GothamSchools — daily independent reporting on NYC public schools

• The teachers union agreed to a new contract that includes a raise and concessions on evals. (Tribune)
• This week’s This American Life episode focuses entirely on Paul Tough’s new book. (This American Life)
• A former adult ed administrator proposes a “radical” alternative to new GED tests. (GS Community)
• A rundown of the players in New York City education politics and how they’re aligned. (Schoolbook)
• Mayoral hopeful Tom Allon agrees with FDR that public union strikes are “intolerable.” (HuffPo)
• An ATR member explains the disappointing turnout at the latest teacher recruitment fair.  (NYC Educator)
• Despite evidence of success, a new report on school turnarounds shows little reading growth. (EdWeek)
• A researcher offers advice for teachers to rewire their expectations about high-need students. (NPR)
• New York City school employment has been spared relative to the rest of the public sector. (Greg David)
• Tension over CUNY’s new curriculum is causing dissension among the teaching ranks. (NY World)

To make up for an unexpected budget shortfall, Mayor Michael Bloomberg is bringing city agencies under the knife—and for the second year in a row, the Department of Education will not be spared from midyear cuts.

On Friday, Bloomberg announced that the city’s agencies would have to collectively cut $2 billion, and the department’s share in the burden would amount to 1.6 percent of its own budget this year, and 4 percent next year.

Last fall, Chancellor Dennis Walcott said the central offices would take the brunt of midyear cuts, but he skirted the issue of the city’s budget shortfall, which numbered in the billions and portended more cuts for 2012. This year, the schools budget was held flat—a fact that was hailed as an improvement by city officials and councilmembers, but still felt like a cut to many educators, who saw the costs of supplies, special education services, and teacher salaries continue to rise.

As we reported last year, midyear budget cuts like the ones being prepared for now are especially disruptive to schools because most expenses are fixed for the whole year. That means that only certain costs, such as after-school programs or tutoring, can go on the chopping block. And four straight years of budget cuts have already left class sizes on the rise and principals struggling to make ends meet.

“If we’ve got to cut, we’re going to be very tight, midyear, which would be a shame,” one principal who asked not to be identified said this afternoon. (more…)

A married couple who owned four daycare providers in Queens swindled the Department of Education out of more than $35,000 over the last two school years by billing for students who never attended the programs, a city investigation has found.

The couple, Saied and Nareesa Mohammed, allegedly took advantage of 12 students whose parents originally signed them up to receive services from a city-funded Universal Pre-K program that operated out of the “Nareesa’s Day Care” and “Beanstalk” centers.

The parents quickly withdrew from the programs, but the Mohammeds allegedly continued to keep their children’s names on the books at the school by submitting false attendance forms and forging parent signatures at the end of the year. The fraud involved at least 12 students and the couple received about $3,500 per pupil from the education department, according to a report released today by the Office of the Special Investigator.

The fraud spanned from 2009 to June 2011, when a manager in the Early Childhood Development office first lodged a complaint with the Special Commissioner’s office. It began on a smaller scale in 2009, with just two students, but it expanded the next year and eventually raised a red flag. (more…)

Teachers at Fort Hamilton High School don't expert longtime principal Jo Ann Chester to return when school starts back up on Wednesday.

As more chronically underpaid teachers at Fort Hamilton High School seek redress, the school’s beleaguered principal appears to be planning her exit, according to multiple people close to the school.

As GothamSchools first reported in August, the Department of Education is investigating a cost-cutting payroll scheme engineered by Principal Jo Ann Chester, who hired teachers and paid them a lower substitute rate, even as they stayed on full-time for months. Some of the people taught for over a year.

• In response to an expected logjam, the state is hiring educators to review district plans. (Times Union)
• The city has followed through on few promises related to boosting teacher quality. (GothamSchools)
• Newly-enforced metal detectors threaten to corrode a high school’s comfort zone. (Michael Powell)
• After proficiency rates shot up 46 points last year, demand at P.S. 307 followed suit. (Daily News)
• A higher salary helps, but just as important to teachers is an elevated profession status . (Joe Nocera)
• Parents and students are tiring of closed schools the seven-days-and-counting strike. (WSJ, Tribune)
• Times: Karen Lewis’ conduct during the strike has “inflamed” members and made a deal difficult.
• Casting political risk aside, Rahm Emanuel has been in the middle of the Chicago standoff.  (Times)