Tag Archives: New York State

May 21, 2013 · 11:22 am

A Letter to Andrew Cuomo: Mr. D for New York’s new P-12 Assistant Education Secretary

English: New York State Capitol viewed from the south, located on the north end of the Empire State Plaza in Albany, New York (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Dear Governor Cuomo:

I hear that you’re losing one of your top advisors to…law school?

May I ask, do you recruit from the kiddie pool? May I suggest your next interview be during adult swim?

When I heard of Katie Campos’ departure as Cuomo’s P-12 Assistant Education Secretary, I wasn’t surprised. I mean, how much can a 20-something who has NO experience in the classroom, NOR in administering a school building know about New York’s arcane system?

Let me repeat that—she was never in a classroom.

She was never even a principal.

She was never a TFA drone, a Teaching Fellow, a Broad Fellow or any of the other alternative programs that the reform crowd love to tout as “experience.”

Michelle Rhee, Richard Barth, Geoffrey Canada…I have my issues with these people, but at least they had some real knowledge of the trenches of education.

Campos spent her three years between college graduation and her Albany post as nothing more than a political apparatchik, from Democrats for Education Reform to the New York State Charter Schools Association. That’s akin to letting the late Ted Kennedy be principal of a girls’ high school—probably inept, and possibly disastrous.

And she was your “most experienced” team member? I hear the lamentations of a thousand pairs of soiled undergarments.

So for Campos’ replacement, I humbly urge you, our esteemed governor, to select someone with experience, commitment, passion and above all a vested interest in education.

Someone like me.

Now, besides being ravishingly handsome, I do bring some important skills to the table. So before I start sending my resume up to Albany, a few bullet points to strengthen my case:

Classroom experience – I’m up on Ms. Campos by nine years in that department. In my near-decade in the classroom, I’ve seen special education kids, English Language Learners, kids in trouble with the law, kids experimenting with drugs and sex, foster kids, homeless kids, kids on the run from abusive parents…you name it. I’ve managed to reach a lot of them (NOT all…I wouldn’t pretend like that) and in the process, gotten to know what works and what doesn’t work for kids, parents, and teachers.
Bipartisanship – Why not appoint a Republican to your team, Governor? Especially an elephant like me with a long memory and (most importantly) an open mind to new ideas. I may have an “R” next to my name, but I’m not some Tea Party nincompoop, nor am I a Wall Street goon. After four years as an undergrad in DC, crossing the aisle is really no big thing; it’s more of a matter of getting the right mix of ideas that can help solve the problem.
Honest feedback about current reforms – Testing, Common Core, teacher evaluations, class size: the big four in terms of gripes and controversies (if I’m missing something, let me know). How about getting feedback from someone who has worked with and worked to implement your reforms at its base level? The reform poobahs will gladly generate the spreadsheets and charts to keep you happy—but are they being upfront with you? At least I can give an answer based on those who actually utilize these programs, rather than the bean counters who collect whatever data is given to them.
A balanced approach to the Common Core – speaking of the Common Core, unlike many of the opposition, I really have no beef with these standards per se. In fact, in several instances they serve as a necessary clarifier for benchmarks that were extremely vague and open to interpretation. The Common Core is not the problem; implementation is. The inconsistent nature of Common Core adoption—followed by ramrod exams that were clearly shown to be flawed—indicates a more nuanced approach to the problem. It’ll be slower, but much more effective in the long run.
A “people person” who gets along with teachers, students, administrators, unions and kids – The “carrot-and-stick” approach only goes so far in New York state among certain places: the “stick” might work in those districts where the opportunities are slim and teachers take what they can get. Yet there are also places (NYC, Rochester, etc.) that just laugh at the stick and whip out a bigger one. Whatever programs that need to implemented, the initial phases will be painful. Don’t make it more painful by using ed reform blowhards who patronize teachers and keep harping that it’s all “for the children.” We all know it’s for the kids—at least it’s supposed to be. Send someone who can reach the best in all sides, who can bring people together instead of drive them apart.
A good-looking guy – did I forget to mention I’m ravishingly handsome? I was on TV, for Pete’s sake.

With a CV like that, there isn’t a statehouse in America that wouldn’t want me on their team, right?

If you are interested, Governor Cuomo, my LinkedIn profile is right here, and I can be reached through this blog or at my email ldorazio1@gmail.com. I look forward to hearing from you.

Give my best to Sandra Lee (that was from Future Mrs. D).

Sincerely,

Mr. D

PS: If per chance you request an interview, please make sure it’s a nice day as Future Mrs. D enjoys the drive to Albany.

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Tagged as Andrew Cuomo, Civil Rights, Commentary, Common Core, Cultural Literacy, current events, Education, education reform, Educational leadership, Geoffrey Canada, Kristie Campos, LinkedIn, Michelle Rhee, New York, New York State, Richard Barth, Standards, Teachers, Teaching, Ted Kennedy

April 4, 2011 · 4:36 pm

New York’s Attack on Social Studies, Again! Alan Singer in today’s Huffington Post

The New York State Board of Regents thinks you don't have to know what goes on in this building. Image via Wikipedia

Call me crazy, an imbecile, a reactionary even…but shouldn’t a democratic society require its youngest citizens to learn the basic history, culture, politics and government of its own democracy?

According to the New York State Board of Regents, social studies is entirely unnecessary in the education of the modern American student.

Last summer, I began a letter-writing campaign to the Board of Regents in order to save the 5th and 8th grade state social studies tests. Dr. Jon King, head of P-12 Education at the NYS Education Department, was kind enough to fill me in on the details why, and especially to sympathize with our plight, as a former social studies teacher himself. Kudos to you, sir.

Now, it seems that the state wants to devise a system where social studies is not only eradicated from elementary education as a separate subject, but also from secondary education as well. According to Professor Alan Singer’s important post in today’s Huffington Post, the State is considering making the global studies and US History Regents exams NOT mandatory, even going so far as to charge districts for even administering them.

Furthermore, these exams would be part of an elective basket of exams high schoolers could pick and choose at will. A high school student could graduate with no social studies instruction at all.

And at the elementary schools? Well, in their smarmy talk, the Regents feels that the new Common Core Standards in English Language Arts and Mathematics would also incorporate science and social studies into them, thereby eradicating them as separate subjects.

Why is this happening? Apart from the constant budget woes, the federal mandate gives no pass-fail requirements for social studies. If it isn’t tested, it isn’t taught–how many times do we have to repeat this?

New York used to be at the vanguard of education, but according to Steve Goldberg, president of the National Council for the Social Studies, a meeting with the Board of Regents was summed up by the following:

“After two hours of rhetoric by the regents and passionate, frustrated responses by the attendees, I reached the conclusion that New York, once a model for state wide social studies programs and assessments, had indeed plummeted and has joined the growing number of states where elementary social studies has been marginalized.”

New York joins other states that are not only negligent in their pursuit of a quality education for students, but traitorous in their move to deprive young people of the tools to become active citizens in their democracy.

What New York State is doing is nothing less than high treason.

It is CRIMINAL and TREASONOUS to allow our young people to go through education completely ignorant of not only their history, but the government that they will be a part of. When a government is “of the people, by the people and for the people”, it cannot work if the people are left in the dark about their government form and function.

Join the NCSS as well as the local bodies fighting for academic justice, the New York State Council for the Social Studies and the Long Island Council for the Social Studies. Let them know, and Washington as well, their actions not only deprive children of a quality education, but deprive our democracy of its most precious asset–informed citizens.

Here are the Regents’ contact information:

2016* Tisch, Merryl H.; B.A., M.A., Ed.D.
Chancellor; At Large
Regents Office, 89 Washington Avenue, Albany, NY 12234
Phone: (518) 474-5889 Email: RegentTisch@mail.nysed.gov

2012* Cofield, Milton L.; B.S., M.B.A., Ph.D.
Vice Chancellor; Judicial District VII – Cayuga, Livingston, Monroe, Ontario, Seneca, Steuben, Wayne, Yates
98 Hickory Ridge Road, Rochester, N.Y. 14625
Phone (585) 200-6284 Email: RegentCofield@mail.nysed.gov

2015* Bennett, Robert M.; B.A., M.S.
Chancellor Emeritus; Judicial District VIII — Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Genesee, Niagara, Orleans and Wyoming
201 Millwood Lane, Tonawanda, NY 14150
Phone: (716) 645-1344 Email: RegentBennett@mail.nysed.gov

2015* Dawson, James C.; A.A, B.A., M.S., Ph.D.
Judicial District IV — Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Fulton, Hamilton, Montgomery, St. Lawrence, Saratoga, Schenectady, Warren and Washington
166 U.S. Oval, Plattsburgh, NY 12903
Phone: (518) 324-2401 Email: RegentDawson@mail.nysed.gov

2016* Bottar, Anthony S.; B.A., J.D.
Judicial District V — Herkimer, Jefferson, Lewis, Oneida, Onondaga, and Oswego
120 Madison Street, Suite 1600, AXA Tower II, Syracuse, NY 13202
Phone: (315) 422-3466 Email: RegentBottar@mail.nysed.gov

2013* Chapey, Geraldine, D.; B.A., M.A., Ed.D.
Judicial District XI — Queens
107-10 Shore Front Parkway, Apt. 9C, Belle Harbor, NY 11694
Phone: (718) 634-8471 Email: RegentChapey@mail.nysed.gov

2015* Phillips 3rd, Harry; B.A., M.S.F.S.
Judicial District IX — Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Rockland and Westchester
71 Hawthorne Way, Hartsdale, NY 10530
Phone: (914) 948-2228 Email: RegentPhillips@mail.nysed.gov

2012* Tallon, Jr., James R. ; B.A., M.A.
Judicial District VI – Broome, Chemung, Chenango, Cortland, Delaware, Madison, Otsego, Schuyler, Tioga, Tompkins
United Hospital Fund, Empire State Building, 1411 Broadway, 12th Floor, New York, N.Y. 10018
Phone (212) 494-0777 Email: RegentTallon@mail.nysed.gov

2015* Tilles, Roger; B.A., J.D.
Judicial District X – Nassau, Suffolk
100 Crossways Park West, Suite 107, Woodbury, N.Y. 11797
Phone (516) 364-2533 Email: RegentTilles@mail.nysed.gov

2012* Bendit, Charles R.; B.A.
Judicial District I – New York
111 Eighth Avenue, Suite 1500, New York, N.Y. 10011
Phone (212) 220-9945 Email: RegentBendit@mail.nysed.gov

2013* Rosa, Betty A., B.A., M.S. in Ed., M.S. in Ed., M.Ed., Ed.D.
Judicial District XII – Bronx
Chambreleng Hall, Fordham University, 441 East Fordham Road, Bronx, N.Y. 10458
Phone (718) 817-5053 Email: RegentRosa@mail.nysed.gov

2015* Young, Jr., Lester W., B.S., M.S., Ed.D.
At Large
55 Hanson Place, Suite 400, Brooklyn, N.Y. 11217
Phone (718) 722-2796 Email: RegentYoung@mail.nysed.gov

2014* Cea, Christine D., B.A., M.A., Ph.D.
Judicial District XIII – Richmond
NYS Institute for Basic Research in Developmental Disabilities
1050 Forest Hill Road, Staten Island, NY 10314
Phone (718) 494-5306 Email: RegentCea@mail.nysed.gov

2014* Norwood, Wade S., B.A.
At Large
74 Appleton Street, Rochester, NY 14611
Phone (585) 436-2944 Email: RegentNorwood@mail.nysed.gov

2014* Jackson, James O., B.S., M.A., Ph.D.
Judicial District III – Albany, Columbia, Greene, Rensselaer, Schoharie, Sullivan, Ulster
238 Lenox Avenue, Albany, NY 12208
Phone (909) 233-8881 Email: RegentJackson@mail.nysed.gov

2015* Cashin, Kathleen M., B.S., M.S., Ed.D.
Judicial District II – Kings
Regents Office, 89 Washington Avenue, Albany, NY 12234
Phone (518) 474-5889 Email: RegentCashin@mail.nysed.gov

2014*Cottrell, James E. B.S., M.D.
At Large
SUNY Downstate Medical Center, 450 Clarkson Avenue, Box 6, Brooklyn, NY 11203-2098
Phone (718) 270-2331 Email: RegentCottrell@mail.nysed.gov

The End of the Line for Social Studies Tests in NYS–for now.

The NY Board of Regents on their way to chapel (just kidding)

Well, I think we found something close to closure in the social studies test saga. It won’t be back for a while…but there’s still hope.

Since we last left the saga of the missing state social studies tests, I have been badgering the Regents to give a more intelligent response than the terse, one-line cast-off I was given. Apparently, it must have touched a nerve to e-mail over the Jewish holiday, because today I receive a response from Dr. John King, Senior Deputy Commissioner for P-12 Education at the NYS Education Department. Dr. King wrote:

Dear Mr. D:

I appreciate the opportunity to respond to your concerns regarding the Grades 5 and 8 Social Studies Tests. They were canceled due to fiscal difficulties, not because they were inadequate assessments. Given the current fiscal climate, there are no plans to reinstate these tests in the immediate future.

States may not use Race to the Top funding to support the development and administration of summative assessments. The US Department of Education held a separate competition for assessment funding, but that was focused on the development of a new generation of ELA and mathematics tests. It is worth noting that the application of literacy skills to social studies texts will be a feature of the next generation of ELA tests.

Thank you for your interest in New York State’s testing programs and for all the work you do on behalf of our students.

Sincerely,

Dr. John B. King

This response was a whopping two-paragraphs longer than the last note I received from one of the Regents. In spite of all the jerking around this summer, I really did appreciate Dr. King being frank with me about the reason why the tests were cancelled. Still, I didn’t exactly want to let him off the hook. Here was my response:

Dear Dr. King,

First of all, thank you so much for responding to my concerns. I had reached a dead end all through the summer and I appreciate your candor and forthrightness in explaining the situation and the disposition of funds re: summative assessment.

Also, I fully take into account the difficult fiscal situation we are in, and accept the fact that social studies assessments will not be reinstated in the immediate future. I had wished that social studies not be the perennial whipping-boy of austerity, unlike ELA, mathematics, and science, but such is the situation we face.

However, I do want to leave you with some words for the future. In my years of experience of teaching in the No Child Left Behind universe, I have come to one immutable conclusion: if a subject is not tested, then it is not taught. The pressure, often the terror, of failure in exams has pushed students, teachers and administrators to focus efforts on those subjects that matter most to the education establishment, namely ELA, mathematics, and science. Social studies, far too often, has been left on the backburner, either through tests that have little or no stake in promotion or in half-hearted attempts to “integrate” social studies into the more “preferred” disciplines.

I caution you, however, to not create a “holy trinity” of subject matter while leaving social studies as the mincemeat of integration. Former Harvard president Derek Bok once said that “If you think that education is expensive, try ignorance.” We cannot produce informed, intelligent citizens without a focused, intense instructional system in social studies. Integration into ELA, while useful, does not highlight the content, but rather the reading skills and strategies. The content matters. Our democracy cannot function if our citizens now little or nothing about its form, function or history. This instruction cannot be left to ELA curricula that have different priorities in mind.

To put it in more urgent words, do you trust the future of our American democracy to students that have been cheated out of a proper education about American democracy?

Please remember these words when the fiscal situation changes.

Thank you very much for your time.

Sincerely,

Mr. D

I think this was an appropriate ending–albeit unwanted–for this summer’s social studies drama in New York.

However, that doesn’t mean we will give up the fight to restore social studies’ rightful status in the education of New York’s schoolchildren. If you want to contact Dr. King and give your reasons to protect social studies in this state, here’s his contact info:

Dr. John B. King, Jr.
Senior Deputy Commissioner

for P-12 Education

Room 125 EB
89 Washington Avenue
Albany, NY 12234
Telephone: 518-474-3862
Fax: 518-473-2056

E-mail: jking@mail.nysed.gov

To give the New York Board of Regents another piece of your mind–because they appreciate your letters so much–click here for my original post on the social studies tests. The contact information for each of the members of the board is listed.

Let’s not give up the fight. When the economic situation improves, remind your government representatives, superintendents, the Regents and the grand poobahs in the Education Department that social studies is too important to be cast aside.