How Will NYSED Defend These Lawsuits Against APPR?
Rochester teachers filed suit over the APPR teacher evaluation system last month, now Syracuse teachers file suit as well:The Syracuse Teachers Association sued the state Education Department today over its teacher evaluation system, arguing that the system unfairly penalizes teachers of disadvantaged students. The suit was filed in state Supreme Court in Albany by the STA and about 30 city teach
No Surprise - Study Says U.S. Is An Oligarchy
The more money you have, the more say you get in how things get run:A new study by researchers from Princeton and Northwestern Universities finds that America's government policies reflect the wishes of the rich and of powerful interest groups, rather than the wishes of the majority of citizens. The researchers examined close to 1,800 U.S. policy changes in the years between 1981 and 2002; then, t
Ravitch: Andrew Cuomo Had His Tentacles In The Paterson Administration
Richard Ravitch is publishing a memoir that says Cuomo's been running things longer than you think:In the summer of 2009, Republicans who lost their half-century control of the Senate mounted a coup with three dissident Democrats. That power struggle gridlocked the legislature for weeks until the dissidents struck deals for lucrative leadership posts in return for going back into the Democratic fo
Buffalo News: Opt-Out Movement Gains Steam, Notice Of State Educrats
On the margins no more:A boycott movement that has turned state standardized tests into a battleground is dividing school districts across the region and drawing the attention of state education leaders.Roughly 7 percent of students in third through eighth grade in Erie and Niagara counties refused to take a state English exam earlier this month.But in some districts, 15 to 28 percent of the stude
Wall Street Journal Covers ATR's
The Wall Street Journal reports that the ATR issue is a major part of the contract discussion:As negotiations drag on over a new contract for the city's teachers, one sticky issue involves how to handle teachers who lost permanent jobs during cutbacks but keep getting full paychecks as they bounce around schools for brief stints, filling in for absent staff.Hundreds spend years in limbo. A city De
Bloomberg Still An Arrogant Ass
The NY Times publishes a puff piece on Bloomberg and his "philanthropy work" this morning and at the end, we get this statement from Mayor Mike:Mr. Bloomberg was introspective as he spoke, and seemed both restless and wistful. When he sat down for the interview, it was a few days before his 50th college reunion. His mortality has started dawning on him, at 72. And he admitted he was a bi
4-15-14 Perdido Street School Week
Perdido Street School: How Cuomo Meddled Into The Moreland Commission ReportAnother story about just how much meddling the governor's office did into the Moreland Commission work:An assistant counsel to Governor Andrew Cuomo, who professed himself to be the author of the NY SAFE Act, was ultimately selected as the lead writer of the Moreland Commission on Public Corruption’s December 2013 report a