I notice that you post clippings from the Post and News about Jamaica. Given your apparent point of view, I thought you might be interested in something edgier, specifically things I've been posting at Gotham Schools:
http://gothamschools.org/
My most recent column is a collaboration with Jamaica HS Chapter Leader James Eterno. It reveals the statistics Klein is using to close Jamaica are fraudulent.
Please feel free to use any of my stuff on the blog. We're particularly keen on getting out as much as we can this week, before the PEP decides Jamaica's fate next week. The closing of Jamaica will cause a chain reaction, perhaps hitting current C-rated John Bowne and Martin Van Buren next year, and certainly hitting us eventually.
I'll have another piece on Gotham soon about how Bloomberg is killing neighborhood schools and what an awful idea that is.
Thanks for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Arthur Goldstein, ESL Teacher/ UFT Chapter Leader
Francis Lewis High School
7 comments:
Arthur:
Do you honestly believe Bloomberg or Klein give a damn what you say? They think we're all idiots.
In my opinion, they are hellbent on closing schools so they can rid the system of experienced teachers saving the city money. Do you think it was an accident that that principal began reporting every little infraction? They usually underreport stuff like that. She was TOLD to do it by Klein.
Don't forget these guys are business men and have business minds. What do they do in the business world when they want to get rid of people? They make you miserable so you quit. Isn't that what's going on in the city? Micromanaging every stupid thing and the whole "gotcha" method. And it's worked. Every older teacher I know has left or is counting the days. Brand new teachers teach in the city to get their feet wet and will run when they get the chance. And then you have people like me, in the middle who are too young to retire and have too many years to get a job elsewhere.
The corporate model was a success from the standpoint that it eliminated veteran staff. But what BloomKlein don't realize is that loading a system with rookie teachers and administrators will ultimately be the final nail in the coffin.
Arthur I wish you luck but I'm not optimistic. The PEP works for Bloomie.
I say the only way to make a difference is to try and take your story to the media in a big way. He hates bad publicity. (But also don't forget the media works for him too.)
http://www.classsizematters.org/EIS_comments_HSClosures_final.pdf
The Office of Portfolio Planning's Debra Kurshan insists that there will be "more than enough" Queens high school seats in September.
She believes that opening a new seventh to twelfth grade school at Queens Hospital Center with 805 new seats really gives Jamaica "new" seats. By that she means empty seats.
The seats at the new Gateway High School WILL NOT BE for new students who need to be seated in ninth grade in September. Gateway High School students currently at the 87th Avenue building of this school will be moving north.
The loss of seats at Jamaica High School, as well as the loss of ones at Beach Channel High School, will just continue the impact of overcrowding in the high schools in Queens.
The Department of Education is abandoning our children.
Happens all the time.
I know one case where a school is being closed, despite a increase in performance, simply because they personally don't like the principal and want to get someone they know into that seat, and in another case, an improving school will be closed because they "dont like big schools"
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/26/nyregion/26closings.html?hp
Take his words with a grain of salt. He's a UFT shop steward.
Do not take Mr. Goldstein's words with a "grain of salt" -- this borough does not have enough high school seats now and closing Beach Channel and Jamaica High School is going to be a very real problem for students who have no school to go to in September.
Two new small schools at the "Jamaica Campus" with a total of only 224 seats -- ponder that!
A number of DOE representatives have been asked for the number of students who will be affected by the Jamaica HS closure. They have been asked for an accounting of where the displaced students will go.
The DOE has not sufficiently answered the questions and has said only, "elsewhere in Queens or the City".
So...where will the students now zoned for Jamaica High School go?
send the Rikers Island inmates back. they do not belong in neighborhood high schools. the liberals really are insane.
Post a Comment