The Chalkboard

tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-193881452009-11-08T07:53:27.253-05:00The ChalkboardPeter Murphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10872337645544887582noreply@blogger.comBlogger102125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19388145.post-27073923762295561562009-11-06T17:44:00.010-05:002009-11-06T20:47:33.713-05:00Expanding Charters at a "Thoughtful" Pace

At the education forum at Hunter College earlier this week, Chancellor Tisch echoed Education Commissioner Steiner's earlier comment on raising the charter cap; this is, the state should take a "thoughtful" approach, as reported by Gotham Schools.Okay. We agree.So, can we move on from this "thoughtful" descriptor for expanding charters? It's taken New York State a decade to open only about 150

Peter Murphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10872337645544887582noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19388145.post-79835708709255959802009-11-06T14:45:00.033-05:002009-11-08T07:53:27.275-05:00Education Forum at Hunter College; Tisch & Co. Speak Out

New York State is going to have an "aggressively bold agenda" in its application for federal Race-to-the-Top funds, Regents Chancellor Merryl Tisch assured the standing room audience this week at Hunter College in Manhattan.Tisch, along with former City Council Education Chair, Eva Moskowitz; UFT President Michael Mulgrew; and Executive Director of Democrats for Education Reform, Joe Williams

Peter Murphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10872337645544887582noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19388145.post-35535631883055432362009-11-04T09:49:00.011-05:002009-11-04T12:36:19.162-05:00Charter School Unionized Teachers Speak Out - Against NYSUT

Today's Buffalo News has a superb article by teachers from the Charter School for Applied Technologies (CSAT) that calls on the New York State United Teachers to support charter schools. Teachers in this charter school, located in the town of Tonawanda just over Buffalo's northern boundary, are NYSUT members, as are most of the unionized faculty in twenty or so charter schools across the

Peter Murphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10872337645544887582noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19388145.post-4164940883789298122009-11-04T07:49:00.012-05:002009-11-04T12:30:23.738-05:00President Obama in Wisconsin (not NY) Promoting Race-to-the-Top

The Associated Press reports today that President Obama and his Education Secretary Arne Duncan are traveling to Wisconsin to promote the Race to the Top program as "Wisconsin lawmakers are poised to change a law to boost their state's chances at $5 billion in education grants."Not in New York.The AP's Libby Quaid writes that nine other states have made statutory changes for the same purpose:

Peter Murphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10872337645544887582noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19388145.post-37000450548729914242009-11-03T18:18:00.008-05:002009-11-04T09:42:20.005-05:00Albany Times Union Letter on School District Excess

Today's Albany Times Union publishes a letter from me responding to a previous letter from a resident unhappy with the number of charter schools and what he perceives as their fiscal impact on the Albany City School District.The fact is the Albany school district has been awash in cash, having been the recipient of huge increases in state aid over the years, including extra "transition aid" for

Peter Murphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10872337645544887582noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19388145.post-2020711152713256762009-11-03T18:07:00.007-05:002009-11-04T12:01:40.685-05:00More Perspective on Charter versus District Performance

Professor Aaron Pallas of Teachers College weighs in on the comparison of charter school performance versus district schools, today on Gotham Schools.org (here).Prof. Pallas doesn't exactly agree with my critique of the New York City Department of Education's points grid that showed district schools outperforming charters in the overall score. Prof. Pallas also overlooks the successive years of

Peter Murphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10872337645544887582noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19388145.post-54886808753055066992009-11-02T09:41:00.015-05:002009-11-06T21:11:17.836-05:00Response to DOE Charter Power-Point (Continued)

Patrick Sullivan, board member of the New York City education policy board, last Friday criticized the Bloomberg administration by saying: "the mayor and the [schools] chancellor lecture us incessantly on how charters are better than traditional public schools, yet DOE's own accountability data shows charters lag significantly in the metric they prize above all else: improvement in state test

Peter Murphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10872337645544887582noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19388145.post-2355875717472240162009-10-30T10:37:00.032-04:002009-11-02T07:52:34.020-05:00Heavy Dose of Context Needed on NYC DOE 'Power-Point' on Charter v. District Scores

Meredith Kolodner's article in today's Daily News says that a report by the New York City Department of Education shows that "charter schools have done worse than traditional public schools according to the department's own measurements."Not really.A little--actually, a lot--of context is in order here; the key words being according to the department's own measurements. Key measures from this

Peter Murphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10872337645544887582noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19388145.post-66373368605165709092009-10-30T08:46:00.015-04:002009-10-30T09:49:39.155-04:00State Ed. Bureaucracies Fail the Test -- The One for INTEGRITY

Integrity: in-teg-ri-ty-noun1. adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty.2. the state of being whole, entire or undiminished."We're lying to our children."That no-so-subtle remark came from none other than the United States Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan. He was commenting yesterday on the dumbing down of state-developed standards and assessments, which

Peter Murphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10872337645544887582noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19388145.post-70341705729977733622009-10-29T08:20:00.028-04:002009-10-29T13:20:13.759-04:00The Ingredients for Turning Around Failing District Schools - Be Bold

As part of the state's application for federal Race to the Top funding, now under preparation by the state Education Department, New York will include a "turnaround" plan for failing district schools, most of which are low-performing high schools in New York City.Regents Chancellor Merryl Tisch confirmed as much in her remarks at the Annual NY Charter School Conference earlier this month, and in

Peter Murphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10872337645544887582noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19388145.post-59459314804189263582009-10-28T14:59:00.027-04:002009-10-29T16:31:34.931-04:00Is New York "Entitled" to Race to the Top Funds?

Today's Albany Times Union discusses the charter cap issues (here), where things stand currently, and reasons for removing the cap. It includes discussion from me.The article also includes discussion by NYSUT president, Richard Iannuzzi, who name-dropped U.S. Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan. Duncan "personally assured [Iannuzzi] New York is entitled to Race to the Top money," the article

Peter Murphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10872337645544887582noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19388145.post-29011537044144679702009-10-28T14:31:00.005-04:002009-10-28T16:48:59.391-04:00Manhattan Institute: Charters Improve District Schools

As The Chalkboard noted below, today's Daily News editorial mentions a breakthrough study by the Manhattan Institute that found the presence of charter schools helped improved district school scores on the state English exams, particularly in cases where such schools had a significant number of its students depart to enroll in charters.Marcus Winters, a senior fellow at the Institute and author

Peter Murphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10872337645544887582noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19388145.post-75899694411006158142009-10-28T08:39:00.007-04:002009-10-28T16:41:34.586-04:00Daily News Weighs in on Charters - Critical of Cap-Lift Opponents

The New York Daily News editorial page weighs in today in favor of removing the cap on the number of charter schools (here) and is highly critical, at the end, of Gov. David Paterson, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and UFT president Michael Mulgrew for opposition to charters.Gov. Paterson has been supportive of charter schools, but lately has taken a more wait-and-see approach on the cap lift.

Peter Murphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10872337645544887582noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19388145.post-55308951777485949942009-10-27T16:13:00.018-04:002009-10-29T11:11:03.458-04:00NYSUT Wars Against Mid-Year Budget Cuts - Right On (Mostly)

The New York State United Teachers (NYSUT) has undergone a $200,000 media campaign opposing Gov. David Paterson's proposed mid-year budget cuts in state aid to school districts, which amounts to nearly $500 million this year and hundreds of millions more in 2010-11.Dues from 600,000 union members buys a lot of air time.NYSUT released a statement on Tuesday (here) calling on the Legislature to "

Peter Murphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10872337645544887582noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19388145.post-65563931119098081882009-10-27T11:01:00.007-04:002009-10-27T11:40:18.136-04:00Buffalo News Backs Hoyt Ed Reform Bill That Points the Way

Today's Buffalo News editorial (here) strongly embraces legislation introduced by area Assemblyman Sam Hoyt to reform public education and strengthen New York's competitiveness for obtaining federal Race to the Top funds.The editorial acknowledges that the bill needs more sponsors to have any hope for enactment and praises Hoyt for his "worthwhile effort" that "deserve[s] serious debate."The Hoyt

Peter Murphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10872337645544887582noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19388145.post-57078045067122845412009-10-27T08:05:00.023-04:002009-10-27T12:05:13.937-04:00Do-Nothing on Charters a Big Risk -- and Gains Nothing

"I call on states to reform their charter rules, and lift caps."- President Barack Obama, March 10, 2009"Legislative changes are currently not needed."- Spokesperson for Gov. David Paterson, Oct. 26. 2009Last March, the President of the United States outlined, in detail, his vision for states to make education reform changes to "race to the top," as he put it. Included in the just-signed American

Peter Murphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10872337645544887582noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19388145.post-51912890152647955482009-10-22T18:51:00.006-04:002009-10-23T09:28:19.610-04:00Mixing Football Metaphors

Paterson puntsGov taking a pass on schools The New York Post headline in Thursday's opinion section could read as two football metaphors. It's fair to say the sub-headline referred to something other than football, but it was still somewhat humorous, though nowhere near the "Headless Body Found in Topless Bar" variety.The article itself (here) was by Tom Carroll, the president of the Foundation

Peter Murphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10872337645544887582noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19388145.post-47792142471521459522009-10-22T15:41:00.010-04:002009-10-22T18:40:27.066-04:00Certification As We Know It Headed for the Dust Bin?

"The teaching profession is changing." So said Regents Chancellor Merryl Tisch last weekend to the annual New York charter schools conference (with similar sentiments told to the state School Boards Association that same weekend). The extent to which the profession changes can be influenced by Tisch herself: she went on to say that the state Education Department is looking to "redesign teacher

Peter Murphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10872337645544887582noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19388145.post-16543818155827300462009-10-19T07:12:00.009-04:002009-10-19T17:38:52.746-04:00Assemblyman Hoyt Pushing Ed Reform for R2T $

The New York Post today today reports that upstate Assemblyman Sam Hoyt (D-Buffalo) will introduce comprehensive legislation to reform education, including immediately repealing the ban on using student test data for tenure decisions and removing the cap on charter schools. (the Buffalo News also reports on the Hoyt bill here). This matters because adopting these and other proposed measures by

Peter Murphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10872337645544887582noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19388145.post-79157844833519216502009-10-18T20:42:00.019-04:002009-10-19T12:50:54.803-04:00Chancellor Tisch Speaks to Charter Schools Conference

Last Saturday at the New York Annual Statewide Charter Schools Conference, Regents Chancellor Merryl Tisch addressed nearly 400 attendees during the luncheon. Actually, her presentation came in the form of a "conversation" with Charter Schools Association president, Bill Phillips, who posed questions and raised issues for her to address.This was Merryl Tisch's first appearance at the charter

Peter Murphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10872337645544887582noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19388145.post-46851875056417148622009-10-14T17:12:00.017-04:002009-10-15T15:53:15.381-04:00NAEP Math Scores Attack NYS Exams

Today the U.S. Department of Education released the results of the 2009 National Assessment of Educational Progress exam (NAEP) in math (here) and New York students did not score well - especially compared to results with the state's own tests.The New York Foundation for Education Reform and Accountability (NYFERA) commented on the study (here). NYFERA's Director of Research & Communications,

Peter Murphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10872337645544887582noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19388145.post-31389576713426905182009-10-13T12:35:00.009-04:002009-10-13T14:36:19.680-04:00Charter School Teacher Gets Fired - She Told Us So: I Was Taped!

Ever had that feeling when things aren't working out at the job? Most people I know who've had that experience, including myself, start looking for another job before you are forced. You turn to family and friends, and perhaps your current employer to work out a separation that buys time to land on your feet elsewhere.You don't go to the press. Bad career move.It appears that is just what Ryan

Peter Murphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10872337645544887582noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19388145.post-26438641948187794302009-10-08T07:13:00.012-04:002009-10-09T07:49:14.085-04:00More Name-Calling from NYSUT Prez

New York State United Teachers (NYSUT) president, Richard Iannuzzi, met yesterday with the editorial board of the Buffalo News and veteran education reporter, Peter Simon, who reports today on his remarks and my response here.The upshot of Mr. Iannuzzi's presentation yesterday is: there's too many charter schools, I don't want any more, but if they show up I want their money!Significantly,

Peter Murphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10872337645544887582noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19388145.post-30825037948629796822009-10-06T07:34:00.009-04:002009-10-06T08:15:13.728-04:00Charter Cap Will Be Used Up -- Sooner Than We Think

Today's New York Post includes an op-ed article (here) by me discussing how quickly we are to reaching the statutory cap on the number of charter schools - one of them, anyway.New York actually has two caps: one for the State University-approved charters, and the other for Regents-approved charters, which includes all those from school districts. So, the state limit of 200 charter schools (not

Peter Murphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10872337645544887582noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19388145.post-62488841630287104102009-10-02T10:21:00.019-04:002009-10-02T17:18:11.054-04:00Mayor Bloomberg's Charter Vision Needs Facilities $

Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Wednesday outlined his charter school platform if he is re-elected to a third term next month, as part of his keynote speech at the 10th anniversary of Sisulu-Walker Charter School. (The Chalkboard reported on this event, below.)The Mayor wants to see the statutory charter cap raised, the schools chancellor to approve new charter schools independently, and added

Peter Murphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10872337645544887582noreply@blogger.com