MONDAY

• The State’s labor board ruled to force the City into mediation talks with UFT over teacher evaluations, siding with the union: http://gothamschools.org/2012/05/14/in-two-separate-rulings-states-labor-board-sides-with-the-uft/

TUESDAY

• Manhattan Borough President Stringer wrote State Chancellor Tisch, calling on the State Education Department to suspend plans to rate teachers based on this year’s standardized exams, and to have an independent panel review the exams themselves following news that the tests included more than two dozen errors: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/manhattan-borough-president-scott-stringer-asks-state-shelve-teacher-ratings-test-mess-article-1.1078301
• Educators and parents are asking the CIty to slow planned special ed reforms: http://gothamschools.org/2012/05/15/special-ed-caution-urged-as-personnel-funding-changes-loom/

WEDNESDAY

• The Wall Street Journal examined national backlash against standardized testing as school systems use the exams to make more and more decisions: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303505504577406603829668714.html
• The City and educators’ unions agreed to use an arbitrator to decide whether or not the recent decision to close 24 schools violated union contracts, following a judge’s suggestion after she declined to block the City from hiring new staff for the new schools planned to replace those that are closing: http://www.nytimes.com/schoolbook/2012/05/16/judge-declines-to-issue-injunction-on-hiring-for-24-schools/?partner=rss&emc=rss
• The State set target formulas for the number of high-needs students charter schools will need to include in their populations: http://gothamschools.org/2012/05/16/high-needs-enrollment-targets-could-challenge-some-charters/

THURSDAY

• Chancellor Walcott announced that the DOE would move to fire teachers who received unsatisfactory ratings two years in a row and offer buyouts to teachers who have been without a permanent position for more than a year; UFT President Mulgrew pointed out that the City has always had that power in response: http://gothamschools.org/2012/05/17/in-lieu-of-new-evaluations-city-looks-to-options-in-union-contract/
• Many of the City and State’s largest unions and community organizations announced they had formed a pro-public education group to match the business-backed “reform” group StudentsFirstNY, which announced it would spend $5 million next year to elect a new mayor that would carry on Bloomberg’s education policies: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/18/nyregion/new-coalition-will-challenge-bloombergs-education-policies.html

FRIDAY

• The City and educators’ unions agreed on an arbitrator to determine whether or not the City can close 24 schools; and the City will begin hiring for the schools to replace them pending the outcome: http://gothamschools.org/2012/05/18/turnaround-hiring-to-resume-but-decisions-could-be-reversed/

MONDAY

• Michael Winerip of the Times argued the City’s report card system for grading schools is flawed, showing seemingly small differences between two Bronx schools: one received an “A” while the other received an “F”: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/30/nyregion/on-report-cards-for-nyc-schools-invisible-line-divides-a-and-f.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss
• Public Advocate de Blasio suggested City Hall also release evaluations of its staffers after the mayor continued to push for a full public release of teacher evaluations: http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/politics/2012/04/5810434/de-blasio-suggests-treating-bloombergs-staffers-teachers
• Diane Ravitch wrote on her new blog that New York’s standardized tests had so many mistakes because the State spent much less on exams than other states:http://dianeravitch.net/2012/04/28/new-yorks-bargain-basement-tests/
• Governor Cuomo announced the members of his education commission: http://www.nytimes.com/schoolbook/2012/04/30/cuomo-forms-panel-to-make-action-plan-for-education/?partner=rss&emc=rss

TUESDAY

• Activist parents made 1,364 phone calls to City Hall to protest the mayor’s plan to cut childcare slots and after-school programming from next year’s budget:http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/politics/2012/05/5817132/protesting-parents-call-city-hall-leave-voicemails
• Angry parents from Manhattan’s District 2 filled a hearing on two proposed charter schools: http://gothamschools.org/2012/05/02/parents-contest-charter-schools-proposed-for-crowded-district-2/
• The Daily News profiled the New Settlement Parent Action Committee’s campaign to educate parents about District 9′s struggles by visiting all of the Bronx area’s 26 schools in 26 days: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/education/school-advocates-put-district-9-bronx-education-department-charge-article-1.1069882

WEDNESDAY

• Two Brooklyn parents criticized the City’s over-reliance on testing to evaluate students, teachers and schools — and to make decisions about their futures — arguing that the stress has become too much for kids and families: http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/a-testing-culture-control-article-1.1070865
• The State eliminated a fourth question from the annual exams as Pineapple-gate continued: http://www.nytimes.com/schoolbook/2012/05/02/state-officials-throw-out-another-pearson-test-question/?partner=rss&emc=rss
• Meredith Kolodner reported that 27 high schools have been exempted by the City from enrolling a mandated number of special needs students this fall: http://insideschools.org/blog/item/1000323-elite-schools-get-special-ed-pass

THURSDAY

•  A City audit given to the Post showed that about one-in-four teachers at 17 inspected schools were not teaching the minimum number of classes requited by their contract: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/teachers_work_shirk_1ngGwkRJLkEsvqbbxFS2DL
• Eva Moskowitz said she was considering a run for mayor, and would decide by the end of May: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/03/nyregion/new-york-city-republican-leaders-seeking-candidate-for-mayor.html?_r=1
• For the first time in years, the mayor’s budget does not include cuts to the number of teachers in City schools: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/04/nyregion/bloomberg-restores-2500-teaching-jobs-in-latest-budget-proposal.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss
• With phase outs and closings adding up, Bronx parents are having a hard time finding acceptable high school options, the Daily News wrote: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/education/bronx-parents-feel-strapped-school-options-neighborhoods-lottery-hope-article-1.1071415

FRIDAY

• Pearson, the testing company contracted by the State to administer its exams, defended itself and the infamous Pineapple: http://www.nytimes.com/schoolbook/2012/05/04/pearson-says-its-tests-are-valid-and-reliable/

(New York, NY – April 17, 2012) – Leading candidates for mayor – Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer and former NYC Comptroller Bill Thompson – joined education leaders from the Working Group on School Transformation today to release a report (click here to download report) on Mayor Bloomberg’s school closure policy and recommend alternatives as part of a breakfast forum on education at New York University’s Kimball Hall Lounge.

Councilmember Robert Jackson, Chair of the Education Committee

The mayor’s controversial school closings policy and approach to struggling schools has been met with increasingly harsher criticism from communities and elected officials, and lower approval ratings from voters over the last few years.  In response, the forum’s panelists – including the mayoral candidates, City Council Education Chair Robert Jackson, former DOE Deputy Chancellor Carmen Farina and NYU Professor Pedro Noguera – discussed alternatives to the unpopular policies and the potential for change that could benefit students in the coming years.

“This report hits the nail on the head: the Administration’s practice of closing schools first and asking questions later is a recipe for disaster,” said Public Advocate Bill de Blasio. “I applaud the Working Group for conducting such a detailed analysis, and for acknowledging that Tweed’s unilateral decision-making process hurts students.  The strategies outlined in this study will better serve New York’s struggling schools and improve public education in our city.”

Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer

“Every year there’s more evidence that the DOE’s closure policy is putting schools into crisis – one after another – by flooding them with large concentrations of high-needs students.  We simply can’t continue down this road,” said Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer.  “Fortunately, the Working Groups’ report offers thoughtful guidance on ways to move forward.  We need to work with schools to identify and address areas of need, and then address those needs through a comprehensive plan that involves the entire school community.”

Former Comptroller, William Thompson

“Closing a school for poor performance, while a necessary tool for any school system, should be a last resort and not an intervention strategy,” said former Comptroller William Thompson.  “Unfortunately, what we have witnessed in recent years is a shuffling of high-need students from one failed and shut down school to the next. It resembles an educational Ponzi scheme that cheats our children and their families of assistance, support and success and it must end.  As President of the Board of Education, I was proud to help launch the Chancellor’s District that identified low performing schools for interventions, educational support and additional resources. This program helped turn around many schools and is echoed in some of the recommendations made today by the Working Group on School Transformation.  I am pleased to stand with them and other educational leaders in announcing these findings and proposing new responses for our struggling schools.”

“The Working Group’s report and recommendations offers our City a great opportunity to discuss alternatives from people directly impacted from school closures,” said former Deputy Chancellor Carmen Farina.  “It is my hope that educator and parent voices will remain an essential part of any reform strategy as we move forward.  The Working Group provided a positive model of how all stakeholders can collaborate for the common good of all students.”

NYU Professor Pedro Noguera, Director of NYU Metro

“This report should be taken as a call for constructive action to address the serious challenges facing schools in New York City,” said New York University Professor Pedro Noguera, Director of NYU Metro.  “Given the extent of the problem, it would be wise for public officials to ask themselves what can be done to support schools and to provide them with the assistance needed to educate all children in New York City.  Given the disruption to children and their families, closing a school should be seen as the last resort, used only when all other strategies to improve the school have failed.  We need a more creative approach that draws upon the strengths of our communities to support struggling schools.”

CEJ Parent leader and AQE Advocacy Director, Zakiyah Ansari

“Parents, students and academics agree: Mayor Bloomberg’s approach to struggling schools has failed,” said Coalition for Educational Justice Parent leader and Advocacy Director of the Alliance for Quality Education, Zakiyah Ansari.  “When only 1-in-4 of our children graduate college-ready and only 13% of Black and Latino students graduate college-ready, it’s clear his way hasn’t worked.  Yet the mayor is pushing hard for his wrongheaded policies to continue long after he’s gone.  That can’t happen.  As the mayor finishes his final term, it is time to hold him accountable for his role in educating our children—and to make sure the next mayor does a much better job on behalf of our children.”

“These recommendations put the focus on building instructional capacity in struggling schools,” said Kim Sweet, Executive Director of Advocates for Children.  “That will require a concentration of resources and expertise, but it’s the only way we’re going to see real improvement for the students who go there.”

“Students with learning differences and special needs are harmed in disproportionate numbers when we move to close schools rather than support stronger learning communities,” said Jo Haines, working group member and executive director of Everyone Reading, Inc.  “That’s why we’re happy to collaborate in the development of these recommendations and hope they spark an important discussion.”

The Working Group – chaired by panelists Annenberg Institute For School Reform Executive Director Warren Simmons and Coalition for Educational Justice parent leader Zakiyah Ansari – formed to analyze the mayor’s approach to struggling schools during his tenure.  The analysis found the City’s focus on school closings a drastic and ineffective response, and so offered alternatives to the policy that are based on research evidence  and engage the wisdom and experience of practitioners, parents and students.

“Though the administration insists that its reforms have produced dramatic gains in student outcomes, recent evidence provides a sobering contrast to claims of systemic progress,” according to the report.

Among the report’s findings and suggestions:

• The 140 schools the DOE has closed since 2003 serve large numbers of the city’s highest need students.  Those schools had higher percentages of students eligible for free and reduced price lunch (a proxy for poverty), higher percentages of students with disabilities, and higher percentages of English Language Learners than the school system as a whole.

• During the five years prior to the announcement of closing, the DOE significantly increased the percentages of academically challenged students assigned to the schools targeted for closing, thus setting those schools up for failure.

• The Department of Education should refocus on strategic intervention, including: creating a pilot zone for targeted supports; involving schools’ communities and stakeholders in improvement planning and implementation; and centralizing DOE support for school improvement initiatives.

• The Department of Education should work to build instructional capacity across the system, including: developing strategies to insure high-needs students are not concentrated in struggling schools; creating an early warning system to identify deteriorating school performance; and aiding interventions into struggling schools.

The Working Group on School Transformation includes the following members:

Warren Simmons, Executive Director, the Anenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University; Zakiyah Ansari, parent leader, NYC Coalition for Educational Justice and organizer, Alliance for Quality Education; Ruddie Daley, parent leader, NYC Coalition for Educational Justice ; Carmen Farina, former New York City Schools Deputy Chancellor; Maria Fernandez, Senior Coordinator, NYC Urban Youth Collaborative; Norm Fruchter, Senior Policy Analyst, Annenberg Institute for School Reform; Jo Haines, Executive Director, Everyone Reading, Inc.; John Jackson, President, Schott Foundation for Public Education;  Pedro Noguera, Professor of Education, New York university and Director, NYU Metro; Center for Urban Education; Christine Rowland, teacher, Christopher Columbus High School;  Jon Snyder, Dean, Bank Street College of Education; Kim Sweet, Executive Director, Advocates for Children of New York;  Philip Weinberg, Principal, High School of Telecommunication Arts and Technology.

###

MONDAY

•  Queens parents and elected officials say closing targeted schools will lead to overcrowding at others: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/queens/school-closures-overcrowding-queens-schools-article-1.1057582
• Volunteers from the New Settlement Apartments Parent Action Committee visited all 26 District 9 schools “in need of improvement” in 26 days, educating parents about the issues at their schools and developing recommendations for the State Department of Education:http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/2012/03/parent_group_vi.php
• Democrats for Education Reform and StudentsFirstNY united to form a “supergroup” positioned against teachers unions, seeking to affect local and statewide policy and politics: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/reform_supergroup_to_take_on_unions_vak3MA0jfki7UdoKBIk8yO?utm_medium=rss&utm_content=Local

TUESDAY

• Student suspensions dropped by 10% during the fall and summer of 2011, as compared to the same period in 2010, according to a DOE report:http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/fewer_kids_suspended_gjriADlK8i5isLODKvX6LP

WEDNESDAY

• State Education Commissioner King told an Assembly committee that he would not respond to the City’s “turnaround” proposals until June, meaning that the Panel for Educational Policy would vote on radical changes to 26 schools without even knowing if the state had given (necessary) support to its applications for federal funding; Chancellor Walcott said the very expensive process would go forward whether or not it was federally funded: http://gothamschools.org/2012/04/11/walcott-turnaround-will-happen-even-without-federal-funding/

THURSDAY

• An Independent Budget Office report found that higher rates of Black and Latino students — as well as lower-income and special education students — directly correlated to lower progress report scores from the City: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/education/letter-grades-schools-black-hispanic-students-report-article-1.1060598

FRIDAY

• More students citywide passed the gifted and talented exam this year than ever before–but fewer students in lower-income districts are passing year-to-year:http://gothamschools.org/2012/04/13/more-children-passing-the-gifted-exam-but-not-in-poorer-districts/

Diana Rodriguez, student from Grover Cleveland HS led the press conference

Students, parents and community leaders from across New York City rallied at City Hall on Thursday, April 5th, calling for an end to the Bloomberg Administration’s plan to risk millions of dollars and the futures of thousands of students on the unproven “turnaround” model at 26 struggling schools. They also released a report, called “Turnaround or Teardown.”  The event was led by students from the targeted schools.

“The mayor doesn’t understand a school building is more than just an address,” said Chantell Chimbo, Student organization president at Long Island City.  “Closing Long Island City and opening a new school in the building takes away our identity and replaces it with a poor copy.  A school is made up of the programs, the teachers and the students who attend and work together.  Our school helps all our students who are trying to be successful, and we cannot afford the instability that closing and changing the school will cost us.”

Monique Lindsay, CEJ leader and parent from Grady HS

“Today’s event is about the turnaround policy not being an effective strategy for struggling schools,” said Justin Watson, President of Save Legacy Coalition and member of Student Activists United.  “Bloomberg needs to meet with us and hear our strategies.  Education should start with the people.  My school, Legacy School for Integrated Studies, was voted to close, but we are displaying resiliency by not submitting to defeat.  We’re here for the long haul.”

“Mayor Bloomberg’s continued use of unproven strategies to support our struggling schools has left thousands of our children as collateral damage in the process.  This must stop and it must stop now,” said Zakiyah Ansari, Advocacy Director, Alliance for Quality Education.  “He is willing to spend $60 million on the turnaround model—even though there is not a single research study showing that it works.  This risky and reckless strategy will hurt 35,000 students.  This has nothing to do with educating kids better, and everything to do with politics. These funds would be much better spent on proven, research-based school improvement strategies.”

City Councilmember Daniel Dromm

The administration responded to growing public and political pressure this week by eliminating seven schools from its list of “turnaround” targets—but opponents of the plan say the model should not be used at all, arguing there is no research to show that firing half the staffs and imposing radical overhauls at schools works.  They also released a report, “Turnaround or Teardown”, at a rally kick-off press conference showing “turnaround” changes would up-end progress at schools on the list which are demonstrating success with the use of other models, and that “turnaround” would cost taxpayers tens of millions of dollars that are needed for proven school improvement strategies.

According to the report, of the 26 targeted schools:

• 11 do not meet the DOE’s closure benchmark of receiving a D, F, or three Cs on Progress Reports
• 10 improved faster on their 4-year Regents graduation rates than the city average
• 4 improved faster on their 6-year graduation rates than the city average
• 4 received a Proficient rating on their most recent Quality Review Report
• 2 have college readiness rates that exceeded the citywide average

And analysis of the “turnaround” proposals yielded several conclusions:

• There is no research indicating that the “turnaround” model will effectively improve schools.
• It will cost the city more than $60 million to replace the necessary staff at the 26 schools.
• 18 of the 26 schools have large student populations in areas where there is a severe shortage of available teachers, such as ESL and special education.

Following the press conference on the steps of City Hall, about 75 students walked to City Hall Park to chant, sing and speak in order to bring awareness to the neglect they feel from Mayor Bloomberg.  Students also presented the “Waiting on Bloomberg” clock to track how long its been since the mayor has ignored their request for an in-person meeting. They will be posting a photo every day that the Mayor continues to ignore their request on their blog, click here to follow it!

Students Activists United led the press conference and rally. SAU!

Members of Student Activists United, Coalition for Educational Justice, Alliance for Quality Education, El Puente and Urban Youth Collaborative attended and helped organize today’s rally.