My Article on Teacher Value-Added Data Dumping in The Indypendent

John Tarleton asked me to write this a few months ago for The Indypendent but held it waiting for the court case to be decided. We had to make it tight for the print edition so I left a lot out. His excellent editing made it more readable. An even shorter version will run in the Jan. 17, 2011 print edition. And a reminder - help support the work of The Indypendent, which has done so much great work in reporting on the ed deformers and the resistance.

Note: We haven't had the time to add the links on some of the studies mentioned. Will try to update but if any of you find them send them along to normsco@gmail.com.

On the web: http://www.indypendent.org/2011/01/11/teacher-test-scores

Judge Rules in Favor of Releasing Teacher Test Scores; Data Dump Would Promote a Flawed and Cynical Method of Accountability

By Norm Scott
January 11, 2011 | Posted in IndyBlog | Email this article
 

Would you gauge the effectiveness of individual doctors by the percentage of patients who live or die under their care? Should firemen be held accountable when a building burns down? Should individual soldiers in Afghanistan be compared to each other on the basis of “success” or “failure” in controlling the Taliban in a given area?

Any effort to do so would spark a major outcry. But when it comes to teaching, there is a different standard.

On Monday Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Cynthia Kern ruled that the NYC Department of Education was obliged to release the names of individual teachers with “value-added” test score results that purport to measure teacher effectiveness. Judge Kern brushed aside arguments by the United Federation of Teachers (UFT) that the release of unreliable data would unjustly harm teachers’ reputations writing “there is no requirement that data be reliable for it to be disclosed.”

The data dump will affect more than 12,000 classroom educators in Grades 4 to 8. The UFT is expected to appeal. There is some irony here as it was the UFT that signed off on the use of value-added in the first place after Joel Klein promised the results would not be made public, while many skeptical critics in the union raised questions about that deal and warned it would turn into a disaster for teachers and the union.

Feeding Frenzy

If the value-added data is ultimately released, expect a feeding frenzy as teachers are judged and shamed on an individual basis in the media. The larger purpose of such a data dump by DOE would be to further erode public support for teachers and force their union to renounce a seniority-based system just as Mayor Michael Bloomberg and his new Schools Chancellor Cathie Black are talking about having to lay off thousands of teachers due to budget shortfalls.

Ironically, it was only six months ago that the NY State Department of Education revealed that years of test score advances by city students had turned out to be a mirage causing Bloomberg and his former Chancellor Joel Klein a good deal of embarrassment. No matter – the Mayor is ready once again to wield unreliable test scores as a political weapon and most media in this city have deliberately short memories, having all too often been active partners in attempts to eviscerate teachers.

The value-added approach is the latest attempt to undermine teachers, the teaching profession and the teacher union by measuring teachers based on the performance of their students on standardized tests from year to year.

Crucial backing for such initiatives has come from private foundations led by billionaires like Bill Gates and Eli Broad who assert that data-driven models in the private sector can be transferred to public schools.

Their dream of using data to accurately measure the effectiveness of individual teachers is rooted in a vision of the school as a factory in which teachers are assembly line workers and rising student test scores equals rising workforce productivity. At long last, value-added supporters claim, good teachers will be rewarded and the poor ones forced to improve at risk of losing their jobs.

In reality, value-added measures are seriously flawed. They don’t fully account for external circumstances such as poverty or family turmoil that can affect a child’s performance from year-to-year.  Nor can they account for the fact the same child can take tests on different occasions and under different conditions and the results will differ.

A study by Mathematica Policy Research done for the US Department of Education showed that one-fourth of average teachers will be mistakenly identified for special rewards while one-fourth of teachers who differ from average performance by three to four months of student learning will be overlooked.

A recent study by Sean Corcoran of NYU  demonstrated that the New York City teacher data reports have an average margin of error of 34 to 61 percentage points out of 100. The National Academy of Sciences has also warned of the potentially damaging consequences of implementing these unfair and inherently unreliable evaluation systems. Even the NYC Department of Education’s own consultants have warned against using data for teacher evaluation.

Perverse Incentives
Value-added measures can not only be in error but they provide incentives for teachers to manipulate scores by using large amounts of classroom time practicing for tests or engaging in various forms of cheating. To the extent a teacher cuts corners one year to deliver improved test scores, a student’s next teacher will face that much greater of a challenge to deliver similar or even better results.

Teachers under the gun of having their very lifelihood threatened will be very careful about working with troubled children who could drag down their value-added ratings. Accountable Talk” wrote about dealing with a request to take a class full of difficult students:

“I did something I am still not proud of. I quit,” Accountable Talk wrote. “No, I didn’t quit teaching. I just quit volunteering to teach the very children who needed me most. When my AP [assistant principal] asked me to take them on again (which he would not do unless he knew I’d been successful), I said no. This year, those kids are with another teacher who has difficulty just getting them to sit in their seats.”

One of the political goals of the value-added approach is to break teacher unity by pitting them against each other. The competitive, zero-sum logic of value-added also undermines the spirit of collaboration which is essential to them refining and developing their craft. If sharing tips with fellow teachers will help them improve their value-added rankings, is it prudent to reach out and help teachers you are competing with?

The downside of a value-added approach doesn’t faze leading proponents like Eric Hanushek, a Stanford economist who has written that teachers’ scores should be made public even if they are flawed.

Several news organizations including The New York Post, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal have filed Freedom of Information requests for New York City teacher test score data with which the normally secretive NYC Department of Education has been eager to comply.

Still, it is wise to remember that not everything that counts can be measured and not everything that can be measured counts.

Norm Scott worked in the New York City public school system from 1967 to 2002. He publishes commentary about current issues in New York City public education at ednotesonline.blogspot.com.

Here are some news story links I copied from Gotham:

• A judge said the city can release teachers’ value-added ratings. (GS, Times, Post, DN, NY1, WNYC, WSJ)
• The teachers union is planning to appeal the release, so it won’t happen yet. (GothamSchools)
• The Post says union president Michael Mulgrew is wrong to appeal the judge’s ruling.

Spread the word:

 

For ten years, The Indypendent has printed truth in the face of power. With political and economic systems faltering, there is an opportunity for real change from the bottom up. But this means having a vibrant independent media. Consider supporting The Indypendent as a monthly sustainer, donating as little as $5 a month. Please visit indypendent.org/donate. 

Subscribe to the Indypendent!



Below the fold: A list of some of the great pieces on ed that ran in The Indypendent

More Highlights from the Indy's 2010 Education Coverage

Treat Public Schools Like Ross Global Charter

More charter school scandal stuff flying around. Ross Global is fighting to survive and is will to pass the dirt on how other charter chains survive by political influence. Oh, what fun! In the meantime, failing charter Harlem Day School founder is leaving and they are passing the lemon the Seth Andrews' Democracy Prep, which it self was thrown out of Rhode Island recently (Permalink). A report has come in that all of Harlem is being reserved for 3 charter chains: Dem Prep, Eva's Harlem Success and KIPP. Oh, poor Kitchen Sink and other independent charter vultures who get caught in the monopoly squeeze of so-called market- based forces.

From Lisa Donlan

We are trying to send a message that if DoE is closing our community schools based on "accountability" per the very premise of charter schools, but then keeping the really bad charters open and closing our struggling schools, then there is no reason to justify the very existence of charters.

Let's remember that charters were granted all types of extra freedoms and advantages in exchange for being "accountable" to the terms of their performance contracts, called "charters".

This is the premise that has allowed the drive to hold district schools accountable, and to be closed down.

The biggest difference is, the DoE is fully in charge of how community schools are run, what resources they have access to , and the terms of accountability. But if a charter school "fails" it is the fault of their Board, which manages these privately run institutions with public dollars by terms they agreed to and set themselves.

If our community schools struggle, it is entirely due to the conditions imposed by DoE.

To treat them as equals is highly unfair.

Then, to give a poorly run school like Ross "extra innings" when for 5 years they have not provided a high quality education to kids is just perverse and makes a mockery of charter schools, doing a huge disservice to the kids. Furthermore it underlines just how uneven the very playing field is in this market-style competition.

If the charters get a second chance, then all the closing schools should as well!

Otherwise, this is a pure "who you know" situation! If only all our schools had connections and high priced lawyers like Ross Global!

Lisa Donlan

Below please find a new petition to the Regents saying if RGA is given an extension and not shut down, the same extension should be given to all district schools.

Signing this petition will immediately send email letters to the State Legislators, the Governor and every member of the Board of Regents. This petition is started by Lisa Donlan. Kindly forward widely.

The online link to sign is:
http://www.change.org/petitions/view/we_want_all_our_schools_to_be_given_more_time_to_prove_themselves_just_like_ross_global_charter

-------
PETITION TEXT

"We want all our schools to be given more time to prove themselves, just like Ross Global"

Greetings,

If charters are not held to their performance contracts, DoE cannot justify closing any school.

We want all our schools to be given more time to prove themselves!

Charter schools, unlike our regular community schools, were designed to offer innovative programs designed to improve the academic performance of high need students by increase the choices available beyond those offered by the regular school districts.

Charter schools are thus uniquely held accountable through the terms of five-year performance contracts, called "charters" that outline their goals and performance targets.

Ross Global Academy Charter School has not shown either significant improvement during its 5 year charter nor has the organization demonstrated the ability to overcome out sized problems with high
attrition rates for staff, students and principals, poor management or low student performance.
RGA Board member and Founder Courtney Ross has nonetheless petitioned the Board of Regents to overturn the DoE's decision not to renew this 5 year charter.

Should the Regents or the SED Commissioner grant any form of an extension to Ross, then the same or greater flexibility must be offered to the 25 other schools DoE has slated to close.

If the Board of Regents decide to give Ross Global a second chance, then the same leeway should be offered to our community schools, that manage to do much more with less, and deserve another chance too!
-----

The online link to sign is:
http://www.change.org/petitions/view/we_want_all_our_schools_to_be_given_more_time_to_prove_themselves_just_like_ross_global_charter


Check out Norms Notes for this related item:

Harlem Day School Charter Passes the Lemon to Democracy Prep

FREE DRINKS: Educators 4 Excellence is hosting a free happy hour promoting ed deform

For those not aware, E4E is behind an attempt to create a corps of teachers in NYC who support the ed deform models. They will hold free happy hours for schools that request it. Free drinks for all.

Subject: Happy Hour this Friday, January 14th @ 4:30pm

Hey everyone,

This Friday, January 14th, a new nonprofit organization that I am a part of, Educators 4 Excellence, will be hosting a happy hour for our staff.  The happy hour is FREE and specifically designed to inform our  staff. [about ed deform]

The information is below:

Start your weekend with Educators 4 Excellence! E4E is inviting all staff members of [a high school in Brooklyn] to come and enjoy a free happy hour this Friday at Woodwork in Prospect Heights. We will provide all educators in attendance with a free two-hour open bar and appetizers.  Come join us to learn more about E4E, network with like-minded teachers from across the city and hear about various opportunities for you to take action on behalf of your students.

What: Educators 4 Excellence is hosting a free happy hour

When: Friday, January 14th from 4:30-6:30 PM

Where: Woodwork, 583 Vanderbilt Ave.

Why: Network with like-minded educators and learn about E4E.

Please RSVP by going to: http://www.educators4excellence.org/events/jan14hh 

------------------------- Check out Norms Notes for a variety of articles of interest: http://normsnotes2.blogspot.com/. And make sure to check out the side panel on right for news bits.

Manhattan Parents List Class Size as Top Concern

This posting from Blackberry can get addicting. Especially while waiting for a slice of key lime pie in a restaurant. Great comments from Leonie.


Today the Manhattan Borough president's office released the results of a survey to which over 1000 education stakeholders responded, including parents, teachers and principals.  As a group they confirmed that class size and school overcrowding remained their greatest concern.

Reducing class size is the top priority of parents, year after year, on the DOE's own parent surveys.  And yet class sizes have risen sharply the last three years, and now in the early grades are larger than they have been at any time in more than a decade.

Cathie Black said she intends to take the concerns of parents seriously.  She also sent her own children to schools where  class sizes average 12 students per class.   

Research is clear that class size is a major determinant in a child's success in school and in later life. This is especially true for poor and minority children, who benefit twice as much from small classes.

If Cathie Black cares about improving opportunities for NYC children, and narrowing the achievement gap, she will make absolutely certain that class sizes do not further increase under her watch.

Leonie Haimson
Executive Director
Class Size Matters


Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Leo Casey: If you like to sing and dance, and would be interested in some flash mob actions around the closing schools, let me know

Last Update: Tuesday, Jan. 11, 2011, 9am

How much fun is this email from Leo Casey - the UFT is so devoid of ideas they are stealing from GEM, which has been flashmobbing and singing at PEP meetings and at the Waiting for Superman premiere. Pathetic, pathetic, pathetic. I'm greasing my voice and practicing my dance steps.

The UFT is worried (for good reason) that if they try to get teachers out to PEPs, they will discover that "real reformers" are doing THEIR job! I think it is a good bet to say they have been embarrassed to act!

See below the fold for more. Note how Leo urges the high school committee meeting to go to the PEP - but the UFT is in not organiizng the kind of massive response they did at last January's historic 8 hour PEP meeting.

UFT Loses on Teacher Data

The Judge said: “there is no requirement that data be reliable for it to be disclosed."

What can you say? How long can the union hide from the fact that they made the deal that Klein reneged on. Crying about him being a "liar" will only carry them so far. The leadership will one day get its comeuppance.

NY Post
Judge: Ed. Dept. should provide teacher names with ratings

By DAREH GREGORIAN

Last Updated: 2:43 PM, January 10, 2011

Posted: 2:34 PM, January 10, 2011

"The UFT's argument that the data reflected in the TDRs should not be released because the TDRs are so flawed and unreliable as to be subjective is without merit," the judge wrote, citing legal precedent that "there is no requirement that data be reliable for it to be disclosed."

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manhattan/judge_ed_dept_should_provide_teacher_a6dIFZEHJPYBs4ZmTTbNQM#ixzz1AfNR49gn

Check out Norms Notes for a variety of articles of interest: http://normsnotes2.blogspot.com/. And make sure to check out the side panel on right for news bits.

Call to Support Brandeis Campus Schools

Call to Support Brandeis Campus Schools

If you read the piece I posted on Saturday evening about Brandeis HS closing it seemed that 2 of the 3 new schools opened look like place holders - temporarily in the building just-a-waiting for the Eva Moskowitz charter invasion to take over the building. The 3rd middle class select school would seem safe but may also be worried that Eva will eventually gobble them up too.

Thus a Jan. 25 event at the school.

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Brandeis High School: Diary of a School Designed f...":

Support the existing schools and protest charter co-locations at the JANUARY 25 5PM RALLY outside Brandeis (84th between Col & Amst). The DOE hearing about the Success co-location begins at 6pm (sign up beginning at 5:30 to speak your comment). Please also e-mail your comments on the charter co-location to D03Proposals@schools.nyc.gov. More info about the rally, hearing & co-location on www.cec3.org. (p.s. If you oppose this co-location, you likely also oppose Success' drive to expand at PS149 and Wadleigh/FDAII. We have no room! Please comment on all D3 co-locations!)

This is a first attempt to post from my Blackberry. If it works watch out. Ed Notes may be updated every 10 minutes.


Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Is Courtney Sales Ross More Evil Than Eva?

Public Education defenders have been rolling with laughter over Ross Global Charter's fight to remain open despite being rated as one of the worst schools in the city, even filing suit and asking for a year to get things in order. How pathetic.

I am going to do a bunch of stuff on Ross this week, mostly commentary by parent activists Lisa Donlan and Mona Davids who are really in touch with the situation.

But for this post, just a note about Courtney Ross. She is the mult-millionaire widow of famed Steve Ross who went from running a funeral home to Time Warner. Some bios call Courtney his "trophy" wife. That she has so much money and wants to start a school for disadvantaged kids would not be so bad, but that she wants it to be a charter school so she could suck at the tit of public money is what makes her so outrageous. Also her relationships to Joel Klein and other people of note. More on the situation later as the decision will be made tomorrow by the Regents.

In the meantime, I've been putting up articles and some commentary over at Norm's Notes - just type in "Ross" in the search panel on the righthand panel and there must be 20 items over the years. Here are just a few blasts from the past.

Garth Harries Email on Ross Charter

Jun 03, 2008

c) Ross siting at Physical City : given that reality, the Ross siting is an incubation, to take advantage of the remaining years on the lease and to allow Ross and us to continue to push for an appropriate site in D1. ...

Ross Charter Kids Flying Out the School

Feb 22, 2010

This school year alone, 91 of 410 students of those enrolled at Ross Global Academy have left, according to the Department of Education. It continues an unprecedented trend in which the East Village elementary and middle school has shed ...

Check out Norms Notes for a variety of articles of interest: http://normsnotes2.blogspot.com/. And make sure to check out the side panel on right for news bits.

Friday, January 21: FIGHTBACK FRIDAY - Join other schools as they rally

With school closing and charter takeover hearings and PEP votes coming up over the next 2 months, and with Cathie Black in charger, things are heating up. I'm just trying to keep up with it all, not even having time to write about what is happening. GEM is deeply involved as are other groups and independents. This is not about saving one school from closing or having a charter shoved down its throats, but about building a mass movement that can become strong enough one day to actually stop all of the crap. But there's a hell of a lot of work to do to make that happen.

-Please Share With Those Who Care-

To Particpate/Endorse (groups, schools, PTAs, CECs, chapters, individuals): email capeducation@gmail.com

Fight Back Friday

Stand Up For Public Education!

                                    School Based Actions to Fight the Attacks on Public Education                                               

Friday, January 21^st Join Public Schools Across the City to Advocate for Real Reforms that Will Transform our Public

Schools.

Press Conference @ 4:30 on the Steps of Tweed

Wear Black and Take OUR Schools Back!

Stop the Attacks on Public Education:

·         Stop Closing Schools, Fix Them.
·         Stop Charter School Co-Locations.
·         Stop School-Based Budget Cuts.
·         Stop Increases in Class Sizes.
·         Stop the Overemphasis on Standardized Assessment:  More Teaching, Less Testing.
·         Stop Teacher Data Reports Based on Narrow Tests and Faulty Data.
·         Stop Ignoring the Voices of Parents, Educators, and Students:  More Parent, Educator and Student Empowerment, Not Less.
·         Stop the Dictatorial Governance of Our School System:  Mayoral Control is Out of Control!
·         No Layoffs of Teachers or School Personnel:  Reduce the Bureaucracy and Fire the Middle Managers Instead!

Choose one or more issues that are important to your school community and take action:

·         Wear black and/or black arm bands
·         Hold a rally before or after school
·         Craft a form letter or petition on an issue important to your school
·         Pass out literature and education material before and after school

___________________________________________________________________

If you, your school, or your school community plan to participate in Fight Back Friday, let us know @ capeducation@gmail.com so that we can include you on our list of participants/endorsers and interactive map as well as provide you with a Fight Back Friday Toolkit!  The Toolkit will include literature and educational material, media information, stickers, and sample materials to assist in your school organizing efforts. Visit our Blog @ www.fightbackfridays.blogspot.com, visit and post to our Facebook page @ fightbackfridays, and post and send in your school’s perspectives, testimonials, videos and pictures of Fight Back Actions. 

****Fight Back Friday will culminate with a press conference on the steps of Tweed @ 4:30.  If your group or a member of your school community (especially if you are a school facing closing or co-location) would like to speak, contact us and we will do our best to accommodate you.  Let’s stand up for public education together, and make our voices heard!****

Sponsored by:  Grassroots Education Movement: www.grassrootseducationmovement.blogspot.com, gemnyc@gmail.com


Don't forget the City-Wide Rally to Fight School Closings and Charter Takeovers on January 27th @ City Hall Plaza.  To Endorse email gbran289@aol.com.
 


Join The Real Reformers at the Upcoming Panel for Educational Policy Meetings (all at Brooklyn Technical High School @ 5:30):

January 19th:  Greet Cathleen Black and tell her and the PEP to Defend Public Education and end the historic inequity in funding, particularly for schools that serve Black and Latino children.

February 1st:  Support schools facing closing and co-location.  Join us in telling the PEP that Co-Locations only divide and hurt our public school communities.

February 3rd:  Support schools facing closings.  Join us in telling the PEP that the current school closing policy is misguided and destructive, they should be supporting and fixing our schools, not closing them.

March 1st **(note changed from 2/15)**:   Support schools facing co-locations and Join us in declaring our schools are not for sale; say NO to the privatization agenda.


                Real Reform:  Transforming Public Education, School Governance, and Teacher Unions

Real Reform #1:  Smaller Class Sizes

Real Reform #2:  Excellent Community Public Schools for ALL Children

   Real Reform #3:  More Teaching – Less Testing

Real Reform #4:  Parent and Teacher Empowerment and Leadership

Real Reform #5:  Equitable Funding for ALL Schools

Real Reform #6:  Anti-Racist Education Policies

Real Reform #7:  Culturally Relevant Curriculum

Real Reform #8:  Expand Pre Kindergarten and Early Intervention Programs

Real Reform #9:  Qualified and Experienced Educators and Educational Leaders

Real Reform #10:  Democratic and Social Justice Unionism

UFT Structure

Someone asked me to send this for a workshop on the UFT. A little crowded but has most of the info embedded. Groups like NYCORE and Teachers Unite have been reaching out to the newer crop of teachers and are offering them insights into the union since so many arrive with a negative attitude towards the union. Now, if you only make a judgement based on the actions of the leadership you night not blame them. But the union structure, in the hands of a democratic oriented leadership with a progressive agenda could be a massive force in opposing ed deform. From what I've been hearing, the interest level has been rising. If I goofed anywhere let me know. Click (and weep! )

Brandeis High School: Diary of a School Designed for Closure

"Do we see on the horizon the attempt to bring “charters” back to their origins in the segregation academies of the south?"

This essay was written by an insider at Brandeis HS using an alias. It is a classic case of a school targeted for failure based on political and ideological grounds. It appears the principal was placed in the school as a "closer", as we've described on other situations (Bergtraum, Lafayette, Lehman) - see Is Murray Bergtraum Principal a "Closer?"

"Ana" gives us a look at the schools that are replacing Brandeis, two of them doomed themselves and few clearly there as stalking horses - occcupying space until Eva Moskowitz can lay claim the massive building as her own as she builds a white middle class charter school, which has always been an intention of the charter school movement over the long term.


What Is Happening at the Brandeis Educational Complex?
by Ana Kiona

In early 2008 the Department of Education (DOE), announced the closing of Brandeis High School (BHS), a large public high school located on West 84th Street between Amsterdam and Columbus Avenues on the Upper West Side (UWS) of Manhattan. They cited poor performance and attendance, a low graduation rate, and school violence while feigningf concern for poor students of color and their academic futures. However, three years later, the story is more complex and intricately linked to the drive to privatize public education and hand over valuable Manhattan real estate to the “friends” and ideological supporters of the mayor.

When the closure was announced, blame for the school’s failure was placed on the students who didn’t want to learn, their parents who didn’t care and the bad teachers, particularly the tenured ones. The New York Times (NYT) heaped praise on the then principal (a Klein favorite) now retired from the DOE and receiving a large salary from some other educational endeavor.

Historically BHS educated the children of the poor and working class families of the Upper West Side and Upper Manhattan. Its alumni include the current President of the Dominican Republic, several current and former BHS teachers and other prominent Latino and African American Professionals. It is a well kept structure with excellent facilities and surrounding grounds. However, as the once liberal and diverse UWS became increasingly gentrified, whiter and politically conservative, poor students of color were no longer welcome in the neighborhood. Many local merchants allow students inside their stores only to check their electronic devices for a fee.

Meanwhile BHS continued to welcome English Language Learners (ELLs), new immigrant students with interrupted formal education (SIFEs), special education students, those re-entering the DOE from Rikers Island, Juvenile Justice Facilities, Residential Treatment Programs as well as those returning from expulsions, suspensions and safety transfers. Despite the overwhelming social, emotional and educational needs of the students, the Principal drove out many experienced educators and Community Based Organizations (CBOs) who provided tutoring, mentoring, youth development, employment opportunities and other social supports for struggling students. Instead students’ misbehavior was increasingly criminalized. Coming late to class, cutting school, verbal confrontations and fighting all led to suspensions and possibly criminal charges and potential arrests. Bathrooms were often locked and students couldn’t even bring in their own food and drink, despite the poor quality of cafeteria food. Officers of the local NYPD Precint patrolled the school in droves. They were commanded by their superiors “to not be social workers and keep up the numbers of summons and arrests or else be transferred to foot patrol outside”. At the close of the school day, School Safety Officers with the assistance of the NYPD are outside to quickly move students out of the area, reminiscent of “pass laws”.

When the actual announcement to close BHS came, one third of the students were ELLs and there was a significant number of students with Individualized Education Plans (IEPs), including students in self-contained classrooms. These very students were blamed for the low graduation rate and “lack of progress of the cohort”. DOE officials never spoke of the successes, numerous prestigious internships, a thriving music and art program, a full component of male and female sports and many scholarship winners. There were few advocates for the school. The Principal never publicly defended her students or staff who struggled against great odds. The UFT Chapter Chair made little effort to rally his members and seek union-wide support. Unfortunately many committed staff had already been driven out of the school and others were fearful of retaliation by the Principal and a few of her vindictive Assistant Principals. Nevertheless, there was a small cadre of dedicated teachers, staff and students who rallied with others to express outrage and protest the closing. With the lack of a strong Parents Association and no Parent Coordinator, many parents were swayed by a now disgraced High School Superintendent who promised them “better schools” for their current students as well as their younger children. As the majority of students and their parents were neither voters nor local residents, they received absolutely no support from the politicians. In fact, many of these politicians were meeting clandestinely with local residents and DOE officials to “remake BHS”.

The phase out of BHS greatly impacted both students and staff. The broad brush of “being in a failed school” resulted in demoralization. Some abandoned the ship as they witnessed cuts in staff, classes, programs and activities. Those teachers who remain fear ATRdom as the new schools have been reluctant to hire them as they too have branded them as “failed teachers”.

What exists now?

BHS is in year two of a three year phase out. There are four small schools co-existing in the building. Two of then have 9th and 10th graders and are floundering under inexperienced leadership, insufficient experienced staff and the lack of a comprehensive plan to deal with the large numbers of students with high educational and social needs. Their attendance is poor, violent incidents are high, and students academic progress is uneven. One of the schools has replaced BHS as being forced to accept whatever students come their way regardless of their ability to deal with them. They have a higher than usual percentage of special education students, many formerly in self-contained classrooms but their IEPs were changed as the closure of large comprehensive high schools has left no available self contained classroom space for them. Others are either new immigrants with no English language skills or students coming out of facilities and requiring intense counseling and services to facilitate their adjustment.

The third school is a transfer school which has contracted out some of their positions. As they have been able to interview and ostensibly “select” their students, they have a greater degree of control. However, their attendance has been poor, with numerous dropouts and overall slow progress.

The fourth school which is the long heralded academically challenging high school with a high percentage of middle income, academically successful white students. Their student body has been “selected” and not “assigned”. The school leadership is experienced and the effort, planning and resources that went into its development are unlike the other schools. Their parents are organized, involved and strong advocates for the school. Not surprisingly their recruitment has been affected by the fact that some UWS residents are reluctant to send their teens there while poor students of color are the majority in the building, metal detectors are a way of life and School Security and the NYPD dominate the entrance.

While local intelligence always believed that this fourth school and perhaps other similar schools would “inherit” the building, it now appears that another plan may be underway. On November 18, 2010 it was announced that BHS would most probably be the site for Eva Muscovite’s Upper Westside Success Academy. The mere mention of two initial sites, PS 145 and PS 165 engendered forceful protests from parents, teachers and community leaders. However, there is nobody to protest at the BHS site. The students, parents and teachers of the disappearing BHS have already been silenced. The leadership of the first three schools has always known that they were probably in their current location on borrowed time. In addition, each of these young inexperienced “school leaders” is fighting for their jobs and is unwilling to “rock the boat”. The neighborhood activists and local merchants would love nothing more than for them all to go. Only the fourth school has local political support as well as active parents who can advocate for themselves and their children.

With the recent building of luxury housing there is a desire among some affluent Westsiders to make the “public schools system work for them”. Currently there is a shortage of prize elementary school seats in the affluent portion of the district. Enter Eva who has advertised that she will offer a private school quality education for free. While she states that priority will be given to ELLs, siblings of students in her other Success Academies and students citywide slated to enter failing schools, her informational and recruitment sessions have been held in English in the most richest and whitest sector of the UWS, at the Jewish Community Center, the Westside YMCA and in the homes’ of wealthy Westside residents who support Charter Schools. Her Bus Shelter Ads and literature are only in English and try to create the impression that Charter Schools aren’t just for poor children of color.

Inside BHS sources now say that the Brandeis Educational Complex will contain a K-8 Success Academy, palatable to the local community and perhaps will also include the “well prepared students” of the McCourt High School.

Are we surprised that these plans have little to do with education or concern for the “types of students who formerly attended BHS”? Rather it is a calculated move to steamroll ahead in the drive to privatize education but with a new twist, bringing the children of the gentrified, predominantly white middle class into the fold. Do we see on the horizon the attempt to bring “charters” back to their origins in the segregation academies of the south? Where do the local politicians, union leaders and other education allies stand on this most probable scenario.
__________________
Check out Norms Notes for a variety of articles of interest: http://normsnotes2.blogspot.com/. And make sure to check out the side panel on right for news bits.

Greasy Deasy to Head LA Schools - Black Redux but with a phony degree

I just can't keep up with all the ed/pol stuff coming in. I could post something every hour. Half the day is taken up just trying to stay even. I was better off without my Blackberry, which is inundated with email from my Gmail and AOL accounts - it looks like it is actually swelling up - well it is BOLD.

I haven't even been able to write about all the interesting stuff going on around the closing schools - keep an eye on the GEM blog for now.

In case you didn't hear, Los Angeles is replacing Ray Cortines with sleazy John Deasy -


Here is some stuff from Susan Ohanian.

I've been following John Deasy since 2003. Conclusion: His associate ends up in jail. Deasy ends up at the Gates Foundation and then as Los Angeles schools chief.

John Deasy first appeared on my site in 2003, back in his Santa Monica days. When Deasy moved from Santa Monica to become schools chief in Prince George's County, Stanford University education professor Michael Kirst remarked that he had a "zest for politics." The record shows that Deasy carefully notes which side of the bread is buttered. Follow the money.

As schools chief in Prince George's County, Deasy hooked up with Jon Schnur of New Leaders for New Schools, who insists that if you can lead an Army unit in Iraq, you can turn around a failing school in a large urban district.

In an ugly 2007 Associated Press story about school restructuring under NCLB, Deasy's position was quoted about Arrowhead Elementary in Prince George's County:

Superintendent Deasy acknowledges the atmosphere at Arrowhead is more intense than at schools that aren't facing restructuring. He said lessons at schools missing testing goals have to be very targeted, and he says there often isn't time for electives and free play like at other schools.

Rich kids can play. Poor kids (90% African American, 52% poverty) need to stick to the scripts.
At a 2008 Aspen Institute Education Summit, Deasy appeared on a panel with comfortable bedfellows, Kati Haycock, President, The Education Trust and Randi Weingarten, President, American Federation of Teachers. 

It is worthwhile to consider the stated mission [ED NOTE - THE PLAN TO UNDERMINE PUBLIC ED LAYED OUT] of this Summmit:

The missions of the Summit are to:

*build broad public awareness of the critical
weaknesses in American education today in
relation to other industrialized nations, and
an understanding that every American has a
shared responsibility and stake in the solution
build recognition that a high quality,
effective education is vital to the success of
every American and the future health and
prosperity of our nation

*develop a national consensus that immediate
action is needed to sustain and build on the
essential principles of accountability,
transparency and high expectations for every
student

*develop a process to grow this consensus and
achieve lasting educational reform
establish common ground and chart the bold
steps necessary to quicken the pace of reform
and mobilize the support needed to create a
public education system that helps every
student succeed and assures a more hopeful and
prosperous future for our country.

Critics said Deasy got out of Prince George's County just ahead of the trainwreck, moving on to the Gates Foundation, where he became assistant director of education. The Gates press release is pure puffery, ending with the statement that in all of his tenures as school superintendent Deasy "championed fair teacher and administrator evaluations, pay-for-performance, staff development and training, and data-based decision-making."

That reads like the tombstone inscription for the death of childhood.

In the Winter 2009 issue of Philanthropy,Deasy termed his Gates work on pay-for- performance "responsible philanthropy." Interestingly, this puff piece mentions his education: Deasy received a master's degree in education as well as a well as a bachelor's degree in chemistry and education from Providence College in Rhode Island.

No mention of a Ph.D.

The Gates Foundation puff piece on his hiring avoids any mention of his education or degrees. The president of the University of Louisville defended Deasy's Ph.D. here.

I was interested in the fact that the scandal over Deasy's PhD hit the headlines at the same time he was hired by Gates. His financial connections with Robert Felner date back to his Santa Monica days:

A year after taking over as superintendent of
the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District
in 2001, Deasy recommended that his school
system pay $125,000 for a survey performed by
the National Center on Public Education and
Social Policy, which is run by Felner. The
survey was later extended for two more years at
the same price, for a total of $375,000.

In 2010 Felner was sentenced to 5 1/4 years for misappropriating funds from a research grant and from contracts with urban school districts.

Deasy stayed at the Gates Foundation only a year and a half, practicing that"responsible philanthropy," which amounts to handing out money with one hand while throwing a bomb with the other. Many speculate that the Gates job was just a holding pattern for the Los Angeles appointment, which will give him the opportunity to turn LA in to the Gates model district.

Conclusion: Felner's in jail. Deasy continues to have his bread buttered side up. 

Here is the  link to Susan's comments followed by  the Rich Gibson and Amber Goslee piece at
Substance News
2011-01-07
http://susanohanian.org/show_atrocities.php?id=9593


Check out Norms Notes for a variety of articles of interest: http://normsnotes2.blogspot.com/. And make sure to check out the side panel on right for news bits.

Another Texas "Miracle" Dashed

 Ed activists have been on the case of the Houston so-called miracle that vaulted Rod Paige into the national spotlight under George Bush only to find out that there was massive cheating going on. It's too bad that Paul Krugman, who with every column nails the scams and crooks running their jive through the political economy doesn't make the connection to the ed scam artists.

Today he gets closer but doesn't close the deal in an article about the Texas economic "miracle."

These are tough times for state governments. Huge deficits loom almost everywhere, from California to New York, from New Jersey to Texas.
Wait — Texas? Wasn’t Texas supposed to be thriving even as the rest of America suffered? Didn’t its governor declare, during his re-election campaign, that “we have billions in surplus”? Yes, it was, and yes, he did. But reality has now intruded, in the form of a deficit expected to run as high as $25 billion over the next two years.
And that reality has implications for the nation as a whole. For Texas is where the modern conservative theory of budgeting — the belief that you should never raise taxes under any circumstances, that you can always balance the budget by cutting wasteful spending — has been implemented most completely. If the theory can’t make it there, it can’t make it anywhere.
How bad is the Texas deficit? Comparing budget crises among states is tricky, for technical reasons. Still, data from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities suggest that the Texas budget gap is worse than New York’s, about as bad as California’s, but not quite up to New Jersey levels.
The point, however, is that just the other day Texas was being touted as a role model (and still is by commentators who haven’t been keeping up with the news). It was the state the recession supposedly passed by, thanks to its low taxes and business-friendly policies. Its governor boasted that its budget was in good shape thanks to his “tough conservative decisions.”
Oh, and at a time when there’s a full-court press on to demonize public-sector unions as the source of all our woes, Texas is nearly demon-free: less than 20 percent of public-sector workers there are covered by union contracts, compared with almost 75 percent in New York.

Krugman concludes with:

Right now, triumphant conservatives in Washington are declaring that they can cut taxes and still balance the budget by slashing spending. Yet they haven’t been able to do that even in Texas, which is willing both to impose great pain (by its stinginess on health care) and to shortchange the future (by neglecting education). How are they supposed to pull it off nationally, especially when the incoming Republicans have declared Medicare, Social Security and defense off limits?
People used to say that the future happens first in California, but these days what happens in Texas is probably a better omen. And what we’re seeing right now is a future that doesn’t work.

Read it all here

If we could only get Krugman to take a hard look at how the future of ed deform won't work either before there is barely a shell of teacher unionism left.

And let me say right here, no matter how deep my criticisms of the people leading our union I feel teacher unions could be the major defense against the onslaught against children - yes, policies that keep kindergarten children from being allowed to play. That is why my hostility towards teacher union leaders is so great - they have walked on the other side of the line.

Check out Norms Notes for a variety of articles of interest: http://normsnotes2.blogspot.com/. And make sure to check out the side panel on right for news bits.

All You Need to Know in a Nutshell/ Support the Indypendent

See several funny-but-true videos on education reform:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpmQZ5MXs8c&feature=&p=D6ACA64BD8FD7FFA&index=0&playnext=1

 MESSAGE FROM JOHN TARLETON of The Indypendent

Meet the new boss. Just like the old boss. Cathie Black will become Schools Chancellor tomorrow. However nothing she or her high-profile supporters say can change the fact that increasing numbers of New Yorkers are not only questioning her personal credentials but the Mayor's autocratic handling of the city's schools over the past eight years.

In that vein, I can't tell you how many people have told me that they finally “get it” when it comes to understanding what's really happening with public education here in New York and elsewhere after reading The Indypendent.

In 2010, we provided unique, hard-hitting coverage, 4-color pull-out posters and even a full 20-page back-to-school issue that brought a deeper, richer understanding of what's happening in public education to many tens of thousands of people throughout the city.

I want to ask you for your support.

Right now, we are trying to make our goal of raising $20,000 in our fund drive, which will help sustain us in 2011.

Your support will enable us to continue reporting on issues that matter like the struggle over the future of public education here in New York City and beyond.

We don't have the deep pockets of a Murdoch or a Zuckerman or the hedge fund crowd to get our message out. Instead, for the past decade we have relied on people like yourself to keep us going strong.

This is why we can report without illusions about how power is exercised in this city and for whose benefit. It is what enables us to connect the dots and tell it like it is in a clear, coherent voice that our readers have come to value.

We also know that meaningful change always comes from below which is why listen to and amplify the voices of parents, teachers, students and community advocates who understand the what's really happening to  our city's 1.1 million school children and the teachers who serve them and are fighting for a school system that is truly democratic and empowering for all its participants.

However, our goal is to do more than produce top-notch journalism. We seek to help movements like the one for a just and fully democratic system of public education to develop and grow.

Toward that end, we need a movement behind us to develop and grow ourselves. We have had more than 300 people donate more than $16,000, meaning we are closing in on our fundraising goal!

Whatever you can give - $25, $50, $100 (or more) - you have my deep gratitude. It may sound like a cliché but it really does make all the difference.

The easiest way to donate is online at: www.indypendent.org/donate

Or you can mail a check made out to The Indypendent to:

The Indypendent
666 Broadway, Suite 500
NY, NY 10012

Also, please consider passing this message onto other people you know who might want to support our work.

Best wishes, and have a Happy New Year!

John

Highlights from the Indy's 2010 Education Coverage

"Taking the Public Out of Schools" by John Tarleton

"Inside Columbus High School" by Mary Heglar

"Experience Is the Best Teacher: Bronx School Fights to Save Building Trades Program As DOE Pushes College Prep Over Hands-on Learning" by Mary Heglar

"Think Globally, Privatize Locally: Education Is Under Attack Around the World" by Lois Weiner

"Teaching Under Assualt: Two Visions of Education Clash as Bloomberg Prepares to Layoff 6,400 Teachers" by Norm Scott

"Why Teachers Unions Matter" by Lois Weiner

"Ticket to Ride: Students Win Metro Card Fight" by Jaisal Noor

"Students at Tilden High School Win Last Chance for Diploma" by Jaisal Noor

"An Education at Any Age: A Boy from Baghdad and His Parents Navigate Different Ends of the NYC School System" by David Enders

"Learning the 3 C's: Competition, Corruption and Cheating" by Arthur Goldstein and Lucas Hilderbrand

"A Parent's Guide to School Involvement" by John Tarleton

"Education Rediscovered" by Stanley Aronowitz

"Queer Youth Embrace Fluid Identities" by S. Leigh Thompson

"School Closings Pushback Begins" by John Tarleton

"Experience Be Damned!: Education Department's Self-Inflicted Crisis Leaves More Than 1,000 Veteran Teachers in Limbo" by Marc Epstein 

It is Not Only Bloomberg's Secret Agenda

This article (Bloomberg's Secret Education Agenda) by Marc Epstein has a lot of meat in it. But it is misleading in focusing attention on Bloomberg and not on the national ed deform attack. Before there was a Bloomberg and Klein, there was Mayor Daly and Paul Vallas in Chicago since 1995. Ed Notes began trumpeting the dangers as early as 2001 starting on the day that Randi Weingarten endorsed the concept of mayoral control. She accused me, with much outrage, of calling her a sellout. Hmmm. I also tried to steer the conversation from just focusing on what Klein was doing and onto the full agenda.

Of course, the UFT wanted to focus only on Klein (even often making Bloomberg out to be a good guy who you could deal with. Now, knowing full well the leadership knew what I did about the "agenda" and signed on to whole parts of it, I had to come to the conclusion they were purposely mis-educating the membership as to what is really going on. From there it was easy to jump to "They are collaborators."

"Politicians and Education Carpetbaggers have come to realize that you can fund charter schools like group homes and eliminate your public education payroll, pension, and benefit packages. Their attitude towards public education is "why do it for free when you can make money at it?"

I suspect that the powers that be really don't think they can turn things around and educate kids from horrific social circumstances by firing teachers endlessly. But if they succeed in decoupling public education from government, they'll live quite comfortably ever after. 

The handwriting is on the wall. When the small school initiative fails, Bloomberg or his successor will have an easier job of washing their hands of the system and suggest that not for profit charters take the headache of their hands.

The shell game can't last."

---Excerpt from Jamaica HS teacher Marc Epstein's, Bloomberg's Secret Education Agenda at the Huffington Post.

Check out Norms Notes for a variety of articles of interest: http://normsnotes2.blogspot.com/. And make sure to check out the side panel on right for news bits.

Fact-checking Waiting for 'Superman': Documentary or Urban Myth?

Leonie Haimson
Huffington Post
2011-01-03
http://susanohanian.org/show_research.php?id=387

Susan comments:
Kudos to Leonie Haimson, who conducted research to check out some teacher-bashing claims in Waiting for Superman. Where are the teacher unions, the teacher professional organizations, and the teacher ed colleges in refuting the myths perpetrated by the corporate oligarchy?

The Washington Teacher blog becomes the 'official blog' of the Washington Teachers' Union

"My advocacy on behalf of teachers came with a high price and earned me a mandatory summons to meet with the Chancellor in 2008 about my involvement in political activities (i.e. protests, writing about DCPS , speaking to the press, etc). These events marked the beginning of the harassment that I endured." 
           - Candi Peterson, V.P., Washington Teachers Union

Here are excerpts from Candi's story:

I started out my union career as a Washington Teachers' Union building representative for itinerant teachers and related service providers. Years ago, a soon to be departing colleague urged me to take on this role because she was planning to retire. She argued after all that I would be good in this job because of my outspokenness. I remember thinking how could I reach the almost 200 or so union members who were spread out in our schools. Building ties to people, came easy for me in part due to my background in the field of social work. I reasoned to myself that a great deal of my career had been spent working with those who didn’t want to be reached. Surely, I thought I’d be up for the challenge connecting to union members.

 --------
Just as the success of The Washington Teacher blog garnered interest from union members, it also drew the ire of the Rhee/Henderson administration as it covered the other side of the public education reform story that was rarely told by the mainstream media. My advocacy on behalf of teachers came with a high price and earned me a mandatory summons to meet with the Chancellor in 2008 about my involvement in political activities (i.e. protests, writing about DCPS , speaking to the press, etc). These events marked the beginning of the harassment that I endured. What came next was being stripped of ten points on the Core Professional component of my IMPACT evaluation due to what was described by my supervisor (words paraphrased) : “Someone is out to get you.” My attendance at a rally while on approved leave was cited as the reason for my loss of the ten evaluation points.

MORE: From The Bottom Up! Featuring, Candi Peterson - WTU General V.P. 

AFTERBURN

From Queens Teacher: It's War - Private Sector v. Public Sector 

Gazillionaires are orchestrating warfare. Read this great comment from nytimes.com

Check out Norms Notes for a variety of articles of interest: http://normsnotes2.blogspot.com/. And make sure to check out the side panel on the right for news bits.

The AFT/UFT/Unity Caucus Leadership: Dupes or Vichy?

 A few weeks ago a young teacher asked Why? at a meeting. Why would the union not fight charters and school closings vehemently since the ultimate goal was to undermine and weaken the union? I attempted to give a quick answer in this post: Why?

But we need to do a much deeper analysis to get to the crux of the matter. Many people in the opposition or even those not in the opposition offer up ideas like: "Write to Mulgrew and tell him what's going on." Or "pressure the leadership from the bottom to get them to act." I take a contrary view. They will never act and if they do it will be to undermine whatever actions that might really work in the interests of the rank and file. Why? Ahhh, that is the question.

UFT critic bloggers like Chaz and Reality-Based Educator at Perdido Street School have suggestions for the UFT/AFT:

Chaz wish list for how the UFT should approach 2011:

1. A contract that includes the "City pattern" with no givebacks!.
2. No ATR time limit, ever!
3. No changing the "last in, first out" layoff list.
4. No weakening of our "due process" rights.
5. The right to a fair and independent investigation for alleged misconduct.
6. Elimination of the PIP+ termination program.
7. Teacher input into the teacher evaluation program.

RBE adds a few more items to the list and expands the wish list to the AFT as well:  Some New Year's Wishes For The UFT/AFT
RBE closes with:

Not that the UFT or AFT will follow any of these as they sell members down the river on test scores, TDR's, school closures, merit pay, and the rest. But at least we can offer some alternatives to the current jive the UFT and AFT offer.

But WHY won't will they sell members down the river when the end game of ed deform is their weakening and possible elimination? Even Peter Lamphere and Lee Sustar the Socialist Worker
with a wide-ranging piece don't really get to the crux of the WHY?

I'm going to take some shots at answering the WHY question in some upcoming posts which may take us on a tour through UFT/AFT history. 
____________
Check out Norms Notes for a variety of articles of interest: http://normsnotes2.blogspot.com/

 

Welcome to the New Year - I Think

Happy New Year to all. I hope y'all are rested and ready for the battles ahead.

With today being Cathie Black's first day on the job, I can't help thinking what would have happened if the blizzard were postponed by exactly one week and began yesterday - which was one of the 2 days where we didn't have an official chancellor (Klein's departure was on Dec. 31). For how many days would Black have decided to close the schools?

I had lots of phone outages. My Blackberry died just as the blizzard hit - must have been chilled. Then my home phone system went out too on Monday. Verizon gave us an appointment - on Jan. 17. "Go outside, open up the phone box and plug in a phone to see if the problem is ours or inside your house" were the instructions. I'm out the door with a screwdriver and a phone when my wife says, "One more thing. Don't do it if it's wet." Oh, I'm thinking as I climb a 6 foot snow bank and start unscrewing the cover. I finally find the plug and the phone does work outside - hey I can just stand in the snow bank and answer the phone. Well we unplug everything inside and the phone comes back. Next day it goes out again. And comes back. And out.

I did go to a long meeting on Thursday which I could only get to by taking the S train from Rockaway Park to Broad Channel for the A to Jay St. for the F down to Park Slope. I should have left the day before. It felt like Mao's Long March - which is really known as the Long Schlep. And the only phone we had (Fed-ex overnight becomes 3 days in a snowstorm) was my wife's chintzy little cell phone - after using a smart phone this felt like going back to the Dark Ages- I couldn't figure out how to get to the contacts and actually had to dial a number when I wanted to call home - which I did numerous times with no answer - yes the phones at home went out again. And a whole day without checking email every 10 seconds. Man, back in the ancient times of the 20th century.

From the perspective of this trip it was hard to believe they could have opened schools at all for the entire week. But Black probably would have and the chaos that would have reigned would have made for an interesting start.

The meeting lasted for 5 hours - but there was food so I could have gone on forever. And I bought a dozen donuts to munch on.

Don't get me wrong - many of these meetings are not just meetings for the sake of meetings - they are action oriented towards organizing an effective response to the attack on public education and the inaction of the UFT.

That a dedicated group of working teachers gave up an entire day of their vacation to do this ed/pol stuff is very impressive. One question that I raised - how many teachers are there who are willing to do this? Yet finding a group of people who are ready to take action will be crucial. But first, an effective organization, run in a democratic manner, must be built. And as the length of the meeting attests, democracy takes time - everyone wants to speak and all attempts are made to reach consensus. It is possible - but what do you do if you get a hundred people together? Thus some structures must be in place - someone called them "gears" so people who are out there and ready to act have a place to go that they feel comfortable working within.

This is not easy task as we have been finding out. I've been thinking a lot about questions of leadership and how a strong leader interacts with members? Or do you make sure not to have too strong a leader? But that can weaken a group? I have no answers but watching the UFT over the years provides a lot of clues as what not to do to build a democratic org. Of course, if all you are interested in is taking power forever then the UFT/Unity Caucus is the model you follow.

Well, later today is another meeting with another group of people. And another on Wednesday. When I get a chance I will post the schedule for the next 6 weeks of three PEP meetings dealing with school closings and charter co-locations - and all those hearings in the schools that go with it. I get tired just looking at it. I guess the vacation really is over.

I had a tough slog blogging last week during the vacation. "What vacation," people ask? "Retirees are on permanent vacation." Very true. But it is hard to get out of the school-based rhythm you've been in since the age of 5. I started a few blogs but it was more fun activating my new Blackberry Bold and my wife's first smart phone.  And shoveling out my driveway every few hours after the snow plow blocked it again and again. I need to move to the other side of the street.

Finally, an Analysis of Cathleen Black's Corporate Skills - Or Lack Thereof

 Here's a Black critique from the pro-Joel side of the tracks. But we've been hearing she was kicked upstairs and also many of use weren't willing to accept as gospel she was a brilliant innovator or manager. The word out in the publishing industry to describe her and why she was brought in is obvious to us: union buster.

" Say what you will about Joel Klein, who has held the job since 2002, but the fact is that 40 percent of all kids in Harlem now start their education at a charter school...It required an audacious, rule-breaking spirit to accomplish, not cautious tinkering. But everything about Cathie Black's management background screams "incrementalist." She has never been a change agent."

Another take on why Black doesn't qualify...

http://www.politicsdaily.com/2011/01/02/why-cathleen-black-was-the-wrong-choice-to-head-new-york-citys/

Why Cathleen Black Was the Wrong Choice to Head New York City's Schools

As usual, the press and the complaining hordes are focusing on the wrong issues. Everyone assumes that Cathleen Black, who starts her job next week as New York City Schools Chancellor, is a fine choice from a management perspective, but what's lacking from her resume are any educational credentials.

I challenge that. What the New York City school system needs is bold and imaginative thinking that breaks out of the calcified structures that have imprisoned it and its students for decades. Say what you will about Joel Klein, who has held the job since 2002, but the fact is that 40 percent of all kids in Harlem now start their education at a charter school. This is a stunning statistic. It could never, ever have happened under a Black-led regime, It required an audacious, rule-breaking spirit to accomplish, not cautious tinkering. But everything about Cathie Black's management background screams "incrementalist." She has never been a change agent.

First, what do we really know about her management skills? Since Hearst is a private company, we don't know her "metrics." I put metrics in scare quotes because one of the huge fights raging now in the New York City school system is over whether teacher performance data should be made public, and whether the Klein Era has put too much emphasis on teaching for the test. Ironically, we have no view into Cathie Black's own performance record, even though it is her management skills that Mayor Bloomberg cited as the reason for her selection.

When you look at her tenure at Hearst, it was marked by two essential successes – the creation of O magazine, launched in April of 2000, and the expansion of Cosmopolitan globally. She also launched Food Network magazine.

None of these were innovative or game-changing. Martha Stewart Living was launched ten years before Oprah. All Cathie Black did was Xerox the concept of an eponymous lifestyle magazine, and successfully pitch it to Oprah Winfrey. So Ms. Black's big resume item was a copycat idea whose success was due to the galactic appeal of the most powerful woman in media.

I'm not minimizing her ability to sell. That's her calling card - she started as an ad salesperson and climbed the ladder to publisher, which is nothing but a salesperson with a bigger office, town car, and wardrobe allowance. So let's be honest about her accomplishments. Most people outside of publishing and the media don't understand what Cathie Black did, they don't know the difference between editors and publishers, and often attribute an un-earned aura of creativity and imagination to the publisher business card. Publishers have a simple mission – to sell ads and cultivate relationships with big advertisers.

Ms. Black's other big success was the global expansion of Cosmopolitan. A fine tactical move, but considering that the UK edition of the magazine was launched back in 1972, it doesn't exactly take a visionary to say "Hey, why don't we take our successful formula of 'fearless sexuality' everywhere?" The current #1 featured story on the Cosmopolitan website: How to Give Him a Lap Dance." That'll help prepare students for the jobs of tomorrow.

She also had flops. Talk magazine, in partnership with Miramax, and Lifetime magazine, cost the Hearst heirs many tens of millions. And it's not like these flops were noble failures based on innovative ideas that were ahead of their time. Both Talk and Lifetime were small (at best) twists on existing magazine formulas.
But the biggest shortcoming of Cathie Black's tenure was her failure to recognize and stay ahead of the tectonic shifts that the Internet has brought to the traditional publishing model.

Hearst was every bit as Paleolithic as its publishing peers. Which means they were slow to bring their magazines online and slow to recognize the power of Web 2.0 and the social aspects of sharing and community. There isn't a single meaningful web innovation that has come out of Hearst. Even now, their digital revenue, according to MediaWeek, is only "slightly better" than the industry average.

Further, under Mrs. Black's leadership, Hearst was abysmal when it came to recognizing its internal limitations and, in turn, using its massive bank account to make smart strategic acquisitions. Hearst failed to identify and invest in entrepreneurial start-ups and early-stage companies in any significant way, either. They haven't built anything real, or bought anything important. Their digital acquisitions include a cheesy question-and answer company called Answerology.com, a company that tricks you into buying vitamins by asking you what your "real age" is (RealAge.com) and Kaboodle.com, a third-rate shopping site.

Her newspaper experience is no better, perhaps worse. She was President and CEO of the Newspaper Association of America from 1991 through 1996. These were pivotal, critical years for the industry, its last chance to redefine newspapers for the Internet era. Anyone who has witnessed the carnage of the last few years in the industry – the gutting of staff, the closing of venerated newspapers, "for-rent" signs being hammered on bureaus around the world – is painfully aware that the newspaper industry was shockingly negligent in planning for its own future. Even with the standards of social promotion, you'd have to give Mrs. Black an "F" for that tenure.

Mayor Bloomberg defended his secretive selection of Mrs. Black by describing her as an "expert manager." But even that is a whopping overstatement. Hearst isn't a complicated business to run. No publishing company really is. There's a sales force and an editorial group to manage. And newsstand distribution. That's essentially it. There's no R&D, no complex supply chain, no complicated retailer ecoystem, no buying and hedging of commodities, no manufacturing, no giant employee network, no unions. It's wildly misleading for Mayor Bloomberg to elevate Mrs. Black to the level of a real world-class manager, say someone like Alan Mulally, who transformed Boeing and moved brilliantly to Ford, where he was the only auto CEO who didn't need bail-out money.

But even if she was an expert manager, the New York City school system, with its massive bureaucracy and entitled constituencies, requires far more. And besides, expert management should exist at many levels below the chancellor position, especially after eight years of Joe Klein and his culture-changing leadership.

To deliver high quality education to every student, to lift up the still-suffering performance of minority students and dozens of schools, cries out for someone with a history of seeing ahead, with a passion for new ideas who takes genetic pleasure at upending conventional wisdom.

Joel Klein said his biggest regret wasn't being "bold enough." When you can point to something profound and inspiring that happened at Good Housekeeping, Popular Mechanics, Redbook or Hearst itself, then you can tell me that Cathie Black has the necessary boldness for the job.