Updated: Jennifer Jennings (formerly Eduwonkette) apologizes to Secretary Duncan over the booing at AERA

I have heard this before; critiques from the people in power or their apologists saying “why can’t you be more civilized.”  In my mind, it is similar to a well-equipped army that invades your country, takes over your institutions, and then argues with the natives that their resistance is not “civilized” enough. ... Leonie Haimson

Jennifer Jennings is one of my favorite people of all time even though I disagree with almost every word in Jennifer's apology to Duncan which today surprised the world of long-term Real Reform activists battling ed deform. One commentator used the term, "bizarre."

Given Jennifer's former superstar status when she blogged anonymously as Eduwonkette from Sept. 2007 to Aug. 2008 and through her final post in Jan. 2009 under her own name, this was somewhat of a bombshell.

I wouldn't classify this, as some may have, as the reverse of the Ravitch desertion of the ed deform camp but Jennifer's absence from the public discourse over the past 4 years has made people forget just how important she was in debunking so much ed deform in a very short time, to such an extent that a nationwide witch hunt was on to find out her identity, with some of Joel Klein's minions jumping in to attack her on a regular basis.

I haven't seen or heard from Jennifer in years but though I disagree with her here I still consider her a friend. We shared a whole bunch of times together. She attended some ICE meetings and tested out her blog on me before going public and I was one of the very few who knew her identity. We were together when we heard Joel Klein got the Broad Award (she punched me in the arm in frustration). The only AERA conference I attended was here in NY because of her. I posted about Jennifer in Jan. 2009 when she "came" out and I was the first blogger to post about her right after her first blog post came out. She went viral soon after.

But I will talk more about why this story is so interesting and include other reactions in a follow-up and include some thoughts.

If you want to catch up on Eduwonkette's work, here are the links to her initial blog and the one after she was picked up by Edweek.
http://eduwonkette2.blogspot.com/
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/eduwonkette/2009/01/


Ravitch comments here:  Why Did Educators Boo Duncan? Jennings Apologizes.

Before I post any more, read what Jennifer had to say at Edweek.

http://shar.es/lzWnS

Published Online: May 6, 2013

Commentary

An Apology to Secretary Duncan

By Jennifer Jennings 

Premium article access courtesy of Edweek.org.

I agree with U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan on just about nothing. I think Race to the Top is an evidence-free mess. I think the idea of a test worth teaching to is a willful misunderstanding of the science of testing. And I can’t agree with Duncan’s insistence that the cheating scandals that have garnered widespread attention in recent months are a parable about “rotten” school cultures and not a reflection on the incentives that we’ve forced upon teachers. 

But as I sat on the floor of a packed ballroom in San Francisco at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association last week, I was embarrassed—no, humiliated—that some of my colleagues booed the secretary of education when he approached the microphone for his keynote speech. It is one thing to disagree with some of the Obama administration’s policies, to bring countervailing data to the table, and to engage in reasoned—and, one would hope, enlightened—conversation. It is another thing entirely to abdicate our most sacred responsibility as researchers—a commitment to ideas, to data, to truth, to real debate—at the altar of one-upmanship. 

“I was embarrassed—no, humiliated—when some of my colleagues booed the secretary of education when he approached the microphone for his keynote speech.”

What saddens me is that the educational policy debate has become an overwhelming chorus of boos, of shout-downs, and of bitter personal insults, rather than a real debate about ideas and data and first principles. Unfortunately, this mirrors the direction that most American political debates have leaned in recent years. It is toxic. It is unnecessary. And it is not befitting of a community of researchers who stand in front of students on most days of the week and call ourselves educators. 

I have no senior standing, official office, or public mandate with which to offer this apology, but nonetheless: I’m sorry. I’m sorry that a faceless minority of the educational research community lacked the courage to meet you with ideas rather than with the heckling that is so easy to deploy when you are sitting among hundreds of others, none of whom will ever be called personally to account for their actions. 

You had the grace, the guts, and the patience not to reciprocate.
If there is one lesson from this conference, Secretary Duncan, you showed America’s educational researchers that we can have a different debate—one in which we rely on ideas and open disagreement and reason, and not on schoolyard bravado.

Jennifer Jennings is an assistant professor of sociology at New York University. She is the former author of Education Week's eduwonkette blog.

NYCDOE Charter Hits Keep Coming on PAVE Favoratism as DOE to Hold Hearing But Won't Tell Anyone Details

Please note that if you would like the specific amendment to PAVE’s charter, please file a FOIL request with the DOE’s Records Officer.   .... Sonia Park, NYC DOE Charter Schools Accountability & Support,  212.374.6883

The hearing is today. Another Tweedie perpetrating another outrage unreported by the semi-useless NYC Press corps.

Remember billionaire run PAVE charter, which we give credit to for turning on the motor of activism for Julie Cavanagh? They moved out of PS 15 and got their own 34 million building. You see charters aren't supposed to have Pre-K. But if pre-k kids go to a great public school like PS 15 they won't want to leave to go to semi-dysfunctional PAVE. So PAVE is trying the oft-used ploy used by Eva's Success chain of going around the rules -- with the encouragement of the DOE which wants the competing public school to die as soon as possible so they can make the buildings available to charters. By stealing kids in pre-k, advantage charter.

Aside from the lack of transparency noted by Jim below, I thought NY state had determined it was illegal for charter schools to get state funding for preK; can someone please clarify?.. Leonie Haimson

I'm sure the DOE will bend any rules they have to and will be supported by the criminals at State Ed.

Jim Devor is on the case: Read bottom up.

Are you serious?  You intend to hold a public hearing on a proposed amendment to a Charter School's Charter AND you decline to make the actual proposal public before the hearing?

AND even though I made the document request almost a week ago, you tell me to file a FOIL request less than two and 1/2 hours before the hearing begins? 

AND you plan to retroactively approve the results a lottery held approximately one month ago in violation of the school's then existing Charter?

AND the Division of Early Childhood intends to approve an application by PAVE Academy for a pre-K affiliate -  thereby displacing a Red Hook Seniors program - even when (by the DoE's own data) there is capacity for 750 more seats in existing Red Hook public elementary schools?

AND you really think that this blatant attempt to contravene the Charter School Act's prohibition against pre-K Charter admissions will pass legal muster?

Is Orwell's Big Brother your patron saint or just your role model?  

________________________

Jim Devor; President, CEC-15     Follow me on Twitter: @JimDevor     “Who does this guy Jim Devor think he is?”  --   NY Times;  Nov. 23, 2012

---

From: Park Sonia <SPark15@schools.nyc.gov>
To: "James W. Devor, Esq.
Cc: Marlin Carrie <CMarlin@schools.nyc.gov>; Lewis Daree <DLewis14@schools.nyc.gov>; Campo Maria <MCampo3@schools.nyc.gov>
Sent: Monday, May 6, 2013 3:24 PM
Subject: RE: CSD 15 Public Hearing Notice: Charter Revision

Mr. Devor,

 

This is a summary of the proposed charter amendment to the PAVE Academy Charter School.

 

On March 25, 2013, PAVE Academy Charter School submitted a proposal to amend its charter.  The school is proposing to amend its Charter in regards to its Enrollment process.  Specifically, PAVE Academy administrators and trustees would enroll Kindergarten students one year and five months in advance of their first day of Kindergarten.  Subsequent to Kindergarten enrollment, PAVE Academy Charter School will recommend students selected via the lottery to attend PAVE Pre-Kindergarten, a separate non-profit organization that has responded to the Office of Early Childhood’s RFP process for full day Pre-Kindergarten seats.  To clarify, students who are selected in PAVE Academy Charter School’s Kindergarten lottery one year and five months in advance are not required to attend PAVE Pre-Kindergarten.

 

Please note that if you would like the specific amendment to PAVE’s charter, please file a FOIL request with the DOE’s Records Officer.

 

Best regards,

 

Sonia C. Park

NYC DOE Charter Schools Accountability & Support

212.374.6883

 

website:  http://schools.nyc.gov/charters

 

From: James W. Devor, Esq.
Sent: Tuesday, April 30, 2013 4:12 PM
To: Park Sonia
Cc: Cec15 D15; Dan Wiley; Campo Maria; Marlin Carrie; Barboza Meg; Sternberg Marc
Subject: Re: CSD 15 Public Hearing Notice: Charter Revision

 

Dear Ms.  Park,

I have recently been made aware of a "public hearing" regarding a proposal to permit PAVE Academy charter school in Red Hook to hold its K admissions lottery seventeen  months in advance (sic).  Frankly, given our prior correspondence on the subject, I am disappointed that neither you nor anyone from your office showed me the courtesy of informing me directly about the "public hearing". 

Nevertheless, in order to adequately prepare for and comment upon said  proposal, demand is hereby made for copies (preferably electronic but paper will suffice) of all documents submitted to the NYC Department of Education and its various departments and offices by PAVE Academy and all of its subsidiaries and affiliates in support of its application to amend its Charter with the New York City Department of Education.  Appropriate redaction of personal identifying information would be acceptable.

As you know the hearing is scheduled for next Monday.  As such, time is of the essence.  We are aware this is a very short deadline.  The very limited time available, however, is ENTIRELY of the DoE's own making.  Accordingly, we expect IMMEDIATE compliance with this demand.

Thanks in advance for your anticipated courtesy and assistance.

Very truly yours,
_____________
Jim Devor; President, CEC-15              

From: Campo Maria
Sent: Wednesday, April 24, 2013 5:33 PM
To: Tsang Helen; White Mary F.; Rosales Juan; Pankratz Connie; Wong Alice; Puglia Devon ; Marlin Carrie; Skop Anita
Cc: Orbegoso Yolanda; Cheong Yoo Jin; Barboza Meg; Lewis Daree; Cruz Jorge
Subject: CSD 15 Public Hearing Notice: Charter Revision

 

Hi all-

 

Attached is the notice for an upcoming public hearing around a charter revision for a DOE-authorized charter school:

 

·         PAVE Academy Charter School- CSD 15 on 5/6/13

 

Please let me know if you have any questions.

 

Thanks,

Maria

 

 

Maria E. Campo

Director of Oversight, Cohort 3

Charter Schools Accountability and Support

New York City Department of Education

(212) 374-5419

mcampo3@schools.nyc.gov

http://schools.nyc.gov/charters

 

WAGPOPS Has Partner in LAPOPS in Cross Country Battle Against Citizens of the World Charter

Eric Grannis (Eva's husband) should be strapped to a public school he is invading and have his liver eaten by buzzards (his heart has been gone a long time). The amazing Brooke Dunn has done it again and keeps doing it. See a previous item in Citizens of the World charter from Brooke at Norms Notes: Brooklyn Charter School Targets Rich, White Parent... as the Ed Deform so-called "civil rights issue of our times" support racist segregation policies while the major media is complicent  - or just too busy trying to find out where parent activists are sending their kids to school.

Many of you know that WAGPOPS! (Williamsburg and Greenpoint Parents: Our Public Schools!) has been fighting Los Angeles based Citizens of the World Charter Schools for the past year and a half.  The good news is that we have a sister organization, LAPOPS! (Los Angeles Parents: Our Public Schools!) in Los Angeles.  We've also developed partnerships with parents who attend Citizens of the World Charter Schools (CWC) in Hollywood (CWCH) and Silverlake (CWCSL).

We've amassed some unbelievable information (with documentation) regarding the schools themselves and the impact on NY for their expansion.

The LA schools are being asked to pay (retroactively as well) 1% of their per pupil funds for licensing, or the right to use the name "Citizens of the World," but here's the rub:  CWC NY schools will be forced to pay 3% of their per pupil funds for the same right to use the name "Citizens of the World," and that % will climb higher in future years - up to 8%!!!  This is NOT standard practice in NY Charters and is just for licensing.   Management and services are separate fees and percentages.

The licensing fee was only mentioned in a single sentence in the proposal to SUNY, and was not included in their submitted budgets, although it was mentioned in the SUNY recommendations to approve the charter.  I'm not sure if SUNY or the Regents are aware of this.  It's a pretty significant figure with millions of dollars funneled out of NY into CWC National. 

This is just the tip of the iceberg.  

CWC has been under-servicing ELLs in their LA schools, and have legal action pending against them from at least 3 families who's children with special needs almost died from negligence, one was found lying in a pool of her own vomit when she picked her child up form school (be sure to scroll to the end where the parents made the Board amend the minutes to include their testimony).  The negligent teacher from CWC SL was promoted to principal of the soon to be opened CWC Mar Vista!  You can't make this stuff up!

http://www.cwchollywood.org/docs/2-27-13%20CWCLA%20Board%20Meeting%20Minutes-updated%204-23.pdf . 

“When I arrived at the school approx 20 minutes later I discovered my daughter lying face down on the office floor, passed out and covered in her own vomit. The two individuals in the office at the time had no idea this had happened as they were occupied with photocopying behind the front desk.”

“The harsh reality of the situation is that if I was not in the front office my son would have died in the classroom.”

“I have been verbally requesting an IEP since the start of school and until February 7, I was ignored. Since this initial meeting on February 7 nothing has been resolved. In fact, my son has not been at school since he is not safe here.” 

The parents in their LA schools (CWC Hollywood, CWC Silverlake, and the soon to open CWC Mar Vista) were forced to consolidate to a "sole member" LA Board with the "sole member" being "CWC National."  This new National Board was made up of all the individuals from the scandal ridden Wonder of Reading (http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/NBC4-Extra---Book-Wars-Episode-Two.html ), notably Kriste Dragon, the former head of Wonder of Reading who folded the organization and funneled $2M into Citizens of the World, placing herself on the Board.  Dragon pulls the strings on all the Boards, and commands a salary of $240K while she lives in Atlanta.  Meanwhile, at the CWC NY "Meet the Principals" events, CWC staff is telling parents that they have a governance structure that is different from the LA schools, even though CWC NY will also be a "sole member" Board with CWC National as the sole member.

The CWC LA schools are financially unstable.  They're using money fundraised from CWC Hollywood to support the sustenance and opening of other schools against parents wishes, and have repeatedly been told by their outside management network that they are running out of funds.  

Finally, on top of 40-50 students leaving CWC SL in the middle of the year next year, CWC SL will be losing all but one teacher.  I've never heard of a teacher turnover rate like that, even at Success Academy!

We got some recent press coverage for CWC spending their resources targeting mostly white, affluent famillies: 

http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20130423/crown-heights/brooklyn-charter-school-targets-rich-white-parents-enrollment-plan-shows?cluster_id=177953&index=1&group_hood_id=73165

and

http://nycpublicschoolparents.blogspot.com/2013/04/citizens-of-what-world-recruiting.html

Any recommendations for next steps are much appreciated.

Best,

Brooke

MORE General Meeting Saturday, May 11 at Noon, MORE Election Analysis

Be sure to check out the election analysis graphs at the MORE site:

Graphical Analysis of the UFT Election Results

MORE will be holding the last formal meeting of the year this Saturday, having held open meetings once a month since February 2012, a pretty good run. And numerous planning committee meetings in between. And committee meetings. And attending events.

Oh, and running in the elections: building a slate, garnering petitions, distributing numerous leaflets and all the other paraphernalia you need to do in an election. In some ways that effort has held us back from the prime directive: to build a functioning organization with deep outreach to the schools. But it has also helped, bringing a batch of new people who seem excited by the experience. Old war horses like me get jaded and become cynics but the excitement at the election night victory party did infect me and I needed it after spending 9 hours watching the vote count.

Historically, the opposition caucuses go into a 2 year hibernation after elections while Unity Caucus goes back into its cave. For MORE the end of elections is the beginning of the cycle, not the end. MORE's next step is to actually build some kind of working organization starting with electing a 9 member steering committee (the process is ongoing now).

Up to now MORE has been functioning on a wing and a prayer. I've been one of the people holding out on taking this step as I believe in the least restrictive environment -- as little bureaucracy as you can get away with - my libertarian tendencies. But it is clear MORE has reached the stage of formalizing an elected body. (I made it clear that in protest of the 52% retiree vote in the UFT elections I would not serve on the steering committee to make a point. Besides, I'm too lazy to do the work required.)

I'm urging people to not take on too much -- just stay in your lane and do what is feasible in terms of where your life is at. Don't feel you have to come to every meeting. It can be more fruitful to concentrate on the work in your school. I am taking on a few tasks but not a leadership role -- as it should be. I want to develop a tabloid newsletter like the old Ed Notes of 2002-4 and also work with Queens people on a borough MORE meeting every few months. Others have loads of exciting ideas towards building not just a caucus but a movement. After all, it's in our name.

General Meeting 5/11

by morecaucusnyc

 

 

The Election Is Over, The Movement Has Just Begun!

MORE's last general meeting of the school year. 

Saturday, May 11th 12:00-3:00pm

224 West 29th st 14th fl. NYC (btwn 7th & 8th ave)

Please join us as we continue the important work of building MORE. We will begin voting for our new elected leadership and analyze the post UFT election data. We will decide what issues to focus on and develop strategies for fighting for a contract, better working conditions and improved learning conditions.
Join one of our working groups at the meeting to help during the summer. 

Facebook Link here

Weapons of Mass Destruction: Bloomberg Robs Public Schools to Pay Charters

While Bloomberg cuts DYCD funds to vital after-school programs, under the radar he is diverting those SAME funds to charter schools. To me this is OUTRAGEOUS and I haven't been able to find any press about it. For the 2012-2013 school year alone, DYCD gave $2.4 million to charter schools. In the 2010-2011 school year, DYCD gave $2.8 million to charter schools... Lorna Feeney

The press will ignore the real weapons of mass destruction story. This came in from Brooklyn parent activist Lorna Feeney based on work done by Leonie back in December. The press monitors Leonie's listserve but it takes a public school parent to do the digging.

I did some investigating on the issue you raised last December (below) and discovered something shocking. For the past few years, the DYCD has been granting start-up funds to charter schools.

So while Bloomberg cuts DYCD funds to vital after-school programs, under the radar he is diverting those SAME funds to charter schools. To me this is OUTRAGEOUS and I haven't been able to find any press about it.

Here's what I have found:

-- These funds are NOT for charter schools that have or are planning to offer after-school programs. They are for new schools to help fund their first year of operations.

-- It is also NOT going to exclusively new start-up schools. Icahn, KIPP, and Girls Prep have been granted funds. And Eva Moskowitz's Success Academy — with its 50% hike in management fees and millions in the bank — has hungrily fed at the trough, taking $347,000 last year to open her 3 new schools in Brooklyn. In the latest round of proposals that she submitted for the 6 schools planned for the 2014-2015 school year, she is budgeting in $600,000 of revenue from DYCD.

-- For the 2012-2013 school year alone, DYCD gave $2.4 million to charter schools.

-- In the 2010-2011 school year, DYCD gave $2.8 million to charter schools.

I have documentation for these findings if anyone would like to see. You can also search the City Record to see past awards here: http://a856-internet.nyc.gov/nycvendoronline/vendorsearch/asp/StartSearchArchive.asp

Regards,
Lorna

 Below is the original post by Leonie in very raw form. Just in case someone in the press wants to do a real story.

Stop the Machine: Put your bodies upon the gears and upon the wheels...

“There's a time when the operation of the machine becomes so odious, makes you so sick at heart, that you can't take part! You can't even passively take part! And you've got to put your bodies upon the gears and upon the wheels…upon the levers, upon all the apparatus, and you've got to make it stop! And you've got to indicate to the people who run it, to the people who own it, that unless you're free, the machine will be prevented from working at all!” ... Mario Salvio, 1964

When is enough enough for teachers, parents and students under assault?

Leonie sent this in response to organizing efforts around the opt-out movement by parents who are increasingly losing their fear of consequences.

I suggest that you reference Mario Savio’s great speech in 1964; video here:If you haven’t seen this speech, you must.  It is one of the great political speeches in history.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhFvZRT7Ds0

There comes a time when the fear of consequences of taking action disappear. When this occurs in enough people to make a critical mass, the monster putting a pillow on people's faces is defeated.

So it will be with ed deform. Whether the growing opt-out movement by parents or teachers refusing to take part in giving useless tests in Seattle, or here in the UFT where MORE people are tired of the UFT's capitulation in assisting with moving the wheels and the gears of the machine instead of putting their bodies on these levers of power. The UFT leaders have too much to lose. In Chicago, the leaders of the union were in the classroom 3 years ago and decided to put their bodies on the wheels, gears and levers.

Nothing will change in the UFT until there is a critical mass of activists. People unafraid of standing up to Tweed or 52 Broadway.  This struggle is not about votes in elections but in building this critical mass through active struggles. If you are out there and anonymous and fear the consequences, it may be time to move to the next step.

Can you afford not to? After all, the only thing you have to fear is fear itself.

Obama Supports Chicago Schools by Nominating Pritzger for Commerce Secretary

"She has caused so much damage to the children of Chicago, we found a brilliant way to get her out of town and into a job in Washington even though we now have to be concerned about the fate of the entire US economy with her in charge of Commerce. A win-win would be for the Republicans to hold up here nomination for years," said an Obama spokesperson. He was dressed to the nines in Prtizger fashionista garb.

Read more: http://nyceye.blogspot.com/2013/05/new-affront-to-chicago-teachers-other.html

Norm in The Wave: Opt Out Movement Grows

School Scope

Opt Out Movement Grows

By Norm Scott 

Published May 3, 2013

http://www.rockawave.com/news/2013-05-03/Columnists/School_Scope.html

 

 “My child vomited on your high stakes test,” is one of my favorite buttons. With two weeks of testing ending on April 26th, parent grassroots groups “Change the Stakes” and “Time Out from Testing” led a large after school protest of 500 on the steps of the Tweed headquarters of the Department of Education. Many of these parents are part of the growing opt-out movement where parents refuse to allow their children to take part in a testing process which has turned into child abuse. Note this headline from Albany: “4th Grader Asked to Take NYS Test from Hospital Bed.” The kid was hooked up to medical devices.

As a retired 35 year elementary school teacher, I am not opposed to tests, created by teachers or standardized, though I increasingly have doubts. I took tests that mattered since the 5th or 6th grade. We were told to bring a number two pencil the next day. That was the only warning that a test was coming. Tests were used to place kids in future classes but kids and parents were fairly oblivious to the process. My first serious high stakes test was in the 8th grade in 1958 when I failed the entry exam into Brooklyn Tech miserably. I left in a state of shock when they called “time” and had a third of the exam left. From then on I was a nervous wreck throughout high school. I can understand a high school student having to deal with high stakes exams, but 8-year olds? Now they want to move the exams down to early childhood not to help the child but to get a baseline on them so they can use that to hound their future teachers.

One objection to HST is that they do not provide teachers with diagnostic information that would improve their teaching. Standardized tests become just a number, given that results don’t come back until school is almost over. Kids go through almost a year of test prep torture and take a test that has nothing to do with improving their learning.

I question how a few days of testing are used to threaten and torture kids, shut down schools and judge teachers’ careers. There is an agenda. High stakes tests have been the lynchpin used in the corporate assault to privatize public schools, create a lower costing non-union teaching force and scam the money saved. Education is big business and a growing educational-industrial complex has gained enormous power and influence over educational policy.

It took some time but the new Common Core tests tripped the trigger of resistance by parents. Teachers are pretty helpless to protest, given that the NY State Ed Department has threatened them with the death penalty, though in Seattle, an entire school refused to give what they deemed a useless test despite threats from the principal and Superintendent. So expect the teacher resistance movement to grow as long as teachers stick together.

The pressure on students, teachers and parents is intense. We even hear stories of children who felt they failed the test crying, “I’m going to get my teacher fired,” or worried about being responsible for causing their schools to close. Parents seem to have had enough.

Last year, the same groups organizing the April 26th protest held a large rally in front of Pearson, the billion dollar corporate entity that creates the tests, after one of the passages based on a pineapple was ridiculed. The incident became known as “Pineapplegate.” Only a few parents opted their kids out last year. This year there was a storm – throughout Long Island and through certain areas of NYC, with the opt-out movement gaining traction in Park Slope and Washington Heights. Thus the protest at Tweed led by Change the Stakes (changethestakes.wordpress.com), which I helped found, initially as mostly a teacher group, but it has morphed into a parent led organization that has done amazing work in organizing and supporting parents who wish to opt-out their children. CTS provides advice on how to deal with recalcitrant supervisors who feel threatened when top-scoring students don’t take tests.

As more parents refuse to have their children tested, the powers that be are extremely threatened. Some principals have begun to revolt too by supporting the movement. NY State principal of the year, Carol Burris wrote in the Washington Post:

“Parents sense that the interests of their children are being swept aside in a frantic rush to prepare workers for global economic contests. Their gut instinct is telling them that the politicians and pundits are more worried about economic growth than what testing is doing to their children’s education. That is why increasing numbers of parents are speaking up and opting out.”

Stop Pearson Child Abuse: Get Ready to Rumble - er - Opt Out -- of June Field Tests

1,391 NYC schools with June Stand-Alone FT assignments

Thanks to Fred Smith for getting this material together. What are field tests? They are tests given in June to use our kids as guinea pigs for future tests. So kids and teachers are made to go through useless testing for the purpose of Pearson profit -- PPP. Fred points out that the kids and teachers know full well these tests have no meaning and they put little effort into them, with many kids just guessing to get through the test, thus invalidating the test.

Last year's field tests created a bit of a stir with some parents opting out. Look for a more massive opt-out movement this year with rallies and demos. And Ed Notes will be there to cover.

Fred has more stuff for the rest of NY State/Long Island if you are interested. Email me and I'll put you in touch.

CtS PDF 2013 June NYC Master Stand-Alone FT Assignments

Before there was a GEM, the NYCORE Justice Not Just Tests Committee, Teachers Unite, Center for Immigrant Families and Time Out From Testing  supported a teacher whose 4 8th grade classes refused to take the field tests. Kids testified that the idea came out of a discussion in class after they asked the teacher why they had to take more tests that had no meaning. We asked the UFT to support that teacher.  [Posted on ed notes: June 3, 2008].

ASK THE UFT TO MAKE THE TESTING BOYCOTT A PRIORITY ISSUE

CONTINUE TO DEFEND ACADEMIC FREEDOM AND FREEDOM OF SPEECH
ASK THE UFT TO MAKE THE TESTING BOYCOTT A PRIORITY ISSUE

We ask that you continue to write e-mails to Chancellor Klein in support of a teacher who teaches critical thinking.
We are also asking the UFT to make this issue of academic freedom and freedom of speech a priority. Please e-mail UFT President Randi Weingarten rweingarten@uft.org and Vice President Leo Casey lcasey@uft.org asking the UFT to continue to defend teacher rights in this matter and to make this issue a priority for the UFT.

A sample letter is below:
Dear Leo Casey and Randi Weingarten,
As a member of the UFT, I ask that the teachers' union continue to be proactive in the struggle to defend the academic freedom of public school teacher Douglass Avella, who wanted his students to think critically about their education.

As an educator concerned with the abuse of standardized tests, I also support the 160 8th grade students who used their freedom of speech to boycott the practice test to demonstrate how excessive testing has taken away valuable learning time from the classroom.
Because of the large amount of support from teachers, educators, organizations, parents and students, I ask that our teachers' union make this issue of academic freedom and freedom of speech a priority.
Sincerely,

____________________
Teacher/UFT Member

-----------------------------------------------------------------
Supported by:Center for Immigrant Families, NYCoRE, Teachers Unite, Time Out From Testing

Randi's "Mid-Course" Babble on Common Core: Who's doing more harm to public education, Glenn Beck or Randi Weingarten?

Can we call for a moratorium on Randi Weingarten? -- Fred Smith

Susan Ohanian asked that intriguing question about Glenn Beck and Randi in the headline. The amount of damage Randi's AFT/UFT capitulation has done to public education is exposed as parents and teachers reacted to Weingarten's worthless words to cover her ass with a soundbite when the entire common core crap she has had the AFT/UFT push down everyone's throats comes apart, as so much of ed deform has before it, ed deform that Weingarten supported and enabled.

Here is more from Susan:

Extreme Common Core rhetoric clouds serious debate
The fact that Phyllis Schlaffley and I agree on opposing the Common Core doesn't scare me. . . or drive me into alignment with her other opinions. If you doubt her proposition about training students to be obedient servants of the government, think about the way teachers are being forced to become obedient servants of the government's Common Core. Remember: the Feds are pushing the Common Core States agreed to adopt the Common Core only because they didn't want to risk access to federal monies. Of course state departments of education are now rushing to push quite bizarre curriculum.

I'm disappointed that Valerie Strauss chooses to give lots of ink to the "teachers need more time" approach a la Randi Weingarten. I commented on Weingarten's 'teachers need more time' strategy here.

Teachers don't need more time to learn the Common Core. They need to stand up for their right make professional decisions. They need to learn how to say no. The outrage is that teachers have no union or professional organization to organize and bolster their professional independence.

Who's doing more harm to public education? Glenn Beck or Randi Weingarten?

It's a question worth discussing. 

Susan is in town for the weekend to speak at a conference I can't attend. I was hoping to discuss that question and I'm hoping she will be around for a chat.

Yesterday I posted about about media mea culpas (or mid-course corrections if you prefer) regarding ed deform (As Ed Deform Failures Mount, Mid-Course Correction for Former Cheerleaders Merrow, Goldstein, Weingarten) and promised a follow-up today on Randi Weingarten's common core moratorium speech the other day. How people still take her waffling seriously still baffles me.

There were some good comments on my post:

Michael FiorilloMay 2, 2013 at 1:40:00 PM EDT

There's a quote attributed to Churchill, where he supposedly said of the Germans, that they're either "at your feet or at your throat."

In fact, this perfectly describes the cravenness of the media and most journalists: they sycophantically build people up, then join the lynch mob to bring them down.

While I'm pleased that John Merrow - whose recent reporting on Michelle Rhee is superb - and Dana Goldstein finally seem to be half-awake about what so-called education reform really means, that does not excuse the fact that they have helped enable the ongoing destruction of public education and teaching with their earlier credulous, hero-worshipping, accept-the-premises-of-the-powerful coverage.

It's a good thing that they are finally exposing some of the racist, class war elements embedded in so-called education reform, but they're also one of the reasons we face the dilemmas we do.

As for Weingarten, she's hopeless, and is not correcting anything. She is merely throwing out some sound bites she can refer to later, so she can (falsely) claim that she opposes high stakes testing. In fact, she bears as much responsibility as anyone for the life-or-death situation the public schools and their teachers face. She could have strangled this bad seed in its crib, yet she chose to collaborate with those who would destroy the public schools and teacher unions.

Her speech this week was a favor granted for past services rendered, giving her a stage for her membership, since there's no chance whatsoever that Tisch, King, Cuomo and the rest will listen to her, and she's knows that full well.

Anon: The latest edition of the AFT paper prominently displays a photo of Karen Lewis CTU President at a rally protesting school closings. Weingarten and her comments are to be taken with two grains of salt as she now speaks out against the common core. She is as phony as a two dollar blomberg Bill. Looks like the AFT wants to take credit for the CTU stand against the reformers. Too little Too late.

There were many comments on Leonie's NYCEducationNews:

Lisa Donlan leads off with some great points that touch on the teacher centric approach vs the broader social justice aspect that MORE advocates:

More salient to the anti HSST is the failure here to question the entire data driven accountability model of the last decade. Rather, teachers need more time and more better curricula aligned w/ the more better tests to meet the deeper higher standards of CCLS.

So many missed opportunities to offer real opposition and raise real issues, such as exposing the actual costs of these tests and data systems as compared to the inadequate sums granted to districts in RttT or the outrageous premiums paid to corporations to develop the much in demand national curricula (rather than state by state as previously), etc, etc.

Once again, in order to be "relevant" and keep a seat at the table, the teachers' union relies on the "yes, but" approach, accepting the basic premises of bad policy and disagreeing only w/how the implementation affects teachers.

What if instead they applied the Karen Lewis sniff test:
Does this advance our goals?
Does this create unity and consensus among allies/
What a different speech this would be!

There is just so much to lament in this speech, starting w/ the "public school on the LES" she cites, which is in fact a HIGHLY selective citywide Gifted and Talented school that has a long history of exclusion of LES, and high needs kids in general (and where Eva's eldest kid is enrolled!). See my posting at GS for more details
http://gothamschools.org/2013/04/30/weingarten-calling-for-moratorium-on-common-core-stakes/

Tim Slekar at The Chalkface (full post at bottom):

This is not “solution driven unionism.”  This is individual protectionism. This is nothing more than a massive sell out of AFT membership and American public school children. Randi Weingarten’s call for a “moratorium on the consequences of high stakes testing with the Common Core standards” is worthless! We don’t need a moratorium on “consequences” associated with the Common Core.  We need the abolition of all high-stakes testing and dissolution of the Common Core. Anything else is a capitulation to the destructive forces of the education reform machine!

Loretta Prisco:

She sings the same tune as Mulgrew- It's not mayoral control - only this mayor. It is not high stakes testing - only the way they are being implemented. It is not common core - on the way that they are presented without teacher input an training.

Justin Wedes:

What a courageous stand, Randi! ... let the corporate reformers institute their national curriculum and THEN test the hell out of the kids. Ugh.

Fred Smith:

This outrages me. When did Randi get the memo? Why don't these poseurs get lost!!! The leaderless UFT would rather control a corrupt system than clean it up. Yours truly called for a moratorium, before I knew which way the wind was blowing. http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/n-y-testing-parents-patience-article-1.1193382. Do I get royalties?

Some people did not take exception to Randi's speech, which prompted some debate. 

Deb Meier:

Clarify for me---what is it about her speech or demands etc etc that angers you so? Spell it out for me. Thanks. Deb

Justin Wedes:

What angers me is that Randi could easily stand up and say "Enough is enough! End the Common Core! End high stakes testing! Let's tax the corporations and use the money to give districts autonomy and the needed resources to create their own culturally-relevant curriculum rather than selling out our children to a corporate logo-laden national curriculum designed by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation" but instead we get this luke-warm, please-nobody-except-Arne-Duncan nonsense. This article pretty much sums up - generously to Randi, in my opinion - where the country stands on Common Core.

Jim Devor agrees with Deb:

Deborah,
As explained in the article pointed to by Justin, the Common Core "standards emphasize critical thinking and problem solving and encourage thinking deeply about fewer topics." Given the hysterical response on this list to Randi's speech, it is obvious that the objection is NOT to its implementation, but rather the very IDEAS underlying the Common Core. Or as the Jefferson Airplane sang in my youth, "got to revolution!" Apparently then, actually developing a coherent pedagogical policy is only suitable for the Upper Classes - not the peasants who attend public schools and CERTAINLY not for the teachers who toil in those corrupt and decrepit vineyards.

Lisa Donlan replies:

Just like NCLB closed the achievement gap and RttT fostered innovation and flexibility! Let's not confuse the hype w/ the reality.

Deb Meier:

But surely you don't expect her to say that. And I'm not sure most teachers would want her to do so. We've got a lot of work still to do to persuade our colleagues. You do so daily I'm sure, and it's frustrating but... there's more to be done!!!!

Jim Devor:

Lisa,
I agree with you that much of the Common Core stuff is hype. At a minimum, it would be nice if a curriculum were developed that could be examined and critiqued. Still, just as reducing the achievement gap IS a worthy goal, so is a lot of the values underlying Common Core. After all, it shares many of the precepts found in progressive education as advanced by John Dewey. Merely because hucksters are trying to make a buck off it don't make it fundamentally wrong. I kind of think that was Randi's point. But I could be wrong.

While we're at it, make sure to sign this petition:
http://www.change.org/petitions/the-new-york-state-department-of-education-make-the-2013-nys-common-core-exams-available-for-public-viewing

If we're getting screwed, we have the right to see the screwdrivers.


Below is the full ChalkFace piece

high stakes testing moratorium? @slekar says not enough!

April 30, 2013 By Timothy D. Slekar 5 Comments

Sorry, but Randi Weingarten’s call for a “moratorium on the consequences of high stakes testing with the Common Core standards” is worthless!
We don’t need a moratorium on “consequences” associated with the Common Core.  We need the abolition of all high-stakes testing and dissolution of the Common Core.

Anything else is a capitulation to the destructive forces of the education reform machine!

According to Randi, “We have the ability to transform the very DNA of teaching and learning, to move away from rote memorization and endless test taking, and toward problem solving, critical thinking and teamwork….”
What in the world is she talking about?  I agree with her first assertion and that the DNA of teaching and learning will be transformed.  However, let’s be honest.  The transformation will really be a genetic mutation that disfigures teaching and learning so that “rote memorization and endless test taking” will be at the core of all teaching and learning.   Problem solving, critical thinking, and teamwork will be forever banned from the genetic material that makes up real teaching and learning.

However, I do agree with Randi that “[t]he Common Core standards have the potential to be a once-in-a-generation revolution in education….”  If we allow this “revolution” to proceed we will destroy authentic teaching and learning and reduce our children to untapped vessels of data. We are literally about to sell the souls (data) of millions of children in the name of the Common Core and this will revolutionize education!

There is no middle ground on the Common Core.  It is a curriculum directly linked to high stakes testing and the selling of data to for profit companies.
Someone has to say it!

This is not “solution driven unionism.”  This is individual protectionism. This is nothing more than a massive sell out of AFT membership and American public school children.

http://atthechalkface.com/2013/04/30/high-stakes-testing-moratorium-slekar-says-not-enough/

As Ed Deform Failures Mount, Mid-Course Correction for Former Cheerleaders Merrow, Goldstein, Weingarten

Cheating is not the problem that must be addressed. It is the most visible and disturbing symptom of the disease, but the disease itself is our excessive reliance on high stakes testing... John Merrow

Dana Goldstein has done a lot of credulous and awful reporting on so-called ed reform, accepting many of its premises and lies. She's also a fellow at the neoliberal New America Foundation. I gave up my subscription to The Nation after many years because she and Noguera were the main voices on the topic... Michael Fiorillo

UPDATE1: MAKE SURE TO READ SUSAN OHANIAN ON THE MERROW PIECE

Merrow was a winner of the 2012 Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Prize in Education. Learning Matters reveals its funders. I would add that these funders have clear goals.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

PLUS QUITE A LIST

UPDATE2 from Sharron Higgins: 
Steve Zeltzer, a labor activist in the Bay Area, filmed the anti-Duncan protest on 4/30 outside the Hilton in SF where the AERA convention was taking place. He's the one doing the interviewing in the video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIEklcc9N1c&list=UUMIgEJUyBXsO4ckVj3dYasw&index=1

Michael was commenting on my last post covering Dana Goldstein's piece (Dana Goldstein on L.A. Teacher Alex Caputo-Pearl and the Real Deal Behind Closing Schools). Alex Caputo-Pearl, a 22-year TFA vet still teaching, has been a major freedom fighter opposing ed deform.


I woke up this morning to find this excellent post from John Merrow:

Arne Duncan’s Moment of Truth
As two powerful forces collide at this moment in educational history, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has an opportunity to make a mid-course correction that could save public education.

Merrow had a mid-course correction of his own after helping push Michelle Rhee to star status. Maybe remembering the massive egg on face outcome the media faced after the Bush Weapons of mass destruction/Iraq War cheerleading, it looks like people like Goldstein and Merrow are: choose one a) finally getting it or b) covering their asses. They really should watch our film which was the first in depth exposure of the entire package of ed deform. I know Goldstein aired it at The Nation but I guess she just thought our pointing out the truth was just propaganda.

Merrow has been doing a mea culpa of sorts with his relentless coverage of the Rhee Cheating scandals which he continues in this post.

The first powerful force is the Common Core and the accompanying tests that are being ‘rolled out’ in classrooms around the country.  The epidemic of cheating on standardized tests is the other threat that must be understood and addressed. Think of these two forces as mighty rivers, separate until now–but converging.

Dealing with the Common Core is going to require restraint on the Secretary’s part, it seems to me. Adopted by all but five states, the Common Core raises standards and expectations, surely a good thing.  However, it is also scaring a lot of politicians and educators.  Some are upset at the idea of change because fear of the unknown is par for the course, others suspect a federal takeover of education, and some think it’s a good idea being done badly.

Duncan has been a creation of the ed deformers since he started running the Chicago schools over a decade ago and if he did a mid-course correction he would be sent into oblivion. That is like calling for Obama to fire Duncan which other than the publicity value is a useless exercise.

But there is hope for Merrow who every day shows he's getting what ed deform is all about.

Mr. Duncan’s official position is that the Common Core is not Washington’s doing, but everyone knows that federal dollars have supported its development and growth–it wouldn’t have happened without Washington.  As protests^[1] grow, Mr. Duncan might be wise to keep relatively quiet and let others defend it, lest his support be taken as evidence that the Common Core really is that ‘federal takeover’ the critics fear.

And don't think our own little opt-out movement here in NYC with Change the Stakes taking the lead is not having an impact. I knew when 30 people showed up to the last CTS meeting (next one is May 10) on a rainy, nasty Friday late afternoon, that we were on to something. The 500 people at Tweed last Friday was further proof.

Merrow should go through the list of all the supporters of common core and he will see that reluctance on the part of so many starts with the people who are pushing it.

But the arrival of the Common Core has created an opportunity for Mr. Duncan to speak out about the epidemic of cheating.  FairTest, an organization that is strongly opposed to over-reliance on standardized testing, has compiled a list of states and districts where cheating (most often by adults) has come to light.

It identifies 37 states and the District of Columbia (I have written about the latter.)

When major media start using the work of FairTest we are cookin'. Now Merrow gets to the meat.

Secretary Duncan has previously said that the solution to this problem is tighter security, a position he took with me in a conversation after the Atlanta scandal became public. That might have been an appropriate response back then, but it is woefully inadequate today.  Calling for increased security to solve today’s situation reminds me of that old fable, ‘The Boy at the Dike.’ You may remember the boy trying vain to plug holes and running out of fingers.  Something more is going on here, and I think we should expect our Secretary of Education to help us grapple with this.

The challenge for the Secretary is that his own federal policy is at least partially responsible for what’s going on now. By insisting that student performance on standardized tests be an important part of teacher evaluation, Mr. Duncan and his “Race to the Top” have helped change the game.  But it’s a game without clear rules besides “Produce or Else.”  Surely he, as an athlete, must know that competition without rules leads to chaos.

Secretary Duncan has, wittingly and unwittingly, allied himself with the “Produce or Else” approach favored by Michelle Rhee ^[2], Beverly Hall ^[3] and other school leaders, apparently without clearly thinking through what “Produce” means.  As a consequence, standardized tests have become a wedge (or a weapon) for administrators in their relations with teachers, a ‘them against us’ approach that is souring public education.

Merrow must know not to expect anything from Duncan. If Duncan could get a hold of a giant eraser and use it to cheat so he could show that his policies were working he would do it in a heartbeat.

The ball, Mr. Secretary, is in your court.

No, John. The ball is still in your court and the rest of the media to keep up the kind of reporting you are doing and with no rose colored glasses so he can see that the "produce or else" strategy is intentional and that it is all about politics and economics, not education. Try examining the difference between the kinds of schools the elite deformers send their kids to and the ones they advocate for the other 99% with class size being the major difference. Why not call on Duncan to take a sliver of the billions they pour down the drain for merit pay and teacher monitoring and charters and try reducing class sizes and pouring in resources in some test schools before closing them. My simplistic solution is to add 30-40% more personnel to the most troubled schools you can find with massive social work and guidance and health support, not with the intention to scale up, but just to prove if it works. Then we would have some sort of baseline

We need the media to start pointing to the big money to be made out of ed deform, as Michael Fiorillo in referencing the vulture capitalists, points out. "The vultures are fueling up to feed on the carcass of public education. For-profit, "non-profit:" two sides of the same debased coin..."

I give Dana Goldstein credit for at least raising serious questions about the school closing policies but won't be happy until she and Merrow really tell it like it as they do @ the chalk face

Someone said it again, school closures are racist
 
I will follow up with Randi Weingarten's own mid-course correction the other day on common core. Not really a mid-course correction, but political positioning. And boy do I have lots of comments on that to report.

Afterburn:

Dear all,
This is an exciting time. Today, we, a group of scholars, parents, and teachers came together to protest US Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan’s speech at AERA’s annual conference in San Francisco. We picketed, distributed flyers, held up signs, and questioned him. Our representative, Arnold Dodge of Long Island University-Post, criticized Mr. Duncan’s policies such as Race to the Top and his stance to try to improve assessment by more testing. Instead, Arnold Dodge called for a moratorium of high stakes testing and was received with big applause by other scholars who filled the room.

Our story was also covered by Education Week. For more detailed story, visit Rethinking Schools blog for Ann Berlak’s article. Also, you can find more pictures and stories on reclaim AERA Facebook page.

But, tomorrow (Wed, May 1), we must begin again.
If you are in the Bay Area, please visit Edu4’s symposium as we dedicate it to the cause of reclaimAERA to address the ideological cleansing by the corporate forces in educational research. Please see below details, and we sincerely hope that you will join us!

Daiyu Suzuki
Edu4 Project Team

Dana Goldstein on L.A. Teacher Alex Caputo-Pearl and the Real Deal Behind Closing Schools

On Monday, half the teachers at Crenshaw High School in Los Angeles found out they had been dismissed from their jobs as part of a "conversion" process. Among them was Alex Caputo-Pearl, who I first met two years ago when I reported on Crenshaw. This isn't the first time the district has attempted to remove Caputo-Pearl, an outspoken activist, from Crenshaw. In 2006, as he was organizing neighborhood parents to fight for better school resources, such as up-to-date computers, he was forcibly transfered to a more affluent school across town. Parents complained and he was eventually reinstated. Caputo-Pearl is part of a dissident, left caucus within the L.A. teachers' union, and he has written in the New York Times about why he has become a critic of Teach for America. He opposes tying teacher evaluation and pay to student test scores, and is critical of the expansion of the charter school sector. 

---- Dana Goldstein,  "An Activist Teacher, a Struggling School, and the School Closure Movement: A Story from L.A."

I met Alex Caputo-Pearl in July 2009 at a conference in L.A. of education activists from around the nation, including 5 members of Chicago's fairly new CORE Caucus which would win the Chicago Teachers union election just 10 months later and 3 of us from NYC, all of whom were involved in the early stages of forming MORE here in NYC, partly inspired by the social justice work done by Alex. Alex was serving on the union exec board at that time I believe and we met at the LATU offices. Alex was with a social justice caucus within the LA union.

On our last day Alex was kind enough to invite some of us to his home not far from Crenshaw for breakfast and we got a chance to talk about his initial struggle to get back to Crenshaw and the work he was doing and teacher union work in general. Being in the same room with him and Chicago's Jackson Potter, Kristine Mayle, Kenzo Shibata, all high level officials of the CTU now, was a learning experience for me. I did some brief reports but was sensitive to not handing out too much info. Future DC President Nathan Saunders was there too as was the always wonderful Candi Peterson, who at a later date broke with Nathan.

• LA Confidential

• LA Deamin'

The fact that Alex won't be teaching at Crenshaw and possibly not in the LA school system makes him a poster boy for the ravages of ed deform which, while claiming to want quality teachers, proves once again what it is all about: shutting down a great teacher if he opens his mouth. That Alex was part of the first Teach for America cohort over 20 years ago and still wants to teach instead of "making policy" makes this story all the more ironic.

Kudos to Dana Goldstein for reporting this story where she points out the contradictions of the school closing policy where the kids they claim they are trying to help often end up in schools that are worse. She points to Chicago where

only 6 percent of students whose schools are shut down end up enrolled in a school within the top achievement quartile, and 40 percent of students from closed schools ended up at schools on academic probation. 

Unfortunately Dana Goldstein seems to buy the Bloomberg/Gates hype about small schools being higher quality school:

What's happening at Crenshaw is representative of the death of the large, urban comprehensive high school all across the country. In New York, research from the New School suggests that Mayor Bloomberg's efforts to break up large, underperforming high schools have, in fact, led to the founding of higher-quality schools.

Sorry Dana, using the word "fact" and Bloomberg in the same sentence is a contradiction. We know the game to make them appear so by leaving out a whole class of students and removing more senior teachers like Alex, many of whom are teachers of color, a pattern we have seen here in NYC.

That school, in turn, will eventually be shut down, creating what the New School researchers call a "domino effect," in which the most disadvantaged teenagers are shuttled from failing school to failing school, while those with more active, involved parents win spots at new schools.
The problem is that students whose schools close may not end up enrolled in those better schools; instead, a significant number of them will be enrolled by default in the nearest large high school that is still open, which itself has extremely low test scores. That school, in turn, will eventually be shut down, creating what the New School researchers call a "domino effect," in which the most disadvantaged teenagers are shuttled from failing school to failing school, while those with more active, involved parents win spots at new schools.

I think Ed Notes was one of the early users of the termn "domino effect" when Klein began closing the large schools in the Bronx and you could follow the trail of fallen schools.

 If smaller, themed schools are better for kids -- and there is significant evidence they are --

Tainted evidence -- just consider credit recovery, pressure on teachers to pass kids, etc as "significant" evidence.

the question then becomes, how can districts transition to such a system without leaving behind those students who most need help? Crenshaw was already pursuing a themed school-within-a-school reform plan, and it is discouraging, I think, that the Social Justice and Law Academy, whose work was politically and intellectually challenging, will be discontinued, with its leaders dispersed.

That's the name of the game. Disperse the teachers and leave the kids in most help behind.

The problem is that students whose schools close may not end up enrolled in those better schools; instead, a significant number of them will be enrolled by default in the nearest large high school that is still open, which itself has extremely low test scores. That school, in turn, will eventually be shut down, creating what the New School researchers call a "domino effect," in which the most disadvantaged teenagers are shuttled from failing school to failing school, while those with more active, involved parents win spots at new schools.  

In Jan. 2011 we wrote about  the LA Supt: Greasy Deasy to Head LA Schools - Black Redux  based on work Susan Ohanian had done.

Goldstein makes a crucial point given the ed deformers "civil rights struggle of our times" claims:

 21 of the 33 are African American, and 27 have over 10 years of experience.

I'll be putting up a post soon based on the work MORE member Sean Ahern has done on this issue.

It is not clear if Alex can become an ATR with a guaranteed job, one of the Unity Caucus bragging points that at least ATRs get paid when they get screwed by both the UFT and DOE given the UFT gave up the seniority rules in 2005 that would have stopped this crap in its tracks. I don't know enough about the LA contract to judge. Goldstein provides this bio of Alex:

Caputo-Pearl was a member of the very first class of Teach for America recruits, in 1990. He has spent two decades teaching in high-poverty L.A.-area schools, first in Compton and then at Crenshaw, where he helped craft a reform plan known as the Extended Learning Cultural Model. ELCM won sizable grants from the Obama administration, the Ford Foundation, and other philanthropies to pursue school improvement driven by the higher expectations of the Common Core, yet built around a curriculum tied to addressing the challenges of the low-income South L.A. neighborhood where Crenshaw resides. Click here to read more about the research that backs this reform vision. Teachers like Caputo-Pearl led the turnaround work at Crenshaw, in part because the school has seen massive management turnover -- over 30 different administrators in seven years. Test scores remain below district averages, though they have shown some growth, especially for African American and disabled students. I've reported here on some of the unique demographic challenges Crenshaw faces, including higher-than-average numbers of students living in foster care.

It is so clear that what is happening in LA and NYC is part of the national assault on public education, something that should be stressed repeatedly by our local union here instead of walking around with pins that say Dec. 31, 2013 pointing to the end of Bloomberg's reign of error when "all will be well." It won't not matter who gets in as mayor as long as we have mayoral control. 

Goldstein posted this Statement from Alex Caputo-Pearl

It's a sign of the times that a 'turn schools into businesses' superintendent like Deasy uses a bunch of District and corporate resources to crush a successful, student-centered, research-based, social justice-driven model, after being invited for over a year by parents, teachers, and community members to actually partner in deepening that model.  He crushed it over the organized protests of the community because it competed with him philosophically. Deasy violated common sense free speech and labor practices in making sure to remove union leaders and those who advocated for stability at the school -- often the same people who were key to building the model.  As the administration now moves to crush important student programs in the context of many youth feeling unsure of what school they will be at next year, our immediate priority has to be ensuring all students have the right to a neighborhood school in the Crenshaw area, and the right to equitable treatment at that school.

And below a Letter from union reps