Saturday, April 12, 2014

Test, Charter Parent/Teacher Protest Roundup

Blown away! Boycotting Teachers from Chicago sent these flowers of solidarity to Colin, Emmy and myself!.. Jia Lee



Two of my students from last year just emailed me a video of themselves tearing up their ELA prep books... Lauren Cohen feeling proud
 Lots of coverage on the tests but not very much on Thursday's anti-charter Cuomo giveaway. Testing opponents reaching critical mass. Charter issue still resonating with only a few. It must grow into the thousands before it will have an impact. Leonie has a full report on her blog:

Pictures and words from our amazing rally yesterday; protesting Gov. Cuomo's forced charter takeover of our public schools - Yesterday, we held a terrific rally with hundreds of parents and kids, filling the steps of the NY Public Library, outraged at the onerous provisions in ...
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Eva can hire spies and video crews to film every event but won't pay rent.

Thursday Rally, Leonie & Hired Harlem Success Spy

Friday, April 11, 2014

Rally Against Cuomo/State Leg Charter Giveaway - photos

The abandonment of any sense of support for public schools and the caving to the charter lobby has been the equivalent of an ice bomb dropped on many people who have had faith in the political system (I am not one of those and what the state leg did is totally expected). Many of the protesters are promising revenge -- like running in primaries, etc. We'll see. I think it will take a series of massive protests on a continuing basis - thousands in the streets and maybe civil disobedience. That even those locations denied to Eva are forced down our throats by this law takes this to an extreme.
One of those locations is Murry Bergtraum in lower Manhattan -- a prime bit of real estate Eva wants very badly as a base for growth in lower Manhattan - this will give her 5 large buildings for future growth and pushouts of the public school.

There is a PEP meeting at the school in May -- that would be a time for a big rally.

Some more pix from yesterday.









Thursday, April 10, 2014

More Pix From Rally With Real Grassroots Parents Opposing Cuomo Charter Giveaway

See my earlier post.

Protesting Charter Lobby Influence -- Unique Coalitions Formed - and in Formation

 










 

Protesting Charter Lobby Influence -- Unique Coalitions Formed - and in Formation

To all who came, thank you.  To all who will come the next time, we'll keep you posted on the next action.  In short it was a GREAT day, GREAT day.  So many showed up...by my estimate at least 300, may be more.  We had reps from many elected officials, Liz Kruger and Danny Dromm were there.  Danny spoke.  Bob Jackson was there.
Our march to Cuomo's office had a police escort and a hot band with a New Orleans sound. We delivered a postcard with names and quotes. 
We did this in 8 days;
We didn't take kids out of school
We didn't rent buses
We didn't buy tee-shirts
We are the 96%
We vote
More to come...
............................Ellen McHugh --

CEC/Citywide Councils and parents act!

One thing about the 1% - or the 6% and their billionaire backers -- they are so used to getting their way they always reach too far. This charter law may have been enough to drive even people sitting on the charter fence over the edge.

I loved the smile on Ellen's face. And as Ellen points out - this did not take closing schools, or millions from billionaires -- just true grassroots parents from many of the elected councils in the city. And they are pissed at the charter giveaway. And this all started about a week ago.

Raging Horse has a report and pix:


By the way, no sightings of anyone officially connected to the UFT/Unity Caucus leadership. But I did see a bunch of MOREistas and Change the Stakesers.


Julie and a BIG Jack -what's really in that bottle?

3 Happy Fellas: Patrick Walsh, John Lawhead, Michael Fiorillo

My political son - Mike Schirtzer - never takes off his MORE 3XXX shirt - heading for Japan with a teen tour this week

Mike, Fred Smith, Ruth Silver


Is that a grin on her face or a grimace?
I did manage to drag my wife along, who never rallies or protests (except against me) - but she despises Cuomo so much -- for her own reasons, not the least of which is his connection to awful chef Sandra Lee (my wife is a serious cooking show viewer.) She made me take her to dinner after -- bribery still works as we are about to hit the 43 year mark in 2 months - if we survive those 26 members of her family coming for Passover Monday -- anyone have sanctuary for me?

We had just come from taping an interview with former Councilwoman and major political influence for so many years (and Jimmy Breslin's wife) Ronnie Eldridge for a Manhattan Neighborhood Network show I assist with called Active Aging, which promotes the idea that as people age they don't have to stop doing things. Thanks to Pat Dobosz for this rare photo of the 2 of us together at a protest.

More pics and maybe some video in follow-ups.

PS 87 PROTESTS 2014 ELA TESTS; JOINS IN SUPPORT OF OTHER NYC SCHOOLS

Spreading like wildfire.

MEDIA ALERT FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                        April 9, 2014

Press Contacts:

 
 PS 87 PROTESTS 2014 ELA TESTS;
JOINS IN SUPPORT
OF OTHER NYC SCHOOLS


WHEN:             FRIDAY, APRIL 11
TIME:               7:45 A.M. 
WHERE:           PS 87: 77th Street between Columbus and Amsterdam


WHY:  PS 87 joins other public schools in Brooklyn, Queens, and Manhattan's District 2 in expressing  extreme dissatisfaction with this year's New York State English Language Arts exam. The PS 87 community-- teachers, families, and administration--call for better quality and lower stakes for the New York State ELA and math exams. The effect on our children this year both in and out of school has been worse than ever before.
Posters and visuals will be present.

Mercedes Schneider Dissects Sol Stern's Lack of Knowledge on Common Core

Stern, I have to tell you– you are so out of the loop... Mercedes Schneider
Sol Stern has been a sparring partner for many years - since the days when he went after teacher seniority as the worst thing to happen to public education. Sol is a delightful adversary. But we have had some blow-ups over the years-- at one point he called me dishonest and said he had way more respect for Randi's honesty than mine. They must be growing shrooms on the upper west side.

Sol was kind enough to get me invited to many Manhattan Institute luncheons where I got to hobnob with charter scum - until I asked too  many questions of Chris Cerf -- the only one in the room to challenge his ridiculous assertions. In those days Diane Ravitch was also at some of those MI events. (One time she came by and whispered in my ear, "go get 'em.")

Sol, rightfully, went wild when Joel Klein imposed Diana Lam on us with her insane curriculum that banished phonics. Sol sees red when confronted with progressive education -- I am by nature a progressive educator but also a realist and a big fan of teaching phonics -- when needed by certain children. I termed Sol as part of "the phonics police." Sol is a fan of Core Curriculum and E.D. Hirsch is Moses. (Which is why Sol was a fan of Kathy Cashin who implemented core curriculum -- but so was Diane Ravitch for some of the same reasons.)

The bitter break between Sol and Diane has at times turned personal. Mercedes in her blog on Sol termed it an  "ugly post criticizing education historian Diane Ravitch."

At one point Sol and Diane Ravitch were allies -- in fact in those days I was part of the attack crew on Ravitch over her advocacy of what turned out to be ed deform. I remember when Diane was given the John Dewey Award by the UFT there were national outcries from the true reformers like the late and great Jerry Bracey and Susan Ohanian - some asked me if we were setting up a picket line at the Hilton. Jerry seemed ready to fly in from Oregon.

When Diane turned on the deformers and became the chief spokesperson for real reform, much rending of garments took place. I hope Sol has a good tailor.

I read Mercedes superb post taking Sol's defense of the Common Core last week and wanted to blog about it - but today Diane has beaten me to it. Oh, the joy!


Schneider Schools Sol Stern on the Common Core

by dianeravitch
Many years go, when I was a Fellow at the conservative Manhattan Institute, I got o know Sol Stern, who has been at that think tank for many years. Sol has an interesting history. Back in the radical 1960s, he was an editor at the leftwing Ramparts. At some point, he had a political-ideological conversion experience, and he became a zealous conservative. He is a journalist, not an educator. He writes about what interests him. Ten years ago, he wrote a book advocating school choice, called Breaking Free. In 2011, he wrote a book about Israeli-Palestinian relations, called "A Century of Palestinian Rejectionism and Jew-Hatred." one thing about Sol Stern: He has strong opinions.
At the moment, his strong opinions are focused on fervent advocacy for the Common Core. Stern thinks that the Common Core implements the ideas of E.D. Hirsch, Jr. Hirsch believes that kids should learn lots of background knowledge, which will not only make them smarter but enable them to read and understand increasingly difficult text. I agree that background knowledge matters, so long as it is developmentally appropriate, that is, comprehensible to the child. And I don't see Comon Core as the fulfillment of E.D. Hirsch's vision. After all, David Coleman--widely acknowledged as the "architect" of he Common Core--advocates "close reading," in which a student deciphers text without reference to any background knowledge. One example would be a student reading the "Gettysburg Address" without reference to or knowledge of the Civil War or Lincoln or the battle it commemorates. I think Hirsch would insist that context and background knowledge are crucial for comprehension. I am not sure that Stern understands the Commn Core standards but he has now made it his business to defend them and to attack those who doubt their excellence.
Stern got into a heated debate with Peter Wood, the president of the National Association of Scholars, who does not believe--as Stern and Arne Duncan insist--that development of CCSS was "state-led." They have other differences, but it is amusing to see Stern, one of our most conservative education commentators, defend Duncan and CCSS.
Now comes Mercedes Schneider to dissect Sol Stern's take on the Common Core. It's fair to say that she knows a lot more about the Core than Sol Stern. Stern doesn't really understand that the CCSS does not embody Hirsch's Core Knowledge. And it must surely pain him to realize that one of he best-selling books about the Common Core was written by Lucy Calkins of Teachers College, one of Stern's arch enemies (he hates Balanced Literacy, loves phonics).
Bottom line: CCSS has created strange alliances.

Astroturf on Steroids - Raging Horse Blog Exposes the Truth About "Higher Achievement NY"

Higher Achievement New York...yet another deceitfully created billionaire backed front group passing itself off as “grass roots ” and roping in just enough innocent faces to fool those who don’t know any better.... a public relations project disguised as an education advocacy group. 

As Higher Achievement New York is comprised of more established and experienced fronts such as the Gates Foundation’s Educators4Excellence and Mike Bloomberg’s Students First NY, one should expect an extraordinarily high level of obfuscation, distortion, and shill like behavior.

when King appeared in lower Manhattan the two fronts showed up in tandem and one heard silly testimonial after silly testimonial from one 24 year old “ex teacher” (currently employed by Students First New York) after another about how Common Core is just about the answer to just about every problem in the known universe, bizarre statements by E4E teachers of the almost supernatural power of the Common Core, and, most cynically, insinuations that rejection of the Common Core was merely disguised racism.

As a teacher in PS 149, one of the schools that Cuomo essentially gave to the charter school empire of Eva Moskowitz, the homage to the Tough Guy governor’s giveaway goes right to the gut.
 
I... found one of the families for excellent schools was none other than Walton family of Wal-Mart fame, not widely known for being particularly fond of people speaking for themselves. I looked further and found out that Families for Excellent Schools shares an address with the New York division of Michelle Rhee’s StudentsFirst.
Question: Weren’t front groups once generally regarded as sleazy, unethical and even sinister enterprises? If so, how and why did this change ? And what does this change say about how we have changed ?
Read the entire post at:

A Busy Day for Billionaire Backed Front Groups

April 10, 2014

Julie Cavanagh With MORE Statement of Support for Today's Parent Rally to Protest Cuomo Charter Giveaway

The charter school giveaways in last week’s budget were nothing short of a death sentence for the sustainability of New York City’s public school system:.... Julie Cavanagh
Were you happy when you saw Eva close her schools and use kids and parents blatantly for political purposes? And were you happy that Cuomo pandered to their illegal rally?
Today is the chance to counter that rally with real grassroots parents, not Eva's forced march. Don't complain about charter giveaways and takeaways of public school buildings when they come for your school.

Some estimate this bill will cost the UFT between 10 and 20 thousand members over time (don't worry about the Unity leadership - they'll make it up in dues.)

The charter lobby, which loved mayoral control under Bloomberg, has now instituted Governor control. Unfortunately without a whimper from the mayor or the UFT. Some might ask how the UFT, whose very own charter stands to benefit from this law, can just lie down.

Julie Cavanagh wrote the MORE statement of support for the rally, posted on the MORE site.

Stand Up, Fight Back for Public Education



4.8.14 Eng-flyerJoin parents, students, educators and community members at this important rally on Thursday at 4:00. Meet in front of the steps of the New York City Public Library @5th Ave. and 41st Street with a march to Governor Cuomo’s office to follow. On Facebook here:https://www.facebook.com/savenycpubliceducation
By Julie Cavanagh
Teacher/Chapter-Leader P.S.15k
Last week charter schools received a windfall to the tune of tens of millions of potential dollars in free space, either in a public school or in a city-subsidized private space, more per pupil funding than public schools, and an essentially unfettered ability to expand at the expense of existing public schools.
The charter school giveaways in last week’s budget were nothing short of a death sentence for the sustainability of New York City’s public school system:
  • The financial burden of providing and paying for charter school space and services for co-locations will be crippling. This will be especially difficult once the cap of 200 charter schools is reached. There are 52 charter schools left on the cap in NYC, but there will be “more” because existing charters can expand grades without being included in the cap. So, for example, if a charter opened as an elementary, it can expand to include middle school and/or high school grades without a cap deduction. In addition, the Cuomo-led legislation to provide space to charters — only in NYC — is an unfunded mandate. The city is required to find the resources to pay. Only after $40 million is spent on private charter rent, will the state contribute to an undetermined amount of assistance. We need funding policies that will support the facilities and space needed for the approximately 94%[i] of public school children learning in overcrowded and substandard facilities.
  • Charters schools receive MORE per pupil funding than public schools. This creates even greater inequity in our school system favoring the approximately 6% of NYC’s school children who currently attend charter schools. Combine that with the millions in private funding charters receive from millionaire and billionaire donors who have an interest in privatizing our education system and the goal becomes clear: undermine and dismantle every child’s right to go to the school of his or her choice. The new policy will force students fill out an application, win a lottery, and adhere to undemocratic governance and a set of rules that leave families vulnerable to discrimination and push-out, not to mention increased segregation in an already segregated school system. We need policies that seek to create equity and increase the integration of our school system, not make it worse.
  • The language in the budget seems to suggest that an existing charter in a public school cannot be prevented from expanding, which it will do at the expense of the existing public school. We need policies that seek to expand our existing public schools. There are many more public schools serving ALL of NYC’s children well and those schools and their best practices should be held up as models. Charters, by contrast, serve far fewer of our neediest children while boasting achievement numbers similar to public schools. The overwhelming majority of New York City families choose public schools and their rights should be respected and protected. They should not be forced into charters.
  • The new law requiring charter space puts the expansion of public schools in New York City at risk because it encourages charter school expansion over the expansion of public schools. New York City schools have some of the highest class sizes and most overcrowding in the state. We need support to help end this crisis, not make it worse.
  • The financial sustainability of our school system is at risk. As more public dollars are funneled into education corporations and charter schools, fewer public dollars are available for our public schools. At a certain point, and I have heard the “tipping point” is 10% enrollment in charter schools in NYC, we will reach a financial crisis that will make it impossible to balance the funding needs for both charters and public schools, thus allowing the kind of wholesale transfer of public schools to charter operators as we have seen in New Orleans and Philadelphia.
Governor Cuomo not only allowed the charter school windfall to be central to this year’s budget, he was one of, if not the, architect(s). The self-proclaimed “student lobbyist” is truly a charter-hedge-funder lobbyist beholden to campaign dollars in an election year and further influenced by his national political aspirations.
Legislators from around the state, save a brave few such as my own state Senator Montgomery and Harlem’s Senator Perkins whose constituents have experienced the horrors and inequity of charter co-locations and expansion first hand, said precious little and took no stand in rejecting this budget.
Our Mayor, who ran on putting an end to the favor of charters at the expense of our public schools and received a clear mandate to do so by the voters in our city, was at the very least powerless to stop the giveaway and at worst raised no vocal objection, perhaps considering funding for universal Pre-K a worthy enough win, even though charters will also have the right to open Pre-K.
Our own United Federation of Teachers did not mount a fight back against this. In fact, their poor policy choices have made it difficult for UFT leaders to do since they have co-located two union-run charter schools themselves. New York Communities for Change has withdrawn its participation in the parent-led co-location lawsuit, a lawsuit that seeks to charge charters rent for use of public space — a policy that will now be illegal in New York City if the provision in the state budget is not changed.
The true student-lobbyists, parents, students, rank-and-file educators and community members, must stand together to demand full funding and support for our public schools. We must make it clear that an investment in a system that serves ALL children that is governed by the people (however flawed in a system with mayoral control), not private unaccountable and non-transparent interests, is vital to the health and success of our children.
We must stand together and demand the schools our children deserve: facilities deserving of the wealthiest nation in the world, rich and well-rounded curriculum and services, experienced and supported educators, smaller class sizes, and the right to attend a neighborhood public school that is excellent AND open to all.
My school community experienced co-location first hand. We were fortunate to mount a fight back that ended our co-location. However, that win was bitter sweet, because the charter, PAVE Academy, was awarded more than 20 million dollars in precious capital funds to build its own building in our neighborhood. We also engaged in a less-known fight back for another charter expansion in our neighborhood, a charter that sought to further segregate the neighborhood by creating a “boutique” charter targeted at the gentrifying population of Red Hook. Thankfully that charter was not approved. We have learned from both of these experiences that charter space support and expansion in communities results in a negative impact on the community itself, causing unnecessary strain and tension, as well as on the existing schools, and in our case, a school that was and is a high quality option. But equally important, because these issues were at our doorstep, we also understand the deep systemic issues surrounding charters: the drive to privatize our public education system, the impact of charter push-out, the impact of a two-tiered system where one school is privileged over another, and the bigger picture of the undermining of public education and all that entails from worker protections, to funding, to the way children are treated.
MORE stands in solidarity with the approximately 94% of families who want high quality neighborhood schools for their children. We cannot achieve the promise of public education if the funding, facilities and services we need to provide are at-risk. Please join us and families across the city and send Governor Cuomo a message this Thursday: you are not our student’s lobbyist. You do not stand for children. You stand for your own political interests fueled by charter school dollars and we will hold you accountable!
[i] Charter school enrollment in 2011-2012 was 47,780 (according to www.nycsca.org’s report for capital fund projections) out of approximately 1.1 million school children in New York City., yielding an approximate 4% enrollment in charter schools at that time. Cited numbers currently range from 3%-6%. The New York City Charter school Center states approximately 70,000 children attend charter schools in NYC . Based on this information this post estimates current charter enrollment at 6% and public school enrollment at 94%.

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Videos: Unity Caucus Bullies Jeer Protestors Opposed to Bill Gates at the AFT - Randi Eggs Them on - Chastised by Delegate

[Your actions] made me feel that Bill Gates was more important than our brothers and sisters.... delegate to Randi Weingarten, Seattle, 2010...

Given what happened at the NYSUT RA this past weekend with the Unity bullies in action, here are 3 videos I put together at the AFT Convention in Seattle in July 2010 showing that their behavior was not that unusual.

Video 1 - David Bellel and I recreated our version of the famous Apple lemming commercial take down of IBM. You can see the original here:

Apple 1984 Super Bowl Commercial Introducing Macintosh Computer (HD)

Here we replace IBM with Unity Caucus and the dissident is CORE from Chicago.

URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYQzoDy_ocA




And here is the video I put together of the walk out and jeering from Unity Caucus with Randi grinning with glee. She was chastised by a delegate from California the next day -- that video below this one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6Ezri0pVOg



http://youtu.be/mkSSSYQuIcs


The NYC Anti-Test Teacher Rebellion Grows - PS 29 in Brooklyn's Cobble Hill - Farina Territory

Posted on the Ravitch blog. Also - PS 261 in the same neighborhood is holding a rally and forum tomorrow - Thursday - Janine and Fred from CTS will be on the panel. The UFT will probably start trying to take credit for these revolts when in fact they have done nothing to encourage and support the teacher rebellion.

Let me make one prediction which I will make time and again -- the test scores will rise dramatically through NY State Ed manipulation of cut scores to make it look like things are beginning to work. That is the reason getting results takes till summer -- they have to figure out what scores they want for maximum political impact.


Brooklyn Teachers Saw the Common Core Tests, and They Say NO!

by dianeravitch
Parents are not allowed to see the Common Core tests. Teachers do see them. Here is what the teachers at PS 29 in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn, say about the tests.
Dear Diane,
WOOHOO! Don't you feel we've reached a turning point? It is amazing to see all of the incredible acts of resistance bubbling up all over the country!
Thank you,
Michelle Kupper
CEC 15 member
Parent, PS 29 Brooklyn
----
At PS 29 in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn, teachers could not wait any longer to speak their minds about the tests. For too long, they had felt the curriculum growing more restricted, the pressure mounting to get their students to perform, and an increasing dissatisfaction with the profession they so love. A group of six progressive teachers wrote a strong position paper on testing with the intention of moving the conversation along in the neighborhood and forging a path of resistance against the testing machine.
Last year, a forum was held at the school about high-stakes testing. Teachers voiced their concerns about the high-stakes nature and growing prominence of the exams. This year, a group of like-minded teachers and parents came together to form an Education Action Committee. The teachers on this committee drafted the resolution and presented it to the staff as test prep was getting underway. They had the resolution ready to go before the tests began. Out of respect for the community and the families helping to ready their children for these stressful exams, however, they decided to delay its release until after the exams were over. It became clear - with the ELA’s incredibly developmentally inappropriate content and ambiguously worded questions – that they could wait no longer to go public with their sentiments.
They advocate for parents to join the movement against high-stakes tests; they advocate that parents raise their voices and take meaningful actions such as contacting legislators and making informed decisions for their children about the tests; and they advocate for parents to gain a better sense of teachers’ sentiments about high-stakes tests and make public the conversations about tests that have been happening in private for years.
The full resolution is below. Thank you to the growing throngs of parents, students, and educators all over the country raising their voices TOGETHER!
PS 29 Teachers Resolution
April 4, 2014
Over the past decade, standardized tests have taken on greater importance in New York’s public schools. New York City’s students now take state ELA and math exams in grades 3 through 8, and their performance on these tests is linked to promotion, middle- and high-school admissions, teacher evaluations and school progress reports.
Because the tests are now aligned with the Common Core State Standards, they have become more difficult, resulting in much lower passing rates across New York City and State. The tests have also become longer: elementary school students will spend between seven and nine hours taking the state tests this month and next, and students with testing accommodations may have to sit for as many as eighteen hours of testing this spring. Moreover, during March and April, students in testing-grade classrooms can spend up to three hours per day preparing for the state tests.
As teachers, we feel the impact of these changes in our classrooms. In testing grades, the anxiety that students and teachers have about the state exams is palpable. Some students break down in tears during testing and related test-prep sessions, knowing that their performance impacts not only their promotion to the next grade, but also their chances of getting into choice middle and high schools.
Compounding the emotional turmoil, teachers in testing grades must narrow their otherwise rich curricula in order to make room for test prep. Subjects like social studies, word study and read aloud are cast aside, and valuable social-emotional learning and exploration must be limited in order to make sure that students are ready for the exams come spring.
High-stakes tests require that teachers narrow not only their curricula but also the skills they emphasize. As teachers in testing grades prepare students for the state exams, they must often put aside their emphasis on skills like elaboration and creative thinking in order to teach kids to write formulaic responses and find the one right answer.
Even the lower grades have been affected by these high-stakes tests. The pressure to prepare students for their upcoming years of testing has cut time for exploration and play. Additionally, that pressure has increased the need for students to meet, at times, developmentally inappropriate milestones in reading and writing.
Beyond the scope of individual classrooms, high-stakes tests have significant consequences for a school as a whole. As teachers are pulled from their programs to accommodate the proctoring and scoring of exams, a number of critical support services, ESL periods, ICT classrooms and specialty programs are disrupted for nearly a month.
When used correctly, we believe that assessment is a powerful tool. At PS 29, we constantly assess our students, collecting meaningful data that informs our day-to-day instruction. Unlike the high-stakes tests, our assessments improve the education we provide.
Across grades, we feel with great certainty that the rise of standardized testing—and most specifically, its high-stakes nature—has eroded real student learning time, narrowed the curriculum and jeopardized the rich, meaningful education our students need and deserve.
As such, we, the undersigned, believe that it is crucial for teachers to raise our voices on these issues, and we resolve to stand together to advocate for the elimination of the high-stakes nature of standardized tests.
Sincerely,
Kim Van Duzer
Leah Brunski
Rachel Knight
Peter Cipparone
Sara Thorne
Susannah Sperry
Liz Sturges Cosentino
Carolyn Rivas
Sophia Soto
Kristen Adamczyk
Sarah McCaffrey
Mollie Lief
Chantelle Luk
Melissa Bandes Golden
Frank Thomas
Jackie Lichter
Tristram Carver
Jessica Albizu
Hana Pardon
Lisa Cohen
Dan Turret
Lauren McGivney
Adam Gerloff
Bradley Frome
Izzi Kane
Molly Dubow
Kathy Nobles
January Mark
Jasmine Junsay
Nadira Udairam
Aaron Berns
Monica Salazar-Austin
Rachel Certner
Alice Pack
Marisa Noiseux

MORE's Jia Lee in The Nation

For Lee, all this number crunching is the antithesis of a progressive education. Kids do need some basic academic skills, Lee says, but in the context of a well-rounded pedogagy, “[for] educators who believe strongly in…. developing the whole child—you see these tests as trying to turn the child into some kind of number based on artificially set standards.… that, to me, goes against the very reasons why we go into this profession.”... The Nation
The MOREistas just keep coming. Notice how you don't see old fossils like me representing the face of the opposition. How am I going to find time to write about all of them? (Don't worry Mike, your turn will come.)
If I were in Unity Caucus I might be worried enough to boo too.

http://www.thenation.com/blog/179214/teachers-and-students-opt-out-defy-testing-machine

Fred Smith, Ode to Loyalty



Ode to Loyalty

Loyalty is one of those words.
Like respect. It must be earned.
Else we are one with grazing herds.
Loyalty is a choice, I have learned.

Power rests easy when masses comply.
Conformity is the rule of the bosses' game.
Don't think too hard or notice the lie.
Their only reform is more of the same.

"Are you a team player?" they always ask.
To which you must give an unflinching "Yes!".
It means you'll follow any order, do any task.
Say "Depends on the goal." and they say "Next."

Truth is what we seek, feel and understand.
When did we lose the right to think and speak?
Loyalty to principles, yes. Not to command.
That's the highest oath we're bound to keep.

~Fred

Lauren, I'll have what you're having

District 2 principals fight back! Parents, Rally with your school on Friday morning vs awful State ELA exam

Oh da protests continue against state exams. The deformers who put out those pro Eva ads are going to take a shot at reversing the anti-common core movement with a bunch of ads -- our pals at E4E, Students - barf- First, etc are involved in that. The tests suck, parents are pissed, kids are bummed, teachers are stressed-- there ain't no turning this train around.

Posted at Leonie's NYCParents Blog.

District 2 principals fight back! Parents, Rally with your school on Friday morning vs awful State ELA exam


See letter from most of the Elementary school principals in Community School District 2 below; D2 takes up a large slice of Manhattan from the southern tip to 96 St. on the East Side and the 50's on the West Side, with a small chunk of the Lower E. Side taken out.

Note: the letter mentions "product placements":  Among the trademarked products in the ELA exams this year were not just Nike and Barbie mentioned below; but also Lifesavers, Ipods, Mug Rootbeer, Singer Sewing Machines, IBM and FIFA, trademark of the International Soccer Federation, each with the TM after their name and below the reading passage. Mug Rootbeer, Fifa and IBM were also in the exams last year.




Community Action: Join Principals  in Speaking Out Regarding the NYS English Language Arts Exam Friday, April 11th, at District 2 Schools
Dear District 2 Families,
Community School District 2 represents a richly diverse group of school communities and it is not often these days that we have an opportunity to join in a shared effort.  Last week, and for several weeks prior, every one of our upper grade classrooms devoted hours of instructional time, vast human resources, and a tremendous amount of thoughtful effort to preparing students to do well on the NYS ELA exams and, ultimately, to administering them.  Only a handful of District 2 families even considered opting out, and we are not advocating families do so, specifically because we believe our students are well prepared for the rigor and high expectations of the Common Core and our schools have worked hard for several years to adjust our curriculum and teaching to support students in meeting those expectations. 
We had high hopes for what this year’s tests would bring and assured families that they would reflect the feedback test makers and state officials had received from educators and families regarding the design of the test following last year's administration.  Our students worked extremely hard and did their very best.  As school leaders, we supported teachers in ensuring that students and families kept the tests in perspective – they were important, but by no means the ultimate measure of who they are as readers, students, or human beings. We encouraged them to be optimistic, and did our best to do the same.  Frankly, many of us were disappointed by the design and quality of the tests and stood by helplessly while kids struggled to determine best answers, distorting much of what we'd taught them about effective reading skills and strategies and forgoing deep comprehension for something quite different.   
Last Friday morning, Liz Phillips, the principal of PS321 in Brooklyn, led her staff and her parent community in a demonstration objecting, not to testing or accountability or high expectations for kids, but to these tests in particular and, importantly, to their high stakes nature for teachers and students, and the policy of refusing to release other than a small percentage of the questions.  500 staff and parents participated.
By Friday evening some officials were dismissing the importance of their statement, claiming that Liz and her community represented only a tiny percentage of those affected, implying that the rest of us were satisfied.  Given the terribly high stakes of these tests, for schools, for teachers and for kids, and the enormous amount of human, intellectual and financial resources that have been devoted to them, test makers should be prepared to stand by them and to allow them to undergo close scrutiny.
Many District 2 schools will be holding demonstrations this week, making sure our thoughts on this are loud and clear and making it more difficult to dismiss the efforts of one school.  On Friday morning, April 11th, at 8:00am, we invite our families and staff to join District 2 schools in speaking out, expressing our deep dissatisfaction with the 2014 NYS English Language Arts LA exams and the lack of transparency surrounding them. 
Among the concerns shared by many schools are the following: The tests seem not to be particularly well-aligned with the Common Core Learning Standards; the questions are poorly constructed and often ambiguous; the tests themselves are embargoed and only a handful of select questions will be released next year; teachers are not permitted to use (or even discuss) the questions or the results to inform their teaching; students and families receive little or no specific feedback; this year, there were product placements (i.e., Nike, Barbie) woven through some exams. We are inviting you and your family to join together as a school community in this action, helping to ensure that officials are not left to wonder whether our silence implied approval.  
Yours truly, District 2 Principals
Adele Schroeter, PS59; Lisa Ripperger, PS234; Robert Bender, PS11; Tara Napoleoni, PS183; Jane Hsu, PS116; Sharon Hill, PS290; Amy Hom, PS1; Lauren Fontana, PS6; Jennifer Bonnet, PS150; Nicole Ziccardi Yerk, PS281; Susan Felder, PS40; Alice Hom, PS124; Nancy Harris, PS397; Kelly Shannon, PS41; Nancy Sing-Bok, PS51; Lisa Siegman, PS3;  Irma Medina, PS111; Terry Ruyter, PS276; Medea McEvoy, PS267; Darryl Alhadeff, PS158; Samantha Kaplan, PS151; David Bowell, PS347; Lily Woo, PS130; Jacqui Getz, PS126; Kelly McGuire, Lower Manhattan Community MS