The Slime Still Oozes at Tweed as Racist Fomer Principal, Elif Gure-Perez, Holds Onto Job

Elif Gure-Perez, who was named in June as an executive director in the DOE’s Office of School Improvement, created a “hostile, race-based work environment,” a Manhattan federal court found months before her appointment.

“From the moment Villavicencio refused to file false reports on these African-American teachers, Gure-Perez started a campaign to terminate Villavicencio’s employment as assistant principal,” Manhattan federal Judge Jack Weinstein wrote in a November ruling. The case is set for trial on Jan. 27. 

Gure-Perez, the former principal of PS 316 in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn, called one staffer the N-word to her face; referred to an African-American teacher as “Shining,” an insulting term for a shoe shiner; and spoke of buying a bright orange blouse to wear to school “since I know black people like loud colors,” witnesses testified.... In her new post, Gure-Perez is assigned to support 14 high schools in the mayor’s $150 million School Renewal Program for struggling schools, according to DOE spokesman Will Mantell. Her salary is $144,195. Asked why Chancellor Carmen Fariña promoted Gure-Perez in light of the complaints, the DOE had no comment..... 

Thanks to the reporting of my former editor at The Wave, Howie Schwach at his OnRockawy site and the Sue Edelman report in the NY Post. Note that the court found Gure-Perez guilty "months BEFORE she was appointed by Farina to a $145,000 job. I'm sure she brings special skills to the job that transcend her racism.

In March, a Manhattan jury found Gure-Perez liable for civil damages, awarding Lovejoy $110,000, which the city is paying.

So what's a measly 100 grand and after other law suits expect that number to grow. If you're a principal you can do pretty much anything and still rise up the ladder. What is interesting about this case is that other supervisors are making the charges, including a current principal, Christina Villavicencio, of Rockaway elementary school, PS 197. Good for her, making a comeback like this, though discontinued teachers don't seem to have much chance.

For those who disbelieve teachers who charge that they come under assault by vicious bully principals, Villavicenio's story should be a model.

Principal Gure-Perez instructed Assistant Principal Villavicencio to “aggressively supervise ‘older staff members’ at PS 316 to shake them up.” All of these staff members were minorities, and all but one was African-American. The principal directed Villavicencio to re-observe two African-American teachers whom Villavicencio had rated “Satisfactory” because Gure-Perez “wanted these teachers to be rated Unsatisfactory . . . because they were ‘old’ and African Americans.” She instructed Villavicencio to use “fear” and “intimidation” against a third teacher in order to “make her retire.”

I used to tell Joel Klein that supporting slug principals like this undermines any legitimate attempt to remove really bad teachers because you never know. PS 316 is in Crown Heights, District 17, a district with a lot of African-American teachers, many of them older. Reports have been coming in about other schools where they are under assault by abusive principals, many of whom are black themselves (PS 399K Principal Marion Brown Accused of Running School With Concentration Camp Mentality). Is there some element of racists working out of Tweed? (I know of one recently appointed Superintendent who was a former principal and had black teachers at that school tell me she was.)

In March 2009, Gure-Perez started to “create a false paper trail to get rid of Villavicencio from PS 316,” criticizing her for not clocking in for the month of November and telling Villavicencio that she did not have a “backbone to write up teachers.” In a single day, March 17, 2009, Gure-Perez placed seven disciplinary letters in Villavicencio’s file. On March 26, 2009, Gure-Perez gave plaintiff the first “Unsatisfactory” rating of her career, together with a notice of discontinuance of her probationary service as assistant principal. 

Villavicencio's life in hell continued when she was demoted and sent to a school run by a friend of Gure-Perez, PS 191 run by Principal Elsi Capolongo who is still there. Both are thugs. Let's see how she treated Villavicencio.

A few days after Villavicencio started working at P.S. 191, Capolongo told Villavicencio to come to her office with a United Federation of Teachers (“UFT”) representative because the meeting could lead to disciplinary action. The UFT chapter leader advised Villavicencio to leave the school because “[Capolongo and her friends] are after you.” The plaintiff alleges that because of her refusal to discriminate as directed, Gure-Perez terminated her position as assistant principal when transferring her, resulting in a salary reduction. Further, the experiences with Gure-Perez and Capolango led Villavicencio to take medical leave due to anxiety and depression. Villavicencio was prescribed medication and therapy for her condition. 

These people are the DOE version of rogue detective Louis Scarcella (New York City Settles Three Brothers' Wrongful Conviction Cases for $17 Million) and should be in jail for their blatant misuse of their positions.

We have maintained that tenure protects teachers from racism, though it is clear that racists will find a way. But tenure forces them into creating a paper trail, aided by DOE Legal, where you can find a crew of Black lawyers helping them do the dirty work. You wouldn't have found these people marching over a bridge in Selma.

Our Pals in -- THE Republican Senate?

While the Democrats screw us, here is something to cheer in the Republican takeover of the Senate.

The administration's position comes amidst growing anti-testing sentiment fueled by an odd alliance of parents skeptical of standardized tests, teachers unions who say using test scores to evaluate teachers and schools has warped education and conservatives who argue the federal government should play a much smaller role in local education.

In case you don't remember, Diane Ravitch served as under secretary with Lamar Alexander in the first Bush administration in the early 90s. Who would have thunk they would one day come around to similar positions on the opposite side of the spectrum they were once on?

Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., a former education secretary, university president and governor who took control Monday as chair of the Senate education panel, said he is weighing whether to ditch the federal requirement to test.

"Every parent, every teacher in 100,000 public schools is asking the question 'Are there too many tests?"Alexander said. "I don't know the answer. I'm asking the question. And the United States Senate ought to be asking that question as we think about No Child Left Behind."

Alexander said the federal requirement appears to have created a cascading effect in states and local school districts, most of which now regularly test students during the course of the school year to make sure they are on track to succeed on the federally required exam at year's end. And this year, as most states prepare for new tests aligned with the Common Core State Standards, the testing debate has gained new urgency.

"It's a good, healthy discussion that the country is having," said Alexander, who has scheduled a Jan. 20 Senate hearing on testing and set an aggressive timetable to move a bill to the full Senate for a vote by late February.

At this point, the Obama administration can't disappear fast enough.

Obama administration draws 'line in sand' over education testing

The State Journal-Register

By Lyndsey Layton
Washington Post News Service

Posted Jan. 9, 2015 @ 5:38 pm

WASHINGTON — As a new Congress gets to work to rewrite the 2002 federal education law known as No Child Left Behind, the Obama administration is drawing what Education Secretary Arne Duncan calls his "line in the sand": The federal government must continue to require states to give annual, standardized tests in reading and math.

In a speech scheduled for Monday at an elementary school in Washington, Duncan is expected to insist that any new law retain the trademark of No Child Left Behind, requiring that every public school student be tested annually in math and reading in grades 3 through 8 and once in high school, and also be tested in science at three points during those years.

The current law is about 600 pages long and spells out how the federal government sends roughly $25 billion annually to states to help educate poor and disabled students.

The National Education Association (NEA), the country's largest teacher's union, wants to kill the annual testing requirement and replace it with age span testing, which calls for students to be tested once in grades 3 to 5, once in grades 6 to 8 and once in high school.

"We need to cut back on testing and build a smarter accountability system," said Becky Pringle, NEA vice president.

---

Differentiation - Blah, Blah Gobbledygook - Turn and Talk -- to My Hand

It seems that, when it comes to differentiation, teachers are either not doing it at all, or beating themselves up for not doing it as well as they're supposed to be doing it. Either way, the verdict is clear: Differentiation is a promise unfulfilled, a boondoggle of massive proportions... James R. Delisle, Differentiation Doesn't Work, Edweek

I'm attending the Peter Zucker 3020a hearing and have had to listen to 3 days of testimony of a droning robotic principal blabbing about differentiation - and this is for an elementary cluster position where the teacher has 200 kids a week, with classes coming once or twice a week for 45 minutes at a time. What a crock. I do not believe in many of the tenets of differentiation or the workshop model and all its jargon in the NYC public school system with class sizes of 30 or more - so it was good to see the article below sent out by Murry Bergtraum Chapter Leader John Elfrank-Dana with the following  comment:

I wonder if anyone who got an Ineffective and had lack of differentiation in the lesson as one repeated reason for a low MOTP could bring this article and others in their defense?

I wanted to scream when Peter's Principal (there's a joke hiding here, but really think about it) spent 3 days worshiping at the feet of the Workshop Model - you know, teach for about 12 minutes and then break into small groups where the kids teach each other - a system that I would like - if I had about 15 kids in my class.

This Weds we should see Peter's Principal being cross-examined. I wonder it articles like this and other critiques of the Workshop Model are fodder.

I know I sound retrograde-Neanderthal, but I as a teacher I had stuff to say to kids. Lots of stuff. And I knew stuff they didn't. Taking away my right to share my knowledge by just talking to kids as a whole group is a denial of services I have to offer.

Yes, I am defending "chalk and talk" which has come under attack as being the reason kids don't learn - or get bored - or behave badly. Sorry, if kids weren't listening because I was boring then it was up to me to deliver what I had to deliver in a more engaging manner. But to abandon it totally?

I am a product of a regressive education system - elementary school in East NY Brooklyn from 1950-56 where I had to memorize dates and geographical locations - and while I'm sure many of my fellow classmates may have been bored to tears, I flourished in these subjects and even today can give you a timeline of important dates in American history. By being "subjected" to this style of teaching, I found my interests -- a form of differentiation I guess. So, today, I have a total sense of the flow of history and can put events into context.

But I was not a regressive teacher - I was an oddball in being willing to try all sorts of progressive ideas in the 70s. It is interesting that the article below begins with:

Let's review the educational cure-alls of past decades: back to basics, the open classroom, whole language, constructivism, and E.D. Hirsch's excruciatingly detailed accounts of what every 1st or 3rd grader should know, to name a few.

Yeah, I know. I tried them all -- but never abandoned chalk and talk.

Differentiation Doesn't Work

http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2015/01/07/differentiation-doesnt-work.html?cmp=SOC-SHR-FB

By James R. Delisle 

Teacher Slams UFT Partner, New Visions Network

It's been rumored that the onerous networks will be gone by July 1 and the old district-based Superintendencies reinstated to their former "glory."  The NY Post has a story:

http://nypost.com/2015/01/10/de-blasio-and-farina-plan-to-shift-power-from-principals-to-superintendents/

The network rats are racing for jobs in the districts or as school leaders. Th correspondent is happy due to the bad experience recited below with New Visions network (and charter school operator) which has partnered with the UFT/Unity Caucus leadership in driving a giant screw(ing) into the teaching force. Randi is on the Board of Trustees, as is Ernie Logan, head of the CSA. I'm glad to see the networks go for too many reasons to elucidate here. But too many Supt are god-awaful (one of the ones Farina recently appointed was the terror who ran my old school for 5 years) so don't expect much better - other than the advantage (or disadvantage) of working out of a geographical unit.

FDNY was originally started in relation to the Fire Dept. What it is now is anyone's guess -- but they closed down my alma mater, Thomas Jefferson HS, to put this in.

FDNY HS (on the Jefferson campus in East New York) is a New Visions network school.  The principal, who has been under investigation for years, is an incompetent with little teaching experience when he was appointed principal a number of years ago.   Rumor is that he had a close relative in Bloomberg’s office so that even after the staff as a whole and individually reported many, many contract violations, testing/grading irregularities and cheating, transcript tampering, special education violations, he remains unscathed to this day. 

As to New Visions: when the teaching staff united to report and complain about the principal to the DoE, the Superintendent and New Visions mucky-mucks, New Visions ignored our petition and enabled him to continue to harass teachers, especially those who were the whistle blowers against him.

New Visions provided a single part-time AP for English, social studies, etc. He was a retired DOE English AP receiving a full pension plus a salary from New Visions.  Since he was considered a consultant for New Visions and not an employee of the DoE, he was able to double dip. That is how these retired APs and principals are able to take these positions.He was in our building for a single afternoon once a week, some weeks not even there at all, never walked the halls, only observed classrooms to do write-ups, refused to teach demonstration lessons when asked, was never present for professional development of any kind, etc.  He was clueless about the environment of the school he was working with.

The immense amount of unnecessary and redundant paperwork required of teachers was mandated by New Visions despite much of it being in violation of the contract.  The professional development that New Visions provided was irrelevant and insultingly time-wasting.

New Visions also runs charter schools, which to my mind is a definite conflict of interest.

Is Eva Success Academy Charter Withdrawals Due to Staffing Issues?

Is Eva having trouble staffing up her schools for next year? She sent emails to recruit teachers as far away as CT and NJ...  Leonie Haimson

The height of ed deform coincided with one of the most severe recessions in history - akin in some ways to the 30s when Phds had to teach in NYC schools. TFA and charters had droves of applicants and replacement parts in spite of the high staff turnover rates.

Eva's goal for 100 schools and a school system of her own nested inside the NYC school system, clearly faces problems in getting teachers to work at her schools for long periods of time. Turnover is high. At some point one of their unregulated and unlicensed people will do something so dumb as to get lots of press and scrutiny. It is inevitable. She knows how disastrous that would be and she is smart enough to try to assure some quality control - not as educators but in finding people who are sane - not so easy - I can tell some stories of people I saw working over the years.

Now that the economy is improving and the word is also out so publicly that there is an assault on teacher rights and their job securities - anti-tenure law suits, Cuomo-like attacks, etc from all over the place -- the teacher as enemy.

Are the chickens coming home to roost?

Postscript: I will have video up from last night's Anti-Eva forum on the Lower East Side.

A Day at the Rages UPDATED - Did Moskowitz Back Down or Did the DOE Do a Deal Behind the Scenes?

UPDATED: DNAInfo- Lower East Side Success Academy Delayed for 2 Years, Officials Say

Chalkbeat: http://ny.chalkbeat.org/2015/01/08/success-academy-cancels-its-plans-to-open-new-schools-in-2015/#.VK_gxydZhOd

Deferred Success

The Success Academy charter school network has abandoned plans to open four schools in the upcoming school year, following negotiations with the city last month in which Success secured public space for 10 schools in 2016.

• Chalkbeat,
• DNAinfo

Even after news got out that Success Academy was scraping its plans for next school year, Lower East Side parents and elected officials went ahead with a hearing to oppose a new Success charter school in District 1.

• Chalkbeat

 

Megan Moskop comment at Chalkbeat • 

I'm really glad Chalkbeat covered this event. Thank you! As someone present at the event though, I think use of the word "makeshift" is an unfairly derogatory choice to describe the well-organized and persistent activism of LES parents. This article neglects to mention that though many went home early, perhaps due to family responsibilities, the auditorium was initially full of community members. Yes, the posters were home-made, and the speakers wore sweaters, not suits, but that's what real activism (not the well-funded Success Academy kind) looks like. It was inspiring to hear from the parents, teachers, and students who made it out last night to demand quality public schools for all the students in their district, not just their own children, and their efforts should be lauded, or, at least reported using more objective terms.

Raging Horse Blog report:

Insulted at such cavalier treatment, CEC 1’s fearless President Lisa Donlon decided to hold a public forum in its stead in which members of the Lower East Side community could speak their mind about Moskowitz and her ever expanding charter empire.
This they did. Fervently. Angrily. Passionately.... Speaker after speaker told horror stories about dealing with Success Academy and while there was a sense of relief at the DOE’s announcement, there was no misunderstanding the fact that Moskowitz and her hedge fund backers would be back when they sensed the time was right.....The crowd of about 200 people included parents, principals, and teachers, including a contingent from MORE. It was refreshing to witness such a display of rebellious intelligence and community.

MOREistas in the house - I counted about 10-a dozen all told

The coldest day turned into the busiest day. First up was Peter Zucker's (South Bronx School) 3020a hearing. I thought today the principal would be cross-examined but it turned into another half day of listening to her drone on. I have dozed off at every one of her appearances. Can we bottle tapes of her to replace sleeping pills? We went to lunch and when we came back we were waiting around for some documents to be turned over.

Done for the day and I headed over to the Lower East Side for the event being held to replace the cancelled Success Academy hearing by Community Education Council plus politicians and other community leaders, led by City Councilwoman Rosie Mendez and CEC1's Lisa Donlan. After a stop at Patrick Walsh's apartment for some coffee, we headed over to PS 20, where I taped over 2 hours of testimony and comments. Success had to drag a parent down from Washington Heights to try to make some case - only one other person spoke favorably for charters. Funny, but a UFT rep got up and while opposing Eva said she was not against charters -- toeing to the line for the UFT.

Here is Raging Horse's take: Moskowitz Backs Down (For the time Being)
and some photos -- video tomorrow or Saturday.

Rosie Mendez, one of the leaders of the band

Lisa Donlan and Rosie Mendez

MORE's Alexandra Alves comments

And Jia Lee too

DOE Suddenly Cancels Success Academy Hearing Tonight - Community to Hold Own Forum

Like McDonalds, SACS simply assumes that they can open their franchise and sling their burgers anywhere... Liz Rosenberg

...at 6:38 p.m. on Wednesday, January 7th, the Department of Education sent an e-mail stating: “In light of the fact that the DOE is not planning to site a school in District 1 tomorrow’s hearing has been cancelled.”  To date, Success Academy has not rescinded its request to change its application to School District 1. If elected officials do not receive said written notice before the scheduled press conference, community leaders will hold a forum to allow parents and community residents an opportunity to provide their comments.

Nothing surprises us when it comes to the machinations going on around Eva and Success Academy. Was it too itty bitty cold tonight? I'm going to be there and I'm old and cold.

Since SACS [Success Academy Charter Schools] switched locations virtually overnight, it had no language in its proposal specific to District 1; it failed to make the case that District 1 has “limited options” or had a “compelling need” for it. Like McDonalds, SACS simply assumes that they can open their franchise and sling their burgers anywhere. But of all the districts in the city, District 1 is even more sure than most that they do not want or need a Success Academy. ...comment at NYCpublic.org

Below the announcement I've included a great article called: District 1 Deserves A School That Matches Their Vision (Not Success Academy) by Liz Rosenberg

***MEDIA ADVISORY*** WITH LESS THAN 24 HOURS NOTICE, DOE CANCELS SACS PUBLIC HEARING

January 8, 2015 mendezrosie

Advisory_ SACS_ 1 8 15

MEDIA ADVISORY                                                                                   January 7, 2015

Contact: John Blasco [Councilwoman Rosie Mendez] 212-677-1077, jblasco@council.nyc.gov
Lisa Donlan [President, CEC1] 212-353-2946, lisabdonlan@hotmail.com

WITH LESS THAN 24 HOURS NOTICE, THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION CANCELS PUBLIC HEARING ON SUCCESS ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOL’S APPLICATION FOR A “NON-MATERIAL” CHANGE

With Little To No Notice to Community Residents and Elected Officials, Department of Education Cancels Long Awaited Hearing.Community To Move Forward With Its Own Forum

WHAT:          Press Conference immediately before the scheduled and now cancelled public hearing on Success Academy Charter Schools’ application for a “non-material” change to move its charter application from School District 2 to School District 1.
WHEN:          Thursday, January 8^th, 5pm
WHERE:       In front of P.S. 20, the Anna Silver School (166 Essex Street between East Houston & Stanton Streets)
WHY: Success Academy Charter School was previously approved by the SUNY Board of Trustees’ Charter School Committee for a new charter in School District 2, but has since applied for a “non-material” change to move their charter to School District 1. Under current SUNY policies, there is no public hearing required before this “non-material” change, since it takes place within the same borough. However, following advocacy by Council Members Chin and Mendez, SUNY has now agreed to take public comments from the School District 1 community before deciding whether or not to approve Success Academy’s “non-material” change.
However, at 6:38 p.m. on Wednesday, January 7th, the Department of Education sent an e-mail stating: “In light of the fact that the DOE is not planning to site a school in District 1 tomorrow’s hearing has been cancelled.”  To date, Success Academy has not rescinded its request to change its application to School District 1.
If elected officials do not receive said written notice before the scheduled press conference, community leaders will hold a forum to allow parents and community residents an opportunity to provide their comments.

####

http://www.nycpublic.org/impactory-2/successcomments/my-two-cents-on-sacs-in-district-1/

District 1 Deserves A School That Matches Their Vision (Not Success Academy)

On January 8th the New York City Department of Education will hold a hearing regarding the Success Academy Charter School slated for District 1 in Lower Manhattan. The school was approved despite clear community opposition and despite an eleventh-hour application change that many see as a violation of the charter proposal process. I will be delivering the following testimony at that hearing.
It is not news that Success Academy Charter Schools (SACS) is slated to open 14 new schools in NYC over the next two years, but it is news that one of those schools will be in New York City’s District 1. At the last minute, SACS asked the State University of New York (SUNY), one of two New York state charter authorizers, to change the location of the school it had originally stipulated for District 2. This might not sound like a big deal, but in New York charter applications specify that the applicant demonstrate that “the proposed school is located in a community with limited options” and that the proposal shows “a compelling need for the school.”^[1] Since SACS switched locations virtually overnight, it had no language in its proposal specific to District 1; it failed to make the case that District 1 has “limited options” or had a “compelling need” for it. Like McDonalds, SACS simply assumes that they can open their franchise and sling their burgers anywhere. But of all the districts in the city, District 1 is even more sure than most that they do not want or need a Success Academy.
With anger directed toward the Success network coming from many places across the city, how can I make such a strong statement about District 1? Because, unusually, Community Education Council 1 has invested much time and energy in understanding what type of school program their community would like to see.
Last January, District 1’s Community Education Council partnered with my organization, NYCpublic, to hold a “Community Engagement Lab.” (You can see the lab in action here.) Participants in the Lab, whose stated purpose was to determine what the community might want in a new school, came from progressive and traditional schools, from the co-ops and from the public housing developments and middle-income Mitchell Lama buildings nearby. They included representatives from central NYCDOE, local teachers and administrators–and, of course, parents.
By the end of the one-day lab, which consisted of guest-speaker-hosted “learning sessions” and highly structured brainstorming exercises, participants had come to consensus around and developed a set of “building blocks” that should be inherent in any future district school. These “building blocks” addressed:

• Configuration – Lab consensus was for a pre-K-8th grade Spanish-English dual language school, with tracks for both general education and dual language. There would be options for middle school (6th grade) entry also.

• Community Integration – Lab participants wanted a school that would be integrated with the community, providing the community with a sense of ownership. The school would act as a community hub, sharing its gym (in a neighborhood with precious few), parent center, and health clinic. It would engage local community-based organizations for after-school programming and other supports and partner with local organizations, museums, and institutions to offer programs in school and via field trips.

• Leadership – The selection of the first instructional school leader would happen early in the process of planning, designing, and building the new school to ensure that the building, instructional curriculum, teachers, and school community reflect community values. District 1 residents and parents would be part of selecting the school leader in a participatory and authentic process.

• Curriculum – Lab participants asked for a curriculum that would create opportunities throughout the year, at all grades, for multidisciplinary, integrated instruction; would develop forward-thinking skills, such as STEM/STEAM; would prominently feature social-emotional learning; would prioritize play at all grade levels; and would provide students with a real opportunity to influence what and how they learn.

• Teaching Staff – Participants were eager for a school which would support and cultivate master teachers and give those teachers some say in the allocation of budget items.

• Student Assessment – Lab attendees looked forward to a school that would allow students to demonstrate their mastery of content through non-traditional evaluation (exhibits, portfolios, discussions, presentations, etc.), in the process bolstering confidence and independence.

Most of these “building blocks” are the polar opposite of Success Academy’s school design. Via the Community Engagement Lab, District 1 has created a model for a school that will support all of students in the district, including a dual language program and social emotional curriculum. Success Academy, on the other hand, has a well-documented history of not meeting charter school enrollment requirements for English Language Learners and special education students. They are known to counsel out poor testers, or students who struggle to meet their rigid code of conduct. They do not refill their seats once those students have left. (This is one of the reasons that SACS is now being audited by the comptroller.)
Success Academy Charter Schools are cookie-cutter versions of the same school, each with the same pedagogical model. They are not responsive to the community-based organizations and cultural institutions in their midst, something that District 1 residents clearly prize. Test prep is a huge part of the curriculum at Success Academy–yet this community is asking for a school that focuses on alternative methods of assessment and a deep rich curriculum that may or may not align with standardized tests. Further, the school that District 1 envisions supports teachers and makes sure that they feel empowered as essential leaders in their school. Success Academy has a famously high turnover rate and a reputation for a dictatorial leadership style.
The list of incompatibilities could go on and on, but there is one more reason why Success Academy is wrong for District 1. This reason goes far beyond this one network of schools. We tax-paying New York City residents deserve to have a say in what public schools come into our communities. SUNY’s rubric for approving charter schools allots one point out of 64 total points to community engagement. Given that Success’ District 1 proposal was written for District 2, there is no way that they should get even that one point on this topic.
Though some District 1 parents might welcome a Success Academy, those same parents might also welcome the school envisioned by their fellow community members. This week our fight is to assert one District’s right to determine what types of schools are planted in its community.
Let this week’s hearing continue NYC public school parents’ fight to control which schools get planted in our communities. The broken process for approving charters, one that would completely discount a community process like the one described here, must be stopped.
The District 1 community wants much more for their kids. Sign their petition now. You can also go to this page to write to charter approver SUNY about why you do not want to see a Success Academy in District 1. Even better, you can share what you would rather see grow in your community instead.

Liz Rosenberg
^[1] From the SUNY Preference Scoring Rubric in their January 2014 RFP

PS 147: My Old School, Now So Cool

PS 147’s Japanese DLP featured in DNAinfo!
http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20141117/upper-west-side/what-you-need-know-before-sending-your-child-dual-language-program#

ニューヨークDOEの奨学金授与が決定しました！　PS 147’s Japanese DLP is Awarded the DOE Grant!

After nearly a year’s efforts in bringing the first-ever Japanese DLP to the NYC DOE, we are thrilled to announce that we have been awarded the dual-language grant by the Office of ELLs! We are one of the 40 DLPs approved to open this fall as an initiative to promote biculturalism and bilingualism amongst NYC public school students. We will be getting more information about enrollment procedures this week and will provide updates as we get them. Thank you for your support in our vision to bring this program to fruition!
Please see Chancellor Carmen Farina’s efforts in opening DLPs in the city:
http://www.timesledger.com/stories/2014/52/chancellor_tl_2014_12_26_2014_q.html

The Grimm Reaper of Closing Schools Leaving the DOE (Finally)

Ding dong, the Grimm Reaper of closing schools is gone.
It was a close call between her and John White - but she blinked every so often.

Why was someone who did so many horrible things allowed to stay on for a year in the new administration? unless they didn't think she'd done horrible things? ... Comment on NYCParent listserve

I got sick watching sycophantic Grimm still at the DOE, sitting on the stage a year after Bloomberg left, after years of watching her bloodlessly staring blankly at children, parents and teachers pleading to save their schools. She committed educational war

Grimm with her uberfuhrer

crimes and never had to pay for them -- there should have been a Nuhrenberg like trial for these people where they could have bleated - I vus just following orders.

I have so much video of her grimmly reading the death of their schools to the audience. At what I thought would be her last meeting of the Bloomberg era I called her The Grimm Reaper of Closing Schools.

Here is Carmen's - ugh- letter of praise.

From: Chancellor Carmen Fariña
Sent: Wednesday, January 07, 2015 2:32 PM
To: Chancellor Carmen Fariña
Subject: Announcement

Dear Colleagues,

It is with deep personal regret that I announce a leave pending retirement of Deputy Chancellor Kathleen Grimm, an esteemed colleague who has worked tirelessly to create safe, nurturing environments in which all of our students can learn and thrive.

Those of us who have had the privilege of working with Deputy Chancellor Grimm over her more than 12 years at the DOE know her as highly committed and ethical; one of her most outstanding qualities is her loyalty. No matter the task, she works collaboratively to build bridges to all of our constituencies, from the custodians’ union to the School Construction Authority to food service operators, and beyond.

Most importantly, she embraces new challenges; upon my arrival as Chancellor she willingly took on new departments, folding them seamlessly into her already substantial portfolio. As a senior member of my leadership team, Deputy Chancellor Grimm has provided a strong foundation for our most critical initiatives, including Pre-K for All, Community Schools, and our expanded school support and safety services. I know that principals, parents, and of course students have benefitted from her meticulous attention to detail and her responsiveness to their needs.

Please join me in thanking Kathleen Grimm for her indelible career and uncompromising devotion to the students of New York City, and in supporting Elizabeth Rose in her role as interim-acting Deputy Chancellor while we undertake a formal search process.

It is comforting to know Kathleen is just a phone call away.

If you would like to contact Kathleen directly, please email her at: DeputyChancellorKathleenGrimm@schools.nyc.govDeputyChancellorKathleenGrimm@schools.nyc.gov>.

Warmly,

Carmen

Fight Back Against Cuomo: This Friday! Brooklyn Meeting with Change the Stakes

I know to some this is far out but if parents didn't let their kids take the tests, that denies the deformers the data they need to create their mayhem. Thus helping the opt-out movement grow should be on every teacher's agenda. Change the Stakes is helping lead that movement here in the city.

We hope you will join us for this important meeting of Brooklyn based parents and teachers, concerned members of the community and anyone opposed to the over testing that is harming our children and our schools.

Please share this with your local community! Working together is what will change the current system that is failing our children.

BROOKLYN GENERAL MEETING

Governor Cuomo has promised to go after public school teachers, continue to emphasize test and punish policies and replace our community schools with privately run and operated charter schools.

 
SAVE THE DATE:  
Friday, January 9, 2015, 6-8 pm

Location: Panera Bread, upper level,

345 Adam Street, Downtown Brooklyn

Trains: 2,3,4,5 to Court Street/ A,C,F,R to Jay St-Brooklyn Tech

Buses: 25, 26, 38, 41, 52, 57, 61, 65, 67, 103

Join us to discuss strategies for

organizing in our schools and communities.

All are welcome!

http://changethestakes.wordpress.com/events-calendar/

for resources and other events.

Join CEC 1 and MORE to Say “No” to Success Academy This Thursday!

Yesterday I said The Fat Lady Has Sung -- WHAT CHARTER GROUPS WANT IN 2015 but that doesn't mean we give up fighting the charter slug invasion.

When we were still GEM from 2009-2012 we were engaged in the battle against charters while we heard barely a peep from the UFT. We joined with Lisa Donlan and others on the Lower East Side to fight Girls Prep, which is funded and managed by some of the very same people involved with Eva Moskowitz and Success Academy. They pull every trick in the book - this hearing is about their bait and switch tactics - getting approval for one district and switching to another. With de Blasio being trumped and backed into a corner by the charter lobby and Cuomo and with the UFT defanged, in part due to its own charter occupying space in a co-located public school, it is left for people in groups like MORE to take action in support of the Community Education Councils, in this case CEC 1. It will be cold out there (and I will be coming from the Peter Zucker 3020a hearing) so we have to make our own heat.

Read Mindy Rosier's great piece on her own experience in Harlem fighting the Eva expansion in her own school building: The “Evil” MORE Must Fight.   Mindy has an extended version of this at: http://crooksandliars.com/2014/12/evil-we-must-fight-0
It was due to Eva that MORE has found a great organizer and activist in Mindy.

PUBLIC HEARING ON SUCCESS ACADEMY’S SWITCH TO D1 IS THIS THURSDAY (1/8) at PS 20 ANNA SILVER!

We have almost 2300 signatures on our petition with more coming in.

Now we need to stand strong and turn out for the hearing to let SACS, SUNY, and the DoE know that District One is strong, District One is united, and District One says NO THANKS!

Public speaker sign in starts at 5:30. Hearing begins at 6pm. 

• If you are interested in childcare, please RSVP by Wednesday at 5pm so that we can make sure we have enough staff

• Sign making is scheduled for this afternoon from 3:30 – 5pm at PS 20 in the District Office & Thursday at 5pm before the hearing at PS 20. All are invited to join!

• We are asking people to submit quotes for the press release and to come speak at the press conference at 5pm on Thursday. Please contact us as soon as possible if you are interested.

See you on Thursday!

Community Education Council for District 1 (CEC1)

2013-2015 Members:

Lisa Donlan/Arnette Scott/Daniel Becker

Moses Seuram/Marco Battistella/Latesha Moore

Olivia Rychter/Fatima Baba/Luke Henry

Stephanie Thompson

PS 20 Anna Silver School

166 Essex Street

New York, NY 10002

Cec1@schools.nyc.gov

(212)353-2946 (p)

(212)353-2945 (f)

http://cecd1.org/

Join MORE to Say “No” to Success Academy This Thursday!

January 5, 2015 — 1 Comment

This Thursday, January 8th, there will be a Public Hearing on Success Academy in District 1 at P.S.20 Anna Silver School, located a 166 Essex Street in lower Manhattan. 
We need to let our voices be heard!
Join us in telling Success Academy CEOs and decision-makers that It is not acceptable for our public schools to be invaded by an entity that…
-does not educate “all” as they claim
-steals resources, and
-misinforms the media and the general public. 
If space is not found within a school, we, as tax payers. should not have to fund their rent and we certainly should not have to fund their renovations. 
This needs to stop, and we need you to be part of it! 
Here’s what you can do…
Please RSVP on this invite and sign up for public comment at 5:30 on Thursday night at the hearing.
Print out and hand out our pamphlet on The Truth About Charters.
Also, take a moment to sign and share this petition on there being no need for Success Academy in D1.
MORE will see you there!
See our fliers here- please print and distribute
BROCHURE 1
BROCHURE 2

The Fat Lady Has Sung -- WHAT CHARTER GROUPS WANT IN 2015

....those leaders are beginning to craft their legislative priorities, which will include eliminating the state’s cap on charter schools, increasing funding for established charters, and establishing more accountability measures for district schools and teachers. .. Capital Education, http://bit.ly/1xIwy5b

Well, here you have it. I think the fat lady has sung. Accountability for DISTRICT SCHOOLS AND TEACHERS BUT NOT FOR CHARTER SCHOOLS AND TEACHERS. I spoke to an elementary school teacher yesterday who said the teachers in her school don't see the charters as a threat - yet - because it is an area they have not invaded - yet. It is in places like Central Brooklyn where public schools have been emptying as the more upwardly mobile parents, who used to have the safety valve of the top tracked classes which have been eliminated under BloomKlein through heterogeneous mixing and now get a retracked system through charters.

Pretty soon every area of the city will have charters creeping up their asses and teachers will find colleagues disappearing as their schools get cut and co-located. And for those senior teachers who think they are safe - the attack on tenure and the use of VAM will finish off the higher salaried people. Oh, da doom and gloom for the New Year.

But it’s still too soon to assume they’ll have the cooperation they need from the Legislature to get their agenda items passed...the unions’ allies in the Assembly could deliver on what the charter groups are seeking in exchange for action on some of their own education priorities.

Do you think the current attack on Shelly Silver is unrelated to this point? Not that I consider him a great defender of our rights but possibly somewhat of an obstacle to the charter lobby plans.

The de Blasio camp will not even put up much of a fight, seeing their pre-k initiative as higher priority and also realizing they won't win the charter battle. The UFT/NYSUT is basically toothless at this point.

Here is a summary of a very good piece at Capital, which you should read in full at http://bit.ly/1xIwy5b

WHAT CHARTER GROUPS WANT IN 2015—Jessica Bakeman and Eliza Shapiro for Capital magazine: New York’s charter school advocates have poured millions of dollars into electing a State Senate hospitable to their agenda items for the upcoming legislative session. Now, those leaders are beginning to craft their legislative priorities, which will include eliminating the state’s cap on charter schools, increasing funding for established charters, and establishing more accountability measures for district schools and teachers. After a hugely successful session in 2014—at the political expense of teachers’ unions and their highest-profile champion, Bill de Blasio—pro-charter groups say they expect the Senate and Governor Andrew Cuomo once again to come through for them. 

In the last session, back before Cuomo’s humbling re-election campaign spoiled his aura of invincibility, the governor put the full force of his power at the disposal of the charter cause, rebuking the teachers and de Blasio and, along with the Senate, delivering sweeping charter protections that now require New York City to accommodate or pay for new schools approved by the state. It wasn’t a close fight: substantively and politically, the fight ended in a knockout. Before Election Day, Cuomo promised to fight the public school “monopoly” in New York.

Perhaps more important than Cuomo’s priorities is his willingness to take on the state’s powerful teachers’ unions. … Leading pro-charter and anti-status quo groups have plenty of resources, even after their considerable (and highly effective) spending in the last election. But it’s still too soon to assume they’ll have the cooperation they need from the Legislature to get their agenda items passed. http://bit.ly/1xIwy5b

Change the Stakes' Rosalie Friend Dismantles VAM

Rosalie Friend from our partner org Change the Stakes takes on VAM head on. These comments appear at the CTS site: CTS Comments on Proposed Federal Regs for Teacher Education Programs.

CTS will be leading the opt-out battle here in NYC this coming testing season. Teachers should realize that with the Cuomo anti-teacher pro-charter assault, one of their few methods of defense is by supporting the opt-out movement -- no data, no ineffective ratings. While opt-out might not work at the secondary school level, for elementary school teachers providing parents with opt-out info can have a long-term effect. See the video at CTS: NYC Parents Talk about Why They’re Refusing the Tests and download 12 Reasons to Opt Out (pdf) to share with parents.

Diane Ravitch featured Rosalie's comments.

This is an excellent letter to the U.S. Department of Education, which patiently explains the harm caused by value-added modeling (VAM). It was submitted by a Néw York group called "Change the Stakes," which opposes high-stakes testing. The letter was written by psychologist Dr. Rosalie Friend, a member of Change the Stakes. It is a good source for parents and educators who want to explain why testing is being overused and misused.

January 5, 2015 - Leonie Haimson Exposes How NY Post Hides Sharpton/Joel Klein Relationship

...the money for Sharpton was ostensibly for “equity” and funneled through Education Reform Now, the non-profit arm of Joe William’s pro-charter Democrats for Education Reform. The larger context is that ERN was merely a pass-through, and the money was directed to Sharpton through the Education Equity Project, founded by then-Chancellor Joel Klein, in exchange for Sharpton agreeing  to co-chair the group and adopt Klein’s aggressive anti-teacher, pro-charter stance.  ... Leonie Haimson

Great work by Leonie. Reporters on the NY Post article were Isabel Vincent and Melissa Klein. 

Perhaps the Post reporter's omissions are understandable, given that Klein now works for the Post’s owner, Rupert Murdoch, who is also a member of the Billionaire’s Boys Club, pushing for more charters along with his old friend and ally Bloomberg.  But the story should have been told nonetheless.

We know editorial controls content at the Post but I still feel reporters have to be held accountable for stuff they put their names to.

http://nycpublicschoolparents.blogspot.com/2015/01/what-ny-post-left-out-how-sharpton-was.html

What the NY Post left out: how Sharpton was persuaded to ally himself with Joel Klein & stay mum on term limits

Today, the NY Post ran a story about how Al Sharpton accepts money from corporations in exchange for shielding them of accusations of racism.  It contained nothing very new to report, except for Sharpton having met with Amy Pascal of Sony after the company's embarrassing email breach – though the article offered no evidence Sony has paid him a dime.  

Presumably the Post is targeting Sharpton because of his association with the Mayor: “Sharpton, who now boasts a close relationship with Obama and Mayor de Blasio, is in a stronger negotiating position than ever.”  Yet the main example cited in the article happened years ago, during the Bloomberg administration:

In 2008, Plainfield Asset Management, a Greenwich, Conn.-based hedge fund, made a $500,000 contribution to New York nonprofit Education Reform Now. That money was immediately funneled to the National Action Network [Sharpton’s organization].

The donation raised eyebrows. Although the money was ostensibly to support NAN’s efforts to bring “educational equality,” it also came at a time that Plainfield was trying to get a lucrative gambling deal in New York.

Plainfield had a $250 million stake in Capital Play, a group trying to secure a license to run the coming racino at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens. Capital Play employed a lobbyist named Charlie King, who also was the acting executive director of NAN.

Left out of this account is the most interesting part of the story.  It's not just that the money for Sharpton was ostensibly for “equity” and funneled through Education Reform Now, the non-profit arm of Joe William’s pro-charter Democrats for Education Reform. The larger context is that ERN was merely a pass-through, and the money was directed to Sharpton through the Education Equity Project, founded by then-Chancellor Joel Klein, in exchange for Sharpton agreeing  to co-chair the group and adopt Klein’s aggressive anti-teacher, pro-charter stance.  Juan Gonzalez extensively reported the tangled story of how these funds went to benefit Sharpton in 2009, and how they helped him stay out of jail when he owed millions in taxes to the IRS.  

Also left out of the Post article is how Bloomberg, the Gates and Broad Foundations also put big money into EEP to Sharpton's benefit, though the DOE flack, David Cantor denied any involvement of either Bloomberg or Gates in emails he sent to our NYC Ed list serv, when I speculated about the involvement of both.  Perhaps he was lied to as well.  See my timeline of events here. In fact, Sharpton’s organization directly received a big portion of the $250,000 donation Mayor Bloomberg gave EEP, the day Bloomberg announced he would try to overturn term limits.  As a result, Sharpton never said a word against Bloomberg’s successful coup. 

Despite big infusions of cash and the coupling of Klein and Sharpton, EEP didn’t last long.  It held a  rally in DC on MLK day in January of 2009, at which Sharpton spoke.  After joining forces with Newt Gingrich, he and Klein met with President Obama.  The organization folded in 2011 when it merged with the similar corporate reform group, Stand For Children.  Sharpton had already left EEP by then, replaced by two Gates grantees, United Negro College Fund President Michael Lomax, and Janet Murguia of the National Council of La Raza. 

Perhaps the Post reporter's omissions are understandable, given that Klein now works for the Post’s owner, Rupert Murdoch, who is also a member of the Billionaire’s Boys Club, pushing for more charters along with his old friend and ally Bloomberg.  But the story should have been told nonetheless. In his new memoir, I highly doubt  Klein explains the full circumstances surrounding his cynical and mutually exploitative partnership with Sharpton.  I certainly didn't read this mentioned in any of the reviews.