Perdido Street School:
Andrew Cuomo Looks To Be The New George Bush
Perdido Street School Week
Andrew Cuomo Looks To Be The New George Bush
Ever since that trip to Israel over the summer, Cuomo's been burnishing his "national security" credentials.Here's another example: Although saying there is "no specific threat" of a terror attack, Gov. Cuomo announced on Friday that he is calling up hundreds of National Guard troops and other personnel to beef up security in New York. Summoning reporters and legislative leader
Cuomo's Memoir "Shelved" Indefinitely, Victim Of Moreland Mess, Cuomo Micromanaging
Gee, who didn't see this coming after the Moreland mess this summer:Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s plan to launch his presidential bid with an inspiring autobiography — the way Barack Obama did with “Dreams of My Father” — has gone haywire, partly because the micromanaging governor doesn’t have enough time. “It’s a disaster,” said one source. “This could be one of those books that is never finished.” The Har
NYSED, Regents Look To Test The Arts In Order To Rate Teachers
From Diane Ravitch: “NYSED is convening a panel to examine creating assessments to measure student growth, performance and college and career readiness in the Arts programs. “The Department recommends that the Board of Regents commission an operational study that would establish criteria to identify and evaluate arts assessments in each discipline that signify college and career readiness as well
SEP 18
Steve Forbes Loves Governor Cuomo
Want to know why Rob Astorino can't win in November?Because business people like Steve Forbes love them some Andrew Cuomo:BOLTON LANDING—Publishing titan and two-time Republican presidential aspirant Steve Forbes praised Andrew Cuomo before a speech Wednesday, but said it'll be a while before the governor can boast of a welcoming business climate in New York.“He's made some changes on the tax side
SUNY Chancellor To Promote Business Role In Education
From State of Politics:Also at 10 a.m., SUNY Chancellor Nancy Zimpher and IBM Foundation president Stanley Litow discuss the role that business should play in education during the Business Council’s conference, The Sagamore, 110 Sagamore Rd., Bolton Landing.Because Bill Gates, Eli Broad, Michael Bloomberg and a host of edu-entrepreneurs, hedge fundies, and tech and textbook companies don't have en
Class Sizes Rise Again In NYCDOE Schools
From the Wall Street Journal:Average class sizes in grades 1-3 in New York City public schools rose to 25 or 26 children in the last school year—an addition of three students a class from five years earlier, according to the Mayor's Management Report released Wednesday. Average classes in grades 4-8 also rose but at a slower pace, and averaged 26 to 28 students.The report noted the city aims to br
SEP 17
Cuomo Wants To "Bridge The Broadband Divide" At Same Time He Can't Pay For The Tappan Zee Bridge Project
It is becoming increasingly clear that Governor Andrew M. Cuomo is building a $3.9 billion dollar replacement for the Tappan Zee Bridge that has no funding source.Cuomo tried to get half a billion in loans from the EPA clean water fund for the bridge, but that attempt was rejected yesterday.Now people are worried that Cuomo will have to raise tolls on the Thruway and pull money from other sources
Cuomo Has To Hike NY State Thruway Tolls To Pay For His Bridge Mess
Oy:ALBANY – The federal government Tuesday rejected most of the Cuomo administration’s bid to use $511 million from a clean water fund for the Tappan Zee Bridge replacement project, a decision that has implications for Thruway tolls across the entire state.The Environmental Protection Agency’s rejection of all but $30 million in funding from the Clean Water State Revolving Fund highlighted critici
SEP 16
Like Summer Never Happened
Someone at school said to me today "We've been back 11 days and it feels like we've been back for months."I said I felt the same way.Anybody else out there feeling like summer never happened?Bloomberg's gone, Cuomo's going to be lucky to escape prison, Obama's education reform agenda is coming apart, and yet so much of the nonsense at school continued unabated.Meeting after meeting, eval
Big Loss For Cuomo
The losses are mounting for Governor Cuomo:In a blow to the Cuomo administration – and a big win for the environmental community – the EPA has rejected almost all of the controversial funding approved by the Environmental Facilities Corp. for projects related to building a new Tappan Zee Bridge, deeming them ineligble for funding from revolving loan fund intended to pay for clean water initiatives
Charter School Advocates Sue New York State For More Money
What Governor Cuomo did for NYC charter schools by forcing the city to either find space for charters or pony up rent for private space?Charter advocates want that same advantage state-wide:A lawsuit filed by a group of charter-school supporters alleges that a chronic funding gap between charter schools and traditional public schools violates the state constitution and disproportionately hurts min
SEP 15
NYSED Employee Indicted For Stealing $2.5 Million
Been saying for a while now that the NYSED is rife for investigation:"Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman today announced the indictment of Keisha Relf Davis, an employee of the New York State Department of Education, and an accomplice for stealing over $2.5 million from the state by diverting funds to NYC-area driving schools for services that were never rendered. As alleged, Davis receive
Cuomo Will Be Happy To Screw De Blasio Over Despite The Help The Mayor Gave To Cuomo's Re-Election Campaign
After getting rolled by Governor Cuomo last spring over charter school co-locations and a tax increase on the wealthy to pay for universal pre-K, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio made the decision to help Cuomo this election season with his re-election campaign in order to curry more favor with King Andrew.First de Blasio helped engineer Cuomo's endorsement by the Working Families Party, then he
Cuomo Tries To "Reset" Relations With Black Community
This story comes on the heels of the story that Cuomo targeted black and Hispanic state troopers in his continent for removal, so I'm not sure how well the "reset" is going to go:ALBANY—Governor Andrew Cuomo held a meeting with African-American elected officials from Brooklyn on Friday afternoon, to help mend a strained relationship during his first term. The meeting, held in Cuomo's Man
Cuomo Had Black, Hispanic Troopers Removed From His Security Contingent
Another week, another Cuomo scandal:A month before Andrew Cuomo was elected governor in 2010, his top aides met privately with two State Police officials and proposed systematically replacing members of the governor's protective unit, including more than a dozen black troopers who suspected they were removed to "adjust the racial balance" of the elite unit.Two confidential State Police r
Quid Pro Cuomo Rakes In Hollywood Cash In Return For Tax Breaks For Movie, TV Companies
Albany remains a cesspool of corruption and Governor Andrew M. Cuomo sits right in the middle of it:New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who added $2.1 billion to an incentive program for the movie and television industry, has collected almost $900,000 in campaign contributions from Hollywood since taking office in 2011. Cuomo, who lured NBC’s “The Tonight Show” back to New York City from Los Angeles,
SEP 14
New York State Teacher Evaluations Are Rigged,
Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy has a piece at LohHud on the absurdity of the New York State APPR teacher evaluation system, showing how the classroom observation component can be rigged by district leaders.For instance, Scarsdale has decided that no teacher will be rated "highly effective" in the classroom observation component.Pleasantville, on the other hand, gave out "highly effectiv
SEP 13
College For All Once Again Exposed As Myth
The NY Times shows what's happened to the "American Dream" since 1989 - even for the college-educated:YOUNG families are better educated than ever before, but they are earning lower real incomes. The Federal Reserve Board’s newly released 2013 Survey of Consumer Finances indicates that the median family headed by someone under 35 years of age earned $35,509 in 2013 dollars. Adjusted for
