The Obligatory Thanksgiving Extended Family Photo

This just appeared on Facebook so I might as well publish it here -- and of course it will then reappear on FB and Twitter since I somehow have automated Ed Notes posts to end up on both places. One cousin said yesterday she gets so much FB crap from me she had to block me -- she did not seem to believe me when I said I almost never go on FB -- though I did tonight and friended a former student from my favorite 4th grade class.

Anyway, we drove down to Yardley PA - an hour and a half trip took 2 and a half hours but we were listening to the Freakonomics NPR Thanksgiving marathon - to our niece who managed to put on some event even with a 5 and 2 year old.

There were great little latkes and I ate so many I had trouble getting the main meal down. And worse -- no room for ANY dessert.

I won't even attempt to explain who any of these people are -- but we did talk lots of politics -- many are on the edge of tea party but we had some allies from the Long Island cousins. Can't wait 'till Passover - at my house - I think - to continue the conversations. Maybe some of them may even have health care by then.

What about reversals of the October co-locos by di Blasio or Will Evil Moskowitz Continue to be Coddled?

Lets hope Bill DB's new administration moves in quickly to deliver us from Eva and her destructive ways ASAP.... Eva can afford to rent her own buildings w/ all the philanthropy and savings she has amassed.....  Lisa Donlan, CEC1

Is there a push for reversing the co-loco charter school giveaways or are those outrageous acts of a dying administration being submerged in all the other stuff going on? One would hope that Annenberg/the Alliance for Quality Education with their gal Zakiyah Ansari on the di B transition team would make this a top-level priority.

UPDATE FROM LEONIE:

There will be legal challenges as well as political challenges to all of the October co-locations; meanwhile I suggest everyone write letters, email and get their electeds to write the transition team in opposition to the co-locations in their particular districts and communities.  Unlike Bloomberg, the de Blasio team will likely be sensitive to community and political pressure to reverse these decisions.

Leonie Haimson

Lisa Donlan points to one of the outrageous decisions favoring Evil M, who Lisa dubs the second coming of The Queen of Mean:

I really hope there will be a revisiting soon, even if it means holding hearings all over again and re issuing EIS's that actually show impact.

The only one I am intimately familiar with is the colocation of a CTE school (some form of Advertising-possibly graphic media- the ink is still not dry on this paper proposal) in a HS in D1.

The CTE school was a good fit for Murry Bergtraum for a number of reasons- HS, CTE, and relative proximity to BMCC, the CUNY college partner to this hybrid HS/AA degree program.

But Eva [Moskowitz] rejected the targeted D1 site for her new proposed downtown elementary level charter school, forcing OPM to put her in Murry Bergtraum in place of the CTE school.

I do not often agree w/ the HSA approach but they got this one right: 

The supposedly underutilized building she was offered is an old (as in 110 years old!) former elementary school building.

It has no gym.

It has no auditorium.

It has only a warming kitchen and not much of a cafeteria- the downstairs, made up of pillars and tile floors,  serves as a lobby, gym, cafeteria and auditorium!

There are only a few bathrooms, the hallways are so narrow that two teens abreast fill the space, and there is not enough electrical wiring to support air conditioner units hanging ( useless) in windows.

The roof leaks and the basement floods, the ventilation is poor and the stairwells narrow.

There is only one science lab and very little technology due to poor wiring. 

 The school, University Neighborhood High School,  is about 1/3 SWD and 1/4 ELLs, and uses rooms for a college office, for  CBO support and after school enrichment and tutoring program and mainly for pull out academic intervention/ related services. 

The rooms are 500 square feet, a space arbitrarily deemed full size by the foot print, which just a few years ago deemed half sized, resulting in a biased "underutilized" on paper diagnosis by OPM.

The school went from a D to a high B to an A by DoE's Progress reports since the pre-engagement provoked by the D grade 3 years ago. This is not a school that deserves to lose support and resources but should instead be encouraged, supported and celebrated.

The new "CTE" school (playing loose and fast w/ the terms Career and Technical since the "theme"  is hardly going to result in any technical certification for students), based on the latest and greatest untried new thing (the famous P-TECH model, only in its 3rd year of a 6 year funded program) is going to suffer to accommodate the Queen of Connections.

There is no plan (hey September is like a whole 10 months away, right?) for sufficient bathrooms, or how kids as young as 14 will get back and forth from BMCC to the heart of the LES ( google 200 Monroe Street) where the new school's students  will have to use the college for its auditoriums,  a science lab  and maybe even bathrooms!

So to accommodate the political and financial ambitions of NYC's Education Queen of Mean, DoE has set up to fail both a successful  high needs school community that is already grossly underserved in terms of infrastructure and support AND one of its own Federal funding magnet darling pilots.

Lets hope Bill DB's new administration moves in quickly to deliver us from Eva and her destructive ways ASAP.

Help UNHS and help the black and Latino males this new CTE school is targeting for careers in Advertising by re-locating the CTE Advertising school back in Murry Bergtraum HS.

Eva can afford to rent her own buildings w/ all the philanthropy and savings she has amassed.

Lisa 

CEC 1

Is Citizens of the World Charter Using Public tax Money to Pay Expensive Public Relations Firm?

My message to CWC: If you have money to pay Heather Vega and Larson Communications, PAY THE DAMN
RENT.

Who is Heather Vega?

Heather has been writing emails to major press on behalf of CWC to try to get some positive press and offset their history of racist marketing, investigations into fraud, the incompetence of their Board of Directors, and the widespread opposition to the school in District 14... WAGPOPS

I saw the letter that Heather Vega sent out as an advertisement/propaganda/press release to get ANYone in the press to write a story about Citizens that doesn't mention the IRS investigation, or their racist marketing practices, or the NY lawsuit launched by hundreds of parents, or the LA lawsuits, or the three students hospitalized due to their negligence, or the high turnover at their Silverlake school...Brooke Dunn Parker

Did you know that less than 5% of CWC Williamsburg students are from the two zip codes surrounding the school?

So much for "demand" for charter schools, especially when they are run by crooks.

Williamsburg and Greenpoint Parents for Our Public Schools (WAGPOPS) shared a link.

We're being watched.

Citizens of the World Charter School hired an EXPENSIVE PR firm to help with crisis management. 

Below is the link to the bio for their NY rep, Heather Vega. Heather has been writing emails to major press on behalf of CWC to try to get some positive press and offset their history of racist marketing, investigations into fraud, the incompetence of their Board of Directors, and the widespread opposition to the school in District 14.

Note that one of Vega's specialties is monitoring the chatter on social networks.

Imagine what OUR schools would do with the money Citizens of the World Charter Schools is spending on "positive re-branding."

We told CWC all along that parents in this community did not want them here. And the numbers proved us right.

Evidence speaks louder than marketing. Not even 5% of CWC Williamsburg students are from the two zip codes surrounding the school. Spin that, Larson PR.

Larson Communications: Who We Are: Heather Vega

www.larsonpr.com

Heather has eight years of award-winning experience as a reporter with the San Mateo Daily Journal. She has a background in covering education, business, technology and government ranging from the local to national level. Heather further challenged her writing skills professionally by creating marke...

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• Vanessa Scorsone, Ken Sitz, Stephanie Cote' Anderson and 5 others like this.
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  Stephanie Cote' Anderson If you go to Larson's page on Twitter, several Charter organizations pop up as recommendations to follow.

  7 hours ago
• 
  

  

  
  

  Brooke Dunn Parker This is the second PR firm they hired, right? I saw the letter that Heather Vega sent out as an advertisement/propaganda/press release to get ANYone in the press to write a story about Citizens that doesn't mention the IRS investigation, or their racist marketing practices, or the NY lawsuit launched by hundreds of parents, or the LA lawsuits, or the three students hospitalized due to their negligence, or the high turnover at their Silverlake school... the list goes on. I'd buy stock in Larson PR because they're making a LOT of money.

  6 hours ago

Ed Notes on CWC:

1. Ed Notes Online: Trashing Citizens of the World Scam Charter ...

   ednotesonline.blogspot.com/.../trashing-citizens-of-world-scam-charter.h...‎

   Feb 15, 2013 - http://www.greenpointnews.com/calendar/5010/public-hearing-about-co-locating-citizens-of-the-world-charter-school-in-jhs-126
2. 
   

   Big Education Ape: 10-10-13 Ed Notes Online: Citizens of the World ...

   bigeducationape.blogspot.com/.../10-10-13-ed-notes-online-citizens-of.h...‎

   Oct 10, 2013 - 1 by ed notes online / 40min. Citizens of the World Charter Run By Eva's Husband May Close Due to Low Enrollment. Goodbye Eric (Grannis) ...
3. 
   

   Big Education Ape: Ed Notes Online: Trashing Citizens of the World ...

   bigeducationape.blogspot.com/.../ed-notes-online-trashing-citizens-of.ht...‎

   Feb 15, 2013 - As registration is happening for citizens of the world (part of Eva Moskowitz empire), if you could circulate these negative articles and have ...
4. 
   

   Citizens of the World Charter Corporation Scandals - Bitly

   bitly.com/bundles/rdsathene/j‎

   Ed Notes Online: Report from the Hearing on Citizens of the World Charter Schools. ednotesonline.blogspot.com/2012/04/report-from-hearing-on-citizens-of.

James Eterno Tribute to Gene Prisco

Gene Prisco's activism proves that you can make a difference in the world by living up to your ideals. Our condolences go to Loretta and the entire family... James Eterno

James posted this at the ICE blog. He makes the important point that Gene and Loretta were an activist couple -- that activism was built into the fabric of their daily lives. Was there anyone on Staten Island who did not know them or of them? We rarely said "Gene" or "Loretta" - it was always "Gene 'n Loretta."

The loss of Paul Baizerman just about 2 years ago and now, Gene Prisco, is enormous for our small core of over 40-year education activists who always have had a rather unique point of view of work in and out of the union. One thing that tied us together was the fundamental belief in local - neighborhood - organizing as a way to build a movement. The uniting of parents and teachers and in the 70s we really tried to do that kind of work. Caucuses within the UFT don't really do that and I believe that is a root cause of their lack of traction. In fact ICE never did that because many of the leaders had already retired and no longer had a base in the schools. And ICE never attracted enough new recruits to make that happen.

Gene and Loretta were not very active in MORE but when ICE had to decide whether to basically end its existence as a caucus and enter into a new venture with groups and individuals whose political points of view we did not always agree with, they were both optimistic that over the long term consensus could be built.

This is an opportunity to point out that over the time we have been working together - in Another View in District 14, The Coalition of NYC School Workers (in the 70s) and the Independent Community of Educators (the past 10 years), we have ALWAYS been a consensus group -- meaning everyone had to agree before we moved forward -- no voting unless in the most extreme conditions -- and I can remember only 2 times we did vote and both turned into disasters.

I know, I know, that in essence opens us up to the filibuster. But we have always worked with reasonable people.

Now that is not the most optimal way to get things done and ICE was often stuck -- and we have tried to learn the lessons of what worked and didn't -- but we have pushed consistently that MORE be as consensus as feasible. We have always believed that democracy is not a matter of majority vote but of talking to each other to search for points of agreement with voting as a last resort. Gene Prisco had that fundamental view of what democracy is all about.

GENE PRISCO'S PASSING A BIG LOSS

I was aware that he was not well but I am still stunned by the passing of a founding member of ICE: Gene Prisco.  Tributes are starting to pour in.  Please read the Staten Island Advance obituary or the brief introduction to the Advance piece over at Ed Notes from Norm Scott. We are also reprinting in its entirety the message from the Democratic Party of Staten Island (see below).
Gene was truly a wonderful human being. My wife Camille and I both feel honored that we were able to know him and his wife Loretta.  What a truly inspiring couple who are kind of role models to us on how to be a politically active family.
When people like me would be rambling on at ICE meetings about some great injustice by Randi Weingarten or Bloomberg or anyone else, Gene would respond by acknowledging in no uncertain terms that the job of a union was primarily to protect its members and that the UFT should be criticized if they don't live up to their main mission. What was unique about Gene is he could make these points in a way that would make us roll over laughing. 
He had an amazing sense of humor and no matter how bad the conditions in the schools have worsened for teachers, his outlook at ICE meetings remained optimistic that we could make our issues (for example lower class sizes) part of the union's agenda. 
Gene and Loretta were in attendance regularly to support Jeff Kaufman, Barbara Kaplan Halper and me when we were on the UFT Executive Board. He knew that the UFT had the potential to be a positive force to make the education system a better place for teachers, parents and students.  He felt the same way about the promise of the Democratic Party. That is why he ran for Congress in 1998.
My wife is reminding me of Gene's commitment to assisting African refugees.  Some of these refugees were kids who were involved in war at very young ages. Gene took enormous pride in his commitment to the African Refuge organization.  Nothing made him happier than helping people get a better life.
Gene Prisco's activism proves that you can make a difference in the world by living up to your ideals. Our condolences go to Loretta and the entire family.

Staten Island Advance: Gene Prisco, liberal lion of Staten Island, educator, and activist for the disenfranchised, dies at 70

Excellent obit on Gene. Though I knew this was coming for the past month - and probably longer than that, I'm still having trouble breathing. Just last January we all celebrated Gene and Loretta's 70th birthday - I have some really bad video and so sorry I didn't bring the good camera -- dumb, dumb, dumb. Glad the old crew got to see him a few times since things went downhill starting in August. What could go wrong, did go wrong. We will tell the entire medical story as we know it soon. Many lessons for all of us with the main one being: if you can stay out of a hospital, do so. And I swear, when I saw Gene last Tuesday he didn't look much worse than he looks in this great photo. Astounding that Gene's mom died about a year ago with him taking extraordinary care of her. I keep smacking myself in the head over the entire story.

One of the ironies is that if Gene were well there was going to be a push for him to be the Staten Island rep on the PEP. How much fun would that have been?

If I haven't made it clear to people, Gene and Loretta were part of our hard-core activist crew from the early 70s. He was a founding member of the Coalition of NYC School Workers and of ICE -- I think it was Gene at ICE's first meeting on Oct. 30, 2003 who got up and said we had to run in the 2004 UFT elections and we all cheered in affirmation. Always funny and sharp and with brilliant insights into general politics and the UFT. 

By Tom Wrobleski/Staten Island Advance

November 27, 2013 at 6:28 PM, updated November 27, 2013 at 6:37 PM

http://www.silive.com/obituaries/index.ssf/2013/11/gene_prisco_liberal_lion_of_st.html

 
Members of the political, education and activist communities are mourning the loss of Randall Manor resident Gene Prisco, shown here in 2012. 
 

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Eugene (Gene) Vincent Prisco, 70, of Randall Manor, a liberal lion of Staten Island politics and a longtime educator who also aided immigrants and refugees through his work with the African Refuge organization, died of complications from surgery on Monday in the Villanova, Pa., home of his daughter and son-in-law.

Mr. Prisco, a stalwart Democrat who made runs for U.S. Congress and state Senate and also helped generations of Island students as a school guidance and substance abuse counselor, was born in Queens and raised in the Bronx.
He moved to Grymes Hill in 1967, to Sunnyside in 1971, and to Randall Manor in 1974.

Vexed that the Democrats had long endorsed GOP state Sen. John Marchi, Prisco in 1994 launched a primary against Marchi for the Democratic nomination. Marchi prevailed, but Prisco successfully aired the issue of cross-endorsements.

In 1998, Prisco ran against GOP Rep. Vito Fossella. Though Fossella won the election, Prisco was praised for raising the issues of gun control and campaign finance reform during the race.

A proud liberal known also for his larger-than-life personality and sense of humor, Mr. Prisco was a longtime member of the Staten Island Democratic Association and belonged to the party's county committee.

"Gene was one of the most passionate and articulate voices on behalf of the Democratic Party that I have ever known," said borough Democratic chairman John Gulino. "He was a man of principle, a man of vision and a man with a deep and abiding love for his family, Staten Island and the Democratic Party. With Gene's passing, we have lost a champion for the values of the Democratic Party and it is a loss we all feel deeply."

Members of the North Shore Democratic Club observed a moment of silence in Mr. Prisco's honor before their meeting on Tuesday.

Sadness at Mr. Prisco's passing crossed party lines.
"Our politics never jibed, but we always got along," said GOP Borough President-elect James Oddo. "We always appreciated each other's candor. He was very passionate about education and teaching. I'm sorry to hear of his loss."

Mr. Prisco spent 33 years in the city public school system, most of it at Morris Intermediate School, Brighton Heights, where he was a social studies teacher and guidance and substance abuse counselor. Mr. Prisco also ran a bereavement group for students at Morris.

He also taught 6th grade at PS 18, where he started a free breakfast program, and was a substance abuse and guidance counselor at numerous Island elementary schools.

Mr. Prisco retired in 1999, but served as a teaching mentor at the College of Staten Island and Pace University.

Mr. Prisco belonged to the Community School Board for five years, and was a United Federation of Teachers delegate.

He also belonged to the Staten Island Alliance for Responsible Education , the Independent Community of Educators, the Coalition of New York City School Workers, the Staten Island Teacher's Action Committee, and Communities United for Respect and Trust.

Mr. Prisco was a member of New Yorkers Against Gun Violence.

Mr. Prisco earned a bachelor's degree in history from Iona College. He received a master's degree in Asian Studies from St. John's University, Queens, and an All But Dissertation degree in Asian and Russian Studies from New York University.

Mr. Prisco was chairman of the board of directors of the African Refuge organization, which runs an after-school center in Clifton and numerous other programs.

Mr. Prisco's family said it was that work he was most proud of. He was honored by the group in May as part of the African Refuge's 10th anniversary celebration.

The Rev. Judy Brown, executive director of African Refuge, said Mr. Prisco was "an inspiration in my life."
"He was a source of hope for many communities here on Staten Island," she said. "Gene had a unique personality full of warmth and humor, was genuinely concerned about disenfranchised people, and worked for justice and equality for all humankind. African Refuge and many other organizations on Staten Island will greatly miss him."

Mr. Prisco was vice president Neighborhood Housing Services and worked tirelessly on behalf of group clients right up until the time of his death.

Mr. Prisco had a rich and fulfilling family life.

Mr. Prisco and his wife of 47 years, the former Loretta Gallo, also a public school teacher, were an inseparable pair.

"Ours was an almost 50-year love affair," she said. "We did everything as a team, from working together to advocacy to haircut appointments."

Mr. Prisco was a pioneer when in 1975 he took child-care leave in order to stay home and care for his daughter, Gabrielle Horowitz-Prisco.

Daughter Francesca Molinari remembered Mr. Prisco as a hands-on father at a time when many dads were typically less demonstrative.

He doted on his granddaughter, Isabelle Molinari, and the two frequently visited the Staten Island Zoo, West Brighton, to see the porcupines. They also enjoyed visiting The Corner Book Store in Manhattan.

Mr. Prisco loved to read, and would often quip that his two favorite things were naps and novels.

An exceptional cook, Mr. Prisco was known for his Italian dishes.

He had a deep love and encyclopedia knowledge of jazz music, and was a film buff, enjoying foreign films in particular. He regularly attended the Montreal Film Festival.

World travelers, the Priscos took many trips aboard old-school ocean liners with the Cunard Cruise Line.
Toward the end of his life, with friends and family gathered at his bedside, Mr. Prisco said, "What I have come to see is that at the core, it is about love; it is the most important thing. It is the only thing. Without love, there is nothing."

Mr. Prisco was also close to his children's spouses, Steven Molinari and Re Horowitz-Prisco.

In addition to his wife, Loretta; his daughters, Gabrielle and Francesca, and his granddaughter, Mr. Prisco is survived by a brother, Peter Prisco.

Funeral arrangements, which are pending, are being handled by the Harmon Home for Funerals in West Brighton.

Frank Bruni Coddles Ed Deformers

I'm not sure where to draw that line. Its my kids. Its all personal... Patrick Sullivan in response to "Let's minimize getting personal just because someone has a an opposing viewpoint" on the NYCEd listserve.

So much reaction to another no-nothing NY Times columnist: Are kids too coddled: Op-Ed NY Times

Raging Horse took 2 shots at Frank Bruni:

Are New York Times Opinion Writers Too Coddled?

On “Left Wing Paranoia” and the Conspiracy to Privatize Public Education

In case those people still reading Ed Notes haven't noticed, I try not to leap in on major topics of the day until almost a week later. One reason is because my mostly younger blogging colleagues are so much quicker, analytical, and more eloquent than me. The other is that it gives me time to gather links to their great stuff and also include comments from the listserves. Assailed Teacher is up next:

Does this mean that because I cook and eat food that I can be a food critic as well? Does this mean that I can be a critic of food critics?  How would Bruni respond if I supported a program to make food criticism more rigorous because these damned food critics get coddled all of the time when they go to restaurants? After all, all of the cooks and wait staff go out of their way to accommodate the high and mighty food critics when they enter a restaurant. Back in my day, the wait staff barely paid attention to me and the cooks left hairs in my soup. How will food ever get better in America if these critics keep getting a skewed version of what food is all about? Our cuisine is falling behind other nations. We must catch up to France! ---  Assailed Teacher: Everyone is an Expert at Everything

 There are so many good takedowns of Frank Bruni’s New York Times piece supporting the Common Core that I did not bother to read it for myself until yesterday. I was glad I did. It gave me a bit of masochistic pleasure, like when you pick at a scab or push on an aching tooth. Bruni the food critic demonstrates the same thick assumptions and caricatured impressions of public schooling shared by many Common Core advocates. One only need to read the myriad comments under the article heaping praise upon him for confirming their own uninformed biases about youth, education and parents to get a glimpse of the armchair education expert parade in action.

Reality-Based Educator did his hit:

Frank Bruni LOVED "Won't Back Down"

NY Times restaurant critic/columnist Frank Bruni has some propaganda piece out about the Common Core State (sic) Standards that equates opponents of the standards as purveyors of the self-esteem movement in which every child is a winner and everyone gets a trophy no matter how they do in life's competition. Alas, before we take anything Bruni writes seriously, let us remember how much he enjoyed the propaganda film "Won't Back Down" last year (see here and here for my take on that.)

I love the accumulation of voices. Here are some from the various listserves.

I just tweeted that NYT columnists are coddled; opining on education issues w/out speaking to educators or parents. Leonie H

Diane Ravitch responded to a comment I made challenging a right wing teacher who always trashed students as the problem and loved Bruni's column by raising the point that we are abusing 8 year olds.

Norm,
No one at the NY Times sees any problem with high-stakes standardized tests. They all got high scores.
Diane

They did? Can't tell by the quality of their reporting or editorials. Let's have Danielson for reporters. I rate them ineffective. --- norm

Perhaps Duncan and the ed-deformers are the ones that are "too coddled"? They always get someone to defend them and slam the people raising concerns. Lisa N.

Thanks for sharing, Lisa. Frank Bruni (formerly the food critic) doesn't display much intellectual rigor in this piece. It could have been written to defend the old state standards or any crusade to raise the bar or get back to basics. Except he does quote David Coleman who "told me that he’s all for self-esteem, but that rigorous standards 'redefine self-esteem as something achieved through hard work.' "
Many people commenting seem to feel a need to say they aren't for coddling either but that the CCSS are grossly inappropriate, poorly written, etc, etc. This roll-out mess should also be an opportunity to refute the pernicious assumptions that self-esteem must be earned at school, and learning is just drudgery that will eventually lead children "somewhere big and real."

John

Fred Smith: Mayor Bloomberg's Education Turkey

			Panel for Education Policy			Testing, Testing, Testing
	Teacher Ratings								Consultant Stuffing
	School Closings								Charter Schools
									Co-locations
	Chancellor Klein
									Flouting Laws, Rules
									and Regs.
	Overcooked Grad Stats
									Phony Test
		Bus Drivers Strike							Scores
	Walcott Giblets								Promotion Policy
	No Teacher Contract								Office of Public
									Misinformation
	Rubber Rooms						ATRs
			Disrespect for Parents and Communities					Re-Organizations
								Prepared by Fred Smith -11/27