Latest News and Comment from Education

Saturday, February 1, 2014

2-1-14 Ed Notes Online Week

Ed Notes Online
Ed Notes Online




[Teachersunite] Restorative Justice & Teacher Unions: Join us Feb 8th!
Featuring Alex Caputo-Pearl, candidate for President of the LA teachers union.Restorative Justice and Teacher Unions: What are the connections? How can organizing around restorative practices & social justice relate to union work at your school site? A panel & discussion with Union Power Caucus ofUnited Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) Saturday, February 8, 2014Noon-2pm EST Teachers College525
NYSUT Rift Update: The Fat Lady Hasn't Sung as Hobart and Cortese Endorse Iannuzzi Slate
Rumore is making a gambit that Mulgrew would defend his local better than Iannuzzi? Who is he kidding? ... Comment on ed notesOur pals at Port Jefferson Station have posted this. For NYC people Hobart and Cortese may not mean much but they have been heavy hitters in NYSUT. I've never supported them but their support for Dick carries some weight. Below that is a comment on Ed Notes, followed by ema
Calling All Stakeholders - Feb 1: More than a Score: Talking back to testing event
This is going to be a great event. Ed Notes readers should try to attend. A true gathering of parents and teachers. A key day for creating alliances.Join like minded-parents, teachers and administrators who know the time is NOW to bring education back onto the proper track to serve our children and our schools.More than a Score: Talking back to testingEdward A. Reynolds West Side High School140 We
Is Iannuzzi Toast?
Iannuzzi’s only path to victory was to form a solid wall of EVERY non-NYC local larger than about 500 members (there are about 50 of them) and then use that momentum to start peeling off individual delegates elsewhere. Fuhgeddaboudit....It’s illustrative that few people even know, or particularly care, who Karen Magee is or what she plans to do as NYSUT president. It’s assumed by everyone involved

JAN 30

Newark: Cami Anderson Storms Out of Meeting
Delicious stuff. Every one of Joel Klein's slugs seem to turn out this way. I hope Joel is hiring the same types for Murdoch. Cami Anderson taking her agenda out of Joel Klein’s and Chris Cerf’s playbookBob Braun's LedgerEducation, taxes, housing, immigration, politics, and other issues that affect the people of New Jerseyhttp://bobbraunsledger.com/newark-superintendent-storms-out-of-tumultuous-s
Portelos Update, Farina Visits His School Today as He Undergoes Cross Examination Across From Tweed
Termination for what?...blowing the whistle on corruption at the school she is visiting. I hope she is aware and helps address the issues that have plagued my neighborhood school.... Francesco PortelosToday is another day of cross examination. Instead of going to IS 49 Farina should stop and watch this farcical waste of money as DOE Legal's Jordanna Shenkman flails around trying to find chinks in
Don't Miss This Event on Saturday, Feb 1: More Than a Score - Talking Back to Testing
Again, with a new mayor, a new chancellor and a movement building, it's a great time to engage with others who envision an educational system that is centered on the needs of children, focused on real teaching and learning and what is possible beyond the corporate reforms of the day.Connect with others who want to stop the over-use of testing in OUR schools this Saturday 11-3pmJoin the citywide ef

JAN 29

Buffalo's Rumore Taking Stand in NYSUT Split?
NYSUT President Richard Iannuzzi is losing ground in his contested April election.... Philip Rumore, president of the Buffalo Federation of Teachers, said his members are frustrated that the current leadership wasn't as aggressive as they'd hoped in responding to the state's rollout of the controversial Common Core standards. “Many of the Buffalo teachers have not been satisfied with the positions
Mollie Bruhn: Challenging “Waiting for Superman” in Kappan Mag
Our film was not the first nor the only thing to clue people in to the dangers of the corporate reform movement, but “The Inconvenient Truth Behind Waiting for Superman” has proven to be an important piece of the ever-growing pushback and effort to preserve public education... Mollie Bruhn in Kappan on the making of "The Inconvenient Truth Behind Waiting for Superman."This article is ava
From the Right: Educational Intelligence Agency on Randi, Common Core and TNTP Slug Tim Daly
If you think she’s (Weingarten) being shifty now, wait until someone asks her about Mulgrew vs. Iannuzzi. ...EIALast week the union announced 13 recipients of the grants. Nine of the grants are geared to ease the implementation of the Common Core standards. The NEA delegates approved the fund by a relatively slim margin (55.6% to 44.4%). The margin might have been slimmer yet, or even entirely ove
Randi Shows Up in Newark with Old Pal Cami
“We ask you to stay the course and oppose attempts to impede the successful implementation of the Common Core State Standards,” Weingarten and Engler wrote in their Nov. 26 letter to the governors. None of the governors responded....the next time that Weingarten comes to your town with her bullhorn and satin handcuffs, along with her posse of fellow lawyers trained in obfuscation and the art of th
TESTIMONY OF NYC SCHOOLS CHANCELLOR CARMEN FARIñA BEFORE THE STATE ASSEMBLY WAYS & MEANS AND STATE SENATE FINANCE COMMITTEES ON THE PROPOSED 2014-2015 EXECUTIVE BUDGET
This is frightening. Very disappointing.She supports common core for IEPs. Unbelievable.---- Parent comments on Farina testimony.Take this for what it is - I don't have the patience to read it. But when I sent it out to listserves some bad reviews were coming in. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 28, 2014N-44, 2013-14 TESTIMONY OF NYC SCHOOLS CHANCELLOR CARMEN FARIñA BEFORE THE STATE ASSEMBLY WAY

JAN 28

Carol Burris Compares Common Core to NY State 2005 Math Standards and Gags
Why is support for the Common Core in New York so quickly sinking into the deep? Some contend that it is because teachers do not have enough materials to teach the Common Core. They argue that if teachers had more preparation and resources, all would be fine.  I disagree. Support is disappearing, not because schools don’t have the Common Core curriculum, but because for the first time they do.  Af
MOREista Harris Lirtzman on Schoolbook: Cut Waste at NYC DOE Before Negotiating Teachers Contract
Before teachers are pressed to accept anything other than a fair contract, the D.O.E. needs to identify ways to reform its willfully incompetent management of the school system’s resources by reducing administrative overhead, fraud and abuse  -- and by opening its books for complete inspection by parents, teachers and education policymakers. Nothing less would be fair.... Harry Lirtzman, Schoolboo

JAN 27

Updates from Weekend NYSUT Meeting: Locals and Counting Oppose Mulgrew Takeover
.... just last year, Mulgrew asked the State legislature and Cuomo to allow King to arbitrate a dispute Mulgrew was having with Bloomberg over APPR shows that UFT wants and needs King and Cuomo’s help.... Friday night, Mulgrew accused Cutler of undermining him at the UFT’s last delegate assembly because a motion was brought to the floor for UFT to not endorse Cuomo. Of course that motion was defea

JAN 26

Newark NEW Caucus Update: The Mis-Adventures of Cami Anderson
After working for Joel Klein in New York, Newark Supt hand-picked by those paragon of virtues, the 2 Chrises -- Christie and Cerf -- continues her path of destruction.Once again, there was LOTS of news this week.   The BEST news of the week.  We warn you, it's 35 pages, but, we urge ALL concerned about public education in Newark to read it word for word.  It's a thorough analysis from Rutgers Prof
Alan Lubin Consultants: Total Received from American Federation of Teachers: $96,028.00
The incestuous relationship of the UFT/AFT/NYSUT Edu-industrial complex. I guess "retirement" as NYSUT VP is only a temporary thing.http://www.unionfacts.com/payeeDetail/American_Federation_of_Teachers/1176975AMERICAN FEDERATION OF TEACHERSRECEIPTS FOR: ALAN LUBIN CONSULTINGType: Professional ServicesLocation: 81 Pico RoadClifton Park, NY 12065Total Received from American Federation of T
MORE Than a Score a Week Away and How One Principal is Dealing With Parent Community on Testing
If there is one event I would urge people who don't ususally do these things to attend it is the More Than a Score event next Saturday, Feb. 1. I'll be blogging about it all week until you get sick of hearing about it. The MORE THAN a SCORE event is in one week! Please help spread the word at your school and community events by printing out this black and white version of the flyer and distributin

JAN 25

NYSUT Board Unites on Call for Removal of John King
Oh, wait, did the NYSUT board forget about no confidence in Meryl Tisch and her removal? Well, they don't seem to disagree on John King. Then what do they disagree on? Bet it starts with a C and ends with an O. I bet there's a lot of political action going on once that bit of business is over. Ahhh, I remember the days when Mulgrew raved about John King and Meryl Tisch. The resolution will next go
NYC Teachers at PS 8X Jump Into NYSUT Fray
It is time for NYSUT’s locals to unite against the useless behemoth of a local called the UFT and take steps to protect the hardworking teachers of NYS... A group of teachers at PS 8 in the Bronx.I spoke with Andy this past summer and expressed my frustration with the lack of leadership on tackling Albany and the DOE head on. Andy's a peacemaker.  I'm a fighter... Roseanne McCosh, former chapter l