Bronx students seek support for a project to raise awareness about human trafficking. (Ruben Brosbe)
A run-down of bad news for the Bloomberg administration’s consulting practices. (NYCPSP)
A push to kill a school data system in California raises questions about data systems. (Quick and the Ed)
Reasons to be optimistic and also cautious about the Race to the Top for early learning. (Early Ed Watch)
A new documentary about teachers urges for salaries that match the challenges of the work. (ACSD)
Researchers in Houston are asking whether students can give teachers post-traumatic stress. (Ed Week)
Enrollment at charter schools and for-profit colleges is growing, new data show. (Hechinger Report)
A teacher argues that a federal turnaround of an Oklahoma City high school won’t help. (Thompson)
Mayor Bloomberg’s recent comments about parents are part of a disturbing legacy. (Bridging Differences)
We’re adding an extra day to the long weekend. Enjoy the holiday and see you on Tuesday.
Lawsuit – - Victory
Yes that’s correct! The Consultants who appeared out of nowhere (and for whatever reason) are a complete waste of $$$. We had a woman (consultant) coming to our school last year. I won’t name her unless someone really wants me to. She would fly in from another state and you know who paid for that, and be put up in a hotel, etc. She met with a few teachers out of 100+. She was nice but really could not do to much because the system is what it is. We took her little handouts and played diagram games and pretended to just deal with this nonsense UNTIL one day we learned she was being paid by the D.O.E. in excess of $700.00 per school day to sit and talk with us. Do the math baby!!!! Dump all of the consultants. They are not needed, really. I have no idea where this consultant thing came from or why people think it’s needed. In a school of over 1000 kids and many, many teachers, one lady aint doing to much, believe me! Bloomberg is really bombing this system. I’m so glad it’s all coming out. We are all laughing at these consultants .. but actually with the $$$ they’re making, they’re laughing at Bloomberg because they all know, there’s nothing they can do to make a school go from a C to an A. LMAO!!!!
Ruben
Thanks for linking to the post about ARTE. For anyone who checked out the link and noticed it wasn’t working it has been fixed or you can use this link: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1008622957/bronx-youth-paint-mural-on-human-trafficking
First year teacher
I have a question about the possible layoffs. I am a first year teacher (biology) and according to the spreadsheet released a few months ago, will be laid off. Would I be able to gain a position in another school, such as a new school that is expanding? I’m just thinking about possibilities and how I should be proactive and whether I should be aggressive about getting my resume out and interviewing.
bookworm
We have one of those “consultants” regularly this year. He made about $550-$600 per day to introduce himself, hand out copies of MET project inspired rubrics, assign us to “discuss” specific parts of it for 20 minutes, then have the groups “share out” our thoughts on the new rubrics (two syllables – BS). He did all this in his $1000 suit, while wearing gold bracelets and a diamond pinkie ring. Then he would put on his cashmere coat and head to his late model Mercedes SUV while we all went back to work having spent our prep basking in his pedagogical brilliance.
http://www.dianasenechal.com Diana Senechal
The Edweek headline about the Houston study appears to be a little misleading–the study will look at teacher stress, not post-traumatic stress. Follow the link to the study’s description, and you will see.
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