Showing posts with label Success Academy Charter Schools. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Success Academy Charter Schools. Show all posts

Friday, July 14, 2023

Block co-location of 2 Success Academy charter schools - July 14 - 2 lawsuits, challenging DOE co-location and re-location proposals - With our Favorite Judge

Today is Bastille Day -- storm the Eva Moskowitz barricades. Lyle Frank has riled the elite --- he needs a food taster.



 

For immediate release: July 13, 2023

Contact: Sarah Frank (sarfrank@gmail.com), Laura Barbieri  (lbarbieri@advocatesny.com)

Where: NY State Supreme Court, 80 Centre St, NY, NY

When: Friday, July 14, 2023, at 9:30am (arguments to be heard at 10:30 am)

What: Press conference outside of the courthouse  

New York, NY – Tomorrow at 10:30 AM, at the NY Supreme Court building at 80 Centre St., Judge Lyle Frank will hear arguments in the lawsuit to block the co-location of two Success Academy charter schools in the Waterside Academy middle school building in Queens and the Sheepshead Bay high school complex in Brooklyn.  At the same time, preliminary hearings will be held on a concurrent lawsuit to block the re-location and co-location of three transfer schools designed for under-credited and over-aged students: the forced move of the Edward A Reynolds West Side High School to a building across town to East Harlem, and the co-locations of Brownsville High School and Aspirations Diploma Plus High School in Brooklyn.

Last summer, Judge Lyle Frank ruled that the budget cuts to schools had been illegally imposed by the city, and more recently issued a preliminary injunction against the City's plan to change the healthcare of NYC retirees to a Medicaid Advantage plan. 

Before the hearing, a press conference will be held at 9:30 AM in front of the courthouse, with students, parents, teachers at the affected schools, as well as attorneys representing the plaintiffs.  The lawsuits argue that these proposed changes in school utilization should be blocked, primarily because the Educational Impact Statements prepared by DOE were profoundly deficient and omitted much critical information about how these changes would affect students.  For example, there was no discussion of the educational impact of the loss of a science lab on the Waterside Leadership middle school students, or the loss of the Lyfe Center in the case of West Side High School students, which takes care of their young children while they are enrolled in school.  

In addition, none of the Educational Impact Statements mentioned the new class size law and no assessment was made whether there will remain sufficient space in the schools to lower class size to mandated levels if the proposed changes of school utilization are adopted.  Instead, the EIS’s wrongly assumed that class sizes at the existing schools would continue into the indefinite future, even though their current class sizes are above the level mandated by the new law.


Saturday, April 15, 2023

The Charter School Scams Continue: Phony Reasons to Raise Cap Despite Loss of 7500 Students: Where are those waiting lists?

chart enrollment declines

Success Academy Attrition Worse Than Ever - Gary Rubinstein

On April 5th The New York Post published their annual ‘100% of Success Academy students get accepted into four-year colleges’ editorial. The class of 2023 will be the sixth graduating class of the infamous charter chain and according to the first paragraph of the editorial, Success Academy has accomplished this feat six years in a row.

I’ve been fact checking claims like this for about 12 years now and if you follow me at all you know that of course the 100% four year college admission statistic is a lie, but you will want to know how much of a lie it is this time. Looking at the year to year attrition, the thing that always jumps out at me is how almost half the students who are in 9th grade will graduate on time four years later. For this years analysis I found one of the most bizarre examples of short term attrition I think I have ever seen.- Continue reading

Saturday, April 15, 2023

The mainstream media repeats the lie of long waiting lists for charter schools and the public believes it and the argument is used to expand charters. For many years I have been challenging charters like Success Academy to show us their lists. AQE has a list of its own showing the drops in enrollment of charters in NYC.

And Gary Rubinstein's latest exposes the lie about Success having 100% of its grads being accepted to 4 year colleges - after they made much of the cohort disappear. 

By the way, the UFT needs to do a better job of opposing charters than calling for more transparency. They should be taking out TV ads with the info from Gary and AQE.

Here is the AQE bulletin:

 

Please send a letter to the governor using this tool from AQE. No more money for charter schools in the NYS budget!

So why is Governor Hochul fighting for more charters to open at all — either by lifting the regional cap or reauthorizing “zombie” charters that failed and closed — when there aren’t enough students to fill the seats that already exist?

If data were driving public policy, we would not be talking about charter schools right now. It is only on Governor Hochul’s budget agenda because of the influence of her billionaire donors, who have their own interests and profits at stake in the charter fight.

Email Governor Hochul and your State Legislators now and tell them: Don’t raise the cap, and don’t reauthorize zombie charters in the final budget!

In solidarity,

Jasmine Gripper

 

72% of increase in state foundation aid to NYC public schools since 2017-18 diverted to charter schools

Shocking! Since 2017-18, NYS Foundation Aid to NYC public schools increased by $1.5B --meant to provide public school students w/ a sound basic education. But 72% of amount or $1.1B went to increased charter school payments (not even counting rent).

See https://www.nysut.org/news/2023/february/testimony-k12 for NYSUT testimony

Chart here: https://nysut.docsend.com/view/z676sshuhvr4v4vx

 

 

Friday, January 5, 2018

School Scope, The Wave: The Bitter Taste of Success - Rockaway Schools Being Shut Down, Success Charter to Benefit

My column in the Friday Jan. 5 edition of the Rockaway Weekly, The WAVE.

Gary Rubinstein has just posted this piece The Hidden Attrition Of Success Academy. I will use some of his material in next week's column as I continue my series for Rockaway readers. 



School Scope:  The Bitter Taste of Success - Rockaway Schools Being Shut Down, Success Charter to Benefit
By Norm Scott

Jan. 2, 2018
Rockaway Parent Mariya Ultsh said she believes that DOE plays politics when it comes to school closures. "My money is that charter schools will sweep in and once again [special] interest groups will get a payday at the expense of our children... The WAVE, Dec. 22, 20017. 
When I hear that the DOE is closing down schools I always check to see how those closing will benefit charter schools that covet their real estate, especially when the voracious Eva Moskowitz Success Academy charters are involved. So when I saw on the list along with PS/IS 42, Rockaway’s MS 53, where Eva occupies space already, I did my imitation of Claude Reins (Inspector Renault of Casablanca fame) and declared “I was shocked, just shocked, to find out gambling was going on. Now where are my winnings?” Eva is getting her winnings as she will ultimately manage to push out the other schools in the building even if she and her billionaire supporters have to run million dollar ads crying about how the big bad de Blasio is denying them space while he in effect hands them space under the table by closing some superb real estate. I agree with Mariya Ultsh that the PS 42 closing will ultimately benefit some charter chain. The late and lamented DNAInfo (shut down by its owner when the reporters voted to unionize) had a great piece by Katie Honan back in 2015 addressing the original invasion of IS 53: https://tinyurl.com/ydde4ad4.

Last year the targeted school favoring Eva was JHS 145 in the Bronx which was closed a year earlier than promised under bogus reasoning as Success was growling for more space in the building. When I went to the closing hearing and saw the magnificent building and the attached park I had to laugh. JHS 145 teacher Jim Donohue who helped lead the unsuccessful battle to try to save the school said:

“A full 3 weeks before the DOE’s closure proposal even becomes official, and 2 months before the PEP vote takes place, and despite the DOE’s claim that the closing has NOTHING to do with the charter school, Success Academy’s website has begun advertising for applicants to its new middle school, opening in 2017, at JHS 145. In recent weeks, Success Academy staff members have been measuring our classrooms, apparently 100% confident that the PEP will rubber stamp our demise in March. (See videos  I made of the pleas from teachers, parents and students to keep the school open on my blog: https://tinyurl.com/y8by5mea. So we were not surprised to see yet another school occupied by Success end up on the closing list.

Avaricious Eva is asking to expand in the old Sarah Hale HS in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn and there has been community resistance. Leonie Haimson reports that “The average utilization of District 15 schools, according to the 2015-2016 DOE Utilization report, was at 105%, and 61% of K-8 schools in the district overcrowded (at or above 100% target utilization). About 74% or nearly 20,000 K-8 students were in overcrowded schools, and 94 cluster rooms were missing from these schools. according to DOE’s utilization formula ….. as cited in the letter from the Community Education Council in District 15, many of the students at the Success Academy Cobble Hill do not reside in the district….  any expansion of this school would increasingly crowd out districts students in the future, and thus should not be allowed. We also oppose allowing the expansion of any Success Academy charter school, given the huge number of civil rights violations and abuses that children enrolled in these schools and their families are subjected to, as well as repeated violations of student privacy rights. We have real doubts as to the legality of the request to authorize any change in a charter school’s enrollment in the middle of the current school year, as Success Academy – Cobble Hill is proposing, from 558 students in grades K-6, to 686 students in in 2017-2018.

As to PS 42, Councilman Donovan Richards, whose office donated nearly a million dollars to the school, the benefits of which will one day accrue to some charter chain, is also being closed. The Dec. 22 WAVE article noted that Richards will be holding a rally on Jan. 10 before and maybe at the closing hearing at PS 42 - at 6:30. The MS 53 hearing will be held Jan. 11 at the school, also at 6:30. PS 42's PTA president, Kevin Morgan, is organizing a bus trip to Albany on Jan. 9 -- call him for more info at 347-410-3061.

Renewal schools were not supported despite claims
Leonie Haimson has written an excellent blog detailing the failures of the de Blasio/Farina plan for the renewal schools.
Titled, DOE announces more Renewal school closings without ever having giving them a real chance to succeed, Leonie points out: “Instead of capping class sizes in these schools, the DOE spent about $40 million per year on consultants and bureaucrats to oversee the Renewal program, many of them with records marked by scandal and incompetence, as well as millions more on wrap-around services to create "community schools." Though perhaps of value in themselves, these services do little to improve students' opportunity to learn or teachers ability to teach.” Read the entire piece at: https://tinyurl.com/y7slpyrq. Also see Alan Singer on the failure of de Blasio/Farina renewal program, “Newly Reelected New York City Mayor Decides His School Renewal Plan Failed But Still Claims Success”. Have fun reading at: https://tinyurl.com/y79g42dk.

My previous articles on the Success charter monster are on my blog at:
And a piece on how billionaire hedge fund Success Board member Paul Tudor Jones consoled Harvey Weinstein: https://ednotesonline.blogspot.com/2017/12/eva-moskowitz-return-paul-tudor-money.html

In case you didn’t get the message, Norm blogs way too much at ednotesonline.com.

Monday, December 18, 2017

Eric Grannis (Eva Hubby) Charter Failure - Two Citizens of the World charter schools will close

For those parents who were scammed and are now crying about the school's closing -- I hear some of them talking choice, choice, choice -- there are many choices in District 14 --- we were all warning everyone about citizens of the world.

MONDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2013


WSJ Reports on Citizens of the World Charter Underenrollment

The school's experience demonstrates that charter schools, which often say parents need more choices, can be stung when parents' decisions don't fall their way. It also bolsters opponents who say that, despite claims of long wait lists and tales of parents craving alternatives, there isn't as much demand for charter schools as supporters say... Lisa Fleisher, WSJ.
Lisa Fleisher often writes pieces that are fairly reported. This is another one. I can't think of another ed reporter who has brought up the point we often make about phony demand. Now if the ed press would do a FOIL on those supposed signatures charters use to claim demand.

[I was also pleased to see Lisa tweet some points of contention over the awful NY Times education editorial  - I'll try to recover them and add them to a follow-up piece later.]

One interesting point that Lisa doesn't mention is how few of the kids enrolled come from the neighborhood the school is located in -- I believe less than 5%. She does point out that kids come from as far away as Rockaway -- truly astounding when you think of the commute for little kids. I love that she gives recognition to Brooke Parker and WAGPOPS for the work they do in defending the local public schools in Williamsburg and Greenpoint.

Given that by hook or crook, Citizens of the World has managed to get close to their target, don't be surprised to see kids being dragged off the street -- and I bet there are some hidden incentives involved somewhere since so much is at stake.
Reported on ed notes:
Dec 2, 2013 -
I remember very well the outrage when this charter came into town. Ed Notes covered the school extensively - see more links below. Eva Moskowitz' was involved in the scheme early on, as Brooke Parker from WAGPOPS reports:
Eric Grannis didn’t start it, but he created an organization, Tapestry, that made introductions between the “community,” the charter network that already existed in California, and SUNY. Tapestry was designed to help open charters in North Brooklyn, a district where we already had the most charters outside of Harlem. Tapestry’s marketing led many of us to believe that they were particularly interested in getting white gentrifying families invested in opening charters for their kids.

- Brooke Parker
Here are some ed notes links for background:


Search Results

Ed Notes Online: Trashing Citizens of the World Scam Charter ...

https://ednotesonline.blogspot.com/2013/.../trashing-citizens-of-world-scam-charter.ht...

Trashing Citizens of the World Scam Charter Scheme. As registration is happening for citizens of the world (part of Eva Moskowitz empire), if you could circulate these negative articles and have everyone click on them, it would be very helpful. We need to let everyone know that there is significant opposition.

Ed Notes Online: Parents Opposed to Citizens of the World Charter ...

https://ednotesonline.blogspot.com/2012/12/parents-opposed-to-citizens-of-world.html

Dec 5, 2012 - Parents Opposed to Citizens of the World Charter: Hundreds, Parents in Favor: 4. The NY State Dept. would allow the Hitler Youth Charter to breeze through and not only would they authorize the Ku Klux Klan Charter School for Racial Harmony but they would wash the sheets. -- Norm at charter hearing.

WAGPOPS Brilliant Expose of Citizens of the World Charter Ponzi ...

https://ednotesonline.blogspot.com/2012/.../wagpops-brilliant-expose-of-citizerns.htm...

We believe that there is a place in public education for charter schools, but Citizens of the World is bastardizing the original intent of charter schools. ... The opinions expressed on EdNotesOnline are solely those of Norm Scott and are not to be taken as official positions (though Unity Caucus/New Action slugs will try to paint ...
Sandie Noyola, principal of my old school, invited the refugees:
PS147 Brooklyn is happy to welcome the students and their families. Thank you for your advocacy in the name of public education WAGPOPS.
Williamsburg and Greenpoint Parents for Our Public Schools (WAGPOPS)
Here's an article on the closing of the two Citizens of the World Charter Schools. There are some links to remind everyone the various ways that we tried to close the school before families became invested and children would be hurt.

This is deja vu for our community. We already witnessed the closing of Beginning with Children Charter School and Ethical Community Charter School. Hopefully, SUNY (the charter school authorizers) will learn their lesson and stop forcing charters on communities.

Here is the Chalkbeat article -- don't you wish they actually linked to some background stuff from WAGPOPS 4 years ago?

Saturday, December 9, 2017

Eva Moskowitz - Return Paul Tudor Money After His Support for Harvey Weinstein

Racism and Sexism rampant in Success Academy hedge fund supporters. You already know about Dan Loeb - see below -- now we have:

Paul Tudor Jones who gave Success $600,000 - which covers Eva's salary. 

Both are allies of Campbell Brown who accused the union of protecting sexual predators in schools.



Paul Tudor Jones consoled Harvey Weinstein, said people would ...

www.businessinsider.com/paul-tudor-jones-says-its-good-news-everyone-will-forget-...

2 days ago - Paul Tudor Jones, a hedge fund titan, expressed his support for the disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein in an email shortly before Weinstein was ousted from his own company, The New York Times reported Wednesday. He said the "good news" was that everyone would forget about the ...

"I Love You; Focus On The Future": Paul Tudor Jones Humiliated After ...

www.zerohedge.com/.../i-love-you-focus-future-paul-tudor-jones-defensive-after-wei...

2 days ago - Late last night the New York Times published a comprehensive article delving into the powerful support network of Harvey Weinstein, a network on which he apparently relied to help cover up decades of sexual assaults. Among the allies discussed in the article was none other than legendary hedge fund ...

Paul Tudor Jones Told Weinstein That Sex Allegations Would Blow ...

https://www.bloomberg.com/.../paul-tudor-jones-told-weinstein-sex-allegations-would...

2 days ago - Hedge fund manager Paul Tudor Jones can't seem to get things right these days. The billionaire is losing money this year at his macro firm and investors are fleeing. Now it's come to light that Jones gave support to Harvey Weinstein as sexual harassment allegations engulfed the movie mogul. Jones also ...

Paul Tudor Jones Inexplicably Wrote An Email To Ensure That History ...

https://dealbreaker.com/.../paul-tudor-jones-inexplicably-wrote-an-email-to-ensure-th...

Paul Tudor Jones Inexplicably Wrote An Email To Ensure That History Will Remember Him As Harvey Weinstein's Most Ardent Enabler. By Thornton McEnery · 2 Comments / Dec 6, 2017 at 12:05 PM. 1Shares. We've been wondering when a bold-faced Wall Street name would implicate himself in this culturally shattering ...

Hedge-Fund Titan Paul Tudor Jones on the Defensive Over Ties to ...

https://www.wsj.com/.../hedge-fund-titan-paul-tudor-jones-on-the-defensive-over-ties-to...
2 days ago - Hedge-fund billionaire Paul Tudor Jones took the unusual step of explaining his relationship with Harvey Weinstein, after a report indicated that Mr. Jones supported the disgraced Hollywood mogul as sexual harassment allegations unfolded earlier this year. In a letter to employees Wednesday, Mr. Jones ...
The Dan Loeb file:

City & State - Dan Loeb and the political price of racism

cityandstateny.com/articles/opinion/dan-loeb-and-the-political-price-of-racism.html
Aug 15, 2017 - The events in Charlottesville came on the heels of Dan Loeb, a politically powerful hedge fund manager, comparing state Sen. Andrea Stewart-Cousins, the highest ranking black woman elected official in New York, to the KKK. In a Facebook rant, Loeb said she has done "more damage to people of color ...

De Blasio urges charter school head to resign over racist post - NY ...

www.nydailynews.com/.../jeff-klein-dissociates-cuomo-donor-racist-comments-article-1....
Aug 11, 2017 - Mayor de Blasio Friday called on Dan Loeb to resign as chairman of the Success Academy charter school board after the politically-connected hedge fund manager posted racistcomments about the Democratic leader of the state Senate. "Dan Loeb's comments are an affront to all people of color," de ...

Protesters outside charter school call for Dan Loeb's resignation - NY ...

www.nydailynews.com/.../protesters-charter-school-call-dan-loeb-resignation-article-1.3...
Aug 18, 2017 - Protesters stormed Success Academy Harlem 1 charter school on Friday demanding that charter school chairman Daniel Loeb be fired for making racist comments about a black lawmaker. About two dozen progressives and activists gathered outside the W. 118th Street school – where class was still in ...

Cuomo donor makes racist comments about Senate Minority Leader ...

www.nydailynews.com/.../cuomo-donor-racist-comments-senate-minority-leader-article-...
Aug 11, 2017 - Cuomo made racist remarks on Facebook about Senate Democratic Minority Leader, according to a report Thursday. Responding to a New York Times story, hedge fund manager Daniel Loeb wrote that Sen. Andrea Stewart-Cousins has done “more damage to people of color than anyone who has ever ...

In emails, Dan Loeb scolded top black de Blasio official over City ...

https://www.politico.com/.../in-emails-dan-loeb-scolded-de-blasios-top-black-official-...
Nov 21, 2017 - In emails, Dan Loeb scolded top black de Blasio official over City Hall's treatment of black children. By ELIZA SHAPIRO ... Loeb, long known as a particularly capricious hedge fund manager, has been called a racist by some after he claimed in August that Democratic state Sen. Andrea Stewart-Cousins had ...

Wednesday, December 6, 2017

School Scope: How Do You Spell “Success”? – Part 1


Submitted to The WAVE for publication Dec. 9, 2017


School Scope:  How Do You Spell “Success”? – Part 1
By Norm Scott

The current issue of The New Yorker is running a story by Rebecca Meade, Success Academy’s Radical Educational Experiment: Inside Eva Moskowitz’s quest to combine rigid discipline with a progressive curriculum. Good luck with that – the very idea of child-centered progressive education is incompatible with rigid discipline. The schools, forty six so far in NYC with a goal of one hundred, run by Moskowitz, have been controversial on a number of grounds. Educators have long been suspect of the test outcomes, which far surpass not only public schools but also all other charters and even match results in the high performing suburbs. That has caused more than a little skepticism, especially since Moskowitz claims the kids in her schools come from the same pool as the public schools. In essence, the Success lobby is claiming they are miracle workers and their demands for space in public schools keeps increasing even when so many of the 1800 public schools are also competing for space.

Educational professionals who worked with populations of students similar to those being claimed by Success have been skeptical. As someone who taught elementary school (grades 4-6) in schools with many struggling non-white children and who also holds a Masters in reading instruction, I am a skeptic, especially since I spent years trying to figure out how to break through with kids with reading issues. There are no miracles, though once in a while I saw a child make a major breakthrough.

One of the major problems for struggling readers is language – even kids born here who hear another language at home. A second issue is whether there are opportunities to read at home or have parents who focus on reading with their children. Even immigrant families whose children read in their native language can make major progress fairly quickly. Generally, the level of income and the amount of economic struggles have a direct impact on the entire process. If one were to go through any school and match reading ability with income in the home, even in the working poor, there would be a strong correlation.

I taught in a system where classes were made up of kids grouped by reading scores. Thus the so-called top class had the best readers and so on down the line. The bottom class students were the hardest to teach reading too. The UFT contract allows teachers to rotate from the top classes to the lower level readers and back every year, though in my schools, principals save the top classes for their favorites and sometimes we had to file a grievance. I did this for almost twenty years, so I had a good feel for the differences between the kids, who all pretty much lived in the projects across the street. The two times I had the very top class, I was astounded at their general on grade reading ability and also the fact that there were many less discipline issues. Now these were not wealthy people – many were on welfare or had low paying jobs. And there were a lot more two parent homes in the top class than in the bottom. Most of them had been in our school since pre-k (and we found that kids who went to pre-k did better than those who didn’t – shout out to de Blasio). Many of the students entered pre-k with some reading readiness.

Now I would bet that in Success schools we would find a heavy concentration of the same kinds of students that were in our old top classes. And those who do get into the lottery who are struggling with academics or discipline face high suspension rates and attempts to push them out, a standard operating procedure at most charters.

How can we tell? Of the 72 students who began at the first Success school in kindergarten, only 17 were left to graduate high school. What happened to the other 55 students?

There are no miracles. More next time.
(Link to New Yorker article: https://tinyurl.com/yabebvqx)

Norm  does manage to perform miracles every day at ednotesonline.com.

Sunday, November 26, 2017

Another de Blasio Giveaway to Success Charters - Playing the Consolidation Card

There is a proposed consolidation of P.S. 269 and P.S. 361, buildings K864 and K869 (where P.S. 361 is currently located). If approved by PEP, PS 361 would become vacant. The NYCDOE is proposing to use the vacant space for the opening of a new Success Academy middle school that will serve rising middle school students from Success Academy- Bergen Beach and Success Academy Bensonhurst, both of which would serve fifth grade students for the first time in 2018-2019. ... A concerned parent
We recently pointed to the giveaways in District 21 with commentary from Leonie Haison.

De Basio Caves in Blackmail Scheme: Eva/Success S...
 https://ednotesonline.blogspot.com/2017/11/de-basio-caves-in-blackmail-scheme.html

Leonie does more spadework on the consolidation plan:

If the two schools are zoned and have separate zones, then the merger should need CEC 22 approval. 

According to the most recent Blue Book (2015-2016), PS 361 is made up of two buildings, with a total enrollment of 538 and combined utilization of about 100% -- and lacking 3 of its allotted cluster rooms.  The minischool has lots of preK and Kindergarten classrooms.

22    K864    P.S. 361  (OLD 89) - K    363    411    88
22    K869    P.S. 361 MINISCHOOL - K    175    128    137
Here are the annual space surveys:


The main building has a swimming pool according to this, which I'm sure Eva would love.

The BB says PS 269 is at only 55% capacity with 390 students and with a capacity of 736; it is also lacking 3 of its allotted cluster rooms.


If these two schools were consolidated and their enrollment figures from that year are still the same,  that would put the combined enrollment at 928 and would put the school at about 127%.

PS 269 would likely lose a lot of classroom space, including science, ESL rooms etc.

And we know the capacity formula is aligned with larger class sizes than they should be.

Leonie Haimson
Executive Director
Class Size Matters

Wednesday, November 22, 2017

De Basio Caves in Blackmail Scheme: Eva/Success Steals More Space from Crowded Public Schools as Class Size Soars

Bulletin: Eva Moskowitz to be next chancellor, replacing Farina.

Just joking -- why would Eva take such a big pay cut? But she might as well be chancellor since she can dictate whatever terms she wants. And with her aim of 100 schools she will be in basic control of the public school system.

If you think Janus is the biggest threat to the UFT you are wrong. It is the expansion of Eva's union busting growing charter movement. I would bet that Eva and crew will one day establish their own company union as a way to control their growing teacher corps. You know the drill -- once they get their foot in the door of a building the ultimate aim is to do what they can to undermine the coloco public school and gain control of the entire building.

Politico reports (see below) that Eva and cohort threats to run an ad campaign against de Blasio over denial of space in public schools in District 21 - one of the whiter districts in Brooklyn - led to his caving in at the speed of light. Leonie highlights the overcrowding in Dist. 21 (Bensonhurst area and south Brooklyn).
D21 schools average 99% utilization; with 22 schools at 100% or more, 2 of them middle schools.

From Arthur:
I'm sitting in my packed-to-the-gills high school right now, with 4700 students attending school in a building designed for about half that. We have rooms that are converted closets, rooms in which there are portable AC units that are so loud you can barely teach when they're on. A whole lot of teachers turn them off rather than utilize them. Meanwhile, Eva Moskowitz, funded by hedge fund zillionaires running an expensive ad campaign for her, is crying that the city is discriminating against her students.  
------ Arthur Goldstein at NYC Educator
Maybe Arthur can threaten to run a major media campaign accusing de Blasio of not providing enough space in his school. How about the sounds of silence from our UFT/Unity leadership?

I hope you read Arthur's piece the other day - The Audacity of Eva
where he pointed to the vast overcrowding leading to higher class sizes at his school. Arthur follows up on the class size issue with his UFT Ex Bd report: Nov. 20th Executive Board Takeaway--Happy Talk from Unity and Recycled Class Size Issues

Yes happy talk from Unity Caucus which has not been concerned about class size for, oh, 50 years. By the way -- if you check any literature coming out of the so-called opposition in the UFT you won't find class size mentioned on any list of priorities either. [One of the reasons we formed ICE Caucus in 2004 was over the lack of attention to class size by the then opposition.]

Leonie Haimson reports on the class size matters and nyc public school parents blog:

Nov 21:NYC Class sizes increase again this year; Parents, advocates and attorneys urge NYSED Commissioner rule on complaint and make DOE take action now

Leonie also provides commentary on Eva's theft of more space:
Politico (more below) says that DOE has agreed to provide space in D21 and D22 school buildings for two new Success middle schools as well as more middle school seats in district schools as yet unspecified.  Which particular buildings aren’t yet reported either.  This is the result of the Mayor giving into the threat of a 7-figure ad campaign paid for by Eva’s hedge fund backers.

City officials noted the de Blasio administration has identified 5,000 seats for Success Academy students over the last four years. The network will gain an additional 1,000 seats through the space deals brokered Monday.

D21 schools average 99% utilization; with 22 schools at 100% or more, 2 of them middle schools.  Only 37% of seats needed to alleviate overcrowding and accommodate enrollment growth, according to DOE, are currently funded in the capital plan.  See data here: District 21 

Meanwhile, the DOE capacity formula assumes class sizes of 28 in grades 4-8, rather than the 23 in the C4E plan.

D22 schools are at 108% on average  with only 35% of needed seats funded in capital plan – and with NO seats as of last year sited or in scope or design.  26 of their schools are at 100% or more; one a MS at 122%.  See District 22 data. 
If only the more than 500,000 NYC public school students in overcrowded school buildings had hedge funders to pay for a seven figure ad campaign.
Thanks Leonie


SCOOP: CITY FINDS SPACE FOR SUCCESS CHARTERS, AVOIDING SHOWDOWN  POLITICO's Eliza Shapiro: Mayor Bill de Blasio's administration has found public school space for several growing Success Academy charter schools, Department of Education officials told POLITICO on Monday. The space arrangements allow the city to avoid another potentially bruising battle over school space with New York's largest and most politically influential network, run by one of de Blasio's most reliable foes, Eva Moskowitz. The city has identified buildings that will allow two Success schools, Bergen Beach [D22] and Bensonhurst [D21], to grow into middle school grades.
Moskowitz warned that over 700 of her students would be forced to seek other schools if the DOE didn't find suitable space by the end of the year. The DOE has also identified options for other new and growing Success schools. The network has over 15,000 students in 46 schools across four boroughs. City officials noted the de Blasio administration has identified 5,000 seats for Success Academy students over the last four years. The network will gain an additional 1,000 seats through the space deals brokered Monday.
Moskowitz and the lobbying group that supports Success, Families for Excellent Schools, have launched the latest in a series of hashtag-ready campaigns in recent weeks to pressure the city on space. The so-called #SpaceToLearn campaign has included press conferences, media calls — the latest of which was scheduled for Monday afternoon and canceled — and a New York Daily News trial balloon in which Success officials indicated they would move ahead with a six-figure ad buy to pressure the mayor. Spokespeople for Success did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday.
The deal allows the city to avoid another major dust-up with Success after a similar fight in 2014.
But this year's fight lacked the political urgency of the 2014 battle, which became a referendum on not only de Blasio's stance on education reform but his political instincts during the first months of his administration. That's partially because city officials have said for months that the DOE was planning on identifying space for the growing network, a sharp contrast to 2014, when it was initially unclear whether the city planned to simply shutter several Success schools. Read more here.