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schadenfreude
June 30, 2009
Mayoral control critics make plans to celebrate its death
With mayoral control set to expire in just 15 hours, some are developing contingency plans. Others are planning to party.
A group is planning to celebrate the end of mayoral control with a party in the park next to the Department of Education’s Manhattan headquarters, beginning at the perhaps-premature hour of 4:30 p.m. The law does not expire until midnight.
The event’s organizer, Nicola DeMarco, told me he expects between 25 and 50 people to join him at the party, which will conclude at midnight when the group tries to symbolically evict Schools Chancellor Joel Klein from Tweed Courthouse.
DeMarco has been teaching in the city since 1994 and is currently assigned to a teacher reassignment center, sometimes called “the rubber room.” He said the main point of the event is for teachers and parents to share their experiences living under mayoral control. “We’ve all been impacted by the scorch-and-burn policy to raise test scores,” he said.
Below is the press announcement that I received (from multiple people) yesterday:
Teachers, Principals, Guidance Counselors, paraprofessionals, secretaries, parents, families and community members will be gathering to celebrate the end of Bloomberg and Klein’s control of the New York City Schools beginning at 4:30 P.M. Tuesday June 30, 2009 in the park on the east side of 52 Chambers Street in Manhattan. At the stroke of midnight, June 30, we will serve eviction papers on Joel Klein to remove himself and his cronies from 52 Chambers Street, The “Boss Tweed Courthouse” immediately.
For more information of this celebration, call Nicola DeMarco at 917-374-5220 or 718-884-2069 or email at nickdmarco@hotmail.com
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June 30th, 2009 11:57 am
Nicola DeMarco,
While you are getting your rally together, make sure you find some kids from impoverished neighborhoods who actually have a fighting chance in life thanks to MB/JK and have them join you. Make sure that your pathological problem with authority and uncontrollable resistance to all types of meaningful progress get displayed loud and clear in your moronic fliers, posters and banners. You are the worst kind of hat in the ring: unoriginal, classless and completely stupid.
Sincerely,
Educators who care. -
June 30th, 2009 12:33 pm
Exactly a month ago on May 30, the “Ambassador Moms” conducted the first of two Fast & Prayer vigils for SUNSET. Our appreciation to Gotham Schools for posting the flier and for doing a write up. With little other fanfare, the word spread! Thousands of us who believe and are of many differing faiths met in small groups across this great city to call upon a higher power, the only “Controller” and to ask for a legal end to this school governance insanity.
The second Prayer and Fast vigil was held on June 11th and a small group of us prayed in front of Speaker Sheldon Silver’s district office– in the rain– for 2 hours.
There were many naysaying parent and education activists who thought this was a total waste of time and would have no effect on whatsoever. Some even snickered when they saw us dressed in white, forgetting the importance of respecting the solidarity of the cause, even when we don’t all think alike or work on the same strategy.
But we prevailed and look what work ADDED to the POWER of prayer has made happen! Look what happens when people put aside differences and bring faith to one collective and positive energy force!
We are victorious– and grateful to a higher power called by whatever name comfortable– for hearing us, showing the true colors of those elected to power so they can be voted out of office or honestly supported to represent us, and most of all– for allowing the 2002 law to sunset, no matter how short, on mayoral control.
AMEN to that!
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June 30th, 2009 12:51 pm
It seems this website’s comments section may yet need… a moderator, or at least an enforceable comment policy.
I am so not AMAZED that someone would hide behind the veil of anonymity to hurl ad hominem vitriol. Typical Kleinberger? I sure hope not.
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June 30th, 2009 1:03 pm
Finally, back to a system where nobody’s in charge of our school system! Hey, lack of leadership has worked great so far for the Senate, why not give it a shot with our schools?!
Because it’ll be a repeat disaster. Ms. DeMarco, you must have the memory of a goldfish.
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June 30th, 2009 3:12 pm
Bloomberg is wonderful. Klein is the best. Charter schools rule. Mess with this and all hell will break loose, riots will ensue, and the sky will fall.
Sincerely,
Educators Who Scare
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June 30th, 2009 3:45 pm
in response to Amazed comments: I see that you are a principal. Unless I’m mistaken and you actually spend most of your day with children, rather than in your office/in meetings/on the phone/with other administrators, how would you know what life is like in a test-crazed classroom environment for our children???? It is exactly these impoverished children and their families that have NO say in what goes on in schools…to the extent that they don’t even realize when the chancellor has decided to close their children’s school. Finally, it is exactly Mayor Bloomberg and Chancellor Klein’s long-range plan to replace all experienced and well-paid teachers with cheap teaching fellows who have zero experience. Please explain to me how this helps our “impoverished children.” And just one more thing, your description of Nicola DeMarco is extremely unprofessional. I hope you don’t speak to any parents or teachers who have different viewpoints from you in this classless manner.
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June 30th, 2009 4:15 pm
Hey Amazed. Maybe DeMarco doesn’t have a problem with authority, but a problem with incompetent, ruthless, power mongeriing idiots who think they know how to teach better than the teachers in the classroom.
As a principal, that wouldn’t describe you, would it?
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June 30th, 2009 5:48 pm
Allow me to weigh in (GS, that is, not other vitriolic posters!)
Re: “It is exactly these impoverished children and their families that have NO say in what goes on in schools.” Uhh, what about the parent choice that is part of the charter law? Charter school parents vote with their feet, every day.
I remember the bad old days, and I don’t want to go back there. Yeah, ask a principal and ask a teacher. If they are both respectful of the other’s role, they won’t be far apart. In the past, under accountable-less board of ed, teachers were allowed to be mediocre and stay that way. Heavens to Betsy, I have to use data to help understand my students and plan for where I want them to be academically? Not in the contract!
As for the prayers, do you really think the higher power(s) in our universe would want to answer anyone’s prayers by bringing us Espada and Monserrate?
Sounds like a supernatural creature of a different sort to bless us with these two and the chaos they have actually, already, created. -
June 30th, 2009 6:09 pm
KS (c/o GS),
Since I do not consider myself a “vitriolic poster”…
I dare say that voting with one’s feet is no one’s idea of parental input. And NO ONE is pushing for a return to pre-2002. Sunset on the way to a sunrise ain’t the same.Aside: I’m a proud aetheist, but mocking others’ religions is hardly taking the high road. Neither is tying Espada and Monserrate to the position of those who chose to seek help from on high in an effort to modify Mayoral Control.
Let’s not sink so low, eh?
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June 30th, 2009 6:13 pm
Oop. “atheist.”
If only my folks had hoofed me to a charter.
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June 30th, 2009 6:18 pm
Re the REST of the quote by EATT, truncated by KS:
“…to the extent that they don’t even realize when the chancellor has decided to close their children’s school.”Irony alert: Those parents have no choice BUT to vote with their feet, given that closed schools are often closed so as to open a charter — and without consultation with the local CEC as required by (ignored) law. Which makes my wonder why Bloomberg’s going to miss it, when Klein ignored it at his pleasure. Sheesh.
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