East Ramapo Stakeholders Forum

Sunday, February 9, 2020

[poweroften] Second Request: Call for Candidates

Power of Ten Update
Call for Candidates

For the May 2020 school board election.

Did you know that you (or someone you know) can make a difference in children's lives by serving on your local school board!

If you can attend two board meetings per month, and occasional school events such as graduation ceremonies; if you would like to put your skills to use helping children to get an excellent education; if you can help represent the diversity of our community on the school board, please consider being a candidate, or recommending someone to run.

If you are interested in being a candidate, fill out this questionnaire:

www.poweroften.us/2020questionnaire

Deadline to submit is February 23

Due to popular demand, the public will have two opportunities in 2020 to hear from (and rate) those interested in becoming the newest members of the East Ramapo school board.

The Details: Sunday Feb 23 from 4-6 PM at the MLK Center, 110 Bethune Blvd, Spring Valley AND Saturday Feb 29 from 12-2 PM at the Hillcrest Firehouse, 374 N Main St, Spring Valley

Please indicate you can attend the events on Facebook.

Feb 23 link: https://www.facebook.com/events/521423105171430/

Feb 29 link: https://www.facebook.com/events/517690282202113/

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Sunday, February 2, 2020

[poweroften] Assessment is not a four-letter word

Power of Ten Update

Assessment is not a four-letter word:

Little children need lots of positive feedback. "You're a good helper" goes a long way to improve socialization and build self-esteem, even when the "help" is more figurative than functional. Pre-adolescents tire quickly of "phony" praise. They are big enough to care that they are truly useful and feel proud when they've mastered a skill. Teenagers and young adults go a step further, they start assessing their assessors. They notice that letter and number grades don't accurately reflect the full scope of knowledge and achievements they and their peers are making. They often reject hierarchical and competitive grading systems and respond better to a more holistic assessment strategy.

The New York State Education Department is currently undertaking an assessment of the systems used by schools for graduation requirements. They are seeking input from the public.

Information on how to participate is available here: http://www.nysed.gov/grad-measures/regional-meetings

Letter and number grades and test scores are not only used for assessing individual students but also the schools that they attend. Just as an individual student's grades reflect on the relationship between the school and the student, the average of all the students' grades and the rate at which they graduate reflects on the relationship between the school and the community it serves.

The New York State Education Department has recently released graduation rates for East Ramapo which can be seen here: https://data.nysed.gov/gradrate.php?year=2019&instid=800000039112

I encourage you to take a few minutes to rummage around the education department's web site. You will find not only this year's data, but also previous years. You will find not only our district, and a comparison to the state as a whole, but also data for other Rockland County districts and the county as a whole. The TLDR is that there have been small improvements this year for our district and for the state as a whole, and very little change for most other Rockland districts which were already graduating over 90% of their students. If you have any reflections on the data that you would like to share with the school board, you can send them a message at BoardofEducation@ercsd.org. You may want to also copy the Commissioner of Education at commissioner@nysed.gov.

It's important to note, that just as a number or a letter does not represent a student's entire achievement or potential, it also cannot completely describe the achievements or health of the school or a school system. It does not accurately encapsulate the many joys and accomplishments of our young people and the dedicated staff that serve them.

That being said, producing graduates has traditionally been viewed as one of the basic functions of the school system. Hundreds of millions of dollars are appropriated towards this goal. A graduation rate of below 90% is cause for concern. The school system must provide the community a study of the causes of the low graduation rate, and especially the very low rates of some subgroups. The school system must be transparent about the actual experiences of students and how this relates to the high dropout rate. The school system must have a plan and communicate that plan effectively to all stakeholders so that adequate community resources can be directed to support young people.

All the powers and duties of the school system are delegated by the state. It is the state which has the constitutional responsibility to the educational civil rights of all children. Year after year, the state education department has reported that graduation rates are unacceptably low, that students are dropping out, that funds are misspent, and that school governance is dysfunctional. Yet the state government has failed to intervene in any meaningful way, resulting in thousands of children not getting the education which is their civil right. Our assessment of the performance of New York State government is that it has failed in its most basic duty.

What difference could state intervention make? In East Ramapo, a tiny slice of the budget, three million dollars per year, is specifically earmarked to fund all-day kindergarten and music and art programming. Just look at what a fantastic success this has been! It begs the question "what would happen if New York State made sure that all funding in East Ramapo was dedicated to specific educational programming?"

We, as a community must also do the difficult job of self-assessment. Many of us deserve credit for being involved. Some attend board meetings, others attend school events or participate in community organizations that support education, such as the Martin Luther King Center in Spring Valley. Staff in the schools often go above and beyond their job description because they love their students. Administration has brought in some new curriculum which students respond well to. There are many more people and organizations doing good work than there is space to list here.

However, there has been a lack of critical analysis and feedback from the community. Parents of students who are failing or dropping out are not bringing their complaints to board meetings. Teachers whose classrooms lack support services, especially for students with emotional difficulties, family issues, and language barriers are not addressing the board with their problems and concerns. Administrators who are facing issues of truancy, overcrowding and under-staffing are not coming forward. The level of cynicism and apathy is not unexpected, because so often our complaints fall on deaf ears. We can fight this by staying focused on the things that we can do, and remembering the difficulties faced by civil rights activists in the past.

Right now, what we can do is help find qualified people to volunteer to serve on the school board. It might be you, or someone you know. Please check out the questionnaire and attend one or both of our upcoming forums.

Thanks for staying with me on this long essay, and for being a Power of Ten reader.

Monday, January 27, 2020

[poweroften] Save the Dates: Two Candidates Forums Scheduled in February

Power of Ten Update
TWO Forums!!!

Due to popular demand, the public will have two opportunities in 2020 to hear from (and rate) those interested in becoming the newest members of the East Ramapo school board.

The Details: Sunday Feb 23 from 4-6 PM at the MLK Center, 110 Bethune Blvd, Spring Valley AND Saturday Feb 29 from 12-2 PM at the Hillcrest Firehouse, 374 N Main St, Spring Valley

Please indicate you can attend the events on Facebook.

Feb 23 link: https://www.facebook.com/events/521423105171430/

Feb 29 link: https://www.facebook.com/events/517690282202113/

Those interested in being candidates are asked to attend and present themselves, and fill out the on-line questionnaire at: www.poweroften.us/2020questionnaire.

Serving on your local school board is a great way to make a difference in children's lives. According to the National School Board Association "Board members are more than policy-makers and administrators; they are advocates for students and their parents and entrusted to engineer a better future."

School board members come from many backgrounds. It is important that there be a diversity of skills on the board. People with experience in Medicine and Allied Health, Accounting, Law, First Responders, Education, The Arts, Community Activism, Journalism, and Business, have all been valuable members of school boards. It is a volunteer position, requiring attendance at two board meetings per month and occasional school events such as graduation ceremonies.

"If you would like to put your skills to use helping children to get an excellent education, if you can help represent the diversity of our community on the school board, please consider being a candidate, or recommending someone to run."

Tuesday, January 21, 2020

[poweroften] Call for Candidates for the May 2020 school board election

Power of Ten Update
Call for Candidates

For the May 2020 school board election.

Did you know that you (or someone you know) can make a difference in children's lives by serving on your local school board!

If you are interested in being a candidate, fill out this questionnaire:

www.poweroften.us/2020questionnaire

Deadline to submit is February 23

Those interested in being candidates are asked to attend and present themselves at a public forum that will be held in the end of February (Time and Location TBA). The audience will be provided with a copy of candidates responses and will indicate their choices. Those who are not chosen as candidates are alternates. All are expected to work on the campaign. The best preparation to be next year's choice is to work for this year's slate, just as those who have worked on previous year's campaigns are already working to help this year's candidates.The election campaign will require 2-4 hours per week attending events, meetings, gathering petitions signatures, etc. for about 10 weeks from March through mid-May. Once elected, you will need to attend school board meetings twice a month and are encouraged to attend at least a few school functions throughout the school year.

Wednesday, January 15, 2020

[poweroften] Celebrate MLK Day at Ramapo HS

Power of Ten Special Announcement:

The annual event celebrating the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. will be held at Ramapo HS on Monday, January 20. Doors open at 3:00 PM for this extravaganza featuring the music and art of our East Ramapo students.

The theme this year is "Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Beyond Just a Dream".

This annual event is guaranteed to rejuvenate your enthusiasm for the work of building a beloved community!

Saturday, November 23, 2019

[poweroften] Who's Busing Who?

Power of Ten Update

The NYS Comptroller has released a report that finds that East Ramapo has been paying yeshivas to bus students without documentation that they attend school or even exist.

The comptroller only requested 300 records, a small portion of the thousands of records the district is required to keep to justify the millions of dollars paid to yeshivas. 93 of the 300 records were completely missing and 65 were deficient. Also, "all nonpublic transportation applications for the school years prior to 2017-18 had been destroyed." The comptroller also found that the number of students that yeshiva private contractors had billed for was higher than the total number of students registered at the yeshivas! The difference was several hundred thousand dollars.

Read the Comptroller's Report Here

The news about failure to oversee spending on busing for yeshiva private contractors must be read in contrast to the draconian measures taken with public school students.

This year, cost-cutting measures were taken (for public school students only) that maximized the number of children on a bus. The result is that many have longer rides, must search for a seat on a full bus, can't sit with a friend, and are even told that heavy kids must find a thin partner for a seat. The consultant hired by the district seems to be good at the geometry of putting children and bus runs together like a game of Tetris, but has no idea of the way human beings behave socially, or that children may have feelings. Additionally, the district has sold all it's buses and laid off all the drivers.

At the same time the district was cutting the transportation budget for public school children, it was paying yeshiva private contractors to "transport students who may not have been eligible or existent."

In the five years since the Greenberg report, East Ramapo has received tens of millions of dollars of additional state aid. This money has funded Kindergarten, Arts, etc. But the key finding of the report was that the school board favors yeshivas' needs over public school students' needs. This has clearly not been addressed, nor is it likely to be addressed without further state action.

The following is a list of payments made to yeshiva private transportation contractors for the 2018-19 school year:

YESHIVATH VIZNITZ $2,284,735.35
UNITED TALMUDICAL ACADEMY $1,602,478.07
CONGREGATION YESHIVA AVIR YAKOV $1,275,266.73
BNOS ESTHER PAPA $959,566.17
CONGREGATION BETH ROCHEL $954,761.75
BOBOV OF MONSEY $635,238.45
CONGREGATION BAIS MALKA $574,590.24
CENTRAL UTA OF MONSEY $501,833.54
YESHIVA BETH DAVID $500,382.37
BNOS DERECH YISROEL OF MONSEY $412,980.68
BAIS TRANY OF MONSEY $406,087.00
CONGREGATION MACHZIKEI HADAS OF BELZ $367,433.28
CONG NOIAM MGODIM $319,302.15
YESHIVA SANZ-KLAUSENBERG $313,039.86
CONGREGATION TORAS EMA $226,969.60
CONG. BAIS CHINUCH ATERES BNOS INC. $220,793.16
BNEI YAKOV YOSEF OF MONSEY $202,846.20
TALMUD TORAH ADAS YEREIM $181,550.88
OHR YOCHANAN $162,625.20
BOBOVER YESHIVA OF MONSEY $162,391.83
CONGREGATION BAIS CHANA MALKA $137,951.44
CONGREGATION YESHOUS MOSHE VIZNITZ $120,422.36
TALMUD TORAH DARKEI AVOS-MONSEY $112,876.75
BETH ROCHEL SCHOOL FOR GIRLS $92,444.50
MOSDOS SANZ OF MONSEY $91,851.36
CONG TALMUD TORAH D'CHASIDEI $71,484.15
CONGREGATION BETH DAVID $56,699.08
BNOS CHANA VIEN $30,943.00
BNOS ZION OF BOBOV MONSEY $28,842.00
MOSDOS SANZ KLAUSENBERG OF MONSEY INC $27,645.80
CONGREGATION KOIFER NEFESH $25,707.06
CONGEGATION VIEN OF MONSEY $2,347.40

Many of the children transported by the yeshiva private contractors live very close to the schools they attend. For instance, Yeshiva Avir Yakov serves mostly children who reside in the village of New Square, a village only 0.4 sq. mile in area. NY State does not reimburse for "courtesy busing" trips less than 1.5 mile. Additionally, the district allows separate buses for boys and girls.

Monday, November 11, 2019

[poweroften] Righteous Incivility

Power of Ten Update
Announcing a New Format: Starting with this edition, Power of Ten will attempt to present just one article per issue, rather than the usual two or three.

Righteous Incivility

In the August 28, 2018 issue of The Power of Ten, I wrote that "accusations of 'anti-Semite' or 'bloc-puppet' have become part of the political dialogue", and encouraged people to avoid over-simplifications and focus on quality education for all children. Please read it again. (It's the third article in the issue)

Unfortunately there is still a lot of overheated rhetoric. Was I wrong to call for more civility? Has decorum become an impediment to justice?

Better minds than mine have addressed this question.

Read: https://aeon.co/essays/whats-the-difference-between-being-righteous-and-being-rude

As we each continue on our own path of lifelong education, we need to remember that education is transformative. You will grow, and those that you share what you have learned with will grow too. Education is revolutionary, but it does not conquer. Ignorance can be lost, but it's never defeated.