FDR High School (Source: schools.nyc.gov)
The first place Moustafa Elhanafi met Principal Geraldine Maione was underneath the shade of a tree in FDR High School’s courtyard.
Maione wasn’t standing below the thick branches and wide leaves to teach Eastern philosophy or poetry, but rather to catch students in the act of skipping class.
For his own part, Elhanafi was glad to find her there. Glad because educational instruction wasn’t what he was attempting to escape. On the contrary, it was precisely what he was seeking out Continue Reading »
Our sister site Sheepshead Bites ran an article yesterday about William E. Grady High School which, despite improving from a grade D to a B in its latest evaluation, is on a list of 33 “persistently low-achieving” schools slated to lose half their staff.
What’s even more surprising, as well as relevant to Bensonhurst residents, is the inclusion of our own FDR High School on the city’s sh-t hit list. Surprising due to the fact that, during FDR’s last two evaluations, it received a grade of B! Not exactly what one would call a low performing school.
One teacher quoted by Sheepshead Bites described the mayor’s policy as a thinly veiled attempt at revenge. Continue Reading »
At his State of the City address on Jan. 12, Mayor Bloomberg announced several measures that were seen as targeting the Teachers Union. (Photo Credit: City & State via PBS)
In Mayor Bloomberg’s State of the City speech last Thursday, the mayor touted a plan for the City Department of Education that would include $20,000 bonuses for teachers rated “highly effective” for two years in a row, and pink slips for up to half the teachers at 33 struggling schools.
According to website City and State, it was precisely the kind of education initiative that reformers love and the teachers union loves to hate.
The normal critique of good teacher/bad teacher programs like these is that the city is essentially punishing teachers in bad schools with a lack of leadership, institutions often located in poor neighborhoods. Continue Reading »
