State Ed Dept Should Be Indicted With Believe's Unsteady Eddie

If a charter school leader were an ax murderer, the State Ed Dept would reauthorize with a slap on the wrist..... channeling my inner Bloomberg (comments on 3020a hearing officers).

What is wrong with this timeline?

• 2004: Mr. Calderon-Melendez founded Williamsburg Charter High School and became the school's CEO.  

• 2005:Mr. Calderon-Melendez failed to file taxes despite earning up to $500,000 a year in salary and consultant fees. After receiving a subpoena, he "produced false New York tax returns" for years 2005 through 2008.

• 2009-10 school year. A state audit found more than $80,000 in overpayments to the network and hundreds of thousands of dollars in mishandled expenses.

• 2010: The state approved Southside and Northside to join the newly created Believe High Schools Network, which Mr. Calderon-Melendez also headed. ---- Wall St. Journal

The state APPROVED TWO MORE SCHOOLS JUST 2 YEARS AGO?

I just read the Wall St. Journal article on the indictment of Eddie Calderon-Melendez, who as Susan Ohanian put it:

This is the thug who sent me threatening e-mails after I asked this question. He was notorious for mistreating teachers .

Here's the New York Times opening paragraph:

When state investigators demanded last year to see personal tax returns filed by Eddie Calderon-Melendez, the founder and chief executive of a troubled network of charter high schools in Brooklyn, he produced them. One problem, according to the investigators, was that those state tax returns were falsified and had never been filed.

And here's the kicker: Almost all of the money to operate the three schools came from public financing.

So let me get this straight since I'm on my holding the press accountable kick. The WSJ -- and the NY Times and Gotham and the NY Post -- all write stories about Eddie but NOT ONE OF THEM THINKS TO RAISE THE ISSUE OF WHY THE STATE ALLOWED HIM TO OPEN 2 MORE SCHOOLS 2 YEARS AGO?

Read the WSJ Article in full.

And check out a load of comments (where we have fun with our fave ed deformer Ken Hirsh) at Gotham Schools. Investigation into charter school CEO ends with an indictment.

Here is an email from a teacher at Believe after I broke the $100 a head story that Jenny Medina at the NY Times picked up on (the photo was sent to me anon from someone in the school.)

I am a current teacher at a Believe school

Dear Ms. Ohanian,

Thank you for posting the story "Students at $100 a Head?" from the New York Times blog. I saw your note that the CEO of the school wrote threatening emails after you posted the story.

I am a current teacher at a Believe school, and a commenter on Ms. Medina's blog. I implore you to publish Melendez's comments, or to comment on Ms. Medina's blog. It may seem small or irrelevant to spend more time thinking about this single charter school, but I assure you that it matters to me, my fellow teachers, and most of all, to our students, that Melendez's misdeeds do not continue to go unnoticed.

Sincerely,

Louise (not my real name)

See all comments posted at the CityRoom blog

One of the funny comments at the NY Times Cityroom Blog

What can I say about Williamsburg Charter High School that hasn’t already been said about Iraq?

It has been named the “Believe” Network. Who came up with this name? Belief in what? By whom? At best it is an arbitrary title rooted in the presumption that the students are inherently unable to perform. As a result, success is dependent on faith. This is yet another example of framing the problem as a deficiency in these poor black and brown kids and not the irresponsible adults entrusted with their development (achievement gap, anyone? How about addressing the administration gap?).

The school mascot is the Wolverines. Why? No one knows. No one cares. There aren’t even any wolverines in Brooklyn. The closest wolverine is in Canada. How about a relevant mascot? Let’s go Williamsburg Animal Shaped Rubberbands!

Ultimate charity fund-raising event: A roast of Eddie Calderon-Melendez. Charge $50 a plate and invite current and former employees (mostly former). We’ll make enough to cure cancer.

Williamsburg Charter High School has been unfairly compared to the mob in these comments. The mob has consistent leadership.

Believe Network Definitions:

Irony: The network offices have glass walls yet are the least transparent part of the organization.

Sadism: the tendency to derive pleasure from inflicting pain, suffering, or humiliation on other people’s children (e.g. mismanaging a charter school network).

Masochism: the tendency to derive pleasure from one’s own pain or humiliation (e.g. sending your children to your own mismanaged charter school network).

And how can I leave you without a pic of State Bd of Regent Head Merryl Tisch, my favorite candidate for being indicted one day.

Fred Smith Requests Your Help

For those of you who are not aware, Fred Smith has been working with us for years to expose the underbelly of high stakes testing.

Hi, Norm:

I put together a teacher survey about the ELA and Math testing program and advertised it in NY's union papers. One ad came out on April 5th in the UFT paper. It will appear again in both the NYSUT and UFT papers on the 19th. The classified ad was placed in the MISCELLANEOUS category.

Can you share this with your readers?

Fred Smith

As a retired NYC BOE test researcher, I stand ready to receive responses from the field, analyze and report on them. I welcome your feedback and support. I'd like to see the survey get into wide circulation by making teachers aware of it and inviting their participation.

The New York State ELA and Math tests are being given over the next two weeks. Your feedback about the testing program is important. Here is the link to a survey, intended for teachers in grades 3 to 8, asking how you see the program. (For your information, the survey is also being advertised in the UFT and NYSUT newspapers.) It should take 5 minutes to complete--but a little more time if you want to provide comments. Please invite your colleagues to respond as well. Thank you.

Please take a look at the survey: www.surveymonkey.com/s/TeachersSay

Thank you.

Also from Fred to the Change the Stakes Listserve - see blog here: http://changethestakes.wordpress.com/

Folks, I'm calling on the teachers in this group to do me a favor.

On Tuesday, when the ELA is given (Book 1), please note the total number of items there are in the test booklet and how many reading passages there are. There is nothing wrong in verifying this information.

I'd like that basic information for each grade level (from grade 3 to grade 8).  I think our group has that range covered.

Note: Book 1 is the only part of the ELA that will contain embedded field test items. The facts I'm requesting will help me figure out how many of the multiple-choice items that appear on the test will actually count in the scoring.

Thank you.

A Nine Year Old Unleashes His Imagination

Check out this wonderful little film -- Caine's Arcade. Of course it is summer vacation in his dad's auto shop, not school where "real" learning takes place. But it could be if educators had the imagination Caine has. I always have believed kids can do amazing things when their imaginations are unleashed. Early in my career I actually tried to set up my classroom in a way to unleash their imaginations but a combination of factors -- including my lack of skills in how to do this the right way -- led me to abandon the idea. But imagine a classroom full of cardboard and tools to cut them ---oops, we'd all be arrested on weapons charges. And besides, there's a high stakes test to take so who has time for this?




Thanks to Alexandra Miletta for the link.

I had the opportunity last week to discuss my failed attempt with one of my heroes, Debbie Meier. Here is the short interview I did with her where she shares her views on how kids learn. (The discussion on open classroom we had was unfortunately not taped.) And look for the wonderful interview I did one on one with Diane Ravitch a few days later which I will post later. Imagine -- Meier and Ravitch. What a treat.

Steve Brill Headlines Ed Writer Conf - Who's Next - Jayson Blair?

Education Writer’s Association annual meeting May 17-19: keynote speakers this year are Steve Brill, who wrote the worst book ever on ed reform, with factual misstatements on nearly every page, and Colorado Sen. Bennet, DFER’s favorite Senator. Wonder how much the Gates Foundation or Walmart is paying for this one. ----- Leonie Haimson

*  A fast-paced forum for high-octane speakers to explore all aspects of the push to reform the teaching profession --- EWA program

(Try to find any real teachers engaging in this discussion. Guess you can't be a teacher and high-octane.)

Jayson Blair: Next EWA Keynoter?

In chapter one  the author [Brill] pulls the first and worst of a number of journalistic stunts that call  his credibility into very serious question.  In fact, it should expose Brill as an outright fraud. On page 17, Brill takes a page out of the Jayson Blair/ Stephen Glass School of Fictitious Journalism and describes the horrendous performance  of  a public school teacher who doesn’t exist. Or, if the ”teacher” does exist, he is completely unknown and unrecognizable to any of the people who ostensibly work with him.  I know.  I am one of those people.  What makes the matter that much  more egregious is the fact that the non existent teacher is the only description of  a public  school teacher at work in the 400 plus pages of Brill’s  tome.  Such, I believe, is not a  coincidence. ---Patrick Walsh, Chapter Leader, PS 149M

I've heard for years from ed reporters I know about the EWA meetings. So many of them go to these meetings. So how are we to judge the organization so many of them belong to that would make Steve Brill, one of the most biased ed deformers, one of their keynote speakers and DFER fave Michael Bennet their other keynoter? Unfair and biased.

Will any reporters publicly raise objections? Or is that too dangerous for their careers?

I admit it. I am on a personal vendetta against the press since I started getting reports of reporters and photographers making surprise visits to teachers' homes after the publication of the Teacher Data Reports.

Then came the Chaz incident last week. People are telling me this or that reporter is really OK. I don't really care. Their names are on the articles. No matter what the editor did to their story they must bear some accountability. [

I've been using this phrase recently:  The single most important factor in a successful democratic society is the quality/effectiveness of the reporters. Well, that's as dumb as saying the same about teachers. But what reporters are questioning the very concept. Isn't it time for Reporter Data Reports giving each reporter a numerical score based on the accuracy and fairness of their stories? Points off for questions not raised. (Like why the DOE would spend a quarter million to persecute Chaz for an innocuous statement? Or why Believe charter authorizers are not being indicted along with Eddie Calderon for running up $5 million in debt for his charter despite warnings over the last half dozen years?)

Read:  Gary Rubinstein Rolls Steve Brill - a devastating review of Class Warfare

Check the post from Patrick Walsh's blog (excerpts below) on the open lies Brill told in his book. Patrick is the chapter leader at a Harlem co-located school with an Eva Moskowitz HSA and demonstrates how Brill just made up a lazy teacher for his "non"-fiction book.

Reporters have been banned for doing what Brill did. What does it say when their professional organization honors a guy like Brill? Bring in Jayson Blair?

Message From EWA's Executive Director

Philadelphia is the place to be May 17-19, when EWA gathers an outstanding line-up of journalists and education experts for "Learning from Leaders: What Works for Stories and Schools." http://www.ewa.org/site/R?i=VHmGf0fT0F8SUbptaAIwLg

The early bird deadline has been extended to April 20, so register here today!
http://www.ewa.org/site/R?i=eRs1wcf3YIvfg4cCSk8NNw

The conference will offer three jam-packed days of discussions and hands-on training covering the most pressing topics in education journalism today. Some highlights:

*  Top speakers including Steve Brill and U.S. Senator Michael Bennet, as well as leading
researchers and educators
*  Site visits to noteworthy Philadelphia-area schools
*  Debates on topics such as affirmative action, college costs, common standards, school choice and online learning
*  A fast-paced forum for high-octane speakers to explore all aspects of the push to reform the teaching profession
*  Practical sessions on mining data, observing classrooms, producing enterprise stories on
the fly and new-generation tech tools for journalists
*  Presentation of the prestigious 2011 National Awards for Education Reporting, where the winner of Fred M. Hechinger Grand Prize for Distinguished Education Reporting also will be announced

Patrick Walsh: Raginghorseblog

Reflections on and Rebuttals of Class Warfare (Or Steven Brill has a Serious Credibility Problem)

Excerpt:

For Harlem Success Academy Brill writes almost worshipfully of one Jessica Reid, an admirable, extremely dedicated young woman who Brill describes as teaching her students something called “juicy words “ and also, disturbingly, praising a student for making “total eye contact with the teacher throughout the lesson,”  as if the poor kid was being hypnotized.    As in many instances of pointing out differences between  a public school teacher and a charter school teacher, Brill seems totally unaware that a NYC public school teacher could be reprimanded and even cited for corporal punishment by the Department of  Education for demanding a student    maintain “total eye contact “ with a teacher — as well they might be.  As a parent I’d raise  the roof   if  a teacher  demanded such behavior from my child.

On Reid, Brill spends many, many words – some of them so sexist and absurdly inappropriate to the subject matter as to be beyond parody. Indeed, he writes a kind of People Magazine style mini bio of Reid built largely of stuff like this:  “Standing in front of her new class in black stiletto heels, a black and pink crinoline dress, and a black and gold buttoned jacket not quite covering five different bracelets Reid called on them (students) one by one, to line up at the door.”  As a product of Wendy Kopps’ deeply problematic absurdly praised  Teach For America program, Reid, who “has her mother’s Swedish face, blue eyes and blond hair”, serves as Brill’s script perfect model of corporate reform’s solution to the problem of poor urban schools: the creation of   an ephemeral army of eternally young   Ivy league educated white people blessing  the classrooms of the ghetto, inspiring them by what the  brilliant Linda Darling Hammond sardonically called Teach For  America’s “ innate superiority”.

Add On (Mon, Apr. 16, 2012)
Susan Ohanian Comment: 
I detailed my own experience at an annual meeting of the Education Writers Association: The Annual Meeting of Education Reporters, Writers and Editors: Plenty of Wattage but Not Much Illumination

For starters, I recount how I was kicked off the Education Writers Association listserv. They had accepted my membership dues for years but didn't want me offering any criticism of Education Week's Quality Counts hogwash.

I went to their annual meeting in Chicago along with parent education reform resister par excellence Juanita Doyon, aka The Button Queen. I paid for a table in the exhibit area--to show reporters about the grass roots resistance to the party line coming out of the U. S. Department of Education and most media claiming to report on education issues.

Reporters attending the meeting were not one bit interested in the material on my table. But it gets worse: http://susanohanian.org/%3Ca%20href=>

And Susan sent this addendum on Gates buying pieces of the EWA agenda:
Gates Grants
Education Writers Association
Date: July 2009
Purpose: to support media coverage of the education components of American Recovery and Reconstruction Act through the construction and maintenance of the Stimulus Tracker website
Amount: $110,000
Term: 2 years

Education Writers Association
Date: July 2008
Purpose: to enhance media coverage of high school and post-secondary
education by offering seminars and online training for reporters, building
bridges between mainstream and ethnic community media, and supporting
capacity building efforts
Amount: $950,962
Term: 3 years
Topic: Advocacy & Public Policy
Region Served: Global, North America
Program: United States
Grantee Location: Washington, District of Columbia
Grantee Web site: http://www.ewa.org

The Trayvon Trigger and Educational Stop and Frisk: The Wave

Published in The Wave, Friday, April 13, 2012 (www.rockawave.com)

By Norm Scott

It was a late weekday summer night on the sweltering streets of Philadelphia – early summer, around 2004. I was attending an educational technology conference and had touched base with an old acquaintance who had just gotten her Masters from Wharton, one of the top grad schools in the nation. I was escorting her back to her apartment after dinner. She It was her last night in town and she had to be out of the apartment the next day.

I had been told that Wharton is located in an iffy neighborhood but then again people told me all of Philly is in an iffy neighborhood, so my antennae were up. But my friend, in her late-twenties, very blond and very white did not seem concerned. As we turned the corner to her block I noticed a group of black men down at the other end. As we got closer I could see they were drinking beer and seemed to be celebrating something. They appeared to be in their 20’s and my level of concern went up 2 notches. But my friend just kept walking and I followed. As we approached they all broke into smiles, as she went up and hugged them all, congratulating them on having gotten their Wharton Masters or PhD degrees that day. Well, I learned an important lesson about checking my own racial attitudes at the door. Too bad George Zimmerman did not check his own racial attitudes at the door.

While I do think people have to exercise caution in certain situations, there has to be a balance. I had some interesting interactions with black teens in the late 80’s-early 90s when I was hanging out with the Van Arsdale HS basketball team for the four years one of my former 6th grade students was a star on the team. What a mix of kids. The experience was generally so positive and affected my views of black teens.

Many people are having Trayvon Martin moments, some honest attempts to understand the implications of what happened in Florida despite the Rupert Murdoch media (NY Post and FOX) attempts to smear him. Any info coming out of them should be termed as FOX FACTS. In an example of this bias, the NY Post ran a front-page photo of three black lawmakers in Albany who had worn hoodies, depicting them as “race hustlers” despite the fact that there were also white lawmakers who had worn hoodies in support of the Trayvon Martin family. Fair and balanced FOX FACTS.

Though Zimmerman was not officially part of law enforcement, the stop and frisk blitz here in NYC has led to some thoughts on the subject, with a particularly noteworthy NY Times April 10, 2012 column by Michael Powell who points out the growth in S&F from 2002 when police stopped and questioned 97,296 to the 685,724 New Yorkers stopped in 2011, a vast majority black or Latino men, sometimes at gunpoint and with their faces pressed to the pavement with 88 percent of them innocent. Powell points out more New Yorkers were stopped than the entire population of Boston. Some may think the 2% gun recovery makes it all worth it. I don’t agree. If it were young white men being stopped time and again there would be an outcry.

Powell says “the unbridled use of stops leaves a deep bruise of unfairness, particularly around the issue of race.”

He asked eight black male students who attend the Borough of Manhattan Community College how many times they have been stopped. “Cumulatively, they said they had been stopped 92 times. They spoke with surprisingly little rancor. But they wonder at the casual humiliations.

The police stopped Mario Brown, who dreams of a career in theater arts, and forced him to take off his sneakers in the subway. (“It’s kind of ridiculous; I don’t see any Caucasian kids doing this.”) They forced Jamel Gordon-Mayfield, 18, the son of a police detective and a doctor, out of his parents’ S.U.V. one afternoon and demanded he take a Breathalyzer. (He passed.) Then they searched him and the car. Jasheem Smiley, 19, sweet and soft-spoken with a neat goatee, lives in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, with his uncle. Two months ago, he says, a van drove up on the sidewalk and a man jumped out. “I’m a cop!” the man yelled. “Get down on the sidewalk!” Mr. Smiley complied but feared he was being robbed and asked to see a badge. The officer, he said, responded by putting his shoe to his face and pressing it to the pavement. Mr. Smiley’s tone is matter of fact. He speaks mainly of his humiliation at lying on the sidewalk as hipsters gawked. What, I ask, is his aspiration? He smiles, rueful. “I’m a first-year criminal justice major,” he says. “I’d like to be an investigator, but sometimes I wonder about that.”

Do your own poll. Ask 8 white college kids how many times they have been stopped.

Former police captain and Molloy College professor John A. Eterno, whose brother James fought a valiant battle as chapter leader of the soon to be closed Jamaica HS which came under assault by the DOE, “sees a place for stop-and-frisk tactics. Gangbangers dominate the courtyard of public houses? Put them through the wringer. But to apply the tactic so broadly is a disaster in a democratic society,” Eterno says, pointing out that “Crime has dropped 80 percent…. yet there are 700,000 suspects in the streets?” He charged that the police is viewed as “an army of occupation” within some of the very communities they are there to protect.

Throughout the years I taught elementary school, I was not really conscious of what my male students would be going through as they grew into adulthood. As someone who believed in teaching the whole child, I should have been. This failure was starkly brought home to me when I went to see a one man play performed by actor/comedian Ernie Silva, my former 4th grade student (1983). Ernie was one of the really good kids and top students, so in my mind, compared to other students I had who I expected might get into trouble, I didn’t think he would face stop and frisk situations. Ernie would laugh at my naivete.

Ernie’s play, “Heavy Like the Weight of a Flame” depicts his years growing up in the projects in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn and his journey through his young adult years, culminating in a masters degree from USC. In one of the most vivid scenes, Ernie and his friends are coming home from an audition when the scene described by Jasheem Smiley is enacted: a police van pulls up and 5 cops come out with guns drawn. Twelve year old Ernie had just been handed an ice cream cone brought at the bodega and startled, dropped it. He acts out the profound disrespect, verbal abuse and dripping sarcasm pointed at he and his friends. It ends with the cop giving him a littering citation for dropping the cone. Whether it happened exactly that way or is allegorical is beside the point. It demonstrates the state of mind that exists even in our finest black and latino students.

While I don’t have room in this column to expand on the idea, I published an essay on my blog (April 8) titled “Educational Stop and Frisk Infects School”, where the author extended the idea of S and F into the corporate school culture established by Bloomberg. Here are just a few points made:

Corporatism is the new racism. The common theme among the corporatists is that minority communities have nothing to offer, should have no voice in their educations and need direction from outsiders in order to live properly. This fact is proven every day in all of New York City’s schools. The battle against corporate school reform does not stop at standardized testing and school closings. It must also include the fight against a top-down, dictatorial manner of running each school building.

Norm blogs at: http://ednotesonline.blogspot.com

Randi and Hilary (Rosen) and Michelle Rhee and Joel Klein

The real question: who is doing more to help get rid of tenure: Rhee or Randi ----Ed Notes

In my last post I asked the question whether our union leaders are Vichy or Quislings. Follow the bouncing ball on this one.

Randi’s FORMER partner, Hilary Rosen, in hot water regarding remarks about Ann Romney on CNN - See: Dem operative criticizes Ann Romney, ignites storm - POLITICO.com - http://goo.gl/a0rhm.

While the Hilary Rosen comments on Ann Romney have gone viral (I agree with Rosen's comments), the important thing for us is that Randi's former partner works for SKD Knickerbocker, which not only advises Christine Quinn but the Michelle Rhee/Joel Klein Student First anti-union operation here in NY State to supposedly counter the union influence --- you have to take time out for a good laugh.

The real question: who is doing more to get rid of tenure:  Rhee or Randi?

Mulgrew told the Post, "If I’m Chris, I’d be asking myself: Maybe I don’t want to be working with these people who are also working with the mayor to control something that he should have no business controlling anymore."

Mulgrew has the nerve to tell Quinn after the Rhee op was announced that it wasn't wise for her to use SKD Knickerbocker?  Remember how the UFT paid Bloomberg's honcho Howard Wolfson as a consultant? 

Randi and Hilary:
They broke up some time since May 2010 though as it says here:

Gay and Lesbian Guests Have Sizable Place at White House State Dinner Table: VIDEO |Gay News|Gay Blog Towleroad - http://goo.gl/7TBP3 RedState - http://goo.gl/zB4XP
 
Ms. Rosen is a long time top Obama advisor. She has visited the White House 35 times. In March, she was invited to the White House State Dinner honoring British Prime Minister David Cameron where numerous guests were openly gay.

Ms. Rosen’s date for the White House dinner was her partner, Randi Weingarten who happens to be President of the American Federation of Teachers — a union boss, in other words. [Ed Note: See the attempt to tie Obama to union "boss" -- a Vichy union boss].

Yet here it is clear that they both came with other dates:

British State Dinner guest list - The Reliable Source - The Washington Post - http://goo.gl/PbVC9

Randi Weingarten and Louise Anne Rogers Photos - Zimbio - http://goo.gl/uAnaK
Hilary Rosen and John Kelly  { who is a Microsoft Lobbyist; see TPJ.org - http://goo.gl/6lrHu ]

They were together as recently as May 1, 2010; 2010 WHC GARDEN BRUNCH - Tim Daly, Hilary Rosen, Dana Delany, Randi Weingarten | Flickr - Photo Sharing! - http://goo.gl/LYH5n

 Here is some more on the Rosen/Romney story ---

Hilary Rosen, a Democratic operative with SKD Knickerbocker, touched off a Twitter storm tonight after she went on CNN and said that Ann Romney has "never worked a day in her life." The statement was tweeted and retweeted, with a number of people condemning the statement as an attack on the candidate's wife, who was a stay-at-home mom who also raised the couple's five boys, and who has suffered from MS and breast cancer. Ann Romney, who is widely praised as her husband's most effective surrogate, took to Twitter herself for her first-ever post, saying, "I made a choice to stay home and raise five boys. Believe me, it was hard work."

See also Rosen’s defensive account here: Ann Romney and working moms - CNN.com - http://goo.gl/Z1rT5

From ABC News: “I could not disagree with Hilary Rosen any more strongly. Her comments were wrong and family should be off limits. She should apologize,” Obama campaign manager Jim Messina said in a tweet. Top Obama campaign strategist David Axelrod also tweeted his disapproval: “Also Disappointed in Hilary Rosen’s comments about Ann Romney. They were inappropriate and offensive.”

Before I leave this post, I also want to call attention to the guy Student First hired: Loser Micah Lasher.

Here is some background on him from Leonie:

Oh yes, memories, memories: 

“Mark Green, who used to be a perennial candidate for NYC mayor, came under fire in 2001 when people associated with his campaign released flyers of Fernando Ferrer kissing a certain part of Al Sharpton’s anatomy. They were released in the mostly white areas of South Brooklyn. Although Green was cleared of any wrongdoing, it hurt his image within the city’s minority community.”

Guess who was found responsible for these racist flyers?  

Micah Lasher, former chief lobbyist for DOE and now head of Michelle Rhee’s astroturf parachute jump into NY politics, StudentsFirst NY

See: Power Punk: Micah Lasher | The New York Observer - http://goo.gl/ivZ5n 

Yes, Joel Klein and Michelle Rhee -- those great civil rights workers are represented by Lasher. Oh, da sleaze.

Make sure to read: The New York Post’s Old Racism (And Micah Lasher, Not-So-Closet Racist)  which makes this point:

And there is the direct link between corporate education reform and the racist agenda that supports it. His connection with Andrew Cuomo also has deep roots:

In 2002, Mr. Lasher joined Andrew Cuomo’s gubernatorial campaign team as the state field director. Mr. Cuomo withdrew days before the scheduled primary contest with Carl McCall, but Mr. Lasher developed more contacts-particularly with Josh Isay, Mr. Cuomo’s campaign manager. The two formed a political consultancy firm afterward, Isay/Lasher Communications, now called KnickerbockerSKD.

The Billionaire Boys’ Club has a tight, racist circle: Bloomberg, Rhee, Cuomo, The Post and Micah Lasher. The common thread among them all is a disdain for minority communities.

Hard Questions from A Principal to Randi Weingarten and Richard Ianuzzi and a Teacher's Response

Randi's statement that New York's APPR was the best one negotiated in the whole country, should have been immediately challenged. Who wants to be the best when this system is the worst? As AFT leader, she should have led the fight to outlaw any APPR, anywhere! Richard's statement, downplaying the role of his union members whose voices he's supposed to represent, also should have been quickly challenged. Randi "begging" teachers to give APPR a chance, is a disgrace and she should be recalled - like Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin will be in June. Are all the stong union leaders, like Al Shanker and Sandra Feldman dead or are they just playing dead because they lack backbone and gumption?--- Janet Meyer

I mentioned how difficult it was for me to convince legislators to consider these amendments since the heads of the teachers' unions shook hands with Cuomo, and legislators believed it was a done deal. In her recent article in "Harvard Law and Public Policy" Weingarten states: "And yes, student test scores based on valid and reliable assessments that truly measure each student's growth in each teacher's classroom should be included in the mix--but not in a disproportionate way." How is this position reconcilable with the recently passed APPR where there is a possibility that a 40% ineffective score on exams can lead to a 100% overall rating? --- NYS principal

Are our union leaders Quislings? (see my next post for some interesting tidbits)
(Do you think it is time to challenge the UFT leaders? - State of the Union - UFT)

I got a call from an independent reporter the other day asking about the union. He said that every teacher he speaks to is unhappy at the lack of defense. But so are principals it seems. You should look at the video at vimeo I put up where principals seem to be defending us more than the union: Shael Channels Leo at HST 101 Event. 

Also see this post from yesterday from a chapter leader: UFT Buries Voices of Dissent on APPR.

Below are some comments from an upstate Principal and a response from retired Bronx teacher Janet Meyer posted on Mark Naison's listserve.

Janet Meyer responds to the principal:

I don't think that the principal really asked the HARD questions of Randi Weingarten or Richard Ianuzzi!

He should have asked, "How can both of you as leaders and spokespeople for so many teachers, in good conscience, EVER have endorsed evaluation of teachers using standardized test scores, knowing that these tests are not valid, not reliable and completely useless?"

Randi's statement that New York's APPR was the best one negotiated in the whole country, should have been immediately challenged. Who wants to be the best when this system is the worst? As AFT leader, she should have led the fight to outlaw any APPR, anywhere! Richard's statement, downplaying the role of his union members whose voices he's supposed to represent,also should have been quickly challenged.The unions speak for the teachers, with or without petitions!

For Ianuzzi to say that the Principals' petition "stiffened Cuomo's resolve," also is a statement that needs to be challenged.What would Cuomo do, raise the APPR to 50% or 100% of a teacher's evaluation? Maybe a stiffened response would have brought the house down on him. By his going too far, maybe all educators,all administrators,all all superintendents, all teachers, all unions, would have stood up and renounced APPR in its totality!

My belief is that While Ianuzzi may have been "rude" to question where the Principals were earlier in the process, I think he was right on target! From the very beginning, when evaluations of teachers by use of the dumbed down, fraudulent, manipulated state test scores were first suggested, all adminstrators, all teachers, all unions, should have been shouting from the rooftops that this system of evaluation is all wrong and totally unacceptable!..Is it good that the principals are fighting back now? Yes, yes, yes! But it is much harder to fight a system that is already being implemented than one that was just in the preliminary discussion stages. With the power of the AFT, the UFT, the NYSUT, even the NEA, this deceptive, harmful assessment of teachers shouldn't have gotten off the ground!

Randi "begging" teachers to give APPR a chance, is a disgrace and she should be recalled- like Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin will be in June. Are all the stong union leaders, like Al Shanker and Sandra Feldman dead or are they just playing dead because they lack backbone and gumption?

It is not too late to fight. THE POWER OF THE PEOPLE IS GREATER THAN THE PEOPLE IN POWER

Janet Mayer, 51 year NYC teacher and author of AS BAD AS THEY SAY? Three Decades of Teaching in the Bronx

To see more of my opinions, check my blog,

   http://asbadastheysay.info/

The principal:

I think I struck a raw nerve today.

This afternoon Randi Weingarten (AFT) and Richard Iannuzzi (NYSUT) came to visit Clarkstown. I had the opportunity to ask the first question in front of 550 teachers, 50 teaching assistants, and 25 school administrators. I identified myself as a 31-percenter who has signed on to the principals' petition and also to the petition by generated by the Lancaster's Teachers Association. I then asked Randi Weingarten the following question:

In her recent article in "Harvard Law and Public Policy" Weingarten states: "And yes, student test scores based on valid and reliable assessments that truly measure each student's growth in each teacher's classroom should be included in the mix--but not in a disproportionate way." How is this position reconcilable with the recently passed APPR where there is a possibility that a 40% ineffective score on exams can lead to a 100% overall rating? I also asked her to support our three amendments and identified each one of them. Additionally, I mentioned how difficult it was for me to convince legislators to consider these amendments since the heads of the teachers' unions shook hands with Cuomo, and legislators believed it was a done deal.

Randi Weingarten's response was that there is a very remote chance that a teacher will be found ineffective overall if there was a 40% ineffective rating on test scores. She also stated that if this was ever the case, the union would defend the teacher and ensure that the teacher had an opportunity to improve. She stated that New York's APPR was the best one negotiated in the entire U.S. Since 80% of the APPR is negotiated at the local level. She begged teachers to give this a chance.

Iannuzzi's response was more telling. He stated that the principals' movement had the "opposite effect" and "stiffened Cuomo's resolve" to get an APPR deal done and even one that was worse. He also stated that unions do not operate by petition. Instead, he told me, representatives of unions get deals done at the table and not by members petitioning. He also stated that the letter came after the fact and was too late and asked where the principals were all along in the process?

Some teachers told me later that they believed Iannuzzi's comments about the principals were rude. Although they were rude, I think we have touched a sore spot since we are stating what the rank and file teachers are not allowed to say by local union leadership that has followed the lead of their Albany heads. One teacher left the auditorium and made the following summative comment in response after listening to Weingarten and Iannuzzi for over one hour: "This is bullshit."

I recorded the entire presentation, including Iannuzzi's remarks about the

principals.

It seems that the principals' movement has made a difference even if we have invoked the ire of the collaborators. Let's keep on going!

Hope everyone has a good break!

Harry Leonardatos

Blog: http://nysocrates.wordpress.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/nysocrates

UFT Buries Voices of Dissent on APPR

I received this email to GEM awhile ago. More and more people are expressing their dissent while the UFT continues to sell the snake oil. The monthly district rep meetings are an outrage. It's all about what the UFT wants from the chapter leaders and never about their needs.

We are trying to get a chapter leader and delegate support group together to meet monthly, not only as a support mechanism but to function as a unit at the delegate assembly. If interested email me.

I have a follow-up on the same topic but am waiting for permission. Here is the Chapter Leader's email to GEM:

I am a NYC public school special educator, UFT chapter leader and a parent of a child in a public school.  I am also, currently, in a leadership for educational change program at Bank Street.  It came to my attention that the APPR legislation was passed a couple of weeks ago through my administrator.  It was also discussed in depth at Bank Street.  However, it was never mentioned by the UFT.

When I read under the subsection in the agreement (with our union leaders) "Rating System" that "Teachers or principals that are rated ineffective in the 40 points could not receive a developing score overall." http://www.governor.ny.gov/press/02162012teacherevaluations (which in effect leaves a teacher's evaluation hinging on test scores by 100%- not 40%)  I was ready to bring this up at a district chapter leader meeting.

Disappointingly, I was silenced by my district representative.  I was told to send her "proof" which I did, and never received a response.

I am wondering if, besides the change.org petition http://www.change.org/petitions/stop-the-public-shaming-and-unjust-firing-of-teachers, are teachers organizing to demand that our union leaders rescind their agreement to this measure?

What they are effectively doing is dangling the "New York City Expedited Appeals Process" as a big union victory, but not mentioning the fact that they agreed to a heavy value added measure for teacher evaluations.

Race to the Top funding comes with requirements to have such measures, but what, I wonder, has incentivized our union leaders to agree to a measure that could possibly lead to busting up our union.

I have helped start a parent advocacy group at the progressive public school I teach in, and I am informing my colleagues.  However, I am aware that public descent could lead to internal problems within our union that would make things very easy for private interests.  Please let me know if you are delving into this issue and if there is anything I can do to help.

Thank you, 

Afterburn
I published the same thoughts from 2 NYC parents about the UFT in this post:

REVEALING COMMENTS FROM 2 NYC PARENT ACTIVISTS

our District Leader insists that we do not have a new evaluation agreement- even with the information posted straight from Gov. Cuomo's office and NYSED.  

Here is Education Law §3012-c 

http://www.capregboces.org/LeaderToLeaderLinks/2010-2011/PDF/EdLaw3012.pdf 

If you wish, include the letter from Cuomo's office highlighting the "Rating System" subsection:  http://www.governor.ny.gov/press/02162012teacherevaluations

By the way, a new State testing securities director has been hired.  http://www.oms.nysed.gov/press/SEDHiresTestSecurityDirector.html  

Not to mention the millions allocated to NCS Pearson to design new tests for lower grades. 

I am confused by our UFT once filing a lawsuit for the value added measure to now being in agreement. 

Read it all:

Why is the UFT Ignoring This? Thoughts on Turnaround

And this too:

APPR Update(?) from NYCDOENUTS

CLARIFICATION: I received a call from a chapter leader after this was posted saying that at his district meetings he could say anything he wanted. In the follow-up discussion we touched on the fact that it is possible to say stuff but the context of the District meetings are geared towards the needs of the union hierarchy and not towards the schools. Remember, at one time the chapter leaders elected the DRs so to some extent they were beholden to them (but always consider that Unity Caucus still controlled the process and other than the Manhattan HS district only Unity people were elected, often without opposition.)

Closing Schools United - Rally April 19, 4PM

Retired Teacher on the Impact of a U-Rating

Jo-Ann Demas worked in the corporate world as a graphic artist before she became a special education teacher in 2006. She worked at an elementary school in Queens before she retired. I met her when we both observed a recent 3020A hearing.


The Big U and How I Tried to Delete The Scarlett Letter

By Jo-Ann Demas

There is an alarming trend of teachers receiving an “Unsatisfactory” on their annual assessment. While a “U” rating is certainly humiliating, it can literally take food off our tables. What’s behind this trend and what can we do about it?

It used to be that a U rating was a rare event. In the last couple of years, U ratings have increased dramatically. Recently at the Queens United Federation of Teachers office, even the lobby security guard observed long lines of teachers waiting to get on the elevators to file for a hearing in regards to their U ratings. What’s going on? I spoke to several principals who were told by NYC Department of Education to start handing out Us. Some have chosen to ignore this verbal edict. Others have obeyed.

Who is being targeted with the Us? It varies: veteran master teachers have received Us. New developing and promising young teachers have received Us. All kinds of teachers are now getting Us. Let’s be frank: not all teachers excel at this job. We all know teachers who are neglectful and who text instead of teach. You can hear some teachers screaming through the walls, using the tactic of humiliation rather motivation. However, it is not our job as union members to inform administrators of other teachers’ activities. That’s called spying. Administrators know who these teachers are: they’re often among the groupies surrounding administrators! These teachers garner favors by spying and tattling. Calling attention to “brown nosers” can be self-defeating. If they also received Us, it would not make the situation better and we would be playing along with the DOE’s blame game. As union members we do not spy on each other. That’s not our job. Our job is to educate children. We made a pledge to protect them. If we have evidence of child abuse, we have a legal obligation to report that abuse whether the perpetrator is a family member or a teacher. This is the only instance where we can “break ranks” without guilt.

Let’s say a teacher needs a lot of improvement. The New York City Department of Education has a hand book which stipulates, in great detail, what the protocol is for boosting teacher effectiveness. The prescribed process involves plenty of professional development with immediate follow-up observation and consultation. This protocol is rarely adhered to. Observations become punitive rituals rather than professional development. Not all teachers who enter the profession are “really in to it.” Yet all teachers should have the right to due process should a U rating befall them. Most teachers truly want to improve and become better educators.

When we get the U, we lift ourselves up and we go down to the UFT office and officially file for a hearing. We are assigned a UFT defender. Several months later, there is a hearing at the DOE headquarters. We are in a small hearing room with our defender and a so-called “impartial” DOE hearing officer. Our administrators are not required to attend the hearing in person. Instead they participate via telephone conference. Each side files documents. Verbal defense of the documents goes back and forth. The tape of the proceeding and the documents are sent to the Chancellor’s office for a ruling. What happens next should not surprise us: 99.9% come back rubber stamped with the same U.

I faced this situation last year. I decided to initiate a lawsuit against the DOE for harassment. I went down to Court Street to buy the audiotape of the hearings. I asked the clerk, in passing, if anyone ever listened to the tape in the Chancellor’s office. He said, “No. Only if it goes to court.” So, after all that hard work with our UFT defender, the DOE is not legally required to listen to the hearing tape in order to make a knowledgeable and judicious decision! What this means is that principals have carte blanche and can give you a U for no justifiable reason at all. The DOE will back them up. The U rating becomes irreversible.

What to do? Take it to court. Get a lawyer. I found a principled labor lawyer who concluded that it is almost impossible to win a lawsuit against the DOE. Besides, a lawyer costs thousands of dollars. The stress of all this registered with my body: I got physically ill. A “souvenir” from childhood aka dormant chicken pox cells in my nerve endings presented themselves as the shingles. I had to assess my situation: I was in continuous pain and had to continue teaching. Could I also conduct a no-win lawsuit at the same time with a lawyer I couldn’t pay for? My situation is not unique. The DOE knows teachers can’t afford a lawyer. I mean, they underpay us. The DOE knows our union does not have the apparatus set up to defend its members at this stage. (More on that later.)

The initial focus of the U stamping is to humiliate and demoralize as in “The Scarlett Letter” a novel by Nathanial Hawthorne set in witch hunt-era New England. Fellow teachers observe the “Scarlett Letter” and feel intimidated to speak up in defense of others. A passive and fearful work force is the result. The union at the shop level, in practice, is rendered ineffective. But did you know that the U can take food off our tables? Yes, there is an economic impact of a U rating. Your salary is not affected. But your ability to earn extra money through per session jobs is. When you receive a U, you are not permitted to work per session. This is harmful in general. For new teachers, it is difficult because of student loans, weddings, new babies, mortgages, etc. For older teachers and those near retirement, a U rating restriction on per session directly affects pension. For the last five years of their careers, teachers can boost their annual average upon which the pension payment is based. This phenomenem probably saves the DOE a bundle: at our expense. U ratings check pension costs.

Upon retirement I learned how the U rating I received two years before still “took food off my table.” Retired teachers may apply as “Occasional Per Diem” teachers. My application as a substitute teacher was denied because I received a U rating in the last five years of my employment. I can show you the form letter.

The experience of receiving a U rating has left many teachers with feelings of abandonment and bitterness towards our union. Under the federal law Taft-Hartley, a union is obligated to fight for its members’ rights. This is called “duty of fair representation.” When we are left “hanging” after a hearing with a rubber-stamped U, the union, in effect, has failed in its legal obligation to defend us. This situation constitutes a violation of the New York State Taylor Law as well. The Chancellor’s Office is guilty of ruling arbitrarily without hearing evidence. The DOE attacks are vicious and our defense woefully inadequate. There has to be a union apparatus in place to defend members beyond the hearing. A union, in its essence, is a defense organization. Full due process must be guaranteed. This is what we pay union dues for. And we need it in writing in our contract. Now with the attacks on teachers taking the form of publishing test scores, etc. it is all the more necessary. We need to be vigilant, militant and organized. When we stand up for ourselves, we are modeling for our students how we don’t accept bullying. We absolutely must change things: the children are watching.

Chicago Teachers Union Forces Rhambo Retreat

The surprise compromise followed a burgeoning revolt by parents concerned the 7.5-hour day would leave young kids exhausted and older kids unable to participate in after-school and extra-curricular activities.

Under repeated questioning, Emanuel refused to characterize the schedule change as a political retreat.

Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis, who has gone toe-to-toe with Emanuel repeatedly, welcomed the mayor’s compromise, but she couldn’t resist lecturing Emanuel.

“It’s about time the mayor listened to parents about the length of the school day,” Lewis said in a statement.

“Now, give our students the neighborhood schools, resources and support they deserve. Teachers have said this from the beginning. This is about quality — not quantity.”

Earlier this week, a coalition of sixteen parent groups demanded a meeting with Emanuel to go over the real research on a 7.5-hour school day and not the “misinformation” they charged CPS with spreading.

What is the difference between a union that engages in a rigorous fight back (CTU/Karen Lewis) and a union that plays footsie with the enemy (guess)?
The CTU has worked very hard to get community forces involved --- the key is not to be self-serving and the UFT will never be viewed that way no matter what they do.

Of course the Unity trolls will say, "They only got Emanuel to back off by a half hour?" These guys have been in control of the union less than 2 years, all of them coming directly out of classrooms. You guys for 50 years doing goodness knows what. Even I was shocked not long ago when a public figure who shall remain nameless used the term "quislings" to describe the UFT/AFT leaders. Jeez, even I don't go that far, only calling them Vichy. What is the difference? See Afterburn.

Excellent fact sheet that produced here: http://goo.gl/9ujda.

A White Paper on Chicago Public Schools’ Extended Day Proposal: The Best Education, or Just the Longest?
Chicago Parents for Quality Education April 9, 2012

Emanuel backs 7-hour school day after parents protest longer plan

BY FRAN SPIELMAN City Hall Reporter fspielman@suntimes.com April 10, 2012 11:00AM

Related Stories

• Teachers union welcomes compromise, but says 7-hour day too long

Updated: April 10, 2012 2:08PM

Chicago Sun-Times - http://goo.gl/EXlzT
 

Mayor Rahm Emanuel blinked Tuesday in his signature drive for a longer school day.
Instead of requiring elementary schools to shift from the current 5.75-hour day to 7.5 hours, the mayor backed off and ordered a 7-hour day for elementary schools, beginning this fall.
High schools will stick with the mayor’s original proposal for a 7.5-hour day, but it will be limited to four days a week. On the fifth day, students will be dismissed 75 minutes early to give teachers more preparation time.

Pat Dobosz Videos and Reports on Grover Cleveland, MS 126, IS 71 and Beginnings With Children Charter School

Report from Pat Dobosz-- below, see all the videos she posted, including one of our pal Frances Lewis HS Ch Ldr Arthur Goldstein, who spoke at the Grover Cleveland HS hearing to show support. Leonie posted a bunch on her blog too:

School closing hearings at John Ericsson JHS and Grover Cleveland HS

Gem/ICEers Pat and David Dobosz present some interesting thoughts about a District 14-based longtime charter operating out of its own building, now looking to get on the gravy train of free space in a public school building at IS 71, which at one point earlier this year was threatened with closing before being pulled off the list.

On Monday, April 2, 2012 David and I attended the co-location hearing of Beginning with Children at the Juan Morel Campos Campus. The high school on this campus, which also houses an intermediate school (IS 71) and a special education District 75 school, was recently saved from closure by the DOE after a rousing hearing attended by the community. 

Now Beginning With Children Charter school (that has four schools in Williamsburg and Bed Stuy) wants to co-locate in this building. One can't help wonder what kind of a deal was made by the DOE. There was a handful of people in the audience. Most were there in conjunction with the charter school. The CEC was not present as they had promised not to attend any more co-location hearings. The principal sat on the dais with the SUNY official who praised him to the hilt and who is respected very much by the Campos community. He did not speak at this hearing.

David, on behalf of the Southside Community Coalition, was the only speaker (I sent a written comment). He said that Beginning With Children began as an honest option. (Note:It was originally an alternative public school that went charter). Now it's a network taking its cue from Eva Moskowitz and Success Academy by mailing out glossy cards to recruit neighborhood children. The addresses are bought from a company that the DOE sells to (Vanguard is one such company). David asked, "How rogue is BWCC going to go?" He requested that the Principal, Mr. Feinman, let the community know if he experiences any predatory behavior on the part of BWCC. A gentleman who may be an AP later came over and thanked David for his remarks.

George Flowers, Executive Director of Beginning with Children Charter School, approached David after the meeting and claimed he didn't know about the outreach to the community with the post cards and said he was going to check into the matter. When asked if the teachers at the new school would be union teachers, Flowers said they would not be unionized as they are at the original school in the Pfizer building.

The meeting was over in the blink of an eye. It seems that many of those who might have attended were at another meeting at PS 17 over the issue of mold in the building.

We headed over to the closing hearing at Grover Cleveland HS in Queens. This was a completely different experience. The auditorium was packed with student (past and present), teachers, community members and politicians. I included some video clips below.

On Wednesday, April 4 we attended the closing hearing at John Ericsson MS 126. This is a restart school that is now becoming a turnaround school. This means it will close, lose 50% of it's staff and get a new number and name. We heard many pleas from students, teachers, parents and politicians to give this school a chance. It has a new principal that everyone respects and they were just put under the restart model in September.

[Ed Note: The old principal put in by the DOE at 126 was a major cause of the school's decline.]

Assemblyman Joe Lentol said that it was an insult to the new principal to switch gears now. To change in mid-stream is a mistake. This school has 40% of its students in special education services compared to 15.64% citywide. It has 25% of its student body that are ELLs (English Language Learners), several of whom spoke passionately about the education and services they were receiving at 126. The school has already faced a "turnaround" of 75% since 2007. The general feeling reflected in the comments was that a turnaround/closure of this school would be disruptive and that what the DOE should be doing is providing resources and support for the new principal and the current staff. These are the pleas we are hearing from every restart school hearing we are going to. The DOE is justifying turnaround which means closure by blaming the UFT for not having an evaluation system in place (the DOE's evaluation system). As SLT member, Sergio Zamora stated, "We did turnaround." Now it's the DOE's responsibility to give support to the staff and students.

John Ericsson has suffered neglect for many years because of poor administrators that were allowed to bring it down. The DOE has a moral obligation to give support so that it  can once again be a model middle school as it was when I went there as a student.

These hearings are heartbreaking as the school communities speak on behalf of their second "families." It is outrageous that NY State, Bloomberg and The DOE/PEP turn a deaf ear to public outcry.

Pat Dobosz, a person whose school past is only captured in year books now.: My elementary school is co-located with Eva's SA, my high school has been closed and now they want to close my JHS. The wonderful education and memories I had at each of these schools will be only that, memories. My future grandchildren and friends' children will not have the pleasure of saying they went to the school their parents went to.

The following videos were posted on behalf of GEM, the Grassroots Education Movement:

 ERRATA FROM A GCHS TEACHER:

Here are a couple of my comments to help with the identifications:

This is GCHS science teacher Russell Nitchman:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AwWXIkcpOs

This is GCHS guidance counselor Alice Gluszak:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKl7VCUOk48

The "despair, confusion..." person is retired GCHS English teacher Joe Thorsen:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlvF_bGldc8

I don't know who this elected official is, but could it be Addabbo?:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LN7jU4DyXf0

This is not a student member of the SLT:

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

The speaker in this video is misidentified on YouTube and your blog as being Addabbo.  It is actually my former student, Dmytro Fedkowskyj, the Queens PEP member:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-FQS-5ABEg

Subj: Grover Cleveland Hearing April 2, 2012

[20120402064521Grover Cleveland] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AwWXIkcpOs

Teacher: What's the difference between what Bloomberg is doing and being a prostitute?

[20120402062130Grover Cleveland] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9csy1BZRw0
Francis Lewis HS ESL teacher and Chapter Leader, Arthur Goldstein: How would you rate Mayor Bloomberg: Highly Effective, Effective, Developing or Ineffective?

[20120402062023Grover Cleveland] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKl7VCUOk48Guidance Guidance Counselor: When does a chancellor's word not mean anything?

[20120402061754Grover Cleveland] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--e3wX7GrtQ
Christine Martin on behalf of the Council of Supervisors:and Administrators: ...plan is being introduced for cynical reasons

[20120402061614Grover Cleveland] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJ_WVQcOgSg
Student member of the SLT: We should not be used as pieces in the mayor's monolpoly game.

[20120402061337Grover Cleveland] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlvF_bGldc8
The DOE is creating an environment of despair, confusion and failure.

[20120402060930Grover Cleveland] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQmtjkjEqco
UFT Vice President of High Schools, Leo Casey: Stop holding Grover Cleveland hostage.

[20120402060615Grover Cleveland] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-FQS-5ABEg
State Senator, Addabbo: Keep Cleveland open...


[20120402060206Grover Cleveland] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XLCd_t4sRo
Assemblywoman Catherine Nolan is asked whether she would rescind mayoral control.


[20120402055247Grover Cleveland] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ytuGx0B7zk
Assemblywoman Catherine Nolan, a Cleveland alumna.

[20120402055048Grover Cleveland] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LN7jU4DyXf0
An elected official asks that Cleveland be taken off the list of turnaround schools.

 =======
Afterburn

IS 126 was one of the schools I covered for years from 1997 until I left the system when I worked for District 14 media center. It once was the jewel of the district. There are lots of reasons for its problems, some of them traceable to pre-Bloomberg years. I could do an entire post on the history of this school, including the old school board political machinations. A key was replacing IS 126 with IS 318 as the flagship school in the district. In both cases and with pretty much all schools "succeeding" it is due to the kids you can recruit. Charters cream and public schools cream if they can. For years IS 126 was the only option if you wanted your top kids to avoid the local zoned schools and we used to work very hard to get out top kids in there. Interesting in that it is located in Greenpoint, a white area. When IS 318 replaced it as the magnet, that made sense in that it is located smack in the middle of the district. What were the white parents in Greenpoint to do? Many sent their kids there anyway. Others lobbied for a more local middle school option aside from 126 because that school was already getting overloaded with special ed and ELLs. And they got it at PS 132 which is a short distance away. That pretty much doomed 126. But the constant co-locations, from Bard for a few years put in by Harold Levy -- they took the top floor with a million dollar renovation while 126 was squeezed into tiny spaces, followed by sleazeball Eddie Calderon-Melendez corrupt Believe managed Williamsburg charter, now also being closed along with 126. What a sad story. 

 

GEM's Mollie Bruhn Keynote at Connecticut Educators Association

GEMers Mollie Bruhn and Julie Cavanagh were invited to give the keynote at the Connecticut Educators Association on March 31, 2012.

Mollie posted an account of the CEA event (at Mohican Sun, those lucky dogs) on the Real Reform Studio web site which is named: The Inconvenient Truth Behind Waiting for Superman:

Direct link: Connecticut Education Association Hosts a Screening, 3/31/12

The GEM/RRS team at CEA, March 31

I talk about the amazing Julie all the time but have not talked enough about Mollie, an 8th year Teach for America alum who "gets" it. Mollie (on the right in the pic) is one of the smartest, logical and organized people I've met and played a major role in shaping The Inconvenient Truth Behind Waiting for Superman. One day I'll tell the full story but suffice to say, Darren, Julie and I thought we had a roughly completed film in Feb. 2011 after 6 months of work. Lisa Donlan and Mollie got more involved at that point and took a close look from the outside. Lisa brought her years as a parent activist to the project and Mollie brought another teacher voice. She hadn't been working on the film in the initial stage even though Real Reform Studios is in her apartment but then played a major role in restructuring the film and refining the message. We ended up shooting more footage and rewriting portions of the narrative, along with redoing many of the graphics and research presented in the film (one of its strongest aspects.) 

I can't say enough about the collaborative process we went through in creating the film and how that process worked out so well. We are excited to be starting another film about high stakes testing and will keep you posted. Diane Ravitch was kind enough to give me an hour of her time this morning for an interview and Deb Meier gave me an interview last week.

Here is Mollie's full speech to the CEA, a wonderful affirmation of the concept of the importance of a public school system and how charters undermine that concept.

I am very excited to be here today. I want to start by thanking CEA for having us here and for their wonderful support of our film. Before we see a portion of the film (which you will all get a copy of today), I want to tell you a little about myself--how I became interested in teaching, and how I developed a strong belief in the power and importance of our public education system.

I normally spend my days sharing a classroom with 25 loving, curious, needy, energetic and frequently clumsy 5-year olds. So, it is refreshing to be surrounded today by so many adults. I can be confident here that their won't be any bathroom accidents, any tangled laces or any debates over who has the "best" pencil. Speaking to my Kindergarten students is rarely a challenge, as they tend to think everything I say is just amazing. While I don't expect this audience to be as easy to wow, I do hope that you'll carefully consider the critical topics Julie and I want to discuss with you today.

I am a product of public education. Growing up in Lincoln, Nebraska, I attended wonderful public schools from kindergarten through high school. Back then, in the late 80s/early 90s, the educational landscape was relatively simple and easy to navigate. While some families in my community sent their children to private schools, the overwhelming majority stuck with public schools- the public system was well-respected, relatively well-funded and well-run. While I benefited greatly from my public education and worked with many inspirational teachers along the way, I never really contemplated the importance, purpose or relevance of public education in our society.

Then, in 2000 I moved to NYC to attend NYU. Like most college freshman I had no idea what I wanted to study and the idea of even contemplating a career was downright nauseating. But, then I landed a work-study job working as a tutor in a local public school classroom. I had always connected well with children (I'd worked summer jobs at daycares and done a substantial amount of babysitting) but I had never been on the real teaching side of a classroom.

When I began tutoring, I was immediately impressed by the way the classroom teacher commanded the attention of her students. They seemed to be mesmerized with her words and she carried herself with such direction and purpose. I was encouraged by her passion for her work but also saw how demanding and challenging it could be--especially given the diverse group of learners in her classroom. With each visit to her first grade room and with each new interaction with a student, I found myself thinking more and more about moving in a direction that might lead me to be in front of a class one day.

As I continued with my studies I found myself drawn to both philosophy and psychology and, in particular, coursework where we explored the relationship between democracy and education.

I began, for the first time, to really think about public education as a necessary condition for a just, productive and healthy society. Our democracy, as Abraham Lincoln so powerfully put it in 1863, was designed to be a government of the people, by the people, and for the people. And the only way a democracy such as this can function is if the people are prepared to participate. I began to see the public education system as the most important democratic institution in our country. What better way to ensure an informed, active public than to provide free public education to all? I began to study the works of celebrated educators like Paulo Freire, John Dewey, Myles Horton and Deborah Meier and was inspired by their collective commitments to using education as a catalyst for social change. I thought, the classroom--that's where it is. That's where the most important work happens, and I want to be there.

By the time graduation rolled around, I was excited to take all of my academic contemplations and put them to actual use in the real world. So, I began searching for a teaching job. I hadn't actually graduated with a teaching certificate as I had focused my studies in Philosophy, psychology and Urban studies. Thus, I found myself unqualified to work for the NYC DOE, but then I came across some job listings for charter schools. I had heard of charter schools but didn't really understand what they were. I knew they called themselves public schools and accepted students by some sort of open lottery. I naively, but enthusiastically, took an assistant teaching job at a brand new charter school. I hoped that I could contribute to the school's vision, make a sizable impact with the students and eventually move on to be a lead teacher.

Like many charter schools, mine was one with an unfortunately inexperienced administrative team. Our principal had only one year of experience and had never actually worked with our schools young kindergarten and 1st grade population. I expected to have a leader who could mentor and guide me, but I found myself stuck trying to figure things out on my own. I asked tough questions, probed for insights and challenged my colleagues to think critically about our work.

As a new school we had many growing pains. One major school-wide issue was classroom management. As is the case with most groups of kindergarteners, we had a wide range of abilities and school readiness. Some students had a difficult time adjusting to the school routines and our overly long school day (730 am to 5 pm). A few of these students continued to struggle as the months went on, and our administrative team actually advised their families to take their children elsewhere to be educated. While our principal did not overtly “kick” any students out of school—he certainly made it clear that our school would no longer be a good fit for these families. This surprised and disappointed me greatly. The genius of our public education system is that everyone is guaranteed an education—no one can be turned away. But, as I learned, in the charter world, the schools were far from public.

As the year went on, I grew more and more frustrated with the environment around me—the discipline system felt harsh and punitive; the school culture seemed to ignore the social needs of young children and the day was much too long for their young minds. I raised concerns in staff meetings and tried to make the best of my situation. Then, one day, my principal called me into his office and without warning informed, me that I was being let go. Just like that. Fired. I had signed a contract with the school, but, like those of most charter schools, the contract made me an at-will employee, basically giving my employer the right to fire me for any reason at any time. When asked for the reason, I was informed, simply, that I “had asked too many questions.” Since I wasn’t a member of a union, like public school teachers are, I was on my own. I had no recourse, no ability to appeal the decision and no one to reach out to.

Initially, I felt heart-broken. While I hadn’t necessarily been happy at the charter school, I had been putting forth unbelievable effort each and every day. Over time, I realized that my hasty dismissal--however unjust--was actually a blessing in disguise. It allowed me to take a step back and examine what I wanted, which was to work in a real public school where I would have the support and backing of a union and have the opportunity to work in tandem with experienced educators. I went back to school and eventually found myself a job teaching Kindergarten at a public school in the South Bronx.

My first year was incredibly challenging. I wish I could stand up here and give you some magical 3-step, no-fail, secret method for being an effective teacher. But, teaching is an art, and it takes on a different form with each individual teacher. The advice I would give to new teachers--and what helped me the most, is to be:
-patient with yourself
-reflective and honest about your practice
-accepting of where your students are--academically, socially and emotionally.

There are often external pressures telling us where our students "should" be and it is easy to transfer that pressure over to our students. Students will show the most growth when we meet them where they are--when we accept them, understand them and nurture them. Now, in my 8th year as an educator, some of my work has gotten easier. My instincts have improved; I've learned to be more flexible; I've found more and more effective ways of delivering lessons. But, the work and the challenge never ends, and I never cease asking myself what I can do better.

While it took me some time to find my way here, I feel very proud to be a public school teacher. Today the landscape of education is rapidly changing, as many in power seem to have lost sight of the purpose of our public education system. We see politicians promoting charter schools and privatization, talking about "choice" and laying blame on our dedicated teaching force. Now may not be the easiest time to be a public school teacher but perhaps it is one of the most important times. Our public education system needs determined individuals who are willing to honor it, support it and defend it. I commend you all for being a part of it and wish you the best of luck in your careers. Believe every day that our work is important. Remember that we change lives every day. And recognize that what we are doing will help ensure, in the words of Lincoln, that "government of the people, by the people and for the people, shall not perish from this earth."