Yesterday afternoon I received a robocall from Superintendent Dr Louis Wool of  the Harrison
Central School District instructing myself and of course others to go to the HCSD website to find out information about the effects of opting out. Nowhere in the message did Dr Wool say anything about whether one should or the consequences of opting out. His robocall was quite ambiguous. It only asked the listener to go to this page on the HCSD website (Strange now how The Crack Team has noticed there is no link on the front page of the website to the Testing FAQ as there was yesterday).

One would notice whilst perusing that page this;

 School district officials are bound by an oath of office to comply with all NYS regulations, including testing requirements. Neither the law nor the State commissioner's regulations provide any legal right or method for students to “opt-out “of the mandated assessments. New York State does not have a statutory opt-out provision and the State commissioner's regulations do not permit opting out except under specific exceptions, such as those involving students with disabilities.

Lots of scary words.  Yes, we understand that district officials are bound by oath (Is there really an oath?), but are parents.

So we got in touch with Lisa Rudley from NYSAPE.org (New York State Allies for Public Education) We asked her about these so called scare tactics and among the items she emailed The Crack Team is the  School Administrator's Guide Manual for the exams it says;

Except as noted below (Which is basically about ELL's-The Crack Team's added this), all public and charter school students in Grades 3–8 must take all State tests administered for their grade level.

See this bothers me. Stuff like this will have me having a coffee klatsch for Ted Cruz very soon. I am not anti-government and believe that government can do good, but come on! I am not as liberal or progressive as I used to be, I like to call myself a left of center libertarian, but if this state mandating my child and others continues I will donate to Ted Cruz!

But there is more!

According to this memo (Thanks to Lisa again!) Steven E Katz, the Director of Assessment for the SED which was sent to all superintendents  statewide;

 Tests are considered part of a “course of study” under a board’s authority and, as noted above, are included as part of the program requirements for students in Grades 3–8 under Sections 100.3 and 100.4 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education.

How are tests a course of study? The "Board" has more authority over my kid than do I? 

Who is telling the truth here? The State or the parents who wish to opt out their children? Will the officers from the Harrison Police Department come to my house Tuesday morning to arrest me and my wife? Will my son be arrested or taken from us? What is a parent to do?

A parent should read this letter sent to the community of Saugerties NY by NYSAPE p3wning the argument of  Saugerties Central School District Superintendent Seth Turner as to why students must take the exam.



Isn't it time we as parents, community members, educators call Cuomo's bluff (In 2016) and Uncle Arne's bluff and just turn down the monies that we are being blackmailed with? Yea, it will be tough at first but the Legislature will soon grow a set.

Parents are the #1 source of a child's education. We know, along with local control of school districts, what is best for our children. Only we can decide, not a mean, angry man in Albany along with his donor buddies and lackies in the Legislature. This foolishness ends this year.

There is still time to opt out of the exams. Go over to NYSAPE, get the sample letter and email it post-haste to your child's principal! Only in numbers are we a force. Only in numbers do we weaken Governor Andy.

And don't forget to listen to me on the Bob Marrone Morning Show this Tuesday morning at 6:30AM EDT on WFAS-AM 1230 as I will discuss testing and opting out. You can call in at 914-693-5700.

Also listen for NYSAPE public service announcement on WCBS-AM 880 and WINS 1010.

On February 23 of this year I attended a meeting of of parents, board members, teachers and
administrators at Harrison High School in Westchester County. This meeting was not held just those of Harrison but for all throughout the Sound Shore and Central Westchester. The meeting was facilitated by Dra Louis Wool, Superintendent of the Harrison Central School District and several local politicians were there as guests.

Assemblyman David Buchwald (D-Mount Kisco), State Senator George Latimer (D-Port Chester), and Assemblyman Steven Otis (D-Rye) were in attendance. I was quite impressed. In fact I am quite impressed with Senator Latimer who I have met and commiserated with on several occasions on the state of education in New York. Even better, I live in Senator Latimer's district as well as Assemblyman Buchwald's district. I felt as if Albany came to the masses that night and there was true concern among the three. Well among the two, for I knew Senator Latimer's positions well.

But I was even more impressed by Assemblyman Buchwald. I have had no interaction with him in the past only when he called me from the floor of the Assembly last year to explain to me why he was voting for the budget in which Eva was given everything but the kitchen sink. I disagreed with him but respected his candor and the fact that he called me back. And where he called me back from.

As reported by the Harrison Review on February 26, 2015 Assemblyman Buchwald shared to the crowd assembled in the Harrison High School cafeteria that evening that he had an issue with why there would be diminished evaluation weight on local school administrators and why so much emphasis on the evaluations of outside administrators who are unfamiliar with the community in teacher evaluation.

But more amazingly Buchwald said;

“None of these percentages seems to be based on an investigation of what’s actually best for our school districts.”

He heard how with in Harrison how we are suffering under the draconian cap and holding back of monies from Governor Andy. How the student population is rising and ten teachers are needed but we only have enough to hire one.

Assemblyman Buchwald was good enough to speak to a member of The Crack Team yesterday and shared why he voted yes on the budget. The jist of the theme that we got in our analysis of the Assemblyman's words that it would have been a lot worse.

The Assemblyman shared how the budget negotiations in this state are difficult because the governor holds that cards and with a Senate that is not on board with the Assembly compromise must be made.

He said that he did try to "push back, and was seeking the "best arrangement possible," and how he helped "push to let the Board of Regents" make the final determination in the new and draconian bill passed last week.

While we thank the Assemblyman for his candor and taking the time to speak we must fully disagree with him.

No matter how you slice the new evaluation system it is still 50% based on tests. This is not to help pedagogy or learning but only a way to best jam teachers.  The outside evaluator which the Assemblyman lauded is a problem waiting to happen much as we mocked it yesterday on these pages.

The Assemblyman told us that anything is possible. The evaluator can be another principal from a school within the district or even a neighboring school district. But stop, think, how can this work. Don't these administrators have schools to run themselves? Shouldn't someone doing an evaluation on a teacher know that teacher? Know the students that teacher is working with? What if it is a small school district with only three schools--Elementary, Middle, and High--would a elementary principal be best to evaluate a high school teacher and vice versa?  This is akin to asking a art critic who specializes in Modernism to evaluate the art of someone who was trained and paints in the mode of the Hudson River School.

Basing evaluation on junk science, Value Added Measurements, has been shown not to work and the +/- scale far exceeds what truly happens in the classroom. How can anyone using high stakes tests not consider the multitude of variables that occur in a child? How can a Governor who claims he is for the kids not see and do something about the multitude of children living in poverty across the state and not see how that can affect their learning? He can't, he is beholden to the hedge funders and his own hatred towards teachers.

Assemblyman Buchwald, I thought you were different. You could have done the noble thing and voted no. You knew it was going to pass but you had a chance to safe yourself. Getting back to your quote from above, know who knows best about what is actually best for school districts? The stakeholders of said school districts. Not Albany, not a governor with issues, not hedge funders, and certainly not politicians.

My advice, come and listen to the teachers and the parents. We are fed up. Come and talk to me informally. Come on WFAS next Tuesday morning with me.

On a personal note, I am still awaiting a response from the Assemblyman of emails I had sent on April 28 and May 12 of last year. Maybe he could see why teacher tenure and other protections are so important.

I did it today! It was not the first time. Last year I did it for the first time and I never felt so good and free about doing something.

Early this afternoon I emailed my son's principal and officially opted my son, and 8th grader in Harrison NY, out of the New York State ELA exam. Just as he was last year my son is again delighted to having been opted out. Sadly there is no opting him out of the math exam. He is taking Algebra I this year and instead he is taking (And there is nothing we can do) the Regents exam for Algebra I.

Last year my son reported back to me that there were about a dozen or so student who did not take the ELA exam in his school (Grades 6-8) and about double that for math. That is not enough.

In the middle school in Harrison there are about 900 students in the entire middle school. There needs to be 900 students not taking the exams this year. That many students opting out, as well as all the students in the 4 elementary school in Harrison will be just one link in the chain across the state of parents saying, "enough is enough," and deciding that they will not allow their children to be pawns and victims in Governor Andy's vendettas.

Each and every parent in Harrison has the power to stop testing in New York State and our schools back in the control of Dr Louis Wool and the board president, Abby Mendelsohn. We are the parents, families, guardians of our children and the decisions that most effect our children should be made on Union Ave and not on Albany. We can not sit by any longer and let a bought off governor decide what is best.

Does Governor Andy have what is best in mind for the students in Purchase? In West Harrison? Downtown? No. We trust our administrators, we trust our teachers, we trust ourselves, we can;t trust a politician who has received over $4.8 million from hedge fund managers.

As a parent or guardian you have every right to now allow your child, your most precious asset not to take the test. The madness must stop now. Don't wait to long. The ELA exam starts next week with the math exam the following week.

If you need guidance or advice on how to do this please check out these websites;

CHANGE THE STAKES

NEW YORK STATE ALLIES FOR PUBLIC EDUCATION 

And don't forget to listen to me on WFAS-AM 120 tomorrow morning as we discuss opting out.

This can be done. This should be done. Parents of Harrison NY, Westchester County, and NYC,
please read. This is important. You can take back control of your child's education.

I have been wanting to opt out my son of the NYS exams for a number of years. Actually every year since he started testing. He is in 7th grade now and I have finally decided that enough is enough. This year he is not wasting his time taking the state ELA and math exams.

The people it took the most convincing to opt him out have been my wife and my step-mother, a retired (13 years now) AP in the Bronx. For those who are of the Jewish persuasion you know with Jewish mothers you kinda don't have much of a say at times. But I digress.

After last years ELA debacle in which not one student in his class finished the exam on any of the 3 days testing a stand had to be made.

Both my wife and step-mother had serious preconceptions to what not taking the exams meant. One argument from both of them was that this would be a great way for him to learn and feel comfortable taking tests when he gets into high school.  Of course the NYS Regents exams and the SAT's are two totally different beasts compared to these so called tests. My wife and I, and certainly my step mother, never took high stakes tests such as these and we, well maybe I should say just they, did fine in high school exams. As for me, well, I took my PSAT's and then lost interest.

But of course my son over the years, and even now in 7th grade, has had to take tests in class. Wouldn't these tests which are teacher created better and more relevant to what he is actually learning? So I think he is pretty comfortable with test taking and at the age of nearly 13 (in June) I am confident that he can take a #2 pencil to a little circle and fill it in properly, which actually is the only skill one gets from standardized exams.

Another reason that my wife and step-mother gave for him taking the exams is that he not only would be ostracized by the other students and friends in his grade, but he will feel singled out being on the outside looking in.

On Thursday night I decided that a scientific experiment was in order to test the above hypotheses. I called him into the bedroom while my wife and I were watching the NCAA's. I asked him would he feel bad if he didn't take the exams and would the other kids make fun of him. His reaction was that he would not feel bad and that the other kids would want to know where they can sign up to miss the exams. In fact as this is being written he is texting his friends telling them he is not taking the exams. His friends are way jel.

My wife and step-mother also claimed that the tests are used to place my son in the proper classes next year in 8th grade. Immediately, I cried bullocks.

My son has consistently made honor roll (Not being a braggart here). Besides, if the teachers and guidance counselors in his middle school don't know where to place him next year, well, they ain't doing their jobs.

Now my wife brings up an interesting point. She (and remember the all encomposing Jewish neurosis) claims that the administration will seek revenge on my son and keep him from participating in school events or make him stay in at lunch and other kinds of punitive measures.

I can't believe for a second that any administrator in Harrison NY will ever stoop this low. Maybe in cities with over 1 million in population, but not Harrison.

And my wife is concerned with what the teachers will think. So am I. That's another reason why I am opting my son out. I will not allow my son to be used as a pawn to damage or end a teacher's career.

Think about it. Our children, the very same children that Governor Andy claims he is the chief lobbyist, are pawns used by politicians and the Corporatists, and the testing companies such as Pearson.Why? So someone can pocket some cash, make up for some Freudian physical shortcoming, and to screw and privatize a noble profession. That's it and nothing more.

It's time parents of New York State fight back against the Corporatists and their pawn Governor Andy and what has been done to education in this country.

For those that want more information, follow NYS Allies for Education for how the "How to Opt Out" primer. It can be done, it should be done!

From the files of the "You Can't Make This Shit Up Department," it just keeps getting nuttier and crazier at PS 154 in the Bronx. Is it possible that the wheels of the bus that DR Alison Coviello, Ed.D
and Principal controls are flying off?

After last night's blog post featuring how a student, The Flash, ran out of school property twice, once onto dangerous 135th St, several teachers contacted The Crack Team today on their day off and shared a horrifying story of incompetence, danger and ignorance that occurred yesterday, January 24, 2014.

Yesterday at PS 154 The Flash, along with Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier bolted from their classroom. All three, about 8 years old, were wondering the halls for at least one hour. No one could catch them nor find them. Three boys, running unsupervised throughout the school. Not only were they not engaged in education, but their safety was at stake.

Was a ROD (Responder on Duty) called? Nope. Even though that is standard operating procedure and is clearly spelled out on the PS 154 Manifesto, oops, the handbook, no one was notified or responded.

Why and how did this happen? The three young men were in the classroom misbehaving when they were admonished for their behavior. I, last year, had these young men at one time or another (not together) and at no time did they bolt from my classroom. So strange it happens now.

How were these students finally dealt with when DR Alison Coviello, Ed.D and Principal caught them? DR Alison Coviello, Ed.D and Principal used her Child Whisperer technique, or as The Crack Team calls it, "The Coviello Whisperer."

What is the The Coviello Whisperer technique? It is a technique that is only unique to DR Alison Coviello, Ed.D and Principal and is impossible to learn by any mere mortal

DR Alison Coviello, Ed.D and Principal gets down on the floor with the kid (To show that she is cool and caring) and whispers ever so gently to the student that misbehaved. The students sensing softness and weakness laughs inside their head and doesn't respect such a phony admonishment.

How were these students disciplined? One student went off to spend time with the AP for the day and the other two went to spend time with professionals of the pupil personal team. Which leads to many a question.

Were these students given sufficient work to do? Were these students properly supervised? Were they put on the computers in the respective offices to play games? Were the three adults tasked with supervising them able to do their duties, their jobs? Were the three adults with the task of supervising these boys able to meet with students and able to have their conversations remain confidential? Were the parents/guardian notified? Not just for discipline reasons, but to let the parents/guardians know that the school allowed the students to be in an unsafe situation. Was an OORS report filed?

At what point does this end? At what point does the students safety become paramount over the pride of  DR Alison Coviello, Ed.D and Principal? The Responsive Classroom technique has been proven to be an abject failure. Is it not time to go back to the drawing board and either start from scratch or uses methods of discipline that actually have proven to work?

One simple solution to fix the discipline problem is to find male teachers. PS 154 in the Bronx has only one male teacher left, and even he does not interact with all the students, only a select few. All strong male teachers at PS 154 in the Bronx have been cast out like the Amish do to their own that show independence of thought.

When will this end at PS 154? When will the safety and well being of the students trump the pride and control of DR Alison Coviello, Ed.D and Principal.

Again, parents need to ask themselves, "Is my child safe at PS 154?" Think about it. What has been shared here just now will never happen in Harrison, or Scarsdale, or Roslyn, or Franklin Lakes. Why is it allowed to happen at PS 154 in the Bronx?      

It's pretty embarrassing when you lose something isn't it?

Last week I was on the phone with long lost colleague when suddenly I had that sense of dread. I couldn't find my phone. I went into a panic and searched my coat pockets, my pants pockets, the floor, the couch, just about everywhere. I was just about ready to go outside and look when it dawned on me. I was on the phone. It was in my hand the whole time. "WHEW!" I said to myself, though in the back of my head I wondered if this was the seventh sign of impending doom.

We've all had those moments in the past. Looking for the car keys, looking for your glasses when they are actually on your head. I guess the older you get, the more forgetful you get.

I never lost my son. There were a few times when he was little where I just lost sight of him momentarily. It was the worst 3 seconds in the world. But I always knew where he was. I made darn sure that my eyes knew where he was at all times.

Too bad that can't be said about DR Alison Coviello; EdD and Principal at PS 154 in the Bronx.

The Crack Team has just learned from sources at PS 154 that twice during the season of autumn, a student, The Flash, who is about 8 years old, bolted from the school.

In the first instance The Flash took off while he and his grade were playing outside during lunch recess. Sources can't confirm but this is apparently the lunch period that DR Alison Coviello; EdD and Principal supervises. If this is not the period she supervises, the supervision in the yard consists of 20 something City Year folk who really aren't in a position to perform supervision of such a large scale. The Crack Team is looking into this and will soon file a white paper on the incident.

On another occasion, not too soon after the above aforementioned incident The Flash took off again. This time The Flash bolted from the auditorium and left the school building unsupervised. Now, for those who are not aware, PS 154 in the Bronx is on a busy East 135th Street. This street is notoriously busy because not only does it serve as a service road for about a mile alongside the Deegan, but cars are coming over the Willis Ave Bridge, or turning right from Willis Ave. Scarier still are the cars that try to enter the Deegan at high rates of speed and even some from the far right lane. Can you say, "Disaster waiting to happen?"

Not to make an excuse for The Flash's run from the auditorium, but who can blame him? Whenever the elements outside prevent the students from going out for recess, or there is a mass prep due to PD, or lack of coverage. Students are warehoused into the auditorium and read to. Much like Andy Kaufman reading the Great Gatsby.

The reasoning behind this is that the students should be engages in some type of learning rather than watching some Goosebumps movie for the gazillionth time. Hey, we here at SBSB are down with that. But can't the students be shown documentaries, movies that tie in with the curriculum, biographies, etc...?

So what is the little 8 year old Flash to do? Starts getting silly and gets ants in his pants. Soon he bolts.

But this all happens on the watch of DR Alison Coviello; EdD and Principal. In the same manner that Captain Picard is responsible for his ship, DR Alison Coviello; EdD and Principal is responsible for her school. And as we all know that if something went askew on the Enterprise, Captain Picard would notify Star Fleet. The Crack Team wonders if DR Alison Coviello; EdD and Principal filled out an OORS (Online Occurrence Reporting System) report. The Crack Team doubts it was reported. And if it the incidents were not reported then DR Alison Coviello; EdD and Principal failed to follow procedure and it can be safely assumed by John Q. Public that the books are being cooked in terms of reporting incidents.

Again, what would this be allowed to happen in Harrison NY? OF COURSE NOT! But it happens at PS 154 in the Bronx. But doesn't PS 154 in the Bronx have the all time perfect discipline system in place? We here at SBSB are massively confused.

Parent need to ask themselves, "Is my child safe at PS 154?" Well??

The students of District 7, and most of the South Bronx are out of shape. Nearly 1 in 3 elementary students in the South Bronx are obese, 2 in 5 students are overweight. Many students do not exercise on a regular basis. Being overweight or obese increases the risk for many health problems, including diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, cancer, and heart disease.

Bronx County has some of the highest rates of asthma in the United States. Rates of death from asthma in the Bronx are about three times higher than the national average. Hospitalization rates are about five times higher. In some neighborhoods in the Bronx it is estimated that 20% of the children have asthma.

Exercise helps to stretch the lungs and bronchial tubes, which in turn may help reduce the resistance to breathing. Even though the bronchial tubes become inflamed (as occurs in asthma), the positive effects of exercise may help prevent symptoms. The lack of exercise may also contribute to obesity, which may also be a risk factor in asthma. For those who already have developed asthma, aerobic exercise might trigger attacks, but these can easily be prevented by using an inhaler (such as albuterol) before the activity.

 PS 154 in the Bronx has just lost it's famed physical education teacher due to retirement at the end of October. A phys. ed teacher that coached the basketball team without pay, a phys. ed teacher that donated a basketball hoop to the school, a phys. ed teacher that gave it his all. What is his legacy?

DR Alison Coviello, Ph.D and Principal of PS 154 has decided that the students of PS 154 can no longer have gym. Yes, you read that right. She has decided that gym will no longer be offered to the students. Why, you ask?

Could she not find another phys. ed teacher? The Crack Team was told no one was ever interviewed, nor were inquiries made. Of course there is now money in the budget, but where have the monies gone?

The reason why DR Alison Coviello, Ph.D and Principal has decided not to employ someone in the gym, The Crack Team has learned, is due to the fact that DR Alison Coviello, Ph.D and Principal must control all facets of life at PS 154. By putting an ATR (The weekly ATR is covering the former gym teacher's schedule in the classrooms) in the gym (even though in NYC a elementary phys. ed teacher can have a Common Branch license) DR Alison Coviello, Ph.D and Principal does not want someone that "doesn't know what they are doing."

OK, fine, for a moment we shall give DR Alison Coviello, Ph.D and Principal the benefit of the doubt. Then shouldn't a ATR with a phys. ed license be found? If not in District 7, then from outside the district? In fact The Crack Team knows of a eminently qualified ATR that has a phys. ed license.  Why has this person not been contacted?

Of course this is just another example of DR Alison Coviello's, Ph.D and Principal method of not only having to control all aspects of the school, but again flaunting the laws of the New York State Education Department.

According to the NYSED; 

All students in K-12 must attend and participate in a physical education program.

All pupils in grades K-3 shall attend and participate in physical education on a daily basis.

All pupils in grades 4-6 shall attend and participate in physical education not less than three times per week. 

120 minutes per calendar week exclusive of any time that may be required for dressing and showering.  

Grades K-3 are required to have daily physical education for a minimum total of 120 minutes per week. Grades 4-6 are required to have physical education three days per week for a minimum total of 120 minutes per week. See Commissioner's Regulation 135

 Recess may not be used to meet the physical education days/time requirement 

Under Commissioner's Regulation Part 135.4(c)(4)(i), elementary classroom teachers may teach physical education under the direction and supervision of a certified physical educator.

Designing the elementary physical education curriculum should be a cooperative venture of the District Director of Physical Education, the elementary physical education teacher(s) and the elementary classroom teachers. This would ensure that the physical education curriculum covered in this fashion counts toward the day and time requirement, and will be documented in both the physical education teacher's lesson plans and elementary classroom teacher's lesson plans. See Commissioner's Regulation 135

Think if a phys ed teacher in Harrison, or Scarsdale, or Roslyn, or Franklin Lakes retired. Would the principal of the elementary schools in these communities not have a phys ed teacher in place all ready to go? Will these principals allow the students not to have physical activity? Would the parents of these communities allow such actions?

One thing that the principals of these communities would do is fight like hell for the monies that are due their schools and not roll over and accept what their central offices are telling them.

But none of this is happening at PS 154 in the Bronx. DR Alison Coviello, Ph.D and Principal would rather exert control rather than put the students needs first. Every. Little. Thing. Must. Be. In. Her. Control.

Bear with me, trying to make a point to the document I am about to share.

Not trying to be redundant, but remember about a month ago I posted this George Carlin video? But let's cut those words down and look at the really important and scary stuff George Carlin had to say.

 The big wealthy business interests that control things and make all the important decisions.

The politicians are put there to give you the idea that you have freedom of choice. You have OWNERS! They OWN YOU. 

 they own all the big media companies, so they control just about all of the news and information you get to hear. They got you by the balls

They don’t want a population of citizens capable of critical thinking. They don’t want well informed, well educated people capable of critical thinking. They’re not interested in that. That doesn’t help them. Thats against their interests. 

Thats right. They don’t want people who are smart enough to sit around a kitchen table and think about how badly they’re getting fucked by a system that threw them overboard 30 fucking years ago. They don’t want that! 

They want obedient workers. Obedient workers, people who are just smart enough to run the machines and do the paperwork. And just dumb enough to passively accept all these increasingly shitty jobs with the lower pay, the longer hours, the reduced benefits, the end of overtime and vanishing pension that disappears the minute you go to collect it, 

They want it back so they can give it to their criminal friends on Wall Street, They’ll get it.

They’ll get it all from you sooner or later cause they own this fucking place! It's a big club, and you ain’t in it!  You, and I, are not in the big club. 

Good honest hard-working people continue, these are people of modest means, continue to elect these rich cock suckers who don’t give a fuck about you….they don’t give a fuck about you… they don’t give a FUCK about you. 

 The fact that Americans will probably remain willfully ignorant of the big red, white and blue dick thats being jammed up their assholes everyday, because the owners of this country know the truth. 

It's called the American Dream,because you have to be asleep to believe it.

So with that being said, an SBSB source shared with The Crack Team what seems to be a plot by The Business Roundtable to take over and transform American education.

As Sara Wottawa (The source of the document), an educational activist and member of NY BATS commented about the supposed conspiracy between the Business Roundtable and our elected politicians, "This is insane it exposes the whole reform agenda." Speaking to a member of The Crack Team here at SBSB Gail went on about the Business Roundtable,"....this organization donates billions to political organizations and campaigns."

 Anyway, now to the point. I report, you make up your mind;




One last question. Who's going to dig the ditches?

Even though this is addressed to the parents of Harrison, NY and NYC, it is for all the parents of New York State and the USA.

Lexington and Concord. The first battle in the American Revolution in 1775, almost 240 years ago.

The Journal News. Saturday, September 28, 2013, the first battle in the Revolution to Take Control
Back of Our Children's Education. All led by a humble reporter, Gary Stern.

I predicted this revolution back in June of last year.

I walked into Vassi's Deli on Underhill Ave in West Harrison this morning to get my breakfast and coffee. My son just had a hitting lesson and we were looking forward to spending some time together. I grabbed my copy of the Journal News and on the front page saw the headline. "Critics: Test Scores Failing, Not Students," by Gary Stern.

What a joy it was to read an honest and thought provoking education article by a reporter that has not been tainted by the poison of Uncle Mike Bloomberg;

Is it possible that 56 percent of sixth-graders in Bedford are not proficient in math? How about 70 percent of eighth-graders in Dobbs Ferry? Or 75 percent of seventh-graders in Nyack? 

Could 50 percent of seventh-graders in Irvington not be meeting expectations in English/language arts? What about 58 percent of eighth-graders in Ramapo Central? Or 80 percent of sixth-graders in Port Chester?

 
This, parents of Harrison is our reality. Not just yours, but mine, your neighbor's, your friend's, and your enemy's. Wake up, this is what has become of education in New York State thanks to the millions our elected officials in Albany have collected from such organizations as DFER and Students (oops!) MichelleRheeFirst.

My son got 2's on both ELA and Math. This after receiving 3's in ELA and 4's in Math from grades 3-5. Some putz who decides what goes on the tests, how to score it, how to take it is telling me my son is not proficient in Math or ELA?

At this past Thursday's parent-teacher meetings I handed out hundreds of fliers sharing with parents of Harrison the dangers and evils of the Common Core Standards from a fantastic organization, Stop Common Core in New York State. I could not believe how, UNINFORMED the parents of Harrison NY are. One parent actually believed that Bill Gates is a great person!

But then again, Governor Andy, Uncle Mike, NYSED, and John King (No link to who John King is. You have a child in school, then you should know. GOOGLE HIM!) all want you uninformed. They want ignorance, they want compliance, they want servitude. This is what is happening in NYC right now and across all urban school districts nation wide. You probably heard about it in passing, saying to yourself, "Well, why should I care, it doesn't effect me or my children."

But guess what? NOW IT DOES!!! It's time to wake up and see the corporate and Federal takeover of education is now in your backyard.

Bill Gates, the Lord and Savior who blessed us with the Common Core, let's see what he said the other day; 

“It would be great if our education stuff worked, but that we won’t know for probably a decade.”

What you talking about, Willis, I mean Bill?

He does not know if it will work? Bill Gates feels it is OK to experiment on THE CHILDREN OF HARRISON? Why didn't Bill test it out on his kids?

Know that teacher you love at your child's school? Well, thanks to Bill Gates and Governor Andy, 40% of their evaluation is based on assessment (TESTS)! Two years without growth, that teacher is rated ineffective and you can say goodbye.  Opt your child out of the NYS tests! You can and it is time!

Parents of Harrison, did you know that EngageNY (No link to EngageNY. You have a child in school, then you should know. GOOGLE IT!), a subsidiary of NYSED is not only in control of your child's school data, but personal information as well and plans on selling it to InBloom (No link to EngageNY. You have a child in school, then you should know. GOOGLE IT!)? What you don't know this? Well, you need to now.

Fight back. You are your child's best advocate for his or her education. Not a politician, not someone who works on Wall Street, not a hedge fund hack, YOU ARE.

And while you are at it, by Diane Ravitch's new book, "Reign of Error," and see how education is being taken over in this country by those who only wish to enrich their wallets.

And please sign this petition  to Assemblyman Al Graf.

I leave you with a clip of George Carlin's take on education today.

I did it. I emailed EngageNY asking to to opt out my son of any and all data collected and/or to distributed. I had first called (518-474-5922) the office of Curriculum and Instruction at NYSED. I asked whom can I speak to in regard to my request. After several minutes of being put on hold I was told that EngageNY could only be contacted by email ([email protected]). OK, so I emailed;

To whom it may concern:

My son is currently a student in the Harrison Central School District. I would like to have his data wipe and not shared at all. Also, I would like to know how I can go about seeing what data has been collected.

Thank you in advance.

Peter Zucker



Several hours later I received a reply;

Thank you for contacting the EngageNY Help Desk. Your ticket information is below. If you have any additional information to add to this ticket, please feel free to call the Help Desk at 1-855-252-6900

The Help Desk's normal business hours are are 9AM to 5PM Monday through Friday.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Name: [email protected]

Ticket Number: 265

Date Reported: 9/20/2013 4:04:32 PM

Problem Request: Mr. Zucker wanted to know how can he have his kid's data wiped out of inBloom he also wanted to know which data has been collected.

Message to Caller:


​Hello Mr. ​Zucker,


Thank you for contacting the EngageNY Portal Help Desk.


Only school districts can determine who has access to student data and for what purposes. InBloom is not authorized to alter or remove student records from its data store; those records are owned and controlled solely by the school districts. You should contact your child’s school district to inquire about their policies.


To answer your question, the Portal will include student demographic, enrollment, attendance, behavior, course performance, and state and formative assessment information.
In order to make the Portal data dashboards most useful to teachers, students, and parents, districts can add local data for their constituents (and only their constituents) to view. Districts and the state decide what data are shared with contracted vendors under strict contract
terms consistent with FERPA (The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974). No social security numbers or photos are collected or shared.


Please visit https://www.inbloom.org/faq and http://www.engageny.org/resource/engageny-portal-faq to learn more.

So I am told to contact the Harrison Central School District when in fact back in June a big wig at HCSD told me to contact the NYSED.  Confusion.

So I called the number they had given me. It was the number for the EngageNY help desk. I asked the young lad who answered to whom can I speak to concerning my request. She told me she does not know and besides, the help desk number that I called is for people that need technical support. So why then was I given the number?

I asked for a supervisor and a rather pleasant, yet confused woman came on the line. She explained to me that there was nothing she can do and suggested to email again. I then asked her, "Who is in charge there?"

She replied, "Well, me, of course."

"No, no, not the help desk. Who is in charge of EngageNY?" I asked.

"I don't know."

"Is there another phone number besides the toll free number I can call to speak with someone?"

"No," She replied.

I thought to myself, no? How can that be, every single department at NYSED, even the custodian,  has a phone number, why not EngageNY?

I decided to try another tact. Since we were getting dangerously close to an Abbott and Costello routine I decided to try that tact.

"OK, explain this to me about no phone numbers. What happens if someone there at EngageNY is working and his wife wants to call to ask him to stop by Stewart's to bring home eggs and milk? What number do they call?

"They just don't"

UGH!!!!!!!! OK, I asked her who is in charge of EngageNY.

"Commissioner King," she said.

"No, I know that, technically he is, but who is in charge of that department? Who makes the decisions in that department?"

Her answer, "I have no idea."

I explained to her this is so Kafkaesque. That there is more secrecy at EngageNY than there is at the CIA. I said thank you and I hung up.

Where is the accountability? Better yet, where are the humans?

I emailed the person at HCSD in charge of this and await a reply this Monday. There is a school board meeting Wednesday, and back to school night on Thursday so I look forward to getting some answers.