Gotham Gazette has included me as part of its "panel of experts" sharing predictions for the coming year. Of course, this means a GBN News article dated April 7, 2010. Here is the full article and it is also copied below.
Gary Babad, a NY City public school parent and writer for NYC Public School Parent
In the spirit of the parodies I write on New York City Public School Parents, here are my predictions:
Klein Closes Department of Education, Fires Self
April 7, 2010 (GBN News): Schools Chancellor Joel Klein, in a bold restructuring move, abruptly closed down the New York City Department of Education today and fired himself. The chancellor's actions came following the release of the city's reading test scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), showing that the city's performance has remained flat for the past two years. On top of last fall's report that math scores had not significantly improved since 2007, the revelations gave the chancellor no choice but to take this drastic step.
However, on the heels of this announcement, Mr. Klein dropped another bombshell. He told reporters that he gives more weight to the "steady progress" made since 2003 than the lack of progress in the past two years. Thus, he will be rehiring himself immediately and reconstituting the DOE.
These rapid-fire reorganizations come at a particularly challenging time for the education department. Just last week, Mr. Klein had announced the closing of the last remaining public high school in the city. The DOE had been closing more and more "underperforming" schools, with students from each one flooding the few non-charter schools that were left. It is unclear just where the 253,763 students from Alfred E .Neuman High School in Queens will go next year, but the chancellor had a reassuring message for concerned parents. "The good news," said Mr.Klein, "is that with virtually no schools left, the high school application process has been considerably simplified."
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2 comments:
His actions are so absurd, in a way, that he makes your job a lot easier. Now, the challenge is getting people to read you--rather than the more widely-disseminated spin on the op-ed pages.
Don't lose hope. I recently stopped reading the ridiculous reporting by the New York times. They have sold out and can no longer be trusted. The numbers of people making this switch is growing. The truth will prevail if we keep enlightening those around us.
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