Portelos Hearing: DOE Legal Invalidates Chapter Leader Election at IS 49SI

Imagine a union allowing the employer to invalidate an election for building rep and remaining mute.  

Multiple contract violations involved in principal's refusal to meet w. elected CL on a regular basis, consult committee, etc. Not that they ( union bureaucracy)  care.... observer at Portelos hearing

How absurd. They've had 500 +days to investigate him and they are just *now* "checking" his "in-laws' wi-fi"? WHILE the hearing is underway?  And for what purpose? Are his in-laws Julius and Ethel Rosenberg? Are they looking for H-bomb diagrams? WTF ! Last week that investigators were there... or at his *own* parents' house ....  THE NIGHT BEFORE THE OPENING HEARING. They were talking to HIS CHILDREN. I was appalled..... observer

I am adhering to a non-mandatory request from the hearing officer not to go into the details of the charges and the hearing. But what follows occurred before the hearing formally resumed on Monday (Sept. 23) with an objection from the DOE attorney – there were 2 of them plus an assistant -- when will the press begin to question the astronomical cost of this case where not one negative word about how this teacher taught children is mentioned?

The DOE lawyer,  Jordana Shankman, objected to Portelos standing outside the school from which he has been banned since April 26, 2012 and claimed he was doing it to intimidate witnesses. The fact that he might have been there as a way to address issues that some staff members might want to raise with their chapter leader lead to the bizarre DOE claim that he was not the chapter leader.

We were all shocked to learn that IS 49SI principal Linda Hill's refusal to recognize Francesco Portelos as the duly elected chapter leader was ordered by DOE legal.

In other words, the DOE has interjected itself into a chapter election by unilaterally declaring the election for chapter leader as null and void. When questoned by NYSUT lawyer Chris Callagy, Principal Hill said it wasn't she who made the decision not to deal with Portelos but the order was issued by DOE legal. Later on in the hearing, the DOE attorney made a point of reiterating this. Callegy managed to get Hill to confirm that the Staten Island UFT maintained that Portelos was still the elected chapter leader.

DOE lawyer Jordana Shankman also outrageously asserted that Portelos had no right to be in front of his school even on his own time and that he should be in the "place he was assigned."

In the meantime, since last year, the principal's cronies have initiated 3 failed attempts to recall Portelos.

My question to the UFT is: What will you do about it when the DOE, looking to paint a teacher as dangerous and threatening to a staff as grounds for dismissal must suffer the inconvenient truth that said staff elected this "threat" as their union rep and then the DOE declares that he is not their union rep as a way to make their case?

In fact it is hard to decide who to be more pissed off at: the DOE or the UFT for standing by while this farce continues. Imagine a union allowing the employer to invalidate an election and remaining mute. Wouldn't one expect the Staten Island UFT borough office to take a strong stand here? To consistently affirm that Portelos is the official school chapter leader? To go into the school and address the principal's attempts to foment recall votes? To join Portelos in holding meetings outside the school grounds to show support instead of letting him stand there alone and be accused by the DOE of acting like a terrorist while trying to serve the people who elected him?

In fact, information sometimes filters out of the UFT inner sanctum that UFT officialdom would be perfectly happy to see Portelos be found guilty and just go away. I'll leave the "why" to speculators.
 
There were 4 MORE retirees at the hearing. The next hearing date will be Monday, Sept. 30, 10AM.

Afterburn
Principal Hill testified how she consulted with DOE legal, network legal, her union's legal and goodness knows how many "legals"? The major "educational" innovation of Joel Klein has been the number of lawyers he added to the payroll.
Imagine the costs of this attempt to get rid of Portelos.

Teacher Insurgency in Mexico - TONIGHT - REPORT BACK From Mexico City to NYC:

REPORT BACK

From Mexico City to New York City

Teacher Insurgency

in Mexico

Tuesday, September 24, 6 p.m.
CUNY Graduate Center
365 5th Ave. at 34th St. Room 5409
B, D, F train to 34th St.; 6 train to 33rd St. (photo identification needed

Since mid-August, teachers in Mexico have electrified the country, striking against unionbusting educational “reform” laws that threaten to throw tens of thousands out of their jobs while privatizing and potentially eliminating schools in impoverished and indigenous areas.

This is not your usual protest: the teachers drove the Mexican Congress out of the capital, and twice blocked Mexico City’s airport. Up to 40,000 strikers are camped out in the capital’s main square, the Zócalo, in front of the National Palace, refusing to accept the anti-teacher laws.
 

Their example is an inspiration to us in New York and elsewhere as we face a global offensive against public education.
 

Come to a reportback and discussion with NYC educators who were
present in Mexico City and Oaxaca during this struggle.

*Gloria Brandman, NYC teacher, UFT Chapter Leader, MORE (Movement of  Rank and File Educators)

*Tami Gold, professor and filmmaker - PSC Hunter College Chapter 

 *Marjorie Stamberg, NYC teacher, UFT delegate, CSEW (Class Struggle  Education Workers)

 

Video Reports from Oaxaca and Mexico City

Light refreshments
For more information, call (212) 460-0983

 

New Content at SusanOhanian.Org, Sept.

As usual, Susan can keep you up all day reading her collection of stuff. Have fun.

I just received another birthday party invitation--this one from student about to celebrate her 40th birthday. She was in my 3rd grade class in 1982-83--10 years removed from the other student. She is the student to whom I gave more of my heart than any other. . . and the love continues to be returned. My only gratitude to Facebook is that's where she found me.

Cartoon: It may mean jail.
http://susanohanian.org/cartoon_fetch.php?id=825

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Early Childhood Standards of Common Core are Developmentally Inappropriate
Truth in American Education with Ohanian comment
American Principles Project
2013-09-18
http://susanohanian.org/core.php?id=588

Thank you, Conservative Common Core bashers! May some Progressives follow your lead. Dr. Megan Koschnick makes some on-target observations about how inappropriate the kindergarten standards are. I very much appreciate her use of specific examples.

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 Common Core Standards: Conservative Victory or Debacle in the Making?
Anthony Cody
Education Week: Living in Dialogue blog
2013-09-23
http://susanohanian.org/core.php?id=587

Anthony Cody puts Michael Petrilli's feet to the fire.

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The Common Core money war
Nirvi Shah and Stephanie Simon with Ohanian commen
Politico ProEducation
2013-09-20
http://susanohanian.org/core.php?id=586

It's interesting that David Coleman is trying to reassure religious groups about the Common Core.

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Is it 'Parents Uneducated' or Press complicit in Misinformation About the Common Core?
Susan Ohanian
comment on NPR
2013-09-23
http://susanohanian.org/core.php?id=585

NPR's Claudio Sanchez says In Push For 'Common' Standards, Many Parents Left Uneducated

. I'd say the focus should be on he and his fellow journalists.

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New Buzz Words for Learning Common Core Vocabulary
S. Krashen & S. Ohanian comment on Marlene Sprenge
Edutopia
2013-09-20
http://susanohanian.org/core.php?id=584

11 Tips on Teaching Common Core Critical Vocabulary ignores reading; instead we get Critical verbs as a 3-act play.

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No More Carrots, Lots More Stick: The increasingly imperious Arne Duncan
Frederick M. Hess and Max Eden
Weekly Standard
2013-09-30
http://susanohanian.org/core.php?id=583

Duncan's increasingly imperious behavior may be our best hope for defeating Common core. As Hess and Eden point out, 'In legislating by fiat, Duncan is ensuring that partisan fissures over the Common Core are likely to grow and that conservatives will have to step in to push back on this supersizing of the federal role.'



Go, Arne!

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Parent Arrested After Asking Questions at School Meeting
Ann Miller
TruthDig
2013-09-22
http://susanohanian.org/core.php?id=582

Yours is not to reason why,

Yours is to do or die.



And get kicked out of a public meeting for asking uncomfortable questions about the Common Core.

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To the editor
Stephen Krashen
Columbus Dispatch
2013-09-23
http://susanohanian.org/show_letter.php?id=1606

Krashen points out their IS a magic bullet to close achievement gaps.

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To the editor
Stephen Krashen, Professor Emeritus USC
Hartford Courant
2013-09-21
http://susanohanian.org/show_letter.php?id=1605

As people feel the economic stress, cost for implementing the Common Core tests is definitely something they can understand.

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Merryl Tisch: Chosen By God
Susan Ohanian
blog
2013-09-23
http://susanohanian.org/outrage_fetch.php?id=1698

Your refrigerator doesn't work? Call the president of GE. Problem with schools. Call on God's appointee.

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A Toddler on 3 Different Psychiatric Meds? How Drugging Kids Became Big Business
Enrico Gnualati
AlterNet
2013-09-10
http://susanohanian.org/outrage_fetch.php?id=1697

Big pharma has discovered a lucrative new market in kids.  The monetary price of the pills is staggering, the physical cost to children much more staggering. As Common Core works to further standardize children,and parents worry about their children 'measuring up' to standard, there will be more demand for drugs to aid this process.

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Underpaid 83-Year-Old Professor Died Trying to Make Ends Meet by Working Night Shift at Eat an' Save
Daniel Kovalik
Pittsburgh Post=Gazette
2013-09-18
http://susanohanian.org/outrage_fetch.php?id=1696

The final days of an adjunct professor reveals how badly adjuncts are treated--but the university involved won't admit it.

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Private Schools Jettison a Key Test: Concerns That Test Preparation Rendered Results Invalid
Sophia Hollander
Wall Street Journal
2013-09-20
http://susanohanian.org/outrage_fetch.php?id=1695

You can bet your bippy that wealthy parents will find some other way to spend $568 (plus test prep grooming) to help their preschoolers perform.

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That’s not autism: It's simply a brainy, introverted boy
Enrico Gnaulati
Salon.com
2013-09-21
http://susanohanian.org/show_research.php?id=532

Autism spectrum diagnoses are up 78 percent in 10 years. We're dramatically overdiagnosing it in everyday behavior. Here's a provocative excerpt from a new book on the topic.

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Youngest Kid, Smartest Kid?
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/elements/201
The New Yorker
0000-00-00
http://susanohanian.org/show_research.php?id=531

Very interesting research on red shirting here.

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It may mean jail


2013-09-23
http://susanohanian.org/cartoon_fetch.php?id=0

Where Are Rhee, Kopp, Klein, Moskowitz, E4E, DFER When it Comes to Defending Food Stamps Program (SNAP)?

.....you might think that ensuring adequate nutrition for children, which is a large part of what SNAP does, actually makes it less, not more likely that those children will be poor and need public assistance when they grow up. ... Paul Krugman, NY Times

You mean SNAP might actually be more effective in fighting poverty than charter schools or TFA teachers? Yes it is.

economists Hilary Hoynes and Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach have studied the impact of the food stamp program in the 1960s and 1970s, when it was gradually rolled out across the country. They found that children who received early assistance grew up, on average, to be healthier and more productive adults than those who didn’t — and they were also, it turns out, less likely to turn to the safety net for help.

 So all these people claim to be fighting the civil rights issue of our times by building political machines to fight teacher unions, tenure, urge teachers be evaluated by test scores, pour loads of money into defending the common core.

... almost two-thirds of SNAP beneficiaries are children, the elderly or the disabled, and most of the rest are adults with children.... 

You might think that ensuring adequate nutrition for children, which is a large part of what SNAP does, actually makes it less, not more likely that those children will be poor and need public assistance when they grow up. 

Where is the outrage from those intrepid ed deformers on this issue? Not one dime to fight a real struggle against the Republican assault on hungry children. What better example of their true agenda than to see Eva Moskowitz close schools for half a day to march against De Blasio's plan to make them pay the damn rent? (City charter school advocates plan to reprise a 2012 political rally. GothamSchools, Daily News, Post)

Conservatives seem, in particular, to believe that freedom’s just another word for not enough to eat. Hence the war on food stamps, which House Republicans have just voted to cut sharply even while voting to increase farm subsidies.

Hey Paul. It ain't just conservatives.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/23/opinion/krugman-free-to-be-hungry.html?ref=paulkrugman&_r=0&pagewanted=print

Reign of Error on Brian Lehrer - 30 Issues: Diane Ravitch on School Reform

Sometimes I'm down on Brian over his ed coverage but he gave Diane quite a good platform. But did I have to hear him play yet again a clip from Merryl Tisch? When I hear her it sounds like she's slurping milk between syllables. Diane pretty much covers most issues on charters -- except she didn't point to the attrition rate. Like how the numbers drop in each cohort as it marches on through the grades (no replacement like in public schools). As we showed in our film (see tab at top of this blog) the scores go up as the number of kids goes down through the grades.

The Brian Lehrer Show
http://www.wnyc.org/story/30-issues-diane-ravitch-school-reform/#commentlist

Contents of Adelaide L. Sanford Charter School in Newark, NJ Auctioned Off

Contents of Newark, NJ Charter School

Tuesday, September 17th 11AM

Adelaide L. Sanford Charter School

15 James Street

Newark, NJ 07102

ABSOLUTE AUCTION
Charter Revoked.  Trustee Ordered Auction
Apple & HP Computers
DLP Projectors, Smartboards
Schoolastic Furniture & More

The tip came in this email from a teacher in NYC:

Norm,
They now hold auctions to sell the contents of closing CHARTER SCHOOLS.  I saw the add in the NY TIMES paper edition Sunday and I looked up the address and it is explained in the link.
http://www.ajwillnerauctions.com/auctions/contents-newark-nj-charter-school.  So this is where our tax money is going.... from a NYC teacher.

We passed the story on to one of the teachers we know in Newark for follow-up. And I won't even go into detail about school namesake Adelaide Sanford who was a principal in Bed-Stuy and then a NY State Regent. During the 1975 strike over the drastic budget cuts which led to the cut of 13,000 teachers and a shortened school day she was one of the only principals to break the strike and keep her school open, thus in essence choosing to support the cuts. Teachers from other schools in District 16 marched over and picketed her school.

On September 17th contents of Adelaide L. Sanford Charter School in Newark, NJ were auctioned off by A. J. Willner Auctions. Featured items included in the loot were computers, office furniture, teaching aids and musical instruments. How did a charter school end up in this pickle?

Adelaide L. Sanford Charter School was closed by the Christie administration in June 2013 due to its repeated failure to comply with state regulations and its poor academic performance. Opened in 2007 by Fredrica Bey, the school had been on probation for more than a year.

The US Attorney’s Office was concerned with a potential conflict of interest regarding the school’s agreement to lease space from Women in Support of the Million Man March (WISOMM), a non-profit organization founded by Bey.

The school had spent hundreds of thousands of dollars over the past year to rent space from WISOMM, despite the lack of a lease between the charter school and the non-profit.

To further complicate matters, Fredrica’s daughter, Amina Bey served as Adelaide Sanford’s school board president. Both Fredrica and Amina serve on the executive board of WISOMM. Adelaide Sanford was the fourth lowest performing charter school in Newark and a plan submitted to the state last year to improve its academic performance was deemed unsuccessful.

Bey faces two federal lawsuits. The first contends that Bey took $345,325 in federal grant money for at-risk kids and instead used the money to pay WISOMM’s bills. The second lawsuit alleges that Bey favored employees who assisted her in misusing Adelaide Sanford’s funding and fired others who threatened to expose her actions.

In layman’s terms, Adelaide L. Sanford’s contents were auctioned off due to the alleged misconduct of Fredrica Bey in misappropriating federal and state funding to pay charter school rent for space owned by an organization she founded and expenses of that organization. Surprise! Surprise! The school had very low academic performance.

A selection of the goodies. Nothing like fine executive furniture or a plush conference room.

Here is the article in the Star-Ledger

Today: Back to Portelos Hearing

It is game 2 of the Portelos vs the DOE et al and we expect some retiree MOREs to be there. We agreed not to reveal details until the case is over but we can write generally about the hearing. Transcripts are available which I assume can be published one day.

See my reports from the last session.

• Portelos Hearing: NY Post Reporter Reuven Fenton C...
• Heading to Portelos Hearing (Sept 12) This Morning...

And Protect Portelos

MORE Petition Calling for Moratorium on Evaluations

Reality-Based Educator reminded us to sign the MORE petition. We some great discussions at Saturday's MORE meeting and the work of the organization around this issue has been intense and effective. Keep the ball rolling. Here's the link to sign. Will it do any good? Well, if MORE can show thousands of signatures that will send a message to UFT leaders. It will make them talk a better game while most likely doing the same thing because they have nothing left in the tank to do anything different.

A Reminder About The MORE Petition On Teacher Evaluations

While Michael Mulgrew sends out emails to members defending the ADVANCE teacher evaluation system (see here and here), the MORE caucus has put together a petition calling for a moratorium on the New York City Teacher Evaluation System.

If you haven't signed it yet, do so now.

Read RBE's full post where he has a few choice words about Mulgrew.

Merryl Tisch: Might As Well Be a Crook

...when she has a problem with her refrigerator she calls the head of G.E....

Merryl H. Tisch, announced a new program: 13 research fellows would be selected to advise the education commissioner and the 17-member board. The fellows would be paid as much as $189,000 each....Since the appointment of the fellows, public educators' trust in the in New York State Education Department has dwindled to nothing

EdWeek on insularity of Tisch, the Regents fellows, NYSED and those who control ed policy in this state.

http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/finding_common_ground/2013/09/how_public_is_the_public_school_system.html

How Public is the Public School System?

By Peter DeWitt on September 21, 2013 8:43 AM

When I was a teacher working in a small city school, the superintendent was married to the mayor of the city. Some of the board members worked for the mayor, and some of the school employees were related in some way to the superintendent. It was a good place to work, but it seemed like it was more of the superintendent's kingdom rather than a school district. When I spoke with my former colleagues I told them the story of the small city school kingdom and they couldn't believe that a school district like that existed. 

Unfortunately, our present leadership at the state level in NY is not that different. It seems as though most people at the top know one another, are related in some way, and those in the trenches can't help but feel frustrated. It seems like an insiders' system in which the connected and powerful run the show. And the public has very little input. 

The most powerful player of all is NY State Board of Regent Chancellor (since 2009) Merryl Tisch. A 2009 NY Times article that introduced her said, "Speaking to a group of Catholic educators in a conference room high above First Avenue, Merryl H. Tisch interrupted a dry barrage of bureaucratic references to attendance mandates and Title 2A with a seeming non sequitur."

 

The N.Y. Times article went on to say,

"When my refrigerator is broken, I don't call the service department," said Dr. Tisch, the newly elected chancellor of the New York State Board of Regents and, by marriage, part of one of New York's wealthiest families. "I call the head of G.E." 

Tisch's relationships are awe inspiring. In the same 2009 Times article, we learned that, "She has enjoyed a decades-long friendship with her Upper East Side neighbor Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. She has celebrated Passover Seders with Schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein. She counts among her closest friends Iris Weinshall, the wife of Senator Charles E. Schumer."

Believe me, I understand that connections are important. Everyone has said at some point in their lives that getting a job is about, "who you know." However, I have always held the belief that public schools were community based and designed to be responsive to the public. 

But now we know there was very little public input into issues like evaluation and the adoption of the Common Core State Standards. Parents, teachers, students and educated professionals at the "ground level" are showing concern about the Common Core State Standards and the developmental appropriateness of them (Read here). 

It just seems that something troubling is happening now and decision making power is being shifted from local school boards to Albany. The connections at the top, and the control and money that they have, gives an oversized role to Ms. Tisch and her friends.

How Public is the Public School System?
A 2011 NY Times article (Winerip) stated,

"In December, the chancellor of the New York State Board of Regents,Merryl H. Tisch, announced a new program: 13 research fellows would be selected to advise the education commissioner and the 17-member board. The fellows would be paid as much as $189,000 each, in private money; to date, $4.5 million has been raised, including $1 million donated by Dr. Tisch, a member of one of New York's wealthiest families."

The same 2011 Times article went on to say,

"Public education has never been so divided, between those like Dr. Tisch, Commissioner John B. King Jr. and Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg who support the Obama administration's signature Race to the Top initiative and its emphasis on standardized tests and charter schools; and dissenters on the board, who call it a Race to the Bottom and put their faith in teachers as well as traditional public schools. The Race to the Bottom folks warn that the supposedly free fellows come at a stiff political price."

There are two ways to look at the Fellows and donations that put them in place. One might see their appointment as needed help at a time of change, financed by generous donors. On the other hand, their appointment can be viewed as a gross attempt by Ms. Tisch to impose her will on the State Education Department and its policies. After all, when she has a problem with her refrigerator she calls the head of G.E.... 

Death Penalty for Public Schools?
In schools we have a shared decision-making process. The people who share in the decision may not agree with everything but they agree to what will be the strongest decision from the collective wisdom of everyone on the committee. It's not easy, and getting people who are typically on opposite sides of the fence is a difficult process. However, "at the end of the day", it's about making the best decision for all of the stakeholders in the school. 

Public school advocates are thankful for regents such as Kathleen Cashin, Roger Tilles, Betty Rosa, and former regent Saul Cohen because they speak up against the grain...when they get the opportunity. Winerip went on to write, "Saul B. Cohen, a former president of Queens College who retired in December after 18 years as a regent, is angry that the board was not consulted about selecting the fellows. "They're supposed to be advising us, but we had no role," he said."

Since the appointment of the fellows, public educators' trust in the in New York State Education Department has dwindled to nothing. Unfortunately, looking back at those articles makes me feel as though the public should have seen this coming, especially when we consider the recent comments by Governor Andrew Cuomo.

During a speech in Western N.Y. Governor Cuomo asked for a "A death penalty for failing schools, so to speak." Although he mentioned failing schools, Governor Cuomo has not been supportive of public schools for quite some time. Times Union (Albany) writer Fred Lebrun responded by writing,

"So who or what would the governor sacrifice with a death penalty for failing? The teachers and administrators? He's been beating that dog over public education ills across the state for two years now. Enough. It was insulting to begin with and is now just infuriating and grossly unfair. Andrew Cuomo has done more to demean public education and those who try to make it work than anyone in the history of the state."

What Needs to Change?
There was a time when I thought my experience in the small city school district was unique, and that no other school district in the state could be run as if it was a kingdom. I can now see that I was naïve because the state's public education system seems to be a kingdom that very few of us have access to.

I am not a conspiracy theorist, and I value the government, but I value a government that runs effectively. Over the past few years there has been an increase in testing, teacher and administrator evaluation are all tied to assessments that educators only see on the day of the test, and everything seems to be run top-down...and now they are facing a death penalty.

Brian Lehrer Hearts Campbell Brown: A Play in One Act

Leonie Haimson: Lehrer seems eager to get the views of people like Campbell Brown.

	Brian Lehrer Show (@BrianLehrer)
9/20/13, 9:41 AM @campbell_brown would love to have you join in this afternoon if you're free. #30IssuesChat

Diane Ravitch: Who is Campbell Brown?

Leonie Haimson:

Campbell Brown is a former TV reporter married to Dan Senor (who used to work for Bush); Senor is a board member for StudentsFirst.

 Brown started making noise last year that DOE should be allowed to fire any teacher accused of sexual abuse whether or not it was proven by court or approved by independent arbitrator.  She was the first person given time to testify to Cuomo commission in NYC last year – along with some other politically connected astroturfers.

 Since I think this issue was too volatile for StudentsFirst – esp. since Rhee’s husband has been repeatedly accused of sexual abuse of minors -- she started new organization called the Parents transparency project http://www.campbellbrown.com/2013/07/the-parents-transparency-project/

http://www.parentstransparency.org/

that ironically won’t reveal their funders.

 Now it says “The Parents´ Transparency Project is a watchdog group whose mission is to bring transparency to the rules, deals, and contracts negotiated between our state and local governments and the teachers´ unions.”  Joe Williams is also on the board.

 She now serves on the board of Success Academies, and Turnaround for children.  She is all over the place.  Sure to be featured on Education Nation this year.

Ellen: Sex sells......even for Brain Lehrer and WNYC.  Did Murdoch take them over as well? 

Diane Ravitch: I will be interviewed by Brian Lehrer on Monday morning.

Leonie H:

Well thank god he’s having you as a guest -- someone who actually knows something about our schools – in addition to Campbell Brown who seems to have jumped to the head of the list I suppose b/c of her celebrity and sensational claims.

THE END 

 

Are Success and other charters violating the law in closing schools for political reasons?

...we are planning a pro-charter parent march on October 8th. Our schools are being closed for the morning. Teachers, parents, students, and central office staff are being required to join the march .....  Success Academy teacher to Diane Ravitch

This is clearly an attempt to put pressure on De Blasio and also in prep for the Oct. PEP meetings.

Of course the press will not raise the issue of the blatant use of children in this manner and Bloomberg will crow. And they will claim this is evidence of support for charters.

Let's see which charters join Eva in this scam, especially since most of them had such low scores compared to Eva (hee-hee-hee) and can't afford to close schools for those precious few hours and fall further behind in closing the achievement gap between their schools and Success.


Tell you what. Let's close all the public schools on Oct. 8 for a few hours and hold a counter march. Let's see exactly how the "support" issue shakes out.

Teacher: The Forced March of Success Academy Parents, Staff, Students by dianerav

This is a comment signed Concerned Charter Teacher:

"Ms. Ravitch,

I work at Success Academy and thought you might be interested in the following. Just heard that we are planning a pro-charter parent march on October 8th. Our schools are being closed for the morning. Teachers, parents, students, and central office staff are being required to join the march. Other charter schools are joining as well. Several emails from senior leadership make it clear that the event is not optional. It seems very unethical that adults and children are being forced into this political statement, but I don't know what, if anything, can be done."

This is evidence that Success Academy charter schools are not public schools. Any principal or superintendent of a public school who used students and parents to engage in political activities, with or without their consent, would be fired.

Thanks to General Diane Ravitch for the Shout Out on Preaching to the Choir

Is Diane Ravitch the George Washington of the educational revolutionary wars? Can we call it World War D (for Deform)? Can we get Max Brooks to write that story?

As I would expect Diane Ravitch took the point I was trying to make in my column this week in The Wave about and extended it to a place I myself wasn't clear about. Preaching to the choir is very needed - to keep up the morale of the troops on the front line facing a firing line from all sides -- including their own union. And rallying them to action. Diane Ravitch has become the general leading the charge into the fire. Teachers, parents and even students are responding. Today's MORE meeting attracted such a crowd of 70 people. And NYCORE last night also attracted 70 --- and a very different 70. And Change the Stakes meeting at the same time had a smaller group with verve and vigor. MORE on the growing activism later.

Norm Scott Reviews “Reign of Error”

By dianerav

September 21, 2013 //

4

Norm Scott is the quintessential education activist. He is a retired teacher with many years of classroom experience in tough schools. He brooks no nonsense.

In this review of Reign of Error, he asks the question: What is wrong with preaching to the choir?

He is right. When everyone else–the media, the pundits, the big foundations, the politicians–are agreed that the choir stinks, even though the choir is doing a fine job, the choir needs to hear some preaching. Some people think we can run schools well with novices who come and go every two years. They are wrong. Some people think that schools should be profit-making opportunities for canny entrepreneurs. They are wrong.

Norm knows: The choir needs some help. They need support. Nothing wrong with preaching to them when everyone is disparaging their work, especially when the critics can’t sing. Not even one note.

Bill Thompson "Tone Deaf" Campaign Deficiencies Exposed in NY Times

...and UFT support shows how tone deaf they are. David Chen in the Times reported the other day - A very revealing article on Bill Thompson's faults and failures -- all of which were not noted by the equally tone deaf UFT.

Mr. Thompson never articulated a clear message. “Muddled” was a word used by many. He developed a centrist platform, better suited to a general election than a Democratic primary, opposing tax increases while Mr. de Blasio hammered away at income inequality.

Well, you know, no matter how much Randi and Mulgrew talk about social justice income inequality, always watch what they do, not what they say. Thompson walking the middle is the way the basically conservative Unity people go. You won't see the UFT calling for protests or raising political issues about the thieving banks. Or the defense budget. Better watch schools being killed than challenge the old status quo.

But you know my feelings.

An undemocratic totalitarian state like the Unity Caucus/Unity Caucus crew running the UFT for over 50 years can't/won't hear voices because they don't have any forums where they can be heard. Just read James Eterno's account of the special DA to endorse De Blasio where they wouldn't allow even one speaker to oppose and Mulgrew trampled all over Robert's Rules of Order in doing so. (Robert is very upset.) [UFT DELEGATES ENTHUSIASTICALLY ENDORSE DE BLASIO FOR MAYOR BUT MULGREW ONCE AGAIN STIFLES ANY DISSENT -]

Here is the article, a good one - other than quoting the ed deform supporting loser Basil Smikle who challenged State Senator Bill Perkins because he dared hold hearings on charters. (And a little birdie once told me about an interesting relationship between Smikle and Al Sharpton - but I won't go there.)

For Thompson, a Disappointing End to a Not-Quite-Compelling Quest

By DAVID W. CHEN

Maybe it was not that surprising that William C. Thompson Jr. would come up just shy. 

It was not just that he pulled in far fewer black and Latino votes than his advisers had confidently predicted for him in the recent Democratic primary for mayor. Nor was it that he fell a few thousand votes short, over all, from forcing Bill de Blasio into a runoff, one in which he would have faced long odds anyway.

Instead, when Mr. Thompson abandoned his quest on Monday, in a disappointing coda to a campaign filled with what ifs over everything from demographics to his message, it presented a microcosm of a dutiful but not-quite-compelling career.

Whether he was the smart-money pick, as he was this year, or the underdog, as he was when he lost to Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg in 2009, Mr. Thompson could never quite concoct the right recipe to parlay his two terms as a steady New York City comptroller into something grander. 

A product of Brooklyn machine politics, Mr. Thompson believed strongly in by-the-book tactics, like gathering institutional endorsements. Yet he never led in a single poll. He never surged or collapsed, unlike some of his rivals. And despite campaigning for 24 hours straight, not once, but twice, in the past six weeks, the mild-mannered Mr. Thompson could never convince voters that he had enough political thunder. 

“He is a very smart, very talented public servant who has done everything people would want him to do, but it always seems like it’s not enough,” said Basil A. Smikle Jr., a Democratic consultant who teaches at Columbia University and the City University of New York. 

Even on the eve of the primary, Mr. Thompson struggled to connect with voters who should have been in his column. At a deli on Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn, he had just uttered a quick hello and reminded people about Election Day when Stephon Zephyr said: “Excuse me, Big Guy, you running for mayor?” 

Mr. Thompson, surprised, said yes. Then, in barely audible tones, he talked to Mr. Zephyr, a 26-year-old plumber, for five minutes, about jobs and gun violence. After Mr. Thompson left, Mr. Zephyr shrugged: “He sounds good, but he didn’t say much. He just brushed me off.” 

On paper, Mr. Thompson entered the campaign with many advantages. He had won the admiration of Democrats for coming closer than expected to unseating Mr. Bloomberg four years ago. And in a city where minorities are now the majority, Mr. Thompson, the son and namesake of a respected judge and former legislator, stood out as the only black candidate, with a long résumé in both the public and private sectors. 

Counting on demographics to give him an edge, Mr. Thompson amassed an impressive list of endorsements: party stalwarts like Fernando Ferrer; fiscal watchdogs (Richard Ravitch); black pastors who had backed Mr. Bloomberg in 2009 (former Representative Floyd H. Flake); and key unions (the United Federation of Teachers). One of his biggest fund-raisers was former Senator Alfonse M. D’Amato, the Republican power broker.

Together, they argued that Mr. Thompson, who at 60 was the oldest major Democratic contender, had the best experience and the temperament to govern. 

But his establishment-friendly strategy had blind spots, according to more than a dozen people, both affiliated with and independent of the campaign. 

“Billy Thompson is as decent a man as you will find in New York City politics,” said Neal Kwatra, a Democratic consultant who did not work for any mayoral candidate. “But Billy and his team were captives of a bygone era of coalition and identity politics.” 

Foremost was the assumption that people had cast a pro-Thompson vote in 2009, rather than an anti-Bloomberg one. Nor did Mr. Thompson take seriously the theory that Mr. Bloomberg’s margin might have been diminished because some of his supporters, anticipating a blowout, did not bother to vote. 

Those assumptions may have given Mr. Thompson a false sense of security, even as he faded from public view for three years.

“He showed up thinking, ‘Well, now, it’s my turn, because you guys like me, you really like me,’ ” said Christina Greer, a political science professor at Fordham. “But a lot of New Yorkers seemed to say, ‘I can’t remember who you are.’ ” 

Another problem was that Mr. Thompson never articulated a clear message. “Muddled” was a word used by many. 

He developed a centrist platform, better suited to a general election than a Democratic primary, opposing tax increases while Mr. de Blasio hammered away at income inequality. His thread-the-needle position on the stop-and-frisk police tactics, in particular, exasperated many minorities and liberals. By contrast, Mr. de Blasio positioned himself as the tactics’ fiercest critic. 

“People were saying, ‘We may have a black candidate in the race who we may like, but we also have a candidate in the race who more closely represents the issues that we care about,’ ” Mr. Smikle said. 

Mr. Thompson was also handicapped by the perception, whether fair or not, that he did not campaign as hard as his rivals. He never stood out in a very large field, as attention shifted from Christine C. Quinn, the City Council speaker, who was seeking to become the first female and openly gay mayor; to former Representative Anthony D. Weiner, whose effort to come back from scandal won him media attention; and then to the 6-foot-5 Mr. de Blasio, with his mixed-race family and compelling television advertisements.

From the start, Mr. Thompson’s political operation appeared to be plagued by some of the same problems as his campaign four years ago. His commercials had a generic feel: one relied on a spare, white digital background; another, featuring the candidate’s daughter, struck many as a late and lesser version of the popular ad Mr. de Blasio ran featuring his son. 

At times, Mr. Thompson acted as if he were already in office. At virtually every campaign stop, he was introduced warmly by a local official, like Assemblyman N. Nick Perry of Brooklyn; Ruben Diaz Jr., the Bronx borough president; or State Senator José Peralta of Queens. When he earnestly toured a restaurant wholesaler in the Bronx, flanked by prominent supporters, he did not actively solicit the support of employees.

By the campaign’s homestretch, Mr. Thompson, though his public poll numbers were still static, seemed to continue attending to basics. In contrast to most other campaigns, in which daily conference calls are a staple from the outset, the Thompson team did not begin the routine until two months ago, according to advisers and supporters. Only in the last few weeks did Mr. Thompson, whose grandparents immigrated from St. Kitts a century ago, start a formal effort to win over Caribbean-Americans.

As the campaign began to fall apart, senior advisers openly puzzled over his approach on the stop-and-frisk tactic. It won the candidate endorsements from police unions, but it confused his message where it mattered most: with black voters, a majority of whom voted for Mr. de Blasio, whose opposition was crisper and had a harder edge.

Mr. Thompson never once hinted that he was worried about failing to make the runoff; as late as the day before the primary, he spoke confidently of eclipsing 40 percent and facing a Republican in November.

“New Yorkers know what they’re getting with me,” he said during a rally in East Harlem. 

But on Monday, as he withdrew his candidacy after a disappointing primary performance, he was wistful. Asked why he fell short this time, he demurred, saying, “I’m not one of the political pundits.”

“That’s the one thing about elections,” he added. “There are no guarantees.”

MORE First General Meeting, Saturday, Sept. 21, Noon-3PM

General Meeting and Brunch

September 16, 2013 — Leave a comment

Saturday September 21st 12:00-3:00pm will be at our first general meeting of the school year. All are welcome!

224 West 29th St 14th Fl. Btwn 7th and 8th ave – Midtown NYC

Facebook link here

We will discuss how the new evaluation system and continued emphasis on high stakes testing is affecting educators, students, and parents.

Join us in organizing against “advance” and the testing culture that has harmed our schools. We”ll plan for our day of action on 10/9 and future events in support of our demand for a moratorium of the new evaluation scheme.

Our new newsletter will be available in bulk to distribute at your school and pick-up/drop-off our petition for a moratorium.

Join us for Brunch with MORE (The Movement of Rank and File Educators)

Come enjoy home-made treats, meet wonderful educator activists, learn about our movement, and support our work to improve teaching and learning conditions!

Bring you colleagues, friends, and family!

Saturday October 5, 11:30am-1:30pm

@ The Church of St. Luke and St. Matthew’s Parish Hall

520 Clinton Ave

Brooklyn, NY 11238

Suggested Door Donation: $20    Youth 10-20: $10      Children Under 10: Free

*Brunch cocktails, gluten-free, vegan and vegetarian options will be available.

RSVP online HERE to reserve your place at the table! (http://morebrunch.eventbrite.com)

More about MORE:

MORE, the social justice caucus of the UFT, is building a movement, and we need your support.  This fall, we’re focused on petitioning for a moratorium to end the hastily created, inaccurate NYC teacher evaluation plan, based on faulty data from high-stakes standardized tests that we believe undermine the quality of our childrens’ education.  To read our mission statement, and the need for a democracy within the teacher’s union, click here.

To join our movement, sign up Here!

Bloomberg May Delete DOE and Police Dept Emails as Tweed Mole Speaks to Ravitch

Ed Deform ship listing badly

Bloomberg touts false numbers as “evidence” of “success” while the voices of independent researchers are silenced. For example, Aaron Callas, a professor at Columbia University’s Teachers College, was refused access to data after finding that the achievement gap did not close under Bloomberg. ... Tweed Mole

If the UFT is really serious about a truth commission, they ought to file now....Leonie Haimson

I know a mole inside the New York City Department of Education. He/she knows how the DOE manipulates data to burnish the mayor’s image. This is a good reason to oppose mayoral control of the schools. He/she says the mayor’s small schools close with regularity; that the data cannot be trusted; that the Department has shown preference to charter schools but they got lower scores on the Common Core tests than the public schools. Most shocking: the DOE intends to delete all the emails on its computers.  Quick, someone file a FOIL before it’s too late.... Diane Ravitch

They close and open schools, just like a day trader flips stocks. They refuse to take ownership of the schools under their charge and decline to commit to ensuring their success. Of course, in this case, the stock shares are schools with roots in a community and tens of thousands of children. What do the numbers say is the end result all this? The schools opened under Bloomberg are shuttered at the same rate as older schools, leading to an overall profit of zero.  ... The Mole

Leonie Haimson writes:

I know there was an article about the DOE and many other city agencies deleting emails before Bloomberg leaves office, but can’t find it now.  Can someone locate the clip for me?  

DNAInfo: With 3 Months Left, Bloomberg Admin Has No Plan to Save Many City Emails

The UFT or some good govt group with access to legal help ought to file a restraining order before it’s too late!  The only way we found out about IN ed commissioner Tony Bennett’s manipulation of the school grading system to favor a politically connected charter – and to use his office and staff illegally for campaign purposes  --was through emails left on their server that remained after he lost his position in an election.  

Just watch the post-Bloomberg storm that will emerge from former Tweedies looking to get on the right side as the ed deform ship begins to list further than the Costa Concordia — except this ed deform ship cannot be salvaged.

The following is from Diane Ravitch's blog; 

http://dianeravitch.net/2013/09/19/nyc-whistle-blower-how-the-doe-is-like-enron /

The mole writes:
“A Bad Business: The Bankruptcy of Education Policy”
Mike Bloomberg, in his recent interview with the magazine New York, admitted to following the companies run by his friends as economic barometers of New York City’s conditions. According to his website, “Mike has made education reform the focal point of his agenda,” an agenda dominated by applying business ideas to New York City’s schools.

Are the profit margins of huge corporations truly “indicators,” as Bloomberg claims, of how the citizens of New York City are doing? Does his application of business ideas actually improve schools for children? Let’s examine the evidence to see how the next mayor can do better.

Day trader versus business owner. Under Bloomberg, the bureaucrats at Tweed see themselves as “portfolio managers.” Just like day traders, they take no responsibility for the success or failure of the shares in their portfolio. They close and open schools, just like a day trader flips stocks. They refuse to take ownership of the schools under their charge and decline to commit to ensuring their success. Of course, in this case, the stock shares are schools with roots in a community and tens of thousands of children. What do the numbers say is the end result all this? The schools opened under Bloomberg are shuttered at the same rate as older schools, leading to an overall profit of zero. What should the next mayor do? Like a small-business owner who works as hard as possible to ensure her business succeeds, he must put children first and hold the education bureaucrats accountable for the success of each and every school in New York City.

Enron-like accounting practices versus independent auditor. Under Bloomberg, the Department of Education fudges and manipulates numbers to serve their political ends. They refuse to open up their complete data sets to independent researchers at universities who publish results in peer-reviewed journals. Sometimes they release limited data to friendly “think” tanks or to organizations that need to maintain their good will. These paid advertisers publish favorable “reports” in order to continue to have access to the seemingly top secret data. 

Now they plan on deleting all emails from the Department of Education right before Bloomberg leaves office, just like Arthur Anderson and Enron. 

What is the end result of all this? Bloomberg touts false numbers as “evidence” of “success” while the voices of independent researchers are silenced. For example, Aaron Pallas, a professor at Columbia University’s Teachers College, was refused access to data after finding that the achievement gap did not close under Bloomberg. 

What should the next mayor do? Just like an honest business has its results audited by an independent accounting firm, he must put children first and create an independent panel of researchers who are guaranteed full access to all DOE data. The reports of the panel should be made public and should inform education policy decisions in the city.

Crony capitalism versus fair business practices. Under Bloomberg, select schools are favored and granted unfair financial advantages over other schools. New schools that opened under Bloomberg are given more money per student than other schools. Charter schools are given more money per student, including free-of-charge public school space, than other schools. Favored schools are granted extra money through mysterious appeals and special grants. This is similar to business practices in corrupt countries where relatives and friends of the ruling family are granted monopolies and other unfair advantages in business. 

What should the next mayor do? He should put children first and institute a set of fair business practices under which all schools receive the full share of funding they are entitled to based on the students they serve.

Buyer beware versus fiduciary duty. For years credit card companies and other financial firms used small print and legalese to rip-off customers. Companies are now required to abide by consumer rights laws. Under Bloomberg, a complicated and frustrating high school application process has been deceptively advertised as choice for students. While some parents and students have the time and patience to navigate the process others do not.
What is the end result? Vast differences in student enrollment patterns between schools. The 10% of schools with the highest special education enrollment rates average 27.4% students with special needs. The 10% of schools with the lowest special education enrollment rates average 4.5% students with special needs. The 10% of schools with the highest English Language Learner enrollment rates average 40.8% (not including specialized schools for new immigrants). The 10% of schools with the lowest English Language Learner enrollment rates average 1%. Screened and specialized schools have a student body that is extremely unrepresentative of New York City’s children. 

What should the next mayor do? He must put children first and ensure that every student has the opportunity to attend a quality school with a diverse student body that allows students to build the skills needed to function in our global economy and international city.

False advertising versus truth in advertising. Under Bloomberg, schools were supposedly being run along the lines of a business. It is now clear that this was false advertising and the “business” practices employed have bankrupted many a corporation. Ideology has determined policy rather than data and evidence. 

Charter schools were touted as putting public schools to shame while the data showing that charters do not serve similar student populations and get rid of underperforming students was ignored. Then the test scores of the new common core exams were released and charter schools performed significantly worse than public schools. This data was ignored. 

If Coca Cola had followed a similar “business” approach they would have continued to market “New Coke” and bankrupted the entire company. What should the next mayor do? He must put children first and ensure that all children have access to a quality early childhood education program. The economic data shows such programs have very high returns on investment and more than pay for themselves over time. We need a mayor who is willing to employ honest business practices such as ownership, honest accounting, fairness, and responsibility to the consumer in improving our schools.

All amazing points that the corrupt and corrosive education press like Education Nation will ignore. Not only ignore but laud the ship as it sinks.

@Ravitch Webinar

I had the opportunity last night to be in the room with Diane Ravitch while she interacted with bloggers on the web using an interesting technology from Shindig. For over an hour I stood behind her taping her off the screen. Now I could have taped her off the screen I guess at home but I have an idea for a possible small documentary by gathering footage from her book tours - I wish I were going with her but alas, we hope people all over the nation -- like in Pittsburgh the other night where a thousand people showed up (I hear they have a tape) - will take footage capturing the excitement and upload it to a site I set up (contact me if you have footage even if on a phone.).

I'll put up the video in a few days. Diane was on NPR and will be on Brian Lehrer on Monday morning.

Gotham School linked to the blog list or reviews I've been keeping with this note: Dozens of bloggers and educators have published their sunny takes on Ravitch’s book. (Ed Notes)

I consider the use of "sunny takes" an editorial comment by Gotham and objected in a comment.

Isn't it nice to have the "sunny side" of Ravitch's book being presented by so many real teachers from the grassroots where no one is paid or looking for advancement? Can someone point me to a similar group putting out the "sunny side" of Michelle Rhee's or Joel Klein's or Wendy Kopp's writings? And by the way - if you are classifying these reviews as the "sunny side" how about pointing to legit crit (not personal invective) showing where Ravitch is mistaken? Call it the cloudy side. To me painting these reviews as one-sided when some are very thoughtful examinations with some balance -- ie. Debbie Meier makes some critical points. I too while agreeing with most of it also feel that the role of the unions in ed deform need to be addressed and Ravitch didn't -- yet. I hope she does.

Listen to her Onpoint appearance on NPR.