"School's out"; great examination of the Bloomberg education record

Lynnell Hancock has written a terrific piece for the Nation laying out the way in which this administration has autocratically ignored the views of parents and other stakeholders in our public schools, leading to the failures of the small schools initiative, the bus route fiasco, the obsession with testing, the lack of financial accountability and more.

It is the most comprehensive look yet at Bloomberg's education record. The article is called "School's Out"; but it's only available to subscribers. It was also radically shortened for publication.

Thankfully, Lynnell has sent us the original unedited version -- which we've posted here. It is well worth reading.

An excerpt:

Another parent shut out from the meeting that night had waited outside the Hostos Annex for a chance to ask the exiting chancellor a question. The mother emigrated from Mexico more than a dozen years earlier. She had come so her kids could get a decent education. "But there are 32 kids in my son's classroom," said Esperanza Vasquez. She never got a chance to ask Klein about the overcrowding. He left the Bronx that evening in a hurry, without giving an email address.

Boy Ruled Ineligible for School Bus Hit on Way to School

Today's Daily News tells the story of an 10-year old Bronx boy, Eliseo Oler, who was struck by a commuter bus on his way to school. Eliseo had previously taken a yellow bus from a stop close to his home but was told he was not eligible this year because he lived too close to school.

His mother blamed the accident on the DoE:

"If they hadn't taken him off the bus, none of this would've happened," Miriam DeJesus told the Daily News from her son's bedside. "I told the principal, how could you make a 10-year-old child take the [city] bus to school?"

Eliseo was one of many children thrown off buses by high-priced consulting firm Alvarez and Marsal and issued half-price Metro cards. His path to the city bus took him through the busy intersection of Jerome Avenue and Mosholu Parkway South. It was there he was struck yesterday.

Full story here.

Mayor Blitzes Iraq Schools

May 17, 2007 (GBN News): In what is widely viewed as an attempt to bolster his foreign policy credentials in advance of a possible Presidential bid, N.Y. City Mayor Michael Bloomberg today wrapped up a surprise whirlwind tour of Iraq. With Schools Chancellor Joel Klein in tow, the Mayor spent much of the time visiting the country’s schools.

Mr. Bloomberg praised the war effort, saying that it has clearly led to a massive reorganization of the Iraqi school system. Many of the schools visited by the Mayor and Chancellor were heavily damaged or uninhabitable. Mr. Klein was impressed, calling this a “perfect example of creative destruction”, an approach championed by business guru Jack Welch, and said “sometimes you have to destroy the schools in order to save them”.

The Mayor was distressed at the large number of children who carry cell phones to school, saying that the country needs a stricter policy like the total ban in the New York City schools. He dismissed the concerns voiced by Iraqi parents who feel that their children need them for safety reasons in the face of pervasive sectarian violence. The Mayor insisted that parents only want the phones to coordinate dinner plans, and said that if the children don’t make it home for dinner safely, “there will just be more leftovers”. The Chancellor added that this could also bring down class size.

Mr. Bloomberg also dismissed criticism that Iraqi schools only have one choice of a School Support Organization. The Mayor said that the organization, Halliburton, is the best at what they do, and they already have “boots on the ground”. He did note, however, that the reconstruction contract will soon be taken over by the corporate “turnaround” firm Alvarez and Marsal, which he said has experience “taking destruction to a whole new level” in New Orleans.

The Fix is (No Longer) In

A recent Daily News report that the NY City Department of Education is using school repair money to build a $38,000 luxury lounge facility may be just the tip of the iceberg. According to a source inside the DOE, the consulting firm Alvarez and Marsal (A&M), has decided to close the Division of School Facilities and will then take over its Long Island City headquarters. The Division is responsible for school repair and maintenance, but A&M has determined that repairing schools is not cost effective. It is far cheaper, they decided, to simply close down those schools which are in need of repair, and to put their students into “small schools” within the remaining school buildings that do not have repair or maintenance problems. The Facilities Division will thus become superfluous, and Schools Chancellor Joel Klein has agreed to sell its building to A&M for the price of $1.

Apparently, the lounge that was the subject of the news report is only the beginning of a complete luxury renovation of the former Facilities headquarters building. The building is to become a sort of private “clubhouse” where A&M executives and those of DOE partners such as Edison Schools and New Visions can relax and decompress after a hard day of plundering the city school system. The cost of the renovation, which will be borne by the DOE, is to be defrayed in part by applying the $1 price that A&M will pay for the building.

This entire plan has been a closely guarded secret, but, according to the DOE source, there is more to the secrecy than meets the eye. There has reportedly been growing concern among DOE staffers as to the Chancellor’s state of mind since he reportedly became addicted to playing the new monopoly-like game, “Children First: A Game of Irony”, and these staffers have become convinced that the Chancellor has been confusing the game with reality. Blaming an “overzealous” aide for the recent ill-advised sale of a historic school building may, according to this view, have been simply a way to cover up the Chancellor’s own misconception that this sale was part of the game. It is unclear whether the decision to renovate and sell the Facilities Division building represents a similar circumstance, but speculation is that A&M Co-Chairman Bryan Marsal may have actually “acquired” the building from the Chancellor playing “Children First”.

In other education news, Chancellor Klein was said to be so pleased with the success of his appointment of Donald Rumsfeld as School Transportation chief, that he is looking to employ other notables with a proven track record in public relations. For example, Mr. Klein has reportedly offered an unspecified position to recently fired radio “Shock Jock” Don Imus. However, Mr. Imus spurned the offer, saying that the DOE was “just too controversial”.

"Children First" Game Rule Clarification

The post below, "A Free Choice for Principals?" requires a rule clarification for the new Monopoly-like game, "Children First: A Game of Irony":

According to the rules, if someone lands on one of your schools, they pay you but you must then kick back 10% to the support organization you have chosen. If you have not chosen a support organization, you collect nothing and also lose 10% of your budget due to your "ineffective leadership".

However, remember the "Chancellor" can change the rules of the game at any time. The only check on his power to do this is that he must first consult with the "real stakeholders": Edison Schools, New Visions, and Alvarez and Marsal.

You Ask, We Get the Answers: More Info on “Children First” Game

March 15, 2007 (GBN News): Since we broke the story, GBN News has been inundated with inquiries about the prospective new Parker Brothers game, “Children First: A Game of Irony”, based on the NY City school system. (See previous GBN News article, “A New Game in Town”, March 10). The game has been shrouded in more secrecy than a DOE planning meeting, but one of our intrepid reporters has somehow been able to get hold of cards and a board from a prototype of the game. The game apparently comes with a warning informing users that the entire game is subject to reorganization and may become obsolete shortly after you buy it. However, owners of the computer version can download updates for what is termed a “nominal cost overrun”.

Following are a few examples of cards and board spaces from the game (players must amass “test points” to win):

• The school you are principal of scores in the bottom 10% of your district. Lose 100 test points and your job

• The school you are principal of scores in the top 10% of the district. Gain 100 test points but lose your job on the next turn for failure to meet higher expectations

• You must choose a “Learning Support Organization”. Whichever one you choose, lose 250 test points

• Go To Rubber Room. Go directly to Rubber Room. If you pass Go collect $200 but lose an indefinite number of turns

• Your 5 year old is given a Metro Card instead of a school bus. Lose one turn while Child Protective Service investigates you for endangering your child

• Your school bus route is cancelled: You cannot get to school, lose 100 test points

• You score “below standards” on your standardized tests. Lose 100 test points and a turn while you repeat the grade. Teacher and principal lose 200 points each for “leaving you behind”

• Cell phone confiscated. You cannot contact your parents when your train breaks down. Lose two turns while you wander the streets trying to find your way home

• Your class has 40 students. Teacher confuses you with the student in the next seat. Lose 50 test points

• ARIS computer is down. Each player loses a turn

• “Get Out of Jail Free”: If you are a Tweed administrator you also receive 500 bonus points and a job offer at a high priced consulting firm with a lucrative DOE no-bid contract

• “Take a ride on the Reading First Railroad”. Lose a turn, the train already left

• Free Parking: Pay $250 fine for failure to dig your car out of the ice by the school. You didn’t think parking would really be free, did you?

• “Just Visiting”: The Mayor skips this space. He doesn’t do visits; he’s in Florida

• Advance token to the nearest “failing school”. If unowned, you can buy it from the DOE and turn it into a charter school.

A version of the game will also be available based on the St. Louis school district. The St. Louis version is similar to the New York game but if you land on the space labeled “Alvarez and Marsal”, you go bankrupt and have to start all over again.

Merit Pay Controversy

I posted these wire service articles on the NY Education News listserv, but thought a wider audience might be interested. It seems there was a bit of controversy yesterday around the DOE (yes, I know, it's hard to believe there'd be controversy surrounding the DOE, but life is full of surprises).

DOE TO PARTNER WITH McDONALD'S

March 5, 2007 (GBN News): Further details emerged today regarding the Department of Education's controversial plan to seek private funding for a merit pay plan for teachers. A source at the DOE informed GBN News that an agreement has been reached in principle between the DOE and the fast food company McDonald's to partner in providing supplemental pay.

While the plan has not been entirely finalized, it would apparently involve the company providing extra pay to teachers based entirely on their students' achievement. Achievement would be measured by a daily series of what will be termed "McQuizzes". Each day, teachers whose class averaged in the top 10% on these "McQuizzes" would receive an unspecified bonus.

The plan,conceived by corporate consulting guru Jack Welch, originally called for disincentives as well. However, it became apparent that the UFT contract would prohibit "firing the ass", as Welch put it, of all teachers whose class scored in the bottom 10%. Instead, students in those classes will be allowed to transfer to classes with "higher performing" teachers.

In a related story, the DOE is exploring the possibility of partnering with the quick oil change company Jiffy Lube to develop timed performance standards for teachers. The corporate "turnaround" firm of Alvarez and Marsal has estimated that trimming the time for lessons by up to 80% would yield tremendous cost savings that could immediately be pumped back into increased consulting fees. According to Ken Barber, Manager of Learning and Training for Jiffy Lube International, "If we can train our technicians to change your oil in 10 minutes, we can train your teachers to do a lesson in the same period of time".

Naturally, as with all good ideas, there were objections. For example, one public school parent posted the following on the listserv:

"And what does changing oil have to do with teachers planning a lesson????? This is one of the most absurd comments that I have ever heard in my life. If that is the case, how about Indy race car drivers, who can change 4 tires and gas up a car in about a minute, do the same thing. ARGH!!!"

Well, the DOE is nothing if not responsive (we know this because they told us so). The very same afternoon, I found the following article:

DOE HITS SPEED BUMP

March 5, 2007 (GBN News): Stung by criticism on the Yahoo NY Education News Listserv of the pending Jiffy Lube/DOE partnership to provide timed performance standards for teachers, Schools Chancellor Joel Klein announced late today that this plan would be dropped in favor of one now being negotiated with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The Chancellor acknowledged the criticism that the Speedway pit crews could provide much faster, more comprehensive teacher training than Jiffy Lube, and that this could thus save even more education dollars. New "Chief Family Engagement Officer" Martine Guerrier issued a statement taking credit for the timely change in plans, noting that this is the first time since Mayor Bloomberg took office that the DOE has actually responded to parent suggestions.


-Gary Babad