February PEP Meeting: More public schools forced to give up UTILIZED space to benefit charter schools. Last night's PEP Meeting was more of a pep rally for charter schools rather than a thoughtful discussion of the facts regarding the co-locations up for vote. Not suprising given the fact that Joel Klen had a hand in personally organzing charter schools and parents to attend last night, also not suprising given the Gonzales article in the Daily News today that highlights what many of us already knew: this Administration is in bed with a movement, and the proponents behind it, to privatize education thus marginalizng our already most marginalize students while draining the precious resources of our public schools.
READ FOR YOURSELF:
DOCUMENTS: Read the email exchanges between Eva Moskowitz and Joel Klein.
http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=ZGVmYXVsdGRvbWFpbnxueWRuZG9jc3xneDoyMjFlOTliYmVlNjUxMmIw
http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/education/2010/02/25/2010-02-25_eva_moskowitz_has_special_access_to_schools_chancellor___support_others_can_only.html
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Support our Brothers and Sisters @188 in Lower Manhattan!
Please Join Council woman Rosie Mendez on Thursday, February 11th
STOP THE EXPANSION OF GIRLS PREP CHARTER SCHOOL AT P.S 188
MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD: SAVE OUR NEIGHBORHOOD PUBLIC SCHOOLS
PROTEST at 4:30pm at PS 188 442 East Houston St. and Ave D
PRESS CONFERENCE at 5:00pm at PS 188
PUBLIC HEARING 6:00pm at PS 188
(sign up to speak at 5:30pm)
Please contact Barbara Sherman at Rosie's office with any questions at: bsherman@council.nyc.gov or (212) 677-1077
Written comments can be sent to D01Proposals@schools.nyc.gov
52 Chambers Street Room 320 New York, NY 10007 Telephone: 212-374-0209 Fax: 212-374-5588.
Oral comments can be left at 718-935-4415.
STOP THE EXPANSION OF GIRLS PREP CHARTER SCHOOL AT P.S 188
MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD: SAVE OUR NEIGHBORHOOD PUBLIC SCHOOLS
PROTEST at 4:30pm at PS 188 442 East Houston St. and Ave D
PRESS CONFERENCE at 5:00pm at PS 188
PUBLIC HEARING 6:00pm at PS 188
(sign up to speak at 5:30pm)
Please contact Barbara Sherman at Rosie's office with any questions at: bsherman@council.nyc.gov or (212) 677-1077
Written comments can be sent to D01Proposals@schools.nyc.gov
52 Chambers Street Room 320 New York, NY 10007 Telephone: 212-374-0209 Fax: 212-374-5588.
Oral comments can be left at 718-935-4415.
Day of Action: March 4th... The People United, Cannot Be Defeated
Shut Down City Hall Not Our Schools!
National Day of Action to Defend Public Education
We say:-Fix Public Schools, Don’t Close Them!
-Public School Buildings for Public Schools, Not CharterSchools!
-We want a People’s Board of Education, Not Mayoral Control!
-Money for Student Metro-Cards, Schools, Hospitals, Housing and Jobs, No Budget Cuts, No Layoffs, No CUNY Tuition, No More Money for War, No Money for the Military Occupation of Haiti, No More Money for Corporate America!
March and Rally at City Hall
Show UP, Stand UP and Speak Out!!!
*****WEAR RED!*****
Thursday: March 4, 2010
Start: Gathering at 1:00PM
Directions: A, C to Fulton Street; J,M,Z to
Chambers Street.; R,W to City Hall Park; 2,3 to Park Place; or 4,5,6 to
Brooklyn Bridge. For detail directions
visit hopstop.com.
For mor info. please
contact (212) 348-5732
or harlem120@msn.com
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Parent and Teacher Advocacy Workshop
Updated 2/8/09: The Parent and Teacher Advocacy Workshop Advertised for Thursday, February 11th has been postponed due to a space issue. The event will be rescheduled for two dates in March in Manhattan and Brooklyn. Dates and times will be forthcoming.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Life after January 26th
It has taken days of recovery, mending exhausted bodies and saddened souls, to write our post- PEP Meeting/blatant undermining of public education January extravaganza- comments. It is interesting how one month, culminating in one nearly 12 hour meeting, can both be inspiring and depressing, both a confirmation of our belief in humanity and a questioning of it. If we were spiritually empty, if we were cynical, we would believe that 'the people' should just give up, clearly the game is fixed. Luckily we are not, instead we vow to fight, until our last breath, to protect and preserve public education for our children.
Over the month of January the education reform debate, and the tools at the center of it (namely school closings and charter school invasions and propagation), have been in the spotlight in New York City. We have heard testimony across the city in hearings, meetings, forums, and at protests, largely criticizing Mayor Bloomberg's educational policies and the agenda of his Administration. There were some voices of support, mainly from his camp and from the charter school movement camp (one in the same). What struck us throughout all of these voices and chatter, was the groundswell of support and belief that public schools are in fact the centers of our communities and are in fact the pillar of our democracy.
On January 26th, thousands of parents, students, teachers, and citizens showed up to demand an end to Mayor Bloomberg's educational agenda. Hundreds spoke out. The lone voices that night in favor of what Mayor Bloomberg and Chancellor Klein proposed, were charter school founders and supporters from PAVE Academy and their friend, charter parent advocate, Mona Davids. One mayoral appointee from Brooklyn on the PEP, spoke as well, stating she did not see the students at the center of this month's debate as 'failures' and that they were committed to a 'vision'. We'd like to hear more about this vision.
Our vision includes support and resources for community public schools, formulas and space allocations that ensure special needs students get the services they need as well as alloting for intervention, enrichment and community services. Our vision encompasses the idea that there are great public schools, that we should use these schools as models; that if this was really about what is best for children and true education reform, we would be adding resources, not taking them away.
We could use this post to discuss the lies the PAVE Academy supporters touted, we could note line by line all of the laws that were blatantly violated this month. We could choose to highlight and explain all the reasons why the Bloomberg Administration's educational policies are destructive and flawed. Instead today, we will simply say this: the fight is only just beginning.
Life after January 26th has taught us much. We have learned to hold on to eachother and our shared vision that public education is worth defending and protecting. We have learned the value of our founding document and our First Amendment rights, and now cherish them more than ever before. We have learned there are amazing people in this city and across this country that share our vision; we are united in a common purpose. We have learned that advocacy takes the energy, cooperation, and dedication of all stakeholders involved and we must work together for our common cause; fortunate for us we have an amazing team of parents and teachers who have only been brought closer together through all of this, we are so filled with abundance due to the friendships and true sense of family we have further built. We have learned that, for our part, this is all about our children- doing right by them and advocating on their behalf. We have learned that even in the darkest hours and against the fiercest and most powerful forces, we can stand up, make our voices heard, and turn the tide on a climate of indifference and inevitability.
Life after January 26th is new lungs exhaling sullied air... it is a new beginning.
Over the month of January the education reform debate, and the tools at the center of it (namely school closings and charter school invasions and propagation), have been in the spotlight in New York City. We have heard testimony across the city in hearings, meetings, forums, and at protests, largely criticizing Mayor Bloomberg's educational policies and the agenda of his Administration. There were some voices of support, mainly from his camp and from the charter school movement camp (one in the same). What struck us throughout all of these voices and chatter, was the groundswell of support and belief that public schools are in fact the centers of our communities and are in fact the pillar of our democracy.
On January 26th, thousands of parents, students, teachers, and citizens showed up to demand an end to Mayor Bloomberg's educational agenda. Hundreds spoke out. The lone voices that night in favor of what Mayor Bloomberg and Chancellor Klein proposed, were charter school founders and supporters from PAVE Academy and their friend, charter parent advocate, Mona Davids. One mayoral appointee from Brooklyn on the PEP, spoke as well, stating she did not see the students at the center of this month's debate as 'failures' and that they were committed to a 'vision'. We'd like to hear more about this vision.
Our vision includes support and resources for community public schools, formulas and space allocations that ensure special needs students get the services they need as well as alloting for intervention, enrichment and community services. Our vision encompasses the idea that there are great public schools, that we should use these schools as models; that if this was really about what is best for children and true education reform, we would be adding resources, not taking them away.
We could use this post to discuss the lies the PAVE Academy supporters touted, we could note line by line all of the laws that were blatantly violated this month. We could choose to highlight and explain all the reasons why the Bloomberg Administration's educational policies are destructive and flawed. Instead today, we will simply say this: the fight is only just beginning.
Life after January 26th has taught us much. We have learned to hold on to eachother and our shared vision that public education is worth defending and protecting. We have learned the value of our founding document and our First Amendment rights, and now cherish them more than ever before. We have learned there are amazing people in this city and across this country that share our vision; we are united in a common purpose. We have learned that advocacy takes the energy, cooperation, and dedication of all stakeholders involved and we must work together for our common cause; fortunate for us we have an amazing team of parents and teachers who have only been brought closer together through all of this, we are so filled with abundance due to the friendships and true sense of family we have further built. We have learned that, for our part, this is all about our children- doing right by them and advocating on their behalf. We have learned that even in the darkest hours and against the fiercest and most powerful forces, we can stand up, make our voices heard, and turn the tide on a climate of indifference and inevitability.
Life after January 26th is new lungs exhaling sullied air... it is a new beginning.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Do we still live in a democracy?
It seems in recent months (and really this has been building for years) that we no longer live in a democracy. Intimidation, fear, restraint of rights especially the First Amendment, and the large reaching hand of private interests are tactics and forces attacking and undermining our prisons, military, health industry, and edcuation. The danger of the privatization of our public services, that are at the heart of our democracy, is as clear today as it could possibly be.
Look up "Corpocracy" and/or "Corporatocracy". Educate yourself. Ask questions. Take Action.
Never be afraid to question "authority". In a democracy, THE PEOPLE are the "authority".
The time is now... united, we cannot be defeated.
Look up "Corpocracy" and/or "Corporatocracy". Educate yourself. Ask questions. Take Action.
Never be afraid to question "authority". In a democracy, THE PEOPLE are the "authority".
The time is now... united, we cannot be defeated.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
CAPEtastic Rally!
Today hundreds of parents, students, and teachers took to Mayor Bloomberg's block and demanded an end to "one man rule" over our public school system. We thank everyone involved in today's protest and look forward to all of the amazing advocacy work still to come... this is only the beginning...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
June 4th City-Wide School-Community Based Protests: No School-Based Budget Cuts or School Layoffs
Parents, Students, and School Workers at PS 15 Demand Mayor Bloomberg and Chancellor Klein Prioritize Spending for Public Education!
Public Education in NYC has faced over 500 million in cuts since 2009. The Mayor must seek other revenues instead of cutting our schools and other important services that are the lifeblood of our communities!
Bailouts for Banks and Wall Street but NOT FOR OUR KIDS? SAVE OUR SCHOOLS... STOP THE FORCES WHO SEEK TO DISMANTLE AND DESTROY PUBLIC EDUCATION!
