Yeah, the DOE does seem to be run by a bunch of imbeciles. So purports Chaz when he wrote about former Beacon High School science teacher Anna Poole. Anna Poole, you may recall, set several students ablaze in 2014 in a science experiment gone awry back in 2014.

Personally, Anna Poole used the resources available to her, as is her right, to keep her job. I do not have a problem with that. However I do have several issues.

If she had been a tenured teacher would SCI have gone harder on her and not left her discipline up to the chancellor? If this had been a tenured teacher is it not fair to say that E4esaid teacher would not only have been brought up on 3020-a charges but possibly criminal charges as well?

According to a commenter on Chaz's blog there were some irregularities in her right to representation. Is this not a right as teachers that we see as inalienable?

Again, Mona Davids (She's still around????) has to stick her ignorant nose where it should not be and as always without having full information to base her inane comments on...

“I think that’s outrageous and ludicrous. It’s actually insulting, but it’s typical DOE. That’s what they do, reward poor performance.”

Mona, while not condoning nor condemning Anna, there is a difference between an accident and poor performance. Mona claims she she's smart. Prove it.

The way the Daily News implied that she got rewarded with a raise...

...currently makes a $79,484 a year — up from $56,048 on the day of the explosion.

No, she got was was contractually due her. That is it. 

What I want to know is if Anna Poole has a rabbi within the DOE. Why did she get a nice cushy gig within Tweed? How did she get it? Why did she get it? I have speculated that she must be with Educators 4 Excellence or Teach for America. Maybe she's Teaching Fellows?

I have no problem with what Chaz wrote. I disagree with him somewhat, but I respect his opinion. What he wrote was on his blog. He was not going to the, for lack of a better phrase, through the MSM to bash a teacher (yeah, I know. I have done the same, but only to TFA, E4E, and other rats. Poole, as far as we know is not a rat). Chaz did not have to go through a reporter. He was adult enough to do it on his own. Some weren't.

It pained me to see another teacher, a teacher who purports to claim to be on the side of teachers, playing both sides of the fence.

Too many teachers have been brought up on BS charges for leaving pee on a toilet seat, to carrying a cup of coffee, to leaving the toilet seat up, to not passing gas according to the way mandated in Chancellor's Regulations.

I have no problem with Anna Poole staying employed by the DOE. I have a problem with how the DOE kept her. There is something just not right about this "promotion."

It has been some time since we have skewed the clown prince of the education deform movement, Sam Pirozzolo. But twice within the last week we, all New Yorkers, have had to read his inane and meandering thoughts in the Daily News and the Post.

In today's Daily News Clown Prince Sam writes in an email to the News that he was; struck by the words of Benjamin Agyard, a Bronx student interviewed in a story that revealed city schools with the most poorly qualified teachers are concentrated in needy neighborhoods. Clown Prince Sam laments that Benjamin recognizes that the system does not care about his future and claims that Benjamin's story is not an isolated incident.

But Clown Prince Sam lacks the cognitive ability to discern nuance. Or even logic. If Sam would remove is cognitive dissonance hat for just a moment he can read why there are schools suffering from too many newbie teachers.

Or could it be the plethora of TFA's hired by the most needy schools? Rotating through new teachers every two years without these same teachers sticking around long enough to be able to mentor someone, or worse, there is no one there to mentor them? 

Or could it be that Benjamin is a student at Banana Kelly High School which appears to be a complete mess, not because of the teachers but rather because of administrative issues.

But Clown Prince Sam is a simpleton with only simplistic answers that he gets from his Moaning boss.

In last week's Post Sam blabbers; Our inspiration is the 1954 case of Brown v. Board of Education, which ended segregation. Sixty years later, New York City schools are blighted by a different kind of segregation — not so much racial, as economic.

Guess what Sam? Brown v BOE didn't magically open the doors. I remember as a kid (In the mid 70's) watching riots in Boston as the schools were being desegregated. But Sam just contradicted his belief system or rather, the belief system that Mona Davids trained him to have. 

The problem is economics. Poverty. Class. Family. So much more than going to court to battle in a lawsuit and claiming victory that a judge didn't dismiss your case. 

Just out of curiosity, has the Clown Prince attempted to help integrate his Staten Island community? Where was the Clown Prince when problems surfaced at  IS 49 in District 31, the district that the Clown Prince was CEC president.

Sam does his best clowning in continuing an old urban legend; Albert Shanker, the founder of the UFT, is famous for saying, “When schoolchildren start paying union dues, that’s when I’ll start representing the interests of schoolchildren.” His heirs today, like UFT boss Michael Mulgrew, operate on the same principle. With an attitude like this, and the millions of dollars that the unions can use for political contributions, is it any wonder why parents have no choice but to look to the courts for relief?

Shanker never said that. It's a wives tale going back over 30 years which a lawyer, none other than former Chancellor Joel Klein continued to perpetuate. Should not Clown Prince Sam write a retraction and/or apology?

Look Sam, you are not....how shall we say it...bright. You follow yet do not lead. You are told when to speak, jump and fetch. Yes, you do those activities well but there is more to life than being follower.

Yes, have your little victory. Yes, it is nice that your case did not get thrown out. But what you fail to mention is that it is being appealed and not having a case dismissed is really no big deal.

It's time to be a man and think for yourself.

By now we should all know who Errol Louis of NY1 and the Daily News works for. Not for truth, but for
those that distort the truth.

I at one time had thought the Errol was above the fray, that he had integrity and wished to give both sides of the education debate equal time. I will never forget when he had Julie Cavanagh on his NY1 show debating Little Evan Stone of E4E in 2011. I watched and felt that Errol had sifted through the BS of Evan and allowed Julie to give her side.

But lately he has become a shill of the deformers. A badly misinformed shrill. I guess this is par for the course for someone who grew up in New Rochelle, went to a great high school, went to Harvard, Yale, and Brooklyn Law, and mingles with the hipsters in Park Slope. Yes, Errol is just oozing educational cred. Do we dare say that Errol is an elitist?

Errol this past Thursday wrote a column for the Daily News in which he shows just how clueless and ignorant he is when it comes to education.

Errol blabbers forth; Thursday’s sure-to-be raucous education rally, to be held within shouting distance of the Tweed building and City Hall, is a timely reminder of a civic force that many of the city’s progressive leaders seem incapable of understanding...

We here at SBSB believe they understand it. These aren't the parents that are forming these protests, nor is it the communities. These protests are led by inane, self-absorbed, me first, **cough cough** EVA MOSKOWITZ **cough cough**. When we see these parents clamoring for a better education ON THEIR OWN ACCORD, as the people protesting for democracy are doing in Hong Kong, or the students in Colorado clamoring for a real AP social studies curriculum  in Colorado, then we'll talk.

Errol says; Wednesday’s speech by Chancellor Carmen Fariña, centered on an announcement that the Education Department will scrap the old method of assigning letter grades to individual schools, could be a step in the right direction 

We here at SBSB are proud of Errol for not flying off the shrilling from the mountain top like ignorant others over at Mona Davids Parents Union.

...but the administration appears to be dragging its feet on attacking the urgent problem of turning around schools that are badly broken

Broken? How so? Specifics. Real specifics. Yes, the test scores suck, but why? Is it just the teachers or is it the crappy curriculum teachers are forced to deal with? Is it the cycle of poverty and mental health issues that never get addressed that our students have to deal with every day? Is it crime? Is it a lack of funding? Is it a lack of leadership at Tweed and at the schools? Tell us Errol in your own words, using your own investigatory facts, WHY ARE THE SCHOOLS BROKEN??

While Thursday’s rally isn’t pushing specific demands, it’s clear the organizers are warming up for a battle to raise the current limit on charter schools in the city.

That's what it is all about. Not the broken schools, not the teachers, just more and more and more and more charter schools and more and more and more and more halves against the have nots.

But the main thrust of the gathering is to show that there is a large and vocal number of New Yorkers fed up with poorly-performing schools and impatient with the litany of excuses for why we can’t do better.

But Errol just said the rally was all about charter schools, so why is he contradicting himself? Again, is this movement organic? NO!

The chatter from those defenders on social media sites and letters to the editor usually includes talking points about how poverty is the true culprit

Yeah it is. See above, it is one of many. Think about this Errol. Take the teachers Albert Leonard Middle School in New Rochelle and switch them out with teacher from IS 162 on 149th and St Ann's Ave in the Bronx. What do you think will happen? 

But Errol has more to say on this and he feels he must insult teachers; Those old arguments, repeated year after year, have grown stale. Most airline passengers don’t know how to fuel and fly a jet or run an air-traffic control tower. But they do know when plane after plane is dirty and cramped, arriving late at the wrong destination and occasionally crashing.

This isn't fair. My cat can take apart this argument. But what the hell.

Please do not compare what teachers do to fueling a jet plane. Yes, these guys work hard and I am sure there is a learning curve, but really? Now, if we were compared to these guys fueling a plane than I might say, "touché."

But how about this? Does Errol want a pilot or an air traffic controller that has had only 50 hours and five weeks of training when he is jet setting around the USA? Doubt it. Does he want constant turnover of air traffic controllers and pilots? Doubt it as well. 

But his argument that the public does know when a plane is dirty or cramped or late has a lot to do with how an airline is run, yes, the MANAGEMENT! Why not then does Errol and his ilk kvetch about WHO IS RUNNING THE SCHOOLS? And Errol is being quite specious with his last argument. Seriously, how often does a plane land at the wrong destination? And crashes? How many crashes of American commercial jets have there been the last ten years and what is the ratio of mechanical vs pilot errors?

What Errol fails to point out is that the people who fly our planes, design our planes, and guide our planes have training in planes. Also, flying, designing and guiding is evaluated by OBJECTIVE MEASURES, not the whim of some untrained, irrational human being. 

Come on Errol, tell us all how to fly a jet, or guide a jet over LaGuardia, or design one. Yeah, I hear crickets too.

And let's not forget that pilots, air traffic controllers, and flight attendants are all proud union members.

Families for Excellent Schools, the group organizing Thursday’s demonstration, has compiled a number of damning reports 

Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. We know, and we care. But see above arguments. Again, FES is a front organization for FormelyMichelleRheeFirst. Yet refuses to put into context and show how it came to this statement; 

A school where nine out of 10 kids can’t proficiently read or do math does not simply ‘need improvement,’

A recent Associated Press report notes that the nation’s top 10% of income earners have increased spending on their kids by 35% in recent years — pouring a fortune into private-school tuition, bidding up home prices in districts with high-performing schools and paying so much money for extra help that some SAT tutors now make over $50 an hour.

SAT tutors are only making $50 an hour? I guess the ones making that kind of dough are getting hosed. But I will like to see this AP report. Where is it? But if true, I can guarantee that the parents sending their kids to private schools are doing it to keep the Common Core away from them, to keep them from testing, and for smaller class size. Why isn't Errol advocating for what parents really want? For what Errol wants for his own kids yet won't admit it to others. 

I used to have respect for Errol. I thought he was objective and can see and respect both sides. But he has drank from the Kool-Aid trough for too long and is useless. Nothing more than a shrieking shrill.

One more thing. The problems Errol is whining about are the same problems that permeated the 12 years of the Bloomberg reign. Where was he during those 12 years? Bought off by Bloomberg? 

As many others were I was appalled and sickened when I picked up the Daily News and read about the deviancy with students that Brooklyn Tech "teacher" Sean Shaynak allegedly committed.

According to the Daily News, Shaynake is accused of;

• Taking a 15-year-old to a nude beach in New Jersey without permission and plying her with vodka, tequila and whisky until she passed out at his home.
• Exchanging some 10,000 text messages with that same girl, in which he asked her to participate in lesbian sex with another student and told her about his experience with a ménage-à-trois and gay sex.
• Giving another student perfect grades “regardless of the fact she did not do any assignments and left tests blank,” said prosecutor Joseph Mancino.
• Forcing himself on that 18-year-old student when she resisted his attempt at intercourse.
• Carrying on a “four-month sexual relationship” with yet another teen, which included a trip to an out-of-state gay-themed sex club where she watched him getting “serviced” by other men.
• Taking that student on what prosecutors described as a “terror ride” from Queens to Brooklyn that ended with her hiding in the bushes and her teacher screaming and banging on his car. “He threatened to tell her parents,” Mancino said.
• Sending full-frontal photos to four students, two of whom were minors.
• Storing an extensive library of pornography in his computer, which included bestiality — sex acts between humans and dogs, horses and goat.

Yes, these all seem pretty damning. If true, it would be hard to disprove the allegations in regards to the full frontal monty shot and the text messages.

But what is this person thinking? He is a teacher, trusted to teach and protect the students he is charged with. Yes, a person who does such acts does not think of others and is selfish. Pedophiles usually are. If he was this hard up for attention and physical release and/or contact there were other ways, safer ways to satisfy his perversions.

But no matter how heinous the accusations are, no matter how angry we are, as parents of the students, as teachers, as human beings, he has every right to due process, full and equal protection under the law and the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty.

But according to tomorrow's Daily News, Shaynak was arrested, yet not charged in the beating of an 11 year old in Maryland in 2005, yet the DOE still hired him because he wasn't convicted.

That does not make sense. Yes he wasn't convicted, yet the child he had beaten had a restraining order. Why then did the principal and the DOE hire him? Is not someone at Tweed or Brooklyn Tech culpable for hiring this man? Should this not have been a red flag? ATR's are flagged for much, much, less and don't get hired.

At a time when teachers and tenure are under attack Shaynak is quickly becoming the poster boy of Campbell Brown and Mona Davids as to why teachers should not have tenure, should not have the right to due process, and labeling all teachers and predators.

Worse, Campbell and Mona will beat the drum that even while being held awaiting to be bailed out of jail Shaynak will still be collecting a salary of around $52k. But according to the UFT contract, and something the NYC media won't let anyone know, teacher's accused of sexual misconduct have their pay suspended for 90 days. In fact Mulgrew said in the Daily News;

 “The city has the ability to remove this person from payroll,"

 The in the words of Captain Picard, "Make it so!" The onus is now on the city.

But the city won't. The city doesn't want to. Why? They need a poster boy too. The city needs someone to collect their pay and sit and stew either in jail or a Rubber Room to give fodder to those that want to debase tenure, to cry pervert at every single allegation. Worse, the city and DOE will take the longest time to bring charges to dismiss him just to give the anti-tenure crowd more ammunition.

What to do? Do what they city has done to ATR's, bring an expedited 3020-a hearing. There is no way that this investigation can take over a year. Surely, the NYPD and Brooklyn DA's office can and will share information with the DOE. Again, time for the city and DOE to put it's money where it's mouth is.

We here at SBSB call for Shaynak to do the honorable thing and fall on his sword. We call for him to resign immediately or at the very least take an unpaid leave of absence. Again, we at SBSB are reiterating what was said above. He has the right to due process and the presumption of innocence until proven otherwise. But accusations such as this call for some action for the greater good to be taken.

We feel for the families of the students affected directly by Shaynak, for the families indirectly affected as well as the entire Brooklyn Tech community.

Some interesting news came across the SBSB news desk today.

A teacher, let's call him, Rudy Baylor, was teaching a class one day and reached from behind to hand a 7th grade female student a piece of paper. The student was sitting with several of her female friends. It seemed all pretty routine, huh?

The next thing Rudy knows is that he is being accused of improperly touching this girl. How? The young lady claimed that when Rudy bent down ever so slightly to hand her the paper his dingy touched the back of her shoulder.

The girl immediately reported this, not to the principal, but rather to school safety.  School safety had no other choice but to call in NYPD. Thank God that the officers that responded were well trained and able to think independently, Rudy was not charged.

This was in March; Rudy was immediately sent to the Rubber Room, he got cleared today. Six months later.

This could not have been cleared up within a week? Two weeks? Who suffered here? The students did. The students were without their teacher for the last 3 months of last year and so far 2 weeks off this year.

Yet, the Three Stooges of education reform in New York State, Campbell Brown, Mona Davids, and Sam Pirozzolo would lead you to believe that the long investigative process is the fault of the teachers and the union that "protects teachers."

Without that union that "protects teachers" Rudy Baylor would have been out on his buttocks no questions, no nothing asked nor rights protected. Rudy is a single father, without the protections put in place by the collective bargaining agreement and state law, Rudy would have had to go collecting cans so his son could eat.

But according to the Stooge like troika, Rudy even though he has been cleared can still be in jeopardy. The Stooges, if they have their way, would force any decision if a teacher is cleared of sexual misconduct to be given a thumbs or or thumbs down decision made by the chancellor.

On what facts would a chancellor bases such a life altering decision? Would certain teachers be in or out of favor? Would there be some type of checks and balances? Can decisions made by the chancellor be appealed (Other than Article 78)?

The truth was seen in Rudy's case not because the union protects bad teachers. But rather the union is there to make sure and enforce that all teachers are afforded their contractual rights, state rights, and due process as spelled out in the United States Constitution.

It seems this girl had an agenda and didn't want Rudy Baylor around anymore. Kids are smart. They know how to manipulate the system and know how to make a teacher's life miserable.

If the chancellor has a final say on all sexual misconduct accusations it will be ripe for abuse. It'll be like yelling, "fire!" in a crowded theater.

Libel; a published false statement that is damaging to a person's reputation; a written defamation.

I have been wanting to write for a few days about the article in the NY Post last week about a Queens middle school teacher and his relationship with a 14 year old student.

Now mind you, in no way is it being brought into question in this post whether or not he is guilty or innocent, or a little guilty or a little innocent, or condoning the actions of the teacher.

Let's cut to the chase. This teacher was dumb, stupid, and a schmuck for texting a student, especially with anything non-school related and so late at night.

Giving the student expensive gifts and was stupid and wrong.

Letting the student drive his car was stupid and wrong. 

Texting "I love you," no matter how innocuous was stupid and wrong.

Getting facts wrong and making a libelous comment is stupid and wrong.

When this story came out of course Mona Davids was among the first to spew off an opinion. The sad part is not only did Mona play loose and fast with the facts it appeared that she libeled this teacher.

.@rweingarten @SPirozzolo It's outrageous that the parents & principal are forced to keep molesting, kid porn watching tchr in the classroom
— NYC Parents Union (@NYCParentsUnion) July 31, 2014

In the Post article it mentioned that the student accused the teacher of; 

...letting him watch pornography in his apartment, according to a report by Richard Condon, the special commissioner of investigation for city schools

What Mona fails to realize is that the above is known as an "accusation." To help Mona understand what an "accusation" is, and for her to reference in the future, The Crack Team has decided to give her a place to reference;

a charge or claim that someone has done something illegal or wrong.

But that is not all. As one can see in the above tweet, Mona claimed (Shall we help Mona with the definition?) that the teacher watched kid porn with the student.

Does Mona know something we don't know. Does she have access to the hearing transcript?

There was not one mention of what type of porn was being watched. Yet Mona Davids magically was able to not only ascertain it was kid porn but knew as well that that accusation was substantiated by the hearing officer. Mona has magical powers, who knew?

But finagling with reality and the facts is par for the course with Mona. She has no problem calling someone, anyone who does not agree with her a racist or that that person doesn't care about children. Right Mona? Know what I mean, know what I mean? Nudge, nudge.

Heck Mona, one could look at one's Twitter feed of late and make an assumption that one is anti-Semitic, no?

We here at SBSB find it vile and offensive that Mona avoids fact checking and reality but the fact that she would stoop so low to publish a libelous statement we find reprehensible.

We call on Mona David to apologize for the libelous comment just as quickly and publicly as she did in making the statement and to promise never, never, never do it again.

This is why we need tenure. Do we know here at SBSB if the accusations the students made or true or not true? We have no idea. We were not there, we have not spoken to anyone involved, and we have not read the transcript.

As much as we find what this teacher did is wrong he has the right, a right embedded in the United States Constitution to due process. One person cannot be judge, juror, and prosecutor.

One person can't choose which parts of the Constitution to uphold or ignore.

Last week we called Sam Pirozzolo a clown. We apologize. We apologize to the clowns of the world who bring joy and good tidings to the boys and girls all over the globe. Sam is a scary clown, a clown that tries to instill fear, ignorance, hate, and self-righteousness.

But, with all of Sam's clownish behavior, we still love him. We love him for the oodles of material he just keeps on giving and giving. Soon we will have to make him a member of The Crack Team.

Today's laugh riot comes courtesy of Sam while he tries to take on two people much, much, much, much, smarter than he. Sam does not realize that the silly stuff he says on Twitter or Facebook is there forever and ever. So with every key stroke, Sam just shows what actually is between his ears.

It all started when Leonie Haimson tweeted that there was no evidence of clustering ineffective teachers in NYC schools with students of color. Sam got in a tizzy because he has issues with using facts to support claims.

@leoniehaimson @SchlFinance101 I'm sorry who is the author of this study @NYCParentsUnion
— Sam Pirozzolo (@SPirozzolo) August 1, 2014

Leonie, backed up her facts. When asked who was the author, Lenoie shared with was Bruce Baker. No, not that Bruce Baker! This, Bruce Baker, a professor at Rutgers. Now it would be safe to assume that Prof. Baker would know and have more information regarding education and education policy than Ophthalmic Provider Sam Pirozzolo would have, no? For instance, my wife needs contact lenses. Would she be better off seeing Sam or Prof. Baker?

Anyway, Prof. Baker tweeted back to Sam;
 

@leoniehaimson @SPirozzolo @NYCParentsUnion ...but state growth percentiles are junk. like these: http://t.co/6A0iMbkoFq
— Bruce Baker (@SchlFinance101) August 1, 2014

WHOA! Hold on there Professor! That might be too much info for Sam to take in all at once.

Sam switched to another contention he has no proof of;

@SchlFinance101 @leoniehaimson @NYCParentsUnion We also contend that majority of students can't read write or do math at grade level ? Say u
— Sam Pirozzolo (@SPirozzolo) August 1, 2014

To wit Prof. Baker tweeted back and Sam still on the same subject;

@SchlFinance101 @leoniehaimson @NYCParentsUnion Was asking about children not performing at grade level
— Sam Pirozzolo (@SPirozzolo) August 1, 2014

Sam continues to show how ignorant he is. He is still, still mixing up proficiency for grade level. But, hey, what would anyone expect?

But Sam continues. He's like an immigrant learning his first phrase in English. He just says it again and again, and again.

@SchlFinance101 @leoniehaimson @NYCParentsUnion Q. Please justify kids not reading writing or doing math at grade level
— Sam Pirozzolo (@SPirozzolo) August 1, 2014

 What about at this point in the tweets the pw3nage of Sam begins;

@SchlFinance101 @leoniehaimson @NYCParentsUnion You can't offer proof only hear say trial will decide
— Sam Pirozzolo (@SPirozzolo) August 1, 2014

But Sam can't offer any proof to his claims nor can he even articulate what he is saying other than, his oft repeated lines. Sam is like a Chatty Cathy doll that you pull the string and out comes the phrase. 
Prof. Baker attempts to pull Sam back from fantasy world.

@SPirozzolo @leoniehaimson @NYCParentsUnion legal defense doesn't require proving tenure isn't the problem?
— Bruce Baker (@SchlFinance101) August 1, 2014

But, Prof. Baker has the maturity to admit he read the complaint quickly and will have to read it again. But again Prof. Baker is in reality and all Sam can muster up is California. A case that is on appeal.

@SchlFinance101 in effect, that is what they said in California
— Sam Pirozzolo (@SPirozzolo) August 1, 2014

We don't whether or not to laugh or cry at how clueless he is. We here at SBSB are thinking of performing an intervention for Sam. We hope he hits bottom soon in his ignorance and has nowhere left to turn to other than smart people, people in the know. It's really sad to see the breakdown of ones mental faculties happen so quickly and decidedly.

Worse, when someone comes up with enough money for Mona Davids to disassociate herself from the lawsuit, Sam will look pretty silly being the face of it alone.

With all the talk of the lawsuit Campbell Brown and her lackies Mona Davids and Sam Pirozzolo have brought forth, the reason to explain tenure has never been more important than ever.

This story came into the DTOE newsroom a few weeks ago., and posted on DTOE this past Tuesday. This is one of the most heinous examples of teacher abuse and abuse of power The Crack Team has heard of. In fact, Crack Team member Moose was so upset he was crying like a baby while sucking his thumb and calling for his mother.

This story, told from the teacher involved, has all the markings of what  the problem really lies in education. Not the teachers, but the ones in charge, the ones making the decisions.

The letter to follow (In it's entirety) was originally sent to High Schools Superintendent Donald Conyers. Donald was at the forefront of damage to this teacher (here and here).

Coincidentally, Conyers worked closely with DR Mychael Willon. He of the false PhD and the arrest for sexual deviancy in Wichita KS.

This teacher was a first year teacher, a Fellow and a cancer survivor. If she had tenure, would she, could she, have been discontinued?

Another story is coming soon, even more egregious.

Read on;

Several names have been redacted.
—————-
Donald Conyers
Superintendent
Brooklyn and Queens High School
6565 Flatlands Avenue, Room 104C
Brooklyn, New York 11236

Dear Mr. Conyers:

I am saddened that our first communication is under the given circumstances. However, I am elated by the fact that you have given me an opportunity to express my concerns to you at this time.  This year has been in fact quite challenging but has left me with the knowledge that there is no other field in which I would wish to find myself.  I never would have imagined how much I would have learned while teaching and I am grateful for each moment.

On July 5, 2014 I received a letter from your office stating that I was being reviewed for potential discontinuance. Frankly, given the year that I have faced I was not entirely surprised.  I offer you a chronology of the events in my year so that you can understand my perspective as best as possible.
I am licensed under the Transitional B Certification through the alternative program known as the New York City Teaching Fellows for Special Education for grades 7 through 12.  I was placed at the School for International Studies (i.e. 15k497) for my summer assignment.  During this time I sought employment while teaching summer school to a mixed group of middle school students.  Throughout the subsequent weeks, I made many connections with the students and built rapport.  By the second week I was being asked by the students to seek employment at the school.  In August, I was called in for an interview with the principal, Jillian Juman, and the head of the Special Education Department and Lead Teacher, Nicole Lanzillotto.  When offered the position I excitedly accepted and prepared for the upcoming school year.

On September 3, 2013 I received my rosters, classroom locations, and schedule.  I was told that I would be teaching 7^th grade ICT English Language Arts, 8^th grade ICT English Language Arts, 7^th grade ICT Humanities, and Self-Contained English Language Arts/ Humanities.  When reviewing the rosters for my classes I found that my middle school self-contained class had fifteen students without a classroom paraprofessional (See Exhibit A).  Under the Special Education laws of New York State the class size should be of the following ratio: 12:1:1.  Of my fifteen students included on the roster, three of them were classified as alternate assessment (See Exhibit B) and the class was a conglomerate of sixth, seventh, and eighth graders of varying levels.  Further, I was placed in an AP Statistics classroom in the high school wing to teach self-contained, middle school English.
In October, I found myself struggling to direct the classroom and sought help from my Chapter Leader, Ms. R.  Upon explaining the dynamics of the classroom she informed me that the class should be no more than 12 unless a waiver was filed by the school for 13 and that that was the absolute maximum.  The following day, on my way to sign out, I was approached by both Ms. Juman and Ms. Lanzillotto who said to me, “Ms. R says you are unhappy”.  I explained to them that it was not that I was unhappy but that I felt that the students were not benefitting from the dynamics of the setting and that it was not conducive to a learning environment.  Further, it was illegal and violated Special Education regulations. Ms. Lanzillotto chimed in to state that the classroom dynamic was not in violation of Special Education regulations, despite my research having stated otherwise. Ms. Juman then informed me that she would be “fixing” the situation in time for the new semester when we would be facing program changes as an entire school.  She then asked if I would write a letter stating that I was comfortable with the arrangement of the roster as it stood and in good faith knew that it would only last until January.

Immediately after having completed the aforementioned conversation I sought the advice of Ms. R, who informed me that the conversation and request were inappropriate. After speaking to my mentor, Mr.  P, he reiterated the same sentiments as Ms. R and advised me against writing the letter.
When I realized the roster would not be changing to suit the needs of the students or the classroom environment I sought the help of Ms. Lanzillotto and asked her to visit my classroom.  On October 9, 2013 Ms. Lanzillotto sat in my classroom for about ten minutes prior to pulling out a student of mine, Student A.  On October 10, 2013 I received an email from Ms. Lanzillotto stating that Student A’s schedule would be changed effective immediately and that she had undergone a re-evaluation (See Exhibit C).  In this email exchange you will notice that the school’s Speech Language Pathologist questions when the re-evaluation had taken place, which was a question the rest of the department had, as well.  Student A was then placed into my ICT English Language Arts class, and she immediately began expressing her discomfort with the material that was being presented in the ICT setting.  She then asked to meet with me and expressed a request to be returned to a self-contained setting.  I advised her to speak to Ms. Lanzillotto regarding her concerns and encouraged her to advocate for herself.  By October 21, 2013 Ms. Lanzillotto informed the staff via email that Student A would in fact remain in Self-Contained Language Arts stating, “[This] is what Student A thinks is good for her right now”.

After I spoke to Ms. R about my concerns for Student A and other students, she approached Ms. Juman and asked why a more seasoned teacher had not been placed in the self-contained setting so that I may learn from my ICT partnerships.  Ms. Juman responded by saying, “[Ms. S] is sickly and cannot handle the pressures of a self-contained setting.” Ms. R then said that I also have health concerns which include Thyroid Cancer which required two surgeries and radiation and Lupus to which Ms. Juman responded, “yes, but, she’s younger”.  Therefore, it was simply assumed that because of my age I was better fit for the task instead of the veteran teacher with 24 years of teaching experience.

Shortly after the incident involving Student A, Ms. R began following up with Ms. Lanzillotto and Ms. Juman about the class size.  At this time they told her that they actually obtained a waiver for 13 students.  Ms. R asked to see this waiver and was given an application rather than a waiver which had not been granted. Ms. R reiterated that even with a waiver, 15 students was outside the regulations.  Ms. Lanzillotto and Ms. Juman then began asking me daily for my thoughts on which students were ready to be moved into the ICT setting.  Given the students’ reading, writing, and intellectual levels I disagreed that any of the students were ready for the change in setting.  A second concern regarding class size came to light when my roster for 9^th period Intervention was released.

According to Special Education Law my roster size should have consisted of five students. Rather, I was given ten (See Exhibit D). On November 13, 2013 I sent an email to my mentor, Mr. P informing him of this placement being against regulation, to which he did not respond.  That same day I received an email from Mrs. Assante, the principal’s secretary asking that a weekly meeting be set with her (See Exhibit E).  I approached Mrs. Assante and she stated the nature of the meetings were to discuss my lesson plans and for Ms. Juman to collect the week’s worth each Monday.  Around this time I was observed twice a week and had met the minimum of six by November’s end, by January of 2014 I had reached a count of approximately 19.  After consulting with Ms. R she stated that ritualized collection of lesson plans was a violation of our contractual rights and advised me to send an email asking about the nature of these meetings.

My email of November 13, 2013 was ignored and the following day I received another email from Mrs. Assante dated November 14, 2013 requesting that I schedule the time for the meetings (See Exhibit E).  I responded by reiterating my initial concerns.  Later that day I was approached by Ms. Juman who stated to me, “Stacey thinks you are scared to meet with me”.  I explained to her that my feelings should never be inferred and that I merely wanted in writing the nature of these appointments especially given that they were recurring.  The following day I received a schedule for these meetings which would last from November until January.  In January I was told that my lesson plans finally reached the principal’s level of satisfaction (See Exhibit F) and she began to decrease the meetings and collection of lesson plans.  In the end I can say that forcing me to complete these lessons so far in advance and in such detail served to benefit my classroom in that I was planning ahead, however given the varying levels of advancement of the students made it useless and I felt uncomfortable with the manner in which it was done.

I was granted the day off for December 2, 2013 for a doctor appointment (See Exhibit G).  On this same date the Special Education Department met as a whole to discuss which students could potentially be moved out without consulting me.  I was emailed that day by Ms. Lanzillotto (See Exhibit G) asking for my input.  Given the inappropriate nature of this request I did not respond.  When I arrived at work the following day, December 3, 2013 a student, Student B, greeted me in the ICT setting.  Prior to Student B having been moved out of the self-contained setting Student C, a second candidate had been moved out, as well.  The program switch for Student C was in fact based on my recommendation since based on her IEP and according to her mother, she was placed in self-contained based on her emotional disturbance and not based on her intellectual ability.  Upon meeting Student C who came into our school for eighth grade, I determined that the curricula of my Self-Contained Language Arts and Humanities were causing her harm, that it was not challenging enough.  As of December 3, 2013 I had thirteen students on the roster.

Looking at Exhibit H, you will note that my seventh period Self-Contained Language Art’s roster was set at 13 and that by eighth period two students were sent to have Physical Education for the second time in the day so that my class size was at 11 for the end of the day. The executive decisions made by my Administration were not out of the best interest of the students and were in fear that I would file a grievance.  Given the constant observations, ritualized collection of my lesson plans, and lack of tenure I refrained from filing a grievance. Frankly, I was more concerned with meeting my students’ needs more than my own. The above mentioned lack of action on my part was also in good faith that the situation would be rectified.

An incident occurred on November 21, 2013 (See Exhibit I) in connection with my roster being too large in 9^th period Intervention.  Two students attempted to touch me inappropriately and a third student in an attempt to defend me, slammed into my face.  This occurred after I had asked that my class size be readjusted.  In response to this matter, the Assistant Principal, Renato DaSilva instructed me to fill out a written statement with the dean, a Victim’s Report through UFT, and to email the details of the incident to the appropriate staff members.  The principal, Ms. Juman was not in that day and requested a meeting with me the following school day.  Ms. DaSilva approached me on November 22, 2013 during fourth period and asked that I meet with both Administrators for an impromptu meeting.

During this meeting Ms. Juman stated to me that I should have reconsidered teaching given that I am “pretty” and that incidences like the above are bound to happen. She continued to say that I should possibly stop wearing makeup so that I am less attractive.  She also stated, “[you] give students the wrong impression when you close the door of your classroom”.  She then asked what I thought would be an appropriate punishment given that the infraction was “small”.  She then suggested that I meet with the two young men along with Mr. DaSilva to discuss boundaries and that that would be punishment enough.  She then scolded me for filing a report with the Victim’s Unit and asked me why I had done so.  At this point, I made eye contact with Mr. DaSilva and remained silent until he described the actions he had taken the day before.  I was then told to leave so that she could discuss with Mr. DaSilva where he had misled me.  The students were never reprimanded but were supposedly taken out of my intervention.

On December 13, 2013 I received an updated list of the roster for Intervention with no visible changes having been made (See Exhibit J).  I attempted questioning the decision via email as you may note on page two of the email labeled “MS Roster Updates for Enrichment – MS Enrichment ONLY!” (Exhibit I)  My requests were ignored and on December 2, 2013 I received an email labeled Student D (See Exhibit K) where it was stated that Student D, one of the students involved in the November 21, 2013 incident would be moved into my ICT despite the fact that he did not have an IEP.  When I expressed my concern, Mr. P, my mentorresponded as follows, “Unfortunately, this decision was made last week by Administration.  We need to keep Student E and Student D separated for both their successes”.  Although I applaud the fact that my Administration has taken steps towards putting the needs of the students at the forefront, I do question where the support for assaulted teachers comes into consideration. At the end of December I had a discussion with Ms. Juman during which I asked if I could be released should I find another school.  Ms. Juman responded that she was not willing to do so and that she hired me and therefore would help me and attempt to alleviate the burdens I was feeling.  I expressed that I did not feel my job was secure while at this school and she reiterated her stance of hiring me and building me up.

In January, before the program changes occurred, the Special Education Department sat together and members were paid per session to amend all IEPs so that they matched the programs we offered but, did not meet the needs of our students.  I was told I would not be invited to the paid sessions by Ms. Lanzillotto given that, “you haven’t learned how to amend IEPs”.  This contributed to the lowered roster where I found I had eleven students for the new semester and under the new program. In doing the above mentioned, the needs of our students were compromised and ignored in order to be in accordance with the laws governing classroom sizes.

In January of 2014 I was given a classroom to design myself and had 11 students on my roster.  I thought my relationship with the principal had improved and my evaluations increasingly improved, as well (See Exhibit L).  In terms of my pedagogy I was told I had shown the most improvement out of any first year she had witnessed.  To improve my classroom environment I took steps in using research based Positive Behavior Supports (See Exhibit M).  I sought the advice of my professor from St. John’s University and together devised two Positive Behavior Supports.  The first is known as “Secret Student”.  During this time I pull at random the name of a student and follow his or her behavior throughout the class.  At any given time I may say, “I’m looking for my secret student!  I wonder if s/he is on task” and with that the students would all return to task.  At the end, if the student had behaved, I would reward him or her with a homemade scratch off card and a certificate.  If the student did not perform well I would allow it to remain a secret.

The second Positive Behavior Support I utilized in my classroom was “Ca$h it in”, a ticket system.  For every twenty minutes I was able to get through my lesson without interruption I would award the class with twenty tickets that could be redeemed for a class prize.  Individually, students could also win tickets for the possibility of being “Most Valuable Student”.  The class received a pizza party on April 4, 2014.  The great aspect of this particular support was that it allowed me to build a behavioral contract with the students and there was student choice evident in the process and execution. My rapport with my students greatly improved and my overall reputation amongst students was that I was kind, caring, and fun.  I received apologetic letters from students who misbehaved and even notes and cards from grateful parents (See Exhibit N).

In March, I was shocked to have received three disciplinary letters in the same week and found that the allegations stemmed from students who had done poorly in my class.  The first letter stemmed from miscommunication between a student’s paraprofessional, Ms. B, and the rest of the class.  On March 25, 2014 a Career Panel was held in the library.  I escorted my Self-Contained class to the library for third period.  At the sound of the bell they were dismissed for lunch and I remained in the library to have lunch with the panelists.  Before the bell was going to ring for the start of fifth period and when my Self-Contained class reconvenes I looked around the library and noted that all of the students had gone to the lunchroom previously.  Upon reaching my classroom I only had three students waiting for me including a student’s paraprofessional, Ms. B.  I asked where the rest of the students had gone and Ms. B informed me that she misunderstood the directive and told them to go to the library after they lined up outside my classroom door (i.e. Room 130).

I returned to the library where the principal and the college advisor, Ms. M, were eating with three students.  In the disciplinary letter, the principal counts the three students, who are high school students as adults.  I found the rest of my students without a teacher in the library playing video games and talking in the back on the computers.  I asked them, “What are you guys doing?  Let’s go.”  The students immediately closed out their games, apologized to me and joined me in walking over to the classroom to begin class.  Shortly after, I received notice for a meeting during which the principal claimed I had not done my duty and that I had left the students unaccompanied in the library although they had come in towards the tail-end of lunch, which is also my duty-free lunch.  Once she realized that she had gotten the order of events chronologically wrong she then went on to talk to me about the tone I used.  Tone is subjective and further the feelings of the students should not have been inferred.  If anything, she should have taken statements from the students as well as the college adviser, Ms. Martinez.  Further, as the principal, upon seeing the students were in the library without a teacher she should have directed them to go to class and to close out the games. Shortly after a letter was added to my file for the above described incident Ms. Martinez volunteered to write a letter detailing her recollection of the events (See Exhibit Q). This meeting was immediately followed by a second meetingwhich I shall continue to detail below.

In November, shortly after the assault incident, Ms. Juman approached my student, Student C, who had defended me from the assault and asked her about my “mental stability”.  The following day Student C approached me to tell me about the exchange after the end of third period. I listened to Student C’s recollection of what had transpired.  When she had finished I thanked her for expressing her feelings to me and told her to go to lunch before she missed the deliverance of food.  I coincidentally had a meeting scheduled with Ms. Juman for fourth period during which I asked her about the exchange and she explained to me that she heard I cried after the assault and wanted to know if I were mentally strong enough for the job.  I explained to her that she crossed a boundary in doing so and that I found it completely unprofessional to have approached an emotionally disturbed student, or any student for that matter, to discuss the mental state of a teacher.  She then apologized for having potentially hurt my feelings and undermining me. She went on to say I must understand she was doing her due diligence to ensure that her students were safe.

In March, Student C began skipping my Intervention and when I approached her about the matter she stated she was better off going home early and that was what her parents preferred. I have included a look into Student C’s behavior as Exhibit O. I then advised Student C that she must bring a note from her parents stating what she had told me or that she attempt to make it to class.  After this incident she continued to skip the class and I ultimately failed her.  In my disciplinary meeting on March 27, 2014, Ms. Juman showed me a statement from Student C stating that I have “had it out for her” since [October] following the incident and that I threatened to tell Ms. Juman’s boss about the incident.  Ms. Juman reassured me that she remembered our discussion in November and that she simply was following protocol when a student requests to write a complaint.  In short, I was told that I was safe yet I received a letter with a consequence that did not match the initial allegation.

Further, if I were to have had a damaged relationship with Student C why would I have waited until March to affect her grades (See Exhibit P).  The initial accusation is that I bullied Student C for information but instead received a letter for professional misconduct for stating, “I’m going to tell Ms. Juman’s boss”.  Furthermore, the consensus that Ms. Juman reached on her own is based entirely on a statement written by Victoria, without consideration of what I had to say and did not rely on any other information to reach her conclusion.  There was no proof of Student C having been intimidated by me, because I didn’t, and is based on what is being collected four months after the alleged incident.  Lastly, she mentions that I have to set clear boundaries with students in the letter however, a clear boundary was crossed when she opened a discussion with a student about a teacher’s mental stability.

A few weeks following this meeting, Student C and I were on great terms, again.  Shortly after receiving her new marking period grades she was promptly switched out of my Intervention and the failing grade I had given her was expunged from her record (See Exhibit P).  She excitedly showed me her grades for she had been improving when I noticed the change in grade.  I did not comment on the change.

Shortly after, in April, I found out that I was being investigated for verbal abuse against another student, Student F. This accusation came shortly after I had called home to inform his father that he was misbehaving and that as a representative of all of his teachers this was a recurring theme across his classes.  The day of the meeting his father accused me of mistreating Student F.  After this meeting, Ms. Lanzillotto, a teacher, approached a paraprofessional to write a statement against me.  My understanding is that according to regulation, only a dean or an administrator has the right to request official statements.  According to a subsequent statement written by Ms. B, the paraprofessional, dated April 11, 2014 she was coerced into writing false allegations and was given a series of leading questions (See Exhibit Q).

After Student F made his allegations against me his behavior began to decline further and he was unable to perform the tasks necessary to pass my class.  I tried using Positive Behavior Supports with Student F including a school wide system known as “Jag Bucks” to reinforce adaptive behavior.  Student F was unfortunately unresponsive and ultimately the guidance counselor thought it best to remove him from the classroom.

On May 20, 2014  I received an email from Nicole Lanzillotto stating that a discussion revolving around Student F’s placement would be discussed after a couple of months of speculation that he would benefit from a different environment (See Exhibit R).  During the subsequent meeting it was introduced that he would have to be placed into the sixth grade ICT class.  Ms. S, the veteran Special Educator who co-taught said ICT, who was mentioned earlier in this letter stated, “Over my dead body, that boy will disrupt everything that I have done in that class”.  At this point, I asked for further support in terms of encouraging Student F to complete his work however, my pleas went unnoticed by the Administration and Nicole Lanzillotto, the head of the Special Education Department.
Afterwards, my entire Self-Contained Language Arts class was interrogated regarding my relationship with Student F. I have included my documentation of Student F’s behavior as Exhibit R. 

Student G, an alternate assessment student in my class approached me at the start of 9^th period Intervention stating that he was scared.  He then continued to describe that all of the students of my class had been interviewed by both Administrators and stated, “They asked me if you ever cursed out Student F and he’s trying to get you fired” in front of a room of several other students.  I immediately alerted Mr. DaSilva of this situation given that now the integrity of the investigation has been compromised.  A second accusation arose from this stating that I sent a student to attack Student F Valle.

During the subsequent meeting I was told by Mr. DaSilva that he had interviewed the student who allegedly bullied Student F, Student H.  I was told that Student H had stated he overheard from Student I about the investigation regarding Student F and on his own accord decided to confront Student F.  Mr. DaSilva reiterated that the allegation solely was about Student H and that I would not receive a letter for some other nuanced issue that may have arisen.  Needless to say, I received a fourth letter added to my file dated July 3, 2014 where that promise had not been kept.  Once again, I was, and am, concerned about the inappropriateness of interviewing students with emotional disturbances and with intellectual disabilities.  Further, why is it that I had to deal with the ramifications of the Administrators’ inability to run an investigation that is not compromised?  I had now become the scapegoat for their mismanagement of the investigation process.  In the letter dated July 3, 2014 I noticed quotes from statements that never been shown to me nor my Chapter Leader, Ms. R including, “Ms. V. came to the classroom and started talking about Student F and that he is a liar and that he is not a good kid.”

During my Summative Meeting I requested Ms. R to join me as my chapter leader. Ms Juman spoke of my pedagogy highly and criticized my practices under Domain 4.  At this time she brought up my preference sheet (Exhibit S), which on the top includes my stance of “uncertain” in terms of returning to the school.  I explained that once again I felt that my career was in jeopardy especially given that I received three letters in the matter of a week.  She told me, in front of my union representation that the letters were simply for me to learn from and that, “no one is out to get you, I want you to stay here.  Please, keep me updated if you still decide to go elsewhere”.  Ms. R asked Mr. DaSilva why I had not received a counseling memo instead to which he responded, “The Network says we can no longer give those out.” My chapter leader then voiced that I would continue to search for employment.  After having left this meeting I felt alleviated and trusted Ms. Juman’s word.
Less than a week after I received the Letter of Possible Discontinuance I received an updated package, which now stated my license could possibly be terminated. Because I voiced concern for the needs of my students I am being dealt a difficult card and an ultimatum.  I am alarmed and concerned for my future as an educator.  As I mentioned earlier, this is where I see myself until retirement, in a classroom serving our students and showing them a love for learning.

Please note that as an educator my value was not questioned by the Administration.  I created well differentiated, well developed lesson plans.  The classroom environment was supportive of student learning and accommodating.  Please refer to Exhibit U where I have enclosed an image of my bulletin board with clearly tiered assignment and the outcome for one of my alternate assessment students, Student J. Student J had a very poor attendance rate and could not write a well-constructed paragraph, let alone an essay.  She presented difficulties when expressing the main idea and finding supporting details.  I found that she was highly interested in the topic of bullying and therefore assigned her the topic of bullying and suicide.  She created an argumentative essay based on the topic which I have enclosed (Exhibit T).

Refer to Exhibit N where I have enclosed a letter from a parent speaking of my impact on her son as well as notes from students.  My delivery of lessons allowed for open discussion and personal growth across my students.  Although the Principal had given me a 1 (i.e. ineffective) for Participating in the Community under Domain 4 I worked hard to support my community.  I ran study hall after school for several months.  I tutored students and aided them in completing projects even if they were for courses outside my own.

I also facilitated zero period credit recovery for high school students who were lacking credits.  In September after our staff retreat I aided in recreating the activities for those staff members who were unable to attend and facilitated the activities after school.  I volunteered in October to speak at a school recruitment fair, for which I received a letter dated October 18, 2013 (See Exhibit U).  In May I received a note from Ms. Juman thanking me for helping other staff members with their bulletin boards when I was given two days’ notice that I would be given one to complete (See Exhibit U).  On March 26, 2014 I also led a Special Education Department Meeting, see the attached agenda found in Exhibit U.  On most days I would be found leaving the school around seven after planning, preparing materials for my class, or helping students in study hall.  According to Danielson the above mentioned description of the duties I completed can be described as at least a 3 (effective).

Overall, I have inherited an experience I would not trade. However, I do believe that given my overall rating of Developing; my overall rapport with students; and my drive to come up with innovative methods to increase student engagement, that I should not have my license terminated.  This year has been a trying one but I believe that in the right environment, with the appropriate supports I can grow to become an even better educator.  I view myself as a lifelong learner and hope to grow in this field and master my trade. Throughout my year at School for International Studies I have been consistently given disciplinary notices instead of supports.  Is it not the onus of the Administration to ensure that I succeed? I would much prefer discontinuance rather than a termination of my license, as harsh of a punishment as it may be, so that I may start anew elsewhere and learn from the mistakes I have committed this past year and remain in the classroom.
Sincerely,

Special Educator

There you have it. It's sad. 

Oh Mona Davids is in an uproar again. Poor, poor, Mona, how her crocodile tears do flow.

The Daily News reported today that parents (And rightly so) are upset that the school day has been rescheduled in 450 to accommodate the 80 minutes of PD on Mondays and the 75 minutes of parent involvement on Tuesdays. Surely, Mona is happy with the article, her name is mentioned.


So of course Mona took to Facebook to spew off some propaganda and untruths (Click to enlarge).

Mona says in regard to the added time; How unfortunate it is that when it come to issues like this it always seems to be teachers first and students last.

Yeah, teachers really like this. You think the teachers asked for this? But guess what? Since 2005 there has been an added 150 minutes a week, 37 /12 minutes a day, added to school. The difference is that schools could have SBO votes and condense those 150 minutes into 2 or 3 days as my school did for years as well as other schools did. But schools can have SBO votes to spread out the time.

During the UFT teachers contract negotiations parents were NOT ALLOWED to have any input even though that contract affected 1.1 million public school students. 

Heck, the teachers had no say, why would Mona expect the parents to have a say?

Why do the teachers get the blame? The last The Crack Team checked the DOE also signed the contract. So why not kvetch about the DOE not allowing parental input? Besides, didn't the light of Mona's eyes, Campbell Brown, call for time after the school day for teachers to interact with parents? 

The Crack Team wonders if NYPD, FDNY, DC37, and other city unions have community involvement in their contract negotiations. In light of what transpired in Staten Island, where is Mona asking for involvement in current NYCPBA and NYC contract negotiations?

Now that some parents want to discus the quality of education via a tenure lawsuit that WAS NOT brought against the UFT, the UFT is using their legal muscle to bully their way on to the lawsuit because it affects their members.

Using muscle? The UFT must be the Corleone Family? Why doesn't Mona come clean and share who is funding her lawsuits as well as Campbell Brown's? Why doesn't Mona come clean and share specifically how the students and families she is using and giving false hope to were harmed? In fact Mona should have some guts and name these teachers.

An attack on one teacher, an attack on our rights, is an attack on all. But we shan't repeat what was already said.

Is it just me or does anyone else see the hypocrisy and the complete and total lack of respect the UFT has for parents when student needs clash with teachers needs?

Mona needs to stop with the histrionics. Oy vey! As one can see, Mona is growing desperate. She knows she has a losing case. She knows she sold her lackeys a bill of goods. She knows people are starting to see her for what she really is (here, here, here, and here). She and her Minion Sam Pirozzolo are starting to be exposed rather quickly and caught in their lies, double dealings, and hypocrisy. There is nothing left to do but to take the low ground. Like calling people a racist, right Mona? 

The NYC Parents Union has been shouting about this issue since the first moments after details of the new teachers contract were announced. But the DoE and the UFT have consistently ignored and played dumb about the situation.

Oh now Mona brings in the DOE. A few paragraphs back it is the UFT's fault. Mona can't make up her mind.

Is it possible the UFT and the DOE are not playing dumb or ignorant and just don't want to deal with Mona? 

The ironic part it has been the rank and file that has been the most vocal about this. The very same rank and file that Mona is attempting to destroy.

But Mona is in this for Mona. Let's put this to Mona; Mona, why not drive up the Thruway, or have Sam Pirozzolo chauffeur you, and fight for the students of East Ramapo? Go into the sheitls of Monsey, Kaser, and New Square and get a little educational pogrom happening? 

Why won't Mona advocate for the students of East Ramapo? Because there is no there there in Rockland County. No publicity, one newspaper, one radio station, and one cable news channel. Mona wants the accolades, the rewards, the parades.

Wait, there is the Rockland Boulders. Yes, The Crack Team will arrange for Mona to throw out the first ball at a Boulders game if Mona fights for the students of East Ramapo. There will be around 4,000 fans there to cheer Mona on. To applaud her. To ask her for autographs. It will be all Mona. 

That is unless we can raise about $5K and give it to Mona to flip sides. Again.

Come back to the five and dime, Mona Davids, Mona Davids.

So today, it was Campbell Brown's turn to have her moment of attention in Albany. She , along with her followers, er, parents, filed a lawsuit today, Wright v NY, (In fact the lead plaintiff was written about on these pages in 2012) attempting to do away with tenure and due process for teachers. We know it is a frivolous lawsuit, we know that it's a copycat lawsuit, we know that MichelleRheeFirst and Wall Street are behind it and we know that those, like Campbell Brown and Mona Davids are desperate for relevancy and attention.

About a month or so ago when Campbell announced her intentions, she cited a family in Rochester that was allegedly treated appallingly by their daughter's (Then in 7th grade) teacher after the girl (The girl's name, as well as the family's name and teacher's name will not be published here) had written an essay about Fredrick Douglas.

The Nation of Islam has shared their version of the story. What happened? According to the story the student was;

...recently forced to endure the chastisement of her teachers, principal, and other school administrators for her response to a district-wide activity where students were asked to read The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, and write a brief essay explaining what the narrative meant to them.

Why? The student;

...composed a powerful essay comparing her own educational experiences with those of Douglass. Like him, she lamented that her peers did not like to read, and how difficult it was to obtain a decent education.

Hey, if she can write such a powerful essay, something very right must be happening in the classroom, no?

So what is the problem? It seems that;

According to the girl and her family, the following day the teacher approached Jada and stated that she was offended by what the student wrote.

When the student asked her why she was offended, the teacher stated that the student had used the term “White teachers,” according to the family.

The student says she told the teacher that she was talking about another teacher. The teacher’s response was, “Don’t talk about my colleague like that! Have you ever had a Black teacher? Did she teach you?” according to the young girl.

Remember the game telephone? This story can seem somewhat fantastical.

According to sources deep within the Rochester schools, the teacher said two things to the student. The teacher mentioned that she was disappointed that the student decided to paint all teachers will the same brush and that the student was stereotyping teachers. The teacher also asked the student;
"Don't I care about you?"

The teacher in question cared very much for the student. She was doing as any good teacher, or adult was doing, or I have, when dealing with a student or our child.

We try to impart that to make a blanket statement about a group of people is wrong. Not only that, but we need to base our statement, especially when we write or give our opinion, not supposition but on facts. The teacher was doing her job, the same way any parent would do, or the same way our employer would ask us to do if we had written something.

According to sources,  the student went home and mentioned this to mom. Either the student did not tell the whole story or did, and the proper context was not used, but the mom still got quite upset.

Our sources shared that even though the student loved the teacher and the teacher loved her, the mother, who had a great deal of respect for the teacher as well, insisted that the child be removed from the school post haste. The mother was given her choice of schools to choose from and the mother made the decision on where the student will go to school.

But it didn't end there. The mother then went to a extreme fringe group our sources tell us, could it be the Nation of Islam? Well whatever group it was, that group got in touch with another extreme group. The guys at The Blaze. Yep, Glenn Beck. Yes, the Glen Beck who has made such caring quotes about minorities as found here and here.

What happened? The student and her parents appeared on the Glen Beck Show. Since when does Glen Beck care about the people of the inner city? Since when does Glen Beck care about the people of color in this country? Glen Beck is an opportunist. Glen Beck, even when he is on his meds, is meshuga.

The family is being used. First by the NOI, next by Glen Beck, and now by Campbell Brown.

The teacher involved loves her job, loves her students, and this is the price that she must pay, for something that is just miscommunication?

Where is the verification of this incident having happened the way it was reported? If this truly happened the way it was reported why then is the teacher still teaching? Where are other stories of this teacher acting in the same manner? Were students in the class interviewed as part of the investigation? Were other teachers?

This incident is still under investigation and we don't know the entire story. Yet, Campbell Brown has no problem deciding what the truth is. Campbell Brown has no trouble using people to advance herself.

Think about it. Read the story in again. Read this. Make your own decision.

This lawsuit is about power, control, and money. Nothing more, nothing less.

In light of today's story in the Daily News how Campbell Brown, the Bayou Schicksa, is now joining
the fray and about to file her own law suit (More to come on this story on these pages this week), we yet again must focus on the comedy stylings of The Crack Team's favorite source of material, Sam Pirozzolo.

Yes, this will mark the 7th blog post this month which shares the buffoonery that examines the logic belching out of Sam's mind. It is all too easy to take his thoughts apart and to show what a hypocrite and self-absorbed phony he truly is. The funny thing is, that it took us here at SBSB a couple of days to put 2 and 2 together to expose him. Again.

On his Facebook page, Sam mentioned how the Pomona Middle School, of the East Ramapo Central School District (Rockland County) has had its day extended by two hours (Click to enlarge);
Now we don't know if Sam knows where East Ramapo, Pomona, or Rockland County is. We do know that there is a White Castle on Route 59 in Nanuet not too far from Pomona and judging by Sam, he seems to be a fan of White Castle, so let's give him a slight benefit of the doubt.

But we are sure Sam does not know about the the East Ramapo Central School District and this is yet another instance of Sam exposing his ignorance, his selfishness, and how he has just morphed into some mindless minion of Mona's.

East Ramapo is one of the most corrupt school districts in the State of New York. The school board, of which there are nine members, is controlled by 7 Hasidic Jews. These 7 board members send their children to yeshivas, and have zero ownership to the school district other than paying taxes and making sure their taxes are as low as can be.

 Let's just start with how the school board OK'd the sale of an empty school, and to close, lease, and sell an open school to yeshivas for under the true valuation of each school. David Steiner, former state education commissioner, had to step in and stop both sales.

According to a April 2013 New York Magazine article, ERCD has since the time the Hasidim have taken control of the school board in 2005;

The new majority on the board cut taxes and budgets, angering the public-school community.

 cleaned out the district’s reserve fund during a deepening recession

the kindergarten school day was reduced by half. AP classes and ESL programs fell by the wayside. In the high schools, so many teachers have been laid off that students can’t fill their schedules

..floated a proposal to eliminate kindergarten altogether and shorten the school day for everyone else

At Spring Valley High School, which at one time was ranked in the top 500 in the United States; 

"The school’s deans, who had handled discipline, had been laid off, and many students started arriving at school very late or skipping it entirely. The security staff was also cut, and so fights became more frequent, and students often stayed shut in their classrooms until the halls cleared. Clubs were eliminated, as well as sports teams and the drama program, until the communal life of the schools dis­appeared and it seemed to Olivia Castor, another Spring Valley High School student, that the school board’s vision of education consisted of little more than “reading, writing, and arithmetic.”

 The one time president of the school board, an Orthodox Jew named Daniel Schwartz decided to tell those, a community mostly of immigrants and African-American's that disagreed with the board; 

"You don’t like it? Find another place to live.”

According to New York, for years, the Hasidim would hide their most disabled children, afraid to let them be seen in public. Soon, these children were being sent to private schools, but those schools cost money. How to save money, but keep them in the private schools? Have the board pay for the tuition, a packed board, a board that won't ask any questions;

Once they gained a majority, the district began to grant many more special-needs placement requests. It has granted so many, in fact, that the New York State Department of Education has formally notified the district that it is violating the law.

The board after it conducts district business in the open and then goes into closed session does not come back to take public comments until midnight. Parents and students must wait all night just to be heard! After one contentious meeting, the board’s attorney buttonholed a high-school senior and called him a “piece of shit.” Oh, let's not forget the board attorney, Chris Kirby screaming at the families and the children.


The Hasidim vote as a bloc. The Hasidim do not care one iota about the secular students and families of  East Ramapo. The Hasidim are sucking out the resources of East Ramapo for the own benefit.

Rockland County clergy have asked the state to take over the school district. The arts have been cut in East Ramapo.

The problems are just too numerous to list on these pages. Click here to read more of East Ramapo in the news.

But what is missing is the lack of involvement of NYC Parents Union, Minion Sam Pirozzolo, his handler Mona Davids, and Campbell Brown. These are real problems. Verifiable problems. Problems that are more important than a law suit because some teacher supposedly said something bad to a student.

Where is Mona? Where is Sam? Simple. Nowhere and they won't lift a finger to do anything. Why? Because it doesn't do them any good. Sam, because not one single soul can vote for him in East Ramapo and Mona, because she won't be coronated in Rockland County as she wishes to be in New York City.

The problems faced in East Ramapo are of the same cause, though not of the same veracity, statewide. This is systemic. It is not the teachers, it is the decision makers across school districts that pervert the learning process. These are the true enablers. Teachers don't have that kind of clout or power. But we are the easier targets.

These are real problems, real issues, and because it won't and can't advance Mona Davids and Sam Pirozzolo politically they won't lift a finger to do something.

Both of them are frauds.