GothamSchools — daily independent reporting on NYC public schools

• Some city schoolchildren are less than thrilled by the prospect of a snow day….
• While New York’s bloggerati think the city ruined the snow day by calling it in advance.
• Does the city plant school scandal stories to deflect attention from bad news? Mulgrew thinks yes.
• A UFT blogger finds a link between low grad rates and the number of self-contained special ed classes.
• Diane Ravitch argues that when policy makers rely too heavily on data, the data start to change.
• Jay Mathews wants to know ways to encourage students to read non-fiction.
• The move to small schools in a Colorado district led to a 5 percent increase in costs, a new book reports.
• Transit cuts in Chicago are raising concerns about students’ safety as they wait for buses after school.
• A blogger in Northern VA compares snow removal efforts to discrepancies in funding between districts.

Among the competitors, oglers, and voyeurs obsessively tracking the Governor David Paterson rumor mill is another, slightly unexpected group: charter school supporters.

These principals, financial backers, and activists see the governor’s crisis as just the latest in a series of disappointing Albany-based developments for their movement — all of which have them concerned that their once-solid political support is wearing thin.

The air of anxiety can be traced back to last summer’s State Senate power struggle, in which the Republicans who had supported them for years regained and then lost control. When the dust finally settled, the one Democrat who seemed to be on their side, Senate President Malcolm Smith, had lost power. The effects of that change became clear last month when the Senate nearly passed a bill charter supporters said would kill the schools’ growth. (more…)

School buses parked in Red Hook, Brooklyn, wait out a winter storm. From Flickr via Michelle

No news travels faster than word of a snow day. It’s on the radio, on teacher blogs, and in a notice sent by the Department of Education this morning: There is no school tomorrow.

The Department of Education sent out a notice at 11:10 am to say that regular school as well as all after school activities and sports are canceled. The Panel for Educational Policy meeting, which was scheduled for tomorrow night, has also been canceled and the proposals moved to the March meeting.

The same precaution is not being extended to DOE employees, who will be at their desks tomorrow, I’m told.

Last March, Chancellor Klein waited until 20 minutes before 6 am to declare a snow day, angering teachers who’d already begun their commutes and parents who had to find childcare.

The chancellor’s notice this year reads: (more…)

A parent just left this comment on today’s Rise and Shine post:

I think education reporters should disclose information about their schooling–public or private–as well as where their children go, if they have them. I think this is fair especially when a cover story blasts certain aspects of public schools. I always wonder after reading such a story: Did this reporter go to private school? Just a random thought.

We agree that it’s fair to ask education reporters, like all journalists, to reveal any biases they might have. So here’s the answer to Random Question’s question for GothamSchools’ four reporters: We are all products of public schools, but not New York’s. And none of us has children.

Losing our Metrocards to budget cuts would prevent students from so many low-income and middle-income families from grasping success.

My mother is a single parent. She is putting two kids through college — one at Howard University and the other at St. John’s in Queens — and she still has to keep up with her mortgage payments and other bills. Her job gives her great benefits and a good salary. But it is still really hard and I see her struggle every day to provide for her family and keep us together especially lately in this economic downturn. The last thing she needs on her plate is the question, “How am I going to get transportation to and from school for my son?” Providing a Metrocard for me to get to school would be another bill and another burden on her back.

I wouldn’t even attend the great school I go to, Francis Lewis High School in Queens, if I hadn’t known I would be able to get there for free. But my mom knew I couldn’t go to the schools in my neighborhood. Now those schools are among 19 that the mayor and chancellor are closing. Next year, if I don’t get a free Metrocard, it would be hard for me to stay enrolled at Francis Lewis for my senior year. And all the students who might have gone to the schools that are closing will have to spend their own money to get to schools like mine, which are already overcrowded.

And it’s not just about getting to and from school for me. (more…)

• The UFT has given donations to most of the politicians that signed on to its school closure lawsuit. (Post)
• Recent questions about the city’s crime data veracity sound like those about school gains. (Times)
• Queens politicians are banding together to protect schools that could face closure. (Queens Courier)
• City investigators recommended firing the teacher who’s been in the rubber room for seven years. (Post)
• The KIPP high school’s gym teacher runs a program that pairs students with Columbia athletes. (Times)
• A peace-loving fiberglass cow was stolen from Brooklyn’s Seth Low Intermediate School. (Post)
• School officials cut the ribbon yesterday on a new high school dedicated to sports management. (NY1)