If you live in the district on Long Island where there is an election for the vacated State Senate of Dean Skelos, who was convicted of corruption last year, I urge you to vote for Todd Kaminsky.
Kaminsky’s opponent in the race is receiving massive contributions from StudentsFirstNY and other supporters of charters and vouchers.
Kaminsky is a great friend of public schools and teachers. He has been endorsed by NYSAPE, the state’s leading opt out organization of parents and educators. As a member of the Assembly, he offered four bills to give permanent relief to students and teachers by decoupling test scores from teacher evaluations, by repealing the law that forces struggling schools into “receivership” (state takeover), shortening the time required for testing, and by creating career paths for students to get a diploma without passing five Regents exams.
Kaminsky was endorsed by the New York Times. This is what the Times said about this race:
In Mr. Skelos’s former district in Nassau County, the Democratic candidate is Todd Kaminsky, an assemblyman who, as a former federal prosecutor, seems miraculously well-suited for this moment. He understands Albany’s sick culture, having helped to convict many of the state’s most corrupt legislators before entering politics. One notable target was Pedro Espada Jr., the former senator, now in prison for stealing from a nonprofit organization in the Bronx. Mr. Kaminsky, who has also built a strong record advocating for Hurricane Sandy victims in Long Beach, his hometown, vows to be a full-time lawmaker with a keen focus on ethics.
Pretty much all you need to know about Mr. Kaminsky’s opponent, Christopher McGrath, is that he was handpicked for this race by Joseph Mondello, boss of the Nassau Republican Party, the tainted machine that spawned Mr. Skelos. Mr. McGrath, a genial lawyer who has never run for office before, talks about ethics reform, but it is impossible to take him seriously, given the team he is playing for. He opposes, for example, strictly limiting outside income, so that lawmakers would focus on serving the public interest, not their own. This should be a red flag to voters who remember that lucrative side careers were how both Mr. Skelos and Mr. Silver so easily abused their power and enriched themselves.
My endorsement is personal, from me, not the Network for Public Education, which does not endorse candidates in New York state.
I urge you to vote for Todd Kaminsky, and to encourage your friends to come out and vote.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Thanks so Much for writing about this . I have the utmost respect for you . You inspire me as a teacher . You give us all hope .
Politicians are at the heart of our fight to wrestle public education back from the 1%. Many of them have disappointed us, disgusted us, and let us down. I, for one, can say that I trust very few politicians and have had some pretty heart-wrenching experiences with both state, and federal, lawmakers.
People have asked me why I am supporting and working to get NY Assemblyman Todd Kaminsky elected to the NYS Senate. He is running against Republican Chris McGrath.
Just some quick background – Assm. Kaminsky is running for Dean Skelos’ Senate seat in NY Senate District 9. Senator Skelos, a Republican, was indicted and had to leave office.
People wonder why I am supporting Assemblyman Kaminsky after he voted yes on Gov. Cuomo’s budget bill last year. The budget bill had an education act in it called the Education Transformation Act . The Education Transformation Act (ETA) created the evaluation system that will base 50% of a teacher’s evaluation on student test scores. The act also has some other disastrous stuff for children and communities (over testing, high stakes testing, receivership). To be fair, and honest, many of our lawmakers voted for this budget with the ETA in it. My feeling is they were stuck between a rock and a hard place – vote NO and the Governor puts in HIS OWN BUDGET or vote YES and try to undo some of the damage with further legislation. I, for one, would NOT have wanted to see what the Governors budget could have done to education.
So here we are…
Trust me; NO ONE was harder on Assemblyman Kaminsky than I. I went after him on social media; folks called his office to express their disappointment, angry people met with him about his vote. He quickly arranged a meeting with a team of teachers in the high school that I teach. We took him up on the offer. He came to my high school and met with about a dozen teachers. We were NOT easy on him. He listened, he asked questions, he learned. In May of 2015 he signed onto a bill that would have undone much of what was in the Education Transformation Act. This bill A7303 – sponsored by Assemblywoman Cathy Nolan, sought to undo much of the damage of ETA. Notice that Assemblyman Kaminsky’s name is on that bill, in the second position – he was one of the first to sign off on sponsoring the bill. http://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2015/a7303
After meeting with teachers in my district, he gave me his cell, and I have been in contact with him since last year on various issues having to do with education. He has taken a year to learn, listen, and ask questions. He was NOT happy with much of what he was hearing. Bottom line, for me, he listened, and he learned, and now he is, once again, doing something about it. I appreciate that Assm. Kaminsky listened and sponsored four laws that were about returning teaching and learning to educators. You can read about that work here in the NYSAPE press release http://www.nysape.org/nysape-pr-support-new-ed-legislation.html
Here are a summary of his four bills:
A09626- Immediately decouple teacher evaluations from test results and direct the Board of Regents to establish a committee to research and develop an alternate, research-based method for teacher evaluations, which will ensure that students and teachers both have better experiences in the classroom. http://assembly.state.ny.us/leg/?bn=A09626
A09578 – Repeal State Takeover of Failing Schools and put the school reform process back in the hands of local educators, parents, and other stakeholders who are in the best position to understand the specific needs of the school district http://assembly.state.ny.us/leg/?bn=A09578
A09584 – Reduce testing by directing the Board of Regents to establish a committee to shorten the length of tests and find ways to increase their transparency. Additionally, tests would be given to students, parents, and teachers so that they can be used to improve the manner in which teachers teach, and students learn. http://assembly.state.ny.us/leg/?bn=A09584
A09579 – Create an alternate pathway to graduation by establishing a Career and Practical Education (CPE) pathway to a high school diploma which would provide a valuable alternative for students who do not wish to take – or are unable to pass – the Regents exams. By teaching practical life skills and training students for a career, a CPE pathway will better prepare all New York students for a future following high school. http://assembly.state.ny.us/leg/?bn=A09579
But people are blustering – “He is just doing this to get elected.” My answer to that is his sponsorship of A7303 in May of 2015, AFTER the budget vote LAST YEAR, only proves that he intended to undo the damage of the ETA with his strong sponsorship of the bill. This proves to ME that he intended to do something BEFORE he announced his run for the Senate. Notice the date – this is BEFORE he decided to run. My other answer to that is he has been meeting and in conversation with his constituents about education LONG before he announced his run for the Senate.
http://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2015/a7303
I believe he is doing this for all the right reasons – for the children in his district and for teachers in his district! The defining moment for me was when he said on The Jeff Santos Show, “We have had a public system that has worked and it is not a system where we need to have one size fits all. We also must look at how issues of poverty underlie a lot of what ails us in education. It is hard to expect hungry children to go to school every day and learn.” (paraphrase what he said – you can hear the interview here http://revolutionradionetwork.com/jeff-santos-show-32916 )
One thing stands in our way to get Assemblyman Kaminsky’s bills passed – The Senate!
The Senate is controlled by Republicans (who are led by an ardent supporter of corporate education reform, Sen. John Flanagan). We need what are called “same as” bills in the Senate. In other words, we need Assm. Kaminsky’s four bills to be sponsored by someone in the Senate. The likelihood that will happen, because of the special election April 19th, is like a snowball surviving a heat wave in Florida. The Republican Senate will not want to “elevate” Assm. Kaminsky before the April 19th election.
Sadly, they won’t look at his four bills as doing what is right for children and public education. They don’t get that 240,000 parents refusing the state tests were a referendum on failed education policies that hurt our children, our schools, and our teachers.
It will all be about politics not our children!
We need to also remember that leading the Senate is John Flanagan. Prior to being Senate Majority Leader (Skelos, a Republican, was Senate Majority Leader prior to his indictment) Sen. Flanagan, a Republican, was ranking Senate Majority leader of the NYS Education Committee. Sen. Flanagan, in his tenure as the majority leader of the NYS Education Committee, supported many of the horrific Tisch/King policies we have now in NYS (over testing, high stakes testing, evaluating teachers on test scores). Sen. Flanagan is a HUGE supporter of the policies of corporate education reform and most of the policies that have taken us down this road to education chaos. He is also a member of ALEC https://thepjsta.org/2013/08/23/kye-nys-senators-john-j-flanagan-and-ken-lavalle/) He has received money from Astroturf groups such as StudentsFirst, who seek to push corporate education reform on NY children and NY schools (charters, evaluating teachers on test scores, high stakes testing, receivership Check this out from 2013 https://thepjsta.org/2013/11/02/nearly-1000-rally-against-senator-flanagan/
Make no mistake; Chris McGrath will support what John Flanagan tells him to support – you cannot separate the two.
In fact the McGrath campaign is so grossly misinformed that they are blaming Assemblyman Kaminsky for Common Core and high stakes testing!
Let’s put the blame for Common Core and testing where it is due – Merryl Tisch, John King, and the shadow government that advised King known as The Regents Fellows. We can even throw John Flanagan in there as the ranking majority leader of the Education Committee when all this was hastily rolled out.
Here is the link to Singer’s article on the Regents Fellows – http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alan-singer/new-yorks-secret-educatio_b_4368282.html
Back to McGrath supporter John Flanagan….
Several parents/teachers and I met with John Flanagan last year. Here is our report on that – I would suggest you read it carefully to get a sense of the man who is “supporting” Chris McGrath and who will dictate his education agenda for Senate District 9. http://badassteachers.blogspot.com/search?q=just+another+day+in+paradise
Here is a press release from 2015 demanding Flanagan’s resignation for his failed education agenda and support of Merryl Tisch. Remember, Flanagan supports McGrath! You cannot untangle the two.
http://badassteachers.blogspot.com/search?q=ny+bats+time+for+tisch+and+flanagan+to+step+down
I have every confidence that Assm. Kaminsky WILL NOT support the continued push for corporate education reform. He will NOT be a puppet to the disastrous policies that John Flanagan helped to create and continues to support. Assm. Kaminsky, a former federal prosecutor, will by far uphold the integrity of the office. Read about his work as a federal prosecutor here http://www.wsj.com/articles/new-legislator-kaminsky-a-former-prosecutor-has-peers-on-guard-1427245151
I have every confidence that Assm. Kaminsky will be a champion for Long Island children, teachers, and public education. He has worked hard to get Long Island schools the funding they need. He has learned, he continues to learn, he cares, and he has created four solutions that will bring common sense back to education in NYS. Cuomo and all Albany politicians must stand with Assm. Kaminsky to halt their stance on test/punish and to reverse the damaging Education Transformation Act! The ETA, as it stands now, will restrain the ability of the Regents to set us back on the right course. Assemblyman Kaminsky’s teacher evaluation bill will allow TEACHERS, yes TEACHERS, to write an evaluation plan. It will give the power to execute that plan to the Regents – where it belongs.
Time to focus on the future!
I am going to end this long rambling post with a call in to educators on LI Senate District 9 to get out the vote for Assemblyman Kaminsky April 19th!
We have a choice – Todd Kaminsky, who has proven he will fight for teachers, children, and public education. He will listen and work with his constituents. He will fight for the funding we need & an education system that honors teachers and children
or
Chris McGrath, someone who is aligned with John Flanagan and his continued drive to destroy public education in New York State.
So, if you live in New York and in the following towns: Hewlett/Woodmere, Lawrence, Inwood, Lynbrook, Valley Stream, Rockville Centre, Oceanside, Baldwin, Island Park, Long Beach, Cedarhurst, East Rockaway, Malverne, W. Hempstead, So. Hempstead, or Elmont you have the chance to vote Assemblyman Kaminsky into the Senate on April 19th.
I am so distraught this election year! I really do not know who to support. I am troubled by Assemblyman Kaminsky’s original vote that put us into this situation in the first place. He voted against teachers! Do you truly believe he has changed his stance? Will he support us in the future?
Cinthia, you can be certain that his opponent wil vote against teachers ad keep control of the State Senate in the heads of enemies of public schools
“People wonder why I am supporting Assemblyman Kaminsky after he voted yes on Gov. Cuomo’s budget bill last year.”
“To be fair, and honest, many of our lawmakers voted for this budget with the ETA in it.”
Yes, and there were many who stood up to Cuomo, blasted his bullying tactics to get it pushed through, and then had the integrity to vote NO. I have a very difficult time separating anyone from their vote on this. It was a vote to throw teachers and the children of NY state under the bus.