I would love to learn more about your school. I have visited some of the better charter schools in NYC, but I haven't visited some of the really bad ones. (I assume yours is bad if you teach in trailers behind a building at 250% capacity.) Can I visit your school in the fall?
Ken
My school is one of the very best in the city, actually. It won't be for long, though, at this rate.
It's not a charter, either. I don't believe charters receive this sort of treatment.
I've not named it on this site, nor have I specifically identified myself. I do not tell my students about this blog either, as it (like my political viewpoint) has no direct relation to their classwork. When I write about kids, I always use pseudonyms.
While I do occasionally reveal my identity to people, and I do occasionally invite observers to my classes, I don't do so unless I know them very well. I'm afraid I don't know you at all, and judging from your questions, I don't share your agenda either.
If you want to know what life is like for public schoolchildren nowdays, I'd recommend Class Size Matters:
http://www.classsizematters.org/
Well, unlike Ken the overcrowding is not surprising to me. I live in Gwinnett County Ga and having learning cottages is the norm. However, we seem to do okay with being able to build new school buildings and additional buildings to relieve overcrowding. We have not yet caught up to the continuing growth though.
I read a few blogs such as this one from teachers in NY and I wonder what is really being done to alieveate the problem that the whole state tends to have with the schools. I read and I'm like okay who do I need to contact and what can I do to help because it's not fair to the kids to have to experience school this way. It sucks for the educators as well.
So besides listen to people b*tch and complain what can I do? What can ur readers do?
I'd say they could get out and vote against folks like Mayor Bloomberg, for a start.
A bunch of parents demonstrated in front of a popular high school in Bayside suffering from overcrowding. A cap was placed on enrollment in that school. When the parents at the NEST school raised hell about the charter being dumped in their building, they got a lot of press coverage and stopped it.
Many parents in this city don't speak English and are very timid about getting involved at schools. Some come from cultures that revere education and don't criticize it.
Many others don't care enough to stand up, which is a shame. In the suburb where I live, we would not put up with such nonsense.
I'd insist that politicians who run school systems endorse them by sending their own kids to them. I think that might cuase them to immediately address important issues, rather than ignoring them and hoping they go away.
The last two NYC mayors did no such thing, and Rudy held city schools in open contempt. Mayor Bloomberg's contempt is more subdued, and tends to reveal itself in acts rather than words.
From what others have said it's not just the mayor that is the problem. It is a lot of the individuals in charge of the school systems such as superintendents and, I guess Ignorant administration as well.
Our mayor must not do a whole lot because i really do not know who he or she is. Our governor tends to do more. I cannot really speak for other counties in Ga but our superintendent has done really well although I feel he pads his wallet too much. He helped start the penny tax we have in the county which helps fund schools though the use of sales tax. This is where we get the money for new editions and schools.
reading your blog and others really makes me what to help though. Sorry I can't vote for you guys.
We fund schools through a state lottery, but I've read that rather than add to school funds it just kept them where they were, since other funding was them withdrawn.
Mayor Giuliani had a policy of reducing city aid by precisely whatever amount the state increased it.
People thought that was what would happen here but it was actually added on. Preschool programs and college tuition is funded by the HOPE program which comes from our lottery. Your mayor seems to have a lot of power with funds and how schools operate.
Mayor Bloomberg had to stop doing that to get the power he holds. But a lawsuit states that city kids have been underfunded for years, and that the city can be made to compensate for Giuliani's neglect.
Bloomberg's rep said he'd turn down the money if they were compelled to contribute dime one.
I am surprised that your school is one of the very best in the city if the building is at 250% capacity. In any case, could you recommend any extremely overcrowded school I can look into? I want to see one that is egregiously overcrowded (say 250%) so I can better understand the situation. Meanwhile, I would love to get to know you better so that I can better understand your point of view.
Overcrowded schools does not in anyway equal poor quality educators. They can operate smoothly and students can achieve high test scores in these schools. Ken You seem to need to do some serious research before making any more judgements and examining schools within. Higher officials should look into this as well.
I certainly want to do more research, Sabrina! I want to check out some of the schools that are having massive overcrowding problems. Have you checked out some of the great charter schools?
Ken
I am surprised that your school is one of the very best in the city if the building is at 250% capacity.
Me too, actually.
Check class size matters for more info. Also, Inside Schools is a good resource.
http://www.insideschools.org/
We have very few charter schools in Ga. I think that a better study on over crowded schools would be how different states and school sytems deal with them. What works and what does not and what are contributing factors to poor preforming schools. Percentage of ESOL students, poverty percentages, dropout rates, and disabilities should all be examined. overcrowding is not a reason for failing or poor performing schools by itself. This should be understood.
u say 250% but what are some actual numbers? Our teacher student ratio tends to stay around 1 teacher to 29 students although some classes have as many as 35 students. Our school holds just under 1000 capacity and we have over 2000 students. It is a high school grades 9-12. Another school before it's new addition and a new HS opened was at around 1000 capacity and have almost 5000.
Our school was built to accomodate 1800. It currently houses 4400, with an additional 200 to be enrolled in September. Where will they go? Who knows? I shudder to think of it.
Class size is 34, though as an ESL teacher, some of my classes are funded by the state and can be capped at 25. However, the caps are often breached. Also, there are circumstances under which class sizes can exceed 34, like if the class is a "singleton," meaning there aren't any other sections.
To make space, the DoE erects sheetrock walls in the center of a classroom, thus creating two. They're interesting, since you can hear every word uttered on the other side of the wall, and you cannot arrange desks in circles, rows, or any form whatsoever.
They've also constructed some oddly windowless, unventilated classrooms in what used to be storage closets.
I really cannot teach in those rooms. I request the trailers, which most of my colleagues hate, so as to avoid them.
As I am not shy about complaining to everyone, every day, multiple times, I am generally not placed in unsuitable classrooms for a long time.
No one wants to say this out loud but "good" and "bad" schools are not determined by how crowded they are but by demographics. I'm not talking soley race here, though that is often a factor.
Schools in Chinatown can be very crowded but are often easy to teach in because discipline issues are almost non-existent. Crowded high schools in parts of Queens are more manageable than some less-crowded schools in Brooklyn, where special needs kids can overwhelm the resources. Oftentimes a class size of 18 is too big.
The most liberal teachers - people who fought in battles for community control in Bed-Stuy in the 60's and 70's will maintain that teaching in a school that is mostly black is incredibly hard for all teachers, but especially white teachers.
No matter how people pooh-pooh history, it is always a factor, with a lot of mistrust on the part of the black families, which are so often being headed by grandmothers. Many black males always seem have issues from their earliest years in school.
This has gotten worse over the years. People who taught in the 2-parent middle class black schools in eastern Queens often had lots of problems. These are schools that send a some of their kids to Brooklyn Tech.
In povery-stricken Spanish schools there are other issues, in addition to the usual suspects, often related to language.
A general rule: Spanish kids are more academically backward than black kids but black kids have more discipline problems.
Now there are still pockets of poor whites who actually send their kids to public schools and those present problems too. Read Frank McCourt's account of teaching at McKee HS in Staten Island.
We don't do stereotypes here.
Be advised I will not tolerate their use on this site and I will not discuss this further.
I began my teaching career over 30 years ago in a school that was predominately black and hispanic, with a smattering of white kids who had been thrown out of private schools. I would equate the quality of the teachers there and the level of education to the level of any school in the city at the time. I recently went to a 30 year reunion and was greated by former students who are now doctors, lawyers, teachers and even high school administrators. Many of the teachers began with now are principals themselves and teach advanced level classes. A good teacher is color blind and race is not what makes a school good or bad.
I couldn't agree more.
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