GothamSchools — daily independent reporting on NYC public schools

The city is cracking down on a New Jersey family that illegally enrolled their daughter at two of the city’s most competitive public schools.

Jill Schifter and Anthony Maulello’s daughter won a spot in the Professional Performing Arts School in 2005 and was accepted to the ultra-competitive drama program at LaGuardia High School two years later. But according to a report released today by Special Commissioner of Investigations Richard Condon, Schifter and Maulello live in North Bergen, N.J., not New York City, meaning their daughter wasn’t eligible to attend the schools.

Investigators responding to an anonymous tip last fall found that the couple had briefly placed utilities accounts at a friend’s apartment under their name in order to establish residency after enrolling at PPAS. It was only six months into the investigation, in February 2010, that Maulello signed a lease on an apartment in Manhattan.

The city is moving to collect nearly $25,000 from Maulello and Schifter, the art teacher at a Jersey City charter school, according to Department of Education spokeswoman Marge Feinberg. That figure represents five years’ worth of the tuition the city requires from public school parents who live outside of the city. (Last year, the city collected $692,895 in tuition, Feinberg said.) According to the regulation about non-resident enrollment, Schifter and Maulello’s daughter could also be thrown out of LaGuardia.

The story is an extreme example of a not-uncommon phenomenon. (more…)

KIPP middle schools across the country enroll more low-income, minority students than their district school peers, yet their students have higher test scores, according to a report out today.

The report, from Mathematica Policy Research and commissioned by the KIPP Foundation, studies 22 middle schools in the KIPP charter network, four of which are in New York City. Its findings show that on average, KIPP middle school students have higher reading and math scores than their peers in district schools. It also suggests that students at these middle schools are outscoring their peers by greater margins than students at other New York City charter schools.

The report finds that, in some ways, students at KIPP middle schools arrive with more disadvantages than the district students the report compares them to. They’re more likely to be low-income and minority and in half of the KIPP schools, they enroll with lower test scores. But they’re also less likely to require special education services or not speak English. The report notes: (more…)

As summer gets underway, I’ve decide to tackle some big projects — one of which is to look at the effects that school closures have had on remaining schools in the surrounding area. To get started, I’ve created a map that plots all 111 schools that Chancellor Joel Klein has closed since 2002, including the 19 schools whose fates are still up in the air. Take a look and let me know how you think it can be improved. I’d also love to hear your thoughts on how to best approach this issue!

UPDATE: Due to a technical glitch, some schools on the map originally appeared in the wrong boroughs. Thanks to the eagle-eyed commenters who spotted the mistake! The map should be fixed now, but please let me know in the comments if something looks off.

• The city is looking for a new, “harder to game” gifted admissions test. (Times, Daily News, Post)
• Students and staff at Metropolitan Corporate Academy say they were set up to fail. (AOL News 1, 2, 3, 4)
• The Daily News says a recent study about Harlem Success Academy proves charter schools do better.
• A new study says KIPP charter schools boost their students. (Washington Post, Houston Chronicle)
• New York City is not alone in ramping up its online credit recovery offerings. (Education Week)
• Chicago teachers are still required to live in the city, as one teacher is finding out. (Chicago Tribune)

• Mayor Bloomberg and UFT chief Michael Mulgrew plan to lobby in D.C. for the teacher job bill. (WSJ)
• Four teacher-bloggers will discuss teacher evaluation and professional development. (Quick and the Ed)
• Nineteen states are still waiting for the feds to greenlight their turnaround plans. (State EdWatch)
• Study: Middle school music classes also help boost algebra scores. (Curriculum Matters)
• How can districts get more creative about summer school? Here are some ideas. (Hechinger Report)
• How much does RTTT include teachers’ voices? More than you think, a professor argues. (Rick Hess)
• After teaching the “Not-So-Magnificent Seven,” Miss Brave is headed to a new school. (Miss Brave)
• A charter school will share space with Horace Mann — a public school in California. (Mission Local)

While the city is busy looking for a replacement for its Chief Family Engagement Officer Martine Guerrier, one of her initiatives is just getting off the ground.

SchoolSource NYC is a website intended to be a repository for fact-sheets and instructional podcasts and videos parents can use to navigate the school system. The site was quietly launched last summer, but  the city is now trying to draw parents’ attention to it.

The Department of Education is paying for the site and they’ve contracted out its production to WNET/Channel Thirteen and the consulting firm RMC Research Corporation. Emily Zyko, the website’s director, told me that each year producers plan to add information on three new broad topics, chosen through work with focus groups and parent associations. Right now, the site includes information on topics including the high school admissions process, Regents exams and transitioning between elementary, middle and high school.

Here’s one of the site’s videos, focusing on how parents can use ARIS and interpret their schools’ report cards:

A City Council hearing today on public school admissions policies became a debate on school choice as teachers union and city officials clashed on whether more choice had really helped more students.

Defending the current system, which was put in place seven years ago, Deputy Chancellor Marc Sternberg pulled from his own experience of starting the Bronx Lab School, one of several small schools that replaced a Evander Childs High School, a large neighborhood school. Sternberg argued that because students can now apply to high schools all over the city, the fate of their education isn’t tied to the quality of a zoned high school. In his testimony he argued that having school choice is working for most students.

And for the coming year, 52 percent of rising ninth-graders were matched to their first-choice school, and 77 percent were matched to one of their top-three choices-more than triple the figure just six years ago. At the end of the main round, 86 percent of students had been matched to one of their top five choices. And while there is always room for progress, this represents a completely different universe of opportunities for students and a signature accomplishment of this Administration.

Teachers union officials countered that having school choice is great for the students who apply and get in to desirable schools, but every year there are thousands of students who aren’t matched with any school. This year there are about 6,500 of those students. (more…)

In the last couple of weeks, we have been reporting about our conversation with Michele Israel, a parent at PS 107 in Park Slope, Brooklyn, about how to grow an edible school garden. Michele has guided us through the planning stage and has generously shared with us possible sources of funding. The next step, finally, is to plant and reap the benefits of all your hard work.

The inspiration to grow an edible school garden originates with the children, of course, and the desire to see them learn firsthand about where food comes from and to literally enjoy the fruits — and veggies — of their labor. As soon as you have funding and your garden is a go, you will want to find ways to bring the children and teachers of your school into the process. What the garden committee at PS 107 did first to capture the children’s imagination was hold a garden-naming contest. Out of 140 entries the name “The Sunshine Garden”, submitted by a first grader, was selected. Having a naming contest gave the students a sense of ownership; it signaled to them that the garden was theirs to learn from and enjoy.

PS 107′s science teacher was instrumental in ensuring that the children were involved in the planting of the garden and that the garden became integrated into the curriculum. “We believe that the parents should provide foundational support and continued resources,” Michelle says. “But to really make the garden part of the school, it should be in the teachers’ hands.” This past year Michele decided to approach other teachers at her school about gardening and was able to recruit 12 more in different capacities. As Michele explains, “When I say different capacities, I mean that some just did hydroponic gardening in the classroom using AeroGrow Gardens, others started seeds in the classroom using grow lights. …  And several used the garden to address a mandated inquiry project they had to do.” The point is gardening doesn’t just have to take place outside, it can happen in the classroom as well. (more…)

• A potential state budget deal would reduce New York City’s cuts from $500 to $350 million. (WSJ)
• In addition to social studies tests, the Regents could axe foreign language exams to save money. (WNYC)
• The company that engraves diplomas says city schools are placing larger orders every year. (Times)
• Educating the most severely disabled students confounds schools in the city and nationally. (Times)
• Students cheered a legislative deal to save free student Metrocards. (Post)
• Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan’s brother leads teachers from his Bronx Science classroom. (Times)
• A seventh-grader who was assaulted at MS 142 in the Bronx can’t get a safety transfer. (Daily News)
• A new school on the Upper East Side was free as part of a deal with a developer. (Post, Times, NY1)
• Speakers at city high school graduations this week include celebrities. (Daily News)
• PS 178 in Washington Heights was vandalized over the weekend. (Post)
• Boston has reached an agreement to add an hour daily at its 12 turnaround schools. (Boston Globe)
• A bill that would fund school vouchers with corporate donations is foundering in New Jersey. (WSJ)

• Steve Behar, a candidate for office in Queens, said pro-charter groups tried to buy his support. (City Hall)
• The deadline for the city to release its school turnaround plans has been delayed again. (no link)
• Teaching English learners to pass the English Regents doesn’t teach them English. (GothamSchools)
• After all the hype about a student Metrocard deal, there isn’t really a deal yet. (Streetsblog)
• It’s easy to remove bad principals, but hard for the city to fire them. (Ken Hirsh)
• Shelly Silver and John Sampson were negotiating education cuts today. (State of Politics)
• Bloomberg said that teachers should defend bankers, since taxes pay their salaries. (Daily Politics)
• At one school, it’s the secretary, not the teachers, who are finally able to reach a student. (Deven Black)
• The education jobs bill is still up in the air despite Obama’s support. (Politics K-12)
• Randi Weingarten should be taking credit for the D.C. contract, not diminishing it says Eduwonk.
• The city’s “chief mom” is leaving for a job in the mayor’s office. (Insideschools)
• A new teacher pulls two fighting students apart and is told not to next time. (NYCEducator)