Parents, education advocates plan to defend teacher tenure against lawsuit filed by parents' reform group - NY Daily News

Parents, education advocates plan to defend teacher tenure against lawsuit filed by parents' reform group - NY Daily News:

Parents, education advocates plan to defend teacher tenure against lawsuit filed by parents' reform group

Attorney Arthur Schwartz said he expects to file a motion in Staten Island Supreme Court within two weeks claiming his clients should be named as co-defendants of the city and state’s Education Departments, which were sued two weeks ago by the New York City Parents Union for failing to provide quality education to all kids.

BY BEN CHAPMAN , STEPHEN REX BROWN 

 

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

 

Saturday, July 12, 2014, 11:57 PM

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ENID ALVAREZ/NEW YORK DAILY NEWSThe president of the New York City Parents Union, Mona Davids (pictured with her two kids, Mymoena and Eric) will be facing about 50 parents and education advocates who oppose her organization's lawsuit against teacher tenure.

About 50 parents and education advocates plan to defend teacher tenure in court alongside the city and state, arguing that job protections ensure quality classrooms.

Labor attorney Arthur Schwartz said he expects to file a motion in Staten Island Supreme Court within two weeks claiming his clients should be named as co-defendants of the city and state’s Education Departments, which were sued two weeks ago by the New York City Parents Union for failing to provide quality education to all kids.

“They believe that the only way to attract qualified graduates to the profession is if they are afforded job security,” Schwartz said of his clients.

The Parents Union suit, which seeks class action status, names 11 city students whose constitutional rights were allegedly violated by bad teachers who couldn't be fired.

But Schwartz said that teachers with job protections were not the reason for poor student achievement.

ALEX RUDAttorney Arthur Schwartz said he expects to file a motion in Staten Island Supreme Court within two weeks claiming his clients should be named as co-defendants of the city and state’s Education Departments, which were sued two weeks ago by the New York City Parents Union for failing to provide quality education to all kids.

“This lawsuit in fact diverts attention from lack of (education) funding and excessive class size,” he said. “There's no evidence that systems of job security harm students.”

The president of the Parents Union, Mona Davids, had no comment on the possibility of new defendants in her suit.

She was inspired by the so-called Vergara decision, in which a Los Angeles Superior Court judge ruled that ineffective teachers are disproportionately represented in poor neighborhoods.

That ruling in California, which is under appeal, also led journalist-turned-advocate Campbell Brown to announce she will soon file a similar suit in Albany.

GLODA/GETTY IMAGES/ISTOCKPHOTOThe Parents Union suit, which seeks class action status, names 11 city students whose constitutional rights were allegedly violated by bad teachers who couldn't be fired.
Parents, education advocates plan to defend teacher tenure against lawsuit filed by parents' reform group - NY Daily News:

A spokesman for her advocacy group, Partnership for Educational Justice, did not respond to a request for 

Governors group skirts 'radioactive' Common Core | Nation & World | The Seattle Times

Governors group skirts 'radioactive' Common Core | Nation & World | The Seattle Times:

Governors group skirts 'radioactive' Common Core

Reviled by staunch conservatives, the common education standards designed to improve schools and student competitiveness are being modified by some Republican governors, who are pushing back against what they call the federal government's intrusion into the classroom.

By ERIK SCHELZIG and STEVE PEOPLES

Associated Press

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. —

Reviled by staunch conservatives, the common education standards designed to improve schools and student competitiveness are being modified by some Republican governors, who are pushing back against what they call the federal government's intrusion into the classroom.

The Common Core standards were not on the formal agenda during a three-day meeting of the National Governors Association that ended Sunday, relegated to hallway discussions and closed-door meetings among governors and their staffs. The standards and even the words, "Common Core," have "become, in a sense, radioactive," said Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, a Republican whose state voluntarily adopted the standards in 2010.

"We want Iowa Common Core standards that meet the needs of our kids," Branstad said, echoing an intensifying sentiment from tea party leaders who describe the education plan as an attempt by the federal government to take over local education.

There was little controversy when the bipartisan governors association in 2009 helped develop the common education standards aimed at improving schools and students' competitiveness across the nation. The standards were quickly adopted by 44 states.

But conservative activists who hold outsized influence in Republican politics aggressively condemned Common Core, and lawmakers in 27 states this year have proposed either delaying or revoking Common Core. The issue has forced many ambitious Republicans who previously had few concerns to distance themselves from the standards and the issue has begun to shape the early stages of the 2016 presidential race.

Wisconsin's Republican Gov. Scott Walker, a potential 2016 candidate among the governors gathered in Nashville, said he has proposed a measure to adopt Wisconsin-specific education Governors group skirts 'radioactive' Common Core | Nation & World | The Seattle Times:

Common Core debate at AFT - Substance News

Common Core debate at AFT - Substance News:

New York votes dominate Common Core debate at the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) convention as a majority of AFT delegates votes to continue critical support for Common Core ... AFT leadership has to deploy union officials to speak, while classroom teachers oppose Common Core

Kati Gilson, NBCT - July 13, 2014

A mad dash for the microphones started when a United Federation of Teachers (UFT, New York City, Local 2 of the AFT), delegate began sprinting as the doors were opened for delegates to enter the floor of the national convention of the American Federation of Teachers on July 13, 2014 in Los Angeles. Was it a cover tribute to the Los Angeles Olympics of decades ago? No. The 3,000 delegates to the AFT convention was about to debate Common Core, and the 200,000 members UFT (New York City's teacher union) was about to defeat their Chicago "brothers and sisters" on a resolution or two that had acquired national importance.

All of those who spoke against Common Core at the AFT convention were classroom teachers, like Pia Payne-Shannon from Minneapolis (above speaking during the debate). Most of those who spoke from the floor in support of the "standards" resolution which the AFT leadership poised against the Chicago Common Core resolution were union officials, including the presidents of the New York City and Detroit local unions, neither of which presented a classroom teacher to speak on behalf of Common Core. Substance photo by Kati Gilson.And poised in opposition to the continuation of what amounts to "critical support" for the Common Core favored by New York and the AFT national leadership was the outright opposition, brought to the floor of the convention by the Chicago Teachers Union (Local 1 of the AFT).

The dash to the mics, in the eyes of many at the convention, was just a continuation of the bullying, underhanded tactics used by the UFT -- to "win at any price" more than one delegate noted -- on issues of importance to the national union leadership. It was a race to the finish line -- the "good seats" in the cavernous hall at the Los Angeles convention center.

A CTU Delegate started running, passed the UFT Delegate and was able to claim a spot near the microphone. Why the rush? The issues to be debated, then voted on included a vote on the Common Core State Standards.

The jockeying for position began two days prior when the Educational Issues Committee met to decide which resolutions would go forward to the floor two days earlier. Under AFT rules, any local may submit resolutions for the consideration by the general convention, which meets every two years. But then the resolutions are divided up among more than 20 Common Core debate at AFT - Substance News: