NYSUT Board Unites on Call for Removal of John King

Oh, wait, did the NYSUT board forget about no confidence in Meryl Tisch and her removal?

Well, they don't seem to disagree on John King. Then what do they disagree on? Bet it starts with a C and ends with an O. I bet there's a lot of political action going on once that bit of business is over. Ahhh, I remember the days when Mulgrew raved about John King and Meryl Tisch.

The resolution will next go to the union’s more than 2,000 delegates at NYSUT’s representative meeting in April. The State Education Department did not respond immediately to a request for comment.

Hmmm. Me thinks those 2000 delegates, 800 of which are Unity, might have a few things on their minds in April.

Mike Antonucci over at EIA today also had some comments over the NYSUT split, thinking it put Randi in a pickle. I think not. It’s Official: Civil War in NYSUT.

http://blog.timesunion.com/schools/2484/2484/

Schools

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By Kristen V. Brown | On Twitter

NYSUT issues ‘no confidence’ vote, calls for King’s removal

Posted on January 25, 2014 | By Kristen V. Brown

The state’s largest and most powerful teacher’s union on Saturday issued a declaration of “no confidence” in state Education Commissioner John King, a symbolic but unprecedented gesture calling for King’s removal from his post by the state Board of Regents.

New York State United Teachers’  80-member board of directors unanimously approved the resolution Saturday during the board’s regular meeting.

The resolution states that the board declares “no confidence in the policies of the Commissioner of Education.” Earlier this month, NYSUT president Richard Iannuzzi announced that he would seek the action  in an interview on Time Warner’s “Capital Tonight” program.

NYSUT’s  board also withdrew its support for the state’s new Common Core learning standards “as implemented and interpreted in New York” until the State Education Department “makes major course corrections” and “supports a three-year moratorium on high-stakes consequences from standardized testing.”

“SED’s implementation plan in New York state has failed,” said Iannuzzi in a statement. “The commissioner has pursued policies that repeatedly ignore the voices of parents and educators who have identified problems and called on him to move more thoughtfully.”

NYSUT members have complained that the state has not given adequate guidance on the Common Core teaching standards. They also resent the state’s new system of teacher evaluations that will be based in part on how students perform on standardized tests.

They have called for a three-year moratorium on using test scores for so-called “high-stakes” decisions such as evaluations.

The resolution will next go to the union’s more than 2,000 delegates at NYSUT’s representative meeting in April. The State Education Department did not respond immediately to a request for comment.
NYSUT said that it will seek the following:

• Completion of all modules, or lessons, aligned with the Common Core and time for educators to review them to ensure they are grade-level appropriate and aligned with classroom practice;
• Better engagement with parents, including listening to their concerns about their children’s needs;
• Additional tools, professional development and resources for teachers to address the needs of diverse learners, including students with disabilities and English language learners;
• Full transparency in state testing, including the release of all test questions, so teachers can use them in improving instruction;
• Postponement of Common Core Regents exams as a graduation requirement;
•  The funding necessary to ensure all students have an equal opportunity to achieve the Common Core standards.  The proposed Executive Budget would leave nearly 70 percent of the state’s school districts with less state aid in 2014-15 than they had in 2009-10; and
• A moratorium, or delay, in the high-stakes consequences for students and teachers from standardized testing to give the State Education Department – and school districts – more time to correctly implement the Common Core.

UPDATE: Education Commissioner John King and state Board of Regents Chancellor Merryl Tisch issued a statement Saturday afternoon in response to the NYSUT vote. The statement follows, in entirety:

“Every year more than 140,000 New York students leave high school without the skills and knowledge they need to succeed in college or the workplace. Many are essentially trapped in a lifetime of economic despair. Together with the Board of Regents, the Governor, and legislature, we will make necessary adjustments and modifications to the implementation of the Common Core, but now is not the time to weaken standards for teaching and learning. Our students are counting on us to help them develop the skills and knowledge they need to succeed in life. The higher standards the Common Core sets will help them do just that.”