Gov. Cuomo's office has released the names of educators who will be on his "Reimagine Education" advisory council. They will work with "other experts" including the state and the Gates Foundation "to answer key questions about what education should look in the future."
From Chalkbeat:
Below is the list of people on the advisory council:
- Kaweeda Adams, Superintendent, Albany City School District
- Jaime Alicea, Superintendent, Syracuse City School District
- Jody Arnhold, Founder, Dance Educator Laboratory
- Melodie Baker, Director of Education, United Way of Buffalo & Erie County
- Kyle Belokopitsky, Executive Director, New York State PTA
- Meg Benke, Provost, SUNY Empire State College
- Jackie Burbridge, Parent, Suffolk County
- Katie Campos, Partner, Strategic Collective
- Anthony Collins, President, Clarkson University
- Stephanie Conklin, Master Teacher, South Colonie Central School District
- George Dermody, CEO, The Children Home of Wyoming Conference
- Karol Mason, President, John Jay College of Criminal Justice
- Austin Ostro, President, SUNY Student Assembly
- Martin Palermo, Master Teacher, William Floyd School District
- Roger Ramsammy, President, Hudson Valley Community College
- Seema Rivera, President, Guilderland Central School District School Board
- Shannon Tahoe, Interim Commissioner, New York State Education Department
- Dennis Walcott, Former Chancellor, New York City Department of Education
- Randi Weingarten, President, American Federation of Teachers
Is anyone optimistic after seeing this list of names? The AFT has that seat at the table. Look out. I guess Walcott didn't do enough to destroy our schools when he was Chancellor.
Maybe some of the other names on here will represent our interests.
What, Cathie Black was too busy?
ReplyDeleteWhere is the coordinated union response @PSC_CUNY? @HunterPSCCUNY? @NYGovCuomo is using this crisis to further undermine public education. Union leadership's strongly-worded statements will (as usual) make no difference to him. We need a plan for mobilization and action.
ReplyDeleteAs usual, people who aren't in the classroom making decisions for education.
ReplyDeleteNothing new just an opportunity, um ... crisis to take advantage of.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.educationevolving.org/files/events/Education-Reimagined-Vision.pdf
Carranza is obsessed with a simplistic racial reordering of the entire system — and is even on record saying the coronavirus crisis should be exploited to further his vision.
ReplyDeleteThousands of kids who’ve worked hard to win entry into a good school must feel like Carranza pulled the rug out from under them. What a fine lesson the chancellor is teaching: If you struggle to achieve, you’re a sucker.
With Randi being part of this the UFT will back whatever these education geniuses decide.
ReplyDeleteJames when is the article coming on how to OPT-OUT of the UFT? Hopefully,you write a detailed one!!!
Email me please 7:58. iceuft@gmail.com Thanks.
ReplyDeleteThe website is newchoiceny
ReplyDeleteThis reimagine will be the lightning rod for what will surely be the shit storm of the century for NYC public schools, come September. Gates has no credentials to make any educational decisions. His money should not be considered. The education of children is not a capitalistic endeavor that needs input from that criminal. When Cuomo allows a billionaire who was found guilty by the US Supreme Court of illegal trade practices and monopoly - really theft- to come in solely because of money, Cuomo ethics are in question and he is doing a severe injustice, not only to the ideals of education, but to all those who are heavily invested in it. Their investment being blood, sweat and tears and fighting the good fight. Cuomo is the devil. You need to say it at least three times out loud so that it sinks in. Don’t forget it. He HATES NYC public school teachers. He made New York City pay for charter school rents. The UFT and the AFT cannot trust him. The fact that Randy Weingarten would sit at the table shows that she cannot be trusted. Walcott is neither here nor there. A pleasant man who was merely Bloomberg’s puppet. The UFT should ask deBlasio to get involved, he will enrage Cuomo and draw attention to this Gates nonsense.
ReplyDeleteHopefully the discussions that take place with this group is reported. It is of great interest to know the comments of all involved in this reimagining education.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that weingarten was for merit pay and negotiated the catastrophe of the 05 contract and is on this panel is very scary.
ReplyDeleteBut, she answers questions with a question and speaks in a low tone and references her upbringing in every breath and people feel she can walk on water.
Weingarten cares about weingarten. Nobody else.
No hiring freeze at the top...Executive Director For School Improvement
ReplyDeleteNYC Department of EducationNew York, NY
5 days agoBe among the first 25 applicants
Smiling faces of LinkedIn members
See who NYC Department of Education has hired for this role
Apply on company website
Position Summary As part of the Comprehensive School Support (CSS) Strategy, the Executive Director for School Improvement will work under the guidance of the Executive Superintendent in providing support and leadership to staff working on school and continuous improvement to ensure that schools and districts meet State accountability requirements in order to close the achievement gap. Within the Borough/Citywide Office, the Executive Director for School Improvement will work to dramatically accelerate school improvement and transformation in alignment with CSS and bring coherence to the organizational efforts to improve oCompanyomes for all students. Leveraging Improvement Science, the Executive Director for School Improvement will focus on taking a proactive approach in developing strategies around planning, implementing, and refining research-based school improvement strategies. Performs related work.
Reports to Executive Superintendent
Direct Reports Director of School Improvement, School Improvement Coaches
Key Relationships The Office of the First Deputy Chancellor, all Central Offices, Executive Superintendent, Executive Director, Superintendents and their teams, Directors of Continuous Improvement, Director of Academic Response Team, NYSED
4 days are in CAR!
ReplyDeleteOnce again, thanks, James. Your information is once again more accurate than information from UFT, secretaries and administrators.
Like I always say, I don’t always agree with all your takes, but you and the legendary Chaz have always had the beat interest of UFT members in mind! Thanks James and RIP Eric Chaz.
Thanks for the kind words Mike but it wasn't me, it was David Irons who wrote to Mulgrew and got the CAR info from Staten Island UFT. I was just passing along the information.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate you passing along the info, James.
ReplyDeleteHave any of your contacts been told when a concrete calendar for next school year will be coming out?
Thanks
Mike, That is a great question. Mulgrew said they were looking to finalize the calendar at his April Consultation with the Chancellor. That was April 24 I believe. I gather the uncertainty with the entire virus situation is holding it up. I hope it isn't a screwed-up like last year's Dec 23 fiasco. That seems like a different lifetime now.
ReplyDeleteJames,
ReplyDeleteI do recall on mulgrew’s town hall that he stated the calendar was being finalized. I believe that was 3-4 weeks ago.
Funny you mentioned the December 23rd fiasco. I forgot about that with all that had been happening.
The next few weeks should be interesting.
We are in mid-Mayb and there is a ton of business that needs to be done before June 26th.
I wish the union would be more transparent with discussions on ratings(will danielsen or S/U be implemented?), sbo votes, preference sheets, comp time positions, excessing and in my mind, the most important issue of how will the hiring freeze be enforced?
I recently read that teach for America told candidates starting in the fall that their orientations will be completely online, so that tells me we will still have TFA teachers in our schools.
Will the freeze be for charter schools as well?
Unfortunately, I feel that the UFT and their hands off policies and mindset will come back to haunt them at unprecedented times like these.
In my mind, principals will play huge games if FSF is not abolished. Atr numbers will increase and atrs will be told you are not a ‘proper fit’ and rookies will be hired.
There is a great deal of end of the year business that needs to be done. My wife did get a preference sheet and one school I know of is voting on PROSE.
ReplyDeleteYou are making a very valid point on wondering if the freeze is real.
One of my buddies was excessed via email he received in august.
ReplyDeleteThe uft states that excessing should(key word being should) be done by June 15th.
To be fair to principals, this year their budgets will be in flux.
The start of next school year has potential to be chaotic.
Will people still retire who are eligible to retire? Will excessing be done by the rules?
Hopefully, the UFT will fight, but we all know the UFT loves new membership paying dues and atrs paying dues so the UFT usually wins
Up to all of us to make union fight. It's cliche but U are the union.
ReplyDeleteI don't want to hear any teachers complaining about class size or that they are overworked if the ATR still exists. Those teachers can easily be used to reduce class sizes and take the burden off other teachers instead of just covering classes. The appointed teachers should be the ones complaining, not the ATRs.
ReplyDelete642,
ReplyDeletePeople have been saying this for over a decade.
Read any post from this blog’s archives or any blog from all the other archive.
The issue is FSF. They won’t use atrs to reduce class sizes bc atrs are not the teachers of record.
Because of fsf, principals have a budget. Atrs are not a part of it.
So, for the zillion things time, eliminate fsf and you don’t have these issues. Sadly, the doe and UFT won’t do this. Weingarten negotiated a 2005 contract that created atrs and the city then created fsf.
To the doe, having atrs is not that big of a deal. They harass some of them until the ATR retires or quits and then the doe hires a new teacher who won’t last long.
The UFT gets the dues from the ATR and new hires.
This is why atrs complain. Please pay attention.
Be well!