Class Size Matters Celebrates Opt Out, Proponents of Real Reform at Skinnies

Ain't no party like an opt-out party...

Lauren Cohen June 9 at 7:45pm ·

— with Jane Maisel and 15 others at Il Bastardo.

Parent Nancy Cauthen Accepts for CTS

MOREs and Change the Stakers were in the house at Leonie's 7th annual Skinny (not Broad) Awards dinner celebrating the leading opt outers Tuesday night. There were so many great fighters for real reform present -- ed deformers could have wiped out some of their key opponents with a drone attack.

Amazing bloggers Arthur Goldstein (NYC Educator), Gary Rubinstein and Mark Webber (Jersey Jazzman) were in the room. Peter Goodman was the only Unity/UFT person I recognized, though I hear the UFT bought a table. Francesco Portelos was there and we had a nice chat. MORE's Lauren Cohen and colleagues from her school, PS 321K, had a big presence. I'm
always happy to see Lauren so happy at her school given her escape from 6 years with a principal from hell a few years ago. MOREs (and old ICEers) Lisa North, Gloria Brandman, David and Pat Dobosz were also there. (Despite the mixing of different groups in MORE, hanging with my old colleague ICEers always makes me feel good (and nostalgic). And they show up for stuff like this.

I got to speak to Diane Ravitch for a while and she seems so sturdy after her recent medical issues. 

Former teacher and City Councilman Danny Dromm was there all night and I find him to be such a decent guy and given that he is in the political sphere there are certain positions he has to tread carefully around -- like the UFT -- you can't really oppose them from the left or risk suicide.

I always love talking to climatologist Michael Oppenheimer, Leonie's husband.

That's David Dobosz to my right

Most of the men wore suits, so me in a reprise of the Tommy Bahama shirt I wore at the recent Destination Wedding in Turks and Caicos I went to, stood out - but people said it made them think they were in the Caribbean. (Given that the shirt and my pants must be dry cleaned, my wife suggested I get one more wearing out of them- that is why we aren't poor.)

A few non-teachers asked me out Unity Caucus gets away with running such an undemocratic union but after Fred Smith treated me to my 2nd glass of wine I was not in shape to give a cogent reply.

The evening belonged to the wonderful parents leading the NYC and NY State opt out movement - Change the Stakes, NYC Opt Out and NYSAPE. Nancy Cauthen accepted for CTS and Janine Sopp for NYC Opt Out - 2 tireless parents who make me feel tired.

Here is Leonie's report on the dinner.

Thanks so much for all who came to our "Skinny" award dinner last night – and also to those who contributed but couldn't make it.

Special thanks to those of you who came from as far away as Rockland and Westchester Counties, Long Island and NJ.

It was a great pleasure for me to be able to honor the leaders of the state's Opt out movement – NYSAPE, Change the Stakes and NYC Opt out. As Nick Tampio tweeted last night, it is important to celebrate our victories.

Thanks also to CMs Danny Dromm and Corey Johnson for their inspiring messages, their support for Class Size Matters and for their efforts to improve our public schools rather than privatize them. As CM Johnson reminded us, children are not commodities.

Hope to see you next year at the "Skinnies" and just remember, as Diane Ravitch pointed out, we are winning!

If you haven't yet joined our Facebook page, please do as we will be uploading photos of the event later today, and feel free to upload your photos, or send them to info@classsizematters.org

https://www.facebook.com/classsizematters?ref=bookmarks

Carol Burris on Mary-Ellen Elia in The Answer Sheet

MaryEllen Elia

Elia’s appointment received praise from Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers.... MaryEllen Elia put into place a teacher accountability system that included evaluation by student test scores and pay based on that evaluation.... The day after she was appointed, Elia stated that “we have pushed Common Core into a box” and that New York has to “repaint” the narrative.... Complaints from the parents of special-needs students include those over reactioni to the deaths of four students with disabilities while under the supervision of Hillsborough employees...  Carol Burris

And let's not forget that Elia will do what she can to trash the opt out movement. (More on that later in my report on the Skinny Awards dinner last night).

The tough tests facing New York’s new state education commissioner

Last month,  New York tapped a new state education commissioner, MaryEllen Elia. She is the 2015 Florida Superintendent of the Year who led the public schools in Hillsborough County for a decade before she was fired by the school board this past January with more than two years left on her contract.

Her firing surprised many people because Elia, a former teacher, had a good deal of support in Florida, not only from the Republican political and business establishment but also from the Florida Education Association, a teachers union, whose president, Andy Ford, said in a statement after she was hired in New York that she worked “to bring people together” and toward a “positive, proactive agenda.” He said: “New York will be lucky to have MaryEllen.”

Yet the Hillsborough board majority, which officially fired her without cause, had been on record as criticizing her, among other things, how she dealt with the panel, constituent complaints about too much high-stakes standardized testing, and a lack of services for special-needs students.
There has also been criticism about some of the reform policies she instituted in Hillsborough, which are analyzed in this post by Carol Burris, an award-winning principal in New York. Burris suggests how Elia can close divisions in the state’s education world that have resulted from the controversial implementation of the Common Core and Core-aligned tests under former commissioner John King. He quit last December after N.Y. Gov. Andrew Cuomo expressed unhappiness with him over botched Core implementation. Now King is managing the U.S. Education Department’s operations as a senior adviser to Education Secretary Arne Duncan.
Burris, of South Side High School in the Rockville Centre School District,  was named New York’s 2013 High School Principal of the Year by the School Administrators Association of New York and the National Association of Secondary School Principals, and was tapped as the 2010 New York State Outstanding Educator by the School Administrators Association of New York State. She has also written several books, numerous articles and posts on this blog about New York’s troubled implementation of school reform.

----Valerie Strauss, Answer Sheet, http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2015/06/10/the-tough-tests-facing-new-york-new-state-education-commissioner/


By Carol Burris

On May 26, the New York Board of Regents unexpectedly assembled in Albany to vote on a single item–the appointment of MaryEllen Elia as the new education commissioner of New York State. With the transparency of a papal selection, the vote was taken and then her name was announced, prompting New Yorkers to ask, “who?”
MaryEllen Elia was not an unknown for long. Internet sleuths shared newspaper articles, videos and tweets about the policies and practices of the woman who will be New York’s new education chief. She helped. She quickly made it clear where she stands on the Common Core and the opt-out movement, in which hundreds of thousands of parents have refused to allow their children to take high-stakes Common Core exams. “Opt-outs are no good for teachers and no good for parents,” she said when visiting an Albany school the day following her appointment. During an interview a week later on Capitol Pressroom, she was all about the “A” word—”accountability,” mentioning it no fewer than 6 times.

Elia was dismissed by her school board by a 4-3 vote in January. There were long-time tensions between her and two members of the board, and her leadership became an issue in the November 4, 2014, board election, in which an Elia opponent won a seat.  Two candidates of 14 expressed approval and five expressed disapproval of her performance. Other candidates refused to weigh in during the contentious election. Reports indicated the community was evenly split, and her decision to display the campaign sign of a candidate running against one of her board opponents was characterized as “juvenile” by The Tampa Tribune. You can learn more about her dismissal and how it influenced the school board elections here, here, here and here.

It is clear that Elia, like most superintendents, has fans and enemies. That is to be expected, and it is not necessarily an indicator of whether or not she would be a good choice for the state of New York. What she believes in, and with whom she has alliances, however, are matters of interest as indications of the direction in which she might lead. Below is summary of Elia’s involvement on five important topics. Each discussion is followed by what I believe she will need to consider, or reconsider, if she wants to calm the present tensions in New York and chart a more productive path for our schools.

MaryEllen Elia put into place a teacher accountability system that included evaluation by student test scores and pay based on that evaluation.

In 2008, Elia’s district received a $10 million grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The initiatives in the grant included: the establishment of an evaluation system based 40 percent on student test scores; the inclusion of test scores in decisions to grant tenure and determine teacher career paths; merit pay, which is referred to in the grant as “pay for performance”; bonuses for principals and teachers who raise low-performing students’ scores; the use of data for hiring; and the use of “data dashboards” to make instructional decisions.

By 2012, the Hillsborough district had spent $24.8 million on the grant’s initiatives, including using Race to the Top, additional grants and district funds. District funds were 19 percent of all expenditures, with $3.2 million spent developing a value-added model (VAM) to measure teacher performance by test scores (a method many assessment experts say is not a valid for this purpose). The $24.8 million was considered by RAND Education and American Institutes for Research the AIR, which studied the spending for the Gates Foundation, a “lower bound” estimate of the true cost.

Winning the grant was heralded as a reform in which a teachers union had cooperatively worked with a superintendent to enact evaluation reform. In his book, Class Warfare: Inside the Fight to Fix America’s Schools, Stephen Brill describes Hillsborough union president, Jean Clements, as a union president who was “willing to embrace the Jeb Bush reforms rather than take a hard line against them.” Brill reported that Clements collaborated on the grant after being prodded to do so by the American Federation of Teachers. (Brill wrote that AFT President Randi Weingarten said that she was involved in the negotiations of the Gates teacher evaluation grants, and the AFT issued a statement welcoming the “unprecedented support” of the Gates Foundation for “efforts to improve teaching and learning.” ) Elia wanted 50 percent of the evaluation to be based on test scores; Clements insisted that it not be more than 40 percent.

The Gates grant has not been popular with many teachers in Hillsborough. In 2012, 30 Hillsborough teachers went to Jacksonville, Florida, to participate in a televised discussion on merit pay and the evaluation of teachers by test scores. You can listen to what they had to say here. The teachers complained about the negative effects that merit pay and evaluation by test scores had on their teaching. In December of 2014, a month prior to Elia’s dismissal, the school board asked for a review of the evaluation program based on complaints. During that review, the once enthusiastic Clements voiced concerns. She told the school board that the system she helped put into place is considered by teachers to be “demeaning and unfair” and that teacher voice and input has decreased.

Elia’s positions on teacher evaluation will be carefully watched in New York. She is becoming commissioner at a time of parent and educator push-back against the legislature’s revision of the teacher evaluation system—a revision that gave student test scores far greater weight than before.

MaryEllen Elia could win goodwill by arguing that her Florida experience tells her that test scores should play a minimal role. She should share the concerns of her teachers and ask for a year’s delay for implementation, with an opportunity to recommend adjustments.

MaryEllen Elia is a true believer in the Common Core.
Elia argues that we have had standards since the 1600s and that standards should be revised and improved. She also credits the Common Core with promoting active student learning. You would be hard pressed to find anyone who does not believe that standards should be reviewed and changed, and that learning should be active. But neither belief is dependent upon the Common Core. New York parent and teacher Core concerns center on developmentally inappropriate standards in the early grades, overly complicated elementary math, and an overemphasis on close reading and informational texts.

The day after she was appointed, Elia stated that “we have pushed Common Core into a box” and that New York has to “repaint” the narrative. That might be true if the majority of New Yorkers did not understand why they are opposed to the Common Core, but that is not the case. Elia will encounter very sophisticated and organized parents who, for the most part, are not opposed to the Common Core for political or ideological reasons, but for its effects on students.

Rather than try to tell parents that they should like something that they clearly do not like, Elia should lead a thorough review of the standards with an eye toward addressing concerns. The simple rebranding of the Common Core, which occurred in Florida, will not work in New York. Elia should investigate why the opt-out movement has become such a force in New York by taking a long, hard look at the content of the tests, their length and the cut-score setting process.

Elia supporters include teacher unions, leaders of the corporate reform movement and politicians

Elia’s appointment received praise from Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, Hillsborough Union President Clements, and Andy Ford, the president of the Florida Education Association. They praised her collaboration with the FEA during the implementation of difficult reforms in the Sunshine State. That statement was released the day of her appointment, and can be read here.

Other fans include high-stakes test accountability reformer, Kati Haycock, and Education Secretary Arne Duncan, who praised Elia for including business leaders, unions and philanthropy in decision making.

Elia also has allies in the political arena. According to Florida sources, one of MaryEllen Elia’s close friend and supporter is Kathleen Shanahan, who worked as chief of staff for Dick Cheney when he was vice president-elect, and in the same position for former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who appointed her to the Florida Board of Education. Shanahan led a petition drive to keep Elia as superintendent and made a passionate plea to the Board of Education on her behalf, which you can listen to here.  During Shanahan’s good-bye dinner as superintendent, she signaled her support for the candidacy of Tampa mayor, Bob Buckhorn, for Florida governor, and made clear that she would like to be his Florida commissioner of education.

New York education commissioners have traditionally kept an arm’s length from politics. Elia should consider continuing that tradition. The divisions in New York are so deep, to be successful she must listen to parents and teachers who are critics of the current reforms and find solutions to their concerns. If she is seen as an acolyte of Jeb Bush-style education reforms, tensions are will worsen. Many New York parents and educators are looking for relief from testing, not someone who tries to collaboratively make the best of test-based accountability systems.

 Serious concerns have been raised by parents of students of disabilities.
Complaints from the parents of special-needs students include those over reactioni to the deaths of four students with disabilities while under the supervision of Hillsborough employees. Parents of 7-year-old Isabella Herrera filed a federal lawsuit that brought attention not only to what occurred, but also to Elia’s reaction. Parents have also publicly complained of the roadblocks they face when attempting to get their children needed services from the school district.

Many New York State parents are active advocates of students with disabilities, as well as outspoken opponents of the Common Core and testing. It is important that the new commissioner show sensitivity to their concerns as well as a willingness to address those concerns around Common Core testing.

Complaints about discriminatory practices have highlighted unaddressed inequities in her former district.
Hillsborough is presently under investigation by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights. The investigation is a result of complaints made by retired educator, Marilyn Williams, who claimed that there are pervasive patterns of racial discrimination in both discipline and teacher assignment in Hillsborough.  One of the schools where suspensions and expulsions of black students are highest is McLane Middle School. An in-depth report on the school puts the blame squarely on the school district policies that created it.

According to the report, MaryEllen Elia, who was then head of the district magnet program, put in place a choice system in an attempt to create a diverse student body in the district’s middle schools. One of the consequences of choice is that if students do not apply or are not accepted into magnet schools, they are warehoused into what quickly become undesirable schools. In the case of McLane, inner-city students ride buses in the Florida heat for a 12-mile trip to a school with inexperienced teachers, bad test scores and rampant violence. The problem, according to The Tampa Bay Times, has festered and worsened for over a decade.

Ironically, the New York governor and the Board of Regents are presently considering magnet schools for STEM, arts and technical programs to reduce costs and give parents choice. Let’s hope that the new commissioner informs them that choice programs always come with a cost and they often result in failing schools for the kids left behind.

MaryEllen Elia has a fresh start in a new place. For the sake of New York students, let’s hope that in a blue state, a new MaryEllen Elia will emerge and that her collaborative skills are used to create a new direction.

Elementary School CL Wants MORE

Message to MORE: please get in touch with me as soon as possible. My goal is that before the next election my school and hopefully many others will be ready to vote the Unity party the hell out. I am sure that I can my school to do so.  I would like to figure out how to make a public splash about it just as the next school year begins. Like a MORE membership drive at my school that more can "cover" -- maybe publish a letter from the staff on the site?... elementary school Chapter Leader

More schools are signing up for MORE. Have people had enough of Unity/Mulgrew leadership? I'm a cynic. It will take hundreds of schools to make a dent in Unity. But you never know.

I used to look at individuals joining the opposition as important but I have come to see that unless people who are opposed to Unity do some major organizing in their own schools - and beyond, Unity will continue to dominate.

This is a long haul slog --- there are 1800 schools. That benefits both the DOE and the Unity leadership -- they both have access to all of them and grassroots groups like MORE and Change the Stakes doesn't. Unless people like the Chapter Leader above work to get their colleagues involved, things will remain status quo.

Support for Stronger Together Grows

Tonight I filled out my membership form for ST Caucus, and in doing so, I felt a camaraderie and optimism that has not been evoked by NYSUT in a very long time.... Rahana Schmalacker on Facebook

 

June 7 at 11:01pm

I wear a lot of colors. I wear my yellow ribbon for the brave men and women that allow me to speak freely. I wear my rainbow ribbon because love is love. I wear my pink ribbon for too many to count. I have purple, red and blue ribbons, lanyards and bracelets; all to raise awareness and show support. Most dear to me, however, are my green laces. I have been wearing them for years and they have sparked so many conversations about what is best for children and teachers. When 200,000 tests were refused in NYS this year, I felt like my laces played a little part in that victory.

Two years ago, when a rabbit and a pineapple asked, "Hey, what do you think about green laces?" I thought it was a great way to get conversations started, especially in faculty rooms, where silence on the issue of education reform was all too prevalent. Now, I am feeling that more than conversation is necessary in faculty rooms. We need action. Teachers, we need to stand up and tell our union leadership that we have demands and expectations for our profession. We need to be loud and persistent about our commitment to providing an education to our students that will allow them to be successful, happy adults. We need to demand that our concerns are heard and considered with legitimacy.

Complacency has shifted to awareness and awareness needs to shift to action. The moment I changed my white laces to green is one that will forever stand out in my memory as a defining moment as a teacher. Tonight marks another such moment. Tonight I filled out my membership form for ST Caucus, and in doing so, I felt a camaraderie and optimism that has not been evoked by NYSUT in a very long time.

I’m a Rhinestone (Little Old Jewish Guy) Cowboy - The Wave

Busy weekend - Sat, June 6 - the invasion of Norman - was our 44th anniversary - and we celebrated with a nice dinner in NOLO on 4th St.

In my Wave article below I describe the costume I wear in the Rockaway Theatre's upcoming "Guys and Dolls" as a rich Texan visiting New York in the opening.

Then I switch to a gangster/crap shooter.
Friday night - rehearsal from 7:30-10:30

The Guys - from the movie version

Sat - 12:30 - 4
Sunday - 11-12 and 2-4.

And trying on a costume for the gangster - I found an oversize green suit to wear - double breasted.

And I have a small part as a crap shooter - not my real life role as a bullshitter.

I just keep heading to the snacks in the back at every break. At this rate I won't fit into that over sized double breasted.

I’m a Rhinestone (Little Old Jewish Guy) Cowboy

Memo from the RTC

By Norm Scott 

http://www.rockawave.com/pageview/pages/2015-06-05

 

I’ve got a no-line, 30-second role in the upcoming Guys and Dolls production by the Rockaway Theatre Company. I’m playing a Texas millionaire tourist visiting New York with his wife.

As I pinball around the stage in the early rehearsals, trying to chase down a 20-something who picked my pocket, I received my acting marching orders from Producer Susan Jasper.

“Norm. You are a macho Texan man, not a little old Jewish guy kvetching around the stage,” she said.

But Susan, I am a little old Jewish guy kvetching around the stage. Isn’t method acting allowed? Guess not.

Costumiers Kerry and Susan Corning have got me duded up in 10- gallon hat, cowboy boots and a suit studded with rhinestones. When they had me try on the suit, I found mints I apparently had left in the pockets when I wore the same suit in last year’s How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, where I played an old kvetchy Jewish corporate executive schlepping around the stage.

I can play that in my sleep – and often do.

I’m also playing one of the guys – not dolls – Caitlyn Jenner’s Vanity Fair cover has not inspired me yet, though you never know. I have to find a suit for that part. There are so many guys in the show all the suits with stripes are disappearing. I may have to get out the magic marker.

I have only been at some of the rehearsals, but from what I’ve seen so far, the RTC may have even topped itself in pulling from its immense talent pool. So much talent that many key roles have been double cast. So plan on coming down, maybe more than once. The set has been built by Tony’s construction crew and painting the set, led by Danielle Rose Fisher, will take place on the weekend of June 13-14. I’ll write more about the amazing cast in the weeks ahead as we head into the June 27 opening weekend. The cast will have the July 4th weekend off and will be back the following two weekends. Wait to order your tickets at your own peril as this show will be rock solid sold out at all 10 performances. 718-374-6400, on the web: www.rockawaytheatrecompany.org.

In other RTC news, director Susan Corning held auditions for Little Shop of Horrors opening in August. When will they put Audrey on the cover of Vanity Fair? 

PROTECTING CHAPTER LEADERS: UFT Gets An “F” -- Ed Notes: Almost 2 decades Figthing to Protect Chapter Leaders -- Ed Notes reprint, Jan. 2002

They will say it is unnecessary. They will say the grievance procedure is adequate. There is a good chance that this person is not in a school every day fighting “The School Wars.”... [Unity response to Ed Notes Protect Chapter Leader resolution, 1998 and 2002]

UFT NOT an 800 lb gorilla as Randi contended

My piece on the chapter leader under assault in a 3020a hearing (Another Chapter Leader Under Assault at a 3020a Hearing) prompted me to check into the Ed Notes archives and reminded me that this battle has been ongoing for almost 2 decades - and the UFT has ignored the issue. Note that I began raising this 5 years before Bloomberg got control. If the Unity leadership had done something when they had the chance before the concerted ed deform assault on UFT members at its root level - the schools.

Below is the entire Jan. 2002 print edition of Ed Notes which was devoted to chronicling the history up to that date of the battle to protect chapter leaders and the UFT/Unity response. Apparently I started raising the issue back in 1998 with a reso at the DA.

The 2002 headline challenged Randi's assertion that the UFT would be an 800 pound gorilla in protecting CLs - more like a rhesus monkey.

Now we know the usual Unity suspects may stop by to contend that this 17-year history is false. Dream on.

Here are jpgs of the original 4 page edition and all the article broken out individually below.

PROTECTING CHAPTER LEADERS: UFT Gets An “F” 

Is the 800 Pound Gorilla Merely A Rhesus Monkey?
When Chapter Leaders are harassed we go after [the harassers] like 800 pound gorillas.”---- Randi Weingarten at UFT Exec. Bd. Meeting, Dec. 18, 2001

Weingarten was responding to a question by New Action Exec. Bd. member James Eterno regarding attacks on Chapter Leader Ron Kaplan by administrators at Franklin K. Lane High School. Eterno, CL of Jamaica HS asked the question in the following context:

SPECIAL EDITION Chapter Leaders are the backbone of our union. In the Queens High Schools they are being picked off one by one. Last year you [Randi] called Ron Kaplan a hero at the Delegate Assembly [see below.] Kaplan received a U-rating last year for a trivial incident. This year he is being threatened again based on trivial incidents that have nothing to do with his job performance. Any- time a Chapter Leader is bounced we are all threatened. What are we doing to protect Ron and Chapter Leaders in general?

Eterno went out of his way to point out that he and other Queens HS DR’s support Queens HS District Rep. Rona Freiser, who was doing what she could, but that more support was needed from UFT leaders.

Weingarten responded with the “800 lb. gorilla statement” (she made a similar statement at the June ‘98 DA--see p. 3.) Siting her “special relation- ship” with Ron, Weingarten said she was not aware of Kaplan’s current situation. She asked HS VP John Soldini for information. He said he knew about last year’s situation “but assumed Ron must have the situation under control as we haven’t heard from him.” He said UFT special rep. Leo Casey was working on the case. 

An Ed. Notes inquiry has revealed that Kaplan went before the Queens HS CL meeting on Dec. 13 and raised the issue of his harassment. He an- nounced that he had sent materials about his case to Staff Director Tom Pappas and John Soldini. Pappas, who was present at the Dec. 18 Ex. Bd. meeting, said nothing. These questions must be asked: What did Tom Pappas know about the Kaplan situation and when did he know it? Did Pappas sit on his hands on Dec. 18 while Weingarten was pro- claiming no knowledge? Why hasn’t she been informed about a situa- tion that has tremendous implications for the union? Has the union’s 800 pound gorilla turned into a tiny rhesus monkey? 

What Does It Take to Get a U-Rating? Not Much
A teacher is charged with corporal punishment. Ron Kaplan, functioning as the Dean, interviews a student who saw the incident. Her statement exonerates the teacher. At the grievance hearing weeks later, Kaplan remembers the statement and uses it in the teacher’s defense, The administration claims Kaplan interviewed the student illegally because he was on his Chapter Leader prep and not on his Dean prep when he talked to her. They charge Kaplan with interfering with an investigation and give him a U-rating in June 2001.

 

----------------------

Education Notes Editorial


While our leaders fiddle with politics, the lifeblood of the union drains away. 

Education Notes has long campaigned against abusive supervisors and has called for more protection for and the strengthening of Chapter Leaders. We believe that any attack on a Chapter Leader, the lifeblood of our union, should be met with a vigorous response. This should include: articles in the NY Teacher, letter writing campaigns to local politicians, and picket lines. Here is a chronology of our efforts: 
 

Jan. ‘98: A resolution calling for the union to provide more protection for CL is distributed but we can’t get the floor under the new motion period. See page 2

Apr. ‘98: The first of Jack Schirenbeck’s (Jack the Rip- per) exposés of abusive principals appears in the NY Teacher. 

May ‘98: A modified form of the Jan. resolution is pro- posed and we get the floor. Tom Pappas opposes it claim- ing the union already has the machinery in place to pro- tect Chapter Leaders. It is narrowly defeated. See p.2-3  

June ‘98: Ed. Notes follows up with an article and a resolution calling for the support of teachers at MS 88K with a letter writing campaign as a follow-up to the “Prin- cipal From Hell” article. The issue is not discussed. P. 3 

 Mar. ‘99: FIGHTING BACK AGAINST ABUSE (Mar. 99). We follow up with an article on abusive principals after the NY Teacher article titled “Vile” on PS 121Q. We pay particular attention to the situation Chapter Lead- ers face. We make a resolution calling on the broadening of powers for Chapter Leaders, District Reps , and Bor- ough offices to fight against abusive principals. It is defeated. 

June ‘99: We print the same resolution and ask the fol- lowing questions: If the machinery to defend CL is in place, why did conditions at IS 88 and PS 121 go on for so many years? How come so many schools are having these problems? See page 4
It is clear that there was, and is, little interest by the union leadership in addressing the questions raised here. This issue isn’t sexy like endorsing candidates. While our union leaders fiddle with politics, the lifeblood of the union drains away.

---------------
 

Seduced and Abandoned: Kaplan Declared “Hero” at DA, Then Forgotten 

When the Principal of Franklin K. Lane, Paul Pedota, called Ron Kaplan “a piece of shit,” Kaplan filed a grievance. At the Step 2 hearing at the Queens HS district level, Pedota read the definition of “shit” in his defense. It must have been an impassioned reading, for the District hearing officer ruled in Pedota’s favor. It is commendable that our union leaders, when informed, didn’t advise Kaplan to follow the usual UFT protocol: have patience and allow the grievance procedure to run its meandering course. Instead they the took the kind of action many members would like to see more often: they went directly to the Chancellor, who ordered the ruling overturned. The result: the Step 2 ruling against Kaplan was reversed and Pedota was ordered to apologize to Kaplan both in writing and in public. The union proclaimed a great victory as Randi Weingarten called Kaplan up in front of the Delegate Assembly and declared him a hero. Then the union and Weingarten forgot about Kaplan. But the Principal didn’t forget. He may have lost the battle, but he wasn’t going to lose the war. He plotted his revenge and just 6 months after Kaplan was proclaimed a hero, he received a U-Rating. It is incredible that there has been no response from our union. Imagine the reaction if a shop steward at Local 1199 or the Teamsters was treated this way! A strong union puts its highest priority on consistently protecting the people on the front lines, not just when the leaders “are in the mood.” 

------------------- 

Distributed at the Jan. ‘98 DA

Resolution to Protect Chapter Leaders

This resolution is being presented for the next Delegate Assembly [Feb. ‘98] so that we will all have an opportunity to think about the issues presented here and make the kinds of modifications we feel may be necessary. It is not a perfect resolution. Feel free to come back next month with additions, deletions, etc. But please vote YES. An affirmative vote indicates there is a reason for the issues raised in the resolution to be discussed; it is NOT a vote on the substance of the resolution. 

The important question is this: As the pressure on supervi- sors grows to produce results, they in turn will turn up the pressure on teachers and paras as they attempt to shift responsibility onto us. We can expect U-ratings and general forms of harassment to increase. This in turn will put enor- mous strains on chapters and chapter leaders. This resolution is an attempt to deal with what is fast becoming a major problem we as a union are facing.  

[Ed. Note: From the vantage point of 4 years later, this resolution was quite prophetic, but I didn’t get the floor to present a variation of it until May.]

Whereas, there are schools where administrators engage in persistent harassment of staff.
 
Whereas, there are schools where chapter leaders are incapable of fighting back against arbitrary actions or outright violations of the contact and cannot meet the formidable challenge presented by manipulative and abusive supervisors. And there are schools where the relationship between the Chapter Leader & the administration can lead to outright cooperation with administrators, thus preventing a Chapter Leader from properly representing a chapter. 

Whereas, there are schools where staff members, especially recent, non-tenured & non-appointed ones feel helpless and frightened by a pervasive climate of intimidation.

Whereas, these situations leads to a deterioration in our most important working conditions.
Whereas, filing grievances by individual teachers and paras under these conditions can lead to serious repercussions against these teachers and paras.
Whereas, in addition to grievances, the union has at times used publicity and pressure to confront supervisors who have been arbitrary, capricious, and who use intimidation as a standard tactic against our members.
Whereas, tenure is one of the most important rights teachers have to protect themselves against the aforemen- tioned attacks by administrators
Whereas, the UFT has already begun a public campaign against the vicious attacks by Senator D’Amato against teacher tenure.

Be it Resolved: The UFT will set up a mechanism by which the district & borough reps identify schools where administrations are engaging in destructive activities and where the chapter leaders are put in positions where they cannot respond appropriately.
Be it Resolved that UFT use the NY Teacher to establish a regular column that exposes the actions of abusive administrators.
Be it Resolved that the UFT uses paid advertisements (commercials, NY Times column, etc.) to educate the public as to the kinds of situations in schools that impede our ability to educate the children effectively and demonstrate, by these examples, the continuing need for teacher tenure. Be it resolved that UFT will seek an understanding with the Board of Education that would allow district &/or chapter leaders to have the right to file grievances in areas of essential working conditions so administrators cannot intimidate individuals from filing grievances or take reprisals against them if they do file such grievances. 

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Distributed and presented at the May ‘98 DA
The Jan. ‘98 resolution was modified by the time it was presented in May ‘98. It was defeated, as UFT Staff Director Tom Pappas spoke against it, arguing that the machinery was already in place to protect CL. Ask Ron Kaplan about this “machinery.” 

Motion to Protect Chapter Leaders
(Since we already have a motion on today’s agenda to get Chapter Leaders more time off, why not give them a real present and protect them from the actions of supervisors?) 
 

WHEREAS Chapter Leaders are the front line of defense in enforcing basic contractual rights for their chapters and their chapter members;
WHEREAS Chapter Leaders who attempt to enforce basic union policies in schools are often subjected to harassment from supervisors; WHEREAS supervisors often “go after” Chapter Leaders, especially those who are strong teachers, by attempting to attack or eliminate the educational program of the Chapter Leader, irregardless of the nega tive effects on children and the school community as a whole; WHEREAS the threats of attacks on Chapter Leaders by supervisors have weakened the ability of many Chapter Leaders to carry out their duties and has resulted in discouraging many of our members from ever considering taking on the job of Chapter Leader;

WHEREAS the functions of a Chapter can be compromised by the actions of capricious supervisors;
WHEREAS a Chapter that doesn’t function effectively weakens the union at its most basic level;
WHEREAS supervisors have learned to use “subtle” methods that make it difficult to trigger a grievance under Article 23 (Special Complaints against supervisors for acts of harassment) of our contract, therefore

BE IT RESOLVED that the UFT will seek to establish joint union/Board district level committees, and any other special procedures deemed necessary, to protect and defend Chapter Leaders from the negative actions of supervisors. 

You’ve read the article in the New York Teacher about The Princi- pal From Hell. There are so many principals in this category, we could have a regular column. But not all principals engage in such open hostility. Many of them have learned to use a more “subtle” approach and they use every opportunity to undermine Chapter Leaders. Attacks on the Chapter Leader’s supporters and friends, the spreading of lies, behind the scenes interference in chapter affairs, buying off members and encouraging them to be company spies, etc. are used so regularly, we have to assume they are techniques taught in courses for supervisors.

I’d like to focus on the third WHEREAS, which deals with the insidious attempts on the part of principals to retaliate against chapter leaders by undermining their ability to teach effectively. The fact that these attempts also harm the children and the educational community as a whole is irrelevant to these supervi- sors. Because principals are in the position of “educational leader” (and I say this loosely), they phrase these attacks in the guise of “educational improvements”. Thus, these specific kinds of attacks chapter leaders can be subjected to make it especially difficult to prove a harassment case, which is covered under Art. 23 of the contract. 

Attacks against Chapter Leaders are attacks against all our mem- bers and threaten the very fabric of our union.This resolution seeks to provide special protections for all our members. Specifically, a district level committee is suggested. But any other ideas are welcomed.
Someone will oppose this motion 

[Ed. Note: but who could have predicted it would be Tom Pappas?] They [Unity response] will say it is unnecessary. They will say the grievance procedure is adequate. There is a good chance that this person is not in a school every day fighting “The School Wars.”

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PRINCIPALS FROM HELL: WHAT MORE
CAN WE DO? (Distributed at June ‘98 DA)

Neither Members or chapter leaders should be harassed and we are out there like an 800 pound gorilla to stop it!
--Randi Weingarten at Executive Board meeting, 6/15/98 

In response to a question from a New Action Ex. Bd, member critical of the union’s reliance on PERB, Randi issued a challenge to come up with additional ways to protect our members from abusive principals.
Unfortunately, a motion presented at the May Delegate Assembly (for discussion at the June Delegate Assembly) calling on the union to provide more protection for chapter leaders from the capricious acts of principals was narrowly defeated. The essence of the argument presented against this motion was that we already have procedures in place to protect chap- ter leaders (Article 23: Special Complaints)
The resolution, which called for the establishment of district commit- tees to investigate abusive principals, was presented as a way to open discussion on this important issue. If we would have voted to place the item on the June DA, the Executive Board would have had a chance to discuss and even modify the motion and the DA would have discussed and voted on the issue at this meeting. Instead, the question of finding ways to protect chapter leaders has been buried.
Do we think the harassment of chapter leaders and other union activists is not an issue worthy of discussion in our union? When the very lifeblood of our union is under attack by people our top union officials describe as “even below the bottom of the barrel,” it is time for us to take a strong stand. 
 

It is gratifying to see that we are making more use of the New York Teacher to expose Principals From Hell. The upcoming article called The Queen of Mean will hope- fully make out of control principals take notice. But it should be pointed out that Eugene Weiss has been doing his thing at MS88 or many years. A number of grievances and trans- fers certainly alerted the union to a problem. Yet, the staff has had to suffer, and continues to suffer, at this time. It is time to take stronger actions than using PERB and the grievance procedure. Let’s call rallies and put up picket lines in front of the school and the district office. How about a post card writing campaign to local politians and school board members?
If we believe that sending thousands of cards and calling politicians is effective, then why aren’t we using these techniques to end the reign of abusive principals? Statewide fights against D’Amato and Pataki may seem sexy compared to local struggles against Principals From Hell. Ask the people who work at such schools which fight is more is more important to them.
RESOLVED: The UFT will support the staff of MS 88 with a letter writing campaign to local politicians and school board members. 

 

Tthe resolution in this article was presented at the Mar. ‘99 DA for discussion at the Apr. ‘99 DA. It was defeated. 

FIGHTING BACK AGAINST ABUSE (Mar. ‘99)

“Vile” is the title of an article in the New York Teacher (Feb. 24) about the Principal of PS 121Q who is clearly---well for lack of a better word----vile. One of the interesting, and disturbing, parts of the article was the mention of an anonymous letter by former PS 121 staff members charging that the principal had “exhibited unprofessional, cruel and irrational behavior” and was responsible for a “police-state feeling...” The letter was written in 1989.

Incredible!! The staff of PS 121 has been subjected to the actions of this principal for at least 10 years. This is not an isolated case. Many schools have been in similar positions over the years. Prin- cipals are protected by the districts through their political connections. District reps and the central union become limited in what support they can give until the teachers reach a point where they can’t take it anymore. The Chapter, the basic unit of our union, is severely under- mined when its members are left to the mercy of these kinds of supervisors.

The pressures of teaching are so great and a war with the principal is so distracting and threatening, that people can’t be blamed for being reluctant warriors. When conditions become intolerable, people get activated. But must they wait for conditions to reach that state before help arrives? And what about schools where a state of absolute desperation is never quite reached? Principals who wield power effectively know how to control opponents by dividing people, doing small favors for some while meting out punishments, etc. 
 
What About the Chapter Leader? Chapter Leaders have 3 choices: 1) Use the job for their personal benefit (the best assignments, extra free time, etc.) by actively colluding with the administra- tion and by undermining the chapter and those voices within the chapter that try to stand up for member’s rights. 2) Try to do the right thing, but walk a tightrope so as not to offend the administration. Their cau- tion leads to a slow erosion of people’s rights as the administrators squeeze the boundaries of the contract. These Chapter Leaders try to be “fair”, which can lead to apathy or fear of the members. 3) Try to fight and strongly represent the members. They face constant attacks from the administration and those chapter members who line up with the administrators---the ones with the cushy jobs and special favors. They usually have to run in an election against an agent of the admin- istration. 

Chapter Leaders are in a very vulnerable position since the administration must cut them down to avoid a more active chapter. Chapter Leaders, especially in elementary schools, often receive an out of classroom or a cluster position because the extra preps can be disruptive to a class. These positions are important to some Chapter Leaders because the amount of work involved in being both a CL and a classroom teacher is extensive. They (particular younger CL’s with- out seniority) become beholden to the principal for that position. Smart principals know how to harass a chapter leader without leaving foot- prints: changing rooms, placing problem children in their classes, con- stant observations, eliminating their programs, etc. are all non-grievable forms of harassment and erode the power and the will of the CL. 

(Let us not forget. Chapter Leaders are not union employees. Yet, they are being asked to do a lot of work for the union and a lot of work for the individuals in their chapters. It takes some pretty extraordinary people to take on this role. There certainly is a shortage of 

people who are willing to take on the Chapter Leadrship and function in the role as described in 2 and 3 above, as the over- whelming majority of people in our union don’t want to be in the position of constantly defending their members. 

Exactly what can a chapter under attack expect the union to do to help?
The District Rep: District Reps occupy a crucial position in our union, as they are the liaisons between individual mem- bers, chapters, and the Borough and Central union. DR’s are elected by Chapter Leaders in the districts, but are union em- ployees. Clearly, DR’s who are aware of what’s going on in chapters and take an active role can be very supportive. We should look to strengthen the role of the DR in supporting chap- ters. One way would be to broaden their right to file grievances on behalf of chapters, individuals, and the district. 

 Beyond the district
Ask union officials and they will tell you they can’t act until people in the school are willing to overcome their fears and stand up to the principal. When that doesn’t happen, the union has been limited in the ways they can provide support.
There’s more we can do. We should develop specially trained teams at the central level to identify schools where our members are under attack by administrators where the chapter needs outside help to get organized and fight back. These teams should have the right to file class action grievances for the chap- ter, much the way class size grievances are now being filed.
In schools like PS 121Q, the toll on staff and children and the entire educational community is catastrophic. Can we ever expect School Leadership Teams to be successful and work in consensus without degenerating into total warfare in schools like this? Working under conditions described in the article is a violation of our most basic working conditions. No member of our union should be forced to endure it for one day, let alone 10 years. Our union can no longer afford to allow our members to continue to suffer these indignities.

Here is a resolution that might be useful:
 
RESOLVED: The UFT will form specially trained teams based at central headquarters. These teams will go out to schools where administrators are constantly harassing union members and are attempting to destroy an organized union presence. These teams will work in concert with the District Rep, who will identify these schools.
 
RESOLVED: The UFT will make it a priority in the next con- tract to broaden the right of Chapter Leaders, District, Borough and Central union reps (including the teams mentioned in the first resolve) to file grievances in schools where the adminis- trators exhibit a pattern of harassment and anti-union action.

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We gave the same resolution one more try at the April ‘99 DA. Again, there was little interest.

SUPPORT THIS RESOLUTION!! For today’s agenda (Apr. ‘99)
 
Last month, a delegate opposed putting this resolution on today’s agenda, claiming the union already has the machinery in place. If machinery is in place, why did conditions at IS 88 and PS 121 go on for so many years? How come so many schools are having these problems? Those of you who are in schools where administrators don’t behave like monsters or come in just under the “vile” line, should not take the situations of our colleagues lightly. In schools like these, even experienced, tenured teachers suffer. With an enormous number of new teachers who are especially vulnerable to harassment coming into the system, your support for this resolution is especially important.

 

Assault on a Chapter Leader While UFT Twiddles its Thumbs Plus Comments on Peter Zucker Case

As I reported yesterday, I attended a 3020a so-called incompetence hearing of a chapter leader of an elementary school - Another Chapter Leader Under Assault at a 3020a Hearing - except that the preliminaries took a long time and then DOE legal asked for an adjournment because the teacher had audio tapes of meetings with the principals and they wanted to hear them before proceeding. We were there from 10:15 until roughly 2PM waiting around and chatting.

It was a pleasure meeting the teacher's family - her mother, a retired NYC high school teacher, grown daughter and husband, there to support her. In addition, Paul Hogan and Pete Zucker, now on suspension, were there too. And we met other teachers and their families under assault.

I pointed out yesterday that this case should send up major warning alarms at the UFT.

Cases like this must not be treated the same as a non chapter leader, since employers often target union officials as a way to shut down union activity at the workplace -- and in many ways the DOE over the past 14 years has succeeded in doing just that. That the UFT is not blasting this all over the place is a perfect example of the union's accepting its role as as a head with little body.

After speaking to the teacher yesterday I am more convinced than ever that this is a case that the UFT should be using to make a major point. Her daughter told me that her 2nd grade kids were successful and it was the observations that are being used against the teacher. The real guts of this case are not the observations and charges of incompetence, but the political attack on a chapter leader doing her job.

My worry is that the lawyers, who often think on the narrowest of issues, will focus on responding to the charges without emphasizing that this is a case of political persecution due to union activities.

This is not to say that filing a lawsuit outside the system if you can afford it is not a good way to go. It seems that these lawsuits are piling up and the DOE and Legal is nervous

My advice to the teacher was to point out the duties of the CL and how she executed those duties -- and how the principal used that. She has been in the school for quite a while. How did she suddenly turn incompetent? What is going on is the principal is taking advantage of the new teacher rating system.

The teacher is not using a NYSUT lawyer and is paying on her own -- a lot of people are buying the line, sometimes put out by people with a business model, that they are incompetent on the whole. So far the people I've seen from NYSUT have been very competent and they have presented a political argument, some openly and some subtly. In my mind the fact that Portelos and Zucker still have a job is due to the case that they were targets. And the over-zealous DOE legals often help make that case.

Zucker was a cluster teacher in an elementary school seeing 300 kids a week, no more than once or twice. Let's face it - I was a cluster for a decade - it is often a form of babysitting to cover a prep - though most people do what they can with the job given its limits -- like being pulled for subbing, coverage, mass preps, etc.

The charges of incompetence were a joke. The job was specially created for him to try to make him fail. Like if I were to be put in a kindergartgen class I wouldn't have a clue and it would take me a year or  2, even as an experienced teacher, to figure it out. Of course I would exhibit evidence of not being competent at times.

Zucker is/was a computer/tech specialist. The principal left the computer lab, which he was instrumental in getting for the school, empty and put him in a job they branded, "Character education with literacy." Sure, spend 45 minutes a week with a class and expect results?

The principal, Allison Coviello, testified for 4 days - and the overkill was obvious. Here was a former colleague and first year principal spending an enormous amount of time focusing on cluster teacher Zucker. Didn't she have a school to run? Clearly an obsessive compulsive and it came through. Even the DOE lawyer seemed worn out.

The best part of the Zucker case for me was the claim that he didn't treat kids of parents well by Coviello, who tried to come across was a saint.
A parent came in to testify for Peter and she said he was the only teacher in the school who reached out to her admittedly difficult son and to her. When DOE Legal asked her did she talk to Coviello, the parent responded that she had 3 appointments with Coviello, who cancelled two of them and ended up getting into an argument with her at the other one.

Saint Coviello didn't look like much of a saint.

And I'm hoping that at the end of the day, the Chapter Leader's principal will be exposed for what she is.

There are 3 hearing dates next week and I only can make the last one next Friday and will probably miss the principal's testimony --- this is a case of DOE legal wasting an enormous amount of money and that the UFT doesn't scream this from every rooftop is why the union is a head with no body.

Another Chapter Leader Under Assault at a 3020a Hearing

Cases like this must not be treated the same as a non chapter leader, since employers often target union officials as a way to shut down union activity at the workplace -- and in many ways the DOE over the past 14 years has succeeded in doing just that. That the UFT is not blasting this all over the place is a perfect example of the union's accepting its role as as a head with little body.

I'm heading over to Chambers Street to attend the hearing of a Manhattan elementary school chapter leader who I've been speaking to at the Delegate Assemblies. She has told me quite a story of how she became a target after a lifetime of teaching due to her doing the job of chapter leader. I told her I would try to make some of the hearings. Today her principal is listed as the first witness.

This will be the first hearing I've attended where the teacher is not using a NYSUT  lawyer for reasons I am not totally clear, which means she has to pay the lawyer. Let's see how this works out.

I learned a lot about these hearings by attending. For instance, DOE Legal has 2 units - conduct and incompetence charges. NYSUT lawyers have the same system.

The two NYSUT lawyers, Chris Callagy (Pakter and Portelos - conduct) and Jennifer Hogan (Peter Zucker - incompetence charges), were both pretty impressive. Jennifer pointed out that handing each type of case requires different skills and gave me a great understanding of the thinking behind their strategies. One reason I believe people should not just abandon a NYSUT attorney without careful thought is that there is 40 years of experience in these cases to draw from.

Now, none of these teachers were totally found innocent - there were big fines and Peter just started serving a 4 month suspension without pay, which is a very heavy fine in essence - plus the loss of health care. You can read about Pete's case on his blog: SOUTH BRONX SCHOOL

Claudia Macek of PS/MS 83 Distorts Reality -

 

I'll write more about his case to supplement what he will be writing. 

 

He called me yesterday and now that he is on suspension, may come down to today's hearing. I'll only identify the teacher if she wants me to, even though her name has been all over certain listserves (something I am careful about doing.) But I will write about the major issue here to me: this is not just any teacher but the elected union rep. Cases like this must not be treated the same as a non chapter leader, since employers often target union officials as a way to shut down union activity at the workplace -- and in many ways the DOE over the past 14 years has succeeded in doing just that.

That the UFT is not blasting this all over the place is a perfect example of the union's accepting its role as a head with little body. OK, Unity slug gang, let's start commenting about how somehow the union really shouldn't pay special attention to a chapter leader under assault.

 

Reorganization Grievances: Form MORE Chapter Leader listserve

A MORE CL sent an email about programs and reorg grievances to the list for people new to the process and looking for a template...

Once you have "tentative" programs, many staff members will have concerns or questions.  Here's a couple of points-

1- you have 48 hours to grieve your program.

2- I can't address any issue without documentation.  If you want to raise an issue about your program, please bring me a copy of it along with a copy of your preference sheet.  If you did not retain a copy, ask admin for one before coming to me.  It will make it easier and faster to address the issue.

3-contractual rules governing programming are complicated and consider things like preference, rotation, seniority, and there's lots of vague language that gives admin some leeway in programming and considering preferences.  We will look at the contract language together and determine if an issue can and should be grieved.

4- the 48 hour window to grieve a program (a "reorganization grievance") re-opens when you get your final program in September.  These grievances are expedited so they can be resolved more quickly.

5- based on past experience, bringing solutions to programming problems is more likely to solve the problem than grieving it.  In the past we have put our heads together with others in our departments and worked together to renegotiate programs with administration to lighten the load on some teachers.  Before doing anything else, I suggest checking in with others in your department and comparing programs.  Maybe solutions can be worked out.