NYC Parents Union Plaintiffs' Use Their Own Kids for Naked Self-Interest

Did Mona serve the best interests of her own daughter by keeping her in a lousy charter school so she could further her political aims? When Moaning Mona and Sam use their kids for their own political advantage and put them in the public eye in this way can that be termed child abuse? Doing worse to your own kids than any tenured bad teacher could do.

Why isn't the press looking at the real story behind Mona Davids and her antics? So many long-time ed reporters either roll their eyes or break into outright laughter when Mona Davids' name comes up. All know she is just a PR hound.

What can one say when people like Mona Davids and Sam Pirozzollo use their own kids for blatant political purposes? I focus on these two (and not the other parents who I consider being duped by Mona) because these two know better. But I also consider Sam Mona's dupe - or just a dope.

But especially Mona, who I once knew well - she understands that Bloomberg put in numerous bully principals who run rampant over the rights of parents, students and teachers -- yet she is suing to give more power to these principals so they can fire any teacher they don't like and then run over parents even more.

That is what makes this suit worse than Campbell Brown and Vergara - it is people who know how the NYC system works and are cynically trying to use this suit for personal gain -- the idea is trying to draw funding.

One must ask why they were so willing to put their children in the eye of the storm given there is so little to gain for their kids? We know that Mona's daughter was accepted to Brooklyn Tech (but chose not to go there) so charges that she was negatively affected by tenured teachers is irrelevant. Mona's son is too young for him to have been impacted. I don't know about Sam's kids but I would imagine if their test scores were made public we might find that the impact of their (probably mostly tenured) teachers would not be negative.

This is not the first time Mona has used her own children to promote her interests. She had her daughter in a charter school that she told us was pretty bad but didn't want to pull her out because that would negate her claims to be leading charter school parents. Did Mona serve the best interests of her own daughter by keeping her in a lousy charter school so she could further her political aims?

When her daughter went to a public high school (loaded with tenured teachers) she had to switch from calling herself a charter school parent org and created the faux NYC Parents Union. Ask Mona to call her "people" out and see how many actually show. That is why she issues press releases since few people will touch her even with a 10 foot pole (you can see the mark on her forehead from all those poles. )


But the press loves to use Mona for their political purposes even though reporters know all about her games. Al Baker at The Times seemed to get it in his story but people like Ben Chapman at The News salivates whenever he can use Mona. As he did over the Portelos tweets.

The Daily News and NY Post jumped on Francesco Portelos tweets trying to make a point about the so-called parents union's kids. We know that when you survive years of harassment trying to protect yourself, and the kids and teachers in your school you can get emotional when people like Moaning Mona Davids and Sam Pirozzolo are advocating for your being fired before you ever got to defend yourself. So it is understandable that survivors like Portelos will strike out.

RBE at Perdido defends him: How Is This Tweet Harassment?

Once you put your children into the public sphere in this manner they will have to be examined in public to see just how "damaged" they have been by their tenured teachers. To me, given that they full well know their own kids are successful in school, that verges on child abuse.

I don't place blame on the parents, other than Sam,  Mona is using in her suit -- they will learn in due time what it means to lie down with a snake like Mona.

When Moaning Mona and Sam use their kids for their own political advantage and put them in the public eye in this way can that be termed child abuse?

Here are some of Portelos' tweets from yesterday.

Francesco Portelos 2 hours ago

"Izaiyah, Ms. Oke said, has been acting out in school, throwing tantrums and harming himself and other students. He was recently given a diagnosis of a mood disorder."
Unfortunate story, but child is now a plaintiff in the teacher tenure lawsuit. Teacher's fault? Mother Escapes Abuse, Only to End Up in Shelters With Her Weary Son http://ow.ly/yQeCM

FlagShare

LikeReply

Francesco Portelos 9 hours ago

Did Franklin have a sub par education at PS 69 Sam? Was Ms. Silva an incompetent teacher that should be fired?
In Our Schools: PS 69 students write their hero, Army Spc. James Lee, wounded in Afghanistanhttp://www.silive.com/news/index.ssf/2014/03/post_772.html

FlagShare

LikeReply

Francesco Portelos 10 hours ago

Hey Sam, I'm an ATR and I teach. I taught over 1,000 Staten Island students in 6 different schools since May. Ask the administration and staff at PS 4, PS 6, PS 35, PS 38, PS 54 and IS 24 how I "didn't" teach. Yes, I don't have to do lesson plans, but you can't paint everyone with one wide brush. Drop the lawsuit. I know you want to use this for another run in politics, but you are going about it wrong and using your kids as pawns.

Are there people who shouldn't be teaching? Yes and they should go. Tenure is not a job for life, but allows for due process. I spoke up in December 2011 and January 2012 and was attacked by Principal Linda Hill of IS 49 and former Superintendent Erminia Claudio. Hill made $40,000 in overtime, including days she was sick and while working a second program. Claudio's signature was missing from from every single document.

They spent 826 days and over $600,000 to try and fire me. I came to you at the CEC several times and sent over 50 emails to you. Safety issues...ignored...theft of services..ignored.

Today is 892 days that the investigation on IS 49 and double dipping is open. Must be those lousy and lazy teachers.

Ignored Misconduct http://protectportelos.org/all-down-hill/

I wonder what your kid's past and present teachers are thinking, If you are reading this teachers, please email me at mrportelos@gmail.com

FlagShare

LikeReply

Francesco Portelos 10 hours ago

It's sickening that it is mostly Staten Island parents behind this frivolous law suit.

Fellow parents, you NEED us teachers to be protected. See what happened to me after I spoke up for your children and your tax dollars. http://protectportelos.org/a-case-for-tenure/

FlagShare

LikeReply

Francesco Portelos 10 hours ago

You have to love the fact that three of the plaintiff's mother called her children's teachers "wonderful" two years ago and is now suing. Angela Peralta, who I am sure is a great mother, just pushed her daughters onto the front line of the wrong battle.

PolarExpressions 1 day ago

Wow. After reading that website, I fear for my child's teachers even more. I WILL consider joining the PTA, though. My son & his school deserve my collaboration, not my litigation.

SI Supt to Kathleen Grimm: Sam (Pirozzolo) is a Fool

.... and this was before Pirozzolo hooked up with Moaning Mona Davids in their rediculous copycat Vergara tenure law suit.

A Jan. 2013 email between District 31 (Staten Island) Supt. and Deputy Chancellor Kathleen Grimm, over Francesco Portelos' appearance at a Dist. 31 CEC meeting shows just how high up concerns over his actions had reached and explains the willingness of Tweed to spend upwards of half a million bucks to get rid of him. A joyous sidelight of the email is the Supt. referring to CEC member Pirozzolo as a "fool."

How nice to see Grimm, the Grim Reaper of Closing Schools, continuing to enjoy her status after being kept on by Farina as Deputy Chancellor -- sort of like promoting Nazi prison guards after the war.

Happy 2nd Birthday to Jack Cavanagh

The funniest point of the day was when Lisa Donlan and her husband JC, very big soccer fans (their son is a top level player) handed Jack his present. The minute he unwrapped it and saw a soccer ball, he forgot all about the other presents and went running off with the ball. I think we have a star for the 2034 World Cup.

I was in Prospect Park attending the 2nd birthday party of Jack Cavanagh, son of Julie and Glenn, along with other teachers from PS 15.

Julie had invited parents of children in her class and I spoke to one. Julie teaches special needs kids of the highest order. I spoke to one of the parents who just raved about this tenured teacher who has been able to stand up for children, parents and teachers and her school time and again -- because she is tenured. His child has been in Julie's class for the past 3 years, with one more to go. "What happens with middle school," I asked, knowing that leaving Julie must be causing some anxiety. "Whatever she says," he said pointing to Julie. "All the parents trust whatever she says. She has already started looking for the best options for us." There are principals out there who would resent Julie's bonds with parents as somehow threatening - luckily not her principal - and her general advocacy and community building and without the tenure protections she would be at risk.

Julie doesn't just talk about these ideas but practices them every day in her classroom and her school.

UFT/Unity Caucus Early History

I'm publishing this chapter on the founding of the UFT and how Shanker consolidated power from the book "City Unions" as prep for the July 16 MORE summer series event on the history of caucuses in the UFT. There is a lot of insight into how Unity has controlled the UFT since its inception. Read it here or download it.

CItyUnionsch8yannoUFT by morecaucusnyc

Moaning Mona Davids and Ally Sam Pirozzolo Want Francesco Portelos Fired?

I'm not surprised that CEC 31 (Staten Island) Sam Pirozzolo is in on this as he ignored years of pleas to help students of troubled schools. No doubt he will use this to make another run for office. http://samforassembly.com.... Francesco Portelos

Mona and Sam Pirozzolo should be sued for child neglect-- Ed Notes  

Updated:
How ironic. Moaning Mona henchman Sam Pirozzolo has joined her in the Vergara copycat suit here in New York City. Did Sam (or Mona) every think of bringing a law suit over the half million dollars the DOE wasted in trying to fire Francesco Portelos? Did they consider suing over the destruction of the technology and robotics program at IS 49, possibly the poorest school (poorest run by Principal Linda Hill) on Staten Island? And have you heard one peep from them over this outrage? 77% Of The Race To The Top Award Money In NYC Went To Pay For Consultants, Central Office Work, And Support Staff

Sam Pirozzolo is making blatant use of his own kids (as is Mona) who I assume attend schools in Staten Island and apparently have received an awful education because of their tenured teachers. Did Sam speak up at CEC meetings and talk about that lousy education at what were apparently lousy Staten Island schools, probably with the highest numbers of tenured teachers of any borough in the city? Gee, I hope Sam's kids can read after suffering all those tenured teachers.

Hey, Sam, show you are a good parent -- there are those charter school options, where there are NO tenured teachers (have fun). If Sam were a responsible parent he would remove his kids immediately from having contact with those horrible tenured teachers. He should be sued for child abuse - by his own kids.

Sam – YOU ARE ON THE CEC, which is supposed to support students and parents. I know, I know Sam, you've got more ambitious things to do than REALLY helping kids and parents at schools like IS 49 (while you ignored Portelos' pleas for help).

Ahhh, I remember Mona putting her daughter in a charter school to get out of the clutches of those public school teachers with tenure and then complaining about how poorly the charter school was run. Then she bragged how her daughter had been accepted to Brooklyn Tech, a school just loaded with tenured teachers. She ended up sending her to Laguardia HS, also loaded with tenured teachers.

Moaning Mona was perfectly happy to put her child in the specialized schools despite their tenured teachers. She could always try Success or KIPP where she wouldn't have that problem. After all, she is now suing over the "lousy education" her daughter has received - in I guess both the charter school with no tenured teachers and at the public school with tenured teachers.

I just can't wait to see Sam and Mona respond to these questions when the case gets to court. If it ever gets to court -- as I pointed out in my previous pieces, I see this as a trolling suit to get some PR and pray the big money boys come across with some bucks.

And where is the press asking these very questions? (Hear me Chalkbeat?)

Previous Ed Notes posts on Moaning Mona Davids:

• Moaning Mona Vergara Copycat Suit Is Also An Attac...
• Dissecting Moaning Mona Davids

Susan on Sunday

Good reading for a lazy Sunday afternoon from Ohanian. Don't miss the "Famous writers describe their affection for the Common Core" piece.

This cartoon offers an overview of today's assaults.
Sent from the Q Train in New York City http://susanohanian.org/cartoon_fetch.php?id=949
I just bought the ingredients for lunch for 70 at the Senior Center. Cooking is fun. Shopping is not.
Speaking of fun, I enjoyed gathering content for 'Common Core, light of my life, fire of my loins. . . .

Susan
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
Common Core, light of my life, fire of my loins. . . .
Susan Ohanian
2014-07-04 http://susanohanian.org/core.php?id=720
Famous writers describe their affection for the Common Core.
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
Center for American Progress Claims to Offer Roadmap for Success to Common Core
Susan Ohanian
2014-06-25 http://susanohanian.org/core.php?id=719
It comes as no surprise that the neo-liberal Center for American Progress would fully support the Common Core. They have  promoted the corporate approach to education from the get-go, not to mention their very close ties to the Obama administration.
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
Facebook’s Unethical Experiment
Katy Waldman
Slate.com
2014-06-30 http://susanohanian.org/data.php?id=558
This Facebook experiment makes me wonder how researchers will use all the data being collected on children.
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
To the editor
Stephen Krashen, Rossier School of Education, USC
Chicago Sun-Times
2014-06-30 http://susanohanian.org/show_letter.php?id=1700
It is a very positive thing to get this letter published.
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
To the editor
Stephen Krashen
Wall Street Journal
2014-07-01 http://susanohanian.org/show_letter.php?id=1699
Good for Krashen for knocking down Hanushek's straw man.
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
The Technology Agenda of the US Department of Education
Susan Ohanian
2014-07-04 http://susanohanian.org/outrage_fetch.php?id=1838
Deputy Secretary and Chief Operating Officer at U.S. Department of Education Jim Shelton's job history is the history of corporate education deform.
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
'Disruptive innovation' policies hurting state's children
Wendy Lecker
Stamford Advocate
2014-06-27 http://susanohanian.org/outrage_fetch.php?id=1837
As noted historian Jill Lepore notes, a quick buck -- not long-term consequences -- is the focus of disruptive innovation.
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
Arne in the News: Look at Choice He Makes
Susan Ohanian
2014-06-30 http://susanohanian.org/outrage_fetch.php?id=1836
Two education groups met in the same work. Guess where Arne put in a word.
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
School starting age: the evidence
David Whitebread
research
2013-09-24 http://susanohanian.org/show_research.php?id=554
Cambridge University researchers call for more play for young children.

Karen Lewis vs Rahm Emanuel for Mayor?

Lewis, who is African-American, would have powerful appeal to black voters who overwhelmingly disapprove of Emanuel (only 8 percent of them would support him against a challenger)... Daily Beast

How much fun would this be? Though I'd rather see Karen run against Randi at the AFT convention next week.

Not mentioned is that Karen Lewis is also Jewish, as is Emanuel, and might attract the Jewish vote too.

Could Rahm Lose to This Infamous Union Leader?

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/07/03/could-rahm-lose-to-this-infamous-union-leader.html

The firebrand union president, Karen Lewis, may run against Mayor Rahm Emanuel. Pass the popcorn!: These two absolutely detest each other.

For the past week, political junkies throughout my home city of Chicago have been rubbing our hands in giddy anticipation. The mother of all political battles, it seems, is on. 

Karen Lewis, the fiery president of the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU), announced she was “seriously thinking” of running against Rahm Emanuel for mayor. With the city plagued by gun violence and cutbacks in vital services, Emanuel’s popularity has been in freefall. In a recent poll, only 29 percent of voters said they would support him for re-election. Nevertheless, until Lewis’ announcement, no major challengers to Emanuel had emerged. The potential candidate who would pose the most serious threat to Emanuel, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, has said she’s not running. 

Moaning Mona Vergara Copycat Suit Is Also An Attack on Parents and Students Facing Bully Principals

Parent activists are rightfully outraged at Mona Davids' claims that  "the NYCPU, is the leading independent voice of New York City public school students and their parents."

In fact the very idea of an attack on tenure is an attack on parents and students as much, if not more, than on teachers.

Bully, abusive principals, of which there are many, not only abuse teachers but parents and students too. It is often the teachers protected by tenure who build alliances with parents in their schools who are savaged by these principals.

These Principals hunger for the attack on tenure to be successful so they can shut down all voices of dissent in the schools. Think of people like the teachers who could stand up against the assault on PS 15 by Bloomberg and the charter lobby, an assault Mona Davids in one of her earliest incarnations, gleefully joined in. Or James Eterno's brave defense of the doomed Jamaica HS. Or teachers like Francesco Portelos whose tenure protected him against 2 years of attack, until he ultimately prevailed after the DOE spent almost half a million dollars trying to terminate him and failed. Or the teacher in Queens under assault by a psychotic principal who was causing harm to students through financial and other irregularities who worked with parents to organize the resistance until the principal resigned. That teacher would have been gone in an instant if suits like these prevail.

Mona Davids' claims to be defending students and parents are blatant lies and distortions and should be exposed as such.

And let us not forget that Mona Davids eagerly participated (and was of invaluable assistance) in the making of the film, The Inconvenient Truth Behind Waiting for Superman, one of the strongest defenses of tenure - going way beyond anything the UFT has done.

Just another flip-flop on her part in the pursuit of self-interest.

 See: Dissecting Moaning Mona Davids

Dissecting Moaning Mona Davids

Moaning Mona Davids has switched sides more times than a tennis ball.... and burned more bridges than the retreating German army..... Ed Notes

Local 372 President Santos Crespo Jr. fired [Mona] Davids in December, then sued her in January, claiming she failed to turn over passwords to databases containing confidential information about the union’s members and its contacts.... NY Post, Feb. 10, 2014

Just 3 years ago Mona Davids supported and took part in a film that took a strong pro-tenure stand for teachers. She even paid for and set up the web site for that film but destroyed the site when she decided to switch sides (once again) in an attempt to cover her tracks.... Ed Notes

Mona Davids is a virus... Anonymous teacher

The news that self-serving Moaning Mona Davids, hoping  to get a piece of the hedge fund ed deform anti-tenure action, has filed a Vergara copycat suit over teacher tenure, has spurred me to dredge up this blog post that's been lurking in draft mode for many months. I hadn't bothered  because the idea that anyone actually takes Moaning Mona Davids seriously causes me constant amusement as to just how naive so many people are. Her press release regarding the suit is laugh out loud reading.

I'd like to see if this law suit has any real financial backing. Mona may just be trolling, knowing full well there will be a well-financed suit coming. Her hope is to get her pitiful attempt combined with others. If you had a choice between Moaning Mona Davids and Crappy Campbell Brown, both desperate to use the teacher bashing issue in an attempt to remain relevant, who would you choose? Hmmmmm.  Let's see if there are any ed deform funders out there will to take a chance on venturing forth into a Moaning Mona minefield loaded with IEDs. Today's NY Times piece indicates that this is a trolling law suit looking for publicity.

Education reform groups, some of them supported by Wall Street philanthropists, are expected to support a wave of Vergara-inspired suits. Ms. Davids contended that her suit was different because it was not being bankrolled by outside interests.

However, Ms. Davids said she expected that if multiple cases were to be filed, they would eventually be lumped together by the courts.

Sure, not bankrolled by outside interests because they are too smart to get involved in Moaning Mona's shenanigans. Her main hope is to have hers combined with the heavy hitters and pick up a few crumbs on the way.

About a year ago I also laughed myself silly when I heard DC 37 Local 372 had stepped in it by hiring Mona Davids, who we nicknamed "Moaning Mona" after she made anti-teacher racially tinged comments at various meetings in 2009 - before seemingly switching sides. But more on all that in future posts.

Self-serving Moaning Mona Davids as Local 372 Political Director -- to help stop Anthony Weiner's mayoralty campaign? Really, Comedy Central material.

I was tempted to post some of my Mona files at the time, but, knowing there would be some delicious stuff to come - that Mona would find a way to alienate everyone, I decided to sit back and watch things play out. And so they did. I don't want to call Local 372 leader Santos Crespo dumb for even letting Mona anywhere near the union's confidential information. But.... anyone who shares a password with Moaning Mona should be examined by a doctor.

“Davids exhibited an attitude of spite, anger and refusal to follow directions,” Crespo said in a court affidavit. In papers filed in Manhattan Supreme Court, Crespo also suggested Davids engaged in “commercial piracy” by refusing to hand over passwords linking to the union’s proprietary databases.... NY Post

I'm shocked, just shocked that the always self-serving Moaning Mona Davids would engage in such activities. Concerns about parents and children are in the back of her plate. In fact, not even on the plate.

The entire NY Post article below the break.

Oh, if anyone has time on their hands, go check the financials of the NYC Parents Union --

And a blast from the past featuring Moaning Mona:

...https://groups.yahoo.com/group/nyceducationnews/message/17324 Oct 23, 2009 -

I'm posting a letter from a teacher at the Patrick Daly School (PS 15) in Red Hook, Brooklyn to "Moaning" Mona Davids, self-proclaimed ...

How the UFT Sits By and Watches Discontinued Teachers Go Down

Plainly, the UFT basically doesn't give a shit when teachers lose their jobs.

With the new tone between the UFT and Farina, why won't UFT Officials pick up a phone and save a teacher's career? One of the major reasons for the weakness of the union at the school chapter level is the unlimited power principals have to blackball probationary teachers from the system for life -- in addition to all the other powers principals have, powers the UFT refuses to take a stand against -- possibly because of their "partnership" with the supervisors union, the CSA. (Their leader Ernie Logan should be held accountable for the actions of his members.) But really, does the UFT leadership really care if the union at the school level disintegrates as long as they get theirs?

I often get calls from the Discontinued - non-tenured who have been let go by their principals resulting in a lifting of their teaching license and a blackball from the system pretty much forever (if they have another license they might get back in on that.) [No time now but search this blog for The Dreaded D or other articles on this issue over many years.].

Think of it -- some of these people are teaching for a few years. Others for a few months. BOOM! You're out. What kind of human being would do that to a fairly new teacher? - Unless that teacher was deemed so incompetent the children were in danger. My investigations have found no instances of that. Instead, in every case the problem were principals so vicious they do not deserve to run a school.

In some cases these teachers find another principal who is willing to give them another chance but when they check the system they find they can't even hire them because the actions of another principal have prevented them from doing so. Pure vindictiveness.

Meanwhile the UFT/Unity leadership just skates by when they are as responsible for the Dreaded D situation as the perpetrators. You know what advice the UFT often gives these people? Resign. Portelos at DTOE counters that advice: Probationary/Untenured Teachers Threatened with Discontinuance DO NOT RESIGN. THEY’RE BLUFFING!

The UFT could have done something about the process of allowing principals unfettered power over probationary teachers (which severely weakens the school union chapter) in the new contract but did nothing other than tweak the process a bit.

Recently a case came across that reinforces my low opinion of the people running the union from top to bottom. A teacher with a Discontinue can appeal to the Superintendent and until that ruling takes place no one will hire that teachers. Everyone knows this appeal is a farce and that superintendents always rubber stamp the principal. But the poor teacher, desperately clinging to hope, hangs on pinning some hopes that this time it might be different.

Then, after they lose the appeal to the superintendent that are told by the union they could appeal but it might take months or even a year - also with dim prospects.

So the teacher is effectively silenced hoping without hope - unless you are a Lydia Howlrika who has teamed up with Portelos at DTOE (what a dynamic duo they are).

What the UFT won't do is put any political capital on the game by fighting for these teachers as if their very lives dependent on it -- ie - put some skin in the game. For instance - a back door call to Farina when known bully principals engage in these extortion plots to undermine the union at the school level. But the UFT/Unity Caucus leadership is perfectly comfortable with the way things are. They get access to get what they want. And what they want does not include standing up for teachers.

Afterburn
I haven't dealt with the royal screwing the UFT is giving Portelos because he can take care of himself. But check out how the UFT is comfortable with his removal as chapter leader - illegally, thus leaving the IS 49SI chapter defenseless against incompetent principal Linda Hill. (Behind the scenes DOE people will flat out say she is incompetent.) I'm trying to find a Portelos posting about his new "job" offer and why he turned it down. When I get the details together, this will be another grand slam against our union leaders.

Read all the stuff we are posting and you will see that calling them Vichy may be too kind to them.

Worse than Michelle Rhee: Teachers and public schools have a shocking new enemy

Isn't it time for teacher unions to issue a Declaration of Independence from the Democratic Party? Thomas Jefferson for AFT president.

Again thanks to Jeff Kaufman for coming up with this article by Jeff Bryant writing at Solon. Note that our fearless union leaders keep sucking at the teat of the Democratic Party no matter how much they smash teachers and their union.


TUESDAY, JUL 1, 2014 12:55 PM EDT

Worse than Michelle Rhee: Teachers and public schools have a shocking new enemy

George W Bush's education secretary called teacher unions terrorist organizations. Post-Vergara, do liberals agree?

Tier 4, 5, 6 Pension Plans Comparisons: The later you enter, the more you get screwed

Thanks to Jeff Kaufman for sending this to ICE Mail. We used to joke about Tier 12 - we're up to Tier 6 so we are half way there. Coming one day - Work 'till you are 80 --- but we know the reality -- few will make it to full pension.

Tier 4 Pension Plan (applicable to members hired before 01/01/10)

Employee Pension Contribution.............3% for ten years, *0% after (*except for special earlier retirement)

Final Average Salary................Top three consecutive years

Full Retirement Age..................62 years of age

Pension Vesting Period..........................5 years

Multiplier, less than 20 years.....1.67% per year

Multiplier 20 years or more........2.0% per year

Multiplier more than 30 years.....1.5% per year

Retiree Health Benefits Vesting Period..............10 years of service

 Special Requirements................Full Retirement 30/55

Special Requirements.................Full Retirement 25/55

Age Reduction Factor
55(.73)56(.76),57(.79),58(.82),59(.85),60(.88),61(.94)

Tier 5 Pension Plan (applicable to members hired on or after 01/01/10 and before 04/01/12)

Employee Pension Contribution.............3% until retirement

Final Average Salary................Top three consecutive years

Full Retirement Age..................62 years of age

Pension Vesting Period..........................10 years

Multiplier, less than 25 years.....1.67% per year

Multiplier 25 years or more........2.0% per year

Multiplier more than 30 years.....1.5% per year

Retiree Health Benefits Vesting Period..............10 years of service

 Special Requirements................Full Retirement 30/57

Age Reduction Factors
55(.62),56(.67),57(.72),58(.77),59(.82),60(.87),61(.93)

Tier 6 Pension Plan (applicable to members hired on or after 04/01/12)

Employee Pension Contribution.................3.5%-6% until retirement

Final Average Salary....................Top five consecutive years

Full Retirement Age......................63 years of age

Pension Vesting Period.............................10 years

Multiplier, less than 20 years.........1.67% per year

Multiplier 20 years or more............1.75% per year

Multiplier more than 30 years.........1.75% per year

Retiree Health Benefits Vesting Period..................15 years of service

 Special Requirements....................None

Age Reduction Factors 
55(.48), 56(.55),57(.61),58(.68),59(.74),60(.81),61(.87),62(.93)

How Will UFT Be Affected if Supreme Court Rules Negative on Dues?

Will disaffected UFTers quit the union? Will people think they are not getting their dues money's worth?

I know this decision might come down any minute but I wanted to speculate a bit before it does on how the UFT might be affected.

First, the essence of the case: You don't want to pay union dues (agency shop fees) if you don't support the union. So the court may rule you don't, what will that mean? Right now there are about 3500 people who are not in the union but pay agency fee dues. They are protected by the contract but not allowed to vote in union elections or on the contract. (All new teachers start their careers as agency fee payers until they are signed up by their new chapter leaders. Some are not doing it for political reasons but just aren't aware -- ie, CL not doing the job.)

The union argument is that your salary and benefits were negotiated for you by the union so you should pay. (See Naked Capitalism: Harris v. Quinn: Will the Supreme Court Abolish Public Sector Unions on Monday?)

I wonder how these people who don't want the union would feel if the union argued to cut them loose from negotiations and benefits and all the contractual issues? In other words -- if you want to be a free agent, go ahead and negotiate your own contract with your principal --- sounds just like charter schools, doesn't it?

This is usually a right wing attack. But I've also heard this coming from a portion of the anti-Unity crowd who are so frustrated at the way the union has operated - given the way they have set up union elections and other controls, right now 100% of the UFT Exec Bd is Unity endorsed - and has been since the 2004 election when we clawed out 6 out of 90 seats -- and felt that was a victory - which really is a joke given that gives you zero chance to influence policy.

Some have even called for starting a decertification drive where a vote would allow people to choose a new bargaining agent - like the Teamsters.

Others have called for the end of dues checkoff where instead of dues coming out of your paycheck automatically, the union would have to send Vinnie over to collect.

The argument they make is that there is no way to pressure the Unity leadership and no way to win changes other than to apply economic pressure -- let the Unity/Union leadership feel the same pain the rank and file are feeling. (How about if a District Rep can be rated ineffective and removed? Think that might result in better service?)

Internally, we have discussed these threats in MORE and worry about the ultimate destruction of the union even if in the chaos there would be an opportunity for an organized opposition to make some hay. But I don't see any glee in the eyes of MOREistas who say  better MulGarten that the alternative.

The left wing of the union opposition have consistently turned away these  arguments as union busting. But when asked how they can change the UFT, they have precious few weapons in their arsenal.

Some of this debate is being played out at NYC Educator blog where my pal Harry (Hamilcar) is expressing his frustration at both the UFT and the opposition (MORE). See: The Good, the Bad and the Really Ugly. at NYC Educator. I left a comment in response.

Sinc losing this case is considered a union buster and we may know in a very short time, consider the view from the anti-Unity right of the left. I bet we will see a number of anti-Unity people or people who are treated shabily by the union take their money and run. Add the charter school erosion of union members and the deficit budgets, the Unity leadership may be facing some lean years ahead.

That doesn't stop them from spending 2-4 million on taking 800-1000 people to LA in 10 days for the AFT convention at our dues expense. I am going and paying my way because I do care about union policy and I want to be able to report back to Ed Notes readers -- all 3 of them -- what is going down there.

I wonder if there are times when I see the same 800 people I see at the Delegate Assembly walking around with an all expense paid trip and knowing that in a rational system, I and other MOREistas based on our % of the vote would have certainly been entitled to at least 150 of those delegate positions, and if the unions lose this case, the little evil devil on my shoulder will pop up and say, "good for them" before I take a hammer and smash that devil down.

NYC Educator has some interesting pieces on this issue:

When's the Best Time to Activate UFT Activists?

If Union Is a Choice, Why Not Government?

Eterno on End to Jamaica HS 122 Year History - Farina/deBlasio Silence is Endorsement of Bloomberg Closing Schools Policy

“This is the end,” said longtime teacher James Eterno, a 28-year veteran of the school, while choking up. “It’s bittersweet. It’s a celebration, but it feels like a funeral.”

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/queens/24-students-graduate-jamaica-high-school-final-graduation-article-1.1845848#ixzz361tnyKwv

James has the story at the ICE blog, along with a lot of good family news:

We said goodbye to Jamaica High School the other night and it was quite a farewell for about 25 graduates, their families,  many alumni, along with current and former faculty members. Full coverage is at the ICEUFT blog and in the press.

http://iceuftblog.blogspot.com/2014/06/jamaica-graduates-go-out-with-bang.html

Have a great summer and as many of you already know, my wife Camille and I will be very busy with our newborn son Matthew John Eterno who was born on June 15, 2014.

Congrats to James and Camille. James is now an ATR due to the school's closing. Let's hope he finds a job.

Afterburn

I don't get it. Jamaica HS is practically a shell - what would it have taken for Farina to allow a freshman class to register if they so wished and actually make the school function again? Her allowing it to close is an admission of failure on her part - failure to come up with ideas to fix schools that have been branded, often unfairly, as failures -- broken maybe, but not failures. So may schools have had awful supervisors which again exposes the DOE to its own inability to figure out methods other than shutdowns and turnarounds which do not work for many of the kids. Claims that merely by making schools smaller is the answer have proven false. What is really behind closings is the dumping of staff, often senior teachers and replacing them with young, inexperienced teachers in the new schools. Of course these untenured people will jump when told and put in enormous hours of free labor while senior teachers might balk -- so from the corporate view, economic factors are operating -- trade experienced, high price labor for a higher volume of people. A business, not an educational model.

Well, maybe I do get it.

The Assassination of Archduke Ferdinand and His Lovely Wife Matilda - 100 years later, 56 Years Since I Was in the 8th grade

- OK, so Ferdinand's wife's name was really Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg, as today we mark the 100th anniversary of the assassination. But to my 8th grade social studies class committee, consisting of 5 pubescent boys putting on a little reenactment of the assassination in front of the class as part of their report, she was his "lovely wife Matilda." (The teacher didn't laugh but I still break out laughing whenever the assassination comes up and think of our play.) We turned a few chairs into the car. I forget if it was me who played the assassin, Gavrilo Princip (right). Some of my family think that would make sense. So would some UFT officials.

I am an historian at heart - and with some training, having come close to earning an MA in history before I started teaching. I took courses that covered the roots of WWI (which did not earn that name until WWII broke out) and WWII - which, of course, are connected. I love the connections through history. No event exists in isolation. Look at the mid-East today -- their roots go back to that same period of time when these borders were being drawn. I have the latest book on Lawrence of Arabia sitting on the shelf. And since I lost my copy of Barbara Tuchman's "Guns of August,"(a summer project) in Sandy I just ordered a copy from the library (I am boycotting Amazon on books as much as possible due to their gangster tactics.)

And how about Sarajevo and Yugoslavia as the ground zero 100 years ago, then in the 90s horror show of the Yugo breakup and how the current Iraq situation is being compared to that? Really, the mistakes pre, during and post WWI just never seem to stop haunting the world. Which is why that event must be studied and studied.

Now just think of this - how old am I? When we did the play it had been 48 years since the assassination. It is now 56 years since we did the reenactment.

By the way -- I engage in some of these historical time line issues with my younger (and some closer to my age) when we talk UFT history. I always want to connect the dots to their origins. People accuse me of looking to the past. I certainly am -- but in order to explain the present and if you dig deep enough you can even discern patterns of the future.

I and others in MORE are doing an event on July 16 (the day after I take the Red-Eye back from the AFT convention in LA) on this very topic -- the historical role caucuses have played in the UFT - from Unity through MORE with the lessons that could be learned for current and future organizers. Save the date if you are in town -- I promise - no juvenile re-enactments -- like don't expect to see anyone play Al Shanker and his lovely whatever.

Shades of 2004: Balanced Literacy Plus High Class Sizes a Recipe for Failure

With the re-entry of Farina's pal Lucy Calkins and Balanced Literacy and its Workshop models we may find ourselves in the Tweed version of Groundhog Day.

One of my long-time colleagues in ICE/GEM/MORE is a grad of Teachers College where she was trained in Balanced Literacy and is a fan - in theory. She teaches in the heart of Bed-Stuy and since I've known her she says, "It's a wonderful program -- IF CLASS SIZES ARE LOW ENOUGH TO MAKE IT WORK.

Friday's NY Times has a piece on Carmen Farina bringing back the ghost of Balanced Literacy and Lucy Caulkins, the incredibly controversial program implemented in the early years of BloomKlein and then abandoned because it was so clearly unworkable without serious reductions in class size. Caulkins and the thousand dollar a day Aussies brought in as advisers were amongst the most hated people in those early years of Klein's first chief ed officer, Diana Lam.

In May, Ms. Fariña asked Ms. Calkins to host a seminar on her methods for hundreds of principals; in August, New York City teachers will be invited to a similar event.

The Education Department did not respond when asked how much it was paying Ms. Calkins’s program.

In the interview last week, Ms. Fariña emphasized that while she believed in balanced literacy, she would not mandate its use in classrooms or add it to the city’s list of preferred curriculums. “I’m just asking people to have a common-sense approach,” she said.

That Farina has learned her lesson from the past when she was part of the almost vicious imposition of BL on the entire school system is good news. But we know that the ambitious lunatic principal crew looking to make brownie points may force feed BL and the Workshop model back into their schools.

Under the method, long-winded lectures by teachers were discouraged, and students worked frequently in groups — called workshops — to read and write. Spelling and grammar were de-emphasized in favor of fluency. Textbooks were scrapped in favor of classroom libraries teeming with novels and plays. And students were encouraged to write about social justice issues and tell their personal stories. Balanced literacy took off in New York under Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, who mandated the approach citywide in 2003 as one of his early efforts to shake up the school system.

Bloomberg used a sledge hammer and Farina helped bring the hammer down and tainted many of the good aspects of BL for much of the teaching staff as principals force fed it to their teachers and used it against some senior people who were slow to adapt.

When Diana Lam went down in scandal, Farina was promoted into her spot and force fed BL down every teacher's throat. But  Farina is/was not a fan of low class sizes to go along with BL.

Personally, the idea of BL makes sense for kids who can handle being on their own to some extent with the teacher as manager. And this on Common Core is interesting since BL seems so at odds with CC:

“I don’t really agree with rigid, myopic interpretations of the Common Core,” Ms. Calkins said in an interview. “It needs to be a big tent.”

Some CC people are freaking, as is probably Sol Stern and his fellow phonics police who are CORE Knowledge fans. I have to state that there are elements of both that make sense - IF professionals - the teachers had real input they would find the way that works for them. Let me say this again in another way -  every teacher with 3 or 4 years experience needs to be able to find the path that suits their personality and teaching style -- and not have PD imposed on them ad infinitum. (For newer teachers, yes.)

I came face to face with the BL/Workshop issue when I mentored Teaching Fellows (a once a month visit to observe them) in District 15 where Farina was Supt before she headed Region 8 under the first Joel Klein reorganization, which included my district (14) and 13. She went on to replace Lam and implemented the program city-wide. It is no accident that she left in 2007 when Klein abandoned BL when he thought it wasn't getting high enough test scores - a dumb reason but to Klein data meant more than classroom dynamics.

District 14 and 15 were very different in management and in population. Farina took over Region 8 with the attitude that the "back to basics" D. 14 was corrupt (not totally untrue) but tagged the educators as not as fit as the "progressive" D. 15 educators.  I too wanted a more progressive system in D. 14, but one to take all factors into account - ie if you are going in the direction of D. 15, do it moderately in places with people eager and ready to try it - and shave class sizes to make BL feasible. In fact a blend of the D. 14 and 15 cultures would have made sense (I don't know the D. 13 culture but was never impressed.)

Instead, Farina came in an attitude of "my way or the highway." And the class size issue was always poo-poohed.

I got an inkling of what this meant when I went to see one of the Teaching Fellows I mentored (2002-5), a wonderful 2nd year 2nd grade teacher in Park Slope. She had around 22 kids in her class and her BL worked fairly well, according to her -- the kids seemed like readers and could work independently. But when they were doing the Writing Workshop and BL called for her to sit down with each group for a spell and then move on to another, one kid would not sit still and she had to spend time away from what BL called on her to do to make it work. I suggested she give the kid a workbook or rexo to work on until the lesson was finished. "Oh, no, we are not allowed to do that," she said. Workbooks and worksheets were banned. Thus, she had to take time away from the class and making BL work better because she had to deal with the restive child who at that point was not capable of doing the workshop model.

Farina had tied the teacher's hands behind her back in dealing with a kid who needed something to keep him busy for 20 minutes. Teachers have precious few weapons. And the "my way or highway" approach of Farina implementing Diana Lam is what caused so many teachers to turn off and created a hostile environment when attack dog Leadership Academy principals went after teachers who could not adapt fast enough to a very massive change in the style of teaching - especially those who had been teaching for many years.

I for one would have had trouble in the BL system given my belief that phonics was very necessary for the poorer readers - I felt there had to be intense work done to get them to decode -- and by the way, I have a Masters from NYU in diagnosis and correction of reading problems. I taught mostly in homogensous classes where they were grouped by reading scores - and my early administrators believed in making the so-called "bottom classes" smaller classes -- so you could adjust your teaching depending on the level of you class. But in heterogeneous mixed group classes you can't teach to the whole class - so in theory, small groups made sense and BL was one method of dealing with that. But imagine a class in Park Slope where the majority of the kids could read well compared to a class in my school where in a heterogeneous class you were lucky to find 30% reading well enough to work in these small groups. A potential nightmare.

Farina doesn't seem to see these complexities. Farina seems to see the educational world in a homogeneous way- her point of view. And with the re-entry of Farina's pal Lucy Calkins and Balanced Literacy and its Workshop models we may find ourselves in the Tweed version of Groundhog Day.

Here's a link to the Times piece and the entire article below the break.

Eterno on Final Graduation Jamaica HS Before Closing, Schirtzer Condemns Farina/UFT For Allowing It to Happen

With every passing day, despite the so-called change of tone, we see more evidence (here, here, here, here) for samples) of endorsement of Bloomberg's wrecking ball. James Eterno posted about this sad/happy day (for the final Jamaica HS grad class) at the ICE blog....

Today is a very emotional day for many people as Jamaica High School will hold its final graduation ceremony this evening.  I am sure friends at other closing schools such as Norman Thomas, Beach Channel, Columbus and many more are experiencing similar feelings.
For me personally, it is the end of a twenty-eight year teaching stint at the 122 year old Jamaica HS that will officially cease to exist. 
As of today, we are still trying to make sure every eligible student is permitted to graduate.

http://iceuftblog.blogspot.com/2014/06/final-graduation-for-jamaica-hs-tonight.html

...and Mike Schirtzer lays blame. (Have fun at the soccer games in Brazil Mike).

I just want to add my personal view that the Bloomberg policy of closing community schools has proven to be a failure time and time again, when Chancellor Farina had the chance to halt these closings, she did not. I will never refer to her as "our partners". I've only known James Eterno for a couple of years, but there isn't a better union man to be found in 52 Broadway than James. He is a staunch defender of union democracy and a tireless advocate for his school and our union. If the UFT leadership had any chutzpah and if they knew right from wrong, James would have a union job yesterday. In a time when our union is coming under attack from gazillionares and their corporations, we need outspoken leaders to stand up and speak out on all our behalf. It's a shame that our own union leadership tries to silence the best of these voices. 

All the best to James, 

Mike

June, 2014 - No Change of Tone at John Dewey HS: Principal Kathleen Elvin - A Principal Heading for Hell

Kathleen Elvin was sent into John Dewey HS as a closer a few years ago - to make sure to drive the final nail in Dewey's coffin and remove many of the teachers, mostly senior. But the UFT lawsuit stopped that process over the summer and Elvin had to switch gears.

Mulgrew and the UFT/Unity clones talk about the change of tone at Tweed. I pointed that the so-called change of tone is directed at union leaders at the top. Not so in the schools.  (Where's the Change of Tone as Hundreds Call for Ouster of Bryant HS Principal Namita Dwarka? and here).

The principal was at first resistant to having the UFT Rep there as "witness" to the "transaction", but, even the "server" said he had never served papers in 3 years of doing it where the UFT Chair was not present- he himself seemed shocked at the attempt to do it without a union presence!... Martin Haber, teacher, John Dewey HS 

John Dewey principal Kathleen Elvin is more subtle than Bryant HS Principal Dwarka. (We've heard about Kathleen Elvin in the past - See Diane Ravitch post below.) Until Farina deals with people like her the school wars will continue even as the UFT tries to cover them up and make nice about there being peace at the top.

The more I hear about Elvin, the more she moves into my POS pool of human beings. Elvin uses humiliation as a tool.

Before you read the report below from Haber, one of the senior teachers, I want to expand on the outrage of her trying to keep these teachers from having their union rep present and the comment from the DOE official that in his 3 years of doing the work of serving 3020a papers to teachers, he had never encountered a principal who tried to deny them even this basic right.

What would motivate Katheen Elvin to function the way she has? There's a special place in Principal from Hell for people like Elvin. And don't forget her little band of assistant principals - use the comment section to name and shame them.

Dear Friends:
4 tenured teachers were summarily removed from their teaching assignments in the 4th period (of 8 periods) on Friday, the 13th (!), at my school, John Dewey HS in Bklyn. A guy in a Yankees cap was sitting in what once had been a Guidance Suite  with rows of documents aligned across the table; these were 3020a papers, and this dude was there to serve them to my colleagues. The way it was done was, to my mind, especially brutal and humiliating, and intentionally so: everyone knows it is something sinister when the APO or one of his gopher AP's comes in mid-class to "cover" your class while you are told to report to an Administrative room; students see it, colleagues find out within minutes, and, of course, every Management Team member is already in the loop beforehand. The principal was at first resistant to having the UFT Rep there as "witness" to the "transaction", but, even the "server" said he had never served papers in 3 years of doing it where the UFT Chair was not present- he himself seemed shocked at the attempt to do it without a union presence! He also was vague at first about what he was doing and who he was, but then relented.
I am putting out this info to see if yesterday was "D Day " for any other Chapters, or just Dewey? And to see if the "process" is as bad or worse in other sites. Michael was able to at least establish that the 3020-a process leaves the weight of proof on the DOE side, since the new Eval system has not even issued its first ratings....so that was at least welcome news amid the gloom. This is another dark day at John Dewey HS, where tenured teachers continue to be scapegoated/harrassed/bullied/

profiled until they leave the school, and the system. A principal from lower regions of hell. A collection of sycophantic managers ready and willing to sell their first-born to get brownie points from her. So, a typical NYC high school of 2014!

(Also check out South Bronx expose of James Quail - a former principal and Supt in my old district 14 -

James Quail DOE ATR Supervisor Tries to Ruin a Career)

And here is the Ravitch post from a student almost 2 years ago.

Can’t anyone volunteer to be a principal? One who actually cares about the school? Not Elvin and her inexperienced crew. Shockingly, some of the new appointed AP’s have never taught/are not teaching any classes.

A Student at John Dewey Speaks
By dianeravitch
September 21, 2012

I wrote a post about the NYC Department of Education’s determination to destroy once-esteemed John Dewey High School in Brooklyn. The post was called “The Ugly Face of Reform in New York City.”

First, they turned it into a dump for the low-performing kids rejected by their small schools and charters. Then they began systematically starving it of needed resources. As this comment shows, even the students know the score:

I am currently a student at the school. Many people don’t realize how hurt we really are, we lack so many things. Our budget is dry, insufficient equipment, low enrollment, slashed programs and classes, new inexperienced teachers replacing traditionally great ones that have been their for DECADES before I was even born! We’re turning into a typical high school. A conventional one at that, and that’s not a good thing. There’s no such thing as bands or cycles anymore. Where is the liberty we used to have of changing our schedules to fit our own needs academically? Where is the freedom of being metal detector free (even though many high schools throughout NYC are implementing metal detectors anyway) and where are all the students on the campus?

It’s exasperating. We did not deserve this. I personally try my best to make a number higher in that school, my 92 average is for the school, and for my family. Not necessarily for me. I want to turn that 62% graduation rate into a 63, and I want my classmates to want the same thing. I don’t want Dewey to be another school on the list that reads “Closed Schools Due to Poor Performance” and I certainly do not want Dewey to be restructured into small schools with a sugar coated name. I also do not want another Insideschools page that reads “This school was closed in due to poor performance.” in the header. And no, I hope the administration doesn’t win this time. They’ve closed enough schools, far too many, and this is the breaking point!

Can’t anyone volunteer to be a principal? One who actually cares about the school? Not Elvin and her inexperienced crew. Shockingly, some of the new appointed AP’s have never taught/are not teaching any classes. The DOE knows the demise of Dewey, but they’re purposefully ignoring it. And they can get away with it, like the corporate rats because the people are sheep. A herd of sheep. They would rather kiss *** than to speak up for themselves. It’s sad. This is not like me, I don’t even know how I managed to type this much. Just know this proves my anger, as a Dewey student. This will not be the end for us. Trust me, we’re in this too deep and we’ve fought too much to go down now. The DOE picked the wrong school to mess with. The worst part is that this corruption is not only happening in NYC, but also in Chicago, and other cities.

Bryant Principal Namita Dwarka Gets Caught Playing the "Manipulate the Test" Game And Loses

Oh, the glory! RBE reported on this story at Perdido St:
Just Make Every Student A Former ESL Student And You'll Magically Raise Your Test Scores!

In case you missed this story in the NY Post:

More than 100 teens in one teacher’s English classes were recently marked “FELL,” for “former English language learner.” The label grants students exam “accommodations” up to two years after they test proficient on the New York state English as a Second Language Achievement Test. But many students given extra time on the Regents exams are native English speakers, staffers said.

 Old-timers are not surprised. I worked for the mother of test manipulators who from the day she took over my school in -- check this year -- 1978 -- she found every wrinkle possible in test manipulation. I once said this to Joel Klein at a PEP - that I know all the games because I was taught by a master - the mother of test manipulation, as I dubbed my principal.

Here are a few of her tactics:
1. Identify poor readers in kindergarten and 1st grade and leave them back a grade early. This makes them a year older for the rest of their time in the school and an 11 year old 4th grader - even a poor reader - will do better on the test than a 10 year old poor reader.

2. Make sure there are as few non-English speaking kids in the school as possible. In fact make sure there are none. How to do this? Refuse to have a bi-lingual class and every parent off the boat who comes to register their child is sent to the school on the other side of the projects (now run by the great Brian De Vale). Those kids will drag down the scores pretty much for their entire time in whatever school they are in. Result: our school rose to 2nd in the district in test scores and the other school was at the bottom - year after year.

3. Push every kid into special ed as possible -- pressure teachers to do so - because in those years their tests didn't count against the school.

4. And of course one of my faves. Dump kids from the test where possible. I have 2 personal examples.

a. A few days before the exam I am informed that Matt, a difficult child from a problem family of difficult children - but funny and I had become pals with him --- would not be taking the exam with my class. Why? He had a slight speech impediment and due to his going out a few times a week for speech therapy, he would be classified special ed for this exam and separated out so his test wouldn't count. I was so livid I called the NY Times and spoke to an ed reporter who told me, "Isn't this the way things are done?"

 b. Bill was a silent, brooding-looking child who at first scared me but soon I saw he was a bit shy and by the time we were testing I loved having him in my class. His apartment had a fire and he went to live with his grandmother a few miles away in another school district. His mother said they would be back in the apartment in a month or 2. So he kept coming to school -- not as often due to traveling -- and I even picked him up and dropped him off a few times. No problems - until test time. A week before I get a transfer notice from the office sending him to the school near his grandmother's. I called the mother and she said she had nothing to do with it. I knew exactly what had happened and confronted my principal. She said "too bad," - at first. I had to convince her that not only was Bill a good kid but I guaranteed he would score well -- I rate this with Messier's prediction on the Rangers in '94. She relented and Bill did score well and graduated with his class in my school -- and by the way was back in his apartment not long after the test.

RBE closes with:

If Namita Dwarka survives all the scandals and investigations she's under by the SCI and the DOE, then you know that de Blasio's and Farina's claims about a new kind of DOE, one that is different than the Bloomberg DOE, is a lie. 

Well on this one issue I would put some money that there are a hell of a lot of principals who play similar games.

I'm Back on Stage this Sunday, Sunday, June 29th: Rockaway Theatre Company Prepares for Rockaway Arts Festival to celebrate the reopening of Fort Tilden

Rockaway really does rock. With Patti Smith being a resident and bringing a celebrity crowd along with her, the opening this Sunday of Rockaway! at Fort Tilden is an exciting event for us all. The RTC is getting a performance ready, including the dance number from How to Succeed.. I was in. I was at the rehearsal last night and not only did I forget the steps but I am truly out of shape. And so many of the guys who did "Brotherhood of Man" with us in March cannot make it. So that means we are using a reduced group and I can no longer hide. Here is a report from one of my fellow cast member, Roger Gonzalez, who puts out a great newsletter/website called LocalTheatreNYC.

Rockaway Theatre Company Prepares for Rockaway Arts Festival to celebrate the reopening of Fort Tilden

Wednesday, June 25, 2014 at 10:50AM
 

As rehearsals continue for the July 18 opening the classic musical "Gypsy" and The Rockaway Theatre Company begins rehearsals for "Godspell" (opening in September), the announcement that a free public arts festival coming Sunday, June 29th, has set in motion yet another unexpected flurry of rehearsals for a special presentation by RTC which will be offered free to the public at the Post Theater (in Fort Tilden) during the fair.

The free variety show of sorts will feature several numbers from past and upcoming shows in effect serve as a teaser and open-invite to the large crowds expected at the fort this Sunday. Both the company and the fort are still recovering from the effects of Hurricane Sandy and very much in come-back mode.

About the Fair


Rockaway!, a free public arts festival sponsored by the Jamaica Bay-Rockaway Parks Conservancy (JBRPC) to celebrate the reopening of Fort Tilden and recognize the ongoing recovery of the Rockaway peninsula, opens June 29 and continues through September 1, 2014.

Invited by the Rockaway Artists Alliance (RAA), an association of artists based in and around the Rockaways, and the JBRPC, MoMA PS1 has assisted and supported the conception of this festival. Hosted by the National Park Service (NPS), which owns and manages Fort Tilden, Rockaway! showcases the natural and historical beauty of Fort Tilden, in which RAA has had a public gallery for the past 19 years.

Rockaway! was conceived by MoMA PS1's Director, Klaus Biesenbach, in close collaberation with Patti Smith. Featuring solo projects by Patti Smith, Adrian Villar Rojas, and Janet Cardiff as well as an international group show, there will be an additional group show in the Rockaway Beach Surf Club, organized in collaboration with the Honolulu Biennial.

History of the Collaboration
MoMA PS1's collaboration with RAA and the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation (DPR) began with the VW Dome 2, a temporary cultural and community center the museum constructed on Beach 95th Street in Rockaway Beach following the rescue and volunteer efforts the museum organized in the Rockaways after Hurricane Sandy. Operated through June 30, 2013, the VW Dome 2 was made possible by a long-term partnership with Volkswagen of American.

The National Park Service has had a long-standing relationship with the Rockaway Artists alliance, and this summer's endeavor brings that partnership to a whole new level.

Given its work on the VW Dome 2, MoMA PS1 was in a unique position to facilitate a coordinated effort between the newly established JBRPC, a public-private partnership with NPS and DPR dedicated to improving the 10,000 acres of public parkland throughout Jamaica Bay and the Rockaway peninsula, and local artists and community groups in the Rockaways. Rockaway! is an encouraging example of the many collaborations that have developed through the challenging process of rebuilding the Rockaways.

The Exhibition
The acclaimed international artist, writer and musician Patti Smith - a Rockaway resident- conceived a large-scale installation, photography exhibition, and site-specific outdoor installation (The Resilience of the Dreamer) specially for Rockaway! Having witness personal belongings of Rockaway residents being destroyed and washed away during sandy, Smith will install a gilded four-post bed with pure white linens in a long-abandoned building that lacks windows and parts of its roof. The bed will wear down physically, yet remain in place, a symbol of courage and resilience.

In the RAA galleries, and exhibition of photographs taken by Smith over the last several years focuses on objects that were dear to their owners: Robert Mapplethorpe's slippers, Robert Graves's hat, Virginia Woolf's bed, Frida Kahlo's corset, and William Burroughs's bandana, among others. The adjoining gallery is dedicated to Walt Whitman and includes books of his poetry that visitors are invited to read. Smith has also placed five granite stones engrave with verses from Whitman's poetry along the trails of Fort Tilden to mark th far ends of this scenic urban park on the ocean.

In addition, the Argentenian artist Adrian Villar Rojas will present a selection of small sculptures made from unfired clay and straw, inspired by the nests of the tiny Argentenian birds known as horneros. Installed in several locations throughout Fort Tilden, these nests invite local birds to inhabit them, offering a temporary home in this beautiful and fragile environment. These nests- a number of which can be found along the impressive hills and former batteries - also highlight the military history of Fort Tilden, which was built to provice portection against a potential enemy invasion from the ocean.

Thanks to a lona from the Museum of Modern Art, Fort Tilden's military chapel - which was damaged by Sandy and is now being restored - will showcase one of the highlights from the MoMA collection: The Forty Piece Motet by Janet Cardiff, a spatialized adaptation of a sacred 16th century motet created by recording each member of a choir individually and giving each voice its own speaker.

The final component of the festival is a group exhibition organized in collaboration with the Honolulu Biennial on the grounds of the newly restored Rockaway Beach Surf Club on Beach 87th Street in Rockaway Beach. Following Hurricane Sandy, the Surf Club was one of the largest relief centers on the peninsula; their organizatino faciliated and directed over 5,000 volunteers, with major contributions from MoMA PS1. The exhbiition celebrates the efforts of hte Rockaway community of surfers and artists in rebuilding their neighborhodd.

Partnership
Rockaway is presented by the Rockaway Artists Alliance and MoMA PS1, the National Park Service, the Jamaica Bay- Rockaway Parks Conservancy, the Rockaway Beach Surf Club, and the Honolulu Biennial. The event is made possible by generous support from Bloomberg Philanthropies, The Rockefeller Foundaiton, and The Secunda Family Foundation, with additional support provided by the Moore Charitable Foundation, National Grid and the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation. Special thanks to Volkswagen of America for prior and current support.

Hours: Exhibits at Fort Tilden are open to the public free of charge on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, noon-6:00 p.m. The Surf Club exhibit is also open to the public free of charge Monday-Friday, noon-midnight; Saturday - Sunday, 11:00 a.m. - midnight.

The Forty Piece Motet by Janet Cardiff will be open through August 17 only.

Admission: FREE
Directions: Fort Tilden (169 State Road) is accessible by the Q22 and Q35 buses, the A train/shuttle to 116th St. and weekend ferry service on the American Princess. Parking is available at adjacent Riis Park. The Rockaway Beach Surf Club (302 Beach 87th Street) is on the A train/suttle to Beach 90th Street; bus service includes the Q22 and Q52. Parking is limited to on-street.
Website: MoMAPS!.org/rockaway1