New York Parents and Teachers Challenge Cuomo's Mis-Education Plan
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New York Allies for Public Education (NYSAPE) and New York City Public School Parents are organizing statewide to protest against attacks by Governor Andrew Cuomo on teachers and public schools. Cuomo is threatening to block a badly needed increase in state aid to public schools unless the State Legislature approves his demands for tuition tax credits to private schools, the creation of additional charter schools, closing public schools he has decided are beyond help, and implementing a teacher evaluation system that would blame teachers for the State's failure to fund education for all its children. The State Legislature is mandated to vote on the budget by March 31.
On March 12, New York City parents, teachers, and students plan to create a "ring around" the school building at every New York City public school before the start of the school day to press demands that Cuomo's plans be stopped. NYSAPE is planning a similar statewide protest for March 26.
People can also email and call State Legislators to protest the Cuomo proposals. Most legislators are in their district offices on Friday mornings. Contact information for Assembly members is at http://assembly.state.ny.us/mem/. Contact information for State Senate members is at http://www.nysenate.gov/senators.
Below are excerpts from a poignant open letter posted online by teachers at PS 321 in Brooklyn. "Liz" Phillips is the school's principal.
Dear PS 321 Families,It is with heavy hearts that we, the teachers at 321, reach out to you to ask for your help.
Governor Cuomo has proposed major changes to teacher evaluations in New York State. We want to let you know, from a teacher's perspective, the changes this law could bring to PS 321 - and to our profession - if it passes.50% of a teacher's rating would be based on state test scores. (Currently it is 20%).
35% of a teacher's rating would be based on the findings of an outside "independent observer" who will conduct a one time visit to the classroom. (This has never been done before. Currently our principal and assistant principals' observations count for 60%).
15% of a teacher's rating would be based on observations by the principal or assistant principals. The very people who know our work best would have the least input into our evaluation.50% + 35% = 85% of our evaluations would be removed from the hands of our community and placed in the hands of the state.And then, using these numbers, any teacher who is rated ineffective two years in a row can be fired. Liz might have no say in this.So what might that do to PS 321? Realistically, many of us could be fired. Every year. And many more of us would be pushed away from the profession we love.Here's something parents need to understand. Even though, when our students take the standardized tests, most of them do just fine... many PS 321 teachers do not. Teachers' ratings are not based on their students' raw scores for the year, but whether their students improved from one year to the next. If a student with a '3' gets one fewer question correct in 4th grade than she did in 3rd, that studentNew York Parents and Teachers Challenge Cuomo's Mis-Education Plan | Alan Singer: