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| 10 | <title>Time Out From Testing response to Joel Klein's Jan 25, 2007 testimony</title> |
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| 13 | <body onload="PN.onLoad();"> |
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| 15 | <div class="framing"> |
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| 16 | <div class="logo"><a href="http://www.timeoutfromtesting.org/"><img |
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| 17 | src="logo.png" title="Time Out From Testing" alt="Time Out From |
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| 18 | excessive and high-stakes Testing" /></a></div> On January 25, 2007, |
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| 19 | <acronym title="New York City Department of |
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| 20 | Education">NYCDOE</acronym> Chancellor Joel I. Klein gave testimony to |
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| 21 | the New York City Council Committee on Education about the Next Phase |
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| 22 | of the Children First Reforms. The <acronym title="Department of |
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| 23 | Education">DOE</acronym> <a |
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| 24 | href="http://schools.nyc.gov/Administration/mediarelations/SpeechesTestimonials/20070126_jk_council.htm">published |
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| 25 | his remarks</a>. We reprint them here, with commentary.</div> |
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| 26 | |
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| 27 | <h1>Time Out From Testing Responds to Chancellor Klein:</h1> |
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| 28 | |
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| 29 | <div class="maintext"> |
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| 30 | |
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| 31 | <p> Good afternoon Chairman Jackson and members of the Education |
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| 32 | Committee. Thank you for inviting me today to talk about our efforts |
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| 33 | to create the kind of public schools that New York City’s students |
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| 34 | need and deserve. |
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| 35 | |
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| 36 | <p>Deputy Mayor Walcott just described the journey we’ve taken over <a |
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| 37 | href="#note0" id="base0" name="base0">the past four-plus years since |
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| 38 | Mayor Bloomberg took control of, and responsibility for, New York |
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| 39 | City’s schools</a>. Last week, as you know, the Mayor announced our |
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| 40 | next steps—what we will do to build on the progress we have |
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| 41 | made. These reforms, which I will discuss today, will take our schools |
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| 42 | and our system to a new, higher level. These steps are critically |
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| 43 | important because although we’ve made a great deal of progress in |
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| 44 | recent years, although <a href="#note1" id="base1" name="base1">our |
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| 45 | students are performing at a substantially higher level now than they |
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| 46 | were in 2002</a>, we still have a long way to go before our schools |
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| 47 | are able to provide all of New York City’s children with the education |
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| 48 | they need and deserve. And while our students and our system have |
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| 49 | improved a great deal, we must not accept the current reality, the |
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| 50 | status quo, as our maximum potential. |
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| 51 | |
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| 52 | <p>Today, <a href="#note2" id="base2" name="base2">I will share with |
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| 53 | you the details of the next wave of our Children First school |
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| 54 | reforms</a>. But before I do that, I would like to put the reforms in |
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| 55 | context: everything we do, every reform we undertake, every initiative |
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| 56 | we pursue is a means to an end, and that end is giving every one of |
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| 57 | our students, regardless of personal circumstances, a fair chance at a |
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| 58 | successful, fulfilling, productive life in a world that increasingly |
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| 59 | demands unprecedented levels of knowledge and competence. When we |
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| 60 | called our reforms “Children First,” we meant it. |
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| 61 | |
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| 62 | <p>Our efforts—the efforts that the Deputy Mayor just described and |
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| 63 | the efforts that I will describe in my testimony today—are built |
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| 64 | around <i>four</i> simple beliefs. |
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| 65 | |
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| 66 | <p><u>First</u>, I fundamentally reject “incrementalism” as a |
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| 67 | strategy. |
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| 68 | |
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| 69 | <p><a href="#note3" id="base3" name="base3">Across America and in New |
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| 70 | York City, education “reformers” have been claiming for years that |
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| 71 | <i>this</i> new initiative or <i>that</i> new program would fix what’s |
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| 72 | wrong in our schools.</a> We must be bold. We cannot afford to be |
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| 73 | anything but bold when <a href="#note4" id="base4" |
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| 74 | name="base4">140,000 of our 16- to 21-year-olds have dropped out of |
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| 75 | school or are about to</a>, when <a href="#note5" id="base5" |
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| 76 | name="base5">more than 60% of our eighth graders are still not reading |
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| 77 | or doing math at grade level</a>, and when our average <a |
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| 78 | href="#note6" id="base6" name="base6">African American and Latino |
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| 79 | students perform several grade levels below their peers</a>. |
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| 80 | |
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| 81 | <p><u>Second</u>, I fundamentally reject the notion that the |
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| 82 | challenges of urban education are insurmountable in light of failures |
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| 83 | endemic to our society or the difficult circumstances surrounding the |
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| 84 | lives of many students. |
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| 85 | |
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| 86 | <p>That is a common argument. But all it does is breed low |
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| 87 | expectations. It allows educators at all levels to say “we did our |
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| 88 | job” <i>even if</i> children fail—on the perverse theory that it is |
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| 89 | the children who are the problem. It is also flatly incorrect. Many of |
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| 90 | you have visited schools in our City that are proving this argument |
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| 91 | wrong every day—schools like Bronx Aerospace Academy, the Patrick |
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| 92 | F. Daly School in Brooklyn. |
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| 93 | |
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| 94 | <p><u>Third</u>, I fundamentally reject the idea that we should ask |
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| 95 | our great educators to succeed with children but deny them the |
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| 96 | authority and resources to craft the most effective path to success. |
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| 97 | |
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| 98 | <p>A system that spends countless millions “on behalf of” schools |
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| 99 | rather than letting educators spend it as <i>they</i> think most |
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| 100 | effective cannot succeed. |
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| 101 | |
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| 102 | <p><u>Fourth</u>, I fundamentally reject the notion that education, |
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| 103 | unlike every single other domain in American life, is not compatible |
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| 104 | with serious and meaningful accountability. |
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| 105 | |
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| 106 | <p>Accountability is fundamental in education—just like it is in every |
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| 107 | other field. Compensation doesn’t need to be lock-step. Good teaching |
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| 108 | <i>is</i> amenable to financial rewards. And, despite our best |
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| 109 | attempts, <i>not all</i> poor performing adults are remediable. |
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| 110 | |
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| 111 | <p>These principles provide the connective tissue of the Children |
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| 112 | First reforms as they have evolved and as they will continue to |
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| 113 | evolve. |
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| 114 | |
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| 115 | <p>Now, I’d like to describe the next wave of our reforms. The reforms |
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| 116 | involve four major changes that the mayor announced last week—plus one |
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| 117 | additional critical element that I am announcing today for the first |
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| 118 | time. |
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| 119 | |
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| 120 | <p>As the mayor announced last week, we will empower all of our |
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| 121 | 1,400-plus principals to make more decisions about their school’s |
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| 122 | budgets, programs, and staffs. <u>Second</u>, we will hold principals |
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| 123 | and schools accountable for student results. <u>Third</u>, we will |
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| 124 | level the financial playing field so that all schools’ budgets are |
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| 125 | based on their student population and so that all schools can be held |
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| 126 | to the same high standards. <u>Finally</u>, because we know how |
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| 127 | important teachers are to student success, from now on, teacher tenure |
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| 128 | will no longer be the default position—we will grant it only to those |
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| 129 | educators who prove they are able to help our students make progress. |
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| 130 | |
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| 131 | <p>And today, I’d like to announce that we are developing a more |
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| 132 | robust and effective mechanism for parents—so they can resolve their |
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| 133 | concerns and play an even more hands-on role in their children’s |
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| 134 | education. We will also build the capacity of the school system to |
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| 135 | support meaningful parent engagement. |
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| 136 | |
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| 137 | <p>To do this, we are creating parent offices in each of our 32 |
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| 138 | districts. These offices will give parents a neighborhood resource |
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| 139 | where they can find answers to questions that cannot be resolved at |
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| 140 | the school level. Our new parent offices will also help to train and |
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| 141 | provide support to parent coordinators and work with community groups |
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| 142 | serving parents to effectively get information out to parents in all |
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| 143 | of our communities and to hear their concerns. These parent officers |
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| 144 | will report dually to Community Superintendents and to someone who |
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| 145 | works directly for me—a new CEO of Parent Engagement. |
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| 146 | |
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| 147 | <p>The new CEO will develop a strategy for helping us to effectively |
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| 148 | engage and support parents in their efforts to help their children |
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| 149 | succeed and to provide accessible and timely information parents need |
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| 150 | about the school system. This plan will integrate all DOE |
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| 151 | parent-service resources. We envision that it will include a greater |
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| 152 | level of collaboration with parents and community groups that serve |
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| 153 | them. I believe parents are entitled to a meaningful opportunity for |
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| 154 | input into this new parent engagement plan. That’s why I've asked |
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| 155 | Advocates for Children, with over 35 years of assisting public school |
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| 156 | parents in this City and the parent organization of the |
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| 157 | Insideschools.org website, to help us shape our new initiative over |
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| 158 | the next few months and to advise on how to bring other groups and |
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| 159 | parents into that process. This collaboration demonstrates the serious |
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| 160 | nature of my commitment to increase our efforts to engage and assist |
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| 161 | our parents. |
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| 162 | |
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| 163 | <p>Now, I’d like to elaborate on the changes the Mayor described last |
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| 164 | week. |
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| 165 | |
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| 166 | <p>First, I will discuss empowerment. |
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| 167 | |
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| 168 | <p>Last year, 332 principals stepped up to a very simple challenge: In |
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| 169 | exchange for agreeing to become accountable for significant gains in |
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| 170 | student achievement, they would be given substantially greater |
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| 171 | authority over their schools. In essence, we stripped dollars from the |
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| 172 | bureaucracy, gave them directly to the schools, and gave principals |
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| 173 | the power to make the core decisions about programming, staffing, and |
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| 174 | resources that affect their students and their schools. |
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| 175 | |
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| 176 | <p>We called these schools “Empowerment Schools,” and I am pleased to |
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| 177 | report that they are off to a strong start. |
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| 178 | |
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| 179 | <p>Starting in the next school year, ALL of our principals, not just |
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| 180 | those leading Empowerment Schools, will be given the power of |
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| 181 | choice—the power to select the <i>support system</i> that they believe |
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| 182 | will best enable them to succeed for their students. Principals, |
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| 183 | working with their teams and consulting with their School Leadership |
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| 184 | Teams, will be able to decide among three types of School Support |
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| 185 | Organizations. These new support structures will replace the 10 |
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| 186 | Regions that we created a few years ago to stabilize the school |
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| 187 | system. |
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| 188 | |
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| 189 | <p>First, schools can become Empowerment Schools, joining the 332 |
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| 190 | schools that have already chosen this more streamlined system of |
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| 191 | support. |
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| 192 | |
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| 193 | <p>Second, they can choose to partner with a Learning Support |
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| 194 | Organization (LSO). Four of our most accomplished Regional |
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| 195 | Superintendents—Kathleen Cashin, Judy Chin, Marcia Lyles, and Laura |
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| 196 | Rodriguez—will have the funds and the discretion to build these LSOs, |
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| 197 | creating options that will be attractive and available to all schools. |
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| 198 | |
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| 199 | <p>Lastly, principals can choose to partner with an <i>external |
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| 200 | </i>Partnership Support Organization (PSO). We know from our |
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| 201 | experience that these groups have much to offer. They are unafraid to |
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| 202 | innovate and willing to challenge orthodoxies. So, if principals |
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| 203 | believe that bringing in support and expertise from outside the DOE is |
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| 204 | the key to their students’ success, they should have that |
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| 205 | option. These partner organizations might include any of the |
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| 206 | non-profit intermediary organizations that are already working with |
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| 207 | many of our schools. They might also include other non-profits or |
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| 208 | colleges and universities. |
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| 209 | |
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| 210 | <p>Through a Request for Proposal Process, we will screen prospective |
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| 211 | partners and develop a menu of DOE authorized Partnership Support |
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| 212 | Organizations from which principals may choose. |
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| 213 | |
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| 214 | <p>Any school in the City—whether it’s in Brooklyn, the Bronx, Staten |
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| 215 | Island, Queens, or Manhattan—will be able to choose any of these |
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| 216 | options. Support will no longer be based on where a school is. It will |
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| 217 | be based on what kind of support is best for a school. |
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| 218 | |
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| 219 | <p>Under <u>all</u> the support options, the DOE will continue to set |
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| 220 | and enforce academic standards, develop rigorous curricula, and hold |
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| 221 | schools to a common and demanding set of accountabilities. The DOE |
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| 222 | will also continue to make all employment decisions, including whether |
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| 223 | to hire or terminate principals. And all collective bargaining |
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| 224 | agreements continue to apply. In this new system, the 32 Community |
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| 225 | Superintendents will retain all the rights and authority required by |
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| 226 | law and will report directly to me. And, of course, all schools must |
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| 227 | comply with city, state, and federal law. |
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| 228 | |
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| 229 | <p>I will retain the right to intervene in a school, regardless of its |
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| 230 | choice of support partner, if things are headed in the wrong |
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| 231 | direction. And we will continue to provide the basic systems |
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| 232 | (financial, human resources, data and communications) to serve schools |
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| 233 | so they don’t have to reinvent their own infrastructure or lose the |
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| 234 | advantages of scale. |
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| 235 | |
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| 236 | <p>Let me now turn to the second major reform, accountability. |
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| 237 | |
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| 238 | <p>Accountability is the natural partner of empowerment. Together, |
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| 239 | they have real power to drive student achievement. Just as it is |
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| 240 | unfair to hold principals accountable for results without giving them |
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| 241 | the authority to deliver them, it is a mistake to give schools broad |
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| 242 | discretion and not hold them strictly accountable for results. |
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| 243 | |
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| 244 | <p>Our accountability system will enlist parents as partners to help |
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| 245 | us make sure that schools succeed. To be effective advocates for their |
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| 246 | children, they need good information. By providing new information to |
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| 247 | parents, and by making reports to parents more thorough, |
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| 248 | comprehensive, and accessible, as well as easier to understand, we |
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| 249 | will help parents make better choices and be better advocates for |
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| 250 | their children. |
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| 251 | |
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| 252 | <p>So, every school will receive a Progress Report with an overall |
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| 253 | letter grade (A – F) that compares it both to similar schools and the |
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| 254 | City’s best schools. The grades will be based on performance (where a |
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| 255 | school stands in absolute terms), progress (whether and how fast a |
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| 256 | school’s students are improving) and items related to school |
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| 257 | environment (including the results of new surveys of parents, |
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| 258 | teachers, and students). With these surveys, we will find out what |
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| 259 | parents, teachers, and students think is working—and not working—at |
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| 260 | schools and we’ll have real information to help us fix problems and |
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| 261 | learn how to build on strengths. |
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| 262 | |
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| 263 | <p>In addition, starting this year all schools are receiving on-site |
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| 264 | “Quality Reviews,” during which skilled educators observe teaching, |
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| 265 | and interview the principal, teachers, parents, and students at each |
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| 266 | school. These reviews are summarized in a detailed report that is |
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| 267 | available to parents and all New Yorkers online and that schools |
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| 268 | should be directly providing to their parents. |
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| 269 | |
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| 270 | <p>And, we are offering schools new tools to enable educators to |
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| 271 | measure and analyze how well our students are learning and to adjust |
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| 272 | instruction accordingly. We are providing all schools with <i>periodic |
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| 273 | assessments, </i>which are diagnostic tools used over the course of |
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| 274 | the year to help teachers adjust instruction to each student's |
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| 275 | individual needs in time to make an immediate difference. Over time, |
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| 276 | parents will receive reports on these assessments as well, so they can |
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| 277 | track the progress of their children along with teachers. |
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| 278 | |
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| 279 | <p>To help make all of this new information available in a timely way, |
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| 280 | we are launching a powerful new achievement data system called the |
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| 281 | Achievement Reporting and Innovation System (ARIS). This will put |
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| 282 | critical information at the fingertips of principals, teachers, and |
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| 283 | parents. |
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| 284 | |
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| 285 | <p>As I’ve said, all schools will be graded based on their success |
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| 286 | with students. Those with the top ratings will receive bonuses for |
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| 287 | serving as demonstration sites for others. Top schools will be |
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| 288 | eligible as well for additional funds for struggling students they |
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| 289 | choose to accept from poor performing schools. And those schools |
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| 290 | identified as the poorest performers face leadership changes and |
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| 291 | ultimately restructuring or closure. |
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| 292 | |
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| 293 | <p>Now, I would like to discuss the third major reform: building a |
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| 294 | funding system that is fairer, clearer, and better at helping kids |
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| 295 | achieve. |
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| 296 | |
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| 297 | <p>Despite real improvements over the last four years, today we still |
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| 298 | have a funding system that falls short of those goals. Today, we send |
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| 299 | money to schools according to 90 separate funding formulas. What’s |
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| 300 | worse, the biggest pots of money follow the weakest logic. They are |
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| 301 | distributed largely based on historical patterns. They carry forward |
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| 302 | decisions made long ago, based on political deals, not the current |
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| 303 | needs of our kids. |
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| 304 | |
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| 305 | <p>This means two schools with similar enrollments can receive |
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| 306 | completely different amounts of money. For example, one school in our |
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| 307 | city with about 550 kids and a poverty rate of more than 80% receives |
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| 308 | $5,500 per student in general education tax dollars. Another school |
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| 309 | with the same number and mix of students receives $3,500 per |
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| 310 | student. That means one school gets $1 million more in general tax |
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| 311 | dollars than the other. |
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| 312 | |
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| 313 | <p>This is not about rich versus poor, one borough versus |
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| 314 | another. This is about senseless disadvantages that strike every |
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| 315 | community and every corner of our City. |
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| 316 | |
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| 317 | <p>Instead of proliferating an unjust and unfair status quo, we |
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| 318 | propose a simple reform called Fair Student Funding. From here on out, |
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| 319 | we’re going to fund the people who matter most—the kids. |
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| 320 | |
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| 321 | <p>At every school, every student will carry a base level of tax levy |
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| 322 | funding based on grade level. Then, on top of that, we’ll offer |
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| 323 | additional funds to kids who cost more to educate based on their |
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| 324 | unique characteristics: because they are poor, learning English, |
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| 325 | performing poorly, or in certain specialized schools, like our testing |
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| 326 | high schools. |
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| 327 | |
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| 328 | <p>Under this plan, two schools with the same mixes of kids will get |
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| 329 | the same amounts of City tax dollars. (In addition, they’ll also |
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| 330 | continue to get federal and state categorical dollars, like Title I, |
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| 331 | as they had before.) It is so simple that we’ll eventually be able to |
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| 332 | explain to principals most of their budgets on one clean page. |
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| 333 | |
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| 334 | <p>And we are going to move forward with the benefit of the views of |
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| 335 | parents, teachers, and other stakeholders. We are engaging in an |
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| 336 | extensive schedule of community engagement through which I have no |
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| 337 | doubt that this initiative will be refined and improved. |
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| 338 | |
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| 339 | <p>Now, I’d like to turn to the final of the four reforms the mayor |
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| 340 | announced: improving the quality of our most important asset, our |
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| 341 | teachers. |
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| 342 | |
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| 343 | <p>I know and you know how fundamental good teachers are to our |
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| 344 | students’ success. Research convincingly shows that effective teaching |
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| 345 | is the single most important factor separating student success and |
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| 346 | failure. The vast majority of the 80,000 teachers in our schools are |
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| 347 | hard-working, talented, and committed. Our challenge is to make sure |
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| 348 | that <i>all</i> students are taught by successful teachers. |
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| 349 | |
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| 350 | <p>We’ve already taken a number of steps to attract and retain good |
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| 351 | teachers and to create incentives to reward our best teachers. Since |
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| 352 | the Mayor took office, we’ve increased the starting teacher salary by |
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| 353 | 43%, making it easier to attract and retain high-quality educators for |
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| 354 | our children. With the United Federation of Teachers, we ended the |
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| 355 | practice of “bumping,” and “force-placing,” which previously required |
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| 356 | principals to hire teachers even if they weren’t qualified or a good |
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| 357 | fit for their school. We also created a $15,000 housing bonus to help |
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| 358 | recruit teachers in shortage areas such as math, science and special |
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| 359 | education. And we created a Lead Teacher program, which allows us to |
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| 360 | reward teachers with an additional $10,000 a year to mentor and coach |
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| 361 | other teachers while also teaching students. |
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| 362 | |
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| 363 | <p>But we must do even more if our schools are to be empowered to |
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| 364 | build the best team possible to educate our children. We are taking a |
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| 365 | major step in this direction. |
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| 366 | |
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| 367 | <p>We intend to make tenure a well-deserved honor, not a routine |
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| 368 | right. Today tenure is nearly automatic. About 99% of teachers who |
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| 369 | serve for three years in our system receive tenure as a matter of |
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| 370 | course. This is the default position. We want as many teachers as |
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| 371 | possible to become tenured, but we want them to earn it. This is so |
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| 372 | important because once a teacher has tenure, he or she basically has |
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| 373 | life-time job security. |
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| 374 | |
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| 375 | <p>Accordingly, principals will receive a new set of supports and |
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| 376 | tools to ensure that this incredibly important decision is made in a |
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| 377 | rigorous, thoughtful, and fact-based manner. We look forward to |
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| 378 | working with the UFT in this effort. And because an affirmative tenure |
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| 379 | decision affects not only an individual school but the entire system, |
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| 380 | we will also insist that a principal’s recommendation be reviewed by |
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| 381 | appropriate personnel outside the school, notably the Community |
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| 382 | Superintendent. Indeed, so critical is the tenure decision that Mayor |
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| 383 | Bloomberg will meet annually with each group of newly tenured teachers |
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| 384 | to celebrate their accomplishment. |
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| 385 | |
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| 386 | <p>I’d like to conclude with an obvious point: The changes that we are |
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| 387 | discussing today will not be easy. They will not be painless. And they |
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| 388 | will not be without controversy. |
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| 389 | |
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| 390 | <p>But they are necessary for our kids, our city, and our nation. The |
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| 391 | stakes are too high for timidity or tinkering. I look forward to |
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| 392 | working with you as we move forward together. |
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| 393 | |
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| 394 | <p>Thank you. We would be pleased to answer any questions. |
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| 395 | |
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| 396 | </div> |
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| 397 | <hr> |
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| 398 | <div class="notes"> |
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| 399 | <h1 id="note-section-header">Commentary</h1> |
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| 400 | |
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| 401 | <div class="note"><a class="notetitle" href="#base0" id="note0" |
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| 402 | name="note0">the past four-plus years since Mayor Bloomberg took |
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| 403 | control of, and responsibility for, New York City’s schools</a><div |
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| 404 | class="notebody">Mayor Bloomberg and Chancellor Klein have had |
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| 405 | responsibility for NYC schools since 2002, almost five years. When do |
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| 406 | the people of NYC get to hold them accountable for their decisions and |
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| 407 | actions?</div></div> |
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| 408 | |
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| 409 | |
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| 410 | <div class="note"><a class="notetitle" href="#base1" id="note1" |
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| 411 | name="note1">our students are performing at a substantially higher |
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| 412 | level now than they were in 2002</a><div class="notebody">Fourth grade |
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| 413 | scores for the city’s English tests did increase from 2002 to 2005, |
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| 414 | but in 2006, they decreased. Math scores dropped 6.5 percentage |
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| 415 | points. On the 2006 NY State English tests, fifth grade scores |
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| 416 | dropped 10 percentage points from the previous year. |
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| 417 | <p> |
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| 418 | Significantly, Chancellor Klein avoids the question of eighth grade |
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| 419 | scores when, according to the DOE, tests require “higher order |
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| 420 | thinking” skills. In 2006, after a year of costly test prep with |
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| 421 | Princeton Review, nearly 2/3’s of eighth graders failed to meet |
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| 422 | English standards and only 38.9% met math standards – a drop of 2 |
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| 423 | percentage points from the previous year.</div></div> |
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| 424 | |
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| 425 | <div class="note"><a class="notetitle" href="#base2" id="note2" |
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| 426 | name="note2">I will share with you the details of the next wave of our |
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| 427 | Children First school reforms</a><div class="notebody"> Chancellor |
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| 428 | Klein’s Children First reforms indicate that as students progress |
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| 429 | through the school system, they continue to fall steadily behind. In |
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| 430 | 2006:<ul> |
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| 431 | <li>3rd grade, 61.5% of students met English standards |
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| 432 | <li>4th grade, 58.9% met standards |
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| 433 | <li>5th grade, 56.7% met standards |
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| 434 | <li>6th grade, 48.6% met standards |
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| 435 | <li>8th grade, only 36.6% of students met English standards.</ul> |
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| 436 | |
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| 437 | The same downward trend has occurred in math. All these figures are |
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| 438 | based on testing results available from <a |
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| 439 | href="http://schools.nyc.gov/">the <acronym title="Department of Education">DOE</acronym>’s web |
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| 440 | site</a>. |
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| 441 | <p> |
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| 442 | Will New York City’s “miracle” resemble Houston’s where federal |
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| 443 | investigators found that city’s rising test scores had more to do with |
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| 444 | unethical manipulation than “miracles” (<a title="The Texas Miracle" |
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| 445 | href="http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/08/23/60II/main637913.shtml">CBS |
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| 446 | News, 2004</a>)? In fact, in 2005, when English test scores jumped |
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| 447 | considerably for the fourth grade, several NYC lawmakers and testing |
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| 448 | experts questioned the validity of the test gains (<a title="Higher Test Scores Mean Progress" |
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| 449 | href="http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F0071FFE3C550C7B8EDDAF0894DD404482">NYT, |
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| 450 | 6/28/05</a>)</div></div> |
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| 451 | |
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| 452 | <div class="note"><a class="notetitle" href="#base3" id="note3" |
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| 453 | name="note3">Across America and in New York City, education |
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| 454 | “reformers” have been claiming for years that <i>this</i> new |
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| 455 | initiative or <i>that</i> new program would fix what’s wrong in our |
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| 456 | schools.</a><div class="notebody"> Chancellor Klein expresses |
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| 457 | skepticism about those who say they’re fixing the schools with “this |
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| 458 | . . . initiative” or “that . . . program. ” The Chancellor, however, |
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| 459 | has just proposed his third reorganization of the DOE in five years. |
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| 460 | Klein explains these attempts as an “evolution,” but in fact he had |
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| 461 | never indicated that his earlier attempts to change the system were |
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| 462 | temporary. Whether his attempts are part of a calculated strategy or |
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| 463 | a seat-of-the-pants response, they have been costly, with each change |
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| 464 | resulting in additional budgets and unsettling disruptions. |
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| 465 | </div></div> |
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| 466 | |
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| 467 | |
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| 468 | <div class="note"><a href="#base4" id="note4" name="note4">140,000 of |
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| 469 | our 16- to 21-year-olds have dropped out of school or are about |
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| 470 | to</a><div class="notebody">Chancellor Klein admits that 140,000 |
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| 471 | 16-to-21-year-olds drop out or are dropping out of school. Those |
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| 472 | students were only 10 to15 years old in 2002, when the mayor and |
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| 473 | chancellor first took charge. Shouldn’t the mayor and chancellor be |
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| 474 | held accountable for those 140,000 students?<p>Furthermore, |
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| 475 | Bloomberg and Klein say New York City has a 58.2% high school |
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| 476 | graduation rate. But the New York State Department of Education puts |
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| 477 | New York City’s graduation rate at 43.5%.</div></div> |
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| 478 | |
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| 479 | |
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| 480 | <div class="note"><a href="#base5" id="note5" name="note5">more than |
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| 481 | 60% of our eighth graders are still not reading or doing math at grade |
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| 482 | level</a><div class="notebody"> Chancellor Klein acknowledges that |
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| 483 | more than 60% of the current eighth grade children read or do math |
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| 484 | below grade level. But, the current 8th graders were 2nd graders when |
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| 485 | Klein became chancellor. Clearly these children have not benefited |
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| 486 | from the chancellor’s Child First reforms and reorganizations. |
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| 487 | </div></div> |
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| 488 | |
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| 489 | <div class="note"><a href="#base6" id="note6" name="note6">African |
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| 490 | American and Latino students perform several grade levels below their |
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| 491 | peers</a><div class="notebody">The Harvard Civil Rights Project says |
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| 492 | that graduation statistics for NYC Hispanic and African American |
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| 493 | students average about 33%,</div></div> |
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| 494 | |
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| 495 | </div> |
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| 496 | </body> </html> |
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