Latest News and Comment from Education

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

8-28-13 Perdido Street School:

Perdido Street School:





Quinn, Weiner Booed At Rally For Fast Food Workers
Quinn and Weiner are fooling no one with their "We're for the little guy"shtick:City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and former Congressman Anthony Weiner received a round of boos this afternoon when they appeared at a fast food workers rally–one they were there to support–in Union Square. Ms. Quinn and Mr. Weiner joined the three other leading Democratic mayoral candidates and a slew of other pol

Board Of Education Candidates Supporters Trade Alcohol For Votes
Here's a novel way to knock off incumbent candidates:A University of Alabama Greek organization offered incentives to members in exchange for voting in the Tuscaloosa City Board of Education election, according to an email obtained by AL.com Monday.The email, sent to sorority members residing in District 4 from a ranking member of the chapter's executive board, encourages members to vote for Cason


Bill Thompson's Support Among Black Voters Plummets
I posted yesterday about the Times story that said Thompson was having trouble with some black voters because of his nearly incoherent stop-and-frisk policy stance.Today's Quinnipiac poll captures that trouble in a colorful graph (via Azi Paybarah):The Times story reported that the de Blasio ad with his son, Dante, was resonating with some black voters.Dunno if the ad is the reason, but take a loo
Quinnipac Poll: De Blasio 36%, Quinn 21%, Thompson 20%
Now we know why the attacks against de Blasio have been so hard and heavy from the establishment - it's because he's pulling away.Not only is de Blasio closing in the lead, besting his next closest opponent Quinn by 15 percentage points, he's closing in on the magical 40% to avoiud a runoff.If the Q poll numbers are anywhere close to accurate, Quinn is finished:In a runoff, de Blasio beats Quinn 5

Will De Blasio Still Have Momentum In Today's Quinnipiac Poll Release?
Harry Enten says little leaks here and there about the Quinnipiac poll release today suggest de Blasio will still have momentum in those poll numbers. Then there is this:Everyone assumes the NYC Democratic primary will go to a runoff. That CW might change soon.— Steven Shepard (@HotlineSteve) August 28, 2013Couple of things to say here in the hour and a half or so before the poll is released.First

Spitzer Calls For "Fair Contract Negotiations" With UFT
Looks like Spitzer wants to make nice with Mulgrew and the UFT:NEW YORK -- Two weeks before the New York City primary, former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer (D) plans to wade into the complicated world of education policy. According to a policy memo obtained by The Huffington Post, Spitzer, who is running for city comptroller, plans to propose auditing how the city spends money on testing and test pr

Julie Cavanagh Breaks Down The APPR Decisions
A great post from Julie Cavanagh at MORE Caucus on the choices to be made both individually and collectively by teachers in the new evaluation system.After going through the new system in a bit of detail, she concludes:1.       Make decisions based on outcomes:  what will result in the best “scores” for your staff?  (What tool? Who will the target population be?  How will they be measured?) 2.    

Rod Paige: If MLK Jr. Were Alive, He Would Be On Board With Education Reform
From the NY Post:Paige said America has come a long way on race relations in a short period of time. The former teacher-in-chief gave the United States a grade of B for advancing civil rights — and pointedly recognized the progress made in his native Mississippi.He said discrimination still exists, but described it as “episodic,” not government-sanctioned and systemic.“There are opportunities out

Eva Moskowitz: Success Through Attrition And Suspension
A devastating column by Juan Gonzalez in the New York Daily News on how Eva Moskowitz gets those high test scores:Success Academy, the charter school chain that boasts sky-high student scores on annual state tests, has for years used a “zero tolerance” disciplinary policy to suspend, push out, discharge or demote the very pupils who might lower those scores — children with special needs or behavio

8-27-13 Perdido Street School
Perdido Street School: DNAinfo: Eva Moskowitz Plans To Open 100 News Success Academy Charter SchoolsFrom DNAinfo:WILLIAMSBURG — The controversial charter network Success Academy plans to open 100 New York schools in the next decade, DNAinfo New York has learned.The charter chain already has 20 schools in the city with another seven slated to open next year, despite fierce opposition from public sc