Comments on: Opened to prove a point, UFT’s charter school could be closed

By: parent

parent — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 19:19:00 +0000

Its interesting how the photo is of the Secondary Academy. There is a big focus on the problems of the Secondary Academy. My oldest was part of the first graduating class. of the UFT Elementary Academy. She had some amazing teachers who saw her potential and strong points. I think the elementary campus gives a strong foundation for students.

By: Norm

Norm — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 02:25:00 +0000

Has the UFT hurt its claim, true or not, that a union run charter could be the equal or better than a non-charter? You bet it has.

The decisions to start UFT charter schools were as usual made in the vacuum of a lack of democracy in the UFT/Unity Caucus operation. If the idea had been thoroughly vented as to pros and cons and the members involved I’m sure it would never have gone far, especially since they were co-located in 2 public schools in District 19, which was part of the region run by Kathy Kashen who had a very cozy relationship with the union.

In the late 90s I was one of the first people in the UFT to bring up the idea of union supported (not run) charter schools where teachers and parents would organize with UFT backing but the control would be in the hands of people on the ground. Randi Weingarten asked me to hold off on a resolution at the DA until she was ready, giving me the impression she supported the idea. I should have known better but at the time i believed Randi would bring positive change to the union. Fool me once – and maybe twice.

I was motivated by the idea that the people running the system from the principal level on up needed to go and the major valuable commodity in the schools were the teachers.

Randi then formed a committee headed by Michelle Bodden to explore the idea and put me on it. But I found the UFT leadership had a very different idea — running a school in partnership with CCNY — top-down. We met a few times before the committee was disbanded. A few years later another committee was formed that led to the establishment of these 2 schools. I was not invited to join this one - I had gone rogue.

By: Former Teacher

Former Teacher — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 14:00:00 +0000

“I go to that school and I’m very, very happy with what we see,” UFT President Michael Mulgrew said last week. “The parents are great, the teachers are doing a good job. We are very happy.” Really? You’re happy with what you see at a failing school? Expectations should be far higher for staff and students. No one should be happy with the progress that schools is making.

By: Guest

Guest — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 04:54:00 +0000

schoolanagement is really hard. turns out the uft is great at getting in managements way but not so great at managing schools .. is that really a surprise …kudos to randy for trying … but not surprised this failed.. quality of school management is generally low bc who wants to manage unionized teachers in nyc?? no one and teachers suffer bc good managers are taking charters

By: Proud HSA Parent

Proud HSA Parent — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 17:15:00 +0000

Hah! Eva Moskowitz and other charter leaders operate schools better than the UFT. They educate children of color better than the UFT. This just proves that it’s the teachers unions that’s the problem for why public schools are failing in educating students. Unlike with public schools, the UFT controlled the entire school. They hired the teachers, selected the principal etc. Maybe if the UFT focused on improving schools instead of fighting high performing charters, their students will learn. SUNY must not renew their charter.

By: Danny

Danny — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 17:09:00 +0000

@BB, the difference is that this school was run, from the top to the bottom, by the UFT, whereas regular district schools are run by the NYC DOE, with only the teacher side influenced by the UFT-DOE contract. What are these areas where they had more freedom, not on the teacher side? School leader selection, management structure, budgeting, curriculum, and interim assessment design, to name a few. The charter gave the UFT a chance to show what they could do if they were calling ALL the district-level shots (as Weingarten acknowledges in the press release). For the students involved, what happened was unfortunate, but the UFT was not being hamstrung by the DOE, and they were even less limited by the need level of the students than neighboring DOE schools.

By: Shellys46

Shellys46 — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 17:00:00 +0000

This only points out we don’t really know what works and that we create unrealistic expectations of reform without having the resources or understanding that informs us how to do it. Until the right questions are asked and realistic expectations are created we will continue to observe the lack of real substantive change.The fact is we haven’t figured it out and to blame others is the fault of both UFT and DOE. Have we really change anything other than the small bump that comes with threats and punishment.

By: Ken Hirsh

Ken Hirsh — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 15:17:00 +0000

‘“There are other people who we thought should be principal, but nobody wants to take over the job,” said a teacher who left the school last year after working under Weinstein for several months.’

Reminds me of the Steve Jobs quote:

“What kind of person could you get to run a small business if you told them that when they came in, they couldn’t get rid of people that they thought weren’t any good? Not really great ones, because if you’re really smart, you go, ‘I can’t win.’ “

(To be clear, I think there are many exceptions to Jobs point, but they are probably few and far between. Also, I’m not suggesting that the teacher in question agrees with Jobs’ quote!)

By: Emp315

Emp315 — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 13:57:00 +0000

When drew goodman was principal the school was one of the top charter schools in the state! He left because of an issues with the board of trustees.the parents and students loved him. As soon as he left the school fell apart.

By: Philissa Cramer

Philissa Cramer — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 13:38:00 +0000

Thanks for the comment and the spelling correction. The post has been updated to clarify that the UFT’s school is the lowest-performing of the 13 schools with elementary and middle school grades up for renewal this year.

By: Claude

Claude — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 11:58:00 +0000

You have a several facts wrong. There are 16 schools up for renewal, not 13. Also, the director’s name is Shelia Evans-Tranumn, not Sheila. In addition, SUNY CSI doesn’t determine whether a school stays open. The Board of Trustees does.

By: East Sider

East Sider — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 01:58:00 +0000

For the first two years the secondary charter school has the highest scores in District 19 and the top 5% in the state … as the principals and the Department of Ed teachers left (they had a three year leave from the DOE that would required them to resign to remain) the scores spiriled downwards …

By: BB

BB — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 00:20:00 +0000

”But if the UFT put it’s name on the school they should have done everything possible to make sure that the school succeeded”. Don’t all public school teachers in the UFT try to make their non-charter schools successful? I do not see what the UFT could have done to help their charter school succeed anymore than what they can give to the other regular district schools in NYC. If the UFT gave even one dollar more to their charter school as opposed to spreading that dollar around to numerous district schools, then the whole concept is just a public relations stunt to begin with. However, I do agree with you that it is an embarrassment. It is an embarrassment in that the UFT should not be dealing with or supporting charter schools in the first place and should focusing on helping to save what is left of the teaching profession in NYC.

By: Tcruz

Tcruz — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 23:53:00 +0000

Why would they hire a documented sexual harasser?

By: NYC Teacher

NYC Teacher — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 23:34:00 +0000

Yes, but if the UFT put it’s name on the school they should have done everything possible to make sure that school succeeded. There may be lots of contributing factors but still it’s an embarrassment, one that we really don’t need when the charter wonks are looking to drag the unions down already. A great teacher does not necessarily make a great school leader/principal. Same goes for a great UFT officer.

By: BB

BB — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 22:12:00 +0000

I do not blame the UFT for causing this school to not succeed anymore than I blame non-union schools for not succeeding. There are thousands of great public schools where the teachers are unionized and there are many hundreds of non-unionized charter schools that do not succeed. (And vice versa) Poverty, crime, massive class sizes, lack of parental engagement, high staff turnover, lack of teaching resources, and non-experienced educational leaders are the real cause of most of the problems schools face in this country.