NYSAPE – Page 2 – The Official Website of the PJSTA

Gov. Cuomo Continues to Avoid Addressing New Yorkers on Public Ed

Via NYSAPE, of which the PJSTA is a member…

Governor Cuomo Continues to Avoid Addressing New Yorkers on Public Education

Parents, educators and community members are deeply disappointed by Governor Cuomo’s failure to address widespread concerns regarding the disastrous implementation of the Common Core Learning Standards, excessive high stakes testing and the collection and sharing of private student data. In recent weeks, Governor Cuomo has remained silent on these harmful reforms and today’s State of the State address confirms that the Governor has failed to fulfill his promise to “put students first.” NYS Allies for Public Education (NYSAPE) is dismayed that while he once called himself the “lobbyist for students,” Governor Cuomo has joined the ranks of those in power who have dismissed the voices of tens of thousands of informed parents working to protect their children, their schools and their communities.

One year ago, Governor Cuomo reminded us that, “the purpose of public education is to help children grow, not to grow the public education bureaucracy.” However, today the governor has confirmed his commitment to political ambition and corporate interests over the millions of students that he was elected to represent and protect. Lori Griffin, Copenhagen public school parent says, “When parents started to seek answers and ask for help, this Governor stayed in the shadows and ignored our pleas to examine the state of public education and the effects on New York’s children.”

Rather than delivering the honest leadership that NYS students and parents deserve, the Governor used his remarks to distract from what will go down in history as an abysmal track record on public education. “We don’t appreciate his thinly veiled diversionary tactics by attempting to shift the attention to medical marijuana, instead of on these abusive and onerous reform initiatives. Cuomo needs to keep his promise that he is the students’ lobbyist” stated Tim Farley, a parent and a principal of the Ichabod Crane School in Kinderhook, New York. Regarding Governor Cuomo’s refusal to address parent concerns, Eric Mihelbergel, a Buffalo public school parent and co-founder of NYSAPE says, “Governor Cuomo needs to either step up or step aside.”

Leonie Haimson, Executive Director of Class Size Matters says, “Though the Governor has called himself the lobbyist for students, he has refused to take any position on the state sharing personal student data with inBloom and other vendors without parental consent. With 8 out of 9 states having pulled out of inBloom or put their data-sharing plans on hold, New York is now the worst state in the country when it comes to protecting children’s privacy. Leaders of both parties in the Legislature have spoken out against inBloom, called for a moratorium and have bi-partisan legislation to protect parental rights and student data. It is deeply disappointing that in his speech today, the Governor again failed to show leadership on this critical issue.”

“It’s very telling that while Governor Cuomo not only supported and endorsed the State’s rushed adoption and implementation of these so-called reforms, he now seems to want to wash his hands of any responsibility for the botched initiatives. The fact is, it is well within the Governor’s power to slow down their implementation through legislative means” says Bianca Tanis, New Paltz public school parent and steering committee member of Re-Thinking Testing, Mid-Hudson Region.

New York State Allies for Public Education represents forty-five grassroots parent groups from every corner of the Empire State. The organizations are proud to stand with the parents, community members and fellow educators in NYSAPE to call for a change in direction and policy beginning with new leadership at the New York State Education Department.

NYSAPE Action Alert

The PJSTA is a member of the New York State Allies for Public Education.

As a member of NYSAPE we are issuing an Action Alert:

Change NYS Board of Regents Elections – ACTION ALERT!

ACTION ALERT: The following Board of Regents members have terms that are set to expire, and we MUST affect the appointment process:

•  Christine Cea (Staten Island)
•  James Jackson (Albany, Columbia, Greene, Rensselaer, Schoharie, Sullivan, Ulster)
•  James Cottrell (at-large)
•  Wade Norwood (at-large)

Never before has the Board of Regents appointment process been held to public scrutiny. But this year WE WILL MAKE AN IMPACT. The interests of our children MUST be represented by our elected NYS Assembly Members.

Here are 4 steps that we all must do on a weekly basis:

1.) Call and email:
Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D)                    Phone: 212-312-1420    speaker@assembly.state.ny.us
Assembly Dem. Maj. Leader Joseph Morelle (D)    Phone: 585-467-0410    morellej@assembly.state.ny.us
Governor Andrew Cuomo                                        Phone: 518-474-8390    gov.cuomo@chamber.state.ny.us

2.) Call and email Assembly Education Committee Chairpersons:
Catherine Nolan (D) Phone: 718-784-3194 and 518-455-4851 nolanc@assembly.state.ny.us
Deborah Glick (D) Phone: 212-674-5153 and 518-455-4818 glickd@assembly.state.ny.us

3.) Call and email each of the following Assembly members:
To affect Christine Cea appointment:
Matthew Titone (D) Phone: 718-442-9932 and 518-455-4677 titonem@assembly.state.ny.us
Michael Cusick (D) Phone: 718-370-1384 and 518-455-5526 cusickm@assembly.state.ny.us

To affect James Jackson appointment:
Aileen Gunther (D)                                                   Phone: 845-794-5807 and 518-455-5355  gunthea@assembly.state.ny.us
Keven Cahill (D)                                                       Phone: 845-338-9610 and 518-455-4436  cahillk@assembly.state.ny.us
John McDonald (D)                                                  Phone: 518-455-4474     mcdonaldj@assembly.state.ny.us
Patricia Fahy (D)                                                      Phone: 518-455-4178     fahyp@assembly.state.ny.us
Phil Steck (D)                                                           Phone: 518-377-0902 and 518-455-5931  steckp@assembly.state.ny.us
Angelo Santabarbara (D)                                         Phone: 518-382-2941 and 518-455-5197 santabarbaraa@assembly.state.ny.us

To affect James Cotrell appointment:
Focus on the legislators in items 1 and 2 above

To affect Wade Norwood appointment:
David Gantt (D) Phone: 585-454-3670 and 518-455-5606 ganttd@assembly.state.ny.us
Harry Bronson (D) Phone: 585-244-5255 and 518-455-4527 bronsonh@assembly.state.ny.us

4.) Use the guidelines here to tell them that we need NEW Board of Regents members:
– Tell them there are 4 Regents up for re-appointment.
– Tell them you demand the appointment of Regents who support an immediate moratorium on Common Core, high stakes testing, and data sharing.
– Tell them the public will hold NYS Assembly members accountable for their votes for or against the appointment of the NYS Board of Regents members.

Here is a sample letter to email that you can also use as a script to guide you on the phone:
Dear__________________________________
This year 4 members of the NYS Board of Regents are up for re-appointment, Cea, Jackson, Cotrell, and Norwood. New candidates will be interviewed by the Education Committees in February, and you will be voting on these re-appointments in March of 2014. I am writing to let you know that I am very concerned about the damaging effects of Regents Reform Agenda, and that this year, the public will hold NYS legislators accountable for their votes for or against the appointment of individual Regents. Therefore, I am asking that you please appoint Regents who support an immediate moratorium on Common Core, high stakes testing, and the uploading of student information to the inBloom cloud. The Regent’s Reform agenda in NYS is destroying public education and violating student privacy. As an elected NYS legislator, you MUST represent the interests of our children and the will of the people.
Sincerely,

Background Information on the NYS Board of Regents:

– Candidates wishing to apply to become a Board of Regents member must send a resume to the Assembly Education and Higher Education Committees before January 31. In-person interviews are conducted by Assemblywomen Catherine Nolan and Debra Glick in February.

– Legislators vote in early March, but they are generally given one or two nominees to vote on, less than 24 hours before the election, that are selected by Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver. Although the public is told that the entire legislation votes, in reality it is Sheldon Silver that chooses. Many legislators abstain because the process is so dysfunctional. WE MUST CONTACT THE ELECTED OFFICIALS ABOVE SO THAT WE CAN INFLUENCE THE BOARD OR REGENTS APPOINTMENTS.

– The Regents preside over the New York State Education Department and SUNY.

– The Board consists of 17 members; 1 from each of the State’s 13 judicial districts and 4 members who serve at large.

– The Board is headed by the Chancellor of the Board of Regents, Merryl Tisch.

– Those serving on the Board of Regents come from diverse backgrounds and fields. Some are former educators but most are not.

– The duties of the Board of Regents include: setting graduation requirements, testing regimens and curriculum and approval of the State Education Department’s budget.

– The regents are not paid a salary and are not required to have any educational training or background.

Why is this important?

– The Board of Regents is responsible for the appointment of the Commissioner of Education. They also have the power to replace the Commissioner of Education.*
(* It is interesting to note that John King was appointed as The Commissioner at the age of 36 with only 3 years of classroom experience. It would also be interesting to note that John King and Merryl Tisch pursued their doctoral degrees together at Columbia University.)

– While Commissioner King may have proposed the haphazard and incompetent implementation of the Common Core and subsequent testing, The Board of Regents approved this rollout.

-The process by which one becomes a regent is not widely understood. Members of the NYS Assembly may nominate a potential regent. Their appointment is confirmed by a joint vote of the legislature. The Democratic Majority in the State Assembly currently controls the selection process.

– Although a regent’s term expires after 5 years, historically a current regent is automatically re-appointed and will serve until they resign or retire. We must change this.

The Board of Regents wields a great deal of power, and they must be held responsible for their actions. Many parents have appealed to individual Regents and asked for their support of parent efforts to resist harmful education reforms. Likewise, powerful advocacy representing parents, teachers and school administers have also appealed to the Board of Regents but they are not listening.

The PJSTA Calls for the Resignation of John King

As a Member of the New York State Allies for Public Education The Port Jefferson Station Teachers Association Calls for the Resignation of NYS Commissioner of Education John King

Billed as an opportunity to “gather information, ask questions and share concerns with NYS Commissioner of Education John King”, the NYS PTA sponsored Town Hall Meeting on the Common Core and privacy issues was anything but. After speaking uninterrupted for 1 hour and 40 minutes, Commissioner King allowed parents 20 minutes to speak. During this time, parents expressed concerns and attempted to share stories regarding the impact that the CC has already had on their children. Commissioner King repeatedly interrupted parents and refused to answer parent questions or address their concerns. Commissioner King subsequently cancelled all future scheduled town hall meetings, called concerned parents “special interests groups” and stated that the forum was “co-opted by special interests whose stated goal is to ‘dominate’ the questions and manipulate the forum,” King went on to state that “Essentially, dialogue has been denied.”

When a public official such as Commissioner King refuses to participate in the democratic process and refuses to hear the concerns of parents while simultaneously carrying out educational policies that affect thousands of children, he is no longer fit to carry out the duties of the NYS Commissioner of Education. Commissioner King, we would argue that it is because of you that “dialogue has been denied.”

According to award-winning Principal Carol Burris of South Side High School in New York, last week’s Town Hall meeting in Poughkeepsie, NY highlighted the fact that “The New York State Education Department has lost its moral authority.” Burris states. “One might imagine that if John King had first been a principal of a New York City public school, or the superintendent of a district, he would have become skilled in dealing with emotional and boisterous groups… Leaders must listen deeply, learn and respond. They must be willing to consider alternative courses, and even in loud crowds, hear truth.”

Anthony Cody, nationally recognized educator, public speaker and writer for Education Week says, “Speaking truth to power, as these parents did, is an intoxicating thing. It delivers to both speaker and witnesses a shiver, an awakening to the fact that we do not need to suffer in silence, or allow our children to suffer without objection. Those in power may cancel future hearings, but these parents’ voices are ringing out, like a bell that cannot be un-rung.”

We would say to Commissioner King that in this age of apathy, you should be proud to represent a state where parents have taken the time to inform themselves about the current education reforms and have taken the time from their busy schedules to engage with public officials such as yourself. Aren’t these parents the kind of critically thinking, involved citizens that our public schools hope to create? We would argue that a competent leader does not run away from concerned parents, or call them a “special interest group.” Commissioner King, you are a disgrace to the field of education. It is not surprising that in NYS, your lack of teaching experience would not allow you to be granted tenure in a public school.

The NYS Commissioner of Education sends his own children to a private school, a school that is not legally bound to carry out the same testing and data sharing mandates that he is subjecting thousands of public school children to. He has stated, “I believe that every parent should have the right to choose the school that is right for their child.” Commissioner King subjects public school students to harmful practices while maintaining that parents do not have the right to refuse these mandates. This certainly does not afford all parents “the right to choose the school that is right for their child.” Commissioner King is guilty of promoting inequitable education policies that essentially create a different set of educational opportunities and experiences available to those with the means to afford private school and those who attend public school. This is an attack on the freedoms and rights that are afforded to every American citizen and on public education itself.

The Port Jefferson Station Teachers Association calls for the immediate resignation of Commissioner of Education John King as he is unfit to carry out the duties of his position competently and he is no longer able to conduct himself in a manner that is consistent with the principles and ideals of the American democracy. The PJSTA urges parents, educators and concerned citizens to:

Spend 10 minutes adding these emails and phone numbers to your contacts. Call, email, and fax Governor Cuomo daily. CC all emails to Senator John Flanagan, Speaker of the House Sheldon Silver, Senator Dean Skelos, Assemblywoman Nolan, and Senator Jeffrey Klein along with the entire Board of Regents. Call your local Regent and let them know that:

New Yorkers deserve a COMPETENT leader who listens to and engages his or her constituents
New Yorkers deserve a COMPETENT leader who can handle the concerns and dissenting opinions of educated and involved New York parents.
John King has let abusive testing and data sharing practices dominate the implementation of the Common Core Learning Standards
John King runs away from the public.
John King calls concerned parents “special interest groups.”
John King is not competent to be the NYS Commissioner of Education

Send the Scores Back!

Our friends at NYSAPE are running a “Send the Scores Back!” campaign. If you are a parent of a child who took the state tests this should be of interest to you.

Via NYSAPE’s Facebook page…

New York State believes in REAL students, not FAKE test scores. This year’s test scores are invalid and provide NO useful information about student learning. Parents across New York State will come together to mail these BOGUS test scores back to Commissioner King on Saturday, September 28th, 2013.

These test scores are invalid because….

1.Flawed test construction:

-Tests were too long; even high achieving students did not finish

-Vague questions and reading passages full of commercial logos and distracting product placements

-Passages from test maker Pearson’s text books used, thus giving some students an advantage

2.Formula used to determine “cut scores” is flawed and not supported by scientific research: (“cut scores” are the cut-off scores for determining proficiency)

-Cut scores for the assessments were not developed until AFTER the tests were administered and scored. THIS SUGGESTS THAT THE DATA IS HIGHLY VULNERABLE TO MANIPULATION.

-NYSED identified the top 8-20th % scores on the NAEP, SAT and PSAT and used these scores to work backwards and determine the scores a child must receive on state assessments in grades 3-8 to eventually meet these benchmarks. In other words, in order to be proficient on a NYS test, ALL students must achieve scores comparable to the top 8-20% of students in the country. This is too high and sets children up for failure.

-Research that shows that high scores on these tests are not effective indicators of performance in college. High school grades are in fact a better indicator of college performance.

-Tests like the NAEP and the SAT are not curriculum measures and therefore, are not appropriate for determining cut scores on the NYS ELA and Math tests.

3.No oversight or transparency in scoring or test construction:

-The tests were not and will not be made available in their entirety for public inspection, and were destroyed after being scored and sent back to the state.

-Teachers involved in scoring the tests and those hired to make recommendations to the Commissioner of Education regarding the formulation of cut scores were made to sign non-disclosure agreements.

4.Not designed to improve student learning

-Due to test secrecy and the fact that scores are received after the school year has ended, there is no opportunity for teachers to review the tests and provide students with extra support in areas of weakness.

5.Test scores vary too much to be considered valid:

-Over the past seven years, proficiency scores on the NY math and ELA have been characterized more than once by fluctuations of almost 30 points. When scores vary this widely, the reliability of the data is questionable.

Be sure to “Like” NYSAPE on facebook and share the news of this campaign with your friends.

PJSTA Joins NYSAPE

The Port Jefferson Station Teachers Association is proud to have recently joined the New York State Allies for Public Education (NYSAPE).

From their website…

NYS ALLIES FOR PUBLIC EDUCATION ARE PARENTS AND CONCERNED COMMUNITY MEMBERS WHO FIRMLY BELIEVE IN THE POWER OF PUBLIC EDUCATION AND ITS FUNDAMENTAL LINK TO THE SUCCESS OF A THRIVING COMMUNITY AND DEMOCRATIC GOVERNMENT. WE ARE CLASS MOTHERS & FATHERS, COMMUNITY ADVOCATES, PARENTS AND NEIGHBORS OF GRADUATES, TEACHERS, PROFESSORS, AND UNRELENTING SUPPORTERS OF PUBLIC EDUCATION WHO BELIEVE EXCESSIVE TESTING AND INAPPROPRIATE SHARING OF PRIVATE STUDENT DATA WITHOUT PARENTAL CONSENT THREATEN THE FUTURE OF OUR STUDENTS, OUR SCHOOLS, AND OUR STATE.

WHILE MEANINGFUL ASSESSMENT IS AN ESSENTIAL COMPONENT OF A WORLD-CLASS EDUCATION, THE NEW NYS STANDARDIZED ASSESSMENTS ARE ALIGNED WITH UNPROVEN REFORMS NEITHER SUPPORTED BY RIGOROUS RESEARCH NOR VETTED BY EDUCATORS AND PARENTS.

and their mission…

NYS ALLIES FOR PUBLIC EDUCATION EXISTS TO ADDRESS MANY ISSUES INCLUDING THE FOLLOWING:

1.)  EXCESSIVE STANDARDIZED TESTING IS CONSUMING 25% OF OUR CHILDREN’S ACADEMIC YEAR. IT FORCES TEACHERS TO “TEACH TO TEST”, COSTS MILLIONS OF DOLLARS, TEACHES CHILDREN THERE IS ONLY ONE RIGHT ANSWER, TAKES THE JOY OUT OF LEARNING, AND CREATES MAJOR CHEATING IN SCHOOL DISTRICTS.

2.)  OUR CHILDREN’S PRIVATE, PERSONAL INFORMATION IS BEING STORED IN LARGE DATABASES AND IS BEING PROVIDED TO PRIVATE COMPANIES WITHOUT THE PERMISSION OF PARENTS, AND WITHOUT PROVIDING AN OPT-OUT PROVISION TO BE REMOVED FROM THE DATABASE.

3.)  UNITING REGIONAL GROUPS FROM ACROSS NYS IN ONE LOCATION WHERE WE CAN WORK TOGETHER FOR THE BETTERMENT OF EDUCATION IN NYS.

You can find them on Facebook here and follow them on Twitter, @NYSAPE.

To see the rest of the allies click here.