On the issue of Retaliation, the Investigators of OSI, SCI, and OEO, and Why It Is Important to Fight

The  retaliation against those teachers,  (see Polo's NY State Supreme Court Complaint that he filed against the DOE, Principal Lisa Caraballo, NYSUT, Michael Best and the PEP)parents, and even students that readers have seen

Polo Colon

posted on this blog and my website is exactly what happened to countless parents, teachers, and members of School Leadership Teams throughout New York City over the past 12 years, including me. We are whistleblowers, we hold people accountable for their actions. Our rights to due process were denied to us.

For this reason, when I do a 3020-a, we always call in several witnesses to help support the testimony of the Respondent, and everyone still working anywhere is given a subpoena, so that if a principal or anyone at the school decides to retaliate, we are ready to stop it. All hearings should be open and public (if the charges are false).

 Condon v Sabater: Judge Huff Rules Against SCI Chief Richard Condon 

 Winning Your 3020-A: the Investigation (Part 1)

Two Reports, "Investigating The Investigators", and 'The Gill Commission Report' (1990) Dont Improve New York City Public Schools

Richard Condon

Be vigilant and document everything. You can win any fight if you do not give up.

I did not start my blog, NYC Rubber Room Reporter, until 2007. but since I studied the Soviet and American Military Industrial Complex at Columbia University and at Johns Hopkins' School For Advanced International Studies, and my dad was Assistant Attorney General of the State of New York under Louis Lefkowitz, I knew that governments exist because they can keep their operations secret. Secrecy is a major issue in politics, and whenever a whistleblower
comes along, this person becomes the magnet for investigations, and harm.

So in 2003 when I started visiting the rubber rooms, asked by David Pakter to speak there with UFT members, I was not completely shocked with the false claims and baseless charges filed against tenured teachers. Luckily, I was given the "Mein Kampf" of the Bloomberg administration, the successful removal of the NYC Board of Education and a general public vote, as a way to obtain and keep democracy out of public schools. I thought that someone had to document this process known as "the rubber room", or "rubberization" (my definition of 'rubber room' is that this is not a place but a process), so I started attending the teacher trials known as 3020-a. The first "teacher trial" I attended, as an observer, lasted several months, the arbitrator was Senior panel member Martin Scheinman, and David's NYSUT Attorney was Chris Callagy.

Betsy Combier and Chris Callagy (picture taken by David Pakter)

We all got to know each other very well. I have been documenting the teacher trials ever since, for my book. The purpose of my writing on my blogs, website, and my book is to stop this random, arbitrary and shocking mess of teacher abuse in NYC and America as well as parent and student harassment. Really, what do cockroaches do when the light turns on? They scamper into the nearest dark crack or hole. NYC DOE personnel despise anyone who challenges them on their "right" to harm people by subterfuge and threats of harm. They want the victim to be so scared of future retaliation that they run away, never to be heard from again. You may hear of harassment at 3020-a hearings, by NYSUT Attorneys and the DOE attorneys; and a push for "settlement" which is nothing more than the Respondent/victim declaring he/she is guilty of a crime and will never sue the DOE for finding out. I usually do not support anyone who is innocent of a charge to admit to doing it simply to stop harassment. If you didn't do it, fight to prove your innocence.

 I detailed my story about exposing the theft at Booker T. Washington MS 54 at 108th and Columbus Avenue in Manhattan (the post is dated 2004). I was PTA President and on the School Leadership Team (SLT)  in 2000-2001, 2001-2002 school years. (I still have two original copies of the "Green Book" of rules for SLT members!) Larry Lynch was principal. I had just entered the public school system in 1996 with my oldest daughter when I was asked to run for PTA President and won the position in May, 1998. I understood that I would be on the new entity called "School Leadership Team", and like most parents elected to a position of leadership, I studied the law, rules, and regulations under which we, the SLT were to perform our duties. One of the most important was to write the CEP, which was a detailed account of the money spent at the school. Almost immediately I realized that the principal of MS 54 at the time, Larry Lynch, would not give us any facts about the special needs kids.

 

I nicely brought this up at meetings, and told everyone that I would discuss with Larry about this and about how we must have this data before we handed in our CEP to the District 3 office, under the supervision of Superintendent Patricia Romandetto and her lackey and enabler, DJ Sheppard. A parent involved at the school for a long time told me, "You better not say anything, you will be retaliated against". I did not believe her.

 

When it came time to submit the CEP and we still had no data for the special needs kids, and several other items, in 2001, Larry told us that we should just hand it in without signing the signature page. I told him that this was not ok, as we did not have the data. I wouldn't sign as PTA President. Then, about a week later at the beginning of March 2001, I got a call from a source within the District 3 office, and this person told me that Larry had submitted the CEP. I went over to the District 3 office and was handed a copy of the CEP he had handed in. He had filled in missing data with numbers that I and the rest of the SLT had never seen, and which I knew not to be true, like the number of students in special education, the number of providers in the building on what days, etc. Also, he stapled to the front the signature page of everyone copied from the previous year, with the date whited out. I copied each page and took the documents home.

 

The next year Pat Romandetto, DJ Sheppard, and their allies at MS 54 (white parents) voted to remove me as PTA President, and I started my website Parentadvocates.org. My oldest daughter, at Stuyvesant with an IEP, had her IEP ripped up, the AP Jay Biegelson put his name on the attendance sheet as her father so that I would never know what happened, and my daughter was told that her mom could not be found. I was the Editor of the PA Bulletin at Stuyvesant, and in the school every day. All four of my daughters were attacked by the DOE and parent/district personnel/administrators who the DOE "convinces" they must be allies in order to attack whistleblowers. Secrecy is the number 1 priority. But I did not back down, and my daughters did not want me too.

Then another daughter got into Stuyvesant and accepted the offer starting in 2003. I was afraid but I did not want her to be, so I tried to discuss other options, all in vain. She wanted to be there. I remained very active in Stuyvesant, and the Chinese parents came to me with questions about the money donated to the PA in 2005. They had documented a missing amount of more than $380,000.

Scott Stringer

One of the parents was a relative of Attorney Jimmy Yan, who worked for Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer (pictured above). We made three appointments to let both Jimmy and Scott know about the documents showing that several hundred thousand dollars were not in the PA bank account, and there could be possible tax fraud. We met with Jimmy. He promised to help us retrieve the money after we showed him the documents, tax forms, PA budget and PA financial forms. I still have his message on my cellphone.

Jimmy Yan

I wrote my article in 2006 on what happened, including the call I received from the two attorneys who were given the job of auditing the Stuyvesant PA books. They called me up and whispered into my telephone, "Betsy, we have to tell you that there is so much money missing from the Stuyvesant PA that we cannot do an audit".

Jimmy called me as well, and told me that he was contacting Superintendent Alexis Penzel, and would get back to me. That was the last time we spoke, and we never heard from Scott Stringer. Needless to say, when I read the article below about how Scott Stringer, who is now the NYC Comptroller, will be holding Mayor Bill De Blasio accountable for his actions, I'm skeptical. Very skeptical. We will see........

Scott Stringer Promises to Hold Mayor de Blasio Accountable

Colby Hamilton

Scott Stringer and His Transition Team

LINK

SOHO — Comptroller-elect Scott Stringer vowed to hold incoming Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio accountable for the city's finances on Monday, even as he spoke of cooperation and partnership between the two offices.

“There's so much that we can do together in the spirit of cooperation, even though my role is to be the watchdog. And I will be the watchdog,” Stringer said. “My role is to audit every city agency.”

Stringer made his comments during the announcement of his transition team at the Talking Transition tent on Canal Street in SoHo. He said he and de Blasio were “excited about going from the steps of City Hall to actually being inside City Hall.”

He said the comptroller and mayor have joint responsibilities in handling and representing the city’s financial interests, even as the comptroller seeks to act as a check on the mayor.

“There is a relationship between [the Mayor’s Office of Management and Budget] and the comptroller's office that is very real and serious,” Stringer said. “But you also have a fiduciary responsibility to monitor city agencies [and to] hold City Hall accountable.”

Stringer named a slate of 19 advisers who he said would help him build out his office before he takes over in January. Robert Kasdin, a senior vice president at Columbia University, and Ana Oliviera, the president and CEO of the New York Women’s Foundation, were announced as Stringer’s transition co-chairs.

Kasdin said he expected the team would help Stringer create a comptroller’s office that was “the nation’s preeminent model for fiscal management.”

@bcolbyhamilton

One of the major problems with the DOE's policy of secrecy and retaliation is the lack of control the Department has over their hired help. As can be seen in my exposure of investigators who work for OSI, SCI, and OEO (see here my exclusive on the sexual assault on Natalya Sokolson-Gordon), people hired to do an "investigation" have been watching too much television. In all their ("the investigators") reports there is usually something that does not make sense. Dig it up and throw it back.

These agents of the Department are focused on getting information from the teachers they are told to investigate AFTER the teacher has been found guilty by the Principal/AP of the school. So, their purpose is actually to get information to substantiate the so-called "fact" that indeed, the person has already committed some kind of crime, and investigations are started with the intent to prove it. A great defense at 3020-a hearings is to prove them wrong. I call it "proving you are innocent after an allegation proves you are guilty" routine.

 Betsy Combier

Campaign Leader Tara Heidinger Asks For Cameras in Special Needs Classrooms

Tara Heidinger campaign leader

To: President Barack Obama an all State Governors 
Cameras in special needs classrooms for safety

Cameras In the Special Needs Classrooms

Dear Mr. President and all State Governors : 
My name is Tara Heidinger. My son Corey has autism. I have started a campaign to have audio/video cameras placed in all special needs classrooms for the safety of our nonverbal/little verbal, special needs children. Recently, my son came home from school upset because of an incident that had taken place in which the aide in his classroom physically and mentally assaulted him. Another student in his class witnessed this event and being verbal, this student was able to tell me what happened. When I brought this to the school's attention, I was told there would be an investigation. The conclusion of their investigation was the boys told them it didn’t happen and that my son was making it up. My son had visible marks on his body from the assault and the boys continue to tell me to this day that this incident happened. The boys still tell me till this day it happen. They said they were punished for saying it happen. Had there been cameras in the classroom, this incident might have never happened or at least the aide would be held accountable for her actions. As a parent, could you imagine your girls not being able to express to you what others might be doing to them? It's a permanent worry in the minds of parents of special needs children.

My story is only one of the many of both physical and verbal abuse as well as neglect taking place in special needs classrooms all over the country. But cameras would not only serve as protection for our children, they would also serve as protection for teachers and aides against false accusations and retaliation from within their own districts. Cameras would serve as a wonderful training tool as well.

I have taken the initiative to create a Facebook pagehttps://www.facebook.com/CamerasInSpecialNeedsClassrooms and a petition addressed to you, Sir, asking that special needs classrooms be equipped with cameras to protect our most vulnerable and precious children. You can also listen to my own personal story on YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISfTx01BrBk&feature=youtu.be

I am asking that you please support my efforts to make this happen. With technology advancing every day, this is something that must inevitably happen. We need your positive leadership to move this campaign forward. Please feel free to contact me with questions or concerns. Thank you for all you do for us every day. taraheidinger@netzero.com 
Sincerely, Tara Heidinger/Cameras In Special Needs Classrooms

A grassroots movement to put cameras in classrooms, driven by the parents of special-needs students, is simmering across the country. It's a personal crusade for many of the parents who say their children have suffered abuse at the hands of teachers and classroom aides with unsatisfying consequences.

Parents in states such as Ohio, Texas, Michigan, New Jersey and Tennessee have taken to the Internet to promote their cause with petitions, videos, Facebook pages and letters to the president. Many of their children either cannot speak or have difficulty with verbal communication.

Tara Heidinger describes son Corey, 8, as "the happiest boy in the world." He loves all sports -- basketball is his favorite -- and is quick to beat most of the video games he gets. He's shy around kids, but comfortable around adults.

He is also autistic and can become "hysterical" if faced with change in his schedule or day-to-day routine in their hometown of Lakewood, Ohio.

When Corey arrived home from school May 10, he was "very sad," Heidinger said.

"He's usually happy and joyous, but this day he was very sad and he said, 'The teacher [was] mean to me,'" Heidinger said. "I really didn't think anything of it because teachers can tend to be 'mean' to get their point across."

But later on, some of Corey's more verbal classmates told Heidinger that the teacher's aide had "grabbed Corey by the arm really hard" and "screamed in his face" to stop his crying when he became upset.

Heidinger, 34, said Corey had visible marks on his skin from an alleged physical and verbal assault, so she went to the school and confronted the principal.

"I was scared out of my mind. She didn't believe the story I was telling her," Heidinger said. "They tried to say the boys made up the story, that it could be their autism."

When school officials told Heidinger there was no proof of the alleged attack, she asked whether they had cameras in the classrooms or in the hallways. The answer was no.

"There should be cameras in these classrooms because so many of these children don't speak at all," she said. "Any safety issues for children should override any privacy issues for staff."

So Heidinger decided to take matters into her own hands and make it her personal mission to get cameras in the classroom, focusing first on classrooms with children who cannot speak or who have low verbal communication abilities.

She sent a letter to President Obama and she has about 4,000 supporters between her Change.org petition and her Facebook page.

Florida psychologist and special education attorney Katie Kelly has been in frequent contact with Heidinger, calling her a "relentless" advocate for the cause.

Kelly is the mother of a child with Asperger's syndrome and represents many clients whose special-needs children have been abused at school. "It's just horror story after horror story," Kelly said.

She is contacted several times a month by parents from across the country who say their developmentally challenged children have been abused physically, verbally or sexually.

The parents are connecting online and slowly organizing their cause.

"This movement has come directly from parents who have been affected by having their children be abused at school," Kelly said. "One by one, in different states, people have seen that and it's resonated in them and they've taken up the call.

"There's a national dream that all families are happy and all schools and classrooms are happy and you really don't want to open the door and see that it's really ugly in there," she said.

Google alerts on Kelly's computer for abuse stories are "a daily occurrence" and she is continually "stunned" at how many cases are reported, as well as the ones she imagines are not reported.



"I think what we see is the tip of the iceberg," she said. "When you're dealing with kids who can't talk or who have very low verbal skills and you're seeing this amount of reporting, it seems to me that there are more parents out there who aren't discovering it."

The National Association of Special Education Teachers did not respond to request for comment, but the association's executive director, George Giuliani, has expressed uneasiness with the perceived rise in parents' using audio and video equipment to make their own secret recordings. He indicated that it might be time to consider a more formal method of supervision, according to The Associated Press.

"In classrooms where children are nonverbal, unable to communicate, defenseless, we should start to have a discussion of whether cameras in the classroom are necessary," Giuliani told the AP in April.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) did not immediately respond to request for comment, but its Virginia branch supported earlier this year a pending state bill that would prohibit closed-circuit cameras in schools to monitor students, "unless it is necessary to protect the physical safety and security of students."

As for the parents who discover any abuse, the fight is tough. Without evidence, it is often the disabled child's word versus a school's denial. Kelly said that when parents don't have photographs or video of the alleged abuse, there is often not much they can do.

"I'm absolutely a proponent of cameras in the classroom," she said. "I think when you have many vulnerable children together, it provides safety not only for the children, but for the staff. Accusations can go both ways."

Kelly said that case law has shown that privacy rights do not extend to the classroom. Many common spaces in schools, like cafeterias, have cameras, as do school buses. She said case law has only shown that cameras are prohibited in areas such as bathrooms and locker rooms.

"Schools are very hesitant to look for abuse because it opens them up to potential litigation," Kelly said. "They don't want to open that can of worms so they just deny, deny, deny."

Kelly acknowledges that while abuse is never the answer, teachers and schools are faced with a "perfect storm in education" of increasingly challenging factors including overcrowding in classrooms, diminished resources and low pay.

"I think that's what's leading to a meltdown," she said.

The abuse stories that make it into headlines are often the ones where parents take on the role of detective and expose the abuse with video or audio recordings.

A New Jersey dad who suspected something was "horrifyingly wrong" at school when his autistic son began acting violently had the boy wear a digital recorder and discovered teachers verbally abusing him.

When the dad, Stuart Chaifetz, listened to the recordings, he heard the teacher and aide calling his son Akian names, making fun of him, yelling at him and having inappropriate conversations in front of the children.

"He's the best human being I've ever met and these people were taking it away because they were crushing his spirit," Chaifetz said of his son. "If I had not spoken out and released that video, it would have been like it never happened, except to Akian because it happened to him and he knows it."

School officials were "shocked and horrified" by the audio, Chaifetz said. The aide was fired but the tenured teacher could not be fired and was moved to another school.

Chaifetz has received thousands of emails of support, many of which have been from parents' pushing for cameras in classrooms, which Chaifetz supports.

"Nobody wants anyone to see what's going on in some of these rooms," Chaifetz told ABCNews.com. "Let's stop just saying that schools are about the kids and let's actually make them about the kids. It's not going to hurt anyone that's doing a good job."

But not everyone is so certain that cameras in the classroom are the way to go, and Sara Gelser of the National Council on Disability calls the push for cameras in classrooms "a symptom of a larger problem."

"I don't know that cameras in the classroom themselves are the answer to the problem," Gelser said. "I think what we really need to be looking at is better regulation."

Gelser said she understands the frustrations of families, but can see why schools might be reluctant to undergo the constant supervision.

"I worry about issues of privacy in terms of filming people. Many of us don't like the idea of being filmed," she said. "I understand why people are raising the issue. These families are desperate and there are very few choices that are left to them."

Her National Council on Disability is the independent federal agency that recommends disability policy to the president, Congress and all other federal agencies.

Whether cameras in classrooms will be a solution parents and educators agree on, it is clear to all parties involved that something must be done to protect special-needs children.

"We shouldn't be putting the onus on the parents to become Sherlock Holmes or Nancy Drew to figure out what's going on during the school day," Gelser said. "No one should have to protect their child from school."

 

 

Accountability: Holding People Accountable For Their Actions

Re-posted from my blog National Public Voice, which is posting editorials and article that help my Foundation, The E-Accountability Foundation, hold people accountable for their actions on the web:

Bob Lenz: Authentic Assessment Heightens Accountability

LINK

Bob Lenz, CEO and Co-Founder, Envision Schools, San Francisco

ASSESSMENT

How Authentic Assessment Heightens Accountability in Our Schools

EDUTOPIA,DECEMBER 5, 2012

How do we foster intrinsic motivation, for both teachers and students, to work towards high performance? Can we create a system of accountability that will drive this performance? At Envision Education, we answer with a resounding,yes. However, our accountability is not driven by a system of rewards and punishments; it is driven by an authentic system of accountability driven by making the work of students, teachers, and the school public.

Envision uses several strategies systematically to open the learning to the broader community which drive more rigorous outcomes at every level of our school system.

Over the last few weeks I have observed some of these strategies at work at Envision Academy of Arts and Technology High School (EA) in Oakland, CA. Here is a little background data on EA:

·         More than 70 percent of the students qualify as low income and will be the first in their family to graduate from college

·         100 percent of the students in the class of 2012 graduated with all courses required for California public university system entrance, compared with 40 percent of students statewide

·         95 percent of students in the class of 2012 were accepted to a four year or two year college, compared to 48 percent of students statewide

·         For EA's first two graduating classes (2010 and 2011), the college persistence rate from the first to second year of college is 72 percent (compared to the national average of 55 percent)

How do we use authentic accountability to drive this high performance at Envision Academy?

Public Exhibition of Work

At least twice a year, Envision students and teachers present their learning to the broader community. At Envision Academy, I had a chance to listen to ninth and tenth grade students debrief their fall exhibition. The ninth graders presented their learning through digital media telling their own story as learners and as people. They presented in semi-formal attire at an evening performance at school. They shared their poems and artwork -- not just to their teachers but also to their parents, siblings, grandparents, and other guests. During the class reflections, a teacher shared a story of one parent's tears of joy as she watched her son present his project.

The tenth graders were celebrating with "Academy Awards" for their performance of short, theatrical public service announcements on social and medical issues from their biology classes. The principal shared with me that two of the winners for best male actor were students who came to EA struggling with skill gaps and low motivation. Clearly, they had become motivated by the project and the public performance.

How does this type of public performance drive authentic teacher accountability? If the students are not prepared or they produce low quality work, it is not hidden in this type of system. Not only do your teaching colleagues and school leader witness the quality and rigor of the student work product, the entire school community including the students' parents see the work. There is no place to hide. As a teacher, you become committed to the success of all your students because you do not want to see them publicly fail or falter.

Instructional Rounds

A couple weeks later, I spent a day as part of our Envision Professional Learning Community conducting "Instructional Rounds." Based on the work of Dick Elmore from Harvard and the medical school concept of rounds, Envision teachers, school leaders, network leaders, board members, and community members from other schools and organizations gather at each school in the Envision network twice a year to help each school investigate a "problem of practice." The school opens all of its classroom doors for observation from the group assembled in the morning. In the afternoon, the group works with the school to move from observations to action -- concrete next steps. Envision Academy asked the question, "How are teachers moving students towards more independent learning?"

Using the evidence gathered by their "critical friends," Envision Academy gained insights into where they were using strategies that led to greater student independence and places where there is room for growth. The school leadership team used this data to create an immediate plan of action to begin improving their collective practice. Imagine the level of commitment towards high performance it requires as a school principal and as teachers to open up every classroom in your school for observation when no outside authority is driving you to do so (e.g. accreditation visits). Like the students in the exhibition, the public nature of this practice drives the leader and teachers towards improvement intrinsically and not with an external reward or punishment based solely on a standardized test score.

In my next post, I will describe how Envision Learning Partners uses a process called Design Studios to open up our schools as a place for colleagues from other schools, districts, and networks to learn and plan the redesign of learning at their own schools.

Let's start a conversation through the comments: How does your school hold you and students accountable? How does your district or charter management organization hold your school accountable? Is it working? How do you know?

·      BOB LENZ'S BLOG

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Fabio

Posted on 2/4/2013 5:30am

We have the International

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We have the International Baccalaureate Program in our school and therefore, teachers and students are extremely accountable. For instance,50% the course I teach is graded externally. I grade the rest of the course, however, it is moderated externally. Having this system holds us all accountable and most certainly raises the level of student learning.

Kelsey

Posted on 12/10/2012 7:16pm

great!

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I love the idea having the students present their own work in front of an audience. I believe that would keep them accountable for their work and make them want to do their very best. It is also a good way to show their peers what they have learned and to learn from each other.
I taught 4th grade last year, and in an effort to mix it up, I broke up my classroom into groups of 4. I then made them accountable for reading a section of their Social Studies book on the different regions of the US. They then made a billboard trying to persuade new settlers to come to their region giving examples from the text. They then presented their billboard to the rest of the class. I really felt that giving them ownership of a section of material made them more accountable for their learning and the teaching of their peers.
It is awesome to give students a voice!

Sonja

Posted on 12/10/2012 6:47pm

I am really impressed with

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I am really impressed with the stats from Envision Academy. I too teach students with low income and many of them will be the frist to graduate from high school or college in their families. It is exciting to see how well the students do in college. I have not used a public performance in my classroom, but I can see how it would motivate both the students and the teachers to be prepared and successful. I have not heard of instructional rounds before. I feel that they could be beneficial to schools because the school woudl gain feedback from others outside of the system. Does the school invite certain people to come and visit, or is it more of an open invitation to be a part of this process?

Justin Banitt

High School Math Teacher from Minneapolis, MN

Posted on 12/10/2012 6:43pm

Two Schools

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I've taught in two different schools with two different views on the matter. One school was very open to having the public come in and see what your classroom is like. It took a while for the students (and myself) to get used to strangers walking in during class. After a while, it was almost expected and the students were no longer distracted. As a teacher, that was the hardest part to get used to. How will this affect my ability to maintain my students' attention? The more it happened, the easier it got. As for the second school, there really isn't any school or district accountability. It's almost like a "no news is good news" philosophy. I think they would be open to allowing the public in for visits, but it isn't encouraged as much as the first school.
I love the idea of the public exhibitions! What a great way to hold everyone accountable.

Shawn Krinke

Junior and Senior Language arts Teacher, North Dakota

Posted on 12/10/2012 6:28pm

Assessment and Accountability

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I enjoyed your ideas on how to make assessment authentic. Public exhibitions and instructional rounds are two interesting ideas. I have utilized public exhibitions in my classroom before, going to far as having community members come in to interview and view the students' work; however, I have not heard of instructional rounds before. I like the idea of opening the classroom to the public as it would give non-teachers a real glimpse of what teaching entails. It would also motivate teachers to be at their best.

I would be interested to know how this process begins.

Lucas VL

High School English Teacher

Posted on 12/9/2012 8:09am

Great idea!

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I really like your concept of the performance assessment here where students summarize and present their learning for a more public audience, not just of their peers, but of parents, siblings, grandparents, other parents, and administration. I think knowing that they will be showing off their learning to others in a non-traditional classroom setting really does encourage them to go the extra mile to make sure their learning is "good" and authentic. Students (and their teachers) don't want to appear unprepared in front of others, especially since this type of assessment is public and would be very clear in displaying their amount of effort.

Just out of curiosity, how well attended are the open-house nights for these presentations? I think they are a great idea, but wonder if it is difficult in our busy lives to get parents to come in.

Ellie Hallquist

Kindergarten Teacher from Otsego, Minnesota

Posted on 12/7/2012 1:16pm

Impressed...

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Wow! I have to say that it would take a LOT to get teachers in my school to open their classrooms to the public or even to other teachers at times to come and observe them and their students. So many teachers seem to be 'scared' when the principal has to come observe them formally every 3 years and formally 3x/year for the first three years until tenure. I have been observed several times and admit I would get nervous when the principal would come in, but mostly it was in the anticipation of her coming. If she just showed up, I should be doing the same thing whether she is there or not. I think this attitude is what is needed throughout the schools. I also think it is helpful if teachers are open to suggestions instead of feeling like they know everything and shouldn't have anyone else telling them how to teach or what to change. We need to change, that is part of education! The formal observations are how teachers are held accountable.
As far as how our school holds students accountable, it seems to be through standardized testing. I do not think it is working since so many parents and students do not care about the tests and some students don't even read the questions before answering. I think a lot of the attitude comes from home. If the parents care about their students score or grades, then the student is more likely to care. If the parents don't care, neither does the parent. How do we get parents attitudes to change along with students? How do we get teachers to want to learn more and be excited about changing things or trying new things in their classrooms to teach the students instead of sticking to the things they've been doing for 30 years whether they work or not?

Diner Deals: How The UFT, DOE, and State of New York Conspired To Harm Teachers While Enriching Themselves....Oops, I Mean New York State...or Not You

 The conclusion of most, if not all the teachers and DOE employees I have spoken with, is that the new Danielson evaluation system stinks....should be thrown out pronto.

As I urged in my previous article, Movement Starts: Toward an End To Involuntary Payment of Dues to the UFT , dues-paying members of the UFT should look into stopping their waste of money into the pockets of UNITY hacks who do deals behind closed doors.

What has Mike Mulgrew done to help you? Yes, I mean YOU, if you are paying dues. If you cannot answer this question, shouldn't you try to stop paying Mike Mulgrew and start putting all of your dues money into YOUR welfare? Call the UFT Welfare Fund. Tell them you want all of your dues to go to them for your health and welfare.

Maybe those folks at 52 Broadway will start picking up the phone and really advocate for members, if their salary is merit-based and not automatic.

Give the UFT UNITY CAUCUS members MERIT PAY and/or a commission based upon the number of successful cases brought to grievances or 3020-a.

 Betsy Combier

 

Assembly Democrats are opposed to Gov. Cuomo’s new, $224 million line in the sand in the city’s teacher evaluation fight  

Some 60% of Assembly Democrats represent city districts, making the issue of vital importance to their conference

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BY KENNETH LOVETT / DAILY NEWS ALBANY BUREAU CHIEF, Jan 28, 2013

 

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ALBANY — Assembly Democrats are strongly opposed to Gov. Cuomo’s decision to impose a second strings-attached deadline on the city to approve a teacher evaluation plan.

The chamber’s Democrats — a majority of whom represent city districts — fear children could once again suffer as a result of Cuomo’s call to put another $224 million in state education aid on the line in the evaluation war.

RELATED: BLOOMY SLAMS UFT FOR POOR TEACHER EVALUATION PLAN, UFT FIRES BACK

City schools lost $450 million in state and federal funding when Mayor Bloomberg and city teachers union President Michael Mulgrew failed to reach agreement on an evaluation plan by a Jan. 17 deadline. Now, Cuomo has set a new deadline of Sept. 1, and his 2013-14 budget plan will yank $224 million in planned aid to city schools if it is not met.

“I thought he was going to be the lobbyist for the students,” a city-based Assembly Democrat cracked, making light of Cuomo’s boast from his 2012 State of the State address. “How does taking money away from school programs help the kids?”

RELATED: BLOOMBERG SUGGESTS CUOMO TO HELP IN EVALUATION DEAL

SMITH FOR NEWS

A source close to Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver indicated the conference of legislators in the Assembly representing New York City could side against Cuomo's new deadline for a teacher evaluation plan due to the risk of losing city education funding.

A source close to Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan) said the issue is vital to the conference, given that 60% of its members represent the city.

Assembly Democrats note that the state share of funding the city lost at the Jan. 17 deadline — $250 million — was a planned 4% increase in education funding in the 2012-13 budget. That depleted the city’s education aid base, they say, making city schools less able to withstand potential loss of the additional state funding Cuomo is dangling to coax a deal out of the two sides.

RELATED: BIG IDEAS BY THE DOZENS

“Compounding the cuts in the budget would be very difficult because ultimately it hurts children,” the Silver source said.

Cuomo defended his proposal last week during a discussion with the Daily News editorial board, pointing out that the city was one of only six school districts statewide that failed to adopt an evaluation plan by the Jan. 17 deadline.

“When 99% of the school districts figure out how to do it, I don’t think you can say the methodology has failed,” Cuomo said.

Mayor Bloomberg is expected to address the school aid controversy when he provides budget testimony at a joint legislative hearing in Albany Monday. It will mark the last time as mayor he will deliver such testimony.

klovett@nydailynews.com

 

Top aides to Mayor Bloomberg, Gov. Cuomo and union leaders reach historic agreement on teacher evaluations

Deal enables city to get millions in federal funds

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BY KENNETH LOVETT AND BEN CHAPMAN / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

PUBLISHED: THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2012, 12:08 PM

 

 

Top aides to Mayor Bloomberg and Gov. Cuomo and union leaders struck a historic agreement on teacher evaluations just before sunrise Thursday after all-night negotiations fueled by green tea and coffee.

The 5:30 a.m. deal broke the tense stalemate between Bloomberg and United Federation of Teachers President Michael Mulgrew over the appeals process for teachers given low ratings.

Left unresolved at that moment was Mulgrew’s demand that Bloomberg cancel plans to shutter as many as 33 struggling schools.

As the city was coming to life, Bloomberg and Mulgrew faced each other over three cups of coffee at the Viand Cafe, a mayoral favorite on the upper East Side.

“I just kept filling the cups,” said waitress Roxana Colla, 46.

Neither side gave ground on the closures, though, leaving a crucial decision to Cuomo, sources said.

But the governor decided the fight over the closures was not his — and said the evaluation plan was a done deal.

All sides praised the agreement, which clears the way for the state to qualify for nearly $1 billion in federal education money, including $60 million designated for struggling city schools.

“This is a win-win-win for the kids and for the adults,” Bloomberg said at an afternoon press conference, acknowledging that the city and union still need to hash out some details of the state’s hard-won agreement. “Every one of us should have a smile on our face. We did something really good that’s going to make the school system in New York City that much better.”

Negotiations heated up Tuesday after Cuomo — who threatened to implement his own ratings plan in the budget if the sides didn’t come together — declared the relationship between the city and UFT “toxic.”

“The governor was being a coach. He was working the room,” said one source. “It was a combination of (nudges) and hugs.”

Mulgrew, chief city lobbyist Micah Lasher and others hunkered down in Cuomo chief of staff Larry Schwartz’s office starting 8 a.m. Wednesday, sources said.

The talks, held in person and over the phone, then stretched until the wee hours Thursday when the appeals process for city teachers — modeled after one in New Haven — was finalized.

Under the terms of the groundbreaking deal, which settles the state teachers union lawsuit against the 2010 evaluation law, 60% of instructor evaluations will be based on measures of teacher performance, such as classroom observations.

The remaining 40% will be based on student achievement, with at least half of that component coming from student progress on state exams.

Cuomo also wrote into the plan an appeals process for city teachers who earn poor ratings, the bone of contention that caused talks between the city and UFT to break down Dec. 30.

Under the new agreement, city teachers rated ineffective will be monitored by an independent validator.

If the principal still rates the teacher poorly after a second year and the validator agrees, then the teacher must fight the firing. If the monitor disagrees, the city needs to prove that the teacher should be canned.

Under the new system, the union will have the right to appeal up to 13% of the first-year ineffective ratings with an independent panel.

Until the city and the teachers union officially ink a deal, a 4% increase in state aid for city schools still hangs in the balance.

The remaining sticking point is the 33 schools where, in his State of the City address, Bloomberg threatened to fire half the staff in an effort to collect the federal funds endangered by the evaluation impasse.

A source said city officials feared Mulgrew would torpedo the evaluation deal over the issue. But he stood by Cuomo as he announced the accord in a 12:15 p.m. press conference.

“We’ve had 10 years of education reform through destruction,” said Mulgrew, who added that the union will “challenge each and every one” of the mayor’s school closings.

With Edgar Sandoval, Tina Moore and Rachel Monahan

bchapman@nydailynews.com