Perdido 03

Perdido 03

Sunday, January 10, 2016

Cuomo Sounds Like Mulgrew On Community Schools

Tom Precious in the Buffalo News:

In his speech Sunday, Cuomo also appeared to soften his rhetoric substantially from last year on the causes of public schools that are deemed to be “failing” as learning centers for their students. A year ago, Cuomo released a report showing 109,000 children across the state go to school in 178 persistently failing schools – marked by high dropout rates, low test scores and other factors. At the time, he was pushing a plan to allow for outside takeover of failing schools and making it harder for teachers to get tenure.

On Sunday, he criticized “the bureaucracy” that resists change in the education system, but he talked of “community” school-type settings as the solution. “We want to take those failing schools and say, ‘Look, the problem isn’t just education,’ ” he said.

Cuomo said that if people think that the problems in such failing schools are teachers and the education system, “then you’re missing the point, because the kids in those schools need a lot more than a teacher and normal education.”

The Cuomo budget plan to be released Wednesday will call for $100 million to expand an array of services offered at failing schools. A precise breakdown by school was not available Sunday, but he suggested it will offer more money for nutrition, mentoring, afterschool, counseling and other programs in the failing schools. “Don’t call it a school. Call it a community school,” he said.

A Cuomo spokesman noted that community schools were added “as an eventual product of the process” involving failing schools. “This is consistent with that,” the spokesman said.

What to make of all this?

Why is Cuomo "softening" his tone on so-called "failing" schools and calling for the community school model to solve the problems.

Well, I have a theory:

Remember all those meetings Mulgrew has had with Cuomo (he's # 4 on the all-time meeting list) and the July lunch date he had with the governor and his secretary, Bill Mulrow, in New York?

Remember when Mulgrew told the DA that there's not much they expect to get done this legislative session?

Looks like some kind of deal was worked out between Mulgrew and Cuomo.

Here's what I bet happened:

Cuomo wants the law to remain on the books so he doesn't look like a complete schmuck, having the thing dismantled one year after spending so much time, energy and political capital getting it through.

The unions want community schools to be the model for fixing "failing" schools.

I bet Mulgrew and the unions agreed they wouldn't push against Cuomo's odious 2015 education reform law that imposed receivership and 50% test scores in teacher evaluations in return for Cuomo supporting Mugrew (and Randi"s) beloved community school model.

I've seen a lot of teachers on social media wondering why the unions aren't pushing to have the 2015 education law changed.

It makes no sense, what with the governor under 40% in job approval and running scared that he's going to be charged by the US attorney for corruption, that the unions wouldn't seek to dismantle last year's law.

In addition, it's an election year - when would you ever have more leverage on pols in Albany than in an election year?

But they're not working to dismantle Cuomo's education reform law at all - instead they're tamping down expectations, saying nothing can get done this year because the politicians are busy and don't want to talk to them.

Seems odd but look no further than the way Cuomo's talking about community schools to get an indication for why.

A deal appears to have been worked out, with the unions selling teachers down the river on test scores/APPR and schools on receivership in return for Cuomo pushing community schools.

Just theorizing, of course, but given the history of UFT/NYSUT sellouts and given all the meetings Mulgrew has had with Cuomo,idle theorizing it isn't.

It makes no sense that the unions wouldn't be fighting tooth and nail to have that 2015 law dismantled unless they got something back from Cuomo in order to sit on their hands and do nothing.

And you know how Mulgrew (and Randi) love community schools.

There we have it - another vaunted UFT sellout.

Your union leadership at work, selling you out, one meeting at a time.

13 comments:

  1. Community schools are slated for failing Newark Public Schools as well. I am not a believer in coincidence. "Love is in the air."

    Abigail Shure

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  2. It's laughable that Mulgrew thinks Cuomo will uphold his end of any "deal", especially after what Cuomo pulled with the Working Families Party last election. Cuomo is a sociopath and a liar and only makes deals with his deep-pocketed donors.

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  3. This is why have to laugh at the state hacks who wax indignant when we call them out for not even trying. Like it or not this clown is their boss and in an election year, he, as a union president has just advised union members not to bother politicians or work to get them thrown out if they've done us dirt. Watch how many of the heavy hearts scumbags get donations from teacher unions. We are being told to to lay still and try to enjoy it by people we pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to so they will fight for us.

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  4. Another reason to stop paying dues if the time comes...

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  5. Once again, Andrew Cuomo should be indicted, prosecuted and jailed. Rahm Emmanuel should be indicted, prosecuted and jailed. Hillary Clinton should be indicted, prosecuted and jailed. However, the justice department is not a separate branch of government, it is not independent. Loretta Lynch was appointed by and is accountable to Barack Obama. Each one of the fore mentioned politicians are protected by Obama because their indictments would harm the Democrats in the 2016 elections. They will not be indicted because of partisan political interests of the Democrats. The interest of the public and justice be damned.

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  6. NYCDOE currently has over 4010 guidance counselors in excess wasting away and not utilizing their ability to help students. But, the DOE still rotates guidance counselors who then basically are not able to help students because these new principals from bloombergs leadership academy are clueless

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    1. Is that a typo? Over 4010 guidance counselors in excess? That can't be right. Where are you getting this information from?

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  7. I imagine that the leaders of the State Legislature--Assembly and Senate-- have made it clear that they don't want to "reopen" the education legislation anymore than does Andrew Cuomo.

    And, given how well the "Renewal School" model for changing "struggling schools" to "community schools" is going in the City--which is disastrously--why wouldn't Cuomo want to set up his BFF, Mayor deBlasio, so that he can say next year that even the "community school" model can't be relied upon to transform school culture and performance?

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  8. I witnessed the other day a student being reprimanded with a teacher, parent and principal sitting at a conference desk. THe interesting thing about my observation was that the student was speaking and looking at her cell phone after each time she spoke and not one of the others said anything. WOw, this is insane people the inmates truly are running the asylum. If I were in that meeting that student would not be looking at her cell phone every 7 seconds,,,I timed it.What a disgrace

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  9. Seriously, why do they call them "Community" schools if it serves students from multiple communities as far as 1 1/2 hours away?

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  10. I heard rumor that the DOE already knows its closing Boys and Girls HS after this year...and already knows who next years principal will be...

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  11. It will definitely create about something good attitude to their own and also analyzing of different other factors would become more easy.

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