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In the News
Mon, 04/02/2012
Getting Smart

By Tom Vander Ark

Every U.S. student should have a chance to earn college credit in high school. Even with online learning, we still haven’t reached the point of universal access to a great college prep track with college credit options. That’s why David Haglund is pushing the Students Bill of Rights in California. It’s why Christina Grant is pushing early college in New York.

Wed, 03/07/2012
The Times Union

By Scott Waldman

ALBANY — The charter school movement in Albany received $3 million from the Walton Family Foundation last year.

On Wednesday, the charitable arm of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. released the list of organizations that received the $159 million it invested in education reform in 2011. The $3.01 million Albany-based organizations received was a 27 percent increase over 2010.

Fri, 02/17/2012
Buffalo News

By Mary B. Pasciak and Tom Precious
News Staff Reporters

Every teacher in the state soon will be evaluated under a more rigorous system designed to more closely link teacher ratings to student growth on assessments and to reliable classroom observations.

Thu, 02/02/2012
WAMC

ALBANY, NY (WAMC) - New York schools could be facing a huge financial loss if an agreement is not reached on a new evaluation system for teachers and principals. The education group, the Campaign for Achievement Now, has issued a report that says schools could lose $1.7 billion dollars over two years if the new system is not in place.

Wed, 02/01/2012
New York Times

In the news on Wednesday, the tabloids continue to have a field day with the case of a teacher who has collected his $100,000-a-year salary for a decade while assigned to “rubber room”-type duty.

The case of Alan Rosenfeld, a former typing instructor, has prompted The New York Post to look more closely at the records of the case against the teacher, who was accused by six girls in junior high school “of leering at them and making inappropriate remarks.”

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Group sets cost of teacher fight at $1.7B

Tue, 01/31/2012
KFOXTV
View source article

ALBANY, N.Y. — As some local school districts are nearing agreements with their unions to create tougher evaluations for teachers and principals, an interest group said failure to enact the new evaluations will cost schools $1.7 billion statewide.

The New York Campaign for Achievement Now on Tuesday released its analysis, reporting that failure to enact the evaluations pushed by the Obama administration and Gov. Andrew Cuomo jeopardizes state and federal aid over two years. The group, which has ties to the charter school movement, says $1 billion in state and federal aid to school performance would be lost, besides the $700 million already publicly threatened.

"At the same time that New York public schools are failing thousands of our students in their preparation for college or careers, we bestow the vast majority of our teachers with positive job evaluations," the report stated.

State Education Commissioner John B. King Jr. also calculates the potential loss at more than $1 billion.

In the state's major cities, the report shows New York City schools would lose $592 million in total aid over the next two years; Buffalo would lose almost $51 million; Rochester would lose $48 million; Syracuse would lose $43 million; Yonkers would lose $16 million and Albany would lose over $4 million.

Meanwhile, the New York State United Teachers union reported Tuesday that local chapters are reaching agreements with districts to enact new evaluation methods.

At stake is the $700 million the state won a year ago in the federal Race to the Top competition. To qualify for the reform program grants, the Legislature passed an evaluation system for teachers and principals that included student performance as a measure.

But requiring scores on tests — which were never designed to reflect teachers' effectiveness — has proven a harder sell when school districts try to negotiate changes with their local unions.
The New York State United Teachers union and the State Education Department recently reported negotiations were progressing, shortly after King suspended some school aid and Cuomo threatened to pull back millions more.

Total state school aid is about $21 billion a year.

 

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