Perdido Street School:
AFT Will Call For Duncan's Resignation Too
Buffalo Teachers Union Backs Cuomo Challenger, Zephyr Teachout - Why Won't The UFT?
Perdido Street School Week
AFT Will Call For Duncan's Resignation Too
Norm Scott at Ed Notes:Former Chicago TU Pres Debbie Lynch Calls for Arne Duncan Resignation.Lynch, who was CTU president from 2001-04 and ran and lost in '07 and '10 and is now a delegate from a college, made a special resolution calling for Duncan resignation. This came as a surprise to Randi and pretty much everyone in the house it seems since there was already a planned similar reso, as pointe
Buffalo Teachers Union Backs Cuomo Challenger, Zephyr Teachout - Why Won't The UFT?
State of Politics:The President of the Buffalo Teachers Federation, Phil Rumore, said the BTF decided to pass petitions for Teachout and her Lt. Governor candidate Tim Wu, to send a message to Governor Cuomo. “He’s supported charter schools, cut funding for public schools, and has said failing schools should face the death penalty. Our members don’t support those positions,” Rumore said....“It’s a
Tommy Ramone
And so the last surviving original member of The Ramones has died: Drummer Tommy Ramone, the last member of the original 1970s punk band the Ramones, died Friday of cancer, according to Variety. He was 62. The Ridgewood, Queens, resident had been in hospice and suffering from bile duct cancer, the trade publication reported. Ramone, born in Budapest, Hungary, was a drummer and producer who perform
So Much For Randi Weingarten And The AFT Fighting The Common Core
Norm Scott is at the AFT convention in L.A. - he reports Randi Weingarten and her Unity/UFT minions had the votes to secure their own pro-Common Core resolution but rigged the committee process in order to ensure the Chicago Teachers Union resolution condemning Common Core didn't pass anyway:Since we were not allowed in, we were watching the Education Issues Committee debate from outside the glass
NYSED Commissioner King Compares Teachers Shilling For Common Core To Tuskegee Airmen
I know, I know - you think I'm making this up.But remember, NYSED Commissioner John King once compared himself to Martin Luther King Jr. and the Common Core/testing education reforms King pushes to the Civil Rights Movement, so you have to understand that the Good Doctor of the Common Core is given to making grandiose comparisons.Which is what he did today:State Education Commissioner John King co
Cuomo's Lieutenant Governor Pick Says Common Core Standards Are "Sound," But Agrees The Roll-Out Was Flawed
For a while there, nobody could find Representative Kathy Hochul, the gun-loving lieutenant governor nominee Governor Andrew Cuomo chose to run with him for re-election this year.Today she surfaced to back the Common Core publicly, claiming the principles behind the standards are "sound," though noting there have been problems with the "roll-out."Democratic candidate for lieute
Is Randi Weingarten REALLY Getting The Message?
Stephanie Simon at Politico reports the AFT convention that opens today in L.A. is not going to be as reformer-friendly as in years past:The American Federation of Teachers will open its annual convention Friday morning with a startling announcement: After years of strongly backing the Common Core, the union now plans to give its members grants to critique the academic standards — or to write repl
Imagine The Fun You Could Have At This
From State Of Politics:At 8:45 a.m., state Education commissioner John King speaks at a professional development conference for teachers, Clark Auditorium, New York State Museum, Albany.Boy, there's a helluva way to spend a Friday afternoon in summer - a PD conference with NYSED Commissioner King as keynote speaker.Here's hoping they served Dramamine with the morning muffins and coffee at this shi
JUL 10
Who Is The Intended Audience For Andrew Cuomo's Book?
State of Politics:The publication of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s forthcoming book “All Things Possible: Setbacks and Success in Politics and Life” is being pushed back from August to Sept. 16, according to this publisher HarperCollins. The Wall Street Journal reported this morning the book will receive a 200,000-copy first print — an unusually large run. The book’s cover, also, was switched from a picture
Robert Jackson Hammers Cuomo Over His Charter School Giveaway
From Will Bredderman at Politicker:Former Manhattan Councilman Robert Jackson—a challenger to State Senator Adriano Espaillat—blasted Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio last night on education issues, while rooting for Mr. Cuomo’s longshot primary opponent Zephyr Teachout.The former councilman cheered loudly for Ms. Teachout as she criticized the governor in remarks at the second annual If
Meritocracy American Style Redux: Chelsea Clinton Edition
I've already covered the absurdity of Chelsea Clinton getting paid $600,000 a year by NBC to work as a special correspondent and the even bigger absurdity of Clinton saying publicly that she deserved that compensation because she works hard.The absurdity grew to new heights yesterday when it was disclosed that Chelsea gets paid $75,000 every time she gives a speech:There is a new Clinton paid to d
Texas In The Vanguard Of The Anti-Common Core Movement
Texas never jumped on the CCSS bandwagon, but the vehemence of this opposition is interesting:AUSTIN — Attorney General Greg Abbott’s gubernatorial campaign turned up the rhetoric against federal education standards Monday, soliciting donations with a fiery call to arms that “We must crush Common Core.”“Help Greg Abbott ensure that President Obama’s Common Core stays OUT of the Lone Star State by
What Would Mark Twain Think About The Common Core?
David Perrin in The Atlantic:It's not hard to guess what another great American satirist would have had to say about the Common Core curriculum. Mark Twain had an abiding concern with education, and he treated formal schooling derisively in his writings. His 1917 autobiography describes his education in the mid-19th century, at the dawn of the public school movement; his acerbic portrayal of Mr. D
Wisconsin May Be Next To Drop The Common Core
From Urban Milwaukee:If you think there was a fight over Common Core educational standards in the Capitol earlier this year, think again. Interviews with dozens of candidates show that it was just a warm-up for the war coming next year over those standards. No matter who is elected governor, and which party controls the Senate in the 2015-16 session, Assembly Republicans – who all sides privately
JUL 09
Cuomo Is Full Of Shit
On Monday, Sheriff Andy Cuomo said this about the looming possibility of a LIRR strike because the MTA and the LIRR unions can't come to a contract agreement:“It’s actually Congress that can end a strike and impose a settlement one way or the other,” he said. “So right now it seems that Congress is pivotal to what happens here, and from what I read in the newspapers it’s going to depend on what Co
MTA Looks To Get Congress Involved In MTA/LIRR Unions Dispute
From the NY Post:The MTA’s negotiations with unions representing LIRR workers broke down Tuesday afternoon, 12 days before hundreds of thousands of Long Islanders would be left stranded by a strike.With the walkout looming, MTA Chairman Thomas Prendergast penned a letter to US Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker John Boehner asking them to say what
JUL 08
Vallone Scholarship Back For CUNY Students
This is great news:Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito and a slew of elected officials announced today the restoration of the CUNY Merit-Based Scholarship Program, formerly known as the Peter Vallone scholarship. In the new city budget, the City Council allocated $11.1 million into the program that will provide merit-based scholarships to New York City high school student graduates who are able
FireDogLake: Time To Fight Corporate Democrats Who Shill For Education Privatization
DS Wright at FireDogLake:While President Obama’s former spokesman, Robert Gibbs, manages a national public relations campaign against teachers unions, the National Education Association (NEA) has finally decided it has had enough of Team Obama’s union busting. The NEA has now called on Education Secretary Arne Duncan to resign....Duncan may have made a misstep when he publicly supported a court de
How Is This Tweet Harassment?
The Daily News:Two city parents who signed onto a suit to end teacher tenure in New York State say they’re being harassed by an educator who backs the protection.Mona Davids and Sam Pirozzolo of the New York City Parents Union say they were targeted by teacher Francesco Portelos in a Sunday tweet.“U need your protection removed so if you see a disservice to little Franklin P or Eric D u look away,
JUL 07
Cuomo Says He Won't Intervene In LIRR Strike
You know it's an election year and Governor Cuomo needs union support when you hear him make statements like this: Gov. Cuomo isn't planning to intervene to stop a strike on the Long Island Rail Road. That's a job for Congress, he said. Cuomo said the labor strife at the LIRR is different from other state union disputes because it is covered by federal transportation law. “The LIRR is a little dif
Randi Weingarten Stands With Arne Duncan
From Politico:Education Secretary Arne Duncan has brushed off a call for his resignation from the National Education Association.The NEA adopted the resolution last week at its representative assembly in Denver, where the air was charged with anger and members buzzed with frustration at Duncan and other education reformers — especially their emphasis on high-stakes testing.The resolution blamed Du
New York Republicans Create "Stop Common Core" Ballot Line
From Liz Benjamin at State of Politics:According to a Facebook post last night by GOP consultant Vince Casale, there’s an effort underway to create a statewide “StopCommonCore” ballot line for the November elections.To create an independent line, state law requires the collection of a minimum of 15,000 signatures on an official designating petition. “Once created, you will have the opportunity to
Salon Covers Bill Gates' Common Core Obsession
Michael P. Mazenko on Bill Gates and the Common Core at Salon:It’s hard to envision Bill Gates not getting exactly what he wants, or backing down from anything. However, that was before he became the sugar daddy and primary backer of the Common Core State Standards, which have raised the ire of parents, students and educators in the past year. As Common Core critics began pushing back against adop
Andrew Cuomo's Tea Party Pick For Lieutenant Governor Kept Under Wraps By The Cuomo Campaign
Fred Dicker in the NY Post:Where in the world is former US Rep. Kathy Hochul? The one-time Buffalo-area congresswoman known for her strong support of gun ownership rights and her fervid opposition to giving state privileges to illegal aliens has all but disappeared from public view since Gov. Cuomo picked her in May as his running mate for lieutenant governor. Key state Democrats told The Post tha
JUL 06
Cuomo Says He'll Go After Tax Cheats - He Should Start With Himself
From the Poughkeepsie Journal News:Gov. Andrew Cuomo's office on Thursday announced it will seek legislation to let the state recoup millions in school tax breaks paid to high-income New Yorkers who did not qualify to receive them.The announcement came five days after an investigation by The Journal News found an estimated $28 million in school property-tax subsidies since 2011 were granted to hou
The Tide Turns On The Common Core
Imagine a story on Common Core a year ago and ask yourself, would the tone have been this skeptical?Common Core was created in 2009 and is meant to even the playing field by giving every state a universal set of standards to measure learning. The program is incentivized with federal grant money that is given to states that implement the standards. Massachusetts is typically held up as an example o
The More Money These Philanthropists "Give Away," The Richer They Get
In case you missed this news:NEW YORK: Microsoft founder Bill Gates is the wealthiest living US entrepreneur, with an estimated net worth of $80.2 billion, according to Wealth-X.The list of 10 billionaires was dominated by "technopreneurs" as six of them made their fortunes from technology or technology-related businesses, including Gates, Larry Ellison of Oracle and Facebook co-founder
Best Present NY State Could Get - Losing Its Race To The Top Money
In mid-June, the bureaucrats at the USDOE warned any changes to teacher evaluations in NY State would result in NY losing its Race to the Top money:New York state could lose nearly $300 million in Race to the Top funds if the state follows through on a proposal to put off incorporating test scores from common-core-aligned exams in teacher evaluation. Gov. Andrew Cuomo and policymakers in the state
JUL 05
77% Of The Race To The Top Award Money In NYC Went To Pay For Consultants, Central Office Work, And Support Staff
Remember when they told us we had to win Race to THE Top because that money was so desperately needed for the kids?Yeah, turns out that was NOT what they planned on spending the RttT cash on:Less than a quarter of the $107 million that the school system received in federal Race to The Top funds last year was sent directly to school principals. The decision on how to spend most of the money — $83 m
Bill Gates, Just Like The Koch Brothers, Only With Better P.R.
From Techrights: THE Gates Foundation continues to swindle the world.GMO (e.g. Monsanto) monopoly is still on the agenda based on reports from CNET (part of CBS) and other CBS sites that highlight more patents on bananas, with investments from Bill Gates. They are of course pretending it’s about feeding hungry Africans, which is a common PR strategy, but it is really about profit. A lot of Gates-b
Why Teacher Tenure Is NOT The Problem In Education
From Dale Hansen:By concluding that the due process protections afforded to educators under tenure denied students "equal opportunity to achieve a quality education," Judge Treu seems to ignore that correlation does not prove causation.If tenure unfairly protects teachers, there should be a considerably higher number of teachers fired per year at schools where tenure is not available. Th
