Perdido Street School:
Perdido Street School Week
Tony Benn On Hitler, Stalin And Bill Gates
Big Business Takes On Common Core Opponents
From Tony Benn's last speech to Parliament:In the course of my life I have developed five little democratic questions. If one meets a powerful person--Adolf Hitler, Joe Stalin or Bill Gates--ask them five questions: “What power have you got? Where did you get it from? In whose interests do you exercise it? To whom are you accountable? And how can we get rid of you?” If you cannot get rid of the pe
Big Business Takes On Common Core Opponents
Stephanie Simon at Politico reports the business supporters of the CCSS are launching an expensive and widespread counteroffensive against Common Core opponents starting this weekend:A coalition including the Business Roundtable and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce will launch a national advertising blitz Sunday targeted at Republicans skeptical about the standards. Spots promoting the Common Core wil
Quid Pro Cuomo
From Politicker:A small crowd of public school parents and advocates stormed the lobby of midtown building where Gov. Andrew Cuomo was believed to have a meeting this afternoon. Waving “Quid Pro Cuomo” posters, the two dozen or so protesters rallied against proposed budget language that would give the state government some jurisdiction over city schools. The proposal, outlined by the State Senate’
YESTERDAY
When Does De Blasio Realize Cuomo Is Not His Friend?
Hopefully he has realized this already after news like this:In a radio interview, Governor Andrew Cuomo downplayed the funding for universal pre-K. "Yes, that will be in the budget, but that's been established for a long time," he said. "The charter discussion is going to be new, and it's going to be important."The governor, who sources say got deeply involved in the negotiatio
Comptroller Stringer Shills For Eva Moskowitz
I've never much liked Scott Stringer, so maybe I'm not giving him the benefit of the doubt, but what I hear from him here is, he's backing up Eva Moskowitz: Controller Scott Stringer said he wants to audit charter schools — especially those colocated with traditional public schools. Speaking to reporters after a lunch hosted by the Association for a Better New York — where Gov. Andrew Cuomo deli
NY Times: De Blasio Seeks Nine Year Teachers Contract
Oy:The de Blasio administration, seeking to be generous to its allies in labor without jeopardizing New York City’s finances, is pushing for what would be the longest-ever contract with the teachers’ union: a nine-year deal that would let the city stretch out potentially huge retroactive pay increases. In intense negotiations over the past week, people briefed on the talks say, the city has assert
Meet The New Member Of The Board Of Regents
From the Times-Union:With 20-20 hindsight, lawmakers are asking themselves what happened during their vote to elect members to the state Board of Regents, which sets education policy.During a rare joint session of the Legislature, Assembly members and senators on Tuesday re-elected three incumbent Regents. For the fourth seat, which had just been vacated, they chose a seeming long-shot: Sullivan C
What Message Was Sheldon Silver Sending On Charter Schools Yesterday?
From Capital Confidential:For the first time in anyone’s memory around here, Assembly Democratic Majority Speaker Sheldon Silver came into the LCA pressroom for a quick scrum on budget negotiations earlier Thursday. We’re all a bit unsure precisely what that means, although some suggested Silver was underscoring the importance of the New York City charter school fight.Mostly though Silver signaled
Cuomo Wants State To Have Power To Override Mayors On Charter School Decisions
And so Cuomo's shilling for the charter industry continues:Gov. Andrew Cuomo in a radio interview Friday morning said he wants a statewide law that would block a city’s mayor from revoking a charter school.Cuomo’s comments were aimed statewide, but in the context of New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s decision to rescind the co-locations of three charter schools in the city that had been previous
What The City Is Proposing For Health Care Costs For City Workers
Juan Gonzalez in the Daily News on the first day of contract talks between the city and the unions: Talks began this week between the de Blasio administration and city unions over labor contracts for 300,000 municipal workers. It was night and day compared to the Bloomberg era. “I heard more worthwhile proposals in the first 45 minutes than I heard the previous three years,” Harry Nespoli, chairma
Court Rules Charter Schools Are Not Public Schools
And so Eva Moskowitz wins again: New York charter schools won a big victory Thursday when a judge ruled the state’s top fiscal officer can’t follow the money and look at their books. Charter school crusader Eva Moskowitz filed suit to bar state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli from auditing her 22 schools, all of which are publicly funded but also receive private donations. On Thursday, Manhattan Supre
MAR 13
Shelly Silver: We Won't Back Cuomo's Charter School Funding Plan
And for now, Shelly Silver holds the line on the charter school funding/co-location issue:Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver said he could accept a Senate plan to provide more than $500 million a year for prekindergarten if there are no strings attached. But he was far less receptive to charter school reforms, saying straight out that "I will not be party to second guessing the mayor on decision
Senate Bill To Give Governor Control Over Regents Appointments
From Capital NY:ALBANY—The State Senate on Thursday passed a bill that would change the way the Board of Regents is selected, allowing most members to be appointed by the governor and giving more power to minority legislative conferences.The bill, sponsored by Senate higher education committee chair Kenneth LaValle, addresses Republicans' complaints that Democrats, who control the Assembly, have t
Cuomo: We Will Enshrine Charter Co-Locations Into Law
Eva Moskowitz is getting her $800,000 worth out of Governor Cuomo:Gov. Cuomo says the fight to protect charter schools will be one of he biggest issues in the upcoming state budget negotiations.In a slight jab at Mayor de Blasio, Cuomo said the charter school issue will trump the fight over prekindergarten expansion--declaring that latter battle over."We've been dealing about pre-k for a long
Christie Plummets In New WSJ/NBC News Poll
And the erosion of Chris Christie as a viable presidential candidate continues:Positive feelings about New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie are eroding across the board — even among his once-loyal base of Republicans and Northeasterners – in the wake of allegations that top deputies engineered a massive traffic jam to get back at Democratic mayor who withheld an endorsement. Overall, the potential 201
State Senate Undercuts Mayor Control Of NYC Schools Over Charter School Issues
It's interesting how the functionaries of the plutocracy like mayoral control of schools so long as the mayor in charge is pushing their agenda.But when he's not, they undercut it from Albany:The state Senate will propose sweeping measures in its budget bill to undo Mayor de Blasio’s moves against charter schools, sources familiar with the plan said. The recommendations — to be released as early
Markos At Daily Kos: Cuomo Like Joe Lieberman
Hammer job from Markos Moulitsas at the Daily Kos on Governor Cuomo - so good, I need to repost it in full:NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo, the man who will never be president.Exhibit A:Administration officials confirm Gov. Cuomo has hired GOP strategist and commentator Susan Del Percio to the post of special advisor to the governor, focusing on operations and special projects. "I am pleased to welcome
MAR 12
What It Takes To Be A Member Of The New York State Board Of Regents
From a commenter here at Perdido Street School blog:All the other members of the board of Regents are unqualified political appointees. It sure helps to be the wife of a billionaire without appropriate experience to become the Regents Chancellor. Skill, competency, educational background are irrelevant in the NY state crony culture of Regents appointments. What matters? Do you have a billion dolla
New Member Of The Board Of Regents Not To Sure What Common Core Controversy Is All About
From Capital Confidential:There will likely be at least one new member of the state Board of Regents Tuesday, now that incumbent James Jackson has announced his resignation. The contest to replace him may be close, however. Lawmakers brought in a final applicant on Monday after grumblings that they weren’t overly impressed with the candidates for what would be Jackson’s seat, which is defined by t
Cuomo Says CCSS Tests Won't Count For Students, But Will Count For Teachers
From State of Politics:In a Capital Tonight interview on Tuesday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s top aide Larry Schwartz said overhauling the implementation of the standards will be part of those budget talks.“Why not? Why shouldn’t it be part of the budget? Why shouldn’t we let students in New York state and their parents know ASAP — as soon as possible — that we’re going to reduce the amount of testings fo
Legislature Appoints "Spiritual Entrepreneur" To Board Of Regents
You can't make this stuff up.The legislature tossed one Regent overboard yesterday, communicating to him that he did not have the votes to be re-elected to the Board of Regents, and then proceeded to replace him with this:ALBANY—The newest member of the Board of Regents runs a consulting practice in which she charges thousands of dollars for “spiritual” weight loss sessions. Josephine Finn, a town
Michael Mulgrew: More Than 32,000 NYC Teachers Have Quit In Last 11 Years
From State of Politics:At 1 p.m., UFT President Mike Mulgrew releases a report showing that more than 32,000 teachers walked away from NYC classrooms in the last 11 years, with many going to suburban districts, 52 Broadway, Manhattan. Yes, Bloomberg, along with his chancellor henchmen, were largely responsible for that.So were Obama and Duncan. But so too was the UFT leadership, which made deals w
MAR 11
Governor Jerry Brown: We Are To Help Teachers, Not Make The Job Into An Obstacle Course
Compare and contrast the governor in California with the governor in New York:Governor Brown took aim at excessive testing in the schools – an ongoing theme of his governorship – and warned lawmakers in Sacramento and Washington not to burden teachers with more demands than they are already experiencing in forceful remarks at the California Democratic Convention in Los Angeles over the weekend. St
Cuomo Sets Up Another Strong Man Over Teacher Evaluations
From Daily Politics: Cuomo also defended his Common Core implementation panel’s recommendation that math and English assessment tests not count toward grade promotion or be put on the permanent records of those in third through eight grades while at time not recommending a delay in applying the new standards to teacher evaluations. He said teacher evaluations are considered an integral part of ref
Christie Under Water In New Poll
So much for Chris Christie's assertion that the public doesn't care about Bridgegate:Gov. Chris Christie has called the George Washington Bridge scandal an obsession of the press that the public doesn’t care about, but two polls released today show the ordeal continues to erode his political support and public image. One survey, the Fairleigh Dickinson University PublicMind poll, showed Christie’s
Cuomo Says Public Education Needs "Disrupting," Common Core Is Just The Thing To Do It
Governor Cuomo today:Under fire from Republican Rob Astorino, the Westchester County executive running for governor and who has called it the “Cuomo Common Core,” the governor was quick to point out that he has nothing to do with the education department. “The education system across the board needs serious reform and has for a long time,” he said. He added: “To the extent this is a moment to brin
Ask Eva Moskowitz About The Attrition Rate At Success Academies
From State of Politics:At 6:30 a.m., Success Academy Harlem Central Middle School scholars will appear on MSNBC’s Morning Joe with their principal, Andrew Malone. Yesterday the hosts of the Morning Joe Clown Show beatup on Mayor de Blasio over the Success co-location issue.Today, they let Eva use the program for more pro-Success propaganda.But one stat never makes it into these mainstream media pr
Teacher On Cuomo Common Core Panel: No Discussion Or Dissent Was Allowed
A tweet last night from the teacher on the Cuomo Common Core panel:I will issue a further statement tomorrow on the sham of @NYGovCuomo CCLS implementation panel. No dissent allowed, no discussion allowed!— Todd Hathaway (@toddjhathaway) March 11, 2014That's Cuomo-style democracy in action.No dissent, no discussion.Findings decided beforehand.Sign it or else. As I noted when the Cuomo Common Core
MAR 10
Cuomo Common Core Panel Suggests Increased Professional Development & Training For Members Of The Board Of Regents And NYSED
Cuomo's Common Core panel said increased professional development and training is needed for both the Regents and the functionaries at NYSED since they've managed to screw up so much of their reform agenda, both the development of that agenda and the implementation of it.So the panel suggested the Regents and SED functionaries be forced to attend ten hours of Common Core training and PD per week f
Cuomo's Common Core Panel Issues Report
Panel calls for continued implementation of Common Core and APPR but recommends the state cut inBloom ties: Gov. Cuomo's Common Core panel wants to restrict how much time can be used teaching to the tests, limit standardized testing to those above second grade, and end a controversial contract with a data sharing company, the Daily News has learned. The report is broken into four sections of recom
Andrew Cuomo Says Public Schools Are Failing
After de Blasio went on the Morning Joe clown show and got pounded by the neo-liberals over there over the charter issue, Andrew Cuomo went on the kinder, gentler Brian Lehrer Show to expound upon how much he loves charters and how much he thinks public schools suck:Not only are charter schools not a threat, Mr. Cuomo said, but they are part of the solution to failing public schools, which he call
Macho Andy
A slideshow of Andy Cuomo's most mach moments, courtesy of AM New York.And yet, there's no photo of him wrestling with the Common Core State Standards controversy which has tied his administration in knots.He's for it, but he's against the implementation, and he would be out there protesting with parents if he had any say in education policy and wasn't so busy trying to make sure the CCSS tests ar
There Will Be A Political Price For Lawmakers Who Vote To Reelect Incumbent Members Of The Board Of Regents
From Jessica Bakeman at Capital NY:Assembly higher education committee chair Deborah Glick said Monday's last-minute interviews of candidates for the Board of Regents are not atypical, despite the fact that the political circumstances surrounding this year's elections are much different than usual.Reached Sunday by Capital, Glick said lawmakers would see two or three late entrants at noon on Monda
De Blasio Looks For Health Care Concessions From Unions
Here it is: The city is kicking off negotiations with municipal labor unions this week to find potential savings in health care costs, officials confirmed to the Daily News. “The city will commence discussions about health benefits with the unions that represent the workforce,” said Marti Adams, a spokeswoman for Mayor de Blasio. The discussions are a key part of overall labor talks with the union
MAR 09
Will Hiring David Coleman Backfire On College Board?
From FOX News:The man known as the "architect" of Common Core has used his new job running the College Board to deal a devastating blow to critics of the national education standards. The SAT was revamped to align with the Common Core Standards Initiative, the broad language and math standards adopted by 45 states despite growing complaints that it will result in nationalized control of
The New York State Education Department Common Core Modules - Meant To Dumb Down A Whole Generation Of Children
Here's a comment NYCDOEnuts left on this Perdido Street School post yesterday on the NYSED modules:At my school, I have two 9th grade classes where I am required to teach to the modules. They are so dry and tedious, that on days when I follow the curriculum (knowing I could be popped in on for an informal eval) my classroom is completely lifeless. Imagine spending a whole period asking almost the
MAR 08
EngageNY Modules Make No Sense - An Emblem For Common Core As A Whole
Kindergarten math homework. Makes no sense whatsoever. #CommonCore should be ashamed. pic.twitter.com/emnxjUwRrU— Chris Zoller (@ChrisZFitness) February 27, 2014This is the "rigor" of the Common Core in crystallized form.It's needlessly complex and makes no sense.It does, however, make children cry and parents scratch their heads and wonder what the hell is going on in schools these days
The Lie That "Many Educators Support The Common Core Standards"
Newsday has an article reporting parents protesting the CCSS outside of State Senator John "I Love The Common Core Because Michelle Rhee Loves The Common Core!" Flanagan's office yesterday.Flanagan makes pains in the article to say that he supports the CCSS, just thinks the implementation of the standards has been weak (a point which I posted about last week), then says this:Flanagan (R-
Cuomo And De Blasio
I just want to point out in all the headlines and tabloid covers of de Blasio's fall from grace in public polling that he isn't all that far below the "masterful" Andrew Cuomo who has been eating him for lunch in the political skirmishing.In the latest Marist poll, Cuomo is at 42%.In the latest Marist poll, de Blasio is at 39%.There's been a concerted effort by the corporate overlords to