GothamSchools — daily independent reporting on NYC public schools

The teachers union and the city are heading back to court today, for the second round in an ongoing battle over the public release of teacher ratings.

Last December, a state judge ruled that that the city could release controversial teacher evaluations. Today, the union seeks to reverse that decision in Appellate Court.

The stakes are high for the city, which could use the release of teacher ratings as a key engine for galvanizing public support in favor of doing away with seniority layoffs. But the union, which wants to maintain “last in, first out” layoff rules, says that the evaluations are too inaccurate to be used for such high-stakes decisions.

The “value-added” evaluations, which grade teachers by comparing their students’ test scores to forecasted scores, were created as an internal assessment, designed to help teachers gauge their own performance. But the Department of Education announced it would release the ratings publicly after several news organizations filed Freedom of Information Law requests for them. This decision prompted a UFT lawsuit. (more…)

As someone who is relatively new to the education activist community, I find myself in the position of “optimistic young one” rather often. I was optimistic about my first few Panel for Educational Policy meetings, and though I now see them as the sham that they are I still joined the Grassroots Education Movement at the most recent PEP meeting with over a hundred printed signs to share. I still expect President Obama (and perhaps even Bill Gates) to have a change of heart about charter schools, merit pay, and standardized testing, once they more fully understand how these policies are negatively affecting schools. And I still get excited about connecting and talking with people at rallies such as the May Day action this past Sunday, where a group of a few thousand in support of immigrant and worker rights felt like a huge turnout that could not possibly be ignored.

So I recognized the raised eyebrows I received from fellow teacher-activist Sam Coleman recently when I said, “There could be 50,000 people at this thing.” We were attending an organizing meeting for the Strong Economy for All action that has been initiated by unions across the city and will occur May 12. The flier for the event reads, “TELL BLOOMBERG NO CUTS: MAKE BIG BANKS AND MILLIONAIRES PAY THEIR FAIR SHARE.” To my credit, the reason I was so optimistic is because the action sounds truly exciting and unique. If the organizers can pull it off it will be unlike any rally I have ever attended.

On May 12, citizens of New York will assemble at seven different locations in lower Manhattan, each with its own theme: housing, jobs, peace, immigration, transportation/energy, human services and, of course, education. From our rally points we will all march together and coalesce on Wall Street just as business people are getting out of work.

So far it sounds just like many other rallies, except here is where things get interesting. Throughout the Wall Street area several hundred people will be holding teach-ins on various topics related to creating a strong and fair economy for all. (more…)

• Students and teachers report added pressure as state tests get underway today. (Daily News)
• Osama bin Laden’s death came up in classes but didn’t resonate for most city students. (NY1)
• After telling PS 107 it would increase class sizes to 30, the city backed down. (Brooklyn Paper)
• Parents and teachers at Queens’ PS 30 are considering a lawsuit to block its closure. (Daily News)
• The Corporation for Public Broadcasting will focus its programming to cut the dropout rate. (AP)
• SUNY colleges could get economic development grants — and higher tuition fees. (Times, Post)
• Jason Riley: The performance of D.C. students who got vouchers show vouchers work. (WSJ)
• A seventh ex-Detroit schools official was convicted in a contractor kickback scheme. (WSJ)

• City officials continue to promote school choice, but it’s not clear what they mean by that. (Capital NY)
• A kindergarten father realizes he wouldn’t be a father without Osama bin Laden. (Insideschools)
• A mom weighs whether to leave PS 29 and send her child to a district gifted program. (Insideschools)
• A suggestion that teachers simply ignore students who enter class late. (Coach G’s Teaching Tips)
• A city school displays “disablism” by prohibiting students on crutches from going to class. (Deven Black)
• Even third-graders who know their stuff need test prep, turning teachers off of third grade. (Miss Brave)
• A visual representation of three years of longer kindergarten wait lists. (NYC Public School Parents)
• A Catholic teacher attends a Passover Seder and finds inspiration for her classroom. (GS Community)

After being criticized by parents for bungling the roll-out of parent council elections, the Department of Education is taking heat again for making parents jump through hoops to vote.

For the first time, the website where parents go to vote for candidates in their district is password protected. Although the city sent passwords home in elementary and middle school students’ backpacks, some parents who have children in high school said they never got the information. Without it, they can’t cast their votes in the Community Education Council elections and, if they’re running for a seat on the council, they can’t see who their opponents are.

A Department of Education official said the department’s Office of Family Information and Action decided to put the list of candidates’ names and profiles behind a password for privacy reasons.

President of the Community Education Council in District 1, Lisa Donlan, said she and other parents have not been able to log-on. Although she is running for office Donlan, whose son is in high school, said she can’t access the list of 12 candidates running in her district. (more…)

I participated in a Passover Seder meal this year. Raised in the Catholic Church, I’ve got a soft spot for ritual and the way that so many of our senses are engaged in religious ceremonies. As I sat through the Seder, I couldn’t help but think, isn’t this a perfectly crafted educational experience?

As a Seder newcomer (I’ve been to about three in my life), my interest trumped my lack of knowledge about Jewish religion and Hebrew language. Even though we sat at the table for over four hours, I was engaged throughout. Part of my engagement came from the knowledge that something important and sacred was about to happen. It made me wonder: How do I make classroom experiences important, even sacred, to my students?

The female rabbi, our leader in this Seder, provided a Haggadah she had assembled for each person at the table. The pages were numbered, as books in Hebrew always are, from back to front, tying us in a simple way to the traditions that we were about to practice. The ritual, which retells the ancient story of the Jews’ exodus from slavery in Egypt, was conducted with a mix of Hebrew, English, and Aramaic language. While some participants were familiar with all three languages, some, like me, only knew one. As a teacher, I thought: How do I expose my students to cultures with which they are unfamiliar? How do I invite them to bring knowledge of their own cultures to the classroom?

The leader began by providing us with an outline of the parts of the Seder, pronouncing the Hebrew names of the components, with them providing an English translation along with a hand motion. Throughout the Seder, as we transitioned from each part, we chanted the parts we’d completed, using the accompanied hand gestures. While I never did fully remember each Hebrew pronunciation, my level of confidence increased each time we sang and gestured. And even though I hadn’t understood, I was fully able to participate in the hand gestures, my favorite part. I asked myself: How can I integrate the arts into the classroom to provide more entry points for experience an expression? (more…)

News from New York City:

• Chancellor Walcott’s car was pulled over by police Friday night, but no ticket was given. (AP, Times, Post)
• Doubts about the DOE contractor accused of stealing $3.6 million were first registered in 2002. (Times)
• The contractor’s estranged wife once ran a club for “frisky moms,” which embarrassed her kids. (Post)
• The new $100 million Promise Academy Charter School building will house social services, too. (Post)
• James Regan, a leading member of the Board of Education in the 1970s and 1980s, has died. (Times)
• A teacher at Holcombe Rucker High School temporarily adopted a student he tutored in college. (NY1)
• Some city schools are adding bike safety to their physical education programs. (Times)
• CUNY is working on the thorny issue of transferring credits from community to senior colleges. (WNYC)

And beyond:

• Districts given funds by the Gates, Broad, and Walton foundations improved but not enough. (Newsweek)
• KIPP schools in Philadelphia are putting most of their internal records online for public view. (Inquirer)
• Author Dave Eggers says a wave of teacher retirements is an opportunity to boost salaries. (Times)
• A statistician argues that teachers should be evaluated according to how much time they teach. (Times)
• Ex-DOE deputy John White officially became New Orleans’ superintendent yesterday. (Times-Picayune)
• A crowd at Harvard’s ed school gave a warm welcome to N.J. Gov Chris Christie and his policies. (Times)
• Bloomberg columnist: Regulation that sidelines teachers is to blame for children being arrested. (Post)
• For homeless students, the routine of school, even when it’s a new one, can be reassuring. (Times)
• Middle-class children succeed when pushed and when allowed to move at their own pace. (L.A. Times)