Susan Ohanian Takes on Common Core - Show Me the Money, Honey

Blog of the day from an elementary school teacher:

The Fruitcake and the Big Banana – a tale inspired by a pineapple

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Before I get to common core (and you might want to check out Miss Eyre at NYC Educator on this topic -Common Core, Uncommon Assumptions) here is some background.

I had always had issues with the testing process but went along, even taking the scores seriously. In 1979 my new principal turned up the heat and made them into somewhat of a high stakes game. Teachers would be publicly praised and shamed based on the results. She was ambitious and wanted to use her scores as a springboard to higher things. But she never made the cut.

Then around 2001 I connected up with George Schmidt's work in Chicago -  "Substance" which featured the work of Susan Ohanian who went after the high stakes testing game with a vengeance. George had been fired for printing some dumb local Chicago test in full. The summer (2002) I retired George came for a visit and I invited a group of people I had met through my work at the delegate assembly. I had the idea of doing a Substance like newspaper that was widely distributed instead of the monthly newsletter I had been distributing at the Delegate Assembly since 1997. In the fall of 2002 I started putting out Education Notes as a 16 page tabloid and began distributing 20-25000 copies to the schools.

John Lawhead, then at soon to be closed Bushwick HS found a copy in his mailbox and contacted me. He wrote a great piece on standardized testing for the next edition of Ed Notes. At that point NCLB was a topic of conversation, with the UFT/AFT supporting it, and Ed Notes took a stand against, thanks to John and George and Susan. John told me about a conference of activists opposing NCLB (and did not see her again until this past summer at SOS in Washington) and we went. I discovered John's immense knowledge base on just about anything but he really had the high stakes testing game nailed and has had a lot of influence over my thinking. (The idea of founding ICE was hatched by us and Sean Ahern and later on John, Angel Gonzalez and myself came up with the idea for GEM.)

Of course, Susan was on to the common core standards scam right away. Common core means more tests. In today's update she has a bunch of goodies for all of us. (And check out that CD of music on NCLB.)

Ohanian on Common Core

And now, in separate entrepreneurial ventures, the former president of McGraw-Hill enterprises and Canter associates of assertive discipline infamy and folks at Sacramento State University bring Common Core courses to the land. See two press releases.

In case you haven't noticed, that's what Common Core is about: $$$ in the pockets of curriculum enhances and testmakers. Yesterday I received two slick brochures from NCTE about the things they're selling in the name of 'Supporting Students in a Time of Core Standards' and one from Heinemann titled 'Meaningful teaching for Common Core reading.' It actually contains scripts, telling teacher what to say.  I have been a member of NCTE for decades. Heinemann has published 7 of my books. I feel ashamed of the associations.

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E2020 Inc. Releases Suite of Common Core Courses Innovative Curriculum to Better Prepare America's Students for College, Careers
Press Release
PR Newsire
2012-04-19
http://susanohanian.org/core.php?id=137

Former CEO of McGraw-Hill and Kaplan moves on to where the money is: Common Core delivery system.

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New Canter Courses Help Educators Meet Common Core State Standards
Press Release
Marketwire
2012-04-20
http://susanohanian.org/core.php?id=136

Look at who is associated with this Common Core offering.

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CRLP Signature Programs and Common Core State Standards
web announcement
Sacramento State
2012-04-20
http://susanohanian.org/core.php?id=135

I see something like this and I figure universities deserve every bad 'government accountability' thing that is thrown their way.

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Common Core, What Is It Good For?
Alan Singer
Huffington Post
2012-04-19
http://susanohanian.org/core.php?id=134

 New York State Council for the Social Studies condemn Common Core but are they doing it for the right reason?

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Separate Reading Exams Await Elementary Teachers
Stephen Sawchuk
Education Week
2012-04-18
http://susanohanian.org/core.php?id=133

As Stephen Krashen points out, this looks like a  deliberate attempt to rewrite the history of literacy research. And to make sure teachers are under the Standardisto thumb.

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Maybe Some Children's Authors Need a Ferocious Kick on Both Shins
Susan Ohanian

2012-03-10
http://susanohanian.org/core.php?id=116

As the tests for the Common Core State [sic] Standards approach, we need to revisit the list of authors willing to sell their work for student interrogation.

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Talking pineapple question on state exam stumps ... everyone!   Students, teachers, principals -- no one has any idea what the deal is
 Ben Chapman AND Rachel Monahan
New York Daily News
2012-04-19
http://susanohanian.org/outrage_fetch.php?id=1281

So is why did Pearson test writers change Daniel Pinkwater's eggplant into a talking pineapple? And don't miss a first grade teacher's take on the incident, The Fruitcake and the Big Banana -- a tale inspired by a pineapple.

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Special Ed Child Forced to Take Test, Mom Threatened by School Officials in Oceanside, NY
Jim Horn and Parent
Schools Matter and United Opt Out National
2012-04-18
http://susanohanian.org/outrage_fetch.php?id=1280

Parents now have a place to make threats from administrators public.

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Now Hear This: Letter to Arne Duncan: Two Teachers & a Microphone
Two Teachers and a Microphone
YouTube
2012-04-20
http://susanohanian.org/outrage_fetch.php?id=1279

Must see/hear.

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Mr. Fitz

2012-04-18
http://susanohanian.org/nclb_cartoon_fetch.php?id=0

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Order the CD of the resistance:
"No Child Left Behind? Bring Back the Joy."
To order online (and hear samples from the songs)
http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/dhbdrake4
Other orders: Send $15 to
Susan Ohanian
P. O. Box 26
Charlotte, VT 05445

Testing, Teachers and the UFT: An Historical View

"'They’re saying Mr. Avella made us do this,' said Johnny Cruz, 15, another boycott leader. 'They don’t think we have brains of our own, like we're robots. We students wanted to make this statement. The school is oppressing us too much with all these tests.'

"The afternoon of the protest, the principal ordered Avella out of the classroom, reassigned him to an empty room in the school and ordered him to have no further contact with students.

"A few days later, in a reprimand letter, Lopez accused Avella of initiating the boycott and taking 'actions [that] caused a riot at the school.'

"Avella denied that he urged the students to boycott tests. Yes, he holds liberal views and is critical of the school system’s increased emphasis on standardized tests, Avella said, but the students decided to organize the protest after weeks of complaining about all the diagnostic tests the school was making them take.

"'My students know they are welcome in my class to have open discussions,' Avella said. 'I teach them critical thinking.'  --- June 2008

The parents on various listserves have been asking about teachers boycotting the tests and we all know that is death to a career. But if one were leaving anyway, it might be an interesting way to go out.

In May 2008, a non-tenured teacher went out just that way. First let me say these weren't the regular tests but some other kind of standardized test -- maybe a field test like they will be giving this June. And he didn't boycott the tests but let his kids openly discuss their disgust at having to sit through more tests that wouldn't count for anything. A bunch of kids emerged as leaders and led a student boycott of these tests in all 4 of the teacher's 8th grade classes. They just left the entire test booklet blank.

The teacher was rubber roomed and vilified in the school, IS 318 BRONX (not the same IS 318 Brooklyn, the chess championship school). (I seem to remember the principal around the same time also drove out the dedicated robotics coach who quit the NYC school system.)

It became a big story at the time and of course the UFT ran the other way. Thanks to Susan Ohanian for reminding me of the teacher's name and when this took place -- 4 years ago before GEM even existed.

Some of us in ICE were working with the Justice Not Just Tests committee of NYCORE and we got involved in this story, even petitioning Randi and Leo. I quickly compiled a bunch of stuff on the story.

Some hits from Susan's site on the story:

1. Bronx 8th-graders boycott practice exam but teacher may get ax (Yahoo, Good News!
2. Individual Acts of Resistance (Yahoo, Good News! )
3. Individual Acts of Resistance (Resisters' Letters, 2008-05-22)
4. Individual Acts of Resistance (Resisters' Letters, 2008-05-23)
5. Rouge Forum Update (Outrage of the Day, 2008-05-28)
6. Ask Chancellor Klein a Question and You'll Hear from the Strategic Response Group (Outrage of the Day, 2008-06-12)
7. Leave No Corporate CEO Behind (Outrage of the Day, 2008-10-02)
8. Living for Change: Teens Re-Invent Education (NCLB Atrocities, 2008-06-01)

 And here are a bunch of stories for your enjoyment in some rough chronological order

Ed Notes: May 27, 2008

Where is Leo Casey and Edwize on Test Boycott? 

Fred Klonsky at PreaPrez wants to know how the UFT has responded in supporting the teacher in the student testing boycott case? He writes:

One of their leaders, Leo Casey, seems to have no problem finding time to writing on EdWize, the UFT blog, long, very long theoretical critiques of G. William Domhoff’s analysis of the power elite. This is something I’m sure his rank-and-file members have been salivating to read. Yet not a word about Doug Avella and the students of I.S. 318X.

We're sure the UFT is doing what it always does in cases like these: provide a rep and inform the teacher of his rights, which as a probationary teacher are few. They will claim they are negotiating behind the scenes and therefore must remain quiet.

Students need support too

WHAT DID MR. AVELLA SAY AND WHEN DID HE SAY IT?

Coming soon: Waterboarding as a staple of DOE investigations

What about the public aspect of the situation? That a teacher discusses an issue with his classes, the kids take some action, and the teacher is immediately blamed and sent to the rubber room. Remember. The kids have supposedly taken 22 standardized tests this year and this was one of those practice types that ARIS, which is not working effectively, is supposed to deal with.

It seems the UFT should use its pulpit to shout about this case loud and clear. They may very well argue that publicity would hurt the teacher. I disagree. His best chances would seem to come from embarassing the DOE to the extreme over the use of Gestapo tactics against the kids and teacher.

“We’ve had a whole bunch of these diagnostic tests all year,” Tatiana Nelson, 13, one of the protest leaders, said Tuesday outside the school. “They don’t even count toward our grades. The school system’s just treating us like test dummies for the companies that make the exams.”

Sounds like no harm, no foul.

Sources tell us the children were threatened with No GRADUATION or PROM if they didn't comply and rat the teacher out and Avella's program is being covered by a substitute. Is it a good thing for the kids to lose a popular teacher at this point in the year? And what of the bigger lesson of threats and intimidation? Where's the outrage at the violation of these children by the system? Anyone out there in the regressive reform movement who are so concerned about achievment gaps in the abstract?

BRING AVELLA BACK TO HIS KIDS FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR FOR THE SAKE OF THE KIDS!

Where's the NY press which is always talking about how much money is being wasted by the rubber room? Do you get a clue why teachers need tenure? If Avella had tenure he would be in a much stronger position. In fact, when Joel Klein and the regressive ed reformers try to make the case for the elimination of tenure, respond with these two words: Doug Avella.

[2012 addendum -- today, even if Avella had tenure he would still get a 3020a dismissal hearing and would probably be fired.]
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Here's my follow-up later that day:

Ed Notes Online: Support for Doug Avella Builds

May 27, 2008

Support for Doug Avella Builds

PLEASE WRITE TO CHANCELLOR KLEIN IN SUPPORT OF A TEACHER WHO TEACHES CRITICAL THINKING

To all those in favor of critical thought,

You have most likely heard about the situation in the Bronx at IS 318. On May 13 six classes of 8th graders staged a boycott in protest to being forced to take another standardized test, one of over two dozen this year. They boycotted one of the practice tests. An 8th grade social studies teacher, Douglas Avella, was falsely accused of instigating the students to boycott, and he is already in the rubber room and likely to lose his job entirely. Over the past week, a number of news articles and editorials have come out, including coverage from Juan Gonzalez and on WBAI's Democracy Now, and there has been a huge outpouring of concern and support for the teacher and the students. Recently, there have been a few other cases of testing boycotts in other U.S. cities, but this is the first one that we have heard about that was initiated by students. The students of I.S. 318 thought critically about their education, organized with each other, and then decided to take action. Their actions should be celebrated. The students and their teacher should be applauded and their message of urgency about the current state of high-stakes testing in our schools taken seriously.
We need to let the DOE know that we need more teachers like Douglas Avella. We need more educators who listen to their students, take their ideas and experiences seriously, and make it possible for them to respond thoughtfully and critically to their world. The students of I.S. 318 stood up for what they thought was right. They have been taught by a beloved teacher whose job is now in jeopardy. It is critical that we stand up right now and show our support for Doug Avella and his students. Please send an email to Chancellor Joel Klein at jklein@schools.nyc.gov.

Let him know that we demand the immediate re-instatement of Douglas Avella to his teaching position at IS 318 and the removal of any negative letters or ratings in his file in connection with the test boycott.

also, please cc your letter to UFT President Randi Weingarten at rweingarten@uft.org

Thank-you!

Sam Coleman and Geoffrey Enriquez, on behalf of NYCORE
Priscilla Gonzalez and Donna Nevel, on behalf of Center for Immigrant Families
Jane Hirschmann, on behalf of Time Out From Testing
Sally Lee, on behalf of Teachers Unite 

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And then this letter to the UFT:

 June 3, 2008

ASK THE UFT TO MAKE THE TESTING BOYCOTT A PRIORITY...

CONTINUE TO DEFEND ACADEMIC FREEDOM AND FREEDOM OF SPEECH
ASK THE UFT TO MAKE THE TESTING BOYCOTT A PRIORITY ISSUE

We ask that you continue to write e-mails to Chancellor Klein in support of a teacher who teaches critical thinking.
We are also asking the UFT to make this issue of academic freedom and freedom of speech a priority. Please e-mail UFT President Randi Weingarten rweingarten@uft.org and Vice President Leo Casey lcasey@uft.org asking the UFT to continue to defend teacher rights in this matter and to make this issue a priority for the UFT.
A sample letter is below:
Dear Leo Casey and Randi Weingarten,
As a member of the UFT, I ask that the teachers' union continue to be proactive in the struggle to defend the academic freedom of public school teacher Douglass Avella, who wanted his students to think critically about their education.

As an educator concerned with the abuse of standardized tests, I also support the 160 8th grade students who used their freedom of speech to boycott the practice test to demonstrate how excessive testing has taken away valuable learning time from the classroom.
Because of the large amount of support from teachers, educators, organizations, parents and students, I ask that our teachers' union make this issue of academic freedom and freedom of speech a priority.
Sincerely,

____________________
Teacher/UFT Member

Supported by:Center for Immigrant Families, NYCoRE, Teachers Unite, Time Out From Testing
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Here is Juan Gonzalez' in the Daily News with Susan's comment:

Bronx 8th-graders boycott practice exam but teacher may get ax

Susan Notes:

This is combined Good News for what the students did and Outrage for how the teacher is being treated.

What a remarkable feat. Let's hope this student insistence in taking back their learning will inspire some teachers to take back their teaching.

By Juan Gonzalez

Students at a South Bronx middle school have pulled off a stunning boycott against standardized testing.

More than 160 students in six different classes at Intermediate School 318 in the South Bronx - virtually the entire eighth grade - refused to take last Wednesday's three-hour practice exam for next month's statewide social studies test.

Instead, the students handed in blank exams.

Then they submitted signed petitions with a list of grievances to school Principal Maria Lopez and the Department of Education.

"We've had a whole bunch of these diagnostic tests all year," Tatiana Nelson, 13, one of the protest leaders, said Tuesday outside the school. "They don't even count toward our grades. The school system's just treating us like test dummies for the companies that make the exams."

According to the petition, they are sick and tired of the "constant, excessive and stressful testing" that causes them to "lose valuable instructional time with our teachers."

School administrators blamed the boycott on a 30-year-old probationary social studies teacher, Douglas Avella.

The afternoon of the protest, the principal ordered Avella out of the classroom, reassigned him to an empty room in the school and ordered him to have no further contact with students.

A few days later, in a reprimand letter, Lopez accused Avella of initiating the boycott and taking "actions [that] caused a riot at the school."

The students say their protest was entirely peaceful. In only one class, they say, was there some loud clapping after one exam proctor reacted angrily to their boycott.

This week, Lopez notified Avella in writing that he was to attend a meeting today for "your end of the year rating and my possible recommendation for the discontinuance of your probationary service."

"They're saying Mr. Avella made us do this," said Johnny Cruz, 15, another boycott leader. "They don't think we have brains of our own, like we're robots. We students wanted to make this statement. The school is oppressing us too much with all these tests."

Two days after the boycott, the students say, the principal held a meeting with all the students to find out how their protest was organized.

Avella on Tuesday denied that he urged the students to boycott tests.

Yes, he holds liberal views and is critical of the school system's increased emphasis on standardized tests, Avella said, but the students decided to organize the protest after weeks of complaining about all the diagnostic tests the school was making them take.

"My students know they are welcome in my class to have open discussions," Avella said. "I teach them critical thinking."

"Some teachers implied our graduation ceremony would be in danger, that we didn't have the right to protest against the test," said Tia Rivera, 14. "Well, we did it."

Lopez did not return calls for comment.

"This guy was far over the line in a lot of the ways he was running his classroom," said Department of Education spokesman David Cantor. "He was pulled because he was inappropriate with the kids. He was giving them messages that were inappropriate."

Several students defended Avella. They say he had made social studies an exciting subject for them.

"Now they've taken away the teacher we love only a few weeks before our real state exam for social studies," Tatiana Nelson said. "How does that help us?"
— Juan Gonzalez
New York Daily News

More from Susan:

Living for Change: Teens Re-Invent Education

Gary Doyle Comment: Dear Friends of Public Education:
The article below, written by Grace Lee Boggs, gives me hope. Grace describes a group of eighth graders who challenged the NCLB insanity. These students did what our so-called educational "leaders" across the country have failed to do.

By the way, Grace Lee Boggs is a Detroit-based activist, writer and speaker who has been challenging the system much longer than most people have been alive. Grace will be celebrating her 93rd birthday on June 27, 2008, and,according to a good friend who knows her, she is showing no signs of slowing down. I hope Grace is around for many more birthdays, as we desperately need more people like her.

By Grace Lee Boggs

On Thursday, May22, students at a South Bronx middle school pulled off a stunning boycott against the standardized testing mandated by Bush’s "No Child Left Behind" Act.

The May 22 New York Daily News carried Juan Gonzalez' story about the well-organized action and it was reprinted on Common Dreams.

"More than 160 students in six different classes at Intermediate School 318 in the South Bronx—virtually the entire eighth grade—refused to take last Wednesday’s three-hour practice exam for next month’s statewide social studies test.

Instead, the students handed in blank exams.

"Then they submitted signed petitions with a list of grievances to school Principal Maria Lopez and the Department of Education.

"The school system's just treating us like test dummies for the companies that make the exam,." said Tatiana Nelson, 13, one of the protest leaders.

"School administrators blamed the boycott on a 30-year-old probationary social studies teacher, Douglas Avella.

"'They’re saying Mr. Avella made us do this,' said Johnny Cruz, 15, another boycott leader. 'They don’t think we have brains of our own, like we're robots. We students wanted to make this statement. The school is oppressing us too much with all these tests.'

"The afternoon of the protest, the principal ordered Avella out of the classroom, reassigned him to an empty room in the school and ordered him to have no further contact with students.

"A few days later, in a reprimand letter, Lopez accused Avella of initiating the boycott and taking 'actions [that] caused a riot at the school.'

"Avella denied that he urged the students to boycott tests. Yes, he holds liberal views and is critical of the school system’s increased emphasis on standardized tests, Avella said, but the students decided to organize the protest after weeks of complaining about all the diagnostic tests the school was making them take.

"'My students know they are welcome in my class to have open discussions,' Avella said. 'I teach them critical thinking.'

"The students say their protest was entirely peaceful. In only one class, they say, was there some loud clapping after one exam proctor reacted angrily to their boycott."

"'Some teachers implied our graduation ceremony would be in danger, that we didn't have the right to protest against the test,' said Tia Rivera, 14. 'Well, we did it.'"

Comments by Common Dreams readers were overwhelmingly in support of the students and Avella.

"I hope the idea spreads from this school to others."

"The students and their teacher are an inspiration. May their example spread like a prairie fire across this dim and oppressive land. As a former teacher I know about the totalitarian strictures of standardized tests. Virtually every teacher I know hates them. The testing companies are making billions. It is a scam. Critical thinking is stifled, which is just fine with the powers that be. Teachers have tremendous power if they only had the courage to exercise it. A nation-wide strike against standardized tests would be a start. Standards, yes! Standardized testing, no!"

"He was teaching them to think for themselves. How will they be able to work at Mickey-Ds if they do that?"

"The testing serves to monitor young people—to track them into acceptable roles as adults or into the prison system."

"I hope the idea spreads from this school to others. It’s not like the kids aren’t going to hear about this and think about going on strike rather than taking a meaningless test."

"FCAT (Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test) was a test program that came from a company owned by Neal Bush (yes, former Gov. Jeb Bush and moron Pres. George Bush’s brother). How nice it was to have your brother JUMP on-board using taxpayer dollars to implement HIS companies program in the state school system!! "

"Everyone should read John Gatto, a teacher in NY who won the 'best teacher of the year' in both New York City and New York State."

"The whole No Child Left Beyond Act is just another way of robotizing education and kids. Think of the moron-in-chief who is its chief proponent. You can’t test creativity. You can’t test imagination. Like Einstein said 'Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts.' It is time to revolt against this revolting trend in education to turn our kids into testing machines. And now kids are thinking for themselves. Praise to the eighth grade kids!"

— Grace Lee Boggs
Michigan Citizen
2008-06-01
http://tinyurl.com/5vuk77

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And one more from Susan:

June 12, 2008

Ask Chancellor Klein a Question and You'll Hear from the Strategic Response Group

People who wrote New York City Schools Chancellor Joel Klein on behalf of Douglas Avella received a shocking reply from Elizabeth Sexton who identified herself as being an Associate with the Chancellor's Strategic Response Group
NYC Department of Education
52 Chambers St. | New York, NY 10007.

Sexton stated that she was responding on behalf of Chancellor Klein. In her strategic response, Sexton makes ugly, unsubstantiated allegations while at the same time referring to the privacy of Mr. Avella's file.

Visit the New York City Department of Education website, and you will learn that The DOE has set up a framework for ensuring that all questions sent to the central office are answered in a timely fashion.

The Chancellor’s Strategic Response Group answers about 200 letters and emails
sent to Chancellor Klein every week. We can only hope that they aren't all as nasty as this one.

How does one get to be a Strategic Responder? I couldn't locate Elizabeth Sexton online but one former Strategic Responder had a college degree in English, another in Political Science.

Question: Does the New York City Department of Education maintain a Rubber Room for unfit Strategic Responders?

Test Protests Grow as Brooklyn Principal Takes the Lead

I've always maintained that the ed deform agenda is so viciously anti-child and anti-teacher and anti-parent that it will eventually collapse under its own weight of failure. Of course we will lose a generation of students, ruin careers of a generation of teachers and destroy entire swaths of the public school system before we begin to hear echos of that famous "What have I done" quote from the end of Bridge on the River Kwai. (See clip here or below). I'm also reminded of a memorable B film I saw as a child - The Magnetic Monster. We will win in the end.

GEM has been deeply involved in the battle against high stakes tests (where's the UFT, which I consider the biggest obstacle in creating an effective fight back) though its prolific Change the Stakes committee with the listserve over the past week going wild with parents and teachers chipping in on the awful tests. (You can join the listserve by signing up at the blog but warning -- the volume is high but so many amazing people).

The prolific Mark Naison posted this:

Thank you Pearson for some of the Worst Tests in History Being Administered in NY State Public Schools!

Too bad the content of recent NY State 3rd to 8th Grade tests is being withheld from the public because from what I hear they would make great material for Saturday Night Live, if not Saturday Night Fever. The idea that that teachers will be evaluated, and students promoted or held back on the basis of these ill designed tests strains credulity. We owe a huge debt of gratitude to Pearson for designing tests that are so ambiguous, illogical and culturally biased that they discredit the entire New York State Department of Education, which paid 32 million dollars for these tests, and the US Department of Education, which required they use them to evaluate teachers in order to receive Race to the Top funding.

Yes, Pearson is coming under severe attack for making money on the backs of our kids while producing inferior products. You don't hear Michelle Rhee and Joel Klein talking about it's all about the adults -- that is only reserved for unions. Fred Smith has been posting on the list serve about the use of our kids as guinea pigs to field test questions with a whole battery coming in June. 

Years ago a teacher was fired for inciting a revolt in his 8th grade kids against these useless June tests where 4 entire classes refused to take the tests (Testing, Teachers and the UFT: An Historical View).

There is a lot of rumbling from parents about boycotting these puppies given that refusing to take these tests will have no impact on the schools (other than pressure from Tweed). And there will be growing pressure to have the tests published. And if not, there is an underground crew apparently copying for underground publication as a way of undermining the testing industry. Remember George Schmidt was fired from the Chicago school system for publishing and exposing the ridiculous CASE tests -- the public exposure led to their abolition and George should have been lauded as a hero and given a raise -- of course he is a hero to generations of teacher activists.

Valerie Strauss has a piece about the growing protests.

Elizabeth Phillips, Mark Naison's wife, is one principal in NYC who stands up. She also protested the use of teacher data reports. Here is her letter to John "I never met a charter I didn't like" King, the ed deform front man for NY State, joining a despicable succession of state ed commissioners.

P.S. 321                                                                             lphilli@schools.nyc.gov

180 Seventh Avenue • Brooklyn, New York 11215                     • 718-499-2412 • FAX: 718-965-9605 

• Elizabeth Phillips, Principal                                               • Beth Handman, Assistant Principal

• Elizabeth Garraway, Assistant Principal                                   • Ryan Bourke, Assistant Principal

April 19, 2012

Dr. John B. King Jr.

New York State Education Commissioner

New York State Education Department

89 Washington Avenue

Albany, New York 12234

Dear Commissioner King:

I urge you to carefully review this year’s state ELA exams.  I have been principal for 13 years and have read the tests each year.  Although there are always issues with selected questions, generally it is only one or two per test that the assistant principals and I can’t quite agree on.  I am genuinely shocked that with the increased importance of state testing,  there are so many more flawed questions than ever before.  I wish I could go into detail here, but it violates test security for me to discuss the content of the tests or the questions, which is why I feel so strongly that it is important that you see these tests for yourselves. 

In particular, I would recommend that you carefully read through day one of the fifth grade ELA.   The reading passages themselves are not too challenging—surprising since the passages in the 4^th grade test were not particularly easy and the Common Core Standards call for more rigor.  However, the questions were nothing short of ridiculous.  Several of them were ambiguous and seemed designed only to trick children (and adults….the answers were not clear to many of us).  Overall, the questions did not serve to determine whether or not children had good reading comprehension skills.   You could have excellent comprehension skills and miss many questions.  Although to me the fifth grade was the most outrageous of the elementary school exams, there were problems with the other exams too.  It is puzzling to me that in 2012 in New York State, a testing company that won the lucrative contract to develop these exams did not think it was important, on day one (the most heavily weighted day) of the 4^th grade exam, to include any selections that were in urban settings.  Children who spend a lot of time outdoors and in rural or suburban settings definitely will find “friendlier” texts, both fiction and nonfiction.   Take a look so you can see what I mean.  Fortunately, day two is better in this regard.

I would also urge you to actually do the listening section of grade 3 (first part of day 2).  Have someone read aloud this incredibly thin, brief passage two times as required and then see if you can answer the questions, including the short and extended responses, without looking at the text (since kids are not permitted to look at this text).  The questions are not really ones that you can answer well from the text, even if it is sitting in front of you and you can refer back. 

Because I am an elementary school principal, I do not see the middle school exams.  However, a middle school principal from outside of New York City wrote this to me after day one:  “As I reviewed the exams for the sixth through eighth grade yesterday, I was appalled. I felt that sixth grade was the most difficult of the three exams, followed by eighth, with the most fair exam being the seventh grade. There were so many questions that contained answer choices where the ELA teachers could not decide which answer would be 'best'. I felt terrible for my children, especially for my English Language Learners and my special education students.”  And 8^th graders, who really can’t be controlled in terms of not talking about the test, are having a field day on the internet mocking what appears to be one of the most ridiculous selections ever included on a test! 

These exams are so deeply flawed, and now so incredibly high stakes.  The idea that teachers may lose their jobs and schools (at least in New York City) may be closed based on how children do on these problematic exams is incredibly upsetting and demoralizing to educators.  The fact that the state has decided that these exams can never be made public just exacerbates the problem, as the general public will never know how silly the exams are.   And, to use an “added value” measure on tests that are not consistently more difficult from year to year is another serious problem. 

I understand that you are very busy, but given the importance of the state tests at this time, it is absolutely critical that you analyze them carefully.  If you agree with my assessment, I hope that you will consider recommending to the State Legislature that given the flaws in the tests, we are not yet ready to use them for high stakes decision making.  I also hope you will consider making these exams public after the test scoring is completed.  It is ironic that teachers’ individual ratings are made public while the actual test that determines those ratings is not.  I know that the state already has a long-term contract with Pearson, but there is something seriously wrong with a testing company that has such inappropriate questions and passages on such a high stakes test. 

Thank you for considering all this.  Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

Elizabeth Phillips

Principal   

What Have I Done?




The Bridge on the River Kwai

— MOVIECLIPS.com

Report from the Hearing on Citizens of the World Charter Schools

We reported on this story a few days ago:  Exposing Segregation Tactics of Eric Grannis and Citizens of the World Charter Schools.


The hearing was Thursday night but had Broadway tickets so I couldn't make it though I did get to the closing schools rally at Tweed (33 Schools United: City-Wide Rally Against School Closures at DOE Headquarters).

Posted by Brooke:

Started late, but there was an AMAZING turnout! 100 people - PARENTS showed up at IS71 to speak out against these proposed charter schools, holding signs:

- Citizens of WHAT world?
- Citizens only track Record is Wonder of Reading Scandal.
- DOE, do the MATH, D14 doesn't need another Elementary School
- The community of Williamsburg says NO to co-locating PS110
- Indict Kriste Dragon
- CWCS is bankrupt

We had planned an organized round of talks to address every single aspect of their proposal. SUNY wasn't going to be there, but the transcript will be sent to SUNY.

Kate Sobel showed up with Etoy Ridgnal and 2 other members of her team. NO ONE was there from the community in support of these proposals. Sobel spoke about how she came from Teach for America, adopted a black child, and single highhandedly erased the achievement gap with the kids she taught at a latino school in Los Angeles. It was difficult for the audience to contain our outrage towards her arrogance and paternalism.

Our elected officials were there in FORCE:

- State Committe Member Lincoln Restler
- BBP Marty Markowitz (represented)
- City Councilmember Diana Reyna (represented)
- City Councilmember Stephen Levin (represented)
- NYState Assemblyman Joe Lentol
- US Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez

All of them spoke on the record that they are vehemently opposed to these two proposed charter schools. I want to be Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez when I grow up. We were proud to be District 14 families tonight.

I had a 25 page attack on their curriculum, pedagogy and programming, but was only able to get through 5 pages before time ran out.

At one point, and the irony in this was unmatched, as I was telling Citizens of the World that their concept of service learning and community building was not unique and listed the community projects that our schools engage in, I noticed that all four Citizens of the World staff were talking to each other and not listening to anything I had to say. This was the one opportunity that they had to get feedback from the community regarding their proposals - and they weren't listening at all.

I wanted the DoE and SUNY to hear that we understand the proposals for these two schools. That these proposals are redundant and wasteful - poor copies of the schools we already have. I wanted DoE and SUNY to know that we see through the Citizens of the World charter school proposals. We'll see.

We walked out chanting, "The people united will never be defeated..."

Lots of stuff happened in private arguments afterwards.

- Etoy Ridgnal claimed that the private listserv of mostly white affluent and new parents was plenty of community outreach.

- After I pointed out in my talk that their proposal lists Everyday Math (and uses the Everyday Math website as evidence of it's success) is being used less and less in schools and the DoE is rethinking their Everyday Math curriucla, Sobel told a parent that they plan on using Singapore Math and that they will let their teachers use whatever math curricula that they want.

I mention this only because I flat out asked SUNY if Citizens can alter their proposal based on feedback AFTER it's been written and they said that they can not. What's in the proposal is in the proposal.

We'll see. The next step is a letter writing campaign.

Brooke

33 Schools United: City-Wide Rally Against School Closures at DOE Headquarters Today, April 19th @ 4:30 pm

PRESS RELEASE
Date: Thursday April 19, 2012: 4:30-6 PM

Contact:
Michael Solo, Teacher at John Dewey High School: 917-750-7510 (mmvs1226@aol.com)
Kevin Kearns, Teacher at Lehman High School: 201-314-6914 (kevin@lehmanuft.org)

33 Schools United: City-Wide Rally Against School Closures at DOE Headquarters

On April 19th, 2012 at 4:30 PM at Department of Education Headquarters (52 Chambers Street, New York, NY) teachers, parents, students and community members will rally to protest the DOE policy of closing schools.

With a cynical misrepresentation of the truth, Mayor Bloomberg is holding 26 Persistently Lowest Achieving (PLA) schools hostage to his demands. The NYCDOE walked out on negotiations with the UFT to finalize an evaluation system for teachers. Agreement on an evaluation process would have allowed School Improvement Grant (SIG) funds to continue being available for the (PLA) schools. Funding for the schools has been frozen because of the impasse in negotiations. The NYCDOE refuses to return to the negotiating table and has threatened 26 of the 33 (PLA) schools with closure through a process called "turnaround".

"Turnaround" is a failed policy because it is disruptive and distracting to the entire school community. It is a model that has been borrowed from the business world and we all know how well the American business model has fared during the past decade. Turnaround destroys bonds between students and teachers. It demoralizes the entire school community when instead the school community should be bolstered and strengthened.

All of the PLA schools have endured years of neglect and threats from the NYCDOE. We have worked hard to move our schools forward and we are making great strides in overcoming the tremendous obstacles that were put in our path by the NYCDOE. Why is Mayor Bloomberg still threatening our school communities?

Bloomberg's policy of school closure has gone on too long.  In three terms of Mayoral Control, Bloomberg has now closed over 100 schools.  Many of the schools voted to phase out on February 9th, were schools opened under the Bloomberg administration.  The policy of closure, phase-out, and now turnaround, has not improved our school system in any way.  Bloomberg continues this policy only to hide the data that would paint him as a failure on education.  He is ruining the lives of a generation of students all for his own political gain.

As recent research has demonstrated, having a consistent set of teachers increases student success. However, a huge turnover in staff will have a negative impact on the students who remain at the affected schools, decreasing the likelihood of students' graduation and achievement.  Furthermore many of the programs that are successful at these schools, including electives, clubs, and AP courses, many not run when the majority of the new staff is untrained.

Mayoral control of the NYCDOE under Mayor Bloomberg has been a colossal failure. The very idea that one person has been granted the authority to close any school without input from teachers, parents, and students is a mockery of the concept of democracy. What lesson are our students learning about how this city and our nation work if the voices of affected communities are shut out? We need an end to mayoral control of our public schools.

Bullies depend on their victims to be unprepared to defend themselves.  A coalition of chapter leaders, delegates and members from many of the original 33 Turnaround schools have decided to fight back. We are tired of being used as pawns in Mayor Bloomberg's bid to cripple our schools and public education. We will continue to push back until the policy of school closure has ended.

For further information see:

stopturnaround.blogspot.com

Impeach Joel M. Miller, from dysfunctional NYS Assembly After Comments on Coddled Teachers

Here is my response to Miller's comments.
The single most important factor in our success as a society is the effectiveness and quality of politicians.
The current evaluation system of politicians protects the ineffective ones and I believe it is time to stop shielding them by allowing voters who can be mislead by campaign money decide.
Currently, our politicians receive no penalty for failed political practices as incompetent incumbents can spend decades in office.  
Thus we need a PDR - politician data report. Fire them if ineffective according to numerical data.
Miller's record of results should be analyzed and we should come up with a single number by which he will be judged. If he has a record of failed political judgement as indicated in his statement he should be removed immediately.
-----------
NYC Principal Brian De Vale also responded:
Dear Mr. Miller,

Please read the comments attributed to you below. If they are accurate, then I believe that you are clueless and have no business having any involvement in developing education policy.

Brian De Vale
--------------
Miller comments were passed on by Joe Knapp through Mark Naison.

So, yesterday I received a scathing letter from Assemblyman Joel M. Miller of the 102nd District.....
Here are some quotes:
"The current (evaluation) system protects the ineffective teachers and I believe it is time to stop shielding them."
"The parents are entrusting that our system provides qualified educators for the students;"  Isn't it our state that give them their certification????
"Without teacher evaluations, there is no incentive for teachers to improve their teaching methods."  Really, there are no teacher evaluations in place?  And I need that to want to improve?
"Currently, our teachers receive no penalty for failed teaching practices, nor do they receive rewards for good teaching."
1.  I have seen plenty of ineffective teachers removed in my 13 years as an educator.  2.  I do not need a "reward" for good teaching, I am intrinscly motivated and my students success is good enough reward for me.
"For anyone to stand in the way of allowing teacher evaluations to be public is protecting ineffective teachers and promoting for a poor educational system."
"Currently, there are public databanks for professionals in various career areas.  For example, physician performance information is available to the public through databanks.  TEACHERS INSIST THAT THEY ARE PROFESSIONALS.  IF TEACHERS CONSIDER THEMSELVES PROFESSIONALS, WHY SHOULD THEIR EVALUATIONS NOT BE PUBLIC INFORMATION?  I FAIL TO SEE THE REASONING BEHIND WHY TEACHER EVALUATIONS SHOULD REMAIN A SECRET."
Mark, this is obsurd, please forward this email and the email address of Assemblyman Miller (millerj@assembly.state.ny.us) so that they may express their dismay with his position.

Joe Knapp
PROFESSIONAL EDUCATOR CERTIFIED BY THE STATE OF NEW YORK!!!

Principal Lies to Parent Regarding Opting Out

I mentioned the stress it placed on my son, along with the fact that the teacher evals were tied to scores. "Oh my  gosh, so are you from the union? You sound as if you're making an argument for the teacher's union!" -- NYC parent in convo with principal re: opting out

As angry as I was before, seeing the tests today (which we are not allowed to quote in any way) has sent me over the edge! I haven't even read all of them yet but the fifth grade test is unbelievable. Easy reading selections and lots of trick questions--more than I have ever seen before--that are absolutely no indication of any kind of 5th grade level reading comprehension. My APs and I can't even figure out what answer they are looking for in some questions! I think we absolutely need to fight that these tests be made public. People will be shocked to see them.  --- NYC Principal

Ahhh, the high stakes testing game is bringing out lots of people who were not activists before. Over 30 years I have battled against HST that began with a principal in 1979 forcing them down our throats and forcing me out of the classroom that I loved so much. The UFT support for HST was one of the issues that broke me with Randi --- I won't go into details now. The forces are growing amongst parents and teachers while the UFT/AFT as an org stays out of the battle- other than issuing a lame statement every so often.

I haven't had time to address the amazing group of parents who have sprung up around the opting out of the test issue, led by the people involved in the GEM Change the Stakes testing committee. There are wonderful emails flying around that I can barely keep track of. And they go beyond NYC and are reaching out nationally. These parents who seemed isolated before have begun to find each other through the Change the Stakes conduit. Build it and they will come - which is what GEM seems to do so well. What I love about this process is how GEM does not try to take ownership and control but allows the group to breathe and go forth and organize. I foresee this opt-out group touching base with the Willimsburg/Greenpoint parents fighting Eva/Eric and this can create a citywide organizing group to jump into the political battles ahead. A bunch of them were at our evaluation event yesterday and were delightful to meet.

The UFT of course is silent (and they took quite a bashing at our Teacher Evaluation Nightmare Forum  yesterday.)

As I was finishing this up I came across this post on Schools Matter: Special Ed Child Forced to Take Test, Mom Threatened by School Officials in Oceanside, NY

While many parents in NYC report some decent experiences when discussing opting out with their principals, this parent faced the kind of principal so many teachers face.

Well,  I had a somewhat disturbing conversation with our principal. I brought my child in to school at noon, after the testing period, and was told that, "according to Legal", if he entered the building at whatever time, they were "required" to  administer the test. I hadn't read through the threads here today, where i see that some schools have made accommodations that permit some of the opted-out students to help out in other classrooms. So, if "Legal" says my son is "required" to take the test if he's in the building, why is this not being enforced city-wide? (answer: it's a bunch of bull).

She acted as if she were confused by my opposition to the test: "testing has been around for years!" Yes, I said, but not in this way-- and please don't pretend you're not aware of the controversy surrounding these particular tests. I mentioned the stress it placed on my son, along with the fact that the teacher evals were tied to scores. "Oh my  gosh, so are you from the union? You sound as if you're making an argument for the teacher's union!" (not that there's anything wrong with that). I pointed out that the real issue for me, as a parent, was that the tie-in to teacher evals is bound to alter the dynamic between student and teacher-- or should i say test-taker and evaluee?

I politely told her that this was no easy decision for us (after she rather offensively said "I don't see how you could place him in the middle of all this")-- as if I were simply using my child to, i don't know, run for political office...

Finally  I said, "we understand that we'll need to talk about possible consequences to our decision, but we feel we're making it in his best interest" to which she replied "well, he'll have to go to summer school."

Really, I said. He's been on the honor roll; he's reading at the fourth-grade level; he won first place in the science fair-- what possible academic justification would you have for making him go to summer school? She smiled and shrugged her shoulders. "We have to follow the rules, whatever they are" (like the one "requiring" her to administer the test if he's in the building?)

I left it with "well, we don't accept that" and "thank you for your time"... I handed her the temperate, polite letter I'd written explaining our decision and she promised to read it. How wonderful for us.

But I'm glad we're doing it. We don't intend to back down in the face of such bland bureaucratic intimidation-- I only wish I could do this without putting my son in this situation...although when we left he said "you and me...linked, Dad. I'm on your side."

Right. So on to victory. Sigh.

 And this came in from a principal:

As angry as I was before, seeing the tests today (which we are not allowed to quote in any way) has sent me over the edge! I haven't even read all of them yet but the fifth grade test is unbelievable. Easy reading selections and lots of trick questions--more than I have ever seen before--that are absolutely no indication of any kind of 5th grade level reading comprehension. My APs and I can't even figure out what answer they are looking for in some questions! I think we absolutely need to fight that these tests be made public. People will be shocked to see them.

Leonie asks:
Can we have teachers take a look at the ELA passages and tell us, either on or off the record, how confusing and/or ambiguous the choices of answers are?

And note this:

Texas anti-testing resolution; 282 districts adopted so far TASA - http://goo.gl/mTdc7

 This is the website of the Texas Assoc of School Administrators , which has been promoting the reso.  PAA along with other national orgs will release an adapted version next week for NYS and the nation.

More incoming:

There has been a notable difference in my students' affect on this second day of testing. They are much more restless and easily frustrated. Out of the 6 kids in my testing group, 3 have refused to answer the extended response question (a straightforward question, but the story was SO short that the kids have to repeat details they gave in the short response questions). One boy accidentally spilled water on his table and a little bit got on his test. He's currently in the corner curled up in a ball saying he's going to get arrested for messing up the test book. "Fortunately" there are 2 hours left in our testing period so I have plenty of time to convince him otherwise. 4 more days....lord. :(

 

-----

I am a literacy specialist in Rockland and I proctored the fourth grade test today. I thought that the test was terrible and not a true measure, in my opinion, of reading comprehension.  First, some of the early passages in the test were very long (more than two pages) and meandering, making it difficult for 8/9 year-old readers to clearly discern the principal problem among several - or the problem the test-maker thought was the principal problem. These long passagers put an undue burden on young reader's stamina during the early part of the test. Even though I am an adult who reads a lot (I am currently finishing my doctoral dissertation in language and literacy) , i found getting through the long passages and questions mentally tiring. This was in part due to the fact that the questions were convoluted and designed to "catch" students in test traps. In addition, some of the test's print features were inconsistent (i.e., same exact phrases were bolded in some question and not others). The word choice both in the question stem and in the answer choices was meant to obscure meaning. Choosing at times arcane vocabulary to refer to text information in the correct choices.  I have been a teacher for 19 years and a literacy specialist for 13, and I can say with some degree of confidence that this test was unfair and not a good instrument to measure students ability to read proficiently and use complex text to think critically and learn about the world. I feel sad for my wonderful and hard working students who sat for 90 minutes running through an unfair reading rat maze for political antics and for the benefit of corporate profiteers. I am afraid for the profession I love and for the future of public education.

Exposing Segregation Tactics of Eric Grannis and Citizens of the World Charter Schools

Our schools are 8% white, but theirs will be 55% white.

Williamsburg and Greenpoint say NO to segregated schools

• Beware: “Citizens of the World Charter Schools” has already been associated with a number of financial scandals and ethical improprieties.

Grannis and wife

• "Citizens of the World Charter Schools" are financially unstable. Expansion of their schools is necessary for them to stay in business. Our children should not be prey to this Ponzi scheme.

Everyone come to the Thursday, April 19th hearing @IS 71 215 Heyward Street, Brooklyn NY 11206 from 6pm to 8pm to fight the Citizens of the World Charter Chain. They are planning on opening TWO schools in District 14 - one on the north side and one on the SOUTH side! we need your support. https://www.facebook.com/events/185195068267404/

Some people view this Grannis move as an attempt to start being perceived as the one really wearing the pants in the family. Don't believe it.

I have so much information to post on the expansion of the Moskowitz/Grannis machine with the open intention of draining as many white kids as they can out of the public schools in Williamsburg/Greenpoint. This is a direct attack on schools like PS 110, PS 31, PS 34, PS 84, PS 132 and PS 17, MS 50 and the to be closed MS 126, all schools in the main gentrifying areas. Even the national chess champs (IS 318 Wins High School Chess Championship)  [today's wonderful front page article in the Times] are threatened by this diversion.

Just think about this. You actually have some integrated and diversified schools and the husband and wife vulture capitalist Grannis/Moskowitz team aim to disrupt that.

The positive thing about every outrage perpetrated by the ed deformers is that the opposition is growing and hopefully this will create a crescendo to abolish mayoral control. The weakest link in all this is the UFT -- which was so reinforced at the amazing ed eval forum we held yesterday (video coming). Really, if you are a teacher and not involved in this, Why We Need a New Caucus in the UFT- SOTU Meets Apr. 21, you are being led to slaughter.

I can't make the meeting to oppose the charter on April 19 but we did arrange to tape it. (Don't forget the closing schools rally at Tweed is earlier at 4PM which I will make.)

Here are some items for your attention. I have a great 22 page pdf that I have to figure out how to put up but if you want a copy email normsco@gmail.com

 https://www.facebook.com/events/185195068267404/

 =========

CALLING ALL WILLIAMSBURG / GREENPOINT PARENTS AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS!! DEFEND OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS FROM PROFIT-DRIVEN SEGREGATION

Come to the Community Education Council for District 14 Hearing on “Citizens of the World Charter Schools”

• “Citizens of the World Charter Schools” is a Los Angeles charter school chain with two proposals to open schools in our area, one on the south side of Williamsburg and one in Greenpoint, in the fall of 2013. These schools are brought to us by Eric Grannis, husband of Eva Moskowitz, who already has forced three of her Success Academy Charter Schools on our district.

• The official proposal for these schools is riddled with false information and manipulated data in a mercenary attempt to discredit our local public schools and manufacture a desire for these schools.

• Their proposed schools offer nothing new or different. They are poor copies of our neighborhood schools, (PS84, PS132, PS110, PS31, PS34 and the new PS414), and will not have the experienced teachers and principals or the commitment to our community that we enjoy in our neighborhood schools.

• “Citizens of the World Charter Schools” wants to pull white middle class children out of our public schools. They manipulated our demographic data by disregarding the Hassidic population and child- less hipsters when they discussed the discrepancy between our district population as 55% white and our district schools as 8% white. They want schools that will mirror our district demographic. Our schools are 8% white, but theirs will be 55% white.

• If these redundant and wasteful school are approved, they will siphon precious funds from our existing schools, and worse – they will seek to co-locate in PS110 in Greenpoint and either PS84 or PS414 in Williamsburg, dramatically segregating those buildings and creating class-warfare. Our neighborhood schools will lose vital art rooms, science rooms, computer rooms, music rooms, and rooms used for special education.

• Beware: “Citizens of the World Charter Schools” has already been associated with a number of financial scandals and ethical improprieties.

• "Citizens of the World Charter Schools" are financially unstable. Expansion of their schools is necessary for them to stay in business. Our children should not be prey to this Ponzi scheme.

PLEASE JOIN US IN OUR FIGHT TO SUPPORT OUR LOCAL PUBLIC SCHOOLS!
CEC14 MEETING   
    Thursday, April 19, 2012 from 6pm to 8pm    
     215 Heyward Street, Brooklyn NY 11206

-------------------
Stop the Grannis/Moskowitz charter invasion of District 14

COMMUNITY EDUCATION COUNCIL FOR DISTRICT 14

 BUSINESS/CALENDAR MEETING:

 Thursday, April 19, 2012   (Business: 6:00 pm - 7:00pm / Calendar: 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm)

 I.S 71

215 Heyward Street,   Brooklyn NY 11206

by Kate Yourke, parent activist, Williamsburg/Greenpoint

Citizens of the World is a charter school in Los Angeles, CA which hopes to expand to become a national chain of publicly funded, privately run charter schools.

Citizens of the World recognized an opportunity to move into our School District to capitalize on NYC’s policy of offering charter schools free rent in our public school buildings.

This free rent has created a business model attractive enough for Citizens of the World to begin its national expansion here in NYC, coming all the way across the country to exploit District 14’s under enrolled public schools, hoping to capture the potential of wealthier, white families moving into our gentrifying District.

Founding Board Chair of Citizens of the World is Kristean Dragon, who is also Executive Director of The Wonder of Reading. Citizens of the World’s newly formed “national network” shares its address with Wonder of Reading.

On Jun 20, 2011, NBC4 Extra ran an investigative piece on scandals surrounding the Wonder of Reading program, called Book Wars: Episode Two. It describes a situation where inadequate oversight allowed public bond money to be used for improperly awarded contracts to companies requiring kickbacks- and for cost overruns to double and triple the expense of rebuilding 177 school libraries in the Los Angeles Unified School District.

From the report:

“Accountant Chris Hamilton draws an even more sober conclusion about the problems detected in the Wonder of Reading program.

"I call it the perfect storm," he says, "because you have someone who admits they've paid a kickback. You have cowed and intimidated vendors. You have no oversight. You rarely see that all in one case…"

Along with shared leadership and a shared address, Citizens of the World has a $5.2 million contract with Wonder of Reading extending into the 2014-2015 school year.

Citizens of the World recognizes similar lucrative subcontracting opportunities here in NYC, starting in our School District, where they also intend to capitalize on the fears of newer white families preparing for their children’s entry into school. Citizens of the World’s District 14 outreach efforts began with Eric Grannis (husband to Success Academy’s Eva Moskowitz) subversively infiltrating a yahoo group for local parents in the guise of a local dad. Inviting parents on this mainly white, middle-class yahoo group to a discussion of their ideal school (a discussion held in an pricey baby boutique,) a few parents were cultivated to strategically promote the school in exclusive meetings in luxury waterfront hi-rises. Parents with no experience in the public school system were told that all our neighborhood schools were failing, and that the low-income families of color would never accept them in their public school communities. The repercussions of Eric Grannis and Citizens of the World’s smarmy entrance into our neighborhood are still being felt in broken friendships, betrayed trust, and heated arguments in local play spaces. I cannot fathom the negative impact of their type of divisive, racist manipulation if Eric Grannis and Citizens of the World were to be successful in co-locating 2 large charter elementary schools in our District.

Charter Schools were developed so that educators and community leaders could respond to specific community needs.

However, the structure of charter law in combination with the system of Mayoral Control in NYC has instead allowed schools from outside a community to be imposed on that community despite universal opposition.

This Thursday’s CEC meeting will be entered into the CWCS application to demonstrate compliance with the requirements of charter law, which requires the applicant “rigorously demonstrate” public outreach “in conformity with a thorough and meaningful public review process.” In reality, Eric Grannis and Citizens of the World intentionally hid this proposal from the larger community, making only private invitations, never announcing their intention to bring this school to our District, much less holding any public meeting, discussion, or forum on their intentions.

Mayoral Control could force our community to make space in our public school buildings for these 2 charter schools which have targeted our vulnerable District from 3,000 miles away – charter schools whose leadership is implicated in vast corruption and profiteering from public money- charter schools suggesting they educate according to the premise of Citizenship, while they operate in a manipulative, secretive, and racist manner as they segregate and divide our community in the pursuit of our public school system budget.

Mayoral Control offers our community no opportunity to impact the approval and siting of charter schools, although we will suffer their impact. The stakes are enormous and the impact would be profound. We must make sure our voices are heard, involve our neighbors and stand up against this destructive intrusion, stand up for our truly public schools. I ask the Community Board to pass a resolution opposing the Citizens of the World Charter School, and I ask everyone in this room to spread the word, attend Thursday’s CEC meeting, write letters to Carl McCall, SUNY Board of Trustees, and push back against this effort to privatize our public education system.

Why We Need a New Caucus in the UFT- SOTU Meets Apr. 21

Find out more. Join us for: An Open Meeting

Sat, April 21st 12 – 3pm

Graduate Center for Worker Education, 25 Broadway

The single most important thing in defending teachers and public education we can do from inside the UFT is building a broad-based movement from the bottom up that can reach deep into the schools. I don't have to agree with everything that will emerge but as long as the process is democratic and everyone has a say I can live with not having everything go my way. This is impossible in Unity Caucus or the way they have run the union for 50 years.

Really nothing will change in the UFT until there is a viable alternative to Unity Caucus. As a matter of fact it will get worse.
I won't list the unwillingness or unwilligness of the UFT leadership to fight back. How ironic that principals are doing more to defend us on the evaluation menace?
(Today will be another dreary Delegate Assembly and nothing gets one more depressed  - or motivated - than these monthly travesties of democracy.)

It will take work and commitment. As in Chicago's CORE, this can be done with a few hundred committed people.

Are you ready?

Share the leaflet with your co-workers and help build this group from the ground up. Email me for a copy of the leaflet.

WHY WE NEED A NEW CAUCUS in the UFT

We believe our strength lies with our members, organized into strong chapters.
This requires an active effort to educate our membership about how their union works, and involve them in democratically determining its direction.

We believe in social justice unionism.

We fight for equitable public education and against racism in the schools.

Building an alliance of students, parents and community members as a key part of our strategy. The UFT must fight for our members and our students.
Our working conditions are our students learning conditions.

We prioritize members working together to build power in our schools.
Through collective struggles, our members will gain confidence and organization to mobilize an escalating series of actions, in our communities, city-wide and nationally, that can begin to take on the bigger challenges facing our union, educators and public education as a whole. Every educator in America knows that our profession, and our students, are under attack.

The onslaught of high-stakes testing, privatization, weakening or elimination of job protections, school closings and charter co- locations threatens the very existence of public education as we know it. Unionized teachers in particular have been singled out for demonization.

The strategy put forth by our union leadership to take on these challenges is inadequate. UFT officials rely primarily on lobbying, media blitzes and procedural lawsuits. When occasional mobilizations are called, they are organized without a long-term plan for escalating actions or increased membership involvement. The union leadership takes a concessionary stance in order to maintain its "seat at the table” with politicians and corporate forces like Bill Gates, who turn around and attack teachers and the union at every opportunity. Union leadership then sells serious concessions to the members as victories claiming - "It could have worse”.

Some of the key policy failures of the UFT leadership:
• Supporting mayoral control even in the face of the devastating impact
• A weak stand against closing schools
• A compromising position on charter schools and co-locations
• Giving up on the fight to reduce class size
• The acceptance of rating teachers based on high-stakes tests
• Agreeing to merit pay even though every single study shows the failure of this policy
• Steadily deteriorating working conditions and power in the workplace
• Erosion of job security and tenure protections
• A one-party undemocratic system that shuts out the voices of the members
We need something different. A union that fights for the rights of students, teachers and communities. A union that fights for racial and economic justice inside and outside our schools.

Find out more. Join us for: An Open Meeting
Sat, April 21st 12 – 3pm


Graduate Center for Worker Education, 25 Broadway

For more information email: sotuuft@gmail.com or look for State of the Union on Facebook.

One on One With Diane Ravitch and Deb Meier

Diane Ravitch and Deb Meier knock it out of the park in an interview with GEM for the upcoming film, The Inconvenient Truth Behind High Stakes Testing.

Diane Ravitch will be on Brian Lehrer today to counter the infomercial interview he did with Michelle Rhee last week. I'm a fan of Lehrer and though he did toss in a few tough comments, there was no real challenge to Rhee, though a parent and principal did get in a few shots. At one point Brian called her Dr. Rhee, maybe confusing her with Dr. MengeRhee, the German butcher of WW II.

Well anyway, when I heard she was going to be on, I rushed to edit the interview I did last week with Diane for our new movie (The Inconvenient Truth Behind High Stakes Testing).

What a treat! building Bridges one-on-one with Diane Ravitch and Debbie Meier, the two rock stars of the real reform movement within a few days of each other. (One dream is to get them next to each other and just turn on the camera.) Both interviews cover a lot of ground with Deb talking about the impact on kids and Diane on policy, really the essence of what they both do so well.

Diane was between trips for a day or two and was so gracious in giving us time last Monday morning. Our meeting was scheduled at Brooklyn Borough Hall for 10AM so I got there 20 minutes early. It was a beautiful day and there were little green tables in front of the steps so it made sense to not waste her time searching for an indoor location (when Debbie and tried it at Starbucks the noise was impossible). Besides, the setting with a park in the background looked so good.

It didn't take me long to notice it was a bit windy. And not much longer before a 40 mile an hour gust practically blew me away. OMG! The film crew will kill me if I mess this up. I pulled a table over to the side of the steps to give us some shelter and I also had a remote mic - luckily since I often use a mic mounted on the camera. You can hear the wind, but most of the interview is clear except for a few spots where the wind gusted.

Diane arrived promptly at 10 wearing a cool leather jacket and jeans. She truly did look like a rock star. She said we should have done the interview in front of 110 Livingston St., the old DOE HQ and a major topic of one of her books but we figured we would have to buy a condo first.

With the wind tousling her hair she shakes, rattles and rolls through 20 minutes of comments on high stakes testing. (I tried to edit out my whiny voice where possible.) See below for the Deb Meier interview. where she nails what education should be about. I also had the treat of talking to her off camera about open classrooms as Deb was a hero of mine when I was teaching and struggling with that concept in the 70's.

https://vimeo.com/40501011



And in case you missed it, here is my 10 minutes with Deb Meier a few days before which I wrote about previously here.


http://youtu.be/owi2SKa4EA8

IS 318 Wins High School Chess Championship

Bill Hall, the executive director of the United States Chess Federation, which organized the championships, said he had never heard of a middle school winning the high school championships. “To my knowledge, it has never happened before,” he said. I.S. 318 beat several other city chess teams this weekend, including Stuyvesant High School and Edward R. Murrow High School.  -----NY Times, Schoolbook

This is really big news. I reported on the Daily News attack on the school in this March 5 post

In Defense of IS 318 after the data reports came out where they charged that the school had a high number of ineffective teachers based on the inaccurate TDRs, even sending a reporter and photographer to one of my long-time friend's home on a Saturday morning.

I also wrote about the school when long-time principal, AP and teacher at the school, Fred Rubino, died suddenly recently (A Giant is Lost: Fortunato (Fred) Rubino). Somewhere up there Fred must be kvelling -- or whatever the Italian word for that is.

About half the school’s 1,600 students take chess classes, said Leander Windley, the school’s principal.

800 kids have time off from test prep? Though they do test prep like everyone else, they manage to create all kinds of interesting programs for the kids. By the way, I know Windley since his teaching days when he was one of the first teachers I involved in a robotics program, which 318 still has.

“This is the greatest achievement we’ve ever had, and probably ever will have,” John Galvin, one of the coaches, said in a telephone interview from Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

Wait a minute. You mean the chess team is out of town before the testing season?

John Galvin, an AP at the school, has been involved with this program for so many years. He goes back to the late 80s or early 90s when I was teaching all my upper grade classes chess when I was a cluster teacher. John actually organized a district-wide chess tournament where 8-10 schools participated, including mine. Interesting point in that the tournament was held at MS 50, the school Eva is currently invading -- (see After burn.) You know how Eva likes to brag about her chess programs, which the eager pro-charter press reports all the time, while a public school has to win the national championship to get coverage.


After they collected their award on Sunday evening, Mr. Galvin and the team hopped in cabs to catch a 9 p.m. screening of “Brooklyn Castle,” which happened to be showing at the Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival across town. It was the first time many of them had seen it.

The film also looks at the challenges I.S. 318’s longtime principal, Fortunato “Fred” Rubino, who died suddenly earlier this month, faced in maintaining the team through a time of budget cuts. A $25,000 grant from the Brooklyn Navy Yard Co-generation power plant helped pay for this year’s travel, Mr. Galvin said.

Yeah, watch WalBloom jump to take credit -- lookee, we cut their funds to the bone but due to the nurturing we gave them they can do miracles.

After Burn
Speaking of Eva, MS 50 is already getting new stuff for Eva, some of it almost a joke if you read the post from the Inside Colocation blog about the Cobble Hill school:

We returned from Spring Break to find this new floor in the basement, where the charter school will be moving in. Of course, there are no new floors anywhere else in the building. The blue was shocking. I heard one adorable student say, “I don’t know how to swim, Mister.” Another said, “They spent their money on something stupid. We don’t need new tiles.” And another said, “I think the charter school did it.” All of these students will, I’m sure, be surprised to see the changes yet to come.