More helpful advice from a parent

Emily,The only information I can share with you is that my son is at MS 447 where they placed the Khalil Gibran school. There are now 3 schools in that buiding. There was plenty of space for Gibran. Many school buildings have 2 or more schools and they seem to be working. In your negotiations around this, if the DOE makes any promises (e.g., we'll renovate your auditorium or your cafeteria in exchange for this...) get it in writing! and stay on top of them.Good luck Beth G. Kneller Deputy Director The CUNY Baccalaureate Degree for Unique and Interdisciplinary Studies 365 Fifth Avenue, suite 6412 New York, NY 10016 212-817-8238 FAX: 212-817-1512 bkneller@gc.cuny.edu www.cunyba.cuny.edu http://cunyba.gc.cuny.edu/ (Blog)

Helpful feedback from Class Size Matters

Leonie Haimson to me show details 11:44 AM (12 minutes ago) Reply
Emily: are the class sizes expected to swell at PS 15 as a result of the charter’s placement in the building? If so, to what levels? Are you expected to lose cluster rooms etc. as a result? It would be helpful to have more detailed info about the likely impact of this move. I’ve forwarded your message to the NYC education news list serv. FYI, DOE pledged not to put new schools into existing buildings where it would force class sizes up above the levels principals planned or wanted for their schools. Let me know how I can help. Thanks, Leonie HaimsonExecutive DirectorClass Size Matters124 Waverly Pl.New York, NY 10011212-674-7320leonie@att.netwww.classsizematters.orghttp://nycpublicschoolparents.blogspot.com/ Please make a tax-deductible contribution to Class Size Matters now!

Fwd:

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: CEC15 D15 <CEC15@schools.nyc.gov>
Date: Fri, Mar 28, 2008 at 1:09 PM
Subject:
To:




Good Afternoon To All,

Please seve The Date for CEC15's next calendar public meeting April 17th, 2008.

Thank you,
Community Education Council
District 15

PLEASE POST DISTRIBUTE

ALSO PLEASE ENCOURAGE PARENTS TO ATTEND

--
You can also reach me by phone at 917-720-7335.

Check out my digital photography at http://picasaweb.google.com/emilyholiday/EmilyBrown; I also have a short slideshow video at http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4527071836788208173

Questions and observations

In March, I was able to meet Spencer Robertson at a meeting held at PS15; Ms. Wyns-Madison, several PTA and School Leadership Committee members, PS15 staff members and a representative from the Department of Education were also present - and I'll go into more detail on this meeting in a separate post.

Mr. Robertson seems like a personable enough fellow, but he doesn't really seem to be all that familiar with Red Hook as a community - and I am willing to bet that the other participants in this meeting were even more sensitive to this than I am because they actually live and work in the neighborhood - I've only been visiting for the past decade (my husband lived there for a while when I first met him; I've been over to the neighborhood frequently for events at BWAC, and of course my son has been attending school there for the past 5 years). I didn't get the gut feeling that he has a real commitment to Red Hook itself - I got the sense that his commitment is primarily to promoting his charter school - but I also wonder how much experience he has running a private business (he seemed to be extremely offended when I pointed out that I was surprised that he was given approval to start up the PAVE Academy without having secured a definite location to run his business from; he seemed to have an issue with calling a non-profit (501(c)3 organization) a business - but it IS a business! Either he's incredibly naive, or his reaction was a pretense; either way, the reaction was completely weird.

During the conversation, it also turned out that despite what his proposal presented about serving the Red Hook community, citing statistics about the 50-50 ratio of Hispanic and African American students he felt should be enrolled in his school, it turns out that he has had the Department of Education do a mailing to parents throughout the 11231 zip code to recruit students. That zip code certainly includes Red Hook, but it also extends through several other neighborhoods with very different ethnic compositions - all the way up Court and Smith Streets to Union Street, for instance, which some people would refer to as Cobble Hill. Something isn't adding up right here, and I don't know whether it's Mr. Robertson's true intentions, or the way the DOE is "helping" him.

One parent pointed out, after he made a pronouncement about wanting to "share" for the sake of mutually helping each other, that this comment was ironic: it was like having an uninvited guest barge into their living room and start babbling about sharing. I'd been having similar thoughts before the meeting myself, and it was a relief to hear someone else actually voice that concern. He offered to help PS15 out with things like building a green roof for the school, or providing air conditioning.

Mr. Robertson, by the way, spent a lot of time at the meeting talking about how he would actually prefer to use the Miccio Center than PS15, because in some ways that building has several advantages from his point of view - including easier access to mass transit (it's closer to the Smith & 9th Street F station), which would be more appealing to the young teachers he wants to recruit to work in his school, as well as some of the families he's trying to recruit to attend the school. (Again, whatever happened to his original plan to serve student from the immediate Red Hook neighborhood?) Fine. He's got his eye on another location - but what he wants may not connect smoothly with what the DOE decides to do in the long run. He also took offense again when I pointed out that Red Hook has been cut off from the rest of Brooklyn with only bus access ever since Robert Moses built the expressway, and that despite that, PS15 has committed teachers and some families who value the school enough to make the effort to commute in from considerable distances EVEN THOUGH it's not right next to a subway station. His reaction to this was borderline hostile, and another parent attending the meeting basically told him to back off.

After he left the meeting, the DOE representative pointed out several things that PS15 may need to seriously consider: the PAVE School has more money attached to it than some other charter schools, and that with the low enrollment situation at PS15, the PAVE Academy might be one of the more positive alternatives because we might be able to negotiate more positive "sharing" options with them than some other schools with very little financial backing - for instance, an up to date science lab, rather than merely air conditioning systems which have a limited lifespan. It appears that - according to the DOE - as long as PS15 has low enrollment, it's almost inevitable that there will be pressure to place SOME charter school in its building. We may need to develop strategies to boost enrollment if we don't want another school dumped on us; we might add 6th through 8th grade to the school (which could actually be a positive move for many of the Red Hook families who may not want their kids bused out of the neighborhood for middle school). We could also include a bilingual lab, and/or a Mommy and Me program for kids who are younger than pre-K students (and this could be a feeder program for the pre-K program at the school).

Things to think about. I'll be adding more posts soon - but these issues have been on my mind for a while now.

I'd love to see some comments posted here - the webcounter is showing nearly 300 hits as of today (March 27), so I know people are looking at the blog.

Gmail - Google Alert - PAVE Academy Charter School - emilyholiday@gmail.com

Follow the link to see several stories about the issue... here's the thing, though - it seems like the story's been dropped, at least for the moment, but we're still sitting in the dark about what the DOE will end up deciding go do.
http://mail.google.com/mail/?source=navclient#inbox/118e1abe52cc46ae

Real Estate Brooklyn coverage Bay Ridge Eagle Brooklyn, 2007 NY information :: daily paper in Brooklyn

Real Estate Brooklyn coverage Bay Ridge Eagle Brooklyn, 2007 NY information :: daily paper in Brooklyn

*************FOUNDING LEAD Teachers K & 1*********************

*************FOUNDING LEAD Teachers K & 1*********************

Editorial Notebook; In Defense of 'Bloody' Red Hook - New York Times

Editorial Notebook; In Defense of 'Bloody' Red Hook - New York Times

This is an old story, but reinforces the point that the staff of PS15 has worked very hard to create a safe haven in a neighborhood that outsiders have a lot of preconceived notions of. It also underscores how grating it is that the DOE wants to "reward" PS15 by parking a Charter School, run by a novice who doesn't apparently have much of a clue about Red Hook or our school, in our building.

P.S. 15 Patrick F. Daly School

P.S. 15 Patrick F. Daly School

Just some background that reiterates the importance of small class sizes at PS15

The Brooklyn Paper: Parents win: Education Department agrees not to add charter school to Red Hook’s PS 15

The Brooklyn Paper: Parents win: Education Department agrees not to add charter school to Red Hook’s PS 15

501(c) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

501(c) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: "private"

OK: this gets a little sticky, and Wikipedia's not the Ivy League choice of reference, but when I asked Spencer Robinson whether he didn't feel there was a conflict of interest operating a private business in a public school (and asked whether most private businesses asking for investment backing wouldn't need to secure a definite site of operation before they'd be able to convince investors that they were stable), he got all flustered and tried to make it sound like his charter school was a public business...

Charter schools are often 501(c)3 organizations - that's the designation for educational organizations - and they're also PRIVATE organizations. For all the gory details on tax exempt status, etc., click the link above.

Education Law - Google Search

The Department of Education may be in violation of Education Law because it didn't present the charter school issue to the communitybefore making their bombshell announcement about putting the PAVE Academy in PS15 last month. Here are some resources.
Education Law - Google Search

Gotham Gazette is an excellent source of additional information...

I've posted links to some of their articles on this blog to give readers a sample of the kind of fair and balanced reporting they present. For more, go to www.gothamgazette.org and find the "Education" tab and click on it. Then type in "charter schools" in the search box - the results are quite fascinating.

The Edison Election (Gotham Gazette, March 26, 2001)

The Edison Election (Gotham Gazette, March 26, 2001)

History repeats itself... this article focuses on the privatization issue in connection with charter schools, and shows how parents and community groups get shut out of the decision making process. Is this really what we need in our schools? There are privacy issues involved as well, and parts of the issue also underscores the divide between families that are well off and those that aren't.

Poor Grades for a School ‘Contract’ (Gotham Gazette, July 2007)

Poor Grades for a School ‘Contract’ (Gotham Gazette, July 2007)

If you're at all concerned about budget cuts and how money is distributed between public schools and charter schools (and you should be), make sure to read this one!

The City’s Resistance to Cutting Class Size (Gotham Gazette, April 24, 2006)

The City’s Resistance to Cutting Class Size (Gotham Gazette, April 24, 2006)

PLEASE read this article if you're at all concerned about funding discrepancies and legal responsibilities...

Cloning A Charter School From Connecticut (Gotham Gazette, August 2004)

Cloning A Charter School From Connecticut (Gotham Gazette, August 2004)

Charter schools are nice, but some public schools with dedicated staff are just fine, too, thanks - and if we respect our unionized teachers, should we support charter schools who don't have to use them? And the privatization issue is still very much there....

Charter Schools (Gotham Gazette, November 14, 2005)

Charter Schools (Gotham Gazette, November 14, 2005)

This is one of several articles I'm going to post from Gotham Gazette presenting background information on charter schools in generals. Please don't miss the resource links at the end of the article.

More Media Updates

Real Estate Brooklyn coverage Bay Ridge Eagle Brooklyn, 2007 NY information :: daily paper in Brooklyn This link title is misleading: it's actually an update about the PAVE Academy issue...

The Brooklyn Paper: Contact Us

The Brooklyn Paper: Contact Us

If anyone wants to share aspects of the charter school invasion issue with a local paper, get in touch with The Brooklyn Paper.

A Response To The DOE's Position on "Sharing"

Mr. Friedman states in an email to Emily Brown that the proposed co-location for the charter school PAVE is temporary while it secures a private facility. The President of PAVE, Spencer Robertson, in a meeting at PS 15 with parents last week, could not guarantee a time-line . The temporary status thus remains fuzzy because it depends upon PAVE finding another place. This can take months, years or decades. Even a few years would be too long as PAVE would be starting to crowd out PS 15.

Mr. Friedman also brings up that over 600 schools in New York City share space. There are, however, only about 60 charter schools in New York City. Are the other schools sharing space with other private non-profit enterprises or with public programs like English as a Second Language or Programs for the Gifted? It is not clear how this statement relates bringing in a Charter School at PS 15.

With the phrase"Giving the realities of space in New York City,... " Mr. Friedman seems to express the Bloomberg administration's sensitivety to real estate, and viewing most public schools as expensive or wasted real estate.

He follows up with"... each school having its own facility is not feasible if we are to ensure that there is an appropriate range of high quality school options throughout the city." This view is based on the belief that the schools need to be packed with many more students and services. This view is challenged by the fact that PS 15 is in control of the facilities, makes use of the space creatively through allocating class room space to art, music science and social history classes, and that the school was on the Mayors own list of most improved schools.

The solution for better schools might be right under the Chancellor's nose. Don't pack the schools, allow for class room space (in elementary) for art, music,social science and science, and keep the school population small.

Paul van Linden Tol

DOE Meeting with Red Hook Community re: PAVE Academy co-placement in PS15

I'm a parent of a third-grader at PS15 who opposes the co-placement of the PAVE Academy (or any charter school, for that matter) in my son's school.  I understand that this decision has been put on hold temporarily, but I and many other parents are still extremely concerned about this issue. If you'd like to see WHY we oppose having a charter school placed in PS15, please see http://charter-free-ps15.blogspot.com.

 

Thank you for your consideration.

 

Sincerely,

 

Emily Brown

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You can also reach me by phone at 917-720-7335.l.

P.S.15 PTA Update

On March 3, 2008 Councilwoman Sara Gonzalez held an informational meeting regarding PAVE Academy coming to PS15. Invited by Ms. Gonzalez were Ms. Madison, and a representative from the following: PTA, School Leadership, UFT, The Justice Center, PAVE Academy, Department of Charter Schools, Department of Portfolio Development, and the Red Hook Civic Association.

John White, from the Department of Education's Portfolio Development apologized for the way the decision was made, but stuck to his statement that PS15 is the "mos underutilized school in District 15, making it the best choice for PAVE Academy". Mr. White promised that the Department of Education is committed to providing choice to parents, and that PAVE Academy would not encroach on PS15. MANY comments were made regarding the lack of notification of parents, school staff, and community members in this decision. Mr. White stated that a study was done of PS15 and the number of "underutilized" classrooms exceeded the number of utilized. Even with the majority of all of our classrooms used for programs like Creative Arts Tean, the Science Lab, Social Studies, Art, etc., Mr. White stated that the DOE follows a formula. Mr. White prmised to send Ms. Gonzalez his reports on that decision, and Ms. Gonzalez would be able to share information at her discretion. We have not heard from her.

Later that week, Jon McGettrick of the Red Hook Civic Assocation gave Spencer Robertson from PAVE Academy a tour of alternative sites in Red Hook. Seems Mr. Robertson really like the PAL Miccio located at 110 9th Street. Regardless of Mr. Robertson's feelings about sites, the decision is ultimately up to the DOE.

Member of the Assembly Felix Ortiz wrote a letter to Chancellor Klein voicing his concern about the placement of PAVE in P.S.15. He applauded the decision to put the proposal on hold and urged the Chancellor to "Search for an alternative site for PAVE. No further steps should be taken to implement the controversial placement of PAVE in PS15 until the plan has been thoroughly examined, and the parents, teachers, school officials, and residents of the Red Hook Community have had a voice in the process." Senator Velmanette Montgomery also wrote Chancellor Klein in opposition of siting PAVE at P.S.15, and of leaving the community out of the decision process.

The DOE has only delayed the decision to site the PAVE Academy at P.S.16. They didn't kill it. Until we see something in writing from DOE that the charter school will not be housed at P.S.15, we should continue to organize an opposition. ANY school coming to P.S.15 would pose a threat to our growth and progress. We are actively looking for ways to increase our enrollment. Please contact the PTA leadership if you have any ideas on how we can attract more families/students to P.S.15. We want our school filled with our community's children.

Please continue to contact Councilwoman Sara Gonzalez, Senator Velmonette Montgomery, Assemblyman Felix Ortiz, Chancellor Joel Klein, and Mr. John White from the Office of Portfolio Development (the decision maker here) with your concerns and questions regarding P.S.15's future. We deserve not to be kept in the dark again. We deserve to be part of the process, whatever it may be.

Re: Message to the Mayor

Dear Mr. Friedman,

 

I appreciate your taking the time to respond. However, there is one pressing question I need to ask on behalf of all the concerned parents of PS15 students: in light of the fact that the proposed co-location has been put on hold - at least temporarily - pending a community meeting with the Department of Education, when and where will this meeting take place? 

 

Thank you for your consideration.

 

Sincerely,

 

Emily Brown

On Tue, Mar 11, 2008 at 3:57 PM, Friedman Peter <PFriedman3@schools.nyc.gov> wrote:

Ms. Brown:

 

Thank you for writing to Mayor Bloomberg regarding the space sharing of PS 15. Your correspondence has been forwarded to the Department of Education (DOE) so that we may respond accordingly.

 

Your input in the matter is greatly appreciated. Please be advised that the proposed co-location is temporary while PAVE secures a private facility. However, in the interm, the DOE is confident that the co-location will not harm the educational program of PS 15. Also, the utilization of the building and the proposed co-location will not cause increased class size at PS 15.   

 

Over 600 schools in New York City share space. Given realities of space in the New York, each school having its own facility is not feasible if we are to ensure that there is an appropriate range of high quality school options throughout the city.

 

I hope this information is helpful. Thank you again for taking the time to write the Mayor.

 

Peter Friedman

Associate

Chancellor's Strategic Response Group

NYC Department of Education

52 Chambers Street

New York, NY 10007

 

--
You can also reach me by phone at 917-720-7335.

Check out my digital photography at http://picasaweb.google.com/emilyholiday/EmilyBrown; I also have a short slideshow video at http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4527071836788208173

Fwd: CEC 15 MEETING ON MARCH 19TH, 2008

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: CEC15 D15 <CEC15@schools.nyc.gov>
Date: Tue, Mar 11, 2008 at 12:39 PM
Subject: CEC 15 MEETING ON MARCH 19TH, 2008
To:


PLEASE POST AND DISTRIBUTE








District 15 Community Education Council

"Empowering Parents to Claim Excellent Education for All Students"

131 Livingston Street, room 301B, Brooklyn, NY 11201

Phone: 718 935-4267   Fax: 718 935-4356

CEC15@schools.nyc.gov



After the Rally at City Hall



. . . Let's continue the conversation



Budget Cuts - $1.7 million in District 15 Alone



Wednesday March 19th, 2008

7:00pm to 9:00pm






P.S. 32 - Samuels Mills Sprole

317 Hoyt Street (Between Union and President Streets)

Subway:  F, G to Carroll Street

Bus:  B71, and B75

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You can also reach me by phone at 917-720-7335.

Check out my digital photography at http://picasaweb.google.com/emilyholiday/EmilyBrown; I also have a short slideshow video at http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4527071836788208173

Fwd: Budget Cuts - and protest/actions coming up soon!

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: CEC15 D15 <CEC15@schools.nyc.gov>
Date: Tue, Mar 11, 2008 at 12:47 PM
Subject:
To:


PLEASE POST AND DISTRIBUTE


THANK YOU
FROM CEC 15

--
You can also reach me by phone at 917-720-7335.

Check out my digital photography at http://picasaweb.google.com/emilyholiday/EmilyBrown; I also have a short slideshow video at http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4527071836788208173

PAVE Academy

I'd like to know when the public meeting to discuss the PAVE Academy's proposed placement in PS15 is scheduled to take place. I'm a parent of a PS15 student, and like most of the other parents at the school, I am very strongly opposed to having this happen; I've been researching the issue and have compiled and organized a blog dealing with the issue, which you're welcome to look at at http://charter-free-ps15.blogspot.com - it makes it manifestly clear why this decision will have a profoundly negative impact on an excellent and high achieving public school. Please contact me at emilyholiday@gmail.com or at 917-325-1348. It's of the utmost importance that this meeting take place in order to have a true dialogue between the community and the Department of Education; our childrens' educations are at stake.

 

Thank you.

 

Sincerely,

 

Emily Brown

--
You can also reach me by phone at 917-720-7335.

Check out my digital photography at http://picasaweb.google.com/emilyholiday/EmilyBrown; I also have a short slideshow video at http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4527071836788208173

- Contact Us: Helping Hand

- Contact Us: Helping Hand

Here are some contacts that may be helpful

Welcome - A Note from the Founder | PAVE Academy Charter School

Welcome - A Note from the Founder PAVE Academy Charter School

This is the Welcome message from Spencer Robertson, who talks about "accountability" in his message:

When we got the green light to open the school from New York State on January
16, 2008, PAVE Academy immediately became accountable to a number of entities
throughout the state and city governments.

What he DOESN'T mention, however, is how he will be accountable to the Red Hook community in general. Does it sound like he feels he's only accountable to governmental agencies? He has to be accountable to them if he's going to operate a school under their auspices.

By the way, it wasn't easy finding this website - it's not even registered with any of the popular search engines yet. There's not a lot of depth on the site yet, either. Does this inspire confidence in prospective parents? Take a look at the credentials of the people involved in the organization so far - they have fine academic credentials, but it doesn't sound like they have very much hands-on experience yet.

Location | PAVE Academy Charter School

Location PAVE Academy Charter School

Click the link above to see the Academy's public statement about their plans (or lack thereof) for a location for their school. This issue has been bothering me for a while for several reasons. Initially, I felt that the Department of Education deserved most of the blame for wanting to insert a charter school into an existing public school, but the more I've thought about it, the charter school itself should share responsibility for poor planning on this particular topic. What business (and make no mistake, this IS a business, and a private one) in any other sector would be taken seriously if it made plans to start operating by a specific projected date without having a definite location secured IN ADVANCE? Please. This is what any business person with any common sense would call POOR PLANNING.

The Brooklyn Paper: Parents win: Education Department agrees not to add charter school to Red Hook’s PS 15

Another press clipping about the situation

The Brooklyn Paper: Parents win: Education Department agrees not to add charter school to Red Hook’s PS 15

Founding Teacher PAVE Academy Charter School

Here's the job posting recruiting teachers for the PAVE Academy.

Founding Teacher PAVE Academy Charter School

Why Charter Schools and Privatization Are Un-Democratic and Do Not Serve the Public's Best Interest

I'm posting this on behalf of Paul van Linden Tol, a Brooklyn Public Library librarian who worked for many years at the Red Hook branch and helped initiate several programs including one which brought books from the BPL system to PS15; he is a parent of a PS15 student. - The Moderator

I lived in Red Hook, worked in Red Hook and my Son is in third Grade school and has been at PS 15 since pre-K. We were Lucky! because Max's first teacher in Pre K was Ms. Perry. Ms. Perry, now retired , was a great teacher, storyteller, philosopher and a keen psychologist who understood the soul of children. She worked for the public schools all her life and was committed to Red Hook and PS 15. (Moderator's note: Ms. Flanagan was the other teacher in Max's pre-K, and she was also wonderful!) We discovered since then that PS 15 is rich in teachers like her.

PS 15 is not a failing school. PS 15 an example of what a good public school can do. The school was on the Mayor's list of most improved schools. The last and the current principals both were /are pro-active. The combination of a dedicated staff, a strong PTA and an involved community, has made the school a good example of how, without any gimmicks, a good public school can work.

The Board of Education had arbitrarily decided to house the Charter School PAVE at PS 15. The Charter School would capitalize on the good foundation that had been laid by the teachers, principals, PTA , the community and the parents. They would skim of the cream of the students and force the school to have larger classes per teacher

The Board of Education is only partly to blame. Although charter schools existed in the 60's, they have now become an hallmark of republican administrations in an overall effort to privatize the public institutions including the schools as much as possible. Both former mayor Giuliani and the current mayor Bloomberg adhere to this * "market fundamentalist" credo. It boils down to "privatize as much as possible-;2. de-professionalize as much as possible; de-fund as much as possible. They thereby hand over the public ( and democratic) domain over to private enterprise. If left unchecked they would privatize the water supply (which already happened in some townships in Maine). This un-democratic attitude was expressed in Red Hook by the disdain the Board of Education and Chancellor Klein showed in deciding to go ahead with the Charter School at PS 15 without input from the community.

The development of charter schools started in New York in big way during Mayor Giuliani's tenure with such companies like Edison Schools Incorporated. The idea was that these schools were to be more innovative and unencumbered by the restrains of the public schools. They could hire non- union teachers and could be exclusionary in regards to students.

However, in California where they are ahead from us in their experience with Charter Schools,
University studies from the University of California failed to show any significant improvement.
They strongly suggest that there is no magic bullet about improving the schools.
Also in California, sixty charter schools had to close recently because of a 113 indictment of its Director. The charges included siphoning 5 million dollar from the schools to the management section of the company.

A similar situation happened in Milwaukee's New Hope School when its director was indicted for embezzling $300.00 dollars

In general Charter Schools
1. Drain funds from the public school budget to private companies
2. They are not truly accountable to the public and not really that different.
3. They are selective and often cream off the best students.
4. There is also an indication that most of the Charter Schools are actually under-funded and
receive only four fifth of the dollar per student.
5. Chancellor Klein has given a positive performance rating of the charters schools they monitor.
What is unconvincing is that the report only rated 13 of the 60 charters school in New York.

Because of the above and as a parent I am opposed to housing a charter school at PS 15
It will marginalize PS 15 because of larger class size, less special programs, less students and less money.

Thanks,
Paul van Linden Tol

* A Market Fundamentalist believes that "private enterprise "can solve all problems in the world no matter how complex.

MEETING TO DISCUSS PLANS FOR PAVE ACADEMY

I noticed a sign in Spanish posted in the 77 bus stop shelter this evening that read

PAVE Academy Charter School
Reunion para informacion
Hora: 6:30 - 7:30
pm
Fecha: Tues., March 11th
Lugar: Red Hook - 7 Wolcott
Street
Telefono: (212)437-8332

As soon as I saw the sign, I took one of the tear-off tags hanging from it and checked my son's knapsack to see if there was a similar announcement from the school inside. There wasn't. There are several things about this sign that are interesting to me; first, obviously, that there wasn't a similar notice from P.S. 15, which makes me wonder whether the organizers of the meeting had bothered to tell the school yet. Second, why is the sign only in Spanish, at least at the particular bus stop where I found it? It's obvious even to a non-Spanish speaker like me what the sign means, but still. Also, the sign was printed up on totally plain paper - no letterhead, not even a logo or any other distinguishing marking.

When I got home, I called the phone number listed on the sign, and got a recording telling me that it was the PAVE Academy's phone number and that I could leave a message for Spencer Robertson and Timothy Burke, and that I could also reach Spencer Robertson after hours at 347-218-2684. By the way, this is the first time I've been able to get any contact information for either the PAVE Academy or Mr. Robertson - and I've checked all over the internet already. The level of secrecy up to this point puzzles me - I don't know why someone starting a new school would make it difficult for others to find ways to reach them. I'll be calling back in the morning because I want to know what their plans are now that the original plan to locate the school at PS15 is on hold.

7 Wolcott Street happens to be the address for the local Brooklyn Public Library.

I'll update the blog when I find out more... maybe I'm making too much of a mystery out of a little piece of paper hung in a bus stop, but a few things just seem a little off.

Fwd: PAVE Charter School to be placed in PS15, Red Hook

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: James Devor <jimdevor@yahoo.com>
Date: Thu, Mar 6, 2008 at 1:34 PM
Subject: Re: PAVE Charter School to be placed in PS15, Red Hook
To: emilyholiday@gmail.com,

As of Tuesday evening, it is our understanding that the plan to place PAVE inside of PS 15 is "on hold"

To be clear, notwithstanding its clear obligation under the Education Law, at no time did the central Department of Education "consult" with the local Community Education Council regarding our opinions as to where PAVE should be located or even as to whether or not the Charter School in question was a good idea. Indeed, none of us were told of the planned placement of PAVE inside of PS 15 until a few days before the parents were.

This cavalier disrespect for our Council (and Community) was especially grating since we had recently gone through the turmoil over the placement of the Kahil Gibran Academy last spring. We took great pride in our role in amicably resolving that problem and were promised by the Department that we would not again be similarly taken by surprise in the future. That pledge like so many others by the Department of Education was shamelessly broken.

As I was quoted in the Courier, PS 15 may (or may not) be the best interim location for a Charter School serving Red Hook, but that first requires a conversation between the community, the CEC and the DOE. Personally, I still insist that conversation must be held BEFORE any such decision is finally made.

____________________________________________
Jim Devor (1st VP, Community Education Council 15) jimdevor@yahoo.com

Gotham Gazette: City Government

Gotham Gazette: City Government

Here's some more information about District 38 and Representative Sarah M. Gonzalez, and how to contact her.

NYC DOE: Office of Charter Schools, Contact Us, Charter Schools, Our Schools

NYC DOE: Office of Charter Schools, Contact Us, Charter Schools, Our Schools

CEI-PEA: Center for Educational Innovation - Public Education Association

CEI-PEA: Center for Educational Innovation - Public Education Association

Public Advocate for the City of New York – Contacts

Public Advocate for the City of New York – Contacts

Public Advocate for the City of New York – Homepage

Public Advocate for the City of New York – Homepage

Google Search Results

Google Search Results

It's interesting to note that while searching the DOE website for "charter schools", you get literally hundreds of hits, but if you type in "opposition to charter schools", you only get two results, and they're the kind of self-congratulatory stuff that's mildly interesting, but not really very "meaty" in the long run.

Google Search Results

The NYC DOE's official statements and policies regarding Charter Schools are presented here



Google Search Results

The New York City Department of Education

The New York City Department of Education

The New York City Department of Education

The New York City Department of Education

Feedback Form

Feedback Form

Insideschools.org Blog: Search results for Patrick Daly

Insideschools.org Blog: Search results for Patrick Daly

City charter school plan for PS 15 is put on hold

City charter school plan for PS 15 is put on hold

Advocates for Children Sums It Up...

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Tuesday, February 19
Seeking space for new schools, DOE comes up against into angry parents

Posted by Philissa at 11:04 AM


If it's February, it must mean that the DOE is scurrying to find spaces for all of the new schools it plans to open in September. In addition to the 27 high schools and transfer schools opening in the fall, some number of elementary, middle, and charter schools will also open, and they all need space. Many of the city's schools are officially under capacity, but those schools have been able to make headway in reducing class size and improving performance, and they don't want to compromise their gains. (Official school capacities assume that classes will have the largest legally permitted number of students.)

This year, in response to complaints in the past, the DOE is giving school communities greater warning before placing new schools inside them. As a result, parents afraid of age-mixing, overcrowding, and other tensions have more information earlier — and they're just as angry as they were last year. I don't envy the DOE's Office of Portfolio Development right now.

Here are a few space-sharing issues I've come across this year. I'm sure I'm leaving some out — have you heard of more?


When the DOE announced that it was planning to place a new high school devoted to the film industry in Long Island City's IS 204, parents and students there protested. It's still not clear where the school will be located.

In Red Hook, Brooklyn, the DOE would like to house a new charter school in PS 15. The widow of Patrick Daly, the PS 15 principal who was killed in 1993 in gang crossfire while searching for a truant student, says he would have opposed the charter school.
Without any available space in the North Bronx, where it has been open — and housed in trailers — for the last two years, the Young Women's Leadership School is being moved into IS 162 in the South Bronx.
Kingsborough Early College School, previously located on the community college's campus, which lacked many amenities, will be moving to the Lafayette building; according to the Daily News, some parents won't be allowing their kids to move along with the school.
When the principal of PS 21 in Queens received a letter that said the DOE was considering putting another school in the building, parents were angry, saying that sharing space would diminish the quality of their excellent school.
At PS 84 in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, where last year middle-class parents reported being made to feel unwelcome when they asked for new programs, the DOE proposed creating a new elementary school. Hispanic parents protested, saying the DOE was trying to create a system of "separate but equal" schools in the building. The DOE now says no new school will open in PS 84 this fall.






1 comments:
Anonymous said...
PS 15 is a good school in a tough neighborhood. It's on the verge of becoming a top-performing and truly integrated school for the first time in its forty year history. Placing a charter school in PS 15 would lead to crowded classes and drain vital resources. There are no other charter schools sited within public schools in District 15. We want the same consideration.

Mary O'Neill

February 19, 2008 10:00 PM
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Parents invited to contact Daily News writer re: Charter issue

Rachel Monahan, one of the staff writers at The Daily News, would like to hear from parents about how they feel about the Charter School situation. She can be reached at 718-875-4455

Fwd: CEC15 February Update

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: CEC15 D15 <CEC15@schools.nyc.gov>
Date: Fri, Feb 29, 2008 at 4:19 PM
Subject: CEC15 February Update
To: Marta Quinones-McCarthy <mqmcc@yahoo.com>, pripro@aol.com, lewsenghor@yahoo.com, ddavis26@nyc.rr.com, valerie.price.ervin@shearman.com, Lailing Yu <lailing_yu@yahoo.com>, jimdevor@yahoo.com, tere0109@aol.com, Smith Romaine <RSmith45@schools.nyc.gov>


News from the District 15 Community Education Council (CEC)

District 15 Community Education Council

"Empowering Parents to Claim Excellent Education for All Students"



Starting this month our Updates will be sent out at the end of the month.  In so doing we hope to give you an overview of what has transpired for the entire month.

_____________________________________________________________________________________



Our last update was prior to the January Calendar meeting so we would not wan to be remiss in acknowledging and extending our thanks to Assembly member James Brennan and Mr. Phil Vacarro, Project manager from the office of Assessment and Accountability, and our district 15 Superintendent, Ms. Rosemary Stuart, who made presentations at our robust January meeting on the topic of School Progress Report Cards.

____________________________________________________________________________________



Congratulations to the new principals in District 15 -

Ms. Holly Reichert, has been appointed as the new principal of The Khalil Gibran Middle School



Ms. Laura Scott, former assistant principal is now the principal of PS 10, after the retirement of Principal Concetta Ritorto; we wish Ms. Ritorto a happy retirement.



Ms. Peggy Wyns-Madison became the new principal of PS 15 just a few days ago.



We wish all of you continued success in your worthy endeavor, as leaders, in the education of our children.

_____________________________________________________________________________________



On February 13th, our meeting was a tribute to our Community Partners of District 15 schools. We thank them for their support to our schools.  They were gracious in making presentations and answering questions after which they were presented with certificates of appreciation.



The second half of the meeting was dedicated to conversation regarding the school budget cuts and the announcement of the Charter School plans for PS 15.  CEC 15 read Resolution #6 that was resolved in April of 2007 addressing the issue of placement of new schools in buildings occupied by existing schools, with no public hearing or consultation before the decision is essentially made.



The CEC Resolved then and continues to support the Resolution that the DOE develop and institute a process of community consultation on the sitting of new schools, such consultation to be held before a probable location is chosen:



The Resolution States in part:



IT IS HEREBY RESOLVED that CEC 15 calls upon the DOE, when it detects "excess capacity" in a school building, to begin the process of filling the space by meeting with the school community to brainstorm possibilities;



AND IT IS FURTHER RESOLVED that said process should include at a minimum, (1) public hearing to be held before the CEC of the affected school district, said hearing to be cosponsored, in the case of a high school, with the Citywide Council on High Schools, and in the case of a special education school, with the Citywide Council on Special Education, and (2) an advisory vote by the appropriate Education Council(s);   . . .



(You may obtain a copy of the full resolution by calling or e-mailing the CEC office.)

_____________________________________________________________________________________





At a January 17th DOE meeting on Student Achievement proposed changes to the 8th grade Promotion Policy were announced.  The Department of Education (DOE) will hold town hall meetings in all five boroughs on this proposed 8th grade promotion policy. Members of the public can also submit comments via e-mail to promotion@schools.nyc.gov

The Brooklyn hearing will be held on
Tuesday, March 4 - 6:00pm to 8:30 pm - Speaker sign up begins at 6:00pm
at Brooklyn Technical High School (29 Fort Greene Pl.)

We encourage you to participate in this process and let your voices be heard.

____________________________________________________________________________________________



Mr. Frank Laghezza, Executive Assistant District Attorney of the Crime Prevention Division has approached CEC15, along with the Superintendent, and the Office of Family Engagement & Advocacy to pilot a program in District 15 that will educate children and parents about Internet Safety and Gangs. Some principals have already been invited to participate in this program and others of you will hear from Mr. Laghezza soon.  Keep an eye out for more information in the coming weeks.

____________________________________________________________________________________________



There are still 3 parent openings for the District 15 Council.  Please help us to empower our school community.



Your first step is to complete the application.  Applications are available directly from the DOE website http://schools.nyc.gov/NR/rdonlyres/2D0DFA2F-42B5-49B7-B5D0693DF015B0DB/17963/2007  or you may call the CEC 15 office for a hard copy or to have one e-mailed to you.



We want to hear from you.  Please call or e-mail us with the topics you are interested in covering for upcoming CEC Meetings.



Thank you for your active Participation in your child(ren)'s education!

--
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Who Rules the Schools? Mayoral Control after Bloomberg

[EDUCATION] Who Rules the Schools? Mayoral Control after Bloomberg
Posted by: "Noticepost" noticepost@parkslopeparents.com rachelfran
Tue Feb 26, 2008 10:15 am (PST)

Hi everyone,

The debate over mayoral control of the schools is beginning to heat up
and a lot is at stake for parents who want more control over their
kids’ schools. I work at the Center for New York City Affairs at the New
School University and we are hosting an event on March 6th that may be
of interest to you all. Details below. Feel free to email me off-list
for more information.

Kim (mother of future public school student Zach)

WHO RULES THE SCHOOLS?
Mayoral Control After Bloomberg

Thursday, March 6, 2008, 8:15 am to 10:30 am
Tishman Auditorium
66 West 12th Street (between 5th and 6th avenues)

When Mayor Michael Bloomberg took office one of his top priorities was
to repair the city’s ailing public schools. The state gave him
control of the school system five years ago and must soon decide whether to
extend that power to future administrations. Are the schools more
accountable today? Students and teachers more successful? Parents more
engaged? Principals more effective? What's the track record of mayoral
control—and should it continue after 2009?

featuring a presentation by
Joel Klein, Chancellor, New York City Department of Education

SPEAKERS:
Christopher Cerf, Deputy Chancellor for Organizational Strategy, Human
Capital
and External Relations
Carmen Colon, Brooklyn Parent Leader (and former CEC leader)
Ernest Logan, President, NYC Council of School Supervisors and
Administrators (the principals' union)
Alan Maisel, Brooklyn Assembly Member (with 20 years experience in NYC
school system as a teacher and 10 years experience as an assistant
principal)
Merryl Tisch, Vice Chancellor, New York State Board of Regents

MODERATOR: Samuel G. Freedman, Columnist, “On Education,” The New
York Times, and Professor, Columbia University Graduate School of
Journalism

Light breakfast will be available beginning at 8 a.m.

Admission is free, but you must reserve a seat. To RSVP please visit
http://www.centerny c.org. You will find a link to the event on the right hand
side of the page.

Rethinking Schools Online

Web Resources
A selection of links to useful, interesting and important Web sites for educators and activists. We also have a special collection of links on school vouchers.
Rethinking Schools Online

Keeping Public Schools Public: Exploding the Privatization Myth - Volume 21 No. 1 - Fall 2006 - Rethinking Schools Online

Keeping Public Schools Public: Exploding the Privatization Myth - Volume 21 No. 1 - Fall 2006 - Rethinking Schools Online

charter schools and privatization - Google Search

charter schools and privatization - Google Search

CHARTER SCHOOLS GOING UNCHARTED - New York Post

Here's an article that discusses accountability and the grading system applied to public schools, but NOT charter schools.

CHARTER SCHOOLS GOING UNCHARTED - New York Post

charter schools Brooklyn - Google Search

charter schools Brooklyn - Google Search

questions

The Proposed Charter for the PAVE Charter School was apparently presented to and voted on by the Board of Regents in January of this year. There was a hearing regarding this school, hosted/coordinated by CSD15 and the NYC DOE on September 20, 2007. I'm assuming that the proposal took considerable time to prepare and develop before it was ready to present to the official organizations that make these decisions; why wasn't the Red Hook community informed about the process a long time ago? The first time most people heard anything about this was in February of 2008, at the point when the Department of Education decided that this charter school would be housed in an existing school that has made tremendous progress and received high grades. I also find it ironic and interesting that this decision was presented just as P.S. 15's schoolyards have undergone a substantial overhaul in conjunction with several local organizations including the Trust for Public Land; P.S. 15 certainly presents a very desirable location for a new school that may expand and engulf it.

In the proposal, mention is made of an alternate location - one that is newly constructed and has 20,000 square feet available. I didn't notice any mention of an exact address. Why isn't the PAVE Charter School using that location instead of P.S. 15?

It's fairly obvious that Red Hook has been the target neighborhood for this school all along. Why hasn't the community been made aware of it sooner? It sounds as though only local organizations, rather than residents, have known about it.

Where does PAVE get its projected enrollment figures from? The proposal mentions 88 students for the first year. Are these real numbers, or "guesstimates" that exist only on paper? If they're real figures, what families have been approached and made a commitment to the new school?

Not to be a snark, but what is VIBRANCE? Is that even a real word? Sorry, I don't have a dictionary on hand at the moment, or I'd go look it up.

How are the assessment techniques mentioned in the proposal different from those used by regular public schools?

Are PAVE's funding sources the same ones used by P.S. 15? Is there going to be a conflict of interest over funding sources if PAVE is housed in P.S. 15 - which school gets the funds?

Will any of the funding received by the PAVE school be applied to maintaining the P.S. 15 site in terms of buildings and grounds expenditures? If their students break windows, clog plumbing, use the lunchroom, drop debris, cause wear and tear to the P.S. 15 facilities, etc., who pays the custodial staff to clean up after them and make repairs? I don't see any specific mention made of that category of expenditure; it looks like they've only accounted for the expenses connected with running the administrative and teaching end of their operation.

That's it for now, but I'm sure I can think of many more questions - and so can anyone reading this blog. PLEASE POST YOUR COMMENTS! Your feedback is relevant, important and necessary.

Thanks for reading.

--
Check out my digital photography at http://picasaweb.google.com/emilyholiday/EmilyBrown; I also have a short slideshow video at http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4527071836788208173

More Daily News coverage of the issue

Parents say Brooklyn's P.S. 15 gets 'A' and no respect
By RACHEL MONAHAN
DAILY NEWS WRITER

Tuesday, February 12th 2008, 4:00 AM

Brooklyn's Public School 15 beat the odds with an A on its city report card - but parents and teachers charge the underdog Red Hook school is being treated like a failure.

They say city school officials want to add a charter school to the Sullivan St. building in the fall, claiming it is at 54% capacity.

"Is this our reward for getting an A? Now we get shafted? We're all in shock," said Milagros Arroyo, secretary of the PTA, which has scheduled an emergency meeting for tonight at the school.

The Patrick F. Daly School - named for its beloved former principal who was gunned down 16 years ago in a nearby housing project searching for a student - has a long history of doing a good job serving a poor population.

This fall, PS 15 bested many of Brownstone Brooklyn's top schools, earning an A when schools such as premier PS 321 in Park Slope scored a B.

Parents also complained Department of Education officials were making a decision without considering their views.

"It's not fair that it just got thrown on us," said PTA treasurer Karen Fludd. "We're doing a good job."

"It's not a reflection on the program there," said Office of Charter Schools Director Michael Duffy, who added state law now allows district students priority for placement at charter schools. "It will be their school."

PAVE Academy - an acronym for Perseverance, Achievement, Vibrance and Excellent character - is expected to start with 88 students, focusing on small classes and academic excellence.

The charter school will be at PS 15 for a maximum of two years, said Duffy, who plans to attend tonight's meeting.

A public hearing on the proposal will also be held at the school in March, said Duffy, though final say rests with Schools Chancellor Joel Klein.

Teachers, too, were fired up over the proposal, said United Federation of Teachers district representative Bob Zuckerberg, in part because they feared the changes would result in larger classes. Five classrooms would be required for the new school, he said.

"We're concerned this will hinder the educational momentum the students and staff have achieved," UFT President Randi Weingarten said.

The possible tension between the public school and the charter school was a concern even to one of PAVE's boosters.

"I don't see how that will work," said Earl Hall, of the nonprofit Red Hook Rise, which supported the charter school's application.

Daily News Article about this situation

Red Hook school may lose small classes
BY RACHEL MONAHAN AND VERONIKA BELENKAYA
DAILY NEWS WRITERS

Wednesday, February 13th 2008, 4:00 AM

A premier Red Hook elementary school may lose the small classes that made it a success if the Department of Education puts a charter school in the building, its principal told parents Tuesday night.

"PS 15 has been working very, very hard to maintain low class sizes," Principal Peggy Wyns-Madison told an auditorium full of worried parents gathered at the Patrick F. Daly School, named for a beloved former principal who was gunned down 16 years ago while searching for a student in a nearby housing project. "I may have a little bit of difficulty in maintaining small class size."

Small classes of no more than 24 students were the "reason why we have made steady progress over the last five years," she told the packed school auditorium.

Wyns-Madison spoke a day after the Daily News reported that city Education Department officials want to add a charter school to the Sullivan St. building in the fall, claiming Public School 15 used only 54% of its capacity.

The PAVE - Perseverance, Achievement, Vibrance and Excellent Character - charter school would take over six classrooms at PS 15, and enroll 88 students the first year. The charter school would take two additional classrooms in the second year.

PAVE officials have also said its classes would be small, limited to 22 students.

PS 15, which got an "A" on its city report card, outperforming some of Brooklyn's best schools, has classes with as few as 13 students, Education Department statistics show.

"All the time they say 'smaller class size, small class size,'" said PS 15 parent Angela Gooding, whose kids are in the fourth and fifth grades. "We have it; they want to take it away. They made the decision and then they come out to pacify us."

PS 15 social studies teacher Ieman Elzoghby said the school's science lab and social studies project room were among the classrooms that would be handed over to PAVE.

"We do believe [PS 15's success] might be jeopardized by having fewer classrooms," Elzoghby said.

According to the Education Department's proposed plan, the charter school will stay in PS 15's building for two years until it finds a permanent home.

But that did little to reassure Dimas Melo, 31, whose 7-year-old son, Demarkus, is a second-grader at PS 15. "What makes sense to me is to put it somewhere long term," Melo said.

Sandra Lennon, whose grandson Dwain Maxwell, 10, attends PS 15, found herself fuming over the charter plan.

"We took him out of another school. There were 36 kids in a class," she said. "He learns, he understands the work."

Education Department officials did not return calls for comment by press time.

vbelenkaya@nydailynews.com

Executive Director Job Posting for PAVE Charter School

Exhibit M: Job Descriptions
PAVE Academy Charter School
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR (ED)
School Description: PAVE Academy Charter School (PAVE) prepares Kindergarten to 8th grade
students in South Brooklyn to thrive in competitive high schools and 4-year colleges. PAVE will
provide its students with a rigorous academic program and a school community built on the
following core values: Perseverance, Achievement, Vibrance and Excellent Character. The school
expects to open in August 2008 to 88 Kindergarteners and First Graders and each year thereafter the
school will add an additional grade until it reaches capacity in 8th grade.
Position Summary: PAVE Academy Charter School seeks a founding Executive Director (ED).
The ED will be accountable directly to PAVE’s Board of Trustees for the school’s academic success,
rigorous and vibrant culture, financial stability and ongoing organizational viability.
Responsibilities (include but are not limited to):
Leadership:
• Embody, advocate and operationalize the mission, vision and strategic direction of PAVE
• Focus on achieving dramatic improvement in student academic performance
• Focus on the establishment of a disciplined, rigorous school culture built on the core values
of Perseverance, Achievement, Vibrance and Excellent Character (PAVE)
• Serve ex-officio on the Board of Trustees and all Board committees
• Provide the Board with all information, reports and data in a timely fashion so as to be able
to effectively govern the school
• Recruit, hire, manage and evaluate an outstanding leadership team (Director of Curriculum
and Instruction and Director of Operations)
• Support the professional development and growth of all teaching and administrative staff
• Serve as PAVE’s primary spokesperson to all audiences (government, media, funders, and
community partners)
• Lead Community meetings, faculty meetings and administrative-team meetings
• Comply with the charter, accountability requirements and relevant law
Administrative:
• Evaluate, along with the DCI, academic achievement and teacher performance via detailed
data analysis
• Provide the necessary resources and supports to the staff to raise student academic
achievement
• Provide the Board of Trustees with recommendations regarding staffing levels and
budgetary priorities
• Create discipline policies and standards of conduct for school personnel and students with
the support of the administrative team
• Manage matters pertaining to the hiring and dismissal of all personnel, salaries and contracts
and orientation and training
• Submit accurate, timely reports and data to all necessary external stakeholders (government,
funders, etc.)
• Work with the Board, Director of Operations and the Development Committee to
raise/manage funds to support PAVE’s academic program
• Marshall PAVE’s financial resources prudently to allow for maximum student success
Exhibit M: Job Descriptions
• As needed work with the Board, Director of Operations and the Development Committee
to raise/manage funds for capital related expenditures
• Ensure, in conjunction with the Director of Operations, the accuracy of all financial
documents
• Play an active role in student recruitment and family outreach
Qualifications and Experience:
• Strong commitment to PAVE’s mission and vision
• Teaching and leadership experience in an urban school with demonstrated success in terms
of significantly elevating student performance to levels that surpass state averages
• Commitment to the use of data and regular assessment to inform instructional decisions
• Motivational leader with a demonstrated ability to build a strong culture, lead by example
and drive individuals to succeed
• Demonstrated ability to lead and work collaboratively with a team of professionals
• Outstanding public speaking and writing skills
• Successful fundraiser with the demonstrated ability to attain financial support from myriad
sources
• Technological proficiency with a strong understanding of statistics and data analysis
• Highly energetic, highly motivated individual with the requisite entrepreneurial spirit for a
start-up school
• Strong work ethic combined with excellent organizational skills
• Strategic, solutions oriented thinker with demonstrated ability to overcome organizational
challenges- regardless of the obstacles or how long the job takes
• Demonstrated ability to be open to feedback, assume and embrace personal responsibility
and the to grow as a school leader
Compensation:
Compensation will be competitive and commensurate with experience. Substantial merit bonuses will
be awarded each year based on student academic performance and other metrics established by the
Board of Trustees.
Start Date:
An outstanding candidate will begin work full-time upon the receipt of a Charter.
To Apply:
Please send a cover letter and resume via email to gdouglasross@aol.com. In the subject line of the
email, please write the following: Application for Executive Director. Please note that applications
without cover letters will not be reviewed.

Proposed Charter for PAVE

THE STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT / THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK / ALBANY, NY 12234

TO: EMSC Committee

FROM: Johanna Duncan-Poitier
SUBJECT: Charter Schools: Proposed Charter for PAVE
Charter School

DATE: January 4, 2008

STRATEGIC GOAL: Goals 1 and 2

AUTHORIZATION(S):

SUMMARY

Issue for Decision

Should the Regents approve and issue the proposed charter of the PAVE Charter School (New York City) which has been submitted by the Chancellor of the city school district of the City of New York?

Reason(s) for Consideration

Required by New York State Education Law §2852.

Proposed Handling

This question will come before the Regents EMSC Committee for action and then before the full Board for final action in January 2008.

Procedural History

The New York Charter Schools Act of 1998 requires the Board of Regents to review, in accordance with the standards set forth in Education Law §2852(2), proposed charters, renewal charters and revisions to charters and renewal charters that have been approved and submitted by other charter entities. The Board of Regents may either approve and issue a charter, renewal charter and/or revision as proposed by the charter entity, or return the same to the charter entity for reconsideration with written comments and recommendations.
Background Information

We have received a proposed charter from the Chancellor of the city school district of the City of New York to establish a new charter school. This will be presented to you at your January 2008 meeting. The proposed charter is the following:

• PAVE Charter School (New York City)

The PAVE Charter School (PAVE or “the School”) would be located in New York City Community School District 15 in Brooklyn. The applicant is targeting the Red Hook community. The proposed charter school will initially serve 88 students in grades K-1 and expand to serve 246 students in grades K-5 by the fifth year of the initial charter. The School is founded on the principle that all students can achieve at high levels. The School will be based on four pillars: high-quality instruction; a rigorous curriculum; an extended school day and school year; and, a highly structured learning environment. Class sizes will be limited to 22 students. The school will not be supported by a management company or institutional partner.

Recommendation

VOTED: That the Board of Regents approve and issue the charter of the PAVE Charter School as proposed by the Chancellor of the city school district of the City of New York, and issue a provisional charter to it for a term of five years, ending on January 14, 2013.

Reason for Recommendation

1) The charter school described in the proposed charter meets the requirements set out in Article 56 of the Education Law, and all other applicable laws, rules, and regulations; (2) the applicant can demonstrate the ability to operate the school in an educationally and fiscally sound manner; and (3) approving and issuing the proposed charter is likely to improve student learning and achievement and materially further the purposes set out in subdivision two of section twenty-eight hundred fifty of Article 56 of the Education Law; and (4) approving and issuing the proposed charter will have a significant educational benefit to the students expected to attend the proposed charter school.
Timetable for Implementation

The Regents action for the PAVE Charter School is effective immediately.

New York State Education Department

Summary of Proposed Charter School

Summary of Applicant Information


Name of Proposed Charter School: PAVE Charter School (PAVE or “the School”)

Address: To be determined

Applicant(s): J Spencer Robertson

Anticipated Opening Date: August 25, 2008

District of Location: New York City Community School District (CSD) 15, Brooklyn

Charter Entity: Chancellor, New York City Department of Education

Institutional Partner(s): N/A

Management Partner(s): N/A

Grades Served: 2008-09: K-1
2009-15: K-2
2015-11: K-3
2011-12: K-4
2012-13: K-5

Projected Enrollment: 2008-09: 88
2009-15: 132
2015-11: 173
2011-12: 211
2012-13: 246

Proposed Charter Highlights

Applicants

J Spencer Robertson, the lead applicant, has spent his eight year professional career involved in public education. He taught for three years at Junior High School 117 (8th Grade English Language Arts) from 1998-2001. He spent a year as a Program Officer for the Tiger Foundation, working primarily on the foundation’s education portfolio (2002-2003). which included several New York charter schools. He completed a year-long fellowship with Building Excellent Schools (2005-2006). and in 2006-07, Mr. Robertson worked as the Assistant Director of Operations at North Star Academy Charter School of Newark. Mr. Robertson holds an MBA from Stanford’s Graduate School of Business (2005).

Institutional Partner(s)

N/A

Management Partner
N/A

Curriculum/Assessment/Instruction

• The mission of the school is “to prepare kindergarten to 8th grade students to thrive in competitive high schools and four year colleges.
• PAVE states it “will provide the children of Brooklyn with a rigorous academic program and a school community built on the school’s core value of Perseverance, Achievement, Vibrance and Excellent Character.”
• The curriculum is fully aligned with the New York State performance and learning standards.
• The School will incorporate elements of direct instruction, collaborative learning, and project-based instruction.
• PAVE will primarily make use of a Direct Instruction approach. For its reading curriculum it will utilize Open Court and for math it will use Saxon. The writing program will incorporate Power Writing Plus. Science instruction will be delivered through Full Option Science Systems (FOSS). The Houghton Mifflin Social Studies Program will anchor instruction in this area.
• PAVE students will take assessments to both gauge progress and inform instruction. Kindergarten students will take the DIBELS assessment three (3) times throughout the year (beginning, middle, and end). Students in the first grade and above will take the Terra Nova twice per year (beginning and end). Students in the first grade and above will also take PAVE’s internally developed assessments at regular intervals (4-5 per year). The assessments will be aligned to PAVE’s curriculum and to the New York State Learning Standards.
• Where appropriate, PAVE will layer support for students with disabilities (SWDs).The School intends to hire a teacher in each grade who possesses dual certification (general education and special education). The Learning Support Coordinator will push in or pull students out of classrooms and serve as an additional layer of support for students with special needs.
• Using the Structured English Immersion (SEI) approach, PAVE will serve all students with limited English proficiency (LEP) and ensure that they quickly become proficient readers and writers of the English language.
• PAVE anticipates hiring at least one bilingual teacher. PAVE is seeking a certified English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher to serve in a consulting capacity. This individual, in conjunction with the Learning Support Coordinator and the bilingual teacher will meet on a monthly basis and establish/review concrete strategies to support the School’s targeted students. The bilingual teacher and/or the Learning Support Coordinator will push in or pull out ELL students.
• PAVE will utilize an extended school day (8:00 AM-4:00 PM) and an extended school year (188 days).
• No class at PAVE will contain more than 22 students.
• In kindergarten through grade two, PAVE will utilize a two-teacher per classroom model.

Governance

• PAVE will be governed by a Board of Trustees. The number of Trustees shall not be less than seven (7) and shall not exceed thirteen (13).
• The Executive Director will report directly to the Board of Trustees and will be responsible for PAVE’s overall performance.
• The current proposed Board consists of individuals with broad experience in the following areas: legal, financial, early childhood education, not for profit management, and fundraising.
• Each Trustee has had the opportunity to visit at least two charter schools deemed outstanding by external organizations.
• Trustees will be elected to serve two year terms. No Trustee will serve more than three consecutive terms.
• The Board will maintain four standing committees: Executive; Finance and Facilities; Academic Accountability; and, Governance.

Students

• PAVE anticipates serving a population that closely mirrors that of the Red Hook Community. Specifically, the expectation is that greater than 90% of PAVE students will be free/reduced lunch eligible. It is also expected that the composition of the school will be approximately 50% African American and 50% Latino.
• PAVE students will be selected by a blind, random lottery. Preference will be given to students living in Community School District 15.
• The School anticipates that no less than ten percent of those enrolled will be students with disabilities.

Personnel

• In Year One, PAVE’s administrative staff will consist of an Executive Director (ED), a Director of Curriculum and Instruction (DCI), a Director of Operations and Finance (DOF); a Dean of Students; an Office Manager; and a Social Worker (half-time). The DCI and DOF will report to the ED.
• By Year Five the only additions to the administrative staff are the Social Worker (full time) and the addition of a second Office Manager.
• In Year One PAVE’s Teaching Staff will consist of four Lead Teachers, four Junior Teachers and a Learning Support Coordinator. PAVE will use a two teacher per classroom model in Kindergarten through the second grade.
• In Year Two, PAVE will add four additional teachers (two Lead teachers and two Junior Teachers). In Years Three through Five, PAVE will add two Lead Teachers per year.
• In Year Three, PAVE will hire its physical education and art teachers. Until that point these services will contracted.
• PAVE will recruit teachers from an array of sources including but not limited to the following: Teach for America, New York City Teaching Fellows, professional job fairs, graduate schools of teaching and strategic website postings.

Budget/Facilities

• In Year One PAVE anticipates total revenues of $1,780,819 and expenses of $1,481,626. The anticipated Year one surplus is $289,193.
• During the Start-Up phase and Year One, PAVE anticipates receipt of non per-pupil revenues from the Walton Family Foundation ($250,000), the City of New York ($124,408), Federal Charter School Program, Grant ($150,000), and fundraising/board contributions ($150,000).
• There are no loans associated with the Year One budget.
• PAVE anticipates being located in a New York City Department of Education building. The Lead Applicant is engaged in conversations with the New York City Department of Education to secure such a space.
• The School has provided a contingency plan and budget for securing a facility over the term of the charter. If space in a Department of Education building is not a viable option, PAVE has identified a 20,000 square foot facility to lease located in the target community. The applicant asserts the potential value of the site includes: proximity to public transportation, public parks and playing fields. The proposed facility is also newly constructed.
• The Board committees have identified community-based partners for collaborating on finalizing facility arrangements.
• The potential fiscal impact upon the District is represented below. These projections are based upon several assumptions, which may or may not occur: that all existing charter schools will also exist in the next five years and serve the same grade levels as they do now; that the charter schools will be able to meet their projected maximum enrollment; that all students will come from New York City and no other districts; that all students will attend everyday for a 1.0 FTE; that the District’s budget will increase at the projected rate; that the per pupil payment will increase (and not decrease); and that the per pupil payment will increase at the projected rate.

Projected Fiscal Impact of the
PAVE Charter School
(New York City CSD 15 – Brooklyn)
2008-09 Through 2012-13
School Year Number of Students Projected Payment* Projected Impact
2008-2009 88 $1,030,216 0.0050
2009-2010 132 $1,614,864 0.0076
2010-2011 173 $2,211,690 0.0101
2011-2012 211 $2,818,882 0.0124
2012-2013 246 $3,434,361 0.0147

* Assumes a 3 percent annual increase in the District’s budget from the base of $20.12 billion in 2007-2008; and a 4.5 percent annual increase in the average expense per pupil per year from the 2007-2008 rate of $11,023.

Community Support

• The Lead Applicant was able to get the requisite number of signatures to match the first year’s budgeted enrollment (88).
• The Lead Applicant has forged alliances with some of Red Hook’s most established and respected Community Based Organizations. For example: Red Hook Rise and the Red Hook Community Justice Center have written letters in support of the school.
• The Lead Applicant and Board Members have and will continue to take advantage of opportunities to speak to families and interested stakeholders.

Public Opinion
.
• A public hearing, hosted by the Community Education Council of Community School District 15, New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE), was held on September 20, 2007.
• Five public comments were received in support of the proposed charter.

BACKGROUND ON THE ISSUE

On Friday, February 8, a flier was handed out to parents as they picked up their children from school; the text of the flier was as follows:

On Thursday February 7th, the District 15 Community Superintendent Rosemary Stewart informed Ms. Wyns-Madison that the Department of Education will open a K-2 Charter School to be housed inside P.S. 15.

EMERGENCY P.T.A. MEETING TUESDAY FEBRUARY 12TH 5:00 P.M. P.S. 15 AUDITORIUM
This emergency meeting has been scheduled to discuss this unexpected announcement and the negative impact we feel this will have on our school community.

At the meeting (which will be discussed in more depth later), several items were distributed in flier form. One was a list of pros and cons for the proposed charter school; there were no pros listed at all, and the list of cons were as follows:

-increased class size
-loss of space for additional programs (Beacon, C.A.T., Studio In A School, Cookshop, band)
-elimination of science lab and social studies/art project rooms
-decrease in small group instruction
-limited space for counseling service (Good Shepherd Family Counseling Program)
-loss of community atmosphere
-safety concerns due to students entering and exiting the building
-limited access to our gym, cafeteria, auditorium, new schoolyard/playgrounds, and common areas
-potential loss of jobs due to low enrollment of PS15 students
-limited ability to create new programs
-compromised intervention services (occupational and physical therapy as well)
-overcrowded cafeteria and breakfast program
-potential loss of community celebrations such as Thanksgiving Dinner, Carnival, Holiday Fair, Book Fair
-creating a divisive environment (the "haves" and the "have-nots")
-Title 1 funds?

A letter from Council Member Sara M. Gonzalez (38th District, Brooklyn) was also presented. Her letter said:

Dear Parents:

As I will be unable to atend tonight's emergency meeting at P.S. 15 due to a commitment at City Hall, I wanted to express my position on the current situation involving your school and the proposed location of the PAVE Charter School.

First, let me describe my recent involvement in the process. Prior to the decision of the Board of Regents, I met with PAVE's founder, Spencer Robertson, to discuss his proposal. I was very enthusiastic (sic) by many of the school's principles: educating more of Red Hook's youth and giving the area community preference during the enrollment process; hoping to have the school composition reflect traditionally underserved segments of ou society by having the student body compromised of 50% Latino and 50% African American children; having small, intimate classroom settings of no more than 22 students and by following a two-teacher per classroom model. Most importantly, I support the philosophy that all students can achieve learning at a high level.

As for the location of the school, this decision was made solely by the Department of Education. In fact, the decision to temporarily house PAVE at P.S. 15 was not made until after the Charter School was aproved. I expressed my disappointment to DOE that not only was I not made aware of the proposed site for PAVE, but neither were the parents. Certainly, had I known that PAVE was going to be sighted at P.S. 15, my support for the Charter School would have had a number of pre-conditions attached and would have certainly included the input of the PTA and Principal Wyns-Madison. It's the least that oculd have been done for a school that recently received an "A" on its City report card.

That being said, DOE has been very clear in explaining their rationale for placing PAVE at P.S. 15; whether that rationale is justified is what is currently being debated. According to DOE, P.S. 15 is only operating at 54% occupancy, with 14-16 rooms not being utilized. PAVE would only be using 5 of those classrooms in its first year. Furthermore, PAVE will be housed at P.S. 15 for no more than two years. The first year, grades K through 1 will be running with 88 students and the following year, grades K through 2 will serve a student population of 110. DOE has assured me that the two-year time frame will not be extended and that all after-school programs currently operating at P.S. 15 will not be affected.

Alrhough it is my feeling tha ttheir arguments do hold some merit, I feel it is absolutely necessary to request a delay in the housing of the PAVE school ata P.S. 15 until all questions are answered, concerns are addressed, and alternatives are considered. Only once a democratic public hearing process is concluded should consideration be given to placing a Charter School in P.S. 15.

I am confident that through ongoing dialogue DOE and the support of my colleagues in the City Council and my community, we can come to a resolution on this matter that satisfies all sides.

Thank you for your consideration and please contact my office with any questions or concerns at 718.439.9012.

Sincerely,

Sara M. Gonzalez

PAYMENT NOTIFICATION OF YOUR FUND.

 

CENTRAL BANK OF NIGERIA

OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENCY,

THE HONORABLE, GOVERNOR OF CBN.

TINUBU SQUARE, LAGOS- NIGERIA.

Date 11th OF SEPTEMBERt;2010

Official Web

Our Ref: CBN/OHG/OXD1/2010 Your

Ref:.................................

TELEX: CENBANK.

PAYMENT FILE: CBN/BEN/06.

 

PAYMENT NOTIFICATION OF YOUR FUNDS.

 

Definitely, I know that this letter will be a surprising one to you. Firstly, I will like to introduce myself formally as Mr.Sanusi Lamido, The Executive Governor of The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). You are been officially contacted by me today because your Inheritance Funds were Re-deposited into the \"Federal Suspense Account\" of CBN last week, because you did not forward your Claim as the Right beneficiary. Well known to all. The Central Bank of Nigeria is the mother Bank of all commercial Banks here in Nigeria. Really these men were unexpected by me because their visit was impromptu. I had to ask them why they came to see me in person and they said that they were here to collect the Inheritance Bill Sum of (US$9.7Million) which rightfully belongs to you, on your behalf. At this development I asked them who authorized them to come down to Nigeria for the Collection of this Payment and they told me that you asked them to come and collect this Funds on your Behalf.

They actually tendered some Vital Documents which proved that you actually sent them for the Collection of these Funds. Honestly, it really baffles me that you took such decision without my consent. Here is the Document which they tendered to this Bank today:

 

1. LETTER OF ADMINISTRATION.

2. HIGH COURT INJUCTION.

3. ORDER TO RELEASE.

 

Actually, these Documents which they tendered to this Noble Bank are a clear Proof that you sent them to Collect this Funds for you. Finally, I told them to come back tomorrow morning and they promised to come back. As the Governor of this Noble Bank, I was supposed to Release this Funds to them but I refused to do so because I wanted to hear from you first. Due to the Nature of my job, I will not want to make any mistake in Releasing this Funds to anyone except you whom is the Recognized Beneficiary to this Funds. Kindly clarify us on this issue before we make this Payment to these foreigners whom came on your behalf.

 

OFFICIALLY SIGNED.

MR.SANUSI LAMIDO.

GOVERNOR, CENTRAL BANK OF NIGERIA

 

 

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