An open letter to CEC members in regards de Blasio's promises on co-locations

NYC KidsPAC is composed of a group of parent leaders and advocates, including several Community Education Council members.    A few weeks ago, NYC KidsPAC released an education report card for Mayor de Blasio, with grades ranging from “A” to “F” based on whether he’s lived up to his campaign promises after more than a year in office in many key areas such as class size, school overcrowding, co-locations and parent engagement. 

More specifically, de Blasio promised to have a moratorium on co-locations which never happened.  In response to the NYC KidsPAC candidate survey,  promised to ask Community Education Councils to cast advisory votes on all “major school utilization changes in their communities including proposed co-locations” and that “This vote will influence and provide insight to the Panel for Education Policy.”   

He added that he would “raise the level of significance of the CEC's. The Panel for Educational Policy must address the PEP's vote on major school utilization changes in their PEP meetings. They must state why they disagree with the local CEC and work with the local CEC for alternative solutions.” 

Yet this process has not yet occurred in the case of any co-location of which we are aware.  

We urge any and all CECs that are facing a proposed change in school utilization, including co-locations up for a vote this month and next (see list below), to consider passing a resolution, expressing your views on the proposal in detail – and then send your resolution to the Mayor’s office, the Chancellor and the members of the PEP, whose emails are here, with a cover letter, explaining that you expect the PEP to follow through on the Mayor’s campaign promises.  

Please copy KidsPAC and Class Size Matters in your emails at info@nyckidspac.org and info@classsizematters.org if you do. 

We have drafted a sample draft resolution below including some relevant bullet points.  Please feel free to alter the language and of course, you will have to add to it by explaining why your Council is taking this position on the proposed utilization change. 

Leonie Haimson, Executive Director, Class Size Matters 

Shino Tanikawa, President, NYC KidsPAC

·      

           Draft language for a resolution on co-locations 

       Whereas while campaigning to become Mayor, Bill de Blasio promised that he would be more collaborative and respectful of the input of parents and community members than the previous administration;

·         Whereas in his responses to the NYC KidsPAC candidate survey, in July 2013, he promised that Community Education Councils would be urged to vote on “major school utilization changes in their communities” and that “This vote will influence and provide insight to the Panel for Education Policy.” 

·         Whereas in the same survey, he pledged that as Mayor he would “raise the level of significance of the CEC's” and that “The Panel for Educational Policy must address the PEP's vote on major school utilization changes in their PEP meetings. They must state why they disagree with the local CEC and work with the local CEC for alternative solutions.”

·         Whereas the Community Education Council is [opposed or in favor of] the co-location of x school in the X building, to be voted on at the PEP meeting on x date for the following reasons….(add your reasons here)

·         Be it resolved that the CEC in District x is [opposed or in favor of] the co-location of x school for the reasons stated above;

·         Be it resolved that we will send this resolution to the Mayor, the Chancellor and to the members of the Panel for Educational Policy before their vote on this proposal on x date;

·         Be it resolved that if any PEP member should vote in contradiction to the CEC’s position , he or should be obligated to state why, as the Mayor promised would occur when he ran for office;

·         Finally, be it resolved that the PEP should work with the CEC on alternative solutions, as the Mayor also pledged.

May 20 vote

District 8: Proposed Expansion of Icahn Charter School 7 (84X362) in Building X093 and X893 with P.S. 93 Albert G. Oliver, Beginning in the 2016-2017 School Year

 

District 22: Proposed Opening and Co-location of Success Academy New York 10 (84KTBD) with Andries Hudde Middle School (22K240) in Building K240 Beginning in the 2016-2017 School Year 

June 10 vote

District 15:  Proposed Expansion of Success Academy Charter School - Cobble Hill (84K129) in Building K293 with Brooklyn School for Global Studies (15K429), School for International Studies (15K497), and a District 75 Program (75K368) Beginning in the 2016-2017 School Year

District 14: Proposed Expansion of Success Academy Charter School - Williamsburg (84K182) in Building K050 with J.H.S. 50 John D. Wells (14K050), Beginning in the 2016-2017 School Year

[VIDEO] NYC KidsPAC Education report card for the Mayor press conference

Video taken by Michael Elliot at our NYC KidsPAC press conference on April 19 where we released our education report card for Mayor de Blasio.

NYC KidsPAC Parents and Advocates release Education report card for Mayor de Blasio

Media outlets that reported on our report card include News 12-TV, Wall St. Journal, NY Post, WCBS radio, and Epoch Times (in Chinese).  Please take a look at the grades we awarded the mayor on education issues below, and leave a comment on the blog.  thanks, Leonie 

For immediate release: April 19, 2015


Contact: Shino Tanikawa, 917-770-8438, estuaryqueen@gmail.com

Leonie Haimson, 917-435-9329, leonie@classsizematters.org

NYC KidsPAC releases Education report card for Mayor de Blasio

Grades range from As to Fs in many crucial areas

Today, Sunday April 19 at noon, in front of the Department of Education headquarters at Tweed, NYC KidsPAC released a report card for Mayor de Blasio, based on how many of his campaign promises he has fulfilled in the area of education policy after more than a year in office. NYC KidsPAC is a political action committee made up of parent leaders and advocates who work for better schools by issuing candidate surveys, informing the electorate about the results, and supporting candidates who have demonstrated a commitment to improving our city’s public schools.


NYC KidsPAC provided the DOE and the Mayor’s office with this report three weeks ago, and received no response. They will now provide the report to the leaders and members of the State Legislature, to help them decide whether to renew mayoral control.

In 2013 NYCKids PAC endorsed Bill de Blasio for Mayor, citing the hope he would “stop the rampant privatization of our schools and the overemphasis on testing, will listen more closely to the concerns of parents and communities, and will push for new investments in expanding preK, improving classroom conditions and alleviating school overcrowding.” We believe that De Blasio has a better understanding of the issues than the previous administration, and has made several positive changes, most notably the expansion of preKindergarten, but has yet to live up to his promises in other important areas.

The grades the Mayor received from NYC KidsPAC are decidedly mixed, ranging from “A” and “A-“ on cell phones, school closings, and arts education, to a “B” on testing, and a “D” on co-locations, space planning, parent engagement and input, special education and student privacy. He received an “F” on class size, transparency and accountability and diversity.

Shino Tanikawa, president of NYC KidsPAC and a Manhattan parent leader explained: “We thank Mayor de Blasio on his reversal of the cell phone ban and halting school closures, two issues that are important to many parents. We are also encouraged by his commitment to arts education. The Mayor expressed some very promising ideas for improving the governance of our school system during his campaign. For example, he proposed fixed terms for the Panel for Educational Policy members, and to ask Community Education Councils to vote on changes in school utilization including co-locations. Then PEP members would be required to refer to those votes in their decision-making. None of these reforms have yet occurred, and we have seen many damaging co-locations approved without reference to the priorities of parents in those communities. Our report gives him a “D” in the category of Co-locations, and an incomplete in Governance. Though we hope that he will deliver on more of his promises soon, we must oppose the renewal of mayoral control without real checks and balances and more decision-making power given to parents and community members.”

Eduardo Hernandez, a member of Community Education Council in District 8 in the Bronx, said: “NYC kids have just endured three strenuous days of ELA testing and will sit through another three days in math next week. We gave the Mayor a “B” in this category, because the DOE has acknowledged that parents have the right to opt out their children out of testing, and engage in another activity. However, the DOE has not publicized this sufficiently, and many parents remain unaware of their rights. The Mayor has neglected to reform the admissions process to gifted programs and to the five selective, specialized high schools under his control that still rely solely on test scores. Though when he ran for office, he pledged to make admissions to these programs and schools based on more holistic factors, they are still based solely on high-stakes exams with racially disparate outcomes.”

“Overcrowded classrooms and rising enrollments are pervasive problems that have plagued our children’s schools for far too long. We gave him an “Incomplete” because so far the de Blasio Administration has failed to act follow up on his promises to alleviate overcrowding by improving the school capital plan, which is months overdue. The current version of the plan doesn’t meet one third of the actual need, given existing overcrowding and enrollment projections, and without improvement, NYC kids are likely result to be subjected to even more crammed conditions in the future,” said Andy Lachman, head of Parent Leaders of Upper East Side Schools (PLUS).

As Gloria Corsino, president of the Citywide Council for District 75, pointed out, “Bill de Blasio gets an “F” when it comes to transparency and accountability. Our education budget is no clearer than under Bloomberg; huge consulting contracts are still approved by the PEP with little or no explanation, including a $1 billion contract that was awarded to a company that had engaged in a kickback scheme. Luckily, City Hall reversed that decision at the last minute, but this is a contract that should never have been proposed in the first place. Freedom of Information requests are responded to no more quickly, and the DOE still refuses to count all the kids in trailers, including hundreds of students with disabilities, and thousands of high school students. The recommendations of the Blue Book working group for improving the accuracy of DOE’s figures on overcrowding have still not been released to the public.”

Karen Sprowal, a parent leader in Upper Manhattan, gave some of the reasons why the Mayor received a “D” for Parent engagement: “It is very disappointing that parents have so little input under this administration. The Chancellor now claims in court that School Leadership Teams, composed of half parents, have only advisory powers, which is contrary to state law. The DOE revamped their parent survey without any input from parents, and took out what we considered the most important question, as to which improvement strategy we would most like to see in our schools, a question that has been asked by DOE since 2007. Too often at Town Hall meetings, the Chancellor responds to parental concerns with a dismissive attitude. Sadly, we have also heard from many CEC members that they still feel their views are not consulted before important decisions are made.”

Leonie Haimson, Executive Director of Class Size Matters, said, “The Mayor gets an “F” on class size, because he has fulfilled none of his promises on this critical issue, the top priority of parents according to the DOE’s own surveys. Despite his commitment to reduce class size significantly, and if necessary, raise funds to do so, class sizes remain at a fifteen year high in the early grades, and the administration has taken no action in this area or indicated that they intend to follow through in any way. In fact, the Chancellor has repeatedly ignored the concerns expressed by educators and parents, and has stated that class size is not a problem that needs to be solved, despite the decision of the state’s highest court that NYC children are denied their constitutional rights because their classes are too large. “

“NYC KidsPAC gives the Mayor an “F” for diversity, as the well-documented segregation in NYC schools has not been addressed despite his campaign promises. The administration has failed to respond to communities asking for district-wide solutions that have been shown to increase equity of access in numerous school systems across the country. Mayor de Blasio has failed to live up to his obligation to address this civil rights issue by amending the admissions policies that stratify our schools,” concluded Lisa Donlan, President of Community Education Council in District One on the Lower East Side.

The Mayor’s report card, along with an analysis of the Mayor’s performance on this and other issues, can be downloaded here and viewed below.  It is also posted at www.NYCKidsPAC.org

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Mayor Bill De Blasio's Report Card (Final)

KidsPAC to Release Mayor de Blasio's Education Report Card on Sunday

Join us at Tweed on Sunday at noon when we release NYC KidsPAC's Education Report Card for Mayor Bill de Blasio! Flyer below.

Report Card Flier

Our parent report card for Michelle Rhee and StudentsFirst

credit:  Education Week

Michelle Rhee, former DC Chancellor and founder of the organization StudentsFirst, has come out with a new state by state report card, grading states on how well they adhere to the corporate reform agenda of privatization and “choice” (i.e. expanding charters and vouchers) , merit pay, and rigid evaluation systems based on test scores. 

Her grading scheme actually punishes states that have policies to reduce class size above grade three, or offer incentives to keep classes small – even though class size reduction is one of the top priorities of parents, and one of the few education reforms that have proven to work.  At the same time she gives points to states that either have mayoral control, support the “Parent trigger” or provide other ways to supersede the authority of democratically-elected school boards.

Even as Rhee often claims that student outcomes and achievement are what matters most, the two states with the highest student achievement in the nation, Massachusetts and New Jersey, received a “D-” and a “D.” California got an "F" for refusing to sign onto the provisions of "Race to the Top", including test-based evaluations of teachers; Richard Zeiger, the state's deputy superintendent, called the state's failing grade a “badge of honor.”

I thought it was a good time to reprint the Parents Across America report card for Rhee, where she received failing grades in categories important to parents.  See below.

Since our report card was produced, there has been more attention paid to the Rhee’s checkered past and recent failings :

• ·         How she most likely greatly exaggerated her own record as a teacher.

• ·         Evidence of widespread cheating in DC schools when she ran them, and her failure to investigate these allegations properly -- a special focus of a Frontline program due to air tonight [Correction: tomorrow night];

• ·        The voluminous research pointing out that evaluating teachers on the basis of test scores through value-added models, as she pushed for in DC and now in her state report cards, is unstable,  unreliable and unfair.  (See the most recent analysis from a group of statistical experts, concluding that “We cannot at this time encourage anyone to use VAM in a high stakes endeavor.”)

• The way she inflated the number of supporters of StudentsFirst, counting as members anyone who signed deceptively-phrased online petitions, calling for unobjectionable policies like paying good teachers more or stopping bullying in schools.

• ·        How she fired more than more than 5 percent of the teachers in DC, though at least some of these teachers may need to be reinstated because she did this improperly.

• ·        How the teacher evaluation system she relied upon, called IMPACT, was altered after she left by her successor to diminish its reliance on test scores, dropping that component from 50 to 35 percent.

• ·        How a recent report from the organization she used to run, TNTP, though predictably positive in its spin, revealed  that the IMPACT teacher evaluation system was  one of the top reasons that even “top performing” teachers plan to leave DC schools.  The report also cast further doubt on the system, saying that there may be a “flaw in the design or implementation of IMPACT [that] makes it easier for teachers working in low-need schools to earn top ratings.”

• ·         The documented predilection of StudentsFirst to fund right-wing Republican candidates, despite claims of bipartisanship.

• ·         Most recently, Rhee made a tone-deaf statement on the mass shootings in Newtown CT, calling such children “our most valuable assets”.

• ·         Finally, her refusal to oppose a bill in Michigan that would allow concealed weapons in schools, until the legislation had already been vetoed by the Governor. 

If we were updating the report card today, we would certainly give her an “F” for her position on school safety as well.  

Here are some of our comments below:  Michelle Rhee has said that “cooperation, collaboration and consensus-building are way overrated.” She has an overriding belief in test scores despite numerous documented problems with standardized testing: “People say, ‘Well, you know, test scores don’t take into account creativity and the love of learning.’...I’m like, ‘You know what? I don’t give a crap.’”   

We recommended remedial education for Rhee, to spend more time studying what parents want for their children, and what research shows works to improve education.  The report she put out today only reinforces our conviction that she needs to go back to school.

Michelle Rhee Report Card