GothamSchools — daily independent reporting on NYC public schools

• Manhattan’s CB 1 urged lawmakers to extend the “millionaire’s tax” to offset school cuts. (Tribeca Trib)
• A union activist proposes a new way to talk to current and prospective charter parents. (Ed Notes Online)
• Bronx students are learning the art of the poetry slam from working poets. (GOOD)
• Parents pushing for charter schools in affluent areas have frequently been stymied. (NPR)
• Minority teachers take licensing tests later in their careers than white teachers, a study found. (Ed Week)
• Scholar Linda Darling-Hammond recaps last week’s International Summit on Teaching. (Answer Sheet)
• Chicago Public Schools wants to close eight schools and phase out another. (Chicago Public Radio)

The Times’ City Room blog today gave a peek behind the curtain that has frequently hidden Albany’s budget negotiations from public view — and showed that legislative agreement on major education issues may still be a ways off.

According to an internal memo leaked to the Times that appears to have been prepared by Governor Andrew Cuomo’s office after the State Senate and Assembly each passed their own budgets last week, division between the governor and the two houses remains wide on each of the major education policy questions in the budget.

For each policy issue discussed, the 31-page memo lays out the governor’s position, the position of the Senate and the Assembly, and a column for possible compromises. None of the six issues listed related to kindergarten through 12th grade education have a potential compromise given.

And in one prominent case — the question of whether or not to end the state’s current layoff-based seniority system — the memo states that the Assembly’s position is “unknown,” which suggests that there has not yet been much discussion between the three parties on the issue.  (more…)

Class sizes across the city could increase by an average of 13 percent next year if the city decides to cut more than 6,000 teaching positions, according to a report the teachers union released today.

The United Federation of Teachers’ report doesn’t consider whether the city will lay off teachers by seniority — as is currently mandated by law. Nor does it factor in Mayor Bloomberg’s desire to lay off teachers based on how their principals have rated them, or how many unexcused absences they’ve accumulated, among other factors. Instead, it takes a blunt measurement of what the loss of over 6,000 bodies in classrooms could do to class sizes across the city and in certain districts.

The calculations don’t appear to take into account many of the complicated details behind how schools distribute their teachers. Often, schools will keep class sizes low for younger students, then increase them for older ones. Schools that separate their advanced students from those who are struggling are also likely to keep class sizes high for the former and low for the latter. (more…)

This post is one of many published as part of the #EDUSolidarity project.

There are plenty of times when I disagree with Michael Mulgrew and the UFT. There have been more than a few occasions in conversations about teaching when I’ve had to admit my own confusion or frustration with the union. But these instances will never change the fact that I am a proud supporter of the teachers union.

In a bizarre era where policy experts are calling attention to the need to attract better teachers while policy makers simultaneously decry our “lavish” benefits, the need for a strong union becomes increasingly acute. The blatant attacks on collective bargaining rights in Wisconsin and elsewhere do nothing to improve education. During such a time, I am grateful for the hard-fought union battles of the past that protect me from discrimination, support my instruction and planning, and encourage my professional development.

When I think of one of the most vital roles of the union however, I think of the protections that allow me to advocate for my students. At a school with more than 33 percent of students requiring special education services and an even larger number who are considered English language learners, I understand how crucial it is that I can speak up for these students if they aren’t getting legally mandated services. This is arguably the foremost job of a teacher, to speak up for his or her students. By protecting teachers who do this, the union is protecting the city’s neediest children. The union is at its best when it is in this role.

I know I don’t see eye to eye with the UFT on every issue. I don’t agree with LIFO. I think in the past tenure has been granted too swiftly and easily. In other areas, like the need for a stronger evaluation system, I hope the union will take more of a leadership role to create a system that differentiates more clearly between our best and worst teachers and provides feedback to help the latter group change their practice.

I think these changes will elevate the status of teachers, but also create better classrooms for our students. I know the union has an indispensable role in the future of education reform. In the meantime, I am grateful for the freedoms the union provides me that make me a better teacher to my students. I’m equally thankful to be a part of a group that welcomes discussion within its ranks. The debates within our group can only make us stronger.

• To counter anti-Bloomberg teachers union ads, the mayor paid for his own. (NY1, Times, DN)
• For the first time, a charter operator will try to turn around a struggling charter. (GS, Post, NY1)
• N.J. Gov. Chris Christie’s school budget cuts unconstitutional, a judge reported. (Times, Star-Ledger)
• Eva Moskowitz: ending the seniority-based layoff system is a “complete no-brainer.” (Daily News)
• Although the N.Y. Archdiocese is laying off teachers, it is also recruiting young college graduates. (DN)
• In L.A., Arne Duncan said No Child Left Behind should be rewritten to reflect student progress. (LAT)
• Chicago schools are putting $18 million into an effort to create a “Culture of Calm” in schools. (NPR)
• A charter that requires students to pass six A.P. exams wants to open in D.C. (Washington Post)
• Sixth and ninth-grade survivors of a tsunami-struck school graduated, only a week late. (Times)

• Mayor Michael Bloomberg spent nearly $1 million on campaign-style ads to promote his budget. (NY1)
• Teachers union chief Michael Mulgrew called the ads a “vain attempt” to change voters’ minds. (DN)
• In spite of rezoning, popular UWS elementary schools still have long wait lists. (InsideSchools)
• The most popular word in NYC school names is “Academy,” followed by “Charter.” (City Room)
• Two local elected officials argue that the city needs to remediate PCBs in schools immediately. (HuffPo)
• Young soon-to-be voters told Gov. Cuomo they’d remember his education cuts. (State of Politics)
• New York has accessed less than 8 percent of its Teacher Incentive Fund grants. (Ed Money Watch)
• Former Chancellor Joel Klein defends N.J. education commish appointee Chris Cerf. (Star-Ledger)
• A Pennsylvania mother is trying to start a boycott of standardized testing. (CNN)
• Some of Michelle Rhee’s views about teaching seem to contradict themselves. (Quick and the Ed)
• How does school accountability relate to healthy lunches? An explanation. (Chicago Mag via Russo)
• A start-up is creating a marketplace for teachers to buy and sell lesson plans and tests. (Business Insider)

Big block letters announce the entrance to Harlem Day Charter School, but next year they’ll spell Harlem Prep Charter School — a reflection of a charter school authorizer’s decision today to put the school under new management.

For the first time, a charter school network is trying to turn around an already-failing charter school. Last year, when the State University of New York’s Charter School Institute decided to close Harlem Day Charter School due to its low test scores, it solicited applications from charter operators who could reform the school. But there was a catch: whoever agreed to this proposal had to keep all of Harlem Day’s current students rather than starting from scratch with a fresh group of kindergarteners.

The risk was great enough that in a city of charter leaders eager for building space, SUNY’s search turned up only one applicant: the Democracy Prep Public Schools network. Today SUNY officially gave Democracy Prep the go-ahead to take over Harlem Day and reopen it in July with the same students and a different approach. (more…)

If you’ve noticed that your blog reader filled up today with the headline “Why teachers like me support unions,” it’s no coincidence — it’s part of a national teacher-led effort to share why they joined a union and what it means for their teaching.

Teachers from around New York City — and the country — have taken up the call to blog today in support of their unions, or to spread their message through other forms of social media. Bronx Lab School teacher and GothamSchools Community section contributer Stephen Lazar is one of the organizers of the initiative, which they’ve dubbed the #EDUSolidarity project.

In his post today, Lazar explains that union protections prevent great teachers from losing their jobs for arbitrary reasons. But it’s more than that, he writes:

I need the protection of my union and my tenured due process rights to consistently improve and innovate as a teacher. I am a very good teacher right now by any measurable objective standard, including that of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards who certified me two years ago, as well as by the subjective account of anyone who has ever observed me.  On my best days, I am great and every year, there are more and more of these days.

But here’s why I need tenure to get better: I need to be able to try new things to better improve my students’ learning.  If I did the same thing this year that I did last year, my students’ growth would stagnate.  This means taking risks.

New things do not always go well; most of the new things I try work, but some don’t.  By being able to try new things, over time, I am constantly improving in my ability to serve my students, bringing me ever closer to the sustained greatness to which I aim.

If I had to worry about arbitrary dismissal as an “at-will” employee, I would not have tried many of the great things I do.  I would continue doing what I have always done because it is safe.

Lazar isn’t the only city teacher speaking out today: Miss Eyre, Lynne Winderbaum, Mr. A Talk and a number of teachers at EdWize are just a few of those who’ve already posted their essays. The full list of posts from around the United States can be found here.

This post is just one of many being published today as part of the #EDUSolidarity project, of which I am an organizer. After you have read this, please take some time to read the wide variety of posts that will be added during the day at EDUSolidarity.us.

Right around the time I was elected as my school’s UFT Chapter Leader, my school hired a new principal.  He had taught history for 12 years and is married to an English teacher. He had spent the preceding year at my school as a principal intern, during which I came to know and respect him as a person and educator. When we sat down for our first formal meeting as principal and chapter leader-elects, the first thing he said was, “Steve, you’re a great teacher. So why would you want to be chapter leader?”

I have heard this question too many times.  It assumes the stereotype of the teachers union as home to the despondent, bitter, lazy, kid-haters who teach to get summers off. And I must admit, I was guilty of holding this prejudice to some degree when I became chapter leader.  While I, of course, wanted to take on the role to ensure the fair treatment of teachers at my school, a large part of my motivation was to slowly work to gain a voice within the UFT, so that a good teacher like me could displace an old and bitter one, in the hope that others would follow.  However, what I have discovered in my interactions with people within the UFT and at the various meetings I attend is exactly what is true of teachers I have met in my career: The overwhelming majority of people who step foot into a classroom want nothing more than to do right by their kids.

Now, there is certainly disagreement on how to do this. I know people who are great, award-winning teachers who have radically different pedagogical styles than I do. They might even do some things that I would counsel the teachers I mentor against doing. But different teaching styles are necessary, as they reach different students.  I would never want every teacher in the world to be exactly like me.

The same is true when it comes to educational policy. I only agree with the educational policies of the UFT slightly more often than I agree with the policies of the New York City Department of Education. I wouldn’t trust either to run schools without the checks and balances the other provides. There are times when change is a good thing, and sometimes that needs to be enforced from on high. There are also times when these “new ideas” are ridiculous and need to be stopped. There is a need for meaningful accountability for teachers. There are also times when the system acts out of expediency rather than in the best interest of students, and the union needs to be there to speak up for our students.

The area that the union is almost always right about, though, is insisting that teachers be treated as professionals. (more…)

Joel Rose, founder of the School of One, is leaving the New York City Department of Education

The founder of the School of One, one of the city’s most touted educational innovations, will expand that model nationally — by leaving the city Department of Education that helped him create it. The founder, Joel Rose, announced his move in an email to colleagues this morning.

The School of One is part of a national effort to re-imagine how teaching and learning happen at schools by taking advantage of technology. At the three schools that work with the School of One model in New York City, teachers still lead instruction, but they do so with the aid of a “learning algorithm” that creates a personalized program of study for every student.

The idea is to free educators from the more rote elements of school and let them, as Rose put it to us in 2009, “focus on is the hardest part of the equation, which is delivering great lessons.” In the first pilot of the program, a summer math program launched in 2009, School of One reported that its students learned significantly faster, citing externally commissioned research.

The three schools will continue to operate under the guidance of the Innovation Zone, or iZone, team inside Tweed Courthouse. But with Rose’s departure, the national apparatus around School of One — from press attention to large foundation grants — will leave the Department of Education and follow him to a new nonprofit he plans to create.

The move raises questions about New York City’s capacity to act as an incubator for educational innovation. For one, will programs incubated by the iZone stay in New York City for the long haul? Or will they follow the School of One’s path: attracting national attention for a few years and then seeking another home? (more…)