Another Brilliant Letter From Melissa McMullan

The PJSTA’s own Melissa McMullan, via Diane Ravitch…

The following was posted as a comment on the blog:

 

Dear Dr. Ravitch,

 

I have spent the last week and a half reeling from the shot across the bow that public education took on March 31st when the New York State Legislature ostensibly signed off on its destruction with the passing of the New York State Budget, and its attached legislation, S2006B-2015. As a teacher who is passionate about what she does, with two years of failing State Growth Scores, I know my days as a teacher are numbered. I am left with only one choice, to continue to act out of love for my students until the day comes when my district will be forced to remove me from the classroom and students I graciously serve.

 

My first act of love for my students, since the passing of this legislation and the absolute betrayal of my own elected officials, is the following letter I sent to the Board of Regents this afternoon.

 

Dear New York State Board of Regents:

 

This letter is in response to New York State Law S2006B-2015, dated March 31, 2015. I write you as a teacher of thirteen years who loves her profession and her students more than words could possibly capture. There has not been one day in the classroom that I wished away. Not one paycheck that I did not regard with awe over the fact that I could be paid to do a job I loved so deeply. Not one August that I did not greet with excitement in anticipation of new students, new challenges and new victories. Nor one end of school year I did not confront with sadness over the end of a ten-month partnership with my students filled with reading and writing and thinking and questioning.

 

Teaching is my passion. Every single day I ask myself what went wrong? Who did I not reach? What can I do tomorrow to push harder and support the growth of my students? I sincerely love teaching because after thirteen years, I am clear on only one thing – I will never have all of the answers. And I like that challenge. Each year brings new students, new families, new strengths and new areas of opportunity into my classroom. My voracious appetite for meeting their respective needs is confronted by the infinite possibilities that education offers.

 

This year, we had an interesting scenario. It became very clear on reading comprehension assessments that students understood what they were reading, but of the fifteen students in my class receiving Academic Intervention Services (AIS) for reading, out of a total of twenty-seven students, eight continuously earned failing scores on weekly assessments. We asked ourselves, is it the vocabulary in the questions? No. Is it vocabulary in the choices? No. We realized that students could not see the correct answers in the choices because they lacked the transferal skills to get themselves from what they knew the answers were to the choices given. We started giving the students the questions without choices, and having them write their own answers. Then we gave them the choices and they had to select the choices that most closely resembled their answers. Our failure rate dropped substantially from eight students to one to two students. This is what teaching is. Every single day we must go in, assess what our students need from us, and devise ways to meet those needs.

 

I often tell people that a teacher’s job is never, ever done. I could work around the clock twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week and still have things I want to accomplish in the classroom. As teachers, we have to eek out as much time as we can before school, during school and after school, and spend that time on the work we determine offers our students the greatest return on investment. This is why grading assessments we provide is so important to us. Students and teachers require continual assessment feedback so instructional time can best serve students’ needs.

 

Where is all of this going? It boils down to assessment. Your board has been asked to craft an APPR plan that bases 50% of a teacher’s APPR on assessments you deem appropriate for this purpose. Much of what I am about to discuss pertains solely to the current grades three through eight state testing program, but please keep in mind that these thoughts relate to any assessment we deem appropriate for removing a child’s teacher from his/her classroom.

 

Any assessment we use for the state’s 50% of the APPR must:

 

1. Include reliability and validity testing that demonstrates the instrument’s ability to measure what we are asking it to measure. Assessment in New York State public school classrooms must measure a student’s progress toward New York State Standards.

 

2. Be created by an entity that does not also sell curricular materials to school districts. The 2013 New York State 6th ELA exam included proprietary material that Pearson had also included in its series, Reading Street, which it sells to districts. This is a serious conflict of interest.

 

3. Have the ability to measure all growth a student experiences during a school year. The current methodology provides simple scores of one, two, three and four limiting its ability show us where growth has or has not transpired, for a variety of reasons.

 

4. Inform teachers and parents of information both parties do not already know. We know who has difficulty reading and who does not. We must use an assessment that offers rich details about where our students struggles are, as well as what students are doing well.

 

If we continue on our current path, teachers like me who love what we do, and have an innate desire to be the best teachers we can for our students, will be gone. For the last two years, I have been given a one and a two respectively for my State Growth Score. If you proceed with the State Legislature’s plan, and your current method of assessments, you will be taking good teachers away from the students who need them, using fraudulent instruments. With your June 30th deadline looming, I beg you to contemplate the gravity of this system, and as the law prescribes, use the next few months to speak with teachers and parents who are invested in this system, to craft a plan that places children first.

 

In all earnest, I am willing to meet with you anytime to discuss the frailties of our current system and measures we can take to meet the law’s deadline in a way that best serves public school children. They are what matter most.

 

Warm wishes,

 

Melissa K. McMullan
6th Grade Teacher
Comsewogue School District
Port Jefferson Station, NY

PJSTA Election Results

Congratulations to our newly elected and re-elected officers…

President- Beth Dimino

1st Vice-President- Brian St. Pierre

2nd Vice-President- Dave Anzini*

3rd Vice-President- Matt Carrera*

Secretary- Erica Marsh

Treasurer- Maurizio Milana

* denotes newly elected officers

An enormous thank you to outgoing 3rd Vice-President Beth Shapiro for the invaluable contributions that she has made to the PJSTA in the variety of offices that she has filled!

State Budget Fallout

Tuesday evening was a night that will live in infamy for public education advocates in New York State.  It was a night that saw the New York State legislature pass legislation that will certainly prove to be more damaging to our state’s public schools than any other legislation passed in our history.

The governor is certainly the chief villain in all of this, but numerous others emerged as well.  Senator Ken Lavalle, for example, is one of many legislators with blood on his hands.  Lavalle, who along with John Flanagan represents portions of the Comsewogue School District, was one of the dozens of legislators who ignored the pleas of his constituents in order to vote for the budget.  For legislators like Lavalle it was a grand betrayal.  One that is abusive to children, will ruin the careers of educators, and strips local control from our communities in order to pass it off to people who have never once stepped foot in Port Jefferson Station.  These legislators surely assume that it was early enough in their new terms to stick a knife in the back of their communities.  “The people will certainly all forget by the fall of 2016!” they are telling themselves.  This is clearly one of the many places they have gone wrong.  Because people won’t forget this.  Voters won’t forget the day their state government overstepped their bounds and forced it’s way into school districts.  Parents won’t forget the day their elected officials responded to calls for less testing by doubling down on high stakes testing.  Teachers won’t forget the day that tenure was obliterated and they were given a mandate to “teach to the test.”  Our brothers and sisters in other labor unions certainly took note as the state eroded due process rights and the collective bargaining rights of public employees.

Dozens of these legislators will pay the price in November 2016.  Many of the senators and assemblymen who haven’t yet been arrested for corruption will certainly be voted out by communities.  However that won’t help us in the short run.  Now we are left to pick up the pieces and figure out what direction to go in next.  Parents in our community have already done that as the “Comsewogue Parents in Action” group has not only formed but swelled to over 100 in just two days.  Local teachers unions will begin to configure their next steps while refusing to allow their own children to take the tests.

A few more take aways from this week…

  • One point that can no longer be argued is that Mike Mulgrew is clearly either actively working against his own membership or is the most incompetent labor leader in history.  I am not sure which would be worse.  Mulgrew, who declared the budget a “victory” will be up for re-election next spring.  When he is re-elected an enormous spotlight will shine on the rigged system of “democracy” that governs the UFT, the nation’s largest teachers local.  That can only be a good thing.
  • NYSUT Executive Vice-President Andy Pallotta, whose legislative record impresses nobody, got crushed again.  His failure to prevent this atrocity seriously calls into question the votes of the NYSUT delegates who last year re-elected him, deeming him the only incumbent officer worthy of re-election.  Pallotta, whose only legislative victory this term was securing a double pension for Karen Magee, Martin Messner, and Paul Pecorale (at what was possibly an enormous price) earns a large salary and a healthy number of perks from our membership dues.  The NYSUT officers even helped themselves to a 2% raise last August.  These are things that should stick in the minds of NYSUT delegates when they vote in 2017.
  • A local hero emerged this week.  Several legislators cast their vote against the budget this week.  These are the legislators with a conscience.  The elected officials who will at least be able to sleep at night as this debacle is rolled out over the next few months.  We thank these members of the legislature for standing for their communities, our children, and our profession.  From a local standpoint, Steve Englebright was chief among the supporters.  Not only did Englebright vote against the budget deal, he bucked his party in the process.  While most Assembly Dems were busy sticking a knife in the back of their community, Englebright stood tall for ours.  It was a vote that took courage and conviction and the Comsewogue community is fortunate to have such a devoted public servant as a representative.  We will fondly remember his vote when we head to the polls in November 2016.

I will leave you with an extraordinary video created by one of our students.  Chelsea Smith is a Junior at Comsewogue High School.  As part of her video production class she created a short film called, A Common Voice- Cutting to the Core of What’s Important in Education.  It features appearances by Dr. Rella and several PJSTA members.  Share it widely.  Enjoy…

NYSUT’s Karen Magee Calls on Parents to Opt-Out

It’s hard to call it leadership when the rest of the state has been doing it for a couple of years now, however kudos go out to NYSUT President Karen Magee who today called on parents to opt-out of the coming New York state tests.  This is certainly an interesting development given that the UFT’s Mike Mulgrew called the budget deal a victory.  This is the first time under the current leadership regime that I have seen a NYSUT officer go again Mulgrew.  Perhaps Magee knows she is only staying on for one term and has decided to start listening to the demands of the membership.  That would certainly be a welcome development and one that I would happily support.

If NYSUT really wants to put their money where their mouth is we will see a NYSUT sponsored advertising blitz imploring parents to opt-out their children over the next two weeks leading up to the state tests.

Hooray for Karen Magee!

A Letter from a Comsewogue Resident to Governor Cuomo

A really terrific letter written here…

Dear Governor Cuomo and the State of New York,

When we moved into the Comsewogue School District 16 years ago, it never occurred to me that my kids would grow up in such an amazing school district. Honestly, I wasn’t thinking much past having to get my kid enrolled.

Fast forward to now. My kids have received education’s as different as they are. Teachers who have gone above and beyond to engage and teach. An administration who supported and included us in decisions and processes involving my children. A school board and a superintendent who are always available to talk and share and explain.

With that in mind, knowing that the children who are the future are being so excellently educated, how can you have the audacity, the unmitigated gall, to threaten to take Dr. Rella away from us and replace him with SOMEONE OF YOUR CHOICE simply because he stands for our kids!!!! Do you see the numbers? Do you read the statistics? Do you know how fantastic we, and hundreds of other Long Island districts, really are? Do you really think that firing Dr. Rella and sending your own lackey will stop us from fighting for our kids???

You can’t possibly come close to knowing what’s best for our kids. You, who have never stepped foot into one of our buildings. You, who have never spoken to one of our children. You know nothing about our superintendent, except that he’s standing for our kids. What have you done for our kids lately, Governor Cuomo?

Sincerely,
Jessica Glass

Comsewogue May Consider Refusal to Administer NYS Tests

Comsewogue’s Board of Education

The Comsewogue School District’s Board of Education will be discussing at the board workshop on 3/26 the possibility of adopting a resolution that would have them “seriously consider not administering the New York State standardized ELA and Math exams in grades 3-8, and the Science exam in grades 4 and 8.”

This follows the Kenmore-Tonawanda School District’s resolution that was very similar.  In that district, located right outside of Buffalo, the school board tabled the resolution until their meeting tomorrow, seeking to have more input from the community.

Here is the resolution in it’s entirety…

The Board of Education of the Comsewogue Union Free School District has serious concerns about current and proposed New York State education policy. We believe as elected representatives of the Comsewogue community we have an obligation not only to provide our students with a sound, basic education, but to provide them with a supportive and encouraging environment in which they can develop at their own pace. This environment also seeks to support the dedicated educators of our schools, encouraging best practices and collaboration, as opposed to competition. The current funding and evaluation policies, as well as Governor Cuomo’s proposed reforms are contradictory to that intent.

Unless Governor Cuomo and the State Legislators establish a fair and equitable state aid funding formula which adequately provides funding for ALL school districts throughout the state so they can provide for the educational needs of every child in New York State

AND

Comply with the court ordered removal of the Gap Elimination Adjustment thereby providing school districts with the necessary funding already owed to them

AND

Unless Governor Cuomo and the State Legislators suspend the current teacher and administrator evaluation regulations using student test data for 20% of the total score

AND

Abandon Governor Cuomo’s proposal to expand the use of student test data to 50% for teacher and administrator evaluations

AND

Without these efforts, The Comsewogue Board of Education believes that New York State leadership is proceeding with policy that is detrimental to our students, faculty and administrators. These misguided funding and evaluation policies seek to further an agenda of blame and punishment, instead of support and development.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED

The Board of Education of the Comsewogue School District will seriously consider not administering the New York State standardized ELA and Math exams in grades 3-8, and the Science exam in grades 4 and 8.

Senator Flanagan in Hot Water

Lots of news involving Republican New York State Senator John Flanagan, who represents the residents of the Comsewogue School District.  First, Flanagan stated that if too many people opt-out we will lose federal funding…

 

That is an outright lie.  You can read here and here about how we will NOT lose funding do to opt-outs.  Senator Flanagan, who is the chairman of the senate’s K-12 ed committee is either misinformed or lying.  I’m not sure which is worse.

The Senator Flanagan news isn’t finished though.  Today’s Daily News features an article claiming that Flanagan voted on bills that benefitted clients of the law firm that he makes in excess of $100,000 working at.

Via the NY Daily News…

ALBANY — A veteran Long Island state senator voted on a host of bills that benefited clients of a law firm for which he works, the Daily News has learned.

In addition to being a longtime state lawmaker who chairs the Senate Education Committee, John Flanagan (R-Suffolk County) is “of counsel” at Forchelli, Curto, Deegan, Schwartz, Mineo & Terrana in Uniondale, where he reported making between $100,000 and $150,000 in 2013.

A number of the clients listed on the law firm’s website have business before the state, including Cablevision, Chase Bank, and Citibank.

The firm also lists as clients different colleges, governments and other groups with matters before the state.

The crossroad between the outside income of lawmakers and their public duties has been a hot-button issue in recent months in scandal-scarred Albany. Gov. Cuomo and other critics complain that many lawmakers who are also lawyers are making big money at firms without having to disclose exactly what they do to earn it.

Government reform advocates say there is at the very least an appearance of a conflict of interest that should have led Flanagan to either recuse himself from votes impacting clients of his law firm or publicly disclose the ties.

“There should be a desire to avoid even the appearance of impropriety and undue influence,” said Susan Lerner, of Common Cause/New York.

In a number of cases, Flanagan voted in favor of bills on which public records show clients of his law firm had lobbied.

Cablevision, for instance, reported as having lobbied on at least six bills since 2011 that Flanagan voted for, records show. One sought to exempt electronic news sources and periodicals from sales and compensating taxes, while others had to to do with ticket scalping.

Another half-dozen bills that Flanagan supported were sought by Chase Bank.

In a statement released by his Senate office, Flanagan said he did not represent any company with business before the state.

“These are clients of the firm and I have no involvement with them,” the senator said.

But one critic argued that when lawmakers don’t disclose their specific clients, “it actually means they are responsible for all the clients in the firm.”

A law firm spokeswoman had no comment.

Flanagan’s biography on the law firm’s website highlights no legal accomplishments, focusing almost exclusively on his legislative background. It lists his legal practice areas as municipal and real estate.

Blair Horner, of the New York Public Interest Research Group, said Flanagan should have vetted any potential conflicts with the Legislative Ethics Commission and received an opinion on how to deal with them.

A Flanagan spokesman would not say whether that was done.

U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara has been aggressively investigating the issue of lawmakers’ outside income and the nexus between their public offices and private employment. And Cuomo is pushing legislation to require full disclosure of outside income and clients.

Bharara recently charged now former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver with using his public office to help pad his pockets through two law firms.

Senate GOP Leader Dean Skelos (R-Nassau County) is reportedly also under investigation by Bharara over his outside income.

Skelos made as much as $250,000 in 2013 serving as “of counsel” at Ruskin Moscou Faltischek.

That law firm not only has clients with business before the state, but also has a government lobbying component.

Skelos has said he does not personally represent anyone with business before the state and has no connection to the firm’s lobbying arm.

Horner argued the inherent potential conflicts of working for firms whose clients have business before the state is why lawmaker income should be capped, an issue Cuomo has raised.

“It’s the problem of serving two masters,” Horner said.

PJSTA & NYSAPE in the Rocky Point St. Patrick’s Day Parade

Thanks to Katie Kleinpeter for the write up…

We had a great time marching and dancing along with NYSAPE in the Rocky Point St. Patty’s Day Parade today!  We had a chilly start that soon turned into a fun walk with many cheers, smiles and waves from the crowd.

Thanks to all who came and walked with us including Beth Dimino, Brian St. Pierre, the Reph Family, the Pearl Family, Jay McGuiness, Keith Zoccoli, Vicki Barrett, Britt Cantone, the Frimmer Family, Bernadette Weltsek, Larry Weltsek, Eric Sorenson, Dave Anzini, Gail Ports, Sue Niver, Lauren Retundi, Kathy Martin, the Tilmont Family, George Chesterton, Henry from Bellmore-Merrick and Tim Needles from Smithtown.  We saw many friends, fellow teachers and students along the way that enjoyed the parade with their families.  The NYSAPE mobile billboard was proudly displayed in Rocky Point for all to see.

stpdp

News and Notes

The PJSTA is now on Twitter.  Be sure to follow us!

The PJSTA invites members to march with NYSAPE in the Rocky Point St. Patrick’s Day Parade this Sunday.  See your senior building rep for details.  Anyone marching receives a free NYSAPE tee-shirt.

We have added a host of NYSAPE forums around the Island this month to our calendar.  Check them out and try to make a few of them!

We have NYSAPE lawns signs for sale.  $10 each.  See your senior building rep to secure one.  You can purchase bumper stickers and other assorted goodies here.