GothamSchools — daily independent reporting on NYC public schools

• The founding principal of a new charter schools says, “This is harder than it looks!” (Charter Notebook)
• The creator of the New Yorker’s Newtown cover discusses his relationship to schools. (The New Yorker)
• The Department of Education has opened this year’s Community Education Council elections. (DOE)
• Here’s a primer on what families need to know about the possible school bus strike. (SchoolBook)
• A founding KIPP Infinity teacher lists graphic novels good for building stamina. (Reading Without Limits)
• The reports from inside a school that is now sharing space continue to be grim. (Inside Colocation 1, 2)
• Brooklyn’s Thomas Jefferson HS can’t compete at a major track venue after students fought. (Prep Rally)
• A teacher says he would have taken to the streets over the city’s special ed data system. (NYCDOENuts)
• Norm Fruchter: To free destiny from demography, we need better schools and instruction. (City Limits)
• A critic of the UFT’s leadership posts an email from a district leader discouraging dissent. (ICEUFT)
• Rotherham: The D.C. charter school expulsion story is about all schools in a choice system. (Eduwonk)

Union officials, elected officials, and parent advocates gathered on the steps of City Hall to decry Mayor Bloomberg's comments comparing the union to the NRA.

Elected officials, parent advocates, and three of the four Democratic candidates for mayor lined up today to call on Mayor Bloomberg to apologize for suggesting that the teachers union is like the National Rifle Association.

On his radio show last Friday, Bloomberg characterized both the United Federation of Teachers and the NRA as groups ”where the membership, if you do the polling, doesn’t agree with the leadership.”

Bloomberg had made the indirect comparison before. But coming weeks after the school shooting in Newtown, Conn., and with tensions already running high with the UFT over teacher evaluations, the analogy has drawn a swift backlash from union supporters.

At a press conference on the steps of City Hall this afternoon, several City Council members and other union supporters called on the mayor to “man up” and apologize. Among the speakers were Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, Comptroller John Liu, and former comptroller Bill Thompson — mayoral candidates who are courting the union’s endorsement. (more…)

The Bloomberg administration is trying to make the most of its last chance to close schools.

The Department of Education today announced plans to shutter 17 low-performing schools in four boroughs and will propose more schools for closure on Tuesday. That means the Bloomberg administration is on track to begin phasing out more schools in its last year than in any previous year — though fewer than some speculated.

Last year, the department proposed closing 17 schools and shrinking eight more during its regular closure process. It also proposed closing and reopening 24 others as part of a controversial overhaul process that ended after an arbitrator ruled that the process violated the city’s contract with the teachers union.

The large number of closure proposals is not a surprise. The city wants to open 50 new schools this fall, and it needs to put them somewhere. Plus, some of the schools proposed for closure today have escaped the city’s ax in recent years, including six that the city wanted to close and reopen through the overhaul process, called “turnaround.” Another school, Choir Academy of Harlem, was one of nearly two dozen schools saved from closure by a union lawsuit two years ago. (more…)

Mayor Bloomberg and Chancellor Dennis Walcott today announced a competition to get software developers building math apps for middle schoolers.

The latest development in Mayor Bloomberg’s effort to turn New York City into a technology hotspot involves getting software developers to tackle one of the city’s most intractable problems: middle school math scores.

In a new initiative, the Gap App Challenge, developers will compete to come up with innovative apps that improve middle school students’ math skills, Bloomberg and Chancellor Dennis Walcott announced today.

The initiative combines two of the Department of Education’s top priorities. For the last year, Walcott has focused on improving the city’s lagging middle schools. And Bloomberg said today that math has gotten short shrift for too long.

“Students who fall behind in middle school math are likely to remain behind through high school and less likely to graduate ready for college,” he said.

Principals, teachers, and department officials will join developers to judge app submissions. Winning proposals will net their developers financial and tech support, but any app entered into the competition could wind up in students’ hands next fall. (more…)

• The city sometimes offers teachers it is trying to fire satisfactory ratings if they agree to resign. (Post)
• The city is prepping for a school bus strike as conflict with the drivers mounts. (Times, WSJ, NY1, Post)
• The Daily News says the bus drivers’ grievances should be settled in a courtroom, not with a strike.
• Mayor Bloomberg’s comparison of the UFT to the NRA is drawing backlash. (Times, Daily News 1, 2)
• There’s still no deal on teacher evaluations with 10 days before a state deadline. (WSJ, Times, NY1)
• A union television ad on now takes aim at Bloomberg over teacher evaluations. (GothamSchools, Post)
• The Post pans the union for its long history of opposing some of Bloomberg’s education policies.
• StudentsFirst, Michelle Rhee’s group, rated states by their education policies; New York got a D. (Times)
• City schools mostly have “super stacker” chairs, but some districts pick more ergonomic options. (Times)
• With more autonomy, D.C. charter schools expel more students than district schools. (Washington Post)