Chap. 40: Unreformed
[JLHS is slated to be "phased out" by the DOE beginning in Sept. 2013. Since I've been blogging about issues in education since Nov. of 2011, I'll chronicle this event.]
Today is Wed., Feb. 6, 2013. If you've read earlier chapters of this blog / memoir, you're aware that I am a teacher at the Jonathan Levin High School for Media and Communications (09x414) and that I am currently "at war" with my administration. I've made no secret of this. Now I have to admit that not only are we one of Bloomberg's reform schools, we are a reform school on the chopping block and this is how it has gone over the past 2 years or so.
In spite of the fact that no teacher / colleague that I know of had anything like a 90% attendance rate during the first 10 years of the existence of the JLHS reform school, that is the attendance number that was accepted by the DOE as our official rate. My own personal attendance rate in various 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th grade classes - yes, I've taught them all over the past 9 years - was something more on the order of 70% and I'm not alone in this. It was always a mystery to us how our administration was able to convince the DOE that our attendance rate from 2003 through 2011 was above 90%. That was never evident in any of our classrooms.
But that inflated attendance rate was a critical part of our "quality review" between 2007 and 2010 when Bloomberg pushed through his grading system on his reform schools. As outlined in various chapter of this blog / memoir, there are many ways to inflate damned statistics. This is, in fact, the real reason that the "education reform" movement is dead set on making these misleading statistics part of the teacher evaluation system, something that Michael Mulgrew and the UFT have so far resisted. The union had better not cave on this issue.
We at JLHS heard from our superintendent Staple that we were slated to be "phased out" beginning in Sept. 2013. We heard his news on Mon., Jan. 7, 2013. As far as we teachers were concerned, this was an "emergency faculty meeting" but it wasn't such an emergency meeting for the superintendent, who was sitting there watching it all when I walked into the meeting at about 11:15 a.m. Actually it was a guy named Dennis, who may be working for the DOE or may be working for someone else - it was impossible to tell what this guy was up to since he didn't seem to be selling used cars - but actually it wasn't our superintendent Staple who gave us the bad news. It was this guy Dennis who must have volunteered for the job since the rest of our CUNY support system just sat there and said nothing. Yes, we have a CUNY support staff who must be getting paid but who did nothing for us as our graduation rate plummeted either because the cohorts we got were in no position to graduate or because our administration had pulled all the statistical rabbits out of its hat that they had in there. The mirage of CUNY support evaporated as soon as we reached for it.
MORE TOMORROW - REAL TIME, FEB. 6 / 7, 2013
whats the latest at levin?? let levin live...ive noticed no new postings are you givingup
ReplyDeletedo you think levin will live?? how will the pep react when they realize they are closing down a school of a media mogul
ReplyDeleteThanks for paying attention. We had a good turn out at our "town hall" meeting in front of Marc Sternberg, the guy who celebrates school closings. Check out Mr. Deputy Chancellor of School Closings on this video that caught him toasting school closings at a happy hour he called for his DOE cronies: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lx-UHgJYWWI
DeleteI haven't gotten around to writing that meeting up yet.
Most have given up. The PEP vote is coming up on Monday March 11 at Brooklyn Tech. I'll be out there just to see what these creeps look like and to get a slice of Junior's cheesecake, which is said to be nearby. JLHS did generate some newsprint. There was a NY Times front page article last Friday that seemed to accept the closing as a done deal. It's interesting that (according to that article) our chancellor Walcott made a phone call to Gerald Levin (father) about the closing of the school rather than to Carol Levin (mother). Gerald Levin has had nothing to do with the school. Carol Levin has been active in the school from its inception and in education ever since her son was killed. She is an amazing lady and was present at that town hall meeting to look Sternberg in the face. Sternberg likes to play with his phone at such times. It's more proof of where their priorities lie - with money rather than with kids or education.
My problem as a blogger is that I'm currently spread too thin. It's enough to be a teacher. Aside from blogging I'm also launching a cartoon at therapydogtails.com. It's a dog therapist and will take up all of my time should I be excessed into the ATR pool, which now seems likely.
Hey thanks for the response,
ReplyDeleteI read where the PEP last night voted to close down Levin. No surprise for anyone here including the UFT. Mulgrew said the UFt had little presence there last night because the union has given up on Bloomberg and will be happy enough to just wait till he leaves office. I will say I did get a chuckle when you said you were going to brooklyn for the PEP meeting just to see what these Panel members look like and to get a piece of cream cheese Juniors!!! Great stuff bud keep up the great work and the best to you
The emperor mayor gets spanked again by the courts. See, he can only get away with his crazy stuff when it comes to the DOE. How many of his crazy decisions would get reversed if they could be??
ReplyDeleteYes I was there last night to witness the PEP - Puppets for Embarrassing Policy. They sat stone faced as a parade of beautiful little kids marched before them pleading for mercy from this naked emperor's panel - and there was a lot of DOE security around - big guys in suits with earplugs. They threw all 22 "failing" schools into a pot, turned the heat on high, and boiled us alive. Unfortunately Juniors cheesecake is too good to throw in their faces1
DeleteSorry you had to witness the bs first hand but this is bloombergland. Our new mayor will restore sanity to all of us.
ReplyDeleteBill Thompson was there. Maybe with the Bloomberg money blinders off, people will be able to see the self-evident.
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