Nov. 2015Volume 49, Number 3American Federationof School Administrators,AFL-CIO Local 1

NEWSCOUNCIL OF SCHOOL SUPERVISORS AND ADMINISTRATORS

Analysis: Ways tomeet the needs ofEnglish LanguageLearners

3

The Welfare Fund:Open EnrollmentPeriod AffordsMembers AnOpportunity toChange DentalCoverage Program

10

The QualityReview Rubric: A Square Peg in a Round Hole

4

Honor Roll:CSA Salutesits MembersWho ServedIn OurCountry’sArmed Forces

5

BY MARIA SMITH

During Mayor de Blasio’s“Equity and Excellence” educa-tion speech in Sept., he statedthat one goal was to provideevery public school studentwith a computer science educa-tion by 2026. Yes, all 1.1 mil-lion of them. To meet thatmark, he introduced ComputerScience for All, a public-privatepartnership under the aegis ofthe New York City Foundationfor Computer Science Education(CSNYC), an organization led byventure capitalist Fred Wilson. If the designers of this new

city-wide initiative need helpwith their blueprint, they needlook no further than Brooklyn’s

P-Tech, under the leadership ofPrincipal Rashid Davis. CSANews recently revisited P-Tech,home to a unique partnershipof business and public for arobust discussion of the need forcomputer science in schoolsnationwide. (Also, see p.6 fornews of Principal Davis beinghonored by the Daily News.)Founded in 2011, P-Tech

launched from an innovativepartnering of IBM, DOE, and

CUNY. The idea? Take raw tal-ent, hone it, teach it, anddevelop a force of young adultswho not only graduate highschool but also earn an associ-ates degree and are ready towork in high-paying jobs theday after graduation. A chal-lenge? Yes. Impossible? No. Now in year five, Mr. Davis

can reflect on P-Tech’s revolu-tionary blueprint, whichincludes a 9-14 curriculum, anon-competitive open-entrypolicy that allows admission tokids who aren’t tech-savvy oreven academically inclined. Theentering body had 103 stu-dents; this year more than 500are enrolled.

Continued on page 10

The CSA scholarship is a fantastic program,but to work well it needs everyone’s financialassistance. The scholarship is open to all stu-dents graduating from a NYC public schoolwho will be attending any college, includingcommunity college, in the fall. It’s intendedfor students who show leadership in schoolor outside school and who may have had toovercome hardships to graduate. The awardis not based on the GPA or SAT scores.

Each school may submit up to three appli-cations. One scholarship per borough will beawarded and presented at a dinner in June.Each award is $1,500. You can download acopy of the scholarship application at ourwebsite. If you have questions, please contactscholarshipcommittee@csa-nyc.org.

To support the Scholarship Fund, make acheck out to the CSA Leadership ScholarshipFund and send to CSA Leadership ScholarshipFund, 40 Rector St., 12th Floor, NY NY 10006.The contribution is tax deductible. You mayalso donate online at our website.

The CSAScholarshipNeeds YourAssistance!

Distinguished Individuals to BeHonored at Annual Conference

BY CSA STAFF

At CSA’s EducationalLeadership Conference onNov. 14 , held at the NYHilton, we will proudlyhonor two extraordinaryindividuals for their longand distinguished careers.New York Assemblyman

Peter J. Abbate, Jr., has rep-resented the people ofDyker Heights, Bath Beach,Bensonhurst and BoroughPark since 1986 and hasalways been a staunchdefender of public educators. He currently serves asChairman of the Committee on GovernmentalEmployees.Honoree and CSA member Eathelle Clay brought

the energy and drive that served her well before her1991 retirement to her current work on the CSA RetireeChapter Executive Board Advisory Committee.Mrs. Clay sits on the Legislative committees of both

the CSA Central RetireeChapter and the BronxRetiree Chapter, to whichshe also belongs. Sheserves on the SpecialEvents committee andthe ConstitutionalCommittee at CSA and isSpecial EventsCoordinator for theBronx chapter. Mrs. Clayis also a member of CSA’sLower Hudson ValleyRegional Retiree unit.She received myriad

honors during her Boardof Education career, where she served as District 6Personnel Director, taught Adult education and rep-resented the Chancellor at all Central Board C-30 prin-cipal interviews.She remains active in the NY Police Department’s

47th Precinct Community Council.“It’s a lot, but I just find the time,” Mrs. Clay said.

“If you want to do something you’ll find the time.”

Educator AwardsAchievement

n Educators andschools around thecity were feted fortheir achieve-ments. We high-light some of theawardees and theiraccomplishmentsthis month onpage 6. AT LEFT: Pathwaysin TechnologyEarly College HighSchool FoundingPrincipal RashodDavis, left, receiveda Hometown Heroaward from the NYDaily News.

CLEM RICHARDSON

n Left: CSA Retiree Chapter Advisory Board memberEathelle Clay. Right: NY Assemblyman Peter Abbate, Jr.

6LEADERSHIP

Students, staff andthe business worldare all invested.

The Push for ComputerScience: Revisiting P-Tech

COREY BACHMAN

CSA NEWS 2 Nov. 2015

Council of SchoolSupervisors & Administrators

American Federation of SchoolAdministrators, AFL-CIO, Local 1

40 Rector St., NY, NY 10006Phone: (212) 823-2020Fax: (212) 962-6130www.csa-nyc.org

PresidentErnest A. Logan

Executive Vice President Mark Cannizzaro

First Vice President Randi Herman, Ed.D

TreasurerHenry Rubio

SecretarySandy DiTrapani

Vice PresidentsDebra Handler

Lois LeeChris Ogno

Ronald WilliamsNancy Russo, Retiree Chapter

Executive Director OperationsErminia Claudio

General Counsel David Grandwetter

Comptroller Phil Fodera

Executive Director Field ServicesSana Q. Nasser

Field Directors Juanita Bass, Stephen Bennett,Mildred Boyce, James Harrigan, Christine Martin, Daisy O’Gorman,

Mercedes Qualls

Assistant Field DirectorsEleanor Andrew, Mauro Bressi, LaverneBurrowes (Special Projects), Rosalie David,Charles Dluzniewski, Nancy Esposito,Martin Fiasconaro, Aura Gangemi, Ellie Greenberg, Ray Gregory, Robert Jeanette, Kate Leonard,

Monica McDonald, Dorothy Morris, Ralph Santiago, Shelli Sklar, Fran Walters

Grievance DirectorRobert J. Reich

Assistant DirectorsCarol Atkins, Robert Colon,

Jermaine Garden, Marlene Lazar, Ph.D,Steve Rosen

Director of CommunicationsClem Richardson

Assistant Director of CommunicationsCorey Bachman

Director of Political AffairsHerman Merritt

Assistant Director of Political AffairsGabe Gallucci

Assistant DirectorJohn Khani

Director of ITEgal Sanchez

Special Assistant to PresidentGary Goldstein

CSA Conference ChairPierre Lehmuller

CSA HistorianManfred Korman

CSA Retiree ChapterGayle Lockett, ChairMark Brodsky, Director

CSA NEWSEditor Chuck Wilbanks

Associate Editor Maria Smith

Design Consultant Michele Pacheco

Production Assistant Christine Altman

CSA News (004-532) is publishedmonthly except July and August for$35 per year per member by CSA, 40Rector St., NY, NY 10006. Periodicalpostage paid at Manhattan, NY, andadditional mailing offices. POSTMAS-TER: Send address changes to CSANews, 40 Rector St., NY, NY 10006.

When President Obamaappointed former NYSEducation CommissionerJohn King as Secretary ofEducation, I thought

about opportunities won and squandered bythe education bureaucrats I’ve known in mycareer. This appointment raised hope insome quarters, a hue and cry in others. Offthe bat, I was bored hearing about his “com-pelling story.” I have a compelling story, too.Big deal. You better have a lot more as amember of the President’s cabinet and leaderof the premiere education bureaucracy in theland. Dr. King is smart and passionate abouteducation, but this didn’t always benefitschools when he was in Albany. I hope hewill grow as he contends with this far moreconsequential job.With every presidential election, I brush off my wish list

about I want the Secretary and the Department to do. TheRepublican candidates always start talking about crushing theDOE. This time, there’s Marco Rubio who supports teachingcreationism and would consider shutting down theDepartment; Donald Trump who would at least shrink theDepartment and “tear down the union walls;" Jeb Bush whowould consider closing the Department and voucherizing theentire school system. We need to resist efforts to shut downDOE and instead focus on improving it and keeping Dr. Kinghonest.

Can you imagine a nation like China, Germany or Japanwithout a Ministry of Education? Education is central tothe health of their economies and national defense.

Same goes for us. Our wellbeing totally depends on preparingour citizens for jobs and defending our national security. Toturn around our weakening position in science and technology,we need a national strategy for education, not a New York strat-egy, an Arkansas strategy or a West Virginia strategy. We are notfifty separate nations. We are one strong and indivisible nationand we better make sure education is at the top of the presi-dent’s agenda if we want it to stay that way.Without the DOE, our ability to strengthen civil rights and

educational equity would be undermined.Access to equal education opportunity can-not be left to the state of Mississippi, Illinoisor Texas. The U.S. is in bad enough shape oncivil rights. It is DOE’s Office of Civil Rightsthat collects all data and acts on all issuessurrounding students with disabilities, sexdiscrimination, ELL, and race and nationalorigin discrimination. It is also the DOE thatmakes sure federal aid is going to the stu-dents who need it most.With due respect to President Obama, I

can’t imagine what he was thinking when hesaid King’s predecessor Arne Duncan broughtAmerican education “kicking and screaminginto the 21st Century.” But Duncan didsome good. He advocated Universal Pre-K.He targeted predatory for-profit colleges andchampioned the president’s plan to make

community college free. And he kept an eye on the crazies.Frankly, we need a strong secretary and DOE just to guardagainst the total lunacy of local school boards. Louisianarecently tried to repeal the Louisiana Science Education Act.The Texas State Board of Education uses religious belief to dic-tate the content of textbooks. All things considered, withoutDOE, the education picture would be totally grim.But the Department is flawed. It should focus on public

schools and stop throwing money at charters. If the Democratsregain the White House, we will have to watch John King,who, like Arne Duncan, is a pioneer of the charter movement.The Department should call a halt to its worst initiative: test-based teacher and principal evaluations that have nearlyderailed the Common Core. In this, too, Mr. King is made from

the same cloth as Mr. Duncan. He was way off base when heforced test-based evaluations on New York. The fallout is still

being felt as families continue to rebelagainst over-testing.The Department also has to be much

braver about managing out-of-control col-lege fees and lowering student loandefault rates. In addition, its Office ofEducational Research and Improvementneeds to expand its capacity, focusingmore on what happens to students afterthey graduate high school and college;the challenge of educating men of color;the practices that have the greatest effecton student achievement; and which sub-jects have the most impact on students’lives.

I’m cautiously optimistic about Dr.King. His commitment to educationalequity isn’t in doubt. I’ve worked very

effectively with him. When talks brokedown with the city over the APPR, heproved to be a wise and patient arbitrator,able to broker a settlement that was fair toour members. When it came to closingour struggling schools, he was usuallysupportive of our efforts to use everyavailable means to help those schools suc-ceed. I’m more concerned about main-taining a viable Department of Education.Our national survival is directly linked tothe Department’s survival.

• • •

• • •

Stakes Are High For the Country’s New Appointee By Ernest A. Logan

For DOE’s King, Hope and Skepticism

PRESIDENT’S PAGE

The survival of the Department ofEducation correlates directly to thesuccess of our nation.

MARIA SMITH

nCSA President Ernest Logan, left, gets miked up for a radio interview with Teamsters Local237 President Gregory Floyd at the station 970-AM, New York. The pair discussed currenteducational policies, including Universal Pre-K, advanced placement courses, the new disci-pline code, and porfessional development for educators.

Live On Air!

CSA NEWS 3Nov. 2015

)COMINGEVENTSEvents are at CSA’s ManhattanHeadquarters, 40 Rector Street

unless otherwise noted. (OCT 7, 10 AM:Chancellor’sConsultation

OCT 13, 5 PM: SchoolSafety Meet and Greet

OCT 14, 3 PM: EarlyChildhood Educationp Institute’s profes-sional developmeeting

OCT 15, 5 PM: NewMember Reception

OCT 21, 3:30 PM:NYCESPA ExecutiveBoard meeting

OCT 30, 8 AM: ExecutiveLeadership Institute’sprofessional development

NOV 4 , 1 PM:Chancellor’sConsultation

NOV 5, 1PM: CSA/NYPDMeet and Greet

NOV 19, 3:30 PM:NYCESPp Institute’sprofessional developA Executive B

NOV 5, 1PM: CGNYCESPpInstitute’s professreet

NOV 5, 1PM: CSA/NYPDMeet and GNYCESPpInstitute’s professreet

Confirm the above meetingtimes and dates with the eventcoordinator before attending.

Teachers’ Retirement

SystemOctober 2015 Unit Values

Diversified Equity Fund: 74.680

Bond Fund: 17.547

International Equity Fund: 9.085

Inflation Protection Fund: 10.256

Socially Responsive Equity Fund: 13.710

www.trsnyc.org

BY CAROL WERTHEIMER AND ANDREA HONIGSFELD

Closing the achievement gapfor ELLs has always been achallenge for educators—classroom teachers, ESOLspecialists, and school lead-

ers alike. When the New York StateEducation Department publishedthe Blueprint for English LanguageLearners Success last year, manyadministrators across the statestarted to think about how this doc-ument could support their advocacyand leadership work on behalf ofELLs. As the blueprint notes, “Allteachers are teachers of English LanguageLearners,” and it reinforces the need forsustained collaboration among all stake-holders. The forthcoming changes to theCommissioner Regulations Part 154 (CR154) provided a further impetus forschool leaders and teachers to examineinstructional program design and leader-ship practices. In the spring of 2015, the Executive

Leadership Institute (ELI), a not-for-profitorganization, responded to these changesin New York State by hosting a bookstudy on Collaboration and Co-Teaching: ALeader’s Guide (Honigsfeld & Dove, 2015),as one possible way to initiate and sus-tain the dialogue about ELLs’ needsamong school leaders. The study partici-

pants were agroup of NewYork City schooland districtadministratorsgathered to dis-cuss howteacher collabo-ration and co-teaching can bean effectiveframework forintegratedEnglish as aNew Language(ENL) practicesto support ELLs’academic, cul-tural, and lin-guistic develop-ment in the

context of the K–12 ELA and contentarea curricula. The study format allowed participants

to raise critical questions and explorepossible answers in a collegial, highlyengaging, and safe environment: ● How do we find teachers in both theelementary and secondary levelswith the appropriate certifications?

● How do we find teachers who canplan together, collaborate on shareddecision making, are held account-able to each other as well as to thestudents, and can share the every-day responsibilities for each andevery student in their classroom?

● To whom, and how, do we provideprofessional development for theteachers indicated in CR Part 154?

●With the new CR Part 154 mandate,how do we provide the necessary 90minutes of integrated instruction for

former ELLs who are entitled toreceive this teaching?

● How do we provide the appropriateplanning time for the teachers?

As participants explored each chapterof the book, they identified their conjec-tures and discoveries and discussed priorexperiences – challenges as well as suc-cesses – with co-teaching for ELLs, as wellas plans and preparations already inplace for the coming school year. Whileit was evident that even more questionscould be raised, the overall conclusionwas that the co-teaching collaborativemodel is going to be a powerful frame-work for instruction.

Co-teaching between a general educa-tion teacher and an ESOL teachercan be challenging but with the sup-

port of the administration it becomes aunique collaboration benefiting the edu-cational community. Co-planning, co-differentiating, and co-delivering instruc-tion, as well as collaboratively assessingstudent growth to meet individual needs,creates a positive effect on both theteacher and the student. As teachers andadministrators work together, a sharedvision develops of how instruction willgo and what the expected outcomes are.An outgrowth of this vision is trust, onethat the Framework for Great Schoolspromotes, in which school staff, parents,students, and administrators value eachother.It emerged as a shared belief that

administrators must not only schedulecommon planning time for the generaleducation and English as a second lan-guage teacher, but also should communi-cate frequently with both parties, ensur-

ing that all teachers have adequateresources, planning time, and pro-fessional development opportuni-ties. While inclusion classes,

referred to as integrated co-teach-ing (ICT), are widespread, co-teaching to support ELLs is notnew to New York City publicschools. As one administratorpointed out, her school has beenusing the co-teaching collabora-tive for several years and hasestablished a school culture thatprioritizes this model. Not onlydoes it benefit the students, shenoted, but also it encourages

teacher leadership as ESOL teachers opentheir co-teaching classroom to share lan-guage and literacy development strate-gies. Another administrator remarkedthat the changes to CR Part 154 enableher to ensure that students who havetested as Proficient on the NYSESLAT notonly receive testing accommodations fortwo additional years and additional helpbefore or after school, but also must beserviced for an additional 90 minutesduring school.

As the school year begins, the LI con-tinues to provide research-stan-dards-based professional develop-

ment for all New York City and New YorkState school supervisors and administra-tors to better meet the needs of ELLs.

Carol Wertheimer holds a professionaldiploma in supervision and administrationfrom St. John’s University. A former NewYork City elementary principal, she currentlywrites and presents workshops for adminis-trators on leadership strategies for the super-vision of English language learners. She haspresented at both national and internationalconferences and has served as a peer reviewerfor Corwin Press.

Andrea Honigsfeld, Ed.D, is associatedean and director of the Ed.D. program(Educational Leadership for Diverse LearningCommunities) at Molloy College, RockvilleCentre. A Fulbright Scholar and respectednational presenter, Andrea is the co-authoror co-editor of over 15 books on educationand numerous chapters and research articlesrelated to the needs of ELLs. www.andrea-honigsfeld.com

A version of this article appeared in theFall issue of Idiom magazine.

New Beginnings: LeadershipSupport for Integrated ELL

n This book was thefocus of a studydesigned to facilitatedialogue about ELLsamong school leaders.

AnalysisAnalysis

Carol Wertheimer Andrea Honigsfeld

CHUCK WILBANKS

The Center for Court Innovation is conducting a confidential independent survey ofcurrent principals to learn more about school safety, climate, and security. This is youropportunity to describe what is going on at your schools, including positive practices!The survey takes about 20-30 minutes to complete and your progress cannot be saved.

Please make sure you and your school are included! To complete the survey, click onthis link (or copy-paste it into your browser): https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/nycprin-cipalsurvey.

More details about the survey, confidentiality, and how your information will be usedare available at the survey link. To complete the survey on paper or over the phone, of ifyou have questions, please email the study director, Lama Ayoub at layoub@nycourts.gov.

Participate in the Survey!

CSA NEWS4 Nov. 2015

BY CHUCK WILBANKS

Who calls a press conference toannounce that she’s not run-ning for office? Eva Moskowitz,

that’s who. Claiming that speculation overher political plans was so intense that shefelt it necessary to tamp down the fires,Ms. Moskowitz told an assembled crowdof reporters on the steps of City Hall onOct. 8 that she would not run for mayor. The founder (along with the backing

of hedge fund supremos) of the SuccessAcademy chain of charter schools, Ms.Moskowitz claimed that “winnability” wasnot an issue, nor, she said, was the beliefthat a run for office and the apparentlyinevitable victory would be too hard onher family. Instead, she offered a differentbromide: She blamed the UFT and otherpolitical enemies, and said she is better sit-uated where she is to foster her brand of“transformational change” in education,which she compared to Apple’s contribu-tions to computing and Google’s efforts todevelop a driverless car. �“If I won, one of my first conversations

would be with [UFT President Michael]Mulgrew,” the former member of the CityCouncil said. “How is that going to go?”

She said she would point out to him thatthe entire New York school system is a vastfailure, and she would argue in favor of“the elimination of early 20th centurywork rules.”�As of late last year, Ms. Moskowitz was

collecting a salary of $567,500 a year tomanage the 34 schools in her organization,and has received tens of millions of dollars

in donations from wealthy hedge fundinvestors and corporate leaders, many ofwhom are avowedly anti-tax and anti-union. Investor John Paulson, for example,who gave Success Academy $8.5 millionin July, has urged his fellow investors tomove their business operations to PuertoRico, where they have received preferentialtax status, and has, along with other

hedgefunders, made big purchases of theisland’s troubled debt. To make good theirinvestments in the bonds, they haveargued that the government must closepublic schools and lay off teachers. While Ms. Moskowitz addressed

reporters, a protest against her was beingheld about 100 yards away in adjoiningCity Hall Park. About 150 people gavevoice to some of the criticism and resent-ment that would complicate any run forpublic office she might contemplate.Gathered under the banner of “HedgeClippers,” a partially union-backed activistorganization, they chanted, “Hedge fundmoney has got to go,” and, “Billionairesshould pay their share.” At times the voicesof the protesters made it difficult for Ms.Moskowitz to be heard.�After she had spoken, Billy Easton,

executive director of the Alliance forQuality Education, took to the podium andcalled her performance the “biggest nonnews conference I have ever seen.”“The hedge fund billionaires who have

sponsored Eva Moskowitz have alreadymade it known that they plan to runanother candidate, so we can fully antici-pate that they will have another puppetcandidate.”

New York is Delivered from Eva – For Now

Bettermeasuresof schoolqualityhaveemerged

From Rector Street Mark Cannizzaro

Ifind it hard to believe that, as we enterthe 2015-2016 school year, that theQuality Review (QR) Rubric is the onedocument to survive through the years,albeit in several iterations. It seems that

every time the DOE trains it sights on some-thing new, some DOE official explains howthe QR rubric fits nicely with this newlyminted idea. This supposedly multi-purpose document

has been used to measure both school qualityand principal practice. Defenders boast of itsamazing “alignment” to all other accounta-bility documents.The DOE seems unwilling to recognize

that the QR rubric has long outlived its use-fulness. Two major problems have rendered itobsolete. First, the QR rubric was designed tomeasure school quality, not principal prac-tice. Second, changes and tools implementedby our new DOE administration as well asthose mandated by NY State have exposedthe rubric as narrow and unnecessary. The DOE instituted the QR in 2006, after

the advent of the school progress report. AMay 17, 2006 Education Week article notes theDOE’s hiring of the global education productscompany Cambridge Education to “helpdesign a process for judging how well schoolsmake decisions about instruction… The aimis to balance outputs, such as test scores, witha more qualitative snapshot of how schoolsare functioning.” Since then, the DOE has changed the

rubric several times to focus more on studentoutcomes, exactly the opposite of its originalintent since school progress reports werealready in place and being used as an outcomebased measure. In fact, a successful QR appealmust now be accompanied by a demonstrated“impact” on student learning. What hap-pened to the “qualitative snapshot?”

In the same Education Week article oneprincipal describes her pilot QR as “like hereare two colleagues having a conversationabout what it means to create this particular

school.” Unfortunately, it now appears thatthe pilot was used to “bait and switch” as cur-rent QR parameters narrowly define howgood schools operate.

New York State has mandated its ownrubric, the Diagnostic Tool for School andDistrict Effectiveness, or DTSDE, be usedwhen state officials review our schools anddistricts, while the DOE has added theFramework for Great Schools to the mix. We are required to use DTSDE, the

Framework for Great Schools and the QR toanalyze our schools’ health when completingour Comprehensive Education Plan (CEP).We are told that they are all “aligned.”

Although I question how well they areactually aligned, I must ask the obvious: Ifthey are aligned, why do we need all three? In 2010, New York State charged all of its

over 700 school districts with creating anAnnual Professional Performance Review(APPR) for its teachers and principals. Onekey component of this plan was the identifi-cation and implementation of a rubricdesigned to measure a principal’s practice.

The State further mandated that theinstrument be researched-based andaligned to the Interstate School Leaders

Licensure Consortium (ISLLC) Standards.Over 70% of districts chose theMultidimensional Principal PerformanceRubric (MPPR) and almost all of the otherschose similar rubrics created by respected edu-cators like Kim Marshall and Robert Marzano. These rubrics were chosen because they

were researched based, designed to measure aprincipal’s practice and were directly aligned,as required, to the ISLLC standards. The QRrubric is deficient in all three of these areas.

It has undergone so many changes thatany research done is no longer applicable. Bythe DOE’s own submission to New York State,some of the QR alignment to ISLLC standardsis “implicit” which makes sense as the ISLLC

standards were not considered when the QRrubric was developed and, it was designed tomeasure school quality, not principal practice.

A lthough the difference between schoolquality and principal practice isnuanced, it is also significant. The prin-

cipal who takes over a struggling school maydemonstrate outstanding practice by first tack-ling the most pressing issues facing the institu-tion simply because it is not practical or possi-ble to fix everything at once. This type of com-mon sense leadership is recognized by princi-pal practice rubrics but less so by the QR.

Or consider the seasoned principal whohas several new teachers working in a schoolstruggling to raise student achievement. Thisprincipal should be evaluated based on howhe/she is addressing the anticipated deficien-cies in new teachers. But the QR focuses onthe fact that these expected deficiencies existat all. This is not only unfair but doesn’tmake sense when trying to ascertain a schoolleader’s effectiveness! Although we did agreein 2013 to use the QR rubric as part of theoverall evaluation system based on the DOE’spledge to focus PPO visits more on a princi-pal’s practice, the timing is right for a change. Thankfully, better measures of school

quality have emerged. These well researchedtools recognize best practices broadly enoughso that adjusting to a new rubric wouldrequire little more than familiarizing yourselfand your staff on the new tool.

Efforts to align the QR Rubric for use inPPO visits, although well intentioned andthought out, have fallen quite short. Undereducation law 3012-d we are charged withrenegotiating our previous APPR agreement.Hopefully, the DOE will make the changesthat many of their superintendents and topofficials quietly agree are necessary.

Mark Cannizzaro serves as the CSA ExecutiveVice President.

The QR Rubric: A Square Peg in a Round Hole

• • •

• • •

CHUCK WILBANKS

n Above: Eva Moskowitz, Success Academy founderand CEO, at City Hall Oct. 8, said she will not seek themayorality. Inset: Protesters highlighted Ms.Moskowitz’ anti-tax, anti-union allies.

CSA NEWS 5Nov. 2015

The Department of Educationadvises school leaders andEducation Administrators,whatever their level of experi-ence, that staff members work-

ing at the Borough Field Support ServiceCenters (BFCSs) are there to assist andguide them. That’s true, as far as it goes.But be aware: Seeking this assistancemay be hazardous to your career.Department of Education Attorneys

work for the Chancellor. In other words,they are her attorneys, and their duty isto her, not you. So if you ask one of themabout whether something you havedone is in violation of a Chancellor’sRegulation, you will enjoy no benefitsof attorney client privilege. They mayanswer your question, but they willreport any potential violations youmay have committed to the SpecialCommissioner of Investigation, Officeof Special Investigations or Office ofEqual Opportunity. The OSI, the OEO and Diversity

and the Department of EducationConflicts Office all offer to conducttraining at schools and to answerinquiries you may have. They can be agood resource. But remember that they are investigative offices. Ifyour inquiry raises concern about your actions, you will becomethe subject of an investigation. And as I pointed out in my lastcolumn, these investigations can take a long time to complete.

Staff members of the investigative offices I have mentionedare personable and skilled in what they do. Do not be mis-led by their gentleness, even if they say, “Don’t worry, this

is not about you.” Answering questions without a union repre-sentative can result in serious trouble. You have the right to havea representative present whenever you are interviewed, and youshould use that right. If an investigator comes to your school or

even your home, simply state that you will gladly answer yourquestions when your union representative is present. Requestthe investigator’s card and case number and immediately sendthis information to me. You do not need a representative to bepresent when students are interviewed, but an adult should bepresent with the students and the investigator. You should pro-vide the investigator with copies of any documents they request.If they ask for original documents make copies for your own filesand ask the investigator to sign for them. If a computer is beingremoved, demand that the investigator sign for it.The possible negative consequences aren’t as dire when you

speak with HR specialists at the BFCSs, who can assist you withpersonnel issues. But again, caution is in order. They frequentlyprovide inaccurate information, either through lack of experi-ence or knowledge. For example, we have learned that manyadministrators, both school- and central-based, are often givenwrong information about their tenure status. So if you havequestions about tenure, ask us. If you’re thinking of taking aleave or a sabbatical, you can review the procedures on the DOEwebsite. Yes, you can ask advice from the HR person, but onlyyour union knows what all your rights are. It is in your bestinterests to discuss such matters as leaves, sabbaticals and pay-roll status with CSA before reaching out to the DOE.

If you have any questions related to this column, your contract, orwhom your Field representative is, or have concerns you would likeaddressed in future columns, please email me at bob@csa-nyc.org.

Anythingyou saycan andwill beusedagainstyou

Avoid Missteps,Protect Your Career

BobReich

Do not be misled by the friendliness ofan investigator. To be interviewed, youneed a union representative present.

GrievanceCornerCSA Salutes Veterans

Donald AbramsonAlbert AhlstromJoseph AlfieriJack AlkanaIrving AlterGregory ArnoldStefan AxelrodHerbert BaldwinBob BarrettRoberto BatistaAlbert BenjaminCarl BenjaminJack BerberianCarl BerlinJerome BloomJerome BloomAlbert BortnickBernard BraginIra BrandIra BrandStanley BribbonLeonard BurgessFrancis CaiolaStanley CarterAnthony Catania

Nathan ChaikenMitchell ChecrallahPaul CioffariJacob CohenJacob CohenMaxwell CohenArman ColangeloHerbert ColemanPhilip CoxVictor CreccoHarald DaleAdolph Dembo SolomonDerewetskyPeter DeStefanoMorris DiamondDruckmanHenry EpsteinLeonard EpsteinFrederick ErganyLeonard FagenEdward FerraroBennett FischJoe FislerPaul Flaumenhaft

Albert FoxHoward FritschAndrew GaldiHerbert GardnerGilbert GarshmanAl GentileAlfonse GentileAaron GerstmanDennis GladstoneHerbert GoldLester GoldenSidney GoldsteinRosemarieGonzalezTerry GradyRobert GrahamWilbur GrantSeymour GreensteinHarold GrillHoward GrossJack HadlerFrederick HellmanMartin HermanSidney HollanderClarence HolmesClint JacksonPercy JenkinsHoward JustinStanley KatzmanThomas KellyMax KesslerJames Kincaid, Jr.Wilbur KleinHarold KoblinerSteven KoenigsbergFrederick KouryHerbert LadenVincent LamorgeseJack LandmanLeslie LangerJack LaRockMeyer LehmanHarold LehrmanPhilip LemboStanley Leshaw Herbert LeshnerHarold LevineJack LevineBertram LevinsonIrwin LevyRalph LevyMeyer LiemanSeymour LitmanAnthony LocurtoLeonard LurieJohn MaherCharles MajorsEdward MalenchJoseph MaloneEdwardMarkantonioJohn McNeilMorton MeisnerBernard Mendelson Donald MilrodBernie ModellJoe Molone

Abraham MorrisMichael MuleeArnold NagerVincent O’ConnorMax ParnesRhonda PekowSeymour PerlinJoseph PorzioWilliam RaffaArnold RaisnerDavid RamosSeymour RichmanMartin RivkinJim RobertsSonja RoseStanley RoseHoward RosenSidney RothRoy RubensteinMarvin RubinsteinLawrence RuckerEdward RudetskyNed SachsHoward SadowskyRick SafranWilliam SamberMatthew ScaffaIra SchaefferPearl ScherLester SchlumpfMitchell SchulichGilbert SeidmanGary ShandroffHarold SheikowitzIrving SilberbergMarvin SilvermanMichael SkodnikMartin SmithLawrence SolowJames SpatleySheldonSpiegelmanThomas SteinfeldArthur StracherDaryl StraughterSorol SuffmanSeymour SundickHarry SwansonSeymour SworkinPhilip ThauEugene Tierney Gilbert TufelSherman TufelBernard UngerMilton VogelsteinDave WaldmanDavid WallisAlbert WeinsteinMax WeinsteinAlbert WileyDelius WilsonRobert WinthropDaniel WohlElmer YearwoodMark YohelmanRobert YurasitsMel Zimmerman

BY MARIA SMITH

In honor of Veterans Day,Nov. 11, CSA News is proud topublish the second list of CSAmembers who served in our

country’s Armed Forces. Thefirst list was published in theJune 2015 issue. This second listincludes names of members noton the original list but learnedfrom you – our readers.

Thank you for all your hardwork as educators. Thank youfor serving our country duringwartime, military actions andpeacetime. On behalf of CSA,we salute you!

MARIA SMITH

nThis monument in New York City’s Battery Parkhonors Navy military personnel who perished in theAtlantic Ocean in World War II.

HONOR ROLL

CSA NEWS6 Nov. 2015

BY COREY BACHMAN

The NY Daily News held its 2015Hometown Heroes in Education AwardsBreakfast at the Edison Ballroom inManhattan on Oct. 1. The judging panel,which included CSA President ErnestLogan, designated eleven NYC educatorsas Hometown Heroes for their innovativeapproaches to learning.CSA Executive Vice President Mark

Cannizzaro, who spoke before the event,detailed why these educators are thecream of the crop.“They’ve earned our thanks by work-

ing tirelessly to educate our children, togive them the intellectual tools and skillsthey need to become productive citizensand contributing members of Americansociety,” he added. “This is no smalltask.”Pathways in Technology Early College

High School Founding Principal RashidFerrod Davis was the only public schoolPrincipal to be honored in the ceremony.Mr. Davis’ groundbreaking school, nick-named P-TECH, gives students theopportunity to receive a high schooldiploma while earning an associate’sdegree in computer science. An added

bonus: Students can also compete forpositions at tech giant IBM. Mr. Daviseventually hopes to expand so that stu-dents can earn four year degrees. “I give

my students the same message that Ireceived as a youngster,” said Mr. Davis.“Education is the key to a better life.”

Innovative Approaches

COREY BACHMAN

n CSA Executive Vice President MarkCannizzaro spoke at the Education AwardsBreakfast Oct. 1.

BY CLEM RICHARDSON

CSA President Ernest Logan joked thatthe annual “Build a Better School” con-test always costs him money.This year’s ceremony, held Sept. 22 at

the United Federation of Teachers head-quarters, was no exception as Mr. Logan,UFT President Michael Mulgrew, andCorey Fernandez, the Municipal CreditUnion’s Vice President for BusinessDevelopment, pledged $10,000 to theprogram. Created by the MCU, and co-spon-

sored by CSA, the UFT, the New YorkCity Department of Education, the CityUniversity of New York and the DailyNews, the contest requires public schoolstudents to create a three minute videodescribing a school project they wouldcomplete if they won the $10,000 BBSgrand prize.Schools Chancellor Carmen Farina

praised this year’s finalists, student groupsfrom PS 106 in Far Rockaway, Queens,PS 47 in the Bronx, and Brooklyn’sResearch & Service High School, for theircollaborations. “A classroom is not teachers leading

kids, it is kids and teachers workingtogether,” she said. “It’s coming up withan idea and deciding whose role it is todo what. Remember that when we worktogether, good things happen.” Mulgrew also touted cooperation. “I

would love to send you children toWashington to show Congress how to

get things done,” he said. “Thank youfor teaching all of us.”President Logan thanked Fernandez

for creating the contest. “MCU couldhave written a check and no one wouldhave noticed,” he said. “But by doing thisthey have allowed us to showcase somegreat talent in our schools.”WPIX-11 News Achor Sukanya

Krishnan hosted the event. CityCouncilmen Donovan Richards Jr., (Dist31 – Queens) and Robert Cornegy Jr, (Dist36 – Brooklyn), introduced videos fromstudents in their respective boroughs. CUNY Athletic Conference Executive

Director Zak Ivkovic introduced the PS106 video, and said his group was com-mitted to supplying the equipment andcoaches for the basketball court the stu-dents requested in their video.PS 47 students video, titled “Hydro

Who? Hydro What? Hydroponics SoundsCool,” made an argument to create aschool hydroponics garden.Research & Service students wanted

money to expand its Campus CareCommunity Pantry and nutrition pro-gram to serve it’s Bedford Stuyvesantneighbors.“To have our kids understand the sig-

nificance of giving back in this way isincredible,” Cornegy said.Choosing one winner proved too dif-

ficult for the judges. So each of the threefinalists received the grand prize as wellas a $10,000 shopping spree at theBarclay School Supplies in Brooklyn.

Better School ContestYields 3 Grand Prizes,Highlights Cooperation

n Assistant Director,GrievanceDepartment washonored by New LifeTabernacle Church inBrooklyn for her workas an “outstandingeducator” and for“service to the com-munity.” �In the photowith Ms. Atkins areDoreen Figueroa,wife of Pastor Eric R.Figueroa, HospitalityCommitteeChair�MalikeSimmons.

Outstanding Educator

BY BY MARIA SMITH AND CHUCK WILBANKS

The US Department of Educationhanded out its coveted National BlueRibbon Schools awards to 335 schoolsacross the nation on Sept. 30, and amongthe winners were seven New York Cityschools. The awards are based on aca-demic excellence or progress in closingachievement gaps among student sub-groups, the DOE said. Public and non-public elementary, middle and highschools, including traditional, charter,magnet schools, parochial and independ-ent schools received awards.The New York City winners are: P.S. 5

The Huguenot School in Staten Island; P.S.100 The Coney Island School; P.S. 244 TheActive Learning Elementary School in

Queens; P.S. 277 The Gerritsen BeachSchool in Brooklyn; P.S. 682 The Academyof Talented Scholars; Harlem SuccessAcademy Charter School 3; Icahn CharterSchool 2Principal Lisa Arcuri of PS 5 cited hard

work on the part of everyone from chil-dren to staff to parents for the honor. "Wehave a rigorous curriculum and high stan-dards for our kids, ourselves and the par-ents as well," she said. "We work smart andcreatively with the resources we have."Ms. Arcuri and other recipients said the

application process was formidable: Schooladministrators had to submit five years'worth of data, including standardized testresults. "Completing the application wasalmost a full-time job," said Jeannie Fish,Principal, PS 277, Gerritsen Beach,Brooklyn, who along with AP Janet

Kennedy, completed the lengthy docu-ment. "We were very exact in our answersand showed our school's solid accomplish-ments," said Ms. Fish, who started at PS277 as a teacher. "We are just thrilledbeyond words with this designation."Ms. Fish credits high standards of staff

and students alike and a solid, proactiverelationship with the community, as rea-sons why PS 277 received this honor. "Iknow this neighborhood and I respect thecommunity," she said. "We work togetheras partners. When educational demandsbecame more rigorous, we workedtogether to achieve those goals."Hit hard by Hurricane Sandy, PS 277,

which sits on slightly higher ground,remained functional and provided a safehaven for the community since many res-idents were displaced by flooding. "I madesure there were after-school programs,weekend programs and that the schoolwas an outlet for services families needed.We've been through a lot together... thisdesignation is a wonderful recognition forall of our hard work."Robert Groff, Principal of PS 244 in

Queens, runs a Title 1 Pre-K through 3school in which a majority of students areAsian English Language Learners. "It's agreat opportunity to showcase the hardwork that our families and staff havedone," Mr. Groff said. His school, dubbedTALES, for "The Active LearningElementary School," is also known for pro-viding a vegetarian breakfast and lunchprogram.The Department will honor all the

schools at a recognition ceremony on Nov.9-10 at the Omni Shoreham Hotel inWashington, D.C. Each school will receivean award plaque and a flag as symbols oftheir accomplishments. In its 33-year his-tory, more than 8,000 of America's schoolshave received the award.Principal Arcuri said she and her

Superintendent, Anthony Lodico, willtravel to Washington D.C. for the nationalhonor ceremony. "The best part of that tripis that you can collaborate with so manyother Principals and share best practices."

Coveted Blue RibbonAwards for NY Schools

‘We have a rigorouscurriculum and highstandards for our kids,ourselves and parents.’

Awards & Honors

CSA NEWSNov. 2015 7

BY CHUCK WILBANKS

Alicia Perez-Katz can nor-mally be found in the hallsand classrooms of Baruch HighSchool in Manhattan, whereshe has been Principal for thelast 12 years. But right now,she is more likely to be seen inher cubicle near the office ofthe Secretary of Education inWashington D.C. Ms. Perez-Katz is one of four

2015 Washington PrincipalAmbassador Fellows. Fellows inthe prestigious program cometo Washington for a year, in thewords of the Department, “togain in-depth knowledge ofnational policy issues in edu-cation and to contribute theirexpertise to those discussions.” They don’t just hang around in D.C.

though – they travel the country, leadingroundtable discussions, meeting andsometimes shadowing other principals tolearn and share current best practices.Outgoing Education Secretary Arne

Duncan announced the winners of theprogram, now in its second year, inSeptember. “The inaugural class ofPrincipal Ambassador Fellows madetremendous contributions to our work atthe Department,” said Duncan. “I amexcited to work with this new team to

bring attention to the essential role ofgreat school leaders in creating greatschool environments for students. Wemust do more to recognize our schoolprincipals and their work, especially onbehalf of students coming from some ofthe most challenging circumstances.”Ms. Perez-Katz said she has gotten a

window into how policy is made and howit affects people. Meanwhile, she has foundplenty of opportunities to educate bureau-crats of the importance of school leader-ship, and is crafting a strategic plan to

guide Principal Ambassadorsin coming years.“Many times, the Principals

are added on in documents,almost as afterthoughts to pol-icy,” she said in a recent inter-view. “I try to get people tounderstand how much theprincipal is really key toreforming and changingschools.”Ms. Perez-Katz credits CSA

with helping make her year inWashington come to pass.“The union was hugely

helpful,” she said. “I was in anunusual situation. I had envi-sioned myself as a part-timefellow – relocating wasn’t ourplan because our kids are inNew York schools. I was ableto work out a deal to commute

[she’s only in Washington a few days aweek]. I also wanted to make sure I can goback to my school. CSA and DavidGrandwetter really helped to ensure Icould go back to my school.”The other fellows are: Joseph Manko,

the principal of Liberty Elementary Schoolin Baltimore, Maryland; Jessica Nauoikas,the founder and principal of Mott HavenAcademy Charter School in New YorkCity; and Christopher Pearson, theSuperintendent of Conway School Districtin Mt. Vernon, Washington.

CHUCK WILBANKS

n Baruch High School Principal Alicia Perez-Katz, left, says Principalsare the key to reforming and changing schools.

Principals Have Their Very OwnAmbassador in Washington, D.C.

BY CHUCK WILBANKS

CSA is supporting a new coaltion oflabor, religious and civic organizations inits fight to preserve the US Postal Service.AGrandAlliance.org, which includesamong its coalition the AmericanFederation of School Administrators andthe AFL-CIO, is taking on the ObamaAdministration’s efforts to put privatizerson the USPS Board of Governors. The USPS has for several years been

laboring under assaults from a wide varietyof corporate interests who want to see itdiminished or entirely privatized. The USPS has been hobbled with

budget constraints, such as when Congressmandated that it fund its retiree healthbenefits program for ten years to the tuneof nearly $60 billion, a requirementunheard of in corporate America. Withoutthat burden, the USPS would have enjoyedan ample surplus. Management hasresponded by closing post offices and pro-cessing facilities, cutting business hours,and reducing services in general service.Thousands of postal workers have lost theirjobs – middle class jobs.Yet competitors UPS and FedEx benefit

hugely from USPS: For example, Postal car-riers deliver nearly 30 percent of FedEx’sbusiness to homes and businesses – reliev-ing the private company of the least prof-

itable leg of a parcel’s transit. Meanwhile, the AFL-CIO is backing a

USPS Workers Union boycott of office sup-plies giant Staples, which has opened USPSkiosks in their stores, staffed not with USPSworkers but with low-wage, high-turnoverStaples employees. The latest outrage comes courtesy of

President Obama, who has nominated aslate of candidates to the Board Governorsof the United States Postal Service, includ-ing the renomination of James Miller, theformer director of the Office ofManagement and Budget in the ReaganAdministration. Mr. Miller has said thereis no need for a postal service and says itshould be privatized. Another Obama pick,Mickey D. Barnett, is a lobbyist for the pay-day lending industry – think legalized loansharking to some of the most vulnerablepeople in society.The payday lender advocate is a partic-

ularly galling choice. One idea to enhanceUSPS (artificially ailing) revenues has beento introduce modest banking services at

post offices, including paycheck cashing,bill payments, savings accounts and smallloans, all at a reasonable rate. Such serviceswould add immense value to citizens inrural areas where banks can be scarce, andwould provide the USPS with muchneeded cash. Needless to say, paydaylenders, offering similar services at exhor-bitant rates, hate such an idea, so appoint-ing someone with Mr. Barnett’s back-ground is an obvious conflict of interest. The president is facing a wall of oppo-

sition on the nominations. The GrandAlliance is supporting another wide coali-tion of labor and social groups known asthe Leadership Conference, which sent aletter to Senate Majority Leader MitchMcConnell and Senate Minority LeaderHarry Reid, pleading that the slate not gothrough.“We would be deeply troubled if any-

one confirmed to a leadership positionwithin the USPS used that position to pro-mote the sorts of practices we have seenin the payday lending industry, or to blockthe advancement of alternatives’” the letterstated.

CSA stands behind the AFL-CIO, a GrandAlliance and other allies in the fight to protectthe USPS. You can learn more at our website,CSA-NYC.org, that of AFSA, Afsaadmin.org,and Agrandalliance.org.

Postal Privatizers Get Union PushbackOrganized labor, alliescreate wall of oppositionto protect USPS

COALITION

NATION

Education

Researchers at the Universities ofPennsylvania, Washington andCalifornia (Riverside), recently pub-lished findings indicating that effi-ciency in the use of one-to-oneassistants to work with studentswith IEPs may not be optimal. Thestudy showed that one-to-onesengaged with students only 57% ofthe time, compared to teachers andclassroom assistants (98% and 91%,respectively). The study concludedthat its findings might be “sympto-matic of broader challenges relatedto the delivery of special educationservices”. (www.disabilityscoop.com)

PENNSYLVANIA:

One-To-Ones

Google Expeditions – a field-tripsimulation system – is making itsdebut in classrooms. The system istouted as being more immersivethan similar programs before it. Itallows for 360-degree views ofplaces and 3-dimensional imagesof about 100 places, to date. As thetechnology is still being developed,Expeditions is being offered free-of-charge. The Google kits comewith cardboard viewers and ateacher app to guide the trips.(www.nytimes.com)

ILLINOIS:

Virtual Reality

The US Education Department,House Appropriations, hasapproved a bill cutting $22.5 mil-lion to fund the final two years ofpreschool expansion. The com-bined $32 million was to educate4,580 new children with an addi-tional 6,000 children to receiveenhanced care. About half of thestate’s Kindergartners enter pre-pared for school. Over 5,300 4-year-olds did not attend pre-school in2013. (www.nola.com)

— COMPILED BYCHRISTINE ALTMAN

Weak math content in schools thatteach low-income students isadding to the achievement gapbetween poor and wealthy stu-dents. The problem has been iden-tified worldwide. A peer-reviewedstudy in the American EducationalResearch Association found 40% ofthe gap in the US is due to unequalaccess to strong Math content; thebalance is attributed to family/com-munity background. (www.wash-ingtonpost.com)

MICHIGAN:

Math Content

LOUISIANA:

Pre-K Funding Loss

With few students requesting them,lockers are being replaced by charg-ing stations. In Albemarle County,only 25 out of 2,000 high schoolersasked for lockers. One Virginia highschool replaced hundreds of lockerswith charging stations, whiteboardsand benches, allowing students theability to continue collaboration inthe hallways. Renovations may beexpanded in the next three to fiveyears. (districtadministration.com)

VIRGINIA:

Move Over Lockers

CSA NEWS8 Nov. 2015

Panama SeasJan. 7-15, 2016Escorted land tour including

the Gamboa Rainforest, AntonValley, Playa Blanca Beach Resortand Panama City. Rates belowinclude round-trip airfare fromJFK, hotels, 15 meals, sightseeing,transfers and tour manager. Wehave 4 seats left.

RATES: $2,649 per person fora double room; single rate, $3,399.

Caribbean SailFeb. 13-20, 2016 President’s Week SailSail from San Juan to St. Croix,

St. Kitts, St. Martin, Martiniqueand Barbados. Enjoy the luxuryof the Adventure of the Sea, RoyalCaribbean’s popular cruise ship.

RATES: Call for rates. Verylimited space.

2016 Spring BreakApril 23-May 1, 2016We’ll fly to elegant San Juan

and board the fabulous CelebritySummit. We’ll sail back to thestates stopping in St. Martin, St.Thomas and Bermuda before wearrive home in Bayonne, NJ.

RATES: Rates begin at anastounding $628.09 for insidecabins (plus one-way airfare toSan Juan.) Rates won’t last.

USA’s Music CitiesApril 22-29, 2016Tour Nashville, Memphis and

New Orleans! Visit the Grand OldOpry and RCA Studios inNashville, Graceland and BealeStreet in Memphis, and while inNew Orleans, enjoy the FrenchQuarter, the New Orleans Schoolof Cooking, a Swamp Tour, andthe French Marketplace.

RATES: All inclusive with air$2579 per person double; $3279triple. Loyalty discounts are avail-able.

Japan, Korea, Russia!July 3-17, 2016Sail the beautiful Diamond

Princess departing Tokyo July 3 toBusan (Korea), Nagasaki, Tokyo,Kushiro, Shiretoko Peninsula,Korsakov (Russia), Otaru,Hakodate, Aomori, and return toTokyo on July 16. Tokyo pre stayis available.Rates begin at $2573.00 incl.

taxes. Optional insurance and airis not included. At this pointflights are deeply discounted andis a great opportunity to use AAmiles. Is 15 days too long?Join the Diamond Princess on

July 8-17 for a shorter versionwith rates beginning at $1499!Call for details.

China by Land, RiverAug. 13-25, 2016This will be a magical trip as

we cruise the Viking River CruisesEmerald for six days and exploreparts of Xian and Shanghai byland. In Xian, we’ll see the famousTerracotta Army, including 8,000soldiers, 130 chariots with 520horses and 150 cavalry horses.We’ll spend two nights in Beijing,fly to Xian for 2 nights, thenboard the Emerald for the 5-nightcruise on the Yangtze, disembarkthe boat in Shanghai and spend 2nights. A 4 night extension toHong Kong is also available.

RATES: $2,767 to 3,067,although Loyalty Passengers mayreceive additional savings. Rateincludes most meals, sightseeing,deluxe lodging, intra-China air-fare. Airfare to China and insur-ance not included, but please notethat Viking offers deep discountson airfare.

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GARY GOLDSTEIN

TravelDeskRiver, Sea, Or Land

For more information, contact Gary Goldstein at ggoldstein@csa-nyc.orgor (732) 786-0314.

The first cohort of P-Tech graduates in Juneboasted six students who graduated two yearsearly with an associate’s degree in applied sci-ence from the NYC College of Technology.Three graduates are now working at IBM. Theother three have opted to finish their under-graduate degrees. None took or need remedialcourses for their current positions. “When we opened, I believed each kid

would succeed. I believe that five years later,”said Mr.Davis. What makes P-Tech unique and perhaps

what other computer science programs willreplicate is the blend of old-fashioned valuesand expectations with hard work and noexcuses for failure. The STEM degree is a narrowfocus and the school progression is lockstep,said Mr. Davis.“We had to redefine success, renew hope

and be very deliberate with our time,” he said.“And a big change? Children own their learn-ing.”He also believes in testing. And he believes

in testing often. “Let’s face it; the big test threatdoes more harm than good. If you test oftenand you test effectively, students get used tothe idea and aren’t afraid of taking exams. Myfirst year, we had every freshman sit for theEnglish and Algebra Regents in January. Didthey all pass? No, of course not. But they knewwhat to expect and how to do better,” he said.This successful recipe: Learn coding. Study

history. Play basketball. And take completingcourses at CUNY’ Tech’s downtown Brooklyncampus. For Stanley Litow, who helped createthe school, P-Tech offers a well-rounded, solidapproach to learning.“We approached P-Tech from and educa-

tional, social and business model,” said Mr.Litow, a Vice President ofCorporate Citizenship andCorporate Affairs at IBM andalso the President of the IBMFoundation. “In order to besuccessful, a student has toshow proficiency in all areas.There is no remediation in P-Tech. If you’re teaching a his-tory lesson about MartinLuther King, Jr., absolutelyuse social media to learnabout his life, but also knowhow to present, how to write,and how to explain to others.These so-called “soft skills”are what’s needed andrequired in the workingworld.”The skills taught at P-

TECH were formulated to include what IBMfound in recruiting new hires: problem solving,working in partnerships, collaborative skills,presentation, and computer skills. In an algebra class, students use IPads to

learn the basics of equations but they also workon using them in practical projects, such as cre-ating a marketing plan. Coding is important. During last summer,

P-TECH students worked at IBM’s Astor Placeheadquarters learning code and creating newgaming technology. They learned context andcollaboration, according to Mr. Litow, withassistance from IBM mentors. During their summer wrap-up presentation,

students were asked what they had learned.One student responded “I am not walking

out of the classroom if I have a question. If Idon’t understand something, I am going to aska question.”Another student impressed New York Lt.

Governor Kathy Hochul with her “elevatorpitch.”

“These students are staying and learning atP-Tech – not dropping out – because the entireacademic program is relevant,” said Mr. Litow.“There isn’t anything that’s taught, even gym,that doesn’t have some importance in whatthese students do every day and will do everyday.”Looking forward, IBM has expanded P-Tech

to four new schools and to Australia. In theCrown Heights section of Brooklyn, PrincipalDavis keeps fine-tuning a model that works.“There’s room for improvement. There’s

room to grow and learn,” he said walking thebrightly-colored hallways of the old PaulRobeson High School. “But we have a winnerhere: We’ve got the students and the staff andthe business world invested and engaged 100percent. We keep moving ahead.”

MARIA SMITH

n Principal Rashad Davis: ‘We had to redefine success, renew hope, and be deliberate with our time.’

P-Tech: A Well-Rounded,Solid Path to Learning

Continued from page 1

P-Tech: Notable Moments2010: CSA President Ernest Logan and IBM’ Stan Litow, for-

mer NYC Deputy Chancellor, convene a workingPrincipals’ dinner at IBM headquarters and discusswhat’s needed to make an academic/business STEMschool successful.

2011: P-TECH, a 9 – 14 STEM school opens in Brooklyn with acohort of 103 students.

2013: Based on early successes, President Obama praises P-TECH in his 2013 and 2014 State of the Union addresses.

2013: President Obama visits P-TECH in 2013.2015: Six students from the original cohort graduate early;

all with an associate’s degree in applied sciences. 2015: CNN Money names P-TECH one of the most innovative

schools in the United States.

CSA NEWSNov. 2015 9

ABENY Update:MembershipMeeting andEssay ContestABENY's Nov. Membership

Meeting will take place Nov. 15from 3 - 6 pm at the BedfordStuyvesant YMCA, at 1121Bedford Ave. in Brooklyn.Professional development onthe latest developments regard-ing the Common CoreStandards and strategies forengaging parents will be offeredas well as a meet and greet. Alleducators and parents areinvited.Students in grades 2 - 10 are

invited to participate inABENY's annual Black HistoryMonth Essay Contest. Twentywinners from around the citywill be selected and honored atthe Cadman Plaza Library inBrooklyn Heights on Feb. 6.

For more information, contactDr. Sheilah Bobo at sheilah-bobo@gmail.com or 917-412-9099.

Notebook

Lisa Esposito, Principal of PS203, Brooklyn is retiring. A dinnercelebration of Ms. Esposito’s years ofservice with the NYC DOE will beheld Thursday, November 12, atRusso’s on the Bay, Queens. Formore information, contact RuthSchwartz at 718-753-1847.

Retirement

LegislativeAgenda Herman Merritt

As I studied the results of the recentGeneral Election, I was amazed at thelow voter turnout. I don't understandthe term, "off-year election." There isno such thing: All elections have con-

sequences. We saw recently in Kentucky how aclerk’s decision could gain nationwide attention.Of course, I’m not saying consequences are all

equal: On the federal level, for example, one ofthe most important duties of the president is tonominate jurists to serve on the Supreme Court.Once confirmed, a justice will have an impact onthe country for decades. Today’s Supreme Courthas two appointees from Ronald Reagan, onefrom George H.W. Bush, two from Bill Clinton,two from George W. Bush and two from BarackObama. Two Justices have served close to thirtyyears. To be reminded of the significance of a presi-

dent’s choices for the Court, a unionist need lookno further than a case the justices have agreed tohear that will have an impact on public sectorunions across the country. That case is Friedrichsv. California Teachers Association, in which aCalifornia teacher, Rebecca Friedrichs, hasclaimed that making her pay an agency shop feeinterfered with her First Amendment rights byforcing her to subsidize someone else’s speech. Asyou know, public sector unions provide collectivebargaining for both members and non-members.The Supreme Court ruled in 1977 that non-mem-bers may be charged such “fair share” fees to helpcover the union’s expenses. Union leaders callpeople who pay nothing but get the benefits ofcollective bargaining anyway “free riders.” There is fear in some quarters that an adverse

ruling will result in a nation of such free riders,ultimately prompting the demise of unionsthemselves. There have been predictions ofunion members opting out en masse, refusing topay dues to save themselves a few bucks. This talkhas no basis in reality. Recent national polls showthat union favorability is on the rise, especially

with the Fight for $15 movement to raise theminimum wage. When AFSCME began drives toconvert fair-share payers to full members, theysucceeded, signing up more people in the union.I believe that the push against organized labor inWisconsin and Michigan had the opposite effectthan the Koch brothers had intended: Unionmembers appreciate what the union has done forthem and understand that in addition to fightingfor the rights of their members, we fight for allworkers, union and non-union alike. Collectivebargaining sets the standards for each industry.Skeptics may ask, “What have you done for

me lately?” They can get a ready answer from ourATR supervisors who no longer have to movefrom school to school while looking for a perma-nent position. Or they can ask the retirees whorecently received their retroactive pay increases.Or they can talk to the members who received aportion of their retroactive pay. Or they canspeak with frightened members who, facinginvestigations, are represented by skilled, trainedadvocates.

Please monitor the Friedrichs v. CaliforniaTeachers Association. It has implications forall of us. Regardless of how the Court

decides, our unions will continue to thrive.Remember to vote in every election, no matterhow insignificant the office may appear. Andfinally, follow the activities of the AFL-CIO(www.aflcio.org). These are important times fororganized labor.

The push against organizedlabor may have had theopposite effect; support forunions is on the rise.

Collectivebargainingsets thestandardsfor eachindustry.

Free Riders, Fair Shares, and the Court

BY CSA STAFF

CSA is seeking nominations for del-egates and alternate delegates in allMembership Classifications (i.e. licenseareas) to serve on the CSA ExecutiveBoard from Feb. 1, 2016 to Jan. 30,2019. Candidates must be members ingood standing for sixty (60) days ormore prior to the mailing date of theballots, which is Dec. 14, 2015.Executive Board members are selectedby a majority of votes cast. Alternatesare selected on the basis of the nextlargest number of votes cast. In case ofa tie, the ballots are with both namesare re-sent to members of that classifi-cation. Appeals of the process areaddressed in writing to the appointedElection Committee that makes a rec-ommendation to the AdvisoryCommittee. The Executive Board willmake the final resolution.In accordance with the CSA

Constitution, every three years a censusis taken of the membership by licensearea and is used to determine delegateapportionment to the union’s ExecutiveBoard in those categories. The censushas been taken on the basis of member-ship in good standing as of the close of

the union’s fiscal year, Sept. 30, 2015. The Constitution calls for one vote

for each 125 members or major fractionthereof of a membership classification.No member of the Executive Board shallhave more than two votes.CSA is seeking nominations for del-

egates in accordance with the followingbreakdown: • Principal – Elementary: 5 votes –3 people• Principal – Middle/K-8: 3 votes –2 people• Principal – High School &Alternative HS: 3 votes – 2 people• Principal – Special Schools: 1 vote– 1 person• Assistant Principal –Elementary/Middle: 13 votes – 7people• Assistant Principal – HSSupervision: 5 votes – 3 people• Assistant Principal – HSAdministration: 3 votes – 2 people• Assistant Principal– SpecialEducation: 1 vote – 1 person• Assistant Principal – SpecialSchools & Citywide: 1 vote – 1person• Supervisors of & Principals AdultEd & Asst Coord Adult Ed: 1 vote

– 1 person• Education Administrators/CSEChairs: 6 votes – 3 peopleAny member of a membership clas-

sification*, (i.e. license area), may submitnominations or self-nominate forExecutive Board delegate in that classi-fication. The Constitution requires thatnominations and elections for delegatesto the CSA Executive Board take placewithin one month of the deadline forreceipt of ballots for the election of CSAofficers. That deadline this year is Dec.14, 2015.Therefore, it is requested that you

submit nominations for membershipclassification delegates and alternatesby Dec. 7, 2015 by 5 pm, the close ofbusiness. Submit names in nomination, by e-

mail to Erminia@csa-nyc.org or in writ-ing to Erminia Claudio, ExecutiveDirector, CSA, 40 Rector St., 12th Floor,New York, NY 10006-1729 . You mustinclude: a) your name, b) title, c) work site, d) e-mail address, e) CSA Executive Board Membership

Classification position for which you

are submitting your name or another’sname,f) A statement of qualifications not

to exceed 150 words. (This will be sentalong with the ballot to all membersvoting in that license area.) Membership Classification balloting

is handled by Central CSA. Ballots willbe mailed on Dec. 14, 2015. The com-pleted ballots must be received by 5 PM,the close of business on Jan. 15, 2016.

Executive Board: CommunitySchool District and BoroughHigh Schools ElectionProceduresBoth the nomination process and

the voting must be completed by Jan.15, 2016. Districts conduct their ownelections for District Delegate(s) andAlternate to the CSA Executive Board,Secretary and Treasurer.

* Note: There is no direct relationshipbetween being a member of a membershipclassification and being a member of a pro-fessional organization, e.g., the NY CityElementary School Principals’ Association.Professional associations have no officialrelationship with CSA or its voting process.

Call for CSA Executive Board Nominations

CSA NEWS10 Nov. 2015

QUESTION: I am a retired spe-cial education supervisor. Myhusband suffers from dementiaor the beginning of Alzheimer’sdisease. He broke his hip,

necessitating surgery and hospitalization.I could not leave him alone in the hospi-tal – he tries to get out of bed, spillsthings,etc. Can I be reimbursed for theservices of a home health aide eventhough he isn’t home?ANSWER: The purpose of our home

health aide benefit is to help you copewith situations you have described. Asfar as we are concerned, home careis where the patient is. If you needmedically justified assistance, and itis obvious your husband does, wewill provide the coverage if he ishome, in the hospital, in a rehabcenter or nursing home. The key is,is the service necessary? And is itbeing provided by a trained profes-sional? Remember also that if he isto be moved to a rehab center, theFund will also reimburse the ambu-lance or ambulette costs since yourMedicare or health plan does not.

QUESTION: I am an active EA in the Bronx. I have been amember of the Healthplex dental program since I becamea CSA member many years ago. My dentist retired and

sold his practice. I do not like the new dentist. What can I do?ANSWER: You have great timing. All three CSA Welfare

Funds (CSA Welfare fund for in-service Department ofEducation participants, CSA Retiree Welfare Fund forDepartment of Education retirees, and DCC/CSA Welfare Fundfor Day Care directors and Assistant Directors and retirees) con-duct an open enrollment for dental programs each November.You may select any dental plan available to participants in yourfund (or in-service Department of Education, your choices areHealthplex and SIDS), and the change will take place effectiveJan. 1, 2016. You may choose a different Healthplex dentistany time during the year. Please see accompanying descriptionof each of these dental plans.

Home careis wherethe patientis, so longas theservice isnecessary

The WelfareFundHome Health Aide

DouglasV. Hathaway

1: SIDS Dental ProgramActive and Retired Members. The SIDS

administered CSA self insured dental pro-gram offers you the choice of selectingany dentist you desire. Reimbursementis based on a specific schedule of set fees.In addition, a substantial number of den-tists have agreed to be participatingproviders and accept the CSA scheduleof allowances as payment in full withoutany additional charge to you (except asmall co-payment where indicated in theschedule). This plan provides reimburse-ment of dental costs with participatingor non participating doctors. Using par-ticipating dentists, however, will sub-stantially reduce a member's costs.

2: Healthplex Dentcare SIDS NY, NJ and PA, Active and Retired

Members. The Healthplex DentcareDental Program is a pre-paid dental plan

(HMO) which offers you and eligibledependents a unique arrangement thatrequires no claim forms or outlay ofmonies (except for a $50 copay to coversome lab charges for crowns and $125for orthodontics). Members select a pri-mary care dentist from a list of providers.The primary care dentist provides totaldental care at no additional cost and,when necessary, arranges for treatmentby participating specialists – for examplesurgery, endodontists, periodontists - alsoat no cost to the patient. Dentcare den-tists are private practitioners locatedthroughout New York, New Jersey andPennsylvania.

3: Delta Dental - DeltacareUSA Plan 2A

For Retirees Only. This is a dental HMOplan which provides cost free dental carefor preventive services such as cleanings,

x-rays and exams. Basic services such asfillings are either free or at substantiallyreduced fees. Major restorative servicessuch as crowns, bridgework, and ortho-dontic care will cost the member 50% orless than the usual and customary chargefor these services.The Delta Deltacare plan is a most

appropriate choice for members whoreside in a geographic area in which thereare few or no SIDS participating dentistsor Healthplex dentists. The panel of par-ticipating dentists is broad covering thestates of Arizona, Florida, California, NewYork, New Jersey, Washington D.C.,Georgia, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Texas,Maryland, Massachusetts and Virginia. Alisting of dentists in your geographic areais available upon request. This planrequires a minimum of 7 members in astate. If there are not at least 7 enrollees,the plan will not be available.

Members who enroll in either theDentcare or Delta dental plan maychange primary care dentists during eachannual enrollment period or at any timeif they are dissatisfied with their dentist.

4: Healthplex – S200 FloridaProgram

For Retirees Only. Healthplex offers thisnew option for those retirees perma-nently living in Florida. The newHealthplex S200 program covers moreprocedures than the previous planoffered with CompBenefits, and had agreater number of participatingproviders. With over 2,300 participatingproviders plus hundreds of specialists inFlorida, you may select ANY participatingprovider without a referral. There aredefined co-payments for some proce-dures, and no additional reimbursementis provided.

BY STEFFANI FANNIZZI

On Oct. 17, The Association of AssistantPrincipals (AAP) held its 73rd AnnualConference; Educating the 21st Century

Learner. CSA Executive Vice President, MarkCannizzaro, was honored, along with formerSSP Coordinator, Dr. Nancy Westerband fortheir remarkable dedication to the studentsof NYC and their continuous support of AAP

throughout the years. In addition, newAssistant Principals, and those members serv-ing five, ten, or fifteen years were also honoredby the Association. The conference offered assistant principals

and other school educators workshops for pro-fessional development and provided a pub-lishers’ exhibit. The keynote speaker was AnnE. Burg, an award-winning author of childrenbooks.

Annual Event

Open Enrollment Period: Dental CoverageEach November., as a member of the DCC/CSA Welfare Fund, CSA Welfare Fund or CSA Retiree Welfare Fund, you are afforded an opportunity to change your dental plan cov-

erage for the next calendar year. Each plan is summarized below. If you wish to change your coverage for the new year, (beginning in Jan.) call (212) 962-6061 for a dental selec-tion form. If you do not wish to change your plan, do not do anything.

From the Association of Assistant Principalsto the Latino Caucus, there are a host of profes-sional organizations affiliated with the union thatdo solid work for their members and play vitalrole in the life of CSA. To help provide recognitionand keep everyone up to date, send us your pro-fessional association's latest information, includingyour officers, their contact information, a descrip-tion of your mission, membership eligibility, and

whether membership dues are collected by CSAor paid directly by the member. We are hoping to put together a comprehen-

sive directory in the Jan. issue of CSA News.

Send an email to Chuck Wilbanks, chuck@csa-nyc.org and Lynn Melfi, lynn@csa-nyc.org. And don’tforget to send Chuck any announcements you need tomake in the CSA News.

A Call to Leaders: Send Us Your Info

Assistant Principals Conference:Educating the 21st Century Learner

DAN GOODMAN

CSA NEWS / Retiree ChapterNov. 2015 11

This year’s federal, state andlocal elections are behind us.Now, we must monitor theactions – or inaction – of offi-cials at every level and be

ready to take action.Nowhere is this more imperative

than with policies affecting our SocialSecurity and Medicare benefits. A majorworry is whether Medicare officials willuse their tremendous buying power tosignificantly reduce the spiraling costsof drugs. We should have the sameadvantage as Medicaid, which obtainsmajor rebates from drug manufactur-ers. The biggest hurdle to that? GettingCongress to revise the 2003 MedicareModernization Act, which created theMedicare prescription drug program.All of us need to carefully follow thepresidential candidates’ solutions tothis potentially serious and escalatingfinancial problem. And it is a key rea-son that all RC members should con-tribute to CSA’s Political ActionCommittee.Is this happening to someone you

know? According to AFSA more than160,000 retirees and 83,000 peoplereceiving Social Security disability ben-

efits are seeing their Social Security checks garnished in order topay for their student loans. This is a horrendous public policy.For many people, Social Security helps cover their basic needs ofhousing and food. For more information contact The ActionNetwork of AFSA, AFSANational@afsaadmin.org

What’s New Bravo to the new steering committee in Northern New Jersey

for successfully holding their second planning session. MarkJacobi volunteered to be the unit leader. After establishing thisunit, we will move on to Connecticut, where we may form oureighteenth unit. For our members who are not geographicallylocated in an area with enough members to form a unit, the 3-5year planning committee, chaired by Joe Rosenberg, the RCExecutive Vice Chair, is working on a tentatively named “Out ofBounds” unit to better serve members. We are investigating the feasibility of developing and linking

unit websites to the RC website. Also, we are discussing howmodern technology can be used to enhance keeping our mem-bers informed on political issues and concerns as well as socialevents.

Just a reminder: if you change your main address, emailaddress, and telephone or cell phone numbers, you need tonotify the RC and the Welfare Fund offices to ensure that

your contact information is updated. If you live for severalmonths at at an address different than your main address, pleasetell us where and how long you are temporarily relocated.Thank you to our veteran’s, past and present, who are our

heroes! Wishing you a healthy, inspirational and happy

Thanksgiving!

CHAIR’S MESSAGE

Gayle Lockett

Ready for Action!

Ch a p t e r

We mustinsistCongressmodernizethe 2003Medicarelegislation

RC Regional Units

The newly established Pennsylvania RetireeUnit held its first meeting on Sept. 28, at theHideout in Lake Ariel, PA. Dr. DouglasHathaway, Administrator of the CSA WelfareFund, was the guest speaker. Participantslearned about the many benefits of being amember of the Retiree Chapter and had theopportunity to have their questions answered.A needs and interest assessment for planningof future events will be sent to Pennsylvaniaretiree members within the next few weeks.Please contact Denise Sandra Levinsky, UnitLeader, at denise.levinsky@gmail.com for moreinformation on the unit.

—DENISE LEVINSKY

PENNSYLVANIA

On Dec. 11 the Queens Unit is featuring aluncheon at Il Poeta, an Italian restaurant inForest Hills. A flyer has been prepared with allof the details. Also, our Book Club and BridgeClubs meet regularly throughout he year. So,take advantage of our numerous activities atreduced rates for members. Further, you candownload our enrollment/renewal form formembership, keep up to date about our events,view all of our flyers and download our newslet-ters as well as read timely information fromCSA on our website: www.csaqueens.org. Youcan also contact me with your questions at:stermanlen@aol.com

— LEONARD B. STERMAN

QUEENS

Remember to send a copy of your registrationform for CSA’s Nov. 14 conference to: Stanley HWilson, 400 E. 56 St., 8M, New York NY 10022so that you can receive your $15. rebate.

— STANLEY WILSON

MANHATTAN

On Sept. 21, we held our annual BBQ at theBerlin Lodge. Members enjoyed coffee anddonuts on the veranda overlooking the lake.State Sen. Diane Savino brought us up to dateon political matters. To top off the day, our res-ident chef, Lou Greenzweig, cooked over opencoals. Joining us were RC leader Gayle Lockett,Director Mark Brodsky, and Title TKTK NancyRusso. Our holiday gala will be held Dec. 8 atthe Staten Island Hilton.

— AL NIELSEN

STATEN ISLAND

Suncoast will have it's first of two 2016meetings on Jan. 26. Information will be mailedto just after Christmas. Our second, final 2016meeting will be March 11. Norm Sherman willprovide a Retiree Benefit Refresher Course anda speaker from Mobile Physicians will discussMD home visits. More info will be provided atour Jan. meeting and in the March meetingmailing. Remember, if you need assistance, callme at (941) 383-0408.

—MIKE NEMOYTIN

SUNCOAST

RETIREE

• • •

Cruz, MariaDarrigo, BarbaraFairweather, GaryKavanagh, Andrew

Livanis, OlgaMcclain, DeborahNeil, FayePisacano, Anthony

Rosales, LeslieRosenbloom, BrianSundick, RobinThompson, Sharon

Tobman-Michelen, Rhonda

Vellucci, BarbaraWalsh, Christine

Welcome New Chapter Members

Upcoming: RC ElectionsNominations and the election of CSA Retiree Chapter officers and Executive Board

shall be held within one month of the last acceptable date for ballots for election ofthe CSA officers as enumerated in Article VI, Section 1 of the CSA Constitution.

Retiree Chapter officers are: Chairperson, First Vice Chair, Second Vice Chair,Treasurer and Secretary. The Executive Board shall consist of the officers, 20 electedmembers and six alternates. The present Executive Board will approve the selection ofan election committee appointed by the Chair. Further information will be in the Nov.issue of the CSA News.

Save the DateThere will be a Nov. general membership meeting at the NY Hilton on November14. For a list of current officers and Executive Board members, visit the CSA web-site, www.csa-nyc.org. Click on the Retiree Chapter.

NOVEMBER 2015 Periodicals

US POSTAGE PAID ATBrooklyn, NY 11201and Additional Mailing Office

Council of School Supervisors & Administrators, NYCNew York State Federation of School AdministratorsLocal 1 AFSA, AFL-CIO40 Rector St., NY, NY 10006

Printed on FSC certified paper

Borough Briefs / In The Schools Compiled by Corey Bachman

recycling bins. Within 6 months, theproject was fully funded and the schoolreceived more than $1,700. With thefunds, the students were able to purchaseeighteen bins that will be located nearthe school’s copy machines, in theteacher’s lounge and in all of the class-rooms. “By using these bins our learningcommunity is doing its share to protectthe earth. It is a small step in preservingand protecting our resources for ourselvesand for future generations!” said AnitaManninen-Felix, principal of Murray HillAcademy.

In the past, Murray Hill Academy’sGreen Team students made recyclingbins for each classroom that were nicelydecorated and worked well — but onlyfor a short time. They realized they’dneed a long-term solution. Studentslooked to DonorsChoose, a nonprofitthat allows individuals to donate to pub-lic school projects, in order to purchase

video – all in one day. The state-of-the-art rolling recording studio, now in its18th year, is making its way to schoolsin the five boroughs in honor of whatwould have been Lennon’s 75th birth-day Oct. 9. The Educational Tour Busevents will culminate with the creationof the world’s largest human peace signin Central Park Oct. 6.

PS 7 The Forest Park School, OctoberParent Advisory Council meeting hada Read Aloud with Kindergarten TeacherShari Gensler and members of theschool’s parent community. Ms. Genslerread Apple Countdown by Joan Holubwith students and parents. “We encour-age family literacy,” said Joseph Amelia,principal of PS 7. “Our read alouds helpour students learn to love reading andbecome comfortable with books. Manyof the parents attended and those whodid sat with their child and enjoyedreading together.” After the reading, stu-dents painted apples. Using Title IParent Involvement Funding, theschool presented books to all whoattended.

The Green TeamThe James Madison High School

Band honored runners during the 14thAnnual Tunnel to Towers Run held inBattery Park City on Sept. 27. The eventis inspired by the late New York city fire-fighter, Stephen Siller, who famouslystrapped on 60 lbs. of gear and ranthrough the Battery Park tunnel to get tothe World Trade Center on 9/11. He diedin the towers’ collapse later that day.

The John Lennon Educational BusTour made a stop in Jackson Heights onSept. 28 to give PS 69 students the oppor-tunity to write, perform, record and pro-duce original songs. They also producedand shot documentaries and a music

Honoring the Fallen

Original Music andReading Out Loud!

Brooklyn (DIST.13-23,32)

Queens (DIST. 24 - 30)n MurrayHillAcademystudents inManhattantook initia-tive to help‘green’ theirschool. AnitaManninen-Felix is principal.

Staten Island D-31

Manhattan (DIST. 1-6)

Video Games ArePart of the Solution!

On Staten Island, students at Ralph McKeeCareer and Technical Education HighSchool are playing video games on their per-

sonal laptops, phones and computers – and theirteachers are thrilled. The Software Engineering PilotProgram (SEP) at McKee teaches students todevelop the computational and problem solvingskills they’ll need to enter emerging high-techfields. The SEP classes, which are centered on com-puter programming, often engage students indeveloping, deciphering and debugging their ownvideo games and other objective-oriented projects.As Jacob Byrne, a freshman in the programdescribes it: “Making video games makes sensebecause it lets us put the programming skills welearned into a project that’s real and kind of fun tothink about. It’s not just loops and ‘if-statements’and theory.”

n Ralph McKee Career and Technical Education High School Studentsare training to enter high tech and emerging fields.

Send Borough Briefsto Corey Bachman at corey@csa-nyc.org

n PS 69 students in Queens created musicand video thanks to the John LennonEducational Bus Tour, a moving recordingstudio honoring the late musician.