PPA gets temporary restraining order to halt closure!

I have just been informed that Queens County Supreme Court has granted Peninsula Preparatory Academy Charter School a temporary restraining order that puts its planned closure decision on hold. The case will be heard next week. This may be the first time such a thing has happened, as far as I know.
Josmar Trujillo
Peninsula Prep PTO Co-President
646 732 7734

Loretta Prisco On TDRs

A doctor offers you medicine for a very serious illness, perhaps fatal. She says there is a success rate of 99.9 percent, but it may advance the illness. Do you take the medicine?

Ah, but wait – before you swallow the first pill, the doctor tells you that there is a 53 point margin of error. Are you thinking twice about it?

The lawyer will take your case, assuring you that there is a 98% chance that you will win – a big time lawsuit – and asks for a payment of $10,000. Good odds, you jump, which line do I sign on? Did you write the check yet? You might want to put the pen away - there is a 53 point margin of error.

And so it is with the Teacher Data Reports released by the DOE to the world. There is a 53 point margin of error with the data! A teacher’s career will rest on a score that can be seriously flawed.

Some say that the data is valuable if calculated correctly. But I would like to dig deeper. Too often we read of the education “miracles” in Texas, Georgia, and D.C., only to find the massive cheating and dumbing down of tests that went on. Even here in the Empire State, scores had to be recalibrated.

Should a teacher be evaluated? Absolutely! How does one rate a teacher? That is another article. But we know how not to rate a teacher –by standardized tests. Common sense dictates that publicly humiliating and shaming a teacher will not improve teaching and learning. The Board on Testing and Assessment of the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences has warned that the data that will be used to evaluate teachers are so unstable that the that they cannot be considered fair or reliable enough to make operational decisions about teachers.

I always wondered why a student who was a high achiever in 4th grade could fall below standard in 5th. If a child is reading successfully, really reading, not test prepped in 4th grade, he should be successful in 5th, not “forget” how to read well. Most of us who are readers in our adult life did not lose our ability to read when reading instruction stopped at some point in school.

I always wondered why a student who was not a successful reader after attending school 10 months a year over 7 years, could go to a 6 week – half day summer program and voila, become an achieving reader. This, although out of the 30 half days, several days are spent testing, the teacher may have been absent at least one day, and the student out a few more. Do we hire magicians for summer school? Why not cancel year round school and send all children to school for a 30 day summer program? Imagine the money we would save!

Standardized tests are not any more than even the testing companies agree - a measure of a child’s ability on a particular day and should not be used, as the only measurement of a child’s ability or a teacher’s competence.

These are the dark days of education. We pummel our teachers and deny children the joy of learning and the opportunity to become life long learners and critical thinkers.
Diane Ravitch is absolutely right. “We will someday view this era as one in which the nation turned its back on its public schools, its children, and its educators.”

Loretta Prisco is a founding member of the Independent Community of Educators (ICE)

Videos: High Stakes Testing 101

UPDATED:
I removed the short 13 minute video and am replacing it with the full video - a 2 parter. I may still have to edit part 2 tonight so look for a new URL for part 2 by tomorrow.

High Stakes Testing 101 

Part 1: http://vimeo.com/38901880

Part 2: http://vimeo.com/38919400 

Sean Feeney was very impressive, as was Elijah Hawkes, the founding principal of James Baldwin HS who has left to move to Vermont. A nice contingent of teachers were there to support him. A friend who worked at Tweed and has met him and was very fond of him called me earlier in the day to make sure I said hello. Elijah's gentle manner came off so well. It was a pleasure to meet him.

There were some criticisms today that the debate and Q & A were too teacher centric and didn't deal enough with the impact of HS Testing on kids.

In prepping for the debate, Julie Cavanagh and I started discussion of a new GEM film based on HST and even though I did not fulfill my assignment to get interviews last might, the project will move ahead even with Julie about to reach the last 3 months of her pregnancy. We expect the rest of the Real Reform Studio crew to be part of the project, along with some new faces.

I had fun tweeting last night, pointing out that Shael's nose was growing every time he lied or distorted the truth -- which IS lying --- up until the Q and A when I had to manage the camera (and not too well as you will notice). I know there are actually Shael fans out there because he comes off as reasonable --- if you heard him last night you would think the gang at Tweed were real reformers. I don't buy it and though everyone seems to despise Mark Sternberg, I don't separate them. A Tweedie is a Tweedie.

See below the fold --- as usual with tweets in reverse order.

Gotham Schools report: City’s accountability czar fields criticism at forum about testing

Tweets below:

Francesco Portelos: Teacher Under Assault by Principal Linda Hill

UPDATE: Former students put up Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/ProtectPortelos

This is both an old and a new story.

You can't break Mr. Portelos!

Sunday at the robotics tournament at the Javits Convention Center I had the opportunity to meet and chat with Staten Island teacher and coach Francesco Portelos of the IS 49 SI team. He is the father of a 10 month old with another on the way. I found him one of the most engaging people I spoke to that day.

Before I go any further, I want to say that the teacher/coaches involved wit FLL robotics are amongst the most dedicated teachers I know. Francesco was giving up his entire Sunday (8AM-5PM)without being paid a dime.

I had been informed that he was under attack by his principal Linda Hill because he had asked a question at a Leadership Team meeting about the budget. I had heard he had a web site www.protectportelos.org but had not had a chance to check it out.

He told me decided to get more involved in activities outside the classroom. He became a UFT delegate and joined the School Leadership Team. He made it very clear: he can stand up to any heat and is willing to go to the mat no matter what happens, so read below with that in mind. He is one determined teacher to stay the course. If they try to fire this guy he will be the poster boy for LIFO and tenure.

One more thing. The role his UFT chapter chair who has stabbed him in the back and supported the principal. Think the CL is Unity Caucus? Wouldn't surprise me.

It turns out that the NY Post on Sunday had a page 4 article by Sue Edelman featuring his story and he wasn't happy that it opened with, "A teacher with a chip on his shoulder..." Given that Francesco was coaching the robotics team it should read, "computer chip."

He told me the principal had an investigation of him launched but he has no idea what it is about.  One day they showed up at his door and confiscated his school computer. They asked for his laptop and ipad. He told them since it was a half day they were home. So they ESCORTED HIM HOME to pick them up. Really unbelievable.

Now I know Sue Edelman (her aunt lives next door) and I called her with my outrage over why the Post wasn't at Javits doing a story about the kind of work Francesco and most teachers do (we had 82 teams there). I pointed out that he is a Polytech (one of our main backers) grad, a trained engineer who left the field to teach, which he has been doing for almost 5 years. (Thank goodness for tenure-- special note to e4e jackasses). Can you imagine how valuable he is to the school? But with asshole principals running around who think they are kings or queens, the mere fact of asking a question about the budget can lead to an attempt to destroy you.

Sue said the Post was actually sympathetic to him and said they would send a photographer. I never saw one --- must have slipped through the cracks.

Also, Cynthia R. Fagen who co-wrote the article came to Francesco's home one day in the usual slimy "60 minutes" style. I warned Sue as I am warning all reporters. Pull a surprise visit like these hit jobs on teachers and we will start publishing where you live and invite teachers to visit you when you get quotes wrong -- as almost every holier than thou reporter often does. When I raise this they have the nerve to say, "we're just giving the teacher a fair chance to respond." How about a phone call or a request for an interview? 

The article points out that his blog:

chronicles a worsening tiff that started when Portelos accused Hill of breaking the chancellor’s rules by not sharing the school’s $7.7 million budget with a panel of parents and staff tasked with reviewing it, a charge the DOE denied Friday. Soon after, Hill slapped Portelos with three letters in 10 days charging him with unprofessional conduct and insubordination. She accuses him of screaming at and cursing a fellow teacher — which he denies — sending a mass e-mail to staff without her approval and staying in school past 5:30 p.m. without her written permission.

Francesco stays in school working so late, he has been locked in once or twice.

Note the DOE denied the charge but there seems to be some proof in the years of School Leadership minutes which were just sent to me. It is 38 pages and if anyone wants to check them out email me and I'll send you the pdf. (See below).

You tell me if you think the Post article is favorable to him when it says, "

An IS 49 insider called Portelos “a loose cannon.”

Did they try to find a favorable quote? That is favorable?
Here is the caption from the article

ONLINE IRE: Francesco Portelos (above) has outraged IS 49 principal Linda Hill (below) by airing in-school disputes on the Web.

Is that caption amazing. He drew HER ire?


The story just took a leap when an email was sent out to a bunch of press people. Again, email me at normsco@gmail.com if you want a pdf of the minutes.

Sat March 24: Register for 2012 NYCoRE Conference!

Location: Julia Richman HS campus - 317 East 67th St.

Starting 8:45 (oy!) but come when you can. This is my 3rd Saturday in a row of getting up early for an all-day event. But I am off all week. What amazes me is how many working teachers are doing all this political work for NYCORE, GEM, TU, ODOE, etc. [Don't miss the rally this Thursday at the NY Post.]

And most of them are on the young end, for those vets who vilify the next-gen of teachers, mistakenly thinking they are clueless and even more clueless ala E4E.

I always find it funny how any event put on by E4E gets coverage (esp by Gotham Schools) while major events put on by the NY Collective of Radical Educators (NYCORE) are ignored even when NYCORE draws so much higher numbers and has so many more supporters than E4E.

I've been going to these all-day conferences for years (mostly so I can attend the after-party where I can feel young again -- well almost --- and no, I I do not suck the blood of young teachers when it gets dark). It is quite a day with hundreds of educators gathering for a number of workshops.

The GEM film, The Inconvenient Truth Behind Waiting for Superman, will be shown (at 11AM I believe). By the way, a check came in yesterday for $200 from the Georgia Federation of Teachers and the film is being shown at Mohican Sun by the Conn. Ed Assoc the weekend after next. And yes, the UFT boycott continues.

The GEM initiated high stakes testing committee, "Change the Stakes" will also be doing an afternoon workshop.

I will be there to tape during the day, including the keynote.
The final conference program is online

Last chance to register in advance for 2012 NYCoRE Conference this Saturday, March 24!

(There is on site registration too!)

NYCoRE Conference 3/24/12 http://www.nycore.org/conference Date: Saturday, March 24, 2012 at 8:45 AM (ET) Location: Julia Richman Education Complex, 317 East 67th Street We hope to see you Saturday at NYCoRE's 3rd Annual Conference.  A couple of announcements and reminders to make the day a success! The final conference program is now online.  WHAT A LINE UP! If you are coming, we recommend reading it over now and trying to make decisions about which sessions you want to attend.  The workshops are first-come first-serve, so get to your room early as they will be closed when full. We are happy to provide a delicious breakfast and lunch.  However, coffee has proven difficult on our end, so if you require a hot beverage to get you going in the morning - we recommend picking up a cup on your way in. Please arrive EARLY!  The keynote is going to be one of the highlights of the day!  Kevin Kumashiro will be discussing his new book Bad Teacher in which he breaks down how the mainstream framing of teachers is masking a broader attack on public education.  He will be joined by youth actors from the Bronx's DreamYard Action Project.  As always, we will open with a powerful performance by an Urban Word Poet. You will be sorry if you miss it!  Please be sure to arrive by 8:45-9:00 so you can register, have a pastry/bagel and get situated. Another new highlight this year is that our collaboration with DreamYard Action Project has resulted in creating new ways to better engage young people at the conference.  From a youth open mic lunch to more youth-led and -centered workshops, we are excited about this development.  There will be a flier with more details available at the youth registration table. We also have amazing conference T-shirts in traditional and "girl" cuts for just $10, so bring along some extra cash.  You'll also have the opportunity to pre-order the NYCoRE/Edlib Planning to Change the World Planbook for an early bird rate at the NYCoRE table.  There are many other amazing ally organizations tabling at the conference with great resources and information on how to get involved. Please stick around for the whole conference.  We are so lucky to have a talented group of young actors from DreamYard Action Project who are closing the conference with a powerful performance. Finally, after the closing performance, we will be heading one-block away for an after conference after party to continue the conversations and enjoy ourselves.  There will be drink specials for conference attendees. Please join us!  There is still time to register, so please spread the word over facebook, twitter etc!  --The 2012 Conference Planning Committee

VIDEO PART II - ROADS II CHARTER WILL DISRUPT SATELLITE ACADEMY HIGH SCHOOL

GEM's Angel Gonzalez is back with Part 2. See Part 1:

Video: Bronx Satellite Academy Pushes Back Against ROADS Charter Invasion

 Video and text by Angel Gonzalez.

Part 2.




http://youtu.be/ekTyMwl8D70

ROADS II CHARTER SCHOOL CO-LOCATION PUSHES INTO THE BRONX. WILL DISRUPT SATELLITE ACADEMY HIGH SCHOOL
YET NO COMMUNITY INPUT!

Another Charter School CO-LOCATION looms for the South Bronx and immediately threatens the very existence of our good innovative public high school, Satellite Academy (SA).

As usual, the callous Bloomberg's Department of Education (DOE), without any input of our parents, students, staff and Bronx communities, moves impose the ROADS II Charter School into the Bronx Regional High School Building complex where the three schools already exist (i.e. Bronx Regional, GED Plus, and Satellite Academy).

Without community input, the DOE arrogantly claims that ROADS II Charter School will have no educational impact. This is an insult our community's intelligence! The placement of hundreds more high needs students will have negative consequences on all the schools housed in the Bronx Regional High School complex. This is simple math.

All three high schools already serve a high needs Latino & Black student population from our least mobilized neighborhoods. All students in the Bronx Regional Building are transfer students -- over-age, under-credited and many formerly drop-outs. ROADS II aims to serve the same population that SA already serves while at the same time would take away 47% of SA's classroom space!

There is no need for the offerings of the ROADS II charter school. Satellite Academy already exists with a proven track record and offers a far more superior program with an experienced staff that has successfully served transfer students. SA implements a reputable collaborative project/ portfolio learning process that engages students, and has a State-approved Waiver to support its non-Regents-tests-based approach.

ROADS II CHARTER, with the private backing of an outside Wall St. profit driven firm, Centerbridge Partners, comes from outside the Bronx community and promises an questionable computer-based method (promising 15 students per class, ROADS II will instead host 25 students per class where teachers work with small groups while the rest will be placated on computers) and teach-to-test curriculum with a focus on Regents exams. ROADS thus will provide more of the same old methods that contributed to the alienation and pushing out of "transfer" students in the first place. Test-driven teaching negatively impacts on learning.

By adding more students into the Bronx Regional building and segregating these needier students into ROADS II, what results is overcrowding and heightened tensions between four, instead of three schools that all already service very high need students. Instead of using available spaces to promote smaller class sizes, this crowding can result in a negative climate that will beg for demeaning metal detectors, surveillance cameras and the police interventions. The co-location of the ROADS II Charter School is an invitation for unwarranted competition, disharmony and disruption.

The Bronx Regional campus is extra-ordinary in that it is one of the few Bronx high school buildings that to date has no such prison-like scanning, stop & frisk protocols. Instead has a generally more student friendly and welcoming atmosphere. In fact, it holds no scanning as a building-wide policy!

SA classrooms are welcoming with rich learning and decorated environments (a family school atmosphere rarely seen at the high school level). Make an unannounced visit to SA and a respectful low-volume demeanor of the staff will blow you away. The ROADS II co-location would force the doubling-up of teachers and the dismantling of such a wonderful model school that all students deserve.

If more students must be placed here, the public believes that Satellite Academy should be expanded and this fourth unnecessary competing school, the private ROADS II CHARTER, should not be accepted. Its impact can only be negative for all programs at the site.
The ROADS II CHARTER, as many charters do in the interests of savings and profits, will introduce instability in its staffing by:
• Hiring younger lower paid inexperienced teachers and staff who will be compensated with less overall benefits (e.g. medical, pension, vacation, tenure).
• Denying labor rights. Charters are generally union-busters and provide either no contracts or few rights and regulations to protect their school workers.
• Demanding longer workdays and longer school years.
Evidence has shown that a staff that is lower-paid and overworked has resulted in charters having a high rate of attrition. A high rate of turnaround for faculty and staff is obviously not in the best interests of our students, schools or communities.

www.savesatellite.blogspot.com
betterbronxschools@gmail.com

Category:

Education

Tags:

• ROADS II Charter
• Seth Litt
• Satellite Academy
• Colocation
• Bloomberg
• school privatization
• Race to the Top

Debate Monday: High Stakes 101 in Brooklyn

GEM's Janine Sopp sent this along. She has been a major player with the GEM high stakes testing committee, which has involved with the opt-out movement in the Change the Stakes campaign.

Hello All!

I hope this finds you well. Together with many others, I have been busy putting together a panel* on high-stakes testing that will take place at BNS on Mon March 19. It's being sponsored by the BNS/BCS (PS146) PAC and PS 29 and we are hoping for a full house of folks--from lots of schools and throughout the community.

 

I am sure you are learning about our event through the numerous listservs we are all connected to and have possibly been invited already.  I'd love to invite you to help spread the word on your listservs and with our posters in advance and also invite you and your organizations to bring information about the great work you are doing around these issues.  We will have 2 or more information tables for hand outs, books, petitions, dvds or any other literature you have to share, and if you would like to speak with visitors, this would be a great way to explain what you are doing.

 

Please let us know if you will attend or send someone, or can leave materials for us to display.  Also, let us know if you have any special requests.

 

I am attaching a jpeg here that is good for sharing electronically (to listserv, FB page, etc.) as well as 2 color posters and on b + w.

Since we are providing childcare and pizza for the children, we hope this makes it even easier for families to attend what we expect to be a timely, lively and informative panel.  (See details below)

 

All the best,

Janine Sopp

HIGH STAKES 101

What does high stakes testing mean

for our children?

our teachers?

our schools?

MONDAY, MARCH 19 at 6:30pm

*Education reporter Meredith Kolodner (Daily News, InsideSchools) 

will moderate a panel discussion with distinguished guests: 

Shael Polakow-Suransky
Chief Accountability Officer of the NYC Dept. of Education

Sean Feeney

Principal of the Wheatley School and Author of the New York Principals APPR Position Paper

Elijah Hawkes

Former Principal of The James Baldwin Expeditionary Learning School

Q&A TO FOLLOW

If interested in CHILDCARE and PIZZA (starting at 6 PM, $5 suggested donation), RSVP to rsvp@bns146.org

THE BROOKLYN NEW SCHOOL AUDITORIUM

610 HENRY STREET @3rd PLACE

F or G to Carroll St. station, exit 2nd Place

The Dynamics of Acting at Rockaway Theatre Co Begins April 15

My acting teacher Frank Caiati is back in action with a new class. With Frank teaching you do not need experience. Without this class I never would have been able to make my acting debut (and my acting exit) in "The Odd Couple." (What I Am Learning From Acting 101).


THE DYNAMICS OF ACTING Sundays- Apr. 15, 2012-June, 10, 2012 10:00am-12:00 

Study basic theatre crafts, characterization, improvisation, script analysis, scene development, audition technique, proper use of voice, body movement and various other essential elements of the actor’s craft. This class will be taught by our own actor/ director/playwright and all-around audience favorite, Frank Caiati. Open to all levels- Some acting experience may be helpful but is not required.

Tuition for this class is $200.00     Instructor- Frank Caiati  No Class on May. 27

  
As per usual, RTC members receive a substantial discount on tuition.

Frank sent this message:
 

Please let me know as soon as you can, via Email, if I can expect you on the first day. 

I'd love to see you all there!

We'll have lots of fun...and maybe even some classes outdoors!

Email Frank if interested: FCaiati@aol.com

New GEM Video: Williamsburg Battles Success Academy Charter School

The struggle goes on.

Los Sures fights against Success Academy Charter School




http://youtu.be/Ph7lCgWfzTY

FIRST Robotics All Weekend at Javits, March 16-18

Starting today and running through Sunday, NYC schools will be participating in a variety of robotic competition events sponsored by FIRST.

UPDATED:
Some Food Factor Links

2011 Food Factor Challenge | FIRST LEGO League

firstlegoleague.org/challenge/2011foodfactor
The FLL Core Values are the fundamental elements that ... In the 2011 Food Factor Challenge, over 200000 9-16* year olds from over 55 countries will explore ...
FLL 2011 "Food Factor" Robot Game EN - YouTube


► 8:21► 8:21
www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvdTbTf4G0kSep 5, 2011 - 8 min - Uploaded by FLLHot
This film explains missions and points of FLL Robot-Game 2011 "Food Factor - Keeping Food Safe". Please ...
FLL 2011 Food Factor Missions - YouTube


► 8:21► 8:21
www.youtube.com/watch?v=xf_bQbPYLT8Sep 3, 2011 - 8 min - Uploaded by bgcalbanyor
These are the missions for this year's Lego Robotics Tournament.
FLL Project DVD - Food Factor season - YouTube


► 20:44► 20:44
www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFBBnyz8syMJun 27, 2011 - 21 min - Uploaded by FLLGlobal
The OFFICIAL FLL Project DVD for the 2011 Food Factor season. A rookie team's guide to the FLL Project ...
More videos for food factor fll »
FIRST Sites

https://gofll.usfirst.org/

Food Factor Challenge

This has been my 9th year of involvement with one particular aspect of the multiple events -- FIRST LEGO League, a tournament for kids aged 9-14 which covers elem, middle and even the 9th year of high school. More on that below.

And check out  my robotics blog for all updates: http://normsrobotics.blogspot.com/

I urge anyone connected with education to come on down and check it out for a view of education the way it should be -- no test prep here.

All events are free and open to the public.

Also, if you are thinking of getting your school involved for next year this is a MUST ATTEND event. Contact me for more information: normsco@gmail.com.

The major events:

FIRST LEGO League (FLL): All day Sunday- I will be there all day

This is where I am involved. Contest is on an 8x4 table -- there are 12 of them.
Each year there is a theme. This year it is Food Factor. Robots made out of LEGO and programmed complete tasks in 2.5 minutes based on protecting the food supply. Each team gets 4 rounds.
Also -- a research and technical presentation takes place in front of judges.
This is a great program and we have 82 teams from all parts of the city -- public, private and charters. And home-based.
There were 5 borough tournaments in January with around 150 teams to get down to these 82. Check the norms robotics blog for the lists, layouts, etc.
If you come I will be spending most of the day at the entrance to the pits where the kids get to hang out in between competitions.
 

JFLL - Junior for 6-9 year old - Sunday 9-12
There will be an exhibition -- a good way to start kids out early.

FRC - FIRST Robotics (today-Sunday)- High School

These are the big guys -- 6 robots on the field at the same time -- 3 on each side. And the schools shift partnerships throughout the weekend. Semis and finals are Sunday afternoon. Schools can come from all over the nation and abroad.

FTC - Saturday all day -- middle and high school-- using metal kits.

Worth checking out if you want something more advanced than LEGO but not as complicated as FRC.

The Wave: Hey Bob Turner! Where’s MY Tax Credit?

Appearing in the print edition, March 16, 2012, www.rockawave.com

By Norm Scott

I was heartened to read in the March 9 edition of The Wave that our soon to be ex-Congressman and future Senator Bob Turner was pushing the idea of a $5000 direct tax credit for any parent paying parochial or private school tuition. In a spirit of religious harmony, leaders of both Yeshivas and Catholic Schools jumped on the bandwagon in supporting the bill. The Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Taosists, Shintoists and Voduns (Voodoo) can’t be far behind. Who can resist the entitlement money tree, especially when it comes out of our taxes? Didn’t Republican District Leader Joan Deacy brag about how Turner has sponsored 30 pro-business bills? This one should be a real winner. (I tried to count the number of bills Turner sponsored that support unions or people who don’t own businesses but haven’t come up with any yet. But I’m sure they’re coming.) I join both of them in supporting the concept of “choice”, especially when it comes to public services.

My sanitation guys do a great job but they come Tuesdays and Fridays. I really prefer Mondays and Wednesdays. I was about to sell my house and buy a home on a street with those pickup days but thanks to Bob Turner and that tax credit I can have my choice of a private carting firm which will come any days I want. Boy, do I love this choice thingie.

I know how overworked the police are in Rockaway and I’d feel more secure if I could hire a private security firm to assure my safety. Thanks for the five grand Bob.
And then there’s the fire department, which is no closer to my house than a mile. I want a fire engine on my block full-time. That five grand will certainly help when I get all my neighbors to sign on to the tax credit idea and we pool our money. We might even be able to afford a truck with a ladder.

And then there’s all those countries my taxes have paid for to invade and occupy, certainly not my top pick in nations to invade. My choice is to invade Luxembourg. But five thousand will only go so far. So I need help in financing the invasion. If we can get lots of people together Bob has promised to deliver on those tax credits. I’m already loading the kayaks.

But education is where there is gold in them thar hills. I might as well jump in myself by opening a school aimed at teaching children not to believe in religion: The Academy for a Godless Education (AGE). Shouldn’t atheists have choices too? And if I can’t get a tax credit I can always go the charter school route where I can get $1500 for every child I recruit. What me worry about separation of church and state? I have people like Bob Turner and every single potential Republican nominee for president to back me up.

I wanted to join Rick Santorum in a vomit fest when I read Howie Schwach's critique in The Wave last week of Santorum’s being sickened over John F. Kennedy’s guarantee in 1960 that he would not impose his Catholic faith on the rest of America. OK, so I’m a Jewish atheist. But if Santorum is elected and redresses Kennedy’s blasphemous statement, I’ll convert. Twice.

Before I invade Luxembourg (the reason is we once spent two days in 1978 in a hotel over a bar where the noise kept us up half the night), Chris Pavone, the son of one of my best friends Vera Pavone, has written a very hot spy novel, “The Expats”, based in that tiny nation. The book got a wonderful review by Janet Maslin on this week’s NY Times. The story is about a CIA agent who gives up her job to become a stay at home mom when her husband, who knows nothing of her past life, gets a high paying job in Luxembourg and they move there with their two children. In real life, Chris was that “mom” when his wife got a job and they moved with their twin boys. So Chris got to know a lot more about Luxembourg than he wanted to. Out of his boredom came a great novel.

I've known Chris since he was 3 years old. His mom and I have been part of educator activists groups for over 40 years. Chris survived endless ed-political meetings throughout his childhood and lived up to his guarantee he would never become a teacher, (his brother has become a NYC teacher). Chris is back in NYC and a public school parent. How about a novel about a CIA agent who becomes a member of the PTA in the WalBloomBlackKlein era and discovers that closing schools and privatizing the entire public school system is part of an international Al Qaeda plot?

When Norm is not coming up with schemes to steal money from the evil government he blogs at ednotesonline.com.

Desparate Measures From Bloomberg to Hire New Teachers: Loan Reimbursement

If you are not already NYSED-certified, there are several ways to obtain certification.  ---NYCDOE Office of Teacher Recruitment and ---cough, cough -- Quality.

Amongst the "several ways to obtain certification" if you are not NYSED certified:

• Walk Walcott's dog.
• Spend a week sweeping the steps at Tweed.
• Hand in a 30 word essay on why you want to close the achievement gap. (If you can't manage 30 we'll take 10).

With the economy improving, Bloomberg's threat to close 33 high schools, along with the other school closings and replace the teachers with newbies may be running into a recruitment snag, showing some desperation in the offer to repay as much as $25,000 in student loans.

Bloomberg in drag

Connect this to the Cuomo attack on pensions --- work till you are 95 to get a pension  – it is really irrelevant how long they make newbies work since there is no intention of having to pay any teacher pensions given that 50% --- going up, up, up – will leave before 5 years. And the rest? Ta, da – doomed to TDR hell.

We first heard of the offer of a loan rebate of sorts when I got a call from an outraged ATR on Monday morning who had just seen an ad on the A train. She called again this morning asking why the union was sitting idly by and not raising the issue.

La di da.What's the problem with adding a few more thousand ATRs who will play musical schools all year? The UFT will get double or triple dues (2 newbies plus the ATR they replace). Expect an upgrade to the food served at Exec Bd meetings.

Here is the email Leonie sent out with the real story:

Mayor Bloomberg recently announced that top tier graduates may be eligible for a total of $25,000 toward student loan repayment.

http://www.idealist.org/view/job/n6zcMHN2n3H4/

Teaching Positions in New York City

Posted on: March 12, 2012
Posted by: NYC Department of Education Office of Teacher Recruitment & Quality

More / LessDescription

Teaching in New York City
The New York City Department of Education is looking for bright, motivated, and dedicated teachers who are prepared to be inspiring leaders in their classroom and raise achievement for every student. With over 1,700 schools and 1.1 million students, New York City provides endless opportunities for teachers, whether you are beginning or continuing your teaching career. Nowhere else in the country will you have so much potential to meaningfully impact your students and your professional career.
Our schools, ranging in size from 200 to 4,000 students, each provide a unique educational experience for students and teachers alike. From Coney Island to Midtown Manhattan to the South Bronx, NYC schools span an immense geographic area, leaving you with countless school communities to find a home. Many schools are theme-based, with specializations ranging from technology to the performing arts to sports management. With New York City schools’ partnerships with more than 200 arts and cultural organizations, our teachers have access to resources and institutions unmatched anywhere else.
The New York City public schools are committed to the promise of delivering educational opportunity to all students and have embarked on an innovative initiative to raise the bar of academic instruction. As a teacher in New York City public schools, you will be a key player in this exciting and fulfilling endeavor.
To view our online Info Session on teaching in New York City, please click here.
Compensation and Benefits
We understand how vital an outstanding teacher is to the development and success of every child, which is why our teachers earn competitive starting salaries ranging from $45,530 to $74,796 based on prior teaching experience as well as their undergraduate and graduate education.
As a New York City teacher, you may be eligible for additional income through a wide array of incentives and school positions that will stretch and challenge you as an educator as well as offer additional compensation. For example, Mayor Bloomberg recently announced that top tier graduates may be eligible for a total of $25,000 toward student loan repayment.
Additionally, teachers in New York City are entitled to competitive retirement and health benefits as well as employee discounts on a variety of goods and services.
Requirements
To apply to teach in New York City, candidates must first meet the following requirements:

• Meet requirements for a New York State Department of Education (NYSED) teaching certification. If you are not already NYSED-certified, there are several ways to obtain certification.

• Complete an online teacher application at TeachNYC.net

Afterburn
Did you see this one a Gotham Schools?
New test security office formed after state audit details faults

 Ed Notes has learned that former DC Supt Michelle Rhee and former Atlanta Supt Beverly Hall have been placed in charge of the office which will be managed by the consultant firm of Alvarez and Marcal.

Refining the Message: Obama and Bloomberg and the UFT and CTU

My version of Bob, Carol, Ted, Alice.

Some good points from Arjun Janah based on the recent lunch between Obama and Bloomberg. Unfortunately the people battling ed deform don't have anywhere to go in the presidential election --- and don't expect things to change. Arjun also points to Cuomo who was supported by the UFT and NYSUT. Listen, government will always be against labor. With a waffling union where else can one go?

Now Chicago is where there is some real action. While the results may be the same in terms of closing schools, charter co-locos, etc. the Chicago Teachers Union is engaging in a battle that might have long-term effects. I imagine that in the 2013 election, the powers that be will do everything they can to support whatever remnants of the old Unity-like Caucus exists (and I won't be shocked if Randi and her crew are nervous about the difference between the CTU and the rest of the AFT). Below Arjun's points I'm including some comments from George Schmidt on what is going on in Chicago.

George makes the point that the CTU has linked all the struggles to each other along with the community while the UFT here has kept each school basically apart. At most they plan venting sessions. (John Dewey HS Leads Opposition at Meeting With Elaine Gorman).

Note the borough events like today --- separate actions with even the Queens one turning into a press conference. The UFT without a true fight back strategy has been left floundering (some of the 33 schools are organizing by themselves.)

The main point in teaming these together is that a major reliance on political action given the state of the two parties on ed deform is a distraction. At least until we can bring an enormous number of people to the table to bargain with. The UFT reliance on back-room deals is a dead end for rank and file teachers though as I point out it is not a dead end for the leadership and their cadre as the difference between the Democrats and Republicans is that the latter wants to wipe out unions completely while the former just wants to neuter them and use them to control the members to keep militancy at bay. Thus, the Dems will concede a few minor things when faces with some pushback, which in my mind makes them infinitely more dangerous.

By the way, since I posted this Occupy DOE: Educators Stand Up to Murdoch's NY Post - March 22, 5PM I've been getting some responses from rank and filers asking to post the pdf in their school.


Arjun Janah

While Santorum and Gingrich appear to appeal directly to the insane sections of society, and Romney shamelessly caters to the same to get elected, you can see that Obama belongs, owing to his associations and supporters, in the same bracket as Bloomberg, who is viewed, correctly in relative terms, in much of the country and even in New York, as a moderate, with political views not that far from Obama's -- or his secretary Duncan's, who presided over the attack against the union and the dismantling of the public schools in Chicago, much as Klein did here, only far more fiercely and with even more disastrous results.

What teachers who have attained relatively high salaries and, with spouses also working, attained upper middle class status, do not realize is that they are in the same class, basically, as security guards, custodians and other public workers. The custodians unions' will also be dealt with, but with delay -- as they are, over here, predominantly white and the teachers present a far more visible target at present. Our degrees are of little use against the attack, which is from both Republican and Democratic quarters, although clearly fiercer from the former. Look, however, at Cuomo -- whose views were, by the way, clear before he got elected, endorsed by the NY Post. Obama's views on teachers were also clear before he got elected, for anyone who was paying attention. His views are not crude or pandering like those of Gingrich and Santorum, but informed by those of the educated, affluent class with which he has been associated and from whom he has drawn financial and logistic support.

Oprah, an enthusiastic supporter of Obama's initial campaign, also later supported Kathy Black as she had, I believe, Michelle Rhee and Arne Duncan. The affluent elite among the African Americans have aligned with the affluent liberal whites on issues that they see in a positive light but we who have closer acquaintance with the reality do not. In a recent article in the NY Times on the alleged budgetary crises in many municipalities in NY State, with many now borrowing from pension funds

to meet current expenses (boding very badly for folks like us), I was shocked at the tenor of the comments, which basically were mostly in the vein,

"Just don't pay the pensions. Why should public workers have pensions when the private sector does not? It's the unions ripping of the taxpayers. It's time to stop this."

You and I may have arguments against this faulty logic -- but this appears to be the general view, not among readers of the NY Post, by the way, but among those of the NY Times.

Arjun

George Schmidt responding on the relative role of community fightback in relation to the role the CTU has played.

Don't underestimate the role of the CTU in building these links. Without the election victory we won in 2010 and the program the union leadership is committed to, most of these individual school struggles, no matter how heroic, would be unlinked. The difference between this year and years past in the school Hit List fight, despite the fact that the Board of Education again approved the Hit List at its February 22 meeting, is the leadership of the Chicago Teachers Union. That cannot be downplayed, and there may be a tendency to overemphasize the "community" and de-emphasize the union. That would be historically inaccurate and a significant political mistake.

Teacher Data Reports: The 99% Strike Back

From a Bronx teacher:

Hi all,

Recently data reports for thousands of NYC teachers were released.  I have organized a group of teachers who were ranked in the 99th percentile to come out against the data and its publication.

GothamSchools published two pieces about our efforts.  Would take a few minutes to read the articles to which I've provided links?  If you are able, please help get the word out by Tweeting, Facebooking, Liking, +1ing and whatever the heck else people do?  The more who read it, the better chance my group has of getting more signatures.

http://gothamschools.org/2012/03/14/teachers-campaign-against-system-that-gave-them-high-scores/trackback/

http://gothamschools.org/2012/03/14/measuring-my-value/trackback/

Thank you.

Video: Bronx Satellite Academy Pushes Back Against ROADS Charter Invasion

 Video and text by Angel Gonzalez.



http://youtu.be/J9ZbgXQYwdg

ROADS II CHARTER SCHOOL CO-LOCATION PUSHES INTO THE BRONX. WILL DISRUPT SATELLITE ACADEMY HIGH SCHOOL
YET NO COMMUNITY INPUT!

Another Charter School CO-LOCATION looms for the South Bronx and immediately threatens the very existence of our good innovative public high school, Satellite Academy (SA).

As usual, the callous Bloomberg's Department of Education (DOE), without any input of our parents, students, staff and Bronx communities, moves impose the ROADS II Charter School into the Bronx Regional High School Building complex where the three schools already exist (i.e. Bronx Regional, GED Plus, and Satellite Academy).

Without community input, the DOE arrogantly claims that ROADS II Charter School will have no educational impact. This is an insult our community's intelligence! The placement of hundreds more high needs students will have negative consequences on all the schools housed in the Bronx Regional High School complex. This is simple math.

All three high schools already serve a high needs Latino & Black student population from our least mobilized neighborhoods. All students in the Bronx Regional Building are transfer students -- over-age, under-credited and many formerly drop-outs. ROADS II aims to serve the same population that SA already serves while at the same time would take away 47% of SA's classroom space!

There is no need for the offerings of the ROADS II charter school. Satellite Academy already exists with a proven track record and offers a far more superior program with an experienced staff that has successfully served transfer students. SA implements a reputable collaborative project/ portfolio learning process that engages students, and has a State-approved Waiver to support its non-Regents-tests-based approach.

ROADS II CHARTER, with the private backing of an outside Wall St. profit driven firm, Centerbridge Partners, comes from outside the Bronx community and promises an questionable computer-based method (promising 15 students per class, ROADS II will instead host 25 students per class where teachers work with small groups while the rest will be placated on computers) and teach-to-test curriculum with a focus on Regents exams. ROADS thus will provide more of the same old methods that contributed to the alienation and pushing out of "transfer" students in the first place. Test-driven teaching negatively impacts on learning.

By adding more students into the Bronx Regional building and segregating these needier students into ROADS II, what results is overcrowding and heightened tensions between four, instead of three schools that all already service very high need students. Instead of using available spaces to promote smaller class sizes, this crowding can result in a negative climate that will beg for demeaning metal detectors, surveillance cameras and the police interventions. The co-location of the ROADS II Charter School is an invitation for unwarranted competition, disharmony and disruption.

The Bronx Regional campus is extra-ordinary in that it is one of the few Bronx high school buildings that to date has no such prison-like scanning, stop & frisk protocols. Instead has a generally more student friendly and welcoming atmosphere. In fact, it holds no scanning as a building-wide policy!

SA classrooms are welcoming with rich learning and decorated environments (a family school atmosphere rarely seen at the high school level). Make an unannounced visit to SA and a respectful low-volume demeanor of the staff will blow you away. The ROADS II co-location would force the doubling-up of teachers and the dismantling of such a wonderful model school that all students deserve.

If more students must be placed here, the public believes that Satellite Academy should be expanded and this fourth unnecessary competing school, the private ROADS II CHARTER, should not be accepted. Its impact can only be negative for all programs at the site.

The ROADS II CHARTER, as many charters do in the interests of savings and profits, will introduce instability in its staffing by:

• Hiring younger lower paid inexperienced teachers and staff who will be compensated with less overall benefits (e.g. medical, pension, vacation, tenure).
• Denying labor rights. Charters are generally union-busters and provide either no contracts or few rights and regulations to protect their school workers.
• Demanding longer workdays and longer school years.
Evidence has shown that a staff that is lower-paid and overworked has resulted in charters having a high rate of attrition. A high rate of turnaround for faculty and staff is obviously not in the best interests of our students, schools or communities.

www.savesatellite.blogspot.com
betterbronxschools@gmail.com


========
Eva's husband Eric Grannis invades Williamsburg with new charter chain.
Read the community response:
http://www.williamsburggreenpointschools.org/truth-about-charters/citizensoftheworldcharternewyork

Warning to Staff: Walk Through – Not Friendly

This message was sent out to a school staff at one of the 33 closing schools.

Subject: Walk Through--Not Friendly

Deputy Chancellor Mark Sternberg and his assistant will be visiting for a few hours. This is not a ‘friendly’ visit. They are looking for mistakes. They will come across as ‘nice’ and as ‘your best friend’ but they are wolves in sheep’s clothing. Be sure that your class is rigorous, engaged, active, differentiated. Classroom walls should have current artifacts (or at least take down anything older than Fall 2011). I will try to let you know where they will be and when but no guarantee.

I know schools are praying these shits will find something that will keep the school open. But Sternberg is a ghoul in the tradition of John White. What I would do is slam every door in their faces and refuse to cooperate. What I want so see is them running from the school with rotten fruit raining down on their heads. It won't do any good in keeping the school open but it sure will make people feel good and regain some self-respect.

You know in British Columbia every teacher refused to fill out report cards. There has to be some action of mass refusal that will not allow Tweed to do business as usual in a comfortable manner. But without a union to organize these actions the wolves in sheep's clothing will continue to lead the sheep to the slaughter. My question is, are our union leaders also wolves in sheep's clothing?

John Dewey HS Leads Opposition at Meeting With Elaine Gorman

March 13, 2012
 

John Dewey HS teacher-created button. Email for copy.

Last night the UFT and Brooklyn Borough Pres Marty Markowitz set up a venting meeting with Elaine Gorman. Call it damage control on the part of the DOE and the UFT. I still believe some deal will be in the works to keep a few of the schools open. On what basis? Let's see now. The big ticket item for the UFT is Maxwell HS which got an A. And note that is the base of UFT District HS Rep/Slug Charlie Turner. Maxwell is a strong Unity school and if any school is off the chopping block that will be it. John Dewey has the biggest pushback with the most publicity and also a Unity chapter leader. Could that be the ticket for them?

In the meantime, Tweed is advertising for new teachers to replace the ones who won't be hired and pushed into the ATR pool (I got a message from an ATR yesterday livid at the subway ads). Imgine the scenario: newbies taking over for experienced teachers in schools that are difficult to start with while the experienced teachers go into the ATR pool at enormous cost. While Tweed and the NY Post rail against this outrage, they still have to pay them. Imagine the next step: threatening layoffs and high class sizes due to the ATR situation.

Here is a report from a John Dewey teacher who was at the meeting last night:

Brooklyn schools that would undergo the "turnaround" model were invited to Brooklyn Borough Hall on Tuesday evening by Marty Markowitz to gain information about the proposed turnaround model from Elaine Gorman, the executive director of school turnarounds for the Department of Education.

Markowitz started the meeting by stating that Ms. Gorman has come voluntarily and that while the audience may disagree with the DOE, as he does, they should remain respectful. Markowitz introduced the Brooklyn UFT officials as fierce fighters on behalf of the students of New York City for decades. Although Markowitz did not stay for the entire meeting, his aide led the proceeding for much of the evening. Teams representing individual schools spoke at the microphone.

Highlights from the meeting:

Markowitz : "I do not get it" in reference to breaking up large high schools for smaller ones. "I am for a modification of mayoral control and a better way to select a chancellor."

Elaine Gorman : " I was eager for the opportunity to work with "turnaround" schools. The work appeals to me so that I can help improve education in this city."

Significant John Dewey H.S. representation in this packed hall. About 150 Deweyites in the room.

Automotive HS student: "We need stable leadership in our school. Getting rid of our teachers will accomplish nothing."

IS166 teacher: "Stand by what you say. We were supposed to be involved with the transformation model for three years. We are making significant progress. Why change the model now?"

John Dewey HS student: "We are attached to our teachers. Losing our teachers will be devastating to our school."

Sheepshead Bay teacher: "We work our butts off at Sheepshead Bay. The problem is not with the teachers. Many of our students have significant needs and we are doing great work with them."

Bushwick Transfer HS teacher: "The accountability system is flawed. That is why we are on the PLA list. Rather than focus on targeting the teachers, fix your flawed system."

Maxwell HS was in attendance with the letter A raised high over the heads of their contingent. They received an A on their recent progress report from the DOE.

Anthony Sclafani UFT district rep: "None of this makes educational sense. Schools are being closed by a narcissistic, vindictive, bloodsucking mayor. Shame on everyone in Tweed who drank the Koolaid and went back for another sip because it tasted so sweet." He then shouted "Free THE 33" as the entire hall erupted in "Free The 33" in response.

The evening ended with members of the audience asking Gorman questions. Most significant one: "Is anything that any of us stated here tonight going to really make a difference or is this a sham just like the PEP will be?"

Also see Rachel's tweets at Gotham Schools.
Use https://twitter.com/#!/search/%23turnaround.

Another Casualty of Co-location: SAVE Rooms

This was sent by a Manhattan teacher in a co-located school that has been ravaged by an invading charter. What, no SAVE rooms? Charters don't need no stinck'n SAVE rooms since they toss kids who might need a SAVE room right back to the public school.

Look where they hid the SAVE room!

In addition to all the negatives we hear, an unrecognized degrading aspect of charter co-locations that has hitherto seemed to slip under the radar: the impossibility of maintaining a SAVE room in co-located schools despite the fact that schools are legally mandated to do just that.

From the UFT website:

It is very important that all members are familiar with the SAVE legislation that governs safety and orderliness in New York's public schools. SAVE stands for Schools Against Violence in Education and is the legislation that mandates school safety plans. These plans must incorporate all of the components of the SAVE legislation including normal procedures, emergency procedures, student removal processes, and detailed processes for handling students who are significantly disruptive and interfering with the education of their peers.
http://www.uft.org/our-rights/save-legislation

Increasingly my school is deals with suspended students and students who need to be removed by warehousing them in other teacher's rooms, an offense to the warehoused student, the teacher who’s forced to warehouse him other and the other students in the class. In effect, classrooms become suspension centers. But where to put them? The law states there must be a SAVE room or an equivalent but how do you do so when a charter school has been granted every room it can grab?

Where and how are you to implement legislation when there is no room to do so? So, along with music, art, ESL and more, charter schools are robbing DOE schools of the ability to follow the law and (again) provide needy kids with meaningful instruction. It seems to me that the loss of the SAVE room should added to the litany of legitimate grievances we already have against charters and brought to the attentions of the author of the bill in Albany. Both students and teachers deserve nothing less.

A Manhattan Teacher

Exclusive Video - PS 261 Parents, Teachers, Students Confront Success Academy

NY 1 covered the story on March 2 but the clip disappeared  after 2 days, supposedly due to pressure from Success Academy according to a source.

Parents and teachers at Public School 261 Philip Livingston, a popular Boerum Hill elementary school, have been trying to get Success Academy people to stop handing out fliers in front of their school during dismissal. The network is known to be an aggressive marketer — it blankets neighborhoods with fliers, and subway stations with posters — but P.S. 261 parents and teachers saw it as poaching.
---Schoolbook

 See Schoolbook:  In Cobble Hill, Continued Resistance to New Charters



http://youtu.be/mYdTI_e3UqQ

=======
On another note, this from Leonie:

See how DOE is hiring a manager to recruit new teachers in their 33 “turnaround” --  to focus on new recruiting candidates who are inexperienced and uncertified.  TFA here we come; while thousands of experienced teachers will be excessed.

The Recruitment Programs team, within TRQ, manages the recruitment and selection of diverse, talented individuals who are not yet certified teachers to make a difference in the NYC classrooms that need them most.  In partnership with key stakeholders, the Recruitment Programs team designs and supports cohort model programs that prepare teachers to raise student achievement as early as possible in their careers.

Need a laugh? Look who is chosen to investigate Rhee cheating scandal in DC

Remember the Winerip article on Arne Duncan and Michelle Rhee (Winerip Slams Duncan for Rhee Connection) and how buddy buddy they are in the midst of an investigation in the Rhee cheating scandal? Well lookie, lookie on the company picked to cover up -- er - investigate.

How much money did Joel Klein funnel to A&M? How about them destroying the St. Louis public schools? New Orleans?

See ed notes on A and M:

Ed Notes Online: Alvarez and Marsal of St. Louis, NY, New Orleans ...

Jan 13, 2008

Though the contract with Alvarez and Marsal under William J. Roberti and Karen Marsal here in St. Louis was for $5 million, I recall it exceeding that amount and totaling near $11 million--this in a city where the mayor accused ...

Ed Notes Online: A Parable

Jun 30, 2007

Feeling a more professional study with statistics was in order, Klein hired the Alvarez and Marsal consulting company, paying $15 million for a second opinion. Their conclusion: too many people were steering the boat, while ...

What GF Brandenburg gets wrong here is calling A&M unqualified. In fact they are perfectly qualified to do what they do best: minimize the damage of the cheating scandal and protect Rhee.

GFBrandenburg's Blog

An Off The Record Briefing By DCPS On Hiring An Unqualified Firm to “Detect” (?hide?) Cheating