Shame on "Journalists" Supporting E4E Closed Meeting Where All Had to Sign "The Pledge"

When the so-called ed press takes part in a naked propaganda event to promote an organization funded by billionaires to put forth their anti-union, anti-real reform education. (Ask E4E what they think about a campaign to reduce high class sizes?)

Panelists included journalists Ben Max (Decide NYC), Lindsey Christ (NY1), Sarah Garland (Hechinger Report) and Sarah Darville (GothamSchools).

What does this say about these journalists? Teachers who do not agree with the E4E position are banned. We know that E4E supports every Bloomberg ed deform position and those allowed to attend must agree with the E4E position. So what are people who call themselves journalists doing there? I don't care about the others but I am disappointed in Lindsey Christ.

E4E-NY: The Next Education Mayor

E4E-New York teachers gathered on Thursday, September 26, 2013 to ask local journalists questions about the mayoral race and what it means for teachers in NYC.

1. Thursday's panel was moderated by teachers Lilly Ruiz and Nick Lawrence. 

   http://www.educators4excellence.org/news/2013-09-storify-e4e-new-york-teachers-ask-whos-the-next-educ

   
   

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Shame on NYC Ed Reporters for Supporting E4E in Event Closed to Anyone Who Doesn't Sign Their Pledge

I saw the names of the reporters who are going to be on the panel and was sort of shocked that the "neutral" press would be on a panel for an organization that has banned people who do not agree with their pledge. In fact at one point I tried to go in with my press pass and they had CUNY security throw me out. They said press had to pre-register. I asked the rest of the press if they had to and they said "No."

One thing we can bet on: Gotham will have a reporter there as part of the panel and will cover the event in a story. I would go and challenge this farce but I have to do what little hair I have left.

The Next Education Mayor Thursday, Sep 26 06:30PM
On September 26th at 6:30 PM, E4E will be hosting a discussion with local journalists about the upcoming mayoral election at Baruch College Conference Center. Join fellow teachers for a great opportunity to hear from those who know this critical race best. Journalists will answer questions about the upcoming mayoral election and the candidates' education platforms, speaking from their unique perspectives from the campaign trail.

Doors will open at 6:00 PM, and the event will begin at 6:30 PM, with a reception to follow. Please join us at 55 Lexington Avenue, on the 14th floor.

Baruch College Vertical Campus Conference Center, 55 Lexington Avenue, 14th Floor, New York, NY 10010

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Where Are Rhee, Kopp, Klein, Moskowitz, E4E, DFER When it Comes to Defending Food Stamps Program (SNAP)?

.....you might think that ensuring adequate nutrition for children, which is a large part of what SNAP does, actually makes it less, not more likely that those children will be poor and need public assistance when they grow up. ... Paul Krugman, NY Times

You mean SNAP might actually be more effective in fighting poverty than charter schools or TFA teachers? Yes it is.

economists Hilary Hoynes and Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach have studied the impact of the food stamp program in the 1960s and 1970s, when it was gradually rolled out across the country. They found that children who received early assistance grew up, on average, to be healthier and more productive adults than those who didn’t — and they were also, it turns out, less likely to turn to the safety net for help.

 So all these people claim to be fighting the civil rights issue of our times by building political machines to fight teacher unions, tenure, urge teachers be evaluated by test scores, pour loads of money into defending the common core.

... almost two-thirds of SNAP beneficiaries are children, the elderly or the disabled, and most of the rest are adults with children.... 

You might think that ensuring adequate nutrition for children, which is a large part of what SNAP does, actually makes it less, not more likely that those children will be poor and need public assistance when they grow up. 

Where is the outrage from those intrepid ed deformers on this issue? Not one dime to fight a real struggle against the Republican assault on hungry children. What better example of their true agenda than to see Eva Moskowitz close schools for half a day to march against De Blasio's plan to make them pay the damn rent? (City charter school advocates plan to reprise a 2012 political rally. GothamSchools, Daily News, Post)

Conservatives seem, in particular, to believe that freedom’s just another word for not enough to eat. Hence the war on food stamps, which House Republicans have just voted to cut sharply even while voting to increase farm subsidies.

Hey Paul. It ain't just conservatives.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/23/opinion/krugman-free-to-be-hungry.html?ref=paulkrugman&_r=0&pagewanted=print

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E4E Slammed in Minnesota by PEJAM

The new strategy is to convince the public that teachers really do want the corporate reforms, but that it is actually their own unions that are keeping them silent.  It is a devious approach that can pit new teachers against veteran teachers.  These newer groups receiving money from Gates, the Waltons, and other corporate foundations are started and led, by mostly TFA alumni, and recruit heavily among TFA corp members and other younger teachers.... (PEJAM)

DFER tried this tactic trying to claim E4E had the voice of NYC teachers ( Joe Williams' DFER Propaganda Laugh Riot ...) while pointing out that few voted in the election and one fifth of those who did vote did not do so for Unity, trying to give the impression they were E4E types while neglecting to mention it was MORE, as anti-E4E as you can get, that garnered those votes.

Yes, E4E facing increasing failure in every venue has to keep jumping to other states like bedbugs to try to remain viable. They have to find ways to spend those bucks ($3 million recently from Bill Gates, who might as well dig a trench and throw his money into it.)

I spoke to some people from LA in Chicago this past weekend and they are also dealing with E4E and have opened up a dialogue with them, viewing most of the teachers involved as naive and misguided and hoping to bring some enlightment to them. Good luck. The leadership will never let anyone get near their rank and file -- one reason they no longer seem to be holding open -- or any - meetings here in NYC -- we often stood outside and handed out leaflets as to what they were all about.

PEJAM points to "reporter" Beth Hawkins hawking E4E -- playing the role Gotham plays here I guess.

Here is the full post from PEJAM:

Public Education Justice Alliance of Minnesota(PEJAM) pejamn.blogspot.com

E4E: The Sheep Clothing for Corporate...

The neoliberals, corporate foundations, billionaires, and others looking to privatize our public schools work hard to sell their actions as that of local grassroots organizations whose only concerns are for the children, especially poor, urban, and minority children.  These astroturf groups have worked their way into every state, including Minnesota.  We have the well-financed MinnCAN and Students First among others, but in their efforts the corporate reformers keep running into the public school teachers and their unions who actually do care about ALL children.

These corporate "reformers" have long realized that if they are going to privatize the public schools, they must eliminate the the voice of the teachers, and the unions that protect their right to speak in defense of their students.  The "reformers" have had a great deal of success, convincing both Republican and Democratic politicians to pass legislation that weakens teacher unions and public education.  The push-back, however, has been growing steadily.  Led by rank-and-file members who have demanded more action from their own union leadership or have taken over the leadership as C.O.R.E. did in Chicago, teachers are calling out the corporate reformers for what they are - privatizers and union-busters.

The corporate reformers are feeling the heat, but they will not go away quietly.  A new strategy has evolved in recent years with the help of the "happy-face" of the corporate reformers - Teach for America (TFA).

The new strategy is to convince the public that teachers really do want the corporate reforms, but that it is actually their own unions that are keeping them silent.  It is a devious approach that can pit new teachers against veteran teachers.  These newer groups receiving money from Gates, the Waltons, and other corporate foundations are started and led, by mostly TFA alumni, and recruit heavily among TFA corp members and other younger teachers.

In many cities, it is Teach Plus that has taken on this role.  It's stated goal is "to engage early career teachers in rebuilding their profession to better meet the needs of students and the incoming generation of teachers."  Here in Minnesota, Educators for Excellence (E4E) is the group leading the effort to hide the union-busting/privatization agenda behind "real teachers."  This past week, E4E officially launched in Minnesota, following a typical corporate product launch strategy.

MythPost
Beth Hawkins, the "education reporter" for MinnPost and one of the Twin Cities biggest cheerleaders for the corporate take-over of public education, is now trumpeting Educators 4 Excellence (E4E) and their claim to offer teachers "a bigger voice in education policy."  Hawkins presents E4E and its members empathetically, as idealistic teachers who have been marginalized in education policy decisions and ignored by unresponsive teachers unions.

Hawkins and MinnPost are helping Madeline Edison, now the full-time Executive Director of Minnesota's E4E, with the corporate style rollout of the "new" reform group.  They are selling a movement that is not only not needed, but in fact is detrimental to public education.  MinnPost published three "news" stories about E4E in four days (See here, here, and here).  MinnPost is an on-line "newspaper" run by Joel Kramer, father of Minnesota's first family of corporate education reform and the former owner of the daily newspaper, the Minneapolis Star Tribune.  The Star Tribune probably would have covered the E4E "news" itself, had it not been so busy shilling for E4E's older sibling of corporate education reform - Teach for America (TFA) - (see here, here, and here).

Launch of a Corporate Product
Launching a new product, or in this case an organization, is not done with a single press release, or event.  "Reform" groups like E4E use the same marketing strategies of their financiers.  David Lavenda, a product strategy and marketing executive offers some advice for a successful product launch on FastCompany.com, including the following:

Start early. Don’t expect reporters to write about you when you want. Get a head start and begin preparing long before you plan to launch. A rolling launch is a great way to keep the conversation going.

Get partners involved. Channel and marketing partners who have a financial stake in the success of the launch are natural allies. The more people that are talking about the release, the better chances it will get pickup.  

E4E-Minnesota has been rolling out its launch for well over a year.  It had its origins in a group with another combination of letters and numbers - E3MN, which stood for Empowering Educators for Equity MN.  E3MN began in early 2012, and its first Facebook Event was a meeting with the co-founders of Educators 4 Excellence.

The groups E3MN identity appears to have been a place-holder as the group built it's E4E brand.  They focused on connecting with "marketing partners" by building alliances with other corporate reformers.  The second Facebook Event they hosted in June of 2012 was a happy hour meet-and-greet with MinnCAN.

In addition to building a core group with mostly TFA teachers and partnering with other corporate reformers, the group needed to build a local financial base and Minnesota has its share of corporate philanthropists.  In September of 2012, The Robins, Kaplan, Miller, and Ciresi Foundation for Children awarded E3MN a grant of $17,500.  The foundation's website explains that the grant was to 

"support the expansion of Empowering Educators for Equity (E3MN) to impact student success through teacher organizing and leadership for systemic legislative and contractual changes."

Michael Ciresi, is a famous local lawyer who ran twice for the DFL nomination for U.S. Senate, but lost.  The Foundation that bears his name, and he leads, has become the major supporter of local corporate education reforms.  E4E received the grant from his foundation because they promote an agenda that helps to dismantle teachers' unions, thereby opening the door to the free market...and closing the door on public schools.

"Liberal" Slight of Hand
Ciresi is similar to many Democratic (DFL in Minnesota) politicians and party activists, in that he claims to favor a liberal or progressive political agenda, but more often follows a corporate agenda.  E4E leaders, and presumably many of its members follow this same approach, at least in regard to education.  E4E, like the "reformers" who claim the Civil Rights mantle, does not just focus on dismantling teachers' unions, but also claims to promote a "progressive" agenda.  This is "reformer" slight of hand, a distraction from the real work of E4E.

In Beth Hawkins propaganda piece published last Tuesday, she helps E4E's new Executive Director, Madaline Edison, sell the idea that focusing on "hot button" contractual/union issues "misses the point."  Sydney Morris, the national co-founder and co-CEO of E4E, claims the aim of the organization is "to give teachers a greater voice in making policy on many issues."

Following another element of launching a new product E4E and MinnPost "put the focus on the people not the product."  Hawkins introduces us to a number of E4E teachers who want to speak up for their students on issues beyond the classroom.  They mistakenly believe, however, that E4E will empower them to do that.  Members quoted in the article speak about the fight for immigrations issues and need for early childhood education.  Edison, who has never been a member of the teachers' union, suggested that the unions weren't dealing with these issues and that's why they needed to create E3MN (E4E).

With this claim, E4E accepts and perpetuates the neoliberal myth of unions as greedy and self-interested.  Social justice has long been a part of union work.  Teachers' unions have certainly made mistakes and at times have been on the wrong side of social justice issues, but unions have actively worked for social and racial justice through most of there history.

Another E4E member in Hawkins article talks about her strong family union background and how she wanted to "wear red" in solidarity when union teachers in Chicago went on strike.  Despite her union upbringing, she describes the union contact as "that’s where all the power just goes away."  Beth Hawkins supports this twisted statement by describing the Minneapolis teachers' union contract as "notoriously complicated."

The third E4E story in MinnPost last week was written by James Kindle.   He was a part of the first group of TFA corp members in Minnesota in 2009.  To his credit, he has remained in the classroom.  However, he also portrays the teachers' contract as a barrier to his "autonomy" as a teacher and his ability to speak out for social justice.

Kindle lets us know that he is the son and grandson of teachers, and like his mother, he wants to be able to look back on his teaching career and say, "Oh, yeah. I enjoyed every day."  Unfortunately, if Kindle and E4E (and TFA) are successful in their corporate reform efforts, most teachers will not have much of a career on which to reflect.  Without committed teachers organized in strong unions, the profession will be filled with under-trained temporary workers.

This is how the conservatives have taken the upper hand with regard to education policy.  Many self-proclaimed liberals/progressives, who were once the ardent defenders of a strong, democratic system of public schools, have accepted the argument that the "free market" actually serves the public good and does so in an equitable way.  Making matters even worse, these so called liberals have accepted the idea that unions and collective bargaining protections are relics of the past. 

The Corporate Reformers and their Agenda
Focusing on "hot-button" issues such as tenure, seniority rights, and teacher evaluations, "misses the mark" according to Madaline Edison.  E4E wants teachers and the public to see these issues as part of a larger "progressive" agenda.  Edison, Kindle, and the other E4E leaders fail to see, or refuse to admit that this is a front for the neoliberal agenda.  Their work will weaken the unions they claim to value and strip teachers of their voices they claim to be empowering.  They are helping to privatize our public schools.

To become a member of E4E, teachers must sign the organization's "Declaration of Teacher's Principles and Beliefs."  A third of this declaration is dedicated to "Restore[ing] Professionalism to Education."  According to the document this is done through teacher evaluations that include "value-added student achievement data" (value-added measure - VAM), weakening tenure, and eliminating "last-in-first-out" (seniority rights).  The document also contends that we can recruit, retain, and support "the highest quality teachers" by implementing "performance-based pay" (merit pay).

These are the positions of the corporate reformers.  To argue these "reforms" will empower teachers, "give them a voice," and/or "autonomy" is naive at best.  Merit pay is not a new idea as educational historian, Diane Ravitch, has pointed out.  It is professionally insulting, divisive, and it does not work, especially in a profession that thrives on collaboration.  Not only has merit pay not worked, Daniel Pink demonstrates that merit pay, in fact, produces worse results!

Value-added is another failed experiment.  Despite repeated research demonstrating the inability of VAM to measure a teacher's performance, corporate reformers continue to argue it will separate bad teachers from good, and good teachers from great.  What VAM actually does is promote more teaching to tests, and penalizes teachers who are willing to take risks.

Attacks on tenure and seniority are at the heart of the "reformer's" efforts and central to organizations like E4E.  Tenure is depicted as "lifetime job security," something that makes it "impossible" to fire under-performing teachers.  Tenure does not guarantee a job.  It guarantees due process, if you are threatened with disciplinary action, including termination.  It requires that administrators demonstrate "just cause" for disciplinary action or termination, and in Minnesota, state statue identifies five areas that can lead to termination at the end of a contract year (see Subdivision 9).  Minnesota state statute also lays out reasons for immediate termination of a teacher (see Subdivision 13)

Tenure in Minnesota is only achieved after a three-year probationary period.  During this time, the district can terminate a teacher contract without cause.  What tenure grants is relatively small, but important power.  It enables teachers to disagree with administration and express that disagreement with less fear of repercussions.  This is one of the few things that does in fact "give teachers voice," and this is what E4E wants to weaken or eliminate.

Seniority works in concert with tenure to protect teachers from arbitrary loss of employment.  In addition to termination due to reasons listed in statute, a teacher can also find themselves unemployed if the school district needs to layoff teachers due to declining enrollment and/or a decline in funds.  Requiring layoffs be done in reverse seniority order or "last-in-first-out" (LIFO), prevents administrators from discriminating with regard to layoffs.  In other words, they cannot layoff a teacher as a way around the due process guaranteed with tenure.  Again, E4E want to eliminate seniority (some argue for making it "one of a number of factors" in determining layoffs), but any weakening of seniority creates a way around the due process guaranteed with tenure.

Losing tenure and/or seniority protections would silence teachers.  This is the exact opposite of what E4E claims as its main goal.  All of these attacks on teachers and our unions are empowered by a misguided faith in meritocracy.  Young teachers are told they are being hurt by more senior teachers being "protected" even when they are "less competent."  They are led to believe that administrators, with standardized test scores, can objectively distinguish between teachers who are competent and teachers who excel.

Those who are truly concerned with ensuring that teachers have a voice and are able to speak up for their students, should stand with the teachers' unions.  Work to get rid of testing and "accountability" regimes that are really about dismantling public education, and defend tenure and seniority.  Then we can work together on behalf of all students, for racial and social justice.

Teachers and the public need to understand the real agenda of Educators 4 Excellence (E4E) and expose this group for what they really are - the sheep's clothing for the corporate education reform wolves.


Posted by: Rob Panning-Miller

Additional information on the origins of E4E's national organization can be found here:

http://raginghorse.wordpress.com/2011/01/29/educators4excellencebrought-to-you-by-the-insidious-arm-of-the-disgustingly-rich/

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E4E Free Lunch Turned Away After Agenda Disclosed

Some colleagues had sent out info about E4E to the staff listerv -- and then the administration said that after finding out more about E4E's agenda -- the luncheon is cancelled. We'll be having lunch together as a staff instead.  ..... A MORE teacher at the school

Along with this missive:

“The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.” 

 “Every battle is won before it’s ever fought.” 

 “Attack by Stratagem” 

 "The good fighters of old first put themselves beyond the possibility of defeat, and then waited for an opportunity of defeating the enemy.” 

― Sun Tzu

I forget which school but at one place they took the pizza and THEN asked them to leave.

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Help E4E, No One is Noticing

I'm beginning to feel sorry for the deformers at e4e. You don't even read much about them in the press. Even Gotham Schools seems to have run out of excuses to promote them. No one seems to be noticing them and poor Jonathan keeps sending out almost daily pleas to please pay them some attention. You see, they have all this stuff to give away and not enough people want their stuff. And think of how the Tweedies do their best to gain entry for e4e into schools.

Now they did have the opportunity to test their mettle and the popularity of their message by running in the UFT elections but I believe you need more than 20 people on a slate to run. They had the money to buy slick ads to get people to vote for them but how embarassing for them that a grassroots organization like MORE with no money would have beaten them in the elections.

Well you have until tomorrow to get e4e to treat your staff to lunch - and use the opportunity to expose exactly where they are coming from.


From: Jonathan Schleifer <info@educators4excellence.org>
Sent: Mon, May 13, 2013 6:03 pm
Subject: Last call!

Trouble viewing this email? You can View this Message Online

Educators 4 Excellence: An Independent Voice for Teachers

Check out the inspiring note sent from a teacher in the Bronx thanking her colleaegue for having high expectations for teacher leadership. And read why a Queens teacher appreciates Ms. Fahrenkrug for advocating for students and teachers: These stories are being shared because teachers invited our team to visit their schools to appreciate coworkers. You and your colleagues deserve to be recognized too. If you want to celebrate your coworkers, there’s one more day to nominate your school for a Teacher Appreciation Celebration. Help us share the amazing work you and your colleagues are doing for your students with the broader E4E community. To nominate your school for a free Teacher Appreciation Celebration, please complete this brief survey. Let us know by TOMORROW, May 14, and we’ll do all we can to make it work. Best, Jonathan

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John King at E4E, Unity Caucus and E4E in Alignment on King, Ed Eval and Common Core

Both the Unity Caucus leadership and E4E love John King, the front man for the ed deform movement in NY State. This guy is going to decide on an eval plan as an arbitrator? We might as well get Bloomberg himself. Or Quisling himself.



Unity Caucus and E4E: perfect together.  Mulgrew showed up to an E4E meeting but won't show up to debate Julie Cavanagh. 

This is the 2nd appearance King is making at an E4E event. He must have too much time on his hands.

Some MORE teacher and parent reps will be handing out Vote MORE leaflets but expect E4E supporters to vote Unity given they agree on so much. Come on down and join us.

Why go since they won't let anyone in who might ask a question or not sit there like a yoyo? At a recent NYCORE event a young lady came over and said she recognized me from the last time I leafleted John King's appearance. She trashed E4E -- she saw how they tried to bribe people with expensive gifts and raffles and finally saw through them. So you never know how many of these people if they stay in teaching will move politically as they see through the e4e sham.

E4E had the oportunity to test its support by running in the UFT elections. They declined, preferring to use the DOE to help them slink around schools. Their updates are so much more about LA than NY now, a sign of just how much they are petering out here. That is funny as how some of the press were bragging that E4E types won some seats in the last LA union election, which they are pushing as a sign the next gen of teachers are supporting ed deform while wearing egg on their faces when real reform groups like CORE can get 98% of the teachers to strike and MORE actually stands up to Unity.

But Gotham will strive to keep E4E alive by using every excuse to mention them. Did you see their story on chapter leaders where they quote James Eterno extensively but make no mention that he is a candidate for MORE? But they make sure to get one quote from one of the few chapter leader E4E has so they can mention the group.

Don't be surprised to see Gotham do a story on this event while ignoring every other group's events. Like did anyone see something on the NYCORE conference of over 600 people with Karen Lewis as keynoter?

---------------

Critical Questions: A Conversation with NYS Education Commissioner John King Tell New York State Education Commissioner John King about how policies are impacting your classroom, ask your questions, and advocate for meaningful change for our students and our profession. »

Thursday, April 4, 2013 | 6:30 p.m. (doors open at 6 p.m.)

Bank Street Auditorium
610 West 112th Street, New York, NY 10025

Subway: 1 to 110th St

 

Take Action

Show your support for the Common Core: Student Achievement Partners is launching a campaign to ensure teachers remain at the center of conversations around the new standards. Sign the letter from 10,000 Teachers in Support of the CCSS. »

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