Gov. Cuomo, at another Bronx event, said 44 of the 178 schools in the state labeled as failing are in the borough. And 20 of those have been in the dismal category for a decade.
“You want to talk about a failure of government?” Cuomo said. “You want to talk about a scandal in government? To me that’s the scandal. It’s a total abrogation of the responsibility of government.”
He said schools that fail three straight years should be taken over by “a not-for-profit, another school district or a turnaround expert.”
Cuomo's call came after Ruben Diaz Sr., the only crook of the Four Amigos not in prison, said the NYCDOE dumps the "worst teachers" into his borough and called for Cuomo's education reform agenda, including a raising of the charter cap, to be passed in order to remedy that situation.
The Bronx has the highest rate of poverty in the nation, and there is plenty of research to show that the higher the rate of poverty, the more schools struggle.
Let's say Cuomo and Diaz get their way and huge swaths of the public school system are privatized, charters sprout up all over the place and "turnaround experts" pop up in every neighborhood to work their magic on failing schools.
Do Cuomo and Diaz really think the problems facing the public schools in the Bronx will be alleviated?
If so they should look at New Orleans to see how large-scale turnaround efforts go:
Post-Hurricane Katrina the Louisiana Department of Education (LDE) took over more than 107 public schools in New Orleans claiming that they were failing. Post–Katrina Education Reform has drastically rebuilt the public education system into practically an all charter system creating the largest percentage of charter schools than any city in the country. In developing reforms to rebuild New Orleans public schools, the state attracted more than three billion dollars from the philanthropic community, charter school proponents, foreign countries and the federal government. Over the last six years, numerous reports have been written citing the RSD with unprecedented success while proclaiming it as the national model for turning around urban school districts. Despite these reports of the miracle s in New Orleans, the reality is that the reform school district in New Orleans (Recovery School District) is one of the worst performing school districts in the state of Louisiana. In its recent assessment, the Louisiana State Department of Education ranked the Recovery School District academically 69th out of 70 school districts in Louisiana. Despite the billions of dollars, despite all of the media spin, and despite claims from state education officials, the education reforms in New Orleans have failed (Deshotels)
But I don't think Cuomo and Diaz really believe in turnaround miracles - this just about the payoffs they're getting from the charter industry and their hedge fund and Wall Street backers to privatize as many schools as they can
Because both Cuomo and Diaz are on the charter payroll, that's for sure.
And there's lot of money to be made working that angle.
NYCDOE dumps "the worst teachers" in the city into the Bronx? Seriously Lord Cuomo? In your blackest heart of hearts do you really believe this? And you really believe that the "best teachers" can close the learning gap produced by generational poverty and the hopelessness it breeds?
ReplyDeleteThen take this simple suggestion: A "Trading Places" pilot program that would save a lot of time, money, and energy. Take the best 8th grade math and ELA teachers in your Byram Hills district and switch them with the "worst" math and ELA teachers in the Bronx. Give it two years to be fair - and watch the miracle happen. Those "worst" teachers from the Bronx will suddenly find themselves on the highly effective list. What simple way to improve teacher performance. And its free. Oh, and those Byram Hills teachers - you can simply fill their resignations with some TFAers.
We can export turnaround experts from Newark.
ReplyDeleteOr Roosevelt, LI
DeleteWhat I am more concerned about is what happens to the literal thousands of teachers who would be "displaced" due to charter schools taking over the schools that close. Will these teachers become ATR's? Will these teachers be forced placed in another school? Or rather, will these teachers just be plain out fired? I don't have one bit of hope that the lame UFT will do anything to guarantee these teachers a way to keep their jobs.
ReplyDeleteNo. If he gets to put those schools into receiverships with emergency managers, the teachers' contracts are voided. They won't even get to be ATR's. They'll be fired. Look at what happened in New Orleans.
DeleteThe contracts would be voided, but would they be able to outright fire the teachers would be a legal question...Louisiana is a right to work state. NY state has civil service laws..Would the receiver be able to circumvent those too? What would be the cause to fire tenured teachers in those schools?
DeleteThough it's unnecessary to point to the readers of this blog, perhaps someone should mention to our Reptilian Governor that the "status quo" that he rails against is in fact the so-called reform agenda he promotes, which has dominated the school system for more than a dozen years.
ReplyDeleteHigh stakes testing, privatization, loss of teacher rights and autonomy, schools run by inexperienced, authoritarian know nothings have brought us to where we are today, and our "needed-four-chances-to-pass-the-bar-exam" Governor wants to double down on demonstrably failed policies?
It's yet more evidence that crime and incompetence pay, as long as the Overclass is supporting it.
Yeah, baby its coming. Randi opened the door for it in Massachusetts.
ReplyDeleteAtlas
I'm sorry to say that it will take the implementation of the Cuomo plan to wake masses of teachers up - and how the UFT will try to waffle its way through this. Right now the ATR agreement as bad as it is will keep these people employed so along with the Cuomo privatization plan must come some plan to be able to easily fire these people. Thus the co-joined attack on ending tenure protections. Of course any non-tenured people in these schools would be discontinued immediately and probably entered with a mark against their names for future employment as having been responsible for a failing school.
ReplyDeleteThey don't seem to fire any of the non-tenured people. Probably because they are still cheap, and without tenure. They just keep stringing them along year after year.
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