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Headlines
November 6, 2009
Rise & Shine: DOE fast-tracked $300K+ to a hypnotherapist
- The city is giving $55K to a student who was attacked by a safety agent. (GothamSchools, Daily News)
- The DOE paid a Canadian hypnotherapist $374,000 for management advice. (Daily News)
- CFO George Raab, a former Bear Stearns exec who brought on the consultant, has since left the DOE.
- Board of Regents Chancellor Merryl Tisch wants to see more charter high schools. (GothamSchools)
- School rules allow high schools to recruit middle school student athletes. (Post)
- Greenwich Village Middle School will move downtown and change its name. (The Villager)
- The parent council for District 2 endorsed temporary zones for two new downtown schools. (The Villager)
- The ACLU is suing the state of Florida for failing to provide a quality education to its students. (AP)
- More schools across the country are putting their report cards online. (USA Today)
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November 6th, 2009 7:42 am
It will be interesting to see how much corruption is unearthed in Bloomberg’s third term.
This one looks like good - the DOE hires a Bear Sterns hypnotist/ethics consultant/handwriting expert who received his degree from an online diploma mill for $374,000.
And who hired him at the DOE?
Why, a former Bear Sterns employee of course!
It’s good to see Bear Sterns employees taking care of each other.
Let’s face it, if they don’t, who will?
Certainly not Obushma, who only takes care of Goldman Sachs employees (through his surrogates, Harvard Larry and Treasury Timmeh.)
And certainly not Bush, who also only took care of Goldman Sachs employees (through his surrogate, Hank Paulson.)
So come on, Daily News - you got the story wrong.
This isn’t about a secretive NYCDOE wasting $374,000 for a hypnotist who earned his degree online to consult about, uh, hypnotism…
Nope - this is about Bear Sterns guys taking care of each other.
How heart-warming…
And the business fetishists want to bring us even more business “leaders” and MBA concepts to education.
What a great idea!
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November 6th, 2009 7:42 am
[...] Posted by John Young on November 6, 2009 The Education Department blew almost $375,000 on a New Age management consultant who brags about bei… [...]
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November 6th, 2009 9:55 am
It would be surprising to see more stand-alone charter high schools.
In some other cities, charter leaders did gravitate to starting high schools. The issue became that if a kid was not promoted, the district offered the kid automatic promotion to the next grade.
This creates attrition, since the teenager is the primary decision maker, and generally will take the easier path if offered one.
It’s the equivalent of what would happen if a freshman failed at SUNY Buffalo, but SUNY Albany offered to move him to sophomore year anyway.
One could argue as to the right perspective on this attrition: “pushing a kid out” (as union officials tend to say), or “luring our kids by offering lower standards, making it impossible for our teachers to hold kids accountable” (as charter officials tend to say).
Either way, the trend in other cities has been for charters, stung by attrition charges, to simply get kids at younger grades. I’d be surprised, therefore, if NYC charter folks heeded Tisch’s call.
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November 6th, 2009 10:05 am
There is a downside to hiring private refugees for sure like this Howatt cook. However, I think this only pales in comparison to some of the shenanigans I used to see in my District 29 under the old Board of Education, like our old community superintendent (yes, complete with her “education degree” and all) particpating in a scheme to get $1 million in fake computer contracts funneled to her personal bank account. Obviously, stupid decision making in the education world is not limted to the central office.
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November 6th, 2009 12:43 pm
GGW, I’m certainly in agreement with you on this point with regard to charter operators wanting to take on high school. I would add that we are seeing this phenomenon (the district will promote my child to the next grade so I’m going to go that school rather than be held over at the charter school), albeit to a lesser exent, at the K-8 level as well.
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November 6th, 2009 5:45 pm
Of course, certain commenters would rather revisit a criminal anecdote from years gone by than look at the MILLIONS in no-bid contracts under the CURRENT regime.
They’re still heeeere.
Obviously, stupid decision making has been INSTITUTIONALIZED in the central office. Which is why the PEP now has to review contracts. Finally. Let’s see if they actually do so with any gusto.
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December 1st, 2009 1:38 pm
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