Check out the UFT's latest ad against layoffs. I think it's their best ever. Others, leave comments.
Showing posts with label class size matters. Show all posts
Showing posts with label class size matters. Show all posts
Monday, February 14, 2011
Monday, December 6, 2010
The DOE set the closing schools up for failure
Today, in justifying the eleven school closings, with more to come, Deputy Chancellor Marc Sternberg made the following statement: “Year after year, even as we provided extra help and support, these schools simply have not gotten the job done for children."
As the NY Post points out, the vast majority of these schools have poverty rates over the city average. And many of them were flooded with high-needs special education and ELL students in recent years, as nearby large high schools closed, and were provided with no extra help to deal with this problem.
Finally, what strategies if any did the city use to try to turn around these schools? Did they ever try systematically reducing class size? No.
Most of these students at these schools continue to suffer from overly large
classes that far exceed the state average of twenty students per class, as well as the goals in the city’s mandated class size reduction plan. In fact, class sizes have risen sharply in most of the schools slated for closure.
For example, check out the increases in class size at Beach Channel High school, one of the schools on today’s list of closures, which have occurred despite a promise from the DOE to make specific reductions at this school in return for hundreds of millions of dollars in Contract For Excellence funds.
As Sternberg said, “…we cannot afford to let schools continue to fail students when we know we can do better.”
Most parents and teachers would agree. The Department of Education’s stubborn refusal to follow the law and to allow the students at these schools to have their best chance to succeed is unconscionable, and set up these schools for failure.
As the NY Post points out, the vast majority of these schools have poverty rates over the city average. And many of them were flooded with high-needs special education and ELL students in recent years, as nearby large high schools closed, and were provided with no extra help to deal with this problem.
Finally, what strategies if any did the city use to try to turn around these schools? Did they ever try systematically reducing class size? No.
Most of these students at these schools continue to suffer from overly large
classes that far exceed the state average of twenty students per class, as well as the goals in the city’s mandated class size reduction plan. In fact, class sizes have risen sharply in most of the schools slated for closure.For example, check out the increases in class size at Beach Channel High school, one of the schools on today’s list of closures, which have occurred despite a promise from the DOE to make specific reductions at this school in return for hundreds of millions of dollars in Contract For Excellence funds.
As Sternberg said, “…we cannot afford to let schools continue to fail students when we know we can do better.”
Most parents and teachers would agree. The Department of Education’s stubborn refusal to follow the law and to allow the students at these schools to have their best chance to succeed is unconscionable, and set up these schools for failure.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
The importance of class size reduction, and how to counter the corporate reformers who oppose it
Check out my latest column on Huffington Post, on the importance of class size, and the truth about the seven myths propounded by the corporate reformers like Bloomberg and Bill Gates, who argue against class size reduction while sending their own kids to private schools with small classes.
Then read about the real-life experience of a NYC high school teacher, showing how much class size matters in practice to students.
Finally, send these links to your friends and family who live in Florida, and urge them to vote No on Proposition 8.
This proposition asks whether voters would like to roll back their state class size amendment, originally approved through referendum in 2002, or keep classes capped at no more than 18 students per class in grades K-3; 22 students in grades 4-8, and 25 students in high school.
Can you imagine how lucky they are to have the choice?
Friday, October 1, 2010
2010 forum: Public Education Under Attack!
Check out the flyer for Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats for Sunday, Oct. 17 event by clicking on the image to the right.Feel feel free to download the flyer, post and distribute in your schools.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Please sign our letter to Klein and Liu re federal jobs funds
Yesterday the President signed an education jobs bill that will provide $10 billion to save an estimated 160,000 teaching jobs nationwide
According to news reports, it will send about $608 million to NY State; and an estimated $200 million to NYC. Thanks to those of you that called or emailed the Congress about this critical bill. (You can see how your House member voted here.)
These funds are desperately needed to prevent the projected loss of 2,000 teaching positions in NYC schools this fall, which, along with a continued growth in enrollment, would otherwise lead to drastically increased class sizes.
As you know, class sizes have already risen on average for the last two years; and last year, more than half of Kindergarten students were in classes of 25 or more in many schools. This is simply unacceptable, especially as the city promised to reduce class sizes in all grades in return for receiving nearly a billion dollars in extra state funds.
Please sign onto our letter to Chancellor Klein below, urging him to use these new federal funds to avert the loss of any teaching positions so that class sizes do not increase, and the City Comptroller to provide rigorous oversight to ensure that these funds are used appropriately.
Please email me at leonie@att.net with your name, school, borough, and leadership position or other organizational affiliation (if any). If you would like that affiliation to be starred with an asterix (meaning affiliation for identification purposes only) please let me know that as well.
Thanks for your support, and please forward this message to others who care.
___
Dear Chancellor Klein and Comptroller Liu:
As you know, the Congress passed and the President signed an education jobs bill that will provide approximately $200 million in federal funds for New York City schools.
Chancellor, we urge you to use these funds immediately to avert the loss of any teaching positions. Otherwise, the budget cuts already imposed are expected to lead to the elimination of 2,000 teaching positions and cause damaging increases in class size, especially as student enrollment is increasing.
Comptroller Liu, we urge you to implement strict oversight to ensure that these funds are used appropriately. Over the last two years, class sizes have risen sharply despite the city’s promise to reduce them in exchange for taking nearly a billion dollars in additional state aid.
The need for smaller classes has been the top priority of parents in the Department of Education’s parent surveys for as long as these surveys have been given.
Class size reduction is one of the very few reforms that, according to the federal government’s Institute for Education Sciences, has been proven to improve student achievement.
It is critical that these federal funds go directly to the classroom where they belong, so that the city’s children can learn in classes that are as small as possible .
Yours sincerely,
Leonie Haimson, Executive Director, Class Size Matters
Add your name here: Name, school, borough, leadership position or other affiliation (if any)
According to news reports, it will send about $608 million to NY State; and an estimated $200 million to NYC. Thanks to those of you that called or emailed the Congress about this critical bill. (You can see how your House member voted here.)
These funds are desperately needed to prevent the projected loss of 2,000 teaching positions in NYC schools this fall, which, along with a continued growth in enrollment, would otherwise lead to drastically increased class sizes.
As you know, class sizes have already risen on average for the last two years; and last year, more than half of Kindergarten students were in classes of 25 or more in many schools. This is simply unacceptable, especially as the city promised to reduce class sizes in all grades in return for receiving nearly a billion dollars in extra state funds.
Please sign onto our letter to Chancellor Klein below, urging him to use these new federal funds to avert the loss of any teaching positions so that class sizes do not increase, and the City Comptroller to provide rigorous oversight to ensure that these funds are used appropriately.
Please email me at leonie@att.net with your name, school, borough, and leadership position or other organizational affiliation (if any). If you would like that affiliation to be starred with an asterix (meaning affiliation for identification purposes only) please let me know that as well.
Thanks for your support, and please forward this message to others who care.
___
Dear Chancellor Klein and Comptroller Liu:
As you know, the Congress passed and the President signed an education jobs bill that will provide approximately $200 million in federal funds for New York City schools.
Chancellor, we urge you to use these funds immediately to avert the loss of any teaching positions. Otherwise, the budget cuts already imposed are expected to lead to the elimination of 2,000 teaching positions and cause damaging increases in class size, especially as student enrollment is increasing.
Comptroller Liu, we urge you to implement strict oversight to ensure that these funds are used appropriately. Over the last two years, class sizes have risen sharply despite the city’s promise to reduce them in exchange for taking nearly a billion dollars in additional state aid.
The need for smaller classes has been the top priority of parents in the Department of Education’s parent surveys for as long as these surveys have been given.
Class size reduction is one of the very few reforms that, according to the federal government’s Institute for Education Sciences, has been proven to improve student achievement.
It is critical that these federal funds go directly to the classroom where they belong, so that the city’s children can learn in classes that are as small as possible .
Yours sincerely,
Leonie Haimson, Executive Director, Class Size Matters
Add your name here: Name, school, borough, leadership position or other affiliation (if any)
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Diane Ravitch’s remarks at the Class Size Matters “Skinny” awards dinner
The Skinny Awards were given to Juan Gonzalez, investigative reporter for the Daily News, for holding the city accountable; Norman Siegel, famed attorney, for protecting parent rights; and Council member Robert Jackson, a tireless fighter for our schools.Photographs of the honorees are below; more are posted on the CSM facebook page.
Diane was ill and had lost her voice, so her remarks were given in absentia by Monica Major, Bronx parent leader and CSM board member.
Dear Friends: I am heartsick that I cannot be with you for tonight’s Skinny Awards.
I was in DC all day yesterday, talking to elected officials and trying to persuade them that No Child Left Behind was a disaster and thatClass Size Matters is a special organization, on the front lines of fighting for our public schools and a quality education, every day. That’s why I joined its board.
The Skinny Awards are equally special. It is harder to get a Skinny Award than it is to get the Broad award. Only the most valiant and courageous friends of public education are considered as recipients. Only those who are willing to speak Truth to Power are eligible.These awards recognize valor in the face of overwhelming power. The awards go this year to three people of amazing courage and integrity, each of whom has fearlessly foug
ht against powerful vested interests in this city and state.
If I were with you, and if I had a voice, I would urge you never to give up.
Continue to fight the good fight, because the stakes are so very high. Support Class Size Matters and do what you can to speak out in defense of public education. The lives of a million children in this city are at stake, and what happens inLike Leonie, I have been getting emails from teachers and parents in
Whatever the odds, and they are daunting, we can't give up. So much is at stake. Everyone who speaks up, everyone who writes letters to the editor, everyone who supports Class Size Matters and joins our relentless struggle for better schools, everyone who appreciates Patrick Sullivan's independent voice on the PEP, has a part to play. It's not over till it's over.
Some day it will be over, and when it happens we will remember the hard work and tenacity of Juan, Robert, and Norman.Congratulations to the honorees. May you lead us for many more years, until better times come for our city's schools and students.
----- Diane Ravitch
Monday, April 12, 2010
Our class size lawsuit gets its first day in court
This morning, Judge John Barone of the NY State Supreme Court in the Bronx heard arguments in our class size lawsuit against the city, which has failed to comply with state law and its own mandated class size reduction plan. Instead of reducing class size, as the state ordered in April of 2007 as part of the Contracts for Excellence, class sizes have risen at an unprecedented rate in city schools over the last two years.
In its papers, the city argued that the court has no role in deciding this matter, but right off the bat, the Judge rejected the claim that the sole authority over NYC’s compliance with the law should be reserved for the NY State Commissioner of Education. Judge Barone said that even if the state legislature wanted to deprive the court of jurisdiction that would be unconstitutional. He said he was “astounded” that any attorney would dare argue that the court doesn’t have the power to review this matter.
Very quickly the legal arguments became focused instead on whether the plaintiffs (including Class Size Matters, the UFT, NAACP, the Hispanic Federation, and assorted public school parents) should exhaust other administrative remedies first before coming to court, i.e. filing a complaint with the Commissioner.
Charles Moerdler, one of our attorneys from the firm of Stroock, Stroock and Lavan, recited a long list of legal precedents as far back as 1919, including decisions of the Court of Appeals, showing that the court has a right to step in before other administrative procedures have been exhausted. He provided important background information, explaining how as a result of the Campaign for Fiscal Equity decision, the city had been provided with more than $1.5 billion in state funds, with $760 million of that earmarked for class size reduction, on the condition that it reduce class size. The city submitted a plan to do so, promised it would spend that money appropriately, and did not. Thus it is in breach of contract, pure and simple. This is matter of law, not fact, and the court is the best place to hear a matter of law, he argued, especially as the Commissioner of Education has no legal background.
Moerdler also pointed out that going to the Commissioner now for a ruling could take months, and the courts have found that where there is a need for urgent action, as there is in this case, they should step in. Going the other route could consign thousands of children to irreparable harm and another school year of illegal and excessive class sizes that would deny them the fundamental right to an adequate education. Given that the Commissioner’s decision is likely to be appealed to the Court in any event, these children could have graduated from high school before the case was resolved.
The lawyer from the city’s Corporation Counsel, Emily Sweet, said that if the Judge did hear the case, the trial would be full of complicated and arcane matters involving budget allocations, DOE guidance memos and various funding streams, and that the Commissioner was more able to determine the facts of the case and understand these complex matters.
Yet despite the attempts of the city to confuse and obscure this issue with smoke and mirrors, including jargon-filled memos, abstruse powerpoint presentations, and talk of funding streams, the facts in this case are clear and undisputable: the DOE has not reduced class size, according to its own data. It has not adhered to its own state-mandated and binding class size reduction plan, and has not used the funding as required by law.
Judge Barone said that he would give both sides two weeks to submit more papers, but that he intended to rule shortly thereafter as to whether the case should proceed to trial. As he said the city's motion to dismiss is is an important motion in an important case. Cross your fingers and hold onto your hats!
In its papers, the city argued that the court has no role in deciding this matter, but right off the bat, the Judge rejected the claim that the sole authority over NYC’s compliance with the law should be reserved for the NY State Commissioner of Education. Judge Barone said that even if the state legislature wanted to deprive the court of jurisdiction that would be unconstitutional. He said he was “astounded” that any attorney would dare argue that the court doesn’t have the power to review this matter.
Very quickly the legal arguments became focused instead on whether the plaintiffs (including Class Size Matters, the UFT, NAACP, the Hispanic Federation, and assorted public school parents) should exhaust other administrative remedies first before coming to court, i.e. filing a complaint with the Commissioner.
Charles Moerdler, one of our attorneys from the firm of Stroock, Stroock and Lavan, recited a long list of legal precedents as far back as 1919, including decisions of the Court of Appeals, showing that the court has a right to step in before other administrative procedures have been exhausted. He provided important background information, explaining how as a result of the Campaign for Fiscal Equity decision, the city had been provided with more than $1.5 billion in state funds, with $760 million of that earmarked for class size reduction, on the condition that it reduce class size. The city submitted a plan to do so, promised it would spend that money appropriately, and did not. Thus it is in breach of contract, pure and simple. This is matter of law, not fact, and the court is the best place to hear a matter of law, he argued, especially as the Commissioner of Education has no legal background.
Moerdler also pointed out that going to the Commissioner now for a ruling could take months, and the courts have found that where there is a need for urgent action, as there is in this case, they should step in. Going the other route could consign thousands of children to irreparable harm and another school year of illegal and excessive class sizes that would deny them the fundamental right to an adequate education. Given that the Commissioner’s decision is likely to be appealed to the Court in any event, these children could have graduated from high school before the case was resolved.
The lawyer from the city’s Corporation Counsel, Emily Sweet, said that if the Judge did hear the case, the trial would be full of complicated and arcane matters involving budget allocations, DOE guidance memos and various funding streams, and that the Commissioner was more able to determine the facts of the case and understand these complex matters.
Yet despite the attempts of the city to confuse and obscure this issue with smoke and mirrors, including jargon-filled memos, abstruse powerpoint presentations, and talk of funding streams, the facts in this case are clear and undisputable: the DOE has not reduced class size, according to its own data. It has not adhered to its own state-mandated and binding class size reduction plan, and has not used the funding as required by law.
Judge Barone said that he would give both sides two weeks to submit more papers, but that he intended to rule shortly thereafter as to whether the case should proceed to trial. As he said the city's motion to dismiss is is an important motion in an important case. Cross your fingers and hold onto your hats!
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Save the date! Citywide parent conference on April 10
On Saturday, April 10, Class Size Matters will be sponsoring a citywide parent conference, with workshops on running effective Parent Associations and School Leadership Teams; toxic schools; how to reach out to the media; how to advocate for your special needs child, the rights and responsibilities of Community Education Councils, Title one issues, and more.
Click on the image to the left or here for a flyer you can post in your school.
The theme of the conference is "Building Bridges with Charter School parents" and one of the panels will be dedicated towards this goal. More on this soon.
The conference will be held at School of the Future on 127 E. 22 St; please come!
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
A great holiday present for our kids, and please help us help you!
There’s great news today, and a holiday present for NYC public schoolchildren! Yesterday, the NY State Supreme Court rejected the city’s attempt to lease half of the sports fields on Randall’s Island to twenty private schools for the next twenty years, without first going through the mandated process, including review by the local Community Board and City Council.
Class Size Matters helped organize this lawsuit in 2006, when the city decided to unilaterally grant two thirds of these fields to the private schools, and this is the second time in two years that the court ruled in our favor. Yesterday, we were rewarded with a slam dunk decision, in which Judge Marilyn Shafer said that the city's arguments were “inherently incredible,” and ordered the city to pay court costs and fees to our (pro bono) attorneys, because of their attempt to evade the earlier ruling. (The decision is posted here; see also the Daily News, Times , NY Post and WNYC.)
The court ruling caps an eventful year for Class Size Matters, in which we’ve been busy advocating for all NYC students to be provided with smaller classes and a better opportunity to learn. We led the “Build Schools, not Prisons” campaign to alleviate school overcrowding, and recently the city added 5,000 seats to the capital plan. We co-authored a report on the growing numbers of students discharged from our schools but not counted as dropouts. We published a book on the Bloomberg-Klein educational record that received attention as far away as Australia and Thailand.
We helped form the Parent Commission to advocate for a better school governance law with more real parental input, and together with other public school parents, created NYC Kids Pac, to support candidates who will work for positive change in our schools.
We continue to offer news and information to parents through our two list servs, contribute to and manage the NYC public school parent blog, and also started a column on the Huffington Post. Finally, as mentioned above, we just a won a major case that will hopefully ensure the right of all NYC students to have equal access to the sports fields on Randall’s Island for years to come. Just some of our nearly 100 press clips from the past year are posted on our website.
Please be a part of this effort by contributing what you can. We rely on your financial support. Just click here, or on the link below to give a tax-deductible donation.
Anyone who donates $50 or more will receive a free copy of our acclaimed book, NYC Schools under Bloomberg and Klein, what Parents, Teachers and Policymakers Need to Know, with essays by Diane Ravitch, Debbie Meier, Steve Koss, Patrick Sullivan, and others.
Help us achieve our goal: that the city will finally fulfill its obligation to provide all public school children with smaller classes, a quality education, and a better chance to learn.
Please make a tax-deductible contribution to Class Size Matters now!
Happy holidays and a happy New Year,
The court ruling caps an eventful year for Class Size Matters, in which we’ve been busy advocating for all NYC students to be provided with smaller classes and a better opportunity to learn. We led the “Build Schools, not Prisons” campaign to alleviate school overcrowding, and recently the city added 5,000 seats to the capital plan. We co-authored a report on the growing numbers of students discharged from our schools but not counted as dropouts. We published a book on the Bloomberg-Klein educational record that received attention as far away as Australia and Thailand.
We helped form the Parent Commission to advocate for a better school governance law with more real parental input, and together with other public school parents, created NYC Kids Pac, to support candidates who will work for positive change in our schools.
We continue to offer news and information to parents through our two list servs, contribute to and manage the NYC public school parent blog, and also started a column on the Huffington Post. Finally, as mentioned above, we just a won a major case that will hopefully ensure the right of all NYC students to have equal access to the sports fields on Randall’s Island for years to come. Just some of our nearly 100 press clips from the past year are posted on our website.
Please be a part of this effort by contributing what you can. We rely on your financial support. Just click here, or on the link below to give a tax-deductible donation.
Anyone who donates $50 or more will receive a free copy of our acclaimed book, NYC Schools under Bloomberg and Klein, what Parents, Teachers and Policymakers Need to Know, with essays by Diane Ravitch, Debbie Meier, Steve Koss, Patrick Sullivan, and others.
Help us achieve our goal: that the city will finally fulfill its obligation to provide all public school children with smaller classes, a quality education, and a better chance to learn.
Please make a tax-deductible contribution to Class Size Matters now!
Happy holidays and a happy New Year,
Leonie Haimson, Class Size Matters
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