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Plan by Silver Would Extend Mayor’s Control of Schools |
Attempt to Open N.Y. State Senate Session Falters
By DANNY HAKIM and JEREMY W. PETERS
Republicans used a mysterious set of keys to force their way into the Senate chamber for the first time since their leadership coup on Monday. Protesters chanted “Senate not for sale” and banged on the chamber’s windows while Republicans tried to convene. And the Republicans’ vow to resume the session fizzled after one of the two dissident Democrats they were depending on for a quorum, Hiram Monserrate of Queens, walked out of the chamber shortly after the proceedings began. Both sides continued to battle in court; a hearing is set for Friday morning, and Democrats will argue that the Republicans’ coup was illegitimate. “The dysfunction and chaos in the Senate has wasted an entire week of the people’s business,” a clearly irritated Gov. David A. Paterson said in a statement released Thursday. He has been largely relegated to the sidelines during the dispute. By day’s end, it was clear that the balance of power in the state’s upper house — and the very gears of state government — continued to rest in the hands of Mr. Monserrate, who was indicted in March on charges of slashing his female companion with a broken glass. As he was leaving the Senate chamber, a Republican staff member dashed after him, pleading, “Senator, we need you back in there.” But Mr. Monserrate said he was committed to recruiting more Democrats to join the coalition and would be holding meetings all day in hopes of doing so, even as those Democrats were simultaneously trying to woo him back to their side. “This chamber must not remain divided,” he said. “You can’t have coalition government with 2 Democrats and 30 Republicans.” There were many other developments throughout the day. The Senate’s new president, Pedro Espada Jr., a Bronx Democrat sharing power with Republicans, tried to lure his former Democratic colleagues back to the chamber by offering to bring same-sex marriage legislation to the Senate’s floor next week, for the first time in the Senate’s history. His comments prompted the Senate’s only openly gay member, Thomas K. Duane, to say he was open to abandoning the Democratic caucus, a day after his staff insisted he was staying put. “Today, I’m in the Democratic conference, and I’m a Democrat,” he added. “There’s no way to predict what’s going to happen tomorrow, let alone what’s going to happen when everyone comes back on Monday.” Democrats also huddled behind closed doors to decide the fate of their leader, Malcolm A. Smith, whom many blame for losing control of the first Democratic Senate majority in four decades after just five months. Senator John L. Sampson, a Brooklyn Democrat, is seen as Mr. Smith’s most likely potential successor, though Democrats cautioned that they were not yet prepared to depose Mr. Smith. Further complicating matters, Mr. Monserrate reiterated his support for Mr. Espada, but would not answer when asked repeatedly if he still supported Dean G. Skelos, a Long Island Republican who was named majority leader on Monday, in a power-sharing deal with Mr. Espada. Certainly, the rising political fortunes of Mr. Espada and Mr. Monserrate have given many pause. Mr. Monserrate has his pending criminal case. Mr. Espada has been fined more than $60,000 for failing to disclose his campaign contributions; the attorney general is investigating whether a nonprofit group he founded misappropriated money, and the Bronx district attorney is investigating whether his primary residence is in his district. As Senate president, he would become governor if David A. Paterson were incapacitated, though a court temporarily blocked Mr. Espada from becoming second in the line of succession Thursday. If he remains president, it appears that the State Constitution gives Mr. Espada the authority to issue pardons even if Mr. Paterson is merely traveling out of state — potentially even to himself — though there is some dispute about the legal fine points. The unlikely alliance has left Republicans on the defensive. “It was all right when they were the 31st and 32nd vote on that side,” said Senator Martin Golden, a Brooklyn Republican who was, only weeks ago, calling for Mr. Monserrate’s resignation. “All of a sudden, they’re criminals? When they join us, they’re criminals.” But Mr. Golden admitted to feeling a little queasy. “Do I feel a little uncomfortable? The answer is yes,” he said, adding that if Mr. Monserrate was “found guilty in a court of law, he should pay the price.” Lawmakers continued to ignore the governor’s pleas to return to work. The governor said in an appearance on WNYC that he doubted how successful the Democrats’ court challenge could be because they appeared to lack the votes needed to maintain a solid majority. “Even if you’ve won the court battle, as soon as you go back into session, if you don’t have the votes, if somebody calls a vote, you lose,” Mr. Paterson said. He also cast doubt on the Democrats’ legal argument that Mr. Smith could not be forced out in the middle of the session because he was elected by his colleagues for a two-year term, saying “power has been changed in legislative bodies for centuries.” But his spokesman denied a statement by Mr. Espada that the governor “duly recognized” him as the Senate president during a phone call. “That’s false,” said Peter Kauffmann, a Paterson spokesman. The Senate has already forfeited a week of its legislative session during one of the busiest times of year, the traditional rush before the close of the session on June 22. The governor threatened to force lawmakers to extend the legislative session, though it is not clear when a clear leader will emerge. Republicans said they would attempt to resume the session Monday afternoon. In the meantime, many issues have been sidelined, including mayoral control of the schools in New York City. While the Senate was a carnival of dysfunction, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver kept the trains running in his chamber in almost plodding defiance, passing 129 bills in four days, including legislation that extended wage protections to farm workers and a bill that allowed a Long Island church to apply for a property tax exemption. “Eventually, we have to govern here,” the gravel-voiced Mr. Silver said this week. “We’re trying to do it on a daily basis.”
Plan by Silver Would Extend Mayor’s Control of Schools
By JAVIER C. HERNANDEZ The New York State Assembly moved closer to preserving mayoral control of city schools as lawmakers on Wednesday night considered a proposal by Speaker Sheldon Silver that would maintain the mayor’s dominance but add checks, including limiting his ability to approve contracts and close schools. Mr. Silver’s plan, presented at a conference of Assembly Democrats, provided the first firm sign of how the State Legislature might reshape the landmark 2002 law that gave New York City’s mayor power over the city’s chronically underperforming school system, which serves 1.1 million children. The plan, if approved, would appear to be a victory for Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, who had sought to preserve the core elements of the law, which expires June 30. Mr. Silver’s proposal includes several measures aimed at increasing transparency, by requiring, for instance, that the Department of Education’s data and finances be regularly audited. But it leaves largely untouched a key point of contention: the mayor’s power to appoint a majority of the central education board, known as the Panel for Educational Policy, and remove them at his pleasure. Assembly Democrats gathered on Wednesday to discuss the proposed changes. Pending their approval, Mr. Silver will turn his proposals into a bill, which, if passed, would then be subject to approval by the State Senate and the governor. Assemblywoman Catherine Nolan, of Queens, chairwoman of the Assembly’s Education Committee, said on Wednesday night that she was optimistic that a bill would be drafted soon, and that lawmakers were debating issues like what kinds of items could be brought before the panel and how to increase public input on school closings. “We’re trying to have a work in progress that reflects people’s concerns,” she said. A chief difficulty for lawmakers has been striking a balance between keeping mayoral control and giving parents and communities a voice in local education decisions, like replacing traditional public schools with charter schools. Under the plan, the mayor would be required to appoint at least two parents to the eight seats he is entitled to fill on the panel, and the schools chancellor would no longer serve as chairman of the panel and set its agenda. Mr. Silver said in an interview that his proposals were intended to increase parental input by giving more power to local councils and community superintendents. “There are many concerned parents in the city of New York that feel they have not had the opportunity to weigh in on their children’s education,” Mr. Silver said. “This channels their desires to do that in a very effective way.” His plan would restore some power to district superintendents and local education councils, spelling out in the law their exact responsibilities. Critics had said that the schools chancellor, Joel I. Klein, too often stepped on the toes of local entities and exceeded his authority by making decisions that should have been reserved for local groups. Mr. Silver said he did not believe his proposals gave too much authority to the mayor. “We’ll see how it works going down the road,” he said, noting that the law would expire after six years under his plan. “There’s accountability here.” Another concern among critics of mayoral control has been bolstering the independence of panel members. Over the past seven years, the panel has become something of a rubber stamp for the mayor’s policies, having never rejected a proposal from Mr. Bloomberg. Critics have pushed for fixed terms for panel members, a measure aimed at preventing the mayor from removing panelists who voice opposition to his proposals. But Mr. Silver’s plan maintains the requirement that panelists serve at the pleasure of the mayor. Under Mr. Silver’s proposal, the panel would also be responsible for approving no-bid contracts and those that exceed $1 million. The Independent Budget Office and the comptroller would conduct the audits of Department of Education finances and data. The panel would also have to approve school closings under the Silver proposal. A key question among Assembly members is what will happen if a bill passes, with the New York State Senate in chaos after Republicans abruptly claimed control. Lawmakers are hoping that the Assembly and Senate will coalesce behind a package of mayoral control revisions in time for a smooth transition to the new law. If revisions are not approved by the end of the month, the law mandates that the schools revert to control by an independent school board, although it is unlikely that the Legislature would force such a transition before the matter is put to a vote in both chambers.
Back to you, Mr. Mayor Assembly bill leaves him in control of schools
BY Kenneth Lovett Thursday, June 11th 2009 ALBANY - Assembly Democrats have finalized a bill that leaves the control of the schools in the hands of the mayor but boosts oversight of the education system. Under the plan, Mayor Bloomberg would continue to have eight appointments, including two who must be parents, to the Panel for Educational Policy. The borough presidents would continue to have the other five appointments, meaning the majority of the panel would be made up of parents. The appointees would continue to serve at will, despite a push by some Assembly members to require fixed, two-year terms. But the schools chancellor no longer would be chairman or have a vote on the panel. The board also would be required to vote on all no-bid contracts, any contract exceeding $1million and any changes in education policy. To close schools or change their use, there would have to be a six-month notice provision, a community impact statement and a 45-day prior public hearing as part of the process. The city Independent Budget Office and the controller's office would have full auditing powers over the system to review not only spending but also performance data such as test scores and graduation rates. The Assembly plan also would strengthen the role of the superintendents by requiring them to havean office and staff within their districts. Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan) said the goals were to keep mayoral control but add "a lot more transparency, a lot more accountability and a lot more local parent and community involvement." He said there's a consensus agreement, but several Assembly members were upset the plan did not contain set terms for panel members and wouldn't expire again for another six years, meaning it would be in place for Bloomberg's third term, should he be reelected. "A lot of people felt [the Assembly leadership] pretended to listen to their concerns but in the end did what they wanted," a member of the Assembly said. "I would be surprised if half the city delegation will vote for this." It is unclear how the plan will be accepted in the Senate, which is in the throes of a chaotic leadership fight.
GOP back in control of N.Y. Senate after 2 flip
Jay Gallagher and Joseph Spector ALBANY — In a remarkable turn Monday, two Senate Democrats voted with Republicans to apparently strip Democrats of the majority they won just five months ago. A spokesman for Smith termed the action by the Republicans and renegade Democrats "an illegal and unlawful attempt to gain control of the Senate and reverse the will of the people who voted for a Democratic majority." Rochester-area billionaire Tom Golisano appeared to play a pivotal role in the coup, saying Monday that the reform agenda pushed by his Responsible New York committee suffered under Senate Democrats. Golisano, who recently announced plans to change his residency to Florida because of New York's high taxes, said the push to flip the Senate had been under way for about two months. "We said we would support legislators who are motivated to reform and who will continue to do the right things for the state," Golisano said. He and other supporters of the move said the new Senate majority will be a bipartisan coalition aimed at reforming government. They were already moving to adopt new rules in the chamber. Espada and Skelos were voted into their jobs by 32 of the 62 senators, after other Democrats left the chamber. The Democrats claimed the session had been adjourned; Republicans said there hadn't been a vote to do that. For Monroe County, the news could be good, if only because all of its senators are Republicans, and being in control means more money to bring home.
Renegades help GOP retake State Senate
By Tom Precious ALBANY — A plan hatched six weeks ago in an Albany bar erupted Monday when Republicans, with the help of two renegade Democrats, seized control of the State Senate in a flurry of maneuvers that stunned the Capitol and threw into doubt the remaining three weeks of the legislative session. Taking Democrats by complete surprise, Republicans, in what had been expected to be an unremarkable session, introduced a resolution making one of the dissident Democrats, Sen. Pedro Espada Jr. of the Bronx, the president of the Senate and Dean G. Skelos, a Rockville Centre Republican, its majority leader. After considerable huddling, Democrats balked and eventually walked out of the chamber. But left behind were two Democrats, who joined with the 30 Republicans to provide enough votes to switch control of the chamber back to Republicans — just six months after Democrats had taken over as a result of last fall’s elections. Sen. Malcolm A. Smith of Queens, the ousted majority leader, insisted he and his fellow Democrats remained in charge, although he said no legislative session would be held until the smoke had cleared and the power feud resolved. Republicans, meanwhile, insisted they will hold session Wednesday. “It was absolutely necessary,” said Espada, who, unless Smith can change things, now becomes first in line to succeed Gov. David A. Paterson should he for any reason leave office. Paterson said Monday night he still recognizes Smith as leader. Espada said a coalition government was being formed. He claimed five more Democratic senators had committed to join his cause but did not name them. Sen. Antoine M. Thompson of Buffalo said he was remaining firm with the majority of Democrats. Sen. William T. Stachowski of Lake View this morning said he is not joining with the dissidents. "I'm a Democrat," he said in a break from a closed-door meeting with Democrats trying to figure out ways to wrestle control back from the Republicans. Espada blamed the coup on the “sheer chaos” of the past six months — including a secretive state budget process and lack of reforms. Espada and the Republicans immediately approved new rules, including an independent legislative budget office and term limits for legislative leaders. But Smith, seeking to soothe Democratic tensions, sought to blame the Republicans for actions to “disrupt” the Senate. “I would hope the public is outraged,” he said, urging voters to call their senators to keep the Democrats in control. The matter could end up in court, though judges rarely like to venture into the affairs of the Legislature, lawyers said. Paterson emerged Monday night to deride the actions by the GOP and two Democrats as “a dereliction of duty.” He said the ensuing chaos has “shut the government functions down” in the Capitol with dozens of major issues still on the table before lawmakers leave town. “This is despicable what happened here today,” he said of the move that overturns last fall’s vote giving Democrats control of the Senate. “With all due respect to the governor, he has no vote in this matter,” Espada said. Buffalo Sabres owner B. Thomas Golisano, who spent more than $4 million last fall helping Democrats take the Senate, aided Monday’s coup. After becoming disillusioned with the Senate Democrats, he and G. Steven Pigeon, his political adviser, spent several weeks helping the Republicans with the plan. Sources said planning for the coup began six weeks ago in an Albany bar called Red Square in a meeting involving Pigeon, other Golisano advisers, Skelos and Sen. Thomas Libous, a Binghamton Republican who led Monday’s floor fight. By last week, Espada and Sen. Hiram Monserrate, a Queens Democrat, were on board. In a town that can’t keep a secret, this one was amazing: Even rank-and-file Republicans were not told what would happen Monday. Golisano, who recently moved his legal address to Florida, was in the Capitol to watch the drama. “It was obvious to us they weren’t going to keep their commitment, and that was very bad for New York State,” Golisano said of Senate Democrats in an interview. He called Monday “a great day for New York,” and said his disappointment with his financial investment with the Senate Democrats helped force Monday’s coup. “It didn’t materialize,” Golisano said of his donations he thought were would fuel change in Albany. A person involved in the planning said Golisano became convinced six weeks ago after a meeting with Smith that things would not change. Smith kept fiddling with his BlackBerry during the meeting, which angered the billionaire and three-time gubernatorial candidate, the person said. Paterson bristled at Golisano’s role. “Wealthy donors walking around take credit for it moments after it happened, is that reform?” Paterson said. Espada, though, said Smith and others had benefited from Golisano’s donations last year. “I didn’t receive a penny from Mr. Golisano,” he said of last fall and the coup. If the takeover holds, Democrats were clearly outmaneuvered by Republicans, who ran the Senate for most of 70 years and became experts in parliamentary rules. Libous offered the new leadership resolution, which was ruled out of order by the senator presiding over the chamber. Republicans then demanded a vote on that order, which, after considerable legal huddling by Democrats, was permitted. In the far corner of the room, Espada and Monserrate, his seat-mate, rose to join the Republicans on the other side of the chamber. But Democrats then stormed out. Moments later the lights were turned off, Internet service and closed-circuit TV of the proceedings was stopped, and guards threatened to lock the door. The remaining 32 members — a majority in the 62-member house—then ruled the move by Democrats to adjourn out of order. They gaveled back in, pushed through the leadership change and swore in the new leaders. The confusion spread. A photographer who worked for the Republicans last year and then for the Democrats this year shouted into her cell phone on the Senate floor soon after the coup: “I don’t know who I should be photographing right now.” Down the hall, state troopers suddenly began guarding the Democrats in their closed-door strategy session. A couple of hours later, Smith went before reporters to say everything would be fine. But two immediate problems emerged: Seven Democrats were missing from the photo opportunity intended to show Smith in command, and he could not predict when the Senate, which he insisted he still controlled, would be back in session — except to say that would be when all is “straightened out and clear.” Unless the coup is overturned, Skelos, who has insisted upstaters have been abused since Democrats took control of the Senate, will return to the job he held seven months ago. Espada becomes president in a rare power-sharing arrangement. “The two of them have to even agree on office changes,” one staffer said. The drama is remarkable even by the standards of Albany, where, in recent years, rash of soap operas have played out involving scandals and a disgraced former governor. Coming as lawmakers are ending their last three weeks of this year’s session, it throws into the air everything from the future of the state’s main economic development program to legalization of gay marriage, among the many contentious issues still on the table. “I feel it will certainly make it more difficult,” the Rev. Duane Motley, head of a conservative religious group, said of the gay marriage push. Espada is no stranger to Democratic upheaval. He once sat with the Republicans conference, although he remained a Democrat. He has also run afoul of campaign finance laws and has owed $60,000 in election law fines from a New York City campaign. Monserrate was indicted in March on charges of slashing the face of his girlfriend with a broken glass. Asked if the Senate now was in the hands of Republicans, Espada said, “I am a Democrat, and I am president of this chamber.”
By Helen Zelon When Mayor Michael Bloomberg was elected, he vowed to improve the city’s schools, initiating far-reaching overhauls that began with mayoral control: The demolition of the independent and often mayor-opposing Board of Education, the creation of a Department of Education, and the formation of the mayor-vetted Panel for Educational Policy. Critical to Bloomberg's vision was his appointment of Schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein, the former head of publishing giant Bertelsmann and U.S. Department of Justice antitrust attorney who sued Microsoft – and won. Historically, educators lead departments of education. But of the 16 individuals on Klein’s leadership team, only two are educators. In the Bloomberg era, lawyers and MBAs dominate: not only did Klein have a career in law, James Liebman, the Chief Accountability Officer who developed the school progress reports that now drive school survival and principals' job security, is a law professor at Columbia. Stephanie Dua, who heads the Office of Strategic Partnerships – and is CEO of the DOE-linked Fund for Public Schools – worked as a management consultant at the global business consultancy McKinsey & Company. Garth Harries, former Chief Executive of Portfolio now charged with reviewing special education services, came to the department via Stanford Law and McKinsey. Deputy Chancellor Christopher D. Cerf trained as a lawyer and worked with the Edison Learning Company, in 2006 the world’s largest for-profit schools network. Others come from the political sphere: Micah Lasher, the department’s chief lobbyist, founded the KnickerbockerSKD political communications firm, with clients including Caroline Kennedy, Andrew Cuomo and the Fund for Public Schools. Brian Ellner was a Bloomberg campaign staffer and one-time Manhattan Borough President hopeful who now serves as Klein’s director of Public and Community Affairs. “I was elected largely on the basis of my business background. I think New Yorkers expect me to run city government in much the same way I ran my company," said Bloomberg in his 2003 State of the City speech, with “the incentive and desire to do more, do it better, and do it with less.” Under his leadership, the art and practice of education has shifted perceptibly to the business of education – market-driven, "incentivized" and data-steeped. Enter the Microsoft slayer “It’s not an accident that the mayor selected the country’s leading antitrust litigator and not a teacher” to lead the DOE, says Eric Nadelstern, who holds the title of Chief Schools Officer. “What the mayor understood [is that] when you have a system with so much vested interest, somehow, you have to break through that.” Klein’s nomination as chancellor required special state waivers, to permit him to assume the post without advanced academic credentials in education or experience in education leadership. “You can make the argument that the head of the schools should be an experienced pedagogue,” Klein said at an education journalists' roundtable last fall. But fixing the schools posed “a massive management challenge," he said, and the mayor needed “to try outside strategies.” So Bloomberg “hired the Microsoft guy,” is how a former member of the DOE cabinet under Klein summed it up. “He’s a guy who breaks up monopolies. The problem was the problem of monopolies – the lack of competition, market failure. The whole thing had to be blown up.” Klein doesn’t disagree: “The DOE was fundamentally a monopoly,” he explained at the roundtable. “The mayor wanted someone who was not a career educator, not a captive to the organization.” The mayor got what he wanted – Klein's seven-year tenure is the longest chancellorship in memory. Product over process It's not as though the city's public schools were perfect when teachers rose to the highest levels of leadership. School quality and safety varied wildly by neighborhood. Local political clubs controlled school boards. Bureaucracy was impenetrable to all but the most crafty or connected. Teachers were grossly underpaid; their professional growth was hobbled. And most critically, students were failing by the tens of thousands: dropping out, or being neglected by low-functioning schools. Bloomberg spelled out the first phase of his school reform agenda in a major education address on Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 2003. “Woefully inadequate” public schools that failed too many students presented “the opportunity to rewrite that bleak scenario and chart a new course of success,” the mayor said. Primary among his goals was “ending the bureaucratic sclerosis” with “one unified, focused, streamlined chain of command ... freed from the dead hand of bureaucracy.” The chancellor sits at the top of that chain, Bloomberg said, and “will dictate the curriculum and pedagogical methods” for the city’s schools. He dismissed Klein’s inexperience in education, touting instead his legal prowess: “No one is better qualified to navigate the legal labyrinth that constantly frustrates change.” “Bloomberg came from Wall Street and the business community,” said the former DOE cabinet member, who, like many current or former educators interviewed, did not want to be named for fear of professional or personal retribution. “They think entirely differently about organizational structure and dynamics. They needed the market approach to shake things up. In that respect, Joel delivered exactly what he promised.” Yet the wholesale restructuring in 2003 that eliminated the city’s 32 districts, substituting 10 regions in their place, gutted existing structures for communication and professional development, say school leaders and education advocates. Reforms were needed, but went too far, spearheaded initially by consultants from McKinsey and later by Ron Beller, a former Goldman Sachs partner who was considered “their hit guy,” said the former DOE cabinet member, who worked with Beller during the reorganization. “There’s nothing like a trader at an investment bank for the sharp, bright edge of the marketplace – a brutal clarity, applied to the school system.” CEOs and investment bankers allied forces with Klein, as did business titan Jack Welch and high-profile management consultants like Noel Tichy, who with Welch created the GE corporate training center that later served as a model for the NYC Leadership Academy for school principals. Sir Michael Barber, former advisor to Tony Blair, also joined the effort, as did activist philanthropists like Eli Broad and later, Bill Gates. More than a dozen private-sector business leaders participated in the Klein-Bloomberg reform efforts, in a kind of “patrician liberalism,” according to United Federation of Teachers Vice President Leo Casey, citing a long American tradition “of elite reform from above” by individuals sincerely motivated to serve the greater good, but with little personal stake in the system, in the form of their own children in the public schools, for example. “Their theory of change is one that distrusts educators,” says Casey. “You don’t work with people in schools but impose various frameworks upon them and experiment. It’s a system designed for noneducators to be able to manage that system.” The new system focuses more on the "product" of greater efficiency, better graduation rates and higher test scores, than the process of teaching and learning. “For the longest time, the people who ran the education department were educators,” Casey says. “These folks aren’t educators. They don’t know how to have education conversations. They’re lawyers and MBAs who never spent a day in the classroom or running a school.” “When you have folks who don’t know or understand education, they think the union is trying to trick them,” says Casey. “What was a common language, and a common ground for conversation between the union and civic leaders, is not there.” Teaching and learning downgraded The 2003 restructuring centralized processes at the DOE, only to be undone in a second wave of reorganization in 2006. “Phase I involved depoliticizing the system, building coherence, and building capacity,” Klein said in September. Dissolving districts to create far larger regions shattered previous structures. Imposing a universal curriculum standardized content and teaching practices citywide. And developing like-minded teachers, principals and leadership expanded the DOE’s ability to bring its vision to the schools. “We built a system we knew would migrate to a very different state,” he added, which led to the second wave of reorganization at the DOE, in 2006, which decentralized power (in particular, the power of the principal’s pocketbook) out of DOE and to the individual schools, creating the empowered “principal as CEO” model that is the norm in schools today. “It’s a social-Darwinistic view of schools,” says UFT VP Casey. “They talk about 'empowerment.' A more accurate characterization is the devolution of responsibilities onto a school – if a school’s not functioning, it has to be the responsibility of the people in the school” and not the DOE. The position of Deputy Chancellor for Teaching and Learning, long a premier post in the education universe, has lost its luster and its strength in the Bloomberg-Klein reforms, critics say. “That position is the one that keeps turning over,” says Pedro Noguera, Professor of Teaching and Learning at NYU’s school of education, who also chaired a city task force on middle school performance. “That position doesn’t have a lot of power. It’s almost superfluous, now.” Turnover in the role has been steady under Klein. His first pick for Deputy Chancellor, Diana Lam, was forced to resign following an investigation for nepotism. His second nominee, Michele Cahill, was thwarted when the state denied her the same waiver of educational credentials that it had granted Klein. Finally the post went to Carmen Fariña, a respected longtime educator who rose through the leadership ranks. With nearly four decades of service in the city’s schools, Fariña brought enormous credibility to the position, and helped to advance and defend reforms like the universal curriculum and the DOE’s plan to end social promotion. Yet she did not participate in planning meetings, or help to develop the "blueprint" reforms she was asked to execute and present to the public. And she was discouraged from going out to spend time in the schools. Instead, Fariña was expected to manage Teaching and Learning from her desk at Tweed Courthouse. (As a local superintendent, Fariña routinely visited four schools a week.) “To me, the only thing I can judge is what you can see in the classroom,” said Fariña, who retired in 2006. “Schools doing excellent work in class instruction don’t always see it reflected in their Report Card.” Her successor, Marcia Lyles, recently accepted a position as head of a small school district in Delaware, leading Klein to appoint his fifth Deputy Chancellor in seven years: Santiago Taveras, who is considered "interim." (Leaders at a Manhattan high school where Taveras once worked have spoken of his shortfalls in curriculum planning, even with “a great deal of support.”) 'Contempt for the profession' The DOE’s increasing focus on data management as an instructional tool, and as a tool to motivate and reward leadership, in the form of $25,000 bonuses for principals at the schools making the greatest gains on state standardized tests, means that teachers have become technicians, according to the founding principal of a highly regarded and high-performing elementary school in Manhattan. “Education is a communal effort – it’s a people business, it’s all about relationships. Data is one small piece of it,” said the principal. “The brightest college graduates” – the same students sought by Klein-favored teacher-training programs Teach for America and New York City Teaching Fellows – “don’t want to become teachers because it’s so scripted, so formulaic,” she added. “There’s too much structure; they’re expected to become technicians. Teachers want to be decision-makers, find the teachable moments, explore the big ideas. If you’re driven to follow someone else’s agenda, you’re not honoring the child. Eyes only on test scores means no eyes on the children.” “There’s not enough focus on access to good teaching,” said NYU’s Noguera. “Higher-order thinking, the ability to write well, the ability to read and analyze complex text. The real issue is how to make sure kids are getting good instruction. With pay pegged to [test] scores, the drive is to test prep. Assessment is a tool, not the solution.” The extent of the reforms, many say, is a direct reflection of the diminished role of educators in the upper echelons of the DOE. Consider the department’s endorsement of unconventional educator-training programs, for example, which one veteran high school principal says shows "contempt for the profession." Teach for America and the city's Teaching Fellows program both recruit top grads and career-changers and thrust them into the classroom while earning their Masters degrees in education. Many of these unorthodox recruits end up teaching only briefly, studies show, before going on to other career options. “The idea that teaching is charity work, where young people parachute in for two or three years – what does that do for children?” the principal asked. “They have no idea of the human relationships and of the community educators need,” said the Manhattan principal. “That’s not a business model. Business is about selling things, not about people.” “Klein’s vision of the public schools is not one of a lifetime career, where you work with children all your professional life,” says UFT Vice President Leo Casey. “It’s a Peace Corps mentality – you spend two years teaching, then you’re off to your ‘real’ career.” In fact, Klein himself did a brief stint as a math teacher, during a break from law school in 1969. He also has spoken out often on teaching reform – and recently shared with the New York Times his desire to “slowly, over time,” reduce the numbers of teachers by 30 percent, while raising teacher salary by 30 percent as well. (The teachers' contract will expire in October.) Klein recognized teachers as "welcome assets" to learning, but envisions an education world where students will “basically work it out on their own,” and where, in two or three decades, schools will be “a hybrid model where there is a physical school, a place where they go and have clubs and sports activities and drama, but then, for their academic course work, they might take most of it online.” “He is so enraptured with accountability, Report Cards, and driving the test scores up that he’s forgotten that the primal scene for all education reform is in the classroom,” said Manhattan Institute senior fellow Sol Stern, who writes frequently on local education. “It matters what you do in a classroom. Teacher quality and a curriculum stressing strong content knowledge are the keys to raising achievement.” Fewer teachers earning more may personify the business-efficiency model, but “teachers are not like lawyers or MBAs,” says Casey. “They’re not motivated by money or power. They want to make a difference in the lives of kids.” “Teachers are viewed by the chancellor as the problem, not the solution,” said a former Klein cabinet member. “He’s always been averse to having people with education experience around him. You don’t need teachers at the table to fix the school system.” But businesses have gone bust Mayor Bloomberg first took office in the city’s boom years, when business culture dominated. Now, as financial edifices topple daily, many ask whether the paradigm of competition, incentives, and free-market reform still pertains. “The Mayor’s alliances cross political lines, from corporate leaders, through the financial and publishing industries, real estate, insurance, technology. He relies on, and rewards, corporate leaders for education initiatives,” says one prominent scholar. “Why should we have such respect for the business model, given the chaos it’s created in the country at large?” “Bloomberg and Klein are geniuses at marketing their products,” says Stern, of the Manhattan Institute. “But then, so was Enron. If all these investment banks were cooking the books, it's becoming clearer to me that this is also happening in the education world.” “It is absolutely bizarre that the head of the DOE has no education background or experience,” said State Assembly Member Rory Lancman of Queens, sponsor of a bill to make the DOE a city agency subject to local laws, which do not now pertain to the mayorally-controlled entity. “No one would accept a police department head without a background in law enforcement. The Chancellorship should not be someone’s first job in education.” Klein’s long-term goal is a financial one, according to one veteran administrator: "Half the number of public schools, double the number of charter schools – there will be less people in pension plans, and less money spent per capita each time a charter school opens." “There is no other agency that’s so out of whack, in terms of who runs it and what the agency is for,” says State Senator Bill Perkins of Harlem, whose district has experienced conflict over the number of charter schools versus traditional public schools. “People with no credentials whatsoever regarding education are in charge of the system and telling people how it should be run.” - Helen Zelon Editor's Note: In preparing this article, City Limits spoke with former and current DOE staffers and cabinet members, former and current school principals, academics, and critics on the left and right of the political spectrum, nearly all of whom requested anonymity out of concern for possible detrimental consequences for speaking candidly on the record on a sensitive issue. “The incredible concentration of political and financial power leaves no room for dissent or difference,” said one person. Many expressed worry that their schools might suffer or their programs might be jeopardized, given the depth and reach of Bloomberg-funded civic and philanthropic projects citywide. The mayor’s broad and deep connections across political, financial, social and philanthropic networks limit comments to those kept off the record – and, critics say, strongly influence largely favorable coverage in the mainstream media. The DOE, despite prior verbal agreement to review and consider questions related to this article, declined comment, and would not address the near-universal desire for anonymity.
June 1, 2009 A NEW STUDY marking 15 years of education reform points to tough challenges in cities and towns with burgeoning enrollments of low-income students and those lacking English skills. It's a sobering report. But it's not intimidating. Education reform in Massachusetts has always been focused on elevating students in hardscrabble communities. Lawmakers understood in 1993 that students in Chelsea, Lawrence, Holyoke, and other poor cities couldn't compete for academic honors with their suburban counterparts. But the Legislature could equalize average spending per student and ensure that every school district had sufficient resources to implement the state's new academic standards. Fifteen years later, the study, by the think tank MassINC, finds that an achievement gap still exists between middle-class and low-income students. But the authors conclude that the gap would be wider without education reform. And many students in poor communities hold their own in a state that leads the country in performance on national standardized tests. Given the low starting points in the early 1990s, the impact of education reform in poor communities has been nothing short of "striking," says the report. Last year, 74 percent of African-American 10th-graders passed the high-stakes MCAS exam in math and English on their first try, compared with just 37 percent in 2001. Public education remains one bright spot in a state where so many are frustrated by weaknesses in other systems, from pensions to the MBTA. The study notes sharp increases over the past 15 years in the number of low-income students in Randolph, Everett, Brockton, and other communities increasingly abandoned by the middle class. Immigrant students with limited English skills take the empty seats. But the arrival of newcomers with lower incomes doesn't have to translate into poorly performing schools. For example, smart school systems recruit internationally for teachers capable of working interchangeably in English and a foreign language. And smart lawmakers will provide funding for such efforts. The strategies to improve student achievement in poor communities are largely understood. Unknown is whether today's lawmakers will show the same resolve as their earlier counterparts who committed at least $1 billion in additional funding each year for K-12 education. Extending the school day with academic and enrichment programs works wonders in low-income schools. But the state Senate's current budget plan shortchanges that effort. The state still needs an incentive plan that places the most effective teachers in low-income districts. And teachers unions need to drop their outmoded resistance to merit pay for top teachers. In a soft economy, the kids aren't getting any richer. But they can get smarter.
By Katy Jordan When Chidiogo Onwuakor emigrated from Nigeria with her family in 2005, she left behind her home and her native tongue, but held fast to one simple principle: “If I wanted to be the valedictorian, I couldn’t slack.” On Wednesday, she will give the valedictory speech - in English - at the Social Justice Academy in Hyde Park. As a high-achieving African immigrant, she is not alone. According to Census numbers, African immigrants have a 96 percent high-school graduation rate nationwide - 12 percent higher than the national average. “Many Africans, they have a lot to prove,” said Onwuakor, who plans to study pre-med in the fall at UMass-Amherst. “This is the chance to do something with their lives, given the opportunity that was denied to them back home.” John Mugane, director of the African Language Program at Harvard and a native of Kenya, said the high graduation levels aren’t surprising. “The whole idea is that when you come from a colonial country, education is what grants you upward mobility,” Mugane said. “No African comes from a line of millionaires.” The process to obtain visas to come to the United States is extremely competitive, Mugane said, calling the U.S. embassies in many African countries “difficult” and “highly selective” in granting visas to prospective applicants. This may account for some of the high graduation levels, and relative success rates, of African immigrants. Onwuakor, whose family spent years trying to obtain a visa to come here, agrees. “The economic difficulties that (African) countries face, it kind of motivates one to work hard. Also, many families spend 10 years trying to get a visa, so when you finally get an opportunity, it is expected that you’re going to do your best and make your parents proud and accomplish what you want,” she said. Her mother, a registered nurse, and father, a caretaker for people with mental illness, are both “very proud” of her, Onwuakor said. Where she is from - a village in Nigeria of roughly 300 - there are no valedicatorians. Now, like her brother and sister before her, she is off to college. And she is not alone. Michael Wogbeh, a native of Liberia who immigrated to Boston less than three years ago, was an honor roll student and track star at New Mission High School in Roxbury. On Friday, he stood with the rest of his class at graduation and received his diploma. “It was a great day to graduate,” said Wogbeh, who also hopes to pursue a pre-med track in the fall at American International College. The challenges in the United States are different, he said, but so are the opportunities. In the United States, he said, success can be had “if you know who you are, and what you want to be.”
NJ VIOLATES RECOVERY ACT IN PROPOSED USE OF FEDERAL STIMULUS FUNDS FOR EDUCATION
June 3, 2009 – Newark, NJ The Education Law Center (ELC) is calling on Secretary of Education Arne Duncan to reject New Jersey’s application for federal education stimulus funding because the State does not propose to fund increases and “equity and adequacy” adjustments in its new school funding formula. New Jersey’s amended application is dated May 28, 2009, and requests an initial allocation of State Fiscal Stabilization Funds under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). Today, ELC sent Secretary Duncan a letter detailing defects in the State application. “The ARRA is quite clear on how stabilization funds are to be used for fiscal years 2009 to 2011,” said David Sciarra, ELC Executive Director and author of the letter to Secretary Duncan. “New Jersey does not intend to fund state funding formula increases, including ‘equity and adequacy adjustments,’ as the ARRA requires.” In an earlier letter to Governor Jon Corzine, ELC noted that the proposed state budget for FY2010 does not fully fund the School Funding Reform Act (SFRA), the State’s school aid formula enacted in January 2008. The under-funding of formulas enacted prior to October 1, 2008, is contrary to express provisions of the ARRA. The letter to Secretary Duncan also notes that, according to New Jersey’s application, the state plans to spend almost 80% of its stabilization funds in FY2010, “leaving only $239.5 million to address formula funding in FY2011.” “Most importantly, the State’s application provides no assurance, or any other information, on how New Jersey will meet the formula funding requirements of ARRA in 2011,” Sciarra writes, “particularly when the SFRA will generate further equity and adequacy increases for New Jersey’s at-risk students and school districts.” ELC also notes that the State’s application contradicts the May 28 NJ Supreme Court decision in the landmark Abbott v. Burke litigation. This decision allowed the State to implement the SFRA, but conditioned on full funding of the formula. The Court noted that federal stabilization dollars provide a “substantial cushion” to allow the State to fund the SFRA formula through 2011. Read the full text of the ELC letter to Secretary Duncan and New Jersey’s May 21, 2009, ARRA Application and May 28, 2009, Amended Application.
On June 2, 2009, the CAYL Institute hosted a "Statewide Open House Day for Family Child Care Programs" from 10 AM - Noon. Massachusetts families, advocates, and legislators are invited to visit high quality, exemplary family child care providers in action across the Commonwealth.
Dr. Sherri Killins, Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care Commissioner, visited the Funtimes Family Child Care in Watertown (pictured).
State Senator Sonia Chang-Diaz spent the morning with a family child care program in Jamaica Plain (pictured).
For more information, background materials, and photos and video (coming soon), please visit: http://cayl.org/fccpolicyforum The Policy Forum is sponsored by the Nellie Mae Education Foundation and the Schott Foundation for Public Education.
Weekly Highlights How often do you have one of those moments when you look around you and truly believe that you are among people who not only can, but will make a difference in our world? Even as folks who work on a daily basis with grassroots organizations and community activists, this Tuesday's trainings - focused on youth organizers and their capacity to make real change - was an inspiring event! Organized by the Youth Policy Initiative, we gathered with nonprofit staff and student activists from across the state to discuss how they talk about government - and how they interact with their communities. For more information on this exciting day, see Community News below. With the importance of ongoing discussions surrounding our state budget priorities and tax policies, we only hope that we can all be as engaged as these young adults are. That is why we are renewing our offer to provide Train the Trainer sessions in your community! For more information on how you can be a founding member of one of our regional member-training teams, see below under Civic Engagement. Here is a look at what else has been going on across Massachusetts: Civic Engagement Goal: By 2013, the voice and input of the state's multi-racial, multi-ethnic communities will create a counterweight to the currently dominant voice and will be tangibly reflected in the public decision making process. Get Involved: Now more than ever, it is critical for concerned residents to weigh in on the important decisions being made by legislators and state officials. That is why ONE Massachusetts is offering updated trainings - in English and Spanish - designed to give Massachusetts residents the tools they need to understand the implications of tax and budget policies and to advocate effectively on all areas of public policy. To take place in a free Train the Trainer session - either for your own education, or to become a ONE Massachusetts Regional Trainer - contact one of the following ONE Massachsuetts staff members:
• Boston Residents - Ask Your Questions! MassVOTE wants to know what questions you would like asked of the Boston Mayoral and At-Large City Councilor candidates. Contact Cheryl Crawford at MassVOTE with your questions today! Updates: Revenue Goal: By 2013, a fair, adequate, and stable tax system will be implemented. It will raise sufficient revenue so that state and local governments can fund the array of services needed. With policymakers still scrambling to erase the red ink in the current fiscal year, the Senate passed a $646 million supplemental spending bill that includes $64 million for the Boston Medical Center, spending the House opposes, setting up a likely conference committee on budget fixes for the fiscal year that has 26 days remaining. Legally required due to a $1.5 billion downgrade in tax projections, Patrick's budget rewrite, overdue by about two weeks, lowers spending by 2.5 percent below projected fiscal 2009 levels and by roughly 3.8 percent below his original fiscal 2010 budget, calling for $794 million more in cuts. [State House News Service] [More on Governor's Budget - including above video - at Boston.com] Government Reform Goal: By 2013, a transparent, accessible and accountable state and local policy-making process will be in place. In a joint statement, the three leaders said, "The news of yesterday's indictments and the nature of the charges are deeply disturbing. All three of us have put forth serious proposals dealing with ethics, lobbying and campaign finance reform, the details of which are currently being negotiated in conference committee. In light of the recent developments, we believe it is critical that we stand united in our shared commitment to restoring the public trust. Therefore, we have agreed that ethics reform legislation will be passed and signed into law swiftly that includes the best provisions from all three of our proposals. We owe the people of Massachusetts nothing less." [More information on Ethics Reform: Emily Rooney Video, Boston.com] Outside Section 7A calls for Secretary of Administration and Finance to create and maintain a searchable website detailing the costs, recipients, and purposes for all appropriations, including contracts, grants, subcontracts, tax expenditures and other subsidies funded by the state government. The database will include state revenue sources and expenses including the "quasi-public" agencies. The web portal shall be accessible to the public and updated on a regular basis. Outside Section 15 will allow a meaningful review of the hundreds of millions of dollars spent each year in tax credits for various initiatives from historic preservation to brownfields restoration, to economic stimulus to employment. For more information on the letter, or on budget transparency, please contact MASSPIRG. Community News Exploring Attitudes About Youth & Talking About Government Over one hundred and fifty community advocates - both adults and students - gathered Tuesday to explore deeply-held beliefs in the United States surrounding our government, and the perceptions of youth in our communities. Because research has proven that teens are often somehow seen as both 'our hope for the future' and 'the cause of all of our problems," the group explored ways to effectively communicate about their activities within our communities to build safer, healthier places for all of us to live. A few facts about the Millenial Generation (those born between 1982 and 2003) that surprised some attendees included the following:
This has certainly been an interesting week, and today’s events were no different. As Republican Senators filed into the chamber this morning, a group of protesters led by Citizen Action chanted “Voters Not Donors” and “Senate Not For Sale.” At the same time, protests in Buffalo and Rochester were also taking place – Buffalo’s in front of the State Office Building, and Rochester’s in front of the Paychex offices (Tom Golisano’s company). Today we sent a strong message that a billionaire’s political power grab will not silence the people’s reform agenda – legislation that would create affordable health care and housing, environmental protections, marriage equality, and public financing of elections. And throughout the week, you made calls and sent emails and faxes to key members of the legislature. Our actions this week have really made a difference. We’ve made it clear that New York State government must work for all New Yorkers. Yesterday, we asked you to take 3 actions: call the Democratic Senator(s) closest to you, sign up to be a Citizen Action First Responder, and fill out a friends and neighbors list. Today, we need you to do it again: Thanks so much for everything you’ve done this week!
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The Snap Schott is distributed by the Schott Foundation for Public Education. For more information, please visit www.schottfoundation.org. |
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