GothamSchools — daily independent reporting on NYC public schools

• Unhealthy snacks are less accessible than ever at schools nationwide. (USA Today)
• While investigating a murder, police took an innocent student from his school in handcuffs. (Daily News)
• Observers say the ATR issue likely won’t get hashed out in the new teachers contract. (GothamSchools)
• State charter school booster Peter Murphy says David Steiner should lift the charter cap. (Post)
• About 200 D.C. students walked out of classes to protest the city’s teacher layoffs. (Washington Post)
• Susan Dominus says a art school head who wants to evaluate teachers should talk to Joel Klein. (Times)
• A Massachusetts labor board is looking into Boston’s relationship with Teach for America. (Boston Globe)

• WNYC’s Beth Fertig meets the students of a LaGuardia Community College remedial math class.
• The Washington Teacher has footage from a student walk-out to protest D.C. teacher layoffs.
• D.C.’s new teacher evaluation system incorporates student test scores, and is really complicated.
• How much does class size matter at Harvard? Kevin Carey takes the question to alums.
• A new study suggests that one in 100 kids might have autism, a higher rate than previously thought.
• When it comes to charter schools, more may not always be better, argues Corey Bunje Bower.
• NYSUT president Richard Iannuzzi says Washington is now the ed capital of the country.
• A Saratoga Springs mom is fighting a school rule that bans her son from biking to school.
• Most of the city’s selective high schools are dominated by female students. Liz Willen wonders why.
• The middle school admissions process is starting six weeks earlier this year than last.
• A Chinese-educated scholar says U.S. schools are drawing the wrong lessons from foreign competition.
• And don’t miss Arne Duncan on tonight’s Colbert Report! Alexander Russo has some jokes already.

David Steiner is making raising standards and the overhaul of teacher preparation his major goals as education commissioner. But his ambitious agenda for reform may be slowed by a grim financial climate and a large, unwieldy bureaucracy, education leaders said in interviews last week.

Steiner, who was sworn in as commissioner of the New York State Education Department last Thursday, has long argued for making the teacher certification process more rigorous and for adding more in-the-classroom experience for teachers in training.

In his first moments in office, he acknowledged that he has a difficult mandate. But he also pointed to circumstances that he said would help push his agenda forward.

“A lot of powerful forces are coming together,” Steiner told reporters. He noted that the state Board of Regents and the federal government seem to be aligned in a strong commitment to raising academic standards and that he thought parents were becoming more committed to their children’s education than ever before.

“So while this is a very challenging moment, fiscally and otherwise, it’s also a moment of extraordinary opportunity,” he said. (more…)

Queens in Brooklyn: The school's fourth floor was turned over to Queens high schools, which are among the most overcrowded in the city. Parents said school safety, AP course offerings, and class size would determine where their children applied.

Parents and their middle school students flooded the halls of Brooklyn Technical High School yesterday in search of the perfect high school. Over 34,000 people — up from last year’s 32,000 — attended the city’s annual high school fair to survey the hundreds of tables and glitter-soaked displays advertising the city’s 700 high schools. (more…)

Advocates for gifted children in the Riverdale section of the northwest Bronx are shaking their heads in disbelief — and disgust.

The Department of Education’s rules for admission to gifted and talented programs have shut some qualified children in Riverdale out of the program located in their own zoned school. At the same time apparent changes in the rules allow several students who didn’t qualify under the city’s rules to be added to district’s other gifted class at the discretion of that school’s principal.

Two years ago, the city decided that children would have to meet a citywide standard for admission to gifted programs in each borough. The goal was to increase equity and access to the programs, DOE officials said at the time. (more…)

With less than a month to go before the teachers union contract expires, labor negotiation veterans are forecasting a “bland” contract that will disappoint those advocating for drastic reforms both from the city and United Federation of Teachers.

One issue that many believe will be left out of this contract is what to do about the absent teacher reserve: a pool of teachers who were laid off when their schools were closed or were let go as a result of budget cuts. Currently, there are about 1,400 “excessed” teachers who receive their full salaries though most are not teaching.

In previous years, Chancellor Joel Klein has urged the city to adopt the model Chicago uses, in which teachers have a year to find new work before they’re fired. When the city pushed for an 18-month period in 2005, arbitrators rejected the proposal, yet the chancellor has continuously said that this is the system he wants to see put in place. (more…)

• A new policy pretty much bans bake sales in the city schools. (Times)
• Six city schools have been selected as H1N1 flu vaccine trial sites. (NY1)
• The city approved 10 new charter schools yesterday, leaving only 27 charters available statewide. (Post)
• The truth on education lies in between Mayor Bloomberg’s and William Thompson’s claims. (Daily News)
• A 13-year-old was killed during an after-school fight in Queens on Friday. (Times)
• The Daily News decries new state ed chief David Steiner’s restrained position on the state’s charter cap.
• Thousands of students attended the citywide high school fair this weekend. (NY1)
• The Manhattan Institute’s Marcus Winters says the new UFT contract should allow ATRs to be fired. (Post)
• Teachers, graduates, and former staff members describe crowding at Francis Lewis High School. (Times)
• The Daily News says the city schools should adopt D.C.’s new teacher evaluation program.
• The Washington Post praises Michelle Rhee’s teacher dismissals, which were not based on seniority.
• California is pondering the effects of losing out on lots of young teachers this year. (L.A. Times)
• Letters to the editor defend test grading procedures but still say tests are given too much weight. (Times)
• Jay Mathews profiles a top student whose Maryland school won’t let him accelerate. (Washington Post)
• A Campaign for Fiscal Equity-type lawsuit could be coming to California. (San Jose Mercury News)

This past week we visited our child’s gifted and talented class at PS 33 Chelsea Prep for a parents meeting with the teachers and principal. The school staff conducted the meeting in a very organized, professional and informative way. They addressed all of our questions and we had the opportunity to chat with other parents we haven’t met before.

The principal stood before us and explained the expectations of parents for the gifted and talented program. I have to admit, the expectations are extremely high for parent involvement but I prefer that than low expectations. Principal Lindy told us about the aggressive math and reading curriculum along with the levels our kindergartner will be expected to learn. The principal went on to tell us she secured a special instructor in robotics for the students! The school scheduled a robotics expert to come into the class on a regular basis to teach the children the fundamentals of robotics. Each child prepares their own project to learn the mechanics and creativity of robotics. Needless to say, we were shocked (in a good way) this type of experiential learning will be available for our kindergartner. (more…)

• Kristen Gillibrand and Merryl Tisch helped welcome the newest City Year corps members today.
• NPR visits the Friday night lights of a high school football team on a Kentucky military base.
• Fewer than 5% of kids surveyed by the magazine Highlights named celebrities as role models. (h/t NYMag)
• NYSUT president Richard Ianuzzi discussed Race to the Top for an hour on Northeast Public Radio.
• Insideschools’ student blogger Toni says school governance needs more student input at all levels.
• Arts education needs more serious, comprehensive advocacy, Jane Remer writes at Dewey 21C.
• TeacherMan begins his third year of teaching reflecting on budget cuts in an election year.
• The DOE is ramping up its anti-bullying program, earning praise from LGBT advocates.
• Charter operators are running just the lower grades at four New Orleans “transformation” schools.
• Peter Murphy promotes Vito Lopez’s legislation for facilities aid to charter schools.
• A few school districts around the country are bringing the Amazon Kindle to K-12 classes.
• Another new study on merit pay reports that it is highly effective in India.
• Norm has a post on how Chicago’s turnaround schools policy may have affected last week’s deadly fight.