The Wave: Hey Bob Turner! Where’s MY Tax Credit?

Appearing in the print edition, March 16, 2012, www.rockawave.com

By Norm Scott

I was heartened to read in the March 9 edition of The Wave that our soon to be ex-Congressman and future Senator Bob Turner was pushing the idea of a $5000 direct tax credit for any parent paying parochial or private school tuition. In a spirit of religious harmony, leaders of both Yeshivas and Catholic Schools jumped on the bandwagon in supporting the bill. The Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Taosists, Shintoists and Voduns (Voodoo) can’t be far behind. Who can resist the entitlement money tree, especially when it comes out of our taxes? Didn’t Republican District Leader Joan Deacy brag about how Turner has sponsored 30 pro-business bills? This one should be a real winner. (I tried to count the number of bills Turner sponsored that support unions or people who don’t own businesses but haven’t come up with any yet. But I’m sure they’re coming.) I join both of them in supporting the concept of “choice”, especially when it comes to public services.

My sanitation guys do a great job but they come Tuesdays and Fridays. I really prefer Mondays and Wednesdays. I was about to sell my house and buy a home on a street with those pickup days but thanks to Bob Turner and that tax credit I can have my choice of a private carting firm which will come any days I want. Boy, do I love this choice thingie.

I know how overworked the police are in Rockaway and I’d feel more secure if I could hire a private security firm to assure my safety. Thanks for the five grand Bob.
And then there’s the fire department, which is no closer to my house than a mile. I want a fire engine on my block full-time. That five grand will certainly help when I get all my neighbors to sign on to the tax credit idea and we pool our money. We might even be able to afford a truck with a ladder.

And then there’s all those countries my taxes have paid for to invade and occupy, certainly not my top pick in nations to invade. My choice is to invade Luxembourg. But five thousand will only go so far. So I need help in financing the invasion. If we can get lots of people together Bob has promised to deliver on those tax credits. I’m already loading the kayaks.

But education is where there is gold in them thar hills. I might as well jump in myself by opening a school aimed at teaching children not to believe in religion: The Academy for a Godless Education (AGE). Shouldn’t atheists have choices too? And if I can’t get a tax credit I can always go the charter school route where I can get $1500 for every child I recruit. What me worry about separation of church and state? I have people like Bob Turner and every single potential Republican nominee for president to back me up.

I wanted to join Rick Santorum in a vomit fest when I read Howie Schwach's critique in The Wave last week of Santorum’s being sickened over John F. Kennedy’s guarantee in 1960 that he would not impose his Catholic faith on the rest of America. OK, so I’m a Jewish atheist. But if Santorum is elected and redresses Kennedy’s blasphemous statement, I’ll convert. Twice.

Before I invade Luxembourg (the reason is we once spent two days in 1978 in a hotel over a bar where the noise kept us up half the night), Chris Pavone, the son of one of my best friends Vera Pavone, has written a very hot spy novel, “The Expats”, based in that tiny nation. The book got a wonderful review by Janet Maslin on this week’s NY Times. The story is about a CIA agent who gives up her job to become a stay at home mom when her husband, who knows nothing of her past life, gets a high paying job in Luxembourg and they move there with their two children. In real life, Chris was that “mom” when his wife got a job and they moved with their twin boys. So Chris got to know a lot more about Luxembourg than he wanted to. Out of his boredom came a great novel.

I've known Chris since he was 3 years old. His mom and I have been part of educator activists groups for over 40 years. Chris survived endless ed-political meetings throughout his childhood and lived up to his guarantee he would never become a teacher, (his brother has become a NYC teacher). Chris is back in NYC and a public school parent. How about a novel about a CIA agent who becomes a member of the PTA in the WalBloomBlackKlein era and discovers that closing schools and privatizing the entire public school system is part of an international Al Qaeda plot?

When Norm is not coming up with schemes to steal money from the evil government he blogs at ednotesonline.com.

Desparate Measures From Bloomberg to Hire New Teachers: Loan Reimbursement

If you are not already NYSED-certified, there are several ways to obtain certification.  ---NYCDOE Office of Teacher Recruitment and ---cough, cough -- Quality.

Amongst the "several ways to obtain certification" if you are not NYSED certified:

• Walk Walcott's dog.
• Spend a week sweeping the steps at Tweed.
• Hand in a 30 word essay on why you want to close the achievement gap. (If you can't manage 30 we'll take 10).

With the economy improving, Bloomberg's threat to close 33 high schools, along with the other school closings and replace the teachers with newbies may be running into a recruitment snag, showing some desperation in the offer to repay as much as $25,000 in student loans.

Bloomberg in drag

Connect this to the Cuomo attack on pensions --- work till you are 95 to get a pension  – it is really irrelevant how long they make newbies work since there is no intention of having to pay any teacher pensions given that 50% --- going up, up, up – will leave before 5 years. And the rest? Ta, da – doomed to TDR hell.

We first heard of the offer of a loan rebate of sorts when I got a call from an outraged ATR on Monday morning who had just seen an ad on the A train. She called again this morning asking why the union was sitting idly by and not raising the issue.

La di da.What's the problem with adding a few more thousand ATRs who will play musical schools all year? The UFT will get double or triple dues (2 newbies plus the ATR they replace). Expect an upgrade to the food served at Exec Bd meetings.

Here is the email Leonie sent out with the real story:

Mayor Bloomberg recently announced that top tier graduates may be eligible for a total of $25,000 toward student loan repayment.

http://www.idealist.org/view/job/n6zcMHN2n3H4/

Teaching Positions in New York City

Posted on: March 12, 2012
Posted by: NYC Department of Education Office of Teacher Recruitment & Quality

More / LessDescription

Teaching in New York City
The New York City Department of Education is looking for bright, motivated, and dedicated teachers who are prepared to be inspiring leaders in their classroom and raise achievement for every student. With over 1,700 schools and 1.1 million students, New York City provides endless opportunities for teachers, whether you are beginning or continuing your teaching career. Nowhere else in the country will you have so much potential to meaningfully impact your students and your professional career.
Our schools, ranging in size from 200 to 4,000 students, each provide a unique educational experience for students and teachers alike. From Coney Island to Midtown Manhattan to the South Bronx, NYC schools span an immense geographic area, leaving you with countless school communities to find a home. Many schools are theme-based, with specializations ranging from technology to the performing arts to sports management. With New York City schools’ partnerships with more than 200 arts and cultural organizations, our teachers have access to resources and institutions unmatched anywhere else.
The New York City public schools are committed to the promise of delivering educational opportunity to all students and have embarked on an innovative initiative to raise the bar of academic instruction. As a teacher in New York City public schools, you will be a key player in this exciting and fulfilling endeavor.
To view our online Info Session on teaching in New York City, please click here.
Compensation and Benefits
We understand how vital an outstanding teacher is to the development and success of every child, which is why our teachers earn competitive starting salaries ranging from $45,530 to $74,796 based on prior teaching experience as well as their undergraduate and graduate education.
As a New York City teacher, you may be eligible for additional income through a wide array of incentives and school positions that will stretch and challenge you as an educator as well as offer additional compensation. For example, Mayor Bloomberg recently announced that top tier graduates may be eligible for a total of $25,000 toward student loan repayment.
Additionally, teachers in New York City are entitled to competitive retirement and health benefits as well as employee discounts on a variety of goods and services.
Requirements
To apply to teach in New York City, candidates must first meet the following requirements:

• Meet requirements for a New York State Department of Education (NYSED) teaching certification. If you are not already NYSED-certified, there are several ways to obtain certification.

• Complete an online teacher application at TeachNYC.net

Afterburn
Did you see this one a Gotham Schools?
New test security office formed after state audit details faults

 Ed Notes has learned that former DC Supt Michelle Rhee and former Atlanta Supt Beverly Hall have been placed in charge of the office which will be managed by the consultant firm of Alvarez and Marcal.

Refining the Message: Obama and Bloomberg and the UFT and CTU

My version of Bob, Carol, Ted, Alice.

Some good points from Arjun Janah based on the recent lunch between Obama and Bloomberg. Unfortunately the people battling ed deform don't have anywhere to go in the presidential election --- and don't expect things to change. Arjun also points to Cuomo who was supported by the UFT and NYSUT. Listen, government will always be against labor. With a waffling union where else can one go?

Now Chicago is where there is some real action. While the results may be the same in terms of closing schools, charter co-locos, etc. the Chicago Teachers Union is engaging in a battle that might have long-term effects. I imagine that in the 2013 election, the powers that be will do everything they can to support whatever remnants of the old Unity-like Caucus exists (and I won't be shocked if Randi and her crew are nervous about the difference between the CTU and the rest of the AFT). Below Arjun's points I'm including some comments from George Schmidt on what is going on in Chicago.

George makes the point that the CTU has linked all the struggles to each other along with the community while the UFT here has kept each school basically apart. At most they plan venting sessions. (John Dewey HS Leads Opposition at Meeting With Elaine Gorman).

Note the borough events like today --- separate actions with even the Queens one turning into a press conference. The UFT without a true fight back strategy has been left floundering (some of the 33 schools are organizing by themselves.)

The main point in teaming these together is that a major reliance on political action given the state of the two parties on ed deform is a distraction. At least until we can bring an enormous number of people to the table to bargain with. The UFT reliance on back-room deals is a dead end for rank and file teachers though as I point out it is not a dead end for the leadership and their cadre as the difference between the Democrats and Republicans is that the latter wants to wipe out unions completely while the former just wants to neuter them and use them to control the members to keep militancy at bay. Thus, the Dems will concede a few minor things when faces with some pushback, which in my mind makes them infinitely more dangerous.

By the way, since I posted this Occupy DOE: Educators Stand Up to Murdoch's NY Post - March 22, 5PM I've been getting some responses from rank and filers asking to post the pdf in their school.


Arjun Janah

While Santorum and Gingrich appear to appeal directly to the insane sections of society, and Romney shamelessly caters to the same to get elected, you can see that Obama belongs, owing to his associations and supporters, in the same bracket as Bloomberg, who is viewed, correctly in relative terms, in much of the country and even in New York, as a moderate, with political views not that far from Obama's -- or his secretary Duncan's, who presided over the attack against the union and the dismantling of the public schools in Chicago, much as Klein did here, only far more fiercely and with even more disastrous results.

What teachers who have attained relatively high salaries and, with spouses also working, attained upper middle class status, do not realize is that they are in the same class, basically, as security guards, custodians and other public workers. The custodians unions' will also be dealt with, but with delay -- as they are, over here, predominantly white and the teachers present a far more visible target at present. Our degrees are of little use against the attack, which is from both Republican and Democratic quarters, although clearly fiercer from the former. Look, however, at Cuomo -- whose views were, by the way, clear before he got elected, endorsed by the NY Post. Obama's views on teachers were also clear before he got elected, for anyone who was paying attention. His views are not crude or pandering like those of Gingrich and Santorum, but informed by those of the educated, affluent class with which he has been associated and from whom he has drawn financial and logistic support.

Oprah, an enthusiastic supporter of Obama's initial campaign, also later supported Kathy Black as she had, I believe, Michelle Rhee and Arne Duncan. The affluent elite among the African Americans have aligned with the affluent liberal whites on issues that they see in a positive light but we who have closer acquaintance with the reality do not. In a recent article in the NY Times on the alleged budgetary crises in many municipalities in NY State, with many now borrowing from pension funds

to meet current expenses (boding very badly for folks like us), I was shocked at the tenor of the comments, which basically were mostly in the vein,

"Just don't pay the pensions. Why should public workers have pensions when the private sector does not? It's the unions ripping of the taxpayers. It's time to stop this."

You and I may have arguments against this faulty logic -- but this appears to be the general view, not among readers of the NY Post, by the way, but among those of the NY Times.

Arjun

George Schmidt responding on the relative role of community fightback in relation to the role the CTU has played.

Don't underestimate the role of the CTU in building these links. Without the election victory we won in 2010 and the program the union leadership is committed to, most of these individual school struggles, no matter how heroic, would be unlinked. The difference between this year and years past in the school Hit List fight, despite the fact that the Board of Education again approved the Hit List at its February 22 meeting, is the leadership of the Chicago Teachers Union. That cannot be downplayed, and there may be a tendency to overemphasize the "community" and de-emphasize the union. That would be historically inaccurate and a significant political mistake.

Teacher Data Reports: The 99% Strike Back

From a Bronx teacher:

Hi all,

Recently data reports for thousands of NYC teachers were released.  I have organized a group of teachers who were ranked in the 99th percentile to come out against the data and its publication.

GothamSchools published two pieces about our efforts.  Would take a few minutes to read the articles to which I've provided links?  If you are able, please help get the word out by Tweeting, Facebooking, Liking, +1ing and whatever the heck else people do?  The more who read it, the better chance my group has of getting more signatures.

http://gothamschools.org/2012/03/14/teachers-campaign-against-system-that-gave-them-high-scores/trackback/

http://gothamschools.org/2012/03/14/measuring-my-value/trackback/

Thank you.

Video: Bronx Satellite Academy Pushes Back Against ROADS Charter Invasion

 Video and text by Angel Gonzalez.



http://youtu.be/J9ZbgXQYwdg

ROADS II CHARTER SCHOOL CO-LOCATION PUSHES INTO THE BRONX. WILL DISRUPT SATELLITE ACADEMY HIGH SCHOOL
YET NO COMMUNITY INPUT!

Another Charter School CO-LOCATION looms for the South Bronx and immediately threatens the very existence of our good innovative public high school, Satellite Academy (SA).

As usual, the callous Bloomberg's Department of Education (DOE), without any input of our parents, students, staff and Bronx communities, moves impose the ROADS II Charter School into the Bronx Regional High School Building complex where the three schools already exist (i.e. Bronx Regional, GED Plus, and Satellite Academy).

Without community input, the DOE arrogantly claims that ROADS II Charter School will have no educational impact. This is an insult our community's intelligence! The placement of hundreds more high needs students will have negative consequences on all the schools housed in the Bronx Regional High School complex. This is simple math.

All three high schools already serve a high needs Latino & Black student population from our least mobilized neighborhoods. All students in the Bronx Regional Building are transfer students -- over-age, under-credited and many formerly drop-outs. ROADS II aims to serve the same population that SA already serves while at the same time would take away 47% of SA's classroom space!

There is no need for the offerings of the ROADS II charter school. Satellite Academy already exists with a proven track record and offers a far more superior program with an experienced staff that has successfully served transfer students. SA implements a reputable collaborative project/ portfolio learning process that engages students, and has a State-approved Waiver to support its non-Regents-tests-based approach.

ROADS II CHARTER, with the private backing of an outside Wall St. profit driven firm, Centerbridge Partners, comes from outside the Bronx community and promises an questionable computer-based method (promising 15 students per class, ROADS II will instead host 25 students per class where teachers work with small groups while the rest will be placated on computers) and teach-to-test curriculum with a focus on Regents exams. ROADS thus will provide more of the same old methods that contributed to the alienation and pushing out of "transfer" students in the first place. Test-driven teaching negatively impacts on learning.

By adding more students into the Bronx Regional building and segregating these needier students into ROADS II, what results is overcrowding and heightened tensions between four, instead of three schools that all already service very high need students. Instead of using available spaces to promote smaller class sizes, this crowding can result in a negative climate that will beg for demeaning metal detectors, surveillance cameras and the police interventions. The co-location of the ROADS II Charter School is an invitation for unwarranted competition, disharmony and disruption.

The Bronx Regional campus is extra-ordinary in that it is one of the few Bronx high school buildings that to date has no such prison-like scanning, stop & frisk protocols. Instead has a generally more student friendly and welcoming atmosphere. In fact, it holds no scanning as a building-wide policy!

SA classrooms are welcoming with rich learning and decorated environments (a family school atmosphere rarely seen at the high school level). Make an unannounced visit to SA and a respectful low-volume demeanor of the staff will blow you away. The ROADS II co-location would force the doubling-up of teachers and the dismantling of such a wonderful model school that all students deserve.

If more students must be placed here, the public believes that Satellite Academy should be expanded and this fourth unnecessary competing school, the private ROADS II CHARTER, should not be accepted. Its impact can only be negative for all programs at the site.

The ROADS II CHARTER, as many charters do in the interests of savings and profits, will introduce instability in its staffing by:

• Hiring younger lower paid inexperienced teachers and staff who will be compensated with less overall benefits (e.g. medical, pension, vacation, tenure).
• Denying labor rights. Charters are generally union-busters and provide either no contracts or few rights and regulations to protect their school workers.
• Demanding longer workdays and longer school years.
Evidence has shown that a staff that is lower-paid and overworked has resulted in charters having a high rate of attrition. A high rate of turnaround for faculty and staff is obviously not in the best interests of our students, schools or communities.

www.savesatellite.blogspot.com
betterbronxschools@gmail.com


========
Eva's husband Eric Grannis invades Williamsburg with new charter chain.
Read the community response:
http://www.williamsburggreenpointschools.org/truth-about-charters/citizensoftheworldcharternewyork

Warning to Staff: Walk Through – Not Friendly

This message was sent out to a school staff at one of the 33 closing schools.

Subject: Walk Through--Not Friendly

Deputy Chancellor Mark Sternberg and his assistant will be visiting for a few hours. This is not a ‘friendly’ visit. They are looking for mistakes. They will come across as ‘nice’ and as ‘your best friend’ but they are wolves in sheep’s clothing. Be sure that your class is rigorous, engaged, active, differentiated. Classroom walls should have current artifacts (or at least take down anything older than Fall 2011). I will try to let you know where they will be and when but no guarantee.

I know schools are praying these shits will find something that will keep the school open. But Sternberg is a ghoul in the tradition of John White. What I would do is slam every door in their faces and refuse to cooperate. What I want so see is them running from the school with rotten fruit raining down on their heads. It won't do any good in keeping the school open but it sure will make people feel good and regain some self-respect.

You know in British Columbia every teacher refused to fill out report cards. There has to be some action of mass refusal that will not allow Tweed to do business as usual in a comfortable manner. But without a union to organize these actions the wolves in sheep's clothing will continue to lead the sheep to the slaughter. My question is, are our union leaders also wolves in sheep's clothing?

John Dewey HS Leads Opposition at Meeting With Elaine Gorman

March 13, 2012
 

John Dewey HS teacher-created button. Email for copy.

Last night the UFT and Brooklyn Borough Pres Marty Markowitz set up a venting meeting with Elaine Gorman. Call it damage control on the part of the DOE and the UFT. I still believe some deal will be in the works to keep a few of the schools open. On what basis? Let's see now. The big ticket item for the UFT is Maxwell HS which got an A. And note that is the base of UFT District HS Rep/Slug Charlie Turner. Maxwell is a strong Unity school and if any school is off the chopping block that will be it. John Dewey has the biggest pushback with the most publicity and also a Unity chapter leader. Could that be the ticket for them?

In the meantime, Tweed is advertising for new teachers to replace the ones who won't be hired and pushed into the ATR pool (I got a message from an ATR yesterday livid at the subway ads). Imgine the scenario: newbies taking over for experienced teachers in schools that are difficult to start with while the experienced teachers go into the ATR pool at enormous cost. While Tweed and the NY Post rail against this outrage, they still have to pay them. Imagine the next step: threatening layoffs and high class sizes due to the ATR situation.

Here is a report from a John Dewey teacher who was at the meeting last night:

Brooklyn schools that would undergo the "turnaround" model were invited to Brooklyn Borough Hall on Tuesday evening by Marty Markowitz to gain information about the proposed turnaround model from Elaine Gorman, the executive director of school turnarounds for the Department of Education.

Markowitz started the meeting by stating that Ms. Gorman has come voluntarily and that while the audience may disagree with the DOE, as he does, they should remain respectful. Markowitz introduced the Brooklyn UFT officials as fierce fighters on behalf of the students of New York City for decades. Although Markowitz did not stay for the entire meeting, his aide led the proceeding for much of the evening. Teams representing individual schools spoke at the microphone.

Highlights from the meeting:

Markowitz : "I do not get it" in reference to breaking up large high schools for smaller ones. "I am for a modification of mayoral control and a better way to select a chancellor."

Elaine Gorman : " I was eager for the opportunity to work with "turnaround" schools. The work appeals to me so that I can help improve education in this city."

Significant John Dewey H.S. representation in this packed hall. About 150 Deweyites in the room.

Automotive HS student: "We need stable leadership in our school. Getting rid of our teachers will accomplish nothing."

IS166 teacher: "Stand by what you say. We were supposed to be involved with the transformation model for three years. We are making significant progress. Why change the model now?"

John Dewey HS student: "We are attached to our teachers. Losing our teachers will be devastating to our school."

Sheepshead Bay teacher: "We work our butts off at Sheepshead Bay. The problem is not with the teachers. Many of our students have significant needs and we are doing great work with them."

Bushwick Transfer HS teacher: "The accountability system is flawed. That is why we are on the PLA list. Rather than focus on targeting the teachers, fix your flawed system."

Maxwell HS was in attendance with the letter A raised high over the heads of their contingent. They received an A on their recent progress report from the DOE.

Anthony Sclafani UFT district rep: "None of this makes educational sense. Schools are being closed by a narcissistic, vindictive, bloodsucking mayor. Shame on everyone in Tweed who drank the Koolaid and went back for another sip because it tasted so sweet." He then shouted "Free THE 33" as the entire hall erupted in "Free The 33" in response.

The evening ended with members of the audience asking Gorman questions. Most significant one: "Is anything that any of us stated here tonight going to really make a difference or is this a sham just like the PEP will be?"

Also see Rachel's tweets at Gotham Schools.
Use https://twitter.com/#!/search/%23turnaround.

Another Casualty of Co-location: SAVE Rooms

This was sent by a Manhattan teacher in a co-located school that has been ravaged by an invading charter. What, no SAVE rooms? Charters don't need no stinck'n SAVE rooms since they toss kids who might need a SAVE room right back to the public school.

Look where they hid the SAVE room!

In addition to all the negatives we hear, an unrecognized degrading aspect of charter co-locations that has hitherto seemed to slip under the radar: the impossibility of maintaining a SAVE room in co-located schools despite the fact that schools are legally mandated to do just that.

From the UFT website:

It is very important that all members are familiar with the SAVE legislation that governs safety and orderliness in New York's public schools. SAVE stands for Schools Against Violence in Education and is the legislation that mandates school safety plans. These plans must incorporate all of the components of the SAVE legislation including normal procedures, emergency procedures, student removal processes, and detailed processes for handling students who are significantly disruptive and interfering with the education of their peers.
http://www.uft.org/our-rights/save-legislation

Increasingly my school is deals with suspended students and students who need to be removed by warehousing them in other teacher's rooms, an offense to the warehoused student, the teacher who’s forced to warehouse him other and the other students in the class. In effect, classrooms become suspension centers. But where to put them? The law states there must be a SAVE room or an equivalent but how do you do so when a charter school has been granted every room it can grab?

Where and how are you to implement legislation when there is no room to do so? So, along with music, art, ESL and more, charter schools are robbing DOE schools of the ability to follow the law and (again) provide needy kids with meaningful instruction. It seems to me that the loss of the SAVE room should added to the litany of legitimate grievances we already have against charters and brought to the attentions of the author of the bill in Albany. Both students and teachers deserve nothing less.

A Manhattan Teacher

Exclusive Video - PS 261 Parents, Teachers, Students Confront Success Academy

NY 1 covered the story on March 2 but the clip disappeared  after 2 days, supposedly due to pressure from Success Academy according to a source.

Parents and teachers at Public School 261 Philip Livingston, a popular Boerum Hill elementary school, have been trying to get Success Academy people to stop handing out fliers in front of their school during dismissal. The network is known to be an aggressive marketer — it blankets neighborhoods with fliers, and subway stations with posters — but P.S. 261 parents and teachers saw it as poaching.
---Schoolbook

 See Schoolbook:  In Cobble Hill, Continued Resistance to New Charters



http://youtu.be/mYdTI_e3UqQ

=======
On another note, this from Leonie:

See how DOE is hiring a manager to recruit new teachers in their 33 “turnaround” --  to focus on new recruiting candidates who are inexperienced and uncertified.  TFA here we come; while thousands of experienced teachers will be excessed.

The Recruitment Programs team, within TRQ, manages the recruitment and selection of diverse, talented individuals who are not yet certified teachers to make a difference in the NYC classrooms that need them most.  In partnership with key stakeholders, the Recruitment Programs team designs and supports cohort model programs that prepare teachers to raise student achievement as early as possible in their careers.

Need a laugh? Look who is chosen to investigate Rhee cheating scandal in DC

Remember the Winerip article on Arne Duncan and Michelle Rhee (Winerip Slams Duncan for Rhee Connection) and how buddy buddy they are in the midst of an investigation in the Rhee cheating scandal? Well lookie, lookie on the company picked to cover up -- er - investigate.

How much money did Joel Klein funnel to A&M? How about them destroying the St. Louis public schools? New Orleans?

See ed notes on A and M:

Ed Notes Online: Alvarez and Marsal of St. Louis, NY, New Orleans ...

Jan 13, 2008

Though the contract with Alvarez and Marsal under William J. Roberti and Karen Marsal here in St. Louis was for $5 million, I recall it exceeding that amount and totaling near $11 million--this in a city where the mayor accused ...

Ed Notes Online: A Parable

Jun 30, 2007

Feeling a more professional study with statistics was in order, Klein hired the Alvarez and Marsal consulting company, paying $15 million for a second opinion. Their conclusion: too many people were steering the boat, while ...

What GF Brandenburg gets wrong here is calling A&M unqualified. In fact they are perfectly qualified to do what they do best: minimize the damage of the cheating scandal and protect Rhee.

GFBrandenburg's Blog

An Off The Record Briefing By DCPS On Hiring An Unqualified Firm to “Detect” (?hide?) Cheating

Success Charter Attempt to eliminate its at-risk admissions priority for applicants attending failing schools.

Success wants to change its charter after the PEP vote:
"Eliminate its at-risk admissions priority for applicants attending failing schools."

And weak-kneed SUNY authorizers will go along. Note the hearing will be in a place hard to get at the old IS 33. Why doesn't the NY Times do some FOILing of Success?

Apparently now that Success has been rubber-stamped by the PEP the network is now pursuing small changes to it's charter to market its schools more effectively. 

The first two Success schools will go from being named Brooklyn Success 1 and 2 to Success Academy BEDSTUY 1 and Success Academy BEDSTUY 2. 

Meanwhile the Success school at MS 50 will be named Success Academy WILLIAMSBURG. 

While this change seems inconsequential it really isn't because at this hearing Success is also looking to do the following:

"Eliminate its at-risk admissions priority for applicants attending failing schools."

If that's not disturbing enough, the hearing for making these changes is going to be held FAR AWAY from MS 50 at the first Success school in Bedstuy located at 70 Tompkins Avenue on March 19 at 5pm. 

This should be brought up at tomorrow's meeting and brainstorm how we are going to respond to the continued blatant disrespect of our community's right to have control of our educational system.

Regards,

---

From: Office of Public Affairs [mailto:OPA@schools.nyc.gov]
Sent: Wed 3/7/2012 1:20 PM
To: Office of Public Affairs
Subject: NYC DOE: Public Hearing re: Success Academies in CSD 14

Notice of Public Hearing
	Date:	Monday, March 19, 2012
	Time:	Speaker Registration: 5:30 PM – 6:00 PM Presentation, Comments, and Questions: 6:00 PM
	Location:	Brooklyn Success Academy 1 70 Tompkins Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11206

Event :

This public hearing is open to anyone interested in learning about the following charter revisions for schools located in Community School District 14.                           Brooklyn Success Academy Charter School 1 Name of Charter School Brooklyn Success Academy Charter School 1 Terms and Dates of Charter First Charter:  11/16/2010 – 11/15/2015 Current Grade(s) and Approved Enrollment Fiscal Year 2011-2012:  Grades: K-1:  188 students Current Year of Operation 2011-2012:  1st Year of Operation District of Location NYC CSD 14 Proposed Charter Revision The charter school education corporation proposes to change its corporate name to "Success Academy Charter School - Bed-Stuy 1" and to modify its at-risk design admissions factors to include a variable set-aside for English language learners ("ELLs"), which would be set at 20 percent of the incoming class for the 2012-13 school year, and thereafter be based on several factors including, but not limited to, an evaluation of the New York City School District's and the surrounding CSDs' ELL percentages, either current or from the previous school year, and/or an analysis of the ELL percentages of students enrolled at the school, with a view toward achieving ELL enrollment comparable to the enrollment figures for ELLs in the School District.  The school would also eliminate its at-risk admissions priority for applicants attending failing schools. This school is authorized by the SUNY Charter Schools Institute. More information can be accessed at: http://www.newyorkcharters.org/ . Brooklyn Success Academy Charter School 2 Name of Charter School Brooklyn Success Academy Charter School 2 Terms and Dates of Charter First Charter:  9/13/2011 – 9/12/2016 Current Grade(s) and Approved Enrollment Fiscal Year 2011-2012: Grades:  School opens in 2012-2013 school year Current Year of Operation 2011-2012:  School opens in 2012-2013 school year District of Location NYC CSD 14 Proposed Charter Revision The charter school education corporation proposes to change its corporate name to "Success Academy Charter School - Bed-Stuy 2" and to modify its at-risk design admissions factors to include a variable set-aside for English language learners ("ELLs"), which would be set at 20 percent of the incoming class for the 2012-13 school year, and thereafter be based on several factors including, but not limited to, an evaluation of the New York City School District's and the surrounding CSDs' ELL percentages, either current or from the previous school year, and/or an analysis of the ELL percentages of students enrolled at the school, with a view toward achieving ELL enrollment comparable to the enrollment figures for ELLs in the School District.  The school would also eliminate its at-risk admissions priority for applicants attending failing schools. This school is authorized by the SUNY Charter Schools Institute. More information can be accessed at: http://www.newyorkcharters.org/ . Brooklyn Success Academy Charter School 4 Name of Charter School Brooklyn Success Academy Charter School 4 Terms and Dates of Charter First Charter:  9/13/2011 – 9/12/2016 Current Grade(s) and Approved Enrollment Fiscal Year 2011-2012:  Grades:  School opens in 2012-2013 school year Current Year of Operation 2011-2012:  School opens in 2012-2013 school year District of Location NYC CSD 14 Proposed Charter Revision The charter school education corporation proposes to change its corporate name to "Success Academy Charter School - Williamsburg" and to modify its at-risk design admissions factors to include a variable set-aside for English language learners ("ELLs"), which would be set at 20 percent of the incoming class for the 2012-13 school year, and thereafter be based on several factors including, but not limited to, an evaluation of the New York City School District's and the surrounding CSDs' ELL percentages, either current or from the previous school year, and/or an analysis of the ELL percentages of students enrolled at the school, with a view toward achieving ELL enrollment comparable to the enrollment figures for ELLs in the School District.  The school would also eliminate its at-risk admissions priority for applicants attending failing schools. This school is authorized by the SUNY Charter Schools Institute. More information can be accessed at: http://www.newyorkcharters.org/ . Comments are welcome; speakers must register within 30 minutes of the hearing’s start time.  Written comments will also be collected on at the hearing or be submitted via email to: charterschools@schools.nyc.gov. Pursuant to Education Law 2857(1), the New York City Department of Education is required to hold a public hearing to solicit comment from the community in connection with any revision proposal for a charter school.

UFT Condmened in TAPCO Fiasco -- and More Schools Coming

It sickens me how amnesty international has not fought for the basic human rights in the NYC DOE system. -- anon comment on TAPCO

Gee, isn't that the job of the UFT? This post ties into yesterday's State of the Union- Part 2 -- which declared a new organization (not yet a caucus) within the UFT and why this is so important at this time.

The comments coming in on the TAPCO story on the 2 Ed Notes posts (Another DOE Scam - TAPCO - Theatre Arts Production...") and (That Cheat'n Principal: Passarella Removed from TA...": )  are so insightful. If you want to get a snapshot of what is probably many schools in the city check it out.

Also see the comments at the Gotham Schools story.

I know of it least one other Brooklyn school that was praised to the sky by Pedro Noguera last May that may be an even worse scenario. Since the principal was removed for "other" reasons I wonder if they are keeping this one under cover. They are certainly delaying the investigation as long as possible. Sources tell me there are amazing audio tapes.

When this story breaks Noguera, who used this school as an example comparing it to the other "failing" schools in the building with dumb statements like "see what can be done by administrators even with the same populations" -- the No Excuses concept ---- will end up looking very foolish. But it will also show just how much this is going on. Teachers were ordered to cheat and those who resisted were threatened with U ratings and some lost their jobs.

As bad as anything is the lack of the presence of the UFT as teaching careers are ruined. This comment below from TAPCO takes the UFT Chapter Leader who was owned by the admin to task. But maybe you can't blame him considering he knows the UFT doesn't have the ability to protect his back. Do teachers who had careers ruined actually have a law suit against the DOE and maybe even the UFT?

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Anonymous
Date: Sat, Mar 10, 2012 at 7:07 PM
Subject: [Ed Notes Online] New comment on That Cheat'n Principal: Passarella Removed from TA....

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "That Cheat'n Principal: Passarella Removed from TA...":

K is a yes man and the nerve that he is your Chapter leader for the UFT in that school since he always sided with Lynn. Lynn said many times that "it was her school and did not want the union in her school." How many human rights and workers right violations have been committed? The UFT should investigate this more and give people their dignity, money, and career back. It sickens me how amnesty international has not fought for the basic human rights in the NYC DOE system. BTW Hillary Clinton was made aware of this Passarella person when she was NY Senator and did nothing. She too should be made accountable. Or is this not the country I was made to believe? That basic human rights are guaranteed. Or is that only if you have the money to buy those rights? Oh and Bloomberg as well should be made accountable. He says that teachers should be evaluated and be let go by principals? Really? This is why, to any of those who thinks the union protects bad teachers, it is necessary that a union exists to protect the rights of these people on the front line of this travesty.

The shame is that the UFT doesn't seem to be able to do even this. Thus I hear amazing calls from people who should know better calling for dues checkoff to be removed thus making NY a right to work state. But it shows the desperate state people are in. Some people are trying to stop contributions to COPE and are finding COPE is like a black hole --- once in you can't get out. So they are instead changing their COPE contributions to a dime.

Do I agree with that at this time? I really don't know. I think the more important thing to do is build the new caucus so it can challenge Unity in every single school in the city. That includes running for chapter leader or delegate in your schools this spring and joining the caucus at delegate assemblies to force change from the bottom by not allowing the Unity slugs to dominate.

I really think the battle at the school level is much more important than the challenge to Unity in the next UFT election in 2013 though people seem to think the latter is sexier. Having been involved in the last 3 elections I'm not so sure I want to do another one.

Some people are even making the case for the new caucus to boycott --- not actually run but instead use the flexibility of not running to run a shadow campaign to point out how undemocratic these elections are. Imagine Mulgrew getting 100% of the vote -- so much better that Putin.

That debate will be taking place in the still unnamed group, which I will continue to call "State of the Union -- SOTU"  ---  SOTUUFT.blogspot.com.

And how refreshing to actually take part in real discussions and debates on so many crucial issues that are shoved under the rug in every official body of the UFT. But I know full well how Unity operates. They are already trying to pick off what they view as key people to either neutralize them or actively recruit them into Unity before they jump to the other side. They have jobs to offer. And trips to conventions. And the lure of moving up in the union.

They actually sent one of the slugs to the conference yesterday --- a guy whose main talent can be summed up with these words "Call the question."

I try to tell our younger members that the leadership does this stuff real well and they have the mechanisms to use a variety of techniques to track and monitor and control the dissidents. That is one of the main jobs of the District Reps. I have some great stories on what some of these characters do but have not been released to share them yet.

And don't think they won't have a partner at Tweed, which will assist Unity if this group ever gets off the ground in a serious manner to make sure they do not have to face a Chicago-like resistance in NYC.

====
AfterBurn

On another topic (but not totally unrelated in that the UFT won't take this issue on either:

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "10 Things Charter Schools Won't Tell You":

I have worked in two charter schools and you wouldn't believe what I have seen. Unfortunately members of the news media are friendly with the charter movement and fail to do any investigative journalism in this area. They supply puff piece after puff piece on charters. The CEOs of charters are tyrants who rule with impunity. A CEO appoints board members who carry out his bidding. A regular public school has an elected board who keep checks and balances on the Superintendent’s power. Charters are a threat to democracy, do nothing innovative, are full of cronyism, don't serve special needs children, have unbelievable turnover of staff, and exploit the hell out of children(especially minorities). If CEOs can make a profit off of children then I would like to have the "choice" to have my tax money back. Be warned. If you see this movement coming to your area, fight it at every turn.

Common Core Snake in the Grass - District 2 Forum on Common Core

Many people have been warning about the next snake in the grass being promoted by the Gates crowd and being sold by Tweed and 52 Broadway -- the perfect tandem that provides a warning to be ready to oppose it. With Debbie Meier on the panel and CEC head Shino Tanikawa we can expect to see an honest expose. 

I would go but there is another interesting event at the Brooklyn New School on the evaluation system. (See below Shino's announcement). This a real good sign of increasing parent activism on a number of fronts.

Please circulate as widely as possible.  You need not be a D2 parent to attend this event! Shino

District 2 Community Education Council & Presidents Council

present

Common Core Standards:

from Theory to Practice

 

Understand how the implementation of the new learning standards

will impact your child’s education

Monday, March 19, 2012

6:30 pm – 8:00 pm

Spruce Street School Auditorium (PS397)

12 Spruce Street in Lower Manhattan

The panel will address:

·         How the Common Core standards enhance or limit the curriculum

·         What schools need to successfully implement the Common Core

Panelists include (list in formation):

·         Deborah Meier, Senior Scholar at NYU Steinhardt, recipient of McArthur genius award, founder of Central Park East

·         Sophia Pappas, Early Childhood Division, NYC Department of Education

·         Adele Schroeter, Principal, PS59

Please join us for a lively evening and bring your own questions to the panel! 

Childcare and refreshments available starting at 6:15pm. This event is free.

For more information, contact Linda Lumpkin at 212- 356-3915 or LLumpkin@schools.nyc.gov

===============
HIGH STAKES 101

Brooklyn New School Mar. 19, 6:30

Got an email from Liza Featherstone, an excellent writer for The Brooklyn Rail:

save the date save the date save the date save the date save the date save the date

HIGH STAKES 101

What does high stakes testing mean for

our children? 

our teachers? 

our schools?

MONDAY, MARCH 19 at 6:30pm 

Education reporter Meredith Kolodner (Daily News, InsideSchools) will moderate a panel discussion with distinguished guests.

Shael Polakow-Suransky Chief Accountability Officer of the NYC Dept. of Education

Sean Feeney Principal of the Wheatley School and Author of the New York Principals APPR Position Paper

 Elijah Hawkes, Former Principal of The James Baldwin Expeditionary Learning Schoo 

Q&A TO FOLLOW 

If interested in CHILDCARE and PIZZA (starting at 6 PM, $5 suggested donation), RSVP to rsvp@bns146.org 

THE BROOKLYN NEW SCHOOL AUDITORIUM 

610 HENRY STREET @3rd PLACE 

F or G to Carroll St. station, exit 2nd Place 

presented by PS 29 & the Brooklyn New School