NY City Tenured Teacher and Former Rubber Roomer Philip Nobile Gives Up The Fight and Agrees To Irrevocably Retire - Not

Philip Nobile

Re-posted from Parentadvocates.org:

This story is true, but unbelievable, that "fighter Phil", a well-known advocate for challenging the New York City Department of Education for every lie they tell, agreed to sign an irrevocable retirement agreement on October 7, 2016, in front of a 3020-a arbitrator. He then changed his mind, and told the DOE he wanted a full hearing, and the DOE says "no", they are not accepting his rescission.
          

Betsy Combier and NYSUT Attorney Chris Callagy

NY City Tenured Teacher and Former Rubber Roomer Philip Nobile Gives Up The Fight and Agrees To Irrevocably Retire - Not
by Betsy Combier, Editor, Parentadvocates.org and NYC Rubber Room Reporter

I could not believe my eyes when I saw Phil Nobile's lawsuit in the New York State Supreme Court. I met Phil in the rubber Room at 25 Chapel Street, after my friends Polo Colon and David Pakter sneaked me in to talk with the teachers about their re-assignment. I started visiting this rubber room in 2004, but met Phil around 2007.

When you meet Philip Nobile you see that he is a fighter

He spoke at the Panel For Educational Policy (2015)
See my posted articles about Philip Nobile
Principals Pressure Teachers To Cheat in New York City
UFT President Randi Weingarten Wants Whistleblower Protection For Teachers
Changing Grades and Cheating in NYC: The Saga of Lies at Cobble Hill School of American Studies and Current Chancellor of the NYC DOE Carmen Farina by Philip Nobile 5/21/2015
Update on Retaliation Against All Whistleblowers is The Name of the Illegal Game In New York City 8/15/2012
Brooklyn Local Superintendent and Principal Allegedly Cheated on Regents Tests, Then Vindicated After a Second Investigation 7/1/2005
Retaliation Against All Whistleblowers is the Name of the Illegal Game in New York City

Phil was found guilty of misconduct after a 3020-a in 2010.

So when I saw that he agreed to give up the fight on October 7, 2016, and sign a stipulation that he would irrevocably retire after his NYSUT Attorney Chris Callagy and NYC Department of Education offered a deal, I did not believe it. What happened, I don't know. I know his Attorney Chris Callagy well, having sat in 3020-a Arbitration hearings with him as an observer since about 2004. Chris has a cult following of UFT members who consider him the best of all the NYSUT Attorneys. He is very smart and charming, but never would I believe that Phil Nobile would cave to Chris' charms and give up the fight to stay working for the DOE, if that is indeed what happened.

My guess is that Phil was convinced he would be terminated by Arbitrator Mary O'Connell and he would rather retire under charges and have his teaching certificate permanently removed, than be fired. His Specifications are harsh, but he should never have agreed to irrevocably retire. He will never be able to sue the Department or fight any untruths in these charges. Also, getting the Department to agree to undo a signed stipulation is like telling someone we are going to do root canals on all your teeth without anesthesia.

I have been successful in getting a teacher's case back onto the calendar after the charged teacher signed a settlement to resign, so it can be done. Just not the way that Phil did it, in my opinion.

I have spoken about this giving up, and have written on my blogs about how a person who gives up and does not fight 3020-a charges will forever be guilty of the charges. And a Stipulation always prohibits the charged party from suing after signing. Therefore, if you sign a stipulation to resign or retire under charges, you will never work for the Department or any of its' vendors again. Your signing the agreement states that you give up your right to fight, and you are guilty.

Here is Phil's Stipulation of Settlement.

Evidently as soon as he thought about what he had done, Phil decided it was not the right move, and he immediately contacted Chris Callagy the Tuesday following (next business day, Monday was a holiday) to rescind his agreement and move forward to a full hearing.

The Department said no way, despite an email from the Director of NYSUT's New York Office Claude Hersh, the AFFIDAVIT of Phil, and of Chris Callagy. No reason was given.

Phil hired lawyer Leonard Shrier to pursue getting the 3020-a hearing back onto the calendar. Shrier filed the Complaint on or about January 27, 2017.

Shrier states in the Complaint that a Verified Notice of Claim was filed on January 20, 2017. This means that Shrier filed the Complaint a week later, violating the rule that anybody who sues after filing a Notice of Claim must wait 30 days:

On the New York State Court website:

After you have notified the City of the claim and obtained a number, you must wait 30 days to allow the City time to review your claim and perhaps settle with you. After the waiting period, you may start an action in Court. However, the action must be started within one year and ninety days of the time of the loss, damage or injury for the above agencies. Even though the Claim Number comes from the Comptroller, the Defendant who is being sued is: City of New York, Attn: Corporation Counsel, 100 Church St., 5 Fl., New York, NY 10007

 I'm not a lawyer, but I read the law. What happened, Mr. Shrier? The Corporation Counsel did not bring that up in her Motion To Dismiss, papers - see here and here as well - so maybe the judge will ignore the violation of the 30-day rule. Shrier also inexplicably gave Superintendent Karen Watts another name in the caption - Karen "Scott". He apologized to the Court, said he would amend the Complaint with the right name. Hope so!

The issue here is, when do you give up a fight to save your job?

I think a deal can be signed if:

1. You are guilty as charged.
2. You are ready to retire, you will get full pension benefits, and you do not mind your NY State Certification being taken away from you, permanently.
3. you are moving out of State and have another position.

If #1-3 do not apply to you, then I would not think if resigning or retiring and letting the DOE change my career without my consent.

Phil? What happened?

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

Teacher who exposed alleged grade-fixing back at war with DOE

By Reuven Fenton and Selim Algar

February 10, 2017 | 1:14am

A Brooklyn teacher whose accusations led to a massive 2004 grade-fixing probe is back at war with the Department of Education.

Phil Nobile is fighting to keep his teaching gig despite being cited in 2015 for harassing a former principal — a claim he denies, according to court papers.

Nobile made headlines more than a decade ago when he claimed administrators at Cobble Hill School of American Studies, where he worked at the time, were doctoring exam grades and passing undeserving students.

Amid a lengthy investigation, then-Assistant Principal Theresa Capra and Principal Lennel George were fired and the school’s reputation was left in tatters.

But a subsequent probe in 2007 by the Special Commissioner of Investigation found that the initial inquiry — led by infamous former NYPD Detective Louis Scarcella — was flawed and Nobile’s claims were meritless.

The SCI report exonerated Capra and George, asserting that Nobile manufactured the cheating claims because Capra gave him a bad review.

Soon after, Nobile was accused of corporal punishment and vengefully flunking students. He was assigned to a rubber room where he remained for four years before being placed in District 14 in Brooklyn as a substitute, according to court papers.

Nobile denied the charges against him and claimed he was targeted for his campaign to expose grade doctoring.

The DOE moved to fire Nobile last year, asserting in court papers that he was arrested in New Jersey for harassing Capra.

Nobile told The Post Thursday that the harassment consisted of him including Capra on an e-mail chain related to the cheating accusations and that he was never arrested.

“She decided to bring that e-mail to the police,” he said, adding that she filed a complaint.

ATRs Starting To Organize Citywide Opposition To ATR Status

ATR Hiring Fair
Washington Heights Armory, 169th Street Manhattan

The pictures in this post show the many people who showed up at the "mandatory" ATR recruitment event held today and next tuesday (see previous post about mandatory fairs for ATRs)

According to one teacher who called me, the fair was "a total waste" except he saw people he knew from the rubber room in which he spent almost two years. This person said there were no positions open or offered.

Opposition to the "ATR" pool is growing, due to events like this that only serve to humiliate members placed into this unrecognized position.

There is nothing in the UFT contract about the current growing population known as ATRs. People are being dumped into this group after they have completed their 3020-a hearings and, no matter what the decision, told they are now "ATRs" So, if you are exonerated of all charges and an arbitrator says you must be placed back into your position as a permanent teacher, the NYC DOE will ignore this. And it seems that there is nothing you can do about it, because all anyone has received from the UFT is silence. Oh, I take that back. A very brave soul who was not terminated at his 3020-a, at which the arbitrator said in the record that he  was a great teacher, went to NYSUT (9th floor, 52 Broadway, Manhattan) and asked Assistant General Counsel Claude Hersh what was going on, and where in writing could he find information about Absent Teacher Reserves. Claude told him that there was nothing in writing, except that after the middle of October everyone will be moved every week to a different school.

Like THAT's going to work well.

Everyone should be sharing their stories with the blogger at NYCATR, the new blog for ATRs.

My friend Phil Nobile did just that:

UFT refuses to help ATR teachers organize

LINK
On September 10th, NYCATR posted an open letter from an ATR teacher, Philip Nobile, (see letter below) to the UFT's Co-Staff Director, LeRoy Barr. In the letter, Mr. Nobile requested that the UFT form a special chapter to represent ATR teachers.

Mr. Nobile never received a reply from Mr. Barr. Instead, he was referred to Elizabeth Perez, a UFT Special Representative. Below is an exchange of emails between Nobile, Perez, and yours truly, this time going by the name of Joseph Moses.

MESSAGE 1
Sept. 12, 2011
FROM: Elizabeth Perez, UFT Special Representative
TO: Philip Nobile, ATR Teacher

Philip,

It is my understanding that the UFT has no plans to create an ATR Functional Chapter. All ATRs have Chapter Leaders with whom they can speak with, in the schools/buildings they are assigned.

Liz

MESSAGE 2
Sept. 12, 2011
FROM: Joseph Moses, teacher and publisher of NYCATR
TO: Elizabeth Perez, UFT Special Representative

Dear Ms. Perez
I understand that ATR teachers have chapter leaders with whom they can speak. However, when these teachers begin to be shifted about on a weekly basis, they will not really have access to a chapter leader who can help them. Perhaps a special chapter of ATR teachers could be formed before October 9 when the weekly reassignments are scheduled to begin.

Joseph Moses

MESSAGE 3
Sept. 13, 2011
FROM: Philip Nobile, ATR Teacher
TO: Elizabeth Perez, UFT Special Representative

Hi Liz,
Good to hear from you, though I am surprised that LeRoy deferred to you.Surely, he could have said the same thing himself.

Naturally, I am disappointed by the news that the UFT is denying meaningful representation its neediest members. As you know, ATRs, like rubber roomers of yesteryear, are prime DOE targets. With the connivance of Tweed we are routinely kicked around in the press as no-good, unhirable teachers draining the city of $100 million a year. On top of this revolting predicament, and with UFT agreement, we are condemned to wander the wilderness of new schools every week punctuated by occasional mandated fairs for jobs that are rarely consummated.

Clearly, we nomads have special needs and interests that cannot possibly be satisfied by quickie conversations with ever shifting chapter leaders and DRs. Consequently, I do not understand why the UFT would not show ATRs, numbering around 2000, the same solidarity shown to 700 rubber roomers who were likewise separated from meaningful representation. Further, regular meetings at 52 or borough offices, would advantage the UFT as well. We can provide you with direct feedback and the informationgained would inform your negotiations on our behalf. A win-win situation, as they say.

ATRs are the least of the union brethren, and the pool is expanding every year. How will it look if the membership comes to believe that you do not care enough to recognize us via a functional chapter? Do you really want thatfight? At the least, the UFT owes us an explanation as to why we don't count enough to meet with union leaders.

Thanks for your consideration,

Philip

"Moses" of NYC ATR sent out via email about the ATR fair held today:
Over 300 ATRs (excessed teachers) lined up for another DOE sponsored job fair where most will not find permanent jobs.

It was another one of those summer mandatory futile job searches where ATRs are obligated to attend and where only a few will land a job.

Most at today's job fair were clearly senior veteran higher-paid excessed teachers and over 50% were Black and Latino.

Principals generally will hire the younger inexperience teachers who are paid less and tend not to know their
Labor rights -- thus more compliant to the whims of administrators. Many of those young teachers are graduates of the Teach For America pool who are inculcated with anti-union and anti-veteran teacher propaganda. Principals, facing mounting budget deficits and cuts, would be foolish to hire seasoned teachers who earn salaries between $80 - 100K yearly when the bargain is to hire two at those prices! The deck has been unfairly stacked against older higher paid ATRs.

At his job fair today, some expressed the hope that maybe the city will offer them an early retirement buyout.

Others shared anger at the UFT leadership for abandoning them in the 2005 contract which bargained away their right to seniority rights transfer. Now starting in October, those ATRs can not find a steady classroom job will become substitutes who will be assigned weekly to different schools in their districts to cover for absent teachers. This agreement by the UFT with Mayor Bloomberg to turn ATRs into traveling subs can force many to quit due to the untenable and unpredictable situation.

Bloomberg persists in seeking to eliminate tenure and the just "Last In First Out-LIFO" state protections. Should layoffs occur, without these protections, ATRs will be surely the first targeted for firings. Be on the look-out also for Bloomberg's allies in our schools --- an nefarious group called E4E (Educators for Excellence) is aggressively organizing to win over the hearts and minds of our newer teachers in this deceptive anti-tenure and anti-experienced teacher campaign that unjustly and cruelly blame them, instead of government, for the problems in our public schools in Chicago and Washington DC excessed teachers are given from six to nine months to find placements or else are fired. We can't let this happen here too. We can't allow our brothers and sisters to be dumped like collateral damage in this charter-privatization assault of our schools. Excessed teachers should be guaranteed a job elsewhere as was the case prior to 2005. As schools continue to be closed to replaced with charters, hundreds more of ATRs will be created. It is estimated that it costs today the city $100M yearly!

An ATR Sends Mulgrew a Letter

LINK

Good Day All!

As most of us know, the board has an inaccurate count of just how many ATRs are out there, and being that twenty-five plus schools were shuttered/given over to charters, it is fair to say there are far more then a mere 1200! For I doubt highly that all those teachers in the 25 schools were permanently placed, and I know for a fact that there are numerous colleagues of ours, who, like myself have been floating around for the last five years now since this mess began!

That being said, I sent a letter to Michael Mulgrew, (which has yet to be responded to), requesting information on how the ATRs are supposed to be evaluated for our end-of-year assessment. This is a very SERIOUS issue because with the new "agreement" on how ATRs can be used/placed many will have the possibly of having anywhere from 3 to 10 different supervisors! As it stands at the moment ATRs are being assigned for periods ranging from one to three months at any given location, with the possibly of being moved afterwards! So what criteria could possibly be used to evaluate them, since more than likely they will not be given teaching assignments and more than likely used as subs and to do scut work. Given that the three "U's" and you're out is being pushed-HARD, this needs to be clarified immediately!!!!!

If anyone out there has some information, please share it, and also do raise this issue, educators are under attack in every possible area and this seems to be just another tactic to trim our ranks, especially with 2,000 NEW TEACHERS having been hired for this school year!!!!!!

Collegially,

(Name redacted)

Sunday, September 04, 2011

ATRS OF THE CITY NEED TO JOIN TOGETHER TO STOP THE MADNESS
LINK

If you haven't already done so, then go on over to the NYC ATR Teacher blog for some real honest insight into the life of an Absent Teacher Reserve. The post about the latest so called DOE job fair is deeply moving. I can confirm from information I have received from other people who were there that NYC-ATR's post is absolutely accurate. Basically, at this time many ATRs appear to be on an informal "Do Not Hire List." Here is an excerpt of the blog piece:

The saddest thing I saw was a male teacher about my age, who had two kids with him, about the ages of my older two. His name tag said, “Technology and Computer Science” and his kids kept pointing to tables saying, “What about this one, Dad?” or “This is a high school, Dad, how about here?” and he kept answering, “No, they don’t want me, they don’t want me.” My heart broke for this man, and my anger flared at a system that throws people on the trash heap like day-old bread.

The ICE UFT blog has been complaining since before the ink dried about how the ATRs were left with third class gypsy status by June's UFT DOE agreement that will allow the DOE to redeploy ATRs to different schools every week this fall.

My phone has been ringing every day and text messages and emails have been pouring in from friends who are ATRs and can't find jobs. Remember, my school is phasing out so roughly half the teachers were excessed in June.

It's time to get these people together at more than just job fairs.

Posted by James Eterno at 9/04/2011 10:31:00 PM

3 comments:
FEDUP! said...

I agree! We are treated like garbage and that must stop! We have paid our dues and are being treated unfairly! For the last couple of years in my old school,only young teachers straight out of school were being hired. I don't how since I thought there was a hiring freeze! What do you expect? The APs and principals are very young. They do not want to have to deal with experienced teachers who may (do) know more than they do! True, it's about paying our salaries but it is also about being too experienced for the newbie administrators!

Monday, September 05, 2011 2:53:00 PM

Pre-K Teacher Tracie said...

It is true- DEFINITELY TIME for all to fight back...they need to stop hiring new employees and place the teachers that they already have.

Monday, September 05, 2011 10:30:00 PM

FEDUP! said...

Went to my old school today cause they still haven't given me an assignment and guess what????? New teachers all over the place. One girl was just certified in English and she was there for a position. My friend just told me 6 spanking new teachers were hired.Why isn't the union fighting harder fo us? This is a travesty!

Carmen Farina and the Coverup of Her Misconduct in Special Education Allocations to NYC's Neediest Students

Carmen Farina and the "Beautiful Day" Blizzard

One of the most fascinating parts about being an investigator/reporter/advocate/parent able to get behind the scenes and see what actually happens when a politician or member of the government is caught doing something wrong, is how major media spins the story to favor the government or just doesn't publish a story at all. It seems to me that every article and every action of the reporters and employees of our city and state government are controlled by Special Interests. Well, here is my Special Interest: get the facts right, save a person's name, career, family from destruction after false claims are made in order to retaliate.

I just posted the story of Phil Nobile, (see Changing Grades and Cheating in NYC: The Saga of Lies at Cobble Hill School of American Studies and Current Chancellor of the NYC DOE Carmen Farina by Philip Nobile; and blog post) which showed how Carmen Farina never revealed where the Annenberg Challenge For the Arts Grant went, and used the Office of Special Investigations to cover up cheating at Cobble Hill to keep her friends, including Kathy Pelles, safe. Phil contacted everyone in the media and all the politicians in NYC, and not one person posted his wonderful expose about Carmen Farina.

I contacted all media and politicians in NYC about the despicable harm of children with special needs starting around 1999. No one listened. I can only imagine if the major media had picked up his, my, and other people's cries for help back in 2004-2006, whether the DOE would be the mess that it is right now.

City Schools Chancellor Carmen Farina, right, seen here with Kamillah Hanks, Borough Hall liasion to the Panel for Education Policy, left, has visited Staten Island numerous times since she was appointed, and has heard complaints from special education parents, teachers and advocates about the system. (Staten Island Advance)

Special ed CEO lacks credentials; Department of Education defends choice
By Diane C. Lore | lore@siadvance.com 
Follow on Twitter 
on June 20, 2014 at 12:01 AM, updated December 12, 2014 at 11:32 AM

Of course I, and other people who choose to write about what they see, have been attacked and have had family members tarnished by the people who don't like being exposed. But exposure is important, and I believe my kids understand why I continue. We have to write about the people who believe that they can harm other people and then threaten these people into silence. Not me, they cant. Not Philip Nobile.

Kathy Pelles

Kathy Pelles was a parent at PS 6 the same time I was, and is still listed as the network leader for Cobble Hill School of American Studies. When my youngest daughter entered PS 6 I was new to the public school system, as my other 3 children attended private school (Nightingale Bamford) for elementary grades K-5. I certainly knew nothing about being on the "inside" as opposed to being on the "outside" was the way to get things done at PS 6 when I entered my daughter in 1997, even though my dad was Assistant Attorney General of the State of New York for more than 20 years, under the expert rule of Louis Lefkowitz. I guess you could say politics was in my blood, but I refused to acknowledge that political networks guide policy in public schools and not the health, safety and welfare of the students.

Carmen Farina taught me that I was wrong. She showed me that kids are last, because they don't have a voice except for their parents. So, she randomly picked the parents she could control, and threw the rest away. Carmen threw me away on May 23, 2000 and started me on my new mission, to help people wrongfully accused of something.

This spurred me to become an advocate for those without voices in NYC, launching my website Parentadvocates.org, my foundation, the E-Accountability Foundation, and our award, the  "A For Accountability Award"(TM) in 2002 and 2004.

Thanks Carmen!!

Betsy Combier

Re-post from Parentadvocates.org (2004):
 
Carmen Farina: Politics Wins With Her Appointment as Deputy Chancellor in New York City 
Parentadvocates.org has spoken to teachers, parents and administrators for more than three years about Mrs. Farina and her actions as she rose in the ranks of the New York City Department of Education. E-Accountability OPINION: unsatisfactory; Recommendation: resignation or termination
 LINK          

Carmen Farina

It is much too early to tell whether she'll have the job permanently," Bloomberg told the Daily News in March. "But I have not heard one bad word about her." 

From the desk of Betsy Combier, former Executive Board member of the PS 6 PTA, who worked closely with Deputy Chancellor Carmen Farina for 2 years until May 23, 2000. That afternoon, after finding out that PS 198 did not receive equal part of the $225,000 Annenberg Challenge for the Arts Grant money in partnership with PS 6, (at an Annenberg Conference Ms. Farina sent me to at Riverside Church), I asked "where is the money?", a question that spurred a telephone call from Ms. Farina to my home during which she accused me of hiring/firing all the arts teachers at PS 6, taking the money (I never touched any money, never saw checks, never knew anything about the finances of the school), and speaking for PS 6, my worst crime. 

Carmen Farina's appointment as Deputy Chancellor of the New York City Department of Education is as clear a message as the the New York City public has received to date that our Mayor simply is not listening to anyone outside of his immediate inner circle. 

For the past three years The E-Accountability Foundation has interviewed parents and teachers at PS 6, in District 15 (Brooklyn), and from region 8, where Mrs. Farina was Regional Superintendent before being appointed Acting Deputy Chancellor of the NYC DOE in February, 2004, and then made Deputy Chancellor in May. Her disdain for parents - aside from those who she brings into her closed circle of friends - is legendary, and her School Leadership Team Bylaws at PS 6 violate almost every clause in the "Green Book" on SLT Regulations. She was reprimanded by the Director of the Parent Advocacy and Engagement Office, Jamal Young, in a May 2001 letter to me, sent to Carmen, Superintendent Shelley Harwayne, and several

Shelley Harwayne

 

other people. Nothing was done about the Bylaws or the SLT at PS 6, but Jamal's aunt Birdie Blake-Reid was found guilty of improper payments of public funds to employees, and fined by the Conflict of Interest Board soon after. Ms. Harwayne "retired" a day after current Deputy Mayor Anthony Shorris who also, like Carmen, was brought back to the Mayor's office by Bill De Blasio.

Mrs. Farina is a Master at threatening retaliation for any deed that she does not support, and she follows up her threats quickly and forcibly. 

Mrs. Fariña has been given the task of defending the city's work with special education students and the mayor's third-grade retention plan, among all the other items on the Mayor's agenda. She gets an A for spinning information that is false and misleading, making it sound legitimate, and silencing anyone who questions the data or her presentation. She has the power to have people who work for her scream and threaten parents and teachers so that she doesn't have to do all the work herself. This is a Master at work, as we uncover the major disgrace that is special education in New York City. Mrs. Farina gleefully told a packed Hunter College auditorium in May that she completed 12,000 evaluations in the month of March. We did our math, and divided 12,000 by 23, the working days in March. This means that more than 521 children were 'evaluated' every day, and the only way this could happen is if someone was paid to sit in a room, put a signature to a stack of evaluations, and throw the children's needs into the garbage. We do not believe that an in-depth evaluation of all the services and requests for assistive technology for each child was done.

What else do we know about Carmen?

Carmen Farina was the Principal of PS 6 on the Upper East Side of Manhattan for 10 years.During that time she developed a highly efficient teaching group, she kept the scores on standardized testing high, she implemented an almost total "fuzzy math" curriculum, ended the Gifted and Talented Program, kept teachers in their place by instituting fear for speaking out against her in any way, and denied parents who dared to confront her on anything any involvement in the School Leadership Team or on the PTA or any school committees. Parents asked questions about $225,000 for three years' partnership with PS 198 under the Annenberg Challenge for the Arts Grants, but this money was never accounted for. Under the grant guidelines from Annenberg, the Principal was responsible for establishing the evaluation. This, we believe, was a mistake. We wrote letters, tried to reach by telephone, and attended events of, the Center For Arts Education in order to ask questions about the implementation of the arts programs at PS 6 and PS 198, but no one would speak to us. District 2 Superintendent Shelley Harwayne would not speak to us. Ms. Cynthia List, former person in charge of School Leadership Teams, told me that she had "been told not to speak with me." We also wrote the Special Commissioner For Investigations, Mr. Ed Stancik. His office never replied:

Mr. Edward Stancik
Special Investigator
65 Court Street
Brooklyn, New York 11201 May 17, 2001

Dear Mr. Stancik,

I am writing this letter to ask you to investigate Mrs. Carmen Farina, and her actions pertaining to the allocation of money received from the Annenberg Challenge For the Arts Grant.

Mrs. Farina was Principal of PS 6 from 1982 to February 1, 2001. She left in February to become Interim Acting Superintendant of District 15 in Brooklyn. In 1997 the Annenberg Foundation gave PS 6 and PS 198 in Manhattan a grant of $75,000 per year ( thus giving these schools more than $225,000 for performing arts programs ). This partnership between PS 6 and 198 was supposed to be used by both schools in partnership, and was to hire artists and groups for both schools.

I started working with Mrs. Farina at PS 6 on a program called The Arts Together Community Partnership (ATCP) in 1997. This group was designed to follow the Annenberg grant and raise money for the performing arts at both schools after the grant ended. I did not work on the grant itself, and had no knowledge of the money or artists involved with the Annenberg Grant.

In May, 2000, Mrs. Farina called me up and, completely out of the blue, accused me of taking the money from the Annenberg grant, and of hiring and firing all the artists in the school. She threw my work on the ATCP in the garbage, and wrote The Center For Arts Education and ArtsConnection that I was hiring and firing everybody.
Since this time I have found out:

1. No one knows what arts programs PS 198 had, if any. Some people I spoke with said that there seemed to be no partnership at all. 

2. The Principal of 198 at the time, Ms. Gloria Buchery, has been removed, and has refused to tell anyone what partnership existed, if any. She has not spoken with anyone about the Annenberg money.

3. The Treasurer for PS 6 has told me that even though all the Annenberg money was kept at PS 6, no one on the Executive Board knew what was being spent, or to whom it was going to. Mrs. Farina had total control over the funds.

4. This year, the 5th Grade at PS 6 did not have arts classes, even though the Grant does not end until June of this year. My daughter, in 3rd Grade, was told that her drama class was cancelled due to lack of money.

We parents at PS 6 and PS 198 want to know where the $225,000 was allocated, when, and to whom. Please investigate this and Mrs. Carmen Farina.

Thank you. Mrs. Farina may be reached at:

District 15
Acting Superintendant
360 Smith Street
Brooklyn, NY 11231
718-330-9300

Home: 29 Tiffany Place #PH3
Brooklyn, NY 11231

Please let me know, as a member of the parent organization desiring this investigation of Carmen Farina, what you find. 
Betsy Combier

The Annenberg money was particularly troubling, as there was no accountability for the funds, and indeed the Annenberg Foundation does not consider this a successful program.

In October 1997 I spoke with Carmen about helping her fundraise for the arts. She asked me to help her find a way to raise money for the arts at PS 6 when the Annenberg grant ran out. Over the next several days I thought about a parent-driven project that would be centered around a community association for the arts. Carmen loved the idea, so for the next 8 months I and several other parents discussed what is now known as "The Arts Together Community Partnership". 

PS 6's grant from Annenberg was part of the Annenberg Challenge for the Arts, designed to partner two very different schools so that each could provide and share the grant money and arts programs. The Arts Together Community Partnership worked as a parent-driven organization that brought funds into both schools through a membership/community association. In March 2000 Carmen gave us $2000 to produce the ATCP brochure, and we were able to print 1000 copies for $1995. She loved it.

Carmen asked me to speak with the partner school's Principal, Gloria Buckery (former PS 198 Principal, now Region 6 Superintendent). I went over immediately with the brochure, and Gloria joined the Arts Together Community Partnership on the spot, donating $25.00. I brought the check back to PS 6 and left it with Carmen, as one of my rules is to never hold money that belongs in a school bank account.

Then, a strange thing happened. Carmen did not let me know what she would want the parents to do. We were meeting in the school cafeteria, but whenever we had a logistics problem, Carmen just did not answer. Then she told me that she wanted me to attend the Annenberg Conference on how to follow the grant with arts-funding ideas. I went to Riverside Church on May 23, 2000 for the conference, and went to an afternoon session at which I spoke very briefly about the ATCP. Two teachers from 198 told me at the end of the day that they had never heard of The Arts Together Community Partnership! They seemed very surprised to see the logo, with PS 6 on one side, and PS 198 on the other, because they did not know if, indeed, there were any arts programs at 198 funded by Annenberg. I was very concerned. When I returned home I received a telephone call from Carmen Farina, and she was extremely upset. She screamed that I was firing all the Annenberg artists, I was hiring others, I was taking the money, and I would not get away with it. She said, "You have NO right to speak for PS 6". I was stunned.
The next day I did exactly what she wanted, and that was to resign from my lunchtime club - helping 4th and 5th graders learn about charitable organizations - and my position on the PTA Executive Board. A few days later I received a letter in the mail that told me Carmen and Jane Gordan, the PTA President as witness, had thrown all the Arts Together Community Partnership materials into the garbage. Carmen wrote that I would NEVER set this project up at PS 6. Luckily, I had several brochures at home. 

In 2003 Carmen spoke at the New York City Council about her new community Organization Program, "First Tuesdays". She said that all the restaurants in 15 were joining this program to supply needed After School money to district schools. The idea was very similar to the ATCP. So, I guess Carmen liked the ATCP after all! Just to make sure, I called Mr. Weiss up at the District 15 office, and asked him about "First Tuesdays". He told me that Carmen had thought up this wonderful program while at PS 6, and had set it up there very successfully. I asked him to send me the information, which he did.

On February 1, 2001 Carmen Farina became Superintendent of District 15 and left PS 6. As many of my friends wanted me to run for PTA President at PS 6, I decided to run. On April 24, 2001 I presented my program to the PS 6 community in the auditorium, and noticed Carmen entering the room. She started screaming that I had maligned her name, that no one should vote for me, that I was suing everyone at PS 6 and should never be allowed to run for any office, and other statements equally defamatory. I did not see anyone in the room breathing. Carmen sat down in the front row and glowered at me. I lost to Jane Gordan, who was removed early into the 2002-2003 school year by her own Board.

Carmen never wanted parents to be involved at PS 6, and was often shutting parents out of the school and the classrooms. She does not like School Leadership Teams, as she told us when the "Green Book" on SLT regulations came out, and she told the Executive Board "we are not going to do this." The SLT Bylaws that she wrote with the help of a few members of the Executive Board stated that there were "4 members of the PS 6 SLT: the Principal, the Assistant Principal, the PTA President and the PTA Vice-President. [The regulations are that SLTs must have between 10-17 members]. Article 6.2 of the SLT Bylaws states that " As Open Meetings Law does not, according to Central Board apply to SLTs,"and that parents would not be allowed to attend SLT meetings unless invited. When we parents questioned this policy, we heard that Carmen told the District 2 office that she had received a waiver from the rules. Ms. Gwen Hopkins, at the Board of Education Parent Engagement Office, thought this was very funny. She called me and told me that she heard the waiver claim, and that the one person who had the only copy of this waiver took it with them when they left the BOE. So no one knew where it was. Teachers we spoke to were very happy to see her leave. Below is an email from a retired special education teacher [parentadvocates.org is protecting her by not posting her name]:

"As the parent of a public school student and a retired special education teacher who worked in District 15 during Ms. Farina's tenure as superintendant, I strongly disagree with your take on her. She was autocratic and a whole language and constructivist math fanatic.She came into schools with a nasty attitude and a clipboard checklist and cared only about bulletin boards, word walls, desk arrangements and book leveling. It was Farina who set up the deliberately misleading introduction of the new curriculum at P.S. 172, claiming their remarkable success was due to "Month-by-Month Phonics" when the school had in fact been using Open Court, a highly structured reading program, at the time of the test results. She brought in Laura Kotch, an even colder, nastier proponent of lock-step whole language, who introduced the insidious Month-by-Month Phonics, designed to shut up those of us concerned with results while failing to teach decoding. [any] praise of Carmen Farina was disheartening to many of us who worked with her."

On April 30, 2004, the NY SUN published our letter:

Carmen Farina's Old School:
No one represents, in my opinion, all that is wrong with the New York City Department of Education better than the new acting deputy chancellor for teaching and learning, Carmen Farina. ['Farina's Old School Finds It hard To Match Her Results", Julia Levy, Page 1, April 23, 2004]. I am a former PS 6 parent who believes in transparency, accountability, respect for everyone, and honest reporting of statistics and test results. Carmen, unfortunately, seemed to be not interested in any of these.
She did not believe in School Leadership Teams, so she set up the PS 6 Team with 4 appointed people (the minimum allowed are 10, and all members are supposed to be elected) and wrote Bylaws which clearly opposed any parent involvement - Clause 6.2 of the PS 6 SLT Bylaws reads:
"By directive of the Central School Board, "open meetings" laws do not apply to SLTs, therefore uninvited guests will not be permitted to attend or participate in the meetings."
"Uninvited" guests are, of course, PS 6 parents, teachers, anyone outside the 4 people (who were the Principal, the Assistant Principal, the CSA representative and the PTA President). She pushed these Bylaws through Central by telling everyone that PS 6 had a waiver. No one ever found a copy. 
Carmen, as she always does, retaliated. After leaving PS 6 and in the position of Superintendent of District 15, on April 24, 2001attended the PS 6 PTA meeting at which I spoke about running for PTA President. As soon as I finished my campaign speech she screamed that I should not be elected for undermining her, maligning her name, and other equally defamatory remarks to the 70 or so parents in attendance. No one who was in that room that evening ever forgot this outburst.
Carmen never told us where the Annenberg Challenge For the Arts money was. We saw that PS 6 had some arts programs, but our partner school, PS 198, did not seem to have any. She would not answer our questions. When we asked where the funds for PS 198 were, Carmen went on the attack, and threw the Arts Together Community Partnership, a parent-driven organization designed to help fund and publicize the arts at PS 6 when the Annenberg grant ended, into the garbage. She then accused us of interfering in the allocation of the Annenberg money by hiring and firing the dance teachers, a claim that was totally unfounded and ridiculous. We did stop asking questions, in fear of the welfare of our children at the school.
We were told by teachers that Carmen took the brightest kids randomly out of testing rooms to give them as much time as necessary to complete tests. We would compare notes after the tests to find out which children had been moved to another room.
Carmen stopped the PS 6 Gifted and Talented program, and to the present day parents of exceptionally bright children try to move them elsewhere. She implemented policies of "fuzzy" math and whole language to the extent that many teachers told us "their hands were tied", and "get instruction from a tutor". Scores at the school in math have gone down since she left.
Carmen gathers around her a group of loyal supporters who do not allow anyone to say anything uncomplimentary about her. Nothing anyone says outside of this clique is listened to or respected.
When I was in grade school I learned that history repeats itself. Carmen Farina as Deputy Chancellor of the New York City Department of Education is a step back into the dark ages of school reform where transparent budgets, people respecting the views and opinions of others, and accountability just dont exist.

Betsy Combier
parentadvocates.org

And those "high scores" that PS 6 reports are not what they seem. Parents compared notes on how many of the brightest kids were taken out of the testing room and tested separately - presumably to give these kids all the time in the world, so that they could get perfect scores? These kids certainly did not have special needs or 504 accommodations. The scores themselves are suspect: this just in from our Math experts:
Keep in mind, Carmen Farina left PS 6 in January, 2001. In 2004 the National Academies reported that there is no scientific basis for Carmen's math programs.

~If one tracks cohorts of PS 6 kids (3rd graders in 1999, 4th graders in
2000 and 5th graders in 2001), the number who score in Level 4 in math drops
precipitously each year. 

~In 2000, PS 6 had the greatest decline in District 2 in Performance Level 4
math achievement on the 4th grade test (28% pt drop!) - much greater than
any other schools'. Some schools' 4th grade Level 4 scores actually rose.
Districtwide, 4th grade Level 4 achievement dropped 6% pts that year.
Districtwide, 4th grade passing scores remained flat at 76% passing in 1999
and 2000. 

~In 2001, PS 6 had the greatest decline in Performance Level 4 on the city
test (3rd and 5th grades) (23% pt drop!) - greater than any other school's
Level 4 declines, some schools' Level 4 scores rose. Districtwide, Level
4 scores on the city test dropped 6% pts (same as in 4th grade the year
before ) Districtwide city test passing scores dropped 3% pts, 2000: 61.2
2001: 58.3

~ There were nowhere near the precipitous drops out of Level 4 4th grade
scores (state test)that PS 6 showed (1999-2000) in the other TAG schools. In
the same year (2000-2001) PS 6 Level 4 declines were also highest among TAG
schools on the 3,5,6 grade test (citywide test) One TAG school's scores
improved slightly (PS 11) while the others showed some decline (following
the district trend), PS 124 and PS 130 came close to the level of PS 6
decline. 

Betsy Combier,
Editor, Parentadvocates.org
Founder and President, The E-Accountability Foundation
President, ArtsNexus and The Arts Together Community Partnership (thrown into the garbage by Carmen Farina May, 2000)

PS 6 School Leadership Team Bylaws written by Carmen Farina in 2000NYC Deputy Chancellor Rewards Gifted, Privileged Kids in NYC Public Schools by Raising 4 Years of AP Grades

For more on Carmen Farina and District 2, go to www.nychold.com

Related Articles:False Claims of Special Education Successes Cloud the Bloomberg/Klein Reform

Despite Too Many Questions of Improprieties, Carmen Farina is Named Deputy Chancellor For the New York City DOE

 

The National Problem of School Overcrowding is Victimizing Our Children: Whose Lies Do

YOU Believe? by Betsy Combier  8/16/2005

Despite Too Many Questions of Improprieties, Carmen Farina is Named Deputy Chancellor For the New York City DOE  7/14/2004

 

Philip Nobile: UFT Silent On ATR Rights and Representation

Printable Version >> CURRENT EVENTS "Why does Michael Mulgrew’s UFT persist in shafting ATRs by denying us representation within the union? Why hasn’t the Mulgrew established a bill of rights for ATRs? In contrast, Randi (Weingarten) arranged for rubber roomers to elect liaisons who met monthly with UFT Secretary Michael Mendel and Co-Staff Director LeRoy Barr at 52 Broadway. She also produced a pamphlet on our rights. Surely, what was good for reassigned members in the past is good for ATRs in the present."                   UFT President Mike Mulgrew     UFT Silent On ATR Rights and Representation By Philip Nobile Why does Michael Mulgrew’s UFT persist in shafting ATRs by denying us representation within the union? Why hasn’t the Mulgrew established a bill of rights for ATRs? In contrast, Randi (Weingarten) arranged for rubber roomers to elect liaisons who met monthly with UFT Secretary Michael Mendel and Co-Staff Director LeRoy Barr at 52 Broadway. She also produced a pamphlet on our rights. Surely, what was good for reassigned members in the past is good for ATRs in the present.  The UFT disagrees. Instead of real representation the union has handed us crumbs, insisting that revolving (and usually invisible) chapter leaders are all the representation we need.  On Sept. 24, hoping to change hearts and minds, I emailed two questions to the chain of command (Mulgrew, Mendel, Barr, Amy Arundell, Brooklyn Borough Rep. Howie Schoor, and my Brooklyn District Rep. Tom Bennett): (1) Why hasn’t the UFT drawn up an advisory to CLs (Chapter Leaders) on how to handle ATRs? Or have I missed it? In the good old days of rubber rooms, we not only had elected reps (liaisons) and monthly meetings at 52 Broadway, but Randi produced a brochure on our rights. (2) Can you explain why ATRs in good standing get less respect than accused members in the past? There was no reply until October 9 when Bennett emailed me and said to give him a call. I preferred a written response and Bennett obliged in his fashion. Herewith the ensuing correspondence revealing the UFT’s contempt for ATR rights:  Oct. 10: Bennett to me Ok, written response it is. I dont agree with the premise of question #2 in your email, so, I cant respond in a meaningful way. As for #1, there is no specific handbook on ATRs for chapter leaders, but it has been addressed at Chapter Leader training and at monthly meetings. Professional courtesy, bathroom keys, no menial assignments, no 6th period, etc. have all been emphasized repeatedly. It has also been addressed in chapter leader weekly, as well. Sorry to hear you are in high dudgeon, but I think I am innocent of the charge of being unavailable. If I dont respond it is because I dont know the answer, or because your question is, shall we say, tendentious. But I have always taken your call. Let me know where you are, and Ill come by. Oct. 13: Me to Bennett et al:  Good to hear from you. Thanks for the info on the indoctrination of chapter leaders in the care of ATRs. In my experience it’s not working. The only CL to meet and greet me in Brooklyn and Staten Island all last year was the esteemed Bill Kalogeras at Automotive. If the union were serious about the least of its members, at the least you would establish a protocol whereby CLs welcome their ATR brothers on day one, maybe even get them a cup of coffee. Is that too much to ask? If you were an ATR, wouldn’t you like to be treated with such solidarity?  The premise of question 2, as you know, is the UFT’s refusal to grant ATRs the same rights as rubber room residents of the past. Nobody in the UFT, including you, has explained why ATRs in good standing are less worthy of direct representation than suspect resassigned teachers who had elected liaisons to guard their interests at monthly meetings at 52 Broadway with LeRoy Barr and Michael Mendel no less. This is what I meant by a dearth of respect. Once again, if you were an ATR, wouldn’t you prefer to have a representative fighting for you inside the UFT instead of depending on invisible chapter leaders? Nevermind the Unity line, tell me what you really think.  Thanks for your consideration. Oct. 16: me to Bennett et al. Let's stipulate that you're in a tough spot along with Amy, Howie, LeRoy, and Mendel. Apparently, none of you can explain (justify) denying ATRs in good standing the same representation (e.g., elected liaisons and monthly meetings at 52) once granted reassigned members in bad standing. So why not walk the golden bridge of retreat and give ATRs their due. Call it solidarity. Oct. 17: Bennett to me Thanks for the email. Your comments are very thoughtful, as always. I look forward to seeing you at the meeting. Oct. 17: Me to Bennett et al. How sad, even pathetic, that you won't express your personal opinion on the union's refusal to extend the same representation rights to good standing ATRs that were formerly bestowed on suspect rubber room members.  The UFT's refusal to deal with this disparate treatment is really shabby. But you know that. You just can't admit it. You've taken the Unity oath.  Posted by Norm @ ed notes online at 11:30 PM  Email This BlogThis! Share to Twitter Share to Facebook 5 comments: AnonymousOctober 19, 2012 12:45:00 AM EDT Hello!! The ATRs should file a suit against both the DoE and UFT for discrimination. Last time you did, it caught the attention of the media and then that caught Randi's attention. Stop writing emails that get you nowhere and get together and file a class action suit. Isn't the writing on the wall. The UFT plans to sell ATRs down the river in this next negotiation. Reply AnonymousOctober 19, 2012 7:07:00 AM EDT Important information for city-wide ATR's (ALL TITLES) Next week on Tuesday, October 24, there is a meeting for all ATR's at the UFT Bronx Office. Not surprisingly this meeting is buried on the UFT calendar: http://www.uft.org/events/atr-informational-meeting ATR's of all titles are invited to attend this informational Q & A session on ATR-related issues and to meet the representatives of the Bronx Borough Office. It has been suggested by an ATR who has assumed a leadership role, that ALL ATR's, including those on the GEM listserve attend the Bronx meeting in order to speed up the quickly moving organization of ATR's. Should the meeting turn out to be a performance by Amy Arandle whining, "you're lucky to have a job," then all attendees at the meeting can rapidly retreat to the parking area to exchange contact information which will further strengthen the ATR movement. It has been reported that a list of city-wide ATR's has recently surfaced. Hopefully, this list can be used to urge attendance at the ATR meetings.  Reply Replies AnonymousOctober 19, 2012 8:32:00 AM EDT I agree it is time to file the lawsuit Reply Angry ATROctober 19, 2012 7:26:00 AM EDT Bronx ATR meeting is on WEDNESDAY, October 24, 2012 Reply AnonymousOctober 19, 2012 8:29:00 AM EDT Several physically-challenged ATR's have hired a lawyer to file a lawsuit against the UFT. Many of these ATR's are forced to WALK long distances (Like 8-10 Blocks) from subway stations after ascending and descending steep staircases. When they arrive at their 3 to 4 floor "schools-of-the-week" they find that many schools lack working elevators. Then these educators are forced to demean themselves, pleading with a cold-hearted leadership academy principal for an assignment on one floor for the day! This situation is outrageous. Reply