Written and edited by Norm Scott:
EDUCATE! ORGANIZE!! MOBILIZE!!!
Three pillars of The Resistance – providing information on current ed issues, organizing activities around fighting for public education in NYC and beyond and exposing the motives behind the education deformers. We link up with bands of resisters. Nothing will change unless WE ALL GET INVOLVED IN THE STRUGGLE!
It is clear that the Farina/deBlasio administration has
followed in the path of its predecessor BloomKleinites in protecting
lousy, insane principals.
[PS 106Q Principal] Legions is married to the brother of a PS 106 dad who was friendly with
Sills. The staff fears she is bent on retaliating against Sills’
detractors... NY Post
Sometimes the Post does some good things. It was only when they exposed Marcella Sills - for all the wrong reasons - that she was removed from the school and is still probably on the payroll in some cushy DOE version of supervisor rubber rooms - though would anyone be shocked to find she was still being used in some nefarious fashion? My beef with the Post was that the years of Sills' onslaught on teachers was left out of the story -- it was teacher whistle blowing that led to the story being told -- and believe me, there were years of ignored whistle blowing by the DOE and most of the press -- except Howie Schwach and I in The Wave.
Now we find her successor and apparent friend has been put in place to wipe out the anti-Sills whistle blowers. [Sills by the way came into power under the Kathy Cashin administration in Region 5 - Dist. 27 and 19].
Ed Notes had gads of stories in Sills and PS 106. Supt and Sills protector Lloyd-Bey was forced into retirement but I do not believe it was because of that but due to her not being on the Farina team. Here are a few ed notes recent posts -- use the search box to see years of them.
I
read the misconduct report and could not believe the lies Ms. Sills put
forth. I am a former teacher at this school and I was actually glad
when she wouldn't arrive. I would have time to teach to the students
needs. When she ...
Ms.
Sills has not really cared about students well being or academic
progress. She has a political hierarchy she has developed to intimidate
teachers and parents. Meetings were held by parents to address the
over-priced ...
I
am one of the teachers who was unfortunately disrespected, abused and
suffered greatly under the incompetent leadership of Principal Marcella
Sills at PS 106Q. As a matter of fact, at this writing I am still
involved in a ...
And
a teacher just called saying she actually met with Kathy Cashin about
this school when Cashin led Region 5 and in essence hired Sills - though
we think Lloyd-Bay was the mover. She said Lloyd-Bey sent over
district ...
Teacher led fight backs against ed deform have generally been a dud and parents have never been organized enough to make a major impact. But common core and high stakes testing has galvanized resistance from both the left and the right. Despite the billions in astroturfed money going to spread ed deform, we are seeing a growing counter-reaction.
And we also are seeing the stages of a major reaction against charters - the more they push down people's throats the more scandals. Eva who pushes choice doesn't give her parents a choice to opt out.
Even PBS reported on the opt out movement - yesterday at the NYCORE conference I challenged some Chalkbeat people to cover that movement in a serious, in depth manner.
I'm going to follow up with my report of my meeting with a PTA in a Title I school but for now let me repost a Ravitch blog that had the Fair Test report:
The Opt Out movement is spreading like wildfire. It is led by parents, not unions, though some union locals have voted to honor the wishes of parents. Parents understand that the tests are designed to fail most children. They understand that test prep and testing are stealing time from instruction. They aren’t commanded by anyone. They are listening to their children
This message was written by Bob Schaeffer of FairTest:
Normally, FairTest sends out these news clips summaries once a week, early each Tuesday afternoon. With school standardized exam season now in full gear, however, the flow of stories about testing resistance and reform actions is accelerating rapidly. This special edition — with updates from more than half the 50 states over just three days — reports on the first, too-modest steps by policy makers across the U.S. to respond to the growing grassroots pressure for assessment reform.
As more students opt out, parents demonstrate, school board members pass resolutions and polls show strong public opposition to test misuse and overuse, we are confident that there will be many more updates by next Tuesday and in the coming weeks.
Our stories can help stop this madness! As other cities plan to copy the New Orleans model, it's very important that the voices of parents who are finding that their children are seen as acceptable collateral damage in a market based education system. Please share these parent voices widely and often. ... Karen Harper Royal from the belly in the beast, Parent Voices from New Orleans: http://bit.ly/
In the topsy turvy world of ed deform, destructive hurricanes are a good thing - if they wipe out public school systems. Karen started out as seeing charter schools as an option. She found out real fast what they were all about.
Here is a post from today dealing with the consequences of charter school failure.
Punishing Children for Charter School Failure in New Orleans
As a long-time special education teacher, I have been
disheartened by Governor Cuomo. Back in January, he laid out his plans
to reform public education which included an overhaul of how we are
evaluated.
In a startling reversal, the city’s
Department of Education has canceled a $637 million contract it approved
only a month ago for a private firm to provide computer services to all
public schools, the Daily News has learned. The
Panel for Educational Policy voted on Feb. 24 to award the five-year
contract — one of the costliest in school system history.... The critics jumped
into action after Leonie Haimson, director of the watchdog group Class
Size Matters, came across a tiny reference to a proposed $1.1 billion
contract for Custom, one that was published on the school system’s
website less than two weeks before the Feb. 24 meeting. Haimson quickly alerted Public Advocate Letitia James and Helen Rosenthal, head of City Council’s contracts committee.... NYDN
Leonie never stops working. She needs to give herself a Skinny Award this year.
“It
is good news for taxpayers that the city decided to stop this egregious
contract,” Haimson said. “Now we need institutional reforms, including a
new law requiring the Department of Education to publicly disclose all
proposed contracts at least one month before being voted on.”
I can't even talk about some of the amazing stuff Leonie has done. Can someone do a Superhero logo with a big L or H or both on it?
After City
Councilwoman Helen Rosenthal threatened a City Council oversight
hearing, aides to de Blasio and Fariña began to reconsider their
actions.
In a startling reversal, the city’s
Department of Education has canceled a $637 million contract it approved
only a month ago for a private firm to provide computer services to all
public schools, the Daily News has learned. The
Panel for Educational Policy voted on Feb. 24 to award the five-year
contract — one of the costliest in school system history — to Long
Island-based Custom Computer Specialists, Inc. But on Thursday,
the agency unexpectedly notified Custom that it was rescinding the
award, rejecting three other competing bids, and will instead seek new
requests for proposals. The Department of Education
“believes that its objectives can be better met by a new procurement
that affords greater flexibility,” David Ross, director of contracting
for the city’s schools, said in a letter, a copy of which The News
obtained. “It’s better to get things done right than to get them done quickly,” one city official said. The about-face marks an unusual admission by the de Blasio administration that it botched a major initiative. It
follows a flurry of meetings in the past few weeks between school
officials, City Hall aides, and a handful of elected officials furious
at the way Custom was chosen. The critics jumped
into action after Leonie Haimson, director of the watchdog group Class
Size Matters, came across a tiny reference to a proposed $1.1 billion
contract for Custom, one that was published on the school system’s
website less than two weeks before the Feb. 24 meeting. Haimson quickly alerted Public Advocate Letitia James and Helen Rosenthal, head of City Council’s contracts committee. Both
immediately demanded more information from the Education Department.
They especially wanted to know how Custom had been chosen, since the
firm had previously been cited in a criminal probe for looking the other
way while a corrupt school system consultant stole millions of dollars
from the city. School officials only made matters
worse by waiting until the eve of the Feb. 24 vote before releasing any
details about the contract. Those details showed Custom had been
selected despite lower bids from two other competitors. Even
more surprising, they announced at the eleventh hour that they had
somehow managed to negotiate a sharp reduction in Custom’s final price —
to a still-whopping $637 million. At the actual
actual vote, several members of the educational panel openly complained
about the lack of transparency from school system staff and questioned
the rush to award the contract. Ross and Schools
Chancellor Carmen Fariña told them the city could lose up to $23 million
in federal reimbursements for Internet funds if the contract was not in
place by the end of the March. But with Rosenthal
threatening a City Council oversight hearing and with several Panel for
Educational Policy members still unhappy following their vote, aides to
de Blasio and Fariña began to reconsider their actions. The
Education Department heard from the panel “as well as elected
officials, about their concerns regarding the procurement process and
decided that issuing a new restructured procurement . . . will allow us
to reach the best possible outcome,” Ray Orlando, the schools system’s
financial chief, said in a statement. “I’m happily stunned the administration actually listened to our concerns and acted on them,” Rosenthal said. “It
is good news for taxpayers that the city decided to stop this egregious
contract,” Haimson said. “Now we need institutional reforms, including a
new law requiring the Department of Education to publicly disclose all
proposed contracts at least one month before being voted on.”
I consider this significant -- the UFT historically liked to keep schools as independent islands to give them greater control. MORE people tried networking in areas where they could -- and the UFT was in - suprisingly - or maybe not due to the threat Cuomo posed. Let's see what happens after the deal is done.
In the meantime if you want to get out of the snow Friday afternoon:
Hi everyone! We're having MORE's downtown meet-up tomorrow 5:30pm
at Karavas Place, 164 W4th Street. Let's regroup, strategize and get
ready to fight back against Cuomo's education agenda!... Alexandra Alves
MORE's John Antush reports:
The Villager article on the Day of Action, featuring extensive coverage of the march and rally at Washington Square park and MORE members at PS 2 and City As School. We did our own press release and outreach, got permits, and did the whole nine yards with a march and rally. We focused on the Standardized Testing issue and the importance of having alternatives to standardized testing. This was done from the ground up, within our school communities. I'm hoping we can build on this sense of camaraderie to form a real D1 & D2 council of UFT members that can support each other school-to-school, have regular meetings, and carry out educational events and actions.
Schools take to the streets to protest Cuomo’s reforms
March 19, 2015
Students, staff and parents at P.S. 41, the Greenwich Village School, rallied on Thurs., March 12, against Governor Cuomo’s school reform plans. Photo by David Allee
BY ZACH WILLIAMS | Teachers, students, parents and administrators across the city rallied on March 12 against Governor Cuomo’s education agenda.
Particularly vexing for opponents are proposed reforms announced in January that would make standardized-testing scores 50 percent of teachers’ evaluations, as well as grant them tenure only after five consecutive years of “effective” ratings under the plan.
In response, union representatives, as well as teachers, students, and staff from dozens of city schools, participated in demonstrations throughout the day, mostly on a school-by-school basis. In Lower Manhattan, actions were scheduled at a half-dozen schools south of 14th St.
These included the Neighborhood School and the Earth School in the East Village, Downtown’s Spruce St. School, P.S. 2 Meyer London School in the Lower East Side, and P.S. 3 and City As School High School in the Village.
For teachers and students at City As School, the governor’s proposed changes are at odds with the alternative high school’s effort to boost student achievement through internships and student projects rather than more traditional pedagogical approaches. About 100 people associated with the high school congregated near its entrance on Clarkson St. in the afternoon, then marched to a “teach-out” in Washington Square Park.
“Standardized testing can’t judge what we do,” said Marcus McArthur, an English and social sciences teacher at the school. “We are here and we are raising and creating innovators not test takers. We got the next great generation of poets and authors and artists and scientists — and the tests, they have nothing to do with that work.”
Momentum continued for their cause over the weekend when Public Advocate Letitia James held a rally at City Hall on Sunday criticizing Cuomo’s pairing of increased funding with the proposals.
Cuomo announced education reforms in January that would make $1.1 billion in new funding contingent on the state Legislature approving his plans. In addition to the changes in teacher evaluations and tenure, the new approach would also require that, if a school fails to show adequate progress through student test scores for three consecutive years, then another school district, nonprofit organization or a “turnaround technocrat” — as the critics put it — would take over management of the “failing” school.
Under the current teacher-evaluation system, 40 percent of teacher scores are determined by student growth based on assessments or tests — with half of that from state evaluations, and as much as 20 percent over all from “locally determined” measures that Cuomo is seeking to eliminate. The remaining 60 percent of the scores comes from observations of teachers, which vary by school district.
City As School students and staff held a press conference in front of the Clarkson St. school, then marched up to Washington Square for a rally. Photo by Zach Williams
According to a February 2015 report from the Governor’s Office, there is a stark disparity between teachers rated as effective — more than 90 percent statewide in the 2013-14 school year — and the amount of students judged proficient in English and math in state testing, roughly 35 percent and 31 percent, respectively.
Four local Manhattan schools below 14th St. were labeled as “failing” in the governor’s report: Henry St. School for International Studies, Marta Valle Secondary School, P.S. 15 and University Neighborhood Middle School.
“How can so many of our teachers be succeeding when so many of our students are struggling?” the report asks.
Cuomo’s education plan also seeks to raise the cap on charter schools in the state by 100 from 460, as well as make the cap apply statewide rather than by region. Under the current limit, New York City could only add 24 more charter schools.
Mayoral control of New York City schools, which is due to expire this year, would also be extended for three more years under Cuomo’s proposal.
Many people at the City As School demonstration, as well as others across the city, voiced suspicion that Cuomo’s plan would benefit corporations more than students. They urged the governor to visit more local schools and to address student poverty instead of overhauling the teacher-evaluation process.
During the City As School rally last Thursday, current and former students spoke about how traditional education had failed them until they arrived at the Clarkson St. building’s nurturing environment. One current student said she had a troubled experience at another school due to her ADHD. But she said that, thanks to the encouragement she received from teachers at City As School, she now plans on attending a local college after she graduates.
The Washington Square Park rally also was an opportunity to highlight the need for curriculum flexibility, especially at schools like City As School that serve students who have experienced difficulties elsewhere, noted Principal Alan Cheng.
“People had a chance to talk to our students, talk to our staff, to be able to understand what it is we do,” Cheng said, “our interdisciplinary courses, our project-based learning, our internships and the kind of impact we’ve been able to have on youngsters in our city.”
And the same to you Student First, DFER, Eva, etc.
What does this tell us about the ed deform chorus with their millions of dollars?
Go ahead and read all these reports - I can't bear to do so myself - and see if anyone raises the idea that all these astroturf ed deform orgs with their millions of bucks - and the bullshit rally in Albany - can't not only move the needle in their direction, but have managed to move the needle in reverse.
A NEW LOW
Gov.
Andrew Cuomo’s statewide approval rating fell to 50 percent – the
lowest it’s been since he took office in 2011 – largely due to his
proposed education policy changes, according to a Quinnipiac University
poll. The poll released Wednesday shows just 28 percent of voters approve of the governor’s actions on education.
The
New York Daily News published a round-up of guest columns on the
education policy initiatives being pushed by some of the most powerful
players with seats at the table. Whether it’s mayoral control of city
schools, changing the teacher evaluation system, raising the
charter-school cap, increasing overall education funding, turning around
low-performing schools – everyone has an opinion.
THE ORGANIZATION DIRECTOR OF THE NEWARK TEACHERS UNION--has been charged by the Newark school administration with "defiant trespass" after he visited a school that was involved in a personal tragedy with serious implications for staff--the death of a 6-year-old child, apparently from meningitis. John Abeigon learned of the charges against him only after receiving letters in the mail from lawyers offering to represent him. Abeigon, a NTU vice president who could lose his teaching licenses if convicted, visited teachers at the school--permitted by the NTU contract--and had called attention to the failure of the administration to clean it after the death of the child. The state administration of the district, led by Christie-appointed superintendent Cami Anderson, had falsely reported that the child had not been in school for 10 days before his death and therefore posed no threat to children and school employees. It turned out, said a spokeswoman for Anderson, that the child had been in school when he was contagious. Abeigon's critical remarks of the handling of the charges have been met with criminal charges. More about the incident as part of the continuing failure of Anderson to keep good attendance records in a later blog.
There was no way my wife was going to drag me to a matinee on a cold day like today especially to see Wendy Wasserman's The Heidi Chronicles - except for the fact that Madmen's Elizabeth Moss stars. And what male (or female) fan of Madmen isn't in love with Peggy Olsen? It is hard to imagine - me being an actor of sorts - well the non-speaking part sort of actor -- how Moss could make such a leap from TV and even movies to a giant role like Heidi, who is the center of every scene in the play and holds it all together. But oh boy does she pull it off.
My wife urged me to stand outside the stage door and pepper her with questions on her way out about that child she had in season 1. But it was cold and Junior's cheesecake beckoned from across the street.
Hmmm, let's see, cheesecake, Peggy, cheesecake, Peggy, cheesecake, Peggy.........
I'll leave it to you to guess which one won. (Still a madman about you Peggy.)
Smarter Balanced assessments pushes 4th graders to write in the 'It was a dark and stormy night' genre.
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Parents, Protect Your Children from the Smarter Blanced Test
Susan Ohanian
blog
2015-03-18 http://susanohanian.org/core.php?id=794
Consider the terrible test prep that will be inflicted on children to prepare them for this nonsense.
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Vermont State Board of Education Statement and Resolution on the
Appropriate Use of SBAC Standardized Tests and School Accountability
Resolution
Vermont State Board of Education
2015-03-17 http://susanohanian.org/core.php?id=793
This resolution uncoupling accountability from Smarter Balanced testing passed unanimously.
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Organized Confusion: PARCC Hypocrisy, Bullying, and Fear-Mongering in Chicago Public Schools
Troy LaRaviere
blog
2015-03-15http://susanohanian.org/core.php?id=791
A Chicago principal stands up to his boss and defends the right of students to opt out of PARCC.
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Smarter Balanced Guide for Spying on Students
Susan Ohanian
blog
2015-03-14http://susanohanian.org/data.php?id=585
Smarter Balanced test security instructs schools to follow students on Twitter and Facebook. And more.
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Pearson, NJ, spying on social media of students taking PARCC tests
Bob Braun
Bob Braun's Leger
2015-03-13http://susanohanian.org/data.php?id=584
Here's evidence of just how much a Big Brother Pearson has become.
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Privacy Pitfalls as Education Apps Spread Haphazardly
Natasha Singer with Ohanian Comment
New York Times
2015-03-12http://susanohanian.org/data.php?id=583
Teachers are wildly using so many apps that 'guarding against the
potential pitfalls -- data breaches, identity theft, unauthorized
student profiling -- is a herculean endeavor.'
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To the editor
Stephen Krashen, USC Professor Emeritus
US News & World Report
2015-03-12http://susanohanian.org/show_letter.php?id=1752
Excellent, whistle-blowing letter.
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Law Schools Face New Rules on Reporting Graduates’ Success
Jacob Gershman
Wall Street Journal
2015-03-18http://susanohanian.org/outrage_fetch.php?id=1936
Law schools face scrutiny for their practice of funding jobs for
graduates, a move that can boost their position in the U.S. News
rankings.
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Tisch Must Go -- Bill Cala to State Board of Regents
Bill Cala and Norm Scott
EdNotes Online
2015-03-16http://susanohanian.org/outrage_fetch.php?id=1935
A lifetime education leader asks for ouster of longtime New York State Board of Regents Chancellor Merryl Tisch.
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Why Walton Has Stopped Funding Milwaukee
Alan J. Borsuk and L.S. Hall
MilwaukeeInside Philanthropy
2015-03-13http://susanohanian.org/outrage_fetch.php?id=1934
The Walton Family Foundation is pulling out of Milwaukee, 'redirecting'
its money mill to places they believe are 'most ripe' for their aims.
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When the Market Drives Reporting
Susan Ohanian
blog
2014-03-17http://susanohanian.org/show_research.php?id=569
A small look at the bias in the Education Week narrative.
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Children's Books for the One Per Cent
Eric Schulmiller
The New Yorker
2015-03-11http://susanohanian.org/show_nclb_news.php?id=921
Very funny. Very clever. And early childhood reformers aligned with the Common Core won't 'get' it.
On Monday, Wisconsin governor Scott Walker signed into law the controversial anti-union “Right To Work” bill, following weeks of protests in Madison. Right To Work laws are designed to kill unions by mandating “open shop” workplaces, allowing workers to work in unionized workplaces, without paying union dues.
Wisconsin is historically one of the most pro-union, progressive states, home to the legendary “Fighting Bob” LaFollette, and the only community-owned nonprofit NFL football team— so gutting unions in labor’s historical heartland is like what Russian homicide detectives call a “control shot” — the point-blank bullet to the head that makes sure the bleeding target on the ground never breathes again.
It’s also gratuitous, like doing donuts on road kill, when you consider how close to extinction labor unions have fallen over the years. Only 6.6% of private sector workers are in unions today, down from a peak of 35% in the mid-1950s. It’s only thanks to public sector unions—which Scott Walker destroyed in Wisconsin in 2011—that the overall percentage of the workforce that’s unionized is 11.1%. California, which has rejected “Right To Work” laws in the past, has the largest number of union members in the country — 2.5 million workers — though as a percentage, California ranks sixth highest.
Which reminds me of two things: First, Scott Walker proves that pranks don’t work. Four years ago, when Walker first waged right-wing jihad on Wisconsin’s public sector workers, an old comrade of mine, “Buffalo” Ian Murphy, pulled off the single greatest phone prank ever. Posing as billionaire David Koch’s voice, Murphy managed to swagger his way past Gov. Walker’s aides and into the governor’s handset for a long 20 minute call, which revealed Walker as a grotesquely slavish Koch towelboy. Four years later: Walker is a top presidential contender, the Kochs are worth over $100 billion, Koch-backed groups passed “Right To Work” in Wisconsin…and “Buffalo” Murphy is an ex-con, jailed in 2013 for brandishing an unconcealed, fully loaded dildo at a mob of homophobic religious fanatics. As the saying goes, “The Koch is mightier than the prank.”
The other thing Walker’s RTW law reminds me of is some unfinished business I have with the number one national organization behind the law: The National Right To Work Committee.
A couple of years ago, I wrote an article for NSFWCORP (since acquired by Pando) exposing the ugly, racist roots of the whole “Right To Work” movement, tracing it back to the brains behind “Right To Work”: Vance Muse, the loonie anti-Semitic, anti-black Texan who coined “Right To Work” in the early 1940s, and worked Karl Rove-like to push through the first “Right To Work” laws in the South in the 40s and early 50s. Since a lot of people these days are not in tune with labor union struggles and what “right to work” laws even mean, my article exposing the KKK racist who started “Right To Work” created a bit of a PR headache for the union-busting movement.
I may have a new career. I will be going to a PTA meeting at a Title I school in Brooklyn to rep CTS tomorrow. Parents at another Brooklyn Title I school asked CTS to send a rep this morning but I couldn't make it. The "only white middle class opt out" line is beginning to break.
I have been maintaining that it is only a matter of time before the opt-out color line is broken. Black and latino/a kids are even more messed up by high stakes tests. The middle class in those communities supposedly support tests. I think that may turn into a myth.
The hard work of parent-oriented groups like the state-wide NYSAPE and the NYC based Change the Stakes (CTS) is beginning to pay off. Arne Duncan slammed opt-outers as white suburbanites who didn't want their children to be subject to his test based mania - they see it as child abuse. While we have seen the opt-out movement strength in certain communities like Park Slope and Washington Heights, the organizing work of NYSAPE and CTS is beginning to reach into other parts of the city. CTS made a decision last year to do outreach into these communities.
Parents from Title 1 schools have been in touch asking for us to send representatives to their PTA meetings to inform them of their rights to opt-out and to demolish some of the mis-truths and distortions some school and district administrators are telling them.
In fact I've been drafted to cover one of these schools and bring information to a PTA meeting because many of the CTS ladies are tied up this week (though now I think some parents from Park Slope are joining me).
If this grows deeper into those communities, that will be a sea change. Even some of my colleagues in MORE seem to buy into the line that opting out is a white, middle class thing.
The other day I heard Republican NYS Assemblyman Jim Tedisco on NPR making a presentation on testing and common core that could come from Susan Ohanian. I almost choked when he said "follow the money" and mentioned Gates and Pearson. And here is the story on the bill he proposed on March 16:
Assemblyman Jim Tedisco, R-Glenville, who turned out to be the top contender in the Assembly on the "Stop Common Core" ballot line in 2014, announced new legislation he is drafting: the Common Core Parental Refusal Act. This legislation would require school districts to notify parents about their right to opt-out of Common Core standardized tests for students in grades 3 through 8.
Where are the Democrats? With their pals in NYSUT and the UFT I guess.
Leonie Haimson has been busy as usual:
Bookstore in Oneonta NY: books for kids to read while opting out of the state tests. NYSAPE suggested the list and supplied the sign.
A CTS parent sent this regarding administrator obstructions:
I am so steamed today b/c at our school's meeting for parents getting ready for tests, admin. would not share the DOE Parent Guide. There should be copies available for parents. Though I asked beforehand. Luckily I prepped another parent to tell the other parents b/c I could not make it. And, this is after we all marched together around the school on Thurs. But more parents than before have asked for info about opt out and the fifth grade parents might be ready to try now.
She includes this letter.
To the City Council:
As a parent in a public school for the past six years, and as a strong proponent of refusing state ELA and math tests, I ask that you require specific information about opting out of state tests, steps detailing how to do so, and an outline of consequences, be shared with parents at the start of each year in the Parents' Bill of Rights. The Parent Guide at http://schools.nyc.gov/Accountability/resources/testing/default.htm is difficult for parents and guardians to find and, to my knowledge, has not been widely shared. Families who want to make an informed decision about whether or not to allow their children to take the tests are unable to do so. At a time in which the DOE wants to engage parents more fully, and work together in partnership, every step should be taken to give us information that we are fully entitled to. It is every parent or guardian's right to determine what is best for their child, and not providing clear information to all parents, early in the school year, is unacceptable. Schools ask permission to take our children's photos. to take them on field trips, and to participate in sports or dance classes. However, for the state tests, which have stakes that are higher than ever and cause tremendous disruption to the schools, the burden is upon parents and guardians to search for information in order to opt out or refuse. Please pass this bill (Res. 577-2015), so that all parents have equal access to opt-out/refusal policies.
Add on: Opt-out is causing panic at the DOE
My sons teachers told me today I can't opt
out for the state testing this year. They said the principal
will require them to go to summer school and they will have to
do a project. Is this true? Last year my son was able to opt out
with no problem.
And then this:
I'm choosing to opt my son (8th Grade, NYC
public school in Manhattan)out of the upcoming ELA exam. I
wrote a letter to his principal explaining my views and
expressing my desire to opt him out. Today I get a phone call
from his school saying that due to new DOE policy, I need to
have a meeting with the school administration to discuss the
matter before they will exempt him. Never heard of this policy, do you know if this is legal or
legitimate?
I was at the press table with Jeff Bryant at the AFT 2014 convention in Los Angelos and found him to be insightful and enlightened on education issues. Here he takes on one of my favorite topics -- education reporting. He calls is sloppy - I call it biased. I get daily ed reports from Chalkbeat and Capital Education and just in what they leave out makes them biased. For instance, Chalkbeat covered a few rallies last week and had a headline that hundreds turned out - yes to the rallies THEY covered -- but it was clear there were rallies all over the city, some with 700 people at one school alone. In response to criticisms by Leonie Haimson (I complained too) they changed the headline to "thousands". Then they complained in a tweet that it was hundreds at the rallies they covered. But that report left out so much context that there were probably as many people who rallied that day as at the Moskowitz dog and pony show - these rallies had to take place before and after school.
I believe, intentional or not, they have different coverage if it was an Eva Moskowitz rally. Like they would leave out that their teachers are paid and their parents are told if their kids don't go to Albany it is THEIR responsibility to arrange for their care that day -- no question that the schools are left with some staff to cover for parents - the so-called parents who want choice -- not being given a real choice on the Albany trip. Thus the claims of thousands, while technically they might be true but overinflated on a number of levels -- are accepted and reported without context.
Jeff Bryant, at Alternet, takes on the non-regular ed reporters like the business reporters writing on education -- similar to the work The Daily Howler does regularly. He calls them "low information" reporters. I can almost excuse them because I see the bad (intentionally?) high information reporters in our daily papers, especially the NY Times, being more than sloppy.
How Sloppy Education Reporting Is Slowly Killing Our Schools
Most of the news media have no idea how schools run, but they write about them like they do.
Be afraid, be very afraid, any time you see a reporter in the
business media turn his or her attention to education and public
schools. What will likely follow is a string of truisms used to prop up a
specious argument, steeped in biased notions that were themselves
picked up from ill-informed conversations promoted by other clueless
business news outlets. All of this chatter would be something best
to ignore were it not for the fact that reporters and pundits from
these outlets are often raised to prominence, labeled as "experts," and
lionized by political leaders and policy makers, while real authorities
on education are overlooked or completely drowned out in the babble. Exhibit A in the case against bad reporting on education is in the Feb. 14, 2015 issue of the Economist. An article titled "Pro Choice"
highlights efforts to create new school voucher programs in many states
and allow parents to take money meant for public education and use
those tax payer dollars to enroll their children in schools of their
choice, including private schools and charter schools. This
topic has been the subject of countless research studies and is a
matter of ongoing examination by numerous authorities. Yet the writer
barely skims the research and consults with a bare minimum of real
experts on education policy. Had the Economist made the
effort to consult some real research and talk to bona fide experts, what
they would have learned is there are some very big problems posed by
school vouchers, and there are much better alternatives to improving
schools. It's important to call out this article and others like
it, not only because it's an example of feckless journalism, but also
because it exemplifies an all too common pattern when low-information
reporters tackle stories about education.
Our union is in many ways just an appendage, a weak one at that, of the
Democratic party. As the party sinks further into the money raising
pit, don't expect to see much positive change. Democrats are not capable
as currently constituted of doing much for us. Since our union bosses are a major part of the Democratic establishment,
do not expect them to lead a movement to put real progressives on the
ballot. We'll need to do it ourselves at the grassroots level... James Eterno, ICE blog, BEWARE OF DEMOCRATS COURTING UNION VOTE
Two recent items caught my eye, the Eterno piecce and this
email from Roseanne McCosh on the same topic.
Hey Norm,
I got a call from the Democratic Party last night. I
politely listened to the gentleman who told me dems lost seats in the
last election. Dems who lost strayed away from the party and our
president. They want to back the best people who stay on message. The
voter turnout was low. When he was done I told him that if the
democratic party showed a backbone and supported unionized teachers,
then more of us would have voted for them. But as things stand now I
will not support them. He responded with more rhetoric about Obama.
Then I told him President Obama has proven that he too is bad for
unionized teachers. His appointee Arne Duncan is a clear example of
that. He interrupted me as I was making that point and began to argue.
I told him I would wait to see how the dems behave going forward and
they would have to earn my vote. He continued to interrupt me so I told
him I wasn't staying on the phone arguing with a stranger who wants my
vote and I hung up. Are there any other teachers (or unionized workers)
you know of who have gotten this phone call lately?
The absolute nerve of these people.....they turn their backs on us and
then complain about low voter turnout. I always vote....but I've gone
Green Party last couple of elections....until the dems grow a backbone
they aren't getting my vote.
Then James Eterno posted a great piece on the ICE blog today. The UFT/NYSUT/AFT has so tied itself to the Democratic Party -- it is so important for Randi to be able to play in that pen, they leave themselves little options.
James contrasts the Chicago Teachers Union.
Instead, we need to be more organized and much more militant. That
should be our first priority but we can't stick our heads in the sand
and ignore elections. Chicago Teachers are setting the example by
strongly opposing Democratic anti-union Mayor Rahm Emanual's bid for
reelection. They might not win but they have earned respect for sure by
forcing a runoff.
And he attempts to answer the question raised by NYC Educator:
As for how the weakness of labor impacts teacher unions, NYC Educator
did a piece about a week ago wondering why UFT/NYSUT/AFT leaders make
decisions that actually harm their members. Why is our union
supporting rubbish such as teachers being rated based on student test
scores on standardized exams (junk science), the untested Common Core
and plenty of other nonsense that the rank and file overwhelmingly
abhors? Why did AFT President Randi Weingarten make phone calls for
anti-public school candidate Kathy Hochul in a contested primary last
yea? Why did Randi act as an apologist for our foe Governor Andrew
Cuomo during the fall election campaign?
These questions are not that difficult to answer. Our union is in many ways just an appendage, a weak one at that, of the
Democratic party. As the party sinks further into the money raising
pit, don't expect to see much positive change. Democrats are not capable
as currently constituted of doing much for us.
Council Members Helen Rosenthal and Daniel Dromm have introduced a bill (Res. 577-2015) to amend the DOE Parents' Bill of Rights. The bill would require DOE to distribute the document to all parents at the start of every school year, and it would require DOE to include information about parents' right to opt their children out of standardized tests. You can see the current version of the Parents' Bill of Rights on the DOE website.
The bill will be heard in an Education Committee hearing on Thursday, March 19 at 1pm in the Council Chambers at City Hall. The hearing is open to the public, and you are welcome to submit testimony about the bill to Jan Atwell at jatwell@council.nyc.gov or Ashya Schomburg at aschomburg@council.nyc.gov. If you cannot attend the hearing, you can watch the video here. (It will be streaming live, or you can watch it after the fact.)
Please share this information with your network, and feel free to reach out if you have any questions.
Chancellor Tisch has vehemently
supported the policies of John King and demonstrated an uncomfortable
alliance with the draconian policies of Governor Cuomo. She has been
unapologetic, unresponsive and deaf to the public she serves. Her
continued leadership of the board will signal defiance of the will of
the educational community and an arrogance of unmeasured proportions... Bill Cala
One of my favorite people is Bill Cala, former acting Supt of Rochester schools and long-time, now retired, Supe in nearby Fairport. We met at an anti-high stakes testing conference organized by Susan Ohanian in Birmingham, Al over a decade ago. Bill should be running the State Ed Dept. --- if this were a rational world.
Dear Members of the New York State Board of Regents, Over the past year, it should be apparent that the direction of education in New York is changing. Parents have raised their voices and are no longer willing to blindly accept the state and national agenda of testing and punishment to their children and their children's teachers. Parents have made it clear that they support their public schools and teachers and will no longer accept a rigid curriculum and testing regime. Former commissioner King's management of curriculum, data, parents and the implementation of the common core (as well as the common core itself) surely precipitated his departure. Parents, teachers, school board members and the general populace demanded that the process of appointing members to the Board of Regents by the legislature dramatically change and that the process become more transparent. Those demands were so loud and deafening that the legislature had little choice but to listen. As a result, unprecedented turnover resulted. The most ardent supporter of John King was regent Robert Bennett. Throughout Bennett's term he has supported positions that have been at cross purposes with the wishes of parents and teachers. Before John King's departure, Bennett's praise for his policies were unwavering. In fact, when King resigned, Bennett was quoted as saying "...he is the best educator I have ever met." Quite curious that when interviewed for reappointment to the Board of Regents recently, the story changed. It became apparent that Mr. Bennett read the tea leaves and knew that support for John King would not secure reappointment. Fortunately the legislators paid attention and knew very well where he stands on the issues and this led to Mr. Bennett's withdrawal of his application. As you know, this was not the only incumbent who fell. You all know the history and hopefully you all are aware of the movement for a more responsive government and a board of regents more receptive to the needs and desires of the people of the state of New York. The big question that remains is whether or not the new composition of the board will do "business as usual" or will this board respond to the outcry of parents and teachers. The most effective sign that the Regents are listening and care about the people they serve would be to elect a new chancellor. Chancellor Tisch has vehemently supported the policies of John King and demonstrated an uncomfortable alliance with the draconian policies of Governor Cuomo. She has been unapologetic, unresponsive and deaf to the public she serves. Her continued leadership of the board will signal defiance of the will of the educational community and an arrogance of unmeasured proportions. I trust that events of the recent weeks and months will bring a change of heart which subsequently will lead to a change of leadership so desperately needed in New York. Anything less will send a signal that the voices of communities across the state have been ignored. Sincerely, William C. Cala Ed.D. Lifetime New York educator and child advocate
By the way- Bill and his wife Joanne run an amazing charity in Africa where they build schools and do other wonderful stuff. Check it out - http://www.joiningheartsandhands.org/aboutus.php - and DONATE!
MS 88 has been part of our FLL robotics program pretty much every year since I began volunteering 13 years ago when I retired. We had another rousing event this past weekend and MS 88 was in the house of Javits on Saturday, along with 78 other teams from all over the city and they won a 3rd place award for programming their robot.
So, when I saw this Daily Howler headline from Bob Somerby based in the Baltimore/DC area, my first thought was that somehow he was connecting to MS 88's robotic win. Not. The Sunday NY Times had a major piece on MS 88 and Howler takes the writer somewhat to task. (For those who don't know, Howler taught in inner city Baltimore for a decade or more - I believe.)
Here he touches on ability grouping, differentiation and other related topics and seems incredulous that it might be possible kids doing math on 1st grade level are in the same class as kids on 7th grade level. Ahhh, Joel Klein's "reforms" where that point is irrelevant -- all the teachers have to do is say the magic word - DIFFERENTIATE - and VOILA - MAGIC.
Well, maybe technology using one on one is an answer. And maybe not. I'm posting in full her because excerpts won't make sense. Best to click here and go to the site if you can - and check out some of those weird comments Howler gets.
One cheer for the New York Times: Last week, we offered an anecdote and an impression about our public schools.
On
C-Span, Professor Guinier and a gloomy caller had said that we’re
destroying another generation of black kids in our public schools.
That’s
often considered the hip, gloomy thing for know-nothing “liberals” to
traffic! In response, we said we think that a lot of people have been
trying very hard to create better schools for low-income kids.
Middle School 88 (Park Slope, Brooklyn) sounds like another such school.
We’ll offer three cheers for the school itself, one cheer for the way
the New York Times reported on its math instruction.
Now we find her successor and apparent friend has been put in place to wipe out the anti-Sills whistle blowers. [Sills by the way came into power under the Kathy Cashin administration in Region 5 - Dist. 27 and 19]. 
What does this tell us about the ed deform chorus with their millions of dollars? 
season 1. But it was cold and Junior's cheesecake beckoned from across the street.
Damn. Now I have to stay awake another hour reading all this great stuff from Susan.
