to keep newly elected E-Board members from entering the building, and attempted to stop the group from meeting. Once inside, however, a quorum of the E-Board DID meet and conduct ameeting.One new motion was passed, extending the two motions passed by the quorum of E-Boardmembers at the June swearing in. It is a motion setting a calendar of dates for Executive Board meetings for the upcoming year. The motion reads:“Per the June 28 motion to establish a calendar of Executive Board meetings, that NTU President use every Wednesday AFTER NPS Advisory Board Business Meetings as the meeting dates for NTU Executive Board, beginning at 5 pm, to be amended as necessary."
Dates are as follows:2013 September 11October 9November 13December 112014 January 8February 12March 12April 9May 14June 11July 9
While these dates have not yet been agreed to by President Del Grosso, the quorum of E-Board members in attendance were unanimous in their support for the motion and dates.
After that motion was debated and passed, the Executive Board had a general discussion ofissues that they hoped to address, and members (non-E-Board members) contributed to the discussion.
In conclusion:
If these dates hold, they will be the first time in years (probably more than a decade) that the NTU Executive Board has had a monthly schedule of when meetings will occur, and that those meetings will be openly advertised to the membership so that members may attend and speak.A HUGE STEP FORWARD!In Solidarity,Facebook.com/NEWCaucus
Google Calendar: NewarkEducationWorkersCaucus@gmail.com
PS 29 Parents Call Out Principal From Hell Jennifer Jones Rogers
.....she came with a smile on her face and poison in her veins... Ms. Jones was argumentative disrespectful, and rude to every parent that I have ever spoken with. ... Dennis, parent at PS 29.The comments have continued to fly over at SBS blog -- over 150 so far, including Rogers' mother and husband who made what I consider a threat (more on that in follow-up posts.)
Here I will extract some comments from parents -- I didn't find one parent comment defending the principal. In my experience, this outpouring of parent outrage is somewhat unique, as was the support coming from the greatest politician in this city, Tony Avella. (Video: State Senator Tony Avella Calls for Rogers Removal). There were a number of parents at the press conference and a bunch of teachers who I kept off camera due to the vicious retaliation Rogers engages in. You know that many Leadership Acad principals like Rogers go after and alienate teachers but often manage to manage parents. Not in this case apparently. Rogers didn't learn all her lessons at the Lead Acad.
I am the father of a former student of ps 29. Ms. Jones was argumentative disrespectful, and rude to every parent that I have ever spoken with. The teachers hated her not only because she is unqualified as a principal and leader but because she came with a smile on her face and poison in her veins. Any child that was marginal was deemed special needs by a principal who is more special needs than any child. PS 29 lost so many respectful qualified educators due to the shrew Ms Jones. Principal Jones needs to be removed so that our children can get the education they deserve in a proper environment. Let the teachers who have worked in her schools speak.What a shame that we have lost so many quality teachers. How is it possible that so many teachers are wrong and that this one principal is right. Get her out and give the children the opportunity to learn from time tested qualified teachers. In jennifers defense she is not the only problem the whole dept of ed is a disaster. She is just one of the tentacles.My daughter has since been removed and sent to be educated in a catholic school. Good Bye PS 29............
Dennis
-
WHEN IS THE SECOND RALLY TAKEN PLACE
IN SEPTEMBER ? I NEED TO TAKE A DAY OFF FROM
WORK TO JOIN THE TEACHERS. CAN THE
BRONX PEOPLE HELP WITH THE SUPPORT TOO ?
CONCERN PARENT. MY CHILD IS ENTERING
4TH GRADE AND WE NEED TO GET EVERYTHING
IN PLACE ASAP ! WE NEED A PRINCIPAL !
I JUST HEARD ALL ABOUT THIS YESTERDAY I WISH I WAS AROUND. THANK YOU SOUTH BRONX FOR ALL YOUR HELP !!!
She is a horrible Principal. She is condescending and rude. She took an innocent issue with my son and made it into a sexual issue. I was told from a family member that was a teachers assistant at PS 29 about all the sex talk that went on there between the teachers and Ms. Jones. She must have sex on the brain and assumes the kids do as well. He was questioned about his living situation at home and if he has ever seen or heard anything sexual from his parents. I was told to take him to a therapist from their parent teacher coordinator for a boyish prank. Seriously?? They were warned never to question him unless we (both mother and father) were present. After that we were called in for every little thing. He started to struggle after she started to bully him for every little thing. I am so happy he is out of that school. He did great until she came in. I really wish I knew all of this when he was attending the school I went to as a child. I would have pursued having her investigated. Get her out before more children suffer under her unprofessional ways.
- Principal Jones,
You are the reason that I, Jonathan C was not able to graduate 5th grade with my friends from Kindergarten. Because of you I had to graduate with kids I barely knew. My yearbook is full of photo shopped pictures because of you! My only mistake was telling my mom what you did to me in school and you made my life MISERABLE at PS 29Q. So miserable that I begged my mom to take me out. Before the incident I loved going to school, seeing my friends, and teachers whom I grew up with. So what is it that you are proud of? The success of children leaving your school, making students cry?
You are so bad tempered and rude. You should really change your ways. What you did cannot be undone and unfortunately for me I could never have a chance at my 5th grade dance, trip, or graduation. When you are in elementary school all you look forward to is becoming that cool 5th grader and experience what graduates have told you about. You took that away from me! Don’t continue. You probably have the greatest memories of your elementary years why DENY us of ours?
FYI, my cumulative record shows a consistent rating of 3’s throughout my education endeavor at PS 29Q respecting school community, respecting rules and regulations. Not one suspension or detention.
Of course I wasn't perfect but neither ARE YOU! We all make mistakes and the important lesson is to learn from our mistakes.
Former student,
Jonathan C.
The Howler Howls at Maureen Dowd for Puff Piece on Quinn
I officially call on all mayoral candidates to reveal the color of their toenail polish (mine is purple in case your wondering.)
Some highlights:
Yesterday morning, Maureen Dowd profiled Christine Quinn, the current front-runner in the race for mayor of New York City. This wasn’t the normal piece by Dowd. Nor was this ridiculous profile Quinn’s fault. It started on the front page of yesterday’s Sunday Review, an extremely high-profile placement. Inside, on the actual op-ed page, it ran beneath a large color photo of Quinn.
As she started, out on page one, Dowd told us something Quinn supposedly wants us to know. We include Dowd’s pitiful headline, which appeared on the front page of the Sunday Review:
DOWD (8/4/13): Who’s That Candidate in the Teal Toenail Polish?According to Dowd, Christine Callaghan Quinn “wants to be seen as a member of the fighting Irish.” Dowd didn’t explain how she knows that, though it could be an electoral advantage in Irish-inflected New York.
For what it’s worth, Dowd seems to want us to see Quinn that way too! She played Quinn’s ethnicity early and often. In the middle of the column, she referred to Quinn’s “Irish temper.”
Dowd’s piece about Quinn was so inane that even Times readers complained. This sardonic commenter offered a nice summary of Dowd’s latest paralyzed effort:
COMMENTER FROM CONNECTICUT: Dear Ms. Dowd, I am to assume you’re endorsing Ms. Quinn for the job? I live in Connecticut and am interested in the mayoral race only as a spectator. The main points I come away with are:The sardonic reader captured the contents of Dowd’s vacuous profile. Around the continent, other readers filed complaints about the latest garbage from Dowd, which ended with the headline-worthy “get” concerning toe polish:
a. Ms. Quinn apparently has a temper and uses it
b. Her favorite movie is "Dirty Dancing"
c. She has a weight problem
d. She used her influence to have an ambulance help an aide
e. She wears teal nail polish
f. Most importantly, she's NOT Mr. Weiner
She's obviously qualified to be mayor of NYC. Bring on the voting!
COMMENT FROM MASSACHUSETTS: Toenail polish color? Is this going to be the election season of "too much information" for every candidate?Just for the (truly pitiful) record: In the hard-copy Times, a sub-headline appeared on Dowd's piece: “Can Christine Quinn vanquish Carlos Danger?”
COMMENT FROM JARAMA VALLEY: This is a puff piece worthy of People Magazine.
COMMENT FROM NEW YORK: Toe nail polish? Bubble baths? What's your favorite TV program? When did the Times editorial page become Tiger Beat?...At some point someone needs to talk about the issues and not useless nonsense. This was a missed opportunity and actually almost sexist in its tone.
COMMENT FROM CONNECTICUT: Boy, am I glad I moved out of NYC! Toenail color is important? How about a piece on what each of these folks proposes to do?
COMMENT FROM ATLANTA: An entire column, and no issues...Will she spend 4 years working on toe nail polish?
COMMENT FROM NEW JERSEY: After reading this column, I know even less about the mayoral race than before I started.
COMMENT FROM EDMONTON, CANADA: What did we learn about the woman, beside her "coppery" something, I guess her hair? What positions? What problems? What solutions, other than keeping [Weiner] out of office? What does she believe in? What does she fear?
Why did I read this cotton candy? Why was it written? And what did I learn?
COMMENT FROM NEW YORK: I have zero interest in what color toe nail polish a politician wears. I have zero interest in if they take bubble baths or not (I can't imagine asking LaGuardia that question). I only care about how they are going to keep the streets clean and safe and the city moving forward. Anything else is not my business and definitely not my interest.
This column reduced Ms. Quinn into a political Kardashian. That was probably what her team wanted but I learned nothing about her plans from it.
COMMENT FROM HOUSTON: Annice Parker has thrived as Houston's mayor. The fact she is gay doesn't have any bearing on her ability to lead. Aside from that, this piece is pure fluff, Ms. Dowd.
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