Big Education Ape

Friday, November 26, 2010

NYC Public School Parents: The Powers That Be: A Lesson for the Children of NYC

The Powers That Be: A Lesson for the Children of NYC

by Steve Koss

I drafted this a week ago and had hoped I'd never have to post it; unfortunately, reality got the better of hope and David Steiner caved cravenly to a billionaire and his power. A nice set-up, though for my little fable, as follows:

The Powers That Be decided they wanted more terms in office despite the people's previous votes in favor of term limits, and they took what they wanted and laughed and said, "So what are you going to do about it?"

The Powers That Be created a separate oversight board to give an appearance of independent oversight and review and then filled almost entirely with their own never-dissenting members, and they laughed and said, “So what are you going to do about it?”

The Powers That Be said education wasn’t real unless it could be tested and measured, and they laughed and said, “So what are you going to do about it?”

The Powers That Be decided that teachers were the problem with education and that the answer was

DREAM Act: The Whip Count « Student Activism

DREAM Act: The Whip Count

by Angus Johnston

The DREAM Act is going to be coming up for a vote in the US Congress in the next little while, and the contours of that vote are beginning to come into shape.

The DREAM Act would give undocumented immigrants who were brought to the United States as children a path to citizenship through college enrollment or military service. Polls show that it’s supported by a strong majority of Americans, and it’s expected to pass the House of Representatives easily.

It’s in the Senate, where a sixty-vote supermajority is required to invoke “cloture” and bring legislation to the floor for debate, where the real drama is expected.

Various media outfits and advocacy groups have released lists of the senators they believe to be in play, and

Native Blood: The Myth of Thanksgiving (via Kasama) « Guerrilla Think

Native Blood: The Myth of Thanksgiving (via Kasama)

by guerrillathink

by Mike Ely [Available as podcast. More history posted here.] The Puritan colonists of Massachusetts embraced a line from Psalms 2:8. "Ask of me, and I shall give thee, the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession." * * * * * * It is a deep thing that people still celebrate the survival of the early colonists at Plymouth — by giving thanks to the Christian God who supposedly protected and championed … Read More

Seattle Public Schools community blog: You Spin Me Right Round

You Spin Me Right Round

by Melissa Westbrook

In the Times from the AP, an article about how great it is that Seattle is 'fessing up and releasing so much useful data. I might have to let this reporter know of this great irony about data in our district. Some choice quotes and see if you get the direction the quotes are pointing to (please, do not read when drinking; you might do a spit take):

One of the authors of the report done by the Center for Reinventing Education:

"I think the district really deserves some credit for day-lighting their data," said the lead researcher on the report, Christine Campbell. "I really would love for Seattle to use this as a chance to really do something."

Really do something? I wonder what CRE can mean given that 90% of their work is around charters.

The district:

District spokeswoman Patti Spencer said the district has been targeting schools with extra help and guidance

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Toady Steiner renders unto Caesar...

Toady Steiner renders unto Caesar...

by Mike Klonsky

N.Y. State Education Commissioner David Steiner knew what he had to do, even after his hand-picked panel, heavy with Bloomberg friends, voted not to give the clearly unqualified Cathie Black a waiver from the state law requiring the chancellor to have certain education credentials.

The humiliated Steiner, as expected (by me, at least) rendered unto Caesar that which is Caesar's. He knew, without being told, that if he ever wanted to go anywhere in politics in the state of New York, he would have to comply with the powerful autocrat's demand.

Bloomberg the slick billionaire media mogul, was careful to have the pre-arranged deal announced late on Friday afternoon of a holiday weekend with the press fast asleep and the bloggers and Tweeters still burping from Thanksgiving dinner. Is anyone even left in town to read the Saturday papers?

Bloomberg let Steiner save a little face by acceding to his request and changing the job title of his chief accountability officer Shael Polakow-Suransky, to that of chief academic officer in order to make it look like there's an experienced educator somewhere in sight when the corporate Ms. Black moves into Joel Klein's old

Queens Teacher: Open Letter to Ms. Black

Open Letter to Ms. Black

by Queens Teacher

Dear Ms. Black,

Please do the right thing and withdraw yourself from the fray.

You will be vilified by the public, not taken seriously by educators & parents and tossed aside when Bloomberg is done with you.

Why be known as Bloomberg’s sycophant and tool in destroying public schools? Did you not see what happened

Black will receive waiver after city vows to promote Suransky | GothamSchools

Black will receive waiver after city vows to promote Suransky

by Elizabeth Green

Cathleen Black will receive the state waiver that lets her become the next New York City schools chancellor, following a Thanksgiving deal between the city and the state. The deal calls for the Bloomberg administration to give a major promotion to Shael Polakow-Suransky, an education official who has frequently sparred with Chancellor Joel Klein and his top deputies, even while working alongside them.

State education officials had been wary to offer Black, Mayor Bloomberg’s surprise choice to succeed Klein, the

Supplemental SED Letter 11-26-10

City, state reach deal on schools chancellor Cathie Black; Shael Polokaw-Suransky tapped to help her

BY KATHLEEN LUCADAMO AND RACHEL MONAHAN
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS

Saturday, November 27th 2010, 4:00 AM

Santos for News

Media exec Cathie Black, who has no education background, will get a second-in-command with experience in city schools so that she can receive a waiver from the state.

RELATED NEWS

City and state officials have reached a deal so Mayor Bloomberg's pick for schools chancellor can take the post, sources said.

Media exec Cathie Black, who has no education background, will get a second-in-command with experience in city schools so that she can receive a waiver from the state.

Shael Polokaw-Suransky, a former principal who is currently the deputy chancellor for accountability, will become Black's chief academic officer.

The mayor announced Black would replace outgoing Schools Chancellor Joel Klein on Nov. 9.

But since then, the outrage over her lack of education experience has produced an outcry across the city. And earlier this week, an advisory panel to State Commissioner

Exclusivity of Greeley charter schools debated - The Denver Post

Chicken coop brings lessons to Denver school11/21/2010Students at Denver's Park Hill School are ready to learn some lessons from two clucking, feathered teachers.

Exclusivity of Greeley charter schools debated11/21/2010 - A showdown is brewing over charter schools' responsibility for educating low-income children.

Threats of student walkout, recall follow DPS approval of Montbello High turnaround11/19/2010 - Tears fell down the faces of Montbello High students in the early morning hours Friday after the Denver school board voted 4-3 to approve a plan to reconfigure their school and its feeder schools.

Denver school board OKs Montbello restructuring plan11/19/2010 - Fiery speeches, impassioned pleas and heartfelt statements were aired for hours Thursday night before the Denver school board approved the largest school turnaround plan in district history.

Montbello school-reform plan expected to be approved Thursday11/18/2010 - The largest school reform plan in Denver's history will come down to a contentious vote tonight at a school board meeting that is expected to be preceded by emotional pleas from supporters and foes.

Eduwonk » Blog Archive » Black Friday

Black Friday

by arotherham

Looks like a deal has been struck in Gotham and Albany on the Cathie Black waiver.

Queens Teacher: Steiner Needs to Grow a Pair

Steiner Needs to Grow a Pair

by Queens Teacher

Mayor and State Reach Deal To Pave Way for Schools Chief
By JAVIER C. HERNANDEZ

The state’s education commissioner, David M. Steiner, and the Bloomberg administration have reached a deal that will allow Cathleen P. Black, a media executive, to become the next schools chief.

A top education official in the city’s schools system, Shael Polakow-Suransky, the chief accountability officer, will be named the chief academic officer to serve as the No. 2 to Ms. Black, according to a person with

Schools Matter: Steiner Proves Just Another Bloomberg Flunkie: Accepts Broadie as Black's # 2

Steiner Proves Just Another Bloomberg Flunkie: Accepts Broadie as Black's # 2

by Jim Horn

As I surmised, it was all Kabuki theatre, and in the end, the same fool who spouts the right-wing fantasy that Dewey recanted his lifelong work for democratic schools, offers a wave-through for Bloomberg's corporate bulldozer that will be driven by bleary-eyed party bud, Cathie Black, with the help of Klein's man in charge most recently of sheltering the big lie on NY City student test scores.

Shael Polakow-Suransky

The Broad Superintendents Academy Class of 2008
Deputy Chancellor for Performance and Accountability

This Week In Education: "Stray Dogs" Update: Amazon Page & Official Pub Date

"Stray Dogs" Update: Amazon Page & Official Pub Date

by Alexander Russo

We still don't have a final cover for my book but there's already an Amazon pre-order page and an official publication date in April. You can check it out here if you're really that determined to avoid doing anything today. The book should actually be available well before the official date, and in fact I've gotten a couple of nice emails from ed school types interested in using

This Week In Education: NYC Schools: Sexism Underneath The NYC Superintendent Debate

NYC Schools: Sexism Underneath The NYC Superintendent Debate

by Alexander Russo

I can't be the only to wonder whether some the hullabaloo surrounding the proposed appointment of Cathie Black to head the New York City public schools has something to do with her being, well, you know -- a woman. Sure, there are substantive arguments against her. Yes, it's fun to bloody Mayor Bloomberg's nose once in a while (a couple of years ago it was congestion pricing). I get it that the only person less sympathetic to be proposed for the job might be Davis Guggenheim, the director of Waiting For Superman. But, come on now, it seems suspicious to me that this issue o

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: The Vitamin D Gap

The Vitamin D Gap

by Mike Klonsky

A good reason to keep and expand health care reform

Severe Vitamin D deficiencies may cause cognitive impairment, missed school days, and affect a student's academic ability. More importantly it can also lead to high risks of death from cardiovascular disease, asthma, cancer, diabetes and other serious physical and mental health problems. It, along with other elevated health risks for African-American children may provide reasons for the widening so-called "achievement gap" in standardized test results.

Recent studies find 98% of African-Americans and 90% of Mexican-Americans are Vitamin D deficient. That compares with 72% of whites. Of those, 27% of African-Americans and 8.5% of Mexican-Americans suffer from severe Vitamin D deficiency as

Disservice to Pre-service Teaching « My Island View

Disservice to Pre-service Teaching

by tomwhitby

I recently read in the Washington Post that the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education issued a report recommending that students preparing for a career in teaching should spend less time in course work and more time in real classrooms for clinical practice. According to the article, the report states that this would be more in the model used for medical Doctors. The report advocates less coursework and more practical experience for pre-service teachers. Of course the overriding theme of this article implies that the failure of our system is with the failure of the teachers, so it must be the failure of the way that teachers are prepared.

I see an additional problem in that the report in the recommendation for evaluating the student teacher on the performance of their assigned students on standardized tests.

“All programs held to same standards; data-driven accountability based on measures of candidate performance and student achievement, including gains in standardized test scores. Data drives reform and continuous improvement.”

This however, will require the attention of a second Post at another time.

Before any committee recommends less time in course work and expanding time in the classroom experience

Catalyst’s Analysis of Arne Duncan’s Renaissance 2010 | Seattle Education 2010

Catalyst’s Analysis of Arne Duncan’s Renaissance 2010

by seattleducation2010

Over this holiday weekend, I would recommend going through Catalyst’s In-Depth report of Arne Duncan’s Renaissance 2010, the plan for Chicago schools that he rolled out as CEO of the Chicago Pubic School system. He heralded his plan as a success and his appointment to Secretary of Education was based on this so-called “success”.

He then took that model of Renaissance 2010 and projected it onto school districts around the country re-titling

NYC Public School Parents: Tone Deaf Mayor Turns Cathie Black Appointment into a Public Relations Train Wreck

Tone Deaf Mayor Turns Cathie Black Appointment into a Public Relations Train Wreck

by Steve Koss

If the recent uproar over Cathleen Black's appointment as NYC Schools Chancellor has shown anything, it has been the growing tone deafness of Mayor Michael Bloomberg. The man who once ran roughshod over the city's term limits laws and then quite literally had to buy his way into a third term subsequently promised not to fall into the historical trap of third term ineffectuality. Yet he is now wearing out his welcome at an accelerating pace, doubling down on bad decisions and lashing out at everyone who disagrees with him. Well known for lacking the common touch, the Mayor has never seemed more distant from everyday New Yorkers and more tin-eared in his behavior.

The Mayor’s most recent spate of tone deafness began with his behind-closed-doors decision to appoint an unqualified magazine publishing executive to replace outgoing schools chancellor Joel Klein. Ms.

What the hell are you doing reading this? « Fred Klonsky's blog

What the hell are you doing reading this?

by Fred Klonsky

On the Friday after Thanksgiving, what the hell are you doing reading this blog? And why am I posting?

You should be with your family. Or reading a book. Or watching an old movie on AMC or TMC.

I’m going to drop the car off at George’s garage. The traction light on my Mini stays on and since George is actually working today, he’ll take a look at it an noon. I love George.

Then maybe we’ll take in a movie (the girls want to see Burlesque) and figure out whether we are eating leftovers or going out for dinner.

Yesterday was really good. First time for jello shots at a Thanksgiving dinner. Awful. The pies were great thanks

Latest News and Comment from Education

Friday, November 26, 2010

City, state reach deal on schools chancellor Cathie Black; Shael Polokaw-Suransky tapped to help her

RELATED NEWS