Greetings from my beautiful middle school, where the principal has unilaterally decided to ignore NYC DoE policy and not dismiss the students early today, the last day of school.

Meanwhile, we also had an instance of grade-changing, only the principal blamed it entirely on the AP, who was shuffled to another middle school. This was around the time they announced that the regions were all being done away with and all those people stopped monitoring principals like mine and started looking for new jobs.
TeacherJ | 06.27.07 - 11:51 am | #

And what did your union rep do about it?????
Schoolgal | 06.27.07 - 6:35 pm | #

Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to...um...cheat.

This is why we're stuck with standardized tests graded by faceless testing people.
Laura | Homepage | 06.27.07 - 6:46 pm | #

I don't get it- doesn't the official DOE calendar clearly state today as a half day for the kiddies? If I had to spend more than the 3 hours that I did with them, it would've gotten ugly.
17 more years | 06.27.07 - 6:51 pm | #

Yeah...can a principal circumvent the calendar? And, more to the point, WHY? Why would a principal want to extend the last day of school? Sadism? Sheesh!
NYC Math Teacher | 06.27.07 - 7:42 pm | #

Because from what I understand, a principal and his staff are supposed to apply for a 1/2 day at least 2 weeks before the last day to be granted that. if they don't get the paperwork in on time, they're @$$ed out. happy last day, nyceducator!!!! it's a wonderful day, isn't it?
Jose | Homepage | 06.27.07 - 8:40 pm | #

I'll buy that- but if it's on the calendar, and the last day of school has been a half day since the beginning of time, why would the principal have to apply for it?
17 more years | 06.27.07 - 9:16 pm | #

Apply for a half day???? Do they have to do that for Parent Teacher Conference afternoon too? I doubt it very much.
Schoolgal | 06.28.07 - 12:37 am | #

The district (14) would never let us know we had a half day until the last minute. But it seemed it was up to the principal. One year in a fit of pique, our leader decided to NOT allow a half day (just needed a little more time to get those 9 times tables down.)

Imagine the chaos on the buses (we had a lot of special ed classes.) Also, chaos with parents who didn't know when kids were coming home. A bunch of us ended up stuck in the auditorium with loads of kids. The principal hadn't thought things through, but never did it again.
Norm | Homepage | 06.28.07 - 7:15 am | #

I read the article in the Times and Klein is very clever...if you don't like the outcome, fire the investigators and hire ones that will agree with you.

Didn't our Attorney General do the same thing?
Schoolgal | 06.30.07 - 11:25 am | #