Tuesday, November 17, 2015

School Overcrowding And Larger Class Sizes Is The Hallmark Of The De Blasio Administration.



























Despite assurances and campaign promises by Bill de Blasio to reduce class size and build more classrooms to alleviate school overcrowding, it turns out that class sizes have actually risen and school overcrowding continues unabated.

First, the New York City Public School Parents blog shows that class sizes have actually rose during the first two years of the De Blasio/Farina Administration.  According to the blog, the DOE's own 2014-15 data shows that class sizes rose 0.1 to an average of 26.4 students per classroom from the previous school year and since the 2007-08 school year, the average class size has increased an astounding 8.32%.

Second, there are 540,000 students who are attending overcrowded public schools or about 50% of the New York City Public School students.  Worse are the schools in the immigrant communities where for every 1% increase in the immigrant population, there is a need for 100 more classroom seats.  Unfortunately, the City only projects to add 33,000 seats when the minimum needed is 49,000 and some groups claim it should be 100,000 new seats to account for the under counting of illegal immigrants.in these largely immigrant communities.

Finally, unreasonably tight school budgets that average 14% lower than in 2007-08 and kept frozen the last two years despite the City's 6 Billion dollar surplus along with the unfair fair student funding  continued school overcrowding and large class sizes will make student academic achievement a struggle.

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

Okay, get this: I work in an all-immigrant high school. 95% of them have ZERO English skills. We have about 28 to 30 per class on average. We get a new student practically every day. They are 90% SLIFE. Not a single one is at grade level and most are five or more grade levels behind what an American standard says they should be. More than 70% are illegal immigrants and they have enormous psychological needs. We have two overworked guidance counselors and only one teacher per class. Our "English" classes do not teach English, but rather common core literature and textual criticism. (Imagine how that works out.) Our new AP is a holy terror yapping on about 'standards' and 'Danielson's' and all the other true believer claptrap. We have so few preps and at least TWO meetings to attend each day in between classes. This is a sinking ship if there ever was one.

Anonymous said...

I find that many of the best schools have the largest classes. I'm finally in a decent school and there's 40 in each class. There's a lack of everything- paper,books,chairs,etc.. There's 1 men's room for the entire building and everyone carries their own roll of toilet paper. A 6 billion dollar surplus! Who's he saving it for, the future charter schools?

Anonymous said...

I know some principals are saying that the budgets don’t take into account the pay raises teachers are getting. Therefore they go after senior teachers to not have to pay their salaries.

Anonymous said...

Let me first state that I am the biggest anti-Diblasio person around but what is he supposed to do? Overcrowding of classrooms is due to overcrowding of schools. Overcrowding of schools is due to neighborhoods being overpopulated (generally in low poverty communities). The only way to fix this would be to have more schools. But for that to happen:

1- DOE would have to purchase more buildings (not happening)
2- more admins would be needed (already a deficit on knowledgable and effective ones)


Its easy to complain about something (which is the norm on this blog), its another to have ways to fix the problems.

Btw: just wait till the syrian refugees come into our schools

Anonymous said...

anonymous 539

Is your school a recognized "international school"; they get off easy...kids do exit portfolios instead of regents. Yeah, riiiight!

Anonymous said...

Hey Chaz, hope you're doing great. MORM here. Let's talk briefly about rule #4 on the MORM handbook which is making the correct decision to purchase a gift for your administrators for the upcoming holidays.
What does this do? Great question. For starters, the gift automatically brings your observational reports up. Your rating officer has said in the past, "I didn't really see that during my visit to your class". After the gift, he/she will say to himself/herself (instead of to you), "________ is pretty kool. I'm going to take care of him/her". The gift brings smiles to faces passing in the halls. The gift takes you to another level, not quite to the inner circle level of the tribal administrators but close enough.
If you're dumb enough to say to yourself, "I'm not getting these people any gifts", you have a terrible attitude which is harmful. Unfortunately if you follow this mindset, you cannot eventually become a member of MORM. We, the Masters Of Relationship Movement members, have come up with specific guidelines (strategies) to survive in this disgusting profession. We have spent considerable time at diners going over techniques to make our administrators pass us over when "on the hunt". We are no longer hunted and it feels great.
Back to rule #4, the gift. Last year I bought one of my tribal administrators something very nice. I smart enough to realize that my six figure + salary needs to stay solid. I mean, I do have a family, mortgage, and other responsibilities as well, just like you all. The shock on this particular administrators face was priceless as I reached out and smiled while handing off a beautifully wrapped gift. At that point I knew the game had shifted. I would not be voted over the island, ever. I handed less spectacular gifts to the other tribal members of the administration. All the correct people received something. Heck I even gave an office worker who I can't stand something really special. This person is a close friend of one of the tribal administrators so I had to play along and cement my likeability.
Follow the advice from MORM members. Get a few gifts. Cement the likeability factor. Watch the tables turn. It is a victory. Do not disregard this tailored technique.
Separate piece, Thursday/Friday are parent conferences. Next week is a joke. Welcome to December. Take a sick day prior to X-mas break to slice the week up. Pick the best week of the 3 full ones prior to break, but definitely not in the 4th week, that's a waste. Don't do that. Take it in an earlier week. Rule #9, never take a Monday or a Friday. Always go with a Tuesday, Wednesdsy, or Thursday. It's so much better to destroy a full week by taking one of those 3 days. Turns the week into a joke. If you take the Zmondsy or Friday, sure you get the 3 day weekend either way but you have 4 straight beastly days. Better to really screw the week up and go for a mid day. I recommend Wednesday or Thursday.
Come back in January and its regents prep all the way. Then it's regents proctoring. Then it's February. What a job. Is this real? Am I really making more than my stupid ass AP? Am I really reading comments on Chaz's blog that make me feel that teachers are upset? Nooooo, follow the rules guys. Good luck with the gift purchases.

Anonymous said...

8:02,
So let the city rent, buy or expand the property it already owns. Some buildings have an entire floor sitting vacant while the classes are bursting at the seams. The fifth floor teachers cafeteria was closed in Evander Childs. Many UFT rooms and staff rooms were shuttered, and sit vacant -even though they are needed for their original purpose. The large school I'm in now has no staff room. The teacher I shared a room with showed me his receipts for $1700 for class supplies, (because I didn't believe him).

Anonymous said...

administering the english language learners test for the state. The reason they give this test is to determine how much english the immigrants know but the joke here is that they do not know ANY ENGLISH AT ALL. They know arabic, spanish but no english but the state forces us to give these immigrant students the test. Many of the students stare at the booklets shaking their heads looking at their iphones......no kidding....

Anonymous said...

Ok I'm definitely buying some gifts. I will give anything a try at this point.

Anonymous said...

The MORM man is hysterical, but you know what? He's absolutely right!

Anonymous said...

Morm, I did the exact same thing for years. It saved my ass. I had an AP who hated men and I was the only one who lasted with her (11 years). The only man on a staff of 65 women- and not a good looking one in the entire pack!

Anonymous said...

MORM man has got it right. administrators said do hallway duty once a week near some out of the way location, and i said fine. push into this class, fine, take notes at the ppt meeting, fine, submit yearly goals for myself, fine--generally the same as the year before--and do a bulletin board, fine. overall, its the principals building and you either get in line or get out. MORM also has it right--do not take a monday or friday, and just move the students along the best you can in view of the circumstances surrounding the dysfunction within many schools. this includes class size, lack of supplies, homework assignments not completed, food in the classroom, disruptive behavior, cell phones, whatever. I retired after the last contract in 2014. best thing i ever did, but i did the NORM thing my last years and it was a breeze. good luck.

Anonymous said...

I am a believer in the MORM principles! MORM is the only way to survive in a system that is built on lies, illogic and deceit. Your admins are now required to look for reasons to fire you. This is the Danielson's way, no matter what they chirp about "support" and all the other lies. Danielson's can be fudged by any admin to show whatever they want. That is what clueless Ms. Danielson just doesn't seem to get. For that matter, our union leadership is pretty clueless about this also.

Our new AP is on a tear, low rating most staff members for trumped up things in the ten minute flybys. Few are smiling at her and greeting her anymore. I still do! I smile, I say good things. I do whatever I'm supposed to do. I still may get ripped on an observation coming soon because there is no logic to her pattern, but at the least, I need to protect my sanity! MORM! MORM! MORM! all the way to 55 and then I'm out!

Anonymous said...

Field assassins are going after me again diane lung something a true frosted flake

Anonymous said...

Thanks for your good advice Morm. One teacher I work with is a complainer. I realized that I can spend a little less time in the lunchroom and let the rest roll off my back. Hey, I got a good job! I'll just focus on the positive! Thanks for the "rules" and the positive reinforcement!

Quinn said...

Isn't it a conflict of interest to gift an admin?

Anonymous said...

Chaz, can I email you off of this blog? I am an ATR who could use some advice. Thanks!

Chaz said...

Yes you can