GothamSchools — daily independent reporting on NYC public schools

• The federal “sequester” cuts would slash more than $59 million from the city’s schools. (Gannett)
• A court blocked the Empire Center’s request for the names of New York’s retired teachers. (AP)
• The Common Core ELA standards are now available in a Spanish translation. (Learning the Language)
• An unexpectedly large portion of teachers opted out of Florida’s traditional pension plan. (Teacher Beat)
• In Chicago, concerns about what will happen to special ed students at closing schools. (DNAInfo)
• Union opponents in L.A. are trying to match its “ground game” in the school board elections. (LASR)
• Arne Duncan visited the Harbor School today and pronounced himself “blown away.” (Twitter, Photo)
• Two boys, two different reactions to no-excuses discipline at Noble schools in Chicago. (EdWeek)
• Two of our colleagues have written books on urban schools. Meet them in March. (Teachers College)
• A five-year-old Bronx boy is in stable condition after being accidentally shot in the shoulder. (NYDN)
• On his radio show this morning, Mayor Bloomberg had no apologies for the lack of an eval deal. (AP)

One hundred percent of the city’s yellow school buses hit the roads Wednesday for the first time since the bus strike began. Parents, advocates, DOE officials, and our readers turned to the challenges ahead.

Paul Rubin wrote:

Don’t forget the lost week from the hurricane and the 2 or in some cases many more weeks of lost “real instruction” for the few dozen damaged buildings. This year’s test results figure will be absolutely abysmal…

Noryeln argued that the strike’s educational costs to students will soon turn into costs for the DOE:

Once children get back to schools parents will be requesting make up sessions with therapists and tutors. What the children missed in a month of a strike will be painfully evident and require action on the part of the DOE. Expenses will rise as parents insist on make-up sessions. This strike has been a debacle for everyone. (more…)

Edna Wilson and her granddaughter Gianee, a P.S. 64 student, protested the school’s poor quality before its closure hearing. (Photo: Luke Hammill)

Reprising a march they held last fall, parents and community leaders stood outside P.S. 64 Pura Belpre with signs and mock sirens and declared a “state of emergency” in District 9 Thursday evening just before a public hearing about whether the South Bronx school should be phased out.

Local residents agreed on two things: P.S. 64 remains a failing school, and they are also frustrated with the Department of Education. But they had different views on what to do next.

Everybody, including department officials, recognizes that P.S. 64 is in need of a fresh start. At the hearing, parents complained that their children almost never come home with homework, that administrators are nearly impossible to reach on the phone, and that teachers are incompetent. But while some accept that the school is beyond salvation and want the department to provide a better setting for current students, others in the community think a total closure is a bad idea. (more…)

• A math worksheet at Manhattan’s P.S. 59 had questions about beating and killing slaves. (NY1, Post)
• A judge said Cuomo can’t keep state aid from the city. (GothamSchools, WSJ, Times, Post, SchoolBook)
• The Post says if Gov. Cuomo ends up imposing evaluations, the UFT is likely to have undue influence.
• Parents at P.S. 385 in the Bronx want the city to give their principal time to help the school. (Daily News)
• Parents and teachers at other schools made that argument at hearings on Wednesday. (GothamSchools)
• After the school bus strike, students with special needs must transition back to routine. (GothamSchools)
• The Times says the school bus drivers union should abandon its efforts to save seniority protections.
• The Daily News: The union should focus on getting laid-off drivers their jobs back after the failed strike.
• A man reportedly tried to lure a third-grader away from P.S. 33 in the Bronx on Thursday. (NY1)
• Forest Hills High School has un-suspended the student whose “Harlem Shake” plan went awry. (Post)
• Texas is weighing making high school course requirements more flexible, and some are worried. (Times)
• A new study of “the nation’s report card” found that Hispanic students’ scores vary across states. (Times)
• The same study found that New York students have not improved as quickly as others. (GothamSchools)