Massive tornado tore through Moore Oklahoma

Massive tornado tore through Moore Oklahoma
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NYC Mayoral hopefuls support educator chancellor

NYC Mayoral hopefuls support educator chancellor

Buffalo school officials and BTF going back to court

The teacher evaluation agreements the NYS Education Department imposed on school districts across the state may have to be revisited after the Buffalo Teachers Federation voted Thursday to challenge the Buffalo school district in court over a dispute about the memorandum of understanding the superintendent and the union signed earlier this year.

Buffalo teacher evaluation plan Annual Professional Performance Review (APPR) was among the last ones the State Education Department approved.

This new legal challenge to the district reneging on the MOU to the teacher evaluation agreements may possibly open up a new discussion about the legality of imposing evaluations based on information and documents not readily available to sufficiently evaluate teachers in public school districts throughout the state.

Sadly, the equity firms, banks, and hedge fund investors were the largest donors to politicians including Gov. Andrew Cuomo who sought out Democrats for Education Reform for support and donations.  In return these politicians including the NYS Board of Regents coalesced  to revamp education law and to install state education commissioners sympathetic to their reform agenda.

And it was to weaken the unions especially teachers and rid the system of tenure by copying a system of employee evaluations developed in the private sector where the vast majority are at-will employees.

Even an attempt now to find information on tenure Education law 3020a is impossible on the NYS Education Department website.

As a result of the changes to rid district of tenure a new teacher and principal evaluation system emerged that Gov. Cuomo signed "chapter 103 of laws of 2010 that added a new section 3012c to Education law that established a comprehensive evaluation system for classroom teachers and principals  based on the APPR.

The BTF and district officials should be allowed an opportunity to submit the MOU as part of its agreement if it was not done earlier with the documents it sent to the state to assuage the state education commissioner and the governor.

It's unfortunate that caught in the middle of this tug-of-war between the union, district, SED and the governor are the teachers and the children.

They deserve a less punitive teacher evaluation system, as well as their tenure rights.

Pregnant teens need a school in Buffalo

Pregnant teens need their own school building in the district.   Buffalo teens need a school building

New leadership for Buffalo Teachers Federation

New leadership for Buffalo Teachers Federation

New Buffalo Teachers Federation candidates
Lft-Rt, Roger Aumick vice president, Marc Bruno president,
Partick Foster, treasurer

Thompson names Regent Tisch to chair his mayoral campaign

New York Board of Regents Chancellor Merryl Tisch, who helps set education policy statewide and explored her own bid for mayor last year, plans to serve as chairwoman of Bill Thompson’s mayoral campaign.

Just what NYC needs Tisch as chancellor of its school system. Tisch has completely acquiesced and prostrated herself at the alter of the privatization interests in the education reform movement.  The African-American children and community suffered tremendous set backs in education. 

And these privatization interests composed  of a crass financial elite drive the reform movement in education  that benefits more its profit margin under the New Market Tax Credit bill passed during the Clinton administration while investing in projects in under-served communities rather than a genuine interest and concern for the education of poor children.

Thompson an African-American in hoping to attract these wealthy donors from this financial elite driving the reactionary education  reform movement is certainly to alienate sectors of the black community that view the education of their children compromised daily by Tisch and her privatization of public education supporters on the state Board of Regents since at the helm in 2006,  after serving as a Regent in 1996.

In naming Regent Tisch to Chair his mayoral campaign, Thompson not only nailed his own coffin but the move surely energizes the sector in the black community fearful she might become the next chancellor of the NYC schools.

UFT President Michael Mulgrew reelected with 84 percent of vote

UFT President Michael Mulgrew reelected with 84 percent of vote

Has public education become indoctrination?

Public "Education" has become indoctrination and distraction - YouTube

Divergent thinking

RSA Animate - Changing Education Paradigms - YouTube
Ken Robinson lectures on the need to shift the paradigm in public education from one based on standardize testing to divergent thinking.

International day Lafayette High School

International day at Lafayette High School, teacher Roberto Petrilli...

International day at Lafayette High School

Buffalo School Board Elections: Happenings, Forums and Fundraisers

Maria Rosa, Editor-in-chief,
Buffalo City Express News

Interested in attending  a Buffalo School Board Forum or fundraiser for your favorite candidate? Check out the latest updates on the Buffalo School Board Elections: Happenings, Forums and Fundraisers at the Buffalo City Express News and in the Buffalo Niagara Region Tourism Guide.

Leave a comment here if you know of any event in the community about the School Board Elections, happenings, forums or fundraisers and don't forget  to check out the banners in the advertising section for real time exposure online at the Buffalo City Express News.

Buffalo School board elections: some endorsements

Buffalo School board elections: some endorsements

Check out as the endorsements are coming in for the candidates running for the  Buffalo Board of Education  elections so far this year. And view the profile pages of three new  candidates in the Park, West and North Districts that appeared on Facebook. Find out what is the most contentious School Board battle ground this year... in the Buffalo City Express News powered by Zoom Village.

Memo widespread test cheating DC schools under Michelle Rhee

Memo warns of rampant cheating in D.C. public schools

As far back as 2009, a memo surfaced warning Michelle Rhee of widespread test cheating in DC public schools when she was chancellor. Instead of investigating the findings of the high erasure rates across the district, Rhee fired teachers and principals for the student low scores on DC assessments.
Rhee was too busy awarding perks and bonuses to those with the highest gains in the assessments that were really erasures according to the newly released reports.
The public wonders when is Michelle Rhee going to be held accountable for this in as much as she still in the limelight as a school reformer through her newly created Students First organization better named Rhee First?

13 prospective Buffalo School Board candidates filed petitions

The Buffalo School Board elections  jump started with the 13  prospective candidates filing nominating  petitions this week.  Surprisingly, Sharon M Belton-Cottman, Ferry District Rep. is running unopposed though two other candidates had been announced previously.
It appears the charter school proponents are just as aggressive as in previous School Board elections though it's hard to determine who they are except for James Sampson, president and CEO Gateway-Longview/and chairman of the county's control board.  He was a founding member of the West Buffalo Charter School and President of Buffalo ReformED. And he was an unsuccessful former candidate for an at-large School Board seat and board member of the Buffalo Niagara Partnership.
One thing for sure it's a smorgasbord made up of challengers from  the District Parent Coordinating Council, Citizen Action, Buffalo ReformEd and others.
The race is a highly politicized one with prospective candidates either supporting charter schools or for public education.  There appears to be an aggressive move by the charter proponents to carry out their agenda of turning Buffalo Public Schools especially those the state listed as low performing or "priority" schools into charters.
But it's not time to speculate what is going to happen yet in a race where certainly challenges to many of the petitions especially of the newcomers on to the school board races are disqualified for one reason or other.  So expect, the legal battles to play out in court until the candidates are whittled down and the school board forums begin  and until the voters elect either the incumbents or new candidates to the Board in May.