DOE Employees and Sandy Appeal Process

All staff of NYC schools should fill out the Appeal form below and  file asap. Send your stories to betsy.combier@gmail.com, as I am going to write a post about Sandy and NYC teachers in the near future!!

Francesco Portelos is also collecting information:

Hurricane Sandy Aftermath and DOE Appeal

Posted on November 5, 2012 

Please see the page that I put up on my site, top menu or this link Hurricane Sandy Appeal for DOE employees, to fill out and share your appeal reasons and decisions.

A few hundred have used it and some are commenting on the reasons. We just want to take a look at which appeals are approved and which are denied. Also comment on your experiences if you did go back to school on Friday November 2nd or the following week.

Please follow @Occupysandy for information on donations and volunteering:

Occupy Sandy

@OccupySandy

Official Occupy Sandy Relief NYC. Bringing updates on Volunteer Opportunities, Donation drop off locations, and current on the ground updates

New York · http://OccupySandy.org

UFT Alert For Tuesday, November 6, 2012

FROM 

https://www.facebook.com/uftny

By United Federation of Teachers

1. Many members have said that they would much rather spend Tuesday volunteering in the relief effort than doing professional development. We conveyed the request to DOE officials. Here's the answer: Members will have to take it up with your principals on a case-by-case basis. If the principal approves, then it's okay for you to spend the day doing relief work. Conversely if the principal says no, you must report for PD. Please spread the word.

2, The DOE says it will post at 6 p.m. final information about which schools will not be reopening on Monday because of lack of heat and electricity. The DOE will tell staff from those schools where they are to relocate. Please check this link at that time:

http://schools.nyc.gov/Home/InOurSchoolsToday/2012-2013/cancellations.htm

3.The DOE has created a tool that allows people to plug in the name of a school and find out what the school's status is for Monday:

http://schools.nyc.gov/Home/InOurSchoolsToday/2012-2013/cancellations.htm 

On the same webpage are a list of schools without power, which is supposed to be updated by the DOE, on Sunday afternoon, and a list of schools serving as shelter sites.

NYC ATR Alert

ATRs must check their emails as of Sunday, because many, if not most, ATRs have been assigned to new places for Monday.

New York State's Corruption Risk Report Card: It Aint Good

50 States And No Winners

NYS Overall grade:

D

Click a category to see detailed scores and notes.

Public Access to Information D+ view	Political Financing D- view
Executive Accountability D view	Legislative Accountability D+ view
Judicial Accountability D view	State Budget Processes F view
State Civil Service Management D- view	Procurement D view
Internal Auditing B+ view	Lobbying Disclosure B- view
State Pension Fund Management F view	Ethics Enforcement Agencies F view
State Insurance Commissions D- view	Redistricting F view

Email report card to officials

Click here to share this report card on your site

The story behind the score

New York’s newly created ethics commission has its work cut out for it in a state government that’s often defined by dysfunction and corruption. Read more from SII State Reporter David King.

Latest state news for New York

Campaign finance laws missing teeth and transparency

JUN 26, 2012

By Mike Mullen

Gov. Scott Walker survived his recall election. The same cannot be said for the integrity of campaign finance laws in Wisconsin.

Incumbents targeted for recall are freed from Wisconsin's normal fundraising limits, and can collect unlimited contributions from individual donors. With the election between Walker and his Democratic opponent, former Milwaukee mayor Tom Barrett, seen as a battleground for national partisan politics, money poured in on both sides. But Walker exploited the seemingly infinite loophole to tremendous advantage: By election day, Walker's campaign had received more than $30 million in donations, a total that approached the $37.5 million spent by both sides during the 2010 election,according to the Center for Public Integrity.

Wisconsin received a grade of 'C-' from the State Integrity Investigation for its political financing laws and practices, with reporter Kate Golden finding proper measures on limits, enforcement, and transparency, while also documenting numerous exemptions and back-channels, including the recall election loophole. But in other states, the potentially polluting influence of unlimited, and sometimes unsupervised campaign financing is constant and permanent, borne out of state laws and practices -- or their absence.

Read more →

---

New group joins push for campaign finance reform in New York

JUN 25, 2012

State integrity news for New York, from the New York Times:

Frustrated with Albany’s tepid reaction to the idea of publicly financed elections, the Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes and his fiancé are financing a new campaign to press the issue in coordination with Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo.

The group has also enlisted two former Cuomo aides to help plot its strategy. The campaign, Protect Our Democracy, will include a 501(c)(4) nonprofit group and a political action committee.

Read the rest of of the story at the New York Times.

Read more →

---

Editorial: Close loopholes and open public pensions to the public

JUN 11, 2012

State integrity news for New York, from the New York Times:

The law allows the disclosure of the names and pensions of retired public workers. But it exempts disclosure of the name of a “beneficiary” — which has long been interpreted to mean a person receiving the benefits after a retiree dies.

A state court ruling last year, however, found that a retiree could also be “beneficiary” and, therefore, could be shielded from disclosure. It is now up to the State Legislature to undo this ridiculous ruling and clarify an important law.

Read the rest of the story at the New York Times.

Read more →

---

Editorial: Pro-Cuomo organization should disclose its donors

JUN 06, 2012

State integrity news for New York, from the New York Times:

Cuomo administration officials argue that the governor pushed hard for ethics reform last year that, among other things, would require 501(c)(4) groups to disclose their donors.

Mr. Cuomo does not need to wait for that to happen. He can demonstrate his commitment to reform by pushing his friends at the committee to disclose all of its donors right now.

Read the rest of the story at the New York Times.

Read more →

---

New York launches new open government website

JUN 01, 2012

State integrtiy news for New York, from the Daily Gazette:

The government transparency website Project Sunlight has been expanded by Attorney General Eric Schneiderman to include the user friendly New York Open Government feature. Project Sunlight, which contains a collection of information compiled by the Attorney General's Office, will now help voters and government watchdogs hold state government accountable by offering up-to-date campaign contribution, lobbying and state contract data.

“Secrecy breeds corruption, while transparency generates confidence,” Schneiderman said in a statement. “New York Open Government will help the public keep an eye on what their government is doing in order to deter corruption and increase confidence in the public sector."

Read the rest of the story at the Daily Gazette.

Read more →

US Dept. of Justice: Bullying Prevention

Thursday, November 1, 2012

An End to Bullying & Equal Opportunities for All Students

October 31st, 2012 Posted by Tracy Russo

United States Department of Justice

LINK

The following post appears courtesy of the Civil Rights Division.

This October, in honor of National Bullying Prevention Month, communities across the country have come together to increase awareness about bullying prevention. The Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division stands firmly behind these efforts, and will continue to make the most of our resources and authority to help stop bullying in schools. We will continue to work to ensure equal educational opportunity for all students.

Bullying is not a rite of passage; the impact of bullying extends far beyond the schoolhouse doors. Bullying can lead to violence, anxiety, depression and even suicide. School bullies become tomorrow’s hate crimes defendants, while victims of bullying are more likely to drop out of school, struggle in class, engage in illegal drug use or become involved in the criminal justice system. It is simply unacceptable, moreover, that any child should fear going to school because of harassment.

The Civil Rights Division is responsible for enforcing federal civil rights laws that protect young people who are targeted because of their race, national origin, religion, sex or disability. This includes students who are harassed because they do not conform to gender norms of how a boy or girl is “supposed to” act. We hold school systems accountable when they fail to take the proper steps to address harassment within their schools.

In response to incidents of harassment, the division investigates written complaints, helps to amend school policies and requires school districts to implement a host of other remedies, including providing training to teachers and administrators on how to better promote positive school climates and rid their schools of harassment. In the past few years, we have reached comprehensive and groundbreaking settlement agreements with numerous school districts across the country, including in Philadelphia, where Asian students were regularly harassed at a local high school, and in Mohawk County, N.Y., where a gay teen was physically and verbally abused for failing to conform to gender stereotypes.

We also reached an agreement with the school district in Anoka-Hennepin, Minn. The school district had failed to adequately address the harassment of students who did not conform to gender stereotypes in their schools. But students in Anoka-Hennepin were brave and spoke out. They brought the problems they were facing to the Civil Rights Division, and we worked with the school district to reach a blueprint for sustainable reform that we hope will be a model for schools across the nation.

In 2010, Attorney General Eric Holder launched the Defending Childhood Initiative to address the problem of children’s exposure to violence and to promote evidence-based practices. As part of the Defending Childhood Initiative, the department provided grants to eight jurisdictions to develop strategic plans for comprehensive community-based anti-violence efforts, including anti-bullying programs. In Boston, Mass., for example, we are supporting the implementation of state-wide bullying intervention and prevention legislation.

The Obama Administration has made clear that bullying prevention is an issue of national priority. Last year, the White House organized a summit on bullying and harassment in schools. Recently, the White House also announced its support for both the Student Non-Discrimination Act and the Safe Schools Improvement Act. These bills would help ensure that school environments are free from discrimination, bullying, and harassment.

Ending bullying is a common mission rooted in common experience. Many of us can recall being bullied during childhood, or have seen the effects of bullying on loved ones.National Bullying Prevention Month is a reminder that bullying in schools remains a serious and unacceptable problem. The Justice Department will continue to vigorously enforce the nation’s civil rights laws to support the common goal to end bullying and harassment.

The work of our Civil Rights Division, as well as of our nationwide partners on this issue, is absolutely crucial to protect the safety and wellbeing of our students.

Students, teachers, administrators, advocates and community members can find extensive resources to help in the fight against bullying at stopbullying.gov

Teacher Observation: High-Tech or Low-Tech? by Kim Marshall

Parentadvocates.org
 Betsy Combier, Editor
LINK
 
It is important that teachers know what their supervisors are looking for, and I suggest that school staffs collaboratively formulate a short mental checklist of elements that should be evident in any K-12 classroom. My suggestion: SOTEL, or safety, objectives, teaching, engagement, and learning. Having this list in the back of their minds can help administrators as they decide on one or two areas that particularly need affirmation or improvement.

COMMENTARY
Teacher Observation: High-Tech or Low-Tech?
By Kim Marshall
LINK

As short, frequent, unannounced classroom visits become more common in American schools, principals have significant choices on how and when to use laptop computers, tablet devices, and smartphones as part of this teacher-evaluation technique. Lots of commercial software products are designed to streamline the process of gathering information on classroom observations and giving feedback to teachers, but is technology always the best tool? From my years as a principal in Boston and a coach of school leaders in other cities, I’ve become convinced that there is a time for high-tech and a time for low-tech in evaluating teachers, and the choices we make in this area really matter.

When a principal, assistant principal, or department head evaluates a teacher’s classroom performance, there are four steps to that process: (a) attaining some knowledge of what’s being taught; (b) making the actual classroom visit; (c) giving immediate feedback to the teacher; and (d) documenting the administrator’s feedback. Here’s my take on where high-tech works—and where low-tech works better.
• Learning about the curriculum: Before a classroom visit, it’s important for the administrator to know the broader context, especially the curriculum unit’s big ideas, essential questions, skill and knowledge objectives, and planned assessments. The most efficient way to get this information is for the teaching team to share each unit plan in electronic form—perhaps in an easily accessible online document—so the administrator can comment and contribute. With this background information, it should be obvious within a minute of walking into a classroom how the lesson fits into the broader instructional plan.

• Visiting the classroom: “You can observe a lot by watching,” said Yogi Berra, and I think that’s the best credo for principals visiting classrooms. Take a deep breath, slow yourself down, stroll around looking over students’ shoulders to check out the instructional task. Ask yourself whether the task is appropriately rigorous and on target for the unit and lesson objectives. In addition, quietly chat with a couple of students (“What are you working on?” is a great open-ended question that tells whether there is, in fact, a lesson objective); and, of course, assess what the teacher is saying and doing.

I’ve made thousands of short, unannounced classroom visits, and virtually every time I’m struck by a few things within the first five minutes—something to praise, a question, a concern. The administrator’s dilemma is how to record these insights, and my strong belief is that low-tech is best—jotting thoughts on a notepad, index card, or sheet of paper. Using a laptop or tablet makes it much more difficult to walk around and is disconcerting to many teachers and students (What’s he writing? Is she checking e-mail? Is this being sent to the superintendent?).

What’s especially ineffective, I believe, is trying to fill out a checklist or rubric during a classroom observation, especially if it’s on an electronic device. This doubly distracts the administrator from being a good observer, imposing a long list of criteria onto a fluid, highly complex situation that requires fully focused powers of observation, mobility, wisdom, and differentiation for each teacher’s background and unique classroom situation. When it comes to classroom observations, principals are paid to use their judgment, not fill out forms, and any principal who can’t formulate a couple of pertinent teaching points during a short classroom observation needs some serious professional development. As professionals, school leaders should push back against attempts to “principal-proof” the observation process, and teachers should raise concerns when administrators bring technology, checklists, and rubrics into their classrooms.

"There is a time for high-tech and a time for low-tech in evaluating teachers."
It is important that teachers know what their supervisors are looking for, and I suggest that school staffs collaboratively formulate a short mental checklist of elements that should be evident in any K-12 classroom. My suggestion: SOTEL, or safety, objectives, teaching, engagement, and learning. Having this list in the back of their minds can help administrators as they decide on one or two areas that particularly need affirmation or improvement.

• Giving immediate feedback to teachers: School administrators are incredibly busy and really want to take care of each new item as quickly as possible. Some send the teacher an email before leaving the classroom; others send an email, electronic checklist, or rubric later in the day. Good research on the efficacy of different approaches hasn’t been done yet, but my strong hunch is that researchers will find that teachers slough off or ignore 95 percent of electronic feedback, especially checklists or narratives giving micro-feedback on their actions during a short observation.

If a principal wants to make a difference in teaching and learning (rather than fulfilling a bureaucratic requirement), the best way to give feedback to teachers is face to face, ideally within 24 hours of the visit and, if possible, in the teacher’s classroom when students aren’t there. Chatting on the teacher’s home turf is an important gesture and can take advantage of props, student work, and visual cues in the classroom. Most teachers find evaluation visits nervous-making, and by far the best way to reduce anxiety is to give teachers the opportunity, every time, to explain the context and tell a little about what was going on before and after the visit. These feedback conversations, which usually take less than five minutes, are wonderful opportunities for appreciation, coaching, exchange of ideas, instructional improvement—and the ongoing pedagogical education of principals. Face-to-face talks are the drivers of change.

• Documenting findings for the record: As short, unannounced classroom visits become accepted as a legitimate form of supervision and evaluation, it’s clear that they need to be documented in some fashion. Superintendents, school board members, and the public are not going to be satisfied with assurances that lots of wonderful conversations are going on every week between principals and teachers. It’s also helpful for the principal and the teacher to be able to access a written summary of the feedback after a classroom visit and post-observation conversation.

In this domain, using technology is the most efficient and effective way for administrators to keep track of their observations and document their impressions. The ideal software has lists of teachers and makes it easy, after a classroom visit, to record the date of the visit; the time of day; the curriculum unit; whether the visit took place at the beginning, middle, or end of the lesson; when each follow-up chat took place; a brief summary of the feedback after the chat (perhaps limited to 1,000 characters); and any response from the teacher. At least one software product allows for all of this, and some include summative rubrics so administrators can pull together the year’s classroom observations and other data, compare scores with teachers’ self-assessments, and finalize each teacher’s end-of-year evaluation.

In sum, I believe that with the four steps in teacher observation and feedback, high-tech/low-tech/low-tech/high-tech is the best way for administrators to focus on what’s happening in classrooms and give thoughtful, effective feedback that will make a genuine contribution to improving the quality of teaching and learning.

Kim Marshall is a coach for principals, a speaker and consultant to educators, and the publisher of the weekly Marshall Memo, an online publication that summarizes reporting on research and best practices. He worked previously as a teacher, principal, and central-office leader in the Boston public schools. He is the author of Rethinking Teacher Supervision and Evaluation (Jossey-Bass, 2009; a second edition of the book is being published in 2013).