Grassroots Education Movement (NYC)

GEM SITE HAS MOVED TO GEMNYC.ORG

noreply@blogger.com (GEM) — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 13:48:00 +0000

http://gemnyc.org/

Next GEM Meeting, April 11: How do we stop the charter invasions?

noreply@blogger.com (ed notes online) — Sun, 10 Apr 2011 20:29:00 +0000

*Please Forward Widely*

How do we stop the charter invasions?

You are invited to attend a meeting sponsored by the Grassroots Education Movement (GEM)

MONDAY, APRIL 11, 5PM,
CUNY Grad Center 34th St. and 5th Ave. Rm 5414
picture ID required

The rapid growth of charter schools around New York City continues unabated. As the DOE gears up to layoff 4,658 teachers in the upcoming budget, funding for charters is planned to increase by $139 million. As Mayor Bloomberg shutters large public high schools, like JFK in the Bronx or Brandeis in Manhattan, they are rapidly replaced with charters which receive public money but are privately operated and are largely nonunion. Co-located charters receive more per pupil funding than the public schools they are sitting in.

From the invasion of PS197M by Democracy Prep and PS123 by Eva Moskowitz's Success Academy in Harlem, to the prevention of the expansion of the successful Central Park East public school by the forces of KIPP* charters in Washington Heights, to the robbery of therapy classrooms in Fort Greene from special needs schools PS369K by an expanding charter, to the cramming of four schools into a single building to accommodate a charter in Coney Island's IS303, schools all over the city are facing overcrowding and declining enrollment because of the charter explosion.

At the same time, the United Federation of Teachers has agreed to allow two schools in the Bronx to be managed by charter operator Green Dot, while half their staff is moved to other schools regardless of seniority, and Green Dot operatives brag of long breakfasts and multiple dinners with national and local union leaders.

However, there are things that we can do to fight back. The successful struggle by PS9 parents and teachers to prevent the expansion won a victory last week as State Education Commissioner David Steiner overturned the city's Panel for Education Policy vote to allow a charter colocation in their school.

Join GEM in a discussion on how we can build a movement to take a stand against privatization of public education by mobilizing against charter co-locations.

Discuss: What can we do in NYC to stop charter co-locations? What are the tools that teachers and parents can use to defend their local schools? How can we build solidarity with others under attack? How can we build networks within our schools and in our communities? How can we push the UFT to reverse it's accommodationist policy to the charter invaders?

Take part in activist breakout sessions after the discussion, including about how to mobilize against the charter co-locations on the agenda at the April 28th meeting of the Panel for Education Policy.

Become a GEM member and discuss how WE can put children first!

MONDAY, April 11, 5PM,
CUNY Grad Center 34th St. and 5th Ave. Rm 5414
picture ID required

*Study Finds High Dropout Rates for Black Males in KIPP Schools
Education Week
KIPP charter middle schools enroll a significantly higher proportion of African-American students than the local school districts they draw from, but 40 percent of the black males they enroll leave between grades 6 and 8, says a new nationwide study by researchers at Western Michigan University and Teachers College, Columbia University.
“The dropout rate for African-American males is really shocking,” said Gary J. Miron, a professor of evaluation, measurement, and research at Western Michigan University, in Kalamazoo, and the lead researcher for the study. “KIPP is doing a great job of educating students who persist, but not all who come.”
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2011/03/31/27kipp_ep.h30.html?tkn=TVVFjx6pS%2F3QXxwZpXXoJbMnmNSLeyGYhryE&cmp=clp-edweek

*Study Says Charter Network Has Financial Advantages Over Public Schools
New York Times
Most charter schools receive less government money for each student, on average, than traditional public schools.
But the KIPP network, one of the fastest-growing and most academically successful charter groups, has received more taxpayer dollars per student than regular public schools, according to a new study, which also noted that KIPP receives substantial amounts of private philanthropic money.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/31/education/31kipp.html?ref=education

Check out http://grassrootseducationmovement.blogspot.com/
E-mail gemnyc@gmail.com for more information

Grassroots Education Movement Official Statement Regarding the Resignation of Cathleen Black, David Steiner, and the Appointment of Deputy Mayor Dennis Walcott

noreply@blogger.com (GEM) — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 16:50:00 +0000

It is Time to Break the Cycle

Since 2003, public school parents, children, educators, and community members have endured a dictatorial public education reform agenda that has ignored and marginalized their voices and has undermined and destabilized the schools they depend on, love, and serve. The departure of Cathleen Black highlights the incompetence, arrogance, and political nature of Bloomberg’s educational agenda; this is not about children first, but rather a blind belief in the corporate reform movement propelled by a centralized, top down system that has been destructive for our schools and our children.

It is time for a break in the power structure that has a strangle hold on our public education system; it is time for parents, children, educators and communities to have a say in the education of their 1.2 million school children.

The departure of four Deputy Chancellors in the last 100 days along with the admission by Mayor Bloomberg that the appointment of Black as Chancellor was a mistake, followed by the announced departure of the State Commissioner of Education on Thursday, makes it clear that the almost decade long mayoral control and corporate reform experiment that has ignored the voices of parents, teachers and community has been a failure for the entire educational community. The growing movements against school closings and the privatization of education have helped to expose these failures.

In the coming months our schools face severe cuts, testing is raging out of control, charter schools will attempt to expand by invading more schools, a campaign to close schools continues, dedicated educators are under attack, and our children’s education is at stake. Decisions about the lives of children, like the choice of leaders of the school system, should not be made without their parents, their communities and their teachers. We have little confidence that newly appointed Chancellor Dennis Walcott will be any more than the extension of the same policies with a different face. It is time for Mr. Bloomberg and the Department of Education to engage with parents, treat them as partners and provide the leadership and policies that truly do put children first.

The Grassroots Education Movement supports the Deny Waiver Coalition in their preference for a transparent and nationwide search process for a qualified Chancellor to run our school system. We believe that Mr. Bloomberg and our future Chancellor should fight for real reforms that will transform our public education system. They could begin with a moratorium on school closings, turnarounds, and charter co-locations. Reforms should include parent and teacher empowerment, more teaching, less testing, and the equitable funding needed to make sure our schools are responsive to, and the centers of, the communities they serve.

The Bloomberg ship is sinking. The last nine years under Mayor Bloomberg has been a sea of destructive and misguided educational policies. It is time for our children to be thrown a life raft. It is time for Bloomberg to be held accountable. It is time for a sea change.

Last modified Friday, April 8, 11PM

IS 303 - Julia Daniely, PTA President

noreply@blogger.com (GEM) — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 15:06:00 +0000

NYCDOE attempts to shoe-horn a 4th school into an already overcrowded IS 303 in Coney Island. Excerpts from the public hearing.

Film Screening & Discussion, Apr. 11: The Inconvenient Truth Behind 'Waiting for Superman'

noreply@blogger.com (ed notes online) — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 03:35:00 +0000

On Monday, April 11th at 6:00 p.m., Community League of the Heights will host a community screening of “The Inconvenient Truth Behind Waiting For Superman,” the brand new NYC documentary challenging the ideology and prescriptions of the 2010 film "Waiting For Superman."

WHEN: Monday, April 11th, 6:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m.

WHERE: Church On The Hill, 2005 Amsterdam Avenue, 2nd Fl. (between 159th and 160th)

WHO: Parents, youth, educators, and other community members, especially residents of Washington Heights, West Harlem and Inwood.

PANELISTS INCLUDE: Julie Cavanagh, Film Director and Public School Teacher; Miriam Aristy-Farer, Public School Parent; Adam Stevens, Assistant Principal, Community Health Academy of the Heights; Dr. Sam Anderson, Black New Yorkers for Educational Excellence. Moderated by Joe Rogers, Jr., Founder & Facilitator, Total Equity Now.

Post-screening small group discussions and a Q&A with panelists will examine several teaching and learning-related themes covered in the film. Building on a similar screening and discussion of “Waiting for Superman” on March 28^th, this event will expose community members to additional, sometimes contrasting, perspectives on today’s pressing issues of education policy and practice.

Please join us!

Check out Norms Notes for a variety of articles of interest: http://normsnotes2.blogspot.com/. And make sure to check out the side panel on right for news bits.

Press Release 3/25: Fight Back Friday, School-Communities Across the City Fight Back Against Budget Cuts and Proposed Lay-offs

noreply@blogger.com (ed notes online) — Sat, 26 Mar 2011 02:48:00 +0000

VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z29djIHBMCc

Press Release
Date: Friday, March 25, 2011

Contact:
Sam Coleman, Teacher PS 24, NYCORE/GEM: 646-354-9362
Lisa Donlan, Parent and President CEC1: 917-848-5873
Julie Cavanagh, Teacher PS 15, GEM/CAPE: 917-836-6465

Fight Back Friday: After More Than a Week of Protests and Outrage, School-Communities Mobilize to Demand Our Governor and Mayor Put Our Children First

Today parents, students, teachers, and community members across the city took differentiated actions to demand our Mayor and our Governor put our children first. Education stakeholders city-wide protested Mayor Bloomberg’s destructive education policies, including his threat of over 4,000 teacher lay-offs and his attacks on our experienced educators, as well as Governor Cuomo’s devastating proposed education cuts. Individual schools picketed, signed petitions and letters, held teach-ins, engaged in teacher appreciation activities and disseminated flyers to spread awareness about budget cuts, proposed lay-offs, teacher protections, and what our Mayor and Governor should be fighting for if they were really interested in putting children first.

"On Thursday, March 24th thousands of average New Yorkers expressed their outrage against Bloomberg, a failed public ed system, Cuomo, Wall Street banksters, and the 'givebacks' and job losses being set in motion with the help of city and state legislators. One day later, during another Fight Back Friday, parents, teachers, students and community members around the city continued that struggle at their respective schools, more confident than ever, that in unity there is strength." Muba Yarofulani & Akinlabi Mackall Co-chairpersons,Coalition for Public Education / Coalicion por la Educacion Publica.

Tory Frye, parent at PS/IS 187 said, "Last year my son's elementary school lost the art teacher and the science teacher to budget cuts. The music teacher has no music room or instruments; there is no dedicated room for art and class sizes are uncomfortably high. We lost 7 faculty members altogether last year and now we are being told that we will lose another 5 teachers? There is no one left at my son's school to cut! I cannot begin to understand how we can allow budget cuts like the ones proposed by Governor Cuomo and supported by Mayor Bloomberg to occur, this is not putting our children first. There is a solution; we can maintain the tax on millionaires and billionaires, which would mitigate the impact of these budget cuts and simultaneously address the growing income disparity that sadly has come to characterize New York City."

Continued Sam Coleman, teacher, “My elementary school, PS 24, has lost over $1 million in the last year to budget cuts. Our school is made up of largely immigrant, working class and poor students of color. Due to budget cuts, students in our school have lost after school programs, arts programs, teachers and materials. It is morally and ethically unjustifiable for the mayor and governor to take these resources away from our families while granting millionaires and billionaires tax breaks. Poor and working class families of color and immigrants should not have their children's education short-changed in order to pay for a new yacht, or a new summer home for the wealthiest citizens of our city and state. Fight Back Friday's are a way for school communities to come together - parents, teacher and students - to say enough is enough. We are united in this fight, and we are not going to sit by quietly anymore.”

“We have witnessed the privileged few dominate the education conversation over the last year and we have seen our elected leaders capitulate to their interests over the needs of the more than 95% of us who are not millionaires and billionaires, most notably our children, more than 20% of whom are living in poverty. This week we have learned that Governor Cuomo accepted tens of thousands of dollars from the Koch brothers, individuals who seek to dismantle our democracy and protections for the average American. We have seen our Mayor spend millions of his own money to promote his own policy interest against the wishes of the overwhelming majority of New Yorkers who want the millionaire tax left in place and who support experienced educators. We do not live in an oligarchy or a plutocracy where the privileged few get to make decisions for the rest of us, we live in a democracy where representatives are supposed to serve those who elected them. We will fight for our children, for public education, for workers rights, and for the promise of a democracy and an elected leadership that truly represents the will of the people,” said Julie Cavanagh, teacher at PS 15 in Red Hook, Brooklyn.

Casey Fuetsch, public school parent at the Earth School added, "It's ironic and disturbing that, on this 100th Anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, we are still fighting to keep the most basic rights of mostly female workers intact. One hundred years ago it was a safety issue; this year it is common respect and job security for teachers.”

Fight Back Fridays began last June when school communities united to fight proposed budget cuts and other disastrous educational policies. Over the course of this school year, Fight Back Fridays have continued throughout the city.

“John Dewey H.S. is continuing our Fight Back Friday actions to unify our school community in the face of a city-wide and national campaign to discredit teachers, destroy seniority rights, and sabotage our public schools. Labor rights are civil rights and these are rights that we must fight to protect for the sake of our students and the future of public education. Our goal is to make our school better and stronger by keeping teachers teaching and helping our students receive a dynamic and quality education,” said Michael Solo, Dewey teacher.

Rosemarie Frascella of NyCORE and teacher at Prospect Heights High School said, “Fight Back Fridays give educators the agency to design their own way of organizing around the issues that are directly affecting our students, classrooms, and communities. We are organizing Fight Back Fridays to educate and organize our communities around the issues directly affecting our school communities. From Wisconsin to New York City teachers are coming together to stand up for quality education for every student across the United States. Our working conditions are our students' learning environments.”

Added Stefanie Siegel, teacher, Paul Robeson High School in Brooklyn, “The Coalition for Public Education (Brooklyn Chapter) has been meeting with students and staff on Tuesdays for the past two months. Their consistency and resiliency keep us engaged and believing that justice will prevail after all. The work has empowered, politicized and raised the consciousness of students and we hope, if nothing else, the teach-in on Fight Back Friday spreads the word and broadens our impact. The presence of the CPE at Robeson has made us feel as if we are part of a bigger picture, a larger cause as well as a global community.”

Participants in Fight Back Friday and parents, educators, and students across the city have expressed immense frustration with the Bloomberg administration for attacking teachers and seniority rights, using parents and teachers as political footballs with threats of massive layoffs rather than seeking to find a solution to Governor Cuomo’s misguided budget cuts. Fight Back Friday participants and stakeholders across the city have demanded an end to wasteful city contracts such as CityTime and ARIS, for the state to continue the fair tax on Millionaires and Billionaires, for the DOE to cut middle and upper management at the DOE instead of further cutting school-based budgets and to prevent teacher layoffs, to stop wasting money on over-testing and for our local and state elected officials to do the hard work of putting our children first, by protecting and preserving public education.

“Our community believes in high quality education. However, over-testing has not proven to be effective. We need local community engagement and control that requires high standards for our schools,” Harvey Epstein Denise Soltren The Neighborhood School PTA Co Presidents.

Lisa Donlan, President of CEC1 concluded, “Parents and teachers have come together to send a message in their school communities and to the city at large that the budget cuts, the attacks on teachers, the misuse of high stakes testing and increase in class sizes MUST STOP if we are to deliver on the promise of tomorrow that is our children's education TODAY. Cheating these kids, schools and communities hurts all of us, now and in the future. We will fight back today and every day until our city gets what it deserves- adequately funded and staffed, good, public schools in every neighborhood!”

More than twenty-five school-communities city-wide participated in Fight Back Friday including:
The Academy for Environmental Leadership, Brooklyn
The Academy of Urban Planning, Brooklyn
Bushwick School for Social Justice, Brooklyn
James Baldwin High School, Manhattan
Humanities Prep High School, Manhattan
PS 307, Brooklyn
Pan American Internnational HS, Queens
PS 24, Brooklyn
PS 15, Brooklyn
PS 157, Brooklyn
The Earth School ( PS 364 Manhattan)
The Neighborhood School (PS 363 Manhattan)
Lehman HS, Bronx
PS 193, The Gil Hodges School, Brooklyn
John Dewey HS, Brooklyn
Lyons Community School, Brooklyn
PS 368, Manhattan
The Green School, Brooklyn
PS 347, Manhattan
PS 187, Manhattan
Alfred E. Smith high school, Bronx
PS 230 Brooklyn
International High School at Prospect Heights, Brooklyn
PS 254, Brooklyn
PS 134 Manhattan
Rafael Hernandez School of the Performing Arts IS 217, Bronx
Banana Kelly HS, Bronx
PS 3, Brooklyn
PS 3, Manhattan

Additional Contacts:
Tory Frye, Parent and SLT Member PS/IS 187: 646-418-6435
Stefanie Siegel, Teacher Paul Robeson High School: 347-721-2152
Michael Solo, Teacher Dewey High School: 917-750-7510

Next GEM Meeting March 21: From Wisconsin to Puerto Rico to New York

noreply@blogger.com (ed notes online) — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 01:13:00 +0000

From Wisconsin to Puerto Rico to New York:
Fight Back Against the Attacks on Public Education and our Unions!

Sponsored by the Grassroots Education Movement (GEM)

MONDAY, MARCH 21, 5PM,
CUNY Grad Center 34th St. and 5th Ave. Rm 5414

Teachers and unions as a whole are facing increasing assaults across the U.S. and internationally, as the drive to privatize public education systems and bust our unions kicks into a yet higher gear. Politicians are using the excuse of budget crises to justify these attacks, while they spared nothing to ensure bankers' bonuses continued without a hitch.

In Puerto Rico, teachers have been waging a struggle to defend the system of public education for a number of years. Their union, Federación de Maestros de Puerto Rico (FMPR) is a militant, democratic union based on organization on at the level of the rank and file. In 2008, the FMPR launched a strike to defend its right to collectively bargain and won. The Puerto Rican Government was forced to implement a ban on charter schools. Since then, the FMPR has held its ground against a takeover attempt by SEIU and fought against union-busting legislation which allows union contracts to be voided and employees to be laid off at will. Most recently, the government has fired 11 leaders of the FMPR, including Rafael Feliciano, President of the FMPR.

In Wisconsin, Republicans have rammed through a bill stripping collective bargaining rights from workers in spite of weeks of protests, mobilizations and an occupation of the capitol building. Nonetheless, the movement is far from over as calls for a general strike grow. Saturday's demonstration in Madison, WI numbered in the hundreds of thousands. The movement in Wisconsin has left an indelible mark on the country, even as workers and their unions face unprecedented existential assaults--this is no longer a one-sided class war. Our side will fight back. Wisconsin's uprising has given confidence to protests in Michigan, Indiana, Ohio and Texas.

In New York, we also face union-busting legislation, budget cuts, school closings and attacks on teachers. Get Details and Materials for Fight Back Friday set for March 25th, consisting of actions at schools across the city:

We are all Wisconsin! Same Struggle, Same Fight

Teacher Protections, Protect Children
Layoffs Hurt Children
Budget Cuts Hurt Children
Let's Put Children First

Organize a Fightback Friday on March 25th at your school. For More Information on Fight Back Friday or to Confirm Your School, Email: sam_p_coleman@yahoo.com

Also, discuss how to help build a rally against the budget cuts on March 24th in NYC
(info: http://march24ny.wordpress.com/)

Hear a report back from Wisconsin and a presentation by FMPR President Rafael Feliciano on the attacks and resistance in Puerto Rico.

Discuss: What can we do in NYC to build solidarity with workers facing attacks elsewhere? How can we bring the spirit of Wisconsin to NYC? How do we fight budget cuts and privatization in NYC? How can we build networks within our schools to build our side? How can we push the UFT to take stronger actions?

Take part in breakout sessions after the discussion to help to build the Fightback Friday on March 25th!

MONDAY, MARCH 21, 5PM,
CUNY Grad Center 34th St. and 5th Ave. Rm 5414

picture ID required

Join our event on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=195807113783443

Check out more info on GEM at http://grassrootseducationmovement.blogspot.com/

E-mail gemnyc@gmail.com for more

Join Us in Calling for Real Reform… Right Now!

noreply@blogger.com (ed notes online) — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 01:56:00 +0000

Real Reform:
Transforming Public Education, School Governance, and Teacher Unions

Reform #1: Smaller Class Sizes
Reform #2: Excellent Community Public Schools for ALL Children
Reform #3: More Teaching – Less Testing
Reform #4: Parent and Teacher Empowerment and Leadership
Reform #5: Equitable Funding for ALL Schools
Reform #6: Anti-Racist Education Policies
Reform #7: Culturally Relevant Curriculum
Real Reform #8: Expand Pre Kindergarten and Early Intervention Programs
Real Reform #9: Qualified and Experienced Educators and Educational Leaders
Real Reform #10: Democratic and Social Justice Unionism

COME TO THE NEXT GEM MEETING

Plan next steps in the fight for public education. Reports from Wisconsin and Puerto Rico resistance with PR union - FMPR - President Rafael Feliciano. Breakout sessions on fighting budget cuts/layoffs, and school closings and charter co-locations

MONDAY, MARCH 21, 5PM, CUNY, 34th St. and 5th Ave. Rm 5414

GEMers Julie Cavanagh and Peter Lamphere on NY1 Defending LIFO

noreply@blogger.com (ed notes online) — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 02:31:00 +0000

http://www.ny1.com/content/news_beats/education/

Julie will be on "Inside City Hall" Thursday, March 3 possibly debating another teacher.

7:20 PM

Mayor Takes Swipe At City's Veteran Teachers

By: Josh Robin

Mayor Bloomberg may have taken his sour relationship with teachers to a new low Wednesday, after he knocked veteran teachers as no better prepared for the classroom than their younger counterparts.

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Mayor Bloomberg may have taken his sour relationship with teachers to a new low Wednesday, after he knocked veteran teachers as no better prepared for the classroom than their younger counterparts. NY1's Josh Robin filed the following report.

Teachers Peter Lamphere and Julie Cavanagh have 19 years in the classroom between them -- enough time to believe there's no substitute for experience.

"All of us know that we get better at our jobs as we go along. I think it's extraordinarily true with teaching," Lamphere said.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg, though, isn't so sure veterans in the classroom are the best. On the one hand, he admits seniority gives teachers the ability to learn more. But while speaking to reporters Wednesday he added, "The length of time that you have worked is irrelevant to whether or not you can do what our children need."

The remark shocked teachers and is ramping up the school wars during a sensitive time.

"If you look at the schools that Cathie Black and Mayor Bloomberg sent their own children, they boast about the number of years experience that their teachers have," Cavanagh said.

"What I would say to the mayor is I'd be more than happy to spend some time with him in side of schools, and so this way he can develop a better understanding of what he's talking about," said United Federation of Teachers President Michael Mulgrew.

The mayor is calling for more than 4,000 layoffs and wants it done solely on merit. He's also dismissing a plan Governor Andrew Cuomo put out Tuesday on how to handle reducing the ranks of teachers.

Law now requires layoffs to be done by reverse seniority, also known as "Last In, First Out," or LIFO. Like Bloomberg, Cuomo says the city should move past the policy.

But Cuomo's bill doesn't directly change the law, it only speeds up and expands an evaluation system.

"If it doesn't repeal LIFO, as the law of the land, it simply kicks the can down the road, and it will kick some of our best teachers to the curb, and I think that would be a travesty," Bloomberg said.

The mayor gave Cuomo just hours to come up with a better bill, like the one the Republican-led State Senate just passed.

Cuomo's spokesman says the bill is a first step, adding any changes should be done by collective bargaining. This, as layoff notices are set to go out this spring.

As for Bloomberg, some see a troubling irony in his knock on experience. After all, he cited just that in his successful bid to over turn term limits and win another four years at City Hall.

Get Involved and Take Action!

noreply@blogger.com (GEM) — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 01:58:00 +0000

There are so many attacks facing public schools and educators right now, it is hard to know how you can help and take action. Here are a few simple things you can do:

1. Sign the petitions to the right to support teachers and seniority rights and to say no to state budget cuts. In addition, if you are a teacher of five years or less, sign this form letter http://bit.ly/eCXaC8 to support seniority rights.

2. Sign the latest petition from ourschoolsnyc.org calling for an investigation into the DOE's intentional undermining of NYC public schools: http://www.change.org/petitions/request-for-investigations-of-nycdoe-for-violating-students-civil-rights-educational-neglect.

3. Keep up to date with the latest events, including an upcoming Fight Back Friday in March, on the right hand side of this blog. Join GEM at their next General Meeting in March, Date TBA.

4. Sign-up for a house party showing of GEM's film "The Inconvenient Truth Behind Waiting for Superman"... all of those who sign-up to host a house party are entered in a raffle to recieve a phone call and have a conversation with Diane Ravitch. Email: gemnyc@gmail.com for more information.

5. Join Parents Across America's mailing list. PAA is an exciting new group uniting parents across the country in support of public education and public school teachers. Visit: http://parentsacrossamerica.org/

noreply@blogger.com (GEM) — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 17:10:00 +0000

"It's a very effective, powerful organization that's growing every day." - Leonie Haimson on GEM

At the inaugural Parents Across America event featuring Diane Ravitch, a teacher asked how teachers in NYC can get involved in the movement. Leonie Haimson recommended they get involved in GEM.

UPDATED: Live Blogging from Teach for America 20th Anniversary Summit, Part 4 With Closing Plenary

noreply@blogger.com (ed notes online) — Sun, 13 Feb 2011 00:12:00 +0000

NOTE: See below for 4:45 added update
6:05 PM It’s after 6. Drink tickets are now valid. Hoping to see Kaya Henderson at the bar.

The audience is eating this up. It sounds tough. But do our schools and children need this sort of toughness? Education is not a business, but this panel believes it is. It is unbelievable how one-sided this summit is.

Diane, are you reading this? We need you here pronto. I’ll pay your travel expenses and help you storm the stage.

Kaya Henderson, DC schools:
Where is the Pepto? I can’t stand this woman. She has the potential to be a more frightening monster than Rhee. (She spoke this morning in the opening brainwashing session.)

She is touting the success of D.C.’s 126 charter schools: “We have a robust charter school movement.” She claims these schools are so successful because they have the autonomy they need.

I’ll take some of that autonomy. Sign my public school and me up. Oh, I guess she isn’t offering that.

3:10 Just arriving to session entitled, The Future of Schools Systems:

How to get through this session? Is smells like the destruction of public education in here. Check out the panel:

1. Richard Barth: President, CEO KIPP

2. Kaya Henderson, Interim Chancellor DC Schools

3. Rebecca Nieves Huffman, VP of the Fund for Authorizing Excellence, National Association of Charter School Authorizers

4. Paul Pastorek, State Superintendent of Education, Louisiana Department of Education

Moderated by Ted Mitchell, President and CEO, New Ventures Fund

Paul Pastorek begins. Says we need to “Break up the monopolies.” Why? “Because we have to define what will be a truly great school. We need the flexibility to innovate. We need the city to get out of the way.” He discusses Louisiana’s effort to decentralize the school system and how he is relying mainly on charter schools to provide the innovation LA needs. 32% children who are not on grade level, and he says charter schools are the only hope.

Yuck. How can all these people sit here and listen to this? I know there are public school teachers here, as I’ve seen their name tags. Are they not outraged? I am, but you knew that already.

Pastorek then asserts the keys to his success: “We seed, feed and weed in Louisiana.”

Seed: Bring new schools in.

Feed: Provide support if they want it, but don’t push it.

Weed: Remove schools that do not meant the standards.

Pastorek closes with “We need to engender competition.”

The audience is eating this up. It sounds tough. But do our schools and children need this sort of toughness? Education is not a business, but this panel believes it is. It is unbelievable how one-sided this summit is. Diane, are you reading this? We need you here pronto. I’ll pay your travel expenses and help you storm the stage.

After a day of this, I’ll be lucky if I can still think for myself. It feels a bit like the Fox News studio here. So much propaganda…

Rebecca Nieves Huffman: Continues the “charter school silver bullet” mantra. But does offer a little criticism charters are not educating as many ELLs and special education students. She wants to increase accountability to ensure that charter schools serve these students, but offers no plan.

Kaya Henderson, DC schools:

Where is the Pepto? I can’t stand this woman. She has the potential to be a more frightening monster than Rhee. (She spoke this morning in the opening brainwashing session.)

She is touting the success of D.C.’s 126 charter schools: “We have a robust charter school movement.” She claims these schools are so successful because they have the autonomy they need.

I’ll take some of that autonomy. Sign my public school and me up. Oh, I guess she isn’t offering that.

She says, “We need to storm the Bastille and take over the school district.” To France we go! She is really plugging for a complete charter takeover of D.C. schools.

Richard Barth, KIPP:

“We are working to ensure every KIPPster can leave the world better than they way found it.” Nothing like creating inequity to better the world, Mr. Barth.

I’ll have to try to get up there at the end and ask him about KIPP’s attrition.

Barth asserts KIPP asks itself some important questions to guide their work:

1. Are we serving those who need us most?

2. Do they students stay?

3. Are they making progress?

4. Are they going to college and graduating?

5. Is the school sustainable from a people’s perspective?

6. Is the school sustainable from financial perspective?

He stresses the importance of the freedom his schools have.

Why can’t we give public schools this freedom?

He closes by saying that there are good and bad charters. “We shouldn’t defend things that aren’t good for kids.”

Can’t wait to try to catch his ear at the end of this charade.

Rebecca Nieves Huffman

Quotes and praises Michelle Rhee. Talks about her “doing whatever it takes even if it means breaking rules” speech.

Does Rebecca not read the newspapers? Rhee was found to have improperly fired teachers in D.C. Rhee lied about the test scores of her students. Rhee taped her students mouths shut. Is Rebecca saying these are the behaviors we should encourage?

Kaya Henderson, D.C. schools:

I did not find any Pepto, but I am clutching my free drink tickets. Can I redeem them now?

“No one thought DC could win Race to the Top and now people are acting like it is ‘this whole new thing.’”

What is she talking about?

Now she says “We can’t do this if our game is weak.”

Paul Pastorek

Hungry to please the crowd, he claims that Teach for America teachers in Louisiana are better than other veteran teachers in Louisiana. He doesn’t mention any data, but he swears it is fact. Everyone is applauding. There’s nothing like applauding an outright insult to teachers who have dedicated their lives to educating children in Louisiana. The arrogance of this man is shocking.

Moderator:

“Charters are one of the solutions we have discussed today. ”

Uh, no, it’s the only one my friend.

“Charters are seen as privatizing education. Really quick reflections panel: how can we bring charters into the public dialogue?”

Diane, are you out there. I can’t do this alone anymore. Charters are “seen” as privatizing education? They are shaping privatization as an illegitimate concern!

4:20PM
*A few responses follow, mainly more of what we’ve already heard, but then,
Kaya Henderson, is back on the mic.

“I was out drinking last night.” Audience laughs. “I need a nap…What you gotta do is not be comfortable where you are. I didn’t want to be a superintendent.” She goes on and on, the audience is laughing.

The Moderator is now leading a “Kaya, Kaya, Kaya, Kaya!” chant. I do not want a school system leader who brags about her drinking habits. This is who TFA wants leading the schools here?!

He announces the D.C.’s mayor is here and that we are ending our session early so everyone can get to the closing session of the day. No time for Q and A. Not time for any one to think for themselves.

4:30 I scramble to hand out some “Truth About Charters Brochures” but can’t really accomplish much. I want to talk to people before handing this to them, but they are all rushing out, and they all work for charter schools (as their name badges claim). I need to find, somehow, the people who might be thinking the questions I so desperately want to ask, but how?

Off to the finale of the day, Duncan is alleged to be there!

UPDATED: 4:45PM

4:45 Closing Plenary

I find my friends, who have been at different sessions, and feel relief. One mentions that she was in a session about Segregation in our Schools and that one panel member, Pedro Noguera (Education Professor from NYU), offered some sharp criticisms of TFA and was well received by the 1,000 + audience members. I will report more on this session later. Seems like that would have been a better place for me to find people who might be receptive to my literature. Ah, an opportunity missed. But, I’m relieved to here that some sort of an alternative perspective was discussed today.

4:55 PM

Closing Plenary begins:

Opens with a KIPP school’s orchestra, and then, wait for it… a message from President Obama:

“Wendy believed it was possible to harness the desire of young people to make a difference.” He compliments the TFA teachers for their work and TFA is now 28,000 strong. He then steps away from talking about TFA, and simply talks about teaching.

He echoes his state of the union address. “Anyone who is a teacher deserves our respect and support…We want to prepare 100,000 new teachers in the next years…I am encouraging young people to become teachers. I want to thank those who have stayed beyond 2 year commitment…Thank you for showing us the difference a great teacher can make.”

Generally, a pleasant message. No mention of charter schools. No mention of closing “bad schools.” No mention of “bad teachers.” A good change of pace from what I’ve listened today.

Vincent Gray, D.C. mayor:

Boasts: “40% of D.C. kids are in charter schools.” Then goes on to say, “This creates an environment in which we are motivated to improve our schools.”

He promotes mayoral control and its ability to strip away the layers that used to hold back education. I think he is referring to the community’s voice—yes, Gray, that has been stripped away.

He claims he has a strong team working with him in D.C. and sites his self-admittedly hung over interim schools chancellor. The crowd goes nuts again.

Arne Duncan, keynote:

Standing ovation, 98%. Starts his speech with a MLK story. “Everyone here is here today because at some point along the way, we had the great fortune of having a great teacher, a great education.”

“What Wendy Kopp did 20 years ago, and what you have done, is extraordinary.”

“Poverty is not destiny…Education can be a respected profession.”

“I know how hard your work is…You may not get the support you need. You may not have the resources you need…”

He then launches into a story about how a “failing” Chicago public school was failing, but when it was replaced with a charter school it became to show results: “Same children, same community, same poverty, same violence…Different adults, difference sense of expectations…that made all the difference in the world.”

He closes.

Standing ovation repeats. 99.8% now. My friends and I may be the only ones sitting down.

5:20 PM John Legend is now performing with the KIPP orchestra. He is now on the Board of Teach for America.

5:25 PM Video Clip

Principal, parents and students from BRICK Academy in Newark, NJ are on screen speaking joyfully about their school. A teacher there says, “A child deserves a proper education. One day, every child will have that.”

The video ends with “What role will you play?”

5:30 PM What Role Will You Play? Testimonials:

A series of speeches by TFA alum about the “roles” they now play.

1. Dominique Lee, BRICK Academy principal is on stage telling her story.

2. Miguel Solis, March Middle School, Dallas, Texas. Our first Public School educator, “To see I teach is an understatement.” He’s advocating for people to stay in the classroom longer, “There is no way that two years can be enough.”

He talks about a desire to promote educational equity. The first speaker who has said absolutely nothing that offends me.

3. Amy Spicer, Stand for Children, Colorado Policy Director. Promotes teacher evaluations based on observations and student achievement data. Many in the crowd clap.

4. Evan Stone, Co-Founder, Educators for Excellence. Tells the story about when he learned about he could possibly be laid off due to budget cuts. He was disgusted that he, a “good teacher” could be laid off simply because of when he was hired. He claims this was the impetus to create E4E, which has launched a serious campaign to end “Last in, first out.”

5. John Legend, “proud TFA board member.” Promotes his new album with the Roots called, “Wake Up.” He needs to wake up. He plugs, “Waiting for Superman.”

6. Mike Feinburg, KIPP, Co-founder KIPP, Superintendent KIPP Houston I need a nap.

7. Camika Royal, Ph.D. Candidate, Temple University

8. Mike Johnston, Colordo State Senate and Bill Ferguson, Maryland State Senate

I’m reminded of my institute training. They used to parade people like this in front of us every week. Got to motivate the troops.

6:02 PM John Legend Performs again. Motivating continues.

6:05 PM It’s after 6. Drink tickets are now valid. Hoping to see Kaya Henderson at the bar.

Live Blogging from Teach for America 20th Anniversary Summit, Part 3 - Afternoon Session

noreply@blogger.com (ed notes online) — Sat, 12 Feb 2011 20:48:00 +0000

"I ask him next about attrition. While his Houston schools seem to have low attrition, can he explain New York’s? (See KIPP chart from earlier post this morning.) He appears surprised to see the numbers in my hand, but says he is aware of this “challenge.” He criticizes the KIPP school leaders who claim 100% graduation rates even though they have had 50% attrition in their schools. He does not, however, offer any insight as to where these children go. He simply says that it is “harder” to hold on to middle/high school kids than elementary kids. He says this is why his school has such low attrition: “When we start with them young, they stick.” He does not offer a response to my question about whether or not KIPP schools counsel out kids. He says he knows the KIPP Infinity school leader and couldn’t imagine him doing this. But, he offers NO explanation as to why the attrition is so high."

12:45 A hunt for lunch ensues. Corralling 11,000 people into a cafeteria is not easy work. Rushing to make the next session, I get stopped by a TFA film crew, asking if I want to be interviewed. Pushing down my great fear of cameras, I agree. I ‘m asked about my perceptions of the achievement gap and I talk about how TFA uses this as such a buzz word. I’m also asked why I came to the summit, which gives me a chance to talk about my concerns about the current positions and direction of TFA. I talk about the privatization of public education, TFA’s blind support of charter schools and the strong anti-union sentiment I feel at the summit. The interviewer seemed surprised by my responses, and luckily I’m wearing my GEM button, so my message cannot be mistaken. Well see if they use the footage! Doubtful, as it seemed they were looking for some “Rah! Rah! Go TFA” clips.

1:15 Found a box lunch. Making my way to my next session and run into two people from my corps year. They are both working at charter schools (Achievement First and Girls Prep). Gave them some GEM literature, had a brief chat with both. It’s a challenge to figure out how to talk to people who work in charter schools in a way that I can explain my perspective while still being respectful. But, these conversations are crucial.

1:40 Arrive at my Lunch session twenty minutes late.

From Cradle to Kindergarten: The role of early childhood education in ending educational equity.

1. Aaron Brenner, KIPP Houston

2. Shana Brodaux, Senior Manager of Early Childhood Programs, Harlem Children Zone

3. David Johns, Senior Education Advisor, U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

*I missed David Johns piece, and came in while Shana Brodaux was speaking.

HCZ=

Shana Brodaux talks about HCZ’s early childhood program and their efforts to educate the “whole child,” improve educational outcomes and “end generational poverty.”She talks about how their program starts when children are “in the womb” and offers them an education all the way through early childhood. They are then feed into HCZ Promise Academies. She says they spend the most money on their 4-year old program. There are 5 teachers in every class of 20 kids, with a focus on school readiness.

I want to ask her about HCZ’s attrition that I mentioned this morning when Canada was speaking. Everything she says sounds good on paper. Her program of Early Childhood Education appears successful in the way she is painting it, however I wonder what she is leaving out? How can this program be called “successful” if these kids are not making it through their school long term. Will try to speak to her at the end.

KIPP, Aaron Brenner:

He talks about the KIPP SHINE in Houston. He claims they started with 114 kids in a Pre-K type program. He says they were 98% free reduced lunch, 67% ELL’s. Drastically different stats than what we see in New York. He next says that 103 of these kids “made it through to 5^th grade.” He touts their successes on a whole range of standardized tests and claims they are all “at or above grade level.” But what does it mean to “make it through” ?

I wonder where those 11 students went. Were they counseled out as seems to be the practice with KIPP schools in NYC? I am surprised that there was not more attrition.

He describes his school’s approach to early childhood and stresses the importance of Kindergarten teachers, claiming they are the “most deserving of our admiration.” The first thing I’ve heard all day that made me feel just slightly good. He mentions the importance of song, play and free time in early childhood education and even goes as far as to say that it should be a part of middle and high school education.

I wonder what his KIPP colleagues who work in middle and high schools would say about this? KIPP has been exposed for its use of authoritarian practices in many of its schools. What to believe? I would love to ask him, but will have to attempt when the session is over, or try my luck with a note card. Again, in this session, we are required to write questions down on note cards and pass them to the front. No face to face contact between the panel and the audience. I guess that would be too personal.

There are no public school teachers or leaders on this panel. TFA is painting charter schools as the only organizations that are doing anything to change education. This panel shared a lot of good information about the importance of early childhood education, and as an early childhood educator I appreciate the affirmation of the importance of my work. Yet, TFA is offering a narrow perspective to its alumni—why isn’t this discussion about how to make Pre-K universal?

Question from the audience (via note card): Is the work of HCZ/KIPP scalable?

KIPP response: “We believe our approach is scalable” and that “we can silence our critics” with our success. He does not, however, explain how it is scalable.

HCZ response: Talks about the need to partner with public schools and share best practices. Says that charter schools cannot shoulder all the burden and that public schools need to be able to expand their Pre-K programs. This is the first acknowledgement of the day that charters may not be the panacea, and from an HCZ staffer. It’s not much, but I’ll take what I can get today.

2:45 Session ends and I race to the panel to try to ask Brenner from KIPP some questions. He’s very receptive to my questions and speaks frankly.

I ask him about KIPP’s “drill and kill” reputation, which he mentioned as something he does not want happening at his school in Houston. I ask him how he perceives KIPP schools in general? Do they use the drill and kill? Are they authoritarian? He says that his school in Houston is not and that the reason he took the job there was to have a chance to do something different than what KIPP generally does. (KIPP mainly operates middle and high schools. In Houston he started an elementary.) But, he admits that KIPP schools are characterized that way because many of them have a history of being that way. He claims it is all “in the past” and that each KIPP school is making efforts to be more nurturing, less controlling. I’m not so sure I believe him, but he is quite convincing.

I ask him next about attrition. While his Houston schools seem to have low attrition, can he explain New York’s? (See KIPP chart from earlier post this morning.) He appears surprised to see the numbers in my hand, but says he is aware of this “challenge.” He criticizes the KIPP school leaders who claim 100% graduation rates even though they have had 50% attrition in their schools. He does not, however, offer any insight as to where these children go. He simply says that it is “harder” to hold on to middle/high school kids than elementary kids. He says this is why his school has such low attrition: “When we start with them young, they stick.” He does not offer a response to my question about whether or not KIPP schools counsel out kids. He says he knows the KIPP Infinity school leader and couldn’t imagine him doing this. But, he offers NO explanation as to why the attrition is so high.

I rush out to head to my next session, which guarantees to enlarge my current ulcer—its about the future of school systems and its bound to be a charter party!

Live Blogging from Teach for America 20th Anniversary Summit, Part 2 - Randi Weingarten

noreply@blogger.com (ed notes online) — Sat, 12 Feb 2011 19:30:00 +0000

When I joined back in 2006, I didn’t think TFA was about privatization, but there is no debate now. How is it that the people in this room have been tricked into believing that education reform is as simple as getting rid of bad teachers?

Conclusion: A strange session overall. Weingarten was apologetic for her opinions and Hess was painted himself as possessing the “right” opinions, and the crowd seemed to side with him.

---GEM TFA Alum at the Summit

11:45 Breakout sessions begin. There are sessions on everything from school leadership to segregation in our schools to workshops on teaching practices.

I chose to go to:

A Discussion with Randi Weingarten on the Role of Teachers’ Unions in Education Reform

The session begins with us all being given note cards. We are told that we can write our questions on these cards and pass them to the middle. There will be 20 minutes at the end for questions and they will read as many as possible. I hope this isn’t the trend in each session, but I have a feeling it will be. Sort of takes the power out of the question when the person asking it doesn’t get to attach their face and voice to it.

Moderator is Rick Hess, Director of Education Policy Studies, American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research. He also writes for a blog “Rick Hess Straight Up,”

Randi begins. She gives a little history of herself and why she was drawn to teaching/labor issues. She says she thought the labor movement was the way to change society, education is the way to change society. “The union is an empowering organization for teachers….most of us don’t have individual power…we need to create structures that create this power…we need you to be part of that.”

Waiting for Superman=she is talking about the contract signed with a GreenDot school in New Jersey. 97% of the kids are on track to graduate. 100% passed their math regents. She points out that this is a unionized school, so Guggenheim should have acknowledged this.

Hess: He says…In NY state, you and the union fought to keep student performance out of teacher performance evaluations and you fought against charter school cap being raised. He asks why she fought against these agents of change.

Why is this the man moderating this? The TFA agenda is so clear to me know. It's disappointing to see. When I joined back in 2006, I didn’t think TFA was about privatization, but there is no debate now.

Weingarten: Responds that the data system was flawed. Then goes into a discussion about how large school systems are like factories. She tells the crowd to email her if they see union problems:

Rweingarten@aft.org.

Hess: “How come you haven’t been more vocal about calling out management?” He is referring to management (school leaders) not getting rid of “bad” teachers.

Why are we so focused on placing blame? It’s always about blame.

Weingarten: She says something about the budget crisis. “I stopped calling them out when the recession hit…” She refers to the fiscal crisis of the 70s. She says “you are right,” referring to Hess’s claim that we need to “call out” management.

“When the union leader does it (calls out blame), then it turns into a fight…it takes us away from the true problems…conflict makes great headlines…but it doesn’t help reform systems to help kids.”

“Let’s have 360 degree accountability. Lets not just have top down, lets have bottom up. Shouldn’t teachers have a chance to evaluate principals…We gave Joel Klein an evaluation. What was interesting…70-80% filled out the evaluations. They want a voice.”

Not a bad sound bite.

12:00 I’m looking through the TFA handbook for the summit. Big companies sponsoring this event: Chevron, Fidelity, Wells Fargo, Comcast, Coca-Cola, Fed-Ex, Google, and the list goes on.

*This discussion is quite disjointed. Somewhat hard to follow. Doing my best to convey its tone/content.

Weingarten: ATR’s! Let’s see where she takes this. She is talking about the shift to allow free transfers. Now, she’s moving on to excessing, and how she cautioned against it when the DOE wanted to do it.

She is telling a story about someone who worked in two failing schools.

“We have to get to a different system where we figure out who can teach and who can’t…a system that is fair.”

Hess: “We understand that the union has to protect its members, but it seems like the union is more concerned with protecting teachers’ due process rather than helping teachers who have to shoulder the burden of working in a system with so many bad teachers.”

There is a strong applause, loudest of the session. How is it that the people in this room have been tricked into believing that education reform is as simple as getting rid of bad teachers?

Weingarten: Responds by saying, “Any union that does that, shame on them.” Then, she goes on to explain how she isn’t about protecting “due process” as her central goal. She is walking a fine line here, definitely trying to win over the crowd, which seems pretty split on their opinions of her.

Hess: “Last in, first out…AFT has stood by this… WHY?”

The questions are so leading. Paints the union as the enemy as well as Weingarten. Not that I’m a huge fan of hers, but still…this room is full of young teachers, though, who don’t want to lose their jobs, and who have been told (both directly and indirectly by TFA) that they are the best teachers—that they are the only hope for change in education. It is scary what this ignorance is doing.

Weingarten: “I’m not saying that seniority is the best way to make layoff decisions…the magnitude of the cuts to schools across this country are devastating…that’s what we should be fighting against. These cuts are devastating for kids. I am fighting to stop the magnitude of these layoffs.”

Hess: “School spending for 3 generations has gone increased. We’ve added adults to the system at twice the rate of students.” He’s gone on to talk about tax increases and how Americans don’t want to spend more on education.

Weingarten: “The American public wants to invest in education…I think there is wasteful spending in our system. We waste $ 7 billion on attrition. In Finland, you have almost no attrition with new teachers.”

Hess: “Let’s talk about the labor market…” Accusing that her wasteful spending claims don’t add up.

Weingarten: She’s been doing a great deal of apologizing on the stage. Why? When she says very pointed things, she concludes with a pitiful, “I’m sorry.” She is pleading to the audience, which is that last thing she needs to be doing. Speak with confidence, woman!

“My job is about public education…”

Why is she going around helping charter schools sign contracts?

Hess: School pensions in New Jersey. “We don’t have the dollars to afford these…they are being offered generous packages at the expense of the students.”

Weingarten: “600 dollars a month is what teachers in New York are getting.” She is pointing out how it isn’t really as “generous” as Hess just alleged. “We need to actually use pension funds to do things about infrastructure….my point is this…there are a lot of new things that need to happen in American…how do you become a fair society.”

12:35 PM

Question and Answer session begins, questions are read by Hess, not by those who have them. Is he choosing the questions to ask?

Question 1: How can teachers who are dissatisfied with unions do anything?

Weingarten: “Get involved. We need you and we want you.

Question 2: Oakland teacher who is his union rep wrote:

“Our kids are graduating at a high enough rate. When I raise this at meetings, no one wants to talk about teacher quality. What can I do to help them see this connection?”

Weingarten: “You can’t point fingers...regardless of what you think the problem is you have to engage with your colleagues…We can’t do it alone.”

I think she is trying to hint at how teacher quality isn’t the only factor and that perhaps other things in our education systems need to change, but she doesn’t really come out and say anything specific. Again, she is walking that fine line all of us in New York saw when she was in charge of the UFT. She changes her story for her audience. She clings to general statements that can be spun to her liking.

“I hate the status quo. I am not here to defend the status quo.”

Question 3: Starts with a compliment to her for being her and a criticism of the head of the NEA not being here. The question is about her opinion of NEA.

Perhaps the NEA isn’t here because TFA doesn’t want them here? I’m not sure but I wonder what their president would be saying to this crowd?

Weingarten: “I’m not going to trash the NEA.” She doesn’t say much.

Question 4: “As states like CO, LA, roll out new evaluations for teachers and schools, what are the 3 key things to keep an eye out for?”

Weingarten:

1. We cannot reduce education to a test score! (applause)

She doesn’t give two others, but explains this at length.

Conclusion: A strange session overall. Weingarten was apologetic for her opinions and Hess was painted himself as possessing the “right” opinions, and the crowd seemed to side with him.

Only 4 questions were allowed. There are at least 300 people in this room. This is a not a very interactive

1:40 Arrive at my Lunch session twenty minutes late. Need to eat. More soon.

From Cradle to Kindergarten: The role of early childhood education in ending educational equity.

1. Aaron Brenner, KIPP Houston

2. Shana Brodaux, Senior Manager of Early Childhood Programs, Harlem Children Zone

3. David Johns, Senior Education Advisor, U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

*I missed David Johns piece, and came in while Shana Brodaux was speaking.

Live Blogging from Teach for America 20th Anniversary Summit

noreply@blogger.com (ed notes online) — Sat, 12 Feb 2011 17:07:00 +0000

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Teach for America 20^th Anniversary Alumni Summit

8:00 AM

Arrived at the convention center to register. This is a seriously huge event—11,000 alumni (and some current corps members). At check-in we received a bunch of literature along with our name badges and tote bags—drink tickets for the evening reception (!), a Village Academies water bottle and brochure, as well as two flyers about LEE (an organization that claims to foster public sector leadership for TFA alumni.) Village Academies is a charter school operator with two schools open in Harlem. Interesting (but not surprising) that TFA is promoting this school—they donated serious cash to TFA for this event (as is stated in the program brochure). I recently looked up Harlem Village Academies on the DOE website and found some interesting information about their enrollment. Their schools enroll students in grades 5 to 10 but not in equal numbers. As their students get older, the enrollment numbers drop drastically. What accounts for this attrition? Are they counseling out their students? Or are they simply leaving of their own volition? Either way, its clear they are not keeping their students. Their brochure conveniently doesn’t mention any of this, and talks only about how great it is to work at their schools.

Village Academies, as well as many other charter school operators have booths set up here. Perhaps later, I’ll have to go and ask them myself. There are over 100 organizations tabling here at the summit, including: PAVE Academy, KIPP, Achievement First, Noble Network Charter Schools (whose teachers are all here in full uniform—their t-shirts are emblazoned with “BE NOBLE”), Success Charter Network, and the list goes on. There are a few public school districts (D.C., L.A., Boston) here with tables too, but not nearly as many as are here to promote charters.

9:15 AM

The Summit has opened with a rousing performance by a high school marching band. Got to get the troops inspired and energized.

Opening remarks by Kaya Henderson, interim DC Chancellor and’92 TFA corps member. She’s well-received and calls DC the “hottest city for education reform.” Then she goes on to explain how DC’s education department is filled with TFA alumni, and that DC’s highest performing charters are run by TFA alumni. She claims that soon the person in the White House will be a TFA alum.

“DC’s school are tearing it up. We went through a bloody battle to get here.” Is she referring to Michelle Rhee’s tenure and inappropriate firing of teachers? I wasn’t aware that DC schools were now suddenly so successful? Did I miss something? I think the bloody battle is still going on and it sounds like she is planning to continue it. But the only people being hurt are those she is claiming to help.

She’s really going for it here. She closes with a “Let’s do this” mantra, followed immediately by the marching band again.

9:35 AM

Wendy Kopp takes the stage to a standing ovation, minus myself and my two friends. 51 people are here from the very first corps of TFA, 1,000 from the 2008 corps. And 3,000 from the current corps. 1500 of the alumni here are teachers. ONLY 1500?! That doesn’t include the 3,000 current members, but that is still 1500 out of 8000. 18%? Is that really success? Our education system needs people who stay and work in the classrooms.

Her comments are quite generic. Sounds pretty much like what I heard here say when I was a corps member in training. She’s talking about how people “used” to think that ones socio-economic background determined ones possible educational outcomes. She is now telling a story about a Bronx teacher who got her 117 9^th graders to pass the Biology Regents test. She then explains how there are not that many teachers like this one. “We can foster the impact of successful teachers by creating transformational schools.” She calls out three charter school leaders as playing a crucial role in education in our country. She is now talking about North Star Academy Charter School in Newark. Is this what the whole weekend is going to be like?! I expected some charter plugging, but this seems like a charter school summit completely.

“North Star’s leader has embraced a different mandate….she is working to put students on a different socio-economic path. She obsesses over hiring great teachers…and does whatever it takes to meet the end goal.”

Does that include firing teachers and/or students? What does it mean to do “whatever it takes”?

“We can provide children facing poverty with an education that is transformational….We don’t need to wait to eliminate poverty. We can provide them with a way out…”

She then claims that DC and New Orleans are home to the fastest improving school systems. Wow! I guess creating a two-tier educational system is what TFA is all about? There is such great inequity in education in these two cities. But almost everyone here is just nodding along with Kopp. I heard from another alum that last night at the New Orleans regional reception, people were talking about how TFA had single handedly helped the New Orleans schools recover after Hurricane Katrina.

She claims to know what we need to fix education in this country. She is talking about “transformational leadership” as the key in schools and school systems. What does transformational leadership mean? Is it such a vague statement, but it sounds powerful, so everyone is clapping.

“Incremental change is not enough, we need transformational change.” She is now explaining how she wants to expand the program, but mentions only pushing people into leadership roles. No mention of the role of the classroom teacher.

10:00 AM

FROM TRANSFORMATIONAL CHANGE TO RADICAL CHANGE!

Next up, Walter Issacson, CEO of the Aspen Institute, a leadership/social entrepreneurship organization. He is up here to welcome the panelists to the stage. Rock music welcomes them:

1. Jon Schnur, Chairman of the Board, New Leaders for New Schools (moderator)

2. Michelle Rhee, former DC Chancellor

3. Joel Klein, former NYC Chancellor

4. Geoffery Canada, Harlem Children’s Zone

5. John Deasey, superintendent, LA Unified School District

6. Dave Levin, KIPP co-founder and superintendent of NY KIPP

*Klein is speaking now. “Is this our Egypt moment? Will we seize the moment? We will talk to each other and go home. I challenge this group to seize the moment. We no longer believe that poverty is permanent…Education…this is America’s issue. What will change it? Each one of you must insist that each school out there is one that you would send your kids too.” He takes it to a new level. He says “transformational change” isn’t enough—we need “radical change.” More empty statements from the former chancellor.

*Dave Levin is now speaking, with a KIPP shirt on (many KIPP teachers here are in full uniform as well). At KIPP, he claims to have quadrupled the graduation rate of kids from high poverty neighborhoods. But, just like Harlem Village Academies, KIPP has a history of high attrition. If you achieve 100% graduation but your class is only 30 kids when it should have been 100, are you really doing the true work of educating our children?! I think not.

Michelle Rhee is up, and she seemed to have forgotten her masking tape. She is giving a speech pretty much on par with her usual--We need to be aggressive, some people might not like us, controversy will arise, opposition will arise, but we have to push past it. Meaning, we must squash it and cover it with masking tape.

Canada’s turn. He talks about this “revolution” and claims, “We can really win!” Everyone cheers. “As a nation we have become soft in terms of fighting for what we believe in.” He forgot to mention how our educational leaders, especially those in NYC, are working so hard to silence the voices of public school parents, teachers and students. He closes with “we need to ratchet it up.” So many vague statements from all of those on stage.

John Deasey. “This is an issue around courage. We have the skill. How courageous are we going to be? What if 11,000 people descended on LA to demand change.” Hmmm, didn’t LA teachers recently take to the streets to demand what they wanted? Maybe their message isn’t what he wants to hear.

He is now talking about how he needs people to come to LA and work?

Klein is speaking again. He is so well received by this audience. Every time he speaks the crowd responds. Where am I?!

Moderator: “How important is it to drive success in this country, to change parents, educators conception of this fact?” His questions are just plain confusing.

Canada: He is talking about how some people in our country simply accept that some children don’t learn because of poverty. He says he rejects this notion. All from a man who kicked out an entire class of students! The pure arrogance on the stage is hard to stomach. My palms are sweating. How do we counter this? “When any kid comes to me they are going to get an education.” I refer back to my previous statement—his schools also have serious issues with attrition. But this crowd doesn’t see it. How do we bridge these gaps?!

And why don’t his schools fill the empty seats in their schools?

Rhee: “The only issue isn’t parents lack of involvement.”

Moderator: “We see reasons for hope…Joel, what is is going to take to go from the KIPP schools and district school successes to system wide success?”

Klein: “It’s is going to take teachers who understand it isn’t just about good teaching. We cannot have the unions be the monopoly for teachers voice… Teachers need to have their own voice. “ Is he serious? Teachers need to use their voice? Clearly, he means if their voice is the same as his. We in NYC know how little he cared about teacher voice. How many PEP meetings did he preside over where he blatantly ignored the voices of teachers? He silences people who do not agree with him. He does thank the teachers from his new teacher group for speaking up. People are clapping for him again.

I think I have an ulcer.

Deasey: “I am tired of going to schools and hearing people say this is what I need and I am not being heard.” Wow, in just 10 minutes he has completely contradicted himself. He previously said he wanted teachers to have a voice.

Rhee: “ I have not demonized the teachers union. I have been trying to show people that the teachers unions are doing exactly what they are supposed to do.” What planet does she live on? Maybe it’s not really her? Nope, it is. We’ve just moved into the part of the session in which all the speakers are going to contradict themselves

She is plugging Students First, her new organization now, as the solution to the teachers union.

Candada: “ The union’s job is to stop innovation….”

Klein is offering his solutions. Here is what he says:

“First, We have to professionalize teaching and make it respected. We treat teachers like widgets and that isn’t going to work. Last in, first out is a huge problem. Excellence in teaching is the hallmark not senority in education…Second, we must stop monopoly providers. We must insist on choice…Third, we need innovation.”

Respect teachers? When has Klein ever done that? Widgets? He wants teachers and students to be cogs in a machine.

Moderator: “KIPP schools don’t have the constraints of public schools. How scalable is your approach?”

Dave Levin” “This is the hardest work on the planet…the unit of change for an individual kids life…starts and ends with school…we need as many committed teachers and school leaders as we can get…”

He didn’t answer the question. Perhaps because even he knows that his isn’t a sustainable approach to education.

Moderator: He is closing with a “Ra! Ra! Let’s praise the people on stage. Join their schools and organizations.” These people are creating more educational INEQUITY in the name of equity. I need to redeem my drink tickets stat.

Building Bridges: NYC Schools Closings - Another Bloomberg Snow Job

noreply@blogger.com (Angel Gonzalez) — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 04:33:00 +0000

Building Bridges: NYC Schools Closings - Another Bloomberg Snow Job

Listen to the Building Bridges WBAI January 31 radio broadcast that included clips of our City Hall Rally Against School Closings (Jan 27)>

Building Bridges: Your Community and Labor Report
National Edition - 28:24
Produced by Ken Nash and Mimi Rosenberg
****************************
Bloomberg Stop The Snow Job On Public Schools Closings!
with
. Stefanie Siegel, teacher, Paul Robeson High School
. Lowena Howard, teacher, Paul Robeson High School
. Letitia Ingram-Brown, teacher, Paul Robeson High School
. Lizabeth Cooper, student, Paul Robeson High School
plus
Highlights from the Stop Schools Closing Rally

Bloomberg's Department of Education (DOE) plans to close 26 more
schools this year. Despite the DOE's claim that these school closings
are aimed at reforming schools, they have instead opened the door to
privately-run charter schools and have limited school options for those
affected. According to the accounts by parents, students and teachers,
DOE policies have had the effect of undermining the schools that are
slated to be closed, not "fixing" them. Bloomberg has played a shell
game with our most vulnerable children, shuffling them around from
closing school to closing school. This process has disproportionately
affected students of color, only serving to further perpetuate a separate
and unequal school system in New York City. A discussion about and
sounds from a rally for quality resources and support for our public

schools, not closings and privatization!

Jan. 27 City Hall Rally Sponsors:

Grassroots Education Movement
New York Collective of Radical Educators
Coalition for Public Education
Green Party - Manhattan Local
Class Size Matters
United Federation of Teachers

"Defend Public Education! Stop Privatization!"

Support Bronx High School of Science Teacher Harassment Law Suit

noreply@blogger.com (GEM) — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 14:02:00 +0000

Defend Teachers Against Harassment

A teacher holds a sign at a June 2010 picket near Mayor Bloomberg’s house about the Bronx Science case

Help raise funds for a lawsuit to reverse Peter Lamphere’s unfair U rating. Come to one of two fundraising parties:

Friday, February 4th, 4pm
Bronx Alehouse
216 West 238th Street, Bronx

(1 to 238^th St)

Friday, February 11th, 6pm
40 Clarkson Ave., Apt. 4K, Brooklyn (B/Q to Parkside)

On April 16th of last year, fact finder Carol Wittenberg found that the teachers of the Bronx Science math department were harassed by their supervisor. These twenty teachers (in a department of twenty-two) filed a special harassment complaint in 2008, because of repeated incidents in which the Assistant Principal had reduced teachers to tears, criticized them in front of their students, and even at one point called a teacher “disgusting” in a meeting. This bullying was combined with unjustified disciplinary actions against the staff—all the untenured teachers who signed the complaint were forced to leave within a year—and now only seven of the original twenty still teach at Bronx Science. Nevertheless, the Department of Education continues to defend the indefensible actions of its administrators, sustaining a retaliatory unsatisfactory rating in 2008 against then UFT Delegate (and later Chapter Leader) Peter Lamphere.

Join the struggle against arbitrary and capricious decisions by supervisors.

While the national conversation focuses on questions of “teacher quality”—the actions by principals retaliating against whistle-blowers and union activists goes unscrutinized. These actions lead to high turnover and difficult working conditions at our schools, even at nationally acclaimed institutions like the Bronx High School of Science. A legal victory in this case will send a message to teachers everywhere that their rights can be defended against abusive management.

Checks to assist with legal actions can be made out to the Teacher's Defense Fund, and mailed to 305 E. 140th St. #5A, Bronx, NY 10454. Donations are not tax-deductible.

Donate online at http://defendteachers.bbnow.org/

Which side are you on: Join GEM/Real Reformers in Song at the PEP

noreply@blogger.com (GEM) — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 01:53:00 +0000

Going to PEP Meeting Thursday?

Join the GEM "Real Reformers" tomorrow at the PEP, here are the lyrics and music on you tube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5iAIM02kv0g

Print out some copies and pass it along. Imagine if the entire audience rose up and sang together. The UFT has been sent the lyrics and hopefully will be on board.

Which side are you on

Gather round good teachers
Listen to my tale
Of how the ole DOE
Put our schools up for sale

Which side are you on?
Which side are you on?
Which side are you on?
Which side are you on?

In nations the world over
Teacher unions rise
Its time in NYC
To open up our eyes

which side are you on. . .

Calling all stakeholders
Hold those stakes up high
Drive them right into the heart
Of the plan to privatize

which side are you on. . .

Come down to new york city
And look us in the eyes
Either you want community schools
Or you want to privatize

They want to close our schools down
They say our time has come
We will struggle, for our rights
Until this fight is won

****Grassroots Education Movement 2011****

PEP Video: GEM Real Reformers Sing and MCA Steppers

noreply@blogger.com (GEM) — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 19:20:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbVojmHITR4

Video of CEJ Rally and Civil Disobedience at Tweed

noreply@blogger.com (GEM) — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 20:58:00 +0000

A rally of mostly NYC students near City Hall in NYC focused on the forced closing of schools as part of the drive to privatize by short-changing these schools of resources. Over 20 people blocked Chambers Street near the entrance to the Brooklyn Bridge and were arrested. Students began a march to the precinct but on the way they were told the police to avoid the march were taking the arrested to another precinct. The event was organized by the Coalition for Educational Justice, consisting of community based organizations.

Joel Klein called the misnamed "achievement gap" the "civil rights issue of our time." His and the other ed deformer strategy of forcing the closure of many inner city schools to make way for favored privately controlled charters is the real civil rights issue of the time, as this video shows with students and parents declaring that their schools have been purposely set up for failure so justification can be found to shut them down and turn the valuable real estate their buildings represent over to charters.

Here is 14 minutes of edited video: the rally, excerpts from speakers, the push into Chambers St., the arrests and the follow-up march to the police station. Fabulous stuff from a great bunch of students who did us all proud.

http://vimeo.com/19443862
Rally Opposing NYC School Closings Leads to Civil Disobedience from Grassroots Education Movement on Vimeo.

Rally Opposing NYC School Closings Leads to Civil Disobedience from Grassroots Education Movement on Vimeo.

CEC3 & Upper West Side Rallies Against "EVA" Charter Takeover

noreply@blogger.com (Angel Gonzalez) — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 09:26:00 +0000

UFTDA Rally - Fix Schools, Don't Close Them!

noreply@blogger.com (Angel Gonzalez) — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 03:16:00 +0000

DEC 15, 2010 City Hall. Watch interviews with the UFT rank and file that pressured the UFT leadership to call this rally held after the Delegate Assembly and was limited to those attendees and staffers.

The UFT did little to mobilize the entire membership. Massive fightback protests starting at each local school and citywide are necessary if we are to win against privatization, schools closings, charters, overcrowding, teach-to-test curricula, merit pay, loss of seniority rights, pension benefits, endless cutbacks, publicized teacher/student data, racist hiring & funding practices, and more that plague our schools.

Help build an effective fightback. Mobilize your UFT chapters, PTA, community groups, students and all activists against the drive to privatize public education services. Defend public education. Join the GEM movement!

CEC3 Hearing for more Moskowitz' Charters in West Side D.3

noreply@blogger.com (Angel Gonzalez) — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 02:48:00 +0000

CEC3 Hearing: More Moskowitz' Charter Invasions
& Privatization of Dist3 Public Schools - Part 2

Unanimously District 3 of the Upper Manhattan West Side community boards, groups & politicians
spoke out against new proposals fir Eva Moskowitz' Charter
co-locations (invasions) and takeover of local public schools.

But this lack of democratic school system processes & contradictions don't phase Ms. Moskowitz.
Eva is a close ally of the Bloomberg administration that dictates, against the majority's will,
privatizating charter policies.
Eva can't be peddling excellent schools, if they are founded on autocratic premises
that FLAGRANTLY DISRESPECT THE WILL OF THE COMMUNITY.

MS. Eva Moskowitz:
How can your schools be excellent
... when you cant teach about the lack of democracy in our school system?
... when you can't teach respect for democratic process?
... when you can't teach about how a mayoral dictatorship controls our school system?
... when you and the mayor disregard and disrespect to the will of the majority?
and then you hypocritically wish to command civility and respect in return?

PRACTICE WHAT YOU WISH TO PREACH: DEMOCRACY, CIVILITY AND RESPECT!

School Closing Protest

noreply@blogger.com (Angel Gonzalez) — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 06:20:00 +0000

1/27/11 City Hall

Rally organized by the Ad Hoc Committee Against School Closings & Charter Takeovers.

Grassroots education movement-GEM / stop school closings Jan 27th

noreply@blogger.com (Angel Gonzalez) — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 03:31:00 +0000

Sam Coleman, GEM & NYCORE, speaks to crowd of 300 that navigated the 1.5 feet of snow to protest at City Hall unjust policies of school closings, charter takeovers and the privatization of public education. Message: activiate your UFT union at schools across the city to fightback!

Thank you, Brother Radio Rahim of Coalition for Public Education, CPE