UFT Faces Opposition Over its Charter School Co-location
The United Federation of Teachers has been strongly opposed to the city’s space-sharing arrangements within school buildings in the past going as far as suing the Department of Education to stop them.
The union however now finds itself in the very situation it has regularly protested as the UFT Charter middle school is preparing to move into J.H.S. 292 while its students, teachers and administration have spoken out against the move. Those that oppose the move have wondered how the UFT Charter middle school has remained open when its have struggled academically for years.
According to Gotham Schools, Gloria Williams Nandan, the principal of J.H.S. 292, expressed her opposition to the space-sharing plan on Wednesday at a public hearing:
“Come September, our teachers will lose their classrooms and there begins their dilemma, for when our teachers are kicked out of their classrooms, to whom will they turn? Their union? Oops, sorry, it’s their school that would have taken over their classrooms.”
TeachNYC Select Recruits to Help Fill Positions
The Department of Education has deemed 275 teaching candidates as the top 5 percent of the application pool. The candidates are members of “TeachNYC Select Recruits,” a program designed to fast-track the top teaching applicants into schools. Applicants who get selected as “TeachNYC Select Recruits” get assistance in finding positions in schools by getting top billing in the system that principals use to screen potential teachers.
According to Gotham Schools:
“Applicants must already be licensed to teach in New York; teach in an area where the city has had trouble filling all positions, such as special education and science; and complete an interview.”
State Controller Tom DiNapoli Targets Charter Schools with Audits
State Controller Tom DiNapoli is using his political office to target charter schools through audits despite a court ruling stating he lacked the authority to do so.
DiNapoli has targeted twelve charter schools since 2011 and is now auditing a Success Academy elementary school in Harlem, asking the school to disclose payroll records, board members’ outside business interests and three years’ worth of meeting minutes.
DiNapoli’s audits are political for two reasons according to a recent opinion piece in the NY Daily News:
“First, DiNapoli does not audit traditional public schools individually. Second, he announced his first charter audits at a meeting of the New York State United Teachers, which loathes charters because most are not unionized. His audience heartily applauded.”
Liberation High School Founder Helps Students Graduate Instead of Dropping Out
April Leong is the founding principal of Liberation Diploma Plus High School which works with students at risk of dropping out to graduate from high school. The principal, who was raised by a teen mother in an unstable household, uses her story to motivate her students.
According to the NY Daily News:
“Leong takes her nearly 190 students on college tours, helps them with financial aid paperwork and sets them up with internships. She also offers counseling services and helps students find day care for their own children.”
Leong is currently a candidate for a Hometown Heroes in Education award for her work with Liberation High School.
Foundation Will Award Grants to Charter Schools in Monroe and Ontario Counties
The Max and Marian Farash Charitable Foundation is awarding up to $1 million for new charter school sites in Monroe and Ontario counties. According to the Democrat and Chronicle, the grants of up to $500,000 will be available to charter schools, charter management organizations or education management organizations to expand operations to additional sites or establish new charter schools. Proposals to be awarded the grants are due on August 29th and the awards will be announced on November 20th.
Isobel Goldman, the Director of Grants and Programs for the Max and Marian Farash Charitable Foundation, said that:
“The Farash Foundation is committed to looking for every possible model of education that will enhance learning for students in Ontario and Monroe counties.”
The foundation commissioned the Rochester-based Center for Governmental Research to assess the effectiveness of charter schools. The report titled “The Context for Assessing the Role of Charter Schools,” provides a brief background for the foundation’s latest project. The report found that aggregate data shows local charter school students outperform City School District students.
Parents Transparency Project Targets Four NYC Mayoral Candidates in Ad
The Parents Transparency Project, a parents advocacy group headed by former CNN anchor Campbell Brown, will begin airing an ad that portrays mayoral candidates William Thompson, Anthony Weiner, Bill de Blasio and John Liu as afraid to protect city students from sexual predators because of the teachers union.
The group will not target the remain candidates according to the NY Daily News:
Four other candidates — Christine Quinn, Sal Albanese, Joe Lhota and George McDonald — signed the group’s pledge to not sign a new contract with teachers until the process for removing teachers accused of inappropriate behavior is overhauled. The union, which endorsed Thompson, has opposed legislation to streamline the process.
Foundation Will Award Grants to Charter Schools in Monroe and Ontario Counties
The Max and Marian Farash Charitable Foundation is awarding up to $1 million for new charter school sites in Monroe and Ontario counties. According to the Democrat and Chronicle, the grants of up to $500,000 will be available to charter schools, charter management organizations or education management organizations to expand operations to additional sites or establish new charter schools. Proposals to be awarded the grants are due on August 29th and the awards will be announced on November 20th.
Isobel Goldman, the Director of Grants and Programs for the Max and Marian Farash Charitable Foundation, said that:
“The Farash Foundation is committed to looking for every possible model of education that will enhance learning for students in Ontario and Monroe counties.”
The foundation commissioned the Rochester-based Center for Governmental Research to assess the effectiveness of charter schools. The report titled “The Context for Assessing the Role of Charter Schools,” provides a brief background for the foundation’s latest project. The report found that aggregate data shows local charter school students outperform City School District students.
NYC's Charter School Center Expands to Other U.S. Cities
The New York City Charter School Center announced plans to expand its "Replicating Quality Schools" program to cities across the United States. With experience from setting up charter schools in NYC, the group will aid other cities with charter schools that have asked for assistance. The Center will visit four cities, starting with New Orleans, and run an eight-week program in each city.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg has been an outspoken advocate of charter schools during his 12 years in office. According to Gotham Schools, it is unlikely that the next mayor of NYC will be as friendly to charter schools:
Elsewhere in the country, the outlook for the publicly financed but privately managed schools is more favorable. So the charter center announced this week that it plans to help charter operators set up new schools in other cities, using a 2011 program for city charter schools that aimed to duplicate as a blueprint.
StudentsFirstNY Weekly Education News Roundup: July 8-12, 2013
In this week's education news: We demand an end to the unfair distribution of teacher quality in NYC, the New York Times reviews education issues for the mayoral campaign, Campbell Brown of the Parents’ Transparency Project gives an interview, and more:
StudentsFirstNY will File a Complaint Over Unsatisfactory Teacher Distribution
GothamSchools // July 10, 2013
StudentsFirstNY will file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights and ask the office to investigate the distribution of teacher quality in NYC schools. StudentsFirstNY found that only three percent of teachers were rated “unsatisfactory” last year and that those rated as “unsatisfactory” worked disproportionately in schools with many poor and minority students. The complaint will allege that the unequal distribution of teacher quality is the result of discriminatory policies according to Gotham Schools.
While attending a protest outside the Department of Education’s headquarters at Tweed Courthouse, StudentsFirstNY Acting Executive Director Glen Weiner commented on teachers rated as "unsatisfactory" under the old evaluation system:
"The problem was that everybody is rated satisfactory. If you think about what it takes for a teacher to be rated unsatisfactory in the old model, it has to say something about those teachers”
Biggest Education Issues in NYC Mayoral Campaign
New York Times // July 8, 2013
According to the New York Times’ Editorial Board all the candidates have commented on the city's education policies:
"But emotional flash points in this campaign have centered on three issues: mayoral control, specifically whether the State Legislature gave Mayor Michael Bloomberg too much power when it consolidated authority over the schools in City Hall in 2002; failing schools and when to close them; and the role of charter schools, which receive public money but are exempt from some state regulations."
Co-Founder of the Parents' Transparency Project Talks with City & State
StudentsFirstNY // July 11, 2013
Campbell Brown, co-founder of the Parents’ Transparency Project, talks with City & State’s Morgan Pehme about her new organization whose members are working to shine light on issues affecting education – particularly teachers committing sexual misconduct against students, but are still in the classroom because they are protected by the teachers’ union.
Brown, a former CNN anchor, said eliminating sexual predators in the classroom can be easily addressed by changing the state law with legislation that’s already been introduced, but the United Federation of Teachers is fighting the change.
A Timeline of the NYC School System Under Mayor Bloomberg
StudentsFirstNY // July 12, 2013
New York City's school system has been completely remade in the 12 years under Mayor Mike Bloomberg. In 2002, Mayor Bloomberg's first step was to take control of the City Department of Education in 2002. Since then, his administration has opened hundreds of new schools, closed dozens of failing schools, fostered charter school growth, raised achievement standards and implemented meaningful teacher evaluations.
Training Series Held on New Teacher Evaluation System
StudentsFirstNY // July 12, 2013
The Department of Education held a series of training seminars for teachers and school administrators on the new teacher evaluation. According to WNYC's SchoolBook, the new system called “Advance” will take effect in September and evaluate teachers based on classroom observations, student performance and state test scores.
Shael Polakow-Suransky, the city's Chief Academic Officer, commented on the launch of the new evaluation system:
"We can't shy away from the fact that it's to be a big lift to implement this. What we're trying to do is figure out how to make it as manageable as possible."
State Orders Buffalo to Send Students From Failing Schools to BOCES
StudentsFirstNY // July 12, 2013
State Education Commissioner John B. King Jr. is forcing Buffalo to send students from two high schools to take classes outside of the district. The state has recently directed the district to have some students take classes out of the district and be educated by Erie 1 Board of Cooperative Educational Services, a regional education service provider.
According to The Buffalo News, King has directed Buffalo to either:
• Enter into an agreement with Erie 1 BOCES to provide career and vocational programs to any student from East or Lafayette who wishes to enroll in such programs this coming school year.
• Enter into an agreement with a BOCES program to serve as the lead administrators of Lafayette and East, similar to the role that Johns Hopkins originally was supposed to serve.
A plan must be submitted by August 12th.
Training Series Held on New Evaluation System
The Department of Education held a series of training seminars for teachers and school administrators on the new teacher evaluation. According to WNYC's SchoolBook, the new system called “Advance” will take effect in September and evaluate teachers based on classroom observations, student performance and state test scores.
Shael Polakow-Suransky, the city's Chief Academic Officer, commented on the launch of the new evaluation system:
"We can't shy away from the fact that it's to be a big lift to implement this. What we're trying to do is figure out how to make it as manageable as possible."
