GothamSchools — daily independent reporting on NYC public schools

Wow! thanks for doing this; can you remind us about how this is calculated and whether they can be manipulated?  and aren’t there two competing methodologies — one from the state and another from the city?

No, Bloomberg wants to break the union; he doesn’t care about the money.

I know you posted this a few months ago but I thought it should be added. http://www.edwize.org/bloombergs-new-schools-of-choice-prepare-fewer-kids-for-college

Although Lehman is below the city average we are almost 10% higher than our peer group, including all of those small “A” schools.

Yes, Gideon, partially because they have disproportionate numbers of high-needs students that Eva Moskowitz and other charter operators won’t accept in their schools.

You might be singing a different tune if you were working in public schools that actually represented the communities in which you are located, and were having resources and students with greater supports siphoned off by politically-favored private competitors.

That Fierp Person: To tell you the truth, I haven’t done my accounts yet for 2011–  (I know, my bad) but I’m almost certain that the only donation CSM received from the UFT last year was $1500 for ten seats at my “Skinny Award” fundraiser.  We honored great teacher-warriors, like Christine Rowland, Julie Cavanagh, James Eterno, and Jackie Bennett, fighting to save NYC public schools from the onslaught of school closings and charters, and a great time was had by all. I appreciate their support but if you think the UFT can control me or influence what I write or say for $1500, you are dead wrong.

Parents Across America, a national group that I helped start,  got a $25K start up grant from the NEA in 2010, which was  widely reported at the time, here at GS, WNYC and elsewhere.  I told the reporters about this upfront.  Our members agree with the NEA on most issues — but not all.  For example, most of us are not happy about the Common Core, which the NEA supports but we think has no research backing, was imposed without parent input, and  will likely lead to even more testing.

Parents are not tools of the union, no matter how hard the hedgehogs, the NY Post, the charter industry, and the corp reformers like to propound this line.  This propaganda is insulting to us, though it may convince some people who don’t really understand the huge disaffection that the mayor’s policies has provoked among parents, and who don’t send their own kids to public schools.  I believe it is also a scare tactic being used to warn off advocacy groups from raising money from unions, one of the few sources of potential funding for the enemies of privatization and corp reform, while the hedgehogs, the privateers and the other members of the 1% monopolize the debate with literally billions of dollars at their disposal, garnered from the venture philanthropists and their own personal wealth.

That Flerp Person,

Your question about whether Leonie Haimson receives funding from the UFT is a poorly-hidden attempt to smear her tireless work defending NYC’s children and public schools.

Even if Class Size Matters does receive money from the UFT, so what? Despite its many shortcomings and the endless, well-financed propaganda war to de-legitimize and bust it, the union represents the interests of a far greater slice of society than those who are actively destabilizing and seeking to profiteer off the kids and schools. 

For example, it is the union contract, and only the union contract, that prevents Bloomberg from putting fifty children in a class (something he recently said he’d like to do). Prior to the 1%’s realization that children and schools are commodities to be monetized, it was the union, and mostly just the union, that fought for adequate funding for the city’s schools, at a time when Bloomberg and his ilk were perfectly happy to define a satisfactory public education for poor and working class children as being equivalent one that goes through the 8th grade.

While you have, on very rare occasions, made useful points in this section, for the most part the signal-to-noise ratio of your comments is extremely low. Perhaps you should reflect more on what you have to say before you press the “Enter” key.

Michael:  I’m not a teacher in the NYC school systems or a UFT member.  I don’t make money from textbooks or consulting or information technology services.  I’m not a member of the Bloomberg administration.  For all these reasons, I have the good fortune to be able to pick my policy positions one by one, according to their merits (as I see them).  It doesn’t matter how many times you type “privateer” or “the 1%” or “Bloomberg and his ilk.”   Unlike you, I have nothing to lose by pointing out that union pensions and benefits are gutting resources from public education.  So I won’t stop.

Addendum:  Leonie, I just did a search in the NEA’s most recent filing, and I see  the NEA gave you $25,000 in December 2010.  So don’t limit your construction of “teachers unions” to the UFT when you’re checking your records.  How big is your budget?  Is $25,000 a small sum to Class Size Matters? 

Fierp: 5 hrs ago I politely responded at length to your question, including the fact that CSM got $25K from the NEA to launch PAA.  So then one hour ago, you accuse me of leaving that out.

Did you bother to read my response?  Why are you intent on wasting my time?  You have shown yourself unworthy of my attention on questions about pensions or anything else.  As are most people who post anonymously — esp. those who claim they have no connection and thus have nothing to fear from DOE.

The trolling continues you should be ashamed of yourself All you care about is the pensions
You really don’t care about class size as you attack the very person who fights everyday for class size.
Pension program have been changed but you know that but you chose to ignore the truth.
It’s funny you never answer questions that are asked of you but your so quick to use it against everyone else.
The lawyer in you comes out all the time.

What dosen’t show up on this data is the number of AP Courses offered.
Last year at John Dewey we offered over 25  AP classes (even two sections of AP  Physics.  How many AP courses (with integrity) can be offered at a small school?

 Yes it would….but no one heard us…not at the meeting at Marty Markowitz’s office on March 12, not at our Joint Public Hearing last week……since our Principal was taken away, it’s been hard to get our message out there…..