2 AwardWinnerEDITORIALVOUCHERS, THEINCOMPLETESOLUTIONBy ADAM SUGERMANSolutions to perceived problems at ournation’s public schools evoke “The WorldTurned Upside Down,” the march the Britishband played as Cornwallis surrendered toWashington at Yorktown. Rather than tacklethe real issues — teacher shortages, uncompetitivesalaries, lack of cohesion in teacher training,super-sized teacher-to-student ratios, andmost importantly, changing our school-age students’preference from entertaining over training— society prefers Mickey Mouse fixes toreal cost-effective long-term solutions. Indeedsubsidizing private- and religious-school educationwith vouchers will inject much neededcompetition into our lowest-performing standardizedtest-givers. However, schools thatpass this testing game do not and will notalways provide the quality of education ourworld needs. Schools need to make sure thateach student has learned the 3Rs well, and providesupport for those students who need theextra help. Schools must not graduate studentswho cannot read, write, and perform to establishedacademic standards. It is their job toidentify these students and to offer them help.For high-school students who have notacquired the basic skills, it is their responsibilityto seek the help they need to catch up totheir peers. As taxpayers, we must overcomeour hebetude and make sure that our educationsystem has the funding necessary to do its job.We need to ensure that our money is not misspent.Furthermore, we might need to increasetaxes to funnel more money into education, toshow administrators, teachers, and studentsthat we are serious about supporting them.<strong>Education</strong> is our society’s great equalizer. Wemust not capitulate in our goal to providing aquality education to all, despite the temptingallure of vouchers.#LETTERSTo the Editor:Thank you for your story about the studentsfrom metro NY who competed in the“Entrepreneurial Expo” sponsored last monthby The Goldman Sachs Foundation. The writingwas good, the facts were straight, and theexposure for this program in your newspaperwill have New York educators take notice sothat more bright students from underservedneighborhoods can receive scholarships fortheir participation in Center for Talented Youth(Johns Hopkins University) summer programand related school-year events.Chuck Beckman, Director, CommunicationsCenter for Talented Youth, Johns Hopkins, MDTO<strong>Education</strong> <strong>Update</strong>FROMSilver Hill HospitalMental HealthMedia Award2000EDUCATION UPDATE ■ FOR PARENTS, EDUCATORS & STUDENTS ■ JULY <strong>2002</strong>By STUART DUNNIf politics is the art of the possible, MayorBloomberg has proven himself to be a consummatepolitician. He played off the need of theUFT leadership to conclude a contract grantingteachers significant salary increases to gaintheir support in Albany for a bill restructuringthe governance of New York City’s publicschools which gives him virtually completecontrol of the schools. While it would seem thatboth sides got what they wanted, in fact, the bigwinner was the mayor.It is true that the mayor did not get the unioncontract he wanted. He had to give away largersalary increases than he desired, which will bedifficult to fund. He did not get the workassignment changes or the merit provisions hewanted. The UFT contract will be all thatstands in his way to making the changes hewants and needs. But, little matter. Theteacher’s contract will only run until May 31,2003, and, he can afford to wait. In many waysthe wait will be beneficial. It will give him timeto put a new Chancellor and a new Board of<strong>Education</strong> in place. It will give him time torevise the management structure of the schoolsand take on 110 Livingston Street. The unionwill have little leverage next year, and themayor will then be able to insist on the changeshe wants, even in the face of a strike threat.Just how much the take-over of the schoolsystem will effect the quality of education inNYC is unclear, but it can only help. Themayor has yet to tell us what he plans to dowith his new-found power. Now that he hasachieved the governance changes he wanted,he must deal with “the vision thing.” He willhave to show that he can manage as well in thepublic domain as he did in the private one.Meanwhile, the increased teachers salaries willcertainly help in the recruitment and retentionof qualified teachers.Unfortunately, the parents and the studentswere not represented in the negotiation. Whilethe elimination of the community schoolboards is, on balance, desirable, parents willlose an important input channel. A new channelof communication will have to be established. Isuggest an ombud service, with representativesin each district who have direct access to thedistrict superintendents. I’m sure there will beCOMMENTARYThe Mayor Is Our Last, Best HopeTo the Editor:I just wanted to thank you for giving me theopportunity to speak to you about educationand in particular District 4. The article was sowell written. It truly captured the essence ofour “long” and engaging conversation. Mykudos to <strong>Education</strong> <strong>Update</strong>. I commend you onthe entire newspaper. Keep up the great work!More like you are needed if public education isto survive.Evelyn Castro, Superintendent, District 4New York, NYExcellence in <strong>Education</strong>Journalism, 1999—2000Columbia UniversityTeachers College, Phi Delta KappaDr. Pola Rosenmany other suggestions. This is something themayor will have to address.From the perspective of the taxpayers, thesettlement with the union looks ominous. Theincreases in teacher salaries will cost over $1billion a year, and, that is just the start of theproblem. The other municipal unions may beexpected to increase their demands proportionately.This comes on top of a projected deficitfor next year of $5 billion. How the mayorplans to fund these costs is undefined. To date,he has been reluctant to call for tax increases,but this probably has to do with avoiding thisissue during the forthcoming election in whichthe state legislators and the governor will beseeking reelection. In an apparent trade for notraising the tax issue, the State will pick upmuch of the cost of the teacher’s contract thisyear. Once we get past November, the deficitwill have to be addressed. This will have toinclude increased municipal taxes andincreased state aid to the City’s schools.No matter how you feel about the change ingovernance, it now behooves us to get behindthe mayor and support the changes in theschools he deems necessary to provide a qualityeducation to all of the children. The mayor isour last, best hope to improve our publicschools and to resist the demands for vouchersand privatization. #IN THIS ISSUEEditorials & Letters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2Commentary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2Spotlight on Schools . . . . . . . . . 3-10, 26Conferences, Workshops & Events . . 10Careers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11Modern Languages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11MEDICAL UPDATE . . . . . . . . . . . 12-13Children’s Corner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14Book Reviews . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15COVER STORY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-17Special <strong>Education</strong>. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18-19Music, Art & Dance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20Homeschooling. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21-24Colleges & Grad Schools . . . . . . . 25-27College Directory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27Technology & Software . . . . . . . . . 28-29Camps & Sports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29Metro Beat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30Tutors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28Classified . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31Resource & Reference Guide . . . . . . . 31CORRECTIONSIn the May <strong>2002</strong> article on the 50th anniversary ofthe Barnard College education program, the correctidentifications for the people in the photograph are: (L-R) Alisa Berger, Laura Rodriguez, and Ron Scapp.Winnerof theBestBusinessAwardEDUCATION UPDATEMailing Address:276 5th Avenue, Suite 10005New York, NY 10001email: ednews1@aol.comwww.educationupdate.comTel: 212-481-5519Fax: 212-481-3919PUBLISHER AND EDITOR:Pola Rosen, Ed.D.ASSOCIATE EDITORS:Heather Rosen, Adam Sugerman,Rob WertheimerASSISTANT EDITOR:Marylena MantasGUEST COLUMNISTS:Mayor Michael Bloomberg, DaveCoddington, Matilda Raffa Cuomo,Margaret Cuomo Maier, M.D., RichardFrances, M.D., Dr. Carole G. Hankin,Glen Hirsch, M.D., Jill Levy, AlfredPosamentier, Ph.D., Lynn Robins, RandiT. Sachs, Assemblyman Steven SandersSTAFF WRITERS:Jacob Appel, Joan Baum, Ph.D., TomKertes, Katarzyna Kozanecka, SybilMaimin, Chris Rowan, MerriRosenberg, Andrew Schiff, DeborahYoungEDITORIAL INTERNS:Priya Athiappan, Ricky Berkowitz,Hope Glassberg, Zaher Karp, AriMcKenna, Christina Perpignano, MollyWallace, Tamara WiesenBOOK REVIEWERS:Harris Healy, III, Lillian Shapiro, SeleneVasquezCOMICS:Bruce WotringMEDICAL EDITOR:Herman Rosen, M.D.MODERN LANGUAGE EDITOR:Adam SugermanMOVIE & THEATER REVIEWS:Jan AaronMUSIC EDITOR:Irving M. SpitzPHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR:Christopher McGuirePOLITICAL COMMENTARY:Stuart DunnSPORTS EDITOR:M.C. CohenWEB DESIGN:Neil Schuldiner, Rick SulzADVERTISING DEPARTMENT:Martin Lieberman, Manager. RosalynBacani, Steve Bailey (212) 721-9444,Dawn Clayton, Mitchell Levine, ChrisRowan, Andrew SchiffGRAPHIC DESIGNERS:Neil Schuldiner, Rick Sulz<strong>Education</strong> <strong>Update</strong> is published monthlyby <strong>Education</strong> <strong>Update</strong>, Inc. All materialis copyrighted and may not be printedwithout express consent of the publisher.POSTMASTER:Send address changes to:<strong>Education</strong> <strong>Update</strong>P.O. Box 20005NY, NY 10001Subscription: Annual $30.Copyright © <strong>2002</strong> <strong>Education</strong> <strong>Update</strong>
JULY <strong>2002</strong> ■ EDUCATION UPDATE ■ SPOTLIGHT ON SCHOOLSSCHOOL3INSIDE THE SUPERINTENDENT’S OFFICE: BETTY ROSABy MARYLENA MANTASClassical music echoes through the hallwaysof IS 101, an intermediate school inCommunity School District 8 in the Bronx.Visitors can witness group work at its best, withstudents sitting together engaged in problemsolving and discussion. More impressive, however,remains the joyful, uplifting spirit of theschool, whose establishment in 1995 was partlydue to the district’s efforts to celebrate itsdiversity—District 8, located in the East Bronx,runs along the Bruckner Expressway, extendingfrom the Hunts Point peninsula and theMorrisania area in the south, through theSoundview Classons Point area in the center,and bounded on the north by Pelham Bay andThroggs Neck.Today, the school is the academic home ofstudents who call themselves “ambassadors” asthey are enrolled in IS 101 to represent the elementaryschool they came from.“This school binds us as one district,” saysBetty Rosa, Superintendent of District 8. “Itdoes not matter what local community youcome from. The school is symbolic of ourdiversity [and it is] a place that belongs to students.They own this school.”IS 101 is only one of 30 schools located inDistrict 8, which serves about 24, 000 students.“My first accountability is to the children inmy community,” says Rosa, who considers therole of the superintendent as that of the “masterteacher.” “Myprincipals are mystudents and thedistrict is myclassroom,” shesays.Her “lessonplans” stem fromher own experiencesas a teacherand a principal,but most importantlyfrom herown value system.The coreelements of thesevalues appear inthe form of a quotationwritten onBetty Rosaa blackboard in heroffice: “Go to the people, live among them,plan with them. Start with what they know andbuild on what they have. And, when the currentleaders leave, the people will say we have it.”“I serve the people, the children and the community…Iam here to provide guidance,” saysRosa, adding that she considers her job “themost humbling experience” and is guided byone of her grandmother’ssayings, “the best kind ofperson is the one that hashumility…no matter whatyour attainments.”Although she remainscommitted to her values andacknowledges that she is “acollection of her own experiences,”Rosa underscoredthat she embraces the differentcharacteristics of everyschool and the leadershipstyles of principals.“Every school in my districtis different,” she says.“[When I visit a school] Ialways ask myself ‘if I wasthe principal in this schoolwould I run it this way? [Theanswer might be no], but that does not meanwhat that principal is doing is wrong.”She will take advantage of any opportunity tomodel for a principal or teacher and whenobserving classrooms, or visiting occasionallyshe takes over. When hiring new principals shelooks for individuals who are strong leaderswith competitive spirits that know how to teachchildren in different ways. The qualificationsare similar for new teachers.“We look for teachers with content knowledgeand an ability to reach out to children. Welook for teachers who want to enhance the livesof children and teachers with a sensitive sidefor the struggling child,” says Rosa.On hot topics, like testing, the superintendentis bold and direct, saying that a child’s lifeshould not be judged by one snapshot. “It’s asad statement about what real learning is. Wekill natural curiosity in children,” she says.She supports maintaining and enforcing standardsfor children, as long as the learningprocess does take place and teaching is notrelated only to the test.“We have sterilized some of the stuff relatedto the joy of learning,” she says, adding thatit’s good to create frameworks as long as theyare not internalized. “I am a superintendent ofchildren, not of adults.”#Visitwww.EDUCATIONUPDATE.comFrom Coney Island to Paris to Miami: An Assistant Principal Shares Her ViewsBy LYNN K. ROBBINSRuby K. Payne states in A Framework forUnderstanding Poverty, “An individual bringswith him/her the hidden rules of the class inwhich he/she was raised.” However, he added,the impact an educator can have on a child canmodify those rules and change that child’s future,regardless of their socio-economic status. I’vebeen around public and private education for 36years, sometimes in a classroom, sometimes inan office, but always a learner as well as ateacher. I’ve certainly learned from my peers, butmore importantly, I’ve learned from the childrenby listening to who they are, where they comefrom and what it is that they need.I’ve taught in Paris at one of the most elite privateschools in the world; in Coney Island, ahaven for drug pushers and prostitutes; and asimilar neighborhood in South Florida. Based onmy experience as an educator I will argue the presumptionthat social ranking is the predominantfactor in determining what an individualbecomes and the contributions that he/she makesto society. The following are three stories aboutchildren that I’ve met. One was from a wealthybackground and the other two from poverty.They all needed to be heard.I met Sylvia in France during my first full-timeteaching experience. All of her permanent teethwere pulled when she was 14 because she had agum infection. Her mother didn’t want to gothrough the hassle of supporting her daughterthrough a year’s worth of dental surgery so falseteeth became an easier option. She had no selfesteem,and would even joke around by takingout her false teeth and making grotesque faces.Sylvia was last in her class at an elite internationalprivate school in just outside of Paris,France. She slept until 11:00 A.M every day andmissed most of her classes. The administrationcouldn’t do much with Sylvia so they let hersleep, took her parents money and moved herfrom grade to grade. I would wake her up in themorning to go to class. It was a Catholic schooland I remember Sister Anne not appreciating myinterference because I wasn’t Catholic. She wasafraid I might influence her religious beliefs.They had no clue that Sylvia had none. Her parentsasked me to escort her to their apartmentacross the street from Harrods, in London, duringChristmas and Thanksgiving. They weren’tgoing to be there and the only other option for herwas to be alone during those vacations, so Iagreed to her parent’s request. We were picked upin a Bentley and had a chauffer, a butler, plus allexpenses paid. I did it for Sylvia. She oftentalked about what sixteen year olds talk aboutwith their parents or someone they trust. But,mostly, we talked about math. She hated math.We discussed what she could do in life if she didn’tlearn math. There wasn’t much. Six monthsbefore graduation, all of the seniors were asked towrite a valedictorian speech. Sylvia’s was thebest. But she was last in her class and the administrationrefused to use her speech even thoughthey knew it was written with great passion andinsight. I talked with Sister Anne and she finallyagreed that Sylvia’s speech could be read by thetrue valedictorian. Following her graduationSylvia moved back to the New York area with herparents. Although her grades did not support heradmission to any college, I was able to convincesome friends at a local community college toenroll her in a probationary program. Sylvia wenton from there. She now has a doctorate, has publishedtwo books and developed her own business.Tranisha was a 12-year-old girl who lived inConey Island but rarely came to school. She wasretained twice and far too mature for her presentgrade. Her father was killed one day while tryingto save the life of a child who had fallen into ariver. Not soon after, her mother became an alcoholic.Every morning before 7:00 a.m. I wouldset out to find her underneath the Coney Islandboardwalk. She would come to school with menow and again, but not often enough. One day Iasked what it would take for her to come toschool every day. She told me simply that if shecould be a cheerleader, she would come toschool. I told her that could be arranged. I’vebeen an athlete all my life and had little respectfor cheerleaders, pom poms and all, but if thatwas what it would take for her to come to school,I would make it happen. I was an interventionspecialist at the time and was part of a restructuringteam at a struggling Coney Island elementaryschool. The principal knew that if I asked forsomething special for a child, he would see to itthat it was done. And so it happened. Tranishabegan coming to school every morning at 7:00a.m. with some of her friends and created acheerleading squad, (we had no teams, but thatmattered little.) She went to the gym and wassupervised by the security guard while I went tomy office. There was much to be done at theschool and we put in long hours. Tranisha cameto school every day for two weeks, worked withher group, went to cafeteria for breakfast andthen to class. She was smart, and the teachersknew it. One day she asked me to stay for themorning practice. I agreed. What I observed wasremarkable and had no resemblance to cheerleading,as I knew it. She had recruited overtwenty of her classmates, mostly girls but someboys as well. She stood in front of her troupe,four lines of children, one head behind the other,standing perfectly straight and silent, with handsat their sides. Then she gave the command tobegin. They performed intricate maneuvers inunison including clapping, stomping, tumblingand chanting. I do remember that when she gavethe command to halt, one girl said something toanother. Tranisha called her name and pointed tothe door. The girl left the gym without a sound.She had violated the rules and she knew it. Icalled schools in the neighborhood that hadteams, secured funding for a bus and we becameregulars at many halftime shows. Tranishabecame a great leader of her peers. I nominatedher for a leadership award presented by BoroughPresident Golden. There were 600 winners butonly one was to receive the top award. It wasTranisha. As the award winner, she had to preparea speech to present in front of the other 600nominees and their parents at City Hall. Not onlydid we help her with her speech but we had todress her as well. There she stood, at the podium,in a donated white satin dress with matchingheels. She was brilliant. After the speechBorough President Golden presented her with aplaque and put his arm around her for a photoopportunity. I knew she was a leader and so didshe. More importantly, her mother did as well.She was sitting in the audience, for the first time,acknowledging her child’s accomplishments, andshe was sober. She, too, had prepared for thisoccasion.When John was eight years old he saw hismother and grandmother raped and sodomized atgunpoint by someone he knew. He became amute for a year. He was retained for one year andhad a list of discipline referrals that made himundesirable to most school administrators. A fewyears later, a community leader brought him tomy attention and asked that I enroll him in thespecial school in South Florida. I met with hisgrandmother and then with him. There wassomething in his eyes. I enrolled him and becamehis mentor. I was called when things happenedwith John, when he bullied a child or disrespecteda teacher. I do think that he was testing me,and my commitment. I left for New York thatsummer and gave John four envelopes with myNew York address and stamps on them. Ireceived four letters. He received postcards fromMontauk and Manhattan. When I returned inAugust, I opened a bank account for him with theproviso that whatever money he made workingas a babysitter or at other odd jobs, he had to put50 percent of it in the account. The rest he coulduse for whatever he wanted. The account wasopened with $25. After 4 months he had over$80. I told him by the time he entered college, hewould be able to buy whatever he needed. Henever thought about college before and now hedoes.These children have reacted to the images andsounds of their different environments and havemoved beyond those experiences. With borderscollapsing, human dignities being devalued andpersonal hopelessness growing, we need to lookcarefully at the impact that educators can have onunderstanding and nourishing each student’sability and willingness to learn. As an administratorand a teacher I have learned to listen andthen try to engage, inspire and create excitementin the process of learning. The goal is to broadenperspectives and offer greater choices. That is theultimate role of anyone who has taken on theresponsibility of educating our children.#Lynn K. Robbins is currently an educationaladministrator in Palm Beach County and has anM. S. in Sports Psychology from BrooklynCollege and M.S. in Administration andSupervision from CCNY. She is past VicePresident of Phi Delta Kappa, ColumbiaUniversity, and is currently pursuing her doctoratein <strong>Education</strong>al Leadership from FloridaAtlantic University.#
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