Care and Consequences
1 hour ago
Bonnie Dickinson, who has been teaching theater at the school for 13 years, said, “If I had just done ‘Grease,’ this would not be happening.”
...the first state test results that reflect the mayor's reforms were reported in 2004. Since the mayoral reforms began, there have been three state tests from 2004 to 2006. So what has happened to scores since the mayor's package of reforms was installed? Instead of a 12 percentage point gain in fourth grade English arts, the gain was 6.4 percentage points (from 52.5% meeting state standards to 58.9%). Instead of a 32 percentage point gain in fourth grade mathematics, there has been a gain of 4.2 percentage points (from 66.7% to 70.9%). Instead of an 18 point percentage gain in eighth grade mathematics, there has been a gain of 4.5 percentage points (from 34.4% to 38.9%). Only in eighth grade English was there an appreciable gain, from 32.6% to 36.6%, but the score is only 1 percentage point higher than it was in 1999.
None of the gains, by the way, match the test score gains in the city schools that occurred the year before mayoral control began...
She has two issues. First, that Bloomberg would deny tenure to probationary teachers who fail to raise achievement by measurable standards.Actually, it's the city that's failed to enforce existing tenure rules for over 30 years, trying to artificially pump up supply while continuing to pay the lowest salaries in the area. I don't think bad teachers should get tenure. In fact, I don't think they should be hired in the first place.
Second, that his budget proposal would crimp the ability of senior teachers to congregate in schools with the easiest workloads.
Reading, writing - and wrongful firings.
That's the curriculum at a new charter school in The Bronx, where an "out of control" principal axed three teachers in a month, refused to pay the salaries of two and was found guilty of expelling students without due process, according to furious former employees.
"She called the cops on us and told us to get out of the building," Ortega said. "We were more than willing to finish the day and four more weeks to fulfill our contract, but she screamed at us to get out and said we were fired."
"She said we'd never work in a charter school again," said Ray.Ray and Ortega said they were forced to go to small-claims court for six weeks worth of pay that Lopez refused to give them. Ortega won almost $5,000 on Feb. 6 but has still not been paid. Ray's hearing was postponed.
1. The lease and purchase of 50 and 52 Broadway were through a company represented by Thomas Pappas' (ex-UFT Director of Staff) son in law (not what you would call an arms length transaction).2. When we moved downtown all furniture and equipment (computers, printers, desks etc.) no matter how new and usable, were thrown out on the street as garbage.3. Randi has a car and driver all paid for by the union. This is used meetings as well as for commutation and personal.4. Her teacher staff regularly cheats on their expenses (lunches, dinners, false receipts for car service etc.).5. The PM staff paid per session puts in for sessions not worked.6. More than a quarter of a million dollars spent unnecessarily on a new logo so she can revamp the UFT into the United Federation of Randi Weingarten.7. Kick backs from the Hilton Hotel to one individual so that events would be held there.
Not a single word is mentioned about this on TV! One of my coworkers says that" If a Palestinian farts in Gaza Strip, it will be given a big coverage in our TV but, when it comes to teachers we are ignored by our government totally.
In 24 hours the school had lost 3 teachers. Students would leave, more teachers and staff would leave and by February the students would have had 2 math teachers 2 Spanish teachers 2 English teachers, 3 biology teachers and an assortment of substitutes
My very best advice for you is to actively seek a position in a public school, where you will work less time, get paid more money, have superior medical benefits, and vastly superior job protection.
The smart way to keep people passive and obedient is to strictly limit the spectrum of acceptable opinion, but allow very lively debate within that spectrum. That gives people the sense that there's free thinking going on, while all the time the presuppositions of the system are being reinforced by the limits put on the range of the debate.
~Noam Chomsky