Commentary on out with the old and in with the new chancellor- Hey Cathie, I didn't get my good-bye hug

UPDATED 5:30PM- Posting commentary and links as they come in.

Mike Bloomberg in his just-completed press conference stated that he only discussed resignation with Cathie Black this morning, implying that in the last few hours he had a conversation with Ms. Black, did a "search" for a replacement, decided on Dennis Walcott, approached him about the job, and received his acceptance.

Another snap decision about who will be overseeing the education of 1.1 million children?

Despite repeated questioning from reporters, the mayor is refusing to say much about Ms. Black -- hardly surprising. He wants everyone to "look forward," not backward. Message: "Please, everyone, please forget that I made this decision to hire Cathie Black.

A reporter on NY1 just stated that Dennis Black has spent virtually his entire life in public education. I guess that's already being sold as the conventional wisdom, when I believe it is rather far from true. A masters in education, two years as a kindergarten teacher, some time spent on the old Board of Education, never an education administrator -- hardly an entire life devoted to education.

I can't say I was enamored of Wolcott's first decision: to drag a group of Brooklyn grade school kids into City Hall and away from their classrooms to serve as nothing more than background props for a press conference. Sorry, Dennis -- kids are more than props to pretty up your image.

Steve Koss

It is nice to read your thoughtful posts, again, Steve- we've missed your insights!

The mayor and his Deputy's unabashed use a group of kids as cover, to distract away from the adults' mistakes, is so emblematic of the 'Children First'  phonies.

 It is ALL about the adults- just look at the one's jumping ship, either to get further up the privatization pipeline ( can't you just hear the loud sucking sound?)or to propagate the politics and policies imposed on NYC in other cities across the nation.

Let's hope that the media continue to carry the real stories, connecting the dots and digging for facts, and never go back to reporting by press release as they did for the first 9 years of this disastrous dictatorship.

Lisa

State Ed Commiss Steiner is going too - rats deserting: David Steiner Out as State Education Commissioner - DNAinfo.com

Check out this link for the Cathie Black video in dist 14 on Feb 28:
http://vimeo.com/21717003

South African Mona Davids:

Hmm, interesting...
Shael Polakow-Suransky is officially ACTING CHANCELLOR. It's history, the first (South) African acting chancellor.

I guess 17% rating finished Black off. All I can say is that some poor magazine will end up getting stuck with her. Can she give back the 3 million and get back on the IBM Board so she can sell ARIS versions 2 through 10 back to the DOE?

Bloomberg finally pulled the race card in desperation.

Time to start a "Deny Walcott Waiver" movement? Yes he taught kindergarten and has a masters in education, but he has been a major architect of the dismantling of public ed. See Michael's comment below - but I feel it could have been worse - a sell-out educator with real creds and a P.H.d.

Watch the UFT try to claim credit for this, along with the earth spinning on its axis. It was those whistles they blew at the Feb. 3 PEP.

Sam Anderson comments:

With Dennis, the privatization plot thickens.

Connecting dots...
(a)  Al Sharpton becomes publicly closer to Obama as Obama launches re-election. Both Obama and Arne Duncan come to NYC to speak before Al's National Action Network.

(b)  Al's been chummy with Bloomberg and Walcott for years. Hence, Al's in the key position to "sell" Walcott to the negro loyal opposition forces in the electoral, business and religious sectors as a true promoter of Black Education. Meanwhile, Walcott is a proven "good negro" to white folks by his Urban League "street creds" and his 9-year proximity to Billionaire Bloomberg.

(c)  Walcott can become Bloomberg's and his class allies' blackface to their national privatizing of public education policies.

(d)   With a potential $2billion re-election war chest, Prez Obama will need a few "acceptable" Blackfolk to -once again- convince US educators to gather their collective strength and campaign and vote for this version of EVIL. Sir Walcott will make a great surrogate for Obama and the Dems.

(e)  The last dot is that if the republicans have the upper hand on the national scale, Dennis is their man also. He would have about 18 months to work with them on their national education policies.

In Struggle,

Sam Anderson

Michael Fiorillo:

Hello All,
This is not a good development. Every day that Black was Chancellor, she further undermined Bloomberg and revealed his contempt for students, parents and teachers. Walcott will follow the same smash-and-grab agenda, but will be far more adept at it, and his being black will provide a partial shield from criticism.
After all, if people are motivated by power and greed, better for the rest of us if they are incompetent and the butt of jokes. Black was a gift from the Gods of Absurdity, which they have sadly taken back from us.
Let's all hope that this comes too late to revive people's view of Bloomberg, but it makes our job harder, not easier.
Best,
Michael Fiorillo

 Lisa Donlan on Nadelstern blames press for CB's failure! (These no excuses guys sure have a lot of excuses)

Clearly the failure was not about the lousy results of the neo-liberal union-bashing, autocratic, privatizing educational experiments, re-orgs , complete 360's and other kick-the-anthill management tricks passed off by this administration for the last 10 years as reforms.

 No,  w/o the necessary pandering by the press and the inflated edubudgets spent on the vendors, bells and whistles,  the very system is destabilized since it can stand no scrutiny and obviously hangs by a thread of PR gloss and spin. Good riddance to all the rats fleeing this sinking ship. Too bad we and our kids are going to be stuck w/ the remaining wreck for years to come.

DENY WAIVER COALITION .

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Thursday, April 7, 2011 CONTACT: Mona Davids                                                    917-340-8987 Lupe Todd (for Assemblyman Jeffries)          917-202-0116 Chris Owens                                                     718-514-4874  Deny Waiver Coalition Statement on the resignation of Unqualified Chancellor Cathie Black "Mayor Bloomberg's political treatment of education is leading to disaster for our children."  Today's resignation of Schools Chancellor Cathleen P. Black closes another sad chapter in the history of Mayor Michael Bloomberg's manipulation of public education in the City of New York.  Ms. Black's departure is a clear victory for parents and all those who care about the quality of public education. After disregarding the concerns of many, Mayor Bloomberg pushed ahead with the nomination and defense of a candidate unqualified to lead the largest public school system in the United States of America.  Cathie Black's departure confirms for parents, teachers and administrators their fear that the Bloomberg administration's education track record is strong on rhetoric, hype and titles, yet weak on substance.  The Mayor has provided a textbook lesson in the dangers of unfettered Mayoral control of our education system.  In sum, Mayor Bloomberg's political treatment of education is leading to disaster for our children.  The Deny Waiver Coalition is proud to have continuously highlighted the fact that the Mayor "had no clothes" when it came to this appointment.  The Deny Waiver Coalition has never wavered in its demand that an appropriate individual serve as Chancellor -- an individual whose experience in education substantially exceeds the minimum criteria for the position.  There remains cause for concern.  The Deny Waiver Coalition called for a national search to find the best Chancellor candidate.  That has not happened.  The Coalition demanded a Chancellor with proven experience at leading public schools or school systems.  New York City still does not have that.  The Coalition advocated for transparency in the Chancellor selection process.  That has yet to happen. Accordingly, the Deny Waiver Coalition members support the immediate adoption of legislation amending the New York State education law to strengthen the minimum requirements for service as Chancellor of New York City's public schools, and to minimize the discretion allowed with regard to waivers on the part of the Mayor and the State Education Commissioner. The Deny Waiver Coalition includes individual petitioners who challenged the appointment of Cathie Black in court.  Parent Petitioners from the five boroughs are New York State Assemblymember Hakeem Jeffries (Brooklyn), Democratic State Committeeman and District Leader Chris Owens (Brooklyn), Ms. Mona Davids (Bronx), Mr. Noah E. Gotbaum (Manhattan), Ms. Khem Irby (Brooklyn), Ms. Lydia Bellahcene (Brooklyn), Ms. Patricia Connelly (Brooklyn), Ms. Monica Ayuso (Queens), Ms. Mariama Sanoh (Brooklyn), Mr. John Battis (Brooklyn), Ms. Latrina Miley (Manhattan), Ms. Shino Tanikawa-Oglesby (Manhattan) and Ms. Maria Farano-Rodriguez (Staten Island).  The teacher Petitioner is Ms. Julie Cavanagh (Brooklyn).

A blast from the past, thanks to Jeff Kaufman. Check out Walcott's subcontractor pals.

November 3, 1999, Wednesday


URBAN LEAGUE GETTING $9M CONTRACT FROM BOARD OF ED.




BYLINE: SUSAN EDELMAN


The Board of Education is set to award a massive $9 million contract today to the New York Urban League in a deal aimed at getting parents to join "school leadership teams" to help run the city's 1,100 schools.


The unprecedented contract - $3 million a year for three years - is earmarked for a citywide campaign and media blitz to drum up interest in the teams and to train parents who sign up.




"This will cover five boroughs and reach parents of different racial, ethnic and religious backgrounds," said league president Dennis Walcott.


The money will pay for staff, educational forums, training sessions, an Internet site, public relations and advertising such as bus posters.


School leadership teams spring from the 1996 Governance Law, which gives Chancellor Rudy Crew broad powers over school boards and superintendents, and were supposed to be in place by Oct. 1.


Each team is to have 10 members - half parents and half school administrators and teachers. They will have input in educational plans, budgets and issues such as school uniforms and safety.


The Urban League has subcontracted with three groups for its Parent Leadership Program: the United Federation of Teachers; Aspira of New York, a Latino community organization; and the United Parent Associations.


Ernest Clayton, UPA president, said the $9 million to be spent by the board isn't enough.


"When it comes to teacher and principal development, they spend money like crazy," he said. "It's about time they try to make an attempt to treat parents well."




ORGANIZATION: UNITED FEDERATION OF TEACHERS (55%); UNITED FEDERATION OF TEACHERS (55%);


COUNTRY: UNITED STATES (90%);


STATE: NEW YORK, USA (90%);


COMPANY: UNITED FEDERATION OF TEACHERS (55%); UNITED FEDERATION OF TEACHERS (55%);


SUBJECT: EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION EMPLOYEES (90%); TEACHING & TEACHERS (90%); EDUCATION ADMINISTRATION (90%); SCHOOL BOARDS (90%); CITY GOVERNMENT (78%); SCHOOL PRINCIPALS (78%); SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENTS (73%); MARKETING & ADVERTISING (71%); TEACHER UNIONS (67%); RELIGION (55%); PUBLIC RELATIONS (54%);


LOAD-DATE: November 3, 1999

IS 303 - Julia Daniely, PTA President

NYCDOE attempts to shoe-horn a 4th school into an already overcrowded IS 303 in Coney Island. Excerpts from the public hearing.

Another New Generation Activist Enters the Fray

In August, Julie Cavanagh asked me what was my long-time goal, aside from laying in the sun smoking a cigar. Not one to think about things too deeply, I responded, "To find 50 more people like you." (A whole bunch of us are fighting it out over who really discovered Julie, who a year and a half ago was only known inside her school community and in some ed policy groups.) Well, it certainly has been a pleasure for "grampa" (as Julie often refers to me) to meet an increasingly large group of new gen ed activists. That they all seem so much wiser than "grampa" makes me kvell.


Liza Campbell is one of this new generation of rising stars flooding the teacher activist movement in direct opposition to groups like Educators4Excellence. While believing in dedication to the classroom, these activists also believe they must fight outside the classroom, not for a narrow self-serving political agenda like E$E but for the social justice rights for their children and the parents of their children, along with their own rights as teachers. Reforming the UFT is also in their sights (and don't think this isn't making the Unity honchos nervous - they are badmouthing groups like GEM behind the scenes).

I only know Liza, a 25 year old 3rd year teacher, for a few months but have been extremely impressed with her creative energy, organizing skills and willingness to take on any task. And she knows so damned much in such a short time.

Liza was one of the leaders of the under 5 year group of teachers passing around a petition supporting LIFO. And she has been writing some great stuff at the Gotham Community section. Her last piece was Why I Love Unions, But Not Always Their Leadership.  This is an absolute must-read.
Liza closes with

Unions, as a collective representation of working people, can be an incredibly powerful counter-force to corporate interests. Individual working people can have very little impact on policy because they do not have the financial prowess on their own to affect national policy the way those with a good deal of money at their disposal can. I am proud to be a member of a union, and I am very proud of my fellow UFT members. But when union leadership becomes too far-removed from the lived reality of their rank-and-file members and spends a significant amount of their time with the very people who are pushing the policies they should be fighting, they run the risk of losing sight of their mission. If the UFT had a leadership with a social justice orientation that viewed its role as strengthening educators’ ability to educate and mobilize against misguided reforms, then I would not only be proud of my union but proud of its leadership as well.

But you have to read it all - and leave some comments. I want to include a comment from another older gen much-admired activist, Michael Fiorillo - watching Michael and the new gen activists like Julie and Liza mingling brings a big smile to my face since I have often been the connector (which  seems to be my main purpose in all this).

Congratulations on your fine analysis of the shortcomings of the UFT leadership, but things are unfortunately even worse than you say.

The aggressive attacks against teachers and public education in NYC would not have been possible without the dictatorial powers the mayor has over the school system, and these powers would not have been granted without the approval of the UFT, and Randi Weingarten in particular.

The union had in the past successfully repelled mayoral power grabs, but in 2002 Weingarten acquiesed to it. The fragmentation, destabilization and privatization of the system started immediately, as intended. Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver propsed a bill that would have given the mayor increased power over the Board of Education, but with checks and balances in place. Weingarten rejected that, inexplicably choosing absolute control of the schools by the mayor.

Worse was yet to come. The initial law granting the mayor absolute control of the schools was designed to sunset in 2009, allowing for the issue to be revisited, based on Bloomberg and Klein's actions. By that time there was widespread dissatisfaction with what Bloomberg and his factotum Klein were doing to the schools, and stakeholders began mobilizing to rein in the mayor's power. There was also strong sentiment in the union that something had to be done to limit the mayor's power.

After all, isn't checks and balances what the US system of government is supposed to be about?

Weingarten, however, had no intention of allowing that to happen, having apparently gotten used to getting rides in the mayor's private jet. So, using the craftiness that she never employed against the DOE, she impaneled a union committee to come up with suggestions for governance of the schools, in anticipation of the 2009 sunsetting of the law.

This Governance Committee, of which I was a member, worked diligently to come up with an alternative to the executive dictatorship that is destroying public education in cities across the country. Although I felt that the Committee's report did not go far enough, and participated in drafting a minority roport that would have gone farther in restricting exectutive power and giving more control to parents, teachers and elected officials, the Committee report that was eventually approved at the unions' Delegate Assembly would have been a tremendous improvement over what we have now.

But even that was not allowed to be. Acting unilaterally, without consulting the membership or the community groups that had enlisted in the fight against mayoral control, Weingarten sandbagged everyone by approving the continuation of mayoral control with just a few meaningless adjustments. Not a word was spoken by Michael Mulgrew in opposition to any of this.

And here we now find ourselves, with the DOE aggressively closing schools, enabling charter invasions, working 24/7 to undermine teaching as a career with professional autonomy and turning the education into a joyless forced march to competition for poverty-level jobs.

The story of the decline of unions over the past 35 years is in large part the story of the decline of the United States, as it has allowed for accelerating income inequality and concentration of power by finance capital. It is only the labor movement, as a self-financed working class institution, that can act as a counterweight to the immense power of employers.

This is playing out everywhere today, but especially in the public schools, since they have been targeted as a market that has yet to be maximized, and as a potential source of public wealth that has yet to be extracted by private interests. Sadly, what the oligarchs and their lapdogs propose is nothing less than the near-total destruction of public education, which despite its many shortcomings, is a uniquely American experiment in democracy. And Randi Weingarten and the one-party state that is the UFT/AFT have been the enablers of that.

Mulgrew got about the same percentage of votes as Mubarek in Egypt in the last election. Watch the deluge when LIFO goes.

The Case for LIFO - Ed Deform Discriminates Against Women — Women Speak Out

Garrison alleged that Bloomberg told her twice to "kill it" when she informed him she was pregnant, adding "Great! Number 16," a reference to the number of women then on maternity leave.....At least 58 female employees at the financial news service Bloomberg are filing claims against the company after it was alleged they were sexually discriminated against after becoming pregnant.

The leadership academy principal I had told a teacher who just returned from maternity leave that her school children must come before her own infant. The principal was trying to mandate meetings after school (besides the monthly faculty conference.)
-------

During my tenure as a teacher, young attractive and idealistic, I was pursued mercilessly by my married principal to begin an intimate relationship. Turning him down continually, my patented response to him was, “I don’t mix business with pleasure.” I was 22 years old and wise for those 22 years. He was in his fifties. His response was to observe me in my classroom every day for months, memorialize his observation in writing always finding something wrong with my lessons, waiting for my written response to his letter and calling me into his office to discuss the lesson and the response....When I received a “U” rating in June of that year, I contested it.

Would one expect less than a policy based on discrimination of women from Michael Bloomberg, one of the spearheads of ed deform who famously told pregnant women to get rid of it. (I put a bunch of quick links to articles about that incident at the end of this article.)

Think this one through. Teachers are expected not to go home when the school day ends, and "service" within the school might count as part of your evaluation, which could lead to a u-rating and firing. And then there's the sexual harassment. So many stories of male (and female) supervisor sexual threats towards women. Retired teacher Joan Mettler wrote a story in The Wave about her being U-rated because she wouldn't sleep with her principal. And there are so many stories of political persecution too.

So, since 75% of the teaching corps are females and we expect at least some of them might have children one day - and maybe want to buy a house in the more affordable suburbs, thus requiring more of a commute, and those with children might feel that tug at 3PM to get home, and those with sick children might need to take a few extra days off a year - well, SCREW YOU!! THERE'S NO ROOM FOR FAMILIES IF YOU ARE A TEACHER!!!!!

Here are some voices of women commenting on the teacher evaluation system and the implications for women. (from the ICE listserve.)

My husband and I both taught and I was the one when they were young who did the "running around" with our three girls even when I went back to teaching after a hiatus. On Parent/Teacher nights, I left school, picked them up, fed them and then dragged them with me to conferences where they did their homework. Then we took the bus home. Not until my husband was out of the classroom was he able to take off early to pick up a sick child and go to the doctor. Getting involved in anything at school or in the community was not easy, almost impossible when they were young. I feel for the young teachers at my school who have begun their families. To be asked to come to a function in the evening or stay after school is a juggling act, an imposition on their family responsibilities. Now that my three are young ladies, I can be involved and give my time. But even the youngest one who is not out of HS yet will call her dad, "What's for dinner tonight? Are you going to be home?" And it's not just for the meal, but for the sense of family gathering that she asks. Maybe all the parental care we gave to raise independent, civic minded, educated daughters should be taken into account as I am evaluated...not the "extra time" I put into the school building.

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

I have been a single mom for over 19 years with 2 daughters.  I was lucky that my children were in the same school that I taught in and therefore were able to stay late with me and attend after school and evening events with me.  A lot of the times they were in them so that killed two birds with one stone!  It was quite tough and that was before the extra 150 minutes and all this overwhelming data!

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I'm concerned about the evaluation of teachers based on their work in communities or extra work on school committees, etc.

I think there is an inherent bias here. At the risk of stereotyping, it has been my observation that women take more responsibility for child caring and care taking. That does not mean that there aren't men out there contributing. But more often than not, if the father is not a teacher or is not on a early schedule, it is the woman with young children who is running home for dental appts., pediatrician appts.,etc. As my daughter says, as much as my son-in-law takes responsibility for their daughter, he still doesn't know her shoe size.

When I go to the nursing home every day, I see the sign ins - it is overwhelmingly the "daughter" visiting.

And then there is the single parent - running home to pick up kids or to parents to do care taking.

When my kids were young, I checked out at 3. When they were grown, I usually stayed until 4 or 5 o'clock.

And doing work during the day, giving up preps, etc. is not easy either for the mother or caretaker - you need that time in school to do prep or just rest - because there is no time at home to do that stuff.

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Participation on school committees should never be part of the evaluation system:
a. It interferes with the contractual business of the UFT, which treats participation on such committees as part of its internal affairs and should not be "evaluated" -- just like voting in our internal elections should not be part of the evaluations.
b. One of the strongest reasons that UFT members do NOT participate on committees is that in way too many schools they are waste of time (principal gets what they want anytime they want to: by coercing,threats, retaliation, etc.) .

-------

If you can't ward off any movement to include participate on commitees, etc. - then perhaps you could try giving equal weight to caretaker teachers - those who have small children and other kinds of dependents that exclude their participation. It is just as important to do raise your children in the way you see fit as it is to serve on a school commitee or participate in community work. If you include one form of "credit", you must include the other.

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The leadership academy principal I had told a teacher who just returned from maternity leave that her school children must come before her own infant. Principal was trying to mandate meetings after school (besides the monthly faculty conference.)

Bloomberg
Lawsuit Says Bloomberg's Company Discriminates Against Pregnant ...
Sep 27, 2007 ... Lawsuit Says Bloomberg's Company Discriminates Against Pregnant Employees. 2007_09_bloombergwomen.jpg Mayor Michael Bloomberg's civilian ...
gothamist.com/2007/09/27/lawsuit_says_bl.php - Cached

Pregnant staff at Bloomberg claim sexual prejudice - Americas ...
May 3, 2008 ... At least 58 female employees at the financial news service Bloomberg are filing claims against the company after it was alleged they were ...
www.independent.co.uk › News › World › Americas - Cached - Similar

U.S. sues Bloomberg, alleging company bias against pregnant ...
Sep 28, 2007 ... U.S. sues Bloomberg, alleging company bias against pregnant workers ... Lewis also said the company had no policy allowing employees to work ...
www.nytimes.com/.../28iht-bloomberg.4.7675416.html - Cached - Similar - Add to iGoogle

New York Class-Action Pregnancy Discrimination Lawsuit Against ...
Jun 23, 2010 ... The female employees allege that Bloomberg violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, as amended by the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, ...
www.new-york-employment-lawyer-blog.com/.../new-york-classaction- pregnancy.html -

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg Testifies in Pregnancy ...
May 15, 2009 ... This isn't the first pregnancy discrimination charge against Bloomberg. In 1997, a female executive employee said that the mayor urged her ...
www.lifenews.com/2009/05/15/state-4148/ 

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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.

Film Screening & Discussion, Apr. 11, 2011: The Inconvenient Truth Behind 'Waiting for Superman'

Monday, April 11, is a busy evening. A GEM general meeting at CUNY at 5, a film screening of our movie at 6 at C.L.O.T.H and a hearing at Paul Robson HS in Brooklyn at 6PM. Friday there is an ICE meeting, a Fight Back Friday meeting - both at the same diner, and an event at the NYSUT convention (It's Apr. 8, do you know where your favorite Unity Caucus slug is?) at the Hilton at 6:30 where part of our movie will be shown. I have a feeling some people won't be happy because we don't call for the downfall of capitalism as one of our real reforms. But Unity Caucus will red-bait us anyway.

Thus, GEMers will be all over the place. I'm putting links to all these announcements on the sidebar.

On Monday, April 11th at 6:00 p.m., Community League of the Heights will host a community screening of “The Inconvenient Truth Behind Waiting For Superman,” the brand new NYC documentary challenging the ideology and prescriptions of the 2010 film "Waiting For Superman."

WHEN: Monday, April 11th, 6:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m.

WHERE: Church On The Hill, 2005 Amsterdam Avenue, 2nd Fl. (between 159th and 160th)

WHO: Parents, youth, educators, and other community members, especially residents of Washington Heights, West Harlem and Inwood.

PANELISTS INCLUDE: Julie Cavanagh, Film Director and Public School Teacher; Miriam Aristy-Farer, Public School Parent; Adam Stevens, Assistant Principal, Community Health Academy of the Heights; Dr. Sam Anderson, Black New Yorkers for Educational Excellence. Moderated by Joe Rogers, Jr., Founder & Facilitator, Total Equity Now.

Post-screening small group discussions and a Q&A with panelists will examine several teaching and learning-related themes covered in the film. Building on a similar screening and discussion of “Waiting for Superman” on March 28^th, this event will expose community members to additional, sometimes contrasting, perspectives on today’s pressing issues of education policy and practice.

Please join us!

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.

Panel Discussion on Teachers' Unions, Thursday, April 7, 2011 with Sam Coleman, Lois Weiner and Leo Casey

Well, 2 out of 3 ain't bad. Sam and Lois have a lot to offer. Watch Leo try to explain the UFT "we surrender" strategy.

Part of a three-part series continuing 2011-2012:

Citizen Teacher:  Discussing Teachers in Society 

Thursday, April 7 

6:00 - 7:30 pm 

at Bank Street School of Education 

610 W. 112th St. 

free and open to the public 

Discussing historical background of teachers' 

unions in NYC, strengths and critiques of unions, 

and union portrayal in the media. 

Panelists include: 

Leo Casey of the United Federation of Teachers  

Sam Coleman of NYCORE

Lois Weiner, Professor of Education and 

author of The Global Assault on Teaching, Teachers, and Their Unions 

and more TBA 

Sponsored by the Bank Street School of Education Council of Students

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.

The ICK Factor: People Who Run Charter Schools and Tweedies Look Alike

So I spent the evening at yet another phony baloney charter school hearing.  Every single charter school leader and the henchmen and women behind them look alike, walk the same way - or scurry like little rats clutching their Blackberries. And the hordes of Tweedies there to run the meeting and supposedly be neutral look just like them.

I'm really getting sick of them because they all have the same script:
Charter schools bus in loads of people wearing tee-shirts and make sure to get them there an hour early to stand in line so they can get first dibs on signing up to speak with their little scripts that will be sure to talk about how they grew up in the neighborhood, attended public schools, believe in choice, brag about how their kids love school and reading.

And the public schools trying to fight back. The IS 303 crew met in front of the schools and marched over to Lincoln HS for the meeting. Quite a spirited march.

This case is a doozy. IS 303, as I reported yesterday (Rally at IS 303 Today and March to Lincoln HS to Oppose Co-Location of Coney Island Prep Charter School), is being invaded by Coney Island Prep (CIP - as in CIP from the fountain of public funding.) IS 303 already has 3 schools - IS 303, Rachel Carson HS and a Dist. 75 program. So why not add a 4th school which wants to expand from 5-12 over time? We heard all the same old lying crap from the CIPers and Tweedies and your basic sleazy local politician.

A building is not a school.
This is only temporary - we have our own building just waiting for them but it is delayed.
All your schools are great but we need more.
choice, choice, choice, choice, choice, choice, choice, choice, choice, choice, choice, choice, choice, choice, choice, choice, choice, choice, choice, choice, choice, choice, choice, choice, choice, choice, choice, choice
Our kids are from the neighborhood.

I won't bore you with the rest of the list. I have lots of tape with great stuff from a former student and Julia Daniely and will post a follow-up.

Deputy Chancellor Marc Sternberg was in charge of the event. The first time I saw him up close and he reminds me of John White - sort of beginning to look like him, with the same air of superiority and arrogance. Sneaking looks at his Blackberry - until I filmed him and he hid it. Grimacing when people from both sides fought it out verbally, trying to drown each other out, making like he really cared about the chaos he and his Tweedy pals have brought to the public schools.

I really came away not liking this guy, sort of akin to how I felt when I saw Santiago Taveras interact with the CEC 14 meeting I taped on Feb. 28. The announcement that he was leaving came during the meeting and I'll have more to say and show you on this guy who actually staked his integrity on the fact that he believed the PEP and DOE actually listen to the voices of parents. (I have a half hour video up on this meeting - Voices of Parents, Teachers and Principals at Feb....
FYI- Taveras is taking a job with a DOE vender - how corporate of him. See: follow up to question re conflict of interest rules re Santiago Taveras and other DOE employees

I feel the same about Sternberg just watching his body language. Another possibly former good guy who turned to the dark side. They are all Darth Vaders.

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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.

Rally at IS 303 Today and March to Lincoln HS to Oppose Co-Location of Coney Island Prep Charter School

Coney Island is reacting badly to the co-loco at IS 303 of Coney Island Prep charter. We should have been following this situation more carefully. The reaction from IS 303 seems to be getting stronger and stronger, so I am changing my plans to head over at 5pm to tape the march to Lincoln HS for the hearing at 6. Here are some reports from a parent and a teacher:

The CEC 21 meeting was a shambles. Although it was supposed to be a regular cec meeting it was primarily a proposal co location meeting. many people did not get the time to speak, because one speaker representing CIP (Coney Island Prep) made some references of the 303 children not sharing with others and also she said that making this co-location is like the little rock 9. These comments were unnecessary and not true which almost started a riot. The school is multicultural and her "pulling the race card" was way, way out of line.The superintendent was scared after that and closed the meeting. The turnout was so big they had to turn people away. Public Hearing is today at Lincoln HS.

The CEO/Director of CIP has gone on record as saying the following:
"I came to Coney Island because it was the only place in the city that did not have a charter." He taught for a few years in Jersey before becoming this CEO/DIrector. Told administrators at PS 303 that he would be willing to pay rent so that principals in the school would have extra money to deal with budget cuts (what a guy). Many parents do not like the school but their children do. They brainwash the kids and use money as incentives. Parents were furious when the CEO/Director told them he may move the school outside of the Coney Island area. He wants his school to go from 5th grade through the 12th grade.

Some You Tube Videos of the CEC 21 March meeting regarding Co-Location Charter Proposal at 303.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zoY_3f6vH8&feature=player_embedded

While the UFT has often been absent in co-loco battles, having their own co-loco charters, UFT District 21 Rep Judy Gerowitz has been involved in every charter school fray in District 21 and 22, fighting the good fight.

Here is the CEC 21 resolution opposing the charter:

                                                                                                                 

·       521 West Avenue, Room 446, Brooklyn, NY 11224 Tel: (718) 714-2503 Fax: (718) 714-2615                                          Email: CEC21@schools.nyc.gov

·       Members:  Yoketing Eng, President  · Mohammad Akram, 1^st Vice President  · Julius Bowens, 2^nd Vice President · Marla Edmonson, Recording Secretary · Stuart Handman, Treasurer, Brooklyn Borough President Appointee  · Dionne Hastings · Dr. Tim Law, Brooklyn Borough President Appointee ·

                  Evangelean Pugh, Sandra Rodolico, Marianne Russo

·       Administrative Assistant:  Mary Montemarano              

·       Community Superintendent:  Isabel DiMola    District Family Advocate:  Lottie Dobson-Shannon  Administrative Assistant:  Diane Novarro 

         Room 351  Fax: (718)714-2616                         Tel: (718) 714-2505                                                      Tel: (718) 714-2502

                 

                                                VOTED AND APPROVED MARCH 9, 2011

RESOLUTION AGAINST THE CO-LOCATION OF CONEY ISLAND PREP INTO BUILDING K303 WHICH INCLUDES I.S.303, RACHEL CARSON HIGH SCHOOL AND P771K

WHEREAS, the K303 building is already occupied by three separate school communities, including I.S. 303K, RCHS and 771K; and

WHEREAS, the addition of 270 students from Coney Island Prep presents a hazardous situation for the current students of I.S. 303K, Rachel Carson High School (RCHS) and 771K; and

WHEREAS the current construction of the I.S. 303K facility is not designed to safely support the existence of four separate school populations; and

WHEREAS, the current design and placement of school facilities, specifically the student cafeteria and gymnasiums, does not support the safe passing of several hundred students from different schools at one time; and

WHEREAS, the school facilities that are expected to be shared with Coney Island Prep are already fully utilized throughout the school day; and

WHEREAS, I.S. 303K implements a unique instructional model that includes self – contained classes on the 6^th and 7^th grades to meet the academic, social and emotional needs of their students; and

WHEREAS, I.S. 303K students continue to benefit from their school’s current instructional design, and all members of the school community, including parents, teachers, School Leadership Team members and students, continue to fully support the current self contained model; and

WHEREAS, the above – referenced instructional model was included in the I.S. 303K’s Restructuring Plan that was submitted to the NYSED for the 2005 – 2006 school year; and

WHEREAS, the Educational Impact Statement (EIS) drafted by the Office of Portfolio Planning (OPP) proposed the termination of the I.S. 303K’s current self – contained model and has suggested that I.S. 303K reconfigure it’s educational plan to revert back to the traditional middle school footprint, despite the success of it’s current program; and

WHEREAS, the change of instructional programming proposed by the Office of Portfolio Planning contradicts the NYC Mayor’s and Chancellor’s vision of empowerment for school principals; and

WHEREAS, the OPP has indicated that Coney Island Prep can be allocated as many as eighteen classrooms (15 classrooms from I.S. 303K and 3 classrooms from RCHS); and

BE IT RESOLVED THAT, Community Education Council District 21 (CEC 21) is concerned about one thing, the children of this community and giving them the education that they deserve. I.S. 303 has undergone dramatic educational restructuring to better meet the needs of the students from our community.  These students continue to thrive as a result of the strong educational initiatives and vision of this school.  I.S. 303 has built a strong bond with the community that embraces what they do everyday on their children’s behalf.  The progress and performance of students in I.S. 303K, RCHS and P177K will be impeded by the co-location of Coney Island Prep; and

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT, the DOE must work to ensure that students and families in every community have high- quality educational options; and

THEREFORE BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT, CEC21 is against the co-location of Coney Island Prep into Building K303, which includes I.S. 303K, Rachel Carson High School and P771K.
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Would We Get Better Results if the Wall Street Journal Gave Merit Pay for Better Reporting?

"Of course, not everything you try works." 
- Joel Klein on wasting $57 million on failed merit pay schemes.

Hey, Joel, how about "nothing you tried worked?" Except turning the UFT into a wus, which in the ed deform world is all that really matters anyway.

From the Joel Klein School of Management

I was howling with laughter after reading this article on teacher merit pay in the WSJ today blaming poor results on the NYC merit pay boondoggle on the fact that entire schools got pay instead of individual teachers.

In 2007, New York City and its teachers union launched an experiment to determine whether rewarding teachers with extra cash would boost student performance.
Four years and $57 million later, the answer appears to be no. Backers of incentive pay are blaming the way New York's program was structured, and school and union officials are pointing fingers at each other.

Researchers posited that because the bonuses were based on how well entire schools performed, and how well they performed compared to similar schools citywide, the money didn't offer much incentive to individual teachers to excel.
"It was clear in 2007 that this plan wouldn't enable the best teachers to earn dramatically more, and therefore would likely be limited in long-term effect," said Bryan Hassell, co-director of Public Impact, a research and consulting organization that is often at odds with the teachers union. He wasn't involved in the studies.
"This plan paid chump change compared to what the best teachers should be earning for reaching more kids successfully," Mr. Hassell said.

Boy, if only they has offered individual teachers lots more money instead of chump change. The scores would have soared. Just like they did in Washington DC under Michelle Rhee.

The funniest lines in the entire piece belong to "no excuses" Joel Klein who always makes excuses:

"I believe and have always believed in merit pay at the individual teacher level," said Joel Klein, who was then schools chancellor. "The union would agree only to a schoolwide program. It made sense to try. Of course, not everything you try works," he said. Mr. Klein is now an executive at News Corp., which owns The Wall Street Journal. 

Poor Repert. He hires a guy who made a $57 million losing bet. A guy who believed individual merit pay would work but because the union wouldn't sign onto that tossed enormous amount of money into the trash because "It made sense to try."

No follow-up on this issue from reporter. Like, do you think it was wise to spend so much money that could have been used for real instruction or supplies on something you just wanted to try? Like in throwing it against the wall to see if it sticks?

Let's parse the reporting a little further:

Research is mixed on merit pay's success. A rigorous and closely watched study of a Nashville incentive-pay program found it didn't improve student test scores, while a study of Denver's merit-pay initiative found it attracted higher-quality teachers and kept them in hard-to-staff schools. [CONVENIENTLY LEAVING OUT - BUT DIDN'T IMPROVE SCORES]
But there is a key difference between those programs and New York's. Both Nashville and Denver directly linked performance pay of teachers to the performance of students in their classes. The Denver program also considers classroom evaluations as part of the bonus pay and allows teachers in non-tested subjects to get cash based on schoolwide improvements.

So, the Nashville experiment which DID use individual merit pay failed but Denver is somehow counterposed as not failing to justify saying "Research is mixed on merit pay's success" when in fact there it also failed in raising scores. In fact research has been clear that merit pay has been a total failure wherever it has been tried. But here comes a bait and switch tactic by saying the Denver experiment "attracted higher-quality teachers and kept them in hard-to-staff schools." Exactly what is meant by higher quality teachers? Based on what? Test scores? Or were they from Teach for America which automatically makes them higher quality in the world of ed deform?

A working paper (pdf) just released by Harvard University economist Roland G Fryer flatly contradicts the argument. In a randomised trial in more than 200 New York City public schools, he found "no evidence that teacher incentives increase student performance, attendance or graduation". On the contrary, Fryer reported that teacher incentives may actually decrease student achievement, especially in larger schools.

Another failed ed deform "experiment" on the children in this country. But why site research that refutes WSJ editorial policy? 

Sorry, I have to give this piece an "F". But I have an idea for how Rupert can improve the quality of reporting on the WSJ. Launch an experiment to determine whether rewarding reporters with extra cash would boost performance.

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Erasing the Rhee Miracle and Why the Venom -Gary Imhoff

UPDATED CONSTANTLY: Like every 10 minutes as more info on RheeGate comes in.
I just received Gary's follow-up to the Erasing the Rhee Miracle piece and posted it underneath - so even if you read this piece go on down and continue. And make sure to enjoy Failing Schools blog Dr. Seuss version of EraserGate.

• 
  GFBrandenburg's Blog

  DC Officials Once Again Covering Up the DCPS Cheating Scandal?
• 
  
  The Answer Sheet

  ‘Rhee the Reformer: A Cautionary Tale’
  
  Diane Ravitch: Shame on Michelle Rhee 

Erasing the Rhee Miracle

Dear Erasers:

Was the Rhee miracle — the rapid rise in standardized test scores in at least some DC public schools — in fact a miracle? Or was it a scam? Was it systematic cheating? Was there a scheme to erase incorrect answers on multiple choice questions and replace them with the correct answers? A well researched and well documented article by Jack Gillum and Marisol Bello in USA Today on Monday leads to the inescapable conclusion that DCPS, or at least several people who held power in positions within DCPS, told students and parents about improvements that students didn’t really make, told the people of this city about achievements that DCPS didn’t really make, and got paid bonuses from the DC and federal governments and private foundations on the basis of test scores that didn’t really improve.

Or at least that conclusion is nearly inescapable. DCPS is disputing it. Current Chancellor Kaya Henderson and past Chancellor Michelle Rhee are disputing it (though Henderson has now agreed to refer the matter to the Inspector General). They say that their internal investigation and the investigation by their paid consultant, Caveon, didn’t support the charges. So only the thing that supports the charges is the facts.

Mayor Vince Gray hasn’t taken a stand on this scandal yet, but he should soon. This isn’t his scandal. It happened under Mayor Adrian Fenty, Rhee, and Rhee’s deputy Henderson. Gray doesn’t need to claim it as his own and accept responsibility for it, though by hiring Henderson Gray has already associated himself closely with Rhee’s claims for the effectiveness of her so-called “reform” of DCPS.

It’s not the initial scandal that causes the most damage to a government or a politician; it’s the attempt to cover up the scandal. Gray can choose to defend Fenty’s and Rhee’s administration of DCPS over the past four years or to put some distance between them and him. He would be smart not to try to pass the investigation on to others, but instead to demand that his Deputy Mayor for Education and the State Board of Education conduct thorough independent investigations. (The city council and the State Board of Education have committed to hold hearings, but single hearings by either body will not be sufficient.) Besides, it’s the Deputy Mayor for Education who has the power and authority to supervise the Chancellor. Then the mayor needs to fire anyone in the DCPS hierarchy who is proven to have altered test scores, countenanced altering test scores, or known of the alterations and not reported them. Rhee fired teachers while making false, unsubstantiated accusations against them; the Gray administration should not duplicate that cruel carelessness. But the Gray administration should also not allow this scandal to be diminished or whitewashed. Let the die-hard Fenty and Rhee supporters try to excuse and explain away this scandal; it’s theirs.

USA Today article: http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2011-03-28-1Aschooltesting28_CV_N.htm?csp=hf
USA Today follow-up article: http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2011-03-29-dcschools29_ST_N.htm
DCPS response: http://www.dcpswatch.com/dcps/110328.htm
Caveon Test Security’s response: http://www.dcpswatch.com/dcps/110328b.htm
Rhee response: http://www.documentcloud.org/documents/73991-day-three-documents#document/p76/a13060
Politico article, Ben Smith, “Rhee, DC Defend Test Investigation,” http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0311/Rhee_DC_defends_test_investigation.html?showall
New York Magazine profile of Rhee, March 20 issue, http://nymag.com/print/?/news/features/michelle-rhee-2011-3/
Salon article, “Paranoid Michelle Rhee Blames Her ‘Enemies’ for Cheating Report,” http://www.salon.com/life/education/index.html?story=/politics/war_room/2011/03/29/rhee_cheating
Gary Imhoff
themail@dcwatch.com

April 3, 2011

Why the Venom

Dear Erasers:
Last Wednesday, the Washington Post’s editorial board downplayed the extent of the DCPS scandal about cheating on standardized tests that was uncovered by USA Today by implying the problem was limited to one school: “The report centered on Crosby S. Noyes Education Center in Northeast Washington, credited with dramatic boosts in student achievement. There were extraordinarily high numbers of erasures for three years at the school. One Noyes classroom averaged 12.7 wrong-to-right erasures per student on a 2009 reading test when the average for seventh-graders in all DC schools on that test was less than one.” Then it went on to list all the possible innocent reasons for such a high rate of erasures at Noyes that were speculated on by DCPS’s investigator, Caveon. But in the same day’s Metro section, reporter Bill Turque had given a more accurate assessment of the scandal: “The issue emerged Monday when USA Today reported unusually high rates of erasures on answer sheets in more than 100 DC public schools from 2008 to 2010. At some schools, wrong answers were replaced by correct ones at rates too high to be random, according to statisticians consulted by the paper,” and also on that day Jay Mathews’s blog said one of the most convincing things about the scandal was that it was widespread through more than a hundred schools. Of course, it may be too much to expect the Post’s editorial board to read the whole long report and its supporting documents in a competing newspaper, but they should have been able to describe the extent of the cheating scandal accurately just by checking with a reporter and a columnist in their own paper.

#####
Mathews and Turque, however, were caught in the middle of Michelle Rhee’s contortions after USA Today’s investigation was published. Rhee’s original reaction was to blast the USA Today reporters as enemies of education reform. She then spoke with Mathews and told him her initial comments were stupid and that cheating may have occurred. And then she spoke with Ben Stein at Politico and claimed that Mathews misquoted her — so that both Mathew’s article and Turque’s, which was based on her interview with Mathews, were wrong.

#####
But the question is not how many reporters and columnists Rhee will run over on her way to spinning the story. Rhee is gone from the DC schools now. The issue is whether this will be a new day in DCPS. Kaya Henderson’s reaction to the scandals, in her E-mail to DCPS principals and administrators last Friday (which was reprinted in full by Turque on Saturday), was “The one frustration I feel as a result of the recent allegations is that it has sullied the reputation of our hard working teachers and principals.” Henderson has telegraphed the message that teachers and principals will be the targets and the victims of any investigation that she or her allies run. If DCPS controls the investigation of the cheating, no investigator will be allowed to look into any potential involvement of DCPS administrators or central office. Under Rhee and Fenty, the first priority of DCPS was to construct and protect a false narrative of educational wonders in order to build administrators’ careers and reputations, while ruining the careers and reputations of hundreds of teachers. Below, Richard Rothblum asks me why I feel venomous toward Rhee, when she “tried to shake the system out of the doldrums.” That’s why.

#####
Post’s editorial downplaying the cheating scandal, “Cheating Allegations Can’t Mask Real Gains in D.C.’s Schools,”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/cheating-allegations-cant-mask-real-gains-in-dcs-schools/2011/03/30/AFeh8Q5B_story.html
Rhee’s original response to USA Today article: http://www.documentcloud.org/documents/73991-day-three-documents#document/p76/a13060
Jay Matthews column quoting Rhee as backtracking on test cheating issue:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/rhee-calls-her-remarks-on-test-erasures-stupid/2011/03/30/AFgUfe7B_print.html
Bill Turque’s article, “Rhee Now Concedes Students’ Test Answers May Have Been Erased,” http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/rhee-acknowledges-possible-cheating-on-school-tests/2011/03/30/AFBKaI5B_story.html
Jay Mathews’ blog item, “School List Reveals Size of DC Test Answer Erasure Issue,” http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/class-struggle/post/school-list-reveals-size-of-dc-test-answer-erasure-issue/2011/03/29/AF5j7xrB_blog.html
Politico article in which Rhee says Jay Matthews misquoted her:
Ben Smith, “Rhee, DC Defend Test Investigation,” http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0311/Rhee_DC_defends_test_investigation.html?showall
Bill Turque, “Henderson: Press Trying ‘To Knock Us Off Our Game,’”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/dc-schools-insider/post/henderson-press-trying-to-knock-us-off-our-game/2011/04/02/AFZSr5OC_blog.html
New York Magazine (correction, in the last issue of themail, attributed to The New Yorker) profile of Rhee, March 20 issue, http://nymag.com/print/?/news/features/michelle-rhee-2011-3/ Gary Imhoff
themail@dcwatch.com

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MUST READ AT NORMS NOTES. GEM'S JULIE CAVANAGH AND SAM COLEMAN WERE PART OF THE NYC DELEGATION

At Ford Foundation, a harsh critique of urban school closures

Running into a Former Student

With all the attacks on teachers, there are times when even I begin to question things I did as a teacher. Did I really put children first? Or was I just acting like a selfish adult?

I was at Long Island University on Friday in downtown Brooklyn to tape two former charter school parents for a final segment to our movie. We were waiting in the lobby for Leonie Haimson who was doing the interview. She was a little late. And I was glad she was. A woman was walking by and said, "Mr. Scott?" I looked at her. "It's Milagros," she said.

The minute she said her name I recognized her but wasn't sure from which year (they all run together now.) "You were in my 6th grade class, right?" "5th and 6th," she said. Poor girl, suffering me for two years. Yes, it came back quickly. I only moved up with a class twice. This was the '77 and '78 class. She must be in her 40's. Oy!

I had two great years with them, especially the 2nd year when there was no need to spend a month on routines. We really got rolling from the first day back.

And she was a pleasure to have in class. She told me she still lives in the old neighborhood. I had run into Milagros when she brought her young son to our school in the 90's. "Don't you have a son," I asked? "He's 22 now."Double Oy! "And I have an eleven year old too. I've been trying to find you on Facebook," she said. I gave her my card. "Oh," I asked as she started to walk away, "what are you doing here?" "I work in the library." YES! One after another as I run into former students I find they have jobs and careers. We weren't total failures as the ed deformers would have the world believe.

She started to walk away again, turned and came back, semi-whispering: "You were my favorite teacher."

Milagros, you made my day, week, month and maybe year. And best of all – she recognized me.

While I'm bragging: Here is a comment from another former student from the class of '82. This was the same 4th grade class that Ernie Silva, the actor, was in. I wrote a review of his one man show on Feb. 27 where I made the point that the role of teachers are overrated by the ed deformers (with evil intent) and Diane P. saw it on Facebook and left this comment on the blog:

Mr. Scott,

This review brought me to tears. As our fourth grade teacher (yes, we are all about 39 now YIKES) you were probably THE most influential teacher we had. Your grace and love for each of us still lives in our hearts today. It's ok to take pride in all our successes... you are a piece in our past that shaped our future! Thank you from your 39 year-old student.

Diane P.
class of 81-82

Of course in today's ed deform world, what's love got to do with it?
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Why Does Kenneth Brody Want to Remove Link to $100,000 Donation to Anti-Teacher Group?

Since its dramatic entry into Illinois in October 2010, when it donated more than a half million dollars to Illinois politicians prior to the November 2, 2010 election, Stand for Children has tried to push legislation through that most closely resembles the union-busting Republican laws that are now being passed in states from Wisconsin to Ohio. Stand for Children's Illinois law, called "Performance Counts," tries to make teacher strikes illegal and would bar the Chicago Teachers Union from negotiating over anything other than wages....  Substance

How does this tie into The NY Times Sunday Styles lead article today is Erasing the Digital Past about hiring online reputation managers to help recast their web profiles? It reminded me of an email I received last week.

Good afternoon,
I’m writing to inquire about your opt-out policy for your service, so my information does not appear in searches? Please let me know what the procedure for doing so? Thank you,

After asking for the link, I get this:

Thank you so much for your prompt response. Here is a link to the information I would like to have removed http://normsnotes2.blogspot.com/2011/01/back-to-search-results-archive-report.html. If you could remove the name Kenneth Brody, I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you very much.

So here is what Kenneth Brody wants removed:

Brody, Kenneth (Manager, DRW Trading Group). $100,000 (on December 23, 2010).

And what organization did Kenneth Brody give 100 grand too? Stand for Children. Instead of actually putting all that money into a school, Kenneth Brody joined other millionaires into funneling money into an anti-teacher campaign. Screw you Kenneth Brody.

The information was based on work done by George Schmidt of Substance in Chicago exposing Stand for Children. The April 1 edition of Substance had an article on a debate between Chicago Teacher Union president Karen Lewis and a shill for SFC. For a change from what we saw in NYC for so long and continue to see nationally, Lewis refused to play nice as she stood up and refuted the false facts SFC and all ed deformers are spewing.

Stand for Children Illinois Director Letoy Ridgnal tried and failed to repeat the organization's cliched answers to major questions about the public schools, while Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis continued to emphasize facts that Stand for Children and its wealthy supporters are trying to dismiss or ignore.






It took Phillip Jackson (right) nearly one minute to stop a tirade from Letoy Ridgnal (above left) when the "facts" Stand for Children had been quoting in Illinois were exposed as fabrications by CTU President Karen Lewis (center). Substance photo by George N. Schmidt.

Read the entire report.

Here is what George wrote to me on Jan. 22, 2011:

Norm:

Below is the lead of a story I'll be putting up at substancenews.net tomorrow and then expanding on through various investigations over the next months. In my opinion, it's the most important investigative story I've ever done. I think a similar story is probably in front of you in New York, but based on our experience here, we have to do this story ourselves, since our corporate media won't touch it or anything near it.

The amounts given by the individuals who were organized to finance the Stand for Children PAC in December 2010 are far beyond what any teacher or typical citizen could afford, leading to the observation that the Plutocracy (a government by the richest people) is trying to bash Illinois public schools and teacher unions behind a smokescreen of disinterested "school reform" groups. Stand for Children was based in Oregon at the time it made its initial contributions to Illinois politicians during the month before the November 2, 2010 election and finally opened a Chicago office in December 2010. One of the unanswered questions is how a group of the wealthiest people in Chicago and the suburbs learned about Stand for Children and decided to donate huge sums of money to it.
George Schmidt

Here is the lead:

Two of the world's wealthiest families, both from Chicago (the Crowns and the Pritzkers), and several of Chicago's wealthiest individuals (including Kenneth Griffin and Sam Zell), poured more than $3.4 million into the newest Political Action Campaign (PAC) fund in Illinois during the last months of 2010. Most of the money was contributed during December 2010. The result was that "Stand for Children Illinois" — which didn't exist four months earlier and only opened its Illinois offices in Chicago in December 2010 — had nearly $3.5 million in its PAC at the end of 2010. Stand for Children Illinois opened its first office in Illinois (at 300 W. Adams St.) in December 2010. The office was finally opened two months after Stand for Children began operations in Springfield with huge contributions to several Illinois politicians during the month prior to the November 2, 2010 election.

The pre-election campaign contributions totaled more than $600,000. They are in addition to the money now in the Stand for Children PAC and came through the Oregon headquarters of the group.

Stand for Children — along with the Illinois Business Roundtable, Advance Illinois, and the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago — sponsored and lobbied for the controversial legislation called "Performance Counts" during the lame duck session of the 2010 Illinois General Assembly. "Performance Counts" was defeated despite intense lobbying by the four powerful business groups in December and January 2010 - 2011 by a coalition of unions and community organizations committed to improving the public schools. Public school improvement in Illinois and elsewhere is now in stark distinction to corporate "school reform" of the type promoted by Stand for Children, a distinction that will become more clear during the years ahead. Stand for Children and its four allies have vowed to bring "Performance Counts" back, whole and in its parts, for 2011.

Nearly identical bills have been introduced in other states.

The contributors to the Stand for Children PAC in December 2010 are two of the world's wealthiest families, both of which are based in Chicago (and the Chicago suburbs), the Crowns and the Pritzkers. Others who added their wealth to the Stand for Children PAC during December 2010 include Sam Zell, the real estate speculator who bankrupted the Chicago Tribune Corporation, and several private equity chiefs. The private equity and hedge fund millionaires who put their money into Stand for Children include John Canning and Paul Finnegan (Madison Dearborn Partners), Kenneth Brody (DRW trading group), Kenneth Griffin (Citadel Group), and Matthew Hulsizer (PEAK6 Investments).

I have the entire list at the original posting on Norms Notes.

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HorseBlack Riding

As told to Ed Notes by Jaime Estades, NYC public school parent:
[edited for ed notes]

Roman Emperor and feared tyrant Caligula made his horse Incitatus a Roman citizen and a member of the Senate, thus showing his utter contempt for any shred left of democratic institutions in Rome. The members of the Senate were so fearful, they accepted Incitatus and treated him as a legitimate member of the Senate.

Two thousand years later, New York City Emperor Michael Bloomberg made Cathie Black the chancellor of the largest school system in the nation, thus showing his utter contempt for the institution of public education.The members of the educational corps were so fearful they treated Black as a legitimate choice for the role, not heeding the warning: do not do as the Romans do!

HorseBlack Riding- thanks to David Bellel for photoshopping

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Rhee the Reformer: A Cautionary Tale

A brilliant piece of work from Sabrina at Failing Schools as Dr. Seuss does in Michelle Rhee.

by Sabrina

A ton of smart people have already written a lot of smart critiques of “Erase to the Top”– otherwise known as the unfolding story about testing “irregularities” in the DC Public Schools under then-chancellor Michelle Rhee. (RheeFirst has a collection of all the coverage here.) So I won’t do a whole big prose-y deal today– it’s been done. However, as far as I can tell, I am the first to tell this story in the style of Dr. Seuss. Enjoy

Direct you tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAc6bcMetDM&feature=player_embedded




See:
Erasuregate at Rhee First

Perdido Street School

Calling On The FBI To Investigate The DC Testing Scandal

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Preview of Inconvenient Truth Behind Waiting for Superman - Still Not Finalized Yet

Friday: 7:30 WFS followed by panel discussion
Saturday: 4:30 WFS, 7:30 -ITBWFS followed by panels
Sunday: 5:30 - ITBWFS

Our film is being previewed along with Waiting for Superman at the Maysles Cinema in Harlem tomorrow (Saturday) and Sunday. Tonight at 7:30 they are showing WFS but GEM members will be on the panel, as we will tomorrow and Sunday. I'll be there tonight and Saturday. This is not the final version - I'm actually still interviewing charter school parents today and tomorrow for a final section of the film, which is about an hour long. Lots of exciting reactions - maybe even Diane Ravitch at the premiere if we can work dates out. Requests for our film are coming in from around the nation, a sign that all the hype around WFS has backfired.

I have always felt the film would reach the already committed and not do much for fence sitters, a goal being to activate people who are outraged at the attacks on public education. So this comment is very important to me since the commenter has a close relative who is a TFA alum and was a former charter school teacher and is now in a policy position in an urban environment ravaged by charters. She was also involved and still is in advertising and media.

Hi Norm:
Just finished viewing your film that answers "waiting for superman"...and I think your 'oeuvre' is just SUPER. AND DESERVES TO BE VIEWED ON N.Y. 1, MNN (for sure), maybe channel 21,....other public access channels throughout country......and wherever else you can place it. Sure there are some fuzzy images and too fast "pans"...but the editing is terrific. I wish you luck and success with it. The message must be heard. I am convinced.

Those fuzzies and fast pans are the result of my amateur attempts at cinematography, but considering this was literally a no budget film using the lowest level of equipment and edited in imovie by working teachers in their spare time, it is quite an achievement.