GothamSchools — daily independent reporting on NYC public schools

And if NY State doesn’t get the money, what happens then?

What! There’s more to this RttT? Do we now have to give up our first born? How much more? Didn’t the members of the Board of Regents read the 450-page document? If NYS doesn’t win the grant, does that mean the charter school cap goes back to 200 and the teacher evaluation reverts to the former method of observation?

I know that someone will say, “it’s a law now”, but wasn’t the law created based on the stipulation of winning the RttT grant?

Add this to the mix Joel Klein doesn’t really agree with the new teacher evaluation system.

NYSED’s Reading First funds were actually distributed to districts according to a pre-arranged legislative deal, rather than by following the processes in its USDOE-approved grant application. I’m guessing the deal as to how RttT funds will be divvied up was cut last week during the ostensible charter cap negotiations. Hopefully a few legislators will drop a dime and let us know what’s really going to be done with these funds in terms of who is supposed to get exactly what. Ultimately, of course, we’ll have to wait for another USDOE OIG audit to make it clear. Unfortunately, by that time, it will be too late. Which is a nice way of saying that this intentionally over-lengthy, cumbersome and vapid document has absolutely nothing to do with how RttT money is really going to be spent. After giving the application one read through, I find that thought comforting.

All NYSED is really doing is arranging for RttT money to go to the same old crowd, albeit with nice new acronyms, to make up for the money the State has cut from the education budget. A lot of it is kind of funny. All these people and outfits which have failed to do anything useful in the past are now – hey, presto! – going to change and turn into lean, mean education machines because of an infusion of federal dollars.

I don’t think so. I doubt anyone at NYSED does, either. But that’s not really what it’s all about.

The RttT will NOT save teacher jobs. They CANNOT be used to save teacher jobs. They MUST be used for data systems, test development, PD and longer school days and school years.

In actuality, after NY State pays for all that test development they’re going to need to create to add a test in every grade in every subject in order to “track” bad teachers and fire them, NY State will be in the red by half a billion dollars.

Heckuva job, Obama! When you get finished allowing BP to destroy the Gulf, you’re turning your attention to public education.

Heckuva job to the NY State politicians, their cronies in the hedge funds and the newspapers and the shills writing jive at blogs like this for fooling people into thinking the RttT reforms are anything other than privatization of the school system by other means.