Chicago: Testing Opt-Out Capital

In some cases, principals have told teachers they will be arrested if they leaflet parents on the public sidewalks outside their schools, even though the teachers are distributing the materials on their own time.

The explosion of the Chicago Opt Out movement comes despite orders from CPS administrators -- usually "Chief Officers" of the school system's 13 so-called "Networks" (which are what Chicago's sub-districts are currently called -- to principals demanding that the principals bully the parents and children into rescinding opt out forms which have been submitted by the parents.

The Opt Out of the ISAT campaign is distinct from the Boycott Campaign, in which teachers are refusing to administer the ISAT tests. So far, two elementary schools (Saucdeo and Drummond) have announced that their teachers have voted not to administer the tests, while individual teachers at dozens of other schools have confirmed to Substance that they will not administer the tests, usually for what amounts to "conscientious objection.".... http://www.substancenews.net/articles.php?page=4854&section=Article

Great reporting from George Schmidt in Chicago. Note that CORE, the caucus that runs the union - as opposed to the CTU itself - is leading the charge. That would be like Unity doing something like this --- Ok, you can stop laughing.

Chicago parents begin movement to opt out of tests. Stay tuned, the number of opt-outs grows each day. (Visit the article at Substance to see the long list of opt-out schools)
OPT OUT NEWS: Parents at more than 74 Chicago elementary schools have opted their children out of the ISAT tests by the evening before the testing program, which begins March 4, 2014
George N. Schmidt - March 03, 2014
http://www.substancenews.net/articles.php?page=4854&section=Article
Parents at at least 74 Chicago elementary schools (out of roughly 500) have requested that their children be opted out of the ISAT (Illinois State Achievement Tests) testing program as of March 3, 2014. The update on the number of schools where opt outs have been verified was provided by the Chicago Teachers Union on the even of the testing cycle, which is scheduled to begin on March 4, 2014 and extend through March 14. The number of individual children who will be opting out of the test exceeds 1,000 (including the two sons of this reporters, whose elementary age sons attend O.A. Thorp Elementary School).
The Opt Out of the ISAT campaign is distinct from the Boycott Campaign, in which teachers are refusing to administer the ISAT tests. So far, two elementary schools (Saucdeo and Drummond) have announced that their teachers have voted not to administer the tests, while individual teachers at dozens of other schools have confirmed to Substance that they will not administer the tests, usually for what amounts to "conscientious objection."
The explosion of the Chicago Opt Out movement comes despite orders from CPS administrators -- usually "Chief Officers" of the school system's 13 so-called "Networks" (which are what Chicago's sub-districts are currently called -- to principals demanding that the principals bully the parents and children into rescinding opt out forms which have been submitted by the parents. The ISAT program only applies to elementary children, and none of those who have asked to opt out is older than 14 years old to Substance's knowledge. Opt Out is a right of parents.
The pressure on parents to rescind opt out letters has been growing since the movement to Opt Out has grown. Principals have also threatened teachers who have encouraged parents to opt out their children. The threats have included unpaid days off and other sanctions. In some cases, principals have told teachers they will be arrested if they leaflet parents on the public sidewalks outside their schools, even though the teachers are distributing the materials on their own time.
More than 40,000 Opt Out leaflets have been distributed by members of the Caucus Of Rank and file Educators (CORE), since the Opt Out movement began a few weeks ago. Many parents and teachers have also gotten the leaflets duplicated at their own expense. A CORE fundraising benefit at Chicago's Second City helped raise the money to pay for the leaflets that have been helping to build the movement.

The list (alphabetized) as of the end of the school day on March 3, 2014 was the following. The ISAT is only given in the elementary schools, but some high schools (listed at the bottom of the list) have "academic centers" which serve seventh and eight graders.
The Opt Out movement is also being built by several community and parent groups, including More Than A Score, PURE, Parents 4 Teachers, Raise Your Hand, and other groups too numerous to list. Parents and teachers expect the Opt Out movement to expand after thousands of children see their fellow students opting out when the testing program begins on March 4, 2014.

Website URLs.
More Than A Score: http://morethanascorechicago.org/.
PURE (Parents United for Responsible Education): http://pureparents.org/
CTU PRESS RELEASE ISSUED ON MARCH 3, 2014:
ISAT BOYCOTT SPREADS TO 74 SCHOOLS... Parents choose education over indoctrination by opting their children out

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Stephanie Gadlin. March 3, 2014 312/329-6250
CHICAGO - Despite repeated threats and miscommunication from the school district, parents at 74 Chicago Public Schools are opting their children out of the Illinois Standards Achievement Test (ISAT). Teachers at two schools, Saucedo and Drummond, said they intend to boycott the low-stakes test when it is to be formerly administered on Tuesday. (Source: More Than A Score: http://morethanascorechicago.org/).

Via robo calls and other scare tactics, CPS officials are telling parents that that if too many parents have their children opt out, the district faces losing state and federal funding. Catalyst Chicago, an independent publication dedicated to education, says: "Loss of such funding is unprecedented and at most it could trigger reallocating funds, but even that is highly unlikely...."

Students are not legally obligated to take the ISAT and parents have the legal right to "direct the upbringing and education of their children."

Dear Ms. Kopp - from a Newark Teacher

Dear Wendy Kopp,

I am in a bit of a jam and I thought maybe you could help me out. State Superintendent Cami Anderson has announced plans to lay off one thousand Newark Public School teachers over the next three years. I do not yet know if I am on the list, but understandably I am feeling very nervous.

It occurred to me that Teach for America could be the solution to my problems. I would like to apply for a teaching position in Newark. I hold a BA from a state university and a standard teacher's certificate. I have over twenty years teaching experience in diverse multicultural urban environments. I have taught every grade from prekindergarten to twelfth grade. My strengths include excellent communication skills and the ability to work well with people from different cultural backgrounds. I would be willing to attend Relay Graduate School of Education at their Newark campus to upgrade my pedagogical skills and I am anxious to move into the Teacher's Village under construction in Newark to form closer relationships with my colleagues.

If you would consider my application despite my excessive experience, my advanced age and my last century credentials, I would be most appreciative. I believe that every child deserves to be taught by an effective teacher and a chance to succeed in life despite being born into poverty. Education is the Civil Right's issue of our generation. I pledge to relinquish one hundred years of union loyalty beginning with my paternal grandmother's membership in the ILGWU for the opportunity to turn myself into a Teach for America scab.

Sincerely yours,

A Newark Teacher 

More Protests Against de Blasio Co-Loco Decision

Press Advisory: JHS 52 families, HSEI families and CEC6 Members call for reversal of decision to co-locate M052

Families from JHS 52 and High School for Excellence and Innovation, Members of CEC6 and the District Six Pubic Education Advocacy Community call for reversal of DOE decision to proceed with co-location of M052 in Inwood, upper Manhattan.  

Press conference tomorrow morning at 9AM outside of school.  Information below. 

FOR PLANNING PURPOSES ONLY 

Contact:   Tory Frye (646) 418-6435 

                 Angela Garces (347) 553-9139

*************************************************************************************

                                             PRESS ADVISORY

*************************************************************************************

Who: Elected District Six Public School Parent Leaders
           JHS 52 and HSEI Public School Parents
           District Six Community Leaders
           Public School Advocates

When: March 5, 2014 @9AM

Where: JHS 52 650 Academy Street (Inwood, off Broadway north of Dyckman)

What: Press Conference

Why: Parents Call on Chancellor Carmen Fariña and Mayor Bill de Blasio to Reverse Decision to Co-locate M052, Housing JHS 52 and High School for Excellence and Innovation, with New Career and Technical High School in District Six, Manhattan.

Campaigning for Union Office: An Excerpt from How to Jump-Start Your Union: Lessons from the Chicago Teachers

This looks like one interesting book. I just started reading it. Here is a selection and somewhat of a blueprint for people to use. My advice for organizers: first start in your own schools with an organization sheet and some analysis of where people you work with stand. Then work within districts. Easier said than done but until we see this happening here, Unity will be in power.

Campaigning for Union Office:
An Excerpt from How to Jump-Start Your Union: Lessons from the Chicago Teachers
by Labor Notes

Labor Notes' new book, How to Jump-Start Your Union: Lessons from the Chicago Teachers, shows how activists transformed their union and gave members hope.  This excerpt tells how the Caucus of Rank-and-File Educators (CORE) campaigned for top offices, and won.

It's one of the universals of organizing -- first you make a list.

Elementary teacher Alix Gonzalez Guevara remembers staying up late transferring data about each school from a district-published book into an Excel spreadsheet: region, address, how many teachers, how many students.

This became a Google document, an online spreadsheet available to everyone working on the campaign.  The schools were grouped by regions.  Within each, a couple of lead activists took responsibility to find people to do outreach at each school.

Whenever someone went to leaflet or hold a meeting at a school, they'd document it in the central spreadsheet.  They also entered their current percentage estimate of support at the school: an educated guess based on conversations with members there, what the delegate (steward) said, and how many had signed the petition to get CORE's candidates on the ballot.

A Typical Visit

24-Hour Bins One simple tool CORE came up with was the 24-hour bin.  A member would volunteer to host a plastic bin outside his or her house in a place where people could get to it at all hours -- on the front porch, for instance, or under the stairs.  The bin would be stocked with the latest flyers or posters. During the campaign there were five of these bins scattered around the city.  The system proved so handy that CORE kept using it for caucus flyers after the campaign was over.

On a typical visit, the CORE activist might spend a half-hour in the parking lot talking with teachers about the issues.

Then she would go inside, chat with the clerk, stuff the mailboxes with the latest CORE flyer, and leave a personal letter for the delegate, with a phone number if he wanted to set up a meeting for candidates to meet teachers and answer questions.

"We had a group of 20 who were available to go debate with the other caucus candidates at the schools," said history teacher Jackson Potter.  "The decentralized approach allowed us to run circles around the opposition, who only deployed the four officers."

Over the course of the campaign, the caucus hit most schools three times and some five times.  The tracking made it easier to prioritize larger schools, ones that hadn't been visited much, those where CORE's forces were weaker, or schools where the caucus wanted to build up a base of potential activists.

At caucus meetings, activists would report on the schools they had visited and pick up five or more new ones. Sometimes they would role-play, reporting what new questions they were hearing and brainstorming how to respond.

Busy, Busy, Busy

But while they were campaigning, CORE activists also continued their push to attend every school board meeting and school closure hearing.  They picketed the mayor, organized marches, and held candlelight vigils.

After all, CORE's activist identity was its campaign platform.  All the events gave the candidates opportunities to make their case publicly, tell their personal stories, and prove their words were backed up by action.

"We always made sure we wore a CORE button, a CORE shirt," elementary teacher Sarah Chambers said.  People would "look around when a school's closing, and they wouldn't see any UPC [the incumbent caucus]."

The school closure fights were the reason math teacher Carol Caref was able to get so many teachers at her school to vote for CORE.  "We were always afraid we'd be next on the list," she said.

"CORE was camping out all night in front of schools threatened to be closed, joining parents and kids," said social studies teacher Bill Lamme, "while the union was sitting on its hands and being a little too generous in their compensation packages for themselves."

To learn much more, order the book.

Putin Sites Mulgrew/Randi Takeover of NYSUT as Inspiration for Crimean Invasion

I admire the Unity Caucus operation tremendously. I only wish I had such control....My next invasion will be Brighton Beach to protect the Russian speaking population in Brooklyn.... I am looking for a condo in Brooklyn as a base of operation but the real estate prices are crazy.... Vladimir Putin

Brooklyn Rally Friday to Oppose de Blasio School Giveaway to Moskowitz/Success Charter

"We want our schools back." Letitia James, at PEP, Oct. 2013..

RALLY, Friday, March 7, 2:30PM at Seth Low, 99 Ave. P.

Will James be there?

The counterattack begins. I know, how many of these anti-Eva rallies have we seen in school after school? Water off her back as she knows that when school opens in the fall the fait accompli will sink in and people will stop protesting.

But here she is entering a slightly different world. A more active and politically connected one. And with Bloomberg, who didn't give a shit, gone and de Blasio thinking about the future and a 2nd term, hitting this Bensonhurst community is a big mistake.

Here is some video from the October 2013 PEP meetings where the Bloomberg PEP was slammed by the same CEC 21 people holding the rally. Now that de Blasio has endorsed the Bloomberg handover to Moskowitz, the same points apply.

Video: District 21 CEC Parents Object to DOE Co-Locations

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvSu_tm5tKM

"We want our schools back." Letitia James, at PEP, Oct. 2013
That was also the night that soon to be elected Tish James made a powerful statement. Where is she now?



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYwb_mCehTY

And here is Dominick Recchia who formerly supported co-locations going after the other co-loco for Coney Island Prep.

http://youtu.be/UwKviU6VmLk

Community Education Council District 21

           

Officers: Heather Fiorica, President · Anna Lembersky, 1^st Vice President · Joyce Finger, 2^nd Vice President ·

Linda Dalton, Recording Secretary ·Randi Garay, Treasurer

Members Muneer Abualroub·Mohammad Akram·Sean Chin·Maria Di Graziano ·Yoketing Eng·Evangelean Pugh

RALLY

at

SETH LOW IS96

99 Avenue P

Friday, March 7^th

2:30 pm

Come show your support for Seth Low and tell the Mayor to reverse the Success Charter

Co-location!

MORE March Membership Madness Meeting Sat, Mar 8 - and Help Mike, Peter and Me Celebrate Our B-Days

Even if you can't make the noon-time meeting, join us after. We will be talking about the NYSUT split towards the end of the meeting around 2:30 so if you are interested in that angle come on down. The rest of the agenda to come.

Hi all,

As you know our general meeting is next Saturday at YaYa at 224 W. 29th st NYC --

It's our March Membership Madness campaign

Details click here

We are also hosting a post meeting happy hour to celebrate.

It's been an exciting school year so far for MORE, so lets toast all our collective efforts.

Three of our friends and activists are also celebrating their birthdays this week, even MORE of a reason to celebrate. Peter Lamphere, Norm Scott, and Mike Schirtzer are all turning 21 (maybe a bit older) - so let's congratulate them together.

Pioneer's Bar

138 W.29th st (b/t 6th and 7th ave)

$4 beers, $6 wine and well drinks

FREE popcorn, jenga, and pinball

We should get there right after the meeting 3:15 to 3:30

--

Deny Them the Data - Opt Out Grows - Chicago Rocks While UFT Twiddles its Thumbs

What is the scariest words an ed deformer, privatizer, profiteer can hear? OPT-OUT.

As we work here in New York with the Change the Stakes group as we build alliances with other groups we are seeing the growth of the movement around the nation, even spreading from parents to teachers willing to risk their careers. (Though many teachers ARE opting out their own kids). Of course the UFT leadership is lagging way behind since they view any support for opt-out as subjecting them to attacks they want to avoid accountability - even if the accountability is just plain stupid one-way accountability.

From the Seattle teacher boycott of last year to the current battle in Chicago, we see teachers awakening in bits and starts.

Long-time readers of Ed Notes might remember the story here in NYC in May 2008. When the teacher announced to his kids they were getting a round of useless field tests at the end of May they rebelled. He merely told them they had rights but didn't tell them what to do. When 4 entire classes of kids refused to take the tests Doug was attacked fiercely by the entire DOE administration He was gone shortly after -- he wasn't tenured.

So, yes, there is a major risk. But when an entire school refuses to give a test....

Teachers at Saucedo Academy have risked their jobs by voting 100% to refuse to administer the ISAT and teach real class instead. Today Saucedo teachers were threatened with firing and revoked certifications. Call CPS and tell them you stand in solidarity with Saucedo teachers who stand with their students and parents against the ISAT. Let teachers teach! 773-553-1600 or 773-553-1500

 

Video Inspiration: Karen Lewis and John Kuhn @ Network for Public Education Conf, Austin, TX

from Vincent Precht at http://vimeo.com/87984834

"By 2010, the UPC leadership had atrophied," Uetricht explains, and was cowering in the face of school closures, the growth of nonunion charter schools, and the Renaissance 2010 "free market education reforms" 

Sound familiar? Any resemblance between the CTU and the UFT is purely coincidental.

http://truth-out.org/opinion/item/22148-modeling-the-education-they-want-to-be-the-great-chicago-teachers-union-transformation

Modeling the Education They Want To Be: The Great Chicago Teachers Union Transformation

By Eleanor J Bader, Truthout | Book Review 

 
(Book cover via Verso Books) 

Micah Uetricht's "Strike for America: Chicago Teachers Against Austerity" relates the stirring transformation of the Chicago Teachers Union into a democratically organized force for social justice.

According to labor journalist Micah Uetricht, it's high time for trade unions in the United States to decide whether they want to wither away and follow a "business unionism" model of concessions and shrinkage, or follow "social movement unionism," a bottom-up, democratic organizing strategy that is aligned with social justice movements throughout the country.

The Chicago Teacher's Union [CTU], Uetricht writes in his book, Strike for America: Chicago Teachers Against Austerity, is a prime example of the latter, a feisty, transparent, activist-led group that is willing to fight the good fight and challenge the entrenched attitudes that have made unions irrelevant to far too many workers.

Uetricht makes clear that the CTU was not always a beacon and charts the union's transition from a staid, top-down organization to one that engages teachers, paraprofessionals, students and neighborhood residents in community betterment efforts throughout Chicago.

The shift, he writes, began in 2010, when a slate of teachers calling themselves the Caucus of Rank-and-File Educators [CORE] took the reins of the 26,000 member CTU from CORE's predecessors, the United Progressive Caucus. "By 2010, the UPC leadership had atrophied," Uetricht explains, and was cowering in the face of school closures, the growth of nonunion charter schools, and the Renaissance 2010 "free market education reforms" championed by Chicago Mayor Rahm Emmanuel and supported by US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan.
Not so, CORE. Its slogan - a union that actually fights for its members - proved early on that it was willing and ready to challenge authority. "They held multiple forums on cuts to public education. They built relationships with community organizations fighting school closures. They held a study group on Naomi Klein's The Shock Doctrine, which argues that neoliberal reform is pushed by elites during times of crisis, when the population is disoriented," Uetricht reports.

By late 2008, shortly after its founding, CORE began organizing teachers in schools that were slated for shuttering. Then, in January 2009, it sponsored a massive public forum on education reform that drew 500 people, including hundreds of educators. It quickly became apparent that the audience wanted to do something concrete and, in conjunction with a parent group called GEM, The Grassroots Education Movement, CORE activists began planning a visible pushback, taking to the streets and voicing their outrage in newspapers, over the airwaves, and through social media. By May 2010, a CTU election resulted in a CORE victory, with Karen Lewis at the helm.

The improvement in teacher morale was immediate. "In the past," Uetricht writes, "the union had operated under a servicing model, where the union's staff handled whatever problems teachers faced in the classroom or with an administrator; if the teacher had no problems, interaction with union staff was unlikely. Now, teachers themselves were going to be carrying out the union's broad agenda for educational justice."

CORE quickly allocated the resources needed to create a CTU organizing department, something that had never before existed. What's more, the new regime slashed the salaries of union staffers so that what they earned was in step with teachers' pay. In addition, they created a summer program that trained activist teachers to organize their peers. Contract Committees were formed in every school to ensure grassroots input and provide a ready conduit for information sharing with cafeteria and maintenance workers, who were not part of the CTU.

Finally, the union decided to take on more than bread-and-butter issues. "The union made publicly funded corporate subsidies, most notably through the city's Tax Incremental Financing [TIF] system, a major issue and worked alongside community groups and other unions to expand the CTU's organizing to include the issue of austerity for poor neighborhoods of color throughout the city," Uetricht notes.

Slowly but surely, he adds, the nearly-moribund CTU of the early 2000s was becoming invigorated. This was tested, however, when the Emmanuel administration laid off 1,500 teachers, and the Illinois legislature passed SB7, a bill that required a strike authorization threshold of 75 percent and limited the issues over which a union could refuse to work.

Nonetheless, by September 2012, things had reached a breaking point and the city's refusal to offer CTU members a decent contract was the last straw. Despite SB7, the union stunned city and state officials by taking a strike vote that resulted in more than 90 percent of the membership agreeing that it was time to walk off the job.

It was the first teacher strike in Chicago in 25 years.
"The entire city felt transformed," Uetricht writes. "Teachers were engaged in highly visible, militant, mass action, and there was a widespread sense throughout the city of the legitimacy and necessity of such action - for educators and for other workers . . . The union held mass rallies nearly every day with tens of thousands of teachers and their supporters . . . Teachers began organizing actions themselves, independent of the CTU leadership. No union staffers planned the small marches on the mayor's house during the strike; teachers planned these themselves."

This had an enormous impact on union activists because the ability to do what they felt was necessary - without having to jump through bureaucratic approval hoops - gave the members a sense of CTU ownership.

JOIN US! March 10 @ 6p.m. for Earth School's Forum on Current Education Policies and Testing

From the always awesome Jia Lee, star of MORE, Change the Stakes, chapter leader and parent at the Earth School on the lower east side and a Korean non-tiger mom.

Jia is one of the leaders of the NYC Opt-out movement at her school and in CTS. The goal is to get 100% of the parents there to opt-out and end testing child abuse.
 
The Earth School Parent-Teacher Advocacy is organizing a forum on high-stakes testing at the Earth School on Monday, March 10th at 6 p.m. A flyer is attached to this email with more details, and the letter below explains some of our latest thinking about the high-stakes testing issue.

Dear Earth School Community,

We truly appreciate your participation in the testing survey! (If you still need to complete it, just click here)

Some Earth School parents and teachers have been involved in the growing movement against high-stakes testing in NYC and the state. This Community Outreach ES email formed as a result of a Parent Advocacy Committee that formed through our Parent Association last year.

We are not anti-test, but we strongly oppose the double whammy situation we face in NYC, namely: the problematic new Common Core-aligned curriculum/tests, combined with the overblown significance attached to these tests because we live a city where standardized test scores can be used to determine grade promotion, influence admissions processes (something that fortunately seems to be changing), teacher and principal evaluations, and school progress reports.

We have the great fortune of having our children attend a nurturing school where, unlike most schools in the city, test prep has not taken over rich curriculum. In many ways, the ES educators and school community have shielded our students from having invaluable learning experiences stripped from their school day. However, the government’s current policies promote a learning environment that places disproportionate emphasis - academically and psychologically - on tests that are flawed at best, and damaging at worst. Furthermore, children living in poverty, English Language Learners, and students with disabilities are inordinately burdened by this system. We wish to turn this discussion from being about testing to one that is about education.

There's a lot of mythology and misinformation surrounding testing, and many families, ours included, have understandably felt overwhelmed and confused. It's important to know that YOU DO HAVE OPTIONS and YOU DO HAVE A VOICE in the matter. We hope that by attending this forum, you will get information and perspectives that will empower you make the best decision for your child, your family, and your community.

Hope to see you on March 10! 

North Rockland TA Pres Slams Revive NYSUT

As I'll report in a later post, it's all over but the shouting in the upcoming NYSUT election on April 5, given the big locals all came in for the UFT's absolute takeover of NYSUT by endorsing the misnamed Revive NYSUT slate over the incumbent Stronger Together slate.

Currently there is also a small independent slate running out of MORE for the city NYSUT election districts plus Arthur Goldstein directly opposing Andy Pallotta for NYSUT Exec VP and Port Jefferson Station TA president Beth Dimino running as a rep from an election district out on Long Island. See the MORE blog for more details as out candidates publish their statements this week:

morecaucusnyc: Julie Cavanagh NYSUT Elections - 

 

 Here is another endorsement from a small local. One question that comes up is will NYSUT in its present structure survive this battle. Would these small locals form a coalition to fight on either inside the current merged NEA/AFT framework or are they so pissed as to look elsewhere? Or are they willing to stay in and build a stronger than opposition to Unity, which may be easier once the old leadership is gone?

This was posted on Facebook.

Stronger NYSUT

Thank you North Rockland Teachers' Association for supporting Stronger NYSUT! Listed below is a compelling endorsement letter written by NRTA president, Robin Brennan.

A Response to;

Harrison Teachers Union Head Seeks to Lead NYSUT

A politician and a statesman are not equal. According to Dr. Rufus Fears in The 4 Qualities of a True Statesman, a statesman by definition requires a bedrock of principles, a moral compass, vision and the ability to build consensus to achieve the vision.

I would add that a statesman is in service to his or her constituency, not for personal gain or self-promotion. Why am I talking about a statesman? I strongly believe that NYSUT officers Dick Iannuzzi, Maria Neira, Lee Cutler and Kathleen Donahue are statesmen. In my opinion, those who have chosen to challenge these leaders’ positions are mere politicians.

- Dick Iannuzzi has fought Governor Cuomo and won for us 80% of our APPR to negotiate. As a last resort, he has filed lawsuits against the tax cap. He has stood steadfast against the Governor’s ill advised initiatives and for increased funding for education.

- Maria Neira has battled Commissioner King and the Regents to bring about the current parental involvement to stop high stakes testing and a poorly implemented Core curriculum. She has informed parents of the data collecting that would follow their children throughout their academic career and beyond. She is a stolid fighter for the rights of members, parents and students.

- Lee Cutler has work ceaselessly for social issues of poverty, the true dividing wall of student achievement. He has worked with the Kerry Kennedy and RFK Center, the NYS Labor-Religion Coalition, the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network and other Civil Rights organizations. He has advanced issues such as fair trade, child slavery, farm workers rights, women's rights, anti-bullying and others. Under Lee’s leadership, the oversight and hard work of the Financial Review Committee and working in conjunction with our in-house bargaining units and the Board of Directors, NYSUT embarked on a three-year financial and organizational restructuring plan. Since then, they have re-calibrated the organization structurally and economically without impairing ANY services to locals.

- Kathleen is an ardent protector of our TA and school support staffs’ working conditions. She has created strategies that more closely link our SRPs and their teacher colleagues or our nurses and health care professionals developing their own political and legislative platform through the health care professionals council.

This NYSUT Executive Board collectively has:

- Unified all AFT and NEA Locals in New York State

- Represented ALL the voices of the entire rank-and-file membership of NYSUT

- Negotiated the fairest APPR deal in the nation

- Initiated a lawsuit over the constitutionality of the tax-cap

- Withdrawn support for Common Core due to repeated implementation failures on the part of SED

- Initiated a unanimously approved resolution by the NYSUT Board of Directors declaring "no confidence" in the policies of Commissioner John King, asking for his removal by the Board of Regents

- Effectively adjusted the NYSUT budget over a 3 year period to reflect the loss of 30,000 members

- Traveled the state to visit and listen to the concerns of rank-and-file members more than any officers in the history of NYSUT.

There is no substantial reason to contest the election of these individuals since they have been doing their jobs and doing them vigorously. The Revive slate has actively recruited people to run against all of these dedicated, vetted union leaders. NYSUT members have turned the Revive slate down when they were asked to run against this team purely knowing the caliber of these incumbents. We should examine the motivation of those that agreed to run.

As Dr. Fears said more eloquently than I can, we as a society need people in positions of responsibility who hold their beliefs dear and treat them like the foundation of our collective house. We need people who are not constantly checking which way the wind is blowing, but who follow the dictates of a moral compass. This is, in my opinion, what our current Executive Board does.

The Revive candidates are relying on educators’ frustration over decreased state aid, the tax cap, budget cuts, Tier V, Tier VI, charter schools, APPR, layoffs and program cuts. These issues frustrate us all, but the reality is that they have no platform. They have given no solutions. They just keep repeating, "We need change". It is an easy thing to say.

The Revive slate is now blaming Dick Iannuzzi for initiatives implemented by Andy Pollatta, the leader of the NYSUT Legislative Department. Under Andy Pallotta’s leadership of the Legislative Department, we have "gained" a tax cap, charter schools, Tier V, Tier VI, a decrease in school funding, no movement on a moratorium and a further shifting of the balance of power away from small city, suburban and rural locals to the interests of New York City. Mr. Pallotta, a single NYSUT officer with a mixed record, is now claiming to be the only officer worthy of reelection while disavowing all four of his fellow officers. This should be a "red flag" to our membership. We all recognize that there is no alternative to negotiating with Governor Cuomo but much of the complaints that we have right now is the outcome of Andy Pollatta’s relationship with our Governor.

We do not need this type of change. We do not need NYSUT officers who are aligned with Governor Cuomo or Michael Mulgrew, UFT President. It is understood that the UFT members will not vote against his interests because he can read the results of each member’s vote. There is a reason why most votes in the world are conducted as secret ballots.

We need to understand that Randy Weingarten, Michael Mulgrew, the UFT, Governor Cuomo and the Revive slate have become one faction. This group is sure to deliver more charter schools, tax caps, APPR, more TIER changes, privatization of education, high stakes testing and more of the same. This will also consolidate all the power in the NYC area. That is the change the Revive slate is seeking.

The one public example of the direct misuse of funds by Andy Pallotta separates the statesman from the politician. As Mr. Iannuzzi explained to me, “When the request came for a fundraiser for Governor Cuomo, I directed Andy Pallotta’s staff to purchase me a ticket to the event and suggested that Andy and UFT President Michael Mulgrew also attend. Upon my arrival, I learned that Andy had unilaterally authorized VOTE/COPE to purchase a $10,000 table for 10—highly unusual given the sentiments of our members statewide. Even more disturbing, Andy invited political candidates he was supporting and actively working with for NYSUT Officer positions -- Karen Magee and Paul Pecorale, as well as their supporter Nadia Resnikoff to the event”.

As a result, Mr. Iannuzzi, Ms. Neira and Mr. Cutler have implementd a rule to require the approval of the members of the VOTE/COPE committee BEFORE any contributions over $5,000 are made to any statewide party committee or statewide candidate.

If this blatant misuse of our member’s hard earned VOTE COPE contribution is treated with such disregard by this slate, why would anyone place them is any position with more power. Your trust in better behavior from the Revive slate would be a fool’s errand.

I love my union. The bullying and deceptive tactics of the Revive slate that will concentrate power, aligning with an anti-education governor, and rise against diligent incumbents is a frightening proposition. I am hopeful that every delegate at the RA this April will vote for the statesmen who are our current officers: Dick Iannuzzi, Lee Cutler, Maria Neira and Kathleen Donahue. We have enough self - serving politicians.

Respectfully,
Robin Brennan
NRTA President

Portelos on SCI Lies

If you had sat through the 23 day3020a trial and listened to the evidence, there were many "break out laughing" moments at the farce the DOE was engaging in. But more of that another time.

Many people who have dealt with the office of the Special Commissioner of Investigations (SCI), which goes after school employees, don't believe there are
honest brokers there.

SCI is not the same as OSI, the internal DOE investigations unit, also not a clean organization (one day I'll tell you of my only brush with them back in the early 90s). Dirty detective Louis Scarcella even worked at OSI for a spell.

Francesco Portelos has gotten to know many of the people working at SCI (and OSI) through their endless investigations of him. Here he does an 8-part series delving into the details of their often bogus investigation.

Here are links to his report. They are detailed accounts, ie. of how he disconnected the wires and shut everything off in his computer room for the midwinter break 2 years ago, only to find his computer plugged in and turned on the day he returned. Or stuff that appeared on his computer AFTER they confiscated it.

When I contacted SCI on January 26, 2012, I did not have negative items in my file. A few days later I started having disciplinary letters and investigations started on me. SCI did not take my allegation of financial misconduct. When I met with UFT reps and I told them of my complaint, their words were “Oh crap…they are going to have the whole terrorist hit squad coming for you!” I didn’t know what they meant, but I know now and so should you.

This is what I have found during my journey:

Part 1: The Special Commissioner of Investigation’s Hand is in the Pocket of the Chancellor?
Part 2: A Tale of Two Videos
Part 3: Principal, Playboy and NY Post…Oh My!
Part 4: $ubpoena with a Capital $
Part 5: Faulty Investigations
Part 6: Making It Rain
Part 7: Using 7yr Old Vista to Monitor Portelos
Part 8: Planting Files and Confiscating Computers
You are mandated to report, but contact SCI with extreme caution and follow the Educator Survival Guide

NYSAPE Urges NO VOTE FOR Board of Regents Incumbents

Parents across New York State have expressed outrage at the Board of Regents’ failure to respond to the concerns of both parents and educators. The incumbent Regent candidates have failed to take action to amend current policies or speak out against them. ... NY State Allies for Public Education

State legislators vote -- they'll be watched.

Posted on NYC Public School Parents

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - NYSAPE Urges Legislators to Cast No Vote for Incumbents at Board of Regents Election if Nominated

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  February 25, 2014

More information contact:

Eric Mihelbergel (716) 553-1123; nys.allies@gmail.com

Lisa Rudley (917) 414-9190; nys.allies@gmail.com

NYS Allies for Public Education (NYSAPE) www.nysape.org

NYSAPE Urges Legislators to Cast No Vote for Incumbents at Board of Regents Election if Nominated

New York State Allies for Public Education (NYSAPE), a coalition of 45 organizations from around the state, is urging New Yorkers to contact their Legislators to attend the joint Legislative session on Tuesday, March 11 during which four Regent board members will be selected.  Although the four Regent incumbents, Cea, Cottrell, Jackson, and Norwood have applied to retain their seats, parents, educators, and community members are asking their Legislators to vote “No” to any incumbent who is re-nominated.  NYSAPE will be keeping score of how each Legislator votes at www.nysape.org

Parents across New York State have expressed outrage at the Board of Regents’ failure to respond to the concerns of both parents and educators. The incumbent Regent candidates have failed to take action to amend current policies or speak out against them.  The recent recommendations of the Regents’ Taskforce Report did little to address the critical problems associated with the Common Core standards, the flawed modules, high stakes testing, or student data sharing. According to South Side High School principal Carol Burris, “The so-called delay in full implementation of high school graduation Common Core standards was a political ploy. First, the Common Core Regents exams were not delayed—students will begin taking them this spring.  Second, the new “passing scores” had never been established—and with good reason. If those two scores (75 on the English Regents and 80 on a Math Regents) were put in place, our graduation rate would plummet to 35%.”

Last week, the State Education Department also announced that they plan to upload sensitive, personal student data to inBloom, starting in July.  New York is the only state of the nine original inBloom participants not to pull out completely or put their data sharing plans on indefinite hold.

In recent weeks, Legislators had the opportunity to interview both new applicants and the incumbent candidates for the four open positions on the Board of Regents. “It is inconceivable to think that Legislators would vote for an incumbent simply out of deference to his or her previous service. I watched the interviews, I read the Regents Taskforce Report. I know that the Regents Cea, Cottrell, Jackson, and Norwood are not the best candidates for the job and do not deserve to be re-appointed. The future of public education in this state hangs in the balance and this vote will help influence how thousands of parents in turn cast their votes come November,” said Bianca Tanis, parent and co-founding member of NYSAPE.

"I would urge our Legislators to show up and vote,” said Eric Mihelbergel, Ken-Ton public school parent and founding member of NYSAPE. “They are more than aware of parent concerns and as elected officials, I am hopeful that members of the Senate and Assembly will carry out the wishes of their constituents to use this election as an opportunity to exert their influence to bring change to current policies and safeguard our children’s education.”

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Councilman Danny Dromm to Investigate Success School Closing for Naked Political Reasons

I also intend to use my oversight powers to investigate Moskowitz’s extensive marketing campaigns costing millions of dollars. Field trips can be an important part of the educational experience. Dragging children to Albany to further Moskowitz’s political agenda serves no public or pedagogical purpose.... Danny Dromm

Dromm for Mayor.

Dromm Statement on Moskowitz School Closing on March 4, 2014

Statement by Council Member Daniel Dromm
Chair of New York City Council Education Committee

Capital New York reports that Success Academy CEO Eva Moskowitz “is closing all 22 of her schools for the day to attempt to rally support in Albany, and has asked teachers to provide instruction to students on buses up to the Capitol.”

First and foremost, I do not believe the inside of a bus is an appropriate location to provide educational instruction.
I am also deeply concerned about the legality of a school leader closing schools for entirely political purposes. As chair of the New York City Council Education Committee, I intend to hold an oversight hearing to investigate whether any laws or Chancellor’s regulations have been violated by Moskowitz unilaterally closing schools to effectively force children to lobby on her behalf.

This is the second time that Moskowitz has closed her schools for what seems to have been political purposes. In October, Moskowitz closed her Success Academy charter schools to lead a political march across the Brooklyn Bridge to protest Bill de Blasio. This must stop. No educator should be allowed to use children as pawns for their political agenda. Serious questions arise about closing schools for political gain.

As the recipient of public funding, I am also troubled by reports of the Success Academy paying administrators extraordinary salaries.

I also intend to use my oversight powers to investigate Moskowitz’s extensive marketing campaigns costing millions of dollars.

Field trips can be an important part of the educational experience. Dragging children to Albany to further Moskowitz’s political agenda serves no public or pedagogical purpose.

Eva's Phony Numbers at Success Charters

83 students entered kindergarten in 2006-07, the school’s first year of operation. When that class reached 4th grade in 2010-11, it had only 53 students — a drop of 36 percent. Harlem Success also took in a 1st grade class with 73 students in 2006. When that group reached 5th grade, it too had shrunk appreciably — by 36 percent. The attrition accelerated as the classes advanced.....

The school has ‘lost’ a big chunk of those original 156 kids. Of those 73 first graders in 2007, only 35 took the seventh grade test. Of the 83 kindergarteners, only 47 took the sixth grade test last spring. Overall, they have ‘lost’ 47% of the original two cohorts.

... Ravitch blog

Diane Ravitch's insider at Tweed exposes some of the games Eva plays to get her schools to look like they are doing great. This one is worth re-blogging in full.

A Note about Success Academy’s Data

By dianeravitch

February 28, 2014 //

8

An earlier post this morning offered advice about how to read reports about charter school data. A commenter complained that the data in the post specifically referring to Eva Moskowitz’s Success Academy was incomplete and therefore misleading.I asked the author of the post, who works at the headquarters of the Néw York City Department of Education, to respond. The author worked at Tweed during the Bloomberg era.
Here is the response:
“Success Academy’s Numbers
******
“Let’s start by saying that all analysis of Success Academy is difficult because they refuse to be transparent with their data. When the New York State Comptroller attempted to audit Success Academy’s use of public money, Success Academy sued to prevent the audit. And Success Academy is, believe it or not, even less transparent with the data that would answer the questions in How to Analyze False Claims about Charter Schools. Every citizen should encourage Success Academy to openly share their data with the New York City Independent Budget Office or the New York City Comptroller’s Office so that a full evaluation of their numbers can be done.

“What do we know? We know that other analyses have found a similar result as the one shared in the essay. Very few of the Success Academy schools have been around long enough to establish a record. The ones that have show very, very, very high attrition rates.

“One such analysis found “at Success, the pattern is similar, if not more stark. Not only do its classes contain disproportionately few students with disabilities and English language learners (ELLs), but their numbers almost invariably decrease with each passing year. This should have no uncertain effect on test scores. Clearly, the ranks of students with disabilities consistently dwindle. The pattern for students learning English is less consistent but equally egregious. In the first two years of available data, there were hardly any ELLs. In 2010 Success suddenly came up with a nearly representative portion of these students, but their numbers more than halved by the next year. (2012-13 data isn’t yet disaggregated by student demographic.)”

“Insideschools reported that “according to figures on the school’s New York State Report Card, 83 students entered kindergarten in 2006-07, the school’s first year of operation. When that class reached 4th grade in 2010-11, it had only 53 students — a drop of 36 percent. Harlem Success also took in a 1st grade class with 73 students in 2006. When that group reached 5th grade, it too had shrunk appreciably — by 36 percent. The attrition accelerated as the classes advanced. The 2006-07 1st grade class, for example, did not shrink at all as it entered 2nd grade, but saw one sharp falloff between 2nd and 3rd and another between 4th and 5th.”

Yet another analysis found something similar “So the next thing I looked at was their student attrition. If they ‘lost’ many students, these scores are tainted. Now there is only one Success school that has been around since 2007. That school started with 83 kindergarteners and 73 first graders. Those cohorts just tested in 6th and 7th grade, respectively. The school has ‘lost’ a big chunk of those original 156 kids. Of those 73 first graders in 2007, only 35 took the seventh grade test. Of the 83 kindergarteners, only 47 took the sixth grade test last spring. Overall, they have ‘lost’ 47% of the original two cohorts. If this is one of the costs of having such high test scores, I’m not sure if it is worth it.”

“Success Academy rather uniquely tends to open elementary schools that only serve grades K-3 or K-4. This suggests that their attrition rate is high enough that it becomes necessary to combine multiple feeder elementary schools into a single middle school by 5th (or even 4th grade). It has been noted “it may be significant that the bulk of the attrition at Harlem Success Academy 1 seems to have come in the tested grades.”

“The essay analyzed the attrition rate at Success Academy using a different data set, namely the -testing cohort data. This may do a better job of accounting for Success Academy’s approach of holding many students back a grade level which creates a 3rd grade bulge as those students don’t move on to 4th grade. As clearly stated in the essay this method assumes that the size of each entering class is relatively stable from year to year, as they tend to be in the established Success Academy schools. The results are similar to those of other approaches which find attrition rates approaching or exceeding 50% by the end of middle school.

“Success Academy, more specifically Eva Moscowitz, is at a crossroads—they can choose to cancel school, to protest, to walk over bridges, to travel to Albany, to buy TV ads. Or they can choose to be transparent and open and conduct an honest conversation about education, equity and access for all children.”

Saturday Ohanian Special

I'm sending the  piece about the disastrous Vermont RTTT grant again because now it has a link to a cleaner version.

Big news today comes form Chicago, with two schools boycotting the ISAT, a low-impact. Don't miss the great videos the Chicago Teachers Union is producing.

Cartoon
Student-Teacher Relationship Advocated by the US Department of Education

Don't Let the Feds Destroy Child Wonder
http://susanohanian.org/cartoon_fetch.php?id=888
http://susanohanian.org/cartoon_fetch.php?id=889

Solidarity.

Susan

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Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation donations help with Common Core push in TN
Joey Garrison
The Tennessean
2014-01-29
http://susanohanian.org/core.php?id=673

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation made three donations in Tennessee near the end of 2013, totaling more than $1 million, to help the push the Common Core. Starting with that $90 million grant in 2009, Gates has  a lot riding on Tennessee continuing to toe the party line.

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Vermont Won a RTTT Early Childhood Grant & I'm As Mad As Hell
Susan Ohanian
blog
2014-02-23
http://susanohanian.org/core.php?id=672

Race to the Top Money comes at very high cost--to children and to democracy.

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Slicing and Dicing Curriculum Has Never Worked and Never Will
Marion Brady

2014-02-28
http://susanohanian.org/show_commentary.php?id=1156

Marion Brady challenges ed reformers who support status quo, stale curriculum model.

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Your Kid Is Being Bullied ---But Not in the Way You Think
Susan Ohanian

2014-02-28
http://susanohanian.org/show_commentary.php?id=1155

Jim Arnold makes a very good point  about who is bullying kids. New word: 'Accountabullies.' And he tells parents what they should do about it.

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Big Score When Mom takes the SATs
Elizabeth Kolbert

2014-02-25
http://susanohanian.org/show_commentary.php?id=1154

This is an informative, highly entertaining essay.

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To the editor
Susan Ohanian
New York Times
2014-02-24
http://susanohanian.org/show_letter.php?id=1647

Kudos to Op Ed for warning about the preschool performance bandwagon.

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To the editor
Susan Ohanian
New York Times
2014-02-22
http://susanohanian.org/show_letter.php?id=1644

Concern with Olympic hype for winning, and what 1/2 second actually means.

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To the editor
Stephen Krashen
Los Angeles Times
2014-02-24
http://susanohanian.org/show_letter.php?id=1644

Powerful letter. People who care about public schools in Los Angeles should flood the paper with similar letters.

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 Gates Foundation opposes release of teachers’ VAM scores in Florida
Valerie Strauss
Washington Post Answer Sheet
2014-02-27
http://susanohanian.org/outrage_fetch.php?id=1783

In ploy of cynical opportunism, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation tries to have teacher 'value' every which way.

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 CPS threatens to discipline teachers who won’t give students ISAT
Becky Schlikerman
Chicago Sun-times
2014-02-28
http://susanohanian.org/outrage_fetch.php?id=1782

Chicago Public Schools chief Barbara Byrd-Bennett has threatened to discipline any teacher who refuses to administer an annual state achievement test next week. There's a link to a short video on professional development in Chicago that you will not believe.

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Anatomy of a lesson on the Amplify Tablet
Shiloh Starners
Amplify
2014-02-26
http://susanohanian.org/outrage_fetch.php?id=1781

Amplify commissions a teacher to say something good about the Amplify tablet.

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Need to Fund School Programs? Just Sell Your Kids’ Clothes
K J Dell'Antonia with Ohanian comment
New York Times
2014-02-26
http://susanohanian.org/outrage_fetch.php?id=1780

Maybe it's an overreach to compare the moral of this piece with Melville, but so it goes. Don't worry, the piece is a light one. But I still the moral is a big one.

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Ugly News for Early Readers
Susan Ohanian
blog
2014-02-25
http://susanohanian.org/outrage_fetch.php?id=1779

Big books go Common Core.

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A Primary Source for Ed Reporters
Susan Ohanian
blog
2014-02-25
http://susanohanian.org/outrage_fetch.php?id=1778

Take a look at a primary source for ed reporters.
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Order the CD of the resistance:
"No Child Left Behind? Bring Back the Joy."
To order online (and hear samples from the songs)
http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/dhbdrake4
Other orders: Send $15 to
Susan Ohanian
P. O. Box 26
Charlotte, VT 05445