Ed Notes Online
Inspecting Eva Moskowitz
With admirable restraint, the head of the New York City Charter Center, James Merriman, pronounced the results “remarkable” and attributed the results to Success’ intensive instruction....A lot of schools, including many charter high-fliers, offer high-octane teaching. None come close to matching Success Academy’s results the last two years.... Robert Pondisio Poor James Merriman, I almost feel so
Memo From The RTC: The Road to “Godspell”
Nora Meyers, Kim Simek, Frank Caiati, Gabrielle Mangano, Jeff and Heather ArzsbergerPublished in The Wave, August 22, 2014.Memo From The RTC: The Road to “Godspell”By Norm Scott, with Frank CaiatiUnder the direction of master builder Tony Homsey, the set for the RTC production of Godspell, opening Sept. 12, is almost complete (with a lot of painting still to be done). Choreographer Gabrielle Mang
More Charter Scandals
FBI Tracks Charter SchoolsThere's been a flood of local news stories in recent months about FBI raids on charter schools all over the country.From Pittsburgh to Baton Rouge, from Hartford to Cincinnati to Albuquerque, FBI agents have been busting into schools, carting off documents, and making arrests leading to high-profile indictments."The troubled Hartford charter school operator FUSE was
Why Charter Schools Have High Teacher Turnover
Near the top of the turnover chart is the Success Academies system led by former Councilwoman Eva Moskowitz. With 22 schools and 10 new schools opening in August 2014, it is the city's largest charter chain. In Harlem Success Academies 1-4, the only schools for which the state posted turnover data, more than half of all teachers left the schools ahead of the 2013-14 school year. In one school, thr
AUG 21
The Indypendent: What's A Cop To Do?
Good cops, dedicated and skilled ones, learn how to look for signs of criminal behavior instead of profiling by race ...good policing requires judgment, being able to tell the difference between a black teenager in sneakers who’s running because he just snatched a purse and one who’s running because his mother said he had to be home for dinner by 6pm....a former Baltimore city cop and Maryland sta
Approval Expected for ISIS Charter School Application to SUNY, Cuomo Demands Coloco Space from deBlasio
We are overjoyed at this proposal since we expect tenured teachers will be beheaded.... Mona Davids, Campbell Brown We are pro school choice... Eva Moskowitz The final solution on the lack of teacher quality issue... Students First Oh, I could go on, but ambition flags when it's a beautiful day outside.
George Schmidt on Karen Lewis for Mayor - and More; Randi Offers Karen a million bucks if she runs
AFT President Randi Weingarten said she'd give $1 million to Chicago teachers union chief Karen Lewis if she ran against Mayor Rahm Emanuel....Chicago Sun-TimesThe cynic in me says, what better way to get rid of a potential rival? A million bucks will be a drop in the bucket against Rahm but Randi is a genius. A win-win for her no matter what the outcome.The intriguing Chicago mayoral race can be
AUG 20
Sellout Fever: Newly Elected Revile - er - Revise NYSUT Officers Get Special Pension Deal From Cuomo, Klein and Skelos
NYSUT is proud to announce the first pension enhancement since 2000. After a long string of pension setbacks our legislative office has finally “turned the tide” and won a remarkable benefit for some of our most needy members.... Despite overseeing the creation of Tier V and Tier VI NYSUT First VP Andy Pallotta was undaunted and insisted we take this fight on. When asked why he was so slow to put
Police and Teachers, Their Unions and the March
There is so much to write about the relationship between UFT, the PBA, Mulgrew and Lynch, and the rank and file teachers and cops. So much to write that I have trouble sorting it all out. I have no personal issues with the police I have run into through my lifetime. But then again I am not black. I do have a problem with Patrick Lynch's assault on Mulgrew for a lack of union solidarity. I can't se
The Trouble With Frank Bruni
How far are we from the day when Whoopi, Campbell and the rest of the ed deform crowd flat out blame the death of Michael Brown on bad teachers? Joining the anti-teacher fray is former NY Times food writer Frank Bruni, another clueless NY Times columnist writing on education (see David Brooks, Thomas Friedman, Joe Nocera, Brent Staples, and even one bad column from the great Paul Krugman).I think
AUG 19
Commentary on Cavanagh Students - Campbell Brown and Mona Davids Wants Her Fired
You can have a conversation with Julie Cavanagh on any topic but nothing lights her up more than talking about her students, two of whom are heading off to college. Julie has taught special needs children and what a joy to see these kids break out of that mold. Read her email (Julie Cavanagh Former Students Head For College - Help Them Out) and head over to GoFundMe to help them out at Herkimer Co
UFT 101: Why Does Our Teachers Union Matter? - Weds Aug. 20, 4PM
Some of us in MORE are talking about a new teacher support group where we pair vets - especially retirees who might have the time - with newbies. (If you are a retiree or even currently teaching who might be interested, email me at normsco@gmail.com).I am somewhat surprised at how many people - and not just the usual suspects -- have been coming out to the summer series. There have even been a bun
Arkansaw University Charter School Productivity Report -- Indefensible
An academic review finds the claims made by the report rest on shaky ground and suffer from multiple sources of invalidity, rendering the report useless. Nothing in the report provides any guidance for educators or policymakers ... Think Twice think tank review project of the National Education Policy Center (NEPC), with funding from the Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice.Shoul
AUG 18
Why Parent Leaders Should Join Court Intervention in Support of Tenure
Some folks should take some time and school parents and leaders in the history of NYC and schools. Political cronyism was rampant in NYC during the early part of the last century. This politicization of jobs and schools resulted in chaos each time a new administration came into being. Teachers were fired wholesale unless they belonged to the right political part AND to the right political club w
Julie Cavanagh Former Students Head For College - Help Them Out
Dear Friends, Family and Colleagues:Two of my (in some cases for those receiving this, "our") former students are heading to college next week! Sterling Baker and Devine Fludd attended PS 15 and I had the privilege to teach and learn with them for two years (and additionally have remained in each other's lives ever since then... Sterling calls me every year on my birthday and even calle
AUG 17
Inside Colocation - Success Academy Charter Misuse of Space Exposed
...some of Success’ classrooms have remained empty for entire years, not a single classroom in the building’s public schools has been “underutilized” in the eleven years I’ve been in this building. .. Inside Colocation blogThis teacher blogs sporadically but when he/she does it is worth reminding everyone of the perfidy of the Eva Moskowitz's operation. Here are the June and August posts. Note the
Danny Drumm, NYC City Council and Former Teacher, Takes a Stand Against Charter Expansion
"We are being oversaturated with charter schools," said Tesa Wilson, president Community Education Council in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. "It's tax dollars being poured into a black hole with no accountibility."City Council Daniel Dromm (D-Queens), who heads the city Education Committee, said the city has no control over the charter schools even though they are given $13,000 per st
AUG 16
UFT Endorses Espaillat Over Robert Jackson
That chickenshit union is SICK... An activistHas there been any politician more supportive of teachers and parents than Robert Jackson? Here is one view of a parent/activist.After Cuomo endorsed Espaillat, so did the UFT, which probably also played a large role in getting the Working Families Party to endorse Cuomo.That chickenshit union is SICK.They are destroying parent support for it on issues
Parents and Educators Reject the Tests, the Scores and Corporate Agenda of NYSED & Pearson
Fred Smith, a test specialist formerly with the NYC Department of Education (DOE) stated, “The State Education Department took a half-step by releasing 50 percent of the English and math questions from the April 2014 exams. It was a half-step not just because it falls halfway short of full disclosure, but also because SED fails to provide data at its disposal that would enable objective evaluation