Renewal Schools Give New Job Opportunities To NYC DOE Higher Ups Who Have Proved Their Worth

At the New York City Department of Education, anyone who plays along with the prevalent policy of the day (policies change, and employees hoping to stay employed change with them without question) gets promoted, coddled, rewarded, and benefits+.

The renewal policy will be, I believe, the newest disaster to hit the health, safety and welfare of the children trying to get a good education in NYC public schools. 

 

Similar to the secret intent of the Workshop Model - namely to get rid of teachers - renewal is another name for "ditch the bad". Yes, all readers, it was our very own Carmen Farina who created and pushed the Workshop Model with its ridiculous scripts for teaching on the New York public school system, starting at PS 6 in Manhattan. Luckily, for purposes of having the right to say it doesn't work, I was at PS 6 when the Workshop Model destroyed the learning of the kids and the careers of the teachers.

I wrote an article about my youngest daughter's distress over TERC math, the fuzzy anti-learning policy also implemented also so that teachers and students could fail in higher order thinking in math concepts.

At PS6, what a group of parents and I did was to take the homework, work with our children to do the math in the traditional way, then put the hats over the numbers and scribble "work" onto the page that looked like we were getting the answers from literally fuzzifying the process. Our kids learned math the traditional way, but handed in fuzzy work to please the teachers, all of whom were told by Carmen Farina to punish any child not doing the homework the fuzzy way. (source will not be disclosed) Carmen ended the Gifted and Talented program at PS 6 because "all kids can learn" and a level 2 or 3 is fine.

At Stuyvesant High School, a separate curriculum was established for the kids who took fuzzy math in District 2, because they had no grasp of the traditional math concepts and had to be on a separate track.

We have posted before that the words "bad" or good", "properly" or "improperly", etc., are subjective opinions. When you hear the word “incompetent”, look at the person who is writing or saying it. The word itself is situation specific. For example, if a teacher is tenured and teaches chemistry for 10 years and then the Principal assigns this person to teach high school English literature, most people would say that perhaps this person would be “incompetent” to teach that subject. When you find out that a teacher was placed in a Senior calculus class but actually is certified in teaching global history, you know something is wrong. When you hear that a teacher is “incompetent”, the very next question should be “at what?”

But the UFT ignores the contract when a teacher is placed in a classroom outside of his/her licensed content area and then is observed and given "U" and/or discontinuance.

Shame on them.

Betsy Combier, Editor

Executive Director of Renewal Schools

Tracking Code

11232

Job Description

Please Note:  Position only open to internal NYC Department of Education employees. The filling of all positions is subject to budget availability.

Position Summary: The New York City school system is the largest in the country, composed of approximately 1.1 million students and 75,000+ teachers in over 1,800 schools. The school renewal program is a top-to-bottom evaluation to improve struggling schools. Renewal Schools receive supports such as transformation into a Community School, expanded learning opportunities, and increased professional development. 94 Renewal Schools have been identified; elementary, middle, and high schools in need of support based on criteria including low academic achievement (test scores and graduation rates) and low ratings on the DOE’s Quality Review.

The Executive Director of School Renewal will work intensively with each Renewal School community over the next three years, setting clear goals, and with support from central, hold each school community accountable for rapid improvement. The Executive Director oversees all existing and new Renewal Schools in New York City, serves as an advisor to the Chancellor, Executive Superintendent of Renewal Schools and DOE senior leadership, and liaises with internal and external partners to ensure that the Chancellor’s vision for Renewal Schools is realized. Performs related work.

Reports to: Executive Superintendent for Renewal Schools

Direct Reports: Director of Program Planning and Evaluation, Director of Data, Analytics and Renewal Accountability, Director of Programming, Director of Communication Strategy, Director of Operations and HR, Director for Renewal High Schools, Senior Coaches for Renewal Schools, School Renewal Program Director for High Schools

 Key Relationships: Superintendents, Executive Director of Community Schools, Directors of School Renewal, Principals, school staff, School Leadership Teams, DOE Central staff and Deputy Chancellors’ Offices

 Responsibilities

 ·         Provides direction, counsel, and support in a broad range of instructional, strategic, logistical, and  

          administrative areas to Renewal Schools.

·         Coordinates with Executive Director of Community Schools to deepen support for renewal schools within the community.

·         Oversees school needs assessments for renewal schools across all six elements of the Framework for Great Schools.

·         Manages the Renewal Team in building capacity for cross-functional roles by designing, implementing and providing tools and resources for professional development.

·         Identifies issues facing renewal schools, addresses road blocks, and ensures that issues are seen through to resolution.

·         Serves as an advisor to the Chancellor, Executive Superintendent and DOE senior leadership on Renewal Schools to set policy for renewal schools.

·         Manages a variety of special projects that require a high degree of research and analysis; evaluates results and presents recommendations to Executive Superintendent to be used as a basis for policy decisions.

·         Supports the Superintendents and principals and ensures that best practices are utilized in a seamless and coordinated fashion throughout the Renewal Schools. 

·         Oversees the design, delivery and implementation of workshops and professional development related to accountability, special education, operations, instruction, data, assessment, teacher quality and strategies that accelerate student achievement in Renewal Schools. 

·         Supports Principals capacity-building efforts around resource optimization, strategic staffing, and effective operational practices that impact and accelerate student achievement.

·         Support Superintendents in recruiting and selecting new principals/leadership.

·         Provides guidance and support to Renewal Team regarding management of their teams and meeting their goals and targets.

·         Works collaboratively across central offices to ensure consistent and effective application of best practices, developing key relationships to ensure the smooth flow of information and work processes for Renewal Schools

 Qualification Requirements:

Minimum

Must currently possess a New York State Certification as a School District Administrator (SDA) or School District Leader (SDL).

Plus

·         Prior successful school leadership experience in a diverse urban setting.

Preferred

·         Successful central policy making experience in managing a multifaceted complex organization.

·         Experience in supporting organizational change and school turnaround.

·         Excellent and effective communication skills, including the ability to organize facts and present information and figures in a clear, concise and logical manner, both orally and in writing.

·         Strong leadership, teamwork and influencing skills, with experience in managing project teams at all levels in a cross-functional, diverse and changing environment.

·         Experience in effective program design, development and implementation.

·         Strong ability to evaluate and provide feedback to ensure the alignment of program goals and DOE instructional priorities.

Salary: $144,315+

Please be sure application includes cover letter and your 6-digit file number

Applications will be accepted through August 12, 2015 at 3:00PM.

Please Note:  Position only open to internal NYC Department of Education employees. The filling of all positions is subject to budget availability.

 

AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

It is the policy of the Department of Education of the City of New York to provide educational and employment opportunities without regard to race, color, religion, creed, ethnicity, national origin, alienage, citizenship status, age, marital status, partnership status, disability, sexual orientation, gender (sex), military status, prior record of arrest or conviction (except as permitted by law), predisposing genetic characteristics, or status as a victim of domestic violence, sexual offenses and stalking, and to maintain an environment free of harassment on any of the above-noted grounds, including sexual harassment or retaliation.  Inquiries regarding compliance with this equal opportunity policy may be directed to: Office of Equal Opportunity, 65 Court Street, Room 1102, Brooklyn, New York 11201, or visit the OEO website at http://schools.nyc.gov/OEO

Job Location

NEW YORK, New York, United States

Position Type
Full-Time/Regular
New Posting
Yes
Readvertisement
No
Recanvass
No
District
N/A

School Renewal Program

 The New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE) is partnering with school leaders, staff, families and community partners across the city to transform 94 schools through the School Renewal Program.

The School Renewal Program is a call to action. The NYCDOE will work intensively with each Renewal  School community over the next three years, setting clear goals and —with support from Central—holding each school community accountable for rapid improvement. The NYCDOE has selected as Renewal Schools those schools that met all three of the following criteria and four that were added per the Chancellor’s discretion:

1. Were Identified as Priority or Focus Schools by the State Department of Education
   Priority: The bottom 5% lowest-performing schools statewide
   Focus: The bottom 10% of progress in a subgroup
2. Demonstrated low academic achievement for each of the three prior years (2012-2014):
   Elementary and middle schools in the bottom 25% in Math and ELA scores
   High schools in the bottom 25% in four-year graduation rate
3. Scored “Proficient” or below on their most recent quality review

Building on the Chancellor’s vision, the NYCDOE is looking beyond test scores to determine where schools need to improve.

Key elements of the plan include:

1. Transforming Renewal Schools into Community Schools, with deepened support from and for families and community partners. Partnerships with community-based organizations will enable these schools to offer tailored whole-student supports, including mental health services and after-school programs.
2. Creating extended learning time – an extra hour added to the school day to give all students additional instructional time.
3. Supplying resources and supports to ensure effective school leadership and rigorous instruction with collaborative teachers.
4. Performing school needs assessments across all six elements of the Framework for Great Schools (rigorous instruction, collaborative teachers, supportive environment, effective school leadership, strong family-community ties, and trust) to identify key areas for additional resources.
5. Bringing increased oversight and accountability including strict goals and clear consequences for schools that do not meet them.

Here are the key next steps:

A needs assessment will be completed in each Renewal School by spring 2015 to identify specific focus elements from the the Framework for Great Schools and to develop goals for improvement.

Each School Leadership Team will work in partnership with NYCDOE leadership to create a School Renewal Plan and a road map for success.

NYCDOE leadership, school leadership, educators, families and the community must come together to support and accelerate improvement for students and staff of each Renewal School.

The NYCDOE is committed to working collaboratively as we strive to provide all of our students a high quality education to get them ready for college, careers and independent living.

List of Renewal Schools

P.S. 015 Roberto Clemente Henry Street School for International Studies P.S. 149 Sojourner Truth Wadleigh Secondary School for the Performing & Visual Arts P.S. 050 Vito Marcantonio Renaissance School of the Arts Coalition School for Social Change P.S. 123 Mahalia Jackson P.S. 194 Countee Cullen P.S. 132 Juan Pablo Duarte High School for Health Careers and Sciences I.S. 528 Bea Fuller Rodgers School P.S. 154 Jonathan D. Hyatt J.H.S. 162 Lola Rodriguez De Tio Foreign Language Academy of Global Studies New Explorers High School J.H.S. 123 James M. Kieran M.S. 301 Paul L. Dunbar Holcombe L. Rucker School of Community Research Urban Assembly Academy of Civic Engagement The Bronx Mathematics Preparatory School Herbert H. Lehman High School The Hunts Point School Banana Kelly High School J.H.S. 022 Jordan L. Mott I.S. 117 Joseph H. Wade J.H.S. 145 Arturo Toscanini I.S. 219 New Venture School Bronx Collegiate Academy Leadership Institute I.S. 313 School of Leadership Development Bronx Early College Academy for Teaching & Learning Urban Science Academy New Millennium Business Academy Middle School DreamYard Preparatory School I.S. 339 Bronx High School of Business J.H.S. 080 The Mosholu Parkway P.S. 085 Great Expectations The Bronx School of Young Leaders Academy for Personal Leadership and Excellence The Angelo Patri Middle School Fordham Leadership Academy for Business and Technology DeWitt Clinton High School P.S. 112 Bronxwood Globe School for Environmental Research The Young Scholars Academy of The Bronx

School of Diplomacy P.S. 092 Bronx School of Performing Arts Peace and Diversity Academy Fannie Lou Hamer Middle School Entrada Academy Urban Scholars Community School Monroe Academy for Visual Arts & Design P.S. 067 Charles A. Dorsey Satellite East Middle School MS 596 Peace Academy J.H.S. 050 John D. Wells Juan Morel Campos Secondary School Foundations Academy Automotive High School Frederick Douglass Academy IV Secondary School Boys and Girls High School Upper School @ P.S. 25 M.S. 584 Middle School for Academic and Social Excellence Ebbets Field Middle School Brooklyn Generation School East Flatbush Community Research School P.S. 306 Ethan Allen Essence School P.S. 328 Phyllis Wheatley Multicultural High School Cypress Hills Collegiate Preparatory School P.S. 165 Ida Posner P.S. 284 Lew Wallace P.S. 298 Dr. Betty Shabazz Brooklyn Collegiate: A College Board School Pan American International High School Flushing High School Martin Van Buren High School P.S./M.S 042 R. Vernam M.S. 053 Brian Piccolo P.S. 197 The Ocean School August Martin High School Richmond Hill High School John Adams High School J.H.S. 008 Richard S. Grossley P.S. 111 Jacob Blackwell Long Island City High School J.H.S. 291 Roland Hayes I.S. 349 Math, Science & Tech. Academy of Urban Planning

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Once Again, The Teacher Tenure Debate: It's About Who Will Get the Billions In Public Money, not Teacher Effectiveness

I wrote a short post on my view of tenure after one of my daughters' teachers disappeared without a trace when she was in the 11th grade at NEST+M. The Principal, Dr. Olga Livanis, who had followed me to NEST after I spent 8 years at Stuyvesant High School with 2 of my daughters and hoped never to be in the same building with her again, didn't like English teacher Adam Miller, for reasons known only to her. My daughter and all of her friends thought that Adam was the most amazing teacher ever, and he was going to write their college recommendations for them, until he just wasn't there anymore. He sued and won his job back, at NEST, but my daughter had started college by then.

What happened when Adam left? Dr. Livanis had substitutes, one replacement (for 2 days) came from Bronx Science, and the last was a young guy that was just starting out in a career of teaching. The kids liked him a lot, so decided that he was ok, and he stayed until the end of the year.

I went to parent visiting day, and the teacher from Bronx Science tried to teach the students, and she was probably an excellent teacher. But the students wanted her to bring Dr. Livanis to the classroom and tell them what happened to Adam. Finally, she went to get Dr. Livanis, who eventually came into the classroom with Superintendent Alexis Penzell, who I knew quite well from the theft of money at Stuyvesant HS. Dr. Livanis and Ms. Penzell tried to explain that there are decisions that had to be made, and that was that. This insufficient response pleased no one. The teacher in place that day resigned her position at NEST+M and, I heard, went back to her former position.

I watched all the mini-tenure advocates with first, amazement; and then admiration. They wanted Adam Miller back, and stood up for what they wanted.

Unfortunately, all the students did not learn what they could have learned, academically, but they all did well on their Regents and SAT tests, because they were all G&T, which masked the fact that the curriculum was interrupted permanently by Dr. Livanis' game-playing.

 The debate over teacher tenure is a debate about politics in education and who is going to get paid the $billions in public money, not about teacher effectiveness. See Good Teachers Denied Tenure: Harris Lirtzman

and: 

Chronicles of (the conceptually incoherent & empirically invalid world of) VergarNYa

Betsy Combier


The Teacher Tenure Debate
NYC Rubber Room Reporter 2010

Theresa Europe, Director of The Administrative Trials Unit, NYC Board of Education (pictured at right)

Is holding onto a tenured teacher a policy of the past that has no value for the present?

I've read alot about tenure, especially after being involved in the rubber room process for seven years as a journalist/paralegal/educator, yet I am a parent, too, of four daughters.

I dont hear very often about how children see "teacher effectiveness", or how a child feels when a teacher disappears, so I asked my youngest daughter, Marielle, who is now 17 and heading off to college in September. She recalled the day two years ago that a teacher she liked suddenly disappeared without explanation. She remembered every detail, and she told me that all of her friends were tormented by the disappearance. She and her friends valued the way this teacher listened to their statements in class, and how this teacher respected their answers, telling each of them that there was value in every perspective. This was a social studies teacher who also was funny at times, serious with his aim to focus on the lesson, but always respectful of each student and his/her contribution to the daily conversation.

One day he was there and the next day a substitute sat at his desk. Marielle and her friends were insulted at the Principal's lack of concern for their feelings, and never totally forgave her (the Principal).

I'm going to continue to ask the kids what they think, because isnt all the talk about teacher tenure really about educating young people to become the best they can be? We all must listen to all voices, no matter what age and/or training he/she has in the biography.

Is Teacher Tenure Necessary?
LINK

Tenure is under attack. The century-old system of protecting experienced teachers from arbitrary dismissal — long viewed as sacred — has triggered hot political debates in several states.

"Teacher effectiveness" has emerged as the biggest buzz phrase in education policy circles. Because teachers have such potential for affecting the quality of children's education, some people are starting to argue that it must become easier to get bad teachers out of the classroom.

"There seems to be a lot of drive to do away with tenure," says Sandy Kress, who helped write federal and state education laws as an adviser to George W. Bush and other policymakers. "Tenure has proved to be just a horrible barrier to getting rid of that small percentage of teachers who are just not effective."

Action All Over

This is not merely an academic debate. A bill in Colorado that would change tenure rules and tie them to student performance passed out of a Senate committee last week and has the support of Democratic Gov. Bill Ritter. A Florida bill to abolish tenure was vetoed this month by Republican Gov. Charlie Crist, but a similar bill is pending in Louisiana.

Debates about tenure rules are happening at the local level as well, notably in Washington, D.C., where a proposal to eliminate tenure and seniority rules in exchange for higher pay led to protracted arguments over the local teachers' contract.

Washington state, meanwhile, along with Maryland and Ohio, has recently lengthened the number of years teachers have to wait before becoming eligible for tenure. Elementary and secondary school teachers can become eligible for tenure after as little as two years on the job, although the time frame varies by state.

"What's become so problematic about tenure is that it's awarded almost automatically, without regard to performance in student learning," says Sandi Jacobs, vice president of the National Council on Teacher Quality, which advocates changes to the teaching profession.

A Matter Of Due Process

Unlike tenure for university professors, tenure for K-12 teachers does not, in theory, shield them from dismissal. Instead, it's simply a guarantee of due process — that if a teacher is fired, it will be for cause.

The advent of tenure, which coincided roughly with World War I and the suffragist movement, was meant to protect teachers, who, in olden days, were often fired for reasons that had nothing to do with their work, including race.

Teachers were often let go when a new political party came to power locally, or if the principal wanted to hand out jobs to his friends, or even if a teacher got pregnant.

"These laws were passed in state after state to protect good teachers from arbitrary actions," says Dennis Van Roekel, president of the National Education Association, which is the country's largest teachers union.

"Due process is necessary in order to avoid the type of abuses of the past," he says. "It's very upsetting that in 2010, under the guise of improving schools, we suddenly get rid of protections from firing teachers for inadequate or wrong reasons."

Are Protections Still Needed?

Advocates of overhauling tenure say they favor due process. But they point out that tenure predates subsequent labor laws that guard against discrimination or other employer abuses. "So much has changed about our larger legal framework," says Tim Daly, president of The New Teacher Project, which helps place teachers in urban schools. "A law about teacher tenure, by far, is not the only thing that would protect you."

This point now is commonly made, but Susan Moore Johnson, who teaches at Harvard's Graduate School of Education, says, "I'm not really convinced there are more protections now. You continue to hear stories about how favoritism is alive and well in public schools."

For his part, Daly doesn't advocate the abolition of tenure, but he does believe it needs to be changed. Dismissals should be job related, he says. But the problem he sees is that there are so many legal and managerial hurdles involved in dismissing a teacher that tenure has become a de facto shield against firing even the worst teachers.

"Tenure says you can't be dismissed unless you are shown to be incompetent through the evaluation process," Daly says. "But the evaluation process doesn't work at all, so tenure is seen as an ironclad guarantee of a job."

Change May Be Coming

That's where policy advocates have spotted an opening. It's clear that the way teachers are evaluated will undergo change. The federal Race to the Top program, a $4 billion pot of money meant to encourage states to pursue innovative educational strategies, insists on tying teacher evaluation to student performance.

The ins and outs of how student scores on standardized tests are weighted in evaluating teachers can quickly turn into a topic of interest only to insiders. In contrast, the public can understand and respond to the idea that a lifetime job guarantee has become anachronistic in today's economy.

Getting rid of tenure is still going to be a tough sell. Teachers unions are generally considered among the strongest lobbies in most states, and job protection for their members goes to the heart of their mission.

Johnson, the Harvard professor, says that unions make convenient targets for blame in such matters, noting that even teachers without tenure are rarely dismissed. She has studied some of the few districts where teachers are regularly let go — which are those where joint panels set up by unions and administrators sit together in judgment.

"Principals will say, 'The reason I don't dismiss anyone is because the union will stand in the way,' " Johnson says. "But where teachers are dismissed, it's through a peer review that guarantees due process."

Less Than 1 Percent Fired

Firing teachers is hard. New York, Chicago and Los Angeles have each fired fewer than 1 out of 1,000 of their tenured teachers in recent years. Those numbers are not unusual.

Administrators complain that the process is too draining. Reviews of dismissal cases can take years to make their way through the system, costing tens of thousands of dollars each.

Teachers say that administrators are themselves at fault for performing perfunctory, "drive-by" evaluations. One study of selected districts in four states found that 99 percent of teachers receive "satisfactory" ratings.

Sometimes, bad publicity can curb the worst abuses on either side. The Los Angeles Times found last December that L.A. schools deny tenure to fewer than 2 percent of probationary hires, with evaluations often amounting to nothing more than a single, pre-announced classroom visit lasting 30 minutes or less.

Following the report, Superintendent Ramon C. Cortines pledged greater scrutiny. In February, the district announced it would fire more than 110 nontenured teachers for performance -— three times the annual rate in recent years.

Earlier this month, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the United Federation of Teachers announced the city would close the district's "rubber rooms," where teachers are paid to sit and do no work, often for years, while awaiting the outcome of dismissal hearings.

Newspaper and magazine articles about the rubber rooms — which Bloomberg labeled "study hall for teachers" — had embarrassed both the city and the union. Now, teachers will be assigned to administrative or nonclassroom duties while cases are pending, with the city hiring more arbitrators to speed up the process.

Chancellor Carmen Farina Returns To Her Old Ways, Bringing Back Unworkable Balanced Literacy. Is TERC math Next??

Marielle Combier-Kapel

 Carmen is up to her old tricks. When she was at PS 6 as Principal, she did away with the Gifted and Talented Program, because she said that "all children learn". (My youngest daughter entered PS 6 in 1997 when Carmen was Principal). She considered a low 3 or high 2 for all would be a great way to equalize the student population. We called her the Great Equalizer, the person to whom "differentiation" was a foreign language that she never bothered to learn. Most parents and teachers despised her.

One parent told her that the kindergarten class with more than 30 children was too large, and this parent offered to pay for a third teacher. She told him he could leave. He did.

Then she implemented TERC math, and had all students learning that "long division" was a term never to be uttered at any time, and Balanced Literacy and "Accountable Talk" were concepts that were to be held in high esteem....for reasons unknown. The parents - including me - were furious. My daughter, Marielle, when she was in 4th grade, wrote an essay called "Why TERC" (it was her idea) which was published in the Riverdale Review.  Then, I published the flyer handed out to all parents about the crime of teaching long division:

Why TERC? Letter from a Manhattan Fourth Grader

An editorial by Marielle Combier-Kapel, then in fourth grade in P. S. 6, Manhattan, with an introduction by her mother, Betsy Combier, and a flyer from the school.

Marielle and the Children's Chorus at the NY City Opera, in La Boehme

 

VOICE OF THE PEOPLE:

LETTER TO THE EDITOR:

 In reference to Mr. Barnicle’s piece “Where There’s No Will, There’s No Way To Fix Schools” (Feb. 17) and Allison Gendar’s article “Ed Board Perks Under Fire”, (Feb. 12), I, a parent of four girls all now in public schools here in New York City, want to add my outrage. The children and parents in the public school system in this city have an Enron situation with the Board of Education. Only in our case we are hoping that the “company” disintegrates quickly. The Members of the Board are  famous for never contacting anyone with a problem, much less taking any action to fix it. The shooting at Martin Luther King Jr. High School was a visible result of Chancellor Levy and the Board members turning a deaf ear to months of warnings.

On October 5, 2001, I called the Chancellor’s office to discuss a problem in a school which looked illegal, and was told by his secretary, “the Chancellor never takes telephone calls from parents. Put it in writing and fax it to him, and he will respond within 7 days.” I did what she told me to do and am still waiting to hear his reply. The situation I would have liked him to look at is now worse than I originally thought.

Another bizarre example of the educational fraud our kids are being subjected to is the $millions spent on a “fuzzy math” program which is leaving our children unable to do traditional multiplication and long division. I and my fourth daughter are furious that the system is betraying her and ignoring her passion to learn the basic skills which her sisters , who were all in private school during their elementary school years, had. She wrote her thoughts below. It’s time to do something, Mr. Bloomberg. 

                                                                                    Betsy Combier      

 WHY TERC?
by Marielle Combier-Kapel
4th Grade, PS 6

Parents are making tutors crazy calling them all the time because of TERC math. Kids don’t have time to do anything  because all they do after school is get tutored in math. There is no one to have playdates with anymore!

 Citywide math scores are falling, but Board Of Education officials say that the District 2 math scores on the Standardized tests are high, therefore the TERC math curriculum is a good thing. Many District 2 parents are spending lots of money on  tutoring, which brings up the scores, giving the impression that TERC is good for us kids.

Tutoring is great if your parents have money to spend on this.

TERC math shouldn’t be the only kind of math schools teach to their students. Just because some students aren’t that smart, the schools are sending  flyers home to parents saying that they should not teach their child traditional math which includes long division and algorithms. I like long division!

My mom says:
“Fuzzy math condemns our kids by not allowing them to establish an understanding of base computations which will empower them as they reach higher levels of problem-solving.

The Board of Education policy to implement TERC math and ONLY this curricula is assuring our kids an immediate future of confusion, or worse, boredom, and a long-term disability in
math achievement and academic performance in non-math subjects as well. Learning traditional math as a reference is similar to having a Spanish dictionary when you are trying to write something in Spanish.”

Parents are now calling other parents to find out if they tutor their children in math or not, and are signing up my friends.

 One of my sisters’ teachers at Stuyvesant told my mom that  the math at the Freshman level may have to be changed to a lower achievement level, as kids from District 2 who are getting in are having trouble with the traditionally rigorous math program. A  teacher at my other sister’s honors program told my mom that she has never seen children in 7th grade who are not able to do long division.

What may happen is that I may be unable to compete for college places because the math teaching I have received is not teaching me what I should know. Is that fair?

Marielle Combier-Kapel
[Betsy Combier:] I scanned in the flyer my daughter Marielle received from her 4th Grade teacher one week after I had a talk with her about TERC, and how my daughter was upset at being told NOT to do long division. The teacher, who we do like alot, whispered to me that "her hands were tied". Below is the flyer and Marielle's Editorial which she wrote except for my quote, and she emailed it to the NY Times.

Dear Family,

In mathematics, our class is starting a new unit called Arrays and Shares. This unit focuses on multiplication and division. Students begin the unit by looking at things that are arranged in rows, for example, juice packs, egg cartons, and rows of chairs. Through examining these rectangular arrangements (or arrays), they begin to visualize important aspects of multiplication, for example, that the solution to 7 X 6 is the same as the solution to 6 X 7.

            As students go on to work on two-digit multiplication and related division problems, it is       
             critical that they visualize how to pull apart the numbers they are working with. To solve
             these harder problems, students learn to use related problems they already know how to 
             solve. For example, the problem 7 X 23 can be solved by breaking the problem into more
             familiar parts: 7 X 10, 7 X 10, and 7 X 3.

While our class is studying multiplication and division you can help in the following ways:

             Look for items around your house or at the grocery store that are packaged or arranged in     
             rectangular arrays. Tiles on the floor, egg cartons, window panes, and six-packs of juice      
             cans are examples of rectangular arrays. Talk with your child about the dimensions (rows
              and columns) and discuss ways to figure out the total number.

Play the Array Games that your child brings home for homework. Help your child practice skip counting by 3's, 4's, 5's, and so forth.

When your child brings home problems, encourage your child to explain his or her strategies to you. Ask questions, such as "How did you figure that out?" and "Tell me your thinking about this problem", but don't provide answers or methods. Show that you are interested in how your child is thinking and reasoning about these problems.

Please don't teach your child step-by-step procedures for computing multiplication and division. Too often we find that children at this age memorize the multiplication and division procedures but cannot recognize situations in which multiplication and division are useful. We will gradually support students this year in developing several strategies for carrying out multiplication and division problems, but we would prefer they not memorize procedures at this time.

Thank you for your interest in your child's study of mathematics. We are looking forward to an exciting few weeks of work on multiplication and division.

Sincerely,

From Betsy: A great site to read about how bad TERC really is, is AMERICAN MATH FORUM, where you can find this:

TERC 2nd Edition

Number and Operations with Whole Numbers

Multiplication and Division

http://investigations.terc.edu/library/curric-math/multdiv_2ed.pdf

TERC 2nd Edition

Authors and Collaborators

http://investigations.terc.edu/developing/authors-collab/

TERC

Computational Algorithms and Procedures

http://investigations.terc.edu/library/curric-math/comp_algorithms.pdf

TERC

Developing Fluency with the Facts

http://investigations.terc.edu/library/curric-math/fact_fluency.pdf

 

At P S. 158 in Manhattan, which is among the schools that have adopted aspects
of balanced literacy, a student-driven model.

Carmen Farina: The Problem With Her Being Chancellor of the NYC School System Is.......

 

New York Schools Chief Advocates More ‘Balanced Literacy’
LINK

The reading lesson began like any other. Tara Bauer, a teacher at Public School 158 on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, took her perch in front of a class of restless fourth graders and began reciting the beginning of a book about sharks.

But a few sentences in, Ms. Bauer shifted course. She pushed her students to assume the role of teacher, and she became a mediator, helping guide conversations as the children worked with one another to define words like “buoyant” and identify the book’s structure.

“Turn and talk,” she said as she raced around the classroom, prodding students to share their impressions.

The student-led approach to reading and writing used by Ms. Bauer, which is known as balanced literacy, is poised to make a comeback in New York City classrooms. The new schools chancellor, Carmen Fariña, wants more schools to adopt aspects of balanced literacy, including its emphasis on allowing students to choose many of the books they read.

The move, while cheered by proponents of this method, is seen by some as a departure from recent trends in the city and nationwide.

Lucy Calkins, a professor at Teachers College at Columbia University and an
early advocate of balanced literacy, at P.S. 158.

The city’s Education Department turned away from balanced literacy several years ago amid concerns that it was unstructured and ineffective, particularly for low-income children. And Ms. Fariña is facing sharp resistance from some education experts, who argue that balanced literacy is incompatible with the biggest shift in education today: theCommon Core academic standards.

During her almost six months as chancellor, Ms. Fariña, a veteran of the school system, has reduced the role of standardized tests, increased collaboration among schools and shepherded through a new contract for teachers that includes more training and more communication with parents. But her push for a revival of balanced literacy may have some of the most far-reaching implications in the classroom.

Ms. Fariña, who relied on balanced literacy as a teacher and a principal, said in an interview last week that she did not believe it was at odds with the Common Core, a more difficult set of learning goals that has been adopted by more than 40 states.

She said she thought the strategies of balanced literacy were particularly useful for children who arrived in classrooms with little knowledge of English, including immigrants. “They’re going to feel frustrated, alienated,” she said. “You need to put them on something they can accomplish and do fluently.”

The Common Core demands that students frequently read books at and above their grade level, and some of its proponents take issue with the idea of allowing struggling students to read easier books. Susan Pimentel, an architect of the Common Core standards, said that the philosophy was “worrisome and runs counter to the letter and spirit of Common Core.”

Balanced literacy, so called because it combines several approaches to reading and writing, has a relatively long history in American education. It emerged as a product of the progressive movement of education in the 1970s and ’80s, when teachers were searching for an alternative to the top-down, textbook-driven approach to literacy in many schools. It was based on the idea that children were natural readers and writers; teachers needed only to create the conditions to unleash their talents.


Under the method, long-winded lectures by teachers were discouraged, and students worked frequently in groups — called workshops — to read and write. Spelling and grammar were de-emphasized in favor of fluency. Textbooks were scrapped in favor of classroom libraries teeming with novels and plays. And students were encouraged to write about social justice issues and tell their personal stories.

Balanced literacy took off in New York under Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, who mandated the approach citywide in 2003 as one of his early efforts to shake up the school system. The city turned to Lucy Calkins, a professor at Teachers College at Columbia University who was one of the early advocates of balanced literacy, to help train teachers.

The shift prompted complaints that balanced literacy was loosely organized and lacked rigorous instruction in phonics, an approach that teaches children how to sound out words. Ms. Fariña, who became deputy schools chancellor in 2004, worked to respond to those doubts, arguing that balanced literacy could be used in tandem with robust efforts in spelling and phonics.

But after several years of experimentation, the department moved away from balanced literacy. School officials grew concerned that students lacked the knowledge and vocabulary to understand books about history and science. In 2012, a study found that a small group of schools that used balanced literacy lagged behind schools that used a differing approach known as Core Knowledge. (Education officials in the current administration said the study was too small to be meaningful.)

When the city released a list of curriculums it recommended under the Common Core standards last year, it omitted balanced literacy, amid worries that it was not sufficiently comprehensive to be labeled a curriculum. Still, many schools continued to use Ms. Calkins’s methods, and now at least several hundred of the 1,700 schools use at least some aspects of balanced literacy.

Ms. Calkins, the founder of the Reading and Writing Project at Teachers College, has continued to make the case for balanced literacy, which is in wide use across the United States. She has tailored her approach to the Common Core standards, by increasing the amount of nonfiction, incorporating more discussion of difficult texts and decreasing the amount of time devoted to personal writing.

“I don’t really agree with rigid, myopic interpretations of the Common Core,” Ms. Calkins said in an interview. “It needs to be a big tent.”

Ms. Pimentel, the Common Core architect, said she believed that balanced literacy could be used under the new standards, so long as students were regularly exposed to complex books, read a mix of fiction and nonfiction and were asked to write about the texts they read, and so long as there was a focus on building knowledge through reading.

Ms. Fariña said she was confident that balanced literacy had incorporated the tenets of the Common Core. “I believe the world is comprised of a lot of nonfiction reading, and we need to put that in there,” she said. “But I still don’t want to lose the sense that kids write about things they’re personally involved in and write about their own memoirs.”

But some experts remain unsatisfied and point to the Common Core’s requirement that students develop a “rich” body of knowledge across a variety of subjects through reading.

“One of the best things you can do to build reading proficiency is to build a strong base of background knowledge,” said Robert Pondiscio, a senior fellow and vice president at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, a research organization. “When you have 24 kids reading 24 books, you’re not accounting for that.”

Ms. Fariña and Ms. Calkins have been friends for decades. Ms. Calkins wrote the introduction to one of Ms. Fariña’s books, and Ms. Fariña worked for several years as a consultant for Ms. Calkins’s group after her retirement from the Education Department in 2006.

In May, Ms. Fariña asked Ms. Calkins to host a seminar on her methods for hundreds of principals; in August, New York City teachers will be invited to a similar event.

The Education Department did not respond when asked how much it was paying Ms. Calkins’s program.

In the interview last week, Ms. Fariña emphasized that while she believed in balanced literacy, she would not mandate its use in classrooms or add it to the city’s list of preferred curriculums.

“I’m just asking people to have a common-sense approach,” she said.

At P.S. 158, the students and the staff have rallied behind the curriculum. On a recent day, second graders rewrote the story of the Gingerbread Man, adding their own plot twists and flourishes.

Ms. Bauer, the fourth-grade teacher, said balanced literacy had improved her teaching and inspired a love of reading in her students.

“This hooks students in a way that other approaches don’t,” she said. “They become highly motivated. Every lesson has a higher purpose.”