The Network for Public Education recently issued a 50-state report card on the relative condition of the country’s public education system. New York didn’t rank as failing, but close: it got a “D.” But to be fair, the politics of teacher-bashing and union-busting have earned their desired results. The NPE report evaluated each state on […]
teacher evaluations
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Regents grant delay in teacher evals
The Board of Regents has agreed to changes to the teacher evaluation system that will likely take a year to implement. Under the changes, teacher evaluations will be less reliant on student test scores than Governor Andrew Cuomo has proposed, according to a report by Albany’s Times Union. State legislators approved a new and much […]
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Cala vs. Cuomo on education
Governor Andrew Cuomo didn’t get everything he wanted in the state budget in terms of education. The state will develop yet another teacher evaluation system, and it will take four years for teachers to become eligible for tenure instead of three. But that’s quite different from Cuomo’s starting position. And the impressive pushback against Cuomo’s […]
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Education reforms take a bite out of Cuomo’s approval rating
Resistance to Governor Andrew Cuomo’s education reform agenda seems to be gaining steam. Cuomo has weathered several controversies, and though he won re-election, it wasn’t an overwhelming victory. And frankly, some of his statements about public schools and his relentless attacks on the teachers unions haven’t made a lot of sense politically or in terms […]
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New teachers face a hostile environment
Out of the roughly 150 people who attended a community forum last night called “Why Would Anybody Want to be a Teacher Today?” more than half were students from area colleges preparing to enter the tumultuous world of public education. The forum was put on by Writers & Books and partners. The data on new […]
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Public relations battle continues over Common Core
For the last two months, State Education Commissioner John King has been on what officials call a “listening tour” in communities around the state.
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Commissioner King gets an earful on education
The Affordable Care Act’s disastrous rollout may not be the Democrats’ only problem in the 2014 elections. Dissatisfaction with the Obama administration’s education reforms is growing, and anger is building at the local level. State Education Commissioner John King, during a public forum held in Brighton last week, heard dozens of parents, teachers, and students […]
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Is APPR fair?
The Annual Professional Performance Review for teachers and principals is a key component of education reform. And the state Education Department’s recent release of statewide teacher and principal evaluations is supposed to help answer the question asked by many parents: How effective are the teachers in my child’s school? But the evaluations are controversial. In […]
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Commissioner King cancels Common Core forums
Sometimes reality can overwhelm rhetoric, and that appears to be the case with a recent set of statewide public forums planned by State Education Commissioner John King. King intended to use the forums to provide more information about the rigorous new Common Core curriculum. But after a disastrous first meeting (see YouTube video below), King […]
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Hundreds of city teachers appealing APPR
More than 600 Rochester school teachers have formally appealed their Annual Professional Performance Review, says Adam Urbanski, president of the Rochester Teachers Association. The appeals will be looked at by a joint district and union team beginning as early as next week. Teachers could only appeal their evaluation if they received either an “ineffective” or […]
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Poverty is a factor in urban education
Mention poverty’s effect in any discussion of urban education, and the reaction is often dismissive. Officials from the highest levels of government on down the local level frequently say that referring to poverty is an excuse for low student achievement. Willa Powell raises the poverty issue in a recent article on the New York State […]
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Surveys frustrate teachers
Students, teachers, principals, and parents in the Rochester school district recently participated in comprehensive districtwide surveys. The questions were tailored to each group’s relationship to the district. For example, students were asked about their teachers’ instruction, responsiveness, and classroom demeanor. | The New York State Education Department required the surveys as part of the teacher […]
