The College of New Rochelle Appoints New Dean of Students

Most recently, Blake served as the Special Assistant to the President for Mission and Board Relations. Previously, she held continuously progressive positions of responsibility in student life at CNR, including as Associate Director of Student Development and Director of Student Development. In her new role, Blake will directly supervise areas and programs that enhance student … Continue reading The College of New Rochelle Appoints New Dean of Students

New Rochelle Special Education Director Files False and Misleading Claims with U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights

NEW ROCHELLE, NY — In response to a complaint filed with the U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights (“OCR”), Director of Special and Alternative Education Yvette Goorevitch wrote a letter, dated June 18, 2012, to Erin Gimbel, Compliance Team Leader of the OCR handling the investigation into the complaint.

Monroe Should Practice What They Say They’ll Preach

The news concerning the two new Masters programs for Monroe are unsettling. This institution founded in 1933 as essentially an entry level business skills school has come a long way and now we see a college with something over 2,250 or so students, having developed two Masters programs; one an MS and the other, an MBA.

The temptation to discuss its place in the academic community is almost overwhelming, but I can understand and appreciate the feelings that young students from our poorer and middle class populations, wanting, perhaps even needing a higher education. On that note, perhaps the leadership of this small private for profit school will reach develop in accordance with what it has stated…. graduates will master the “challenges and opportunities unique to urban communities around the globe and apply learning and research to make a positive impact.”

Well, that is a tad strong for a school currently rated 46.6, and ranked 188th according to the website, State University.Com. You can check this out for yourself — not so highly regarded academically in New York State and I could not find even a reference or rating for Monroe in the U.S. News and World Report.

You Brought the Brooklyn Bridge

I will be mercifully brief. You brought the equivalent of the Brooklyn Bridge and it is getting harder and harder to divest. While you are at it, look at your property and other taxes, school district issues, and other serious urban indicators of decline or decay.

You earned it! You enabled it! You rationalized that everything was fine, the principle cause of below New Rochelle griping and whining was either because they were untermenchen or that’s just the way “people are.” And, frankly, “those people” deserve it because of their inability to focus beyond the isolated indicators such as traffic and parking, or the alleged crooked, manipulative, and patronizing ways of Bramson and before him, Idoni.

Let me tell you that things are not that simple. The old maxim of “keeping your friends close and your enemies closer” comes into play.

Let me begin with headlines — the City is undergoing massive disruption not always evident by the indicators you see and rarely by the explanations given. Look at your quality of life, your safety and security, your asset value, your school system drift.

Iona College’s Professor Jeanne Zaino Wins Prestigious Award from American Council On Education’s National Network of Women Educators

JeanneZainoHeatherMcDonnellNEW ROCHELLE, NY (May 2011) Jeanne Zaino, Associate Professor of Political Science and Director of the Honors Program at Iona College, was presented with the prestigious Dr. Carol S. Russett Award from the American Council on Education’s (ACE) National Network of Women (Westchester Rockland Region). The ceremony honoring Professor Zaino’s excellence in education was held recently at a luncheon at the Knollwood Country Club, Elmsford. It marked the first time that an educator from Iona had won the award.

The Dr. Carol Russett Award is presented to a woman educator who:

• Exemplifies the mission of the ACE/National Network of Women Leaders

• Dedicates herself to higher education by serving her students, colleagues and institution generously

• Demonstrates a personal commitment to professional growth and enrichment

• Unselfishly has given of her time and energy in assisting other women in their professional development as a mentor and role model

What Works for Community News Start Ups and How that Applies to New Rochelle’s Talk of the Sound

KnightCitizenNewsNetwork.jpgOn the radio last week I spoke about a publication I received from Jan Schaefer at American Univeristy: J-Lab’s New Voices Program: “What Works”. New Voices is a program created five years ago to fund community news startups. Funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and J-Lab: The Institute for Interactive Journalism, the program awards small grants to seed the launch of innovative community news ventures in the United States and explore models for sustainability.

For readers interested to understand more about the thinking that informs Talk of the Sound you can learn a great deal from this report.

The Full PDF for the report has been uploaded to Scribd.

The section on measures of success struck home.

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What I Learned Trying to Understand the Convoluted Debate over the “Education Mandate Relief Act”

I have been spending this week trying to understand the meaning and intent of two recent New York Post editorials, one written March 19 (Take-hike Back Stab) and the other March 23 (Scratch One Tax-hike). The topic had to do with education; more specifically with bills that would affect the school tax voting process and property tax changes. I had some initial serious concerns; (1) did our State legislators actually propose some additional tax burden on us which, in my judgment,would be unsustainable, (2) were any of our most important basic rights such as our voting outcomes, being threatened and, (3) how could the New York Post write such a vitriolic article, with minimum fact, maximum rhetoric; in sum, providing much more heat than light. Also, why is it that issues of such potential importance to taxpayers not made more transparent prior to being legislated. Why are our leaders so unable to think critically about these important issues; rather than having solutions in search of problems?

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