President Obama joined US Secretary Arne Duncan in announcing the draft application for the $4.35 billion “Race to the Top” Fund.
This largest-ever federal investment in education reform will reward eligible states for past accomplishments and create incentives for future improvement in four critical areas of reform: adopting rigorous standards and assessments; recruiting and retaining effective teachers, especially in classrooms where they are needed most; turning around low-performing schools; and establishing data systems to track student achievement and teacher effectiveness.
Don’t worry, we won’t see any of that money here. New York is one of four states that is INELIGIBLE for the program.
A state will have to meet a series of conditions to earn points and boost its chances. Some of those conditions are controversial, especially among teachers’ unions, which make up an influential segment of Obama’s Democratic base. For example, the administration says it will not award money to states that bar student performance data from being linked to teacher evaluations. Several states, including California, New York and Wisconsin, have such a prohibition.
Yep, while folks up north love to mock the school system in Arkansas and Mississippi, it’s the Empire State that is one of the most regressive, anti-reform states in the entire country. Obama actually called out the four (I believe the other is Tennessee) and asked them to “get on board” with his reform program. Remember this when you see all those portraits of President Obama hung in the halls of every school — the school administration and BoE just looooove Obama. All except those pesky ideas about reforming the rot in our failed public school system. Oops.
It is worth noting that Obama singled out, among others, Rep. George Miller, a man widely praised in the Citizen’s Committee on Civil Rights report which we highlighted a few days ago. That’s the one from all those civil rights experts who said that the teachers union were seeking to take the country back to the “separate but equal” doctrine which was overturned in Brown v. Board of Education.
Michael Mulgrew, the guy replacing Randi Weingarten as head of the United Federation of Teachers in New York, shrugged of any concerns about losing out on a $4.35 billion grant program due to New York pro-union, anti-reform labor laws.
“The law is the law”, said Mulgrew, “it is not due for renewal for over a year. The President is not withholding funding they are possibly not going to allow us to be eligible for a competitive grant program known as ”Race to the Top”. The AFT is in discussions with the New York State Education department concerning this issue but if it can not be resolved then we will take the appropriate steps to insure the tenure law.”
In other words, Arne Duncan and Barack Obama can go screw as for as the New York teachers union is concerned. Some “change”! Of course, Mulgrew’s blase attitude may be fine of the UFT, not so good for New Yorkers, as the rest of risk being shut out from many millions of dollars to improve schools and help close the achievement gap, a significant issue in New Rochelle were only a large number of minority students fail to graduate from high school on time with many dropping out along the way.
The pressure campaign has been underway for months as Education Secretary Arne Duncan travels the country delivering a blunt message to state officials who have resisted change for decades: Embrace reform or risk being shut out.
“What we’re saying here is, if you can’t decide to change these practices, we’re not going to use precious dollars that we want to see creating better results; we’re not going to send those dollars there,” Obama said in an Oval Office interview Wednesday. “And we’re counting on the fact that, ultimately, this is an incentive, this is a challenge for people who do want to change.”
Well apparently that’s not us.
wow what a surprise
gosh, new york, california and wisconsin home of the liberal elite. i suppose the rationalizations will be flying all across the length and breadth of the state while the taxpayer wallows in further debt and the district sinks into the abyss of fractional support and diminishing returns on performance.
ok, how much more do you folks out there who support the district as it is need to hear. if you don’t say as a unit of taxpaying citizens that we will vote out any and all board members who dont insist on collective bargaining with a goal to reduce teacher benefits on health and welfare, pensions, etc… the big ticket items. Chuck strome played the union busting card with first responders and now, given this information, I would like to see the district open up the contract or certainly not allow it to be reopened for any subsequent advantage to FUSE. I would also like to see the district take action, reluctantly or not, to remove Daly from any position or post that even hints at it being unethical or of a disadvantage to the taxpayer — that includes the PTA co-chair and this should not even be open to discussion.
I have not heard or seen anything representing a position from any councilman on these matters so I suppose that they are mute on issues involving resident taxes, board performance, etc.. and everyone should remember this lack of leadership at election time.
by the way, there is a lot more to what arne duncan is about and one of his signature notions is to have the school board report to the mayor citing bloomberg and his successes in new york city. somehow I think, new york city is going to get a piece of this recovery money as their union will not be as intractable as our AFT alignees. lets see
warren gross
Change We Can Believe IN
So what’s so surprising. Anybody who has ever been to a New Rochelle BOE meeting knows the mantra. “We are wonderful. Everything is fine. No change is necessary. I have been part of this wonderful system for twenty years. I am great.”
Any suggestion that things could be improved, that there are problems to be addresses or that programs may not be performing as expected is pooh-poohed, talked down or gaveled “out od order”.
Keep it up folks. Just keep all the incumbents in power and you are guaranteed more of the same.
J. Wagner