Press Conference at Tweed at 1PM Today to Oppose Black Waiver

The Black nomination is an abomination.

They're gathering at Tweed as I write this. I can't be there because I have an "Odd Couple" rehearsal soon. But some GEMers will be there to tape it. Leonie, Norman Seigel and others. We'll get reports later.


The UFT- don't get me started. Mulgrew is sitting on the fence. You know the Unity suckup line - say this while on your knees and kvetching - we may have to negotiate a contract with Black and we don't want to make her mad. I'll bet the UFT will try to take credit for Klein's leaving or being given the boot.
And of course for making the sun shine today.

Some of our friends have been critical of the waiver fight - calling it a distraction
I get it. I understand it's all about mayoral control and that fighting the Cathie Black nomination for Chancellor is a battle with a small "b". That even if we manage to defeat Bloomberg on the waiver question, he will appoint another suck-up Klein Klone. Even with credentials or a person of color, we will see no difference in policy as long as a mayor - not just this mayor but any mayor- controls the schools. I mean, if it was Eric Nadelstern I wouldn't expect his 40 years in the system to make him much better than Black once he signed onto the ed deform movement.

The reason this is worth fighting is that people seem to want to fight it. As an organizer, that is enough for me. Even if we lose, it might activate people in a way that they haven't been before (and if you think that signing the petition makes you an activist you are smoking something- show up at the PEP Tuesday night at Brooklyn Tech and become a real activist - and a Real Reformer.) Why not try to make Steiner and Tisch sweat - demo at the State Ed Dept. office anyone? I hope they give her the waiver and then try to tell teachers how much credentials they need.

But if we win - what a defeat for Bloomberg. And it's on to the BIG BATTLE over mayoral control that is coming up in 2013.

All the activist groups within the UFT (ICE, TJC, GEM, TEACHERS UNITE, NYCORE) are working together on some actions related to Black and beyond. Still in a state of flux but there is some sense of coming together on some fronts (as a pessimist I am not holding my breath) while working with parent and community activists on a bunch of stuff. Yesterday many gathered to hear the speakers from CORE in Chicago at the Teachers Unite function. Videos will be up very soon.

I like this fragment that Leonie sent:

“There's a difference between being a teacher and leading an organization that's focused on teaching,” says Becca Bracy Knight, executive director of the Broad Center. “You can have someone running a great symphony who isn't a concert violinist. It doesn't mean the violinist isn't important; it's just a different skill set.”

Leonie comment: But has there ever been an orchestra conductor who couldn’t play music?

And Paola de Kock said:

Accepting a pig in a poke because the alternative might be worse (as some seem to suggest) is not responsible citizenship. Why is the fight worth fighting no matter what the outcome? Because the issue goes beyond Cathie Black herself—she could be good, she could be bad, who knows? (though from all that’s been made public about her, the odds of her making a good chancellor are pretty long).

It’s about our petty despot simply calling one of his friends for a job on which the future of the city’s children depends.

It’s about the stunning arrogance of presenting someone with no apparent interest in education as the best qualified person to run our schools.

It’s about not even bothering to prep her before the press conference, so that she might at least pretend to have a vision beyond “100 more charter schools” and “technology” in the classroom.

It’s about peddling as self-evident the proposition that a business person supported by educators will make a great chancellor although the converse—an educator supported by business people—is at least equally plausible.

It’s about reducing education to a business dedicated to the production of a workforce instead of educated citizens who value curiosity, knowledge for its own sake, artistic expression and all that makes life worth living in addition to the technical competence required to hold down a job.

To all this we must say “no.”

Paola de Kock

Followed by Richard Barr

I've read a lot, but not every single piece that has been written on the subject since the Mayor announced his selection of Ms. Black for School's Chancellor, so forgive me if this point has already been made by someone --

It was said at the time that even though she had no background in education, she had the wonderful team of Deputy Chancellors that Joel Klein had assembled to provide her with whatever expertise she herself lacked.

Well, besides the fact that some of that team have already announced their departures since then and others will probably follow suit, the fact is that there has been an enormous exodus of career educators from the DOE since the Bloomberg-Klein regime took over. Either pushed out, or leaving of their own accord, after being sidelined or marginalized, to go elsewhere or take early retirement, they have been replaced, it seems, in the most part by people fairly new to educational administration in general and the NYC school system in particular, many of whom were trained as lawyers or M.B.A.s.

So the talent pool -- from the standpoint of longtime educators with experience on the ground in the NYC school system, who know how things work and what the issues are that should go into making appropriate decisions -- which a new and inexperienced Chancellor could draw upon for guidance and context, has probably not been as shallow as it is now at any point in our memories.

Richard Barr

Help Me, I'm Melllllting!

Today's NY Times front pager on rising sea levels should scare the hell out of anyone living in a beachfront community, like I do, or if you take the most dire projections into account, Kansas.

If you look at a map of the NY area you can see that Rockaway is the first to go. That's why I'm putting on a motor and an inner tube on my house to turn it into a power raft.

But really, not to worry. The Tea Party crew assure us that it is all propaganda and I'm sure today's article is a big lie planted by those pinko greenies.

I'm even investing in beachfront property - in Greenland. Or on the top of Mt. Everest.

Stop the Drive to Privatize! More than 8 Years of Bloomberg Arrogance and Failure Must End. Take a Stand!

Co-Posted with Concerned Advocates for Public Education

The appointment of Cathie Black as chancellor, someone with no qualifications for the job, is a critical important turning point in the history of the Bloomberg administration. Why?

It has provoked a firestorm of controversy, with the rest of the city waking up to the way in which the mayor's uses his money, power and influence to disregard the normal rules of civil conduct. This editorial in El Diario is good example of the widespread disgust.This citywide moment of clarity has occurred previously only two times before: when Bloomberg fired three members of the PEP who disagreed with him right before a critical vote, and when he announced his intention to overturn term limits.

Parents and education advocates have long known and their kids have long suffered from the way in which the mayor behaves as though the public schools are his personal fiefdom to do with whatever he wants, regardless of what research shows and how parents, educators, and the advocacy community feel. Finally, New Yorkers as a whole are realizing the damage represented by his autocratic behavior. It is a critical moment of time that we must act on immediately, by joining together to reject this appointment and the abuse of power it represents.

How?

Charlie Brown, That Evil Clown, Aka Cathy Black

From the great David Bellel - go to link and watch Charlie Brown video:
http://dbellel.blogspot.com/2010/11/charlie-brown-that-evil-clown-aka-cathy.html

Fe-fe, fi-fi, fo-fo, fum
I smell smoke from the chancellor's podium
Cathy Black Cathy Black
She's a hack, that Cathy Black
She's never ever, ever taught
Just you wait and see
She's out to destroy the D-O-E

Down on their knees
Her eyes on the prize
Bringing public employees
To the world of the privatized

Cathy Black Cathy Black
She's a hack, that Cathy Black
She's never ever, ever taught
Just you wait and see
She's out to destroy the D-O-E

Who's always dressing for the ball
Who's never viewed students in the hall
Who has the nerve to think she knows it all
For you, not her, For charter, that's who

Who walks in a classroom, cool and slow
Who says to the teacher, we'll have to let you go

Cathy Black Cathy Black
She's a hack, that Cathy Black
She's never ever, ever taught
Just you wait and see
She's out to destroy the D-O-E

50 Ways to Lose a Chancellor- “$2.99,” she repeated. “Cheaper than a hooker,”

 --We just need someone to rewrite the Paul Simon lyrics

Today's NY Times

Sex-Tip App? New Schools Chief Promotes It

By CARA BUCKLEY

When he announced that Cathleen P. Black, the chairwoman of Hearst Magazines, would become the next chancellor of New York City’s schools, Mayor Michael Bloomberg touted Ms. Black as uniquely qualified for the role.

“There is virtually nobody who knows more about the needs of the 21st century workforce for which we need to prepare our kids,” the mayor said.

It seems that Ms. Black also knows a thing or two about an altogether different kind of need.
In an Aug. 10, 2010, segment of the Diane Rehm radio show entitled “The Future of Magazines,” Ms. Black plugged Cosmopolitan Magazine’s latest iPhone App: the Sex Tip of the Day.
“Are you going to charge for that sex tip of the day?” the host, Frank Sesno, asked.
“Yeah, $2.99,” Ms. Black replied, as the host and other guests erupted into giggles. “$2.99,” she repeated. “Cheaper than a hooker,” she continued, before adding, “I didn’t say that, did I?”
The application offers a cornucopia of advice on an array of inventively, sometimes bogglingly, named sexual moves – among them, the Jet Jiggy, the Randy Raft, the Wanton Wheelbarrow and the Linguini. Each position is rated on a “Carnal Challenge” scale of one to five flames (the “Octopus,” for one, ranks five flames, and comes with words of encouragement: “Do it right and you two will look like a multilimbed lust creature”). A variety of aids are often employed, among them bathtubs, hot tubs, pools, inflatable rafts, inner tubes, balls, staircases and small boats.
Cosmopolitan, long a stalwart in the field of dishing and redishing sex advice, is just one of Hearst’s many publications. Other magazines include Harper’s Bazaar, Marie Claire, Popular Mechanics, Redbook and O, the Oprah Magazine. Ms. Black served as president of Hearst Magazines until the summer of 2010, and is now chairwoman.
Asked how many times the app has been downloaded, a spokeswoman for Hearst Magazines was mum. A spokeswoman with the city’s Department of Education said this application had no bearing on Ms. Black’s suitability to run a school district with 1.1 million children.
Ms. Black’s comments on Ms. Rehm’s show were reported this week by the television channel NY1.

Follow-Up

Dear Followers,
Lots to report on the Cathie Black situation with online petitions opposing the waiver she needs springing up and agitation over what to do about it. I'm only going to focus on one aspect in this post, starting here:

Hi SOS,
Many of you may have seen my quote in the Wall Street Journal this morning. I wanted to let you know that what I said was not accurately reported, a lot of context was left out. Second, I was not in any way speaking for S.O.S. I apologize if the article gave that impression. I respect this campaign and
mission too much to put it in jeopardy.

Sincerely,
Zakiyah 

Our buddies at CAPE (Concerned Advocates for Public Education) responded with:

Doubt It!

 In a recent article in the Wall Street Journal, a member of the organization Save Our Schools is quoted in reference to  Cathleen Black, the mayor's choice to replace Joel Klein as school chancellor this January.  It seems her discussion with the reporter was not accurately reported and much of the context left out.  CAPE  supports the work of Save Our Schools (SOS), most importantly the fight against high-stakes testing.   However, we do not agree to give Ms. Black "the benefit of the doubt." The members of CAPE reject Cathleen Black as a valid or even reasonable choice for our new chancellor and in no way see her as an ally.  We have no illusions that the appointment of someone with zero experience or credentials in education is anything but another step in an agenda to undermine public education.  We demand a qualified chancellor with a record of service to public education that can be publically judged. The law requires it. And our children deserve it.
http://capeducation.blogspot.com/

Commentary
The reaction to the Wall Street Journal report that some standard opponents to BloomKlein were will to give the Cathie Black appointment a chance resulted in more than a bit of a reaction with other members of the SOS (Save Our Schools) coalition responding with some initial chagrin. People were real happy that Zikiyah Nasari assured them she was misquoted - gee, the WSJ shading a story?

Our report on CEJ, one of the leaders of the SOS coalition which includes GEM and CAPE yesterday (How far will CEJ bend?) also led to some phone calls and emails, one accusing me of helping BloomKlein by making it look like the opposition was divided.

SIDE NOTE: There's always a fine line between trying to be an activist/organizer and a semi-journalist and because I have access to lots of info I try - and not always successfully - to hold back certain things when necessary even though I am an advocate of the maximum openness possibly since the free flow of info is crucial to informing people of the full context of what is going on. On the CEJ issue, I have exercised a lot of restraint due to the respect I have for many of the people involved I have met, including Zakiyah.

Since Save Our Schools is a coalition, many of the partners had some consternation over Zakiyah Nasari's quote in the WSJ, even some outrageous charges about CEJ. Always suspicious by anything in the Journal, especially if it's written by Barbara Martinez on education - almost every article has an ideological bias - I did raise the point that this might be an intentional misquote in order to give the impression there was division in the opposition to the Black appointment in my piece yesterday. But I also was worried that CEJ might jump at a chance to get some of their program into play if an offer was made. I posted this the NYCEdNew listserve:

Some of these divisions have a historical context.
I wonder if some of the "jump to conclusions" issues emanate from the St. Vartas Church rally/protest (Feb. 28, 2007- the day Martine Guerrier was appointed to her new position)  aftermath where a May 1 rally that would have been a major event was undercut by a deal offered by BloomKlein. CEJ amongst others joined the UFT in making this deal.

Many warned that they would never adhere to what they agreed to. There is always danger in an offer by dishonest people who want to undercut any movement that is developing. I think some people may be concerned that if such an offer agreeing to parts or all of the platform is offered (always I believe with bad intent) as a way of undercutting resistance to the Black candidacy some might find it hard to refuse. These are standard bait and switch techniques we have seen used in the UFT (which led the deal with BloomKlein in 2007). I have felt that the May 1, 2007  proposed demo could have been a huge defeat for mayoral control and may have forced people to take a closer look before it was renewed and may in fact have scuttled Bloomberg's 3rd term. So my instant reaction was that Bloomberg would go back to the well and the WsJ article might be message of sorts with the quote being misused as an opening or just to divide people.

The UFT -which we know didn't really want to hold that rally (you could argue that without them it would have been scuttled anyway) could not have  made that deal alone unless other groups signed on. So this is not a black and white issue and is worth some closer examination - if anyone ever does a history of the last Bloomberg ed control years it could read like a novel. If anyone wants to take up the challenge I have almost 15 years of Ed Notes archives chronicling the Randi/Bloomberg years available.

A note: I was called by the editorial page of the WsJ and interviewed on Sept 24 when we held that rally. The questions were so tainted and loaded with intent that I had to be very careful with what I was saying and indeed worried later that I had mispoken in some way. While I speak to most reporters I'm not sure I would ever talk to the WsJ without saying everything is off the record.

 HEADING OVER TO TEACHERS UNITE/CORE MEEETING NOW. HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE.

At Teachers Unite Sat. 11/13: Meet Reps from CORE in Chicago: The New Faces of Union Organizing!

Join many of the NYC progressive/real reformers on Saturday as they greet Jen Johnson and Al Ramirez from the heroic CORE who went from birth as a caucus 3 years ago to running Local 1 of the AFT. It is almost mind-blowing to think of it.

I met Al in the summer of 2009 in LA at a conference when CORE was still a molehill on the verge of growing into a mountain. CORE began in essence when Al and Jackson Potter started going to closing school hearings to video them. I also got to hang with Al in Seattle at the AFT convention in July and I'm really looking forward to seeing him tomorrow.

I also met Jen Johnson in Seattle and was very impressed - she was the CTU rep who did the negotiating with Unity on a major reso that Randi tried to suppress but they stood their ground and won some points. Here is the video of that debate with Jen speaking second after a Unity person who sounds real good but it's Unity, you know so what they say is not what you get. If you can stand her bragging about keeping schools open (GAG, GAG) watch it. If not move the slider to about the 5 minute mark to see Jen who is followed by CTU President Karen Lewis.

Ed Notes will be at the TU event covering. Hope to see you. RSVP to TU if you plan on coming:

Teachers Unite
What does teacher union organizing have to do with you?

Read about the amazing new movement happening in Chicago in this interview in Rethinking Schools, and join Teachers Unite to meet founders of Chicago's CORE (Caucus of Rank-and-File Educators)!

• November 13th
  11 a.m.
  
  Teachers College
  229 Thompson Hall
  Enter at 525 W. 120th St. btw Broadway and Amsterdam
  Bring Picture ID
  Suggested donation: $5-$10 sliding scale
  Presenters: Jen Johnson and Al Ramirez from CORE (Caucus of Rank-and-File Educators)
  
  
  What can we learn from Caucus of Rank-and-File Educators or CORE? 
  
  This new caucus won leadership of Chicago Teachers Union through grassroots organizing, and citywide mobilization. 
  
  Learn from CORE leaders some keys to their organizing success, and their vision for a new kind of teacher unionism.
  RSVP at info@teachersunite.net

How far will CEJ bend?

Last Update: Nov. 12, 12:30PM

That's the "Coalition for Educational Justice" for those not aware. CEJ is the group that got good vibes for leading the rally that closed down the Aug. 16 PEP meeting. (I'm in too much of a hurry to get you the links but you can find it by searching this blog's archives.) Now I'm getting bad CEJ vibes when I read this in the WSJ:

Cathie Black isn't expected to take the helm of the country's largest school system until next month, but the battle lines are already forming.

Ms. Black is garnering some leeway from critics of her predecessor even as she faces resistance from other key stakeholders in the city's sprawling educational bureaucracy.

Zakiyah Nasari, a parent and member of the organization Save Our Schools, says she is giving Ms. Black, the head of Hearst Magazines, the benefit of the doubt. The group—which has adamantly opposed many of the initiatives of Ms. Black's predecessor, Joel Klein—wants the Department of Education to roll back the use of state tests in school report cards and do more to help those students deemed not proficient, issues that the teachers union agrees with.

Ms. Nasari's organization, a coalition of community groups that has also fought school closures, was created after new state test scores showed that only 42% of city children are proficient in English and 54% proficient in math.

"We hope Ms. Black will be an ally to move forward and really open a dialogue and include us as key stakeholders in decisions," Ms. Nasari said. 

So, will CEJ join the growing "Stop Cathie from getting a waiver movement?" I'm doing an over under on that one. Though it is Rupert's WSJ and they have an interest in highlighting possible support for Black. Is this an attempt to create splits in the opposition to Black. Will CEJ jump?

Luis Reyes wrote to the listserve:

As a member of the SOS coalition, I know I was never asked, though the article implies that she speaks for the whole coalition. It also spells her name wrong, consistently.

NOTE: CEJ jumped back in April 2007 after the St. Vitas church outpouring of hatred toward BloomKlein (look it up in the Find box) - the only time BK blinked - but in essence CEJ and others led by Randi Sellout led them away from militant action, which after all is what the UFT does. People tell me the UFT funnels money to CEJ, a subsidiary of the Annenberg Inst. I can probably find out but I'll leave that to journalists. Muckrakers can just be lazy.

Hmmm. BloomBlack - BB or BlackBloom - BB or as one retiree emailed me "leaving the kids, teachers and schools Black and Bloom after they're gone."

On Cathie Black Out a da South Bronx

SBS predicts Murdoch/Klein (MurdKlein or MurKlein or MuKlein) love affair a month ago.

Those who write off South Bronx School blog as too rough and raunchy are missing a treat. If I tell you who turned me on to the blog you would be surprised: a well-known enormously respected figure as a defender of public education. SBS' radio show has been getting great guests - the last 2 weeks were Mona Davids and Leonie Haimson - and Diane Ravitch called in when Leonie was on. Despite all the other good stuff about her, Diane certainly supports her friends.

So while on the subway coming home tonight I got an email from that enormously respected figure who turned me on to SBS years ago who wrote:

"Did you see this?   The best thing written on the whole debacle."


Well, when I head over to SBS I often shield my eyes like you would when driving on a highway and seeing a 10 car pileup down the road. When I peeked through my fingers and hit a few links I saw the pic above. Here is the mainline post today and above it is SBS suggestions for people more qualified to be Chancellor than Cathie Black.

Amongst them:

Bill, the single cell Amoeba

My cat

My grandmother who has been dead for 23 years

Here is the main post today.

Teachers Are Not Ewoks And We Do Not Live On Coruscant

I was pulling into the parking lot at the White Castle on 149th St and Southern Blvd when I heard the news briefly over the radio. Some dude named Klein resigned a job to become Rupert Murdoch's best buddy and Mayor Bloomberg hired a black woman.

I immediately called the crack team at the SBSB cave. I relayed the information I had heard on the radio. Instantly, they fed said information into the technologically advanced SBSB computer looking for the answer to what I had just heard. After five minutes, the answer came through on the radio loud and clear. Besides, the SBSB computer spat out a card with a bunch of holes on it that no one was able to decipher. But not from the computer. Joel Klein resigned as chancellor of the NYC schools, he accepted a job as executive VP in charge of Chancellors Who Have Been Unceremoniously Asked For Their Resignations Immediately And That Have Their Best Buddies Find A Nothing Job For Them at News Corp., and some magazine chick by the name of Cathie Black of Hearst Magazines, and formerly of USA Today has become the new anointed one. Great someone who gave us the McPaper is now going to give us the McSchool

The only thing I am not surprised about is the Uncle Joel went to work for Rupert Murdoch. I was mocked by thousands last month for a post I had written concerning Ruppie and Uncle Joel. But the photo turned out to be pretty prophetic, eh?

So what to make of this? Before we start dancing around like the Ewoks, and the population on Coruscant had after Vader was killed and the Death Star exploded, know this. Mayor Palpatine is still amongst us. The Sith Lord always has an apprentice. We are not at Episode VI yet. No, we are halfway through Episode III, Revenge of the Sith. Count Dooku is gone, now Vader has taken its place. The fight must not end.

El presidente de UFT, Michale Mulgrew released this statement; “I look forward to working with Ms. Black. As a teacher, I will help in any way I can to help the children of New York.” Lame. Wrong answer. Again I turned to the Crack Team here at SBSB for them to formulate a better response than Mulgrew gave. After many hours, and several deliveries from Domino's later there was nothing. I then turned to be nine year old son, catching him during a commercial break of iCarly. In five seconds he came up with what Mulgrew should have said; "After eight years of a non educator running and ruining our schools in which there has been no positive affects on students learning, inflated graduation rates, the scapegoating of teachers, closing of schools, and several convoluted reorganizations, we call upon SED chief David Steiner to deny a waiver for Cathie Black, a woman who has had no experience whatsoever in education, to be chancellor of the NYC schools." Wow, imagine that from a nine year old.

This is not the time for us to roll out the welcome mat and bring cookies and milk. This is the time to start taking the offensive. I believe the deform movement is on the ropes. They have overreached and now the public is staring to see what they truly are. Klein was sacrificed. Mayor Mike has seen the albatross that Klein has become. How else can he be the Jewish Ross Perot in 2012 with Klein around his neck? The only thing that should be on the neck is the UFT's foot on the DOE's neck and we don't let up until we get back the right for students to be properly educated in this city and the respect each and every parent, as well as teachers deserve.

Real Reformers Will Stand Up at Tuesday's PEP

Here is a general call to come out to the PEP at Brooklyn Tech and support the Real Reformers. They might even have an extra RR red cape for you to wear.

     GEM is working to turn out folks for the PEP meeting next tuesday the 16th. We are planning on reviving the Real Reformers performance. Maybe not the whole thing, but at least the chorus. We think the capes and some singing at least will be an important presence. You are getting this email because either you were there last time or brought or sent folks (peter can you reach out the ISO folks who came)  or might want to come this time. Please let me know if you are down to join us this time. We are meeting at 4:30 on corner of Fort Greene Park and Elliott Place. 

And even if you are not going to perform, please come out, we need to start building for the huge fight to defend schools being closed.

Next Brick to Fall on Klein: Phony Grad Rates

And the audit says....

In the post mortems to Klein's demise, note how the credit for test score rises has disappeared. Not how the closing achievment gap issue also has begun to fade from the credit list. But he is still given credit for raising high school grad rates. On the Newshour yesterday someone from the Hechinger Inst (I bet they are not impartial) even said by all metrics Klein got rates up 20%.

Note how they ignore credit recovery, enormous pressure on principals to push teachers to pass kids who fog a mirror, and easier Regent tests as a way to juke the stats. And let's not forget those pushouts.

Rumors are floating around that another shoe is set to drop on Klein: these pushouts - or disappeared kids from the cohorts - a major way to juke those grad rates. Some kind of audits have been going on and the people at Tweed have been in a tizzy. I hear things are getting close to be made public. I don't know all the arcane jargon on discharge codes but some funny stuff is being uncovered and whatever they do say they uncover is just scratching the surface.

Could the imminent release of this info been the push needed to get Klein to go?

Steve Koss: The Cathleen Black story just gets weirder and weirder

LAST UPDATE: 9:30am

There's so much stuff coming in on the Cathie Black story that I can't keep up. Tony Avella, Robert Jackson and other pols are calling for a denial of the waiver she needs. Some forces in the Black community are rising up against Black. I'm assuming she will be at the PEP meeting Tuesday night at Brooklyn Tech (wow, she may have to leave Manhattan) specifically to see the Real Reformers with their red RR capes perform. Ed Notes will be there to take tape. Check the sidebar for some funny stuff and links to an online petition. Lots of these springing up. Check Leonie's NYCParent blog, Perdido, NYC Educator  and othere  on our blogroll for more.

 From Steve: 

Wow -- the latest story posted on the NY Times, titled "No Education Experience Needed to Run Schools? An Idea Is Taken to a New Level," (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/11/nyregion/11schools.html?hpw ) contains a fascinating new wrinkle on Cathleen Black's educational non-background.

Seems that her singular claim to education involvement was being on an advisory board of some sort for Harlem Village Academy. However, the Times is reporting that she not only just joined that group a few months ago and has yet to attend a meeting! Even so, guess who is chairman of that HVA Advisory Board? None other than Rupert Murdoch, Joel Klein's new boss!  The incestuousness in all this is positively stomach-turning.

So it now appears that Ms. Black's entire education background consists of having attended a mentor day in a Detroit school with Michelle Obama and having been "principal for a day" at an unidentified Bronx school.

The Times article also goes on to describe the waiver issue and Tony Avella's letter to Steiner about not granting the waiver. It als expresses concerns about Ms. Black's lack of qualifications. Three people are quoted as supporting her. Two of them are Merryl Tisch -- Chancellor of the State Board of Regents -- and Deborah Kenney -- chief executive of the HVA charter school network. The third person is nothing short of priceless -- the number one shill for big NYC corporations (as president of the Partnership for New York City, a sort of self-appointed chamber of commerce with very close ties to Bloomberg), the inimitable Kathryn Wylde.

Wow! The battle lines here could not possibly be clearer.

Steve Koss

Loretta Prisco added this:

Could it be that within the close to 100,000 professional DOE staff, hundreds more of university people in education in NYC alone, the Mayor couldn't locate one educator for Chancellor? If Klein taught classes of 32 children, he would’ve known why class size is important. If Klein taught, he would’ve known that his teaching couldn't - and shouldn't be measured by a test score. If Klein taught, he would’ve known that most beginning teachers are not as strong as when they have experience. If Klein taught, he would’ve known the importance of parent/community involvement. If Klein taught, he would’ve known the importance of having the trust and confidence of staff and parents. And so it will be with Cathleen Black – only a prettier smile and charming personality.

What is really frightening is the hold that Bloomberg will have on the media: Klein at Fox, Black from Hearst, Bloomberg from Bloomberg news. And who knows how many others are hidden away. He/she who controls the media from their Park Avenue addresses and the Sun Valley, Idaho conference of the publishing elite, controls the parameters of discussion, the public agenda, and policy making, and the ability to edit out all other opinions.

The End of a BloomKlein Era: Was He Pushed? Who Cares?

Posted to The Wave for publication, Friday. November 12, 2010
www.rockawave.com


By Norm Scott

Joel Klein is so accommodating. I was just about to sit down and write another inconsequential and undecipherable column as deadline approached when the phone rang. "Norm, it's Joel. I'm thinking of resigning. Am I too late to make your column? I'll hold off for two weeks if I missed your deadline." (That guy doesn't make a move without consulting me first.) Despite my overwhelming sadness, I told him it was fine to resign.

"What's your next move Joel? Why not try brain surgery? You know as much about that as you do about education." Joel went on and on about his options before dropping the Big One. "Rupert? Rupert who?" I said. "Oh, that Rupert. But you know nothing about business or effective management or inspiring people. I mean, Joel, you know I love ya, but frankly, in 8 years you have taken the NYC public school system down a hell hole."

"Yeah, I know. Test scores and grad rates and the achievement gap and all that crap. I hate to tell you this Joel, but it was all false by just about every piece of data we have. Ha, ha, ha, ha - I know you love it when I use the D word."

Joel hung up happy while I cried my eyes out. I must have been the only one who was sad as cell phones all over the city exploded with shouts of joy emanating from the ranks of NYC parents and teachers. He was so polarizing and despised by all, we had no better organizing force.

My biggest fears were that Bloomberg would appoint someone with heavy credentials, like a Black or a Latino/a with a PhD. An ed deformer in drag who would fool communities into thinking they were going to be represented. But not to worry. Bloomberg came through and picked a white businesswoman who ran magazines and worked for Hearst. Phew! What a relief. Cathie Black - which do you like better - BloomBlack or BlackBloom - will be just a new face with the same old agenda. Sort of an Arne Duncan, less polarizing type, which to my mind as an organizer of opposition to the ed deform agenda, is a negative.

Black has even less educational experience than Joel (he actually taught briefly in the 60's when so many men entered teaching to avoid the draft) and she also needs a waiver from the State Ed Department since she is not qualified to be left alone with a class of children. Calls have already begun to deny her a waiver. Good luck with that as Regents head Meryl Tisch and State Ed head David Steiner are in Bloomies' pocket. But go ahead and sign the petition just to make a point. [See note below]

There is lots of speculation out there about whether Joel was pushed or jumped on his own. One person wrote, The only theory I've heard so far, from a DOE employee, was he saw the thing was falling apart and got out while the money was good. But others say that even Bloomberg had enough. The NY Times said, One of the first concrete signs that Mr. Klein was not long for the job was the appointment of Sharon L. Greenberger as the Education Department’s chief operating officer in April — something that, according to the official, “was imposed over Joel’s objection.”

Leave it to Leonie Haimson to sum up Joel's eight years as quoted in the Times article:

“He is leaving us with a legacy of classroom overcrowding, communities fighting over co-located schools, kindergarten waiting lists, unreliable school grades based on bad data, substandard credit recovery programs and our children starved of art, music and science — all replaced with test prep,” said Leonie Haimson, the head of Class Size Matters, an advocacy group and a critic of Mr. Klein’s.

With the next Panel for Educational Policy meeting coming up at Brooklyn Tech on November 16, Joel's intemperate leaving leaves us with a feeling of loss since the Real Reformers (as opposed to the phony reformers Joel Klein led) planned to appear with their red capes stamped with the RR Real Reformer logo to perform their rap song, "Will the Real Reformers Please Stand Up?" Well, the show will go on with a performance scheduled in front of the entrance to Tech at 5:30.


Klein leaves school closing mayhem
Joel isn't leaving without starting the ball rolling on the crop of 47 schools on the closing list that are coming under attack. Of course we know that Beach Channel is cooked, as is Jamaica HS, whose chapter leader James Eterno is still fighting mad. He posted an excerpt from his chapter newsletter on the ICE blog. Titled "Department Of Ed Starves Jamaica And Then Sends Reviewers To Criticize Us For Being Malnourished," Eterno says, "I compare our plight to being in a prison where the warden cuts our food ration by 30% and then complains that we are too skinny." Of course the same analogy applies to Beach Channel.

I went to an early morning rally/demo at targeted John Dewey High School in Coney Island, a school once a jewel of the system that attracted students from all over the city. Dewey and the recently closed Lafayette HS bear similarities to the Far Rocakway/Beach Channel situation where one school is closed and the next school down the line becomes the target for starvation and closure, part of strategy of intentionally destroying large high schools –a falling domino effect of destruction. Expect John Adams HS in Ozone Park to be the next target. I made a short 4-minute video of the Dewey demo that in just a few days received 3000 hits. You can see a bunch of videos in addition to an advocacy toolkit for fighting back at the GEM blog. http://grassrootseducationmovement.blogspot.com/

How Odd
Well, I have become increasingly immersed in rehearsals at the Rockaway Theatre Company for my first acting performance as "Vinny the card player" in the upcoming production of "The Odd Couple." I even ride the subways muttering my lines. The other day, a young fellow sat down catty corner to me. On the surface he appeared a bit menacing so I nudged away a bit. I took out my playbook and started studying. I practically leaped out of my seat when he tapped me. "Are you in 'The Odd Couple,'" he asked? I told him I was an amateur and it was my first role. He broke out into the biggest smile, "It's 'The Odd Couple' man. That is wonderful." He seemed so happy for me. Turns out he is an actor who just moved to NY. I told him about the great work at the RTC and he should check it out. My stop came up and I had to get off but I'm sure we would have had a great chat. "Check it out. The play is at the great community theater at the RTC in Rockaway at Fort Tilden," I called as the door closed.

When Norm is not riding the subway trying out his lines on strangers, he blogs at http://ednotesonline.blogspot.com/. His email is normsco@gmail.com

Addendum
Check out the NY Times article and compare what Randi has to say with what Leonie said. I feel the same frustration with the weak-kneed UFT/AFT response to ed deform as I feel with Obama's similar cowering in front of the Republicans.

NO WAIVER letter:

Dear Commissioner David M. Steiner,

Today, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced his appointment of Cathie Black to replace Joel Klein as Chancellor of New York City Schools. Ms. Black, currently executive vice president of Hearst Magazines, lacks the required educational and professional qualifications for the position of Schools Chancellor as determined by state law. As a result, she will require a waiver from your office in order to accept the appointment.

The children, parents, and educational community of New York City deserve a leader with experience in education. Ms. Black's corporate experience may well qualify her for executive positions in business, but the education of our children and the training of our teachers is not corporate business. We urge you, as an educator, to:

~Deny the necessary waiver for Ms. Black's appointment

~Reaffirm the qualification requirements for NYC Schools Chancellor

This is the link: http://www.petitiononline.com/DenyWaiv/

Jeff Kaufman Asks the Question of the day: Which News is Better?

From Brooklyn HS UFT District Rep Charlie Turner:

HS Committee meeting canceled

Ladies and Gentlemen:
By now you may have heard that Klein has resigned. What great news!
Also, the high school committee meeting has been cancelled. Have a great holiday.

Bergtraum Chapter Leader John Elfrank-Dana on Joel Klein

I wasn't going to wait for Michael Mulgrew's take on Chancellor Klein's resignation. But, chose instead to give you the heads up and quote a friend and colleague (below) in the struggle to give our students what they really need- small class sizes and social work supports adequate to meet their needs. It appears the Mayor has chosen another shoe-maker, someone with no background as an educator to succeed Klein.

I have always said Klein was just the symptom; that the problem is the concentration of power in the executive (Mayor) along with a thinly veiled agenda to privatize schools via union busting and parent disenfranchisement. As a person with 3 children in suburban schools I know there's no way BloomKlein could have gotten away with what they have thus far where my kids go to school because the parents have great political clout. Our students are the victims of the corporate-privatizers tinkering with the educational system. Our profession has paid through the nose because of concessions our union has made with these corporate bureaucrats in contract rights giveaways who want to see a swift end to us as an organized labor force with rights.

While I must say the Chancellor on a few occasions has come through for Bergtraum on some relatively small matters (your new phone system, increased Internet capacity), we have been the victims of his misguided educational policies of dumping on large schools like ours of large numbers of high need student populations without providing the necessary supports. I have personally seen Bergtraum go from one of the most desirable schools in the city to one where nobody wants to be.

No folks, the fight is not over with the exiting of Klein. His successor will have the same marching orders from the corporate elites- crush the unions and privatize the schools. I hope the UFT leadership realizes this.

John Elfrank-Dana
UFT Chapter Leader
Murry Bergtraum High School

Resigning NYC School Chancellor Joel Klein Wants To Be The Yanks 5th Starter

Resigning NYC School Chancellor Joel Klein Wants To Be The Yanks 5th Starter

Posted by Jimmie Reese at 8:49 PM

Joel Klein resigns and Cathie Black, corporate giant, inherits NYC schools; Expect turbulence ahead...

Just Discovered: Joel Klein's Prior Baseball Experience

Posted by Jimmie Reese at 9:14 PM

Am I the Only One Sad to See Him Go (Other than Eva?), My Advice - Sell Your Newscorps Stock ASAP

Yes, run don't walk to sell your Newscorp stocks. Joel Klein is one of the most incompetent people on earth - don't you think he wasn't kicked out of Bertlesman and jumped into the Chancellorship to save face - and as a tech guru in the 90's I didn't think all that much of him at the Justice Dept - remember he had to hire David Boies to prosecute Microsoft and Bill Gates and though spin made it look like they won, they really didn't - the over decade ago version of phony reading scores and phony grad rates.

I hope none of the people at Newscorp ever give Joel the job of getting buses there on time to pick up their kids.

I'm not singing, "Ding, Dong"

NOT the new chancellor

Teacher and education activist cell phones were practically exploding with joy this afternoon as Joel Klein announced his resignation. I was practically in tears over the organizing potential we lost with his departure. The only thing we have to be thankful for is that Mayor Mike didn't appoint a PhD phony educator with credentials so he could say we have an educator in charge. And even worse would be if it was someone Black or Latino/a which might have just turned away some of the growing opposition to BloomKlein ----ooops! Crap, can't use that anymore.

But wait. Bloomie did appoint someone Black. Catherine Black. I just can't wait to go to those PEP meetings and flash my red Real Reformer cape at her.

Just a minute - phone's ringing.

What!!? What did you say? Oh!

Never mind.

Well, the real Cathie Black is my age and yet seems 20 years younger than me. Ahhh, the good life. Maybe it was putting her kids in boarding school. As one parent told a principal at Open School Night tonight:

"You know I was thinking about what you said about us having another Chancellor now who is not an educator.  I heard she  has never even  worked in our schools and that her own kids went to boarding school.  So I figure, not only doesn't she not know OUR kids-she doesn't even know her own kids!"

Well, clearly the appointment of Cathleen Black bodes no good for the NYC schools but watch all the calls to give her a chance to blah, blah, blah. And that is not good for building the anti ed deform movement.

Hey, someone just suggested at ICE Mail that we oppose granting Black a waiver since she is unqualified. How about the UFT showing some balls? We may just put that up as a reso at the DA next week.

And then there is this from some mag:

Ms. Black, who was demoted this summer at Hearst, said that she was “very excited about this incredible opportunity to make a difference in the lives of our young people.”

Wait a minute. Demoted? Like Joel Klein was chased out of Bertelsman and into our lives? Oy!

Here is some stuff from the NYCEd Listserve. Lots more floating around.

First, the good news. The NY Times is now reporting that Joel Klein has resigned as Chancellor of NYC schools in order to take a position at (drum roll please)........

Rupert Murdoch's NEWS CORPORATION!!!!

That's right, Joel Klein is going exactly where he belongs, to work for Rupert Murdoch where he can lie and dissemble and spin to his heart's content along with all the other liars and spinners. Joel will fit right in with O'Reilly, Hannity, Beck, and the rest of that disreputable crew. I can hardly imagine a better, more fitting place for him. If you can believe this, he stated that his EVP position responsibility would be to develop "strategy to put them [i.e., News Corporation] in the education marketplace." Heaven help us.

Now for the potentially bad news (only time will tell). Joel's replacement has apparently already been named, without any public input, of course. Her name is Cathleen Black. She's the former publisher of USA Today and chairwoman of Hearst Magazines, 66 years old and with zero experience in education. She is, however, according to Mike Bloomberg, a "superstar manager." Sounds great. I'm sure she just loves children and wants them all to have the best of all possible futures in this best of all possible worlds (my apologies to Voltaire). I'm sure we'll be hearing and learning more about Ms. Black in the near future.

Amazing that the lives of over one million children and their families are directly affected by these individuals, yet they have no say whatsoever, even through their elected representatives, as to who is given this job.

Steve Koss

------------------------

Assemblyman Perry Reacts to Mayor’s Chancellor Appointment

 “A quick review of what is known about the background of Mayor Bloomberg’s announced choice, raises a lot of questions as to the direction, and the real agenda for our public education system.  It is of concern that the newly appointed chancellor appears to have no significant educational background, as required by NYS Education Law.  Furthermore, she was raised in a private school system, and subsequently raised her children in a private school system, it is very difficult to believe that a person who has such a strong history steeped in private education, will be able to appreciate the diverse and difficult challenge of running the NYC Public School System.  Under NYS Education Law, Ms. Black, will not be able to officially assume the position without a waiver by the NYS Board of Regents and just a quick glimpse at her profile raises significant questions as to how such a waiver might be justified.”

------------------

Well my bet is she already has the waiver. Tisch and Steiner should be embarrassed by this. How elite can the elite be?
Did she publish at Scholastic? maybe that's the credential that got her the waiver?

This is the time for a revolt folks. This is the time to be talking to every legislator and every member of the Board of Regents. This is the time for members of school communities to band together and reject this blatant power grab by the leading elite.

has anyone heard from Scott Stringer? Anthony Weiner? Bill De Blasio? I am not asking about Quinn as she was probably part of the deal.

 

__._,_.___

 NOTE: LISTEN TO SOUTH BRONX RADIO TONIGHT AT 9 WITH MAGNIFICENT MONA AS GUEST. (Scroll sidebar for link.)

Paul Moore from Miami just sent in this joyous message:

The Business Roundtable's unholy scheme to destroy the public schools hatched in Charlottesville, Virginia in 1989 is now in full-scale collapse along with the global capitalist economy. The oligarchs and their henchmen and hatchet women are defeated. But the fight is only beginning because Gates, Broad, Bloomberg and the Waltons are replaced by a more powerful and vicious enemy of working people--the banks.

By way of a victory lap, this was written a month ago today.

One chancellor down, one to go.

New York City Chancellor Joel Klink*, I sincerely want you to enjoy your warm fuzzy delusions about "Waiting For Superman" because they may not last very long. I mean, did you hear what happened to Michelle Rhee? She's plays a "chancellor" just like you right? And she was one of the stars of your movie right?

Changing Education Paradigms - Animated

 Sir Ken Robinson- worth the time - his speech completely animated through RSA Animate. Check out more of their videos. http://www.thersa.org/


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDZFcDGpL4U

HOT RUMOR: KLEIN TO RESIGN TODAY

 Subject: BREAKING NEWS: Schools Chancellor Klein Set to Step Down Today, Sources Say
Schools Chancellor Joel Klein is preparing to leave office, according to multiple sources who tell NBCNewYork.com Klein's resignation could be announced as early as Tuesday afternoon. 

Complete details from NBC New York:http://click1.nbclocal.com/hwqjdwbvqslzgvgbzshdvzmvppzdlsrqcgsrscvcmchchq_apskmtmsbdk.html

DEPARTMENT OF ED STARVES JAMAICA AND THEN SENDS REVIEWERS TO CRITICIZE US FOR BEING MALNOURISHED: Eterno Slams Klein and DOE Over Jamaica HS

I compare our plight to being in a prison where the warden cuts our food ration by 30% and then complains that we are too skinny. - James Eterno

NOTE: COME TO THE Panel for Educational Policy AT BROOKLYN TECH ON TUESDAY, NOV. 16 to tell Joel Klein to his face what you think of his closing schools policies

 - JOIN THE REAL REFORMERS AT 5:30- (Rehearsal at 4:30) - LOOK FOR MORE DETAILS AT ED NOTES AND GEM BLOGS.

James hits the bullseye in this excerpt from his chapter newsletter posted on the ICE blog.
http://iceuftblog.blogspot.com/

TAKE THE JAMAICA CHALLENGE

by James Eterno, Jamaica HS chapter leader

This post is extracted from Jamaica's weekly Chapter Newsletter and it is strictly my opinion. The story concerns Jamaica but is applicable to any school that is struggling and is reviewed by the DOE and State in the process.

DEPARTMENT OF ED STARVES JAMAICA AND THEN SENDS REVIEWERS TO CRITICIZE US FOR BEING MALNOURISHED

 

Jamaica High School has been denied resources by the Department of Education over the last few years since we started downsizing but that does not stop DOE officials from coming to our school to tell us how we need to improve.

 

I ask any school in the world to take the Jamaica challenge: Cut 30% of the teaching staff (student enrollment drop is less than half of that) and take away roughly half of the school’s space, raise class sizes beyond what the union contract calls for in scores of classes, replace an excellent Programmer and Guidance Coordinator with assistant principals who are untrained in these areas and must still also do their previous jobs, while continuing to permit unlicensed non-secretaries to perform secretarial duties. 

 

Then, place new schools in the corners of the building and equip those schools with up to date technology and provide their teachers with lower class sizes and a beautiful makeover for their parts of the building while students and staff of the old school that includes many at risk pupils are shoved into the middle of the building in obsolete rooms. Do all of this to the old school and then ask it to raise the graduation rate and promotion rate. Even set up the lunch schedule to favor the new schools. Their kids eat lunch during normal lunch hours between 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. while the old school’s kids are eating lunch starting at 10:00 a.m. or after 1:00 p.m.

We at Jamaica challenge any school to thrive under these teaching and learning conditions. A Quality Review or Joint Intervention Team visit under these circumstances is a setup for failure. Separate and unequal schools are unfair and it is time for the DOE to be held accountable for mismanaging the education of our kids.

Last week Jamaica had a Quality Review-Joint Intervention Team (city-state) visit and it was a farce on a major scale. (I do not know the score we received on the QR.) I will say that the state people were quite professional in their review. From all reports they were very personable and listened to what we had to say. They did not call in the Chapter Leader for a formal discussion but we did exchange some pleasantries. It was the two quality reviewers from the city that interviewed me in one of the most bizarre interactions I have ever experienced.

I was trying to explain to these officials what we do in the Advanced Placement United States History class and how we have revived the program in the last three years and now have pupils scoring the top grades of 5 and 4 on the rigorous examination. We built up the program without the supports other schools have. The male quality reviewer cut me off in mid sentence and told me how we have an English Advanced Placement class that has 34 students in it and this is educationally unsound. He seemed to be criticizing me for this situation. I told him that I couldn’t agree more that it was unwise to have 34 in a college level class in a high school but that in actuality the class had 37 and as Chapter Leader I grieved it and 82 other oversize classes at Jamaica this fall. He would not even admit that we have oversize classes. I said the principal and DOE lawyer used the half class exception to justify them. 

 

At this point, the two reviewers looked at me like I was from Mars and would not talk about the half class size exception.

What stunned me was that they seemed to be trying to put me on the spot for the oversize classes. Were they kidding? We were truly coming from two different worlds. I mentioned the Quality Review from two years back that said we need new technology but we have lost so much funding that we can barely afford a piece of chalk in this school while the new schools in the building have modern equipment and lower class sizes. I said the education in this building is separate and unequal and our kids deserve an equal education.

I compare our plight to being in a prison where the warden cuts our food ration by 30% and then complains that we are too skinny.

THE DIFFICULT ROAD AHEAD FOR JAMAICA

There is no way around the conclusion that we believe strong forces from outside would like to destroy Jamaica High School. We clearly are being set up to fail by the Department of Education and our union’s response has not exactly been tough.

I read yesterday’s NY Post article about Jamaica High School giving away credits very closely. Even by adding over 1,000 credits to student transcripts, we still couldn’t get enough points on the DOE Progress Report for this year to get a C grade. That is hard to believe. Of course when administration took those credits away our grade became a lower D but I am still forced to conclude that they would have found a way to give us a D even if all of our students graduated in a week. 

 

Isn’t it strange how Jamaica for at least two years in a row didn’t receive any credit on our progress report in a category called Additional Points even though our internal review shows that we have moved along English Language Learners who are obtaining Regents Diplomas? Where are our points? If DOE reviewed us fairly, they would have to admit we are performing miracles on a daily basis even with all of the obstacles they have placed in our way.

 

It looks like the DOE also undercounted our graduation rate just like they did last year. Therefore, it’s déjà vu or Ground Hog Day as we repeat the same scenario as last year. We must admit that many of us are tired of fighting with an employer that in my opinion does not play fair. However, we learned from last year’s experience and now is the time to wage another battle to keep going by exposing the truth. Hopefully, this blog piece will get the ball rolling.

 

As for the extra credit probe of jamaica High School for adding questionable credits to student transcripts that the NY Post is reporting on, I agree with Leonie Haimson that principals are cutting corners all over because of pressure to boost promotion and graduation rates.

 

High stakes decisions based on student progress are ridiculous when the school plays only a small part in determing student performance. Outside factors are far more important according to scholarly research and common sense. Hopefully, there will be a time when sanity returns to our schools.

-------------------------------

Another Queens chapter leader with another brilliant piece.

(How come all these smart people have been opposed to the UFT/Unity Caucus leadership? Please show me anything comparable to these posts by the geniuses who run our union.)

Arthur Goldstein at HufPo: No Leeches Left Behind

If I were a doctor, and Bill Gates suggested the use of bloodletting to improve medicine, I'd be skeptical. Still, Gates has all that money, so he must know something. He gives it away freely, and asks only that everyone follow the programs he starts (and pay to sustain them in perpetuity once his seed money runs out). Oh, and that institutions that don't meet his expectations be closed and replaced by others that more closely follow his methods.
Bloodletting is of no medical value, so it's understandably unpopular with modern medical practitioners. On the other hand, "value-added" evaluations, or judging teachers by scores of their students, is also highly questionable. Day by day, it appears as dubious as bloodletting.

MORE: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arthur-goldstein/no-leeches-left-behind_b_780026.html