Tuesday, February 15, 2011

District 6 Feb. 16 Shael Suransky - the DOE operating concepts pertaining to Teaching, Learning, & Accountability: Teacher-activist Julie Cavanagh will respond

NOTE: Just heard from Julie - she is real sick and can't make it. Suransky also postponed. Even to be rescheduled in April.

Josh Karan a parent leader in District 6 (Washington Hts) has established a program to engage parents in the educational debate.


Tomorrow's session will have Shael Suransky and GEM/CAPE's Julie Cavanagh presenting.
Deputy Chancellor Shael Suransky will present the DOE operating concepts pertaining to Teaching, Learning, & Accountability, to which teacher-activist Julie Cavanagh will be responding. 
Next - March 7:
DOE Charter School Division Chief Recy Dunn will present the DOE view on the value of Charter schools, to which Mona David will respond.
Josh described the program with the hope it will be emulated in other districts:
The purpose of the program is to provide a roadmap for parents --- to enable them to see a way from here to there, after first defining what the here and there mean for them:  Examining what kind of education parents want for their children, and exploring what currently is being provided.  Presently many parents struggle to do any of this -- understand the current system, articulate what they believe the system should provide, and assert what their role should be in the crafting of a different system, operating under different structures, provision of resources, and values.
This is intended to be a pilot program in my District.  Hopefully it will continue, so that after a few years, in time for the 2015 next round of School Governance legislative consideration, there will be 150 to 200 trained and motivated parents in District 6 who will provide leadership to mobilize our community for a different direction for educational policy. 
Kudos to Josh for his proactive efforts. I can't make the event but it should interesting to see how Julie, a special ed classroom teacher in a school invaded by a charter interacts with the 2nd in command of the school system. If you go (sorry, I don't have the location) send a report.

I put up the entire program at Norms Notes:  District 6 Parent Advocacy Training Program

Leonie Haimson on GEM: "It's a very effective, powerful organization that's growing every day"

I was amused at Beth Fertig's report (see below) on Parents Across America and Educators 4 Excellence (of course, no senior teachers meet the criteria) as if an organization of parents fighting ed deform and a group of teachers paid to be organizers by ed deformers are equivalentl in some way.

Now there is a group called the Grassroots Education Movement (GEM) which I helped found two years ago that is unfunded and consisting of almost all classroom teachers. A group that has held forums and rallies and built alliances with parents and community groups that gets no press. 

At the inaugural Parents Across America event featuring Diane Ravitch, a teacher asked how teachers in NYC can get involved in the movement. Leonie Haimson recommended they get involved in GEM.



Here are some reports on the PAA conference last Monday, which was basically uncovered by the press. See my sidebar for links to videos I made.

Building connections at Parents Across America forum


PAA is compared to E4E below.

Two New Groups Step into Debate Over Teachers

Monday, February 14, 2011 - 04:54 PM

By Beth Fertig
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How much should seniority matter if the city has to layoff thousands of teachers this fall? Two new groups are trying to influence the debate.

Winerip on Ronald Ferguson and Achievement Gap

This blog item ties in with the TFA Summit blogger pieces from this past weekend where "solutions" are merit pay, charters, etc - the ed deform program - where "class size" are dirty words.

I really hate the use of the words "achievement gap" but when Mike Winerip writes about it I take notice. His article on the research Ronald Ferguson has done lays down some interesting ideas that seem to undermine the basis of the ed deform movement - that poverty and race are used as excuses and it really is all about good teaching (preferably from the mouths of young Ivy Leaguers who had 6 weeks of training.) So what to make of this:
His research indicates that half the gap can be predicted by economics: even in a typical wealthy suburb, blacks are not as well-to-do; 79 percent are in the bottom 50 percent financially, while 73 percent of whites are in the top 50 percent.

The other half of the gap, he has calculated, is that black parents on average are not as academically oriented in raising their children as whites. In a wealthy suburb he surveyed, 40 percent of blacks owned 100 or more books, compared with 80 percent of whites. In first grade, the percentage of black and white parents reading to their children daily was about the same; by fifth grade, 60 percent to 70 percent of whites still read daily to their children, compared with 30 percent to 40 percent of blacks.
Ferguson also touches on a touchy subject for teachers:
He also works with teachers to identify biases, for instance: black children are less likely to complete homework because they are lazy. His research indicates that blacks and whites spend the same amount of time on homework, but blacks are less likely to finish. “It’s not laziness,” he says. “It’s a difference in skills.”
So yes, teaching can be a factor - but I always thought that being sensitized to the conditions the students are exposed to is way more important - teaching is not isolated from some level of involvement in understanding the lives of the children. Can that lead to excusing things? Guilty in my case. Did I think a child who was treated in a way at home that tore down his/her self esteem mean I as a teacher had to figure out a way to raise that self esteem or I wouldn't be able to break through and build trust? Hell yes. Did that at times lead me to not hassle kids over certain issues? Guilty again. I just didn't always have the skill set to be nurturing and demanding.

Here is some more from the Winerip piece with a link to the entire article:
He [Ferguson] is frequently quoted in the news media, and in recent months, he has played a major role in four important educational stories: the Gates study on evaluating teachers (his research shows that when kids say a teacher is good, they usually know what they’re talking about); the Council of the Great City Schools study of the widening gap between white and black boys (12 percent of black fourth-grade boys were proficient in reading on a national test, compared with 38 percent of whites); a front-page story in The New York Times last year on the effectiveness of big high schools (at a time when small schools are in vogue); and as a member of the eight-person New York State panel that decided whether Cathleen P. Black should qualify for a waiver to be New York City’s chancellor (he won’t say how he voted). 

Closing the Achievement Gap Without Widening a Racial One
By MICHAEL WINERIP

NYTimes.com | Published: February 13, 2011

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/14/education/14winerip.html?_r=1&emc=tnt&tntemail1=y

Monday, February 14, 2011

Evil Invades District 14 (Williamsburg)- NOTE DATE CHANGE


CHARTER SCHOOLS GOT YOU WONDERING?

  COME AND FIND OUT WHAT THIS NEW       CHARTER SCHOOL IS REALLY ALL ABOUT

           NYC DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
              C0-LOCATION HEARING FOR
         BROOKLYN SUCCESS ACADEMY
           PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL
             EVA MOSKOWITZ, CEO

           INTO THE FORMER I.S. 33
                 70 TOMPKINS AVE.
                BETWEEN MYRTLE AND PARK
    THURS. FEBRUARY 17, 2011 AT 6:00 PM
          
       ???????? HAVE QUESTIONS FOR THE DOE ????????

           IS THERE A NEED FOR MORE ELEMENTARY
             SCHOOL SEATS IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD?

       DO ALL CHARTER SCHOOLS RUN THE SAME WAY?

         WILL THE THREE OTHER PUBLIC SCHOOLS IN   
                   I.S. 33 BE SQUEEZED FOR SPACE?
        
       SHOULD K-12 STUDENTS BE IN THE SAME BUILDING?

                  WILL ALL SCHOOLS IN I.S. 33 BE
                 FUNDED AND RESOURCED FAIRLY?

Egyptian and Tunisian Democracy Dissidents Reach out to UFTers

The The New Times had a report today about the alliance between Egyptian and Tunisian young dissidents:
a remarkable two-year collaboration that has given birth to a new force in the Arab world — a pan-Arab youth movement dedicated to spreading democracy in a region without it. Young Egyptian and Tunisian activists brainstormed on the use of technology to evade surveillance, commiserated about torture and traded practical tips on how to stand up to rubber bullets and organize barricades.
Unity keeps back the opposition at DA
 What the Times did not report was that the leaders of the movement have been reaching out to the dissidents in the UFT fighting the Unity Caucus machine. "We heard about the torture people endure listening to endless speeches at the Delegate Assembly and were shocked," said one activist. "That Unity speakers bureau that meets the day before the DA where they map out what they will do and even give this guy Mulgrew a map of where everyone sits was copied by Mubarek to run our sham parliament. We are hoping out movement will be contagious and lead to freedom for the teachers in the UFT."

The spokesperson said, "We suggest they put garlic and vinegar in their scarves and wrap them around their faces when Leo Casey gets up and starts that awful phony whining about brothers and sisters. Personally, I would rather face the tear gas than that."

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Why Won't Mulgrew Defend LIFO?

I just want to open with a cat report since our Unity/union official friend seems so anxious to get an update: no doody, no vomit. Now you can relax for the day.

I just watched Mulgrew on Diana Williams on ABC and wasn't surprised he wouldn't defend LIFO. He didn't at the DA last Wednesday and he didn't went he went to speak to E4E (I have to comment later on the E4E correct point about retirees voting in UFT elections). Instead he shifts the debate to not having layoffs at all or talks about class size. Not a bad strategy but ducking the LIFO issue when he has a platform to make a rational case does everyone a disservice. Why not bring up the Peter Lamphere case in a vast public forum? Does the fact that Peter is a long-time member of the opposition have anything to do with it? At the very least he should bring up Iris Blige.

Arthur Goldstein did a piece on LIFO at HufPo: merits of LIFO  and Peter did his own piece at Gotham: “Merit”? My Experience With Arbitrary U Ratings

Making the connection between political use of U ratings and LIFO should be at the top of Mulgrew's agenda. But it isn't and that avoidence is what puts him on the Randi Weingarten camp (see part 2 of our GEM TFA blogger's reactions to Randi's appearance yesterday for a sample of Randi doublespeak -Live Blogging from Teach for America 20th Anniversary Summit, Part 2 - Randi Weingarten).

I know people think Mulgrew is different - and later I may do a piece on my reaction to him at the DA where I also saw some differences - but more in style than substance.

Mulgrew also missed a chance to explain and defend the ATRs - which he did at the DA to the members - but doesn't really do when he talks to the public - I mean give the full case with facts and figures how these people are often covering real programs.

I left this comment at Gotham, a comment that is waiting moderation, so I'll reprint it here:
Is a democratic system of government always fair? There are all sorts if distortions. But can anyone point to an alternative. The same with LIFO. Not always fair to all but in fact is the only system that works over the long term. It is a system put in place well over a hundred years ago way before there were teacher unions  because of the corruption and patronage that went on.

Why would that change now? Just read Peter Lamphere's story in the Community section - he would be out of a job if LIFO ends. Then there's Iris Blige. But we can talk about hundreds of principals who would not make a fair and rational judgement.

Other principals I know absolutely support LIFO in spite of what it costs them.

By that I mean the fair funding formula which was designed to force principals to get rid of the highest paid teachers. I have a simple way to eliminate that as a factor - go back the old system of not charging a school for the costs of teacher salaries. There can be no LIFO modifications until that ends. But you will never see that happen because that is the very reason for the Fair funding formula in the first place and it reveals the entire intention behind the move to end LIFO.

I was at a school the other day as a speaker and a 4th year teacher told me she supported the idea of LIFO but also doesn't think it fair for her to lose her job while she can point to people in the school who don't pull their weight. A fair point.

But let's drill a bit. First, she has no guarantee that the principal sees it the way she does. I had a principal who favored people who sucked up to her - to her that was pulling the weight.

Secondly, as a 4th year teacher she already had a buffer over teachers with less seniority than she has. If she is laid off LIFO seniority rules should protect her when people are called back - though I don't know how this would work in reality. In 1975 when there were massive layoffs, most people were called back within a year or two - and in the order in which they were laid off and at the salary that were making.  Teaching at that point became a tough job to get.

In fact, you will never find everyone working to the same capacity in any job - I know young lawyers at big firms who chafe over the seniority that goes on - there are forms of LIFO in almost every profession. My wife was at a hospital and even among doctors, the longer you are there the more perks you get. There are also all sorts of politics that keep certain people around while more competent people can't get ahead. What do you think goes on the police dept - and these guys have guns - no one seems upset that a young cop might be cut to keep a vet who may not have the ability to chase someone down in the street anymore. To make teachers the focal point is just part of the general assault on public education - to ruin teaching as  career and replace them with a cheap, transient force. As Ravitch points out, there are 4 million teachers in this nation - do they think they can work on the Peace Corps idea? 

Has the uft has made any of these points amongst all the other defense of lifo arguments so many bloggers are making?

Saturday, February 12, 2011

UPDATED: Live Blogging from Teach for America 20th Anniversary Summit, Part 4 With Closing Plenary

NOTE: See below for 4:45 added update
"6:05 PM It’s after 6. Drink tickets are now valid. Hoping to see Kaya Henderson at the bar"

Also NOTE: Another former TFA teacher video on negative aspects of TFA

On Saturday, Feb. 12, a Real Reformer member of the Grassroots Education Movement went down to DC for the TFA 20th Anniversary Summit. The blogs came through all day with extensive coverage from the perspective of someone who is not a true believer. Let me say that Summit Blogger is still teaching a self-contained elementary school class years after most TFA's have gone on to other things. Here are links to each segment.

Part 1: Live Blogging from Teach for America 20th Anniversary Summit
Part 2: Live Blogging from Teach for America 20th Anniversary Summit - Randi Weingarten
Part 3: Live Blogging from Teach for America 20th Anniversary Summit, - Afternoon Session
Part 4: Live Blogging from Teach for America 20th Anniversary Summit, With Closing Plenary
The audience is eating this up. It sounds tough. But do our schools and children need this sort of toughness? Education is not a business, but this panel believes it is. It is unbelievable how one-sided this summit is. 

Diane, are you reading this? We need you here pronto. I’ll pay your travel expenses and help you storm the stage. 


Kaya Henderson, DC schools:
Where is the Pepto? I can’t stand this woman. She has the potential to be a more frightening monster than Rhee. (She spoke this morning in the opening brainwashing session.)

She is touting the success of D.C.’s 126 charter schools: “We have a robust charter school movement.” She claims these schools are so successful because they have the autonomy they need.

I’ll take some of that autonomy. Sign my public school and me up. Oh, I guess she isn’t offering that.  


3:10 Just arriving to session entitled, The Future of Schools Systems:

How to get through this session? Is smells like the destruction of public education in here. Check out the panel:

1. Richard Barth: President, CEO KIPP
2. Kaya Henderson, Interim Chancellor DC Schools
3. Rebecca Nieves Huffman, VP of the Fund for Authorizing Excellence, National Association of Charter School Authorizers
4. Paul Pastorek, State Superintendent of Education, Louisiana Department of Education

Moderated by Ted Mitchell, President and CEO, New Ventures Fund

Paul Pastorek begins. Says we need to “Break up the monopolies.” Why? “Because we have to define what will be a truly great school. We need the flexibility to innovate. We need the city to get out of the way.” He discusses Louisiana’s effort to decentralize the school system and how he is relying mainly on charter schools to provide the innovation LA needs.  32% children who are not on grade level, and he says charter schools are the only hope.

Yuck. How can all these people sit here and listen to this? I know there are public school teachers here, as I’ve seen their name tags. Are they not outraged? I am, but you knew that already.

Pastorek then asserts the keys to his success: “We seed, feed and weed in Louisiana.”
              Seed: Bring new schools in.
Feed: Provide support if they want it, but don’t push it.
Weed: Remove schools that do not meant the standards.
Pastorek closes with “We need to engender competition.”

The audience is eating this up. It sounds tough. But do our schools and children need this sort of toughness? Education is not a business, but this panel believes it is. It is unbelievable how one-sided this summit is. Diane, are you reading this? We need you here pronto. I’ll pay your travel expenses and help you storm the stage.

After a day of this, I’ll be lucky if I can still think for myself. It feels a bit like the Fox News studio here. So much propaganda…

LOTS MORE

Live Blogging from Teach for America 20th Anniversary Summit, Part 3 - Afternoon Session

"I ask him next about attrition. While his Houston schools seem to have low attrition, can he explain New York’s? (See KIPP chart from earlier post this morning.) He appears surprised to see the numbers in my hand, but says he is aware of this “challenge.” He criticizes the KIPP school leaders who claim 100% graduation rates even though they have had 50% attrition in their schools. He does not, however, offer any insight as to where these children go. He simply says that it is “harder” to hold on to middle/high school kids than elementary kids. He says this is why his school has such low attrition: “When we start with them young, they stick.” He does not offer a response to my question about whether or not KIPP schools counsel out kids. He says he knows the KIPP Infinity school leader and couldn’t imagine him doing this. But, he offers NO explanation as to why the attrition is so high."


On Saturday, Feb. 12, a Real Reformer member of the Grassroots Education Movement went down to DC for the TFA 20th Anniversary Summit. The blogs came through all day with extensive coverage from the perspective of someone who is not a true believer. Let me say that Summit Blogger is still teaching a self-contained elementary school class years after most TFA's have gone on to other things. Here are links to each segment.

Part 1: Live Blogging from Teach for America 20th Anniversary Summit
Part 2: Live Blogging from Teach for America 20th Anniversary Summit - Randi Weingarten
Part 3: Live Blogging from Teach for America 20th Anniversary Summit, - Afternoon Session
Part 4: Live Blogging from Teach for America 20th Anniversary Summit, With Closing Plenary


12:45 A hunt for lunch ensues. Corralling 11,000 people into a cafeteria is not easy work. Rushing to make the next session, I get stopped by a TFA film crew, asking if I want to be interviewed. Pushing down my great fear of cameras, I agree. I ‘m asked about my perceptions of the achievement gap and I talk about how TFA uses this as such a buzz word. I’m also asked why I came to the summit, which gives me a chance to talk about my concerns about the current positions and direction of TFA. I talk about the privatization of public education, TFA’s blind support of charter schools  and the strong anti-union sentiment I feel at the summit. The interviewer seemed surprised by my responses, and luckily I’m wearing my GEM button, so my message cannot be mistaken. Well see if they use the footage! Doubtful, as it seemed they were looking for some “Rah! Rah! Go TFA” clips.

1:15 Found a box lunch. Making my way to my next session and run into two people from my corps year. They are both working at charter schools (Achievement First and Girls Prep). Gave them some GEM literature, had a brief chat with both.  It’s a challenge to figure out how to talk to people who work in charter schools in a way that I can explain my perspective while still being respectful. But, these conversations are crucial.

1:40 Arrive at my Lunch session twenty minutes late.

From Cradle to Kindergarten: The role of early childhood education in ending educational equity.

1. Aaron Brenner, KIPP Houston
2. Shana Brodaux, Senior Manager of Early Childhood Programs, Harlem Children Zone
3. David Johns, Senior Education Advisor, U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

*I missed David Johns piece, and came in while Shana Brodaux was speaking.

HCZ=
Shana Brodaux talks about HCZ’s early childhood program and their efforts to educate the “whole child,” improve educational outcomes and “end generational poverty.”She talks about how their program starts when children are “in the womb” and offers them an education all the way through early childhood. They are then feed into HCZ Promise Academies. She says they spend the most money on their 4-year old program. There are 5 teachers in every class of 20 kids, with a focus on school readiness.

I want to ask her about HCZ’s attrition that I mentioned this morning when Canada was speaking. Everything she says sounds good on paper. Her program of Early Childhood Education appears successful in the way she is painting it, however I wonder what she is leaving out? How can this program be called “successful” if these kids are not making it through their school long term. Will try to speak to her at the end.

KIPP, Aaron Brenner:
He talks about the KIPP SHINE in Houston. He claims they started with 114 kids in a Pre-K type program. He says they were 98% free reduced lunch, 67% ELL’s. Drastically different stats than what we see in New York. He next says that 103 of these kids “made it through to 5th grade.” He touts their successes on a whole range of standardized tests and claims they are all “at or above grade level.” But what does it mean to “make it through” ?

I wonder where those 11 students went. Were they counseled out as seems to be the practice with KIPP schools in NYC? I am surprised that there was not more attrition.

He describes his school’s approach to early childhood and stresses the importance of Kindergarten teachers, claiming they are the “most deserving of our admiration.” The first thing I’ve heard all day that made me feel just slightly good. He mentions the importance of song, play and free time in early childhood education and even goes as far as to say that it should be a part of middle and high school education.

I wonder what his KIPP colleagues who work in middle and high schools would say about this? KIPP has been exposed for its use of authoritarian practices in many of its schools.  What to believe? I would love to ask him, but will have to attempt when the session is over, or try my luck with a note card. Again, in this session, we are required to write questions down on note cards and pass them to the front. No face to face contact between the panel and the audience. I guess that would be too personal.  

There are no public school teachers or leaders on this panel. TFA is painting charter schools as the only organizations that are doing anything to change education. This panel shared a lot of good information about the importance of early childhood education, and as an early childhood educator I appreciate the affirmation of the importance of my work.  Yet, TFA is offering a narrow perspective to its alumni—why isn’t this discussion about how to make Pre-K universal?

Question from the audience (via note card): Is the work of HCZ/KIPP scalable?

KIPP response: “We believe our approach is scalable” and that “we can silence our critics” with our success. He does not, however, explain how it is scalable.

HCZ response: Talks about the need to partner with public schools and share best practices. Says that charter schools cannot shoulder all the burden and that public schools need to be able to expand their Pre-K programs. This is the first acknowledgement of the day that charters may not be the panacea, and from an HCZ staffer. It’s not much, but I’ll take what I can get today. 


2:45 Session ends and I race to the panel to try to ask Brenner from KIPP some questions. He’s very receptive to my questions and speaks frankly.

I ask him about KIPP’s “drill and kill” reputation, which he mentioned as something he does not want happening at his school in Houston. I ask him how he perceives KIPP schools in general? Do they use the drill and kill? Are they authoritarian? He says that his school in Houston is not and that the reason he took the job there was to have a chance to do something different than what KIPP generally does. (KIPP mainly operates middle and high schools. In Houston he started an elementary.) But, he admits that KIPP schools are characterized that way because many of them have a history of being that way. He claims it is all “in the past” and that each KIPP school is making efforts to be more nurturing, less controlling. I’m not so sure I believe him, but he is quite convincing.

I ask him next about attrition. While his Houston schools seem to have low attrition, can he explain New York’s? (See KIPP chart from earlier post this morning.) He appears surprised to see the numbers in my hand, but says he is aware of this “challenge.” He criticizes the KIPP school leaders who claim 100% graduation rates even though they have had 50% attrition in their schools. He does not, however, offer any insight as to where these children go. He simply says that it is “harder” to hold on to middle/high school kids than elementary kids. He says this is why his school has such low attrition: “When we start with them young, they stick.” He does not offer a response to my question about whether or not KIPP schools counsel out kids. He says he knows the KIPP Infinity school leader and couldn’t imagine him doing this. But, he offers NO explanation as to why the attrition is so high.   

I rush out to head to my next session, which guarantees to enlarge my current ulcer—its about the future of school systems and its bound to be a charter party!

Live Blogging from Teach for America 20th Anniversary Summit, Part 2 - Randi Weingarten

 When I joined back in 2006, I didn’t think TFA was about privatization, but there is no debate now. How is it that the people in this room have been tricked into believing that education reform is as simple as getting rid of bad teachers? 

Conclusion: A strange session overall. Weingarten was apologetic for her opinions and Hess was painted himself as possessing the “right” opinions, and the crowd seemed to side with him.

---GEM TFA Alum at the Summit
 
On Saturday, Feb. 12, a Real Reformer member of the Grassroots Education Movement went down to DC for the TFA 20th Anniversary Summit. The blogs came through all day with extensive coverage from the perspective of someone who is not a true believer. Let me say that Summit Blogger is still teaching a self-contained elementary school class years after most TFA's have gone on to other things. Here are links to each segment.

Part 1: Live Blogging from Teach for America 20th Anniversary Summit
Part 2: Live Blogging from Teach for America 20th Anniversary Summit - Randi Weingarten
Part 3: Live Blogging from Teach for America 20th Anniversary Summit, - Afternoon Session
Part 4: Live Blogging from Teach for America 20th Anniversary Summit, With Closing Plenary




11:45 Breakout sessions begin. There are sessions on everything from school leadership to segregation in our schools to workshops on teaching practices.

I chose to go to:

A Discussion with Randi Weingarten on the Role of Teachers’ Unions in Education Reform

The session begins with us all being given note cards. We are told that we can write our questions on these cards and pass them to the middle. There will be 20 minutes at the end for questions and they will read as many as possible. I hope this isn’t the trend in each session, but I have a feeling it will be. Sort of takes the power out of the question when the person asking it doesn’t get to attach their face and voice to it.

Moderator is Rick Hess, Director of Education Policy Studies, American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research. He also writes for a blog “Rick Hess Straight Up,”

Randi begins. She gives a little history of herself and why she was drawn to teaching/labor issues. She says she thought  the labor movement was the way to change society, education is the way to change society. “The union is an empowering organization for teachers….most of us don’t have individual power…we need to create structures that create this power…we need you to be part of that.”

Waiting for Superman=she is talking about the contract signed with a GreenDot school in New Jersey. 97% of the kids are on track to graduate. 100% passed their math regents. She points out that this is a unionized school, so Guggenheim should have acknowledged this.

Hess: He says…In NY state, you and the union fought to keep student performance out of teacher performance evaluations and you fought against charter school cap being raised. He asks why she fought against these agents of change. 

Why is this the man moderating this? The TFA agenda is so clear to me know. It's disappointing to see. When I joined back in 2006, I didn’t think TFA was about privatization, but there is no debate now.

Weingarten: Responds that the data system was flawed. Then goes into a discussion about how large school systems are like factories. She tells the crowd to email her if they see union problems:

Hess:  “How come you haven’t been more vocal about calling out management?” He is referring to management  (school leaders) not getting rid of “bad” teachers.

Why are we so focused on placing blame? It’s always about blame.


Weingarten: She says something about the budget crisis. “I stopped calling them out when the recession hit…” She refers to the fiscal crisis of the 70s. She says “you are right,” referring to Hess’s claim that we need to “call out” management.

“When the union leader does it (calls out blame), then it turns into a fight…it takes us away from the true problems…conflict makes great headlines…but it doesn’t help reform systems to help kids.”

 “Let’s have 360 degree accountability. Lets not just have top down, lets have bottom up. Shouldn’t teachers have a chance to evaluate principals…We gave Joel Klein an evaluation. What was interesting…70-80% filled out the evaluations. They want a voice.”

Not a bad sound bite.


12:00 I’m looking through the TFA handbook for the summit. Big companies sponsoring this event: Chevron, Fidelity, Wells Fargo, Comcast, Coca-Cola, Fed-Ex, Google, and the list goes on.

*This discussion is quite disjointed. Somewhat hard to follow. Doing my best to convey its tone/content.

Weingarten: ATR’s! Let’s see where she takes this. She is talking about the shift to allow free transfers. Now, she’s moving on to excessing, and how she cautioned against it when the DOE wanted to do it.  

She is telling a story about someone who worked in two failing schools.
“We have to get to a different system where we figure out who can teach and who can’t…a system that is fair.”


Hess: “We understand that the union has to protect its members, but it seems like the union is more concerned with protecting teachers’ due process rather than helping teachers who have to shoulder the burden of working in a system with so many bad teachers.”

There is a strong applause, loudest of the session. How is it that the people in this room have been tricked into believing that education reform is as simple as getting rid of bad teachers? 

Weingarten: Responds by saying, “Any union that does that, shame on them.” Then, she goes on to explain how she isn’t about protecting “due process” as her central goal. She is walking a fine line here, definitely trying to win over the crowd, which seems pretty split on their opinions of her.

Hess: “Last in, first out…AFT has stood by this… WHY?”

The questions are so leading. Paints the union as the enemy as well as Weingarten. Not that I’m a huge fan of hers, but still…this room is full of young teachers, though, who don’t want to lose their jobs, and who have been told (both directly and indirectly by TFA) that they are the best teachers—that they are the only hope for change in education. It is scary what this ignorance is doing.

Weingarten: “I’m not saying that seniority is the best way to make layoff decisions…the magnitude of the cuts to schools across this country are devastating…that’s what we should be fighting against. These cuts are devastating for kids. I am fighting to stop the magnitude of these layoffs.”

Hess: “School spending for 3 generations has gone increased. We’ve added adults to the system at twice the rate of students.” He’s gone on to talk about tax increases and how Americans don’t want to spend more on education.

Weingarten: “The American public wants to invest in education…I think there is wasteful spending in our system. We waste $ 7 billion on attrition. In Finland, you have almost no attrition with new teachers.”

Hess: “Let’s talk about the labor market…” Accusing that her wasteful spending claims don’t add up.

Weingarten: She’s been doing a great deal of apologizing on the stage. Why? When she says very pointed things, she concludes with a pitiful, “I’m sorry.” She is pleading to the audience, which is that last thing she needs to be doing. Speak with confidence, woman!
“My job is about public education…”
Why is she going around helping charter schools sign contracts?

Hess: School pensions in New Jersey. “We don’t have the dollars to afford these…they are being offered generous packages at the expense of the students.”

Weingarten: “600 dollars a month is what teachers in New York are getting.” She is pointing out how it isn’t really as “generous” as Hess just alleged. “We need to actually use pension funds to do things about infrastructure….my point is this…there are a lot of new things that need to happen in American…how do you become a fair society.”

12:35 PM
Question and Answer session begins, questions are read by Hess, not by those who have them. Is he choosing the questions to ask?

Question 1: How can teachers who are dissatisfied with unions do anything?
Weingarten:  “Get involved. We need you and we want you.
Question 2:  Oakland teacher who is his union rep wrote:
“Our kids are graduating at a high enough rate. When I raise this at meetings, no one wants to talk about teacher quality. What can I do to help them see this connection?”

Weingarten: “You can’t point fingers...regardless of what you think the problem is you have to engage with your colleagues…We can’t do it alone.”

 I think she is trying to hint at how teacher quality isn’t the only factor and that perhaps other things in our education systems need to change, but she doesn’t really come out and say anything specific. Again, she is walking that fine line all of us in New York saw when she was in charge of the UFT.  She changes her story for her audience. She clings to general statements that can be spun to her liking.

“I hate the status quo. I am not here to defend the status quo.”

Question 3:  Starts with a compliment to her for being her and a criticism of the head of the NEA not being here. The question is about her opinion of NEA.

Perhaps the NEA isn’t here because TFA doesn’t want them here? I’m not sure but I wonder what their president would be saying to this crowd?

Weingarten: “I’m not going to trash the NEA.” She doesn’t say much.

Question 4: “As states like CO, LA, roll out new evaluations for teachers and schools, what are the 3 key things to keep an eye out for?”

Weingarten:
1. We cannot reduce education to a test score! (applause)
She doesn’t give two others, but explains this at length.

Conclusion: A strange session overall. Weingarten was apologetic for her opinions and Hess was painted himself as possessing the “right” opinions, and the crowd seemed to side with him.

Only 4 questions were allowed. There are at least 300 people in this room. This is a not a very interactive


12:45 A hunt for lunch ensues. Corralling 11,000 people into a cafeteria is not easy work. Rushing to make the next session, I get stopped by a TFA film crew, asking if I want to be interviewed. Pushing down my great fear of cameras, I agree. I ‘m asked about my perceptions of the achievement gap and I talk about how TFA uses this as such a buzz word. I’m also asked why I came to the summit, which gives me a chance to talk about my concerns about the current positions and direction of TFA. I talk about the privatization of public education, TFA’s blind support of charter schools and the strong anti-union sentiment I feel at the summit. The interviewer seemed surprised by my responses, and luckily I’m wearing my GEM button, so my message cannot be mistaken. Well see if they use the footage! Doubtful, as it seemed they were looking for some “Rah! Rah! Go TFA” clips.

1:15 Found a box lunch. Making my way to my next session and run into two people from my corps year. They are both working at charter schools (Achievement First and Girls Prep). Gave them some GEM literature, had a brief chat with both.  It’s a challenge to figure out how to talk to people who work in charter schools in a way that I can explain my perspective while still being respectful. But, these conversations are crucial.

1:40 Arrive at my Lunch session twenty minutes late. Need to eat. More soon.

From Cradle to Kindergarten: The role of early childhood education in ending educational equity.

1. Aaron Brenner, KIPP Houston
2. Shana Brodaux, Senior Manager of Early Childhood Programs, Harlem Children Zone
3. David Johns, Senior Education Advisor, U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

*I missed David Johns piece, and came in while Shana Brodaux was speaking.

Live Blogging from Teach for America 20th Anniversary Summit, Part 1

A GEM TFA alum is in the house.

NOTE: Some people have been confused thinking I wrote this - note I'm a bit old to be a TFA alum.


Diary of the Summit by Summit blogger

On Saturday, Feb. 12, a Real Reformer member of the Grassroots Education Movement went down to DC for the TFA 20th Anniversary Summit. The blogs came through all day with extensive coverage from the perspective of someone who is not a true believer. Let me say that Summit Blogger is still teaching a self-contained elementary school class years after most TFA's have gone on to other things. Here are links to each segment.

Part 1: Live Blogging from Teach for America 20th Anniversary Summit
Part 2: Live Blogging from Teach for America 20th Anniversary Summit - Randi Weingarten

Part 3: Live Blogging from Teach for America 20th Anniversary Summit, - Afternoon Session

Part 4: Live Blogging from Teach for America 20th Anniversary Summit, With Closing Plenary

Saturday, February 12, 2011
Teach for America 20th Anniversary Alumni Summit

8:00 AM
Arrived at the convention center to register. This is a seriously huge event—11,000 alumni (and some current corps members). At check-in we received a bunch of literature along with our name badges and tote bags—drink tickets for the evening reception (!), a Village Academies water bottle and brochure, as well as two flyers about LEE (an organization that claims to foster public sector leadership for TFA alumni.)  Village Academies is a charter school operator with two schools open in Harlem. Interesting (but not surprising) that TFA is promoting this school—they donated serious cash to TFA for this event (as is stated in the program brochure). I recently looked up Harlem Village Academies on the DOE website and found some interesting information about their enrollment. Their schools enroll students in grades 5 to 10 but not in equal numbers. As their students get older, the enrollment numbers drop drastically. What accounts for this attrition? Are they counseling out their students? Or are they simply leaving of their own volition? Either way, its clear they are not keeping their students.  Their brochure conveniently doesn’t mention any of this, and talks only about how great it is to work at their schools.




Village Academies, as well as many other charter school operators have booths set up here. Perhaps later, I’ll have to go and ask them myself. There are over 100 organizations tabling here at the summit, including: PAVE Academy, KIPP, Achievement First, Noble Network Charter Schools (whose teachers are all here in full uniform—their t-shirts are emblazoned with “BE NOBLE”), Success Charter Network, and the list goes on.  There are a few public school districts (D.C., L.A., Boston) here with tables too, but not nearly as many as are here to promote charters.

9:15 AM
The Summit has opened with a rousing performance by a high school marching band. Got to get the troops inspired and energized.
Opening remarks by Kaya Henderson, interim DC Chancellor and’92 TFA corps member. She’s well-received and calls DC the “hottest city for education reform.” Then she goes on to explain how DC’s education department is filled with TFA alumni, and that DC’s highest performing charters are run by TFA alumni. She claims that soon the person in the White House will be a TFA alum.
“DC’s school are tearing it up. We went through a bloody battle to get here.” Is she referring to Michelle Rhee’s tenure and inappropriate firing of teachers? I wasn’t aware that DC schools were now suddenly so successful? Did I miss something? I think the bloody battle is still going on and it sounds like she is planning to continue it. But the only people being hurt are those she is claiming to help.

She’s really going for it here. She closes with a “Let’s do this” mantra, followed immediately by the marching band again.

9:35 AM
Wendy Kopp takes the stage to a standing ovation, minus myself and my two friends.  51 people are here from the very first corps of TFA, 1,000 from the 2008 corps. And 3,000 from the current corps. 1500 of the alumni here are teachers. ONLY 1500?! That doesn’t include the 3,000 current members, but that is still 1500 out of 8000. 18%? Is that really success? Our education system needs people who stay and work in the classrooms.  

Her comments are quite generic. Sounds pretty much like what I heard here say when I was a corps member in training. She’s talking about how people “used” to think that ones socio-economic background determined ones possible educational outcomes. She is now telling a story about a Bronx teacher who got her 117 9th graders to pass the Biology Regents test.  She then explains how there are not that many teachers like this one. “We can foster the impact of successful teachers by creating transformational schools.” She calls out three charter school leaders as playing a crucial role in education in our country. She is now talking about North Star Academy Charter School in Newark. Is this what the whole weekend is going to be like?! I expected some charter plugging, but this seems like a charter school summit completely.

“North Star’s leader has embraced a different mandate….she is working to put students on a different socio-economic path. She obsesses over hiring great teachers…and does whatever it takes to meet the end goal.”

Does that include firing teachers and/or students? What does it mean to do “whatever it takes”?

“We can provide children facing poverty with an education that is transformational….We don’t need to wait to eliminate poverty. We can provide them with a way out…”

She then claims that DC and New Orleans are home to the fastest improving school systems. Wow! I guess creating a two-tier educational system is what TFA is all about? There is such great inequity in education in these two cities. But almost everyone here is just nodding along with Kopp. I heard from another alum that last night at the New Orleans regional reception, people were talking about how TFA had single handedly helped the New Orleans schools recover after Hurricane Katrina.

She claims to know what we need to fix education in this country. She is talking about “transformational leadership” as the key in schools and school systems. What does transformational leadership mean? Is it such a vague statement, but it sounds powerful, so everyone is clapping.  

“Incremental change is not enough, we need transformational change.” She is now explaining how she wants to expand the program, but mentions only pushing people into leadership roles. No mention of the role of the classroom teacher.

10:00 AM
FROM TRANSFORMATIONAL CHANGE TO RADICAL CHANGE!

Next up, Walter Issacson, CEO of the Aspen Institute, a leadership/social entrepreneurship organization. He is up here to welcome the panelists to the stage. Rock music welcomes them:
1. Jon Schnur, Chairman of the Board, New Leaders for New Schools (moderator)
2. Michelle Rhee, former DC Chancellor
3. Joel Klein, former NYC Chancellor
4. Geoffery Canada, Harlem Children’s Zone
5. John Deasey, superintendent, LA Unified School District
6. Dave Levin, KIPP co-founder and superintendent of NY KIPP

*Klein is speaking now. “Is this our Egypt moment? Will we seize the moment? We will talk to each other and go home. I challenge this group to seize the moment. We no longer believe that poverty is permanent…Education…this is America’s issue. What will change it? Each one of you must insist that each school out there is one that you would send your kids too.” He takes it to a new level. He says “transformational change” isn’t enough—we need “radical change.” More empty statements from the former chancellor.

*Dave Levin is now speaking, with a KIPP shirt on (many KIPP teachers here are in full uniform as well). At KIPP, he claims to have quadrupled the graduation rate of kids from high poverty neighborhoods. But, just like Harlem Village Academies, KIPP has a history of high attrition. If you achieve 100% graduation but your class is only 30 kids when it should have been 100, are you really doing the true work of educating our children?!  I think not.



Michelle Rhee is up, and she seemed to have forgotten her masking tape. She is giving a speech pretty much on par with her usual--We need to be aggressive, some people might not like us, controversy will arise, opposition will arise, but we have to push past it. Meaning, we must squash it and cover it with masking tape.

Canada’s turn. He talks about this “revolution” and claims, “We can really win!” Everyone cheers. “As a nation we have become soft in terms of fighting for what we believe in.” He forgot to mention how our educational leaders, especially those in NYC, are working so hard to silence the voices of public school parents, teachers and students. He closes with “we need to ratchet it up.” So many vague statements from all of those on stage.

John Deasey. “This is an issue around courage. We have the skill. How courageous are we going to be? What if 11,000 people descended on LA to demand change.” Hmmm, didn’t LA teachers recently take to the streets to demand what they wanted? Maybe their message isn’t what he wants to hear.
He is now talking about how he needs people to come to LA and work?


Klein is speaking again. He is so well received by this audience. Every time he speaks the crowd responds. Where am I?!

Moderator: “How important is it to drive success in this country, to change parents, educators conception of this fact?” His questions are just plain confusing.

Canada: He is talking about how some people in our country simply accept that some children don’t learn because of poverty. He says he rejects this notion. All from a man who kicked out an entire class of students! The pure arrogance on the stage is hard to stomach. My palms are sweating. How do we counter this? “When any kid comes to me they are going to get an education.” I refer back to my previous statement—his schools also have serious issues with attrition. But this crowd doesn’t see it. How do we bridge these gaps?!
And why don’t his schools fill the empty seats in their schools?



Rhee: “The only issue isn’t parents lack of involvement.”

Moderator: “We see reasons for hope…Joel, what is is going to take to go from the KIPP schools and district school successes to system wide success?”

Klein: “It’s is going to take teachers who understand it isn’t just about good teaching. We cannot have the unions be the monopoly for teachers voice… Teachers need to have their own voice. “ Is he serious? Teachers need to use their voice? Clearly, he means if their voice is the same as his. We in NYC know how little he cared about teacher voice. How many PEP meetings did he preside over where he blatantly ignored the voices of teachers? He silences people who do not agree with him. He does thank the teachers from his new teacher group for speaking up. People are clapping for him again.

I think I have an ulcer.

Deasey: “I am tired of going to schools and hearing people say this is what I need and I am not being heard.” Wow, in just 10 minutes he has completely contradicted himself. He previously said he wanted teachers to have a voice.

Rhee: “ I have not demonized the teachers union. I have been trying to show people that the teachers unions are doing exactly what they are supposed to do.” What planet does she live on? Maybe it’s not really her? Nope, it is. We’ve just moved into the part of the session in which all the speakers are going to contradict themselves
She is plugging Students First, her new organization now, as the solution to the teachers union.

Candada: “ The union’s job is to stop innovation….”

Klein is offering his solutions. Here is what he says:

“First, We have to professionalize teaching and make it respected. We treat teachers like widgets and that isn’t going to work. Last in, first out is a huge problem. Excellence in teaching is the hallmark not senority in education…Second, we must stop monopoly providers. We must insist on choice…Third, we need innovation.”

Respect teachers? When has Klein ever done that? Widgets? He wants teachers and students to be cogs in a machine.

Moderator:  “KIPP schools don’t have the constraints of public schools. How scalable is your approach?”

Dave Levin” “This is the hardest work on the planet…the unit of change for an individual kids life…starts and ends with school…we need as many committed teachers and school leaders as we can get…”

He didn’t answer the question. Perhaps because even he knows that his isn’t a sustainable approach to education.

Moderator: He is closing with a “Ra! Ra! Let’s praise the people on stage. Join their schools and organizations.” These people are creating more educational INEQUITY in the name of equity. I need to redeem my drink tickets stat. 

NEXT SESSION: Randi Weingarten - my ulcer is pulsing in anticipation

Diary of a Mad Retiree, Part 2

If you read my post yesterday, Diary of a Mad Retiree, you are aware that I am in the midst of an insane 5 day period of activity that perfectly coincides with my wife's trip to Cancun. Friday was a blur.

I was awakened this morning to the sounds of cat vomiting - all over the kitchen. Pinky is 19 and a half years old and bowel movements are an adventure - my wife left me strict instructions on how to spike her food to encourage her - we don't want more of those $250 enemas. Now I have to race out to Williamsburg for a final weekend of editing our movie, "The Inconvenient Truth About Waiting for Superman," so this will be brief.

I was truly dead tired when I got home from last night my first Knick game in at least a decade and the follow-up with cousin Danny in a bar. Dan just couldn't seem to understand why a 65 year old guy isn't keeping up with a 27 year old, "But I want you to have fun," he said. I passed on the strip club and went home, falling asleep on the train.

I had left my car parked on Clarkson Street where the Peter Lamphere fundraiser/party was taking place. (Make sure to read Peter's piece at Gotham Schools - see post below this for links). I was so pressed for time I was only able to stay for a short time and just as I was leaving a big GEM crew arrived. About 1 minute into the Knick game I realized I should never have left. I won't be back for another decade.

This was my second trip of the day into the city from Rockaway. I left before 9AM to head up to Harlem to speak at an elementary school that has been invaded by a charter. I met with teachers through 3 lunch hours and then took a tour of the building, seeing first hand the charter/public school mix. This visit requires a separate post all of its own.

After I left the school, I headed downtown to Teachers Unite where we had a great discussion on teacher organizing. So I didn't get back to Rockaway until 4:45, only to have to leave again an hour later for the evening adventures.


____
Check out Norms Notes for a variety of articles of interest: http://normsnotes2.blogspot.com/. And make sure to check out the side panel on right for news bits.

Friday, February 11, 2011

Peter Lamphere on U-Ratings at Gotham

NOTE: See Arthur Goldstein at Huffington on the merits of LIFO

Peter Lamphere

“Merit”? My Experience With Arbitrary U Ratings

As Mayor Bloomberg and Chancellor Cathie Black are pushing to be able to lay off senior teachers on “merit” grounds, my experience at the Bronx High School of Science raises questions about how teachers’ ratings are handed out.

The national education debate has centered on how to increase “teacher quality.” New York City Chancellor Cathie Black, for example, has called for first laying off teachers who were given “unsatisfactory” (U) ratings (along with those in the Absent Teacher Reserve pool). But there are more than a few cases in New York City that make clear that U-ratings are not always an indication of teacher quality, but sometimes are a result of retaliation against whistle-blowers and union activists.
The recent disciplining of Fordham School of the Arts principal Iris Blige for ordering her assistant principals to U-rate teachers whom she had never seen teach reveals a few important things about the DOE’s process of determining merit. First, U ratings can be arbitrarily ordered by a principal. Second, the penalty from the DOE for doing so is a slap on the wrist — a $7,500 fine for Blige, the same amount charged to teachers who used sick days when they were actually on vacation.

I was unfortunate enough to have witnessed this process firsthand at the Bronx High School of Science. In the fall of 2007, the math department welcomed a new assistant principal, Rosemarie Jahoda. Soon, however, we found that the newer teachers in the department were being subjected to a level of scrutiny and paperwork that was excessive. As soon as I spoke up about the issue, which was my responsibility as a member of a UFT consultation committee that met with the principal, I immediately began receiving unjustified disciplinary letters.  These were quickly followed by groundless unsatisfactory lesson observation reports. I had had a spotless teaching record for my entire previous career, including at Bronx Science.

 MORE

Check out Norms Notes for a variety of articles of interest: http://normsnotes2.blogspot.com/. And make sure to check out the side panel on right for news bits.

Diary of a Mad Retiree

When I took my wife to the airport early Wednesday morning for her trip to Cancun - where she reports she spends the day laying by the pool sipping every kind of tropical drink she can lay her hand on and getting massages while I clean up cat vomit and diarrhea, I figured maybe I would spend some time hanging out at home trying to finish "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest" so I could begin the new LeCarre novel. But NOOOO! Trying to match her mini-vacation is turning into as frenzied a period as I've seen all year.

Right now I'm getting ready to leave (I'll have to finish this post when I get back home - if I get back home later) to head up to Harlem where a chapter leader has asked me to be the guest speaker at his union meeting- during all 3 lunch hours which go from 10:30- 2. I'm supposed to talk about the attacks on public school teachers and what we can do about it. I'm just going to tell them to retire. Actually, I have no idea what I'm going to tell them - if anyone actually shows up. I'm not sure people want to give up their lunch hours to listen to me so I'm bringing a book if no one shows. I'll report back on how it went.

From there I have to head back downtown to drop off the stack of cards with every chapter leader in the city - a stack I paid $10 for from the UFT during the elections last year. They make sure not to give you an electronic version, mind you - on purpose of course - but hard copy. But a teacher organization is interested in the info for outreach purposes and has offered to put the names into a spreadsheet. I am glad to get them out of my basement.

Then it's off to Peter Lamphere's fundraiser at 6 in Brooklyn. I wrote about how important this case is and connects to a defense of LIFO:  Support Bronx High School of Science Teacher Harassment Law Suit.

And then surprise of surprises, my wife's cousin Danny called and has an extra ticket for tonight's Knick-Lakers game, my first Knick game in about 10 years. Danny is 27 years old, good looking and single - he joked about dragging me along after the game for fun and frolic. That will be a good excuse for grandpa to head home for some sleep to wake up in time to head to Williamsburg for a weekend of film editing.

Later, I'll go into more detail about my other 4 "mini-vacation" days.

-------
Check out Norms Notes for a variety of articles of interest: http://normsnotes2.blogspot.com/. And make sure to check out the side panel on right for news bits.

Thursday, February 10, 2011

South Bronx School Charter Will be the Cadillac of the Charter Ed Deform Movement

Some love him, some hate him, but no matter where you stand this tour de force piece by SBS captures almost every nuance of the charter ed deform league and will leave you rolling around the floor howling. This school sounds so exciting, I'm coming out of retirement to work there. My job will be to make sure all the parents show up every weekend to clean the floors with toothbrushes and to set up a spy system to make sure there will never be a Parents Association in the school. SBS has given me the additional job of being in charge of Masking Tape. Following the popular Michelle Rhee model of using tape to keep the little buggers from making noise, we expect masking tape to be our most important item, with duct tape as a backup.

I'm cross posting in case they put out a hit on SBS and delete his blog. (And yes I'm jealous that I no longer seem to have the time or energy to put into doing this kind or work.) I just can't understand why we have to wait until Sept. 2012 for this exciting new venture. Can't David Steiner just rubber stamp this and fast track it like he does everything else?

South Bronx School Opens A Charter


When you can't beat them, why not join them?

I have decided that it is time for me to open my own charter school. Why am I doing this? First a little background.

I recall a conversation, or at least it was my dad lecturing me doing my best to tune him out, when I was 13 or 14. I had just gotten in trouble for the umpteenth time in school and he had some words of wisdom to me. He said, "You will never be able to work for someone. You need to be your own boss." Dear old dad was right and that is why I am taking this major step. So come September 2012 I will be running my own charter school.

I have chosen a name for my charter school. It will be known as The South Bronx Academy for Implied and Perceived Excellence. The school will start in the Kindergarten and first grade with 100 students, and eventually go up to fifth grade.

There will be only one "teacher" per grade. The reason for this is I want to model a setting in which all the great colleges have. A lecture hall. A study was done in the early 70's at SUNY-Geneseo that students in colleges in which offer classes in which a large amount of students sit in a large lecture hall with one instructor improve their grades .00567834%. It will also allow me to save money on staff and more of the outside funding and Title I money can find a way to my pocket.

Each classroom, or lecture hall will be named after the colleges of the teachers, or as we will say at SBAIPE, "lecturers." This will boost the self esteem of the 5 and 6 year old children and prepare them for college. And I forgot to mention. My students will be not known as students or scholars, but rather as drones. Since I have already hired two staff members, the names of the lecture halls will be Mercy College and Monroe College.

I am planning to co-locate the school and once we find space every conceivable action will be taken to keep the troglodytes of the school we are taking over, ooops, I meant, the school we are sharing, to have any interaction with the wonderful boys and girls of my school. Thanks to a grant from the Walton Foundation I have already hired XE Services, formerly known as Blackwater to head up security.

There will be armed guards at the steel reinforced doors that lead to my charter school. Also, Jersey barriers will be put in place and a secondary system of barbed wire. Not to worry. The guards will be instructed to shoot on site any violators that try to infiltrate SBAIPE.

The typical day will begin at 7 15 AM. At this point the drones will be taken, by force if necessary, from their parents, or rather as what we will call them at SBAIPE, suckers. At this point all drones will stand at attention in the outside common area and await my entrance on the balcony. I will festoon the drones on how wonderful a person I am because while I could have gone elsewhere and made a salary of $855K, I decided to be their leader for $450K. After my speech to the drones in praise of me our venerable headmaster, who will be no older than 25, will be required to give high fives and elbow bumps to each and every child.

At 8 15 in the morning the drones will report to the reeducation center, not a lecture hall, where they will be shown slide shows of how they are expected to act, along with the accompanying subliminal messages, while Wagner is playing loudly on the speakers. During this hour, the lecturers will be preparing and deep in conference with one another ready to drill the students, getting them ready for the day when their state exams come in 3rd grade.

Drone will be taught to walk in line in a cadence or goosestepping. At no time will the students be allowed to walk off the line. In class, drones will be outfitted with blinders on so they can keep their eyes on their lecturer at all times.

There will be no play time, or independent time. All it will be is test prep straight through until the end of the day at 6 PM. Once at home, the drones will turn on the specially installed home monitoring cameras so I can make sure that their test prep homework is being done.

If a child acts out of line, or worse, shows independent thought, a rapid response team from XE Services will repel into the "lecture hall" and remove that child from class and be sent to the behavioral study center in which an obedience chip will be installed insuring ever lasting conformity.

There will be no desks. Desks cost money. There will be no lunch provided. Lunch must be provided by the suckers. Pencils, paper, and other material also must be provided by the suckers. This is a for profit school.

There will be a dean of students to assist me and the headmaster. In all probability, and if he lives until 2012, it will be my 81 year old Uncle Sol. Uncle Sol, will be assisted by a staff of 5, including he wife, Aunt Sylvia.

My mission is to have outsiders think that my school is the best school ever. That I am to be thought of as some type of deity.

So why am I doing this? Why will I be making the ultimate sacrifice? Isn't it obvious? Who else but a white, Jewish, male from the NYC suburbs lead little boys and girls of color? I, just by my pedigree, know what is best and know that I am the example they have all been waiting for.

From Parents Across America - New Orleans Nightmare

Choice really means: 
"Schools choose [students] and parents and children lose. We really don't have choice."

PAA's Karran Harper Royal at the inaugural PAA event on Monday night share her experiences with the ed deform privatization scheme in New Orleans where choice turns out to be between KIPP and KIPP.

"Charter schools' solution to school improvement is to change our students."
"The principal became a CEO and her salary went from about $80,000 to $250 thousand."

See our future under ed deform, when public schools only exist for students unwanted by charters, in all its glory.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7-an30xLS8




Afterburn

Fascinating experiences of TFA novice in the Bronx  at EdWeek.

A must see! Make sure to watch the video as well as read the transcript.

Friday, February 11th, 6pm - Support Bronx High School of Science Teacher Harassment Law Suit

THIS CAN BE A SIGNIFICANT LAWSUIT.
YOU CAN'T SEPARATE THE PETER LAMPHERE CASE FROM THE BATTLE OVER LIFO.

Unfortunately, the UFT doesn't go there.

AS LONG AS ONE EVEN ONE TEACHER IS U-RATED FOR POLITICAL REASONS ALL U RATINGS BECOME SUSPECT. DOE POLICY SUPPORTING ANYTHING EVERY PRINCIPAL DOES MAKES IT HARDER TO REMOVE TEACHERS WHO MIGHT BE INCOMPETENT.

HOPE TO SEE YOU FRIDAY OR SEND A CONTRIBUTION


Former Bronx High School of Science chapter leader and math teacher Peter Lamphere received U ratings as retaliation for the role he played as union rep. Outrageous one would say. I was told by a teacher who was mentored by Peter that he is one of the best. That teacher was also forced out of Bronx High but landed at one of the top schools in the city. Peter should be the poster boy for why Last In First Out should be defended with every ounce of energy. He is suing the DOE and I hope the Principal of Bronx High. Peter is holding 2 fundraisers, today in the Bronx and next week in Brooklyn (I'm going to that one.) If you can't make it you can donate online.


I'll keep my mouth shut about a union allows chapter leaders to be attacked which undermines the union at its root level and instead works out deals to arrange a transfer to a small school, thus in the process also removing an opposition chapter leader from a large school. Ooops! It slipped out.

Defend Teachers Against Harassment


A teacher holds a sign at a June 2010 picket near Mayor Bloomberg’s house about the Bronx Science case

Help raise funds for a lawsuit to reverse Peter Lamphere’s unfair U rating. Come to one of two fundraising parties:


Friday, February 11th, 6pm
40 Clarkson Ave., Apt. 4K, Brooklyn (B/Q to Parkside)

On April 16th of last year, fact finder Carol Wittenberg found that the teachers of the Bronx Science math department were harassed by their supervisor. These twenty teachers (in a department of twenty-two) filed a special harassment complaint in 2008, because of repeated incidents in which the Assistant Principal had reduced teachers to tears, criticized them in front of their students, and even at one point called a teacher “disgusting” in a meeting. This bullying was combined with unjustified disciplinary actions against the staff—all the untenured teachers who signed the complaint were forced to leave within a year—and now only seven of the original twenty still teach at Bronx Science. Nevertheless, the Department of Education continues to defend the indefensible actions of its administrators, sustaining a retaliatory unsatisfactory rating in 2008 against then UFT Delegate (and later Chapter Leader) Peter Lamphere.

Join the struggle against arbitrary and capricious decisions by supervisors.

While the national conversation focuses on questions of “teacher quality”—the actions by principals retaliating against whistle-blowers and union activists goes unscrutinized. These actions lead to high turnover and difficult working conditions at our schools, even at nationally acclaimed institutions like the Bronx High School of Science. A legal victory in this case will send a message to teachers everywhere that their rights can be defended against abusive management.

Checks to assist with legal actions can be made out to the Teacher's Defense Fund, and mailed to 305 E. 140th St. #5A, Bronx, NY 10454. Donations are not tax-deductible.
Donate online at http://defendteachers.bbnow.org/