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New York: Top State Officials Oppose Plan to Lower Standards for Charter Teachers

By dianeravitch
September 8, 2017 //
3

Chair of the New York Board of Regents Dr. Betty Rosa and State Education Commissioner Dr. MaryEllen Elia issued a statement strongly opposing the proposal by the State University of New York Charter Committee to lower standards for new charter teachers.

Charter schools complain that they can’t hire enough certified teachers so want lower standards. They also have high rates of teacher turnover.

Rosa and Elia suggest there may be reasons for their inability to recruit and retain qualified teachers. They already have significant exemptions to allow the hiring of uncertified teachers, like TFA, tenured or tenure-track college faculty, and “individuals who possess exceptional business, professional, artistic, athletic, or military experience.”

Please sign a letter to the SUNY trustees in support of qualified teachers for every child.

Categories New York, Teacher Education, Teachers and Teaching

Nicholas Tampio: The New York Regents Should Reject the Failed, Renamed Common Core Standards

By dianeravitch
September 2, 2017 //
27

Nicholas Tampio calls on the Regents of the State of New York, the state school board, to reject the rebranded Common Core standards.

Tampio is a professor of political science at Fordham University.

He writes:

“On Sept. 11-12, the New York State Board of Regents will consider adopting the Next Generation Learning Standards for English language arts and mathematics. The standards are nearly identical with the Common Core and keep the features that parents have loudly, and justifiably, protested. New York should not keep wasting time and money on low-quality academic standards. The Regents should vote no on the renamed Common Core standards.

“The New Paltz Board of Education made a public comment describing how the “new” standards are virtually indistinguishable from the Common Core. “Of the 34 ELA anchor standards, 32 are word-for-word identical when compared to the original anchor standard,” the board said.

“Here is the first Next Generation ELA anchor standard: “Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly/implicitly and make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text.” This is the first Common Core anchor standard and the basis of Common Core’s emphasis on “close reading.”

“On assignment after assignment, assessment after assessment, Common Core close reading works the same way. Students provide verbatim evidence from a text to answer questions about the text. As a professor, I know that this pedagogy fails to prepare students for college, and as a parent, I see that it leads to a dreary school day.

“The Common Core standards train children merely to regurgitate other people’s words.

“For instance, the 2017 Regents ELA examination, based on Common Core, asked that students write an essay on whether school recess should be structured play. The exam provided four texts and instructed students to “use specific, relevant, and sufficient evidence from at least three of the texts to develop your argument.”

“Three of the four texts argued for structured recess. The three that argued for structured recess were two pages; the one that argued for free play was one page.

“Parents expressed outrage on social media that this exam provided a wealth of evidence for students who argued for structured recess and little evidence for students who thought that students might enjoy free play.

“This problem is baked into the standards. The Common Core standards give students few opportunities to share their own thoughts or responses to the material. New York can do a better job writing standards and showing the rest of the country that the federal Every Student Succeeds Act really does open a door to exiting the Common Core.”

New York had far superior standards prior to adopting the Common Core standards as a devil’s bargain to win Race to the Top money.

Categories Accountability, Common Core, Education Industry, New York, Teachers and Teaching

Leonie Haimson: Test Scores in New York State Are Meaningless, Again

By dianeravitch
August 25, 2017 //
28

Leonie Haimson assesses the latest test scores from New York. New York is still using the Common Core, but with a new name, so of course the majority of students in the state “failed,” which was the purpose of the Common Core standards, to make public schools look bad so that privatization would be easier to sell to the public.

Leonie has something that no one in the New York State Education Department has: a historical memory, clear knowledge of the frequent changes in cut scores, constant manipulation of the data.

Leonie writes:

“The NY state and city test scores were released this week. Proficiency rates statewide increased again though by a smaller amount than last year. In English Language Arts, the percentage of students in grades 3-8 who scored at proficient levels increased by an average of 1.9 percentage points; from 37.9% in 2016 to 39.8%. In math, the students who scored at proficiency rose to 40.2%, up 1.1 points from 29.1% last year.

“In NYC the increases were a little larger: a gain of more than two points in ELA proficiency to 40.6% and 1.4 points to 37.8% proficiency in math.

“Commissioner Elia, Mayor de Blasio and Chancellor Farina claimed that the increase in proficiency since 2013 was strong evidence that our students and schools are making progress.

“Yet the reality is that the trends over the last 15 years have not matched any of the trends on the more reliable national test called the NAEPs, for either NYC or the state as a whole.

“In fact, the NY State Education Department has appeared unable since 2002 to produce a reliable test and score it consistently enough to allow one to assess if there’s been any sort of improvement in our schools. Instead, Commissioners and their staff have repeatedly changed cut scores and set proficiency rates to make political points.

“There are many ways to show increases in proficiency — a metric notoriously easy to manipulate — including making the tests easier, shorter, giving them untimed, and/or changing the scoring by lowering the raw scores to scale scores or the cut scores need for proficiency. The state has used all these tricks over time.”

Read it all. She nails the fraud perpetrated by the state and ignored by journalists.

Categories Accountability, Common Core, Education Reform, Fraud, New York, Standardized Testing

New York: Latest State Tests Show That Opt Out Continues to be a Powerful Force

By dianeravitch
August 25, 2017 //
3

The latest test results show the continuing strength of the Opt Out Movement in New York state. Every year, the numbers must be renewed, as eighth graders move on to a non-tested grade and new students arrive in third grade. Despite efforts by state officials to placate the movement, it still hovers at about 20% of all students in the state.


http://www.nysape.org/nysape-pr-2017-opt-out-results.html

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 24, 2017
More information contact:
Lisa Rudley (917) 414-9190; nys.allies@gmail.com
Jeanette Deutermann (516) 902-9228; nys.allies@gmail.com
NYS Allies for Public Education (NYSAPE)

2017 Test Boycott Numbers Remain High; Parents from all Demographics Continue to Reject Test & Punish System

Over 225,000 parents across the state, including tens of thousands of first-time refusers, rejected the state’s test-and-punish system, as evidenced by a third consecutive year of opt out numbers hovering near 20%. This is remarkable given that NYSED and local districts continue their attempts to squelch opt out by distributing misleading information and threatening dire consequences that create an environment of confusion and fear for families.

While Commissioner Elia would like to portray students who boycott the state ELA and math tests as ‘white students in rich or average wealth districts’, the data says differently. Only 8% of public school districts even met the required 95% testing participation rate, demonstrating how parents from all districts and demographics are boycotting the testing regime.*

The Board of Regents approved a reduction in state testing from 6 to 4 days (combined ELA and math) at their May meeting. While this is a step in the right direction, significant problems remain. Due to Commissioner Elia’s untimed testing mandate, many students continue to sit for up to 6 hours of testing per day; the Common Core standards, now rebranded the Next Generation Learning Standards, are still far from developmentally appropriate; and student data privacy is still at significant risk. Rather than focusing on the work that needs to be done, including truly overhauling the standards and creating meaningful and developmentally appropriate assessments, Commissioner Elia continues to be divisive, undermining the direction the Board of Regents and the trust of New Yorkers.

Jeanette Deutermann, Long Island public school parent, Long Island Opt Out founder and founding member of NYSAPE said, “While State education officials and corporate-reform lobbyist interests debate and interpret the assessment results and opt out numbers using the usual rhetoric, we see parents from all school districts including first-time refusers, overwhelmingly rejecting this test and punish system. Not only have they chosen to protect their children, but they have also joined our community of parents committed to advocating for whole-child policies in our classrooms. This network of hundreds of thousands of advocates will continue to grow and develop strategies to fight against those who wish to profit from our children.”

“NYSED continues to ignore best practices for children and New York State Schools. The test score results only shine a light on the fact that NYSED continues to try and mislead parents and teachers. NYSED has a long way to go to regain the trust of parents and educators in New York State. Opt Out is remaining steady and is adding thousands of new parents each year,” said Marla Kilfoyle, Long Island public school parent, educator and Executive Director of BATs.

Eileen Graham, Rochester public school parent and founder of the Black Student Leadership organization, expressed, “I would like to see more realistic efforts towards meeting the needs of children and not making our children testing ‘lab rats.’ I’m extremely angry that we keep obsessing over testing; instead of partnering with teachers and parents to ensure our children discover their greatness and learn the brilliance they bring to their schools and the world.”

Bianca Tanis, Ulster County public school parent, educator and founding member of NYSAPE, said, “We are five years into the State’s implementation of these clearly flawed standards and assessments and we are still labeling 60% of our students as failures. The Next Generation Learning Standards are nothing more than a rebranded version of the Common Core, adhering to the same invalid back-mapping methodology and lacking any basis in research or evidence. It is time to scrap these shoddy standards and assessments and start over.”

“These tests aren’t serving any purpose other than to keep the testing treadmill turning, preventing meaningful assessment alternatives from emerging and perpetuating unworkable teacher evaluation models. This testing system stifles children’s thirst for learning and is being used to usher in pervasive computer-based testing activity,” said Fred Smith, testing specialist and former administrative analyst for New York City public schools.

Kemala Karmen, Brooklyn public school parent and founding member of NYC Opt Out said, “The Commissioner, and others, including NYC’s mayor and chancellor, disingenuously use the test scores to boast that students are making “progress.” Progress on standardized tests can only be measured if the testing instrument, conditions, and manner of scoring remain consistent from year to year. This is not the case. Changes this year include some students taking the tests on computers rather than paper and some students having questions read aloud (meaning that they are no longer being tested on decoding, as in previous years). As ever, the determination of what raw score equals “proficient” changes every year and the untimed policy (and failure to track how long students are actually spending) makes direct comparison even less tenable.”

Johanna Garcia, NYC public school parent and President of the District 6 Community Education Council said, “There were many reports of intentional misinformation that bordered on students’ and parents’ civil rights being violated. If NYSED and NYCDOE had confidence in the testing regime, they wouldn’t have to heavily invest in policies that condoned internal threats and scare tactics. Because of their fear mongering, we see classrooms with students learning in fear. We need to finally have a public education system that’s accountable to the students’ learning instead of false numbers that further political agendas.”

New York parents remain steadfast in their advocacy for stronger child-centered policies and will continue to boycott state tests that are a waste of precious resources that would be better served addressing the opportunity gap.

* Participation rate calculated by counting NYC as one district (as NYSED itself often does). Public schools only (not charter schools).

NYSAPE is a grassroots coalition with over 50 parent and educator groups across the state.

###

Categories Accountability, New York, Opt Out, Parent Groups, Parents, Testing

Cynthia Nixon: Why Won’t Cuomo and the Legislature Fully Fund Our Public Schools?

By dianeravitch
August 18, 2017 //
28

The story has circulated in the media that megastar Cynthia Nixon may run against Andrew Cuomo for governor. You may have seen her on television or on Broadway, but what you don’t know if that she is a public school parent in New York City and cares deeply about public education.

In this article, she explains that New York City public schools have been denied funding that was promised by the courts. She also explains that Andrew Cuomo is no friend of public education. He is a cheerleader for the charter industry, whose wealthy patrons have underwritten his past campaigns.

Nixon knows more about education that any other candidate who will be on the ballot in 2018 in New York state.

She writes:

As a public school parent, I am fearful about what our new U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos has in store for our nation’s public schools.

The Trump-DeVos agenda includes more support for privately run charter schools — which in DeVos’ home state of Michigan are known for being some of the worst performing in the country — and a dramatic expansion of school privatization through vouchers. It could also greatly reduce federal funding for public schools. For New York State that could mean a cut of up to $2.5 billion.

Frightening. But equally frightening is how much Betsy DeVos and Andrew Cuomo’s policies echo each other.

Governor Cuomo wants to eliminate New York’s obligation to provide schools statewide with $4.3 billion in additional funding, including nearly $287 million for schools in Westchester, Rockland and Putnam counties. There is no doubt that high-needs schools require this support: Guidance counselors in Yonkers carry a caseload of 750 students. Ossining and Peekskill struggle to find resources to serve a growing influx of English language learners. And parents in Mount Vernon are suing the state to receive their fair share of education funding. We have the same problems in New York City.

In 2001, on the day my oldest child Sam began kindergarten, I was shocked to find that two thirds of the school’s paraprofessionals, the art teacher, the music teacher and the assistant principal were all gone since the spring tour I had taken a few months earlier — casualties of a woefully inadequate budget. On that day, I joined the fight for New York State to fully implement the ruling from the landmark Campaign for Fiscal Equity lawsuit against the state…

In 2007 and 2008, the state made progress towards its constitutional obligations to students by funding Foundation Aid, but after Cuomo took office he did everything he could to avoid paying this debt, and now he wants to eliminate Foundation Aid outright.

He also wants to increase the number of privately-run charter schools in New York City by more than 50 percent. And he has been a loud proponent of private school tax credits, essentially a backdoor voucher system. These are policies we expect from Betsy DeVos, but from Andrew Cuomo?

Whoever runs for office in New York and in other states should go on the record about whether they support public schools. We know the answer from Cuomo. He wants more charter schools. This will be an albatross around his neck if he runs for president in 2020. That is, unless Cynthia Nixon beats him!

Categories Budget Cuts, Charter Schools, Cuomo, Andrew, Funding, New York

New York: State Commissioner Boots Paladino OffBuffalo School Board

By dianeravitch
August 17, 2017 //
22

New York State Commissioner MaryEllen Elia kicked billionaire Carl Paladino off the Buffalo school board.

http://buffalonews.com/2017/08/17/state-education-commissioner-removes-paladino-from-school-board/

Paladino has enriched himself by expanding charter schools, then leasing space to them. He has made racist remarks. He is Trump’s biggest supporter in the state.

But that is not why he got bounced. The reason is mundane.

Categories Charter Schools, Corporate Reformers, New York

New York Superintendent Calls on Regents to Mandate 40 Minutes a Day for Recess

By dianeravitch
August 14, 2017 //
25

Dr. Michael Hynes, the superintendent of the Patchogue-Medford schools on Long Island in New York, wrote a letter to the New York Board of Regents asking them to mandate 40 minutes a day for recess.

In Finland, the highest performing nation in Europe, students have a recess after every class. Educators believe children need to run around and play and move for 10-15 minutes between classes, mostly out of doors. Finland has no standardized tests for students in elementary schools or in the middle grades. Finnish schools value creativity and physical activity. They must be doing something right. It is working.

And our educators must plead for only 40 minutes a day of physical activity!

Here is his video about the importance of recess.

And here is his letter to the State Superintendent and the Board of Regents:


Dear Commissioner Elia and members of the New York State Board of Regents:

On behalf of “whole child” educators and parents across the state of New York, I write to you to strongly consider and discuss a mandate that will benefit ALL children: a declaration that requires all Kindergarten-5th grade students to physically, emotionally, academically and socially benefit from 40 minutes of self-directed recess every day they are in our care at school.

I can certainly cite the multiple benefits about recess but I think this statement from the CDC best sums up why this is a worthy proposition:

Recess is at the heart of a vigorous debate over the role of schools in promoting the optimal development of the whole child. A growing trend toward reallocating time in school to accentuate the more academic subjects has put this important facet of a child’s school day at risk. Recess serves as a necessary break from the rigors of concentrated, academic challenges in the classroom. But equally important is the fact that safe and well-supervised recess offers cognitive, social, emotional, and physical benefits that may not be fully appreciated when a decision is made to diminish it. Recess is unique from, and a complement to, physical education—not a substitute for it. The American Academy of Pediatrics believes that recess is a crucial and necessary component of a child’s development and, as such, it should not be withheld for punitive or academic reasons.
Moreover, I have seen firsthand in my school district what regularly scheduled periods within the school day for unstructured physical activity and play has done for our elementary age students, staff and parents. I have never seen so many happy and well-adjusted children in my twenty years as an educator. I respectfully request that NYSED consider this discussion item and would be honored to speak about the rationale and benefits in person if requested to do so.

If the New York State Education Department truly wants to become a leader and advocate for what ALL children need and deserve, I believe this is an essential first step. I thank you in advance for your attention to this matter and look forward to your response.

Very truly yours,

Michael J. Hynes, Ed.D.
Patchogue-Medford Superintendent of Schools

Categories Childhood, New York, Play

Civil Rights and Education Groups Demand Cuomo Disassociate from Dan Loeb, Return His Campaign Contributions

By dianeravitch
August 11, 2017 //
23

A group of civil rights and education organizations called on Governor Andrew Cuomo to return the money he has received from hedge fund manager Daniel Loeb. Cuomo hopes to run for president in 2020: what matters most to him? Campaign funding or the civil rights constituency?

PRESS RELEASE

CIVIL RIGHTS AND COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS CALL ON GOVERNOR CUOMO TO ENTIRELY DISASSOCIATE HIMSELF FROM DAN LOEB, RETURN CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS FOLLOWING RACIST REMARKS

ALBANY, NY (August 11, 2017) — In the wake of hedge fund billionaire Dan Loeb’s racist attack on State Senate Democratic Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins on Wednesday, 14 organizations have released a letter calling on Governor Andrew Cuomo to disassociate himself from Loeb, a Cuomo ally and supporter, and to return the more than $170,000 in campaign donations that he has received from Loeb.

The organizations made the demand in a letter addressed to Governor Cuomo Friday morning. The letter states, “Loeb’s extremely offensive and racist attack on Senator Stewart-Cousins requires swift and dramatic action. As a longstanding ally of Loeb, and the leader of the State of New York and of the Democratic Party in New York, it is essential that you provide leadership to show that such racist statements will not be tolerated in any way. This must begin with you: It would be unconscionable to keep Mr. Loeb’s money and to continue to allow him to influence policy in Albany after his un-American attack on Leader Stewart-Cousins.”
“It is imperative that you disassociate yourself entirely from Dan Loeb and send a clear message that he has no place in public policy in New York State,” the letter continues. Read the full letter here.

The organizations that signed the letter include Action Potluck, Alliance for Quality Education, Badass Teachers Association, The Black Institute, Brooklyn Movement Center, Citizen Action of New York, Hedge Clippers, Justice League NYC, Make the Road New York, New York Communities for Change, New York Indivisible, Strong Economy for All, True Blue NY, and Working Families Party.

Categories Accountability, Charter Schools, Civil Rights, Cuomo, Andrew, New York, Racism

Daniel Loeb, Hedge Fund Manager and Chairman of Success Academy, Slanders African-American Legislator

By dianeravitch
August 11, 2017 //
18

Daniel Loeb, billionaire chair of the board of Success Academy Charter Schools, slandered State Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins, an African-American woman who is the Democratic leader of the State Senate.

The backstory is that Cuomo has collaborated with a group of breakaway Democrats who side with the Republicans in the State Senate. Although Democrats have the majority in the Senate at 32-31, the so-called Independent Democrats vote with the Republicans, assuring that Republicans continue to control the Senate even though they are in the minority. Charter supporters, like Daniel Loeb, know that the interests of both charters and the financial community are safe with the Republicans. If Democrats had enough votes to control the State Senate, Senator Stewart-Cousins would be majority leader. Cuomo likes having Republicans in control because it allows him to be the broker between the Assembly and the Senate. Cuomo prides himself on his fiscal conservatism, so he is happy to have Republicans running the upper chamber of the legislature. It also guarantees that Cuomo won’t be forced to veto progressive legislation.

In a private meeting with Democratic members of the State Senate, trying for unity, Cuomo noted that most of the Senate members were from New York City, and that the leader of the Independent Democrats, Jeffrey Klein (whose district is mainly in the Bronx, with a sliver in suburban Westchester), had a better understanding of the suburbs than the city representatives. At that point, Senator Stewart-Cousins objected and pointed out that she represents the suburbs of Westchester.

After this story appeared, Daniel Loeb hurled a slur at Senator Stewart-Cousins on Facebook.

The hedge fund manager Daniel S. Loeb, a prominent supporter of charter schools and a major financial backer of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and congressional Republicans, accused the African-American woman who leads the Democrats in the New York State Senate of having done “more damage to people of color than anyone who has ever donned a hood.”

Mr. Loeb made the reference, apparently to the Ku Klux Klan, in a posting on Facebook in response to an article in The New York Times this week in which the Democratic leader, Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins, confronted Mr. Cuomo about prejudging her based upon race and gender.

In a private meeting last month, The Times reported, Ms. Stewart-Cousins said to Mr. Cuomo during a debate over who best understands suburban voters: “You look at me, Mr. Governor, but you don’t see me. You see my black skin and a woman, but you don’t realize I am a suburban legislator.”

Mr. Loeb weighed in on behalf of Senator Jeffrey D. Klein of the Bronx, the leader of a group of Democrats that has split from Ms. Stewart-Cousins.

“Thank God for Jeff Klein and those who stand for educational choice and support Charter funding that leads to economic mobility and opportunity for poor knack kids,” Mr. Loeb wrote, with “knack” apparently a typographical error for “black.” “Meanwhile hypocrites like Stewart-Cousins who pay fealty to powerful union thugs and bosses do more damage to people of color than anyone who has ever donned a hood.”

Mr. Klein leads a group of eight Democrats who in 2011 broke away from the main Democratic conference, led by Ms. Stewart-Cousins. Mr. Klein’s group, the Independent Democratic Conference, has in the past sided with the Republicans in the Senate to keep Ms. Stewart-Cousins out of the powerful post of majority leader.

Daniel Loeb is a major player in the charter world because of his chairmanship of Success Academy. He is also a major player in politics because he is a big donor. When Ivanka Trump visited New York City, Loeb escorted her on a tour of one of Eva Moskowitz’s Success Academy charter schools.

Mr. Loeb and his wife have donated more than $170,000 to Mr. Cuomo in recent years, state records show. He has also supported Republicans, with contributions including $500,000 to a super PAC that supported Jeb Bush in 2015, $150,000 to the Republican National Committee that year and $700,000 to a super PAC supporting House Republicans in 2016.

Carol Burris wrote recently that Loeb had given even more money to Cuomo than the Times reported:

Success Academy Chairman Daniel Loeb, founder and chief executive of Third Rock Capital, and his wife, have directly contributed over $133,000 to Cuomo. Since 2015, Loeb has added $300,000 to Moskowitz’s PAC, and another $270,000 to other PACs that support Cuomo. That’s more than $700,000.

Daniel Loeb shows the true colors of the charter industry in New York City. He doesn’t pretend to be a liberal. He has the nerve to call an African-American legislator “worse” than the Ku Klux Klan. What do you call a man like this? Indecent? Shameless? Arrogant?

For many reasons, I place billionaire Daniel S. Loeb on this blog’s Wall of Shame.

Categories Billionaires, Charter Schools, Corporate Reformers, Cuomo, Andrew, Education Reform, New York, Privatization, Wall of Shame

Carol Burris: The Link Connecting Charter Schools, Cuomo, Political Donations, and Teacher Certification

By dianeravitch
August 3, 2017 //
34

Carol Burris has written a bombshell piece exposing the links that connect charter schools, political money, and teacher certification.

Wall Street gives heavily to Governor Cuomo. Hedge fund managers love charter schools, those entrepreneurial start-ups that they identify with. Charter schools in New York have a serious problem retaining teachers. Some charters have a teacher turnover rate exceeding 50% every year. Several charters authorized by the State University of New York (SUNY) had teacher attrition rates of at least 70%. The charter committee of SUNY was appointed by Governor Cuomo. It is considering a plan to allow new teachers to bypass the state’s high standards and to gain their teaching credential from the charter. This credential would not be recognized by any public schools in New York State.

Want to know what’s behind all of these machinations?

Let’s look at the confluence of Cuomo-appointed SUNY board members to large contributions of charter boards to Cuomo’s campaigns[1].

“The corporation with the largest number of charter schools under the control of the SUNY Charter School Institute is the Success Academy charter chain, run by Eva Moskowitz. Her political action committee, the Great Public Schools PAC, contributed $65,000 to Cuomo in 2011-2012 and another $50,000 to date in 2017. Success Academy Chairman Daniel Loeb, founder and chief executive of Third Rock Capital, and his wife, have directly contributed over $133,000 to Cuomo. Since 2015, Loeb has added $300,000 to Moskowitz’s PAC, and another $270,000 to other PACs that support Cuomo. That’s more than $700,000.

“Other Success Academy present or former board member families who contributed over $100,000 either directly to, or to PACS, supporting Cuomo include: Andrew and Dana Stone ($280,000), Bruce Kovner ($130,000); Joel and Julia Greenblatt ($280,000), John and Regina Scully of California ($110,000), John Petry ($130,000) and Daniel Nir and his wife Jill Braufman ($152,500). An additional nine other Success Academy Board members, including three who live outside New York state, collectively contributed hundreds of thousands directly or indirectly to Cuomo. Most of the contributions are direct donations.

“The Success Board is only one example of many. Paul Tudor Jones is the founder of Excellence Boys Charter School of Bedford Stuyvesant, which is also authorized by the SUNY Charter Board. He and his wife, who both live in Connecticut, contributed $400,000, with most of the contributions going into PACs that gave to the governor. Even the charter-loving Waltons, who don’t live in New York, have jumped in — nearly $100,000 in direct contributions to Cuomo and over $100,000 into PACs. And it doesn’t end there. Charter board members from the Harlem Children’s Zone to Hebrew Academy Charter Schools contribute large sums of money to Cuomo.”

That kind of money buys a lot of friendship.

We will see if it is enough to establish a special route for charter school teachers: one with lower standards.

Categories Accountability, Charter Schools, Cuomo, Andrew, Education Industry, Harlem Success Academy, New York, Privatization, Teachers and Teaching
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