From the Grassroots - Gem Newsletter Oct 2010

8/8/2019 From the Grassroots - Gem Newsletter Oct 2010

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/from-the-grassroots-gem-newsletter-oct-2010 1/4

Fall into the Gap: High Stakes Testing, Mayor Bloomberg, and the

Dismantling of Public EducationThe release of the 2010 New York State test scores exposed the failures of Mayor Bloomberg’s and Joel Klein’s education reforms. While they braggedabout closing the achievement gap, it was actually widening. A deceptivefocus on high-stakes testing has undermined public education and led oureducation system astray, with all signs pointing to this being their intentionall along.

From limiting and, in many cases, ignoring parental and community inputin decisions to hand out large contracts to private corporations, the currentadministration has done great harm to the public schools. The entire publiceducation system is in great danger of being swallowed up by the forces of privatization.

This administration created and promoted an agenda built on high-stakestesting and accountability standards rooted in illusionary and corporatecompetitive practices. The public was told students were improving; that theachievement gap was narrowing; that closing neighborhood public schoolsand replacing them with small schools or charter schools was the magicbullet; that teachers, principals, schools and students should have their meritand livelihoods tied to standardized tests; that tests results were the onlyproof of learning.

They wove a web of lies and spun it as truth, all based on an inatedstream of manipulatedstatistics, bunkcorrelations, and high-priced PR packaged topull at our heart stringswhile pitting educationworkers against eachother, the public againstteachers, and neighboragainst neighbor.

The truth is that todaythe self-proclaimedEducation Mayorcannot use test scores to show that children in New York City are faring anybetter since he took control of the schools.

From the Grassroots Vol. 2, No. 1 Grassroots Education Movement [email protected] October, 2010

To Eva Moskowitz,

a former city council

member who rose

to prominence via

hearings decrying

the perdy of public

school teachers.

After losing her

bid for Manhattan

Borough President,she became CEO of

a chain of non-union

charters, paying

herself $380,000,

50% higher than the

Chancellor who she

tells which schools

to close, which

spaces she needs,

and offers various

and sundry advice

on the undermining

and privatizationof public schools.

She enthusiastically

supported Klein’s

8-page contract

proposal, which

essentially ignored

every gain working

people had made

during the twentieth

century.

To Karen Lewis,

whose election as

president of the

Chicago Teachers

Union, along with

her entire Caucus

of Rank & File

Educators has

raised the hopes of

teachers seeking trueeducation and union

reform nationwide.

In the few short

months since her

election, Lewis and

two and a half year

old CORE have

become eloquent

spokespersons and

representatives

for a new teacher

voice, combining

a strong defenseof teachers rights

along with building

strong alliances with

parents, communities

and students.

continued on page 4

GEMNYC: WHO WE ARE Inform, Support, Inspire: Promoting Policies for a Fully Funded and Effective Public School System

The Grassroots Education Movement (GEMNYC) educates, organizes, and mobilizes educators, parents, students and communities to

defend public education. Too many current corporate and government policies seek to underfund, undermine and privatize our public

school system. GEM advocates around issues dealing with the equality and quality of public educational services as well as the rights

of teachers and school workers. These issues include the incessant push for charter schools, the attack on union rights, the focus on

high-stakes standardized testing, school closures, and the failure to address the racism and inequality that exists within our schools. As

the attacks on public education and teachers grow more vicious, the collective organization of those who directly face these attacks at

the grassroots level becomes all the more essential, and in fact constitutes the most effective potential resistance. GEM advocates for a

positive vision of education reform by building alliances with other activist groups and organizing and helping coordinate the struggle

at the grassroots school and community level, with a focus on school-level organizing. Join us. See our meeting schedule on Page 4.

Contact GEM: [email protected] Blog: http://grassrootseducationmovement.blogspot.com

A GEM Coal A GEM Diamond

GEM at AFT Convention

Seattle- July 2010



Access to a high quality public education is not something

that should not be won in a lottery — it is a most basic human

and civil right. Yet, in May, the Legislature voted to raise the

charter school cap, allowing 460 charters in the state, 200 in

the ve boroughs. 125 will already be open this September.

What do these charter schools really represent? Are they the

innovation and reform we need in education as our president

and his education secretary so frequently proclaim? In eachnewsletter, we will explore the issue: Are charter schools

improving education? Or are they destabilizing, threatening and

hindering the public education of our children? By privatizing

and outsourcing public education, are charter schools dividing

communities in New York City and around the country? Read

on to discover the myths and truths about charter schools. Then,

please join our ght to improve and preserve public education

for all.

Charter School Myth #1: Charter Schools Are Public

Charter Schools: Myths and Truths

Truth: “Public” means open to all

members of a community. Charter schools

conduct lotteries to select students.

They do not accept just any student who

wishes to register during the school year

(as public schools do). Charter schools

currently only educate less than three

percent of our city’s children, yet the

mayor and chancellor grant them superior

attention and power to do as they please.

While the lottery is supposedly conducted

blind, many charter schools have been

found to counsel out students who presentbehavioral challenges or need services

such as counseling, ESL, small class sizes,

occupational or physical therapy. East

New York Preparatory discharged 48% of

their students just before state exams last

year. KIPP, Harlem Success Academy,

and Harlem Children’s Zone (all charter

school chains) have been found guilty of

the same practice. What kind of school

gets rid of students in need? Not a public

school. In addition, many charter schools

require parents to sign contracts in order

for their children to be enrolled. Thesecontracts often include basic behavioral

and uniform codes, but can also include

strict requirements about volunteer hours

and participation in meetings/workshops.

If parents cannot live up to their end of

this bargain, their children will no longer

be allowed to attend the school. These

are not the practices of

public schools. While

it would be optimal to

have parents in school

volunteering, to make it a strict mandate

infantilises parents. The great genius

of our public school system is that it is

inclusive—regardless of your family’s

situation, you are guaranteed access to a

free education.

Truth: According to the NY State Charter

Act of 1998, a charter school is dened,

not as a public entity, but as an “education

corporation.” Furthermore, the law states

that charter schools are exempt from all

state and local laws, rules, regulations

and policies typically applying to public

and private schools. Should the education

of our children be outsourced to private

corporations who are free from regulation

and oversight? Our nation’s current

nancial crisis is due, in part, to these

same practices.

Truth: Charter schools are not governed

democratically, often limiting the input

and voice of parents, students and

teachers. If our children are to grow

up to be functional members of our

democracy, they need to be witnesses

to and participants in the democratic

process. Signicant documentation exists

about the authoritarian practices charter

schools use when it comes to discipline,

conduct, and even instruction. For

example, at Harlem Success Academies,

kindergartners are put through a two-week

“boot camp,” in which they learn how to

walk, sit and eat in silence. Social skills

are often overlooked, as charter schools

push their students to achieve higher

and higher marks on state-mandated

assessments. KIPP schools have been

accused of micro-managing students and

even resorting to public humiliation as a

form of punishment. Should schools only

be focused on telling children to do as

they are told, to the exclusion of learning

to question, to challenge ideas, and most

importantly to think for themselves? Most

charter schools appear preoccupied, not

with meeting the needs of their students,

but rather, pushing their students to meet

the needs of the school (high-test scores

for good publicity), an “adult needs before

children” mentality.

In Our Next Issue:

Charter School Myth #2: Charter Schools

serve the same student populations as

public schools.

ATTEND GEM MEETINGS: SEPT. 28: IMPACT OF TESTING, OCT. 26: SCHOOL CLOSINGS

Page 2



June 4th, 2010 — A perfect spring morning. Over 25 public schools were buzzing with unusual energy. A boisterous

mix of parents, staff and students gathered in front of their schools to speak out against the devastating attacks on public

schools. The nearly 1000 protesters were opposing massive budget cuts, charter school invasions, school closings and a

testing regime gone mad. The coordinated actions of the schools involved will lead to the growth of future organizing ef-

forts and the continued city-wide ght for a just and equitable school system.

While the independent voices and goals of each school community were maintained, all of the protests were united as they

built parent-teacher-student cooperation and trust. Protesters held signs with slogans such as “Banks Bailed Out, SchoolsSold Out” and led chants, “Mike the Mayor, Public School Slayer.” Nearly 2000 petitions directed to the mayor were

signed as many passersby joined the protesters in demanding immediate reinstatement of funds cut from school budgets

for the 2010-2011 school year.

The June 4th day of action culminated

at 4pm, when 100 people descended

on the Tweed Courthouse (DOE head-

quarters) for a spirited rally which at-

tracted print and press coverage (ABC,

Channel 5). Chambers Street drivers

honked their horns and shouted words

of support as a variety of speakersaddressed the crowd. At some schools,

the June 4th actions turned into “Fight

Back Fridays” as schools continued

protesting through the close of the

school year.

On June 4th, PS 24 in Sunset Park

Brooklyn had one of the largest

turnouts of both staff and parents. PS

24’s success was due, in large part, to

their sustained school-based parent

and teacher organizing, staff politi-cal education groups, and meaningful

inclusion of parents in their organizing

efforts.

Throughout the 2009-2010 school

year, a group of parents and teachers

worked together on a campaign

to inform their school community

about the DOE’s plan to introduce

standardized testing into K-2

classrooms. Several forums with

various workshops co-led by staff and parents were held in an effort

to establish an on-going dialogue

about the problems with high stakes

testing and the possibilities of

alternative assessments. PS 24 is in

a predominantly Latino immigrant

neighborhood and all of the workshops

were conducted in Spanish and

English to make participation possible

for all of the families. Through these

workshops a core of active parents and

teachers began to form. Meanwhile,

for the few months leading up to June

4th, staff members at PS 24 gathered

during lunch every other week to

read articles and discuss the many

important issues affecting schools and

public education in general. It wasthis group of educators that originally

came up with the idea for the June 4th

protests. The parents who had been

working on the K-2 testing issue were

already interested and involved in

educational politics and were eager to

help promote the protest.

Parents of PS 24 students felt valued

as part of the school community. The

150 parents that had attended the three

forums already knew that they werebeing taken seriously as partners in

their children’s education and that

their participation was a priority of

the school community. After hearing

teachers and other parents speak about

resisting policies and decisions that

were harmful to students, the parents

were eager and ready to mobilize

when there was a call to action.

The issue based, collaborative organiz-

ing and educating work that occurredat PS 24 is an important model for

building a base of active and informed

parents and staff, as well as a for

identifying and nurturing new leaders.

As the community of parents, school

workers and students actively building

the resistance to the assault on public

education grows, and, as a coher-

ent vision for a democratically run,

liberating and equitably funded public

school system emerges, the kind of

grassroots, collaborative organizing

that took place on June 4th needs to be

improved upon and replicated.

The citywide, schools-based collabo-

ration that made June 4th so success-

ful should to be repeated in order to

keep building the city-wide movement

to put control of our schools in the

hands of those who have the most at

stake: the parents, the students and the

educators. Growing and strengthening

this movement by drawing on both

our collective anger and frustration at

what we see, as well as our commit-

ment to building the kind of education

system that we as parents, students

and educators know is possible, will

depend upon genuinely unifying thesegroups through collaborative, respect-

ful dialogue and hands on action.

Organizing groups on June 4th

NYCORE: www.nycore.org

CAPE: capeducation.blogspot.com

GEM: http://grassrootseducationmovement.

blogspot.com/, plus independent teacher and par-

ent activists.

For assistance in organizing in your school work

with the GEM/CAPE school organizing commit-

tee: Contact [email protected]

Parents, Teachers Rally at Twenty Schools Page 3



Prole of a GEM member: Sam ColemanSixth year classroom teacher in a Spanish/English dual language

program at PS 24 in Sunset Park, Brooklyn.

Why are you teaching?

I love kids and I nd being a part

of their lives and their families

lives extremely rewarding. I also

believe that education is a nerve

center, a place in our society

through which power ows in all

directions. I want to interrupt and

redirect that power through my

teaching and organizing in order

to change the many inequitable

structures that exist.

Why activism- how involved, Why are you a part of NYCORE

and GEM? I got involved in organized activism after I had been

teaching for two years. The goals I mentioned before cannot be met

by working alone, and I nd that by working with both NYCORE

and GEM I am able to reach more people and I have a community

of like minded teachers that I can think, act and create change with.

What do you do in your school beyond the classroom?

Educational roles, organizing? I am the UFT delegate at my

school and I am on the school leadership team. Through both of

these roles I have been able to help mobilize the staff and parents

to organize against the use of standardized tests in K-2 classrooms,

and I began hosting bi-weekly voluntary lunch meetings for staff to

get together and read about and discuss issues in education. Both of

these efforts paid off when my school turned out 100 people on a

Friday morning to protest the budget cuts. In what ways are you active outside the school environment?

Outside of school I am active with both GEM and NYCoRE. Much

of my work with NYCoRE involves running political education

workshops for teachers, and through GEM I help plan actions,

coordinate outreach among teachers and write leaets to get the

word out about things that are going on in education.

Can you name a positive school reform enacted so far and if not

which one would you like to see most? I got involved in activism,

in part, because in my rst few years I watched testing become

more and more of the focus of education, while funding and class

size were ignored. I watched privatization, through things like

charter schools and vouchers, become the elite’s silver bullet to x

all that was wrong in education. In my mind the entire “reform”

charade is built on the illusory foundation of standardized testing

as a way to create accountability. The rst change that I would

like to see is a complete over-hall of the way we assess students,

and the way we hold ourselves as educators and the politicians

and the wealthy accountable for what goes on in schools in poor

communities and communities of color in our society.

Upcoming GEM Meeting Dates

How is high-stakes testing being used to

dismantle/undermine public education and what

we can do about it? What do the changes in test

scores really mean for parents and teachers?

An open panel and follow-up analysis anddiscussion focusing on solutions.

September 28, 4:30-7pm

CUNY Grad Center

34th St. & 5th Ave. Rm 5414

(Bring id)

Oct. 26: Help build a movement to stop school

closures. 4:30-7, CUNY, Rm 5409.

Nov: Addressing the ATR Issue. Join the GEM

ATR Committee: [email protected]

According to their widely touted tests, the achievementgaps amongst our neediest students are wider than theywere in 2003. Neither the tests themselves, nor therevelation about the way the numbers were manipulatedprovide any real clue about how or what students havebeen learning or what is happening inside classrooms.We do know that the DOE has spent untold millionson testing. We know students’ futures are being basedon these tests. And, we know teachers, schools, and

administrators are being judged by these same testresults. If BloomKlein subscribed to the same meritbased philosophies they have for our schools, studentsand teachers, they would be out of their jobs.

It seems that accountability standards and practicesare only meant for those at the bottom — to keep themcompliant and complacent in a system that was reformedto mirror the free-market system ideology of privilegeand subordination.

We call on our state legislators immediately to endMayoral Control. We call for the termination of Joel Klein as schools’ Chancellor. And, we call on

education chair of the City Council, CouncilmanRobert Jackson, Public Advocate Bill diBlassio, andComptroller John Lu to open an investigation as tohow these lies were spun into truth at the expense of our children and millions in taxpayer dollars. Finally,we demand an end to the charade that is high stakestesting.

We should be investing the millions that are wastedon testing and accountability into what is proven towork: smaller class sizes, increased student and familyservices and intervention, professional development,and incentives to professionalize and retain qualied,experienced teachers. We can no longer stand by andwatch our children fall through the cracks created bythe devastating policies of Mayor Bloomberg. Thetime is now for parents and teachers to rise up and say,“Enough!” to the BloomKlein education deform agenda.

Testing continued, from page 1 Page 4

Documents

From the Grassroots - Gem Newsletter Oct 2010