Tweed Dezoning Push: The Ed Deform War on the Neighborhood School While UFT Silent

You want to dezone them because you want space for charter schools.... Eva Mosklowitz was promised 40 charter schools by Joel Klein...... Tory Frye, District 6

What does dezoning mean?  Eliminating the right of any child to attend a school near his home and implementing a system of “choice,” where parents would list preferences, and their child could be assigned by lottery to any school in the district... NYC Parent blog

dezoning will do nothing do improve the quality of education.  By forcing kids to attend schools far from home, in fact, dezoning would likely lessen parental involvement, dramatically diminish the ties between schools, local elected officials and the communities in which they sit, and certainly drive up busing costs, which are already one billion dollars a year citywide.

Dezoning would also eliminate the sole legal power of the CECs currently have – which is to approve changes in zoning lines – and allow DOE to close any neighborhood public school and put a charter school in its place; something Joel Klein tried to do as Chancellor in 2009,  until he was blocked by a lawsuit.  He refused to put his proposals before the CECs in District 3 and 23 , knowing they would turn him down.  Instead he sent a letter to all the parents in the schools he had wanted to close, recommending that they transfer their children to charter schools or other public schools nearby.  Two of these schools got “A”s on the DOE school progress reports shortly thereafter.... NYC Parent blog

Has anyone heard from the UFT on this important issue? Any attempt to get some pushback going? The UFT bragged a few years ago about going to court because the DOE tried to close 2 schools that were the only ones left in their zone and won which is what sparked the Tweed de-zoning plan in the first place.
 
Here's another story basically ignored by the NYC ed media as they suck at the teat of the ed deformers.

The assault on neighborhood schooling has been the lynchpin of ed deform and from Day 1 the destruction (and villification) of the geographically based districts has been a priority. But a provision in the law giving Bloomberg control of the schools kept the district format but Klein undermined what he could with reorganization after reorganization -- regions, some other crap I forgot the name of and finally, the current corrupt network system where you find schools in each network scattered all over the city.

Why destroy neighborhood schools and the system of local support? To kill any resistance to the privatization schemes that allow alien charters to invade and to control the vast patronage inherent in the school system. There are billions to steal -- er -- be made.

I've been meaning to report on the efforts of the DOE to dezone the school system district by district. THIS IS HIGH PRIORITY ON THE TWEED AGENDA SO ASK YOURSELF WHY?

Well, it seems that there are certain laws that put a crimp on their plans in places with zoned schools and thus by dezoning they are no longer under those laws.

They can't just dezone unilaterally because the local district CECs -- the last vestige of the concept of a geographical unit of school --  must approve -- thus their recent attempts to create dysfunction in the CECs ---

They've been going around from district to district over the past few years --  I know they tried to dezone the Dist 27 middle schools - I attended and taped a hearing - and the CEC said NO.

Here Tory Frye of Change the Stakes exposes their sham in District 6. Watch her take apart that whiny slug from Tweed.

http://youtu.be/pn64S8iSiXA




From Leonie's blog on the district 5 story:

Warning to parents and CECs considering dezoning and video from D5 hearing in Harlem

At the end of the school year and towards the end of the Bloomberg reign,  DoE has been hurriedly proposing to dezone Districts 4, 5, 6 (twice), 7 (unzoned into two large preference zones this year), 12, 13, 14, 16, 17 and 23 (unzoned for MS this year).  In order to achieve this, the Community Education Councils in these districts have to approve.

More from Leonie on the district 5 story with lots of video:

D5 hearing in Harlem

NY Daily News

Harlem parents oppose local 'dezoning' plan

City wants to make all elementary schools open for application. 'Neighborhood' school would be a thing of the past.

By Tanay Warerkar / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Published: Tuesday, June 4, 2013, 8:35 AM

Updated: Tuesday, June 4, 2013, 10:41 AM

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Norman Y. Lono/for New York Daily News

De-zoning plans have been protested in the past. Now it's Harlem's turn.

Harlem parents blasted a city proposal to de-zone elementary schools Monday night, calling the plan the wrong course for public education.

Dozens of parents heard the de-zoning presentation by the Department of Education, but there was little trust between the bureaucrats and the public, which responded with guffaws, sneers, sighs, and screams at every turn.

“De-zoning will destabilize the powerful parent community we have built in this neighborhood,” said Tory Frye, 43, an opponent. “This new process further aims to keep parents ignorant and separated from the school system.”

There are 26 elementary schools in District 6. Students are guaranteed admission to their local school or could apply for admission to one of the eight "choice" schools.

The city proposal would essentially make all 26 schools open for application for any student in the district.

The city claims that 98% of students had gotten into their top three choices of schools in areas where de-zoning has already been implemented.

The public was not allowed to address the education officials -- that will happen at a true public hearing later this month -- but parents argued the current system already gives enough choice to the community.

“The idea that my child would randomly assigned to one school makes me very uncomfortable,” said Chantelle Bradford-Gerber, 39, whose older son started elementary school last year. “Lumping together all the schools in one district will leave more parents unsatisfied, and influence what happens in the classroom.”

Frye said she felt the city's true motive to de-zone school districts was to get rid of struggling schools to make room for new charter schools. The Bloomberg Administration has encouraged the growth of charter schools, but a Department of Education official did not specifically cite charter schools as the motivation for the de-zone plan.

“We truly believe this program will increase choice and provide equal access to everyone in the community,” said Yael Kalban of the Department of Education.

But few in the crowd -- beyond a small group of parents holding identical banners supporting de-zoning -- believed her.

The meeting was so heated that it will be continued Tuesday morning at PS 8, 465 W. 167th St. at 9 a.m. RELATED: HARLEM RAILS AGAINST SCHOOL DE-ZONE PLAN

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/uptown/harlem-parents-blast-city-dezoning-plan-article-1.1362430#ixzz2VGRx1HK6

Anthony Weiner's racially divisive attack, and apology, unearthed and broadcasted

My last WAVE column took some shots at Weiner for his education program. I didn't get time to do a follow-up on why I, a former supporter, am increasingly disturbed by Weiner. Funny when I was talking to a cormer colleague, now 81 years old, and compared Weiner to Clinton, she said "What Weiner did is much worse than Clinton. Possitively creepy."

Well, here is an incident I had no memory of. Watch lots more stuffed get flushed out as the people who want him out of the race turn up whatever dirt they can.

I just came across this from the increasingly indispensable daily update from Azi Paybarah at Capital NY. I didn't embed the video from MSNBC but you can watch it at: http://capitalnewyork.com/article/politics/2013/06/8530627/anthony-weiners-racially-divisive-attack-and-apology-unearthed-and-

Anthony Weiner's racially divisive attack, and apology, unearthed and broadcasted

Related stories

• The return, again, of Anthony Weiner's 'Dinkins / Jackson agenda' flier
• MSNBC welcomes Weiner back, with some caveats

• F.A.Q.: What does it mean for the Democrats to have Anthony Weiner gone?
• Is Anthony Weiner past the punchline phase yet?

• 

By Azi Paybarah

12:57 pm Jun. 3, 2013

This weekend, MSNBC's Steve Kornacki took another look at a professionally crucial episode in Anthony Weiner's past, producing a piece of literature Weiner distributed in his 1991 Council race which helped him capitalize on racial tension from the Crown Heights riots to win.

Kornacki also got his hands on a hand-written apology letter Weiner wrote to the target of that flier, Adele Cohen.



In the letter, Weiner promised to call her in order to deliver his apology "in person." That conversation never took place, according to Cohen.
The flier is a remarkable artifact. Produced days after the race riot in Brooklyn, it said, "The David Dinkins and Jesse Jackson coalition wants you to vote for Adele Cohen" and "If Adele Cohen and her ultra-liberal agenda gets into the City Council, she'll owe it to the Dinkins/Jackson Coalition. And that's a debt we'll have to pay for."

In the apology letter, Weiner wrote that the mailing was "wrongheaded and the manner was just plain dumb. I regret the harm it did to you … I made a mistake that cannot be undone. I have to live with it. I'm sorry you do as well." He added, "I hope that in time, I will have the opportunity to redeem myself to you and to the many others who are rightly angry with me."
The incident shows a side of Weiner that is little known to younger and more liberal voters (the kind who tend to watch MSNBC) who have gotten to know him, through his made-for-YouTube rants on the floor of Congress, combative interviews on Fox and regular appearances on MSNBC, as a staunch progressive.

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Congratulations to Kornacki's producer Jack Bohrer, the historian (and, like Kornacki, occasional Capital contributor) who found the original flier.
The whole segment, which features a very New Yorky panel made up of Blake Zeff, Errol Louis, Howard Wolfson and L. Joy Williams, is worth watching.

Teachers Comment on King Dictum

Great comments are rolling in to many of the blogs and to Ed Notes directly.

Jeff Kaufman
One of my favorite parts of the arbitration decision was commented on by the UFT official spin. When deciding how many arbitration slots should be added to the current 175 authorized by our CBA. King, in his decision, noted that this was one of the biggest stumbling blocks to an agreement. When the talks broke down in January the UFT asked for 250 additional expedited arbitrations. This is for over 75,000 teachers. At the hearing they asked for 1000. The DOE initially offered 150 but at the hearing offered zero. Guess what King decided?
What this demonstrates is that the Union never cared about protecting its members and only when there would be a record made of the demand decided to look like they cared.
Why not have a rally to allow Mulgrew to absorb all of the credit for this incredible sellout?
----------

Hi Norm,

I am very concerned for my colleagues with the onset of the imposed evaluation plan.  While reading many of the news articles and blogs, I remembered how principals at one time was pushing the SMART goal approach.

The more I read about the 20 points that are based on SLOs and how principals will ask teachers to set goals for each of their students (HS) and the percentage of student will pass the Regents, the more it sounds like the SMART goal that teachers detested because of the excessive paperwork.

I remember how the union fought against the SMART goal and told teachers to send a push-back email to their principal.  Here's the push-back email that the union encouraged teachers to send to their principals back in the fall of 2009.

Date

Principal’s Name
Bronx School
Bronx, NY

Dear Principal’s Name:

I have read your memo/letter/email of [date] in which you instruct me to input into the school’s database weekly, monthly and annual instructional goals or SMART goals (list items that you are instructed to do; this is a sample list)  for every student I teach.

As always, I will do my best to comply with your instructions.  However, to complete this task, I need to know:
1.     what time during the school day I should use to complete these tasks;
2.     where I will be able to access a computer connected to the school’s database during that time.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely yours,
Teacher's Name

I did a search on your blog and found this teacher's frustration posted regarding the SMART goal.  The dejavu is the part where is states that “By September 27, 2011, 100% of teachers will have MEMORIZED the names and proficiency scores of ALL students within the target proficiency ranges, along with each students proficiency score.”

http://ednotesonline.blogspot.com/2011/09/report-from-field-race-to-bottom.html

This reminds me of principals like Grismaldy Laboy-Wilson, who taught for ONLY two years, became a principal at the age of 24, and taught a social studies class as a principal, where she had a passing rate that was less than 70%, will be one of the principals to abuse the new evaluation plan. 

http://ednotesonline.blogspot.com/2010/11/whatever-it-takes-how-to-get-grad-rates.html#comment-form

I feel that these are the blogs that I would like for you to repost to remind everyone out there that the new evaluation plan may not be the best thing out there after all.

MORE Comments on Eval Plan

MORE Statement on Evaluation Plan

3JUN

UFT Rank and File Says King’s Evaluation Plan Bad for Teachers, Students

While Micheal Mulgrew launches a campaign to convince the membership that the new teacher evaluation system is designed to help teachers improve and give them a professional voice, Bloomberg is proclaiming victory. The truth of the matter is, this evaluation system is bad for educators and the children they serve: the system requires a tremendous amount of additional work with no compensation, time or otherwise. It will create an even greater climate of fear and effectively ends tenure as we know it; putting all educators who partner with parents to advocate for the best policies for children at risk. This system places too much value on testing and is flawed in its high stakes premise. Educators are best positioned to evaluate and assess our students and teachers, not imposed tests, not junk science, not pre-packaged rubrics.    Julie Cavanagh, Elementary School Teacher & Chapter Leader P.S. 15 Brooklyn

The day has finally come. State Education Commissioner John King has imposed a new teacher evaluation deal on New York City.  UFT president Michael Mulgrew’s attempts to claim a victory in the face of defeat are hardly convincing. In his letter to the membership Mulgrew says “Here is the bottom line: The new teacher evaluation system is designed to support, not punish, teachers and to help them develop throughout their careers. That is what we will be fighting for as this plan is implemented.” Given the enormous amount of money the DOE has spent trying to fire our colleagues over the last few years, it’s credulous to suggest that this system will be about “supporting” teachers. The media has honed in on the point that Mulgrew wants to avoid: tenure has been seriously weakened, and it will be easier to fire teachers who are seen as “ineffective” based on flawed standardized tests.

We knew already from State Education Law 3012-c, which was supported by the UFT leadership as part of Race to the Top, that two years of ineffective ratings means a teacher is presumed to be incompetent. In the new termination process for tenured teachers, the burden of proof will shift to the teacher, unlike the current system where the burden of proof is on the Department of Education to prove incompetence.[1]

King’s release states: “Teachers rated ineffective on student performance based on objective assessments must be rated ineffective overall. Teachers who are developing or ineffective will get assistance and support to improve performance. Teachers who remain ineffective can be removed from classrooms.” In other words, there will be more testing for our students and tests will be the ultimate determinant of a teacher’s effectiveness.  According to the outline of the plan, “Each school will have a committee comprised of an equal number of teachers and administrators who will determine, along with the principal, which assessments each school will use,” however the plan states that principals may reject this committee’s recommendations and apply their own default measures. In many schools, this is exactly what will happen.

Only 13 percent of all ineffective ratings each year can be challenged on grounds of harassment or other matters not related to job performance. Is the UFT comfortable trusting that the other 87% of ratings of “ineffective” will be based solely on teacher performance? Given the new principals Tweed is pumping out of the Principal’s Academy and their “fire your way to success” mentality, our union leadership has left us in an extremely dangerous situation.

The union leadership is pleased that the rating system will be using “the complete Danielson rubric, with all 22 points.” The potential for abuse of this complex and multifaceted rubric is enormous.

“This system will lead to educators teaching to a rubric,” says Mike Schirtzer, UFT Delegate at Leon M. Goldstein High School in Brooklyn.  ”Pedagogy is a craft which no two teachers do the same, yet can still be equally effective.  This new scheme will limit teachers creativity in the classroom and our ability to differentiate styles in order to reach a diverse set of learners. Our greatest concern is the amount of time this will take from teachers to properly prepare for their classes, due to all of the assessments and/or SLO’s that need to be created, the committees need to be formed and countless hours of professional development dedicated to Common Core and Danielson, two directives that have no scientific evidence of increasing learning.”

In addition to the onerous micromanagement of the Danielson rubric, observations will be more frequent and at least one will be an unannounced observation. This is problematic, as without pre- and post-observation conferences, administrators will likely be unaware what scaffolding the teacher has done beforehand, and are likely to penalize teachers because they don’t have this information.  Mulgrew says this is not a “gotcha” system, but in practice it most certainly will be.

The new system also includes a pilot of student surveys. This encourages grade-inflation and a lack of discipline in the classroom. Research shows that student surveys don’t work in high-stakes settings. The use of such surveys poisons the relationships between teachers and students, who now in addition to their test scores bear even more responsibility for the future of their teachers’ careers.

Crucially, this agreement will not include a sunset provision, unlike districts in other parts of the state. The sunset provision was a key sticking point in negotiations, as the UFT was hoping it would be able to renegotiate the terms of this plan under a new and presumably friendlier mayor. The current deal is in place for the next four years at least, and can only be re-negotiated in collective bargaining within the framework of State Education Law 3012-c.

The mayor and his henchmen have been gloating effusively. The mayor’s statement said “Commissioner King has sided with our children on nearly every major point of disagreement we had with the UFT’s leadership, while also rejecting the UFT’s long-held demand for a sunset provision.” Dennis Walcott said he was extremely pleased with the commissioner’s announcement today and we look forward to implementing it.” Bloomberg advisor Howard Wolfson bragged on Twitter that the UFT was “shut out on nearly all their demands.”  No matter how the UFT leadership tries to spin it, this is a major defeat for teachers and students.

What Now?

The dropoff in voter turnout in the recent UFT election was already a sign of a disengaged and passive membership.  The new evaluation system and the way it was imposed are likely to further demoralize the rank-and-file and increase their cynicism toward the union.  The UFT surrendered our collective bargaining rights by turning over the key issue in the next contract to the State Education Department, calling for a biased state official to impose evaluations on us.

MORE campaigned for a membership vote on this evaluation system, and presented a petition with over 1,000 signatures to the December Delegate Assembly.  Unity opposed submitting this to the membership since they knew it would be deeply unpopular.  The fact that this has instead been imposed by the State Education Department means Mulgrew and the Unity leadership will have an alibi for what will now certainly be a deeply concessionary contract.  We must expose the leadership’s circumvention of membership in this process, and their contempt for the voices of their rank-and-file.

June 12 will be the day that city workers come together to demand fair contracts.  In light of the new evaluation system, one wonders what’s left to negotiate.  The key concessions, the biggest change to our working conditions in at least a generation, are already in place.  It will be crucial for UFT members to attend and discuss the magnitude of this sell-out, and the undemocratic way in which it was imposed on us.  Our next contract will inevitably include the new evaluation system.  It will also be the first time in this process that the membership has been consulted at all.  A campaign to vote no on this contract would send a signal to the leadership that the membership rejects this plan.

Everybody agrees that the key to this will be implementation.  Teachers must build active chapters that can be vigilant in calling out abuse of the new system.   A coordinated grievance campaign around particular issues of implementation can help us make the most of the 15 extra arbitration days to deal with systemic abuses.  MORE will be campaigning in the fall to organize and train chapter leaders, delegates and school activists to be effective in defending their colleagues and organizing strong chapters.

Teachers also need to unite with students and parents to call for an end to the high stakes testing regime that is central to this new evaluation system.  Students will now not only be taking high stakes state tests or PARCC assessments, but also regular “performance assessments” designed to assess teacher effectiveness.  Campaigns like the MAP test boycott in Seattle show the power of a community uniting to fight the standardized testing regime.

What this whole sad story tells us is that we can’t rely on our union leaders to deliver on our behalf.  They have conceded everything, and may now even prove unable to win us retroactive pay for the years we’ve spent without a contract.  It’s only by rebuilding the union from the bottom up, school by school, classroom by classroom, that we will begin to stand up to the corporate assault on our schools.  MORE is dedicated to a different kind of union, one where democracy and accountability replace backroom deals, where the members make the decisions that matter in their professional lives.  Join us!

---

[1] If a DOE-appointed validator disagrees with the principal’s rating, the DOE keep burden of proof.  However, validators are likely to be retired principals, ain the PEP+ system, which is currently used to help fire teachers.

Thompson Pans Evaluations as Critiques (other than UFT) Roll in

Fleisher reports that Tisch and Thompson didn't speak before he released his comments criticizing the new plan.... WSJ

So this morning the City’s Gates-trained drones are hard at work developing new tests for Auto Mechanics, Special Ed, Art, Drama, Newspaper, PhysEd, and the rest.   By the way, you can forget any help to kill this plan from Randi’s boy, Mulgrew, at UFT.  He has already sent out a letter to dues-paying union members celebrating the lipstick he was able to reach over the fence and smear on this pig.  He should be recalled and sent packing, along with Weingarten... Jim Horn @thechalkface.

I don't have access to Lisa Fleischer's article as linked to by Azi Paybarah at Capital New York (Excellent daily report on happenings). I wonder if she, in addition to friction with Tisch, also contrasted Thompson's critique to the UFT leadership's joy given they will almost certainly endorse him? If anyone has access send me the article or leave it as a comment.

Check out some of the analysis going on from the blogroll. Here is a tweet from Jim Horn: Jim Horn ‏@MismeasureOfEd 11m

NY's Rube Goldberg Plan for Teacher Evaluation: http://wp.me/pJX8i-7FG  via @thechalkface.

Thompson pans evaluations, but what does his campaign chair think?		Thompson. Aleksandra Slabisz via nycma
	The state has announced a new plan to evaluate public school teachers, something that City Hall and the teachers union had been unable to agree on after months of stalled negotiations. As Lisa Fleisher at the Wall Street Journal reports, the new deal reveals some tension between a mayor mayoral candidate and one of his leading advisers. The 241-page plan was called "unworkable" by Democratic mayoral candidate Bill Thompson, the former president of the Board of Education who has as his campaign chairperson Merryl Tisch, chancellor of the New York State Board of Regents. In that latter role, Tisch oversees state education commissioner John King, who helped devise the new teacher evaluation plan. Fleisher reports that Tisch and Thompson didn't speak before he released his comments criticizing the new plan. New teacher evaluations were announced by the state this weekend. "Student test scores will make up 20 percent of their rating, while classroom observations will account for 60 percent. Principals and teachers will work together to decide how to evaluate the remaining 20 percent." [Javier Hernandez] "There’s a pattern here that speaks to Bloomberg’s hopeless impatience." [New York Post] In an op-ed, Bloomberg said the city can't afford retroactive raises for union members. [Daily News]

More links:

The Doenuts Blog

Just Some Quick Information About How the Scores will be Compiled.

 

Jersey Jazzman

Student Surveys 

• Perdido Street School

  Get Ready For Standardized Tests In Every Subject, K-12

   
• NYC Educator

  Contract Update--King Reformy John Will Impose a UFT Contract Next Saturday at 4 PM

Evaluation Deal: The Enemy, King/Bloomberg/etc or UFT/AFT/NYSUT Leadership?

Despite the awful and fairy-dust based evaluation system, despite the fact that not one UFT member was allowed a vote on it, we have been almost five years without a raise and missed the 8% pattern raise the rest of our union brothers and sisters got. I have no problem telling the emperor how I feel about that.... NYC Educator on the June 12 rally
 
Bloomberg is irrelevant. The real emperors are the people running our unions at all levels. ... Me

Posted at Jersey Jazzman blog

Pssst, kid. Want some candy for a good evaluation?... NYC Teacher to 3rd grader.

Remember the great exclamations about Mulgrew being a hero last December for withstanding the pressure from Bloomberg to give up the sunset provision? Well that's gone anyway. Ignore the selling points that any changes have to be bargained collectively. In fact isn't this a new contract anyway given the major change in language and shouldn't the members have to vote? Jeez, in Chicago they might even go on strike over this.

I'm reading "Bunker Hill" about the American Revolution and what it took for the mentality of loyalty to the mother country to change into the movement for independence and accusations of being a traitor. The early adopters -- Sam Adams -- were considered lunatics at one point -- until the day came when the majority came to see that same point of view. I make this point with respect to how we view the UFT leadership.

I understand the ed deformers and why they do what they do. They are despicable but in many ways more honest than the people running our unions. 

June 12 and 8th rallies: who are we rooting for?
I understand that telling Bloomberg on June 12 how you feel means something. But in the context of this situation that becomes a win for the UFT leadership in their deflection of their actions onto Bloomberg. So people end up cheering when Mulgrew slams Bloomberg. And that weakens the movement to create change in the UFT by creating a divided loyalty concept.

RBE at Perdido seems to get it in his just posted piece:

Carol Burris: The VAM And SLO's Are Indefensible

A comment Carol Burris made at Gotham Schools:

This is my prediction...in the end, it will all result in lawsuits because VAM and the SLOs will be found to be indefensible as measures of teacher quality. This is the full employment act for school attorneys.

Unfortunately it does not seem the UFT will be joining the lawsuits because they're too busy spinning how this is a win for teachers. You can bet they are in major CYA mode at 52 Broadway and every critique of the system will get a response from the geniuses there. I wonder, will they bring back Lyin' Leo Casey to lead the pushback?

Remember how Leo vilified Carol Burris? I would take her as my union rep over Leo any day.

I would use the June 12 event to tell people exactly what the union leadership has done to them --- I know, I know, this would be considered a no-no, even by many of my colleagues in MORE. (I'm on the fringe there too.)

In fact Bloomberg is irrelevant. The real emperors are the people running our unions at all levels. DOENuts found the latest Leo Casey ("who famously 'set the record straight' a year ago") tweet: about teachers being fired at a charter school in Seattle.

Yep!!!!!!! That's my union guys. Just change the subject and talk about Charters! Gotta love it. "Hey, my idea just totally ske-ruuued you, but check out this cool graffiti artist!". Ah. Leo Casey! Ah, humanity!

No wonder Leo got out of town in time to avoid being pilloried.

I am ambivalent about the June 12 rally and the June 8 "anti-testing" rally in Albany when key organizers are the very people who have sold us out. I point you to comments made by Sean Ahern (one of the co-founders of ICE) about the role of the UFT leadership. Assaulting the Walls of Ed Deform, NYSUT June 8 ...May 28, 2013. One thing about current and former ICEers, the thinking is way harsher about the UFT leadership  --- probably given the long time experience in watching how they operate. Many younger MOREs just haven't reached that stage yet, wanting to offer a vision of "positive alternative leadership" whereas I would attack, attack, attack.

MORE is going all out in support of the June 12 rally. At this point I am not planning to go.

Following the trail to this evaluation story and the culpability of UFT/NYSUT/AFT leaders, how do we march in support of them? At some point we have to decide if they are friend or foe. There really is no middle. I know that I am often accused of being on the fringe over my comparison of them to the Vichy mentality but once you reach that point it becomes obvious that they are often no better than the enemy and then the next step is to act accordingly: organize in opposition to them. Why not use the rallies to do so?

Thus I would go on June 12 and June 8 with the idea of telling people exactly what the leadership has done. You would be accused of being disloyal -- let's all be united today, blah, blah, blah. Sort of like saying let's march together to support America in all its wars because we need unity. Loyalty to the union does not mean loyalty to the leadership that has coopted democracy in such a fundamental way. If there were bales of tea in front of 52 Broadway I would dump them in the harbor.

At Perdido, someone asked it the UFT leadership was stupid or criminal.

I vote "criminal/Vichy."

Don't ever make the mistake of thinking MulGarten are stupid. They do not function in our interests but as mediators between the powers that be and the rank and file. What to they get? Lots of life/prof perks and power. They really have no other choice. In order to fight them they would need to educate, organize and mobilize the members which would require a democratically run union -- see Karen Lewis in Chicago where they can get the same amount of support without buying off the opposition/New Action. 

In NYC democracy is a threat to the leadership so the only way they can function is in a partnership with the rulers, hoping for crumbs which they will get at times them to help keep the rank and file under control. Neither Unity nor Bloomberg want another Chicago here and will do what it takes to keep Unity in power. That was why the bigger the opposition grows the more the rulers will give to quiet it down. I believe if MORE had gotten say 40% of the vote we would have a much better chance to have a contract.

Here is the latest output (as of 9AM) from the great bloggers on our blogroll. I urge you to take a look at them.

James Eterno:

I tried to limit the commentary because we haven't seen the full decision yet, but the evaluation system looks as bad as we thought it was going to be.

http://iceuftblog.blogspot.com/2013/06/king-decides-on-teacher-evaluations.html

• 
  Perdido Street School

  Mulgrew's Kabuki Dance

  8 hours ago
• 
  The Doenuts Blog

  Oh, John King, You Slay Me (No, I mean seriously. You're going to get me fired, dude. What's up with that?).

  10 hours ago
• 
  Jersey Jazzman

  EXCLUSIVE! First Look at NY Student Surveys for Teacher Evaluation!

  10 hours ago
• 
  Accountable Talk

  Email From Mulgrew Regarding APPR Decision

  11 hours ago 

  

  NYC Educator

  Highlights of Reformy John's New Decree

  14 hours ago

   

   Check the blog roll for further updates. The MORE response should be up at some point.

  
  

Mr. Merrow, how about reconsidering your adulation of RSD in New Orleans?

It is a sham, just as Rhee is a sham.....  deutsch29

John Merrow has done a mea culpa on Michelle Rhee and took particular aim at the Washington Post's coddling of that Cheatn' Rhee.

Does Washington have an ‘Atlanta-style’ situation? In some respects, yes. There are four striking similarities: Irregularities at a majority of schools in both cities; a secret report buried by the school administration in both cities; pseudo-investigations in both cities; and widespread support from ‘the establishment’ in both cities. There’s one key difference between Atlanta and Washington: the role played by the local newspapers.

Merrow was/has been a fan of the phony Paul Vallas post-Catrina destruction and de-unionization of the New Orleans school system. (Arne Duncan: the best thing to happen to New Orleans was Catrina). Deutsch29 left this comment on our post John Merrow's Growing Relentlessness on Rhee Cheat...":

Mr. Merrow, how about reconsidering your adulation of RSD in New Orleans? It is a sham, just as Rhee is a sham.

http://deutsch29.wordpress.com/2013/05/22/louisiana-charter-school-audit-reveals-faux-accountability/

http://deutsch29.wordpress.com/2013/05/06/new-schools-for-new-orleans-dont-you-believe-it/ 

Merrow and other media cannot just take a look at isolated instances of ed deform run amuck but the entire package -- including the charter scams from open stealing to the pre-k games we have reported on. 

Video: Since You Asked, Mr. Walcott

Excess'd - A Teacher Without a Room comes up with another in a series of videos this time spoofing Walcott's appearance at the principal's conference (Whining Walcott Misuses Public Funds and Public Space)  two weeks ago.

Norm in The Wave: I Was Tossed From Anthony Weiner Rockaway Event and Governor Slow-Mo

It was beginning to rain fairly hard and some late arrivals were wearing rain gear to cover up. Was it the rain or the shame of attending this closed Weiner event? .....Weiner has $5 million to spend and not even a piece of strudel?... Why is Weiner, who bills himself as the champion of the middle class favoring these hedge-fund backed organizations?
Will Weiner tweet me a pic of a piece of strudel in his underwear?

This event occurred last Friday, May24th and was written on May 28th for The Wave: http://m.rockawave.com/news/2013-05-31/Columnists/School_Scope.html

True Confessions

by Norm Scott

 


 “Anthony Weiner attends a Rockaway Community meeting on Beach 139th Street, May 24, 6:45. Press: Open for photo spray only,” was listed in an online bulletin. I decided to drop by, not as a columnist from The Wave (Weiner was said to be ducking the press), but as a community member and retired teacher interested in hearing what Weiner had to say on education-related issues. It was raining when I arrived at the home of Sylvan and Rose Klein, both of whom I was meeting for the first time. A large “Anthony Weiner for Mayor” sign stretched across the front window. The living room was filled with people waiting for Weiner, who was running an hour late.

This did not look like a community meeting but a “meet and greet,” aimed at garnering support for Weiner.

Within 10 minutes of my arrival, I was asked to leave by Klein because “you write for The Wave.” I said I was not covering the story for The Wave but was there for what was billed as a “community” meeting (I live a few blocks away). I do not get paid by The Wave - hear that Kevin - and am not working press. I have no idea what a “photo spray” is. But even with my connection to The Wave, given Weiner’s strong connections to Rockaway’s paper, one would hope for some basic courtesy from Klein like, “Please don’t write about this.” In fact I told Klein I wouldn’t be writing about the event. He didn’t want to hear it. “I’m asking you to leave,” he said pointedly, his voice rising, officially entering him into the book of “not nice,” especially since I didn’t even get a piece of fruit. Weiner has $5 million to spend and not even a piece of strudel?

Waiting outside – the real press: Newsday, the Columbia Spectator, a big truck from NBC Channel 4, a reporter from the NY Post who said, “I cover crime - homicides.” Made sense to me, since Weiner committed homicide on his career. But in the fantasy world of politics, anyone can be resurrected. It was beginning to rain fairly hard and some late arrivals were wearing rain gear to cover up. Was it the rain or the shame of attending this closed Weiner event? I went home to dry off and eat.

Governor Cuomo said “it would be a shame” if Weiner became Mayor with one report saying, “Cuomo and other leading Democrats are more than a little uncomfortable with the idea of Weiner actively campaigning for one of the country's highest-profile positions. A Times story about Weiner's wife, the longtime Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin, says Bill and Hillary Clinton are particularly unhappy with it too. Weiner's old boss, Chuck Schumer, acts as if he wishes the whole campaign would just go away.”

I supported Anthony Weiner as our Congressman, especially as the lone voice calling for single-payer (Medicare for all) health care system. I was disturbed over the fundamental lack of judgment accompanied by a pathetic cover up in the big scandal but look at candidates based on where they stand in the education wars. I lean to Liu and de Blasio due to their pushback against the privatization of public education and the blatant anti-unionism.

Figuring out Weiner on ed is a project. How about this headline? “Weiner Says If Teachers Want Raises, They Must Concede On Health Care Costs.” Bloomberg denies teachers the 4% pattern raise given to other unions and this is Weiner’s response?

Weiner supports the co-location of charter schools with enormous wealth as they compete for resources with public schools. The day before Weiner’s Rockaway visit, Democracy Prep charter rented out the Central Park Zoo for a fundraiser honoring Joel Klein, the patron saint of rapacious charter schools. Protesting were a small group of poor adult ed students whose struggles to complete high school were being impacted by Democracy Prep being handed precious space in their building.

Eva Markowitz’s Success Charters raised $7 million in one night at their “gala” and spends millions plastering the streets with advertising to lure kids out of public schools which don’t have galas or money to advertise. They’re lucky to have paper. While PCB lights explode in public school spaces, Success replaces their lights, enforcing a separate, unequal climate that has been termed “educational apartheid.”

Why is Weiner, who bills himself as the champion of the middle class favoring these hedge-fund backed organizations? A good question to ask both Weiner (if we ever get the chance) and Sylvan Klein, an educator who should be concerned over supporting a candidate so willing to help wealthy privatizers pull the plug on public education.

Norm blogs at ednotesonline.org.

=======
While I'm on The Wave, here is an editorial by our new editor (since Sandy) Kevin Boyle, who slashes Cuomo in comparison to Christie. Frankly if forced to make a choice between them in any vote, both my wife and I go hands down for Christie -- I'm sure Mike Schirtzer, my favorite (and only) Republican in MORE is cheering.

Governor Slow-Mo

We look at Governor Christie visiting one beach town after another in New Jersey and we start to wonder about our governor. Where is Andrew?
Christie goes and sees with his own eyes – not only the destruction but the repair and rehabilitation. Again, where’s Andrew?

Christie is seen in ad campaigns which boasts New Jersey as Stronger than the Storm. Cuomo is running an ad campaign, too. It’s called New York State Open For Business. He’s using federal relief money and promoting areas untouched by the storm.

Christie promotes business and resiliency. Cuomo says maybe we should let Mother Nature have her way, tell those people to move on.

We’re not comparing records of the two governors beyond their connection to people affected by the storm. On that score, Christie far outshines our governor.

On the eve of Thanksgiving, Cuomo told residents of Breezy Point that in a year’s time the place would be back better and stronger than ever. Two months later he was saying about coastal communities: “At one point, you have to say maybe Mother Nature doesn’t want you here. Maybe she’s trying to tell you something.” He hasn’t been back to Breezy since.

We’re checking the news accounts. As far as we can tell, the last time he came to Rockaway was November 21st. Less than two weeks later he reinstated the tolls on the Rockaway bridges. Volunteers and displaced people had to pay full tolls. What was that about, Governor? What was the rush?

This week, Governor Christie got another visit from President Obama – it looked like a bipartisan effort to get things done. Maybe Cuomo and our Mayor should try it. Or has the governor just conceded power to Mayor Bloomberg? Is Cuomo just a coat holder for the mayor?

Some relief money is being split: half for the city, half for the rest of the State. Does that mean Cuomo is free of responsibility to city dwellers affected by Sandy? Of course not.

Maybe he’ll come when the A Train resumes service. Will he get off the train long enough for a good look at Rockaway? We doubt it.
Cuomo’s grandfather used to own a building on Beach 116th Street (coincidentally it’s vacant now). Curiously, he’s skipped over the mid-peninsula, instead making stops in Breezy and Far Rockaway after the Storm. Did Andrew get roughed up on the beach when he was a kid? What gives with his total disregard – or is it contempt -- for Rockaway?

Most curiously, he announced this week – seven months after Sandy -- appointments to positions focusing on New York's storm recovery efforts. Seven months? Well, here’s something equally troubling. This team is also supposed to address issues stemming from Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee.

That’s a governor in slow motion. If he’s hiring people now to help with Tropical Storm Lee we should be grateful it’s only seven months since Sandy.

Politicians don’t have to be seen to be effective; but sometimes they should be seen.

Where’s Andrew?

2013-05-31 / Editorial/Opinion

This is new….The PAVE Pre-K contract is listed as WITHDRAWN!

Yesterday we reported on the outrage of PAVE charter being handed 400 grand by Tweed to help them steal pre-k kids from the local public schools in Red Hook, which have had their requests to expand their own pre-k programs denied by the criminal privatizers at Tweed (DOE Allows Charter Schools to Set Up Stealth Pre-K programs to Further Undermine Public Schools.)

We have been challenging the tepid NYC ed press corps to put all the pieces together of the assault on the public school system by the very people who are running it into the ground - on purpose.

Then last night the teacher who wrote about the story for us emailed that the PAVE pre-k proposal had been withdrawn from the PEP contract meeting on May 22.

See page 4!

http://schools.nyc.gov/NR/rdonlyres/05C74C24-EC18-417B-BE36-5B4179910E9D/0/05222013Contracts.pdf

While we can't take credit for this -- it will probably pop up again somewhere, maybe there were some press inquiries that caused them to withdraw it or maybe the refusal by some city agency with a conscious to hand over space being used by a senior citixen center forced out of their home by Sandy left PAVE without space for the program. Look for them to be back and they might move it to some dark corner where no one will notice. I'm sure our teacher correspondent will stay on the case.

Be ever vigilant.

DOE Allows Charter Schools to Set Up Stealth Pre-K programs to Further Undermine Public Schools

DOE is approving over 400,000 thousand dollars to PAVE for their pre-k program. They are getting about 30,000 less than PS 15 does for Pre-K, but we run 4 classes and PAVE will run 3..... Public school administrators all over this city must fight or beg for every resource they bring to their schools, while charter school operators clearly have people in high places simply making things happen for them, regardless of laws, procedure, or decency.... Teacher at PS 15K

The criminals at Tweed are at it again. And where is the UFT on these blatant thefts of kids out of public schools? The charter lobby push to get their mitts on pre-k is getting intense. If they can steal these kids right off then they capture the early creaming crowd. 

From my very first day of teaching we learned that the kids who registered for pre-k ended up being the top performing kids in our school for the rest of the time they were there. They made up the "one" class while the kids who did not go to pre-k often ended up struggling. Was it the fact that they had an extra year in school or a sign that the family was more aware and education conscious? A combo of both but I lean toward the latter. You would likely find less single and more working parents. Charters know that full well.

Ed Notes first reported this story on the day of the hearing (NYCDOE Charter Hits Keep Coming on PAVE Favoratism) with a slap at the NYC Press corps for ignoring this important aspect of charter school greed and theft of public monies by stretching the law to grab pre-k kids before they get to the local public school. Eve did this to PS 123 in Harlem which ended up losing pre-k classes. In DOE-Tweedie land, public school parents must go on line to register for pre-k (and many parents in poor neighborhoods may not have access) while the charter school pre-k scams allow parents to register in person.

I actually got an email from a reporter for a major media outlet chastizing me for criticizing them for not covering a story that was breaking that night. Of course she is (purposely?) missing the point of the larger story told here by a teacher at PS 15 in Red Hook that fought against the PAVE invasion until they were given 30+ million dollars to build their own school, another aspect of the shameful NYC ed press corps which would jump on a teacher for stealing a dime. Now they are given another 400K for a school run by a billionaire.

As readers know, we have been involved in the struggle over PAVE/PS 15 since it began. That is how we met Julie Cavanagh through GEM's support. PAVE finally left the building after Bloomberg gave them 30 mil for their own building, a true theft of public funds.

Now PAVE was trying to get the space being used by the senior citizen center which was forced out by flooding for their prek program, later denied, but a sample of their avarice and arrogance. Why doesn't Bloomberg just build them another building?

Here are reports on the "hearing" which was held on very short notice.

Several weeks ago, I ran into an employee of PAVE Academy at a shop in Park Slope.  We were familiar with one another from the required "Shared Space" meetings that co-located schools are required to hold. We exchanged greetings, and she excitedly told me, “We’re getting a Pre-K now!”  "We" being PAVE Academy, and the Pre-K is a not-yet-approved program, for which PAVE has been advertising job postings online since January. To most of us, this is what we call putting the cart before the horse, but in charter school land, it’s just another day. 

Monday May 6, a “public” hearing was held to recognize PAVE’s application to amend their charter to hold their kindergarten lottery 17 months ahead of the kindergarten start date.  Once approved, and I’ve never seen an application of PAVE or most any other charter school denied, this would allow the school to hold a lottery early enough to accept students into their alleged “separate entity” Pre-K.  But the lottery was already held in April and the Pre-K doesn’t exist yet, as it hasn’t been approved. 

Furthermore, New York State Charter Law states that charter schools may not operate Pre-K programs. So to summarize, a lottery was held before the hearing  to request to hold an early lottery and job postings were up before the jobs existed and the program approved. Oh, and the hearing was not advertised anywhere in the community, nor the usual places online.  The few people I know who even heard about it, learned of it hours before it began. 

This kind of shady backdoor dealing is typical of the DOE’s Office of Charter Schools, and the Department of Education in General.  Does anyone remember the emails between Eva Moskowitz and former New York City Schools Chancellor Joel Klein? I certainly remember PAVE Academy having the address of my school listed as their own on a charter school directory website before their co-location was officially approved. 

It is well known that Spencer Robertson and his partner in Crime Cooper Westendarp have their eyes on NYCHA’s Miccio Communty Center in Red Hook to house PAVE’s Pre-K. This is the very facility that allowed PAVE Academy to use space during their displacement due to hurricane Sandy.  

Currently, this facility is being used as a replacement location for the Red Hook Senior Center, as the Senior Center was flooded and ruined by the hurricane. It makes little sense to renovate and return seniors to a basement space in a flood zone, so for now, the Miccio is all they have. Which explains why a large group of seniors walked over to attend the hearing. But Mr. Westendarp stopped all of them in the lobby, stating the meeting had nothing to do with their space (and who knows what other fiction he shared) causing confusion among the group, who ultimately left the building.   

For those of us that know how the DOE works, and how charter schools work, we know the hearing had everything to do with their space. You just have to connect the dots. The few attendees who made it past Cooper Westendarp and did show up to the hearing made the connection, and not one community member or parent spoke in favor of the amendment to the charter.

There are many other things to consider here, one being that just because the DOE has shirked state laws to allow charter school darling Jeffery Canada to open a Pre-K program in Harlem, does not make it right or legal to extend such a favor to Mr. Robertson.  Also, the need for more Pre-K seats within the Red Hook community is debatable.  

The principal of P.S. 15 was previously denied additional requested Pre-K classes, and wasn't granted one until she agreed to open a Dual Language Pre-K program, which opened this year.   P.S. 15 currently has 66 seats available for zoned students, and although many more than that have applied for these seats, about half of the applicants are students from other neighborhoods.  

This shows the need for additional Pre-K seats clearly exists not so much in Red Hook, but within the communities of Carroll Gardens, Sunset Park, Windsor Terrace and Park Slope, the places where the other applicants live. 

The principal of Red Hook's other public elementary school, P.S. 676, has been repeatedly denied from expanding her Pre-K as well, after applying for additional classes for  years. P.S. 676 is willing and happy to expand their program this fall to meet any such need that may exist in the Red Hook community. Of course in order to do so, the principal needs the Department of Education’s approval— a favor clearly reserved for charter school operators. As I write this I worry that the Department of Education will use information I've shared to take classes away from my school, as they have denied us programs in the past because of our five year co-location with PAVE academy. Public school administrators all over this city must fight or beg for every resource they bring to their schools, while charter school operators clearly have people in high places simply making things happen for them, regardless of laws, procedure, or decency.

Here is an email -- edited a bit by me to remove some of the details of how many pre-k kids, etc  ---- the teacher sent to the charter school office of the DOE. The teacher gave me permission to use her name but I'm redacting. It contains similar material as above but I like the raw day-after outrage --- which I would also direct at the UFT leadership which is oh-so silent. Maybe the UFT silence is why PS 15 is such a strong supporter of MORE. Where is that COPE money being used to defend public education? Maybe they want the UFT charter to do the same thing.

Subject: PAVE Academy Charter School

Date: May 7, 2013 6:50:24 AM EDT

To: charterschools@schools.nyc.gov

This email is to serve as a record of my opposition to the revision of PAVE Academy's charter to hold their Kindergarten lottery 17 months ahead of the student's actual kindergarten start-date.  The reason for this revision is to allow PAVE to open a Pre-K program, which is illegal under New York State Charter Laws.  Allowing them to create a non-profit "separate entity" claimed to be run by a separate board of trustees is simply this city's way to circumvent state laws, which is despicable. 

Speaking of despicable, the meeting last night was clearly in violation of the guidelines set forth for such meetings, as it was not publicized on the DOE website at all, and as shown by poor attendance, not made public to the community of Red Hook in any way. There is a larger issue that DOE representatives refused to address at the meeting. Although, as usual, rules and laws rarely apply to Mr. Robertson, PAVE's founder and director. He has his eyes on space owned by NYCHA that is currently being used to house displaced senior citizens whose Red Hook facility was flooded and ruined due to hurricane Sandy. (He had his eyes on my school's building as well, and before our public hearing, the address of my school, P.S. 15 was listed as  PAVE's on the charter school directory online.)  

Therefore, it's hard to pretend that yesterday's meeting was simply about adjusting a charter to  allow the school to run their Kindergarten lottery 17 months ahead of time, as they have already held their lottery for next year and enrolled students in their not-yet-approved Pre-K program, and have job postings all over the internet for their not-yet-approved PreK program. Of course, Spencer's colleague Cooper Westendarp very cleverly and deceptively told a group of senior citizens who attempted to attend the meeting last night that it had nothing to do with taking their space, and who knows what other lies, causing the entire group to leave before the meeting began.  In fact, he stopped them in the lobby, so they didn't even get near the meeting space.

There are many other things to consider here, one being just because rules and laws have been shirked to allow your favorite charter rockstar and John Legend's best bud Jeffery Canada to open a PreK program, does not make it right in the eyes of the law (or this tax payer and public school teacher) to extend such a favor to Mr. Robertson in  a neighborhood where the need for more PreK seats is debatable.  For example, my principal was previously denied additional requested Pre-K classes, and wasn't granted one until she agreed to open a Dual Language Pre K program.  Furthermore, the principal of Red Hook's other public school, P.S. 676 has been denied from expanding her Pre-K as well, and she has openly stated that she has room to open 2 more classes, and is willing to do so and will apply to expand her program to meet any such need that may exist in the Red Hook community.

The shady way in which this meeting was held, and the fact that not one parent or community member spoke in favor of granting the charter revision to PAVE should be of some significance.

====

A parent activist comments on her reading of the law:

My (inexpert) reading of the law is that this is not against the law. It seems charters may not get state funding for pre-k, but the separate entity certainly is allowed to do so. Look for more of these as pre-k funding increases. It is a loophole for sure and goes against the spirit of the law ( lottery and pre-k) but charter schools ( like most corps) have been exploiting loopholes for profit as the backbone of this nation since the dawn of capitalism and free markets.

Here is one article
http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20130517/red-hook/red-hook-charter-school-launches-pre-k-program

Red Hook Charter School Launches Pre-K Program

 

PAVE Academy Charter School Looks to Start Pre-K Program

RED HOOK — A new pre-K program is coming to Red Hook this fall, sponsored by a local charter school.

PAVE Academy Charter School is launching three full-day pre-K classes with a total of 54 4-year-olds in September, after winning approval from the city's Office of Early Childhood Education earlier this month.

The school held a lottery for the seats in April and allowed winning pre-K families to also reserve a kindergarten spot for the following year, said Spencer Robertson, director of PAVE Academy, who started the K-8 charter school in 2008.

The pre-K program, which will be run by a separate nonprofit because charter schools are not allowed to run their own pre-K, recently applied for $453,521 in funding from the Panel for Education Policy.

Robertson had hoped to house the pre-K classes in the PAL Miccio Center, a New York City Housing Authority building that now contains a senior center and was formerly used by a Head Start program, but the school was denied use of the space, Robertson said in an email.

“We understand the decision and are now looking for an alternate space in Red Hook where the pre-K program can operate,” Robertson said.

Some local education leaders said they did not see a need for more pre-K programs in the area. While other neighborhoods in District 15, such as Sunset Park, South Slope and Park Slope, have issues with large class size and overcrowding, Red Hook has not faced that issue, said Jim Devor, president of the Community Education Council in Brooklyn's District 15.

“Frankly there is no need for pre-K space in Red Hook,” Devor said.

The Department of Education added 4,000 new pre-K seats this year to boost early childhood education throughout the city. Community-based organizations like PAVE Pre-K have an application process that is separate from pre-K application for public schools.

======
Here is the NYC Charter school center lobbying for charter pre-k. Don't gag.

New York has nearly doubled access to pre-K education over the
past decade. But we are still far from providing truly universal access. The 2013–2014 budget’s $25 million for expanding access to high quality, full-day pre-K services is a step in the right direction, but there are more steps ahead.
To continue making progress, New York’s high-quality public charter schools must be given the same opportunities as any other public school. That means authorizing high-quality public charter schools to provide pre-K services and granting access to new state funding streams.

From the conclusion of a policy brief by NYCAN, the advocacy group, that argues for charter schools to be allowed to offer pre-kindergarten programs, which state law currently prohibits. The issue is one that charter school advocates across the state have made a top priority for this legislative session, but education bills face an uphill battle even to be considered this year.

Video - Mayoral Debate on Education: The Winner is ..... Moderator Zakiyah Ansari

Republished with full video coverage:
No one was more impressive than Zakiyah who dominated the debate with her no-nonsense take charge approach. I guess many of the candidates did not know much about her but every single one of them took notice.

Zakiayah for mayor.

The press corps was massive due to Weiner -- a major victory for NY-GPS in getting him to show -- did they have to guarantee him the seat next to Zakiyah which got the most camera work?
The biggest loser? Quinn by far, who was ridiculed. She is slipping into oblivion. Will we see a Weiner/Thompson run-off?

Video of entire debate plus my one on one post debate questions to Thompson and de Blasio.
https://vimeo.com/67227031



Friday I will publish my Wave column on how I got tossed from a Weiner appearance in Rockaway last Friday.

Read Leonie's report.
Read press accounts:
NY Times, Daily News, WSJ, NY Post,  Huffington Post, NY Mag, City and State. GothamSchools