Perdido Street School:
Perdido Street School Week
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
YESTERDAY
De Blasio Caves To Eva
That didn't take long, did it? City education boss Carmen Fariña retreated in the charter schools fight on Friday, saying the city is now searching for space for Harlem students whose high-performing charter school was evicted from a city building by Mayor de Blasio last week. It is a complete turnaround from Wednesday, when Fariña said the city would not find seats for the 194 distraught children
Eva Moskowitz Wants To Take School Building From Autistic Children
In all the "De Blasio is Harming poor black children by shutting down charter schools that don't exist yet" stories, we fail to find out that Success Academy edu-entrepreneur Eva Moskowitz wants to subsume space from a school for autistic and emotionally disturbed children to expand her charter empire.Juan Gonzalez writes: No one is happier about her policy change than the parents and st
Ginia Bellafante In NY Times: De Blasio Is Not Waging War On Charters, Moskowitz Plays Victim Card
Bellafante makes three great points in her Times column - the first, that Eva Moskowitz is harming minority children herself:Last week on the 64th day of his mayoralty, Bill de Blasio, criticized for his too hardy approach to snow days, for the slow pace of his appointments, for displays of petulance, achieved a predicted but still significant victory. The City Planning Commission unanimously appr
De Blasio Defends Teachers In Mayoral Forum In Chicago
From Sally Goldenberg at Capital NY:CHICAGO—Mayor Bill de Blasio offered a staunch defense of his position on charter schools during a seminar at the University of Chicago with his counterparts from Atlanta, Los Angeles and Chicago Thursday night, even as he complained that the issue had overtaken more pressing ones.He also said his signature proposal to establish pre-kindergarten seats for every
MAR 06
Cuomo Says "Legislative" Fix For Charter School Co-Locations In The Works
For a guy who doesn't do education policy, Governor Andrew Cuomo sure does involve himself in an awful lot of education policy:ALBANY -- Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said Thursday that a legislative solution which could provide “co-location” of charter schools within traditional public schools is being discussed with legislative leaders. Cuomo’s comments came a day after Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver qu
It's All About Size For Cuomo
From the NY Times:ALBANY — In his first two months in office, Mayor Bill de Blasio has found himself repeatedly at odds with New York’s governor, Andrew M. Cuomo. And at every turn, Governor Cuomo has not only stymied the mayor, but also seized the moment for his own gain.As the mayor has pushed for a tax increase on New York City’s wealthiest residents, the governor has turned the tables and talk
Capital NY: Cuomo May Broker Deal Using Teacher Evaluation "Flexibility" For Extra Charter School Funds
From Eliza Shapiro at Capital NY:Governor Andrew Cuomo offered few specifics when he pledged to "save charter schools" at a massive rally on Tuesday, beyond promising "financial capacity, physical space and the government's support."But as Mayor Bill de Blasio begins to follow through on his promise to rethink co-locations and free rent for charters, Cuomo is actually in a posi
Daily News Says De Blasio Wants Health Care Concessions In Return For Raises
But it's not really a raise if you get a 4% salary increase but have to pay 25% of your family's health care cost, is it? In his high-stakes contract talks with city unions, Mayor de Blasio is pressing for healthcare savings in exchange for pay raises, the mayor’s budget director told the City Council on Wednesday. “We’re going to treat the workforce with the respect that they have not been treate
MAR 05
Andrew Cuomo's Approval Rating Plummets
New Yorkers not so happy with Sheriff Andy these days:New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's job performance rating has dropped to its lowest level since he took office in January 2011, having tumbled by 10 points since November, according to an NBC 4 New York/Wall Street Journal/Marist College poll.Mr. Cuomo, a Democrat facing re-election this year, saw his job approval among voters statewide fall to 42%,
Sheldon Silver: What About The Children in The School Trailers?
From Daily Politics:Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver pushed back Wednesday against efforts to boost funding for charter schools.While not ruling out more money for charters, Silver said any effort to aid them must be weighed against other pressing needs in the city, including a space crunch that has kept school children in temporary classroom trailers for years.“When you want to talk about school c
Eva Moskowitz: Mayor And Chancellor Not Willing To Learn From Success Academies
Buried near the end of the Times story on the Eva/de Blasio charter fight is this:The mayor’s office noted that while it canceled plans for three Success charter schools last week, it allowed five more to open as planned. It said that it withdrew space from the three not out of animus toward Ms. Moskowitz, but because those schools would have placed elementary school students with high school stud
Comptroller Stringer Says NYC Will Have Extra $510 Million In Budget Than Predicted - Can Be Used To Settle Contracts
From the Wall Street Journal:New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer is predicting an extra $510 million in revenue in next year's budget, a windfall that he fears could be eclipsed by the sum needed to settle the city's open labor contracts. Mr. Stringer, who took office Jan. 1, attributed the gain to stronger-than-expected property tax revenue. It marks a slightly rosier financial picture than
Did Cuomo Administration Officials Coordinate With Charter Operators To Organize Eva's Charter School Rally?
That seems to be the indication from this Daily News story: Cuomo’s appearance before the pro-charter crowd snatched some of the attention that de Blasio and his allies hoped to focus on pre-k funding. Sources with knowledge of the situation say Cuomo urged charter school advocates to turn out for the pro-charter rally. However, Cuomo administration officials denied there was any coordination with
MAR 04
My Response To Newsday's Pro-Charter Editorial
Not sure my comment on this piece of pro-charter Newsday claptrap will survive because I put a link in it, so wanted to save it for posterity: Charters often do no better than traditional public schools on test measurements, often do worse. The lie you op-ed writers perpetrate in the corporate media about this is a zombie lie that just won't die. Doesn't matter if it's the News, the Post, the WS
Cuomo Says He Will "Save Charter Schools" From The Phony War On Charters
Looks like all that money Eva Moskowitz and her backers gave to Governor Cuomo paid dividends:A fired up Gov. Cuomo vowed Tuesday afternoon to “save charter schools.” “We are here to tell you we stand with you. You are not alone,” said Cuomo, speaking at a massive pro-charter school rally that attracted thousands of parents, teachers, and kids from across the state who braved frigid 20-degree temp
Andrew Cuomo Uses Felon Who Pleaded Guilty To Federal Tax Evasion To Raise Campaign Donations For Him
From State of Politics:A former Republican state senator and GOP power broker who pleaded guilty to federal tax evasion in 2012 is co-hosting a high-dollar fund-raiser next month in support of Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s re-election effort, Capital Tonight has learned.Adding insult to injury, the ex-lawmaker in question – Nick Spano – hails from Westchester County. That’s home to County Executi
Long Island Superintendents Call For Moratorium On Common Core
From Newsday: Suffolk County school superintendents stepped up efforts to halt the state's next round of Common Core standardized tests, now less than a month away, with a direct appeal Monday to Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo. The local school leaders acknowledged that probably only a U.S. Department of Education waiver could stop the tests for children in grades 3-8, scheduled to be given in April and ear
MAR 03
Andrew Cuomo's Common Core Ad Is Full Of Distortions And Mistruths
Take a look at the Cuomo Common Core ad his campaign is running and think about the chutzpah it took to make this piece of propaganda:Here's the script:Hello, I’m Governor Andrew Cuomo. For all of us, there’s nothing more important than our children and their education is everything. While the state’s new Common Core curriculum is heading in the right direction, testing on it is premature. It crea
John Flanagan Doesn't Want To Delay Common Core
From State of Politics:Senate Education Committee Chairman John Flanagan was non-committal on whether his chamber would take up the Assembly bill to delay for two years the implementation of the Common Core standards. Flanagan indicated the concerns of the Senate are necessarily the speed of implementation, but that it should simply have been done better. “The real challenge comes as how do you d
Cuomo Using State Resources To Juice Turnout For His Events
Fred Dicker in the NY Post:Aides to Gov. Cuomo have been secretly using state resources to “crowd-build’’ turnouts at public events for Cuomo’s new and supposedly all-volunteer Citizen Preparedness Corps, which responds to natural disasters, e-mails obtained by The Post show.The confidential e-mails in some cases direct officials to come up with at least 10 people each to attend the sessions.They
If CCSS Tests Aren't Good Enough To Be Used For Student Evaluations, Why Are They Good Enough For Teacher Evaluations And Merit Pay?
A commenter on the Newsday article reporting Andrew Cuomo is going to run his own pro-CCSS ads that will also criticize the CCSS roll-out from the state and say the CCSS tests are not ready to be used on students:So he says outright that using the test scores is unfair for evaluating students....But it IS fair for evaluating teachers? And he thinks some should get a taxpayer funded $20,000 bonus b
Putting Common Core In Perspective
A commenter at the Newsday story reporting Cuomo is going to run his own pro-CCCSS ads:CC is part of a world-wide corporate globalization initiative to dumb down teachers, currricula and students and turn them into scared, uncreative, unimaginative, test- taking drones. The de-skilling of teachers and students will turn them into lower-paid, passive people with the ultimate goal of increased corpo
Governor Cuomo To Air His Own Common Core Ads This Week
From Newsday: ALBANY -- Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo will start airing a statewide television ad this week to push his reforms to the Common Core curriculum so students won't unfairly be hurt by test scores under the new, higher standards, a spokesman said Sunday evening. The governor's push comes amid a move by Assembly Democrats to delay aspects of the highly criticized Common Core standards for two yea
MAR 02
Going To Be A Beautiful Day Tomorrow
Two days ago, models were showing a potential 6-12 inch snow storm (with potential for more.)Today the radar is showing perhaps a couple of inches of snow heading our way while the mid Atlantic states get the heaviest amounts.Lee Goldberg, who warned of a 12+ storm potential a couple of nights ago, says we should expect 1-3 inches.Frankly, I'm snowed out, so I either wanted a snowmaggedon so bad t
NY State Assembly Bill Delaying Common Core Stakes To Pass Monday
From Politics on the Hudson:The state Assembly has introduced legislation to delay the use the Common Core testing standards on students’ grades and teachers’ evaluation, the latest move by state officials to address the outcry over the controversial program. The bill (A08929) is set for approval by the Assembly on Monday, Assembly officials said.“The implementation of the Common Core has caused s
Oldie But Goodie: What Eva Moskowitz, Success Academies And Cancer Have In Common
A Perdido Street School post from October 11, 2013: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 decree
MAR 01
Oldie But Goodie: Why Eva Moskowitz Is So Outraged By De Blasio Opposing Her Charter Expansion Plan
A Perdido Street School post from August 27, 2013:DNAinfo: Eva Moskowitz Plans To Open 100 News Success Academy Charter Schools From DNAinfo:WILLIAMSBURG — The controversial charter network Success Academy plans to open 100 New York schools in the next decade, DNAinfo New York has learned.The charter chain already has 20 schools in the city with another seven slated to open next year, despite fier
Christie Plans To Use Government Employee Pensions To Distract From BridgeGate Scandal
Because when all else fails, bash the government workers and their pensions:It sounds counterintuitive: A Republican governor entangled in an imbroglio over his combative style girding for an ugly spat with government workers and their Democratic allies over New Jersey’s unfunded pension costs. But this is a Classic Christie Clash — a fight on behalf of forgotten taxpayers, challenging sacred cows
Supporting De Blasio On The Charter School Issue
Michael Fiorillo on the war Eva Moskowitz, Andrew Cuomo and the media launched against Bill de Blasio over the charter school issue:Public school teachers, parents and students are in a tough position here. While De Blasio has not been as strong as people hoped - no surprise to many readers of this blog, I imagine - he nevertheless is making some efforts to right the grotesque inequities caused by
Now Andrew Cuomo Loves Mike Bloomberg And His Education Policies
When former NYC mayor Mike Bloomberg was in office, he was frequently at odds with Governor Andrew Cuomo.It was a territorial thing - both of these grown up little boys like to be the center of attention and don't much like when someone else is getting some at their expense.Thus the Cuomo-Bloomberg relationship was rife with tension and neither of these guys seemed to much like the other. With Blo
Governor Cuomo Not Bothered That Charter School Teachers Are Not Evaluated With His APPR System
While defending the charter school sector today in a less than subtle dig at de Blasio, Governor Cuomo was forced to respond to the loophole that allows charter schools to keep from evaluating their teachers with the governor's teacher evaluation system:Gov. Andrew Cuomo did his best to weigh in on the decision by Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration to cancel “co-location” agreements with three
