La Cage Kills in Rockaway Theatre Company Production - The Wave

The biggest thrill of all for many audience members is trying to tell the girls from the boys - and often not succeeding.

[I temporarily removed the lead photo of Les Cagelles backstage until the show's run is over because it was felt by some it gave away genders and one of the ideas is to keep people guessing. It was a wonderful photo and I will restore it next week.]

I've been pretty preoccupied with the RTC recently - I have a few walk-ons in this show and helped build the sets. I'm finding it a lot more fun that battling ed deform. That so many school teachers are involved in the theater generally and in this production makes this an added treat. One of the leads in La Cage is a union president and on the central labor council with Mulgrew. An Assist Princ is one of the dancers as are 3 teachers. The passion and commitment over the past 3 months of all these people, some of whom travel up to 2 hours to get to the theater, has been amazing.

The audience laughs, it cries and whoops it up in cheers and standing ovations. The large cast and crew of the RTC at Fort Tilden's theatre completed the 6th performance of La Cage Aux Folles last night to rave reviews. Some people have come back 3 times or more. They just can't seem to get enough of the show. Every night after the show the cast doesn't seem to want to leave each other, despite some very long trips home. There has been as much bonding on this show as I've ever seen.

Regulars  at all our shows have said this may be the best one yet.
Aside from a great show the social message is delivered with both force and subtlety. Who would have thought even 5 years ago that gay marriage would be legal? 

Still 4 performances to go with a matinee today at 2PM - with proceeds going to the North Shore Animal League which will be there with an adoption van from noon to 6PM.

And performances next Fri, Sat nite at 8 and Sunday at 2. Mostly sold out but if interested email and I'll check.

All photos below by Rob Mintzes

La Cage’ Kills

Memo from the RTC

By Norm Scott

 

The great Chazmond Peacock

“Why isn’t Chaz (Chazmond Peacock) on Broadway?” said a friend of mine on the way out of last Saturday’s performance of La Cage Aux Folles at the Rockaway Theatre Company in Fort Tilden. Having seen Chaz dominate every role he has taken on at the RTC over the past decade, I can only agree. Yet his greatest performance to date may be in the role of Albin/Zaza, a gay drag-queen star at the nightclub known as La Cage Aux Folles. Albin has lived for decades with club owner and master of ceremonies George (a fabulous John Heffernan) and their maid Jacob (the insanely great Matthew Smilardi who steals every scene he/she is in). The couple’s son, Jean-Michel (Frank Caiati, one of the RTC’s major all-around talents over the past 13 years – now all of 30 years old) wants to hide the fact the people who brought him up are gay. His dad isn’t flamboyant and can pass but Albin is a no-no and Jean-Michel wants to hide him away from his fiancée (the wonderful Leigh Dillon) and his future in-laws (RTC top level performers David Risley and Luisa Boyaggi, both of whom have played leads in past productions). The dad is a major anti-gay politician. Add the dancing queens, Les Cagelles, and we are off to the races in very funny and often sad and poignant play.

Producer Susan Jasper writes in the production notes “This is a story about family.” Quoting the play’s book writer, Harvey Fierstein, “What child at some point has not been ashamed to introduce parents to friends? What parent has not wondered ‘Where did we go wrong?’ What marriage has not been tested in these familial flames?” OK, so this family may be a bit unusual but in today’s world not all that unusual.

When the RTC decided to do La Cage…some felt the material might be too edgy for the usual RTC audience which are generally older. Susan Jasper touched on this new direction for the RTC. “For the past 18 years the RTC has made its reputation bringing you the best in family theatrical entertainment… We recently decided it was time to branch out and include some edgier material.”
Based on the reactions of the first three performances last weekend there was nothing to worry about as there were standing ovations and sing-alongs at the end with Les Cagelles getting some of the biggest hands at curtain call, especially when they took off their wigs. As part of the crew and at times part of the on-stage ensemble, I have gotten to see various snatches of the play from different vantage points and also to gauge some of the audience reactions. I found that for some of the audience there was possibly some discomfort in the early part of the play in Act I until Chaz sings his heart out at the end of the act and totally captures the audience who root for Albin the rest of the way and cheer when the family is made whole again at the end. Chaz’ winning over the audience is the key to making them believe in this family and without a superb actor like Chaz who can sing like the star he is the show might sink instead of soaring.

There are a lot more people to mention regarding one of the best productions ever at the RTC. See you next week with more.

http://www.rockawave.com/news/2016-08-12/Community/La_Cage_Kills.html

Jeff Bryant: Is Tim Kaine a Sign Democrats Are Leaving the 'Education Reform Camp?'

....in reviewing Kaine’s education policy chops, what’s in his record may not be as important as what isn’t: the current education establishment’s policy checklist of standardization, high-stakes testing, allowing charter schools to sort students by income and ability, and keeping teachers under the authoritative thumb of test-based evaluations – there’s none of that.... The years progressives have put into organizing, voicing opposition to current education policies, and calling for new directions in education are likely having an effect on “this new Democratic Party” too. No wonder people who’ve enjoyed their cushy places at the top are nervous. --- Jeff Bryant

DFED - Democrats for Education Deform

Hmmm. On the surface there is something I like about Tim Kaine though I don't know much. His wife was Virginia education commissioner and supposedly not a heavy ed deformer. Despite claims that   supporters of Vermont U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders have substantially altered how public education is framed in the Democratic Party platform, I don't trust platforms, especially since Randi Weingarten is being given credit for some of the language in the platform. Ed issues were basically absent from any of the debates between Hillary and Bernie.

So I'm pretty disappointed that the pro-Bernie educators has very little impact on him in relation to education issues, which were practically buried in the primaries. As for Hillary -- there this comment from Michael Fiorillo who sent us the Jeff Bryant piece. 

We'll see... I'm inclined to think Hillary will betray us, since as a general rule that's what she does... Michael Fiorillo

Jeff Bryant is a reliable reporter on ed issues, lining up against the ed deformers so I find this an interesting piece.
http://www.alternet.org/education/tim-kaine-education-reform

Is Tim Kaine a Sign Democrats Are Leaving the 'Education Reform Camp?'

Kaine is not a fan of high stakes testing, charter schools, or other pillars of reform orthodoxy.

By Jeff Bryant / Campaign for America's Future

 An education “reform” establishment that has enjoyed the complete support of Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush may be getting nervous.
The policy outline for K-12 education coming from the Hillary Clinton presidential campaign remains vague, but supporters of Vermont U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders have substantially altered how public education is framed in the Democratic Party platform, and Clinton has become more strident in her attacks on “for-profit” charter schools and vouchers that allow parents to transfer their children to private schools at taxpayer expense.

At [last month's] Democratic Party National Convention in Philadelphia, experienced reporters from Education Week noticed that although Clinton generally pledges “to pick up the policy baton from President Barack Obama … it’s tough to say how true that will be when it comes to K-12 education.”
A Politico education journalist at the DNC reported that Shavar Jeffries, president of Democrats for Education Reform, a policy group that has gotten used to getting its way in the Obama administration, said, “There was ‘anxiety’ within the education reform movement over the future of [the movement’s] priorities.”

When DFER threw an event at the convention, the EdWeek reporters noted the mood was more about “soul searching” than celebrating.
Clinton’s picking Virginia Senator Tim Kaine for her vice presidential running mate is not apt to ease the “anxiety” or “soul searching” reformers feel.
“To be sure, Kaine is not part of the so-called education reform camp,” writes education reporter Lauren Camera for U.S. News and World Report.
Camera correctly tags New Jersey Senator Cory Booker as someone who would have been more favorable to big supporters of the high-stakes testing and charter school expansions that come with reform orthodoxy. But Kaine’s education record diverges sharply from that.
As a mayor, a governor and a U.S. senator, Kaine has a “hefty education resume,” as Camera writes, which includes support for expanding access to high-quality early learning programs for children from birth to age 5 and increasing access to career and technical education programs and apprenticeships.
Education writers for Politico note Kaine’s work to provide federal student loans for some career education programs, his advocacy for LGBT students’ rights, and his support for improving emergency responses on college campuses and mental health in Virginia following the death of 32 people by gun violence at Virginia Tech in 2007.
But in reviewing Kaine’s education policy chops, what’s in his record may not be as important as what isn’t: the current education establishment’s policy checklist of standardization, high-stakes testing, allowing charter schools to sort students by income and ability, and keeping teachers under the authoritative thumb of test-based evaluations – there’s none of that.
In what may be the most revealing commentary about his education perspectives, an op-ed he wrote for his hometown Richmond paper, Kaine lays out an education agenda of increased personalization, relief from the testing mandates, richer and more varied curriculum, and support and autonomy for experienced teachers. (Hat tip: Bertis Downs.)
Education journalists covering Kaine also never fail to include mention of his wife Anne Holton, who serves as Virginia’s secretary of education. As education journalists at The Washington Post explain, Holton “has worked to reform a standardized testing regime that had been criticized as unnecessarily time-consuming and onerous.”
Holton, the reporters write, has blamed high stakes testing for intensifying the stubborn achievement gap in her state, rather than remedying it as fans of the reform approach say it will.
The article also notes Holton “has opposed the expansion of charter schools and other school-choice measures, and she has pushed for greater investments in public education, including teacher pay raises.”
None of this is what education reformers want to hear.
Kaine and Holton also deserve to be praised for “walking the walk” of progressive schooling by enrolling all their children in the public school system and sending them to racially integrated schools that were majority non-white.
Of course, there’s no guarantee Kaine will influence the education policy direction of a Clinton administration. Nor is this to say Kaine is perfect on education or even the most progressive of possible vice presidential candidates Clinton could have picked.
For instance, Kaine has expressed reluctance to support free universal public higher education, which has become a cornerstone in the populist agenda advocated by Bernie Sanders and his supporters. And as governor, Kaine presided over a period when Virginia made significant cuts to education funding; although, to be fair, this occurred in response to one of the nation’s worst economic calamities in its history.
Also, liberal groups have criticized Kaine for his support of big banks, Wall Street deregulation, and “free trade” – although, he flipped his position on the Trans-Pacific Partnership proposal shortly after becoming the vice presidential nominee.
But none of these factors should veer from the narrative of what is rapidly happening to education policy in the Democratic Party.

As my colleague Dave Johnson explains in his analysis of Tim Kaine’s change of heart on TPP, “Kaine had to change his position” (emphasis mine) on TPP after he was chosen because that’s more reflective of where the Democratic party is going rather than where it’s been.
“This is what happens when people organize and make their voices heard,” Johnson writes. “This is the power of the progressive movement. This is the new Democratic Party.”

The years progressives have put into organizing, voicing opposition to current education policies, and calling for new directions in education are likely having an effect on “this new Democratic Party” too. No wonder people who’ve enjoyed their cushy places at the top are nervous.

Jeff Bryant is director of the Education Opportunity Network, a partnership effort of the Institute for America's Future and the Opportunity to Learn Campaign. He has written extensively about public education policy.

Review: In 'Hillbilly Elegy,' a Tough Love Analysis of the Poor Who Back Trump

The NY Times has an interesting review of a new book by J.D. Vance who emerged from white poverty. The review is fascinating reading with lots of interesting points about the culture he grew up in and that continues to fester, driving so much of the white anger. The left assumes they are driven by racism. Maybe that is a factor but not the only factor. Vance is a conservative so his views can be slotted into the "people must help themselves instead of waiting for the government" but worth reading all the same. The review opens with this selection:

After reading “Hillbilly Elegy,” you can easily understand why. This is a historically peculiar election cycle, boisterously disrupted by outsiders, one of whom found the perfect host body in the Republican Party and became its presidential nominee. An investigation of voter estrangement has never felt more urgent, and we’re certainly not getting one from the lacquered chatterers on the boob tube.

Now, along comes Mr. Vance, offering a compassionate, discerning sociological analysis of the white underclass that has helped drive the politics of rebellion, particularly the ascent of Donald J. Trump. Combining thoughtful inquiry with firsthand experience, Mr. Vance has inadvertently provided a civilized reference guide for an uncivilized election, and he’s done so in a vocabulary intelligible to both Democrats and Republicans.

Imagine that.

On the checklist of modern privilege, Mr. Vance, 31, has the top four in the bag: He is white, male, straight and Protestant.

Review: In 'Hillbilly Elegy,' a Tough Love Analysis of the Poor Who Back Trump

How one Queens high school became a safe haven for children fleeing Central America

A good public school story from Chalkbeat for a change about QIRT at the Far Rockaway HS campus, a school with a great principal. How do I know? Jeff Kaufman, who has rarely seen a good principal in his career, teaches there and he raves about Carl Manalo who came to Jeff's defense when the DOE tried to make Jeff an ATR even after he won when his old vicious principal's attempt to 3020a him last year and insisted that Jeff remain at the school. Jeff now teaches coding at the school and this summer is teaching an AP coding class.

I am considering going over there as a volunteer this fall.

With all the talk about immigrants and refugees, Manalo stands out for the support he gives his students and teachers.

http://www.chalkbeat.org/posts/ny/2016/08/08/how-one-queens-high-school-became-a-safe-haven-for-children-fleeing-central-america/#.V6vY766x_oi

Jeff is still peripherally involved in union politics and informs me how Unity/UFT is useless in supporting their members. How ironic that they get more protection from their principal than the UFT.

Matt Taibbi on How Democrats Helped Create Trump - Rolling Stone

A Republican Workers' Party?

Democratic incompetence has made the previously unthinkable possible: Republicans are reimagining themselves as a labor party...maybe the next strongman those voters pick to lead them out of the wilderness won't be quite as huge an idiot, or as suicidal a campaigner, as Trump. Sooner or later, failing to deal with these questions is going to come back and bite all of us...

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/features/a-republican-workers-party-w433295

A must read from Matt Taibbi exposing the complicity of neo-liberal Democrats led by guess who?  the Clintons. If Trump continues to run Hillary wins but what will change? Naomi Klein touches on why:

The Problem With Hillary Clinton Isn't Just Her Corporate Cash. It's Her Corporate Worldview.

By Naomi Klein - April 6th, 2016

Published in The Nation

Have you noticed the billionaires from Warren Buffet to Bloomberg signing on to Clinton?

For Democrats the scariest words they can hear from Trump is "I quit." Because he is their only chance for Hillary to win. I keep saying that Trump scares me the least of any other Republican because he is not a true Republican. If Trump isn't somehow convinced to drop out assume Hillary wins. The Dems congratulate themselves and don't really change while the Republicans rebrand themselves as the workers party. And in 2020 watch out.

Taibbi writes:

Fringe Festival Opens Friday: Old Pal Jack Fry Back with New Show About Einstein

I met Jack Fry (Freiberger) years ago when he did his teacher based play "They Call Me Mr. Fry". I posted about it here and here. Jack was a former teacher who captured many essential truths about the job under NCLB. Now he is back in town with a new show which I am seeing Monday night. I'm also spending some time volunteering for the NYC Fringe festival which is in its 20th year. I've been doing this for many years and it is a chance to see some of the 200 shows downtown over the next 2 weeks at tickets prices of $18 ($13 for seniors.)

Here is info on Jack's show which will be performed 5 times (see below for dates) on the lower east side theater,

Under St. Mark Theater

94 St. Mark Pl.

New York,  NY 10009

Einstein! is the multi-award winning, critically acclaimed solo show by Jack Fry (click here).  Einstein! was just selected as Top 10 Shows to See at the 2016 New York International Fringe Festival (click here).  Additionally, we were recently selected as Pick of the Fringe and Encore Winner at the 2016 Hollywood Fringe Festival.  Jack Fry was also the winner of Best Actor for his portrayal of Albert Einstein chosen by the London Free Press (Ontario) for the International London Fringe Festival, as well as additionally winning other festival picks.  Scroll down for more information.

Website: www.einsteintheplay.com

Trailer: http://einsteintheplay.com/Einstein/Video.html

Written, researched, and performed by Jack Fry, directed by Tom Blomquist 

About the play: 

Einstein!  is a true story based on the recent release of 15,000 documents and years of research that bring to light new information about a younger, "pre-crazy" haired Albert Einstein in Berlin around 1914.  It chronicles his epic and inspirational fight for relativity and for the affections for his10-year old son, Hans Albert.  It's the historical drama that tells the incredible, true story that ushered in our present modern technological age while simultaneously making his hair "crazy".  Jack Fry breathes life into one of the most intriguing icons of all time."

Description:

Albert Einstein comes back from the beyond.  Upset with the way his image has been cheapened and vowing to set the record straight, he tells us the real harrowing story behind general relativity and his struggles as a father.  It's 1914 Berlin, war is breaking out all over Europe, and a 35-year old Einstein is in the battle of his life as he is in the midst of colleagues trying to steal his new theory, an ugly divorce, antisemitism, failing health that threatens his life, isolated for being a pacifist, thoughts of suicide, a huge scientific backlash, and trying to keep the relationship with his son Hans Albert from slipping away from him forever.  Meanwhile, he comes up with a theory that changes the way we live our lives today.

"A very human look at a much mythologized man... compelling and sensitively presented." ~CBC Manitoba

"Fry effectively plays the joy, sadness, determination, and desperation of the man."   ~Winnipeg Free Press

Five Performances Only:

"... funny, touching, and intimate... a triumph...."   ~Huffington Post

Under St. Mark Theater

94 St. Mark Pl.

New York,  NY 10009

Saturday, August 13 @ 2:15pm

Monday, August 15 @ 8:45pm

Friday, August 19 @ 8:00pm

Monday, August 22 @ 2:30pm

Friday, August 26 @ 5:00pm

General Tickets: $18 (CLICK HERE)

WEBSITE: einsteintheplay.com

Leonie Exposed Untruths and Distortions in NY Times Testing Piece While Giving Credence to NY Post

See Sunday's NY Post, which unlike the other papers, actually gave some historical context for our skepticism.... Leonie Haimson

Showing how the Times gets it wrong and the Post got it right - or more right- is always a fun exercise. But while the Post is anti-teacher, some teachers and parents have found a friend in Post reporter Sue Edelman. Here's is Leonie's email and link to her blog post correcting the NY Times account.

Please check out the Saturday's NY Times article about how various individuals and groups are using the scores for political ends, and included me in that group.

Then read my response: http://nycpublicschoolparents.blogspot.com/2016/08/my-response-to-ny-times-article-about.html
In yesterday’s NY Post, Sue Edelman quoted me as calling claims of big improvement “the big lie” and comparing them to the infamous test score inf lation from 2002-2009.
Please post your comments on the blog!
Thanks Leonie
 Also see:

• 
  Jersey Jazzman

  The Real Story of New York's Schools Can't Be Told In Test Scores - What is it about New York and test scores? Test score releases always generate plenty of heat now matter where you go. Politicians and advocates and stakeh...
  

  19 hours ago
   
•  

Unity Caucus Slugs Go Ballistic Defending Their Loyalty Oath

To hear you guys complain about UNITY voting in a block when your own national caucus does is hypocritical. Your so called "opposition" caucus who preaches complete individual independence will vote as a block both locally and nationally.Tell your followers how all UCORE(rank and file caucuses) voted for Randi, Michael and other UNITY candidates. Time to speak the truth... https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=15921757&postID=3121675670905590265

I've been busy so I am just catching up on the comments by Unity slugs on a bunch of topics over at the ICE blog. There's a lot of the usual intentional misinformation and explanation of democracy, Unity Caucus style.

The slug is trying to say that our fellow caucuses in Chicago and other cities vote in a block based on their own version of a loyalty oath. Here's the slug's partial list:

UCORE is the national movement behind CORE in CTU, UP in UTLA , MORE in NY and the caucuses in power in Boston, Portland and St. Paul among others

Let's say they do vote in a block -- but the question is are they told how to vote and then punished if they don't vote the way they are told to?

In top-down Unity that is how it works. How do I know? Unity people tell me. I once even got a call from a Unity person during the meeting of the 750 before they left to the convention telling me how they were told to vote. There was not discussion of the issues or of having the caucus itself decide democratically which issues to support. Even if they voted as a block that is still more democratic than what they do now.

I might explain to the Unity slug(s) that democracy means much more than a vote. If the caucus of delegates engage in a democratic decision making process and then decide to vote as a block but allowing the leeway to vote the way they want individually that is a different kettle of fish than how Unity operates along the lines of the communist party of China.

Now did the Chicago TU engage in a debate that was bottom-up and not top-down dictation? I don't know for sure as there is conflicting info coming out of there. And if Chicago TU/CORE is not engaging in bottom-up unionizing and is morphing into a Unity-like caucus with loyalty oaths and top-down decision making then it would be going against UCORE core beliefs and would deserve to be criticized - and as more info flows in I would do so myself.

But our main point of contention is that the high school teachers voted for MORE in the election and there are no delegates to AFT and NYSUT representing them. The other unions mentioned have a lot more flexibility in their elections with room for different caucuses to win a share of elected positions including delegates.

For instance we met someone from Boston who told us they held their elections for delegates separately from officers and retirees don't vote like in the UFT where retirees don't vote for many position. If we dropped the retiree vote from the UFT election the MORE/NA % would jump from 20% to close to 30% and the teacher portion would be closer to a third. And if you add all anti-Unity vote totals in the election it comes to over 12,000 voters not represented at state and national councils.

These are the points the slugs try to avoid by throwing red herrings into the discussion.    

In the Chicago union where the CORE caucus seems to be the only game in town -- no opposition ran against them in the past 2 elections - which might tell you something.

They had the right to send 150 delegates - and George and Sharon Schmidt were among them. Now if you know George he has been an open critic of Karen Lewis and some of the Chicago TU leadership. If George had been in Unity he would be purged. If he is purged from CORE due to pieces like this below then that would begin to put teeth into the Unity contention that UCORE locals are just like Unity.

George recently wrote this piece charging the CTU with taking top-down action:

It's now been more than a year since the Chicago Teachers Union's contract expired and a faction of the union leadership declared, through the words of union president Karen Lewis, that the union would continue to surrender the contractual rights of its dues-paying members on behalf of building a so-called "movement" that was never voted upon by anyone.  It's now been more than a year since the Chicago Teachers Union's contract expired and a faction of the union leadership declared, through the words of union president Karen Lewis, that the union would continue to surrender the contractual rights of its dues-paying members on behalf of building a so-called "movement" that was never voted upon by anyone.

http://www.substancenews.net/articles.php?page=6480&section=Article

Yes Unity Slug(s) George was one of those delegates that you accuse of being lockstep loyalty oathers. In Unity you can get tossed for not liking Hillary's pant suits.

AFTER BURN
I do have criticisms of UCORE which met this past weekend in North Carolina - I didn't go for a few reasons not the least of which is that there seems to be no stomach in UCORE for a national battle with Randi and Unity.

YATS: Yet Another Test Scandal Brewing in NYCDOE and New State Ed Dept. Plus disparaging opt-out

Following the Chancellor Farina's press conference, a journalist wrote me, "Twilight zone. ...Collective self-delusion with the kids used as political chess pieces." It appears we are living through Groundhog's Day, over and over again.  As the well-known saying goes, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."... Leonie Haimson, https://nycpublicschoolparents.blogspot.com/2016/08/evidence-grows-we-are-entering-new-era.html

Leonie has been on the case so there is not much to add here except that the UFT wants to live in the test bubble too. And then there is the charter bullshit of claiming their scores are better -- sure - they mark their own  stuff, pick their students and do who knows what else?

And despite the attacks on the opt-out movement by NY State Ed, Farina and DOE and the UFT, the movement still grew, even in NYC. I read a quote from NYSAPE's Lisa Rudley about how they disparage the slight rise in opt out while bragging about the same slight "rise" in test scores, if even you can call that a rise considering the shenanigans.

Read the NYSAPE press release: http://www.nysape.org/nysape-pr-score-analysis.html

And Arthur's take: NYC Educator NY Test Scores---Chalkbeat Chugs the Cherry Kool Aid

Here are some of Leonie's posts on the issue:

Monday, August 1, 2016

Despite NYSED & Gates-funded efforts, Opt out grows across the state; impossible to claim growth in achievement

Thursday, August 4, 2016

Evidence grows we are entering a new era of mass delusion and test score inflation- including cut score manipulation

Update 8/5/16: Be sure to also check out today's blog post on this issue, including links to Daily News and NY Post articles and today's NYSAPE press release.

And I'm reposting her entire piece here - with more to come. 

Friday, August 5, 2016: Update on growing evidence of state test score inflation

See articles in the  NY Daily News and NY Post about the drops in the raw scores on the NYS exams needed for proficiency.

NYSAPE just released its analysis which is somewhat clearer than mine here:  Link to Press Release

Diane Ravitch posted her succinct summary here and concludes, “These are serious charges. It is now the responsibility of Commissioner Elia, the Board of Regents, and the State Education Department to demonstrate the validity and integrity of the tests.”

In a comment on my blog, Andrea Gabor points out that comparing the test results last year to this is like comparing rotten apples to rotten oranges.

Meanwhile, Chalkbeat attributes the (highly dubious) gains at least in part to the expansion of charter schools and the Common Core – no doubt Bill Gates’ favorite theory as well.  (Be sure to read the comment about Success charters below the piece.)

Then check out the significant difference between the NYSED  discussion in 2015 and 2016 of equating raw scores to different proficiency levels:

http://www.p12.nysed.gov/irs/pressRelease/2015800/documents/EquatingExplained2015.pdf

Q3: Why did the raw scores change?

A:The raw scores that map to each of the scale score cut scores change almost on a yearly basis. See the "Raw Score to Scale Score Conversion Charts" at http://www.p12.nysed.gov/irs/ela-math. These charts are available back to 2006.

Q4: How did the raw scores change in 2015?

A:On the 2015 tests, year-to-year raw score change is for Level 3 were small and varied by grade.

Raw scores went down slightly on 5 tests (indicating slightly harder tests in 2015 compared to 2014 for Grade 6 ELA and Grades 4, 5, 6, and 7 Math) and went slightly up on 5 tests (indicating slightly

easier tests in 2015 compared to 2014 for Grades 3, 5, and 7 ELA and Grades 3 and 8 math). Raw scores stayed the same on two tests (Grades 4 and 8 ELA)

http://www.p12.nysed.gov/irs/pressRelease/20160729/documents/EquatingExplained2016.pdf

Q3: Why did the raw scores change?

A:The raw scores that map to each of the scale score cut scores often change with each subsequent test administration. See the "Raw Score to Scale Score Conversion Charts" at http://www.p12.nysed.gov/irs/ela-math

The number of raw points necessary to achieve each performance level change due to several factors. These factors include equating and changes in number of raw points available on each test. For instance, the total number raw scores for ELA and Mathematics went down this year in all grades due to the shortening of the tests (i.e., removal of one reading passage and items).

That was it.  No Q4  this year because unlike past years,  they couldn’t say in five tests the raw scores went up, five down etc.  Instead they would have to admit  that in 11 out of 12 exams, not only the total raw scores but the PERCENT of raw score points out of the total possible points fell for proficiency.

Video Trailer: La Cage Aux Folles Opens Today at Fort Tilden's Rockaway Theatre Company

Photo by Rob Mintzes

There are many lessons very pertinent to current events in La Cage.... about tolerance, about family - unusual family - at least considering the original French film is from the late 70s. A gay couple raise a child who wants to marry the daughter of the leading anti-gay politician and asks his father to hide the gay relationship with the "mother" who raised him. The sets are ... well, since I help Tony Homsey and crew build them, all I can say is we are mighty proud of them.

The acting, singing and especially the dancing by the 8 Cagelles is astounding. And the makeup guy is a hero to everyone back stage as he turns men into women and women into men acting as men acting as women. Got it? To really get it come on down over the next 3 weekends.

Rockaway Theatre Company presents LA CAGE AUX FOLLES:

August 5, 6, 11, 12, 13, 19 and 20 at 8pm
Matinees: August 7, 14 and 21 at 2pm
at the Rockaway Theatre Company in Fort Tilden, NY.
Call or go online to reserve tickets-
718.374.6400
rockawaytheatrecompany.org
Directed by John Gilleece
Musical Direction by Rich Louis-Pierre
Choreographed by Nicola DiPierro-Nellen

LA CAGE AUX FOLLES at the RTC from Gabrielle Mangano on Vimeo.

https://vimeo.com/177546411

Filmed by Jason Friedman
Edited by Gabrielle Mangano

My column this week:

The WAVE:
Aug. 5, 2016
http://www.rockawave.com/news/2016-08-05/Weekender/Memo_from_the_RTC.html

Memo from the RTC:  La Cage Aux Folles Opens Aug. 5 for Ten Performances

By Norm Scott

The Rockaway Theatre Company’s production of La Cage Aux Folles (The Birdcage) hits the stage at Fort Tilden’s Post Theatre on Friday Aug. 5. As a member of the ensemble I’ve been able to see this show with a very large cast throughout its development over the past few months and seeing it all come together. As usual, the RTC has attracted major talent for a complex show that requires extraordinary dancers, powerful singing voices and acting talent supreme. Fortunately I possess none of these attributes, leaving me free to observe the talent go to town.

Most people seem to have seen the stage show or the movie, either in French (1978) or the American version (1996) starring Robin Williams and Nathan Lane and directed by Mike Nichols.

The basic story: a gay cabaret owner and his companion, the leading drag queen in St. Tropez, have raised a son born of a brief affair the owner had with a woman who had no interest in raising a child. So the gay couple brought up the child who is now grown up and announces he had met the girl of his dreams and will be getting married. The fly in the ointment is that her father is a conservative leader of a major anti-gay movement. The son asks them to put on a ruse when they meet her parents. He wants his real mother to be there while hiding his father’s companion who actually helped raise him and took the place of biological mother. The fun and frolics follow, anchored by the troop of drag queen dancers known as “La Cagelles.” Many productions include a few woman playing the role of men playing women. The RTC production has 8 dancers and I won’t spoil your pleasure in figuring this all out when you attend this must see production.

One of the behind the scenes jobs the entire cast takes part in is the movement of some very large set pieces on and off and on and off and on and off the stage in a remarkable bit of stage crafting designed by Frank Caiati (who also plays the son) and built by Tony Homsey and his crew, of which I am proud to be a member of. When it comes to large scale musicals at the RTC Director John Gilleece and Producer Susan Jasper always deliver a spectacular show so don’t miss this one.  Friday and Saturday night performances, Aug. 5, 6, 12, 13, 19, 20 and one Thursday night, Aug. 11, all at 8 PM. Sunday matinees Aug. 7, 14, 21 at 2 PM. http://www.rockawaytheatrecompany.org, 718-374-6400.

The Art of the Deal: Trump Gets Strange Illness - for a $Billion, Democrats Left Speechless and Campaignless (Fantasy)

As the Trump campaign goes down in flames (even white make voters are getting edgy) it is hard to imagine there will not still be an attempt to come up with another candidate. His bizarre behavior might even be aimed at putting Republicans in a position of coming up with enough cash to get him to suffer from a malady that his doctors say will force him to drop out.

I got an inkling at a family gathering the other day where a white male avid Trump supporter was having doubts. He would never vote for Hillary but might vote for Gary Johnson or not vote at all.

So would you be surprised to see behind the scenes moves to pay Trump off to drop out?

Imagine if Trump pulled out of the race today and was replaced by (choose 1): Pence, Ryan, Cruz, Rubio, Bush, Romney, Walker, Mickey Mouse, a gopher.

Can Hillary beat any of the above?

Now imagine what the Democratic Party campaign, which is totally based on inciting fears of Trump, would look like. In fact it would be in shambles.

I am not one of those people who fear Trump more than other Republican potential candidates. In fact I believe they are all worse, temperament aside.

So my worst fear is that Trump is not the candidate, which I am feeling increasingly he won't be and therefore we end up with a president not named Clinton anyway.

I am still leaning toward voting got Jill Stein because of the annoying Democratic campaign which spends so much time talking about Trump. I mean, if you imagine the scenario above there would be such panic because what else would they be able to say about running against a gopher? or a mouse?

How annoying do I find Hillary's rising inflection at the end of her sentences - why can't she find a way to deliver a line after all these years?

#AFT100, #AFT16 Takeaway Part 1 - Randi's Brain - Co-opting Social Justice Wing of the AFT: Did LATU and CTU Fall in Line?

All of AFT President Randi Weingarten's political skills were on display over the 4 days of the AFT convention in Minneapolis (July 18-21). My immediate takeaway is that Randi is in tighter control of the AFT than ever.

Did Randi surround and subsume potential future opposition in the AFT that might have come from social justice groups like BATS, UCORE or a basically absent NYSUT Caucus, Stronger Together (how interesting that Hillary has used that exact term in her campaign)?

Or did the social justice groups force Randi to be inclusive of their agenda?

One thing was clear: social justice was front and center at the AFT, led by Randi and other Unity people like Leroy Barr. On the surface she outflanked the social justice caucuses tied to UCORE. And coming home on a plane full of Unity, most of them black, got me to start thinking more deeply about MORE's claims to be THE Social Justice Caucus of the UFT. Well we do believe the essence of a SJ caucus is a democratic, bottom up union which Unity certainly isn't. And based on some conversations with rank and filers from Chicago there were igns that the CTU may be drifting away from bottom up.

Has Randi NACed UCORE, Stronger Together and the BATS?

James Eterno and I have a joke - we call it being NACed or NAC-a-Sized - what Randi did with and to New Action beginning after the 2001 elections by offering them a seat at the table in exchange for their not running against her for UFT president. This was Randi at her most cynical -- buy off the leading opposition party with guaranteed Ex Bd positions and jobs.

Randi broke new ground when she took over the UFT

The old Shanker/Feldman leadership viewed the opposition as left wing enemies and openly mocked or ignored them. Randi takes the opposite approach - she invites potential critics into the tent. And it works.

I know personally -- when I began Ed Notes in 1997 I was invited into the tent -- and even though I didn't take the offer I also was careful not to be too critical of Randi because she led me to believe I had her ear and possible support on some of my ideas, thus muting my voice on certain levels for 4 years. Randi was so good at this I saw it happen to so many others -- a phone call or an email and even money from Randi gave them hope there could be change and it took years of bearing her duplicity before the light came on.

Recently I was at a dinner where a parent leader who had been associated with Randi over the years publicly stated, "Norm always told me not to trust Randi. He was right."

Mulgrew has no skill or seeming interest in doing the same as Randi, which I sort of like him for - he's not as phony, but is a major chink in Randi's modus operendi and why I believe he will never be AFT president (Mary Cathryn Ricker is a Randi clone). If Randi were still running the UFT (which she is in many ways) she would have done whatever it took to keep New Action from leaving the cover of Unity and running with MORE and MORE would still be shut out of the high schools. Mulgrew didn't even try. (The plan we originally laid out was to try to win the high schools even without New Action - a 2500-3000 HS vote or bust campaign which if MORE had executed a deeper penetration of the high schools would have worked.)

We saw at the AFT convention signs of Randi's NAC-a-size strategy in operation as she wooed Chicago and LA leadership and gave BATS support - even Mulgrew joined in in wooing Chicago leadership by leading the convention in signing happy birthday to Karen Lewis - while using duplicity on Stronger Together on an opt-out reso.

Why didn't Chicago and LA push for a strong opt-out reso or bring anything to the floor or committee meetings?

In Part 2 I'll get into details on Randi's NAC-a-sizing moves in Philly, Chicago, LA and in NYSUT - and I also believe she would try to do the same to MORE if she could - and maybe behind the scenes we will begin to see that happen -- and I also believe there is a core in MORE that might be susceptible.

In the meantime, one person who will not be subsumed into Randi's orbit or become NAC-a-sized is Jia Lee.

Jia, at MORE blog, points to Randi's manipulation during the convention on a number of issues:

AFT July 2016- Observations of a Rank and File Member

https://morecaucusnyc.org/2016/07/27/aft-july-2016-observations-of-a-rank-and-file-member/#comments

In this excerpt Jia nails Randi/Unity and crew showing how they subvert voices by obfuscation, parliamentary maneuvers and co-optation.

At this year’s AFT convention, at the convening of the Educational Issues Committee, something disturbing occurred. Almost everyone knows that NYSUT (our state union) passed Stronger Together’s (ST caucus)  proposed resolution on opt out called I-Refuse at last year’s state-wide convention. A version of this was prepared by a committee within NYSUT for the AFT convention. It was printed in the resolutions packet on the first day of the AFT.

Just moments before raising the resolution, Karen Magee, our NYSUT president pulled out a substitute resolution that was entirely different from the original. Even the title was changed from “Support the I-Refuse Movement to Oppose High Stakes Testing” to “End the Misuse of Testing and Support Teacher and Parent Rights.” In effect, all of the strong and actionable resolves of the former resolution were removed and in its place was a much diluted version that upheld standardized tests as useful when not misused and supported the rights of parents to opt their children out of the tests and for teachers to explain these rights without fear of penalty. It did not support teachers as agents of change as the I-Refuse resolution did. Jilted, fellow NYSUT members of the ST caucus objected to the substitution which was overruled. The Unity stronghold had prepared for this, keeping the ST members in the dark. The substitute resolution passed.