Preet Bharara Launches Probe Into Homicide At State Prison

This news should throw chills into Cuomo:

ALBANY — U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara is investigating the death of an inmate at the state's Fishkill prison.

The Manhattan-based federal prosecutor said in a statement that a joint probe with Dutchess County District Attorney William Grady is investigating the death of Samuel Harrell, who died after several prison guards beat him, according to affidavits from more than a dozen other prisoners first reported by The New York Times.

State officials announced Tuesday that Fishkill was getting a new superintendent whose mandate would include reviewing “all safety concerns” in the building where Harrell died. The Correctional Association, an advocacy group with a legislative mandate to inspect state prisons, had called on the U.S. Department of Justice to launch a probe of conditions in the state's prison system, citing a “pervasive culture of violence and abuse.”

Spokespeople for the state's Department of Corrections and Community Supervision did not immediately return an email seeking comment.

The NY Times has reported over the past few weeks that there have been 60+ abuse allegations levied against guards at Clinton Correction Facility since June as well as allegations that a group of corrections officers known as the "Beat Up Squad" had beaten a prisoner to death at Fishkill prison, then covered the murder up by claiming he died of a complications from synthetic marijuana use.

Other than the Times and the Times Union, the abuse allegations and homicide were ignored by news media around the state.

The Daily News ignored the abuse allegations and the homicide even as they blasted Bill de Blasio and his handling of Rikers Island two days in a row on the front cover of the paper.

Same goes for New York politicos - for example, Criminal Justice Reform Warrior Hakeem Jeffries, who had just given Cuomo an award from the Urban League for his "leadership" on criminal justice reform issues, completely ignored the Clinton/Fishkill allegations.

With Bharara picking up the probe into the Fishkill homicide, the story ought to be ignored no more.

It's a big story and it needs to get the same attention that the Rikers abuse has gotten.

We'll see if it does.

Given that the story affects Cuomo and not de Blasio, I have a feeling it won't get the attention it deserves from either media or politicos.

That's how things have gone so far and I see no reason for any of that to change.

Hope I'm wrong - what's going on in the state prison system is horrendous, needs to be stopped and those responsible need to be brought to justice.

Times-Union/Siena Poll: 43% Do Not Support Current Use Of Standardized Tests

So many great things in the Times-Union/Siena poll on education issues that was released yesterday.

I have already posted how the public overwhelmingly supports teachers over the NYSED, the Regents and Governor Cuomo when it comes to doing what is right for children.

I have posted too about how the public isn't buying into the argument that schools are suffering from substandard technology and need a couple of billion for upgrades (so that testing can be conducted online, of course.)

Now I'd like to point out how the TU/Siena poll found that 43% of upstate New Yorkers do not support the current use of standardized tests while 29% do support the current use.

28% said they didn't know enough to say.

Now this is no slam dunk number of people opposed to the current use of standardized testing, but is a healthy plurality and if we have learned anything since the CCSS implementation started, the longer the education reform agenda goes, the higher the numbers of people opposed to it grow.

So while it's totally possible that the 28% who didn't know enough about the issue to respond to the question could join with those who support the use of testing as it is now, the likelihood is that a large number of those people will join the opposed group.

We've seen that happen with CCSS overall - the more people become familiar with the Common Core, the higher the negatives it receives in polls and the larger the opposition grows.

In the TU/Siena poll, 46% oppose the implementation of the CCSS while 32% support it and 32% don't know.

These CCSS numbers come pretty close to tracking the standardized testing numbers I noted above.

More and more, the public is coming to understand that CCSS and standardized testing go hand-in-hand.

So just as the opposition to CCSS is going to grow in the coming year, the same is likely to happen for standardized testing.

That's why even the Gates Foundation is calling for a moratorium on stakes attached to the CCSS tests for a couple of years.

They can see what's happening in the public with the CCSS and the standardized testing and they're looking to get a cool off period where the test stakes go out of the news for a while to give the CCSS time to regain some support.

Public Isn't Buying Substandard Technology As Big Problem For Schools

From the Times-Union/Siena poll:

Almost three-quarters, 71 percent, said the biggest problem facing schools is lack of parental involvement in a child's progress, followed by bullying and poor behavior, 69 percent each, and hiring and retaining effective teachers, 61 percent.

One of the least significant problems, respondents said, is substandard technology and facilities: Only 40 percent cited the lack of computers and other high-tech learning tools, with 30 percent worried about the condition of school buildings.

Those numbers are notable in part because New Yorkers in November will vote on a $2 billion state bond issue, proposed by Cuomo, to fund new school technology and infrastructure.

Back in April, Cuomo appointed another one of his famous commissions to try and sell the public on a $2 billion bond act to improve technology in schools:

Though voters are yet to consider a $2 billion bond act for education infrastructure and technology upgrades at New York schools, Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Thursday named a commission that would provide recommendations on how best to spend the money.

Included on the commission is Eric Schmidt, the executive chairman and former CEO of Google, a company that is best known for its search engine, but has also entered the laptop and tablet computer market in recent years.

In addition, Cuomo is also turning to Harlem Children’s Zone President and CEO Geoffrey Canada and Constance Evelyn, Superintendent of the Auburn School District in Cayuga County.

“It is a simple fact that disparity remains in our education system, with some schools providing tablets in the first grade and others where the most sophisticated piece of electronic equipment is the metal detector that students walk through on the way to the classroom,” Cuomo said in a statement. “In the State of the State, we called for a $2 billion Smart Schools Initiative to transform our classrooms from the classrooms of yesterday to the classrooms of tomorrow. This panel will help guide this bold initiative and reimagine our classrooms to provide New York’s students with the skills they need to succeed in the 21st century economy.”

The $2 billion borrowing proposal still has to be approved by voters, who are due to consider the ballot referendum this fall.

Cuomo proposed the bond act in January as way to improve technology in the classroom as well as potentially build more space for pre-Kindergarten programs.

As I wrote in April:

Gotta love that Cuomo thinks it's a big plus that some districts are giving tablets to first graders - that tells you everything you need to know about how Cuomo is looking to have this bond money spent.

Strike one.

That he stuck Canada on the commission is strike two and the Google CEO is strike three for me.

I am opposing the Smart Schools Initiative because it's clear Cuomo plans to use the money as a boondoggle for his tech buddies, not to build new schools or provide more classroom space for smaller class sizes.

You know what smart classrooms are?

They're ones where students have the adequate resources to learn, including computer and Internet technology when appropriate, but also enjoy small class sizes and personalized contact with their teachers.

This is not what Cuomo plans to use the money for, however.

Rather, he seems to envision this:

If the TU/Siena poll is any indication, Cuomo is going to have an uphill climb selling the $2 billion dollar Technology Boondoggle Bond Act he's trying to get the public to buy.

The Public Trusts Teachers WAY MORE Than Cuomo, King, And Tisch To Do What's Right For Students

The Times-Union has extraordinary results from a Times-Union/Siena poll on education issues in today's paper - the public overwhelmingly support teachers over the governor, the Legislature, the Board of Regents, and NYSED Commissioner King to do what is right for students.

The poll was conducted by Siena and here's the question I want to look at closely today:

Now after thinking about education in New York these past few minutes, I'm going to read you the names of several individuals and groups involved in public education.  Tell me for each if you: completely trust them to do what is best for New York's students, somewhat trust them, only trust them a little, or do not trust them at all to do what is best for students.

Here is how those polled responded:

Andrew Cuomo:

Completely Trust - 9%
Somewhat Trust - 41%
Only Trust A Little - 17%
Do Not Trust At All - 30%

John King:

Completely Trust - 4%
Somewhat Trust - 39%
Only Trust A Little - 16%
Do Not Trust At All - 21%

Teachers Unions:

Completely Trust - 16%
Somewhat Trust - 41%
Only Trust A Little - 19%
Do Not Trust At All - 21%

Local School Board:

Completely Trust - 19%
Somewhat Trust - 52%
Only Trust A Little - 13%
Do Not Trust At All - 13%

Legislature:

Completely Trust - 4%
Somewhat Trust - 37%
Only Trust A Little - 24%
Do Not Trust At All - 32%

Board of Regents:

Completely Trust - 11%
Somewhat Trust - 48%
Only Trust A Little - 20%
Do Not Trust At All - 18%

Teachers in Local Schools:

Completely Trust - 40%
Somewhat Trust - 48%
Only Trust A Little - 7%
Do Not Trust At All - 4%

To put this into perspective, the public either completely or somewhat trusts teachers to do what is right for NY students by an 88%-11% margin, completely or somewhat trusts their local school boards to do what is right for NY students by a 71%-26% margin, completely or somewhat trusts Cuomo to do what is right for NY students by a 50%-47% margin, completely or somewhat trusts King to do what is right for NY students by a 43%-37% margin, completely or somewhat trusts the Regents 57%-37% and completely or somewhat trusts teachers unions to do what is right for students 57%-40%.

In short, teachers are the most trusted individual or group involved in education, the second most trusted group is the local school board.

Trailing WAY BEHIND these two groups are the Board of Regents and the teachers unions.

Trailing behind that is Governor Cuomo, with a 3% plurality of trust over distrust.

Even further under that is NYSED Commissioner John King (he also only has a slim plurality trusting him to do what's right for students but he's well under 50%.)

The one group that is more distrusted than trusted to do what is right for students is the Legislature.

This poll was conducted upstate and there is a lot more to dig into in coming days - including on CCSS, technology spending, parental involvement, testing and teacher evaluations.

But I felt it was important to get a post up today about this extraordinary poll that shows teachers are BY FAR the most trusted of individuals or groups to do what is right for NY students while Cuomo and King barely enjoy pluralities of trust over distrust and King is well under 50% in that trust.

Also, take note of the numbers teachers unions get in the poll - they're tied with the Regents in public esteem (though with slightly higher negatives.)

That's something to be thinking about going into the coming teacher tenure fight here in New York.

One final point I want to bring up here.

Merryl Tisch said a few years ago that the public widely dislikes teachers, but they would like them more once a teacher evaluation system was put into place to hold them accountable for student performance.

The Siena/Times-Union poll shows wide skepticism around Ms. Tisch's battery of reforms, including teacher evaluations, but the one thing it does NOT show skepticism in is the trust the public has for teachers.