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| Santiago Taveras |
...for doing what he does best: changing grades to make a school and his alma mater the NYC Department of Education look good.
We know Santi very well. He is one of the many so-called "educators" who float through the United States getting positions high enough to have immunity from public ridicule, harassment and lawsuits. Tony Alvarado, Alan Bersin, Dr. Mike Moses, John King,
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| Alan Bersin |
Dorita Gibson (and see here), and even NYC Chancellor Carmen Farina (E-Accountability article July 2004) are on the list to take positions of power and authority, no matter what kind of job they did in the past. They all try to fit round pegs into square holes.
April 4, 2011 - Deputy chancellor Santiago Taveras steps down, the third to leave during Black's brief tenure.
Is Tony Alvarado On His Way Back To New York?
The San Diego Story: Alan Bersin’s six long years at the helm
Is Tony Alvarado On His Way Back To New York?
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| Anthony Alvarado |
The Train Wreck of Everyday Math
Norman Scott on Tony Alvarado's Return to New York City, Courtesy of Gifford Miller, NYC Councilmember
I posted my daughter Marielle's article (see below) about 'fuzzy math' at PS 6 when Carmen Farina was principal to show the despair that I and other parents at PS 6 were feeling when Carmen ended the Talented and Gifted (TAG) program at the school, and required all teachers to implement the dumbed down math program called TERC. Carmen does not believe in TAG programs. She believes that all students can remain at a nice, comfy level 2 or 3 (not 1 or 4) and this satisfies the "all are equal" slogan she lives by.
We parents took matters into our own hands and started tutoring our kids in traditional mathematics, something we were told not to do, and then told our children to hand in their answers with "fuzzy" work, just as mandated by TERC guidelines. The investigations part is hard to stomach, even today. But we all did a great job with the effort to deceive Carmen into thinking that our kids were doing the required fuzzy math as we drew the hats over the computations. Ridiculous and time-consuming, but several teachers told us to do it that way so that they would not be put into 3020-a, or terminated outright if they did not have tenure. It was a group effort, with parents, students, and teachers all in the know. Everyone but the administration. The great, courageous teachers of PS 6 are to be commended for undermining Carmen secretly. We all succeeded in reaching our individual goals for our children with their help. Carmen Farina was removed from PS 6 in 2001.
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| Carmen Farina |
However, immediately after Marielle's article was published by the NY SUN, the PS 6 administration retaliated against her. Marielle was removed from the math team and told she was 'no good at math'. I asked Marielle if she wanted to take the Johns Hopkins' Center For Talented Youth test, she said yes, and she got in, for both math and ELA. Self-esteem saved!
I saw first hand the retaliation and vindictiveness of Carmen Farina and the DOE, and it was not pretty. In fact, if I had not taken a stand to fight, my daughter would not have succeeded in her academic career as she did. When Marielle graduated from PS 6 she was accepted to NEST+M, a very excellent, rigorous academic school on the lower east side.
I won.
WHY TERC? Asks a 9 year old, Who Questions the Value of 'Fuzzy Math' For Her Future Academic Goals
Betsy Combier
betsy.combier@gmail.com
Editor, NYC Rubber Room Reporter
Editor, Parentadvocates.org
Editor, New York Court Corruption
Editor, National Public Voice
Editor, NYC Public Voice
Editor, Inside 3020-a Teacher Trials
Principal removed for changing grades to boost graduation rates
A high-profile Bronx principal was ousted Wednesday after an investigation found that he changed grades to boost faltering graduation rates, The Post has learned.
DeWitt Clinton HS Principal Santiago Taveras was removed after a Special Commissioner of Investigation probe into allegations he tinkered with grades for failing students and pressured teachers to follow suit.
As first reported by The Post, disgusted staffers blew the whistle on the former Department of Education deputy chancellor a year ago after saying they were tired of his dependence on fraud to rescue DeWitt’s reputation.
Taveras, who knew of his fate since Monday, greeted students arriving for school and left in his car, according to a source.
About an hour later, DOE officials arrived and changed the locks.
Clinton teachers confided to The Post that Taveras frequently doctored grades without their knowledge or consent while leaning on them to advance students, regardless of their classroom attendance or performance.The DOE confirmed that Taveras — a favorite of Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña — was officially severed from Clinton. “Mr. Taveras has been reassigned away from DeWitt Clinton pending a disciplinary matter,” said spokeswoman Devora Kaye. “The superintendent will work closely with the school community to support a new temporary acting principal and focus on serving the needs of its students.”
“He thinks he’s God and can do whatever he wants,” a staffer said at the time.
In one case, Taveras gave a “no-show” senior a 75 in a global-history class and hiked her failing 55 grade in gym to the minimum passing grade of 65, records provided to The Post show.
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