The Beck Amendment - Get Your Union Refund

Welcome to UnionRefund.org   LINK

A new way to help American workers keep their working wages free.

Under the 1988 Supreme Court decision Communications Workers of America v. Beck every member of a union is entitled to a full refund of their dues that are not directly used for representing them. Until now though, it’s been almost impossible for any member to find out exactly how much their refund should be.

The process is simple. Choose your labor state from the list below. Fill out some basic information and UnionRefund will automatically generate a letter that you can print and mail to your union representative to claim your individual refund. UnionRefund will also send a courtesy notification letter to your union to ensure a quick resolution for your request. It’s that easy!

Get your refund today!

Step One - Select Your State

re-posted from this blog in October, 2014:

How To Stop Paying For The UFT Political Action Committee, COPE

Are the UFT political statements and campaigns annoying you?
 
You should opt out of COPE, or The Committee on Political Education, which is the UFT political action committee.
 
How you can choose not to donate: Fax a letter  to 212-510-6435 with your name, school, file #, and state that you want to opt out of COPE as of the day you fax it. Sign the letter. 
 
You will receive a cancellation notice and you should send this to the NYC DOE payroll office. 
 
Below you can read the UFT urging all members to sign up and pay for COPE, and below that I have re-printed a post from January 21, 2014 on the BECK Amendment and the movement away from compulsory payment of union dues.

The movement argues that as long as leaders of a union do not fairly represent members, dues should not be paid.

This country is founded upon "no taxation without representation", right?

Betsy Combier

COPE

Politics is union business.

In hard economic times, political action is needed more than ever.

Every member needs to enroll in UFT/COPE.

WHAT COPE IS

The Committee on Political Education (COPE) is the UFT’s political action arm. It covers the expenses of meeting with and educating legislators, and helps elect officeholders who respect our members, support education and work for union goals. With COPE, we work for laws and policies that further education and safeguard our rights; we back candidates who back us; and we support public officials who get things done for our members, parents and students.

In recent years, teachers and teacher unions have become the new favorite punching bag for politicians and policy makers. And labor continues to be the number one target of anti-worker politicians. The UFT’s record – on both legislativematters and in elections – would be impressive under any circumstance, but under these conditions it is truly extraordinary. It is made possible by the incredibly hard work of thousands of UFT members and by the funding that COPE provides. None of this would be possible without COPE, and COPE is not possible without you.

Download the brochure »

WHY COPE NEEDS YOU

COPE is entirely funded by voluntary contributions. We do not use any union dues money for political action. In these hard economic times, it is critically important that you contribute to COPE. COPE enables us to continue to fight for lower class sizes and additional funding for the classroom, and it will help us make sure that the wealthy pay their fair share of taxes by extending the millionaires’ tax. Thanks to COPE we are able to make sure that our voice is heard loud and clear.

Thanks to UFT/COPE, we get results.

We need your support to continue this vital political work.

See your chapter leader to sign up or contact COPE at 212-598-7747.

Movement Starts: Toward an End To Involuntary Payment of Dues to the UFT 

The BECK Amendment deals with the issue of members' dues to their union, and where to draw the line. It's an issue that needs to be addressed, especially in New York City and particularly with teachers, paras, and other members who pay UFT BIGs - Mike Mulgrew, Leroy Barr, Ellie Engler - a lot of money basically to do nothing. 

Communications Workers of America v. Beck, 487 U.S. 735 (1988) is a decision by the United States Supreme Court which held that, in a union security agreement, unions are authorized by statute to collect from non-members only those fees and dues necessary to perform its duties as a collective bargaining representative. The rights identified by the Court in Communications Workers of America v. Beck have since come to be known as "Beck rights," and defining what Beck rights are and how a union must fulfill its duties regarding them is an active area of modern United States labor law.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6][7]}

And the worst part of this is, UFT members do not have a choice; in blunt language, if you join the UFT you MUST pay your dues. Paying is not voluntary. Doesn't this leave the BIGs to do whatever they want, from helping someone to doing nothing, as they will get your dues money anyway?

Time to do something about this:
1) make paying dues voluntary
2) permit a member to pay their dues money to benefit THEIR welfare, not that of UNITY folk who couldn't care less what classroom or rubber room you are in.

Betsy Combier

Free the teachers from automatic dues

By Post Editorial Board

, NYPOST, Jan 21, 2014

AFT President Randi Weingarten and UFT President Mike Mulgrew

LINK

A favorite talking point for the teachers union is that charter-school operators earn more than the schools chancellor.

Funny thing: As the United Federation of Teachers’ own spending reports show, at least five UFT executives earn more than the chancellor’s $212,614 base salary; union president Mike Mulgrew makes $250,000.

More interesting is that the source of this money is force. While everything about charters is voluntary — no one forces children to attend, teachers to teach there or foundations to pay executive salaries — it’s the opposite for the rest of the system.

For the salaries of Mulgrew and Co. come courtesy of an automatic payroll deduction from every teacher’s paycheck that goes for dues. And the city does it for them. Thus, Mulgrew is spared the expense of having to persuade the UFT members he’s worth the dues he asks. And taxpayers underwrite public-sector unions that then use their dollars to buy political influence to extract even more money from the public till.

 

 

Teachers’ union boss spent $18K in Bond-like HQ spy sweep

By Carl Campanile

, NYPOST, Jan 20, 2014

LINK

Something’s bugging teachers-union boss Michael Mulgrew — or, at least, he thinks so.

The United Federation of Teachers president blew a huge wad of union cash to play out a paranoid James Bond fantasy when he paid $17,849 for a security team to sweep his headquarters for bugs, documents show.

A crew from Protective Countermeasures & Consulting Inc. was hired to sweep for listening devices at the UFT’s offices at 52 Broadway, a review of union spending reports reveals.

The payments were made in January and March of last year, just as the union leadership grappled with key strategic decisions such as labor-contract negotiations and who to support as the next mayor.

The union would not say if any surveillance devices were found.

Some union members thought it was unlikely anyone would bug the union — and that it was ridiculous that Mulgrew is using Cold War tactics to play a game of “Tinker, Teacher, Soldier, Spy” in the UFT headquarters.

“I have no idea why they’re doing it. It’s very odd,” said James Eterno, a dissident UFT member who ran against Mulgrew for president in 2010. “I didn’t know we were like the CIA and have to keep secrets. I didn’t think we were that important. It’s not like someone is going to get killed if something leaks out.”

Protective Countermeasures, a New Rochelle-based firm, specializes in identifying security threats such as “corporate eavesdropping” and helps craft “counter espionage” plans.

Its Web site says it uses equipment that “neutralizes” bugs. The sweep also checks the electric grid, light fixtures and walls for video transmitters, infrared recorders and laser technology.

Eterno wondered if Mulgrew was looking for the UFT version of Edward Snowden. “I don’t think there’s any worry about me or anyone else planting a bug in Mike Mulgrew’s office,” he said.

A UFT spokesperson would say only that it pays for “routine security services.”

The anti-spy initiative was just one of the entries listed in the UFT’s $190 million spending report covering its massive empire, fueled by $50 semimonthly union dues paid by rank-and-file teachers. The UFT also poured nearly $4 million into political campaigns through its super PAC, United for the Future, and spent an additional $4.2 million on TV and radio ad blitzes and advocacy.

The teachers union defended its spending as appropriate.

“The UFT’s financial report covers funds spent on our 200,000 members, including refreshments, reimbursement for transportation and parking and other expenses, along with routine security services,” a union spokesperson said.

“We are proud of every dollar we spend on our members and on advocacy groups fighting for better schools.”

$tate of the union

• 54 union reps and staffers got salaries of more than $100,000. The average was $144,000 — triple the starting teacher salary of $45,000.
• Five UFT officials were compensated more than the $212,614 base salary for the schools chancellor. UFT chief Michael Mulgrew makes $250,000.
• $264,000 to groups that campaign against charter schools, including the rebranded ACORN, now called New York Communities for Change.
• More than $1.7 million on food, including conferences at the Hilton and Waldorf.
• $150,000 for tickets to movies, the Radio City Music Hall Christmas show, Mets and minor-league baseball games, and union swag such as mugs and tote bags.

 

The SSHAT, or the Test For NYC's Specialized High Schools, Should Not Be Changed; How Students Apply To Take The Test Must Be Changed

I believe that the SSHAT Test should not be changed, but the procedures for taking the test must change. FYI, two of my daughters were accepted to Stuyvesant HS after taking the SSHAT. This fact does not change my opinion.

When I was President of the PTA at Booker T. Washington MS 54, the school was racially segregated and I tried to change this. I also tried to stop the misallocation of funds by the Principal. I was attacked, of course, by a group of the white parents, all of whom wanted their children to continue to receive the favors and treats of being white. Ironically, one of the parents who attacked me is the current Parent Coordinator of JHS 54, Anne Pejovich. I have a mountain of information on her duplicity to share in my book in the sad chapter of parents fighting parents who speak up.

 The DELTA Honors program fed students directly into Stuyvesant, Bronx Science, Edward Murrow, Brooklyn TECH. The four other programs inside Booker T. did not permit students to take the SSHAT test. This was the problem. Let all kids who want to take the test TAKE IT. The unfairness in telling a child he/she cannot take the test simply because they are not "ready" or just "can't" is unfair and unjust. I and several other parents did a random survey of the schools in the upper west side of Manhattan by standing outside the schools after Parent visiting day, and we asked 2 questions: 1) is your child in 8th grade? 2) is your child taking the SSHAT test? The answers were surprisingly, no, they knew nothing about applying for the test or when it would be given.

DELTA was more than 90% white. The other programs at MS 54 reflected the neighborhood, mostly black or Hispanic. I live on the Upper East side, but my kids were accepted at DELTA because the former head of the program, Fred La Senna, accepted them, starting with my oldest, who had an IEP. She, and one of her sisters, wanted to go to Stuyvesant, took the test, and got in. No other school would have challenged either daughter, and Stuyvesant was the right learning environment for their learning style.

Change the way students apply to take the test, and we may begin to see more diversity in the Stuyvesant pool of incoming students. Don't change the test.

Betsy Combier

Stuyvesant High School

New Study Explores Strategies to Diversify NYC’s Specialized High Schools

Today, the NYC Department of Education announced the results of the City’s high school choice process, including data about students admitted to the City’s eight specialized schools. As in past years, Black and Latino students are starkly under-represented among those receiving offers to these elite schools. A central question is whether the schools’ admissions policy—based exclusively on the Specialized High School Admissions Test (SHSAT)—is to blame for the lack of diversity.    A new brief, Pathways to an Elite Education: Exploring Strategies to Diversify NYC’s Specialized High Schools, examines students’ pathways from middle school to matriculation at a specialized high school, highlighting opportunities to intervene and improve access for underrepresented groups. The brief also simulates the effects of various admissions criteria that have been proposed as alternatives to the current SHSAT-based admissions policy, including state test score, grades, and attendance. In general, we found that these rules would increase the share of Latino, White, and female students. But, most of them would not appreciably increase the share of Black students nor reduce the concentration of offers in a small number of middle schools.   “The real take-away is from this study is the lack of diversity in the specialized schools is a much bigger problem than ‘to test or not to test?’” said James Kemple, the Research Alliance’s executive director. “We need to think more broadly about how to reduce inequality in New York City’s schools—identifying strategies that create opportunities for traditionally disadvantaged students will be a primary focus of the Research Alliance’s work in coming years.” The brief is based on a working paper by the Institute for Education and Social Policy’s Sean Corcoran and the Research Alliance’s Christine Baker-Smith.

Download the Report

The Research Alliance for New York City Schools is a nonpartisan research center housed at the New York University Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development. The Research Alliance conducts rigorous studies on topics that matter to the city’s public schools. The organization strives to advance equity and excellence in education by providing evidence about policies and practices that promote students' development and academic success.

The OPI Problem Code and How To Get Off of It

Joseph McCarthy

The Problem code" in NYC DOE personnel files is a problem. Once put into your file, you can never get rid of it unless you make a deal or get exonerated at your 3020-a hearing (or overturn your discontinuance, if you are not tenured).

About a year ago I brought up the issue of a problem code during a settlement conference with the DOE Attorney and she told us it did not exist. But I showed proof, and then the arbitrator called me in to tell her about it, and asked me to speak to all the arbitrators there at 100 Gold that day. So, I did that.

 See my post

Down The Rabbit Hole: The NYC Department of Education's "Problem Code"

I am also re-posting a very important post on Chaz's School Daze  about the problem code, see below.

The UFT is not willing to end this blacklist? The last time I spoke with UFT's Amy Arundel, she insisted the "Problem Code" does not exist.

Indeed, when I worked for the UFT from 2007-2010, and my office was right next to Amy's office, I used to get calls all the time from members who wanted to know whether or not they were on this list, and I would walk next door and ask Amy, who would look up their file, and then she would tell me yes or no.

The problem code is a red flag put onto your file number to alert anyone that your fingerprints have been tagged as not cleared to work for the DOE or any vendors.

When a potential employer calls up the Department, and they ask about you and say that they are thinking of hiring you, all the DOE is permitted to say is how many years you worked for them. But seldom do they stop there. They go on to say that your file has a "Problem code".

Try it. Have a friend call DOE Human Resources and ask if you can be hired.

Joe McCarthy, where are you?

Anyway, if you are on the problem code, you must try to get off of it. What you need to do is, contact the Office of Personnel Investigations (OPI) at 65 Court Street, and ask for an appointment to talk with an "investigator". Bring someone with you, anyone.

At this meeting make an argument as to why you must have this red flag removed from your employee profile. Get the person's name and email address with whom you spoke, and email them what your argument was, after the meeting. Then wait for the decision. When you get the OPI decision, than you may file an Article 78 to overturn it, and then you can also sue the DOE if you have filed a Notice of Claim.

Read Chancellor's Regulations C-105.

OPI is here:

NYC Department of Education/DHRT

Office of Personnel Investigation

65 Court Street, Room 200

Brooklyn, NY 11201

Fax: 718-935-4366

Betsy Combier

Former OSI Director and The Gotcha Squad

Saturday, March 07, 2015

Why Has The UFT Leadership Failed To Take The DOE To PERB On The Problem Code Issue?

Back in 2012, the DOE decided that any teacher who was subject to a DOE investigation (SCI, OSI, OEO) and found to be substantiated will have a"problem code" attached to their file.  It mattered little that if the teacher decided to go through with their 3020-a hearing and the independent arbitrator found that the DOE investigation was flawed and found no serious misconduct, the DOE still kept the "problem code" on the teacher's file.  At the time the UFT leadership objected and claimed they will take it to PERB.  However, the UFT leadership failed to pursue the PERB complaint.  The question is why did they quietly drop their promise to file a PERB complaint, or did they ever really intend to fire one in the first place?

The union's failure to protect their members shows up yet again, be it the second class status of the ATRs, reassigned teachers put on ice in a different borough, or the labeling of the unfair "problem codes".  Our union's failure to remove the"Scarlet Letter" from their member files is a disgrace and must be corrected.

As a member with one of those "problem codes"on my file.  I will be more than happy to be the test case, if the union leadership wants to challenge the unfair DOE designation that has damaged many member chances from obtaining a position.  However, I doubt that the disconnected leadership will do the right thing and file their long promised PERB complaint.

Spending Public Funds On Private Treats Is Rampant Throughout NYC Government, and It's Not Just Principals Like Linda Hill. Its Embedded in Government

We hear all the time about principals using their p-card for personal purchases, and other thefts of public money by politicians.

But when the Mayor's people are involved, the money flow into private pockets is often ignored. Take Anthony Shorris, for example.  He took his son to school in a chauffeur-driven car when he worked for Joel Klein. When Bill De Blasio became Mayor he hired Shorris as Deputy Mayor - Gotta have him back, he is the only man in the US who knows enough secrets of NYC government to keep those secret if on salary.

Anthony Shorris is Baaaack and ready to Start a New Deputy Mayorship After He was Fired By David Paterson

Anthony Shorris

 Joel Klein seemed to be particularly immune to public scrutiny of public funds, and I think his deep loyalty to Hillary and Bill Clinton and their coverups is what got him the job. The chauffeur driven cars became an issue for a second, see below.

ED CHIEFS KEEP ROLLING Despite layoffs, school honchos get chauffeurs

BY Alison Gendar

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Thursday, April 10, 2003, 12:00 AM

The Board of Education changed its name, but its love of perks lives on. Schools Chancellor Joel Klein, who is chauffeured around town in a city car by a bodyguard/driver, has extended the fringe benefit to six of his top deputies - costing taxpayers nearly $600,000 a year. At a time when the Education Department is considering laying off some 3,200 lunch ladies and teacher's aides, bodyguards and door-to-door car service for educrats making six-figure salaries is raising eyebrows. "It's outrageous because [Mayor] Bloomberg promised there would be savings and all would be plowed into the classrooms," said Sol Stern, a fellow at the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research. "It's totally hypocritical, especially when they are talking about laying off school aides to balance the budget.
" The officials are picked up at their homes and driven to work in Ford Crown Victorias outfitted with police lights and sirens to cut through traffic. The Daily News recently spotted a driver for $250,000-a-year Deputy Chancellor Diana Lam shoo another car out of the way with lights and sirens - despite a City Hall directive against using them for anything other than emergencies. The News also saw Deputy Chancellor Anthony Shorris taking his son to school in a chauffeured city car. Shorris earns $168,700. At an estimated cost of at least $580,000 a year - based on 2001 figures for driver salaries, maintenance and fuel - the stash of cars is a pricey perk. That's enough to pay the salaries of 28 teacher's aides. Chancellors have had chauffeurs since at least the late 1970s.

But after the Board of Education was disbanded, Klein doubled the number of school brass with drivers to six from three, according to a current roster obtained by the Daily News. Klein's three deputies - Lam, Shorris and Kathleen Grimm - have the benefit, as did former Chancellor Harold Levy's top three aides. But Klein has expanded the perk to Benjamin Tucker, schools security chief; Lester Young, director of youth development, and Robert Knowling, head of the new principal recruitment institute, the roster shows. Shifting gears Contacted yesterday by The News, school officials said they were going to start a car pool for top management. "We have been reviewing all expenses at central, and as part of that process we are eliminating the use of individual cars by senior leadership," said Klein chief of staff LaVerne Srinivasan.

 David Chai, a spokesman for Klein, said the administration had shrunk the system's fleet to 78 cars, down from 138 when the chancellor took office in August - a drop of more than 40%. Still, this kind of largess was supposed to vanish when the state Legislature abolished the board, which gave each of its seven members a car and driver. A News review of board perks last year prompted a law barring its replacement - the Panel for Educational Policy - from getting cars and drivers. Rather than fire the drivers/bodyguards and mothball the fleet, Klein assigned the cars and drivers to his staff. The move came despite a vow by Mayor Bloomberg - who takes the subway to work at least once a week - to reduce the number of cars doled out to city employees.

  "We eliminated the perks - the cars and chauffeurs - so the money could be plowed into the classroom, not so the cars could be recycled for some other school official," said Assemblyman Steven Sanders (D-Manhattan). Fourteen men and women work as bodyguards and drivers for the school system, according to the most current roster. Eight of the 14 are assigned to Klein, who has two drivers, and his team. Two more are available to drive other top brass or to fill in. Of the remaining "executive protection unit," one is assigned to gang investigations, one is at the front desk of the department's headquarters in the old Tweed Courthouse and two are on leave. "A lot of promises have been made about money being saved, and people are beginning to see that what they say at Tweed and what they do are two different things," said teachers union President Randi Weingarten. "People are going to be laid off, so this is the time for management to make sacrifices as well.
**************************

First Deputy Mayor

First Deputy Mayor Anthony Shorris serves as the second-highest ranking official at City Hall, and is charged with managing the day-to-day operation of City government and the provision of core services across the five boroughs. Shorris comes to the post as a proven manager at City agencies, public authorities and private sector institutions.
Anthony Shorris began his service at City Hall in 1978 during the Koch Administration. He served as Deputy Director of the Office of Management and Budget, responsible for the City’s (then) $23 billion revenue budget, $3 billion annual capital program, and all spending on social services, housing and economic development. While at OMB, Shorris served as an architect of the landmark Ten-Year Housing Plan—the largest local housing initiative in the country. As OMB Deputy Director, Shorris dedicated more than $4 billion in City capital funds to the construction and rehabilitation of nearly 200,000 units of affordable housing in arson-ravaged neighborhoods. The massive initiative brought together and coordinated community-based non-profits, private developers, contractors and government agencies. Shorris continued to serve Mayor Koch as Finance Commissioner, leading the fourth largest tax agency in the nation with more than 3,000 employees and responsibility for collecting over $15 billion in City revenues. At Finance, he spearheaded efforts to reduce tax fraud, culminating in some of the largest investigations in city history that recouped significant funds for the City of New York, as well as creating a Taxpayer Bill of Rights.
Shorris returned to City government in 2001, where he served as Deputy Chancellor for Operations at the Department of Education under two chancellors. After the September 11th attacks, Shorris managed the Department’s efforts to provide mental health services, clean up damaged sites and transport relocated students displaced in Lower Manhattan. Shorris helped steer the Department through the difficult budget immediately following the attacks. His education experience led then-Governor Spitzer to turn to him to lead negotiations to settle the Campaign for Fiscal Equity lawsuit and create the NYS Contract for Excellence program to increase school aid across the state.
Shorris served both Governors Mario Cuomo and Eliot Spitzer at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. As First Deputy Executive Director from 1991 to 1995, he helped steer the agency through the aftermath of the first World Trade Center attack. Among his chief accomplishments as Executive Director were advancing the development of the World Trade Center site, including strategies to reduce the spiraling costs of the transportation hub; acquiring Stewart Airport in Westchester County in 2007 setting in motion plans for its expansion as the fourth major regional airport; creating new standards for green construction and the agency’s first carbon offset program; developing the first Compstat program for the PAPD; requiring agency contractors to provide health insurance; and breaking the influence of powerful lobbyists whose clients had business with the agency.
Shorris is a widely respected leader in healthcare. He previously served as Senior Vice President, Vice Dean, and Chief of Staff of the NYU Langone Medical Center, one of the nation’s leading academic medical centers. He helped direct the hospital’s successful efforts to recover from Hurricane Sandy, re-opening just nine weeks after the storm. From 1995-2000, he served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at Healthfirst, a nonprofit that he helped launch, offering free and low-cost insurance plans to low income individuals, families, and seniors. A multi-billion dollar company, Healthfirst is one of the largest nonprofit managed healthcare organizations in New York, serving over 900,000 members, and during his tenure Shorris significantly expanded its reach and services to vulnerable New Yorkers. He worked closely with the 1199SEIU National Benefit Fund to create a path-breaking program to provide homecare workers with health insurance.
Shorris has also taught and consulted widely. While at Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School, he led the Policy Research Institute for the Region and taught classes in crisis management, poverty policy and education economics. At NYU Wagner, he led the Rudin Center for Transportation Policy and taught classes on both management and transportation as a lever for social change. He has taught and lectured overseas in Italy, East Europe, and the Middle East. He was also a board member of the Regional Plan Association and co-chair of the Fourth Regional Plan, an advisory board member of the Independent Budget Office, as well as a board member of the Healthcare Association of New York State. In the past, he has served as board chair of the Center for Employment Opportunities and the Coro Foundation-New York, as well as a board member of the University Settlement House.

Linda Hill and Her "Berta Bucks" (May, 2012)

Re-posted from NYC RUBBER ROOM REPORTER on May 7, 2012:

Principal Linda Hill and "Berta Bucks"

IS 49: Berta A. Dreyfus

who is Linda Hill?

 

Evidently she has been in the news in the past, see below. Anyone with information can send updates to me at: betsy.combier@gmail.com

 

City declares war on truants

Published: Sunday, January 16, 2011, 8:04 AM     Updated: Sunday, January 16, 2011, 8:10 AM

 By Amy Padnani 

Staten Island Advance/Jan Somma-HammelWith Dreyfus Intermediate School principal Linda Hill are three students who missed a month or more of school last year. But they have changed their ways in response to a new anti-truancy program. The students, from the left, are seventh-graders Justin Juarez and Stephanie Colon, and eighth-grader Mustafa Wright. Dreyfus is one of the Staten Island schools targeted by the city's initiative.

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- On any given school day, more than four out of 10 students don't show up for class at PS 14 in Stapleton. At nearby Dreyfus Intermediate School, more than one-third of the students are no-shows each day. 

The city is making plans to put these chronic truants in their place -- specifically, in the classroom. And it's getting personal. 

The mayor's office is wooing students who skip a month or more of school by taking a personal approach -- delving into their family lives and offering rewards for coming to class. 

The so-called "truancy initiative" is focusing on PS 14 and Dreyfus Intermediate School, among 25 schools across the city with a high number of chronic absentees. 

Examples include nagging parents to find out what's keeping children from getting to class, and rewarding those who come to school with a shopping spree at Old Navy. 

"If you're not in school, you're never going to learn," said John Feinblatt, the criminal justice coordinator for Mayor Michael Bloomberg. "Truency rates and high chronic absenteeism rates are associated with very bad outcomes down the pike, whether it be juvenile delinquency, teen pregnancy, joblessness and so on." 

As part of the plan, success mentors -- City Corps volunteers or students studying social work -- will be placed in each school to track 15 chronically absent students and make contact with each family. 

There also will be numerous incentives, such as trips and freebies, for coming to school. City agencies like the Department of Homeless Services, the Administration for Children's Services and the Health Department also are part of the initiative. 

Staten Island Advance/Jan Somma-HammelStudents who improve attendance and do well in other areas earn 'Berta Bucks' that can be redeemed for prizes.

The attention from the mayor's office followed an alarming report released by The New School in 2008, pointing to a citywide problem in which one in five students skips a large amount of class time. 

According to the report, 41.3 percent of students were chronic absentees at PS 14, while 35.4 percent fit into that category at Dreyfus. 

A GOOD START 

Kim Nauer, one of the report's authors, called the mayor's initiative a good start, considering the financial constraints the city is facing. 

"Knowing they have no money, yes, I'm extremely pleased," she said. "People are awake about it now." 

Still, she said chronic absenteeism runs deep in the challenges of a surrounding community, and would take a lot of resources and time to delve into. 

PS 14 and Dreyfus Intermediate, located just a block from one another, flank the Stapleton Houses, the largest public housing complex in the borough and a main feeder to both schools. PS 14 is on the state's list of persistently dangerous schools; Dreyfus was only removed recently. Both are listed under the state's list of Schools In Need of Improvement. 

Both schools have a large population of minority children, with 81 percent of students at PS 14 eligible for free lunch and 71 percent eligible at Dreyfus. 

Among the challenges the principals see are single parents, families with lower socioeconomic backgrounds and children with health problems. 

Since September, PS 14 has been concentrating on 122 chronic absentees, while Dreyfus has been focusing on about 150. The school chancellor's regulations say each child is expected to have a 90 percent attendance rate, which both schools are aiming to maintain. 

MANY VARIABLES 

"There are a lot of variables involved with the families. A lot of things happen to them in their lives, and young children take on a lot of responsibilities," said PS 14 Principal Nancy Hargett. "We do whatever we can to find out what we can, whether it's because the children don't have the proper clothing to come out that day, or maybe they had to bring their siblings to school first." 

She said some students come from two nearby shelters, and she has no clue how long they'll actually remain in her building. Last week alone, seven new children walked into her school. 

The staff looks for patterns -- for instance, zeroing in on the large group of students who show up 30 minutes past the morning bell -- Ms. Hargett said. Latenesses are also calculated into the attendance rate. 

"It's a very hard, challenging job ... it's not all roses for me," the principal said. "It's a very tough community, a very hard community. But I think, in the long run, for those children that are here -- and they're sweet little darlings -- any little bit will help." 

PS 14 also has partnered with Dreyfus to hold parent summits, inviting families to talk about the importance of attendance and letting them know about city services that can help those who are struggling. 

"I know our parents are overwhelmed with responsibilities, with many of them working two jobs," said Dreyfus principal Linda Hill. "It's a challenge. I understand it from both sides of the picture. If you have your job in jeopardy, and you have to be there, yet you have a sick younger kid, what do you do?" 

STUDENT-ONLY SUMMIT 
She said the school also has a student-only summit called Dreyfus Everyday for Success, in which students meet regularly and participate in activities. A recent raffle granted some of the students a trip to see "In the Heights" on Broadway. 

"It validates them. They are a member of an organization that cares," Ms. Hill said. "They absolutely feel good -- you can just see from the smiles. That's not a whole lot of data but it's something that absolutely can be recognized." 

The summit complements existing efforts to promote attendance and good behavior. Among those efforts are the M&M Club, which stands for Mentors and Mentees and pairs adults with students, and Berta Bucks, in which students are rewarded with fake money to redeem for small prizes. 

On a recent afternoon, several students in the truancy program spoke proudly of the improvements they've made in their attendance so far this year. 

Mustafa Wright, an eighth-grader, missed 65 days of school last year after his family moved to Staten Island from the Bronx. Now, Ms. Hill said he's only missed three days so far, and is holding steady with a 96 percent attendance rate. 

"I'm going to graduate this year, so I want to pass all my classes," the 14-year-old said. 

Stephanie Colon, a seventh-grader who also moved to Staten Island a year ago -- and attended the same Bronx school as Mustafa -- said she missed 26 days of class last year because it was tough to focus. Since she's been coming every day so far this school year, she's found it's easier to keep up with schoolwork. 

She said the school staff has been attentive, which has helped to keep her on track and resist temptations to cut class. 

"They told me that no matter what, they want me to talk to them and that they would welcome me with open arms," the 13-year-old said. "Sometimes my friends say they're going to skip school and ask if I want to come. I just say no and then I walk away." 

Getting to class has been especially tough for Justin Juarez, also in the seventh grade. The 13-year-old's grandmother, who played a strong role in raising him, recently died, and he has been suffering from depression. 

Justin said he missed 22 days of school last year, but that he's managed to keep a 100 percent attendance rate so far this school year. Going to the Old Navy event -- during which he met his favorite baseball player, the Mets' Jose Reyes -- was a definite incentive. 

"Some days I get up and I'm tired and I don't want to come to school, but I tell myself, 'you have to go,'" he said. "At the end of the day, I feel good."

 

Principal under fire after 'spleen boy' remark

Published: Wednesday, October 17, 2007, 5:40 PM     Updated: Wednesday, October 17, 2007, 11:58 PM

 By John M. Annese 

LINK

Linda Hill, the principal of Dreyfus Intermediate School in Stapleton, is being blasted as "insensitive" after an alleged comment at a faculty meeting.

A Staten Island middle school principal is being blasted as "insensitive" after reportedly forgetting the name of an eighth-grader at her school who was severely injured in a textbook-tossing incident, then referring to the teen as "spleen boy."

Linda Hill, the principal of Dreyfus Intermediate School in Stapleton, made the "spleen boy" remark on Monday during a faculty meeting, according to sources present.

The teen's name is actually Chaz Carvalho, 13, of South Beach. Carvalho's spleen burst after his classmates pelted him with flying hardcover textbooks on Oct. 3 during a bizarre variation of the "Quiet Game." Doctors removed his spleen two days later, and used 29 surgical staples to re-seal the incision in his stomach.

A city Department of Education spokeswoman yesterday confirmed that Ms. Hill made the remark.

"The comment was inappropriate but made at a closed staff meeting and not intended to be malicious," said spokeswoman Dina Paul Parks. "The principal is apologetic. We do not anticipate taking disciplinary action."

"It's beyond insensitive at the very least," said Carvalho's lawyer, Ralph Porzio, a former Family Court judge.

Even though he didn't believe Ms. Hill was deliberately mocking Carvalho, Porzio questioned what was going on in her mind when she forgot the teen's name.

Advance file photoChaz Carvalho, 13, reveals his scars in his South Beach home.

"That's the first thing out of her mouth?... That's the insensitivity. This child is someone who has been scarred literally and figuratively," Porzio said.

He added, "This isn't 'Seinfeld.' This is life. You're allowed to be a little bit nasty in 'Seinfeld,' but not if you're the principal of a school."

Ms. Hill refused to discuss the matter when contacted by the Advance today. "I really don't have any comment, thank you," she said.

The textbook toss happened while Carvalho's eighth-grade math class was being supervised by a first-time substitute teacher, who school officials say never reported the incident to administrators.

Carvalho went to the nurse after class, but only admitted to having a stomach ache. He didn't mention the flying textbooks until two days later, when the pain wouldn't go away.

Ms. Hill wasn't present in the school building the day of the incident -- she was on a camping trip with students and faculty, according to school officials.

Ms. Hill brought the matter up during the faculty meeting as an example of why teachers needed to report classroom incidents as soon as they take place, but she forgot Carvalho's name, and called him "spleen boy" instead, according to sources.

The comment elicited shock from some of the teachers present, said one source, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "She realized her mistake, and kind of repeated it again with a nervous laugh," the source said.

"When I heard her say it the first time, I was taken back by the whole thing," the source said, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "If it was a teacher that said it, and a parent complained, she would have their back to the wall."