The New York Post has an article that details the bloated Bureaucracy that runs the Renewal school program. Astonishingly the DOE pays $12.7 million dollars annually for questionable administrative support with little or no significant impact upon the students and the classroom. The "college and career readiness" rates are stuck in the low teens.
Lead by Chancellor Carmen Farina's hack, Amiee Horowitz who I have written about previously Here, Here, and Here, the Renewal schools have been a disaster, with many of them losing students, have low attendance rates, and poor academic results. For more about Amiee Horowitz you can read it Here, Here, and Here as well.
Teachers who are unfortunate enough to work in these Renewal schools are under tremendous stress as these bureaucrats demand accountability while not being held accountable themselves. Teachers have no real prep periods as they are required to meet and plan with colleagues and are pressured to work an extra period whether they want to or not. Class sizes have risen, despite the loss of students as the Renewal schools continue to lose or excess teachers. How these Renewal schools can attract academically achieving students and quality teachers is beyond comprehension as the Renewal Bureaucracy sucks up scarce resources while providing little in the way of classroom improvements to the "high needs" student populations of the Renewal schools.
Reading the New York Post article about the bloated Bureaucracy does not surprise me one bit. The schools are destined to fail unless they can attract better students and teachers and not blow money on their bloated Bureaucracy as they continue to do.
It's not just at Renewal Schools.
ReplyDeleteThe compliance fetish Farina promotes has the same kinds of bureaucrats running through ALL schools, ensuring standardization and compliance across classrooms.
The BdB/Farina pushback on the Renewal story is that, well, these schools are struggling, they need the extra "support (i.e., micromanagement.)
But truth is, the Farina/BdB micromanagement is at EVERY school, whether they need the extra "support" or not.
This is just about Farina controlling everything via her superintendents - the compliance fetish is hers.
The only reason the Post is complaining is because they'd like to see those schools turned into charters. If Bloomberg did the same thing, there wouldn't be a peep. That said DeBlasio doesn't seem to give a shit about anything, especially what the Post thinks. I agree with him.
ReplyDeleteAnother one of those "intended to fail because 'failure' serves unspoken economic and political purposes" kind of things, from the so-called reformers in their subsidized bunkers at Tweed. Parasites and predators, all...
ReplyDeleteThe DOE is a free for all. Adults making HUGE money year after year after year. Can you imagine the title "Coach" in any other district? Long Island, Rickland, Westchester, Etc? Coach? What an embarrassment! These "Coaches" come in and are literally laughing. They are actually making 6 figure salaries to give powerpoints and talk to teachers about meaningless crap, all while that particular school's numbers dip and dip and dip (while they are servicing that school). FREE FOR ALL!!!!
ReplyDeleteChaz, would you know how one can become a coach? B for the same salary, I'd like to do it. Is it a hard position to get?
ReplyDeleteAnon 8:09
ReplyDeleteIts a political position. You have to been with both the school Principal and the Superintendent, assuming they're willing to pay since you would have to be replaced in the classroom.
Aimee Horowitz is a pig. I am glad that stories like this are being exposed. I remember when the DOE tried and failed to close John Dewey H.S. she was the superintendent of District 21. She visited Dewey to make it seem like she cared, and knew she was facing an outraged community only to say "I'm only the messenger." She heard the passionate stories of Dewey's success being told to her while she smirked and stood in the most apathetic manner. At one point a Dewey student told her, "What's so funny?" and her face changed immediately. It is amazing to me how she earns nearly $200k a year for doing NOTHING while coordinating a farce program that is literally ruining the educational prospects of the children she's supposed to be taking care of. She used to be an A.P. at Edward R. Murrow H.S. and hailed Mr. Saul Bruckner for inspiring her to be as "passionate" and "active" as she is in education. Looks like the only passion she attains is for being corrupt and milking the system. Mr. Bruckner is probably rolling in his grave, as Horowitz embodies the antithesis of what he stood for.
ReplyDeleteWhat about the field/roving supervisors that are coming with an agenda? A waste of resources.
ReplyDeleteWell its either this called renewal or the bloomberg klein way which is to close the school and create the so called atr pool....geez any way you turn it seems to be crap...the bottom line is we here in nyc public schools are working with poverty stricken kids who find it extremely difficult to come to school living in poverty conditions. If you are a kid who goes to bed hungry and cold, or hungry and sweaty hot, or abused by the guardians because usually our kids do not have any parents - maybe one - then how in the world are you supposed to pass global history?? When are the politicians going to address the poverty issue in our culture and stop the bullshit of targeting our schools and the people who run them.
ReplyDeleteLove my renewal school: class sizes down as well as students in building going to enjoy it while I can. Pro rata per session after school. Good state and local
ReplyDeleteMeasures . Sure it won't last more than another year, until then I am happy.
As every adult knows or should know, the classic textbook definition of insanity is doing the same thing over again but hoping for different results. This renewal program is an example of insanity. Spending this kind of money on a program in hopes that our schools will succeed while simultaneously the tiniest ounce of common sense is telling us just the opposite, is a form pf insanity at its purest level. It is so sad knowing how stupid some people collectively are. They will never admit that what the real causes of these problems that plague our schools are, nor will they ever admit that they were complete morons in spending so much time money and energy into these programs that were doomed to fail from day one. We are once again spending good money after bad. If somebody were to take all that money and just throw it in the street by the handfuls onto oncoming traffic, the renewals schools would be no worse off than they already are. The average teacher salary in the NYC DOE is at an all time low right now because of the understandably high turnover rate and the rat race mentality of many people who understandably want to get out. I have a tremendous amount of respect for the new teacher who (although naive) just starting out. I have zero respect for Horowitz and all these other pigs sucking the system dry, while contributing absolutely nothing back to our schools and not ever having to worry about the accountability factor. I taught in a renewal school. The principal in my former school was not working collaboratively with his staff and was simply out to get the teachers he did not want working in the school. The school got off the renewal list but not with out pressured teachers fraudulently giving students passing grades who did not deserve to pass. Ironically the school actually got worse (not better) after the new principal took over. To get off the renewal list a school must show improvement. Since the DOE is only analyzing things through a quantitative sense, the only thing that matters to them are numbers and nothing else. A historically failing school receiving support from a historically failing program will only continue to fail. So when schools are finally getting off the list we need to question "how" and "why?"
ReplyDeleteAs every adult knows or should know, the classic textbook definition of insanity is doing the same thing over again but hoping for different results. This renewal program is an example of insanity. Spending this kind of money on a program in hopes that our schools will succeed while simultaneously the tiniest ounce of common sense is telling us just the opposite, is a form pf insanity at its purest level. It is so sad knowing how stupid some people collectively are. They will never admit that what the real causes of these problems that plague our schools are, nor will they ever admit that they were complete morons in spending so much time money and energy into these programs that were doomed to fail from day one. We are once again spending good money after bad. If somebody were to take all that money and just throw it in the street by the handfuls onto oncoming traffic, the renewals schools would be no worse off than they already are. The average teacher salary in the NYC DOE is at an all time low right now because of the understandably high turnover rate and the rat race mentality of many people who understandably want to get out. I have a tremendous amount of respect for the new teacher who (although naive) just starting out. I have zero respect for Horowitz and all these other pigs sucking the system dry, while contributing absolutely nothing back to our schools and not ever having to worry about the accountability factor. I taught in a renewal school. The principal in my former school was not working collaboratively with his staff and was simply out to get the teachers he did not want working in the school. The school got off the renewal list but not with out pressured teachers fraudulently giving students passing grades who did not deserve to pass. Ironically the school actually got worse (not better) after the new principal took over. To get off the renewal list a school must show improvement. Since the DOE is only analyzing things through a quantitative sense, the only thing that matters to them are numbers and nothing else. A historically failing school receiving support from a historically failing program will only continue to fail. So when schools are finally getting off the list we need to question "how" and "why?"
ReplyDeleteAimee Horowitz is a blood sucking parasite whose existence in this world serves no purpose whatsoever. An honest decent and compassionate person could never so what she does and then go to sleep at the end of the day.
ReplyDeleteIt is about dishonesty, corruption and age discrimination with the support of our Chancellor.
DeleteAnonymous 7:41
ReplyDeleteYou can replace Aimee Horowitz' name with ATR supervisor Justin Stark, and your comment would still be accurate.
Well, it’s highly important to provide enough money to schools because our kids need to get a quality education. Unfortunately, local budgets are not enough to cover all the necessary expenses so parents must have pay for their kids. Schools are expensive because except of the regular payments there is a need to buy various education materials like textbooks and etc. Once I even had to use loan option to pay for my kid’s school. I hope that in the future the situation will change into the better.
ReplyDelete