Perdido Street School:
The Pineapple, The Hare And The King
Commissioner John King Throws Gasoline Onto The Common Core/inBloom/Endless Testing Bonfire
North Carolina Governor Cuts School Funds, Uses Money To Remodel Executive Mansion Bathrooms
Perdido Street School
The Pineapple, The Hare And The King
A fable:A pineapple, a hare and NYSED Commissioner John King decided to have a race to the top.Commissioner King wanted the race to be educationally sound, with lots of informational text reading, argumentative writing and diagnostic tests throughout the race.Commissioner King also wanted to hold the coaches of the racers accountable for the outcome of the race.King said he would use a value-added
Commissioner John King Throws Gasoline Onto The Common Core/inBloom/Endless Testing Bonfire
The only thing worse that NYSED Commissioner John King could have done after his meltdown in Poughkeepsie the other night, where he threatened to take his microphone and lectern and go on home if the audience didn't sit quietly and let him pontificate about the wonders of Common Core, Endless Testing and the inBloom data base, was to cancel the remaining meetings with parents across the state.One
North Carolina Governor Cuts School Funds, Uses Money To Remodel Executive Mansion Bathrooms
Another one of those "Seems Like An Onion Story" that is sadly very, very real:North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory (R) "plans to spend up to $230,000 in taxpayer funds remodeling bathrooms in his private living quarters at North Carolina's Executive Mansion even as he demands belt-tightening for public schools and social programs," the Raleigh News and Observer reports. A spokesman
In Which I Use The Danieslon Rubric To Evaluate John King's Effectiveness
NYSED Commissioner John King has deemed the Danielson rubric the evaluator tool of choice for teacher observations in New York City.I have deemed the Danielson rubric the evaluator tool of choice for NYSED Commissioner observations in Poughkeepsie.On Thursday, NYSED Commissioner King came to Spackenkill High School auditorium to preach the Gospel of the Common Core in a state PTA-sponsored event.F
NYSED Commissioner John King: A Profile In Cowardice
Reaction to NYSED Commissioner John King's canceling of his Common Core Gospel Tour:.@tfarley1969 @Stoptesting15 @carolburris @LIOptOut only if Shelly & Regents paying attention he's lost confidence of parents & teachers— leonie haimson (@leoniehaimson) October 12, 2013King has definitely lost the confidence of parents and teachers.Up until this week, he had more than maintained the confid
YESTERDAY
NYSED Commissioner John King Shows His Cowardice
NYSED Commissioner King was slated to do a mini-tour spreading the Gospel of the Common Core all across NY State.The tour was co-sponsored by the reform-friendly New York State PTA and was meant to give Commissioner King a friendly forum to come and sell the Common Core gospel to the people.Only problem is, the people didn't want to hear John King preach Common Core.They wanted to let him know how
NYSED Commissioner John King Whines
Via B-Lo Ed Scene, we present to you a video snippet of rookie teacher/NYSED Commissioner John King trying to quell a hostile crowd attacking him for the corporate education reform agenda they're promoting and not doing a very good job of it:As B-Lo Ed Scene demonstrates, King is full of crap when he says his kid is getting the same Common Core treatment all the children in public schools are gett
TIME Magazine: Neither Retirement Nor Death Shall End The Reign Of Bloomberg
You only think he's going away:Mike Bloomberg is about to be unemployed for the second time in his professional life. The first was in August of 1981, when Saloman Brothers fired Bloomberg from the only full-time job he had ever known. The second time will be January 1, 2014, when he hands control of New York City over to the next mayor.The cover story of this week’s TIME magazine is about what B
Eva Moskowitz - A Cancer In The School System
Eva Moskowitz's charter schools - uncontrolled cancerous growth: Like many public school parents and veteran educators, Lynn Manuell is fed up with the special treatment granted charter schools during the Bloomberg era. She’s tired of the endless co-locations of charters in regular public schools decreed by the bureaucrats at Tweed.... Special ed teacher Manuell has witnessed the inequities of cha
Common Core Child Abuse
Newest Pearson/Common Core/NYCDOE innovation - multiple choice standardized tests for four and five year olds: Goodbye Play-Doh, hello No. 2 pencils. Because of a tough new curriculum and teacher evaluations, 4- and 5-year-olds are learning how to fill in bubbles on standardized math tests to show how much they know about numbers, shapes and order.... One of three tests obtained by the Daily News
OCT 10
EngageNY Adds Phone Sex To Liven Up The Lesson Planning
Can't be any more obscene than the classroom lessons they offer at EngageNY:The state Education Department’s EngageNY website was directing people with tech support problems to a telephone number for an engagement of a different kind Thursday.Instead of getting help to log on, people who call the number are greeted with a perky female voice announcing, “Welcome to America’s hottest talk line! Ladi
De Blasio Has 44 Point Lead Over Lhota In Marist Poll
Still a blowout:Democrat Bill de Blasio has a powerful 44-point lead over Republican Joe Lhota in the race for mayor, according to a Wall Street Journal-NBC 4-Marist poll released Thursday. "It's about as lopsided as you can envision," Marist's Lee Miringoff told the Journal. "Lhota is not a force at this point."43% have an unfavorable view of Lhota, only 32% favorable.De Blasi
Cuomo Stonewalls Daily News On Corruption Question
Capital Tonight has the transcript between Sheriff Andy and the DN reporter, Glenn Blain:Gov. Andrew Cuomo insisted today that it’s the co-chairs of the Morleand Commission on Public Corruption and not him or his staff who determine who should receive a subpoena. In Utica this afternoon, Cuomo was questioned extensively by The Daily News’s Glenn Blain, whose bureau chief Ken Lovett has broken a nu
Nice Day To Be Shorting K-12 Inc
From Ed Week:The stock of online provider K12 Inc. took a steep plunge this week following its release of information showing more modest projections for revenue and student enrollment than analysts had anticipated. In a statement released this week, the company estimated its average enrollment for the schools it manages at 128,000 students for the quarter, which was up nearly 6 percent from the f
Andrew Cuomo Won't Say Whether He Advised Moreland Commission To Kill Investigation Into His Campaign Donations
Sheriff Andy caught equivocating:Gov. Cuomo today denied that he or his staff ordered that his anti-corruption kills several subpoenas in recent week.But the governor was less definitive when asked by our Glenn Blain in Utica if he or his staff played a role in guiding those decisions.The Daily News recently reported that the commission and its three co-chairs had signed off on sending subpoenas t
Will Shilling For The ADVANCE Evaluation System Be Mulgrew's Downfall?
Norm Scott at Ed Notes:In all my years of activism one of the happiest moments I had was seeing James Eterno's face as he emerged from the Delegate Assembly yesterday. I was in the midst of trying to get people to take the MORE newsletter, MORE Stuff in Your Mail Bx" and get them to sign up to distribute in their school. I didn't have to work too hard as there were a batch of MOREistas over h
What The UFT Leadership Would Do If They Really Wanted To Solve The Evaluation Problems
From NYCDOEnuts at Gotham Charter Schools, in response to the UFT resolution calling for a moratorium on the high stakes attached to tests for a brief period of time:This is just a UFT ploy to trick the members into thinking they are doing something. If the UFT really cared about the rank-and-file they would demand a complete moratorium, on The Common Core, Danielson, and all aspects of Advance. T
UFT Leadership Supports ADVANCE Teacher Evaluation System And Danielson Rubric
James Eterno writes up yesterday's Delegate Assembly:Vincent W. from the Movement of Rank and File Educators rose from the room on the 19th floor (Delegate meetings are held on the 2nd floor of UFT HQ while overflow Delegates and visitors can watch on video from a room on the 19th floor) to shoot down the resolution.Vincent's main argument is that the whole evaluation system is flawed. He pointed
More Corruption Allegations Against Andrew Cuomo
No wonder Sheriff Andy Cuomo has his anti-corruption Moreland Commission people put the kibbosh on investigating his own campaign donations: ALBANY — Before and after handing out giveaways like the “Jimmy Fallon tax credit” to film and TV production companies, Gov. Andrew Cuomo and state legislators cashed in. A Daily News/New York Public Interest Research Group analysis found that New York’s film
Ed Deformer Says If You're A Critic Of Charters, You're A Segregationist
@DianeRavitch @rweingarten YOU, the 'historian', are on the same side of history as the segregationists who fought to keep ppl in the hood.— Dr. Steve Perry (@DrStevePerry) October 9, 2013Ravitch responds:@DrStevePerry @rweingarten George Wallace and Strom Thurmond fought for school choice. Dr. ML King fought for good public schools for all.— Diane Ravitch (@DianeRavitch) October 9, 2013This from
OCT 09
Obama Reveals How Much He Despises Unionized Workers
Our pal @BarackObama compares GOP hardliners to striking workers who should be fired. Thanks a lot, Prez. http://t.co/bOU2rZZnvH— Arthur Goldstein (@TeacherArthurG) October 9, 2013And here is how Byron York writes that story up:President Obama again compared Republicans in Congress to workers going on strike, telling reporters Tuesday that GOP lawmakers had no more right to shut down the governmen
Utica Observer-Dispatch Covers The Problems Parents And Teachers Have With Common Core
We're starting to see more and more media pieces on Common Core opposition that do not marginalize critics as crazy people.Here's one from the Utica Observer-Dispatch: When Nathan Hanna’s sons in first and third grades come home from school, he gives them a 15 minute break. During that time, the Sauquoit parent looks at their homework, usually in worksheet form, then goes online and looks at the m
The Harm The UFT Moratorium Resolution Does
A comment on this post: The resolution is worse than useless, since it gives the false impression, intended to pacify the membership, that the union leadership is protecting our interests in this matter, rather than co-managing the implementation of the Common Corporate Standards and Danielson checklists along with the so-called reformers. -- Michael FiorilloAs usual, Michael gets it exactly right
Cory Booker Still Has A Race On His Hands
This special election was supposed to be a Cory Booker blow-out:A new Quinnipiac poll in New Jersey finds Cory Booker (D) leading Steve Lonegan (R) by 12 points in the U.S. Senate race, 53% to 41%. Said pollster Maurice Carroll: "It's still not the predicted blow-out, but with a week to go, Newark Mayor Cory Booker hangs on to a nice, if not exactly comfortable, double-digit lead." Booke
Andrew Cuomo Wants To Disband The Moreland Commission To Hide His Own Corruption
Just as Sheriff Andy Cuomo disbanded the Committee To Save New York PAC rather than have to reveal who his corporate donors were, he is planning to disband his vaunted anti-corruption commission now that it has been revealed that he put the kibbosh on their investigating his own campaign donations:Gov. Andrew Cuomo's Moreland Act Commission is discussing the possibility of disbanding after recomme
UFT Leadership Still Doesnt Realize The Problem Is The Common Core
James Eterno writes at ICEUFT blog that the UFT Executive Board passed a resolution on Monday night calling for a moratorium on the high stakes part of the new ADVANCE teacher evaluation system.This moratorium call, btw, would be the same thing Randi Weingarten called for a while back.But the UFT Executive Board did not call for an end to the punitive and abusive Danielson observations, did not po
Rookie Teacher John King Pontificates About Teachers "Who Are Getting Great Outcomes"
More nonsense from rookie teacher/NYSED Commissioner John King:“I think one challenge, when contract negotiations happen for the New York City UFT contract, will be to look at the question of professional development and how much time is set aside, how are costs covered, and those kinds of questions,” King said at the time.King reiterated that stance today. But asked after the panel what else he’d
OCT 08
NYPD Cop Took Part In Vicious Motorcycle Gang Attack
We'll let this story speak for itself: An off-duty undercover cop was charged with felony criminal mischief Tuesday after smashing the window of a Manhattan driver’s SUV in a fit of rage during a biker-mob attack, sources said. “He totally lied when he said he did nothing [to help the victim] because he didn’t want to blow his cover,’’ a law-enforcement source seethed. The 29-year-old detective wa
Arne Duncan, As Usual, Totally Incoherent On Education
This is from the Morning Education email from Politico:Although Education Secretary Arne Duncan couldn't attend MSNBC's Education Nation event in person due to the shutdown, he was on hand via satellite to deliver tried-and-true talking points about the flaws of No Child Left Behind and the merits of college- and career-ready standards. NCLB's "laser-like focus on a single test score led to a
Solidarity
The press is back on a teacher witch hunt once again, probably the last one of the Bloomberg years.Articles have come from both the Daily News and the Post smearing teachers in the rubber room as perverts, criminals and/or freaks.Those of us who work in the system know that anybody can go to the rubber room, all it takes is an allegation and an administrators who wants to get rid of you.The allega
Andrew Cuomo Accused Of Corruption Cover-Up
Sheriff Andy is pointing fingers at all the crooks in Albany - but the crooks are pointing out he's a crook too:ALBANY — When Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo created the Commission to Investigate Public Corruption in early July, he promised a muscular response to bad behavior by legislators that included allegations of bribe taking, favor trading and embezzlement. But three months later, according to people
OCT 07
Mark Zuckerberg: Bill Gates Was My Hero
Down at the end of the NY Times suck up piece to Bill Gates today is this:“When I was growing up, Bill Gates was my hero,” Mark Zuckerberg, the chief executive of Facebook, said in a speech at a conference last month. He added: “I think he’s one of the greatest visionaries that our industry has ever had."No wonder Zuckerberg grew up to be a sociopath.
Joel Klein On Student Success
He's so full of it.The so-called personalized learning he's talking about is created by algorithms on his Asus/Amplify tablets.Nothing personalized about that.Even if the tablets worked, rather than melted, which apparently they don't, since the first district that bought them has had serious issues with them.Do you know what we need for student success?This kind of school system.That's something
Can You Imagine A School Chancellor Who Promoted This Kind Of School System?
An article by Kathleen Cashin and Bruce Cooper for a new style of education reform (reposted in full because it's now behind a paywall):Remaking Schools as Socioemotional PlacesBy Kathleen M. Cashin and Bruce S. Cooper Premium article access courtesy of Edweek.org.What do children do in school when they are treated like objects to be shaped, controlled, and rewarded—or punished—for what they said
Common Core Is Making Kids Hate School And Learning
This came up more than once at today's school meetings - kids are really starting to hate school and there has been a lot more acting out this year than in previous years.Both math and ELA teachers who are teaching the new Common Core curriculum materials say students hate the new lessons and have grown disengaged with the learning process already (and it's only October!)Guidance counselors are sa
Taking Cuomo On Over His Education "Death Penalty" Policies
Fred Dicker reported in the NY Post that Andrew Cuomo is looking to avoid "a head-on clash with de Blasio and the “progressive,’’ or left-of-center, wing of the Democratic Party that de Blasio represents."Dicker says it's because Cuomo knows such a contingent would be crucial to his chances in 2016 if he runs for president.As Cuomo revs up his "death penalty" for schools polici
Mayor Bloomberg Spends $1 Million In Cash For Cory Booker's Floundering Senate Campaign
Wall Street shill Cory Booker, ostensibly a "rock star politician" who is supposed to be entering the national stage as one of the great future hopes of the Democratic Party, needs Mike Bloomberg's money to dispense with a Tea Party opponent who should be 50 points down but is suddenly within 12.The Times reports Bloomberg is putting $1 million of his own money in on Booker's side, runni
Fred Dicker: Cuomo Won't Give De Blasio Tax Hike, But Will Find Pre-K Money For City
Interesting piece in today's Dicker column:Gov. Cuomo, fearing a clash with a Mayor Bill de Blasio over the poll-leading Democrat’s tax-the-rich plan to fund a universal pre-K program, has directed his staff to explore “alternative options’’ to let the city raise the money without an income-tax hike, The Post has learned. “The last thing the governor wants is a clash with a Mayor de Blasio,’’ a Cu
Daily News Shills Play Fast And Loose With Facts On Charter Schools
The neo-liberals at the Daily News have an editorial today supporting Eva Moskowitz's walk across the bridge protest for charter schools.As usual with the DN, they play fast and loose with the facts:The innovative approaches, longer school days and longer school years they offer — almost always carried out by teachers working outside the union contract — are undeniable. Just one example: On the to
Washing Away The Reformers
Here's a comment I left on a Capital NY article about the Common Core test scores:The processes to determine proficiency are political decisions made by humans in the NYSED and at the Board of Regents. NYSED Commissioner King and Regents Chancellor Tisch would have people believe these so-called proficiency rates were given down from the mount and are objective, scientific measures of what studen
OCT 06
Stupid Shit Education Reformers Say: Education Nation Edition
There are two ways to improve our schools. Hire better people and improve the ones we have. Everything else is just noise. #EducationNation— Todd (@ToddWhitaker) October 6, 2013Gotta love the motivational speaker/education professor/car salesman Todd Whitaker weighing in on complex issues like public education, poverty and teaching with so pithy and ignorant a tweet.But what else can you expect fr
Murdoch/Klein Amplify Tablet Chargers Melt, Suffer Multitude Of Other Problems
There has been such a heavy sell of the Amplify tablet in the media lately, including a long Times Magazine piece a few weeks ago.Turns out Joel Klein and Rupert Murdoch should expend less effort on the p.r. around Amplify tablets and more on the safety and workability issues: A North Carolina school district has suspended the use of 15,000 tablets after reports of multiple hardware issues, includ
Chris Christie Lies Over NJ Transit/Sandy Story
Chris Christie loves to blame stuff on others: A report by The Record is contradicting Governor Chris Christie's recent account of why NJ Transit moved hundreds of pieces of rail equipment into a flood zone prior to Sandy. The Governor this week blamed that decision on a low-level employee, whom he said made the call with no input or oversight from top managers. But a Record examination of agenc
Education Reform Elites Hate Democractic Processes
It's so much easier to impose, threaten and punish:When we put this draconian treatment of those questioning test policies side by side with the takeover of whole school districts by state governments, the imposition of Mayoral control of public schools, and the mass closing of public schools over the protests of community residents in cities like New York and Chicago, we see that when it come to
Maybe They Can Use The Post And Daily News For The Third Grade MOSL Tests?
"If you can read the @nydailynews or the @nypost, you can do college level work," says @joelhota, lamenting many kids graduate hs unready to— Erin Durkin (@erinmdurkin) October 3, 2013You can be successful at college if you can read the Post or Daily News?Try you can be successful at the fourth or fifth grades if you can read the Post and the Daily News.Not too much complex text in these
Bryant High School Confines "Crazy" Students To Outside Trailer That Funcations Like A Jail Cell
I remember a time when Bryant High School was a decent school.But then Bloomberg took over autocratic control of the school system and began his systematic plan to destroy all the large schools.And that brought us stuff like this:This school treats its most troubled students like trailer trash, whistleblowers say. The principal of William Cullen Bryant HS in Long Island City, Queens, has rounded
Science Teacher Complains Common Core Turns Him Into Literacy Teacher, But He Still Supports The CCSS
A common complain with the Common Core - no matter what subject a teacher teaches, he/she must become an ELA teacher and teach informational texts:At the beginning of the school year, I start off my class with a quote. In my best orator voice, I exclaim, “We need to teach our kids that it’s not just the winner of the Super Bowl who deserves to be celebrated but the winner of the science fair. We n
OCT 05
A Coordinated NYCDOE "Perv Teacher" Propaganda Campaign In Motion
Perv teacher beat reporter Ben "Where are the perverts?" Chapman had a rubber room/perv teacher article in today's Daily News.I dispensed with that article here. This afternoon, the NY Post has an even more sensationalised article entitled "Abusive, Violent Teachers Let Off The Hook" that, like the DN piece, hammers away at the disciplinary process for teachers and claims guilt
Using The Charlotte Danielson Rubric At A Singles Bar
You may remember that post from a while back by W.D. Haverstock that showed us how the Danielson rubric can be applied to sexual activity.Here he shows us the Danielson rubric, specifically competency 3b: "Using Questioning and Discussion Techniques," can be applied to pick-up moves in a singles bar.Another brilliant piece by W.D. Haverstock.Dunno who this guy is, but I wish he would wri
How You Will Know If De Blasio Sold Out To Rupert Murdoch
Democratic mayoral nominee Bill de Blasio, he of the "Tale of Two Cities" campaign, spent all yesterday meeting with the oligarchs of the city, including having a private and secret meeting with NY Post publisher Rupert Murdoch, NY Daily News publisher Mort Zuckerman, Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein and other members of the New York plutocracy.The de Blasio campaign is sending out the
Is Cuomo Afraid Of The "Democratic Left?
Earlier in the week, Fred Dicker thought so:A Mayor Bill De Blasio would have “the power to destroy’’ Cuomo’s presidential ambitions if, as expected, the governor blocks De Blasio’s plan to raise taxes on the wealthy, a source close to both men has told The Post. The source, who insisted on anonymity, said Cuomo is nervously aware of the danger posed by the front-running De Blasio’s election and h
Ben Chapman Goes Back On The Perv Teacher Beat
Daily News reporter Ben Chapman loves to hunt perv teachers.It's an obsession with him, perhaps stemming from a message he gets from his superiors at Team Zuckerman that this is a story they want covered every few weeks or so, perhaps originating from something darker and more Freudian.In any case, it's a subject he comes back to over and over and over.Today, he and Rachel Monahan have a rubber ro
OCT 04
Off Duty And Undercover NYPD Cops Took Part In The Biker Chase Of Man In SUV
The Daily News reports: A pair of NYPD detectives rode last weekend with the motorcycle mob that battered a Manhattan dad as his terrified family watched, a source told the Daily News. The two cops apparently waited several days after Sunday’s brutal assault before informing supervisors about their involvement in the high-profile case, the source said.One of the two was an off-duty undercover who
@#$% Education Reformers Say
Chaz has some great quotes from the likes of the Mayor of Money, Joel Klein, Dennis Walcott, Cathie Black, Bill Gates, et al.I added one additional education reform figure/enabler and his quote in the comments:"Sure, NYSED Commissioner John King makes a great independent arbitrator for the APPR teacher evaluation negotiations..." -- Michael Mulgrew.Go on over to Chaz's and add your own f
Bill De Blasio Has Private Meeting With Rupert Murdoch And Mort Zuckerman
Danger! Danger!Democratic mayoral nominee Bill de Blasio attended a private meeting with a number of leading New York City business figures yesterday.Among them were Rupert Murdoch, the chairman of both News Corp. and its sister corporation, 21st Century Fox (who has taken a particular interest in trying to reshape public education); Robert Thomson, the chief executive of News Corp.; and Mortimer
Danielson'd
Those of you who have already had an observation under the new Danielson rubric, I am interested in your experiences.Was this a formal or informal observation?Did you use a suggested lesson plan format?What was the pre-observation conference like?What was the lesson observation like?Did you allow it to be filmed?What feedback did you get from the principal or assistant principal?How were you rated
De Blasio Calls Himself A "Fiscal Conservative"
Turns out that Bill de Blasio the "Marxist" is also Bill de Blasio the "fiscal conservative" - at least that's what he told a group of business leaders today:De Blasio's ascension has created a sense of nervousness within some corners of the city's business community, which prospered during Mayor Michael Bloomberg's 12-year reign and is fearful of more liberal policies emanatin
Jealous Andy Cuomo
Anyone else wondering if @NYGovCuomo is getting jealous of @deBlasioNYC's poll numbers?— David W. Chen (@davidwchen) October 4, 2013We'll know soone enough.I suspect that Cuomo's tax cut commission headed by the man who knocked off his father as governor is the first sling aimed at de Blasio.Hard to see how Cuomo runs as a tax cutting governor next year but allows de Blasio to raise taxes on wealt
Charter Schools Cheaper Than Public Schools Because They Pay Little In Salary And Pension Costs
The charter school-touting NY Post runs a story on a report showing charter schools cost less per pupil than traditional public schools because they have lower salary and pension costs.This is supposed to spur Bill de Blasio to begin to support charters, I suppose, but if you dig down deep into the story, you see the connection between de Blasio's Tale of Two Cities campaign theme and charter scho
Real Estate Brokers Are Sad Mayor Bloomberg Is Leaving Office
Just as the Wall Street criminals are sad Mayor Bloomberg is leaving office, the real estate criminals are sad too: Mayor Bloomberg would be crazy to try to run for a fourth term — but real estate brokers say it’s crazy to want anyone else in City Hall. “I’m depressed at the thought that someone else will be mayor,” says Shaun Osher, president of real estate brokerage CORE. “I wish we could change
The Charter School Question In The NY Times/Siena Poll
The NY Times is hawking a Siena poll today that shows Bill de Blaiso with a 50 percentage point lead over Joe Lhota, but says the poll shows notes of caution for de Blasio because some of his signature policy positions are in opposition to what a majority of New Yorkers feel about things.One of those policy positions is on charter schools.The Times asks "Do you support or oppose the creation
BREAKING NEWS: Two More Names On De Blasio's Short List For Chancellor Revealed
Gotham Schools and the Post ran speculation pieces about who Bill de Blasio might pick to be the next NYCDOE schools chancellor.Both pieces gave proponents of various candidates the opportunity to shill for them and try and promote their "perfect candidate" for the position.The Gotham Schools piece touted former Baltimore schools chief Andres Alonso, president of New Visions for Public S