UNTIL WE GET A VOTE, SAY NO TO COPE!

Updated 9pm

I've heard calls for people to start refusing to give to COPE for decades and have generally not gone along. Some people think that even if the Unity/UFT machine sucks, there is still a need for some political action mechanism even if they use it in a fucked up way. I of course don't agree and have never given to COPE (except for that quarter I flipped at my Unity chapter leader so he could get one of those funky awards they give out for 100% COPE contributions.

Besides. getting out of COPE is harder than pulling King Arthur's pulling Excalibur from the stone.

But maybe the time has come.

Elizabeth Green (where have you been?) posted the item below at Gotham. Very intriguing that she would help promote the withdrawal from COPE movement. The person who wrote the email says to contact him for the withdrawal form. By the time you get that processed by the UFT - they tend to lose these forms - we will have 92% of a teacher's rating be due to test scores. Numbnuts Klein's secret goal to top Mulgrew's vote total.

I have a better idea. Tell your local Unity hack you want to change how much you are giving to COPE. Then turn it in with a nickel listed. It will cost you about a buck a year and will have just as much an impact as total withdrawal. Though it will keep your Unity chapter leader eligible for the 100% contribution awards.

UPDATE from a correspondent.....

Change the nickel per pay period to one cent. That will make the year's contribution 24 cents. Not even enough for a phone call. For that you just need a BLANK cope card, not the pre-printed ones. If a thousand folks did that, it would result in a 10 buck per pay period gain in cope. a stinging message.



Posted at Gotham:

One educator’s trash, another’s treasure
by Elizabeth Green

Earlier this week, a source sent us the following e-mail, topped with the subject line “going around the school system.” Funny how one group says “THE END OF TEACHING AS WE KNOW IT!” and means crisis, while another says essentially the same thing and means progress.

Here’s the e-mail:

THE END OF TEACHING AS WE KNOW IT!

Michael Mulgrew (The Antichrist of teaching)

The following are two paragraphs directly from the UFT/NYSUT press release:

UFT President Michael Mulgrew said, “The current teacher evaluation system doesn’t work for teachers - it’s too subjective, lacks specific criteria, and is too dependent on the whims and prejudices of principals. We worked with the State Education Department to create a more objective system that would apply across the state, with strict limits on the role of standardized tests.”

Under the proposed system, teachers and principals would receive one of four ratings: “highly effective,” “effective,” “developing,” or “ineffective.” The evaluations would play a significant role in a wide array of employment decisions, including professional development, tenure determinations, selection for leadership opportunities, supplemental compensation based on a career ladder, and termination. The goal is to construct an evaluation system that can be customized to the professional development needs of every teacher.

It’s quite clear that this will lead to a “merit pay” system.

Now he’s agreed to end the Rubber Rooms(making it far easier and quicker for the DOE to fire teachers) and we will have a new evaluation system that will CLEARLY lead to “merit pay.”

What did we get for all of OUR giving? Nothing. We have no contract, no extra pay and we didn’t even vote on any of this…some union! Every other NYC union and even the MTA got 4% raises over the current 2-year period.

The only feasible way to fight this is to end your COPE payments. If you want the form see me.

UNTIL WE GET A VOTE, SAY NO TO COPE!

Follow-up comment from a vet Chapter Leader:

I would caution ANYONE to get the form from the cope office. For a number of reasons.
1. It spreads panic if there are a lot or a steady stream.
2. You get the authentic form ( I think it is the "B" card)
3. As it will take a bunch of pay periods to go into effect, there is less of a chance for screw ups. I always believe in going to the horse's mouth.

I cannot stress enough that the card should be gotten from the cope office.

Context

UPDATED: 2pm, May 14

That is what Michael Mulgrew and the Unity machine have left out. Context.

One of their main arguments was to point to the NY Post claims that Klein opposes the plan vehemently. "He's up in Albany right now trying to get it defeated," said one top union official. "If Joel Klein is against it, I am for it," said Michael Mendel. Peter Goodman is pushing the same line. Check out this very funny title of his blog post:

The Dynamic Duo: Tisch and Steiner Seize the Education Agenda, A New Teacher Evaluation System Created and Supported by Teacher Unions.

I found it hysterical when Mulgrew went over the top praising Meryl Tisch and David Steiner: It was wonderful working with these people at the state and so different from working with numbnuts- er - Klein. "These people really know education," he said. Sure, Meryl spent 30 minutes teaching kindergarten in a Hebrew school.

Does Mulgrew really expect us to fall for this? Tisch lives next door to Bloomberg (we were picketing her too in Jan.), is a major ed deformer and has numbnuts Klein at her Passover sedar.

Next time Joel asks the 4 Questions:

How is this sellout by the UFT different from all other sellouts?

The UFT knows it is being good-copped and bad-copped and tries to sell this crap to the members. You can only sell the same piece of cheap costume jewelry so many times.

Then they tell you that the teacher has some rights to deal with the principal. Oh sure, teachers will sit down with the principal. "They can't be forced to do anything they don't want to," they said. As I said to one of the top members of the leadership, "What world are you guys living in? Do you have a clue as to what is going on in the schools?" Ten minutes after the teacher tells the principal 'No thank you', whammo- verbal abuse charges. "You didn't tell that child how nice she looked. Rubber room. Oh, sorry, no more rubber room. We'll just fire you in 60 days."

The UFT has proved time and again they can't protect anyone. As I said, "Context."

If we trusted BloomKlein, or even the UFT leadership, the plan might even be a good one. But there is always context. On paper every football play works. In the reality of the NYC DOE, all balls are in the air.

They talk about a growth model for students. Meaning value-added, which has been much discredited. See Leonie Haimson's analysis I posted a few days ago (UFT Prepares Giant Vat of Kool Aid for Delegate Assembly). Interesting that a parent activist does the real work of presenting the issue honestly while the UFT sells their narrow self-interest to the members.

When the question was raised as to why this contract change is not going to the membership, Michael Mendel said: We didn’t go to the membership. We are the leaders of the union.

Of course they don't dare go to the membership as at this point there is major outrage. They need time to massage the members by sending out their troops to the schools. (By the way, that will be an indication of just how worried they are - a sudden appearance of every working stiff at 52 Broadway and from the borough offices and the district reps in the schools, the way they had to do it in the 2005 contract vote.)

The vote was overwhelming for the new teacher evaluation system at the Delegate Assembly on Wednesday. A slam dunk for Mulgrew and the Unity machine (see anon comment below on how Unity controls the DA). Even opposition people thought Mulgrew did an effective job of quelling the doubts even if they weren't convinced. But remember, the DA is a Unity body. That there were doubts in the first place withing the machine is indicative of some shakiness. But it is always easy for the leadership to calm the Unity gang. They have a vested interest in supporting all leadership positions.

What has to be understood is that it is very important for the leadership to make sure the caucus is on board because it is their job to sell it to the rank and file.

Some opposition people spoke. Peter Lamphere, Bronx HS of Science Chapter leader spoke very effectively. "There is not one rubric my principal can't figure out how to get around." There was a hush in the room when Peter, one of the best math teachers there is (students and other teachers rave about him, said he had gotten 2 U ratings.

If there was one statement that put the whole thing in context, that was it. The UFT can't even protect their chapter leaders from the vicious attacks. Chapter leaders who are renowned teachers. In some unions, the orchestrated attack on shop stewards, the glue of the union, would be a strikeable offense. Context.

The Peter Lamphere context is what makes this agreement a joke, no matter what it says on paper. A good chunk of the rank and file is living in fear of principals from hell. And that is what will inform their reaction to this deal over time.

So where does the mass of teachers out there in the schools stand? I think it will take the actual implementation horror story to play itself out over the next year before we get the full reaction. Will senior, higher payed teachers start disappearing - something the UFT will do its best to cover up?

I thought it interesting that I got two phone calls within 15 minutes yesterday from reporters from major top level publications asking about rank and file reaction. While I am usually a skeptic about the r&f because I have seen the Unity machine sell just about anything in the schools, these calls raised my antenna. These reporters must have been sniffing something out. I was asked whether I detected any negative reaction within the Unity machine itself. There are a few signs but not enough to create problems for Mulgrew. The real job of the school based Unity people will be to see how their members react. I have been polling some of the activist in schools with Unity chapter leaders to see how it is going for them. Something worth watching.


Other Reactions:

Jeff Kaufman
Not surprisingly the Q&A left out the expedited dismissal procedures of the new agreement. In fact their spin make the new agreement look so good it’s a wonder we didn’t agree to this years ago.

Philip Nobile
The low point of the DA was the highpoint of Unity arrogance and emptiness. Sounding like gangster union head Johnny Friendly in On the Waterfront, UFT Secretary Michael Mendel squashed skeptics bellowing: “Yes, we didn’t go to the membership [on the secret teacher evaluation deal]. We are the leaders of the union.” Translation: If you don’t like the deal, drop dead.

An anon CL
I was surprised at how the delegates accepted this evaluation thing. There were plenty of dissenters, myself included, but I didn't get a chance to ask a question. I also have issues with the way these things are run. They plant their special reps in the crowd to help move the mass along. I can't tell you how many times the crowd was absolutely silent and a Tool-in-a-suit would start clapping softly at one of Mulgrew's talking points. This soft clapping prompted clapping from the people around him and gave the impression that the people were more in favor of this all than they seemed to be. I hate the politics of the Union and makes me want to resign my CL-ship. I stick around for my members, but that's all I work for.

Another anon CL
Perhaps I should bring some Vaseline to the DA on Wednesday for the big screw. I feel ashamed today.


Add-ons
Other bloggers are on a rampage.

Perdido Street School has 3 posts, calling one union leader a "bald-headed pimp." (Hmmm. My principal used to call Randi a whore for selling out.)

Mr. A Talk: the Q and A fails to mention you're terminated 60 days after two unfavorable rating.

Chaz had a running battle on his blog with 58 comments:
Is This The Beginning Of The End For Seniority Protections? Is Teacher Tenure Next?


NYC Educator pin his post From the Folks Who Brought You the 2005 Contract

After having read voices like Diane Ravitch and Aaron Pallas on "value-added" measures of teacher effectiveness, I'm fairly convinced that there is no way to use it effectively. That's one reason I was wary to see the UFT get into bed with Bill Gates and his "Measures of Effective Teaching" program.

It appears the "teacher input" is restricted to those who control the union--the folks who brought us the 05 contract which was the best thing since sliced bread (which is highly overrated when you consider all those artisan breads you can bring home and cut yourself.) The best I can see is if we don't reach an agreement, the old arrangement stays in place. If we do reach an agreement, watch the eraser sales at Staples quadruple as teachers and administrators all over the state scramble to inflate scores.

And so it goes.

The UFT Q&A spinning straw into gold machine is at: http://www.uft.org/news/teacher/qa/teacher-evaluation/

Report on oral arguments -- school closings lawsuit -UFT vs DOE

Thurs. May 13, 2010

Reported by Richard Barr to the NYCEDNEWS listserve.

Oral arguments in the City's appeal of the State Supreme Court Decision by Judge Joan Lobis -- which blocked the DOE from its threatened closing of 19 schools -- were heard today in the State's Appellate Division, at 27 Madison ave., Manhattan.

The case is known as Mulgrew vs. Board of Ed.

An expanded version of the report that appeared in this space is now available on the NYC Parent blog.

Report from the UFT Delegate Assembly

John Elfrank-Dana, Chapter Leader
Murry Bergtraum High School

5/12/2010

I expected a rancorous evening and that’s what I got. With the news about the UFT agreeing to a teacher evaluation plan that includes student test scores I knew there would be a hard sell by Mulgrew to the independents present. Never a problem for the Unity Caucus faithful as they would be prepared to tow the line.

The report came out in the Times about the new scheme which describe a total test component of 40% of your evaluation (25% from state exams and 15% from local). Mulgrew went to work saying that was misleading ( I have attached the UFT’s summary of the agreement).

So, why the agreement? Mulgrew explained that Federal legislation was inevitable requiring districts to tie teacher evaluation with some form of testing in order to receive Title 1 and all the other forms of funding. He checked it out with his people in D.C. who confirmed there’s no stopping it. Since NYC depends heavily upon such finding we had to act. He stated that we are in a better climate now to discuss this rather than wait a year.

The attached summary was handed out and we were asked to vote on it. Objections came that we needed more time to review before making a decision. Also, that since this was done on Monday, why didn’t the UFT e-mail the chapter leaders the agreement so they’d have time to review? This is a common Unity practice of rushing things through so you don’t have time to think and ask the nuanced questions. It’s the old “The Sale Ends Today” approach, so you’d “better buy now”!

Nonetheless, Mulgrew claimed that the agreement meant only 20% of your assessment will come from tests while the rest from 8 other criteria (see in attached summary). Also, that it fixes a broken system of assessment which allowed principals to U-rate teachers based upon whim. Now they would have to produce more objective criteria. As expected, VP Michael Mendel and Grievance Director Howard Solomon spoke passionately in favor of it. For Mendel it was enough that the Chancellor was quoted in the press as unhappy with the agreement.

The agreement, Mulgrew went on, requires the DoE to negotiate the fine points with the UFT. This was another reason for supporting.

Concerns were raised. Bronx Science HS chapter leader urged caution, saying we need to get the right to grieve unfair letters in the file back. Also that he’s never seen a rubric (the new eval system has us graded by rubrics) that a principal couldn’t manipulate. He also said the details should be negotiated in public and not in secret. Marjorie Stamberg called the agreement “merit pay in drag” and a capitulation to the privatizers and union busters. This is because the agreement allows for special compensation for those of us who score high marks on our rubrics and student tests. Those special teachers may be given new titles (like Master Teacher) for which to anoint the higher pay. Therefore, according to Mulgrew, it’s not “merit pay” in the strict sense of the word.

I will mull over the summary and hope you do too. I have my reservations about all of this. I remember hearing the testing industry, which are the big winners in this, gave Obama a ton of money. This is probably payback. It’s a poisonous premise that we can measure student achievement via standardized test scores. Standardized tests were never developed for this but only to rank students. Plus, it starts out at 20% test scores. But, now that the foot is in the door, you can bet that percentage will only go up. Also, knowing firsthand how the UFT Grievance Department, and the corresponding boro grievance committees operate like health insurance companies, i.e. make it their business to deny service, I’m not confident this will end up a win for us. There will probably be a lack of enforcement of the provisions we do negotiate.

I had to leave early but David Gordon and Joel Puelle, your delegates were also there. You can ask them for their take. There was a conversation about budgets. I know we have to keep calling and demonstrating to avoid layoffs. More on that coming soon.

Remember, review the attachment and give me your thoughts.

John

--
John Elfrank-Dana
UFT Chapter Leader
Murry Bergtraum High School
www.Elfrank.com/UFT

ED NOTE: I have the pdf attachment but don't have time to process it. Email me if you need a copy.


Another report

I'm a chapter leader at the UFT DA right now and would like to report this anonymously:

The scene was surreal to start. The room was packed but the tone was hushed. It felt like the crowd had come to listen to Mulgrew explain himself and the recent overhaul of the evaluation system.


He began by going through what he called ''inaccurate'' reporting by the NY Times. He had prepared an FAQ sheet that answered some of the questions that members might have.


He mentioned that this new system only calls for 20 percent of overall score to come from tests. He also stated that there were parts that had yet to be negotiated by the Union-like the Value Added scores. He stated directly that this did not change the tenure system.


As he went on, you could feel the tide of the delegates turning - he was starting to bring comfort to those who were anxious about this deal.


There were good questions and voices of dissent from the crowd. Some asked why this had been brokered secretly without teacher input. According to Mulgrew they had done this to keep the DOE and Klein out of the negotiation. This was a deal with the state, he said

PS 241/Harlem Success- Klein Chooses Sides

Hello all-
I am reaching out to you after reaching some deeply troubling information.

This morning as I welcomed students into the building, one of my fourth grade students approached me with a look of anger on her face. She has been with us since she was in Pre-K and feels very strongly about our school and the community. Her brother is a first grader currently attending HSA 1. She has been outspoken that she believes he is not being properly educated- her words, not mine. She hears her family complain as well, and implores them to take him out and let him enjoy school with her, at PS 241- again her words- not mine.

She stated that she had attended a Harlem Success Academy event last night at the Apollo (THe Lottery?), during which Eva Moskowitz spoke. Eva stated that Joel Klein had told her that PS 241 students had failed their Gr. 8 ELA exams and he was going to shut down our school.

Scoring of ELA exams is still in process, the state has not yet received all manually-scored information- nor has it had time to determine final scores. How could Klein have this information? He can't- he must have lied- or Eva lied and is spreading misinformation- slandering our school (and others such as PS 194 and PS 123- according to my young, articulate source).

Klein and Moskowitz must be called to task on this- we must speak out against the lies, the slander, the coersion, the audacity of this kind of misinformation. Please stand together with us to defned our public schools. Make phone calls, send emails, what ever can be done to let the public know this outrage- this is sabotage and outright looting of our school buildings and communities!

All educators should be worried- your school could be next!
Please reach out to all you know.....

UFT Prepares Giant Vat of Kool Aid for Delegate Assembly

Vendors report that the UFT/Unity Caucus have ordered a massive vat of Kool Aid to serve the delegates at Wednesday's delegate assembly as they explain how the new agreement to rate teachers based on test scores is the best thing to happen to teachers since the 2005 contract.

Ed Notes has obtained an advanced copy of Mulgrew's speech at tomorrow's meeting. It opens with:

"Well, we beat numb nuts at his own game. He wanted a 100% of the teacher ratings to count for test scores and we kept it to 20%. Well, more like 40% but why quibble. Drink hearty. We are working on how to lift charter school caps, end the ATR mess and get rid of that pesky tenure. Numb Nuts - er- Joel, has promised us he will let us drop UFT fliers off at a few charter schools in exchange for our cooperation."

Since retirees are not covered under this provision - though my wife is now going to evaluate me as a husband based on my getting chores done, I'll let Marjorie Stamberg and others in schools do the venting.

Email from Marjorie Stamberg:

Bottom line: The education "deformers" got what they've been pushing for -- to tie teacher evals to student test scores, and Mulgrew and Unity Caucus have the gall to spin this as a victory!

I could have written Unity's script: "Well, the bad guys wanted to make the evals totally based on student test scores, but we fought and got it only 40 percent based on student test scores, and oh yeah, there's going to be yet another new test in addition to the old test; and an expedited firing process -- so this is a good thing not a bad thing!"

How about just saying no to the union-busters and privatizers? Even the New York Times article said it was a giant give-back for which the union got nothing!

It flows directly from every other sellout they've engineered in recent years, from the end of seniority transfers to refusal to fight the charter expansion head-on to merit pay (that they tried to shove down our throats with a new name -- so called "bonus pay."

Colleagues were justifiably suspicious when the Rubber Room agreement called for an expedited termination process. Now we see it is not being used just for the rubber room, but across the board.

This will be used to pit teacher against teacher. And like "merit pay," and all the rest of their privatizing schemes, it's bad for kids. Particularly students "at risk". If students with poor attendance, second language students, special needs students are going to "drive own" schools test scores, If teachers are going to be penalized by the "test performance" of the lowest-performing students, the tendency will be to "push" these students out of the system.

You don't have to be a rocket scientist to see the direction of motion. This new system of teacher evals is yet another vehicle to push out higher paid teachers -- they can just get u-rated out the door.

This has to be fought down the line!

--Marjorie.

Sorry Marjorie. The 91 percenters have no fight in them and we 9% dissenters are too few to do much. Let New Action, the "opposition," do the fighting. Mulgrew could literally sign away every single right, accept a 50% pay cut for teachers, eliminate every single prep period and guess what? New Action will support him and every single Unity Caucus member will drink it all up - and convince the people in the schools he is a really good guy and he's not Randi.

Or is he?

Leonie posted these thoughts:

After year one, all teachers in all grades will be subject to these value-added assessments; implying that there will have to be new state tests as well as new local tests in all subjects and all grades.

o Year one: 20 percent student growth on state assessments or comparable measures for teachers in the common branch subjects or ELA and Math in grades four to eight only, and 20 percent other locally selected measures that are rigorous and comparable across classrooms;

o Subsequent years before Regents approval of a value-added model: 20 percent student growth on state assessments or comparable measures for all teachers, and 20 percent other locally selected measures that are rigorous and comparable across classrooms;

Art, music anyone?

I would expect that all these new tests, as well as teacher time (or State time) scoring them, in every grade and subject, will cost far more than the $700 million that is the maximum amount that NY State could get from RTTT.

I also love the following:

. The regulations adopted pursuant to this section shall be developed in consultation with an advisory committee consisting of representatives of teachers, principals, superintendents of schools, school boards, school district and board of cooperative educational services officials and other interested parties.

Once again, parents are omitted from being mentioned among the key stakeholder groups to have any voice in this system.

After all, it’s only our kids.

Wonder if charter schools will be subject to the same regime.

And these questions the UFT should have raised, but didn't:

The Times article does not say whether the test score component will be based upon one year or several years value-added.

One year’s increases or decreases in test scores are statistically meaningless at the school level; as shown by the volatility of the NYC school grading system; and they are even more unreliable at the classroom level.

Not to mention the complexities of attempting to control for all the demographic and school factors outside a teacher’s control, such as peer group factors, class size, overcrowding, special needs population, and the student’s pre-determined course of learning, based on all their previous years’ educational experiences. (As the class size research shows, smaller classes in the early grades lead not only to greater gains in those years, but a whole different trajectory of learning in future years.)

All of which explains why the National Academy of Sciences has said emphatically that basing teacher evaluations on value-added test scores is not ready for prime time.


What is clear from the article below is that NYC public school students will be subjected to yet an additional set of “local tests”; which will mean millions of dollars to develop these new tests, millions of student hours spent taking them, and millions of teacher hours in scoring them.

In addition, I predict that the DOE will want to give these new local tests both at the beginning of the school year and the end, to sharpen up their “value-added” per teacher component.

And most likely, more NY teachers will even more try to flee from classrooms and schools with high-needs students, the exact opposite of what the federal government, state and city say they are trying to achieve.

Wouldn’t you?

More testing, less learning.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/11/nyregion/11teacher.html?emc=eta1&pagewanted=print

UFT: Bleak House

"The unions did not gain any clear benefit from the deal, other than shielding themselves from criticism that they were hurting the state’s chances in Race to the Top."
- NY Times


We hate to tell you so, but we told you so. That the higher the percentage of the vote for Michael Mulgrew, the more likely it was that the Unity Caucus leadership would be freed to give up more without worrying about the reaction of the members. First it was the rubber room agreement, which even without seeing it and knowing the political landscape, we could predict would end up as a losing proposition for teachers.

Now comes the latest agreement by the union Agreement Will Alter Teacher Evaluations that will sink us to new depths - until the next time. Here's the skinny from the NY Times:

The State Education Department and New York’s teachers’ unions have reached a deal to overhaul teacher evaluations and tie them to student test scores, brokering a compromise on an issue the unions had bitterly opposed for years.

The agreement, reached in time for the state’s second bid at $700 million in federal education grants, would scrap the current system whereby teachers were rated simply satisfactory or unsatisfactory. Instead, annual evaluations would place teachers in one of four categories — highly effective, effective, developing and ineffective. While the deal would not have any immediate effect on teacher pay, it could make it easier for schools to fire teachers deemed subpar.

Teachers would be measured on a 100-point scale, with 20 percent points based on how much students improve on the standardized state exams. Another 20 percent would be based on local tests, which would have to be developed by each school system. After two years, 25 percent would be based on the state exams and 15 percent would come from the local tests.

The unions — the New York State United Teachers and the United Federation of Teachers, the city’s union — did not gain any clear benefit from the deal, other than shielding themselves from criticism that they were hurting the state’s chances in Race to the Top. And union leaders who backed the plan could face significant backlash from members, particularly at a time when many districts are planning for layoffs.

The remainder of the evaluation will come from observations from principals and other teachers, and other measures. If teachers are rated ineffective for two consecutive years, they would face firing through an expedited hearing process that must conclude within 60 days. Currently hearings can drag on for several months.

The only inaccuracy here is that there will be little backlash or consequences from the members. The election is over and the rest of the union bodies are locked up by Unity and their New Action lackeys. Am I beginning to sound like "people are getting what they asked for"?

We told you that Mulgrew was more style than substance and would turn out to be Randi light. Check out how the AFT in Colorado and in New Jersey is caving on many issues while the NEA is putting up a semblance of a fight. I will say this time and again. Watch Mulgrew and the 800 Unity caucus members we are paying for in Seattle this summer cave into every sell-out policy.

Watch New Action Mulgrew supporter bloggers try to explain this one away - maybe by raising some questions in a disingenuous "who me" manner while remaining silent at Delegate Assemblies and Executive Board meetings.

I'm more proud than ever to be a 9 per cent dissenter rather than a 91% Mulgrew assenter.

Coming soon:
Merit pay based on the above - leading to total salary schedules being revamped.

And of course, lifting the charter school cap resulting in the UFT loss of another 3% of the members as they flail about helplessly trying to organize these teachers into the union - with a separate and unequal contract. Look for a dues increase to make up the shortfall so Unity can continue to live the life style they are accustomed to.

I'm off to the Pakter hearing. Reports later.

Envisioning the Urban School System of the Future

So, this is the future. A future which is not linear, but a circle back to the past.

With all the heavy-handed Wall St./hedge fund/Gates/Walmart/Broad money, how do the relative pipsqueak unions compete for public support? The unions are outspent and outflanked. The "choice" argument will win out, while suburban parents are free from choice as they get some say in determining what kind of schools their kids go to.

Another funded anti-public ed film is coming this fall.
http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/paramount_vantage/waitingforsuperman/

When a trailer opens up with Michelle Rhee, you know what's coming.

The onslaught continues. With the teacher unions fighting a rearguard action and not confronting things head on, there are few forces to counter the propaganda.

What we are faced with is nationwide chains of charter schools with a cinder of a public school system left.

It will take a generation - at least - for the reality of what has been done to have an impact.
When there are no teacher unions left for them to blame. When they find that no matter how much they churn the teachers they will always have teachers who are not supermen and women. When student performance will be stagnant. When parents begin to see "choice" as bogus as their "choice" is limited to a few massive charter chains.

And we will have to start all over again in trying to rebuild a public education system with a semblance of public oversight.

Here is a picture of the urban school landscape of the future:

A few big charter chains, all increasingly controlled from national headquarters, thus totally removing local control of schools in any manner servicing Black and Latino/a students who will be trained in the testing culture to prepare them for jobs in the employ of the largest job creators in the nation - Walmart and McDonalds.

You see, what the parents of the "scholars" who charter schools are telling will all go to college are not being told is that only a quarter of future jobs are for college grads. They are also not assuring them of funding for their scholars to go to college.

Suburban white kids and parents have a totally different experience, actually preparing them for the college level jobs by offering a broader educational experience not grounded in test prep.

For example, KIPP will have a nationwide chain of charters where policy will be controlled from headquarters.

So will Harlem Success with their own policies.

Multiply this by all the competing chains. Imagine a neighborhood where parents will have a choice - of the different charter schools which will use the lottery to limit who gets in. Look for special education focused charters which will take the onus off these schools having to accept the most difficult students.

Small, independent charter schools will be gobbled up as the big chains compete for their teachers and students and funding sources. (One small scale Harlem charter school operator at the Perkins hearings was even lamenting the fact that he had to compete with the Harlem Success juggernaut.)

Of course there will be some public schools left to take the unwanted. Remember the old "600" schools that used to exist?

Remember the days when there was no union and teachers earned paltry salaries while having no rights?

We will be back to the beginning.

Add-on: Many charter school people don't think much of Eva
I was hanging out with a friend who left a public school to teach in a charter. We agree on so many things and I will explore these areas of agreement in the future. We could start with, "I would never work in a school controlled by Eva Moskowitz."

Extraordinary Interventions

This early morning's Hearing Voices on NPR had a wonderful presentation about a Washington DC student's journey and the extraordinary intervention it took to help him get to his destination.

Getting Out is the story of Jesse Jean whose father murdered his mother and committed suicide when Jesse was 2 years old - in front of him. Jesse tried to avoid all the "stuff" that happens to kids on the streets of Washington and luckily met these 2 ladies - Teri and Tony who I believe worked for some White House connected group - who took him under their wing. I mean seriously under their wing. Like it led to their becoming his legal guardian. A more down home version of The Blind Side. (I liked the movie, but want to read Michael Lewis' book.)

[You can hear an mp3 audio file of Getting Out.]

I post this story for 2 reasons. First because it indicates that even with this extraordinary intervention - including a partial scholarship to a boarding school that costs $28,000 a year - there were still some touch and go moments. Meaning - things like charter schools are merely a drop in the bucket as solutions relative to the overwhelming issues so many kids face.<

The second reason is that there were a few times when I was on the edge of temptation to take a similar extraordinary intervention path with a few kids over the years that I grew close to but just couldn't bite that bullet. One of the students ended up shot in the head 5 times while selling drugs in the wrong territory at the age of 18 - and that after serving 3 years in prison and fathering a child. I spent a lot of hard time thinking at his funeral. It was like I had seen a truck heading for a child in the middle of the street and was helpless to stop the accident from happening.

Some of the kids I worked with in that era of the late 80's to early 90's did experience an extraordinary intervention by a high school teacher in Williamsburg Brooklyn who took in loads of kids to live with her, her husband and a band of adopted kids from just about every nationality. They are some of the true heroes in this world. My particular student was a top-level basketball player and a very nice kid who avoided trouble when he could. Things basically turned out all right though they might have anyway. But even with that level of intervention, the academic problems never went away and college was not his thing.

I was peripherally involved with these kids - attending their basketball games, taking them to sporting events and having them out to my house - but learned a hell of a lot from the experience, understanding just how far I was willing and able to go as a teacher. In the world of today's ed deform that teacher who took kids in to live with her would have her effectiveness judged by her test scores.

When I hear these stories I often think of what it would take and would even echo Joel Klein in with my own call for No Excuses - but on whose part? If you listen to the program - a well spent 52 minutes, you have to ask about focusing only on academic "outcomes" without all that goes with it. What is needed is a lot of extraordinary interventions and this society only wants to take the cheap way out.


Hearing Voices from NPR® Getting Out: The Education of Jesse Jean
Host: Katie Davis of Neighborhood Stories
Airs week of: 2010-05-05 (Originally: 2009-06-03)

Audio will be posted here by 2010-05-12.

“Getting Out” (52:00) Katie Davis

Go to school, keep your grades up, go to college. That’s what we tell kids — over and over. What if just leaving your apartment, and walking up the block is risky? What if it feels safer to stay home, play video games, keep a low profile. When you do go out, head somewhere safe, like the teen center, the basketball court. That was the world of African American teenager, Jesse Jean.

Jesse lived a half a block from host Katie Davis in their Washington DC neighborhood. He was lucky enough to get a scholarship to a private boarding school and brave enough to take it. Katie kept in touch with Jesse, as he moved into this new world. We hear three stories covering seven years, starting in summer, 2001.

Jesse’s Stories on NPR: 2002 Turning the Corner (photos) | 2004 Beyond Myself (photos) | 2008 An Urban Teen Beats The Odds.

Add On
Last week, CBS Sunday Morning did a similar story about the lives of 2 guys living parallel lives in Baltimore at the same time- Same Name, Two Different Stories

One is a Johns Hopkins graduate and the other is serving life in prison. Both grew up in the same neighborhood and share the same name, Wes Moore. Russ Mitchell has the story of how their lives diverged so drastically.

There are a lot of nuances to this story. One Wes had his father die when he was 4. But his father was a journalist and don't lose sight of that very important point as to where this Wes was coming from. His mom just might have gotten into a charter school lottery while the other Wes probably would never have gone to a charter school or been tossed out.

Here is the roughly 10 minute video.

His story is similar to Jesse's and the Wes Moore who is not in prison has written a book called The Other Wes Moore. Here is his web site.

Rally/Hearing to stop the charter co-location of Clinton Middle School - Monday, May 10, 5:45PM, Followed by Public Hearing

Please Forward Widely!

MONDAY MAY 10th 4:45PM

Rally/ Hearing to stop the charter co-location of Clinton Middle School.

Last chance for public comment before co-location is put to a vote at the next PEP meeting on May 18th.

The American Sign Language School

223 East 23rd Street between 2 & 3rd Aves.

PS347/47 is the only dual language American Sign Language and English public school in the country. It is a school with a long history of servicing the Deaf/Hard of Hearing community. The school is broken up in 2 parts a High School (47) and a lower school for grades pre-k - 8 (347). In addition to these school the building currently houses PS138 a school for students with disabilities and is partly occupied by Quest to Learn, a small middle school of about 70 students, which will be vacating its spot this year.

The DOE is proposing that The Clinton Middle School for Writers and Artists, a school of about 300 students replace Quest to Learn. The proposal has The Clinton School occupying the science labs which would mean required Regents science classes could not be offered to students. This would also cause issues of safety as grades K through 8 would need to occupy the same floor and share a total of 3 toilets, increase congestion in the hallways, and have classroom size increase while classroom space would be decreased, since the proposal calls for small conference rooms to be made into classrooms.

The students, teachers and staff need the space to communicate. ASL is a visual language that requires movement through space. One needs to be able to see the speaker in order to understand and respond. This is not possible by sitting in rows. Why is the DOE making 4 schools suffer at the will of 1?

See Kolodner piece in the Daily News

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/education/2010/05/09/2010-05-09_doe_deaf_to_needs_schools_hearingimpaired_students_losing_space_race.html


The Take Away
These attacks are continuing and GEM is fighting back.

What can you do?

GEM meeting of schools organizing Committee: Tuesday 5pm Cuny Grad. Center

WHAT: GEM school organizing Committee

WHEN: Tuesday May 11th, 5pm

Where: CUNY grad. center ROOM 5409 BET. 34/35th street on 5th ave. TRAINS: 6, R, N, F, D, Q, B, V

Folks, things are getting serious and we need to step up the pressure and the actions. Our union is not doing the organizing work a union should be doing so it is up to US!

GEM(grassroots education movement: http://grassrootseducationmovement.blogspot.com is working on organizing on the school level to fight back against the attacks on public education and to fight for a more just, equitable and community based education system in our city.

We are working with any teacher who wishes to start a fight back committee in their school, or just wants to get discussion going among staff and parents about issues affecting their schools.

GEM members are planning for a pre school picket early in June against budget cuts and are inviting others to take action the same day in a show of solidarity across the city. If you are interested in learning more about this action or about how to start conversations among your staff or just want to learn about what GEM is up to and how we can support you in your school please come on Tuesday. If you are interested but can't attend the meeting please respond by sending an email to gemnyc@gmail.com.

Final Days of Pakter Hearing- Monday and Tuesday

Ed Note:

For those who have not seen a 3020 hearing, here is your chance. This is a special case in that the hearing officer is Douglas Bantle who is fair minded and gives the defense a chance. There's a lot of back story here about DOE attempts to settle on certain conditions. It seems they know they have a good chance to lose this one. So they are pulling out every stop. I'm not sure what it is safe to write about, so I will be cautious at this point. An important note is that with all the backlog of cases and the need to resolve many of them under the new rubber room agreement with the corresponding need to hire many more hearing officers, Bantle is being "fired."

Note also that there are no penalties for DOE officials caught in lies.

As I have been warning people, start taping EVERYTHING. Pre and post observations and even your own lessons where you are being observed.

PLEASE POST - Reporters, Journalists and Bloggers - PLEASE POST
For Immediate Release

On Monday, May 10, at 10 AM --

For the first time in the history of NYC Dept of Education Teacher Trials, a State Hearing Officer has requested and will allow an accused NYC Teacher to play secret tapes in his possession to prove his innocence.


This is a ground breaking event and will prove beyond any doubt that former

'Teacher of the Year', David Pakter, was falsely accused of wrongdoing by the NYC DOE.

No member of the media, Legal community or anyone interested in Justice can afford to miss this unique, first ever milestone in the history of the long struggle by NYC Educators to receive fair treatment and "Due Process" at the hands of the 23 Billion Dollar New York City Dept of Education.

Where: 49 Chambers Street, Manhattan 6th Floor

When: 10 A.M.

Who: Hon. Douglas J. Bantle, Esq. - Presiding

Christopher M. Callagy, Esq. - for the Defense

Philip Oliveri, Esq. - Prosecuting for NYC



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

Note: New York City teachers have been removed from their classrooms and schools for decades based on the flimsiest heresay, fabricated allegations and bogus charges. Often the teacher is totally innocent of the accusations but is at the mercy of a system that makes proving one's innocence difficult if not impossible.

The NYC Dept of Education will present Witnesses who despite being under Sworn Oath, will lie with impunity and not hesitate to commit the most outrageous acts of Perjury knowing that there is virtually no price to be paid if caught.

On Monday, May 10, at 10 A.M.

for the first time in history, a courageous and independent Hearing Officer, sitting in Judgement to decide a highly Decorated Educator's fate, will allow David Pakter to have a fair shot at Justice.

The Honorable Douglas J. Bantle, Esq. will permit the accused to let the entire public learn the Truth by playing a tape recording proving "who" said "what" and "where" and "when".

The Hearing Officer and the Attorneys will all hear what those who accused Mr. Pakter said - or did not say- from their own lips.

The great French writer,Victor Hugo, once said:

"There is no force on Earth so powerful as an Idea whose time has come."

That time is 10 A.M. on Monday, May 10

at 49 Chambers Street, 6th Floor, Manhattan.

Be a Witness to History.

_______________________________________

Warning: the 6th Floor Receptionist has been known to falsely inform the Public there is NO Pakter Hearing scheduled.

Do Not Leave. Demand to speak to an Official. mily:Times New Roman;font-size:180%;" >"There is no force on Earth so powerful as an Idea whose time has come."

That time is 10 A.M. on Monday, May 10

at 49 Chambers Street, 6th Floor, Manhattan.

Be a Witness to History.

_______________________________________

Warning: the 6th Floor Receptionist has been known to falsely inform the Public there is NO Pakter Hearing scheduled.

Do Not Leave. Demand to speak to an Official.

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

Juan Gonzalez: Big Banks Making a Bundle On New Construction as Schools Bear the Cost

“Wealthy investors and major banks have been making windfall profits by using a little-known federal tax break to finance new charter-school construction,” Democracy Now! co-host Juan Gonzalez write in the New York Daily News. “The program, the New Markets Tax Credit, is so lucrative that a lender who uses it can almost double his money in seven years.”

See video at Democracy Now.

Reminder: Leonie Haimson gives Juan Gonzalez the Skinny Award on May 20. You are invited.(Support Class Size Matters with a $75 or $100 contribution.) Details here.

By the way, which newspaper in NYC has the most intrepid ed reporters - named Gonzalez, Kolodner and Monahan?

A Perfect Example of the Results of the Ed Deform Movement

Another gem from one of the Daily News dynamic duo of Monahan and Koldoner. They embarass the NY Post reporters just about every day, considering the News and Post have similar editorial positions.

Hey - teachers. Time to secretly record your faculty conferences. Let's embarrass the hell out of principals from hell.

From Leonie Haimson:

One more unreliable factor in the DOE’s totally unreliable school grading system, the fact that the survey results cannot be trusted. Even if principals did not berate teachers into giving them higher ratings, it is likely that teachers and parents will do so, in fear that the school will be closed down.

I love the defense of DOE, that most teachers are honest, because 25% of them report they don’t trust their principals! What does that say about DOE’s method of grooming, selecting and training principals!

One thing is sure, as the principal was taped saying: “We live in a toxic political environment in the Department of Education,"

And what about this? “We will not tolerate any attempt to manipulate survey results," said Danny Kanner, an Education Department spokesman, before bashing teachers for making the recordings. !!!!

Principals feeling pressure to get A's putting pressure on parents, teachers to give them

BY Rachel Monahan

Daily News

May 5, 2010

These principals may be the real grade-grubbers.

Across the city, principals are under investigation for pressuring parents, students or teachers into giving them good reviews on the secret surveys that gauge school satisfaction.

Just a month after the Daily News obtained a recording of a Brooklyn principal threatening teachers for giving her shoddy reviews, another tape has emerged of a principal instructing teachers on the importance of giving high marks.

"If you give us low grades and that attacks our progress report grade, the school's going to close," Principal Mary Prendergast of the High School for Youth and Community Development says in a matter-of-fact tone.

She also notes that she considers the survey to be "stupid, quite frankly," and tells her teacher to "politically be smart."

"We live in a toxic political environment in the Department of Education," she explains. "I'm not putting this in a memo because these are the kind of things that can be misinterpreted."

Prendergast isn't alone. Yolanda Ramirez, principal of Public School 38 in Brooklyn, was caught on tape last year berating her teachers for giving her lousy reviews.

And education officials confirm they are investigating other cases of principals giving instructions on the surveys, which account for 10% of the A-to-F grades given to schools and are used to determine bonuses.

Contacted by The News, Prendergast acknowledges she's looking to improve her new small school's scores and that the threat of closure is a real one her teachers are generally aware of. But, she said, she wasn't trying to pressure her underlings.

"How does a principal advocate for doing the best we can without making it look like we're skewing the results?" she asked.

Education Department officials said they don't think there's "widespread" pressure on the surveys, noting 24% of teachers last year said they didn't "trust the principal at his or her word."

"We will not tolerate any attempt to manipulate survey results," said Danny Kanner, an Education Department spokesman, before bashing teachers for making the recordings.

But at PS 34 in Queens, a current and a former teacher charged their principal freaked out after they gave her poor reviews two years back, then tried to convince them that better reviews would mean a bigger bonus. Principal Pauline Shakespeare denied the charge through a secretary.

At PS 345 in Brooklyn, teachers charged the principal tried to scare them with the prospect of closure - but backed off after the school's report card grade rose. Principal Wanda Holt denied the allegations before hanging up on The News.

Weingarten Interferes in DC Union Elections

History has taught us that autocrats will never give up power and will resort to illegal means to keep absolutism intact. I would bet my pension that even if some miracle occurred and the opposition won an election here in NYC, the Unity machine would find ways to invalidate the election. (When the opposition once won the high school VEEP position in the mid-80's, Unity delayed his seating for a year by claiming illegalities in an election they ran - and won the right for a do-over.)

Ed Notes has been reporting on the Washington DC and Chicago teacher union elections. Both cities are hotbeds of potential activism and if Nathan Saunders and/or Karen Lewis (CORE) were to be elected, would indicate potential trouble for AFT President Randi Weingarten. Not that she has to worry too much with the NYC Unity Caucus machine being able to control the NY state NYSUT which in turn controls the AFT. But we know that Randi wants ZERO OPPOSITION and will do what she can to undercut the ability of these candidates to win.

In Chicago there are 5 or 6 caucuses running and Randi will wait out what is sure to be a runoff. If CORE is one of the two left standing, just watch the AFT jump into the fray.

Washington DC is a particularly interesting case where both Randi and Michelle Rhee's reps are on the line if Saunders should win. So now we hear the AFT is "getting involved" in the DC election.

With elections in Washington DC about to take place, the AFT goon squad is out to undermine them. They found some excuse and there is talk about including the contract vote ballot in the same envelope as the election ballot. If true, why are we not surprised here in NYC?

There is also some talk (see EIA report below) about the AFT using the excuse that not enough people are on the ballot for AFT delegates to the Seattle convention (supposedly 4 are running and there are 20 positions) and that is reason enough to postpone the elections. (Unity sends 800 on a junket but other locals who can't afford to send a full complement often send fewer people with each entitled to vote for the rest. In other words, since Unity votes as a block, we could send 1 delegate who can cast 800 votes.)

The real reason is that Randi/Rhee/Parker are anxious to get the contract vote done before the election, which if Saunders wins will kill any chance of the contract Randi and Rhee want. With problems over the private money being assured, it is clear that the election will be done beforehand and Randi is trying to figure out a way to undermine it.

Is anyone surprised that Randi is more aligned with Rhee - remember my basic rule - ignore what Randi says, watch what she does? So here is Nathan Saunders' piece in today's TheMail.


Is AFT Undermining DC Teachers? by Nathan Saunders,
WTU Presidential candidate


Intense public school budget hearings on April 30 evidenced the significant impact WTU teachers have on the city’s budget. Charter school advocates presented the government a demand letter for comparable wages to the WTU Tentative Agreement (TA), or they would seek court action. A magnanimous Chief Financial Officer Gandhi refused to certify the TA’s financial soundness while simultaneously scaling back other programs and possibly raising taxes to reduce a $530 million deficit.

The 1960’s legislation allowing exclusive representation of DC’s Public teachers was theorized to encourage mutual cooperation yielding increased workplace productivity.

Unfortunately, some of the industrial labor union’s ills and social injustices, such as paternalism, permeated the teachers’ union movement.

Oftentimes national union interests will attack local dissident opinion by influencing union elections, producing propaganda, and controlling issues. All the while repeating, ad nauseam, “We never get involved in local issues.”

Amazingly, this is like the letter the American Federation of Teachers sent home to all DC teachers implying that the May 2010 elections will probably be delayed. Federal legislation, the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959, was created to combat union member abuses involving violations of free speech, violence, and elections tampering. It forces elections every three years and gives union members a special bill of rights akin to the US Constitution.

Empowering WTU teachers in democratic management and advocacy for themselves and their students is an often neglected education reform that is affordable. Paternalism is most dangerous in teachers’ unions, as it makes teachers feel trapped with two bosses — the DC Government and the AFT/WTU — their own union. Union democracy is suppressed.

The AFT should not be involved in the May 2010 union election or the upcoming contract ratification vote, as their ability to exercise self-control will deter additional controversies and challenges. The federal Department of Labor should be involved.

Unfortunately, the president of the AFT parent union, Randi Weingarten, is deeply entangled in election shenanigans, potentially stalling WTU’s election schedule past its constitutionally required May 2010 date. Her beneficiary is WTU President George Parker the embattled negotiator of the Rhee/Parker tentative agreement. The agreement was supposed to harvest elections benefits of 20 percent pay raises, without members knowing most would probably be terminated or that a portion of the raises was financed with blood money of wrongfully terminated teachers, and the only job security in the deal belonged to Chancellor Michelle Rhee.

The problem with Weingarten’s election meddling is that it makes DC teachers more vulnerable. Teachers are about to deal with hundreds of year-end layoffs, a hard summer fight to support a mayoral candidate and leaving approximately eighty other elected positions unfilled (Elections Committee, Delegates to the Maryland State AFL-CIO, and others). It smells to high heaven.

Any desire to place an election ballot with a contract ratification ballot in the same envelope is selfish and belittles the WTU’s members’ intelligence. Common sense, time, and economic realities may have broken up the Fenty/Rhee/Parker/Weingarten playbook, but law and the WTU’s Constitution require a paternalistic AFT to step aside and to allow dues paying members to vote on their future — now.

---------

Here is Mike Antonucci's take - at EIA. Remember, he is an anti-teacher union guy always looking to pick at the bones of union ineptitude, but he does cover issues no one else does.

Union Elections Are Contests Between Apathy and Ignorance

Eduwonk reports that the upcoming election for the presidency of the Washington Teachers Union has a problem – not enough WTU members want to be on the election committee. For that matter, not enough WTU members want to be delegates to the AFT convention. As a result, AFT is going to provide “assistance and limited oversight.”

Problem solved, right? Not exactly. WTU Vice President Nathan A. Saunders, who is running against incumbent George Parker, says he didn’t ask for, nor does he want, AFT intervention. He believes AFT is deeply invested in Parker and is trying to guarantee a win for him.

“It is absolutely crazy,” Saunders said. “The AFT can’t hold an impartial election.”

Pro Charter Tax Exempt Orgs Enter Political Fray - and Violate the Law

A compilation of postings from NYCEdNews Listserve for any legal eagles out there:


Received a beautiful colored flyer supporting NY State Senator Craig Johnson on Education paid for by Education Reform Now.

https://www.mediamezcla.com/campaign_engine/4.0/process_cc.php?id=www.edreformnow.org

Nowhere is the word "Charter School" mentioned or the market forces that are supporting them. It would appear that these market forces are funding free promotions for their elected supporters. Yet when they solicit contributions to the organization, they claim they are tax-deductible. Is that legal, anyone?


This is not the first time this sort of thing has happened; remember Juan Gonzalez’s discovery that Al Sharpton’s political organization was provided funds by Harold Levy’s hedge fund, after first passing it through a 501C3?

According to Education reform Now’s 2008 Form 990 (“tax” return for non-profits) (p. 3), they’re a 501(c)3 and do not engage in “direct or indirect political campaign activities on behalf of or in opposition to candidates for public office.” (http://www.guidestar.org/FinDocuments/2008/203/687/2008-203687838-056e8bda-9.pdf). Their website does say contributions are tax-deductible.

The IRS code prohibits 501(c)3 organizations from engaging in most forms of political activity (see below from IRS website).

You’ll need to collect the campaign flyers and file a complaint with the IRS. I believe any citizen has standing to file a complaint but I would imagine Sen. Johnson’s opponents would have more resources and motivation.

http://www.irs.gov/charities/charitable/article/0,,id=163395,00.html

The Restriction of Political Campaign Intervention by Section 501(c)(3) Tax-Exempt Organizations
Under the Internal Revenue Code, all section 501(c)(3) organizations are absolutely prohibited from directly or indirectly participating in, or intervening in, any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for elective public office. Contributions to political campaign funds or public statements of position (verbal or written) made on behalf of the organization in favor of or in opposition to any candidate for public office clearly violate the prohibition against political campaign activity. Violating this prohibition may result in denial or revocation of tax-exempt status and the imposition of certain excise taxes. Certain activities or expenditures may not be prohibited depending on the facts and circumstances. For example, certain voter education activities (including presenting public forums and publishing voter education guides) conducted in a non-partisan manner do not constitute prohibited political campaign activity. In addition, other activities intended to encourage people to participate in the electoral process, such as voter registration and get-out-the-vote drives, would not be prohibited political campaign activity if conducted in a non-partisan manner. On the other hand, voter education or registration activities with evidence of bias that (a) would favor one candidate over another; (b) oppose a candidate in some manner; or (c) have the effect of favoring a candidate or group of candidates, will constitute prohibited participation or intervention. The Internal Revenue Service provides resources to exempt organizations and the public to help them understand the prohibition. As part of its examination program, the IRS also monitors whether organizations are complying with the prohibition.

Murrow's Bruckner Swam Against BloomKlein/Ed Deform Grain

UPDATED 12pm

The NY Times piece on the death of Saul Bruckner, founding principal of Edward Murrow HS, one of the most successful high schools in the nation, contains nuggets of his philosophy towards how to treat students and teachers, nuggets that indicate he probably was not a happy soldier in the regime of ed deformers BloomKlein.

And indeed, reports had surfaced when he retired in 2004 that the Klein regime did not care for Bruckner and the feeling was mutual. Some anecdotes have emerged that since he left Murrow is just not the same but that would be expected. Even if he remained could he have continued to swim against the ed deform grain? I hope he left some thoughts behind for future ed historians on the contrast to his ed philosophy. Of course, the freedom he offered did not work for every child and I don't know to what level he devoted school resources to those situations for kids who had trouble handling it. (Some of his teachers were the most critical and argued for more discipline and less freedom.) Ditto for teachers. I would love to get stats on whether in his 30 years how many teachers were sent to rubber rooms or U-rated.

Whether you read the entire article or the excerpts below I chose to highlight the Bruckner style, make note of the Diane Ravitch quote.

he stood near the entrance each morning, greeting by name many of the thousands of students who swirled by him. Like his well-tailored clothes and quiet manner, it served as a small reminder of the formality of an earlier era of public education in a school known for its progressive, free-wheeling spirit.

That mixture of big think and little think — the ability to manage the bureaucracy and politics of a urban high school of 4,000 students while remembering student names, picking up litter from the hallways, and continuing to teach a class nearly up to his retirement — was what set Mr. Bruckner apart as a principal, and made him a legend at Murrow.

_____

Even when it came under criticism, he refused to bend on one of the hallmarks of Murrow — the scheduling of free periods for students during the school day so that they could gather in groups in the hallway and socialize, a practice some teachers believed led to increased cutting.

“Most schools treat kids and teachers like infants,” he told The New York Times in 1988, when interviewed amid clusters of reading, talking and flirting students. Treating them like adults, he said, “reduced the tension” between social groups sometimes found at other schools.

“In most schools, there is an emphasis on order,” he said in a later interview. “Here the emphasis is on freedom.”

_____

Much about Murrow seemed different. There were no bells to mark the end and start of classes. Instead of two semesters, Murrow had four, so that students could choose more classes, many on collegiate-sounding topics like magical realism or broadcast and entertainment law. The practice, he believed, encouraged grade-conscious students to take academic risks.

Honors classes, like his own Advanced Placement American History class, were open to all students who wanted to attend, by lottery, regardless of academic record. If you wanted to be there, he figured, you would do the work, teachers recalled.

Mr. Bruckner’s observations of new teachers were thorough and nerve-wracking. One new teacher, Georgia Scurletis, recalled how he chose a particularly boring lesson on grammar to observe, standing inscrutably at the back of her class. Afterward, he criticized her gently, telling her that when the Torah is read, “it should be with a bit of honey on the tongue,” she recalled

_____

[Diane Ravitch] noted that Mr. Bruckner had a long period of apprenticeship before becoming a principal, serving as a teacher, department supervisor and assistant principal, beginning in 1956. His status as a “master teacher,” helped him attract, retain and train his staff. “There are not many principals left from the old school,” Ms. Ravitch said.

One last point. Murrow did cull from the best kids in the system. Call it creaming. But when you look at the other principals running top level schools like Brooklyn Tech (remember Leo McCaskill?), Teitel at Stuyvesant and the utterly awful Valerie Reidy at Bronx High, Bruckner stands out like a shining star. But I wonder how he would have dealt with a school like Thomas Jefferson, my alma mater, in East NY.


I'm adding Leonie's comment:

Many believed him to be one of the finest NYC principals, and who showed clearly how a large school can not just work, but excel.

According to someone who knew the school well, it also “embraces experimentation, creative approaches to teaching and that treats students with respect and dignity. If I had grown up in NYC, it is the HS I would have wanted to attend.

So many parents from Manhattan and Queens have told me that they wish they had an option of a large, progressive school like Murrow in their boroughs. Bruckner's leadership made a huge difference.”

Be sure to check out the readers’ comments on the page.

Insulting the UFT’s Executive Committee While Mulgrew Skips Open Mike

Guest Editorial

By Philip Nobile

I intended to hand President Mulgrew a copy of my contrarian essay on the rubber room agreement at Monday’s (May 3) Executive Committee meeting. The cover letter read:

Would you please consider publishing my essay “Out of the Rubber Room, Into the Pyre” in the New York Teacher and post it as well on Edwize?

I also request that you respond to my questions in a companion article in the same spots.

As you will read, there is widespread dissatisfaction in the TRC’s with your agreement with Chancellor Klein.

Regrettably, you chose to negotiate in complete secrecy without consulting the reassigned. You can begin to remedy this mistake by calling us to a meeting as Randi did in October 2007.

Thank you.

But the President was late for the 10-minute Open Mike that opens every meeting. Only three cabinet members were present in addition to Secretary Michael Mendel who ran the show.

I was the first of four speakers—three rubber roomers and a delegate. I had a lot to squeeze into 2 min. and 30 sec. And it would be my one and only shot. Annoyed at my routine of exposing the leadership’s many failures of nerve, Mendel changed the rules: no more serial appearances. Open Mike was closed but for a single time a term.

In Mulgrew’s absence I shifted my plan of attack. I began by noting the censorship that chokes the union, meaning the limits on speech at Executive Committee meetings and the gagged NEW YORK TEACHER which has not carried a story on TRCs since October 2007. Apparently, this was too much for a Committee member. When I said “I came here tonight …, he finished my sentence “… to insult us.”

“There is so little dissent in this body,” I replied, “that you take criticism as an insult.” Mendel asked for silence even if I was not telling the truth. (Thanks a lot, Michael.)

I went on to say that the TRC agreement was flawed by Mulgrew’s failure to consult with us rubber roomers and contrasted this neglect with the hundreds of rank and file members involved in the contract negotiations. With seconds ticking away, I mentioned my Jeffersonian request regarding publication and response in THE TEACHER and read the first of the seven questions for Mulgrew embedded in my essay: “Will you meet with current rubber roommates and seek to renegotiate terms deemed unfair by them?”

Did the assembly erupt in applause and shouts of “Long live union democracy and death to UFT surrender to corrupt DOE investigations”? You wish.

The highlight of Almost Open Mike was Elvira Sacco, a recently sprung roomer from my home port, Brooklyn’s Chapel St. TRC. She blasted the union for failing to protect teachers from the Chancellor’s rogues, daring to say. “I am ashamed to be a member of the UFT.” Now that’s an insult, but right from the heart. If the Committee was provoked, they did not reveal it.

As if on cue, Mulgrew walked in after us four Voltarians were done. Mendel stepped aside as the President gave his report. Although I resent Mulgrew’s stonewalling—he refuses to answer my emails—he seems like a nice guy. The affection from the audience was palpable. TRCs were off the table, of course. Instead he updated the meeting on the Senate’s vote on the charter cap, which he dismissed as dead-end. Then he played a smart UFT radio commercial, starting today, deploring the politics of teacher bashing in a time of crisis. He warned that the Mayor’s executive budget, to be released on Thursday, would be “a catastrophe,” adding that there was “no respect or trust” for the DOE boys in Albany. Then he dashed out. I was tempted to follow and make my case in private as he waited for the elevator. But I stayed in my seat, against type and avoiding spectacle. I left it to Mendel to pass on my papers.

A lone and friendly committeeman consented to pursue my meeting proposal with Mulgrew. I had less luck with a second committeeman, a former foxhole buddy and Chapter Leader, who once helped me thwart a sleazy principal who tried to fire me for flunking too many students. This ex-stalwart defended Mulgrew’s reluctance to discuss the TRC agreement with disgruntled roomers, saying that he was probably too busy. “But what do you really think?” I asked, “Off the record, should he meet with us?” Nothing doing. He refused to venture an opinion. “You’re better than this,” I said, recalling his past solidarity. This was a painful moment. Walking away, he replied, “You wouldn’t say that if you knew what I was doing.”


Ed Note Afterthought
Where have the New Action Exec Bd members been all this time while rubber room people have to scrounge for their 2.5 minutes?

It seems that Mulgrew (and Weingarten before him) make sure to skip the open mic opening of the meetings and only make their appearance when it is over. I'm still not sure why Nobile wants to meet with Mulgrew.

Also looks like a new Mulgrew cult of personality is beginning to grow in Unity. That will lead Mulgrew down the Weingarten path to unglory.