
“All I can say is we are going to investigate the release of the student records publicly to the press,” Cantor said.
Independent voices of New York City public school parents
...we are presented with a hodgepodge compilation of numbers cherry-picked for an article resulting in a false and misleading comparison between the academic performance of charter and district schools with zero context added. And, all of this comes less than a week before a Mayoral election, no less, enabling one Patrick Sullivan of the City's education policy board his embellished anti-charter talking-point. What a coincidence.
Here is one of the anti-Mayor Bloomberg TV ads financed by CWA Local 1180’s $500,000 campaign : "When parents wanted more participation in our kids' education, Michael Bloomberg said no!"
Meanwhile, the Times in its endorsement today wimpily admonishes, "But in a third term, the mayor and his team should still work harder to listen to those who hand over their children each morning to his educators."
Yeah, I'm sure Bloomberg will take this to heart.
And I'm sure principals and teachers will be happy to know that, according to the Times, they are "his educators." I guess the Times believes that he really does own this city after all.
Editor's Note: the line that Joel Klein used here, as echoed by Chris Cerf, Merryl Tisch and so many others in their pack is that the state exams should be made more demanding. But not once have any of them admitted what it is obvious -- that the state tests have gotten embarassingly watered down over the last eight years; so easy that now, a student can pass them through random guessing. Why? Because to do so would essentially destroy their claim to have improved student achievement during their administration -- which even now they continue to claim, based on non-existent evidence.
Read the full text here.Twice, New Yorkers had voted to limit the service of local elected officials to two terms. Instead of respecting that, Bloomberg and his associates peddled the idea of overturning term limits to the editorial boards of local newspapers; pressured the heads of nonprofit organizations that rely on private donors and city funding to speak before the City Council in support of undoing term limits; and contrived to run out the clock on a referendum.
All of this is not simply slick scheming—it is a gross abuse of power. Even Venezuela's President Hugo Chávez conducted a plebiscite on his extended stay in power. New Yorkers were not even given that chance.
With city government already tipped to favor the executive branch, Bloomberg’s power grab delivers a clear message: the ability of constituents to challenge power and shape decisions at the top is seriously in danger. The prospect of a mayor with an emperor-esque approach to New Yorkers bodes poorly for our city.
Contact Mayor de Blasio
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Contact Interim Education Commissioner Shannon Tahoe
Contact Board of Regents members' emails below.
Click here to find your State Senator; here for your Assemblymember
Click here to find your City Council member; click here to see contact information for Council members on Education Committee
For all your elected reps, click here
Speaker Carl Heastie
Regent.Rosa@nysed.gov ; Regent.Tilles@nysed.gov ; Regent.Young@nysed.gov ; Regent.Cea@nysed.gov ;Regent.Norwood@nysed.gov; Regent.Cashin@nysed.gov ; Regent.Cottrell@nysed.gov ;Regent.Brown@nysed.gov ;Regent.Finn@nysed.gov ; Regent.Collins@nysed.gov; Regent.Ouderkirk@nysed.gov ;Regent.Wills@nysed.gov ; Regent.Chin@nysed.gov ; Regent.Reyes@nysed.gov ; Regent.Mead@nysed.gov ; Regent.Hakanson@nysed.gov ; Regent.Mittler@nysed.gov
The PEP webpage;
vleung@schools.nyc.gov; SWaite3@schools.nyc.gov;
lpodvesker@schools.nyc.gov; PCalandrella@schools.nyc.gov; ICarmignani@schools.nyc.gov; GChacon@schools.nyc.gov; MKraft2@schools.nyc.gov; GLinnen@schools.nyc.gov; Achapman7@schools.nyc.gov; NGreenGiles@schools.nyc.gov; DDillingham@schools.nyc.gov; kparkprice@schools.nyc.gov; tomcsheppard@yahoo.com; ehenry16@schools.nyc.gov