Wednesday, September 4, 2013

9-4-13 Perdido Street School

Perdido Street School:




Arne Duncan Calls Common Core Critics Liars
From the Oregonian:U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan emphatically called on education reporters today to truth-squad critics' claims that the federal government is staging a takeover of education by pushing Common Core State Standards, adopted by Oregon and 44 other states.Such claims are "just not intellectually honest. For journalists, the truth should matter," he said. Speaking of the Com

More Andrew Cuomo Corruption News From Albany
From the Daily News:A law firm hired by the state Assembly to deal with Gov. Cuomo's anti-corruption commission is a big-time donor to Cuomo and commission co-chair Kathleen Rice, the Daily News has learned. The News reported Monday that Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver hired Kasowitz,  Benson, Torres & Friedman LLP to represent the chamber during the commission probe into public corruption.Sin

Michael Mulgrew Hails New APPR Adavnce Teacher Evaluation System
Remember this while you're collecting your artifacts and preparing for your 4-6 observations on 22 Danielson domains and wondering why you're being evaluated using ELA test scores even though you're an art teachers or concerned that the state is going to align the PSAT scores as the baseline for Regents scores and evaluate teachers with that data:Michael Mulgrew LOVES this new evaluation system.Se


Judge Declares School Bus Companies Must Restore Wages, Benefits
From Juan Gonzalez:A Brooklyn federal judge has handed the city’s 8,800 school bus drivers and matrons a huge back-to-school victory.Judge Kiyo Matsumoto issued an injunction last week ordering 28 school bus companies to restore across-the-board cuts in wages and benefits that those firms slapped on their employees this year.The wage cuts — a stiff 7.5% for drivers and 3.75% for bus matrons — were

The News Media Agree - De Blasio Emerges Relatively Unscathed From Final Debate
From the Daily News:His front-runner status solidified by a stunning new poll, Public Advocate Bill de Blasio sailed through the initial 60-minute broadcast portion of the final Democratic debate relatively unscathed....The debate — co-sponsored by WNBC/Channel 4 and The Wall Street Journal — began a few hours after a new Quinnipiac University poll claimed that de Blasio had the support of 43% of

Daily News: De Blasio And Thompson Would Try To Give Parents The Right To Opt Out Of InBloom
Great news: At least two of the three leading Democratic mayoral candidates are set to nix plans for handing sensitive student data, including test scores and discipline records, to private companies. The move against the $100 million inBloom project — if former Controller Bill Thompson or Public Advocate Bill de Blasio win in November — could spell the end of the already faltering data-sharing pl


What Happened To Christine Quinn's Support?
Via Azi Paybarah, two trend lines from yesterday's Quinnipiac poll show what has happened to Quinn recently that her support has cratered:White voters and women voters were all that were keeping her anywhere near runoff territory.Now she seems to have lost both and she's bottoming out.It's ugly:Can't say I feel sorry for her - she ran the Hillary Clinton "presumptive nominee" strategy long after i



9-3-13 Perdido Street School
Perdido Street School: You Can Have A Raise, But Only If You Pay For Your Health CareThat's the message from the plutocracy for NYC municipal union workers:A mayor who signs costly contracts would face the politically fraught prospect of raising taxes, budget experts say. Pushing for big concessions risks a continued stalemate, which isn't a palatable alternative for the Democratic candidates—one