Perdido Street School:
Perdido Street School Week
66% Of NYS PTA Survey Respondents Oppose Common Core, 88% Say There's Too Much Testing
Rebecca Klein at Huffington Post:According to a recent survey conducted by The New York State Parent Teacher Association (PTA), a vast majority of parent and teacher respondents said that students have been more stressed out over test-related issues than in previous years.The survey shows that 78 percent of students in grades 1–12 who receive additional educational support as a result of a disabil
Some Reaction To Cuomo's Common Core Panel
Here are some comments left at the Capital Confidential reporting Cuomo's Common Core panel announcement:Once again the Bully of New York fails to include the real experts in the field. Educators have been saying all along what is best for student achievement but it has fallen upont deaf ears. Sorry knuckle dragger but educators are not the blame here. Education policy has been and is set by the R
YESTERDAY
Taking A Closer Look At Andrew Cuomo's Rigged Common Core Panel
Via State of Politics, here is the Common Core panel list:The panel’s members are: Stanley S. Litow, Vice President, IBM Corporate Citizenship and Corporate Affairs & President, IBM International Foundation (Chair)Senator John Flanagan, Senate Education Committee Chair (Senate appointee)Assemblywoman Catherine Nolan, Assembly Education Committee Chair (Assembly appointee)Linda Darling-Hammond,
The Fix Is In On The Cuomo Common Core Panel
Not a surprise to find out Common Core-supporting Sheriff Andy Cuomo rigged his Common Core panel with Common Core supporters - but that's what he did according to Leonie Haimson (via Diane Ravitch.)No early childhood experts, elementary or special ed teachers on commission, which is unfortunate because these are the people whose critiques have been most sharp.Litow chair already wrote an oped in
NYSED May Get Involved In The De Blasio/Charter Fight
Lisa Fleischer in the WSJ:State education officials are studying how Mr. de Blasio's pledge to charge rent to charters that operate in city buildings could affect the amount of funding the city receives for facilities.New York City gets more than $1 billion a year from the state to defray the cost of school facilities—partially paying for leases, renovations, purchases and new construction. The st
FEB 06
Ralph Kiner Dies
From Eye on Baseball:Hall of Famer Ralph Kiner passed away at his home in California on Thursday. He died peacefully from natural causes with his family at his side. He was 91.“With the passing of Ralph Kiner, the baseball world has lost one of its greatest ambassadors and the Hall of Fame has lost a wonderful friend,” said Jane Forbes Clark, Chairman of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Muse
Let's Have More Meetings
I wanted to meet with you to talk about that meeting you're having about how we need to have more meetings, but I was stuck in another meeting and couldn't meet with you today. Can we meet tomorrow?Sigh...
The Problem With Always Making Students Show Their Work
From David Ginsburg at Ed Week:As a new teacher, I upheld the longstanding requirement among math teachers that students must always show their work. And like many teachers, I deducted points when students refused to comply. But the more pushback I got from them--"you shouldn't make us work the problems out if we already know the answers"--the more I questioned the wisdom of this rigid r
Daily News: ATRS's May Be Returned To Classrooms
The Daily News that reports teachers who are "undesirable: - i.e., ATR's - will be placed back into schools under a plan by NYCDOE Chancellor Farina: A pool of teachers whom principals don’t want to hire may be headed back into the classroom, the Daily News has learned. City Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña has had internal discussions with her staff about placing most of the 1,200 educators
FEB 05
MSNBC "Cycle" Host: Andrew Cuomo No Liberal
Good to see this get out there into the country at large:On MSNBC's "The Cycle" today, Governor Andrew Cuomo was criticized as the "main obstacle" to Bill de Blasio's plan to expand pre-kindergarten programs.“You might think few would stand in de Blasio’s way," said Cycle co-host Ari Melber. "Is it the millionaires? The last Republican holdouts in the West Village? No
Here's A Solution For The Teachers Contract Negotiations
Comment left on the NY Times story on contract negotiations:Just declare all the teachers to be bankers and that they deserve bonuses regardless of performance. That seems acceptable for real bankers (hi there, Jamie Dimon), who are extracting money from society, so why not extend the model?Guy has a point.
Common Core, CCSS Tests, APPR, And InBloom Are A Package Deal
The Cuomo administration yesterday:“Common Core is an issue about which there has been a lot of dialogue,” Cuomo spokeswoman Melissa DeRosa said in a statement Tuesday that both affirms the standards and distances the administration from its rocky rollout. The proposed moratorium on its implementation is “premature,” DeRosa said, adding that the governor would wait for recommendations from a panel
Ed In The Apple Gives Hint On What UFT Is Negotiating For The Contract
NY Times article this morning on what's going on in the teachers contract negotiations.James Eterno has an excellent companion piece to the Times article over at ICEUFT, but the gist of the Times article is basically, if teachers receive full back pay due as part of the bargaining pattern, it eats away a lot of the money that could go to increases for other unions.In the comments on the side of th
Cuomo, Tisch & King Seem To Be Only Supporters Left On CCSS
Prominent members of the Assembly are calling for a moratorium:Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Assembly Education Committee Chairwoman Cathy Nolan today called for a two-year delay – “at minimum” – in using Common Core test results for “high-stakes” decisions for teachers, principals and students. Silver and Nolan said in a statement that “New Yorkers share the same goal – to improve our schoo
FEB 04
Cuomo Playing Games With Common Core
Here's Andrew Cuomo's response to Shelly Silver and Cathy Nolan calling for at least a two year delay on stakes attached to CCSS:Statement From Communications Director Melissa DeRosa on the Legislature's Call for a Moratorium on Common Core Albany, NY (February 4, 2014)Governor Cuomo believes that the best long term economic development strategy is ensuring New York State has the strongest possib
Shelly Silver, Cathy Nolan Call For At Least Two Year Delay On Common Core, Pause On InBloom
This is not going to make the functionaries at SED or Shelly Silver's pal, Merryl Tisch, happy at all:State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and his education committee chief said Tuesday that high-stakes testing associated with the new Common Core curriculum should be delayed for two years -- at least. ...In a statement, Silver and Education Committee Chairwoman Cathy Nolan (D-Queens) said while &
Making SUNY And CUNY Tuition Free
From State of Politics:Assemblyman James Skoufis is sponsoring legislation to give students free tuition to SUNY and CUNY schools if they agree to certain requirements. Participants would have to do 250 hours of community service each year, and then after graduation they’d need to stay in the state for at least five years. The goal is to help make college more affordable and assist non-profits aro
Wednesday Weather Round-Up
Tomorrow sounds like an eventful day:WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT FROM MIDNIGHT TONIGHT TO 6 PM EST WEDNESDAY...THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN NEW YORK HAS ISSUED A WINTER STORM WARNING FOR SNOW AND ICE...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM MIDNIGHT TONIGHT TO 6 PM EST WEDNESDAY. THE WINTER STORM WATCH IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT.* LOCATIONS...SOUTHERN CONNECTICUT...NORTHERN PORTIONS OF THE NEW YORK CITY METROP
A Nice Morning Round-Up On The Mulgrew/Weingarten Shiv On Iannuzzi At NYSUT
ICEUFT:In an interview in Capital Pro, NYSUT President Dick Iannuzzi says directly that the challenge to his presidency is nothing more than a UFT power grab. Speaking about the April election (Iannuzzi) told Capital on Monday that the race "is not about policy. It's about concentrating power and potentially limiting voice." He said Andrew Pallotta, his No. 2 who is spearheading a slat
FEB 03
De Blasio On The Daily Show
Funny:Jon Stewart [hereafter “Jon”] opened the show with a few jokes about his notable guest: “The mayor, Bill de Blasio, is here apparently with a shovel.” Today’s storm, Jon adds, “has provided the mayor with a chance for some snow removal redemption.” [cut to: clip of Ch. 2 coverage of today’s snowstorm] Jon: “De Blasio got an earful from the tony East Side residents used to Mayor Bloomberg car
NYSUT President Iannuzzi Condemns "Sit And Stare" Education For Children Who Opt Out Of State Tests
Very important statement from NYSUT supporting the right of parents to opt their children out of state tests and not have those children punished by the districts or schools:ALBANY, N.Y. Feb. 3, 2014 - New York State United Teachers President Richard C. Iannuzzi today called on school districts to abandon educationally unsound and unconscionable policies that force students whose parents have deci
And In Christie Scandal News...
...some stories that made headlines today.First, this one: An attorney with close ties to Gov. Chris Christie's administration helped prepare an official who gave now-discredited testimony that lane closures at the George Washington Bridge were part of a traffic study, officials said.Philip Kwon, a top attorney at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, spent parts of four to five days help
Keep Dreaming, Sheriff Andy
Fred Dicker writes about a poll taken of Democratic voters in Florida:A new Quinnipiac University poll of Florida voters was anything but encouraging to Cuomo’s widely described interest in entering the 2016 presidential contest. The poll, released Friday, not surprisingly found Hillary Rodham Clinton the runaway favorite, at 64 percent, among Democrats asked to pick their favorite presidential co
Pete Donahue: LIRR Unions Ready To Strike
Pete Donahue's Daily News column in full: Hey, Gov, when would you like a Long Island Rail Road strike? In the spring or summer? How about the fall when voters are going to the polls? Unless Cuomo’s MTA demonstrates more flexibility and urgency in its dealings with a coalition of LIRR unions, and gets off its high horse a little bit, railroad commuters will endure the first strike since the gover
Super Bowl Fans Show Affection For New Jersey
Wonder if Christie will get blamed for this too:A record 27,000 people passed though the Secaucus Junction train station today, turning it into a virtual sauna and prompting shouts of “Jersey sucks” as football fans waited impatiently for trains to MetLife Stadium....The rush on the station left some waiting hours in sweltering heat. Fans reported seeing some people pass out. “New Jersey sucks,” s
FEB 02
Ed Notes Online: Randi Weingarten Is Behind The Rebellion Against NYSUT President Dick Iannuzzi
When the stories of the rift between the UFT contingent in the NYSUT and the Iannuzzi supporters first surfaced, I thought there was no way UFT President Michael Mulgrew was behind the plot without Randi's okay.I have never seen Mulgew take any actions that weren't already Randi-approved - from the Thompson endorsement in the 2013 NYC mayoral election to the APPR deal Mulgrew and Iannuzzi made wit
Oldie But Goodie: Chris Christie Will Get His
A Perdido Street School post from November 3, 2013: Chris Christie Will Get His Governor Chris Christie had another "Beat Up The Teachers" moment yesterday that has people in the education and progressive blogosphere upset.While Christie's bullying of a female teacher is upsetting to me as well (as is the clear glee with which his wife watches the bullying from the side), I would note t
Three Snow Events For The Week
We're supposed to get some snow tonight into tomorrow, perhaps as much as four inches before it's done.There's another storm on tap for Wednesday that could be a snow/ice/frozen rain event, making for hazardous travel, downed powerlines and overall misery around the region.And models are showing a significant storm for next weekend, perhaps Sunday into Monday, though with that time frame so far ou
David Wildstein Ruins Super Bowl Weekend For Chris Christie
Ever since that the letter David Wildstein's lawyer sent to the Port Authority alleging that Christie had lied about the GWB lane closures made it into the news on Friday night, Chris Christie has been having a miserable time.First he had to sneak into Howard Stern's 60th birthday party on Friday so as not to have to respond to questions from the press about the Wildstein memo.Then yesterday he go
FEB 01
Chris Christie Gets Desperate, Attacks David Wildstein For "Deceptive Behavior" In High School
Chris Christie tried to undercut David Wildstein's credibility today in an email to supporters and campaign donors, but some of the points raised make Christie look desperate:In David Wildstein's past, people and newspaper accounts have described him as "tumultuous" and someone who "made moves that were not productive." As a 16 year old kid, he sued over a local school board el
Christie Booed At Super Bowl Gathering
Only getting worse for Governor Christie:Gov. Chris Christie was booed by a huge crowd gathered in Times Square today for the ceremonial 'handing off' of the Super Bowl to Arizona, next year's host state.The beleaguered governor spoke for less than a minute on a stage set up in the middle of Broadway, renamed Super Bowl Boulevard this week....When he left the stage, Christie ignored the crush of c
More Christie Corruption News
Another story to watch:Gov. Chris Christie took nearly a year to implement a law he signed that would require close oversight of federal Hurricane Sandy recovery money, a report this morning said.Christie signed the "Integrity Monitor Act" in March — a bill that would require independent monitors to oversee how the state government distributes billions in aid. The monitors would be assig
Chris Christie Has Three Scandals Dogging Him
The Newark Star-Ledger editorial board was brutal on Christie last night.The DN editorial board is brutal on him this morning: All the king’s horses and all the king’s men will never put Chris Christie together again if New Jersey’s governor fails to refute the accusation that he knew of the George Washington Bridge lane closures as they were taking place. In that event, Christie’s governorship is