PEP Votes To Co-Locate, Ignores The Public Opposition

UPDATE: Scott Stringer is, it is rumored, pulling out of the race for NYC Mayor.

Thank you, Mr. Stringer!!!!! Now, would you pull out of the Panel For Educational Policy in solidarity with all the public school constituents who see your participation as harmful to the citywide effort to end Mayoral control of the NYC Department of Education?

From Betsy Combier:

Scott Stringer

The time has passed for Patrick Sullivan to put his feet - along with those of his sponsor, Manhattan Borough President and Bloomberg lackey Scott Stringer - where his mouth is, and publicly resign his position as the Manhattan representative on a panel that is politically powerless, represents no one but Mayor Bloomberg, and destroys the rights of teachers, parents, AND children in the NYC Department of Education. Patrick works for AIG.



From: Patrick Sullivan <patk.j.sullivan@gmail.com>
To: nyceducationnews <nyceducationnews@yahoogroups.com>

All,

Here's my account of Thursday's PEP.   

On the blog as well at http://nycpublicschoolparents.blogspot.com/2012/11/peps-mayoral-bloc-rejects-call-for.html

Patrick

Thursday's Panel for Educational Policy meeting at Frank Sinatra HS started forty minutes late as Vice Chair Freida Foster waited for enough mayoral bloc appointees to ensure the mayor's super-majority was in place to approve resolutions.

Deferral of Co-Location Votes or "The People's Business"

Brooklyn representative Kelvin Diamond introduced a resolution to defer co-location votes from the rescheduled December PEP meeting to January.  Diamond cited the losses and disruption caused by Hurricane Sandy as obstacles to holding public hearings where the affected communities could weigh in on the decisions.  Chancellor Walcott spoke against the resolution citing the need to proceed with "the people's business".  I joined the Queens representative in supporting the Brooklyn resolution.  The resolution failed as the Staten Island representative joined the mayoral bloc in dismissing our concerns about the ability of the public to focus on these hearings and the larger privatization effort underway in the aftermath of the hurricane. Of the ten proposals in question, six of them are to place schools privately managed by the Success Academy Network in public school buildings. Gotham Schools has a good account of the discussion.

Budget Vote and Rules of Order Skirmish

Next up was an $8 billion budget vote, the aggregation of actual school budgets for approval.   Chair Freida Foster recognized me to ask questions and make comments.  I asked why the budget had been delayed and then imposed under the Chancellor's emergency powers, a highly unusual event.   The response was Mike Tragale, the DOE CFO was sick.  I remarked upon the inconsistency in how the DOE decided to defer the budget vote when one person was sick but proceed with the Success Academy co-locations when hundreds of thousands were distracted.  I was about to raise a concern about the poor fiscal management practices that place so much importance on a single person when I was interrupted by a member of staff, Courtenay Jackson-Chase, the DOE's general counsel and  secretary to the PEP.   I explained that she had not been recognized by the PEP chair, had no standing to interrupt me and was not even a member of the Panel.  Chancellor Walcott began lecturing me about bullying.   I noted that he had not been recognized to speak either.   Eventually after criticizing my comments and questioning by prerogative to even pose them he relented and I went to my next question, about the record number of budget appeals requested by principals and granted by the DOE.

The episode underscores how the PEP is merely a vehicle for the imposition of the mayor's agenda.  The legislature stripped the Chancellor of his chairmanship of the Panel along with his vote.  Yet nothing has really changed.  The Chancellor routinely interrupts or speaks without any regard for decorum or rules of order.  The Panel secretary, Jackson-Chase (previously Mike Best) sits next to the Panel Chair, always a malleable mayoral appointee, delivers instructions on how to conduct the meeting and cuts off speakers, both Panel members and members of the public alike.

Proposals for Co-locations and Expansions

A proposal related to the Brooklyn College Academy failed for lack of votes.  The mayor typically has three appointees associated with CUNY on the PEP.   These CUNY-affiliated members generally keep quiet and rubber stamp the mayor's proposals.  In this case these members abstained due to conflict of interest.  

The principal of PS MS 15 in the Bronx spoke against the expansion of another public school in her building citing the loss of three classrooms currently serving children with special education needs.  The DOE dismissed her concerns because her school would still be "at footprint".  The action will result in severe overcrowding in the building with an estimated utilization between 116% and 132%.  I was joined by the Brooklyn and Queens representatives in refusing to support the change.  There is currently no Bronx appointee to the Panel.  The proposal passed 8-3.

A Success Academy co-location was approved by an 8-3 margin with the mayoral bloc and Staten Island member opposed by Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens.   This vote was premature as the school in question is asking us for public school space to serve middle school students despite not being authorized by the grantor of its charter to do so.   The host building will go to a utilization of 113% to 138%, an increasingly typical level of overcrowding for Harlem schools subject to co-location with privately managed charter schools.   I asked the mayoral bloc Panel members why we could not instead provide this space for the excellent public school in the building, PS 175, to expand as it previously requested.   Only Ian Shapiro responded, criticizing me for challenging the DOE experts who decided a charter school would better serve this community than growing a successful public school.  

Contracts

We had an absurd discussion about "in-sourcing" the Galaxy budgeting system by paying the consultants who run the system $23 million over the next five years.  The deal reminded me of the contract with Future Technology Associates (FTA).  In both cases the DOE similarly bundled three or four discrete pieces of work together for the incumbent rather than keeping them separate so multiple firms could bid.  And DOE offered the same argument to defend the consulting contract - "only the consultants know how to run this system".  Let us all hope this one turns out better than our deal with FTA.  The principals of FTA ended up with indictments following an investigation that revealed widespread fraud.

A contract for a tutoring firm discovered to have committed multi-million dollar over-billing errors was considered.  One of our new student representatives, Ilan, pointed out that either the firm stole from us or was so incompetent as to make massive billing errors.  Either way we shouldn't want them tutoring our students.   Despite this display of sagacity so rare at PEP meetings, the contract was approved 8-3.

Daniel Stucky on Francesco Portelos' Live Streaming and Rubber Room Assignment

Why Francesco Portelos Won't Leave the Rubber Room

Posted by Daniel_Stuckey on Sunday, Nov 11, 2012

LINK

Francesco Portelos

You might have seen the re-emergence of NYC Department of Education’s rubber rooms recently. The reassignment program — in which teachers are sent to indeterminate light-work/no-work purgatory in some empty room — long thought revoked by Bloomberg and the city’s teachers’ union apparently remains as hulkish a money pit as ever before. BothHuffington Post and New York Daily News cited a $22 million expenditure created by theDOE in maintaining payment of difficult and misbehaved staff it doesn’t seem to be able to terminate.

Many will thank Francesco Portelos, the disgruntled engineering teacher from Staten Island who used a livestream to expose that he — along with 217 other reassigned DOE employees — was still taking home his regular $75,000 salary to sit idly by for a mess of possible reasons. The DOE has told me he’s been "extremely difficult to work with, was transferred twice, and there are multiple investigations pending against him.”

So, while an aspect of this guy live-blogging from the rubber room first gripped me, I felt a mix of rage, pity, and admiration whenever I thought about him.

“Fuck this guy,” my mom and I concurred over the phone. He’s been there for six months, collecting his paychecks, rousing taxpayer outrage and then he makes that awful refrain, “the kids aren’t learning.” In the video he initially posted to expose the Ozone Park rubber room he was assigned at, the NYU Polytechnic graduate immediately unloads figures that beg to be multiplied, “… I’m 20 miles away from where I should be. 161 days ago, I was removed from my classroom.” That’s 3,220 miles and counting of Portelo’s commute to a desk where he furiously blogs about his predicament through a host of social media and his WordPress site, protectportelos.org.

I tried to interview Francesco off the bat, but then lost interest. I was definitely affected to his narrative, but convinced I’d be getting way too much of my own opinion in the way of a decent interview. I knew I’d get too hardball with him.

A couple nights ago, he asked if I wanted to follow up. I sat there looking at my phone, thinking the whole thing would turn tediously argumentative. I opted to a direct-message on Twitter, told him I had too much bias about his situation, and that I didn’t feel I’d be building on anything or going beyond the existing sensationalist tabloidatry [sic]. I asked him what a lot of people have asked me. “Why don’t you quit?” Our direct-messaging ensued thusly (keep in mind the applicable 140-character limit per message):

@MrPortelos: Dan, you pay taxes? This monster of a principal is using tax funds to cut herself blank checks with your tax dollars.

I can work anywhere. I can leave, but why? That’s the solution?

You contacted the DOE according to your article and they lied to you. Don’t follow up. It’s fine.

@danstuckey So what’s your role?

I don’t know, I admire the whole Emile Zola thing, but at the same time see little significance. You seem out-to-get-them…

More than interested in education. We all know NYC has a wacky school system, and it’s awful, yes, but I think your approach is bigheaded

Exposer, shaking things up. RR was dead issue for 2 years until I exposed it and now Walcott and Bloomberg talking about it. Maybe making…

Changes. Leaving is quitting and I don’t quit unless I’m wrong.

I didn’t wait months to say something. I’ve been blogging about it from day 1. I’m trying different approaches.

I’m still curious what your best-case scenario is?

Because your narrative is one of dispair, at least that’s what protectportelos seems to imply to me.

Do you know that I caught the AP frisking a girl & then was removed. They didn’t know I had video taped it with phone. AP was never removed.

Are DOE staff allowed to do that within reason? Is it in the charter?

Best case scenario…federal case allows for discovery, I unearth emails, docs that show corruption. People get arrested.

I move up to chancellor then mayor and you’re deputy mayor.

So you’re out to serve justice

Have you shared the video?

Link?

What do you mean a federal case would allow for discovery? Don’t you have these docs/vids?

She is an academic admin. Not supposed to put her hands down a girls shirt. http://t.co/RUOcSL9

Supposed to be on Huffington Post live tomorrow. Well see how that goes.

So, do you have video? This is a still

I’ve only shared the vid with DOE officials, mayor, Walcott, investigators. They only ignored it. Was holding off leaking to media.

I mean deposing the officials that have lied and sent countless teachers to rubber rooms, divorce, foreclosure… getting private emails etc

Well let me know when you want to share it. Have you shown it to Bill DeBlasio?

I asked the DOE if they’d seen this video or received allegations against the school’s principal for check fraud. A spokeswoman asked me if I could verify who the alleged stop and frisk assistant principal was, along with the principal. I relayed back to Portelos:

Who is the AP? DOE wants to check on investigation, now.

Oh now they do months later? Denise Diacomanolis. I believe Parent District coordinator Zulma Cruz has received complaints.

Are you going to link me the video, so I can embed it?

Waiting for green light from my attorney. I’ve made a lot of enemies inn very high places, so being careful.

And then I relayed this back to DOE spokeswoman who told me, “There are pending investigations into allegations against both Linda Hill and Denise Diacomanolis. For Linda Hill, I would characterize it as financial fraud rather than ‘writing blank checks.’”

It further seems that the DOE really lacks the necessary Donald Trump-power when it comes to pressing the red button and writing a pink slip. Of course, it wouldn’t be challenging to assume that terminated employees wouldn’t just then apply for money elsewhere. I’m thinking, “At least the DOE wouldn’t have to have its remarkably slow court-marshaling process.”

As the $22 million sloshes to and fro, gushing into a purgatory of teachers, faculty and staff who remain under investigation, I just contract and retract my thoughts on Portelos. Where will he go from this dreadful rubber room? How will he get his best-case scenario? More so, when will he teach, dammit?

Why is This NYC School Teacher Livestreaming From the Rubber Room?

Posted by Daniel_Stuckey on Friday, Oct 05, 2012

 LINK

Francesco Portelos is a NYC teacher who, after having raised questions about budgeting at I.S. 49 Berta A. Dreyfus (a Staten Island school he’s been suspended from), is now taking viewers inside a rubber room he’s been stationed at. If you’re unfamiliar with the term, Steven Brill published a lengthy account of NYC’s teacher reassignment centers in The New Yorker a few years ago, but the term refers to offices used by teachers that have been put on administrative leave from the classroom for one reason or another.

Portelos, apparently with plenty of free time on his hands after having been reassigned from his regular teaching duties, has taken to livestreaming his life inside one of the New York Department of Education’s alleged rubber rooms. I apologize if the screen is black, and the feed is off the air. It’s because Mr. Portelos has either gone home for the day or is busy eating lunch.

As any engineering teacher might, Francesco focuses on the absurd numbers surrounding his situation. With a $75,000 salary intact, he says that taxpayers should be enraged that his workday consists of commuting from Staten Island to the teacher reassignment center in Ozone Park, East Queens, where he pretty much just sits at a desk.

Stating he’s been there for 161 days (through the summer), Portelos asks viewers to “Google rubber rooms, you’ll see they were closed in 2010.” Portelos is probably referring to the NY Times article explaining Mayor Bloomberg’s and then-NYC DOE Chancellor Joel Klein’s intention to shut down the reassignment program that had 550 misbehaved teachers relocated to time out, a program that was costing the city $30 million.

I called NYC DOE for a comment, and their communications correspondent sent me the following:

All teachers who have been reassigned are working under supervision in an administrative capacity. Francesco Portelos has been extremely difficult to work with, was transferred twice, and there are multiple investigations pending against him. Please note that there are no “reassignment centers” or “rubber rooms.” We eliminated those years ago. Those who have been reassigned are sent to one of numerous DOE administrative offices throughout the city. We cannot commence disciplinary hearings until these investigations are complete. He is a tenured math teacher and began work in Aug 2007 at IS49 in Staten Island. He was reassigned April 2012.

So, this is either another example of New York tabloid sensationalism and a teacher misconstruing his new administrative post — if we take the DOE’s word for it — or, it’s really just some repackaging of the DOE’s PR on what to call a rubber room. In either case, the livestream is proof that there is at least one man in the DOE who’s scoring a healthy salary for doing pretty much zippo, and the fact that he’s still doing it despite his very public complaining is indicative of the incredible inertia within the DOE itself.

In any case, the situation has Francesco and other other hard-to-deal-with teachers sitting around, scratching their heads and not teaching. Not doing much of anything — beside blogging about wanting to teach again. As the steam bounces off the Queens reassignment center’s rubbery walls, will conversations surrounding old-fashioned education politics now mature? From typical media and community speculation, will expository psychological narratives like this now touch us in a new, 2.0 type of way? Does anyone care if a teacher rants into the Internet after being kicked out of the classroom? These are all questions I hope Jim Lehrer might ask.

Job Opportunity ALERT: Gotcha Squad Teacher Performance Evaluator

Why not apply to become a member of the staff who grade teachers? Maybe you will be able to turn the entire process around into something rational, and not arbitrary and capricious.

Betsy Combier

Site Manager, Talent Management – New York City Performance Management ($70000)
The New Teacher Project

LINK

Educaton: Bachelor

Categories: 
Nonprofit jobs
Other

Type: Full time

Last day to apply: 2012-12-04

Last updated: 2012-10-04

Description: Site Manager, Talent Management – NYC Performance Management

New York, NY

TNTP seeks a full-time Site Manager, Talent Management for our Performance Management Group. The Site Manager, Talent Management will be based in NYC, and will travel to partner schools and networks several times a month. The Site Manager may choose to work from our central office in Brooklyn or from a home office. This position is available immediately, and TNTP will offer a relocation stipend to help defer the cost of moving, if applicable.

Performance Management Group and Talent Management Initiative

TNTP is advancing human capital policies and practices that support teacher effectiveness in districts and states and improving the way school leaders and administrators manage their teachers. This starts with robust teacher evaluation and development systems that produce clear information on how teachers are performing their most critical role: advancing student learning. TNTP is helping its partners at the state, district and school level to design and implement evaluation and development systems, and use information about teacher performance in decisions about hiring and staffing, development, compensation, promotion, and retention.

In NYC, TNTP is working with the district’s Office of Teacher Effectiveness (OTE) to ensure that school and network leaders have the training and resources they need to improve the overall quality of their workforce by delivering accurate feedback and evaluation ratings that will lead to strategic staffing decisions. This is our third year working with NYCDOE on this project and, while we were previously focused on direct model design and implementation work in pilot schools, this year we hope to help the district build its capacity to implement a new system at scale.

Role and Responsibilities

The Site Manager will support the NYCDOE in its efforts to implement a new teacher evaluation system in approximately 200 schools and 40 networks this year, and equip them with the skills and tools to use this new system in the years to come. The Site Manager will have a profound impact on NYC public schools, working closely with our client to contribute to strategic decision-making in coaching school leaders and network staff, analyzing data to drive strategy and proposing solutions to any challenges we face in helping OTE staff, school and network leaders succeed.

Specific responsibilities include, but are not limited to the following:

• Track progress towards contract goals and make strategic decisions regarding client management and support, to lead the team’s efforts to meet them

• Identify need and generate resources to support client team’s implementation of the Teacher Effectiveness Program

• Manage implementation of the program’s certification process including selecting videos, facilitating master scoring sessions and transitioning these skills to the client team

• Research best practices in the field to inform new implementation team initiatives (e.g., School Leader-Teacher data conversations in mid-year evaluations)

• Co-observe coaching visits to gather evidence of successful practices in the field and inform the design of Talent Coach professional development

• Collaborate with members of the NYCPM communication team to design online learning resources to support implementation

• Help clients to use data to inform their weekly priorities and decision-making

• Support clients with planning and creating materials for weekly staff meetings

• Work with clients to improve use of existing evaluation tools and provide logistical support to ensure that Talent Coaches and School Leaders successfully implement the evaluation model

Generate innovative solutions to program challenges and differentiate support services as needed

Qualifications

We are seeking candidates who believe deeply in our organization's mission, who thrive in an entrepreneurial and dynamic environment, and who have a demonstrated record of success.

• Strong project management skills, including the ability to develop and implement high-quality deliverables on long-term as well as shorter timelines

• Strong education background and instructional skill set, preferably in high-need schools or with high-need populations

• The ability to communicate clearly and work effectively with others at all levels of an organization and to consistently display a high level of professionalism in all interactions

• Excellent analytical skills, including experience using qualitative and quantitative data to improve teacher performance

• Successful experience working with teachers to improve their practice and student outcomes

• An ability to generate solutions and turn them from idea to action

• Excellent writing skills with the understanding of how to meet the needs of different audiences

• The ability to manage multiple responsibilities simultaneously and prioritize competing demands in a fast changing environment

• A commitment to producing consistently high-quality, detailed work, even under deadline pressure

• Flexibility and comfort with ambiguity

• Willingness to work non-standard hours and occasional weekends

Compensation

The annual salary for this position is $70,000 for the full time role or commensurate with experience in a similar position with the potential for a performance-based bonus.

TNTP offers a motivated team of dynamic colleagues, a collegial atmosphere that values professional development and valuable feedback, a comprehensive benefits plan effective on the first day of employment – including low cost medical, dental, vision, disability, life insurance, flexible spending account options, generous vacation time, a 403(b) plan with matching, potential opportunities for performance based bonuses – as well as the chance to influence the direction of a growing, mission-driven organization that is committed to the success of our nation’s children. For more information on TNTP’s competitive benefits package, please visit http://tntp.org/join/our-benefits/

To Apply

Please submit your resume and tailored cover letter online at:

http://ch.tbe.taleo.net/CH05/ats/careers/requisition.jsp?org=THENEWTEACH...

We review applications on a rolling basis – so it is to your advantage to apply as soon as possible. We will not consider applications without a cover letter tailored to this position, which can be addressed to the Human Capital department. Please note that an offer of employment will be subject to the successful completion of a background check. TNTP is committed to fostering and capitalizing on the diversity of our organization. We are an equal opportunity employer and seek individuals of all ethnic and racial backgrounds to apply to this position.

TNTP strives to end the injustice of educational inequality by providing excellent teachers to the students who need them most and by advancing policies and practices that ensure effective teaching in every classroom. A national nonprofit organization founded by teachers, TNTP is driven by the knowledge that effective teachers have a greater impact on student achievement than any other school factor. In response, TNTP develops customized programs and policy interventions that enable education leaders to find, develop and keep great teachers. Since its inception in 1997, TNTP has recruited or trained approximately 49,000 teachers - mainly through its highly selective Teaching Fellows programs - benefiting an estimated 8 million students. TNTP has also released a series of acclaimed studies of the policies and practices that affect the quality of the nation's teacher workforce, including The Widget Effect (2009), Teacher Evaluation 2.0 (2010) and The Irreplaceables (2012). Today TNTP is active in more than 25 cities, including 10 of the nation's 15 largest. For more information, please visit www.tntp.org.

How to apply: 
To Apply

Please submit your resume and tailored cover letter online at: 
http://ch.tbe.taleo.net/CH05/ats/careers/requisition.jsp?org=THENEWTEACHERPROJECT&cws=1&rid=1311

We review applications on a rolling basis – so it is to your advantage to apply as soon as possible. We will not consider applications without a cover letter tailored to this position, which can be addressed to the Human Capital department. Please note that an offer of employment will be subject to the successful completion of a background check. TNTP is committed to fostering and capitalizing on the diversity of our organization. We are an equal opportunity employer and seek individuals of all ethnic and racial backgrounds to apply to this position.

TNTP strives to end the injustice of educational inequality by providing excellent teachers to the students who need them most and by advancing policies and practices that ensure effective teaching in every classroom. A national nonprofit organization founded by teachers, TNTP is driven by the knowledge that effective teachers have a greater impact on student achievement than any other school factor. In response, TNTP develops customized programs and policy interventions that enable education leaders to find, develop and keep great teachers. Since its inception in 1997, TNTP has recruited or trained approximately 49,000 teachers - mainly through its highly selective Teaching Fellows programs - benefiting an estimated 8 million students. TNTP has also released a series of acclaimed studies of the policies and practices that affect the quality of the nation's teacher workforce, including The Widget Effect (2009), Teacher Evaluation 2.0 (2010) and The Irreplaceables (2012). Today TNTP is active in more than 25 cities, including 10 of the nation's 15 largest. For more information, please visit www.tntp.org.