Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office
A scene from the first day of school in September at Manhattan’s P.S. 188.
‘The truth is, New York State has not met its constitutional responsibilities, laughing off multiple court orders and duly-passed laws mandating minimums for neglected, underfunded schools. And it has never mattered more, but instead of standing together, parents and teachers are finger-pointing in classic “scarcity mindset.”’
‘Because the law required a test score for evaluations, state test scores were simply replaced by scores from locally-chosen tests. But it gets even more insane.’
‘Hopes are high for grassroots crowdfunded candidates to repeat the improbable victories seen this in New York City, Florida, Michigan and Massachusetts.’
The odd logic, strange bedfellows and unexamined implications of a major education policy shift the state adopted this fall: allowing SUNY charter schools to waive state requirements for teacher certification and hire unlicensed teachers without education degrees.