Perdido Street School:
Perdido Street School Week
Mulgrew Responds To Budget Agreement
From the NY Times:Michael Mulgrew, president of the United Federation of Teachers, the city’s teachers’ union, said the changes proposed on Saturday amounted to favoritism for charter schools at the expense of students in traditional public schools.“They can’t be second-class citizens in their own school system,” Mr. Mulgrew said.Now they are.Eva Moskowitz can now expand her schools as much as she
How Opt-Out Works In Carmel Schools
From Gary Stern at LoHud:It is up to districts to decide whether students not taking the tests can read or move to another room or must sit quietly. Education Department materials note that districts are not obligated to provide an alternate location or activities.A letter to parents from the Carmel schools said students who don't take the tests will be given a test booklet and no alternate activi
Common Core Moratorium Watered Down In Budget Bill?
From State of Politics:The Democratic-led Assembly this month passed a measure that would impose a two-year delay in aspects of Common Core when it comes to student and teacher assessment. The education budget bill introduced this morning does not appear to go nearly as far on that delay. Here's what I see in the bill relating to assessment for 3rd-8th grade:THE COMMISSIONER SHALL PROVIDE THAT NO
And Now The Budget Agreement Is Said To Be Complete
Just moments after I posted that the education spending bill was holding up the state budget comes word that the budget agreement is now set:ALBANY — Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and legislative leaders have reached a deal on the next state budget that provides $300 million to expand prekindergarten in New York City, officials said on Saturday.The agreement, which followed exhausting but relatively peacef
Education Budget Bill Still Not Finished
Apparently they're still wrangling over the education issues:Gov. Andrew Cuomo and top state lawmakers appeared to come to an agreement on much of the state budget late Friday, but a bill laying out more than $20 billion in education spending wasn’t introduced before a key midnight deadline.Both the Senate and Assembly printed eight bills just before 11:59 p.m. Friday that would implement most of
Former Christie Aide Bridget Anne Kelly Says She'll Talk To Feds
No wonder Christie was so bombastic at yesterday's press conference - he sees the end is near: Gov. Chris Christe's inner circle continued to implode on Friday with a close ally abruptly resigning and his former deputy chief of staff now willing to talk if she gets immunity. David Samson, a top Bridgegate figure and the target of a federal probe, quietly surrendered his post as Port Authority chai
YESTERDAY
Another Bridgegate Resignation
More Bridgegate fun:Gov. Chris Christie announced today that David Samson, whose chairmanship of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has come under fire in recent months, has resigned.Samson, a close ally of Christie and a former attorney general of New Jersey, is reportedly under investigation by the U.S. Attorney of New Jersey in the face of accusations that his law firm, Wolff & S
Sheldon Silver Says Budget Talks "Have Slowed"
From State of Politics:Assembly Speaker Sheldon made his second impromptu visit down the hallway of the Legislative Correspondence Association Friday morning, confirming to reporters that he is indeed still in Albany and no final agreement had been reached on a spending plan....Talks have apparently stalled on the budget, Silver said. “Leaders meetings have not been quite as productive,” Silver sa
Rev Up Those State And City Financial Audits Of The Charter Networks
As I posted this morning, the charter operators got pretty much everything they wanted in budget negotiations - higher per pupil state aid, free rent, and a guaranteed right to space.But there is one interesting item in the deal according to Ben Chapman at the Daily News:It will also for the first time allow the city and state controller to audit charter schools.If the state and city comptrollers
Will Cuomo Allow Any Changes To NYC Teacher Evaluations?
I've posted the past few days about how much Andrew Cuomo likes to stick it to his "friend," Bill de Blasio, on issue after issue.Anthony Weiner and Michael Powell of the NY Times both wrote about this earlier in the week, with "jerk" Anthony Weiner going so far as to call Cuomo a "jerk" over it.Yesterday Cuomo got everything he wanted in the budget deal on the charte
Cuomo Sticks It To De Basio
That's the Post's takeaway this morning:Charter schools will be big winners in the new state budget under a tentative deal hammered out by Gov. Cuomo and legislative leaders Thursday night, sources close to the talks said. For the first time the privately operated schools will be eligible for government funds to cover the costs of leasing classroom space in private buildings, Albany sources said.
New York City May Have $2 Billion Surplus At End Of Fiscal Year
From Crains:The city could end this year with a $2 billion budget surplus, or about $244 million more than Mayor Bill de Blasio has been anticipating, according to an analysis of the mayor’s preliminary budget by the Independent Budget Office released Wednesday.Assuming most of that surplus is used to pay down next year’s expenses, the IBO predicts that the city will also end next year with a surp
MAR 27
Isn't It Time For Bridget Anne Kelly To Throw Christie Under The Bus?
From the NY Times:Gov. Chris Christie, seeking to stanch the damage the scandal had caused to his political fortunes, fired her as his deputy chief of staff after that, calling her “stupid.” But the report commissioned by Mr. Christie and released Thursday doubles down on a strategy of portraying Ms. Kelly as duplicitous, weeping frequently and dependent on men for approval and stability....Ms. Ke
Charter Schools Get Government-Funded Rent, Co-Location Rights, Extra Per Pupil Cash In Budget Deal
Cuomo got everything Eva and Company wanted:State leaders reached a tentative deal on a charter school reform package that will increase per pupil spending and provide government-funded rent for the schools for the first time. Also under the deal, if a new charter approved by the city includes a request for space inside existing city buildings, the city would have five-months to make a “reasonable
Students Say Get Rid Of Common Core
The kids are alright:ALBANY—A majority of State Assembly members chose to stick with the Common Core standards during a recent vote, but a younger legislative body that voted in the chamber this weekend made a different decision.A group of high school students visited the Capitol on Sunday to perform a mock Assembly exercise, during which they debated real bills on the Assembly floor, including on
Wildstein Says He Told Christie About Lane Closures On 9/11
It's still he said/he said, but it's one more step closer to ruin for Chris Christie:The Port Authority official who oversaw the lane closings at the George Washington Bridge said that he had informed Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey about it at a Sept. 11 memorial while the closings were occurring, according to an internal investigation released on Thursday by lawyers for the governor. The offic
Some Are Starting To Notice What A Child Andrew Cuomo Is
Two pieces on how much Andrew Cuomo seems to be going out of his way to take it to Bill de Blasio on issue after after issue and acting like a schmuck on wheels in the process.First, Anthony Weiner in the Daily News:Anyone with political antennae can tell that Cuomo has, frankly, been a bit of a jerk — while de Blasio seems to have remained respectful and deferential in his dealings with the gover
Call Sheldon Silver And Ask Why Tests Only Count For Teachers
I am glad that they are taking the high stakes from the CCSS tests away for two years for children.But they are keeping those stakes for teachers, so if you are a teacher in the New York State public school system, you may have 40% of your evaluation based upon a battery of performance assessments and state Common Core tests that your students have no stake in.Let me repeat that, because it is so
Final Budget Agreement: No Changes To APPR Teacher Evaluations
From the Buffalo News:Precisely how far the changes to Common Core will go was still being debated Wednesday at the Capitol. But lawmakers say they expect, at a minimum, that certain Common Core test results will not count against student records for a period of time, additional money will be pumped into teacher professional development funds to help them make the transition to the Common Core sys
MAR 26
UCLA Civil Rights Project Cites New York For Most Segregated Schools In The Nation
Hey - we're number #1!: NEW YORK -- New York state has the most segregated public schools in the nation, with many black and Latino students attending schools with virtually no white classmates, according to a report released Wednesday. The report by the Civil Rights Project at the University of California at Los Angeles looks at enrollment trends from 1989 to 2010. In New York City, the largest s
CCSS Tests Won't Count For Students, Will Count For Teacher Evaluations
This sounds ripe for a court challenge: ALBANY -- A deal is being negotiated to place a two-year moratorium on the use of student tests based on the Common Core for grade promotion in public schools. New York City schools and a handful of districts statewide have used the standardized tests under Common Core for grades 3 through 8 as a factor in promoting students to the next grade. The deal would
MAR 25
Budget Update - NO Changes To APPR Teacher Evaluations
This afternoon I wondered if Shelly Silver had caved to Governor Cuomo on the charter school issues yet.I also wondered if there would be any changes to either the Common Core implementation or Cuom's APPR teacher evaluation system. Daily Politics reports the following:Gov. Cuomo and state lawmakers are zeroing in on a deal that would set aside $300 million for a full-day prekindergarten in New Y
Has Silver Caved To Cuomo On Charter School Issue?
Trying reading these tea leaves:The top legislative leaders emerged from closed-door budget negotiations with Gov. Andrew Cuomo reporting progress and gave a clear public signal that whatever disagreements between Speaker Sheldon Silver and Senate GOP Leader Dean Skelos arose had been patched up. “Look how much I love Shelly,” Skelos said smiling while putting his arm around the longtime speaker.
The Old Paradigms For Education Cannot Work In This World
The editorials from the NY Post about de Blasio and Farina get more vicious and ridiculous by the day. Today's is about how ruthless competition among schools and putting extra stress on students is the key to success for children:In the course of admitting he didn’t have a good reason for taking a good school away from kids in Harlem, Mayor de Blasio said that to fix a “broken” city school system
MAR 24
Jeb Bush Channels David Coleman In A Defense Of The Common Core
College Board President David Coleman, one of the architects of the Common Core State Standards, famously told an audience in New York State that one of the things you learn in life when you get older is that nobody gives a shit what you think or feel about stuff.Jeb Bush channeled that Coleman sentiment in a recent defense of Common Core:Bush has repeatedly explained the standards, implemented an
Cuomo's Job Performance Numbers Fall Again In Siena Poll
Sheriff Andy is under water, mainly due to the economy:New York voters do not see improvement on key issues ranging from the state’s economy to curtailing government corruption during Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s tenure, a Siena College poll released Monday found. The poll, which surveyed New York voters on a range of issues including the economic well-being of their family, tax policy, the quality of publ
Poll Shows Cuomo Would Be Vulnerable To Third Party Candidate
Not enough to knock him off, but maybe enough to ruin Sheriff Andy's plans for a big 2014 re-election victory to set him up for a 2016 presidential run: A wealthy Democratic activist commissioned a poll that shows a third-party leftist candidate could eat into what Gov. Cuomo is hoping will be a commanding victory this year. The fact the poll was even commissioned is another sign that Cuomo's bigg
Message To New York Legislators: You Leave APPR In Place At Your Peril
If you make no changes to the teacher evaluation system in NY State, then all the changes you make to Common Core aren't going to mean a damn.You see, the APPR teacher evaluation system is causing as much damage to children in this state as Common Core is.Want to know why there is so much testing and rote learning in New York classrooms these days?Because APPR forces it.Students are taking so-call
MAR 23
De Blasio's Vision For Public Schools - Fairness And Opportunity For All
Leonie Haimson has posted about the Riverside Church speech Mayor de Blasio gave today, articulating his vision for the public school system.Here is an excerpt in which he addresses the charter co-location controversy:“The answer is not to save a few of our children only. The answer is not to find an escape route that some can follow and others can’t. The answer is to fix the entire system. (sus
How Education Reform Is Harming The Health Of Children
There is a horrific story in the NY Post this morning about a rash of suicides involving NYC school children over the last seven weeks: The city’s public schools are in the grip of a suicide epidemic. Ten students have taken their own lives in the past seven weeks, according to remarks made Saturday by Chancellor Carmen Fariña. “As chancellor, I’ve been on the job seven weeks, and there have alrea
MAR 22
Don't Kill The Bees!
Mass murder at the Yankees game down in Florida - for bees: TAMPA — Steinbrenner Field was buzzing Tuesday, but it had nothing to do with the Yankees and Red Sox. The rivals were delayed for seven minutes in the bottom of the third inning when a swarm of bees wreaked havoc in left field. Boston left fielder Mike Carp pointed the bees out to umpires, who stopped the game while stadium employees tre
Why Isn't Eva Moskowitz Under Attack For The Harm Her "No Tolerance!" Policies Do To Minority Children?
From the Daily News: WASHINGTON — Black students — even tiny preschoolers — are more likely than white students to be suspended from public school, a study disclosed Friday. It has been well-documented that black children in elementary, middle and high school are more likely than white kids to be disciplined. But for the first time, the U.S. Education Department examined suspensions in preschool.