The WAVE: Success Charter Is Reason Suspension Program Moving to Beach Channel Campus

School Scope’s Norm Scott charges that Success Academt founder Eva Moskowitz is “a politically connected and aggressive charter school leader, who closes her schools and uses the kids, parents and teachers as a political tool.”
 
My April 1 column in The WAVE - page 4.

http://www.rockawave.com/news/2016-04-01/School_News/Success_Charter_Is_Reason_Suspension_Program_Movin.html

Success Charter Is Reason Suspension Program Moving to BCEC

School Scope

By Norm Scott

 
 

Both Rockaway papers had major stories last week about the move of a suspension program out of IS 53 into Beach Channel Campus. Neither paper pointed to the connection to the incoming politically connected Success Academy charter as the reason.

Former Wave editor Howie Schwach was on the case on his
OnRockaway website:

Program for troubled teens coming to Channel Campus; Goldfeder wants study: Coming soon to Rockaway’s Beach Channel Educational Campus a program that will bring 150 hard core students, suspended from their schools for such transgressions as setting fires, assaulting staff and other students, using a weapon on school grounds and the like. The program, now running at IS 53 will soon be moved because space in that school is needed for a new Eva Moskowitz Success Charter School.

My only complaint is that Howie didn’t call her Evil.

I had to laugh at the headline. Phil, who supports charter schools, wants a study when the answer is right in front of his face.
Moskowitz is a politically connected and aggressive charter school leader, who closes her schools and uses the kids, parents and teachers as a political tool, and always gets what she wants. She did not want her precious “scholars,” who have been known to pee in their pants in terror, to have to be in the same building with kids, in Schwach’s words “who have gone the school suspension route a number of times or who have committed offenses that fall in the high end of the city’s Discipline Code, level four or five offenses such as assault, bringing a weapon to school or setting a fire. Violations such as those go to a Superintendent’s Suspension, which can bring time out ranging from a month to a full year.”

There was no accident that the socalled “hearing” was held on St. Patrick’s Day. The DOE and Mayor Bill de Blasio live in fear of Eva and know full well that if they did not move the suspension program millions of dollars of ads might appear charging him with endangering her children.

How about Phil joining many others around the city in calling for a study of the disciplinary practices at Success Charters?

I did find all three reports in the Rockaway press seeming to feel moving the program to Beach Channel out of IS 53 and into Beach Channel is a bad thing. What about all the students at IS 53 which has been living with the program so far? What have been the outcomes there? And what about these troubled kids under suspension? Do we abandon them? What exactly is the solution? A site outside a school setting? Where?

Howie reports there are 38 sites with one in each district for the District 88 Alternative Learning Sites, so there are 38 schools with the same program. If these kids are dangerous no matter what school they are in requires proper security and more importantly, counseling services for these students.

Rockaway politicians must delve deeper into the issues affecting all students and not just jump on bandwagons.

Don’t forget. Sunshine Boys opens April 1 at the Rockaway Theatre Company at Fort Tilden.
Norm blogs at ednoteonline.org.

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UPDATE: The New Faces of Opt-Out as Movement Begins to Reach Parents of Color

The newest faces of opt out - this school went from 2% last year to 25% today.

Jamaal Bowman's school posted the highest increases on the  ELA and math exams. But, as these parents and their great principal know--It's not about the scores... Parent on Change the Stakes listserve 

Bronx News 12 did a video of parents speaking up at this
Bronx school headed by principal Jamaal Bowman - but it is behind a pay wall. The school had the largest rise in scores last year trumping the deformers when they try to claim opt out is a way to cover potential bad scores. If it comes down from the pay wall you will see non-white people talking opt out - a major nightmare for the deformers who have preyed on the communities with their testing and charter school agendas.

Here's the you tube link: http://youtu.be/xDWjuKK7dnQ

http://bronx.news12.com/news/parents-opt-children-out-of-standardized-testing-in-the-bronx-1.11651855?pts=87995

Last year I wrote about an early stage opt out movement wedging into the black middle class schools after Change the Stakes was asked by a PTA president to visit her school and talk to a PTA meeting. I filled in that morning and saw what was coming. And I bet so did the ed deform crowd running state and city education which is why they created their puny changes in the tests to try to undue the opt out momentum, which once it dies, they will pull another slam dunk.

Mark Naison comments on this issue on a panel in January 2016:

BK Nation Forum Defuses Stereotypes About Opt Out as a "White Movement"

Things are shakin' but we will see how far the deformers, including our own Unity Caucus leaders, will defuse things when the numbers begin to come in.

Also time to revist the Bald Piano Man opt out video from last year: https://youtu.be/D066lb9fbQA

He also did this funny video 

Pearson Rep DEFENDS The Tests - It's Stupid to Opt Out!! (DON'T WORRY - IT'S JUST A JOKE!!!)

#WhatMOREdoes: Supports Opt-Out Which Defends Teachers Against Ed Deform Onslaught

MORE was far ahead of the curve in linking the battle over high stakes, connecting opt-out to the assault on teachers while Unity Caucus plays footsie with Farina, Elia and a host of ed deformers.

One MORE reason to VOTE MORE:

One of the keys to building a powerful union is building strong alliances. Even pre-MORE, some founders, as members of ICE and GEM, helped start the opt-out movement through organizing with other teachers about the impact of testing and that began to attract parents who quickly took over the testing information program that then morphed into the opt-out movement through Change the Stakes, an offshoot of GEM. MORE teachers who are also parents played a dual role by opting their own children out of tests.

The film we made through GEM, The Inconvenient Truth Behind Waiting for Superman,  is considered one of the first shots fired back against the ed deform movement.

Thus MORE which emerged out of GEM has its basic roots in the battle against high stakes testing and the formation of the opt-out movement.

MORE teachers realized was that high stakes testing was the major weapon of ed deform to attack teachers and close down their schools in favor of charters which leads to loss of jobs and the creation of the ATR crisis.

If you don't believe it just see the reactions of the ed deform supporting press and the astro-turf organizations like Students First which actually got an appearance yesterday on the Brian Lehrer show posing as a grassroots group of parents supporting the tests. Brian barely challenged her claims.

The link of test scores to teacher performance was a big wake-up call to the rank and file - and Unity Caucus is still selling that link as a better way to fight unfettered principal power which causes everyone to scratch their heads since Unity Caucus played a big role in handing over this power to principals in the first place.

Thus, the reality is that MORE was far ahead of the curve in linking the battle over high stakes, supporting opt-out to the assault on teachers while Unity Caucus plays footsie with Farina, Elia and a host of ed deformers.

Below is the MORE statement released this morning - and when asked "what does MORE do?" this is just one item in a list of many to come.

morecaucusnyc

MORE Supports Opt-Out

The members of the Movement and Rank and File Educators (MORE-UFT) stand in solidarity with and support the students, parents and fellow educators who are taking a stand against the tools being used to destroy public education.

By standing together against the interests of corporate driven education reforms, whose sole purpose is for profit, we are creating a vision for the kinds of schools our students deserve. The opt out movement is speaking loud and clear against the systematic ranking and sorting of our students, teachers and schools.

By denying the data, communities are standing up for educators to be able to teach to the whole child, to respect and attend to the rich diversity of student interests and ways of learning and to teach in culturally relevant and developmentally appropriate ways.
We are grateful to the principled actions of so many who are organizing and working to protect the professional autonomy of educators so that our students can thrive.

“To educate as the practice of freedom is a way of teaching that anyone can learn. That learning process comes easiest to those of us who teach who also believe that there is an aspect of our vocation that is sacred; who believe that our work is not merely to share information but to share in the intellectual and spiritual growth of our students. To teach in a manner that respects and cares for the souls of our students is essential if we are to provide the necessary conditions where learning can most deeply and intimately begin” (Bell Hooks 1994)

We are keenly aware of how our teaching conditions are inextricably linked to our students’ learning conditions. We will continue to work alongside our school communities to fight for the schools our children deserve.

On May 5th ballots for UFT officers will be sent to your house. MORE has supported educators who speak out against testing, refuse to administer these tests, and those that opt-out their own children. We have opposed Common Core from the moment it was forced upon teachers without our consent. UFT President Michael Mulgrew and his Unity caucus have not offered any support to educators and parents opting out of testing, refused to endorse resolutions calling for an end to high stakes testing, and have been staunch defenders of Common Core.

Our Presidential candidate Jia Lee, Chapter Leader of The Earth School was quoted in this article in the NY Post
‘Opt out:’ Teachers email parents to boycott Common Core tests

NY Post brands Jia Lee and Colleagues as "Renegades"

Earth School teacher Jia Lee, a union activist and opt out supporter, said she tells parents of her anti-testing position when asked... anti-union "reporter" Carl Camponile, NY Post.

When Carl called the MORE phone number I knew he had an agenda - to paint the opt out movement as being union led. He knows full well Mulgrew and crew don't support opt-out and I made it clear that Jia was running against Mulgrew. Note how Camponile frames Jia as being "a union activist and opt out supporter" to make it appear the UFT is connected to the opt out movement, a goal of ed deformers everywhere - to make that link.

The press black out of MORE continues.

If MORE ever reached the stage of seriously challenging Unity watch how fast the Post and rest of the press urges people to vote Unity.

http://nypost.com/2016/04/04/opt-out-teachers-want-parents-to-boycott-common-core-tests/

Chalkbeat Helps Lead Assault on Opt Out - As Predicted

Every single link in today's Rise and Shine is an assault on Opt-out.
My earlier post nailed Chalkbeat's funding sources.

Revealing Campbell Brown and "The Seventy Four" Bogus Ed Journalism Site, Funders Linked to Chalkbeat and Edweek

They feature at the very top, guess who?

Eva Moskowitz: Opt-out movement will leave students unprepared

“I really believe in the tests – I seem to be the only one left standing,” the Success Academy CEO said Friday afternoon, against the backdrop of thousands of children singing to pop songs whose lyrics were changed to extoll the virtues of learning and test preparation. Read more.
And follow up with these:

With state tests set to begin Tuesday, some are predicting that the opt-out movement will continue to grow, even though the consequences of those tests have diminished. Wall Street Journal
Plenty of New York City principals and parents still see the tests as a normal, and even helpful, part of a child's school experience. New York Times
Some teachers have gone further in encouraging students to opt out by sending anti-testing information home to parents. New York Post
The nonprofit High Achievement New York has launched a counter-campaign, with the tagline “Say Yes to the Test." New York Daily News
Al Sharpton says he opposes the opt-out movement because the test results help shine a light on educational inequality. New York Post, Politico New York
Upper West Side parents are still worried that opting out will hurt their children's chances of admission to a selective middle school. DNAinfo
Success Academy CEO Eva Moskowitz said Friday that she seems "to be the only one left standing” supporting state tests, just after thousands of her students gathered for a “slam the exam” pep rally. Chalkbeat
Three Success Academy charter schools didn't have copies of the tests last week, worrying school officials. New York Daily News
Editorial: Parents, you've been heard. Now have your kids take the damn tests. New York Daily News
Editorial: It's "pathetic" to see education leaders across the city and state pander to the opt-outers. New York Post

Revealing Campbell Brown and "The Seventy Four" Bogus Ed Journalism Site, Funders Linked to Chalkbeat and Edweek

The Seventy Four and the takeover of America's schools

“Our public education system is in crisis” warns the Seventy Four in its mission statement, echoing the refrain of billionaire school privatizers over the last decade plus. It’s evidence that Brown’s latest venture is dedicated to pushing what has become known as the “awfulizing narrative” that America’s schools are broken beyond repair; that teachers, unions and locally elected school boards are to blame; and that the only way to fix our education problem is by dumping one of America’s oldest democratic institutions—public schools—in favor of a market-driven system.

After Brown announced the Seventy Four was coming and the site’s backers were named, numerous education watchers wondered aloud whether an education news website underwritten by a collective that has poured billions into school privatization would even attempt to offer impartial journalism..... Kali Holloway http://www.alternet.org/education/campbell-brown-new-leader-propaganda-arm-school-privatization

A few weeks ago the morning Chalkbeat linked to 2 articles on the Campbell Brown run "The Seventy Four" without any disclaimer. I wrote about it: Chalkbeat Treats Campbell Brown Led Ed Deform Site as Legit News Source.  After reading that my old ICE pal Julie Woodward sent me the Alternet piece which mentions Chalkbeat as being funded by these same sources. Of course they will say Randi and the AFT also gives them money -- just a different version of ed deformer.

But why should those who read Chalkbeat's carefully calibrated coverage to give the impression of journalism be surprised?

Alternet's in-depth piece linking the ed deform funders to control of the press. Follow the money as one wise sage once said.

It’s not just Brown, though. A look at the back end of education media reveals plenty of outlets that are funded by those seeking to displace public schools in favor of a market-driven system. Media Bullpen, published by Walton grantee Center for Education Reform, bills itself as an education “media watchdog,” and receives funds from the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, the Walton family and the Gates Foundation. (The Columbia Journalism Review notes a managing editor job ad explicitly sought a “passionate advocate for education reform.”)  Education Post, “a nonprofit, nonpartisan communications organization,” launched with promises to promote “an honest and civil [education] conversation,” as well as $12 million in startup funds provided in part by “the Broad Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies [and] the Walton Family Foundation.” (Per the Washington Post, the site’s three areas of focus are “K-12 academic standards, high-quality charter schools and how best to hold teachers and schools accountable for educating students,” the Holy Trinity of education reform.) Brown’s Seventy-Four, it turns out, is just another holding in the portfolio of the education reform lobby.

Not every group is so nakedly apparent in its goals. Well-respected education blogs including Chalkbeat and Education Week both receive funds from the Walton Family Foundation (in the latter case, specifically for “coverage of school choice and parent-empowerment issues,” a long-winded way of saying pro-charter pieces.) The 3,000-strong Education Writers Association receives money from Gates and Walton, while the L.A. Times—which maintains that it retains editorial control—receives funds from Broad for its Education Matters Digital initiative.

Even the so-called non-bought off press - like the tabloids and even the NY Times coming down on ed deform -finds all kinds of ways to support ed deform. See that awful April 2 Kate Taylor piece on opt out where she went to a school in Chinatown of all places to find the least likely parents to opt out - and include Eva quotes too (Kate making amends for being attacked by Eva for her devastating stories?). -- Despite Protests on State Testing, Some New York City Parents Are Happy to Opt In

The Alternet piece lists more funded ops:

As mentioned above, the Walton foundation provides money to an unexpected list of progressive entities. As Inside Philanthropy puts it “[i]t's heartening to see philanthropy coming to the rescue of journalism. But the trend is also problematic...Nowhere is the influence of private money over public life more pronounced than in K-12 education and yet, as it turns out, the specialized media most likely to raise questions about the trend are themselves supported by foundations.”
We haven’t even gotten to various other media campaigns guided by the invisible hand of school privatizers and built on a foundation of billionaire corporate reform stacks. Gates and Broad both underwrote the multi-year “Education Nation” broadcasting initiative, which brought education-focused programming to NBC staples “such as ‘Nightly News’ and ‘Today’ and on the MSNBC, CNBC and Telemundo TV network.” The Walton Family Foundation reportedly provided the cash for Chicago Public Schools to purchase ad space for videos to spin the closures of 50 traditional public school even as charters increased in the city.

 The entire piece is below the fold or at: http://www.alternet.org/education/campbell-brown-new-leader-propaganda-arm-school-privatization

Jia Lee and Staff Won't Be Gagged -- Earth School Teachers to Parents On Testing and Public Education

"We are bemused by this lack of agreement from local and state officials, while questioning the wisdom of a school system that would disempower teachers from discussing the merits of educational mandates with the families they serve.'' .. Earth School Staff, https://earthschoolteachers.wordpress.com/

Staff of Earth School where Jia Lee is chapter leader

A Letter to Families

A Letter On Testing and Public Education

Dear Families,

Our staff recognizes the inherent discomfort in discussing differences in educational values and choices. Our commitment to the children in our community continues to be our priority regardless of the testing choices of families. This year, we will have students who sit for the State Tests and they will be nurtured and supported through the process. We will also have students who opt out of State Tests and they will be nurtured and supported through alternative learning and assessment activities. 

Public education is important to us. As teachers, we share a deep commitment to our school’s mission and have chosen public education because that is where our values lie. The founding teachers of our school envisioned a “dream school”: a public school to serve diverse students and families. Our participation in public education comes with responsibilities and implicit agreements–a social contract. We agree that all of society benefits when children have access to quality education. We also share the uniquely democratic hope that children who learn together will later govern together with more compassion, more social cohesion, and a greater sense of civic responsibility.

From its founding, public education has held a political purpose. Thomas Jefferson viewed education as a necessary foundation of democratic life. In practice, however, public education has been deeply inequitable. It is fitting, therefore, that the “spark” of the modern civil rights movement came in the form of a legal challenge to educational equity. Thurgood Marshall successfully argued that “separate was not equal” in Brown v. The Board of Education of Topeka. If we believe in public education from Thomas Jefferson to Thurgood Marshall, two things seem necessary: first, we must preserve the “public-ness” of public education — democratically governed and in service of the public good. Second, we must fight for equity in education.  

In the past decade, an alternative vision for public schooling has taken hold. Education philanthropists have poured billions into “remaking” public education. The Common Core Learning Standards were an important first step in that vision. Bill Gates, whose foundation primarily funded the Standards, explained, “When the tests are aligned to the common standards, the curriculum will line up as well and unleash powerful market forces in the service of better teaching. For the first time, there will be a large base of customers eager to buy products that can help every kid learn and every teacher get better.” He was citing a well-known business strategy already working for products like the the SAT and high school exit exams. When extended to elementary schools, tax dollars flow to private vendors offering tests, data management, hardware upgrades, and a range of pre-packaged curriculum solutions laser-focused on raising test scores. 

Policymakers have embraced reforms with a simple logic: Test scores provide the data for judging the success and failure of schools, and private companies hawk product solutions to keep test scores high. The new reforms promote business efficiency and doing more with less, which has emboldened policymakers wanting to cut budgets. The solution to persistent gaps in education achievement is to raise standards and test scores, rather than fight for financial resources, or demand government action to address societal inequities.

In this decade of reforms, Earth School has endured severe budget cuts. We have lost an assistant principal and a math coach, cut support team to a part-time position, and lost two of our four office staff. We are not budgeted for Physical Education, Dance, or Music. This year’s state education budget fell $4.4 billion short of its constitutional obligation for equitable school funding as determined by the Campaign for Fiscal Equity v. State of New York ruling. In past years, teachers have feared that the State would bring in a new principal to “remake” our school around testing outcomes. 

Having a small school results in a small pool of test-takers, meaning that one test, even a single test question could impact our school’s data significantly. That fact, along with ever-changing test formats and the manipulation of complex scoring formulas, made our ratings highly irregular. In one year, we would be ranked in the top quarter of schools for our size and in other years at the bottom.
The State tests are of little educational value to our school. As teachers trained in education assessment, we recognize several cardinal mistakes in the implementation of the tests:

• Teachers were not allowed to design the tests for their students and curricular goals.
• The tests are not individualized to students’ abilities or learning goals.
• Teachers are not allowed to see the tests.
• Teachers are not allowed to discuss tests with students in order to better understand their thinking.
• Multiple-choice questions limit students’ ability to thoughtfully respond to literature or demonstrate problem-solving in math.
• The tests are summative, meaning they cover an entire year’s worth of work, rather than providing periodic feedback that would inform instruction as it happens.
• Test results are scored 1-4, are released in the summer, and rank students rather than illuminating students’ strengths and weaknesses.
• Test questions have been notoriously poor in design and wording.
• The tests are redundant for teachers who assess students daily and communicate that information in meaningful ways to parents.

State Tests do not have educational value, they have political value. The tests are a fixture of a reform movement hoping to manage a closed system where testing buy-in creates demand for education products and motivates schools to “do better” with less. The rules of that business model are absurdly simplistic: a successful test score is equivalent to a successful education. It is equally simplistic for schools to game the system: Increase blocks of math, reading, and writing, cut back on everything else, and drill students on packaged curriculum or software that most mimics the format and expectations of standardized tests.

When parents at our school became some of the first in the city to opt their children out of State Tests, teachers recognized their action as a political statement. Parents voted their values and made it count: They denied policymakers and business reformers the tests, the blunt instrument that had been used for years to cut school budgets, shutter schools, funnel public dollars into private contracts, de-professionalize teachers, outsource assessment, and deny children a holistic education. 

We applaud them for preserving the vision of a “dream school” that would teach reading,  writing, and math, but would also have a strong social studies curriculum on citizenship, the environment, and social justice, an art program, cooking, physical education, music, dance, annual traditions, where teachers are respected as curriculum leaders and ethical decision makers, a nurturing environment for social and emotional growth where differences are embraced, and where the educational lives of students are not standardized. Their choice was not a choice of convenience, nor based on the perceived aptitude of their child. They made the choice because they wanted to be a part of a new conversation in education policy, one that returns to the roots of public education: 

What is the purpose of public education in a democratic society? How can we ensure that all children receive an equitable education?
On a final note, we are well aware of news articles featuring the efforts of local and state officials to prevent teachers from criticizing the State Tests. Meanwhile, our newly elected Chancellor of the Board of Regents spoke freely in saying, “If I was a parent and I was not on the Board of Regents, I would opt out at this time.” We are bemused by this lack of agreement from local and state officials, while questioning the wisdom of a school system that would disempower teachers from discussing the merits of educational mandates with the families they serve. 

Sincerely,

The Earth School Staff

MORE's Katie and Lauren in the house - NYC councilman Danny Dromm's statement about a parent's right to opt out

MORE's Katie Lapham and Lauren Cohen

Katie is running for Elementary school Exec Bd and Lauren is running for VP of elementary schools. Can you imagine how the UFT would change if they were elected? Actually Katie has a better chance because retirees don't vote in the elementary school elections.

NYC councilman Danny Dromm's statement about a parent's right to opt out.

Dear Friend,

From April 5th to April 7th, NYC public school students will be asked to take the NY State English Language Arts (ELA) exam. The following week, they will be asked to take the NY State math exam.

There is a lot of confusion and misinformation about whether students are required to take these tests. Parents should be aware that they have the right to make the decision to have their child opt out without retaliation from schools. Read this article to learn more about my stance on this issue.

The decision to opt out is a personal one. If you do choose to make this decision, you must write a letter to your child's principal. More information on how to opt out is available here.

If you have questions or concerns, please feel free to contact my office at 718-803-6373.

Sincerely,

Daniel Dromm
Chairperson
NYC Council Committee on Education 

http://www.icontact-archive.com/W_uIa0D3NNOWrMuBsFtoQ42_APJnubZo?w=1

 

#MORE2016: What a Social Justice Union Can Do - More Photos from Chicago Strike

Message to MORE bashers over social justice issues:

No way, no how this happens when a teacher union says "let's only worry about the teachers."

Can anyone even conceive of this happening under the Unity Caucus leadership? Can't wait for a report from our MORE core in Chicago this weekend meeting with other social justice movement caucuses from around the nation.

MORE Crew in Chicago Support Strike

Proud MOREs were in Chicago for a weekend conference and got there in time to join in the one-day strike festivities.

Lois Weiner at New Politics

Chicago teachers (again) rewrite a playbook stacked against labor

George Schmidt at Substance

Lines drawn as unions and communities challenge the priorities of the ruling class with Chicago teachers' strike and dozens of actions across the city...

By George Schmidt - April 1st, 2016 | 0 comments

As April 1, 2016 dawned across Chicago and Illinois, the latest challenge to the austerity version of economics in the world's wealthiest nation was beginning. Since the 1970s, when Substance first began documenting it, and . . .

Working class solidarity at Nabisco...April 1 press conference at the 'Nabisco' plant on the Southwest Side calls for boycotts of corporations that export Chicago jobs after getting tax breaks from the State of Illinois...

By Susan Zupan - April 2nd, 2016 | 0

The 10:30 morning rain on April 1, 2016 did not dampen the spirited chanting of a couple hundred picketers flanking both sides of Kedzie Avenue outside of the Nabisco plant located at 73rd Street and . . .

MORE/New Action Middle School Candidates

Middle schools have been a somewhat dead zone in UFT elections. The vote totals for both Unity and the opposition have been minuscule. The opposition won these 5 seats back in 1991 for the only time in UFT history. Can it happen again this time?

In past elections we didn't always have an easy time gathering candidates and petition signatures. But this time it was fairly easy - I believe we got close to 200 signatures, double what we needed.

I don't know all the candidates well and met Andrea and Rob only once or twice. Richard is an old colleague of James Eterno and I saw him at the DA recently.

Francesca has been a core MORE and Dermott Myrie, whom I only met in the past few months, has become very active in the election campaign and hopefully will remain involved in MORE in the future.

Our Middle School Candidates

Richard Covelli

I.S. 25

Richard is a Math Teacher at I.S. 25 in Queens and is also a UFT delegate.  He believes teaching as a profession has become politicized to the point where young people out of high school are deciding on another career avenue.  Teaching needs to be restored as a noble and worthwhile choice.  Educators as a stakeholder group have had little or no input on important issues like learning standards and evaluations.  The very fabric of public education is being challenged by those who are not in the field.  The sanctity of public schools needs to be restored.

 

Rob Diefenbach

I.S. 230

Rob has been teaching middle school for 13 years. He teaches band and music at I.S. 230 in Jackson Heights, Queens. Rob is excited to be a part of MORE’s revolution within the UFT.

Francesca Gomes

New Voices MS 443

Francesca has been teaching Humanities for 15 years at New Voices Middle School in Brooklyn.  She has worked closely with three chapter leaders at her school and served as her school’s UFT Delegate for several terms.  However, she feels the past several contracts have been gradually eroding our rights, and the Unity Caucus leadership is responsible for negotiating and pressing UFT members to accept them as “the best we can do.”  Francesca believes that only through collective, democratically-decided action can the UFT regain the ability to protect members, students, and families and work to truly address the problems in public education today.

 

Andrea McManus

I.S. 230

Andrea McManus is in her 13th year teaching middle school Social Studies. She is the delegate at I.S. 230 in Jackson Heights, Queens. Andrea has experience teaching diverse groups of students including English Language Learners and Students with Disabilities.

Dermott Myrie

M.S. 391

Myrie is a UFT Delegate and Social Studies teacher at M.S. 391 in the Bronx.  He believes that for too long, teachers, students, and schools have been valued based on standardized test scores, and it is time to say “stop”. Myrie joined MORE because of its mission and vision of social justice activism and because MORE is fighting back against standardized tests. He has spoken to many educators about their working conditions and has heard their call for change, and he believes that the New Action/MORE UFT slate for this year’s election can provide a voice to voiceless members.

It's Not April Fools Day in Chicago - The Next Great Chicago Strike

All the world's a stage and today that stage is set in Chicago where our colleagues in CORE and the CTU are staging a one day work action. I believe a bunch of MOREs are heading to Chicago today as a show of support and also for the Labor Notes conference over the weekend. There will be fellow unionists from around the nation coming together.

Jacobin mag has an article:

The Chicago Teachers Union is going on strike tomorrow — and the stakes couldn’t be higher.

....this time they have joined other unions and community groups in calling for a citywide “general strike” on April 1, demanding not just a strong contract but new, “progressive” sources of revenue — taxing the city’s financial district, for example, and ending the state’s flat income tax — to fund public goods and services throughout Chicago and Illinois. The CTU and the groups allied with them are looking to win not just a moral victory against austerity, but a tangible one. The strike will only last a day, but it’s the kind of mass political action that rarely seen in American labor history. It’s also one that isn’t without risks; CPS has declared the strike illegal.

https://www.jacobinmag.com/2016/03/chicago-teachers-union-strike-core-karen-lewis/

James Eterno is on the case over at the ICE blog:

• 
  ICEUFT Blog

  HIGHLIGHTS OF CHICAGO TEACHER ACTIVIST SARAH CHAMBERS INTERVIEW - The Chicago Teachers Union is engaging in a one day strike today. For a look at what is at stake both in the windy city and nationally, Jacobin interviewe...
  

  And here is more stuff to read.
• 
  Undernews

  Big action day in Chicago -

  Chicago Teachers Union - On Friday, the solidarity of Chicago Teachers Union sisters and brothers, along with the solidarity of more than 50 union and community organizations, will be on full display . In this unprecedented strike for political demands and state funding that encompass the entire state...we are in a battle with powerful forces that want to privatize schools, permanently reduce our livelihoods and divest from struggling neighborhoods.
  
  The CTU is directing schools to start picket lines at 6:30 a.m. to get the line established early, bring attention to our fight for school funding in the community and lock down school activity...

Something you will never, ever see here in NYC as long as Unity Caucus is in control. I know, I know, the Taylor Law strike penalties, etc. But to quote Brian Wilson ...wouldn't it be nice?

Mindy Rosier, MORE Candidate for UFT Education VP, Leads Protest Against Eva At Harvard Club

You'll note that Mindy represented the only caucus in the UFT that was present. Eva Moskowitz who aims to control 100 schools is the single biggest threat to teacher jobs -- how many has she taken already? You may be an ATR because of Eva and your school may have been under-resourced and closed because of her. And entire school buildings are falling into her hands.

Mindy's school came under attack by Eva and Mindy helped lead the fight and that fight was so strong it was one of the few spots that de Blasio stood up to Eva - and suffered severe political attacks.

The important point is that Mindy, like many other MOREs, take up the battles in their schools. Mindy is also very active in the Bernie campaign and is running for a delegate at the convention.

Farina's Heavy Hand Comes Down on High Opt Out Schools; Senator Bill Perkins Parent Know Your Opt Out Options Forum

Some high Opt out schools from last year have been "spoken too" and principals told to get those numbers down. In some cases, the campaigns have turned ugly, targeting teachers viewed as pro-opt out. We have even witnessed the race card being pulled by some principals - the charge that opt out is a white led movement designed to keep black kids from their right to take tests - tests that label them and sort them. I actually heard a parent say this at an opt out forum and even have it on tape. It seemed pretty clear to many of us she was a plant by the anti-opt out principal.

We cannot get into specifics in order to protect the teachers but at some point some of these stories will break as some ed reporters have shown interest. MORE has been on the case behind the scenes offering advice and support along with Change the Stakes parents.

The heavy hand of Farina -

Bill Perkins from Harlem is offering parents an opportunity to get more information about opt out - and who would have thought a year ago that the very discussion of opt out would come to Harlem?

It's time for all NYC parents to know their rights.  Join this important discussion, just in time!

Please Join NYS Senator Bill Perkins, 30th District and Education Committee, CB10

For a discussion with concerned parents and community leaders regarding the ins and outs with students "opting out" of the upcoming NYS Common Core Tests

Saturday, April 2 at 10 am

Adam Clayton Powell Jr. State Office Building

Conference Room B

RSVP to Cordell Cleare at 212.222.7315

History Lesson: ICE Caucus easily got more than 40 people to run in 2004 UFT elections 2 months after forming

If I decided to form the Caucus of Norm could I find 40 people to run with me? I bet I could.

Over the past week a number of people have commented that they could get 40 in their own school to run. Even though I've been retired for 14 years I believe that if I formed my own caucus I could manage to get at least 40 people to run with me. And without much sturm and drang.

I believe getting people to put their names on a UFT election slate often boils down to trust. Back in 2003/4 when ICE formed as a new caucus - October 30 2003 - we had basically 2 months to recruit a slate and had no trouble doing so and forming pretty much a fairly full executive board slate. And we had competition from both New Action and TJC - we only ran the 6 high school candidates - which we won - together and separate slates otherwise.

So in the 2004 UFT election TJC, ICE and New Action all had at least 40 and never once questioned that that number was somehow unfair.

And look at the times - Bloomberg had just begun his assault and the 2005 contract had not been signed. So I would say the level of disaffection with the UFT was not nearly as large as it is today. So if in these times of massive sellout by the union leadership, not being able to get even 40 candidates tells a story of a serious failure on some level. But we will address that at a future point.

I never had any doubts that ICE would be able to fill the 40 candidate limit (memory is soft and I'm too lazy to look it up but I think we got around 80 in 2 months).

Ever since Unity reduced a higher number to 40 decades ago some opposition viewed this reduction as a Unity faux democracy plot to make it easy for other caucuses to form and split the opposition. While 40 can seem like an arbitrary number it at least forces people to organize. I never had a problem with many caucuses running in the past because no one could win anyway. If each caucus developed its own constituency at some point there would be a coming together as happened with TAC/New Directions = New Action in 1995 and ICE/TJC = MORE in 2012 and the longer term prospect that MORE/New Action might come together.

I went back to my old school in early 2004, which I had left in 1997, to see if anyone wanted to run. Eight people signed up in a half hour and I stopped asking because I didn't want to overload the slate with one school.

People still had enough trust in me to join the ICE slate and some still did so in the 2007 election, 10 years after I was out of the school.

MORE and New Action are running 300 candidates, of which about 180 come from MORE. I know New Action could have signed up 100 more and so could have MORE but we decided to save some trees. If you do the math that is 10 times the number of any other non-Unity caucus (which has 800 people running).

If a group of people can't recruit even 40 people to sign up to run after 8 months of trying what exactly does that say after you wade through all the noise?

Teachers at Elementary School Support ATR With Letters of Support

There's an ATR in my school that is going through hell

with his field supervisor.  My CL had the UFT Dist Rep come to our school to meet with the ATR when his field supv scheduled a meeting with the ATR and was planing to bring another field supv with her.  I suspect she was bringing back up bc the last time she was at our school the ATR asked me to be present (CL was unavailable at the time).  She refused to have a discussion with him in my presence (as his union representation). My heart goes out to this guy bc it seems clear to me he is being set up for a U rating.  He comes to our school and is given whatever coverage is available and he truly does his best to assist our kids as best he can under these circumstances.  We can look out for him as long as he is at PS -- but we can't do anything about his field supv ratings and once he's gone I'm assuming he won't find the same support elsewhere.  Is there anyone he can contact to help him navigate the bullshit?... This is the first ATR we've had that has told me their story.  I'm always welcoming to them and let them know we have an honest CL they can reach out to but since they don't know me they rarely open up like this guy did.  He overheard a conversation I was having about the state of our union and gambled I could be trusted.  This guy said PS --- is the first school he's been in where he feels some union strength-.... Thanks for everything you guys do----teachers would have no avenues to follow if it weren't for people like you. .... email to MORE activists from former chapter leader

This was sent to Mike Schirtzer and myself from a trusted supporter and source. (I'm not using her name or school to protect the ATR who could be traced - she would be fine with using her name.)

She noticed a very competent ATR being harassed in her school and jumped in to support him along with her colleagues. That school has 40 people signed up to be MORE members. (They could have even run their own slate in the UFT elections out of their school alone.)

Having his story reinforced by a trusted teacher and former chapter leader is immense. Our advice to her was to gather support within the school for the ATR by writing letters about his work in the school for him to use in a defense and she did exactly that.

She put me in touch with the ATR and we spoke for hours and I got the full story of the actions of his field supervisor and her cohorts. His story is very credible. And there might even be religious persecution issues on the table.

During our conversation he mentioned others in some schools, including principals, who praised his efforts. I suggested he start gathering names and numbers and possible statements. If they bring him upon 3020a charges, there will be a list of witnesses for him.

We hear so many complaints from ATRs about the treatment they get from colleagues in schools they are sent to. One ATR I spoke too calls the field supervisors "failed supervisors." The apparently awful James Quail, a former principal and district superintendent from my district whom I've known since 1970, is the grim reaper of field supervisors, pops up in the picture.

We hear a lot about the gotcha mentality of ATR field supervisors - the DOE wasteful jobs program for retired principals.
See-

• Chaz's School Daze: A Letter To A Field Supervisor From A Disrespected ATR.

We also hear lies and slanders from people with their own political agenda that MORE is not supportive of ATRs when in fact the members of MORE who have influence in their schools bend over backwards to be supportive, as this story confirms.

The ATR told me that this school had the most serious sense of union of any school he has been in since he became an ATR. And there is no little irony that the school leans toward MORE instead of Unity for support.

The MORE contact, upon seeing an ATR who had impressed people in the school come under attack by a new field supervisor (the old one found no fault), took action by writing letters of support for the ATR and sending them out to come point people at the union and possibly the DOE with more people to come if the harassment continues. They also gave the ATR copies. And she went in when he met with the Field Supervisor at one point and at another with a district rep.

When will the UFT say something about the enormous waste in paying field supervisors to observe people functioning as substitute teachers? Do they observe regular subs? Did anyone in the history of this school system spend time and money to observe subs?

This is the letter that has been sent to Amy Arundell at the UFT who has contacted me -- and repeatedly - that she will get involved. I give Amy the benefit of the doubt and will track the outcome.

Dear Amy Arundell,

Mr. X is an ATR who was sent to our school for one of his temporary assignments. He arrived at school each morning and performed his duties as a substitute teacher in various classes depending upon which of our teachers was absent that day. He made the best of a very difficult situation. Although he did not know our students and did not know what grade or type of class (self-contained, ICT, bilingual, general ed) he would be assigned to cover, he engaged the students and we were happy to have him as part of our school community. He was punctual, respectful and eager to assist our school community on each day he arrived in our school.

As you are aware, ATRs are given sub assignments no different from day-to-day subs, yet they are observed and are expected to teach as if they have the same familiarity with the class as a permanent staff member would be expected to have. This unfair process allows for abuse on the part of field supervisors who too often act as if they are observing a teacher who has spent months with the children they are teaching rather than someone who has met a class for the first time and may have zero experience with that particular grade or may be teaching a class out of their license area.

We are writing to you, the UFT rep who is assigned to assist ATRs, to express our concern that Mr. X is being set up for failure by his field supervisor who, in our opinion, has been less than professional and fair with him. This concern was brought to the attention of UFT District --- Rep,  who promptly came to our school and met with Mr. X and his field supervisor Ms. Y as well as an additional field supervisor, who was invited by Ms. Y. The fact that Ms. Y felt it necessary to invite a co-worker to attend reeks of intimidation. It is the reason we asked [the dist rep] to come to the school when this meeting was scheduled. It was clear to us that Mr. X was about to be unfairly tag-teamed by two field supervisors as an act of intimidation. There is no other reason for two field supervisors, paid by the tax payers, to do the job of one field supervisor.

Mr. X has finished his rotation at PS X. But we have told him to think of PS X as his home school and to keep in touch with us regarding his treatment elsewhere. We are asking that you initiate and maintain contact with Mr. X and ensure that he is not scapegoated out of a job in order for a field supervisor to make her bones with the DOE. Based on how Mr. X conducted himself at PS X, it is clear to us that the man deserves to keep his paycheck and benefits. We believe in having a strong union that looks out for our most vulnerable members and it is our hope that you will demonstrate that such strength still exists. We thank you for your time and attention to this matter.

Sincerely,
CL, PS X Chapter Leader
------, Former PS ----- Chapter Leader
---------------------------
Dear -------

We the undersigned support our union brothers and sisters who are ATRs. Our current and former chapter leader keep us informed on union matters and we realize that ATRs have lost their permanent positions through no fault of their own We realize that our school could be phased out in the near future and we too could find ourselves in an ATR pool where we will be vulnerable to lose our jobs, pensions and health benefits. We feel strongly that ATRs be protected and we ask that Mr. ....... be treated in a manner we would expect to be treated under such circumstances. It is our hope that Mr. ........ is not left hanging out on a limb without support now that he has left our school. We hope that our union stands by him and protects him from any injustices that he may face in his future as he travels from school to school as an ATR. It is what we would want our union to do for us if we had to walk in his shoes.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.

PS ..... Staff Members (signed below)

While Unity Caucus Waffles MORE Calls on the NYC Department of Education to Remove the Gag Order on Educators

No gagging these MOREs.

MORE Elem VP Candidate Lauren Cohen

For Immediate Release: March 28, 2016

For More Information Contact:

Jia Lee

Lauren Cohen

We Call on the NYC Department of Education to Remove the Gag Order on Educators

“Can educators share their legitimate concerns about the tests with parents?” an audience member asked District 15 Superintendent, Anita Skopp, on December 9, 2015, at a CEC 15 meeting. She responded, “Teachers do not have a right to speak about how they feel about the tests. They don’t have a right.” New York City public school educators are under a gag order. Last year’s opt out movement had the highest concentrations in suburban districts in Long Island and upstate New York where there was a collaboration of experienced educators with parents and students. It has served to be a catalyst for resistance and change; yet, in New York City, there is a deafening silence.

One of Chancellor Carmen Fariña’s four pillars for supporting NYC public education is, “to engage parents in every aspect of school life.” Yet, for the most consequential issue of high stakes testing, there is to be no engagement between schools and families. The legitimate concerns of educators may never be known. However, some are speaking out in different ways. This is one of hundreds of anonymous posts that can be found on social media.

Many will continue to speak out citing that the consequences to our students and public schools will be greater if we remain silent. Special education teacher and parent, Jia Lee states, “We have a professional and ethical obligation to speak up against the ranking and sorting of our students, teachers and schools.” Lauren Cohen, 5th grade teacher at P.S. 321, has said, “I’m not allowed to discuss, with my students or to their parents, a particular problem or question (from the state tests). In fact, we are told that we are not allowed to look at the test booklets. This is counter to effective teaching and learning, and it renders the test useless.”

“Teachers’ legitimate concerns, based on years of experience and knowledge of developmentally appropriate pedagogy, are absent from the official story that’s being told to NYC parents. This is an attack on our democracy and goes against the so-called critical thinking that the NYCDOE purports to be promoting through Common Core,” states Katie Lapham, English as a New Language teacher and author of the education blog, Critical Classrooms. Parent and special education teacher Vanessa Keller states, “If the tests were at all appropriate, no one would have to opt out. This is truly sad. Our children and teachers deserve better.”

In a private meeting on Thursday, March 24, 2016, Carmen Fariña responded to parent concerns and stated that some students, such as recent immigrants and students with special needs, should probably not take the state tests and should opt out. Teachers are confused. High school social studies teacher, Mike Schirtzer, states, “To say that some students should take the tests and others shouldn’t begs the question of who decides and why. All parents and students have a right to understand that these tests are only being used to label schools as failing. We should be working together to listen to the needs of teachers and parents, rather than stigmatize and set school communities on a path to closure.”

We call on the NYC Department of Education and the leadership of the UFT to guarantee the first amendment rights of NYC public educators. The New York State Union of Teachers, issued an updated FAQ stating, “NYSUT encourages members to exercise their rights as citizens and professionals to speak out against the harmful effects of high-stakes tests in general and to consider refusing the tests for their own children. NYSUT will defend teachers against disciplinary action if a district pursues 3020-a charges.” Yet, in New York City, teachers have been told they do not have a right. In some cases, teachers have been issued internal memos with a clear message that any discussion regarding the tests with parents is subject to insubordination charges.

The Movement of Rank and File Educators (MORE) is the social justice caucus of the UFT running with New Action in the May 2016 UFT Officer elections. Find out more at http://morecaucusnyc.org/