The NYC Department of Education Refuses to Investigate Claims of Corruption and Fraud Against Former Chancellor Richard Carranza

Richard Carranza

 The corruption just keeps getting worse. We know that Richard Carranza resigned after a sob story about family COVID hardships which I doubt ever occurred. Then he moved to Texas to work for an organization he was prohibited from working for due to rules of engagement with a company that does business with the NYC DOE. Then, we find out his wife was ditched for a woman who Carranza hired for a lot of money to work for the NYC DOE in a title that is an unofficial writeoff, and Carranza never was approved by the Conflicts of Interest Board (COIB) to hire this woman, Rachel Sosa-Gonzalez, and others, in the first place. Finally, our wonderful Mayor Bill de Blasio has blocked any investigations into any of this.

Raquel Sosa-Gonzalez and Former Chancellor Richard Carranza

 But SCI's job is to do just that, and there are many stories of corrupt people being investigated while at the NYC DOE (see the case of Peter Quinn, February 22, 2021). Add this substantiated report to the others, cited in this blog - David Hay, SCI report on David Hay, Miosotis Ramos, Maspeth High School, etc. But Richard Buery was not given any fine. SCI Reports. 

DOI (Department of Investigation), what have you to say about this? Taxpayers and parents want to know....need to know...have a right to be told what happened, and whose pockets were lined other than Mr. Carranza and Rosa Sosa-Gonzalez.

Such a disgrace for the Mayor and all of us for electing him (I did not vote for him).

Betsy Combier

betsy.combier@gmail.com
Editor, Advocatz.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

City mum on Carranza corruption complaints, no probe for affair with underling

NY POST, Conor Skelding, September 11, 2021

City investigators are not probing whether ex-Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza had an affair with a subordinate he hired — and won’t say if they are still looking into multiple corruption complaints filed previously against the former Department of Education boss.

Carranza was accused of hiring several pals from around the country for six-figure DOE jobs that were never posted publicly in 2018, the year he arrived in NYC.

Carranza is now shacked up in San Antonio, Texas, with one of those pals, Raquel Sosa. The pair met years ago in Houston, when Carranza was superintendent there and she was an elementary-school principal.

It isn’t clear just when their relationship became more than professional, but Sosa moved into Carranza’s Texas home months before she quit her DOE job in late August. She registered to vote from the Lone Star love nest on March 20, just five days after Carranza stepped down in NYC.

The city charter prohibits financial relationships, such as cohabitation, between superiors and subordinates.

Carranza, 54, is still technically married. His wife, Monique, filed for divorce in August 2020. Sosa, 47, formerly Sosa-Gonzalez, was divorced by the time she moved to New York in 2018.

When Carranza quit the top DOE job, he said he needed time to mourn relatives who died with COVID-19. Less than a month later, he took a job at an educational technology company with millions in city business, IXL Learning.

The city charter prohibits government employees from soliciting, negotiating or accepting a job at a city vendor while in city service. It also limits how former public employees working for city vendors can interact with the city.

Councilman Robert Holden (D-Queens) called for an investigation into Carranza’s job negotiations by the Conflicts of Interest Board and the Department of Investigation in April. DOI said at the time it referred the matter to the Special Commissioner of Investigation for schools, or SCI.

Holden said he also lodged a formal complaint against Carranza’s hiring of cronies — and SCI confirmed to The Post Friday that this case was closed and no action taken.

Regina Gluzmanova, an SCI rep, told The Post that “during the course of his tenure, and in the immediate aftermath, SCI received numerous complaints regarding former-Chancellor Carranza and his administration.”

She said that “certain matters” have been closed, while others may be pending. She refused to say which other matters were open.

Gluzamanova said SCI never received a complaint regarding Carranza and Sosa’s relationship, and would not be investigating it.

“SCI never received a complaint regarding Chancellor Carranza’s romantic involvement with Ms. Sosa, or anyone else for that matter, nor did any allegation of such involvement surface during the course of a previous investigation,” she added. “As Sosa and Carranza are no longer employed by the City, nor do either reside within the jurisdiction, we feel that the best use of our limited resources is to continue with the important investigations that benefit the students, families, and taxpayers of New York.”

SCI has in the past investigated ex-Department of Education employees.

“It stinks to high heaven,” Holden said, demanding that the Carranza/Sosa affair be probed. “The fact that the mayor’s not interested speaks volumes about his administration.”

A DOI rep, Diane Struzzi, refused to comment on the Carranza probes, or lack thereof, referring The Post to SCI.

A COIB rep, Chad Gholizadeh, said that confidentiality rules prohibited him from discussing complaints or investigations.

Mayor Bill de Blasio has blocked SCI investigations into Carranza, whistleblowers alleged in 2019. The mayor’s office didn’t return a request for comment.

Former NYC Chancellor Richard Carranza Makes It Official, Shacks Up With Former NYC DOE Senior Administrator

 

Raquel Sosa-Gonzalez and Former Chancellor Richard Carranza

When Mayor Bill de Blasio appointed Richard Carranza, who was, at the time, schools boss in Houston Texas, as NYC Chancellor after  Alberto Cavalho suddenly turned down the job did anyone think that the choice of Carranza was legitimate? 

I didn't think so.

Lawmakers, parents blast de Blasio for selecting schools chancellor pick accused of sexual discrimination

First, this is New York City. Grabbing someone from Houston Texas rather than NYC where there are thousands of worthy people was already suspicious. Second, the word out on Carranza was not good and never changed. Rumors of his separation and divorce were heard very soon after he started. 

Raquel Sosa, his girlfriend, was brought by Carranza from Houston to NYC as senior director of ELL (English Language Learner) students in December 2018 at a starting salary of $149,000. In October 2019 Sosa got a raise to $156,274 and a new title as "senior director for development, support and implementation in the Office of Curriculum, Instruction and Professional Learning", whatever that means. The NYC DOE is notorious for giving people titles that have no job descriptions or duties to match.

But hiring someone with whom you are in a relationship is frowned upon in NYC, but the NYC DOE does not seem to be very good at sifting out those who should not be on the payroll.

See here:

David A. Hay, NYC DOE Deputy Chief of Staff is Arrested

Richard Carranza accused of waiving rules to give pals high-paying jobs

Carranza did not care, and neither did Mayor de Blasio. As far as we know, Carranza was not reprimanded.

See this Post article published September 9, 2021

Carranza + Gal Pal's Tex 2-Step

The whole Carranza thing smelled fishy even after Carranza resigned suddenly in March 2021, mainly because a majority of NYC residents do not trust or like de Blasio anymore, calling him the worst Mayor ever. (worse than "Boss" Tweed?)

Now we have proof that something very wrong was going on, thanks to Sue Edelman and the NY POST, see below. 

Betsy Combier

betsy.combier@gmail.com
Editor, Advocatz.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

Ex-chancellor Carranza shacking up with staffer he hired for six-figure job

by Susan Edelman, NY POST, September 4, 2021

Ex-NYC Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza has left his wife for an administrator he brought from Houston to New York for a six-figure Department of Education job.

Raquel Sosa, who quit the DOE just last week, and Carranza now list the same luxury high-rise condo in San Antonio, Texas, as their current address, records show.  

Their relationship appears to confirm a complaint that Carranza used his powerful position to favor pals, but one that city school investigators did not touch.

In December 2018, eight months after Carranza became NYC chancellor, his administration named Sosa, a Houston elementary school principal, “senior director of ELL (English Language Learner) newcomers and students in temporary housing” with a starting $149,000 salary. 

In October 2019, Sosa got a lofty new position — “senior director for development, support and implementation in the Office of Curriculum, Instruction and Professional Learning,” officials said. Her salary increased to $156,274 in 2020.

Sosa worked remotely until mid-July. Her last day was Aug. 31, said DOE spokeswoman Katie O’Hanlon. 

Carranza quit his $363,346-a-year chancellor’s job in March — with schools still in session amid the pandemic — after leading the nation’s largest school system for nearly three years. He explained he had to mourn loved ones lost to COVID-19, but promptly took a job with an ed-tech vendor with millions of dollars in DOE  contracts

Last week, Carranza and Sosa posted the same cheek-to-cheek Facebook profile photos

Carranza, 54, makes no secret of their romance. He has commented on various photos of Sosa, 47, making remarks such as “Absolutely gorgeous mi vida!!!!”

On Aug. 12, when Sosa posted a video of a Mariachi concert, Carranza wrote,  “Thank you for joining me, mi amor. Te amo.”  

Sosa met Carranza when he served as Houston’s school superintendent. Formerly Sosa-Gonzalez, she was already divorced when she moved to NYC. 

Richard Carranza and his wife, Monique, filed for divorce in Brooklyn Supreme Court in
August 2020. [photo:Matthew McDermott] 

Carranza was married. His wife, Monique, filed for divorce in Brooklyn Supreme Court in August 2020, and eventually moved back to California while he remained on the job in the city. They have two children. She did not return calls. The divorce is not final, according to court records.

The hiring of Sosa and two other friends from California, where Carranza was schools superintendent in San Francisco, generated a complaint in early 2019 to the Special Commissioner of Investigation for NYC schools, The Post revealed.

A whistleblower letter said DOE put them on the payroll in 2018 “at the direction of chancellor Carranza,” without advertising the openings, as usual, and without interviewing other candidates.

At the time, Carranza called the criticism a form of bias against him as “a man of color.”

The SCI said this week, “This case has been closed,” and  “no further information is available.” 

A spokeswoman refused to say whether SCI investigated the allegations, or why it closed the case. She insisted that Mayor de Blasio had no influence on its decisions.

Another woman named in the complaint to SCI, Martha Martin, was a San Francisco teacher who met Carranza when he was that city’s schools superintendent. Hired in October 2018, the DOE named her associate director for community and family empowerment in the Division of Multilingual Learners, with a $119,587 salary. Martin resigned in October 2019, the DOE said. A spokeswoman gave no reason.

Also named was Abram Jimenez, then vice-president of Illuminate Education Inc., a California ed-tech firm doing business with NYC schools. He was named “executive director of continuous school improvement,” a newly created title that now doesn’t exist. Jimenez quit that  $205,416-a-year job in July 2019 as The Post prepared to reveal he held stock in software vendor Illuminate Education, an apparent conflict of interest.

Carranza and Sosa did not respond to requests for comment.

Former NYC Chancellor Richard Carranza Takes a Job With IXL, Ignoring Conflicts of Interest Board Guidelines

Ex-chancellor Richard Carranza's new gig with a DOE vendor raises serious
conflict-of-interest concerns. photo: Paul Martinka

I actually feel sorry for DOE spokeswoman Danielle Filson. She has to support the NYC Department of Education as a public agency that puts children, the law, and ethical employment policies in place when this is so obviously untrue.

See the story about Deputy Chief of Staff David Hay, just one example; another is the harm that Francesco Portelos has done to children, co-workers, everyone who crosses his path and yet remains a permanent teacher paid with a sweetheart deal by the NYCDOE.

Lucio Celli, who in November 2018 threatened to stab to death three judges in the Federal Courts, was put in jail then released on bond paid by his parents with the condition that he is prohibited from using the internet (and thus cannot have any contact whatsoever with kids or anyone) and he cannot leave his parent's house ....yet remains, throughout 2020 according to seethroughny.net on salary at $118,000.00:

Celli's criminal trial starts on May 17, 2021, in the Eastern District Court in Brooklyn.

My work centers around helping teachers who are being charged with acts they never committed and are being placed into 3020-a arbitration disciplinary hearings where the DOE's focus is on termination of employment. So many of these educators are innocent. Lucio Celli however has never been brought to a 3020-a. Francesco Portelos was and received a $10,000 fine with a warning to stop his harassment of co-workers. He ignored this and set up UFT Solidarity, which in my opinion is a hate group that attacks anyone who someone says did something bad, without proof. I and others call this libel and defamation.

Teachers are picked randomly to be charged and terminated, but one common theme is that no one can say anything bad about a principal or higher-ups in the DOE leadership (except, it seems, for Portelos and UFT Solidarity):

NYC Education official likened Stuyvesant High to Chinatown: lawsuit

It is interesting that an educator no longer works at the DOE after reporting a "derogatory" statement with the word "Chinatown" in it? Huh?

What is most worrisome is the fact that politicians in NYC are not doing anything to change the policy of "hands-off" to the unethical hiring practices or actions by the DOE.

The press secretary to Comptroller and Mayoral hopeful Scott Stringer is quoted below as saying,

" “The DOE often spends beyond registered contract maximums before submitting amendments or extensions to the comptroller’s office,” said Hazel Crampton-Hays, press secretary for Comptroller Scott Stringer."

When Mr. Stringer was Public Advocate, he also looked the other way when I brought information to him about NYC DOE policies that harmed parents and students, such as the case involving Johnnie Mae Allen and her son.

Without any consequences to bad acts, those people who choose to commit bad acts will continue to do them. The New York state legislature should pass legislation holding the Department and the Mayor accountable for misconduct and actions which are improper or wrong under state laws and common sense.

Betsy Combier
Editor, ADVOCATZ.com
Editor, ADVOCATZ blog
Editor, Parentadvocates.org
Editor, New York Court Corruption
Editor, NYC Rubber Room Reporter
Editor, NYC Public Voice
Editor, National Public Voice
Editor, Inside 3020-a Teacher Trials

Richard Carranza’s new firm made millions off COVID-19 pandemic in NYC

by Susan Edelman, NY POST, April 10, 2021

The California ed-tech firm that hired ex-schools Chancellor Richard Carranza cashed in on the COVID-19 pandemic in NYC, reaping millions of dollars from the Department of Education under his reign, records show.

IXL Learning, Inc. — which named Carranza its chief of strategy and global development — has been paid $3.3 million by the DOE in the past two years alone. 

The Silicon Valley outfit has collected $2.1 million in NYC taxpayer funds this school year. That nearly doubled the $1.2 million it made last school year as the DOE expanded remote instruction, according to records compiled by the city comptroller’s office.

Observers expect IXL’s windfall to grow with Carranza as its salesman.

He “brings to the table a wealth of contacts and people who owe him favors” in New York, Houston and San Francisco, where he has led school districts, said Alina Adams, a Manhattan mom and writer who runs the website “NYC School Secrets: Parents Helping Parents.”

“Some of the people in charge of deciding whether or not to buy IXL products will be the same people that Carranza hired.”   

Carranza’s new gig as a top executive for a DOE vendor raises serious conflict-of-interest questions.

Under NYC laws, city employees may not seek jobs — including submit a resume, discuss opportunities, or interview — with a company they are dealing with as part of their city job, the Conflicts of Interest Board (COIB) states.

Carranza announced his resignation on Feb. 26, saying he needed time to grieve 11 loved ones lost to COVID-19.  IXL announced his hiring in a press release dated April 1, less than three weeks after his last day as chancellor.

The company did not respond to questions about when they began negotiating with Carranza. The DOE said Carranza “followed all job-hunting conflict and recusal rules while securing his job with IXL”

Other rules prohibit former city employees in the private sector from disclosing or using “confidential information” for personal advantage. They can’t communicate with their former city agency on behalf of a new employer or business for a year. And they can “never” work on a matter, such as a contract, for a non-city employer if they worked on it for the city.

“It’s a judgment call on what inside information falls within the prohibition,” said Brooklyn College and CUNY Grad Center education professor David Bloomfield. “It will be hard not to use the information [Carranza] has to benefit his new employer.”

DOE spokeswoman Danielle Filson said, “Former Chancellor Carranza has pledged to follow all conflicts rules and will not engage with DOE or NYCDOE school officials on behalf of IXL for one year.”

IXL provides educational software on math, language arts, science, and social students for grades K-12, and tools such as Rosetta Stone, the foreign language program IXL acquired, Filson said.

The DOE has paid IXL about $5.6 million since 2011, the comptroller’s records show.  In 2016, under former Chancellor Carmen Fariña, the DOE awarded IXL a seven-year contract at a maximum cost of $1,041,869, but payments have exceeded that — against procurement rules.

 “The DOE often spends beyond registered contract maximums before submitting amendments or extensions to the comptroller’s office,” said Hazel Crampton-Hays, press secretary for Comptroller Scott Stringer.

Since last year, the DOE has installed IXL software, among others, in some 500,000 city-purchased iPads for students to study remotely due to COVID-19. This did not cost extra, the DOE said.

The IXL Learning website says: “1 in 5 NYC students use IXL. In the past school year, they have collectively mastered 240,046 skills and become proficient in 344,062 skills!” It adds: “14,130,041 questions answered by NYC students.”

The DOE could not vouch for the numbers and IXL would not explain their basis.

Many online reviews by students and parents nationwide blast IXL software, which “gamifies” instruction, for a point system that brings some kids to tears.

“I once walked into my daughter’s bedroom to see her poised to SMASH her computer on the floor after 3 hours of IXL,” a parent wrote.

A 17-year-old said in a post that nine of 10 kids “not only hate IXL but would rather read a hardcover book. That’s not normal for this generation.” He added, “I’ve also found that while answering questions in IXL people tend to get anxious, angry, upset, frustrated, and sometimes depressed.”

From the NYPOST Editorial Board April 13, 2021:

Carranza’s new gig: Working for company that won big contracts when he ran NYC school

As chancellor of the city’s public schools, Richard Carranza talked endlessly about equity. But maybe he was using the job to build his own “equity.”

In late February, Carranza announced his exit as of March 15, tearing up as he said he needed time to grieve 11 family and close childhood friends lost to the coronavirus.

Now comes news that Carranza has taken a job with California firm IXL Learning, an e-learning company that landed $3.3 million in contracts from the city Department of Education on his watch, and about $5.6 million since 2011.

The Post’s Susan Edelman reports that the Silicon Valley firm collected $2.1 million this school year and $1.2 million the year before, profiting greatly from the DOE’s rush to make remote instruction work.

IXL sells educational software on math, language arts, science, and social students for grades K-12, programs now installed in some 500,000 city-bought iPads handed to students as the pandemic shuttered schools (and the United Federation of Teachers kept them closed).

Hilariously, ethics rules mean Carranza can’t work on IXL’s accounts with the city for a year. Yet cynics will suggest he’s already gotten plenty of value out of New York for the company, which surely made it easier for him to get the new job. Indeed, its income from the DOE was rising on his watch even pre-COVID.

Michelle Caruso-Cabrera, a Democrat running for city comptroller, is calling for an independent investigation into any conflict-of-interest rule-breaking or bending of procurement rules here. “It’s outrageous that millions of taxpayer dollars were awarded by the DOE to a company whose learning programs have been blasted by parents and students at the same time that the former school chancellor was interviewing for a high-powered position at that same company,” she told The Post.

It stinks to high heaven that IXL Learning’s new “chief of strategy and global development” was in charge of city schools at a time when the company made out like a bandit. Current Comptroller Scott Stringer and/or the Conflicts of Interest Board should certainly take a look.

If it turns out to be perfectly legal, then the city needs better protection against such incestuous games.

Carranza’s new gig: Working for company that won big contracts when he ran NYC schools

City councilman calls for investigation into Richard Carranza’s new job

Richard Carranza was fined for taking his wife, Monique, to see "Hamilton" on Broadway
using a Department of Education ticket.[Matthew McDermott for NY Post]

Richard Carranza fined for taking wife to ‘Hamilton’ with special DOE discount

By Selim Algar

, NY POST, April 22, 2021

He was a bad actor.

Former schools Chancellor Richard Carranza improperly took his wife on a Department of Education outing to see the hit show “Hamilton” — and the abuse of power got him slapped with a $1,100 fine, it was revealed Thursday.

The departed administrator, who landed a private-sector job with a California education tech firm that does business with the DOE, brought his spouse to a special production for employees in April 2019.

In a statement, the New York Conflicts of Interest Board said Carranza should not have purchased a special $10 discounted ticket for his spouse since she was not a DOE employee.

“The Chancellor used a ticket for his wife that typically would have been distributed to DOE employees,” the agency said in a release. “He paid $10 for the ticket, which was the price listed on the tickets for DOE students and chaperones.”

The former city school's boss told the board it was an honest mistake.

In his case disposition, Carranza claimed his chief of staff erroneously told him at the time that he could take his wife as long as he paid for his ticket. 

“I attempted in good faith to comply with the applicable rules,” he said.

The board ruled the purchase constituted a “misuse of city position” and demanded that Carranza cough up a fine.

“In using the ticket for his wife, the Chancellor used his City position to benefit his wife, a person with whom he is ‘associated,'” the agency said. “The now-former Chancellor paid a $1,100 fine to the board.”

The Richard Rodgers Theatre event was emceed by a cast member and included student performances, a question-and-answer portion with “Hamilton” performers, and a matinee performance.

“We hold all of our City employees to the highest possible ethical standard,” said DOE spokesperson Danielle Filson. “The former Chancellor has acknowledged his mistake and the Board determined the penalty.”

After three rocky years at the helm, Carranza left the DOE in February. He cited the loss of friends and family to COVID-19 as a contributing factor and said he needed to heal emotionally.

He soon landed a gig with IXL Learning, a firm that has long done millions of dollars in business with the DOE.

City Councilman Robert Holden on Thursday escalated his push to probe Carranza’s private sector move.

Holden called for a federal investigation in a letter to acting Eastern District US Attorney Mark Lesko.

“Considering the short timeframe in which Chancellor Carranza was hired, please investigate whether negotiations between then-Chancellor Carranza and IXL took place while New York City still employed the Chancellor,” he wrote.

The DOE has said that Carranza’s transition was above board.

“Former Chancellor Carranza has pledged to follow all conflicts rules and will not engage with DOE or NYCDOE school officials on behalf of IXL for one year,” a DOE spokesperson said of Holden’s concerns.

Richard Carranza leaves in the middle of a crisis — and NYC is better off without him

NYPOST 2/26/21

Richard Carranza’s Last Stand

New York Magazine, April 13, 2021

NY Governor Andrew Cuomo Says Teacher and Principal Evaluations Are Waived For This School Year

 Richard Carranza speaks with a teacher during a visit to Prall Intermediate 

School, West Brighton. (Staten Island Advance/Annalise Knudson)

Great news!

Teachers and principals will not be evaluated for the March-June period, and the ratings will stay with whatever was received from September to March, as a final year-end APPR.

Several teachers who I know have been charged with incompetency had the UFT/NYSUT Attorney overlook the fact that their observations did not meet the required number for an end-of-year APR, and did nothing about it. Do not let this happen! If you chose Option #1 for formal and informal observations, and you only had 2 informal observations before the shutdown, do NOT let anyone charge you with "Ineffective". Same for those of you who chose Option #2, with 4-6 informal observations. Don't let them give you "ineffective" if you have been observed only 2 times.

Here is the December 2018  NYSCOSS press release on the Regents' moratorium:

for Immediate Release:

 December 10, 2018 Contact:    Robert Lowry  518-449-1063 or 518-435-5996 (cell)     

E-mail:  boblowry@nyscoss.org

Statewide Superintendents Council Commends Board of Regents for Proposing to Extend Moratorium on Use of State Growth Scores in Teacher and Principal Evaluations

ALBANY – The New York State Council of School Superintendents today commended the Board of Regents Chancellor Betty Rosa and the State Education Department for proposing to extend for one year the moratorium on the use of state test-based growth scores in teacher and principal evaluations – Annual Professional Performance Reviews, or APPR.
Council Executive Director Charles Dedrick said, “APPR is a unique initiative. It affects every classroom in every school in every district of the state. So it affects every student. Each time there are changes, they threaten to disrupt teaching and learning in all our schools and for all our students.”
Dedrick explained that there have been three rounds of significant changes to APPR since 2009 – in 2010, 2012, and 2015, and the current growth score moratorium was adopted after problems were quickly identified with the 2015 law. 
Dedrick added, “The Regents and State Education Department have launched a well-designed and inclusive process for developing improvements in the evaluation system. We should take the time, this time, to be sure we finally are making changes that actually will support better teaching, school leadership, and, most of all, student achievement.”
The current moratorium, in place since 2015-16, is due to expire after this school year.

Betsy Combier
Editor, ADVOCATZ.com
Editor, ADVOCATZ blog
Editor, Parentadvocates.org
Editor, New York Court Corruption
Editor, NYC Rubber Room Reporter
Editor, NYC Public Voice
Editor, National Public Voice
Editor, Inside 3020-a Teacher Trials 

Cuomo Waives State Teacher And Principal Evaluations Amid Pandemic

From Chalkbeat New York:

By Reema Amin, June 8 2020

After months of uncertainty, Gov. Andrew Cuomo has waived requirements for teacher and principal evaluations for this school year.

State law mandates school and district leaders assess teachers and principals using the so-called Annual Professional Performance Reviews, or APPR. The evaluations, which include classroom observations and student performance data, can influence tenure decisions and trigger firings.

In an executive order issued Sunday, Cuomo will not require the reviews for the 2019-2020 academic year, since the coronavirus pandemic has kept school buildings closed across the state. The order also allows districts to grant tenure to educators who have met all other requirements for it and have been evaluated in the past, but have not been reviewed this school year. Under the order, districts can also choose to postpone tenure decisions for another year.

Cuomo's executive order comes just weeks before the end of the school year and nearly two months after the state education department asked for such a waiver, given that in-person visits to evaluate educators became impossible amid coronavirus closures.

State officials were also concerned about the cancellation of grades 3-8 reading and math tests, which districts can consider when evaluating teachers. New York City schools can choose from a list of alternative student assessments and performance measures that do not include state test scores in reading and math.

Although the question over evaluations remained open for months, it was hardly top-of-mind for many New York City educators, who were busy making the transition to distance learning.

The city's education department told schools "that they should provide supportive feedback so that teachers can focus on delivering the highest quality remote instruction for our students," Danielle Filson, a spokesperson for the department, said in a statement Friday, before the governor issued his executive order. City officials were planning to provide schools with more guidance as the department itself awaited word from the state.

Anthony Cosentino, principal of P.S. 21 in Staten Island, said that since school buildings closed in mid-March, his school has been busy meeting students' immediate needs. Cosentino and a couple teachers drove around to deliver laptops and hotspots to students and to offer them technical support. In addition, more than a dozen P.S. 21 teachers, working with a community-based organization, volunteered to help bag and deliver groceries to families who need it.

"We're all anxious, we're all stressed, we're all traumatized about what's going on around us, and with the support of the superintendent and the direction of the DOE, we put our focus on our priorities, which is not teacher evaluations at this time," Cosentino said before the governor's decision came down.

Andy Pallotta, president of the state teachers union, said the governor's decision "rightly" allows districts to make tenure decisions. But the governor's months-long delay in issuing a waiver has left school leaders in the dark, said Bob Lowry, deputy director for advocacy and communication at the state's Council of School Superintendents.

"Districts have already had to begin making tenure decisions," Lowry said. "Some have entered into agreements to extend teachers' probationary periods for a year, assuming that they could not grant tenure without a rating this year."

Report: Teacher, principal evaluations waived in New York

by Annalise Knudson | aknudson@siadvance.com, June 9, 2020

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Gov. Andrew Cuomo is waiving requirements for teacher and principal evaluations during the 2019-2020 school year due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, according to a recent report.

Chalkbeat reported that Cuomo announced an executive order on Sunday that exempts school districts across New York State to complete annual professional performance reviews of classroom teachers and building principals for this school year -- as the pandemic has led to the closure of school buildings since mid-March. New York City’s public school system quickly pivoted in just one week to a distance learning model on March 23.

The executive order also allows school districts to appoint tenure to educators and principals who met all other performance review ratings and were evaluated in the past, but weren’t rated or reviewed during the 2019-2020 school year. Districts can extend tenure decisions for an additional year under the order, according to Chalkbeat.

The executive order comes just weeks before the last day of school for New York City public schools -- which is June 26. The state education department asked for the waiver in April, when it was clear that teacher and principal evaluations would be impossible, as schools were closed. Some school districts use the grades three to eight reading and math state exams to evaluate teachers, which were also canceled for the 2019-2020 school year.

According to Chalkbeat, New York City schools will be able to choose from a list of alternative assessments and performance measures to evaluate teachers that don’t include state test scores.

The city Department of Education (DOE) told Chalkbeat on Friday, before the executive order was announced, that the agency informed schools they should provide supportive feedback so teachers can continue to provide high-quality remote instruction to students.

The coronavirus pandemic has led to many impactful changes to the DOE, school districts, teachers, and students. With the switch to online learning, school teachers, administrators, paraprofessionals and therapists have been working for months to find new ways to engage students from 3 to 18 years old -- providing much-needed services, ensuring students are learning, and also meeting social-emotional needs.

In addition to state exams being canceled, the high school Regents exams scheduled for June and August were canceled. Officials modified the requirements students need to graduate and earn their high school diploma.

New York City teachers are also grading their students differently due to remote learning for elementary and middle school students for the rest of the year.

Students in kindergarten through fifth grade will receive either a “Meets Standards” or “Needs Improvement” grade, and middle school students will receive a “Meets Standards,” “Needs Improvement,” or “Course In Progress" grade. Students in elementary and middle schools who can’t demonstrate mastery or don’t submit or complete work will be enrolled in summer programming, according to the new policy.

High school students will continue to be graded using existing grading scales. As part of the new policy, high school students will also have the option after receiving a passing letter grade to convert that grade to a “pass” rating. That means that if a student chooses to keep his or her passing letter grade, it will be included in the overall grade point average (GPA). Converting to a “pass” rating will not affect the GPA.

Distance learning will continue for nearly 200,000 New York City public school students attending school remotely this summer.

Students who attend the city’s public schools in District 75 programs and have disabilities will begin summer learning on July 1 and it will continue through Aug. 13. Third through eighth grades and 9th through 12th grade will begin on July 13 and go through August 18 and August 21 respectively.