Finally, Chancellor Carmen Farina has made public the goals for the 94 renewal schools and the pumping in an extra $400 million dollars that will achieve these goals and the consensus is that they the renewal goals were found to be deficient. In fact, they are riddled with the potential for academic fraud and goals that are either beyond reality without massive academic fraud or are so low that some schools have already met them without any extra resources.
Many of the renewal schools were supposed to hire carefully selected "effective teachers" for their schools. However, due to the DOE's "fair student funding" and the refusal of many vetted teachers to risk their careers at these poorly performing renewal schools, the majority of teachers hired were "untested newbies". Moreover, the poor reputation of the renewal schools ensured that the student population remained unchanged and few, if any, high performing students selected these poorly performing schools. Finally, many of the principals of the renewal schools came from the "Leadership Academy" with little or no classroom teaching experience and rather than collaborate with staff, rather dictate to them, meaning a continued high teacher turnover rate and unstable school environment. When you put together the lack of effective teachers, an academically struggling student population, high teacher turnover, and poor leadership, the results are fairly predictable for most, if not all the 94 renewal schools. That is a recipe for failure. Therefore, its little wonder that the City's renewal goals are being severely questioned.
For example the goal for John Adams High School is to have a "College Readiness Score" of 15.6% by 2016. However, in the latest school 2014-15 snapshot the "College Readiness Score" was 20.2%! Worse, many of the renewal high schools have a three year graduation rate goal that requires a 17% increase from last years rate. How in the world will these schools come close to achieve this without "effective teachers"? The answer is simple. I believe these renewal school principals will put intense pressure on their inexperienced staff to pass struggling students just to graduate them.. Its scholarship over real education. In other words, its academic fraud.
The bottom line is that I am highly skeptical that Bill de Blasio and Carmen Farina will achieve the benchmark goals for the 94 renewal schools without a large amount of academic fraud. To me the renewal school goals stink and are simply a joke.
Those schools will be the nails in DeBozo's reelection coffin. No improvement except through academic fraud. The next Ed deformer mayor will use them as election points as to why deBlasio shouldn't remain in office. Who's advising this guy?
ReplyDeleteCarmen Farina, of course
DeleteAcademic fraud has cost me my job at the DOE. I was discontinued back in June. I look back and wish that I had made the choice to leave my now renewal school when I had the opportunity to do so.
ReplyDeleteI came from Richmond Hill high school. My letter to Aimee Horowitz was published on your blog some months back. I was an effective teacher for three straight years with nothing but solid observations and positive ratings. I had nothing but positive letters of performance in my file. Then in late April when I was up for tenure after my third year, principal Neil Ganesh was told by the superintendent to only recommend tenure to one teacher and extend the other five. (Note: this decision was made without having even seen my tenure portfolio that I worked on for months, or having considered the regents scores for that year as this decision was made two months prior to the regents.) I made the choice to stay in Richmond Hill for an additional year which I will regret for the rest of my life as that decision would cost me my future in my retirement and my career with the DOE. I was always honest about who I passed and who I felt deserved to fail. Virtually all of my kids who didn't pass was due to non-attendance. The kids overall in Richmond Hill were not just failing school but in life overall. So many kids that I was assigned to teach were 18 19 and some even older than 20, yet only had not more than 10 credits. Statistically many of my students had taken the regents exams and state assessments several times in the past with their scores averaging 30%-50%. My big problem was that Ganesh was under pressure to improve the test scores of Richmond Hill otherwise his own personal job security would compromised. So because he didn't like my scholarship report he fully intended to get rid of me and other teachers before the year even took flight. He hired this complete idiot "Christine Peterson" who came from Hillcrest high school who had absolutely no prior experience/essential skills in any meaningful capacity that would have served her and the school well for that respective position. Her inability to objectively evaluate certain protocols from the powers that be and engage in any sort of meaningful discussion with her teachers directly under her proved to be invaluable to Ganesh as she very neatly fit the profile of the puppet that he as looking for.
Before this happening I was consistently rated effective and satisfactory by two veteran administrators. Ganesh ad instructed Peterson to rate me and other teachers that were targeted with nothing but ineffective ratings because that was his way of getting me and another teacher out of the school which he succeeded at doing. I talked about that story here:
http://chaz11.blogspot.com/2015/07/an-open-letter-to-amiee-horowitz-from.html
Long story short is that principals like Ganesh are engaging in a variety of academic fraud such as directives to certain teachers to manipulate grades, intentional misuse of danielson, fabrication of teacher evaluations, etc.
http://nypost.com/2015/07/12/e-mail-exposes-plot-by-city-high-school-to-fix-failing-test-scores/
The sad thing is that I'm gone and him and his puppet are still there. But I have to say that Neil Ganesh has lost all respect not only from me and my collegaues, but from many of his own teachers, his students, parents, and members of the community.
I would encourage anyone who might be reading this never to even consider taking a job at that school or anywhere he might be assigned to in the future. His name is rightfully on the ANOI list on the solidarity website.
Another very important point I want to make is that between me and another teacher that was discontinued in Richmond Hill this past June...is that We have both been in the field for over a combined decade. At least 8 of those ten years were spent teaching in the DOE. Out of those 8 years (between my colleague and I) 6 were rated as effective. My collegaue and I hold several graduate degrees.
ReplyDeleteLast year Principal Neil Ganesh (Same principal that sought to it to have me discontinued) wrote me a beautiful letter of recommendation. I really should post it for all to see. Talking about how effective my teaching habits are, and how much of an asset I am to the school. Three months prior to my discontinuance he actually verbally agreed to write me a second letter of recommendation when I came to him stating that I wished to transfer Ph.D programs. At that time I was about of a third of the way through the Ph.D program that I was in. Despite his assurance that he would, I soon realized that he had no intention of keeping his word as he was a liar, and everything he told me turned out to be untrue. At the time I had/currently hold two masters and the other discontinued teacher just achieved her second masters degree.
Both of our jobs have been replaced two inexperienced "kids" just out of college and about to embark on their through grad school. I know this because I keep in touch with very close friends of mine who still work there. In fact there were many vacancies that were replaced by new inexperienced teachers that Chaz often talks about.
What's so sad about this whole experience is not so much our personal tragedies about losing our positions. The saddest part is that neither of us did anything wrong and I think that any person with even the slightest amount of intelligence and common sense can see that. I don't want to sound over zealous or conceited but Richmond Hill lost many effective and dedicated teachers other than us over the years. We wanted nothing but the best for the kids and the school. And we were both highly effective for the students and the school despite what Ganesh and Horowitz might say. We both have positive teaching records within our time in the DOE to substantiate that claim ten times over.
Well, what is the other option for diblasio?? Closing schools is what bloomshits did. Diblasio is a friend people do not let the bull shit lying press lead you in any other direction. Chaz why critique diblasio who is implementing the renewal program rather than just closing the schools. What else can be done?? Yes I know the DOE continues to use the fair student funding formula and ultimately it will be the demise of the DOE because they are refusing to allow their senior teachers to perform. The question is why?? The DOE could have eliminated the fair student funding. Then the renewal program could have gotten high end experienced teachers in these schools but Farina opted to continue with the clueless newbies so the program cannot work. i will never understand the DOEs choice to go with newbie teachers and treat its most experienced teachers out in the cold. Is it really just about money?? The city spends billions and billions of dollars to operate the city of new york - diblasio budget for fiscal 2015/2016 is 75 Billion. Penny wise and dollar foolish will be the nail in the coffin for the DOE and its chance to really educate kids. GO MORE.
ReplyDeleteDeBozo will close schools and create more ATRs, all while hiring new teachers. DeBozo is no friend of mine or your's (Mulgrew's perhaps) -at least Bloomy said F--k You! to our faces, this guys lies through his teeth with Farina in tow.
ReplyDeleteAnon 9:25. You answered your own question. Get rid of FSF.
ReplyDeleteBloomberg was an evil man, DeBlasio is just an idiot......not even a good idiot, just an idiot.
ReplyDeleteThe DOE likes to get rid of experienced teachers with integrity, these are the new incompetent teachers. They are not wanted, only robots and abusive principals are Ok.
ReplyDeleteI've heard that the DOE already knows that , maybe the most prominent of these schools will be closed after this year. AND they already know who the Principal will be . If true....it's all a fix.
ReplyDelete