Much larger cuts to school -based positions compared to central administration

In recent years, Chancellor Klein has repeatedly made the claim that he has cut a disproportionate amount from central administration compared to schools.

See for example, his May 24^th testimony to the City council here:

Each time, we’ve worked to minimize the impact on schools and students. Between 2008 and this school year, we have cut the central administrative budget by nearly 20-percent—more than double the reduction to school budgets. This has included a headcount reduction of 550 positions in central and field offices….

Meanwhile I did some calculations based on the DOE’s financial status reports. I looked at full-time positions on payroll, by category, in each year's May report (except for 2008, when I drew from the April report, since there was no report in May.)

Since 2008, the number of full time positions at central administration has been cut by 2.2%. (click on the charts to enlarge them.)

But the number of full time school-based positions, including total general education, special ed instruction and school leadership, as well as categorically- funded positions, have been cut nearly three times as much. This is the period over which school budgets have been slashed to the bone.

If one doesn’t count the categorical positions that were funded primarily through the federal stimulus program, the headcount reductions at schools would be five times as large as those from central administration.

The disparities are even greater if you look further back in time.

Between 2006 and 2010, the number of full time positions at central administration has grown by 7.4%, while the number of full-time school personnel has shrunk by nearly the same percent -- 7.5%.

See also today's NY Post on how the number of DOE employees being paid $150,000 or more has mushroomed by 25% this year.

Special Education Update at Panel for Educational Policy

On Monday we finally had the session on Special Education canceled last month in favor of Jim Liebman’s tedious defense of the ARIS database system.

Several members of the Citywide Council on Special Education (CCSE) were present – John Englert, Patricia Connelly, Ellen McHugh. Apologies to anyone I missed. Linda Wernikoff oversees special education initiatives at DOE. Click here for the Powerpoint she delivered (pdf format).

She also provided copies of a new manual of special education standard operating procedures. I noted that the opening pages explain how more than 18 different entities are involved in special education and parents often are frustrated in their attempts to get the services required by their child’s IEP. I asked Ms. Wernikoff who exactly was accountable when services were not provided. She pointed to the principals and explained the DOE’s effort to devolve authority to them. I explained the difficulty in holding principals accountable when the District superintendents have been turned into Senior Achievement Facilitators and sent all over the city to show principals how to look at reports. The Citywide Council on Special Educaiton has proposed creating a senior-level executive to oversee special education reporting directly to the Chancellor. When I raised this proposal with Chancellor Klein, he replied that he didn’t see it as necessary.

My colleague from Queens, Dmytro Fedkowskyj, asked an important question on special education placements. He had heard that parents were being told they had to accept the first placement option offered by DOE. Linda Wernikoff assured Dmytro that there had been no change in policy and that DOE would still work with parents to find an appropriate placement.

Many people offered highly critical testimony during the public comment section of the agenda. John Englert, president of CCSE, explained how the rosy view offered by DOE contrasted sharply with State Comptroller DiNapoli's audit findings showing thousands of children do not receive the services they require. Jesse Mojica of the Bronx Borough President's office cited results of his survey indicating only 6% of calls placed to DOE requesting assisstance with special education issues were resolved.

New report on special education and D75 schools

See this new report, "Improving Special Education in NYC's District 75," about the multiple problems with the separate special education district known as D75, which also reveals how dysfunctional the entire system of special education is in NYC public schools. The study was carried out by specialists and administrators from other large school districts, under the aegis of the Council of the Great City Schools, and recommends keeping the special nature and services of D75 intact, but integrating them into the rest of the school system more effectively and efficiently.

The report reveals a far higher proportion of NYC special education students in separate, segregated settings than other districts throughout the state; pervasive conflicts between the principals of D75 schools that are located within regular schools over the way in which their students are deprived of access to essential facilities; how low-achieving students are referred to D75 placements as the time nears for state assessments grows near, so their school of origin won't be saddled with their test scores; how D75 students have few opportunities to be incorporated in the regular school’s classes or to interact with the rest of the student population, even when located in the same building; the way in which the new schools started by DOE commonly exclude and discriminate against D75 students; the manner in which Leadership Academy graduates principals with no apparent interest or training in improving outcomes for these students; the inappropriate practice of referring eighth grade students to D75 schools who have been retained multiple times, as well as high school students with few course credits, and students with “challenging behavior,” and the failure of DOE to include “anything in the accountability system pertaining to incentives or sanctions for the achievement of students with disabilities.”

Here's just one meaty excerpt, detailing yet another inadequate aspect of the school progress reports, as designed by Columbia Law Professor James Liebman, head of DOE's Accountability office:

Community schools can be recognized for the exemplary performance of students with disabilities (as well as other high-need students), but the process does not recognize the differences among students with disabilities ranging from relatively small-impact speech-language impairment to challenging sensory, emotional, or cognitive impairments.

A school can gain only three extra credit points on its overall score for exemplary gains among high-need students, such as those with disabilities.

• The Progress Report does not appear to take into consideration the extent to which students—

Are referred to other schools just prior to state assessments

Are enrolled by community schools following a District 75 placement

Are included and supported in the general education program

Are given access to general education programs and activities, if they are in District 75.

But check out the whole report; it is an excellent if rather depressing read.

Will visually and hearing impaired children be the next victims of this administration's obsession with test scores?

A month ago, we posted information about the proposal that had been floated by top DOE officials to eliminate the offices at Tweed responsible for serving visually and hearing impaired students, and to put these very specialized functions under the direct control of principals at individual schools.

Though this radical change was apparently headed off, at least temporarily, because of widespread protest from parents, there have apparently been already many changes made to programs for visually and hearing-impaired students, with some classes closed, and more to come.

Here is an excerpt from minutes of the October 17 meeting of the Citywide Council on Special Education, which suggests that the proposed elimination of these offices had occurred in response to the complaints of principals, who objected to the fact that the test scores at their schools were being lowered by the hearing and/visually disabled children at their schools. Is this development another cost of this administration’s obsession with school test results – and the new school-based accountability system that threatens principals with a loss of their jobs, if they fail to improve scores? Read on:

10/17/2007 Calendar Meeting Minutes of the Citywide Council on Special Education

….Last week at a private meeting held by Marcia Lyles (Deputy Chancellor of Teaching & Learning) the implementation of the DOE's plan to move all Educational Vision Services (EVS) & Hearing Educational Service Divisions (HES) services to the direct control of individual Principals at the school level was discussed.

In attendance were Bonnie Brown (District 75 Superintendent), Helen Kaufman (Lead Regional Administrator for Citywide Programs, District 75), Dr. Lawrence Gardner (Director of Educational Vision Services) and various DOE principals.

In response to the outcry among parents of blind and visually impaired students, Bonnie Brown had reported that this was in response to concerns raised by principals a year ago that blind and deaf children in their respective schools were adversely affecting test scores results.

Consideration of possible changes to Educational Vision Services and hearing Educational Services began. The principals felt that it was unfair that they be held accountable for the test scores for students whose academic programs they have no control over.

Those early conversations eventually led to the meeting held on October 11th, 2007. The CCSE requested information from the meeting. Bonnie stated that Mr. Diaz, Chief of Staff to Deputy Superintendent Dr. Lyles’s took notes at the meeting and will provide them for Maria Garcia and the Council who would them forward them to all interested parties, Mr. Diaz agreed.

Bonnie Brown also addressed the closing of self contained vision classes across the city, saying that due to advances in Medical Care there are fewer blind and visually impaired students entering the system; hence, fewer referrals and the need for fewer classes.

CCSE member, Maria Garcia reminded Bonnie Brown that her statement was based on incorrect information. Data from the Commission for the Blind and Visually Handicapped (State Agency for the Blind) supports that there are more blind and visually impaired students entering the system not fewer. Ms. Garcia proceeded to clarify; advances in Medicine have resulted in a higher survival rate amongst premature infants including micro-preemies and a correspondingly higher increase in enrollment of cortically blind students in school systems across the nation.

Ms. Brown stated that Principals complained that they felt unwelcome in the self-contained classes. Maria Frieda, Queens EVS Supervisor responded by pointing out the self contained classroom teachers, students and their parents have been historically unwelcome and has not been included in the cultural of the General Education buildings that house them, not the other way around.

Ms. Lawson, parent of a seeing impaired student asked Ms. Brown to refute the rumor that the DOE plans to dismantle Educational Vision Service. Ms. Brown said she would not use the word dismantle.

CCSE Member, Ms. Garcia stated the DOE is currently instructing fewer than 10% of the legally blind students with Braille and the DOE does not require a learning media assessment of kindergarten students entering the system to determine the most appropriate learning media for student. New students are instead automatically placed on a large print tract which will result in functional illiteracy for most if not all legally blind students.

Parents and members of EVS voiced their concerns as to what is taking place. Ms. Brown repeatedly reiterate her opinion that the situation was well in hand. The DOE and Dist. 75 are qualified to determine the final out come of Vision and Hearing Education Services. Ms. Garcia asked for a commitment from the DOE as well as District 75 to involve parent representatives and the CCSE in all future discussions of changes to the administration of services to seeing and hearing impaired students within the NYC Education (DOE); there was no reply.

Important: A town-hall meeting with officials from DOE, sponsored by the National Federation of the Blind of New York State and the Parents of Blind Children of New York, is set for Monday, Dec. 10 at 6pm, at Selis Manor, 135 W. 23 St. For more information or to RSVP, please leave a message at 212 222-1705 or email pobcny@verizon.net

A flyer for this meeting is posted here.

Thanks to John Englert, president of the CCSE and Maria Garcia, CCSE member and President of the Parents of Blind Children of New York for this update.

Does DOE have plans to cut services for visually and hearing impaired children?

This entry was written by a parent familiar with the concerns of visually impaired students and their families:

NYC Public School Parents has learned that the Department of Education has floated a plan to eliminate the Educational Vision Services (EVS) and Hearing Education Services (HES) offices in District 75, which oversees special education programs in our schools. Currently, 1,000 children with visual impairments and 3,000 children with hearing impairments are being served by the these offices. Last week, the head of Educational Vision Services was informed by District 75 and the Chancellor's Office that EVS would be closing and that the principals of schools would take over the supervision of the special instructors for these children. When parents started protesting, the reorganization was temporarily put on hold, but not cancelled.

Such a dismantling would likely have a devastating impact on the students in the system with visual and hearing impairments. Children who are blind or visually impaired need all kinds of special services that others don’t —for example, to learn braille, to be provided with books in braille or large print, and to learn travel skills, like walking with a cane. Many of these children are fully functioning intellectually, but need these services to be able to learn. They need special equipment as well. Regular special ed teachers don't teach these skills, teachers who specialize in working with visually impaired students do. Similarly, hearing impaired students need teachers who can teach sign language, as well as interpreters and other special services. This latest "reorganization" has the potential to completely disrupt those services.

Principals of individual schools are not equipped to supervise or support these specialized staff. In fact, these teachers usually work with students at several schools. The offices threatened with closure have the expertise to ensure that students with these disabilities get the help they need and that their teachers (and schools) receive the support and oversight necessary to make sure they do. If the responsibility to provide these very specialized services are dumped on the principals' shoulders, along with all their other new duties, how can they possibly be expected to manage?

Since the DOE's plans for special education have not been fully disclosed, it's difficult to guess what kind of structure they might have in mind once EVS and HES were closed, and what other current supports might also be slated for elimination. Only one thing is for sure: As usual, no one actually working with these students was consulted about these changes, least of all their parents.

Parents of visually and hearing impaired students are up in arms and plan to attend the meeting of the Citywide Council on Special Education tomorrow night, Wednesday, October 17th, 2007 at 6:30pm at Tweed to demand some answers. Stay tuned.