GothamSchools — daily independent reporting on NYC public schools

• Randi’s favorite body part? Her legs, “because I have to walk a tight rope most of the time.” (Politico)
• One budget-cut casualty is full-day kindergarten programming. (Hechinger Report)
• Math and ELA scores are out on Wednesday, but parents can’t see them for a month. (InsideSchools)
• A teacher says DonorsChoose is hurting teachers by supporting a pro-charter movie. (Accountable Talk)
• Teach your students problem-solving skills and this will never happen to them. (Education on the Plate)
• And a comic shows the theory v. reality of media and education. (Toothpaste For Dinner)
• Basil Smikle, the reform-friendly state Senate candidate, travels by motorcycle. (New York Mag)
• The NAACP and other civil rights groups are attacking Arne Duncan’s agenda. (Answer Sheet)
• Aaron Pallas is worried about Michelle Rhee’s firings’ reliance on value-added. (Hechinger Report)
• Arne Duncan’s speech tomorrow will be themed “the quiet revolution.” (ed.gov)

New York could enter Race to the Top’s bell lap tomorrow — and then one step closer to winning $700 million toward overhauling to the state’s education system.

U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan will announce second-round finalists tomorrow during a speech in Washington, where he is set to discuss what he is characterizing as the “quiet revolution” of education reform.

New York State surprised many observers by being named a finalist in the first round of awards even though, at the time, the state legislature had not yet lifted the cap on charter schools or passed legislation overhauling the way teachers are evaluated. In the final first-round scoring, New York placed 15th out of 16 finalists.

But in part because of those legislative changes, some observers are predicting that the state’s chances of winning, or at least being named a finalist, are better this round.

New York’s chances could also be boosted through pure statistics. Only Delaware and Tennessee won in the contest’s first round, leaving most of the pot —  $3.4 billion — left to award. Duncan has said that there are likely to be 10 to 15 second-round winners, out of a total of 36 states applying.

You can read New York’s full, second-round Race to the Top application here, and more about what it proposes can be found here and here.

Let the transforming begin. The city has sent out letters encouraging teachers to apply for new positions that offer large annual bonuses in return for putting in more hours at struggling schools.

As part of a performance pay deal struck between the city teachers union and the Department of Education, these “master” and “turnaround” teacher positions will only be offered to exemplary teachers who want to serve as role models for their colleagues. The idea is for the teachers to help with curriculum-writing and to perform model lessons for their colleagues. But experience isn’t the main qualifier; applicants only have to have completed one year of teaching.

In exchange for the extra work — which is expected to take 30 hours each year — turnaround teachers get bonuses of 15 percent of their salaries. Master teachers work an extra 100 hours and get bonuses of 30 percent.

In order to stay in the three-year program, teachers have to maintain a “highly effective” rating each year. It’s a bit of a gamble for them: if the experiment fails and the city decides to close the struggling schools, these teachers will have no right to return to their current schools. (more…)

News from New York City:

• Merryl Tisch said the “inflation rate” on state tests has been around 20 percent. (Post)
• A lot of money and jobs have hinged on the flawed test scores. (Daily News)
• The Times says promised state testing reforms are exactly what parents and students need.
• City principals are already working on incorporating new national standards. (GothamSchools, WNYC)
• In an era of test prep, Head Start pre-Ks say fewer of their students get into gifted programs. (Times)
• About 40 percent of students at a new East Harlem charter school need special education. (Daily News)
• The identity of the state’s university system is at a crossroads. (Times)
• Many students assigned to summer school are not attending. (GothamSchools, Post)
• The S.I. teen allegedly killed by his mother was supposed to get counseling at school but didn’t. (Times)
• Five students at Millennium High School said a school drinking fountain made them sick. (Daily News)
• PS 72′s new rooftop soccer field was paid for by Manchester City, the British soccer team. (WSJ)
• Nathan Quinones, chancellor from 1984 to 1987, has died. (AP)
• The Post says the fact that only 20 city schools are on the SURR list shows mayoral control is working.
• Unlike Dallas, New York City does not have a central textbook depository. (Times)

And beyond:

• Students are trying to turn the roof of the country’s oldest school into a garden. (Boston Globe)
• Maryland is ending the longstanding practice of letting teachers preview state tests. (Washington Post)
• New York University is going to provide intensive support for seven schools in Newark. (Times)
• D.C. schools chief Michelle Rhee fired hundreds of teachers deemed low-performing. (Times, AP)
• The Daily News and Post say Joel Klein should follow Rhee’s lead and fire more teachers.
• Portland, Ore., is looking to New York City as a model for reducing its dropout rate. (Oregonian)
• Some aren’t happy that low-performing Jersey City, N.J., has a highly paid superintendent. (WSJ)