School Class Size Matters… So Measure Twice

The city’s public school system is seeing more kids in the classroom. That, according to the Department of Education. This change occurred despite state money to prevent it from happening. Leonie Haimson of Class Size Matters was shocked by their findings. Board of Ed officials claim the numbers are unreliable because students were counted at different times in the school year. It would seem that the two sides need to study up on their ‘rithmetic before sizing up class size.

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IMPORTANT NOTE: This piece was written today about an older New York City news headline. NYCo site delays prevented its publication before now. In an effort to entertain and educate this blog’s devoted viewers, 100’s of older headlines will be posted in chronological order until this blog is discussing current events again. Though some stories may no longer be as relevant as they once were, they remain interesting news items worthy of mention and viewer comments.

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School Locker Limbo

Here's another Board of Education plan that didn’t go ... according to plan. Not surprised, are you? It’s over a year now that they decided to install guarded mobile phone storage systems in 16 New York City schools, for both intermediate and high school grades. To date, "0" of the planned "5,600" lockers have been setup. First, there was a delay regarding who would monitor these coin-operated lockers. Then Celstor, the company chosen to handle the project demanded a longer contract. Kids don't like the plan. Parents aren't crazy about the idea. There's no end in sight to the delays. Demanding that kids give up their cell phones in school and requiring them to pay “locker fees” for storage are bad ideas. Let’s end it all now before we waste more money for a bad plan that has as much of a future as those who work for the Board of Education … were they not Board of Ed employees.

The Principal Principle

In this school year, the Board of Education will pay $16 million in salaries for 154 unplaced assistant principals (APs). These are principals with no permanent post ... so they basically do nothing for their pay. This is WRONG and should be ended, IMMEDIATELY! Schools Chancellor Joel Klein believes these “qualified” administrators should "leave" the system. Leave? Shouldn’t Klein "boot them out" if possible? Or, be more concerned about enabling them to work in some kind of teaching capacity? Or, establishing new policy that prevents others from following in their footsteps … right to the bank without helping our schoolchildren? Where is the concern about wasting money of New York City taxpayers? Maybe others in the Board of Education should “leave” too.

Schools May Have New Ruler And Rules

The school year for NYC’s 1.1 million students has started and will end in June of 2009. Coincidentally, Mayor Bloomberg’s control of the school system which began in 2002 ends June 30, 2009. Groups are forming on both sides now to present their cases to the state legislature over who should have authority over city schools on July 1, 2009; the mayor or the original seven-member Board of Education. Schools Chancellor Joel Klein will push to retain mayoral control. Klein (who was appointed by Bloomberg) is one of the 13 current board members. Many parents are upset with the lack of say they have in important school decisions. New York City’s 32 Community Education Councils (CEC’s) believe they’re powerless on major issues too. Many in the CEC’s believe that a Chancellor should be more independent of the mayor than Klein. The other side argues that since Bloomberg took over school control in 2002, per-student spending has risen from $10,694 to $15,110. Graduations have risen from 51% to 62%. Major crimes have fallen from 1,577 (2000-2001) to 1,047 (2007-2008). Before anyone looks to take the mayor out of the equation, they should offer very detailed plans on how they intend to improve upon his results. As it seems to students every September, "June will never get here!" For parties on both sides of this issue however, the time to come up with ideas that benefit our children is already running out.

Cash For Grades Is A Poor Investment

The Board of Education, in their infinite wisdom, approved a plan to pay some high school kids $500-$1,000 each to pass Advanced Placement (AP) tests. Their goal was to motivate students to get better scores by … showing them the Benjamins! The result? 35% of the test students passed in 2007 without reimbursement while only 32% of the “pupils for pay” passed in 2008. Cash incentives don’t work yet there are those looking for positives in a dismal idea. New York City kids shouldn’t be paid to learn. They should be inspired to take advantage of the opportunity a good education can provide. The reward for our children shouldn’t be "pocket money for the mall." It should be a bright future where they may fulfill their potential and dreams.

Charter Schools Should Change The Rules

New York City has 24,000 students enrolled in 78 charter schools. That’s only 3% of the total school enrollment; though 8 times more pupils than when Mayor Bloomberg took office in 2002. Bloomberg believes in the charter school concept. He cites their success as a reason public schools have gotten better. Give parents the option to place their kids in better schools and they will. Competition is a great thing. However, 3% of anything isn’t much. Certainly 3% after six years isn’t a significant number when charters have proven to be the better option of educating our children. We should increase the pace at which charter schools can be established and chartered. Additionally, the Board of Education should immediately adopt successful guidelines and approaches from the charters and incorporate them in public schools now. Why should millions of kids in the coming years receive a lesser education because they’re not fortunate enough to be in a better school?

An English Language Lesson With NYC Slang

In New York City, students who need help with English are called “English Language Learners.” An estimated 75% of these students don’t receive adequate schooling in their special classes. Not surprisingly, this large percentage of kids doesn’t graduate on time. Only $13.7 million of $380 million in state funding is targeted for these ELL pupils. So now, I’m raising my hand hoping to be seen. I’m waving my arm wildly now and yelling, “Ooooh, ooooh, ooooh” just like Arnold Horshack on the TV show Welcome Back Kotter once did. Finally, someone from the Board of Education points at me. I ask my question on behalf of students who may be unable to ask the question in English, themselves. Why?

The Grad Glass Remains Half Empty

New York City high school graduation rates have risen from 46.5% in 2005, to 49.8% in 2006 to 52.2% in 2007. To be fair, GED’s add a bit more to each statistic. Unfortunately, "a bit” isn’t nearly enough to do justice for our kids. Some proudly point to these increases as “progress.” I think it points to the continued failure of those we entrust to educate our children. Special needs children who need even more of our attention graduated at a significantly lower rate; 19.8%. Despite these low numbers, local politicians applaud themselves. Board of Education school officials applaud themselves. Next year though, over a third of our kids probably won't receive diplomas. Why all the celebration then? Mayor Bloomberg said, “I don’t think you can overstate the value of a high school diploma.” I agree, but in today’s marketplace, a college education should be stressed ... not a high school education. Regardless of the rhetoric, much more needs to be done NOW to graduate a higher % of our kids in 2009; higher still in the years to come. Billions of dollars have been thrown at the problem. That’s not the answer. Parents must take charge of ensuring their children’s education. Good people with foresight and proven principles need to be responsible for our children’s scholastic future too. From top to bottom, the school system needs to be revamped. Who then is qualified, courageous and independent enough to take on this school of hard knocks?

"No Bid" - No More

Yet another questionable deal by New York City's Board of Education has come to light. The Board claim their “no bid” contract policy gets things done quicker and provides for a better curriculum. In fiscal year 2000, they approved 7 no-bid contracts for $693,000. In fiscal year 2007, 76 were approved for $72 million. In 2003, the Board of Ed came under Mayor Bloomberg’s control; except that the bidding process seems to be spiraling out of control. “No bid” contracts with the Department of Education, or with any city agency for that matter are “no good.” Often, money is wasted on deals with questionable contractors with poor monitoring and unfavorable results. Whether or not the school's “curriculum” improved by a factor of 100 like bid contract totals the past seven fiscal years is doubtful. The city’s bidding process for government contracts should be wide open to public scrutiny. All qualified bidders (Measured by dollars and details.) should be permitted to contest for all city contracts. New Yorker's are entitled to the most and the best for their money. Every penny of it.

Black Grad Rates Don’t Make The Grade

New York City ranks near the bottom nationally in its ability to graduate black students with a high school diploma. In 2006, only 32% received their sheepskin compared to 57% of white students. Both figures are an outrage. Sadly, New York ranks 54th out of 63 big city school districts in the country. When will Board of Education and city government officials actually work to improve statistics? Annually posting stats in reports that fewer and fewer young New Yorkers are capable of understanding is appalling.

Charter School Grades Off The Charts - BUT

Charter schools offer parents much needed choice; particularly in bad neighborhoods. These schools receive public funds but are privately run, generally outside the full jurisdiction of the Board of Education. Many feel dollars are better spent in schools like these rather than by offering parents school vouchers. Most importantly, charters seem to work here. For example, students in New York City’s charter-schools did significantly better than students in the city’s regular public schools. In grades 3 to 8, math proficiency scores were 84.9% for charter students vs. 70.5% for students in the same district and 74.3% citywide. In English, charter students were at a 67.1% proficiency level as compared to 53.6% for others in the same district and 57.6% citywide. Unfortunately, the overwhelming majority of students are not in charter schools. It’s New York City’s responsibility to ensure the best possible education system for kids. Even with the positive results charter and magnet schools seemingly deliver, test scores highlight the fact that New York City is still not teaching many of our children to effectively read and write. School choice or not, those who are responsible for teaching our children are failing us all if over a third of our students can’t even read well. We need city government and Board of Education officials to make the grade NOW with whatever resources they have at their disposal NOW. If not, many of our children won’t be able to fulfill their aspirations in the future; the same future where these same city and Board of Education officials will be comfortably retired ... retired on the pensions that we’ll be paying them.

Board Of Ed Fishing Off Wrong Pier

Building a new 1,650 seat high school (or two smaller ones) on Pier 40 is what the Board of Education recently proposed to do. This 14 acre property is currently the site of several nice ball fields, recreational facilities and a parking garage. Building a new 1,650 seat high school (or two smaller ones) on Pier 40 is what the Board of Education SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED TO DO. This beautifully situated property on Manhattan’s West Side is better suited to the entertainment of New Yorkers and tourists rather than the education of our students. In fact, the pier should be enhanced and expanded. Other suitable locations for a school can be found nearby. Find them ... and build the school in one of those spots … off the waterfront.

When Will They Learn?

Tardy students at Boys and Girls High School in Brooklyn have quite a tale to tell. According to them, they’ve been denied entrance into school for their lateness. School officials have vehemently denied the charges. This high school has an average daily absentee rate of 38%. School attendance and lateness issues here demand an immediate review by those at the highest levels of the Board of Education. Students who come to school to learn should not be dismissed without even setting foot in the school, late or not. Turning your backs on these children now may lead to employers and society turning their backs on them later. Our children MUST LEARN reading, writing and arithmetic. Our children MUST RECEIVE all of the basics in education that they need to succeed; even in the most trying of circumstances. Teach our children that they MUST BE ACCOUNTABLE for their actions in life. For example, if they’re late for class, make them responsible for doing community service for the school, minute for minute, for every minute they're late. Both students and Board of Education civil servants all have much to learn. I suspect the students may long before Board of Education personnel will.

School Dollars Don’t Buy Three R’s

New York State spends $14,884 per pupil. That amount is 63% more than the national average of $9,138. New York City spends $14,961 per student. These dollar totals mean nothing. Academic results per dollars spent are what counts. Who will make the argument that New York City is getting good value for what it’s paying for? Any takers; beside the Board of Education System?

Bronx Students Take Unauthorized Field Trip From Principal

A walkout by nearly 200 of the city’s brightest pupils at the Bronx High School of Science occurred because principal Valerie Reidy, is "excessively" strict and harmfully “micromanaging” the school. This, according to students who attend there. They say top teachers are fleeing and being replaced by "sub-standard" ones. Punishment for “cutting classes” is also being more strictly enforced by Reidy with more severe consequences meted out than before. Principal Reidy believes the students are misinformed about the facts but didn’t clarify those facts for reporters.

Students should be fully aware of their responsibilities to the school, their families and to themselves. Cutting class and walkouts should have consequences. As for the latter though, it should be recognized that these children protested because they want to ensure themselves of the best education possible, being taught by the best educators. Indisputable facts are what’s needed here to understand and resolve this class crisis.Their approach may be inappropriate but their message should be heard and thoroughly investigated. After all, providing New York City kids with the best education should be everyone’s goal. There are administrators and high officials aplenty in the Board of Education. It might be best for one of them to check things out NOW and take whatever corrective action may be required. Students rebelling to learn and graduate should have allies in each of us. Let us remind ourselves of that while teaching them that lesson.

Cell Phone Locker Plan Schools Still Absent From Schools

On the one hand, you have parents, who for safety concerns want their kids to carry cell phones to and from schools. On the other hand, Mayor Bloomberg wants to prohibit students bringing cell phones into all school buildings. A pilot program to install “cell phone lockers” on school premises was to serve as a compromise for the two sides. Not surprisingly, testing is now on hold until sometime next year. It seems that both government and Board of Education officials can’t figure out how to safeguard a row of lockers on their premises! A year, perhaps years of planning and then installation loom ahead now. Realistically, it should probably take just a few weeks or months to decide and act upon.

This latest example of the lack of leadership and decision making that’s needed here makes me wonder about two things. Do we really trust that this kind of management team is responsibly protecting the city’s students now? Will we, the citizens of New York City, ever learn our lesson and demand better service and accountability from those who work(?) for us?