Anyone else see the master plan at play here? Introduce legislation/curriculum (Common Core) to help drive test scores down, introduce charters but don’t hold them to the same standards to make public schools look even worse. Then launch campaigns against public schools and attack public schools.

Rene Rodriguez, PS 310, Brooklyn
(via Facebook)

According to Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s proposals, 50 percent of a teacher’s evaluation rating would be tied to how well the teacher’s students perform on state standardized exams. This is not only overly aggressive, but extremely unfair to special education teachers.

Special education students require an Individualized Education Program in which goals are planned according to their level of performance, not necessarily their grade level. Also, promotional criteria are modified to allow for promotion if a student has less than a 65 percent pass rate. This practice creates a wide gap between their functioning level and grade expectations.

Such a student might have test scores that fall from the previous year as tests become more challenging, might not show improvement or they might level out. How can special education teachers get rated on their students’ performance? They would all be Ineffective.

Elysa Parker, retired

If various types of teachers are not given adequate and appropriate space to breathe and the internal system is not granted an opportunity to flourish and prosper on its own, our system of education will never improve. Politicians such as Andrew Cuomo would do well by increasingly adhering to these ideals.

Steven Kahn, HS for Construction Trades, Queens
(via Facebook)

I was at the UFT education forum at Brooklyn Borough Hall. What an energizing night that was! My chapter went back to our school, and we’ve been running phone banks and outreach efforts ever since. We even have a “political affairs coordinator” in our chapter now.

James Cochran, HS for Youth and Community Development, Brooklyn
(via Facebook)